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National Art Library, London, MS Forster 48 D.32 MS 25. Previously published: John Wood Warter (ed.), Selections from the Letters of Robert Southey, 4 vols (London, 1856), II, pp. 262–264.
These letters were edited with the assistance of Carol Bolton, Tim Fulford and Ian Packer
For permission to publish the text of MSS in their possession, the editor wishes to thank the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University; Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations; the Bodleian Library Oxford University; the British Library; Boston Public Library; the Syndics of Cambridge University Library; the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge; Haverford College, Connecticut; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; the Hornby Library, Liverpool Libraries and Information Services; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; the John Rylands Library, Manchester; the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas; Luton Museum (Bedfordshire County Council); Massachusetts Historical Society; McGill University Library; the National Library of Scotland; the Newberry Library, Chicago; the New York Public Library (Pforzheimer Collections); the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; the Public Record Offices of Bedford, Suffolk (Bury St Edmunds) and Northumberland, the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne; the Trustees of the William Salt Library, Stafford, the Wisbech and Fenland Museum; the University of Virginia Library.
A research grant from the British Academy made much of the archival work possible, as did support from the English Department of Nottingham Trent University.
Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed.
Because of web browser variability, all hyphens have been typed on the U.S. keyboard.
Dashes have been rendered as a variable number of hyphens to give a more exact rendering of their length.
Southey’s spelling has not been regularized.
Writing in other hands appearing on these manuscripts has been indicated as such, the content recorded in brackets.
& has been used for the ampersand sign.
£ has been used for £, the pound sign
All other characters, those with accents, non-breaking spaces, etc., have been encoded in HTML entity decimals.
Heaved forbid that you should draw upon yourself the vexations of a printing establishment, which would involve you in
more troubles without end, & for no adequate purpose, – scarcely indeed for any purpose! – It will be perfectly easy
for you to tell the public all which you wish to tell them, in with perfect security for yourself, your printer &
publisher, provided only that you bear in mind what the laws of libel are.
There is no difference in the end at which you & I are aiming, but a good deal in the means. Earl Wellington is in his place, he is what Nature meant him to be, a soldier,
– likely to do greater things than Marlborough;is in has at this time the prospect of being united with Spain, by the death of Ferdinand & his brother,xxx This is far less likely than the former means; either of them would effect the union
without any sacrifice of pride or privilege on the part of the weaker state.
For the mother country I feel nothing but hope, – for the colonies I see nothing but a long series of evils. My notions
of colonial policy may very summarily be stated. It is as necessary for a flourishing country to send out colonies, as it is for a hive
to send out swarms, but no modern Government has ever proceeded wisely in the business. With the Cape, & New Hollandwe are remember that tho we are different countries, each independent, we are one people. Every Briton who
sets foot among you shall instantly be entitled to all the privileges of a native, – every person born among you becomes as an
Englishman when he lands in G Britain. Every country in which English was <is> the mother tongue shall be open to
the every member of the Great English xxx xx race. – In fifty years America would petition to be received back
into the family.
You rate the American Spaniards too highly. I have just gone thro Humboldts Mexico,all the of most flourishing of the Spanish colonies there are three hostile parties, the Europeans
& the Creoles who hate each other; – the Indians who hate both & outnumber both. In B Ayres the Europeans & the
Indians are both so weak xxx xxx x little can it be apprehended from this to what they are in all other kingdoms
& yet we see what barbarous bloodshed has taken place.xx victory of the Indians, – Mexico may become the theatre of long and obstinate
wars,Amer Colonies would be – ask little from
Spain in the mother Country at such a season as this, – to the mother country, grant every thing to the Colonies. In fact
a reform at home insures reform abroad, & it is as cruel as it is unjust to in the Ame[MS torn] to x visit
upon regenerate Spain the sins committed by the old Adam of her Government.
Did you ever see Cotton Mathers Hist: of New England?x
Preachers instead of Princes. It was indeed a genuine Priest-archy – a word which for the very uncouthness of its
mongrel shape fits the xxx subject the better. Half the Anglo Americans went <over> red hot from the meeting
hou conventicle, – the other half flagrant from Bridewell, the Tertium quid
– Once more – do not involve yourself with a press. Its cold-lead is more perilous than cold-iron. – I have
am slow in my progress with Pelayoyou the last portion. However I look on to the end of another book
ere long. – Remember me to Mrs Landor –