The National Register. — London, England, 1815-04-16 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL RMISTER. *l4 IMPORTANT DOCUMENT. ANSWER OF THF. DUKE OF RAGUSA TO THE PROCLIMA.TIONI DATED Gt;Lrli OF JUAN, 'MARCH 1 ) 1815. " An odious accusation is in•orielit against me in the taoe of all Europe, and whatever may he the marks of passion and improb— b they which it hears, tiry honour compels me to reply to it. 'What I lo re oiler is mot a justifiratitoo, of which I have no need ; it is a f tithhil esetosition of tarts, which will enable every one to appre eia•t t e conduct I have pursued. " I am accused of having delivered Paris to foreigners, when the defence of that eih was the object o-Cgencral s!....tonisimment. ft was with some miserahle remaito. that I bad to combat against all the collected fore( s the allied armies; it vas in positions hastily , oak. n, vheie tor defence bad been prepared., and with 8( 1 00 Hullo t!.at I resisted for eight hours 45 (tOe. oho were successively en gaged against me; and it is a 411ilitilly feat of each a sort, so Ito nooroode to all engages . ' in it, that bas 4wen audaciously charged as t e.csuuf After the affair at Rheims, Napoleon operated on the .fame with alite.st all his forces, mid gave himself op to the illusion that his orioventents threatetting the conominicatioros ut the enemy tie latter would retreat, while, on the emitr•try, The enemy resolree, otter toast g hooted floe juts(' tion (Oldie Silesian army vs ith the gland aim'., to march lopou Paris. [(sere Alarshal Nlainimat eleserilves lois operations, which he and Nuttier performed with their reduced army coops, in the end of March 1 14. tor covering mid defendiug Paris. In the etaiee. or Isis moverriciots, having learned that fitionaporte vas before citry, they ma (hot to joiti line and ou the 24th took up a position at Smte.] Stoll (says the Marshal) i thought the French army at haw& for who in 'Tait!) , could have believed in the passage of the Maroc without a lit idge, and that the Emperor Napoleon would have lift between Paris and himself, forees eightfold more coositlerable 41:m be could rolled ? On the morning of the 15th I hail scarcely learned the certainty of this :hominid. v ben the enemy's army do bonelled winos HIP. rill' then states the measnees Jakin for On.. innnediate &fence of Paris down to the 30111; year the walls of which the successes of the Allies, anti his Interiority of force, had ettnipelied him to re treat.] Hr says--" Several int:entry charges load taken plaev, and a numbs. , eat solliers had been killed at my sills-. with the bayonet, at the enhance of tht. village of Belleville, when 30scpir seat me Ots• thorny in writing, to capitulate, whiolo authority I stillitave in my possession. This was at te ll o'clock; at fieven Joseph was already far from Paris, and at there o'clock I was still 6g 4 rtiog." [The ilex dation.: for the evacuation of Paris, the ciremnstances anti term• of which are already known, now took place.] • " On the morning of next day flee troops evacuated Paris, sod prorectled to Essmove, wheuel took a position. I went to see time Entiteror Napoleen at Mortal:Aileen. He teemed- to are at last aware of lois sitnation, and disposed to tettuiroate a contest wl.ich he could no longer mains tin. If. resolved on the plan of entrenching himself, of uniting the little force which remained to hint, of en deavortritie to increase it, and to negotiate. This was the only reasonable course lie could pursue. and I was completely of his opi nion. I intwediately set off to order the commencement of those defensive works which the exeentioni of this plan rendered neces sary. The same Slay, April the' st, he emote to -visit position, and there lie learned by the return *lsolate otticees, obtain I had left to give op the barriers, the prodigious fermi:tali-on of Paris, the declaration of OW Emperor Alexander, and the revolution which was in Progress. At this moment the irsolustion of sacrificing the remaiiis of the army to his veneeanee was taken: be talked of no• thing lint a desperate attack. though there was not a single eltanee of suer. ss in his favour, %%Rh the means wish+ remained to Wm. From that moment all his orders, all his itivtroietioris, Al his discourse was iu endormity to this plan, the execution of which was fixed fur the fob of .%prii. " Acenunis from P a ris arrived in rapid anceeession ; the &erre of flu feiture reached toe. The situation et' P a ris a n d of France was deplo•roMe, and the futore presented the most gloomy pros prets, ti: !esa the fall of . the Emperor clitim,...ed .their destinies, by riakinv their moral p. ace' with all Eiwope., and thus extinguislied the hatred wind, he lsad etvited. supported by the in surrection of all the greet towns of the kingdom, mastr rs of the Ca pital, 81 . d havuo.; may opposed to them a handful of brave mete oho Lad survited so min ! , disasitrc, every where. proclaimed That the) nude war on Napoleon alone. It %Yrs necesbary set mice to put them to tke triai, to tkAe then, ;it their word, wad to compel them to APRIL 16. renounce the vengeance of which they would have made France the victim.; it was necessary that the army should again become na li. °nil, by adopting the interest' of almost the whole 1)f the inhabi tants, who deelared against the Emperor. and loudly called for a salntary revolntion taint+ should produce their deliverance. Was it not the duty of every good Freneliman, however situated. to contiihnte to a citatory which saved the country, and delivered it from a crusade of all Europe in arms against it,—that portion of Europe which even was possessed by the fanmilly of Napttleou I ilad it been possi! , le t.s reekonopon the simian of all the heads of th e army, if it had not been probable that the private interests of souse would have clashed with the most generous and patriotic mew.oreq, if the moment had not been PO pressing, since the ith of April Int 4 olrenify arrived, and it Wan MI the Slit that that desperate action was to have taken place, of which the object was the &stun-tint' of tlfc last soldier and of the capital.—lt waste) a concert among time chiefs of time army that it would have been proper to resort ; 'sot iii the actual state of things, it became troessary to confine efforts to the free departure of time different corps of the army. in order to detach them from the Emperor. and neutralise his project, and to unite ahem to other French troops which were at a distauce front him. " Such, filen. was the object of the conferenees wide+ took place witli the Prince of Schwas tsenberg. While I was otaktug dis positions to inform my comrades of the situations of alines, A nd of Vie part 1%1)16 I thought it my duty to take. time Duke 0(1'm-reti tle to the Prince of Modesto, the Duke of Vicente. and tie Duke of Treviso, arrived at my quarters at Essonne. fhe three first told me that the Emperor had been compelled to sign the promise of his abdication, and that they were going with tido conditiost to -Iterociate the euspention of hostilities. I made them acquainted with the arrangements with Prince Scliwartzenberg, but which were net complete, becanse 3 had not received the written gua rantee which I had demanded; and I them, declared to them ' that since they were agreed upon a change which the safety of the State required, and which wa• the sole toy Proceodina, I tomtit/ never separate myself from them. 'the Doke of Vicensa espre,sed a desire to see one accompany them to Paris. thinking that my junc • tion will, them, after what tail tuppence!, o-ould iw of great weight ; }it LIM to Iris desire', leaviee the comilland of any 4 ' 441 1 4 * to the oldest General of Division, roving him firiters mot to make ausr movement, and announcing to him my speedy return. I el'Pisinc - d the ',tomtit/Cs of my Misfire to Prince Seltwaftzenbc - re. who, hill of loeattv, Anne' them legitimate and nounswerable. amid I fulfilled the protnite which I bad made to my comrades in the interview sve had with time Emperor Alexander. At $ o'clock erre of my A Med, Camps arrived, l ord told me that, contrary to my dowel orders, and in spite of ids most urgent representations, the Generals had tint the troops in motion for Versailles at Turn o'clock al the 'Homing'. terrified as they were of the personnel dangers with which they thought they were threatened, and of which they they had conceived an idea, from the twelve l and departure of several officers oftite staff who tad comae from Foutaiubleau. T.he step was lakeo. and the thing was irreparable. 4c Such is the true and faithful account of this event, 'olio, has had, and will have an great mm influence-on ati my life. " The Emperor, by accusing me, wished to save imis.own time opinion of his talents, and the honour of the soldiery. As to the honour of the meddlers, Mere was no need of any care for that it never shone With more lostre than its that compaign ; but as to ri hat concerns liitoxelf, he will deceive Ito dispassionate man, for it would he impossible to justify that series of operatients which marked tilt last stews tio reign. 4 ' He /remises me of treason I ask where is its reward ? I-rejceted with contempt every sort of personal advantage which was offered rne,omi placed myself volrnitarily in time situation ofthe whole army.. Had I any ouniicular affectiou for the House of Bourbon Whence could I derive it.—l who eitly eutered oil active life a short time be fore That family ceased to govern Vrimoce ? Whatever croinion I might have teemed nettle superior trsitol of the Kiitg.of .his gemittes, anti of that of the Princes s . it was very far trues the reality ; this chant . Which is folio(' when near them was unknown to me. and could not give inrilm to ilmse sacred engagements n'nich tiowbind me -to tio*t. anti which thi•ir ;present mistertunes, ho little nos< iteti, bind rinser: sacred engarements, for to min who have hearts, testimo nies of regard anti esteem are a ihOllAanel tonnes mo r e va hodde soar gifts end benefactions. tk"liat was, duo*, the motive of,nly act loot An ardent love of my country, which has all Inv life been tic lllas' ter of my heart and aloorded all my idea.. i winked-to saw I:catiaQ from destruction ; I wished to preserve it from co l ohioasions which world have brought on its ruin ; from those so fatal couthinations. the font of the mito:A strange ilinsietio of pfelo, and so uit.tv re -s