THE GENIUS AND FEELINGS OF ENGLISHMEN, EXETER, 1844.

The government's spies at the Post Office had been reading people's letters.   The Western Times, (5th July, 1844) was shocked.  At last it had been decided to investigate the 'nefarious system of letter prying'.   A committee of the House of Commons was to enquire into the matter. The Western Times commented: 

"We can say, with feelings of perfect truth, that no question ever appeared to us so painfully humiliating as this.  That England who had got rid of the alien act, who abominated the passport system, and held her head high among the civilized nations of the earth, for the personal liberty which her subjects possessed,  the freedom from restraint or observatiion with which they moved about - that this England, enjoying all this fine reputation should be detected in playing the paltry pitiful spy on foreigners deluded to her shores by the belief in the honesty and justice of her reputation - oh it is indeed humiliating!"

"Our government must effect its aims by honesty and straightforwardness - it must seek its friends and face its foes openly - and unless it can carry on the business of the State in the face of the day, it must give place to those who can adopt a system more consonant with the genius and feelings of Englishmen".

There you have it :  in 1844 there was a country called England which held its head high among the civilized nations of the earth.  The latter I suppose might include Scotland, Wales and Ireland.  In England, unlike in less happier lands, there was freedom from restraint or observation, and government was expected to be honest and straightforward.

I no longer hear about England.  Perhaps it no longer exists.  This week the Americans are said to be worried that Britain might soon become a Muslim state with nuclear weapons.   I don't think they need worry too much but, every now and then, I see videos of  English policepeople invading Englishmen's homes, usually the homes of citizens who have broadcast rude things about Muslims or who have suggested that certain crimes might have been perpetrated by Islamists.  Apparently one can be sent to prison for a long time for this kind of thing.  I have even heard that there is a movement to bring back the blasphemy law but I can't believe this!    Still, it does seem that there is more restraint about and more Big Brother style observation of the wicked public every day.

As for facing our foes openly:  is there an England to fight for?  We apparently have no soldiers. I doubt that many of our Muslim 'countrymen' will swell the ranks, rather they may find that England's difficulty is Islam's opportunity.   Oh well, if we can't go to war openly, let's just stick to fighting proxy wars.