The National Register. — London, England, 1811-11-24 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 411, -'?~~_ 4 clhir /tin, ConOtittition, anti 71.-M135. PRINTLD AND PUBLISIIED AT NO. 5, PICK ETTSTREET I STRAND, NEAR TEMPLE BAR. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9.4, Igll. N°. 204. POLITICAL DISQUISITION. No. 191. GENERAL SARRAZIN. This celebrated soldier has lately laid aside the sword, with which he used to combat the enemies of France, and taken up the pen to wield against, what he. terms, his personal foes, resident in Great Britain. In the list of those whom this literary champion has considered hostile to his vies s, we find not only his Majesty's Ministers, but the prin cipal Newspapers published in London, whether they are the supporters, or the opposers of the mea sures of Government. An attack so general in its nature, and against such powerful opponents, indi cates no timidity of mind, and bespeaks a coiyielence in himself atleast, that the cause which he main tains, is the cause of truth, and that the wrongs of which he complains, ire something more than ima ginary. It was, therefore, to be expected, if Gene ral SATUIAZIN determined to lay : his case before the ,public, that lie had it in his power to exhibit proofs sufficient to support his averments, and to cre-ate an interest in his fate. In adverting to The Philosopher published by the General, it is not our in tention to advocate the cause of cotemporary journal i..;ts whom he may have attacked ; we leave this task to themselves, because it properly belongs to them, and, it is to be presumed, they can acquit themselves better in-it than a third party. As, however, it is not very probable that Ministers will feel themselves at lii;elty to answer the charges thrown out against them in The Philosopher, we shall examine a little into their nature, and into the proofs brought _for ward in support of them by the General. The most prominent feature in these charges, is the accusa t;on, that " after haying had the most brilliant pro mises" made him, and " being not only invited, hut dragged from the camp of Boulogne," he had been so " ill-treated" in England, as to be obliged to seek for the " means of subsistence" in the employ. silent of his pen. This is undoubtedly a heavy charge, and, if true, would certainly militate greatly against Ministers ; but although we have carefully perused the work of SAIMAZIN, and anxiously look ed for the documents to support it, we have not been able to discover a vestige of evidence of its truth, PRICE 96: himself, which are numerous enough, are to be re garded in that light. At the end of the preface to 44 The Philosopher" he has published several letters, mostly written by himself, one of which he appears to have addressed to Marquis WELLESLEY ; but we do nor-find that he has laid before the public a single document, by which it appears that he was invited to this country, far less dragged to it, by Ministers, or by any person else. The charge, therefore, appears to us unfounded, and we are afraid it will he viewed in the same light by the public, until the General brings forward some better evidence of its truth than his own ipse But we strongly suspect that the General has al ready admitted sufficient to show, that he never was, in reality, invited to this country. In •the outset of his 44 Reply to Critics," he explicitly states :••••-•.." I had quitted France to avoid humilia tion and poverty, for as such I could not but con sider the obligation of serving under the orders of my former Aides-de-Camp, and to subsist merely upon my appointments." Here then is a very sufficient and tangible reason assigned by the General for his abandoning - France. Unless, , therefore, he can produce positive proofs of his be ing led to take this step on the solicitation of Ministers, we cannot hold that he was influenced by any other rn ,, tive than that most powerful of all motives, .6 to avoid humiliation and poverty."— Besides, it cannot fail to be remarked, that, in the General's letters to Marquis WELLESLRY, to Mr. CROKER, and to Mr. R VEVES, in which he strongly urges his supposed claims against Government, he is en•irely silent as to the charge now brought for. ward, that he was invited, nay dragged, into the service of this country. Had this part of his state ment been true, he could not have brought forward a more powerful or successful plea in support of his claims. It was, indeed, the only thing which could afford him a pretence for demanding support from this country. It is impossible, therefore, to believe he would have emitted it on an occasion so critical, had his statement been founded on truth. With regard to the .6 brilliant promises" which, he says, were made to induce him to leave France, the General's silence upon these in the let ters to which we have referred, proves equally fatal to his story. Neither can we believe that Ministers mad, brilliant promises," or ma all.i 1.A., %, a J•.••• . •.• ... . ........ c. _ unless indeed the renewed statements of the ~ . „- ; - . uld have made " brilliant promises, or eyea 7. ' .- . s . r ' r 'r L' A.• •,* e-A,A, - ° `., ..„..„. ~., . .. •.„ T 4 • L "_" • *. f... ..i.-d _ 2 _.i .e