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ORIGINAL POETRY.

THE CAPTIVE LARK.

THE Spring's abroad, the morn is high,
The lambs are sporting on the brae,
And all my kinsfolk in the sky

Rejoicing o'er the infant May.

Why does this quivering throat refuse
To swell the song? methinks you say
Alas! my breast in heavenly dews
Hath not been steep'd for many a day.

No zephyr in the rustling grass

My home with gentle whisper cheers, But comfortless, as winter, pass

The captive's hours-the captive's years. My wing is like a withered leaf,

That drops in autumn's early frost,
My little heart is dry with grief,
And all the soul of song is lost.

The Power, by tuneful souls confest,
Who fills with music every vein,

Forsakes with Liberty the breast,
And shuns the house of bonds and pain.

SONNET I.

R.

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"A Cloud came over my Soul."

O WELCOME is the Cloud of Night
That makes the morrow's dawn more dear,
Or Dewy Veil that falleth light
The Summer's fervid breast to cheer:
The Thunder-cloud of fate and fear
Doth in its folds a blessing bring,
And weeps in showers its wasteful shock:
Even Winter's rudest Storms but rock
The cradle of the Spring.
But ah! far other are the Clouds
That wrapt the sickening soul in gloom-
That clothe the heaven in funeral shrouds,
And darken like a living tomb

This beauteous Earth-whose breathing

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(From the German. Anonymous.)
Der winter hat mit kalter hand, &c.
1.

'Tis done:-by Winter's icy hand
Each summer weed is torn :
The sweets are fled the wasted land,
The groves their tresses mourn;
And all the painted blooms that blow
Are wrapt in winding-sheet of snow.
2.

Yet, lovely flowerets! hope not ye
From me a dirge of doom,+
While still in one dear face I see
Your every beauty bloom-
While still yon eye the Violet shows-
Yon cheek the white and damask Rose !

3.

What reck I Philomela's song

Where opening roses blow,

E.

While blest with strains from Madel's

tongue

Of sweeter silvery flow?

And Madel's breath the breeze outvies 'Mid hyacinthine groves that sighs!

4.

And while her lips' expanding glow
Mine ardent pressure meets,
The strawberry's purple mocks--and O !
Makes poor its richest sweets--
What can I ask, O May, of thee?
My Madel's more than Spring to me. J. F.

"La Solitude est certainement une belle chose; mais il y a plaisir d'avoir quelqu'un qui sache répondre à qui on puisse dire de tems en tems que la Solitude est une belle chose." LA BRUYERE.

+ Ein sterbelied. VOL. I.

THE LESSON.

(From the German of Klopstock.) THE Spring, Aëdi, returns in light. The air is clear, the heaven blue, the bow'r is fragrant.

Light and soft breathe the gales of the west: The hour of the song, Aëdi, returns. "I cannot sing:-my ears are deaf But here let me swing on the bending spray, With the grasshopper's ceaseless chirpAnd gaze on my form in the crystal flood below."

Not sing!—and think'st thou thy mother's heart

Can feel no anger?

Thou must learn while we joy in the light of the Spring;

For thousand are the spells of our art,
And the days of brightness are few.

Away from the bending, swinging bough!
And hear what erst of the spells of our art,
The Queen of Nightingales, Orphea, sung.
I tremble to pour the wondrous strain-
But hear, and repeat the strain-
Thus
sung Orphea:

Pour thy notes-let thy strain swell on the winds!

Breathe gently, till the sweet-falling tones are heard no more!

Hurried and loud let them rush thro' the

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boughs,

And bend for thee the quivering spray,
That nearer thou may'st gaze on thy form
in the flood.
This, too, she sung-

Orphea, the Queen of Songs

The Youth he stood, and wove the wreath,
As he wept it sunk from his hand :

The Maiden stood, and would not weep,
And gaz'd with tearless eyes on the youth.
Then wak'd the Nightingale that higher song,
Which the deep spirit trembles to hear-
Then fled the maid to the arms of the youth
Then flew the youth to the maiden's arms-
They wept in love's delight!
A. B.
3 F

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Speech of Pascoe Grenfell, Esq. in the House of Commons, on Tuesday, the 13th of February 1816, on certain_transactions subsisting betwixt the Public and the Bank of England. With an Appendix. London, Murray, 8vo. 1816.

Or late years the Parliament of Britain has signalized itself by collecting and disseminating information on several important points of national economy. We imagine it would be hard for the most determined reformer to shew how, by mere extension of the elective franchise, or any enlarged constitution of the legislative body, an House of Commons could be found more worthy, in this respect, of the public confidence. At a time when party violence has graduated through various heights, until at last it seems to have reached its acme, it is well to resort to any thing which can excite, on fair grounds, a favourable view of the intelligence and integrity of the assembly which makes laws for us. On its reputation for wisdom or folly, the intellectual character, as well as the political spirit of the nation, must in some degree depend. So long as it contains men with the literature and habits of gentlemen, what is agreed on within its walls must have a strong sympathy with what is best in the public: and until the whole of that public, or at least that part of it whose leisure and education fits it for making a ready and decisive opinion on public acts and relations, shall become all at once, and permanently, wiser or better, it is evident that what could be done by a reformed House of Commons must depend more on the spirit, intelligence, and personal independence, of the unministerial part of its members, than on any new mechanism of the whole body. The character, not less almost than the existence of the country, is in the hands of its responsible ministers. The country is not, nor cannot be aware, until from the nature of the thing it is perhaps too late, of how much both are on occasions committed; and it would be unreasonable to expect that the ministers themselves should be always aware of the true

complexion or consequences of their own measures. From occupation of mind, from a commendable contempt of small difficulties, and from that inevitable trust of self which pervades human nature, it is clear that, in giving their minds to the rapid succession of affairs in a great nation like this, ministers must be far advanced in some measure resulting from a preceding one, before even the first outward results of that of which it is a consequence can be made apparent. This is almost always true with respect to great projects of state. It is just one of those fatalities in human affairs, which, by demanding an union of requisites the most opposite, operate as a constant check to any progress which tends beyond a certain point. It requires at once the longest reach of generalization, and the most untired capacity for particulars. There is nothing for all this but a phalanx in our legislative assembly, composed either of men who have known, or may wish to share, the duties of office themselves, and are not only disposed, but able, to criticise acutely the proceedings of its holders for the time being -or of those who, without any turn for office, or experience of its duties, have yet sagacity and penetration to see when the public interests are attended to, and when they may be neglected, and with this, firmness to pursue their investigations, and good sense and management enough to make them understood and appreciated. It is creditable to any country to possess such men; and we are of opinion, that it is from their influence that our House of Commons has derived to its proceedings a character of directness and sincerity which appears so greatly wanting in newly-formed legislatures elsewhere. While that House has men who devote their days and nights, their ease and their credit, their fortune and pleasures, to the public interest, it can never become contemptible from the indiscretion of injudicious assailants or weak defenders. Among those men, the speaker now before us merits, in our humble opinion, a conspicuous place.

A few circumstances in the history

of the Bank of England, previous to Mr Grenfell's investigations, seem needful for elucidating their scope and object. So long as the Bank continued responsible for its issues, by being liable to pay in specie, like any private bank, it seems to have been sufficiently careful and circumspect in its bargains with the public; and its advances to Government and to the merchants seem to have been influenced by each other. The discounts were subject then, as now, to great fluctuation. Mr Bosanquet stated to the Lords' Committee, that he had seen them decrease in amount from a whole to a third. So cautious were the directors in their transactions with Government, as, in 1783, to refuse making the usual advances on the loan.* In 1782, the highest amount of their notes in circulation was £9,100,000; in 1783, £7,300,000; and in the year following, £6,700,000. From 1787 to 1793, the amounts were eight, nine, ten, and eleven millions; in 1794, a little less than eleven millions; in 1795, £13,500,000; in 1796, a little more than eleven millions. From 1777 to 1794, the advances made by the Bank on land, malt, and other Government securities, had fluctuated from seven to eight and nine millions, never exceeding £9,900,000. In 1795, they stood at eleven millions. At the end of that year, it was understood that Mr Pitt contemplated a loan of £3,000,000 to the Emperor of Austria. At this momentous period, however, the country began to feel vitally the effects of its hitherto unparalleled exertions. Taxation had cut deeply into a national capital, which had not been reinforced by any temporary expedients, or excited by artificial stimuli. pressure of commercial distress, which is always more or less attendant on a state of war, had then been consider able. Demands for accommodation at the Bank had been great. That corporation, trading on ascertained resources, had become impressed with the necessity of limiting its issues of notes, and of caution in giving discounts. The doubtful success of our continental alliances against France, and the spirit of change which seemed brooding over the mighty waters that

The

Report of the Lords' Committee of Secrecy on the Causes which produced the Order of Council, 26th Feb. 1797, p. 23.

bounded the political horizon at home, had banished mercantile confidence. Hoards of gold were everywhere made by the timid and avaricious; and men's fears, operating on their interests, made those with small possessions desirous of withdrawing their floating paper securities for something more tangible, in the event of foreign invasion or domestic tumult. In this situation of things, so early as 3d December 1795, the Court of Directors thus expressed their opinion to Mr Pitt: "Should such a loan take place, they are but too well grounded in declaring (from the actual effects of the Emperor's last loan, and the continued drains of specie and bullion they still experience), that they have the most cogent reasons to apprehend very momentous and alarming consequences." This opinion was enforced and repeated in two deliberately formal opinions, delivered to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by the Court, on 14th January and 11th February 1796. Previous to these dates, the demand for gold from abroad was very great. The market price of that article was four guineas an ounce, while our coin cost only £3: 17:10; the consequence of which was, that foreign shipmasters had orders to take back their returns in specie or bullion, and large quantities of English guineas were melted at Hamburgh and other parts abroad.* At the early part of that year, so large a loan as six millions for Germany, and eighteen for Britain, was expected, and threw the Bank Directors into the greatest consternation. They had frequent communications with Mr Pitt on such small advances as he could persuade them to give. At an interview, 23d October 1795, the Governor of the Bank told him, that another loan of magnitude "would go nigh to ruin the country!" But the most impressive remonstrance made to the Premier from the Directors, was one dated 28th July 1796, on which day a series of resolutions were passed in Court, on an advance of £800,000, of which this is the conclusion: They likewise consent to this measure, in a firm reli

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*For the principles connected with these facts, as they bear on the question of the suspension of cash payments at the Bank, and its effects on currency and prices, see sect. 1, of Mr M'Culloch's Essay on the Reduction of the Interest of the National Debt.

ance that the repeated promises so frequently made to them, that the advances on the Treasury bills should be completely done away, may be actually fulfilled at the next meeting of Parliament, and the necessary arrangements taken to prevent the same from ever happening again; as they conceive it to be an unconstitutional mode of raising money, what they are not warranted by their charter to consent to, and an advance always extremely inconvenient to themselves." Towards the close of 1796, and the beginning of 1797, the fears of the Bank increased, and Mr Pitt's demands became more urgent. On 25th February, the banknotes in circulation were £8,640,250; and next day an order in council was issued, suspending payments in specie at the Bank, which was soon after followed by an act of the Legislature,

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restraining the Bank of England from paying its obligations in cash." On 1st May 1797, the first issue of one and two pound notes was made; and at that date the amount of notes in circulation was £13,055,800-a sudden bound of four or five millions from that point which the Directors found safe while they were called on for specie. On 27th December 1796, Mr Pitt stated the probable expenditure of the ensuing year at £27,647,000, and the new taxes to defray the interest of a loan of £18,000,000, to make up that expenditure, at £2,132,000. In 1796, we find the highest price of bank stock to have been, on 23d January, 177, and the lowest, on 24th November, 144. The highest amount of bank notes in circulation was £11,700,000. In January 1797, it was only £10,500,000; and Mr Grenfell states the value of the capital stock, on an average of the whole year, only 125 per cent." The total of the funded debt, in 1796, was £327,071,371.

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The suspension of cash payments we consider to have been at that period the most important event that had occurred, from the declaration of independence by the British American colonies, if we except the revolution in France itself. All parties are now agreed on the importance of this suspension, though two very distinct opinions have been maintained about its propriety. We humbly imagine, that it was fraught with political and moral consequences of the most serious im

port to this country, and, indirectly, to the civilized world. These, however are yet only so far advanced in their progress; and it would ill become passing speculators like us to attempt to describe its future direction. The immediate fact with regard to the purpose intended by this measure is, that it was completely successful. Indeed, the untouched resources of this country were, from many causes, at that time in a state of unparalleled vigour. The more they were probed, it was found, to use an expression of Mr Burke's, that " we were full, even to plethory." Taxes to an amount hitherto unknown in the history of the world were collected with certainty, and with such ease, that their first pressure only was felt. All the powers of Europe who joined in the coalition against France were subsidised by us, some years nearly to the amount of their own revenues. The great majority of the landed proprietors, almost all the merchants and manufacturers, and certainly much of the rest of the popula tion, fully concurred in these measures. If ever minister could say, that in all he proposed the nation went with him, that minister was Mr Pitt. His schemes of war and expedients of finance were received with a fervour of approbation which seemed to think no advance too great for the objects in view, and only to regret that means alone, however costly, could not accomplish them. All of our national spirit that was sentiment, or emotion, or propensity, tended to utter hatred of France, and cordial trust of the high-minded man who had gained the ascendant in our councils. It is with the consequences of these measures to the Bank of England that we have now to do; and they were as follow:

The Bank of England was, by public contract, the agent for managing our debt, and, by parliamentary ap pointment, the place of deposit for all balances of public money from departments of revenue or accountantship. In the first of these characters, its emoluments had increased with the increasing burdens of the country, until for that service alone nearly £300,000 per annum was received; and in the second, the Bank has now had, for eleven years, the custody of balances of money permanently, averaging, on the whole, £11,500,000. On this large sum the Government

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