The National Register. — London, England, 1813-05-09 00:00:00

248 likely, therefore,. that he will join them sincerely. If by an appearance of neutrality, he could detain them in his ter ritories, until they should be partly turned by the French, when by suddenly reiuming the offensive, he might surround them completely, be knows he would be amply rewarded by NAPOL LON. It is true that he belongs to the ancient houses of Europe, whose chief patrimony should be strict integrity and honour : but a Prince,who has accepted the Crown from the hands of an usurper, has already sacrificed both. Ho- sour has no e:asticity ; it does not bend, it breaks. We are now come to the present state of the campaign. NAPOLEON who left Mentz, on the 24th ult. is at the head of his armies. The loss of their veteran strength, -he has replaced by new levies, whom he has disciplined with the aid of the regulars left in France and Italy, during his late disastrous campaign, and of about 23,000 officers, serjeants, and privates, whom he has drawn from Spain, and in whose stead he has substituted 80,000 conscripts.--41is cavalry, in particular, is almost entirely new, and as he cannot rely on its effectiveness in the field, be moves in large masses, supporting each other, which by their strength and their positions, render any partial attack impossible,., and reduce the Alties to the necessity, either of fighting a general battle against superior numbers, or of adopting the retreating system, and falling back on their reinforcements. The three conscriptions which he has called out in the short space of fire months, have given him a deckled numerical superiority, and his reported junction with BEAUH AFt SOTS army, which the Allies found too strongly posted on the left bank of the Saale to be dislodged or forced to fight se parately, has so far increased it, that the Russian and Prus sian corps, which had, a short time since, extended as far as Erfurth, Weymar, Gotha, Cassel, and Altenburgh have abandoned those positions. The French continuing to press forward with an accumulating force, through Wey rnar, Erfurth, Coburg, towards the Upper Elbe, the allies, by the last accounts seem to have retreated towards that river, with the intention of crossing to the right bank, and defending the country that lies between it and the Oder. Their head quarters were last, at Quartz, a town in Saxony. The French were complete masters of Hanover,. and the whole territory, on the left bank of the lower Elbe. They occupied Har bnrg, opposite Ilambnrgh, which up to the 30th ult. they had not yet attacked. Some apprehensions have been thrown rut, lest the allies should retire beyond the Oder, as it would leave Prussia and the Hanse towus at the mercy of the French. But however hard the situation of the people might be in that case, if by falling back across the Oder, the allies can join the reinforcements they have on the Vistula, before they have been compelled to risk the fate of the world in a gene ral engagement, at time hour of their inferiority, they might then resume the offensive with increased effect, and emulate the glories of the last campaign'. Their retreat, therefore, ought to be considered, as a pledge of the prudence and wisdom. that direct all their plans, and not the signal for apprehension and despondency. THE NATIONAL REGISTER. LOSS OF ANOTHER BRITISH SHIP. How long will the dwai f insult the giant in his sleep ? shall we ever have to record the exploits of Ameri can sailors, and to mourn the f:!len, though not dis hono'ured glories of the British flag ? Another triumph has been gained on the ocean and not by our navy ! Yet superiority of metal alone has again succeeded, and only a few prisoners have swelled the ti nof the conquercu% The Peacock, her brave Captain and her crew, with the exception of a few, have sunk and per ished together, whilst the British colours waved unsurrendered over their MAY O. heads, Such heroism cannot fail to awaken the glow of admiration ; such a loss, to draw the -tear of sympathy and patriotism. PLYMOUTH, MAY 8.--The Seahorse, of 58 guns, Capt. GORDON', arrived from Jamaica :est night; made her number, landed some pas sengers, lay to for twenty-five minutes, and then stood on to the east ward. By these Gentlemen we learn the disagreeable news of the Peacock, 18 19-pounders, Capt. Pcalcz,. having been stink, after a most gallant action of forty-five minutes, off Demarara, with the Awe. rican sloop of war, Hornet, 20 32-pounders. The Pf , icock had be fore the action closed, tight feet water in her boll, and notwithstand irng every endevour to pump out the water, she filled snddenlv and went down in n moment. We are sorry to state, that notwithAandiug the humane exertions of the Hornet's people, they could only sive a (bit! ter-Masterand a few men, who we hear are arrived at Jamaica. The Hornet was returning from the coast of Brazils for Boz.ton ; she is, we underbtend, a most powerful sloop of war, and well manned. UNITED STATES. The American Papers which arrived on Friday, by way of Lisbon, to the 21st March, have brought a copy of the cor respondence that passed last year between Mr. JOEL BARLOW and the French Minister respecting the repeal of the French Decrees. In the following letter, Mr. BA R LOW seems to ac knowledge, that the revocation, as far as it regarded the United States, bad been carried into effect, although not formally announced, ever since November, 1810. But the next extract will show, that he also suspected the Decree of the toth of April, 1811, to have been antedated to meet the Pfi INCE ltEGr•.NT's declaration. Of this, little doubt can be entertained ; but as the Duke of BASSANO asserts, that it had been transmitted to the former American Am• bassador, General ARMSTRONG, this Gentleman is bound to clear the fact, in order to repel the charge which his silence must cause to be brought against him, of having concealed that document for the purpose of kindling an American war. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM JOEL BARLOW, ESQ. TO THE DUKE OF HASSAN°, DATED PARIS, M AY 1, 181% In the note I had the honour to address your Excellency on the 10th of November last, the spirit of the English Government was so tar noticed as to anticipate the fact now proved by experience, that its Orders in Council, violating the rights of neutrals, would not he revoked. The declaration of the PRINCE REGENT Of the Ist of April has placed the fact beyond all gnestion. In doing t(ris, he has repeated the assertion so often advanced by his Ministers and Judges that the decrees of France, of a similar character, are like wise unrevoked. Yon will notice that he finds a new argument for his conclusions, in your Excellency's late Report to the Emperor conce)timg neutral rights, in which you avoid taking notice of any repeal of modifica tion of these decrees, or of their non-application to the United States. We know that they do not apply to the United States, because we do not suffer our flag to be denationalixed in the man ner evidently contemplated by the EMPEROR in the rule he meant to establish ; hut it would have been well it your Excellency bad noticed their non-application to the United States, since his Afgjes , ty had uniformly done it in his decisions of prize causes since Noma- Ger 1810. It is much to be desired that theFrenchGovernment would now make and publish an authentic act, declaring the Berlin and Milan decrees as relative to the United States, to have ceased in November, 1819, declaring that they have not been applied in any, instance since that time, and that they shall not be applied in future. The case is so simple, the demand so just, and the necessity so urgent,. that I cannot withhold my confidence in the prompt and complete success of my proposition. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM MR. BARLOW TO MR. MONROE, DATED PARIS, MAY 1!, 1813. When the Duke first produced to me the Decree of the 10th of April, 1811, I made no comment on the strange manner in Avhich it had been so long concealed from me, and probably from you. I only asked him if that Decree had - been published : lee said Bop but declared it had been communicated to my predecessor here, and likewise sent to Mr. SERRURIER, %%it!' orders tocommunicate it to you. I assured him it was not among the archives of this le i gation, that I never before had heard of; and since h e had con ,l scnted to answer my note, I desired him to send to me in that otra-