The National Register. — London, England, 1813-08-15 00:00:00

514 THENATIMAL *EGISTER. e• he eldest auw.gst the ieigning Houses in Eurore. Not ..titie•tand.ng his reverse.; winch I:c considers as sonic of the common chance. of war, convinced that•wothing can resist him, he de•pises, equally, both Sovereigno and nations, and I the ch still more than any other people. Whenever t%r o;.,nion is mast decided against him, he seizes it a i . r t rt •LH y degrading his subjects still lower, by !ing (*tom teem tits basest flattery. When, at the end Of ' beccinber.:as . , he reached Pat is as a fugiliye, after having a!it.n.;oned tl-c reutains of taernf , rtunate at my which his I all nce [Ocoee had c:.used to pt iish among the -.now of Itusst.i, he omit. all the constaioted bodies. and the p: melt .11 town. i n F rance , ~cnd him deputations, by wl,OOl :51 inches. secretly dicta ed to them, ware publicly prone.'unced, whirl) it is impossike to react without pity and indi Doe. he not also e%luce the cont , unpt which he feels for the French, by his inhunratiitv towards his own priwners, so long det,:ined in Spain and in England, and wnhur his obstinacy alone Leeps away f!oin their country ? Finding i^ the Cr ascription an inexhaustible mine of men, he thinks that an exchange of prisoners would bc advan tageous to I.is enemies, who, be fancie, ;!.;unot repair their loses with as much faci!:ty. tre is mistaken. Spain, at least, hcas's ar. many soldiers to ti,ht him, as she counts men We 40 bear arms. Nevettheless, led away by that he Yin suirer those unfortuna:e p 1 isoners, whom he calls ha snbject%, as a reward f r their services to spend in priou the most precious years of their existence, deaf to the teclarnajon3 and the entreat;es of their families. " hut does he ever condescend to consult public opinion, and seek what promows the interests and the happiness of France ? What is moue 'odious, more impolitic, and more co: t•ary to the general wishes of his pe..ple, than his war n2,tritl,t Spain ? A weak and contemptible Minivry placed at his ditp:a4al the atmy, 'he navy, the finances, and all the restmo es of that nt,ble couotry. What more could he requite ? U adouLtedly be must have wt,hed to di% itie for ever two I;:ttions loag united hy the closest f.ie; , tlship ! or. as he ex: , res , es himself, he wi.l.td to teat another crown front the respectak e e and Hustrious faintly, which may now cation to their children', and it is out of tho-e clava - s that the na l-awn:l ...pit it is named. Moreover, the military being the only road to pia' e.s and bottoms, is naturally tollowed by nio,t eVA in real:is most of the adinini•tiateve situations are given to old ve:er..tis, and those in the Cu-tom-11°18 , e, as.well as those belong ing to do adocui-tration of t. rests and lands, are exclusivit re• Selvt•tl !hem. All the (Liu_ liters of the officers and soldiers who have ou th e field ,if oattle, are by right educated and por tionAl at their marria.-e, at the expence t t the Cuiveroment, and this is rcalls it r not very considerable, as but less of the militiey men ,eie mai:ied. Their sons are also taken cart %.f, and foLii a icailv soils 3 of Soldiers. Let it not be thoogist, how. s er, that these moi.erous pupa, cot the Govern tow swell. A Lyceum emitdit s dot e liundre d 3 ouths ; one him. sired are “overitocot pupils ant pay nothing, but the rest pay one t:sird more than wtsot is %Ivor d for themselves, and expenees are tuns pros-i,led fur. There is no way of chiding these agnho thins, unless children are allowed to go without any education liatever. The navy is not, on this account, neglected. Every vat', severed ships of the line are built, .20,000 boys, of the age. 4 t, are raised its the marl departments, and exercised in the ,vs'aod a:ong the shore! , . The sea-gu n ners have been increased, vied into re.timeuts, and that corps:, well organized ami.di-e -t iolined, served to replace the artillery regiments destroyed in 1..:11-s a. Should Boonapartc have patience enough to wait ten slitiriot sending any ship out of his harbonrs, he wou:d t ...I-Case a navv equal to that of England in the Huruber of his 4.81 d that U 1 .165 baatiro. • AUGUST 15. .enroach itself with having cherished that serpeia iu :ts bosom ; with having protected- his youth, and utlf-Id e ,l by educg,t: , n the talents which he now exeits to de.oiaie mankind. " And yet. after all, what are those talents ? Do not all his great actions hear the stamp of the most decided mad ness? What can we say of that Egyptian expeditiol, wnich cost France forty millions. forty thousand men, tifteen sad of the line, and the friendship of the Turks ? Shah we praise the Spanish war. which in six years has cost hail twelve hundred millions, six hundred thousand men, and a most advantageous alliance ? Can Buons i mite himself deem his late attack on Russia more reasonable r Did he not make it in opposition to every piineirle of sound policy and of common sense, which unite in declaring, that ho war should he undertaken, until you have previousl y clsod that in which you were engaged, especially when the two wars are waged in countries so distant, and against powers fcrniidabie as Russia, and Spain united with England ? Shall we commend the imprisonment of the Pope, that of Ferdinand Vi I. or the murder of the Duke d'Enghien ? In putting this question, lf do not consider those actions under a moral, but a political point of view. Shall we approve of the union of Holland, and a great part of ltaty and Germany to France ? Since this event is France happier ? Are her taxes grown less ? Is her independence seated on firmer foundations ? No, certanly, will be the answer made to all these interrogatories. Weil then, that phantom so highly praised by his admirers, that toweling genius has vanished, and there only remains a madman, but the most dangerous of all madmen. " But the world is already, in a great measure, unde ceived. Bui , napsrte is known and detested, and more so in France than ar.y where else, because he is there het ier known, and it is impossible he should be, withryst exciting both cont• mpt and hate. But %%hen the French became acqnaint , ed with his real character, they had allowed him to take too overawing an atti'ude to he able to ovel throw him as they wished. Except certain individuals enriched with the spoils of the people, they are tired of making .conquests. They feel no wish to preserve the countries which the Usurper has united to his empire. They would prefer, on the contrary, to remain within their former limits, which arc extensive enough to enable them to maintain their independence. But however disgusted they may be with the new order of things, they cannot disguise from themselves the hatred with which the conduct of their armies, in conquered count' ics, has in spired surrounding nations. The dread of retaliation, and especially that of seeing France partitioned and ravaged, far more powerful than the despotism of the tyrant, unites and detains them under his banners. They know neither where, nor round whom, but him, to rally. In their distressed state they turn their eyes towards their legitimate Sovereign, and feel that his return would be the hal hinges of peace and happiness. But they also feel, that in a change of this na ture, his presence alone could save them from a new, revolu tion, and a new anarchy still worse than the yoke under which they groan." The city of St. Domingo has thrown off the allegiance to her mother country; the people there having declared themselves independent of Spain. The Governor, and prin cipal officers, civil and military, were imprisoned, but after wards• liberated. Accounts from Cronstadt mention, that about 2000 Rus sian seamen - are now assembled' there for the purpose of being immediately conveyed to this country, with the wow Of completing the Russian fleet here.