The National Register. — London, England, 1809-02-26 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 138 Boulogne. these maps were distributed to an incredible amount, and groups of French soldiers were constantly seen poring over them, and enjoying, in anticipation, the spoils and plunder of the metropolis of the British Em pire. To give this project a greater appearance of probabi lity, caricatures and songs were manufactured, in which our Volunteers and Militia, even soldiers, were not repre sented in the most advantageous light; but the battles of Vimiera and Corunna have furnished them with a more exact and faithful specimen of the stuff our army is com posed. Since then they also do us the honour to say, that the British are the o►t.lr/ soldier they ever fought against; and from whom they have met any thing like resistance. This'opinion has obtained among them extraordinary cir culation of late; and the plunder of London, as a reward for their present hardships and prisalions, would be tingly abandoned for the reality of a copious dinner and a good bottle of wine. FEB. 26. lantly watched by her agents, abandoned by Russia, un supported and unencouraged by a single friendly State, Austria began and completed her military armaments, tilled her Ltrsenals and magazines, replenished her coffers, new organised her army, and introduced a number of sa. lutary innovations, in a civil, as well as military, point of view; and her governmen I executed all these not withstandim: the jealousy and significant hints of the ty rant as to their inutility, cold inexpediency in - the present exhausted slate of her iinutfees. ;:the procesqled delA)e -rately and resolutely, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the French Ambassador at Vienna, and the menacing paragraphs which occasionally appeared in the .11onaeur, to the accomplishment of this great work, There was not a single Prince in the South of Germany who had not been instructed by IioNAPARTE to send orders to their Ministers at Vienna, to demand from the Austrian Court an explanation on the subject of her arming ; and the in solent remonstrances of the Bavarian agent are said to hay c exceeded every hound. A ustria continued, however, firm ; and by prakiitial concessions, iind recalling. her Ambassador from our Court, succeeded averring. hosti lity on the part of France. The unexpected occurrences in Spain enabled her to act with more energy and spirit : and she seized the aulieions opportunity wiih so much earnest and promptitude, that she was able to bring to inatnrity the great plan of defence the Archduke efixtu.vs had projected. Ile r conduct, on the ixcasion of the insults oirered to the Poev, when prayers we:e otlered up in ail the churches, throughout the difie rent provinces, for the safety of his proves that she was not insensible to the effect this outrage would ha vu in irritating the minds of her inhabitants against France, and thus facilitate the raising of the Militia and /.erg CU Mane. The result of her activity and prudence, is a well disciplined, well equipped, and well supplied Regular Army of 350,000 men, besides an Army of Reserve of 60.000 men, a body of Militia amounting already to near '400,000, exclusive of the Hungarian insurrection, which is likewise completed and armed': It was necessary to take this view of the present military resources of that country, to be able to appretiate her cha►►ces of CIeCeSS, and the prudence and vigour of her counc►ls. Severely-bought experience has taught, her wis dom ; and the atrocities committed in Spain and at Hone„ anti the instructive fate of the Prussian Monarchy, must, according to human probability, have roused, or created, great ►natal resources in the breasts of her numerous popu lation. The Archduke CHARLES possesses in a supreme degree, unchecked and unfettered by court intrigue, all that influence which his talents, virtues, and serv►ces entitlp him to. There is only one will and one object ; and a con ciliating policy has effaced provincial jealousies and dis, tinctions ; and the Hungarian, the Gailician, the lioheinian, the Croatian, and Moravian, vie with the Austrian in at tachment and devotion to the common Government and Sovereign. Let us now consider how France is prepared to resist this concentration of strength and will. tier whole force, with the exception of part of DA vousT's and BER NADOTTEN corps, and a body of troops in the Bishoprick of Fulda, under the command of General OtioiNoT, has been marched into Spain. Her army in Germany we may, therefore, es timate at about 60,000 men, exclusive of the conscripts, 30,000 of which may have already passed the Rhine. "It must be remarked that - nottiug iA more obscure than the French military conscription; but from an attentive obser vation and comparison of facts, we are not afraid to assert, that no more than half the number, which BONAPARTE ap plies for to the Senate, is raised by that mode. We risk, therefore, nothing in . maintaining - that. the conscripts of this year and of 1810, when called out, will not amount to more than 80,000 at most ; instead of 160,000, as re quired in the Message. Such, at the highest calculation, is the effective force which BONAPARTE can employ imme diately against Austria, making in' all an army of 120,000 WM BETWEEN FRAIWE AND AUSTRIA. Letters of the 13th instant were received on Friday from the Dutch coast. It is agaia strongly asserted fro►n thence, that a war between France aad A►:stria is iiievitable. 'l'l►c writer also requests, that the goods he had ordered might not be sent hi►n, as their Fizz would be affected by the co►►tinental war. Ail the accounts from Span and Portugal coincide in stating that a general move:neat has been made by all the French armies towards the Pyrenees. If this statement can be relied on, the various reports w hick have been circulatei, for some days, relative to a war between France and Austria, obtain the highest degree of credibility. The concurring circumstance of Bosr Al' arc's departure for Paris, and his rumoured arrival at Strasburgh, give thi s event a still greater portion of probability. if Austria has resolved to seize the present auspicious interval, to make ore build and decisive push for her own independence, the tyrant has been completely outwitted, and all his battles must be refonght, and his marches must be recommenced, with soldiers harassed, reluctant, and worn out ; whilst Austria appears on the field with fresh and renovated strength, conscious of the sacredness of her cause, and im pressed with the solemn conviction that this is the last ef fort she cant make, if unsuccessful. If hostility br...aks out in one part of Germany, on the Danube or the Spree, it will re semble one extended match of gunpowder ; set fire to one end of it, and it immediately hisses and explodes throughout the whole extensive tract from Trieste, to Konigsberg. This may be relied on ; that exactions and contributions and tyranny, with their concomitant train of private and public misery, have worked up the minds of the Germans to a pitch bordering on frenzy ; and they are prepared to undertake and perform every thing which despair and rage, and a seuae of excessive outrages can inspire. —This feeling is not confined to Austrians and Prussians; it rages through every town and village, forming formerly a part of the ancient Germanic Body. One inlense sentiment agitates and consumes them all :----an abhorrence of BONAPA RTE, as the cause of their misery, their degradation, and slavery. We know not who is the aggressor on this new war, though we have reason to suppose that the aggression is on the side of Austria. A few days will clear up our doubts and anx iety on this momentous intelligence ; and whatever may be the event of a new war, we cannot but admire the pru dence and consistency of Austrian politics on this occasion. some remarks in our last number may seem to contradict this observation ; hut they proceeded from the supposition and the fear that the Cabinet of Vienna might adhere to its system of neutrality. That government, we cannot deny, has displayed, during that cheerless and difficult interval that elapsed between the Peace of Presburg and th e meeting at Erfurth, great wisdom and uncommon vi gour. Pressed on all sides by the armies of France, . . II