Star. — London, England, 1808-09-16 00:00:00

FRANCIi PAPERS: PARIS, SEPTEMBER S. The Senate assembled on the sth, under the Psesi dency of his Serene Highness the Prince Arch Chan cellor ; the Prince Arch Treasurer, -the Prince Vice Crawl Elector, and the Prince Vice Constable assis ted at the sittings. The Ministers fOr Foreign - Affairs and of War communicated the following reports : - A mess.tge from his Majesty w4s also read to the Sena a ;AEPORT OF THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO HIS IMPZRIAL ANDEGYAL MAJESTY. It will be for the interest of Spain as well as ofi France, that a firm hand sb.tild re-establish larder it J her admini.tration, the disorder of which has cripr4e4 her Government, and leads to that ruin towards which she is hastening V. ith rapid strides. A prir.ce, thr friend of Fiance by sentiment, by interest, having n n,- thing to fear from her, and not being an object of distrust to her, will appropriate ail the resources of Spain to her interest, prosperity to the re-establish. ment of her marine, and to the success of the rause which unites Spain to France and the Continent. — Thus the work of Louis XIV. will be re-established. " What policy suggests, justice authorizes —Spain is really in a state of war with your Majesty—her communication with England was an hostile act— ' her proclamation of the 15th of October was really a declaration of war, which would have been followed , by an act of aggression, if your Majesty had not con: quered at Jena. In that case the departments on the left of the Loire, which your Majesty had left with ! out troops, would have been obliged to fly to repel this new enemy. " The French Merchants in Spain have lost their indent privileges, the laws of the customs were direc ied chiefly against French commerce, and were re markable for their arbitrary and perpetual variation. —These variations could not be known, no publicity Was given to them. It was only at the custom-house that it was learnt that the law of one day was not the law of the next. Merchandize confiscated, often with out any pretext, was never restored. All the appli cations made by, or on behalf of the French, were rejected.. Whilst Spain was thus making war in detail on the French and their commerce, all her ports, and chiefly those of the gulph of Gascony, were open to English commerce. The law of blockade proclaimed in Spain similar to that of France, was only.rendered the meansof favouring still more the contraband trade of England, the merchandise of which was spread through Spain into the rest of - Europe. Exclusive, however, of the considerations which I have stated, existing circumstances do not permit your Majesty to refrain from interfering in the affairs of that kingdom. The King of Spain has been pre cipitated from his throne—your Majesty is called up on to judge between the father and the son. What part will you take ! Will you sacrifice the cause of Sovereigns, and sanction an outrage committed , against the Majesty of the throne ? Will you leave on the throne a Prince who cannot withdraw himself ' from the yoke of England, in consequence of which your Majesty must constantly keep on foot a power ful army in Spain ? If, on the contrary, your Majesty determines to replace Charles IV. on the throne, it is known that it cannot be done without overcoming a great resistance, and shedding 'French blood. Can that blood, of which the nation is prodigal for the de fence of its own interests, be shed for the interest of a foreign King whose fate is of no consequence to .France ?—Lastly, can your Majesty, taking no interest in those important differences,' abandon the Spanish nation to its fate, whilst already it is agitated by an extreme fermentation, and when England is sowing the seeds of trouble and of anarchy, ought your Ma jesty to leave this new prey for England to devour ? No ; certainly not. -Your Majtsty, therefore, occu pied of necessity with the regeneration of Spain, in a manner useful to that kingdom, and useful to trance , ought neither to re-establish, at the price of much bloodshed, a dethroned King, nor abandon Spain to herself; for in both cases it would be delivering her to the English, whose money and intrigues have pro duced the dissentions in that country. _ Ilayonoe,April 94, ten. " Sire—The security of your Empire, the consoli dation of its power, and the necessity of employing every means to compel a Government to make peace, which making a langninary sport of mankind; and in violation of evely thing held most sacred amongst has adopted the principle of perpetual war, iruixne on your Majesty the obligation of putting an end to,the anarchy which menaces Spain, and to the dissentions which agitate it. These important cir cumstances render the choice of a line:Of conduct ex tremely important, they involve . coCsiilerations which interest in the highest degree both France and Europe. .0 Of all the States of Europe there are none whose fate is more necessarily connected with that of France than Spain. Spain is to France either a useful friend or a dangerous enemy. An intimate alliance Must unite the two nations, or an implacable enmity separate them. Unit)? tunately that jealousy and distrust which exist between two neighbouring na tions have rendered enmity habitual.' ' It is thus that the ensankiined page of history attests the rival ship of Charles V. and Francis I. whith was not less the rivalship.ottlie two nations than of their So vereigns, and which continued under their successors. The troubles of the League were excited and fomen ted by Spain, who was no stranger to the disorder of la Fronde; and the power of Louis XIV. did not begin to rise until after having conquered Spain, he formed with the then reigning House in that King dorn an alliance, which, in its consequences, placed the crown of that kiniden upon the head of his grandson. That act of provident policy gave to the two countries an age of : peace, after time ages of war. " This state:of things, however, ceased with the cause which gave birth to it. The French Revolu tion broke the permanent connection which existed' between the two nations. Then came the third Co alition, in which Spain, prodigal to France of protes tations, of friendship, secretly promised her aid to the coalesced Powers, as • was - discovered by the papers communicated to the English Parliament. The Eng lish Ministry determined from this motive to under take nothing against Spanish America, already con s:dering Spain as an Ally, and Spain, as well as England; looked forward to the defeat of your armies. Events set aside that expectation, and Spain remained friendly. K At the epoch of the fourth Coalition, Sp ain sheared more openly her hostile disposition , an be trayed by a public act the secret of her engagements with England. That famous Proclamation cannot be forgotten, whioir preceded by nine days the battle of Jena, by which all Spain was called to arms, when no enemy threatened her, and which was followed by measures promptly elective, since the military establishment of that kingdom was raised from 118,000 men to 110,000. A report was at that time spread, that the army of your Majesty was beaten, and that Austria was about to declare against you, and Spain im tgined she might declare herself with impunity. Tbe victory of Jena confounded her pro jects. " The moment is arrived to give to France on the side of the Pyrenees a permanent security, so that if et er she is exposed to new dangers she may, instead of having any thing to tear from Spain, expect from her aid, and have recourse to the Spanish armies to march to dekud her. •-• " In its present state, Spain is ill governed, badly united, or rather not united at ail, in a-common cause against England. Her marine is neglected; scarcely are any ships to be seen in her ports, and those in the worst state ; the magazines are badly supplied, the workmcn and sailors not paid, whilst in her ports there are neither redoubts nor batteries, nor arma- Meats. In all the branches of the Administrxion the most horrible disorder prevails; all the resources of the . Monarchy are dilapidated, the State loaded with an enormous debt, is without credit. The pro; duce of the customs, Ind the estates of the Clergy, ! destined to diminish this debt, have another destine tion.given them. Lastly, in the penury of its means, Spain abandoning totally her marine, occupies herself i with the augmentation if her land force. Great evils can only be cured by vest changes. " The most pressing object of solicitude with your Majesty is the war against England. England an n unces that she will not come to any accommoda tiOn. All the overtures of your Majesty have been rejected or neglected. The inability to continue the whir will alone indiice England to make peace. The war against her, therefore, cannot be carried on with tOo much vigour. Spain possesses maritime resources ',which are lost to her and to France. It is necessary that a good GovernMent should give them activity, improve them by a judicious organization, and that your Majesty should direct them against the common enemy, to arrive at length at that peace which huma nity cars for, and cif which all Europe stands so much inn ed. Every thing that leads to this end is legitiinate. The interests cfFrance and those of Continental En, rope will not all• w your Majesty to neglect the only means by which the war against England can be ear- Tied On IPA . th-sirccest. "The present situaticn of Spain compremiscs the -security of France, and the fate of the was against England. That country, which possesses the greatest snai itime means in Europe, uses them the least. 44 Sire—Spain Will tic, be to France a sincere bind f r ythful friend, norcaa.the wilr against England be . continued, wish the ho of arriving at peace, until a &minor% interest sball unite the two houses reigning In Franco stnd Spain, The dynasty which governs Spain, through its OR O. its recollections; its fears, will be always the secret enemy of France, • sin enemy the more perfidious, because, pretending to be fr;endly, and . yielding Avery ti to France while victcr Ca% it be ready to o verwhelm her Ole mo- MK her destiny becomes uncertain, " I have stated to your Majesty the circumstances which demand a great determination. Policy advises, justice authorizes, the troubles in Spain inforce the necessity ; your Majesty ought to provide for the se curity of the Empire, and save Spain from-the influ ence of England.—l am, with respect," &c. °Eatiwi not a few have fallen victints to their con alumi ageons hF •oppo lihs i s: ee tio n n see to t p l o to pular diffi t t u se m i s t i sa lts, o a m nd a th d e re gre adf a ul t. 'est part of Spain. Will your Majesty permit England ;te he able to say " Spain is one of my provinces, my 'flag, driven from the Baltic, the North Sea, the Le vantaand even-from the shores of Persia, rules in the ports of France ?" No. never, Sire ?—To prevent so much shame .insclinisfortune, two millions of brave men are ready to scale die P.y fences, anclabe English will be chased fitom the Peninsula. If the Frencht g e ht for the !them , 'or the seas, they must , to conquer, gin by wresting Spain from the influence of the.tyrants of the ocean. If they combat for peace, they cannot obtain it until they have chased , from Spain the enemies or peace. If your Majesty, embracing the future as well as the - present, aspires to the noble object of leaving after you your Empire calm, tranquil, and surrounded by powerful friends, you must begin by securing its in fence in Spain. " Lastly, if honour is the first sentiment, as well as the first of object of Frenchmen, your Majesty must promptly inflict vengeance for the outrages committed lagainst the Frenck name, and the atrocities to which so great a number of our countrymen have fallen vic tims. Frenchmen established in Spain for more than twenty years, exercising in peace their usual industry, and almost regarding Spain as their country, have been massacred. Every where French property has been seized. The Consular Agents of your Majesty I haft expetienced a treatment which would not have been suffered even in the most barbarous countries. What estimation, what consideration will the French name enjoy in Europe, ii, in a country so near to us, atrocities so infamous and so public remain unpu nished? Reparation ought to be had for them—but a reparation consonant to Frenchmen by victory. " It is no small advantage she probability of at , length meeting-the English, of fighting them man to , man, of making them also feel the evils of war—of a ' war, of the dangers of which they are ignorant , hav ing ' only caused it by their gold. The English will be beaten, destroyed, dispersed, or at least they will make haste to fly, as they did at Toulon, at the Hel der, at Dunkirk, in Sweden, and every where where the French armies have been able to find them ; but their expulsion from Spain will be the ruin of their cause. This last check will exhaust their means, an ' nihilating at the same time their last hopes, and peace will become more probable. " The wishes of all Europe will in this contest be with France. France and Russia make common cause against England. Denmark supports with honour a contest which shealid not provoke. Sweden. betrayed and abandoned by the ally to whom an in sane Cabinet has sacrificed her, has already lost her most important provinces, and is hastening to that ruin which is the inevitable effect of alliance and friendship with England. " Such will be the fate of the insurgents in Spain. When the contest becomes serious the English will abandon Spain, after making them the sad bequest of a civil war—of a war for foreign interests, and for anarchy, the most cruel of scourges. It will be for the wisdom and beneficence of your Majesty to repair the evils of which they will be the cause. " The Court of Vienna has constantly testified to your Majesty the most amicable intentions—indig nant at the policy of England, she has recalled her Minister from London ; sent back the English Mi nister who was at Vienna shut her ports against England, and placed herself in a state of hostility with that power. She has added to these measures an interdict in her ports against the admission of ves sels, which, under a neutral flag, ire only the car riers of English produce and ruerchandize. Your Majesty has cultivated this favourable disposition ; has testified to the Court of Vienna friendship and confidence; and has several times intimated to her, that France takes a real interest in her prosperity. — REPORT OF THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFTAIEs. Latterly, however, this power has carried its arma " Paris, sera 1, ism ments beyond measurc.....:ts military force is out of -" Sinn—l have the honour to pmposeto your Ma- all proportion' o its population and futances. Your jesty to communicate to the Senate the two Treaties • Ministers, Sire, only wish to remark this in order which have placed the Crown of Spain in your hands, that your Majesty may perceive the necessity of ang. and the constitution which under your auspices, and menting . your force for the purpose of still preserving enlightened by your advice, the Junta assembled at the relative superiority which exists between the power Bayonne, after free and mature deliberation, have and the population of the two empires. adopted for the glory of the Spanish name and the " A new revolution has broken out at Constanti. prosperity of that kingdom and its colonies. nople. Sultan Musrarna has been deposed. "If in the arras is made by your Majesty the " The Americans, a people who involve their for security of France f e a s Zen your principal care, the I tune, their prosperity, and almost their existence in interest of Spain herself has however been dear, and commerce, have given the example of a great and in uniting the two states by the most intimate alliance, ! courageous sacrifice. They have interdicted, by a the prosperity and the glory of both were equally the general embargo, all commerce and all navigation objects proposed. The troubles which have manifested rather than shamefully submit to that tribute which ' themselves have particularly excited the solicitude of the English impose on the navigation of all nations. your Majesty in deprecating their progress, in fore- I " Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Holland, are seeing their sad-consequences, in hoping to prevent i peaceable, and wait only for a maritime peace to,exert them by persuasive means, and by measures of wise , all their industry. and humane policy. Your Majesty interfered as a i " That peace is the wish of the world, but England mediator in the midst of the divided Spaniards, shew. opposes it ; and England is the enemy of the world. ing them on one side the anarchy which threatened " The French nation, all Europe knows the efforts them, and on the other England ready to profit by made by your Majesty to obtain peace ; they know their divisions, and to make use of them to suit her' that your enterprises are the immediate result of the convenience, and pointing cut to them the way by ill success of the attempts which you have made to which they might be saved from this double danger, obtain it. by a constitution wise, provident, able to provide " The devotion of the French people is without all which they stood in need of, and in which liberal , bounds • and it is more especially under circumstan ideas intermixed themselves with these ancient insti- ces whisl are so essentially connected with their ho tutions which Spain wished to be preserved. nour and its security, that their sentiments will be a The expectations of your Majesty have been de- evinced, and that they will shew themselves worthy (viva/. Individual interests, foreign intrigues, and of reaping that harvest of glory and of honour, which the influences of foreign corruption have prevailed. your Majesty has prepared for them. I am, with re- Why is it so easy to lead nations to their ruin by let- spect," &c. sing loose their passions ? In a former report, I have I •••••• made your Majesty acquainted with the influence MESSAGE OP TILE EMPEROR AND RING NAPOLEON TO . which the English were acquiring in Spain, the nu- ! THE SENATE. merous party that they had formed, the friends whom ! SENATORS--41y Minister for Foreign Affairs will they had acquired in the commercial towns, by hold- lay before you the different treaties relative to Spain, ing out to them the prospect of a revival of their and the constitutions agreed to by the Spanish Junta. trade; I had pointed them out to you as authors of , My War Minister will - acquaint you with the wants thrsedition which overturned the Throne of Charles and the situation of my armies in the titifferent parts Bra and the ftvourers of the popular disorders which of the world. arose at that Epoch. They bad burst through that "I am determined to carry on the war with Spain salutary restraint which keeps the people in submis- with the utmost vigour, and to destroy the armies inn, by operating upon their interests. The populace which England has disembarked in that country's. of Spuin having shaken off the yoke of authority as, The future security of my subjects, the prosperity of pined at governing. English gold, the intrigues of commerce, and a maritime peace must alike depend the agehts of the Inquisition, who were afraid of on the* important operations, losing their authority, the influence of the numerous , " Myalliance with the Emperor of Russia satin tribe of Monks in Spain, who dreaded a reform, have guishes every hope which England can entertain from in this critical moment occas oned the insurrection of her projects. I have no doubts respecting the peace several Spanish provinces, in which the yoke of the •Je suit molar* a fewer s apires ir'lepar b edr y ; plus grand I more prudent class has been either mistaken or stifled, Siva, et • detruire lea armies ra tAleglaterre a a&a wage. of the Continent, but I neither will nor ought , upon the false calculations and the errors of t. Court% and since my neighbours increase their mies, it is a duty incumbent on me to increa7 " The Empire of Constantinople is strugglini the most violent convulsions ; Sultan Selim, ." . Emperor the . Ottomans ha.velad for &length , has just fallen by the hands of his own nephi This catastrophe has.deeply affected me., I fresh sacrifices on my people, confident of tilt port ; they are. necessary, in.order to secure from heavier sacrifices, and lead them to the grand result of a general peace, which ought alio to be coo sidered as the moment of repose. " Frenchmen, my projects have bit osie nblect in view—your happiness apd the pernlatieni well-beini • of your children ; and it t know yon fight, you win i hasten to comply with this new .cail; aendered neeee„ I wiry by the interests of the country You have si I often assured me of your affection...l -will behold the Sincerity of your sentiments itivhe alicrity with which you will, second s projects that are so jntituatelycon neeted with your dearest ititerisii, With the honour of the Empire, and with mfr. glory. I " Given at the Imperial Palace of St. Cloud, this 4th Sept. 1808. (Signed) iiitroixes." REPORT OF TIM WAR aimessian TO Eth atALIESTY, fae. PEROR AND DWG. " Sire—l have the honour of lating before you r Majesty the state and situation of your Majeare armies in Potent', in Prussia, and in Silesia, in D en . mark, in Dalmatia, in Albania, in Italy, Naples, and in Spain. I annex to it that of your Majesty's armies of reserve, at Boulogne, on the coasts of the Rhine, and in the interior. Your Majesty will perceive that France never before possessed m( r: numerous cr better appointed armies, and that they were never better kept up or better provisioned. o d i fferent o c f c a a o sio o e i vea p ie e d ta t a s . Notwithstanding, ea ratebo leplloasese, iion however, sp a consequence i t Spain, , le i hae which h y h co a n y sid t tion as inconceivable as it is painful, of the division under General Dupont, your Majesty has notified the resolution you have taken of assembling more than two bundled thousand men, beyond the Pyrenees, without, however, weakening either the armies in Gervonly, or that of Dalmatia. For the attainment of this end, a levy of eighty thousand men appears to be indispensible. Your Majesty can ~nly take these eighty thousand from the four classes of the consct ip. tion of the years 1806, 1807, 1808, and 1609 " It is ascertained by the registers kept in my office, that independently of the men who have married within these four years, the conscription for these years might furnish six hundred thousand. In taking from that number a levy of eighty thousand men, your Majesty will have called out only one censcript out of seven, and the vacancies in the armies will be tilled up with soldiers of 21, 22, and 2S years of age - that is, with men fit a3l prepared to undergo retie fatigues of war. 4 , .lor has it escaped your Majesty's foresight, that such an augmentation of force would necessarily in volve an increase of expence of several millions in the War Department. It is not your Majesty's wish the,: I should detain your attention with that object in tilt report : your Finance Minister has taken upon hitdas make good that charge without, in anywise iiiireat. ing the taxes established by the last law. " It is true, Sire, that the custom observed of lap years, might, to a certain degree, induce a pith o 2 your subjects to corsi kr themselves as released from the duty of the conscription from the moment, that upon the total mass, they had furnished the colitis. gent seqUred for the year ; and under this point of I view, what I propose to your Mjeity; might appear to require from your subjects a sacrifice ; but, Sira,, there is no one but knows, that by the wads of the .law, your Majesty would be authorized to call to , your standard, the whole of the conscription, nbt e.* of the last four years, btu even of the auteaide , t Yearif and even were there qaestion of a real sacrifice, wlkt sacrifice is it that your Majesty has not a right to ex, pest from the love of your subjects Who among us is ignorant that your Majesty wholly sacriEies yourself for the happiness of Fiance, and that the speedy accomplishment of his high designs, d l .e repose of the world, the future safety, and the te• establishment of a snaritime peace, without atifith France can never enjoy calm and tranquility, " In proposing to your Majesty to declare, that henceforth no retrospective call shall take place on an antedecent conscription, I only pataidipiite,' sirea your paternal wishes, " I think it expedient, at the same time, to prorate to your Majesty to-order out the Conscription of the year 1810, and to determine the amount of it, om the present instant at eighty thousand men, toftirefth the means, as occasion may require, of forming camp' of reserve, and of protecting the coast in the spring time. This conscription would be raised only under the apprehension of a war with other Powers, nor would it be called before the month of January neat. " Sire, it is a,misfortune inseparable from the pre sent state of Europe, that when one power exceeds tion, the with encreasieg amount of tiptoewfe7ceeasotlporotp4o4enscioned to its popula. theirs in the same proportion. " England, independent of the immense num* of her seamen, has on foot an army of more than two hundred thousand men ; nor is she occupied in every session of her Parliament with any thing so much as with the increase of her sand forces, The armies a Austria have been considerably enereased, France, although she has armies more numerous than all t he ' other t s owers, has, notwithstanding, fewer men under arms than any of them, compared with her population, " Your Minister for Foreign Affairs assures me that a strict alliance subsisted between your Majesty and Russia. The armaments of Austria have often • excited my solicitude, The same Minister assulei me, mst th ri z t andtll b e stota t understandingherkyi"sho uld be e epp e tz sidereti viith uld w o as nl ! either as precautions, or as the effectolapprehensicani which are forcibly impressed on every Couit, by the ' uumerous4gents which England conunueels par oa the Continent. a But if it does not belong to the business of ,my departiitienj to dive into the views aid interests aE States, and explore the tortuous labyrinth of politics, It is at least my duty to neglect nothing to meter" Majesty's armies maintain, at all points, that jest m • penority which they, ought to possess. The tar". Aibittia aitst Delaeattai Dpalarki aid.. u* ' ll •i L o t f to cum a other their ar• give ise mine. nin ling <. the with begt he 4 of e time; grand )t them M .1:1 11eViSore• ire • • • • • ' t a obe Caw dab