Star. — London, England, 1808-10-10 00:00:00

PARIS PAPERS. PARIS, SEPTEMBER 27. Intelligence from Hamburgh says, that the Empe ror of Russia was to leave Petersburgh on the 12th of this month, to repair to Saxony. Letters from Germany say, that his Majesty the Emperor of Austria was to take a journey to Saxony, and to be present at the interview between the Em perors of Russia and France. ItcME, SEPT. 14. By the news from Naples it appears, that his Ma je ' sty received the oath of fidelity from the Marshal Perignon and o ffi cers of the first authority,Civil as well as Military. His Majesty has convoked the Council of Provinces for this year, to meet on the 15th of the ensuing October. • =NIG, SEPT. 21. On the 17th iostaat, Count Romanroff, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, arrived here, and alight ed at the Hotel of Saxony. The day before yester day the Hereditary Prince of Weimar passed through this city from Petersbures. We expect about the end of the month the Emperor of Russia, on his jour ney to Erfurth. Four days ago, 4000 conscripts from the neighbourhood of the Rhine, formed into bat talions, have entered this city, rested, one day, and then set out on their march to the Prussian provinces. VIENNA, SEPTEMBER 14. It is said that the Diet of Hungary at its first sit tings consented to the National Militia, and that the noble nation of Hungary is anxious to rival the other subjects of the Austrian monarchy in their zeal and attachment. In the mean time, the Court Gazette has published nothing on this subject, neither on this ncr the preceding days. It is not as yet ascertained whether there will be any demand for the national militia. • i SPAIN. OVIEDO, AUGUST 29. Joseph Napoleon received, preparatory to his enter ng a loan of 200 millions of reals, from the Bank of Paris, at the interest of five and a half per cent. With this auxiliary he expected to suborn and subdue the civil and military authorities of these king doms, and by scattering profusely great part of this treasure among the needy populace, he hoped to con ciliate their affection. But the Spaniards scorned to accept of any price for their children, wives, and all their goods, moral and temporal, they have eluded and defeated his insidious projects ; only a few dege nerate and disowned villains have sold their con science and sacrificed their duty at the tyrant's altar. And not forgetful of the importance of our colonial possessions, Napoleon, has been, as appears by details from thence before us, no less industrious to corrupt by his secret agents, (amply provided with means), the inhabitants of our colonies. CALAHOEVO, SEPT. 8. Since the conference, which Moncey and Lefebvre had at Lodosa, the communication between the army, of Milegro and that which occupied Logrono has been established. On the 30th August two divisions, con ,;sting of 7000 men infantry and 800 cavalry, entered that city under the command of Moncey, with a train of carriages, conveying the furniture of the Royal Household, &c. which proceeded as far as Tudela, which place they entered on the Ist instant. On the 31st, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Senor Joseph made his entry escorted by 3000 men, the inhabitants received him with much coldness, and a countenance nearly as lugubrious as if they had assisted at a mor tuary function, in despite of the efforts made by his satellites to excite demonstrations of joy. Having retired to his residence, there he remained eating and sleeping until next day, when he went to hear Mass at the Cathedral. He afterwards proceeded to Alfaro, where he spent the night. We were at a loss what to make of it, when we understood that next morning the carriages and troops returned precipitately to Lo grono ; and when the French were asked by some cf their former hosts what could be the meaning of it ? they answered, that as Castanos was advancing at the head cf 60,000 men, they had no business to wait for him and place themselves between two fires. It would be endless to enumerate the robberies, sacrileges and outrages committed by these banditti, every where on their march. Such is their thirst for plunder, that they have robbed their own master, Senor Joseph, of a carriage loaded with 70,000 reals Veillon, and of some of his best coursers, selling them with the greatest effrontery imaginable ; an evident proof of the re spect they entertain for their ridiculous Sovereign. VILLACASTIN, SEPT. 15. Yesterday and the day before entered into Segovia the army of General Cuesta. The carabineers, the Ife guards, and the regiment of the Queen, are at Coca and Carboneros. Part of these troops marched out yesterday on the road to Soria ; and in the even ing of the same day General Cuesta and the English Colonel Doyle entered it : this day they proclaim Ferdinand VII. after which they will depart without delay. On the 13th arrived at Granja part of the cavalry of Gen. Castanos, and a number of pikemen. CO'tUNNA, OCI OBER I. It is said that General Moore is marching hither with a livision of the army in Portugal, to meet ano ther body of troops on their way from England.— Tl.ese, I understand, will form altogether an army of 35,000 men, viz. 30,000 infantry, and 5,000 ca valry. General Baird, I am told, commands the troops troops coming by sea. After having formed a junction with General Mcore's division, the whole will proceed to Bilboa There are now a great number of tainsports in the harbour, and more will be collected for the embarkation of the hoops from Portugal. The transports with the Spanish troops from Den mark passed the light-house to-day, on their way to Bilboa. The Black Joke cutter, Lieutenant Alt,' arrived hare this day from Plymouth,. with dispatches for Admiral de Courcey, to inform him that the ar rival of the troops under General Baird might soon be expected. Yesterday sailed from Corunna, the Defiance, Cap tain Hotham, having under convoy three transports, laden with arms and ammunition, for Biscay, but re turned in the course of the evening . on account of the very high sea and unfavourable wind. This morn ing they sailed again, but Lieutenant-Colonel Ked nedy disembarked, it is , upposed, in consequence of dispatches which arrived from England the preceding evening. EXPOSITION OF THE PRACTICES Mb MACHINATIONS WHOSE LED TO THE USURPATION OF THE CROWN OF SPAIN, AND THE MEANS ADOPTED BY THE EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH TO CARRY IT INTO EXECUTION, BY DON PEDRO CE VALLOS, FIRST SECRETARY OF STATE AND OF DIS PATCHES TO HIS CATHOLIC MAJESTY FERDINAND VII. " At a period when the nation has mole and con tinues to .make the most heroic efforts to shake off the yoke of slavery attempted to be imposed upon it, it is the duty of all good citizens to contribute, by every means in their power, to enlighten it with re spect to the real causes that have brought it-into its present situation, and to keep up the noble spirit by which it is animated. To make known to Spain and the whole world the base means resorted to by the Emperor of the French to seize the person Of our King, Ferdinand VII. and to subjugate this great and generous nation, is a duty well worthy of one who, like myself, is in a condition to discharge it ; inasmuch as circum- - stances placed me in a situation to be an eye witness of the events which preceded the catastrophe of Bay onne, and in which I bore a part. It was not in my power to do this before, in consequence of personal restraint, and from not having collected the docu ments necessary to accredit my statement. Some are still wanting, which it was necessary to burn, in consequence of dangerous circumstances, in which every thing was to be feared ; others have disappear ed through the various incidents connected with that unhappy period ; but those which I now present are sufficient to prove the atrocious violence committed against our beloved King Ferdinand VII. and the Whole nation. _ _ " Though the conduct of Spain towards France since the peace of Basle, a very interesting portion of its political history in these latter times, is intimately' Connected with the important events which form the subject of this Exposition, it is not necessary to dwell even upon its principal periods. It will be sufficient to state what the whole nation, and all Europe, knows, that the political system of Spain has con stantly been during this time to preserve friendship aid the best understanding with France, and to maintain, at all hazards, the ruinous alliance con. eluded in 1796. . " To attain this end, there is no sacrifice which Spain has not made ; and as the pi eservation of thsi Prince of the Peace in the high degree of favour he enjoyed with Charles IV. depended in a great mea sure upon the continuance of this system, it was main tained with the gi (latest constancy and indefatigable attention. Fleets, armies, treasure, every thing was sacri. ficed to France ; humiliations, submissions, every thing was suffered, every thing was done to satisfy, as far as possible, the insatiable demands of the French Government, but the idea never once occurred of pre serving the nation against the machinations of an Ally, who was over , running Europe. <, The Treaty,of Tilsit, in which the destiny of the world seemed to be decided in his favour, was hardly concluded, when he turned his eyes towards the West, and resolved on the ruin of Portugal and Spain ; or what comes to the same purpose, to make himself master of this vast Peninsula, with a view of making its inhabitants as happy as those of Italy, Holland, Switzerland, and the League of the Rhine. " At this very time, the Emperor was revolving in his mind some designs fatal to Spain (for he began to disarm her), by demanding a respectable body of our troops to exert their valour in remote regions, and for foreign interests. This he effected without diffi culty, and there was placed at his disposal a gallant and picked force of 16,000 men of all descriptions. " The enterprise of making himself master of Spain was not so easy as Napoleon imagined. It was, above all, necessary to find out some pretext for car rying into execution the daring and gigantic plan of subjugating a friendly and allied nation, that had made so many sacrifices for France, and which this very Emperor had praised for its fidelity and noble ness of character. " Nevertheless, being accustomed to act with that disregard to delicacy in the choice of his means, which is characteristic of the man who imagines that the conquest of the whole world, the destruction of the human species, and the havoc of war are conducive to true glory, he resolved to excite and foment discord in the Royal Family of Spain, through his Ambassa dor at this Court. 44 The latter, though perhaps not initiated in the grand secret of his Master, succeeded in seducing the Prince of Asturias, our present King and Master, and suggested to him the idea of intermarrying with a Princess related to the Emperor. The affliction which his Highness laboured under from a conjunc tion of circumstances, as lamentable as notorious, and his anxiety.to avoid another connection into which it was attempted to force him, with a lady selected for him by his greatest enemy, and on thattccount alone the object of his aversion, induced him to acquiesce in the suggestions of the Ambassador, but with the stipulation that it was to meet the approbation of his august Parents, and under the impression that it would strengthen the friendship and alliance then subsisting between the two Crowns. Ilis Highness, actuated by motives so cogent in a political point of view, and, yielding to the solicitations of the Ambassador, wrote accordingly to his Imperial Majesty. %, A few days after our beloved Prince wrote this letter, occurred the scandalous imprisonment of his august person in the Royal Monastery of St. Lau rence, and the still more scandalous decree which was issued in the name of the King, and addressed to the Council of Castile. There are very strong reasons to believe, that the unknown hand that frustrated this feigned conspiracy was some French agent em ployed to fora and the plan which Napoleon had formed. " Fortunately the Spanish nation was deeply im pressed with its situation, entertained a just opinion of the good disposition and religious principles of their Prince of the Asturias, and suspected imtanta- 1 neously that the whole was a calumny fabricated by the Favourite, as absurd as it was audacious, in order to remove the only obstacle which then opposed his , views. 4 , It is already known, that on the imprisonment, of the Prince of Asturias, his Reyal Father wrote to the Emperor, no doubt, at the suggestion of the Fa vourite, complaining of the conduct of the Ambas sador Beauharnois, in h's clamiostine communications sur witls the Prince of Asturias, and etpressing . his prise that the Emperor had not come to a previous understanding with his Majesty on a subject of such pre-eminent importance to Sovereigns. " As the imprisonment of the Prince of Asturias, and, above all, the most scandalous decree fulminated against his Royal Person, produced an effect com pletely contrary to the expectations of the Favourite, he began to be afraid, thought proper to recede, and to mediate a reconciliation between the Royal Parents and their Son. With this view, as is stated in the Abstract of the Escurial Cause, circulated by the Council in consequence of his Majesty's orders of the Bth April, he forged certain letters, and made the Prince of Asturias sign them while a prisoner, which being delivered into the.hands of the Royal Parents, were supposed to have softened their hearts ; and by these singular means did this innocent Prince obtain a nominal liberty. " This was the state of affairs when a French cou rier arrived at the Royal Palace of St. Laurence, with a treaty concluded and sighed at Fontainblcau on the 27th of (*ober, by Don Eugenio Izquierdo, as Ple nipotentiary of his Catholic Majesty, and Marshal Duroc, in the namik of the Emperor of the French. Its contents, as well as those of the separate Conven tion, constitute Nos. 1. 2. of the documents annexed to this Exposition. “ it is worthy of observation, that the department of the Ministry, of which I was at the head, was to tally unacquainted with the measures taken by Don E. Itquierdo, at Paris, as well as with his appoint ment, his instructions, his correspondence, and every part of his proceedings. " The result of this treaty was to render the Em peror master of Portugal with very little expence ; to furnish him with a plausible pretext for introducing his armies into our Peninsula, with the intent of sub jugating it at a proper opportunity, and to put him in immediate possession of Tuscany. " The Favourite was to have for his portion the Algarves and Alantejo, in full property and sove reignty, but the Emperor's answer to the letters of the Royal Father had not yet arrived; it was completely uncertain what it would be, and this filled him with fear and anxiety. " The intimate relations which the Favourite main tained at that period with the Grand Duke of Berg, through the medium of his confident Izquierdo, flat tered him to a certain degree with the hope that every thing would be settled to his wishes, though the inter position of a few millions might be necessary. But neither the Favourite nor his confident knew the real intentions of the person they were treating with at Paris. In fact, the instant the Emperor found that the Favourite had committed himself, and the Royal Parents were brought into discredit, he shewed no dis position to answer his Majesty's letters, for the pur pose of keeping them in suspence, and inspiring them with dreaci r in the hope that they might form the re solution of withdrawing, though at that time he had not completed his plan for taking at. advantage of such an occurrence. 64 The Grand Duke wrote to the Favourite, that he would employ every means to support him, but that the negocsation was rendered very delicate, owing to the extraordinary attachment which prevailed in Spain towards the Prince of Asturias, and the consi deration due towards a Princess who was cousin to the Empress, and in consequence of the part the Am bassador Beauharnois, her relative, took in the busi ness. (1). 64 Now it was that the Favourite began clearly to discover how much his credit had sunk, and he gave himself up for lost, in consequence of being deprived of the support of his imaginary protector, the Em peror of the French. There were no means now ne glected by him to endeavour to ingratiate himself with the Grand Duke of Berg ; every sort of expression, every kind of deference was employed for this pur pose ; and the more effectually to avert the impending storm, he prevailed on the Royal Parents to write to the Emperor direct, and to request his consent to the marriage of one of his cou sins to the Prince of Asturias. 64 Meanwhile the Emperor of the French appear ed to very much dissatisfied with the conduct of Izquierdo, and kept him at a distance, in order to cut off this direct mode of communication, and to make himself more impenetrable. 44 His Imperial Majesty set off on a journey to Italy, with that studied parade which all Europe has witnessed, giving it such an air of importance, that it was to be presumed he was going to fix the des tinies of the world. But there is reason to surmise, that his real object was no other than to divert the general attention to that quarter, for the purpose.of misleading the other States, whilst his real designs were directed to the invasion of Portugal and Spain. " This artifice and dissimulation did not, however, prevent the discovery of one of the articles in the Secret Treaty of Fontainbleau, by his expelling, with the greatest precipitation, from Tuscany, the Queen Regent and her children, plundering the Royal Pa ' lace, and seizing all the public funds of a Court that was ignorant of the existence of such a Treaty, and had committed no act of forfeiture. " Whilst tke Emperor kept Europe in suspense by his jourhey to Milan and Venice, he thought fit to answer the letters, which he had some time before re ceived from the Royal Father, assuring his Majesty that he never had the slightest information of the cir lcuMstances which he communicated respecting his 'eon the Prince of Asturias, nor ever received any lot-. ter from his Royal Highness (2). Nevertheless his Majesty consented to the proposed intermarriage with a Princess of his family, undoubtedly with an inten tion of amusing the Royal Parents ; whilst he was sending into Spain, under various pretexts, all the troops which he had then disposable, and was studi ously propagating an idea that he was favourable to the cause of the Prince of Asturias, and thus endea vouring to captivate the good opinion of the Spanish nation. The Royal Parents, struck with the terror which this conduct of the Emperor naturally inspired, and the Favourite being still more astonished, opposed no obstacle to the entrance of the French troops into the Peninsula ; on the contrary, they gave the most effet taal orders that they should be received and treated even on a better footing than the Spanish troops. (1) All this appears from the correspondence of the Favourite with the Grand Duke, which the latter carried off from the (Ace of the Secretary of State, during his Lieutenancy. (2) Compare this statement with the contents of the letter (No. s), from his Imperial Majesty to King Ferdinand, in which he acknowledges having received the letter written to him by the Prince of Asturias, on the suggestien of Ambassador Beattharoois. • •' The Emperor, under the pretence o onsultint the security of these troops, ordered his Generals, by stratagem or force, to get possession of t h e f or . tresses of Pampeluna, St. Sebastian, Figuieras, a n d Barcelona, which alone could present-any obstacle to an invasion. They were accordingly taken by fraud and surprize, to the indignation and sorrow of the whole nation, to which the French still affected to profess friendship and alliance. • The Emperor conceiving himself already master of all Spain, and thinking the time had arrived for accelerating his measures, thought proper to write a letter to the Royal Father, complaining in the bitterest terms, that his Majesty had not renewed his applica. tion for an Imperial Princess for his son the Prince of Asturias. The King was pleased to return for answer that he adhered to his former proposal, and was wit. ling that the marriage should immediately take place. • Some important proceeding was still necessary to carry the project to a proper degree of maturity, and the Emperor not willing to trust it to writing, thought he could not find a better instrument than II Don Eugenio Izquierdo, whom he hid detained in Paris in a state of great dejection and terror, that had been artfully impressed upon him for the purpose cl his more effectually executing his commission, by it' ll , pressing the Royal Parents and the Favourite with the same feelings. • In this state of things, the Emperor ordered Ix. quierdo to repair to Spain, which he accordingly did, in a very precipitate• and mysterious manner. Ac cording to his verbal statements, he brought no pro_ posal in writing with him, nor was he to receive any, and he had orders to remain only three days. " On his arrival, under these circumstances, at Aranjuez, the Favourite conducted him to the pre smee of the Royal Parents, and their conferences were conducted with so much secrecy, that it was impossi ble for any one to discover the object of his mission ; but soon after his departure from this capital, their Majesties began to skew a disposition to abandon the metropolis and the Peninsula, and to emigrate to Mexico. " The recent example of the determination taken by the Royal Family of Portugal seemed to have fully corresponded with the views of the Emperor, and there is reason to think that his Imperial Majesty promised himself a similar success in Spain. " But he must have been very ignorant of the Spa nish character to flatter' himself with such expecta tions.. Scarcely had the first reports gone abroad of the intention of the Royal Family to abandon their residence, a resolution clearly indicated by the many preparations which were going on, when discontent and fear were depicted in the most lively colours m 'the features of all the inhabitauts of the capital, and of all ranks and classes of persons. This alone was sufficient to induce their Majesties to refute the ru mour, and to assure the people that they would not abandon them. " Nevertheless, such was the general distrust, sucl the magnitude of the evils which must have resulted, l and such and so many the symptoms of a determi. nation to emigrate, that every one was on the alert, and all seemed to be impressed w►th the necessity of pre venting a measure pregnant with so many mischiefs. The danger increased, and the fears of the public kept pace with it The consequence was, that the commotions of Aranjuez, on the 17th and 19th of March, burst forth like a sudden explosion ; the peo ple being led by a sort of instinct of self-preservation. The result was, the imprisonment of the Favourite, who, without the title of King, had exercised all the functions of Royalty. " Scarcely had this tempestuous scene taken place, when the Royal Parents, finding themselves deprived of the support of their Favourite, took the unexpect ed bat voluntary resolution which they had for some time entertained to abdicate their Throne, as they accordingly did, in favour of their son and heir the Prince of Asturias. _ _ _ " The Emperor, ignorant of this sudden event, and perhaps never supposing that the Spaniards were capable of displaying such resolution, had ordered Prince Murat to advance with his army towards M. drid, under the idea that the Royal Family were al ready on the coast, and on the point of embarking, and that Far from meeting the slightest obstacle on the part of the people, all of them would receive him with open arms, as their deliverer and guardian angel. He conceived, that the nation was in the highest de. gree dissatisfied with their Government, and never reflected that they were only dissatisfied with the abuses which had crept into the administration of it. " The instant the Grand Duke of Berg was ap pized of the occurrences at Aranjuez, he advanced with his whole army to occupy the capital of the kingdom ; intending, no doubt, to profit by the occa sion, and to take such steps as should be best calcu lated to realize, by any means, the plan of making himself master of Spain. " In the mean while, the mysterious obscurity of the Emperor's projects, the proximity of his troops, and the ignorance in which Ferdinand VII. was of the real object of the Emperor's approach, induced the King to adopt such measures as appeared to his Majesty best calculated to conciliate the goad will of the Emperor. Not satisfied with having communi cated his accession to the Throne in the most friendly and affectionate terms, the King appointed a depu tation of three Grandees of Spain to proceed to Bayonne, and in his name to compliment his Imperial Majesty. He also appointed another Grandee of Spain to pay a similar compliment to the Grand Duke of Berg, who had already arrived in the vicinity of Madrid. "One of the contrivances which the French agent immediately had recourse to, was to assure the King, and to spread the rumour in all quarters, that his Im perial Majesty's arrival might be expected every mo ment. Under this impression, the necessary orders .were given for preparing apartments in the Palace • suitable to the dignity of so august a guest; and the King wrote again to the Emperor, how agreeable it would be to him to be personally acquainted with his Majesty, and to assure him with his own lips, of his ardent wishes to strengthen more and more the alli ance which subsisted between the two Sovereigns. " TheCiand . Duke of had in the mean time entered Madrid, at the hea d his troops. He was no sooner acquainted with the state of affairs, than he began to' sow discord. He spoke in a mysterious manner of the abdication of the Crown, exeepted bye tile Royal Father in favour of his son, amidst the tu mults of Aranjuez, and gave it to be understood, that until the Emperor had acknowledged Ferdinand VII. it v apr be Fal