CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRITISH CABINET MINISTERS, AND REMINISCENCES OF THEM. Reflections on the General Character and Qualifications of British Statesmen. SOME persons from pure, but mistaken principles, and others from ignorance, envy, or malevolence, have raised a clamour against the political classes, and what they term "The trade of politics." They are so little enlightened as to suppose, that any man who can read the columns of a newspaper, and can make a few flippant remarks on our foreign or domestic policy, is fit for the management of public affairs *. It may be proper, therefore, to consider, the • The downfall of the Spanish Cortes proves the unfitness of persons, even of respectable abilities, and of the best intentions, when they have not been trained to politics, to conduct the complicated concerns of a great nation. Had the Cortes been directed by individuals as much distinguished for their experience and abilities, as for zeal, they would have made a longer, and, it is probable, a more successful struggle for the freedom of their country. They would have taken better measures to unite all classes in the common cause; they would have avoided giving unnecessary offence to foreign courts; they would have more diligently provided pecuniary resources for carrying on a war; they would have raised an army in proportion to the emergencies of the case; they would have selected powers and labour that are required, the expenses that must be incurred, and the many other circumstances which must unite, in the formation of "a real statesman.” 1. A person to be fit for conducting public affairs, must possess considerable natural talents, and those, not merely of a showy, but of a solid nature; and where the government is principally placed in popular assemblies, a competent share of eloquence, not only to state his opinions with distinctness, but also to defend them with ability, when attacked. 2. A statesman likewise requires a thorough acquaintance with ancient as well as modern history, so as to be able to trace the rise and effects of the different laws, and systems of government established in other countries, and to judge how far they are applicable to his own. 3. He ought to be conversant with the laws of the land in which he lives, without which he cannot judge of the propriety of any new enactments that may be proposed; and he should likewise have some general knowledge of the judicial systems of other states. 4. He must not be ignorant of the forms, and order of proceedings, in that branch of the legislature of which he is a member, for he would then often be unable to take a share in the business under discussion. 5. As a statesman has frequently matters to settle with other nations as well as his own, he ought to be acquainted with their language, and especially with French, as the general diplomatic language of Europe. He ought likewise to have visited foreign countries, that he may be able to form an opinion of the character of their inhabitants, the disposition of their rulers, and the policy they are likely to pursue. 6. In this country, a statesman who wishes to procure a seat in the House of Commons as a county member, must often incur great expense. It is necessary, for example, that Generals who might have been relied on for their fidelity, and would have taken their means of defence earlier, in which case, as Spain is a country where a large hostile army cannot easily be maintained, and on which, from its natural defences, a small body of troops can make no lasting impression, they could scarce. ly, with any prudent management, have been conquered. he should make himself popular in his own county, by living in a hospitable manner with his neighbours, attending public meetings, supporting provincial amusements, and promoting local improvement; and as he must annually quit his country residence to live in London, it is obvious that he must be possessed of an independent fortune. 7. He should be capable of great bodily as well as mental exertion; for the labour of regular attendance on parliamentary duty is too much for many constitutions. The number of committees he must attend in the morning,-the risk of being a member of an election committee, (the lengthened duration and protracted sittings of which are often fatal to health), the inconvenient hours at which the House usually assembles, and the long time spent in its debates, all prove what a fatiguing and hazardous life a British Politician is compelled to lead. 8. All free governments are, more or less, divided into parties, and each of these parties struggles to obtain the direction of public affairs. Whichever succeeds, some statesmen must be disappointed in the objects they had in view, and this often after a long period of public exertion. In Great Britain, in particular, " The game of politics" is a most hazardous lottery, and the situation of a statesman much less desirable than is often supposed. The prizes are few, and do not consist of absolute property; nor are they even secured for life, except where titles are bestowed; but, on the contrary, are generally held by a most precarious tenure. Official situations, in particular, are only possessed during the prevalence of a particular party, which may be driven from power, and its unfortunate adherents dismissed on the shortest notice. In addition to all this, a Member of the British Parliament, finds that his domestic enjoyments are materially encroached on,—his spirits depressed by fatigue, and his temper soured, if he succeeds in obtaining an appointment, by the vexations of office *. • I had once a discussion with a gentleman, who had been for a great number of years in public situations, upon the effects of such appointments on the cha |