[The Prospects of France and Great Britain]

First published Edinburgh Saturday Post, 12 January 1828, p. 284. Never reprinted. This leading article continues De Quincey’s discussion of ‘the men, their histories, and their connections’ who made up Goderich’s Cabinet. Other topics, continued from previous leaders, include the influence of ‘the press’, the likelihood of war in the Mediterranean, and the question of ‘expediency’ versus ‘principles’ which surrounds ‘all coalitions’. The striking charge of ‘apparent criminality as regards the present complexion of our Turkish policy’ distinctly recalls several of De Quincey’s previous statements, in leaders about the Mediterranean. In spite of probable haste, this article is well written, with adroit turns of phrase like the one in the fourth sentence which neatly turns the argument of a rival paper inside-out. The subject-matter anticipates some of De Quincey’s later essays in Blackwood’s, such as ‘France and England’ (Vol. 7) and ‘The Prospects of Britain’ (Vol. 8).