The National Register. — London, England, 1815-09-10 00:00:00

OWPM.III I il THE NATIONAL REGISTER. ~. ,: . , Our sting, Constitution, aim ILattus. PUBLISHED AT NO. 11, NEWCASTLE-STREET, STRAND. No. 402. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1815. PRICE 91d. C poi.ITICAL DISQUISITION. REVIEW OF FOUCHE'S CONDUCT AND INFLUENCE. There are periods in the existence of states, in which the fate of a whole nation depends on the abilities or ho nesty of a single individual. Such periods may be full of peril, but they are not uncommon. It is not even neces sary that the person who holds in his hands the destinies of empires should be invested with the sovereign autho rity. Delegated power is sufficient; and ministers, still more frequently than kings, are the dispensers of pros perity or misery to the people. Had Louis XVI. raised a Pitt to the administration of his kingdom, the volcano of the revolution would still be silent. The weakness of the monarch, braced by the strength of his minister, would have been equal to the magnitude of the trial it had to undergo. Stifled in its birth, crime would not have de voured the entrails of its own parent, before it ravaged the world. Nations would not have been convulsed, and France, peaceful, great, and happy, would not see Europe in arms demanding in her own capital due vengeance for past sufferings and full security for future rest. After so many storms and vicissitudes of victory and defeat, France is once more dependent for reviving pros perity, nay perhaps for her national existence, on the ha nesty of one man. That man is FOUCHE. This is not a wild notion formed on the surmises of political specu lators. All those who have lately travelled through the French territory and have inquired into the real state of things, will acknowledge the unbounded influence which Fouche possesses. It is not merely from the King that he derives his power, but from the people. Motives of interest or of fear place him at the head of all parties, The Jacobins rely on him for security, the Buonapartists for protection, the purchasers of national domains for the confirmation of their property, the Constitutionalists for co-operation : whilst the Royalists, or rather the old nobility who may be considered as the opposition, con scious of the insignificance of their numbers, their want of court influence and of popularity, submit to an au thority which they have no hope of overthrowing. With the consent of all, therefore, Fouche governs France as he pleases ; for even his old opponent Talleyrand has fallen at his feet. and Louis XVIII. either through policy or fear, formally sanctions with his approbation the elevation of a minister more powerful than himself. In such circum ...._ Vol. VII. No ; CCCCII. ~~ i . p ~( - ~. ~p~ ~F ~~ ,~ ~~ •'_ ~. stances, it is not going too far to maintain that the des tinies of France rest,in the hands of an individual, and to say with the most zealous, but the most clear-sighted French Royalists, " that if Fouch6 prove faithful, the King and France are saved : but if he be insincere the dynasty of the Bourbons cannot stand." The point which it is important to consider is, there fore, what degree of confidence may be placed on the ho nesty of this Minister. If we appeal to the common teacher of mankind, experience, what will be its n guage ? It will say that Fouche's first step in his poli tical career has been the destruction of Royalty and the execution of a Monarch : that the fierce Republican suddenly stooped to become the accomplice and Mi nister of a Despot : that he served him faithfully to the last, and when his Master sunk under the in dignation of avenging Europe, retired from public life : that when another political explosion flung back the Outcast on the throne, Fouche re-appeared as his pillar, and when a second bolt had dashed the power of Buonaparte to the ground, his faithful mi nister caused his son to be proclaimed Emperor, and was the first to take the oath of fidelity. Such are the charges which experience will bring to invalidate the sincerity of Fouche's present professions and conduct ; and it must be confessed that they form an awful body, whose force i§ the greater, as ite foundation is fact, unadorned and unexaggerated. On the other hand it appears, that in the exercise of his office, even unde r the iron rod of the oppressor, Fouche often stood between the sentence and its execution : that he dared to utter truth, when the language of extravagant flattery alone was welcome, and almost universally prevailed : that events, not treachery, removed him from the service of his first master; and that, at the moment of his fail, instead of joining in the loud execrations poured upon head by the creatures of his bounty and his power, he sup plied him with the sound advice of a friend to him and to the peace of Europe. Finally, it is clear, that al. though he resumed his former office, at the restora tion of the Imperial Government, and outwardly sup ported its existence and asserted its rights, he did not put forth his iusn to prevent ) i ts overthrow. His feigned acquiescence with the wishes of different parties, enabled him to lead them to the end which he had in view, without occasioning fresh explosions, and to his firmness and decision France is probably indebted for the re-es tablishment of her King and the preservation of her ca pital. With all these facts in his favour, still much doubt must be entertained, and the future alone can solve the complicated problem of his wind and heart. ' • r: *416