The National Register. — London, England, 1812-01-19 00:00:00

MIN NMI 'HE N ATIONAL REGISI . ~ 34 _ a. _ ary warfare in which they were engaged ; and grown ac quainted with the real character of the Man, and the in famy of the cause which they were compelled to support : their very improvement in discipline and experience was dangerous to NAPOLEON, against whom it might one day be turned. The necessity of supplying the waste of hu• man liVes sacrificed in the Peninsula, however, overba lanced all other considerations, and, with an affected display of confidence and satisfaction, he ecntinned to use a weapon, of which he secretly apprehended the rec oil. When he established the Confederation of the Rhine, he had other views, beside that of forming a nursery of soldiers. He thought that a chain of States, insignificant in themselves, but deriving support from each other, and dependent on him for their national existence, would secure his frontiers from insult and invasion. They would.be his ramparts if he chose to maintain a defensive war : his advanced posts if bent on offensive hostilities. The Kings whom he placed over them, possessed of a no minal independence, sufficient to insure the respect and obedience of the limited population over which they ruled, but powerless against him, were only the external watch men of his empire. Not immediately to repel, but to announce danger was their office. As they owed their Crown'e and same their kingdoms, to the good will of their " Protector," they were to resign them at his bid ding. Regardless of the interests of their subjects, when it clashed with their own, they were not to avert the de solation of their cities by a declaration of neutrality, when an overpowering enemy approached and offered terms of accommodation. They were to abandon their towfls and capitals to plunder, their country to ruin, and collecting all their means to . fall back towards a line of strong po sitions previoUsly appointed as a rendezvous for the troops of the confederates. There, as in the last Austrian war, a general union was formed, and the astonished enemy, who fancied he had only to capture a few scattered divi• sions before he could penetrate within the French frontiers, suddenly found a powerful army capable of arresting his progress. Hourly encreased with the corps that arrived rrom France, the latter speedily commenced offensive eperations, and the fate of the campaign could not fail to turn in favour of those, who had drawn their opponent away from his resources, whilst they remained in the centre of their own. Compelled to extricate. himself by a onick retreat from the difficult and perilous situation into which he had unconsciously ventured, the enemy neces sarily laboured under complicated disadvantages, which led to his ultimate ruin. It is impassible to deny the efficiency of such a system of policy and war. Its consequences may be traced through the whole of the last. Austrian campaign. It yielded Franc . o boll!. safety and power, It was at once a shield and a'''svorda I3ut it has already ceased to ope rate :' endafioil Has .overthrown her own work ; and the Confederation (10e Rhine is become an useless and cum bersome apperOalte to the French" Empire. Deprived of nearly the . svhole!o•l its Military force, unprofitably wasted in Spain. instead of affording protection, it demands it. The public mind is changed. The e petty Sasvereignswhotold their Clowns from France have sunk into general contempt, since the deposition of the King of HOLLAND has proved the fragility of their Thrones. `'Tae terrors of the Fiend' name have subsided ; and in propor tion as the voice of our triumphs has been heard, the hideon‘ness of French despotism has been lskeel. A invader, instead ef beholding thg OV. 19, • - population flying before him, would now be welcomed. as deliverer. A spirit of detestation has succeeded that of fear. As there is no neighbouring Power able or ling to avail himself of that' disposition, it chiefly dis. plays itself in private acts. An attempt was lately made to burn the King of WEsTrtiALLA in his own palace. But should the war with Russia be renewed, the French armies would now find their communication with France inter. rupted, and their rear harassed by hosts of patriots emu. lating in activity and desperation the guerillas of Spain. Aware of the dissatisfaction and rising hatred of the pea. ple, NAPOLEON maintains a large force in the north ; strong divisions of which are stationed in various guar. ters. The country is thus garrisoned by his troops, and that Confederation of States from which he expected to derive so many advantages, and which yielded him at first so much support, is now become, through the blindness of his ambition, not only ineffective and burdensome, but a source of future dangers, an object of constant fear. (To be continued.). PEACE BETIVEEN THE RUSSIANS 4- TURKS. Pr ivate letters brought by the Anholt mails, which ar rived on Thursday, ate to the 21st ult. from St. Peters. burgh, and to the 11th inst. from Gottenburgh. Accord ing to these letters, no longer did the writers of them entertain doubts of the conclusion of a peace between Russia and Turkey. They state this important event to have taken place on the 26th November (Old Style), after a very decisive battle had been fought,in which the Turkish army was completely surrounded by the Russians. The Turks, dismayed and confounded, are said to have thrown down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. The Turkish army amounted, according to the official statement of the Russian General, KuTusow, to 35,000 men. Russians aresnot only described to have become complete. masters of the field on this occasion, but heir. triumph is stated to have been made more brilliant by obtaining possession of FIFTY-SIX pieces of cannon, be sides the magazines and baggage ! The annunciation of this very decisive victory wzs made in St. Petersburg') on the Bth Dec. (old style) , and I the particulars were published in a Gazette Estraordincr,i on tire tollowing day. his victory is stated to have teen immediately foilowed by the signing of preliminaries of a peace, which were afterwards ratified and confirmed ! Such was the immediate effect of this joyous news in the Russian capital, that the Exchange on London again most. rapidly- advanced from 17d. to '2ol(l.—a rate to , which it has ne.t advanced at any period since the sign ing of the fan-famed treaty of Tilsit. Such is the tendency of the contents of the private letter; received by these mails ; and, as it might naturally , i t.e expected, the intelligence gave rise to most flattering h hones on 'Change. It being. supposed that this int elb • • tr,ence may ultimately prove to be .veil-founded in every j particular, many calculated cn the possibility of some commercial::irangements being entered into between t his u s Country and Russia to facilitate their mutual Trade, oven sitculd the present lamentable state of the Continental : 1 Powers preclude the hope of an immediate peace taking place between England and the Court of St. Petersb ur f ,. But it would be vain to. speculate at present on the pro bable results. of ,a peace between Russia and. Turkey, Pr• Ocularly with re and to the commercial interests o f this 1 'country, espr'i;tl!y when the intelligence has reached us ilihrgoi:l) medium which. it is not exactly safe to re\'y -• • -