adorned by eloquence:-long considered abstract and visionary, they take root at last amongst large bodies of the people; the impossibility of their immediate realization, makes their advocates and supporters extravagant in their zeal, and intemperate in their demands; what at first was despised as visionary, now becomes denounced as dangerous; other bodies in the community are alarmed and aroused; the pros and cons gradually enter into the composition of practical parties, and become associated with actual interests and calculating ambition; time rolls on, the principles at issue fade and bloom in the seasons of changeful opinion-now not a leaf on the tree, now bursting into blossom and fruit: at last comes the hour when some party, near enough to power to be in earnest, stakes its existence on the question; calm statesmen give it authority-haughty patricians invest it with dignity: much of what is valuable in its first principles is retained, much of what was extravagant in the dogmas of its earliest advocates is rejected: by a tacit and general compromise, the fears of one order yield to the hopes of another: the Reform is achieved-the monument raised:-on the architraves of the column History writes,-"This was built by the people;" but in a corner of the base you find the names of the architects; and, lo! they are those of magnates in the land!

I am of opinion, Sir, that this long process, ever tedious, and often dangerous, may be best abridged by inducing philosophy to be less extravagant, and statemanship to be more bold, and by keeping up the connexion we have now established between the body of the people, and an active, energetic, and illustrious party in the front of the state.

If the Whigs throw away the people, they throw away the proudest objects of aristocracy. Rank-titles-station -the smiles of a sovereign-the honours of a court,these have their temptations, it is true; but, in a free country, they are exalted by the rewards of a higher ambition-the sway of a mighty empire-the advancement of national civilization-the glory that waits upon wisdom-the gratitude that follows service. If the people throw away the Whigs, they throw away the advantage

which it often takes centuries to gain, and which, while aristocracy exists in this country, they would again, through various stages of disappointment and delay, be compelled to bend all their efforts to recover; viz. a consolidated party, wise in practical experience, high in the rank, and strong in the property, which conciliate a thousand prejudices, and maintain for the people a thousand garrisons in the very heart of their enemies' land. No man ever loved the people more ardently than I do, and I pray, therefore, that neither of these events may come to pass.

I am, Sir, &c.

ON

PRESERVING THE

ANONYMOUS IN PERIODICALS.

Ir is now exactly twelve months since the New Monthly Magazine has been under its present management; and the commencement of the new Publishing Season with the first of this month gives us the same opportunity of addressing our readers that the first of November presented to us, last year, when we entered on our official capacities. We hope that we have performed some portion of what we then promised. We trust that we have given to the political tone of this Periodical a more decided and consistent tone than that to which it formerly pretended, and that we have pursued a course, however humble, which associates us rather with the cause of the people than that of a party. We know that we have been accused of inclining too much towards the support of Ministers, but at least it is allowed, even by their enemies on popular grounds, that we have never inclined towards their errors. We have spoken with the utmost freedom of each of them individually-of all collectively-and their wrong reasonings even to good ends have been pointed out with no less plainness than in the most antiministerial publications. We have been guilty of the want of personality, but never, we are convinced, of the want of candour.- There is one circumstance connected with this work respecting which we would say a few words. It was long the only Monthly Publication to which the name of the Editor was publicly affixed. From its commencement to the present time, with only a brief

interval, that custom has been continued. At present, however, it is not the only one thus characterized; the distinguished Poet whose name formerly graced this work has transferred that honour to another periodical. There are some consequences attendant on this publicity which are more important in periodical Literature than have generally been observed. It has long been the custom to consider the preservation of the Anonymous as desirable to writers in political and literary periodicals, but we believe the grounds of that opinion have never been fairly examined. It is said that writers can thus speak with greater freedom of all works and all men. But is this sort of freedom really such an advantage? Is it not usually turned rather against Truth than for Truth? Is it not from this that the strongest abuse of the Press arises? Do we not owe to the responsibility of the anonymous writer all those gratifications of prejudice or malice which give the enemies of the Press their only reasonable complaint against its liberty. In Criticism it allows a writer to run down this work, or to extol that, without reference to any other criterion than private inclination. It is no disgrace to be unjust when the Author of the injustice is unknown. Look at the generality of Criticisms in the generality of periodical works; how few are fair-how few would a man of high responsibility like publicly to acknowledge! The "Edinburgh," the "Quarterly," were to be the Avatars of pure Criticism. What great writer have they dragged from obscurity, what bad writer have they silenced? They have cried down particular men; they have succeeded for a long time in steeling the public against particular claims. Who have been these men? Coleridge, Wordsworth, Hazlitt: were their claims those which the public now think should have been treated with disdain? Look at the Sunday Newspapers-the more secret the authorship of an attack, the more libellous and unworthy it has been. Where is the advantage in this freedom? We grant that in times of despotic Laws against the Press, the Anonymous had its advantages. We grant that there are, in all times, public men whom it is only safe to attack under a mask; but the first of our concessions does not apply to

these times; and the second allows an exception-why make it a rule? The true way, we are convinced, of giving full efficacy to the power of the Press, would be to remove all the legislative shackles on its liberty; the true way to create a safeguard to its abuses would be, to awaken that moral feeling in its writers which should prefer, as a general rule, publicity to the anonymous. Let us look to the French Journals. In them an author usually appends his initials, or known signature, to his writings; or, at least, suffers himself to be universally acknowledged as their author: the consequence is, that, to our eyes, there is a singular absence of slanderous personality, of attack upon private character, in the French Journals. The French have not the counterparts of those papers which, with us, live upon lies, and garbage upon scandal. But do they, for that reason, want power against all public abuses and all public men; on the contrary, the power of journalism with the French is proverbial all over Europe-it is even greater than with us. How can it be otherwise? If men are ashamed to be the avowed propagators of private slander, they are equally so to be the avowed advocates of political apostacy; they are in the glare of day, and dare not be hooted at as dishonest. Thus personal character aids public talent. An honest and able writer becomes as well known to the public as a general or a statesman. His merits are not, as with us, sunk and confounded in those of a class. A Journalist is a man of vast influence; with us it is only the Journals that have weight. This is one great reason why their literary men are more before the actual world than ours, and why they obtain from all classes a respect and a homage which, when they are honest, is nothing less than the due of the enlighteners of mankind. Thus to all good purposes avowed authorship sufficesit is to the bad purposes that it offers a salutary control. An irresponsible power is mischievous-anonymous power is irresponsible power.

Upon our honour and our conscience we can boldly say, that it was from the feeling that some moral inclination towards the publicity of an Editor's name, in a periodical, ought to be created, that we affixed our own