One of several variants of the first separate edition.
Published during the Napoleonic Wars, "This violent denunciation of the French was written by Cobbett after the Peace of Amiens, which he violently opposed, had been shattered by Napoleon's renewal of the war. The pamphlet appeared in the Political Register (30 July 1803) without any indication of its origin. In the same month it was issued by the Government, headed with the Royal Arms, and sent to the officiating minister of every English and Welsh parish for display and distribution in the churches. It was ascribed to many authors, among them John Reeves, whose Association republished it .. but Cobbett did not disclose his authorship until nearly six years had passed.." - [M.L. Pearl "William Cobbett: A Bibliographical Account of His Life and Times" page 74, #59].
With his ever colorful language, Cobbett concludes that "They would, besides, introduce their own bloody laws, with additional severities: they would divide us into separate classes: hem us up in districts; cut off all communication between friends and relations, parents and children; which latter they would breed up in their own blasphemous principles; they would affix badges upon us; mark us in the cheek, shave our heads, split our ears, or clothe us in the habit of slaves! .. No; we are not so miserably fallen; we cannot, in so short a space of time have become so detestably degenerate: we have the strength and the will to repel the hostility, to chastise the insolence of the foe. Mighty, indeed, must be our efforts, but mighty also the need. Singly engaged against the tyrants of the earth, Britain now attracts the eyes and the hearts of mankind; groaning nations look to her for deliverance; justice, liberty, and religion are inscribed on her banners; her success will be hailed with the shouts of the universe, while tears of admiration and gratitude will bedew the heads of her sons, who fall in the glorious contest." [Quoted from pages 15-16].
The English pamphleteer, farmer, journalist and radical politician, William Cobbett (1763-1835) believed in reforming Parliament and sought to end poverty for farm-laborers. Fleeing England following his attempts to expose corrupt military officers, he taught English to Frenchmen in the United States and translated works from French into English. His anti-estiblishment sentiments drove him to write pamphlets which brought him into conflict with Dr. Benjamin Rush and thus forcing him to flee once again, this time back to England. At first a supporter of the Tories, he soon became a radical. He published the Parliamentary Debates and ran unsuccessfully for office. He was arrested and sentenced to Newgate prison for Treasonous Libel following his published objections to the public flogging of local militiamen, which were printed in The Register in 1810. He returned to the newspaper business after his release. As the taxes on newspapers were now so high that few could afford them, Cobbett began publishing his Political Register as a pamphlet for half the price. The popularity of his journal among the working class made him a dangerous man and, following the passage of the Power of Imprisonment Bill in 1817, Cobbett learned that the government planned to arrest him for sedition. Fleeing yet again to the United States, he lived on a farm in Long Island and wrote his "Grammar of the English Language". Returning to England in 1819, he continued publishing his politically controversial works. Once again charged with seditious libel, Cobbett conducted his own defense so successfully that he swayed the jury which failed to convict him. He finally won a parliamentary seat, that of Oldham, in 1832 and was able to fight government corruption from within. Good .
Keywords: HISTORY; PAMPHLET; NINETEENTH CENTURY; ENGLISH; BRITISH; WILLIAM COBBETT; IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PEOPLE OF THIS KINGDOM; DENUNCIATION OF THE FRENCH; POLITICAL; ROYAL COAT OF ARMS; DECORATION; VIGNETTE; NAPOLEONIC WARS; PROPOSED INVASION OF ENGLA