Star. — London, England, 1812-10-30 00:00:00

0 11111 " 111""111111.1114.11 , 11 70 THE EDItOR OF THE STdR. Stu—The manly and intrepid manner in which you have devoted your services to the cause of the brave,and unfortunate Russians, demands the warm ' est thanks of every friend of humanity. Hive long held opinions similar to those, at which you have more than hinted in your columns on the subject of repelling invaders, but I have best ~{earful lest the public mind was not yet sufficiently sexasperated against the Usurper of the Thrones of . ..Europe, or rather not sufficiently enlightened to edmlt of its receiving impressions favourable to the system on which I have long secredy tared. • Every exhibition of human' turpitude vb ieh' di. rectly and violently threatens the property, the per- sons, or the lives of the individuals of any commu nity, has, in all ages and countries, .INten held as a crime, not merely calling for punishment after it has been committed, but for the prompt exertion of the assailed, or of his natural protectors, at the moment r ef perpetration, to repel the assault even at the ex *mice of the life of the. aggressor. This principle is founded an the laws of Nature..-laws which can rarely be violated, even on principles of humanity, withoat'erposing the assailed to fresh dangers, This doctrine, in the "mason and more frcqoent .occurrences which endanger, at times, individual or domestic safety and social order, is so generally un derstood, that its accuracy receives daily practical illustration in the conduct of individuals and the approbation of communities 5 but the philosophy of preventive infliction, as applicable to the aggregate of national villainy and the numberless murder, with which it is ever accompanied, has hitherto received but little attention : or rather the voice of Nature bar been stilled, the dictates of Reason have been silenced, the demands of Justice disregarded, and the loud calls of Humanity smothered under the de testable jargon of spurious compassion, misapplied tenderness, and false morality. The man whose life is threatened on the high way, not only performs an act of justice to himself, and of benevolence to his family, if he kills the vil lain upon the spot, but renders a real benefit to the community. Isolated lawless Individuals, who in quest of plun. der do not hesitate to commit even murder, are highly dangerous ; but the danger from an individual is not to be compared with that which is threatened by an association, or, to speak more intelligibly to modern politicians, a too:federation of robbers and as itassins.—When a band of robbers, bent on depreda tion and murder, attack a dwelling, and meet with ',lead; in the enterprise—perhaps from a single vigo rous arm—as happened not long since in Ireland, who can be found to bewail their fate? Who does not applaud the manly courage of the determined defender of his home, his wife, his children !—Reverse the case for a moment. The merciless wretches have plun dered the cottage, violated the females, murdered the whole inhabitants, and consummated their crimes by burning their dwelling. Who can hear the re cital without horror ! Who cries not for vengeance ? If a Williams murders a whole family in the dead of night, what an alarm follows !—ls he suspected to have had associates ?—the very idea fills the mind with apprehension and dismay. But what are these petty dealers in blood compared with organised bands marching in the face of day, at the command of one arbitrary ruffian, to rob, spoil, and murder by wholesale ? Behold that widow lamenting the death of a husband and two sons, who were killed in the meritorious attempt to defend a wife, a mother, and a sister from the brutal violence of the execrable monsters ! See these seven helpless children—their parents destroyed— the invaders devouring the only morsel which was left to sustain life for another day. What do we say ? That widow ! —seven chi) dten Cast your eyes on that multitude! Who are they The wretched survivors of thousands of families who only yesterday had homes and every domestic com fort, now flying to escape the sword, without cosset- I ing, refuge or sustenance I—their husbands gone their fathers, their biothers gone !—their property, their habitations involved in a devouring confla gration ! - Who are the authors, the perpetrators, the instill- , merits, the abettors of all these infernal atrocitieS,f-F., If a human being upon earth ever has one of them, in his power, upon the very soil too that has been polluted with their crimes, and suffers him to escape with his life, does he not become an accessary to every future murder which that individual may be instrumental in committing ? • Whence then comes that distortion of intellect which teaches men to give quarter. to invaders ? It arises from a misapplication of a principle 'which is beneficial in organised communities, where the body corporate can stretch forth an arm possessed of power sufficient to protect or slop the injured in dividual. In such circumstances, atrocities perpe trated upon an individual, are crimes against the State. Has * the culprit survived the crisis of the dutrageand escaped ?—the civil officers pursue him. isle ii caught : but private vengeance may not now touch him—there is no necessity that it should ; for the, public arm will avenge him.—Does the criminal :mist the arrest ? He'is killed upon'the spot. toes he surrender This reserved for public execution. What would;bephpught the gang of robbers - 'propose to surrender, on be then allowed to rival their arms and baggage What.situation would be feekoned proper for the Magistrate whoihould agree to such terms of capitulation ? , • 1 - .The ease as put appears so per‘tly absurd, that it cannot be entertained for a moment. But what is a gang of a dozen of robbers entering the premises of their neighbours, compared to bands ensign:teed of hundreds of thousands of ruffians spreading ha vock, desolation, misery and death, over the posse's ions of the wretched inhabitants of an invaded coun try To whom can the victims apply for redress ? They have no appeal but to their own physical and moral powers--:they cin Lave no avenger but their own arm. Say that they vanquish a band of these villainsvillains treading upon the invaded soil— villains wielding arms for the destruction of their property and families—villains who have other asso ciates still at large, and spreading desolation over their country—ought such wretches to experience moremerey than should be dispensed • to a gang of common thieves ? Oh, , but they cast down their arms and cry for mercy ! So does the highwayman when vanquished, yet you hang him ! Oh, why are you so cruel, ye men of feeling ! The real source of this false humanity—this act of injustice to the human species, must be sought in those ferocities of mankind, which, by their exist- 1 ence, have led to the pursuit of arias as a regular and+ honourable profession. The code of the soldier is obedience to his superior —he has nothing to do with the cause of quarrel—he has no personal or family injuries jo avenge. He can have no feeling of the justice due to the cries of outraged humanity—or rather his sense of natural justice is inevitably per verted, from the necessary and peculiar circumstances of his own profession and situation. He is victor to-day, bat it might have been otherwise : nor does his victory restore him to his family and habitation. It is not surprising then that the regular profes sion of arms should lead those who follow it, to a line of conduct very different from that which should be exhibited by the inhabitants of an invaded coun try (not soldiers) fighting for all that is dear to them —for existence itself ! And as, in the course of things, it falls to the lot of soldiers to detail the i passing events of war, nothing cm be more natural than that such details should receive a tincture of the 1 military feeling, and the public mind , gradually re. ceive a correspondent bias, which ought to be cor. rected. If I find that you second these my humble efforts to a*aken mankind ( to a true sense of the dangersi which their mistaken humanity will sooner or later bring upon them, I shall occasionally recur to the subject —I am, &c. AN ANTI•GALLICAN. ,50 leagues in extent Testa all the 1 i which now unite in Moscow, the ,' .hick they were directed by the soul movement. The corps engaged never Jain the closest metual connection. valuable to the conqueror this vast the domains of his adversary--however ._ _ Jos to the vanquished—it was not till ..e present moment that the latter must begin to feel all the depth of his wounds, all the danger of his situation. A short sketch will demonstrate this: —Moscow, which all the efforts of Peter the Great could not strip of its importance, for even of the rank and characteristics of the true capital of Russia, :. e sit A ua si t a e t d ic n p ear ort ly f in b t e h i e ng ce e n x t c r e e p of that ted. us vas su t nou empir dn e-- ing iseevines are incomparably the most fertile of ,any ai those climes. The more northerly districts con sist almost uniformly of vast marshes, impenetrable sts, and sandy plains. The duration and exces sive rigour of the winters condemn this portion of the Russian States to nearly absolute sterility. In the more southern provinces, on the other hand, we find steppes or boundless desarts, whose gravellysoil as impregnated with salt, and totally destitute of wood and water. The province of Moscow and its adjoining Governments, situated between these ek tremes, produce in such abundance all the necessaries of life, that from that large city, as a sort of gene ral entrepot, they were spread over the whole sur face of the empire. A single glance at the map will be sufficient to thew, that from Moscow issue all the great roads of Russia. We may distinguish nine . principal ones, diverging in all directions ; and their ramifications ramificaons establish an easy intercoursel between this central point and the extremities which hence received nearly all their subsistence and the materials for their industry, in exchange for the par tial supplies with which they furnished it. But to St. Petersburgh, above every other city, is a constant communication with the ancient capital necessary for the supply of its incessantly returning wants. Let us again cast our eye upon the map, and we shall see that only four great roads issue from the city of Peter the First. Two of them ascend to wards the North—namely, towards the marshes of ... Finland, or the sterile and frozen governments ox Olonetz and Archangel. A third road leads by Riga to Prussia and Poland ; it is intercepted by a French corps. There remains a fourth, the only medium of communication between the two capitals; and it is in like manner cut off by the Grand Army itself ! What means, then, are left to St. Petersburgh of re newing its supplies of provisions, while, insulated as it now is from Moscow, it has lost all its connections with the provinces which supplied it with subsistence. By sea ? But is not the Biltic shut by the ice for eight months in the year ? The first of these rigorous months has commenced. That proud city, which still re-echoes with empty menaces against our armies, and the chaunting of imaginary victories, m us t, at once , experience a fai -1 lure of all her resources. She will awake to a terrible certainty—her frightened inhabitants will doubtless calculate, that the banks of the Neva are 60 leagues nearer the head-quarters of the conqueror, than the' banks of the Niemen from Moscow*. But is it Russia alone that has to lament the de ' plorable fruits of her folly ? Will not the insidious ally who seduced her, also suffer from the errors which that Power has committed ? While Russia is thus struck to the core, we cannot doubt that the shock must be felt in London. The Englishman will suffer in what is dearest to him—his mercantile speculations and his gold. But the Russians, in aiming so cruel a blow at themselves, in destroying the very focus of their commerce and throwing back, for more than a cen tury, the still imperfect work of their civilisation— have they not done us some mischief that may balance their own enormous losses ? Have they acted like the wounded soldier, • who courageously sacrifices a va luable limb to save the rest of the body ? Have they prepared our certain ruin, and purchased at the ex pence of their ancient capital, the safety and the ho. nour of their empire ? No : they have uselessly ruined one of the finest cities in the world—they have, without any advantage to their cause, treated their own country with more barbarity than Attila ever displayed against in enemy who had provoked his fury. While inflicting a mortal wound on their country, they have ch.ne us little or no harm. A few observations will be sufficient to prove this double truth. Three-fourths of Moscow are in ashes—doubtless we must deplore this frightful calamity, the effect of barbarism without example ; but this misfortune falls entirely upon our enemies, and cannot endanger the existence of our legions, as some persons, adopting an opinion totally destitute of foundation, might for a moment believe. Suppose Paris burnt, could the army which' oc► cupied the Beauce, the Orleanais, and Picardy, in short, the provinces from which it derives subsistente' —could this army want provisions ? Certainly not. Very well, our position is exactly similar to the case we have now put, But there is one essential remark which modifies the comparison to our advantage almost all 'parts of Prance are rich and well peopled, consequently two hostile armies could .there find abundant resources. , The same cannot be said of Russia. 'the central territory of that vast empire alone presents the advan-, „tages of fertility—the rema i n d er i s comparatively a desart, as unproductive of men as o f t h e means o f ',subsistence. Our entrance into Moscow and the po sition of the enemy, driven from all his internal pro iinces, sufficiently tell.h3w little we have to fear from the threats contained in his ridiculous proclamations, of reducing us to the most severe privations. Far from being ourselves exposed t o th em , vie are even likely to famish St. Petersbtirgh this winter; and our army, interposed between the enemy and his two ca pitals, already closes the channel of all those supplies which are indispensably-necessary forks stippcirt.— But while, amiditiesources of every' kind, our - sol T slips enjiy repose - fin* their fatigues in Moscow-, partially saved by their courage, the Rus s ian s , thank to the skilful mitneoufres of their Generals, wilt watt* every thing in their own country. The enemy is flying to Casa°, 500 leagues from St. Petersburgh, and 300 from Moscow—the latter city should hav e been the bulwark of the empire, the rampart of hi s army, and the depot of his stores, the centre of his communication:. and the granary of . his sub s i stence , and in it our army, m aster. of all its mov ements, i ; deriving new strength to finish on the confines of Asia the reduction of those barbarians whom ithas marched to combat from the extremities of Europet, • One great man!, of the 18th century blamed ano. ther for employing his pen in w riting the hi story of Russia. The same reproach will not apply to hi nt who shall continue it to that period when at beco mes a chapter in our annals. It must always be with t h e most lively curiosity that the philosopher will enqu i re what the Muscovites were, wh a t they wished to b et and what they are become.. $ Never before was the flag of France carried to sod, a di,. tauce. In surveying the theatre of the exploits of thy , Q ui t At. my, we must be astonished to see it at A smaller distance be n Bagdad than from Paris, and as near the whores of the Persim gulf as the banks of the Seine. " Tell me, I beg of you, what Ton propose to plume by writing the history of the wolves and bears of Siberia I wiy i can you say of the Czar that is not to be foetid in the Life of Charles XII.? I will never quote the history of these baths:lint; I would rather wish I could forget that they inhabit ow huals ' sphere."—Later from Fredenck of Prussia to Voltaire. SWEDEN: -,. STOCKHOLM, OCTOBER is. The Life Guards, and ail the other troops e l . boned here, have set out for Dalaro, and are already arrived at Carlscrona and Carlsham ; but it is thought that this is merely for a shoe', and that no Expedition will •sail from Sweden ; indeed. the season is now too far advanced. We have only the Militia and the West Gotha regiment, that do military duty here.-- A great many Russian noble families and others, make daily applications for passports to be permitted to come to Sweden, and last week no less than 560 such passports were sent to Petersburgh. There are several reports about the Russian army ; but what may be relied on is, that they are in great want of Generals : Kutusow is acknowledged to be a brave and courageous man, but what can he do alone ? Ba. ron d'Armfeldt, a Swede by birth, is much talked of; but he is no further employed than to be the Chief Governor of Finland, and one of the acting Adju. tant-Generals of the Russian army, and as such ac. companies the Emperor Alexander, and thus, has no active part in the war. It is a very remarkable circumstance, that this very Baron D'Armieldt, who was the first favourite of Gustavus 111. and who, after his death, or assassination, attempted to throw Sweden into the hands in Russia, and on that ac. count was outlawed, and his name placed on tie gay lows ; and who, during the reign of the late untor ' tunate Gustavus Adolphus, was pardoned ; and who, soon after that time, w as i nv i te d b y the Emperor Alexander, through his Ambassador at Stockholm, Mr. Alopeus, to betray his country, but then refused, should at last be induced to go over to the Russian party. The real cause has not been generally known, but the fact is this—Baron d'Armfeldt, who was one of the first to sign the act of abdicating Gustavus Adolphus, did, perertheless, some time afterwards. during the reign of Bernadotte, send a man to a prin. ter in Stockholm, with a kind of advertisement, call. ing upon the Swedes to arm in favour of Gustanu Adolphus. The printer having read the advertise ment, and finding it to contain a language contrary to the established Government. told the person sent with the advertisement that he could not print it, and that he found himself bound to detain him ; and he laid hold of the man. However, as be was stronger than the printer, he escaped. The printer :hewed the paper to the Lord Governor of Stockholm, Baron Skioldebrand, who immediately recognized the hand-writing of Baron D'Armfeldt, in several places where the stile of the advertisement was cor rected and altered, went to the Crown Prince, and imparted the business. Baron D'Armfeldt having, in the mean time, been informed of the bad success of the person he had sent to the printer, went to the Russian Ambassador; General Schutelen, and took the oath of allegiance to the Emperor of Russia... The Swedish Government, which could not there fore punish him as a traitor, ordered him to quit illreden, and even sent an escort with him to Torneo, tad Annfeldt thus got to Finland, and afterwards to Russia, where he was immediately employed as 'aforesaid ; and, to the great surprise of Bernadotte' *as presented to him as a Russian subject at the in terview Bernadotte had with Alexander at Abo.— There is a great talk of an overture of peace between Russia and France ; and England, it is positively asserted, has promised St. Lucie to Sweden. In the mean time we get subsidies from Great Britain, and the best understanding subsists betiveen Greatßritaia pa4fweden. +OE EVENING STS; • LONDON. 1141DAY s OCTOBER SO. We hare received letters from Alicant to the end of last month. We are sorry to find that the exPecii* tiOg under QelieTal MAITLAND, from which so much was expected, and which would unquestionably have intercepted King Josuif and his followers, if it had • been pushed forward in time, still remains inactive under the walls of Alicant. The change in the Cali mender was, however, expected to produce a cbeir of measures, and we se i :Z e : to learn thaeGeeleg MAITLAND has by that gallant ea enterpiising Officer General Ross. The following is opr most recent intelligence fres our army under Generals HILL and Smutty, futile South o Spain ; SEVILLE, SEPT. " The distinguished brigade, under the command of Colonel Srxnarrr, with the le of his Majesty's Guards, the 59th,,n4,7014igteilipts, detacbmeett of the 95th, and German tegions, with t he P° " 11• guese under Colonel Dowser, had received the Mar quis of Wes.usurron's orders to proceed oa the Mh z . rSeptember to Truzillo, and from thence to Toledo ova not his lit 'b Only Oa this base of I.! ecutisr. • lines of operation lught of the insultingnantazit* central point to wl who, when surroundif,Nrat of this grand . mor Looset to maintair on condition that they u But, however 11 trch about their busines,s with portion of the do ro What situation would be injurious its lop - , - afirom hfrscow to St. Petersburgh there are £5 post stations, of which the peinelpal are khr, i'ver, Torieck, 11ovogurod, t &c. o a Thedagrft total distance is 6£ll inlirspi, Ot tOlt,bssupos, countiof as . ' - . 3 , ii, . a.. . I- Enylists co and . • ' • *hie established is Mach* c hit 'w e lf minassrce of the • is extremely' vadtatlllMV-prbdoetiVe. The bemp„ ' • 'ilte. which' ',England obtained fornsrlbussia, *ere 'Mita the mutt provinces, now in the possession of our army. FRENCH PAPARS. PARIS, OCTOBER 18. CONSIDERATIONS ON THR WAR WITH RUSSIA. The observation of Trivufcio to Louis XII, has been often repeated :•-g4 To make war with success, you must have, Ist, money ;-2dly, money ;-3dly, money."—How much more just and noble is the maxim proclaimed by Hannibal, adopted by Frede rick, and of which we have so often seen the brilliant application by that Hero who has surpassed them both—" It belongs to war to support war." Must a nation begin by exhausting itself, in order to inflict vengeance on its enemy ? and should not all the weight of the contest be made to fall on those adversaries who have provoked it ?—The first consi-. deration, then, the first duty of the head of a great peoplo, is, to render sacred and inviolable the coun try which it inhabits. Since we have seen realized' amongst us the wish which Alexander expressed when at the point of death,—since the sceptre and ' the sword were placed in the hands of the most wor thy, have we felt any alarm for the safety of our Frontiers ? Have war, and all its attendant scourges,., deformed the soil protected by his powerful arm 1— It was enough for him to shew himself, in order to drive them back on the territory of the presumptu ous enemy who threatened them. In vain did that enemy confide in the immensity of distance. This age was destined to see revived the times of Cyrus and of Alexander. Seventy days have scarcely elapsed since the first French bayonet glittered in the eyes of the Russians, and already the eagle of Napoleon floats over the ancient palace of the Czars. For the first time, the sons of the Seine, of the Loire aacl the Ikhone, penetrate into regi ons h ar dl y k nown to theii fathers. But the descendants of the Gauls, Who laid Rome in ashes, do not exclaim, like their ancestors, " Woe to the vanquished !" Never did civilization obtain a finer victory over barbarism.— It is the conquerors who save the vanquished from the effects of their own rage. A subject of the Russian Czar dared to will tba Moscow should perish; and the army of the rxench Monarch snatched that superb city from destruction. .--But let us cease for a moment to follow the rapid sweep of our victorious legions, and let us calmly contemplate the wise arrangements which prepared their triumph, ansi seure to di= its advantages. Let us view, %bah new admiration, another example of war maintaining war. Let us lay open to the envi ous view of our rivals, the immense resources presen ted by' the conquered country, and of which the ene my by his very position is henceforward deprived. As soon as alt hope of peace vanished, the armies destined to support the cause of Europe against the new allies of England, were put in motion. From the first day. of hostilities, encamped on the enemy's territory, they formed an uninterrupted chain from the mouth of the* Niemen to the sources of the Bug.