er an instance, since
the world began, of the peaceful arts thriving under a despotism so
oppressive as that of France is and must continue to be, and among a
people so unsettled, so depraved, and so undisciplined in civil arts and
habits as the French nation must now be? It is difficult to come at the
real revenue of the French empire; but it appears to me certain,
absolutely certain, that it must diminish rapidly every year. The armies
have hitherto been maintained chiefly from the contributions raised upon
the conquered countries, and from the plunder which the soldiers have
been able to find. But that harvest is over. Austria, and particularly
Hungary, may have yet something to supply; but the French Ruler will
scarcely quarrel with them for a few years at least. But from Denmark,
and Sweden, and Russia, there is not much to be gained. In the mean
while, wherever his iron yoke is fixed, the spirits of the people are
broken; and it is in vain to attempt to extort money which they do not
possess, and cannot procure. Their bodies he may command, but their
bodies he cannot move without the inspiration of _wealth_, somewhere or
other; by wealth I mean superfluous produce, something arising from the
labour of the inhabitants of countries beyond what is necessary to their
support. What will avail him the command of the whole population of the
Continent, unless there be a security for capital somewhere existing, so
that the mechanic arts and inventions may thereby be applied in such a
manner as that an overplus may arise from the labour of the country
which shall find its way into the pocket of the State for the purpose of
supporting its military and civil establishments? Now, when I look at
the condition of our country, and compare it with that of France, and
reflect upon the length of the time, and the infinite combination of
favourable circumstances which have been necessary to produce the laws,
the regulations, the customs, the moral character, and the physical
enginery of all sorts, through means, and by aid of which, labour is
carried on in this happy Land; and when I think of the wealth and
population (concentrated too in so small a space) which we must have at
command for military purposes, I confess I have not much dread, looking
either at war or peace, of any power which France, with respect to us,
is likely to attain for years, I may say for generations. Whatever may
be the form of a government, its spirit, at leas