The National Register. — London, England, 1808-01-17 00:00:00

JAN. 1' 1 41 i ."IF TyrfATITTIT AZ. iIT The if ()anew' . asserts, that the KING of PRUSSIA, instead of being abandoned by the Emperor ALEwinEn, owes en tirely to the mediation of that Monarch the possession of his Crown, and of that share of territory which has been restored to him. The affirmations, made by our Ministers, of certain barbarities committed in the Prussian territories by the French, are flatly denied; and a challenge given to the accusers to produce their evidence. A contrast is drawn between the conduct of the French and the English 4 towards the places which they conquer ; and the former are found to be uniformly the protectors of the vanquished, and the latter as invariably a band of unprincipled pirates ! The following very curious piece of mingled reproach, boasting and affected moderation is then introduced : " But if it were true that the French have exacted a little from their enemies, why should they not in fact ? .They have 800,000 troops, and they are ready to make every sacrifice to double their force, if it should he necessary ; not that war is their natural trade, and that they do not sensibly feel the sacri fices which they make in withdrawing so many hands from the cultivation of their so fertile soil. In possession of a fine coun try, they wish to addict (hems Ives to the conquests of commerce and industry; but your tyranny will not suffer them. You have roused a giant, whom, having ruined, you continue to irritate in cessantly. During fifteen years, your injustice has only tended to add to his energy and power, which your perseverance in your tyranny will still increase. He not only will not lay down his arms, hut he will augment his ford until he has conquered the liberty of the seas, which is his first sight, and the patri mony of all nations. if the afflicting consequences of war are protracted, if the French troops continue a burthen to the terri tories which they occupy, you are the cause. All the calami, ties which oppress Europe, proceed from you alone. These great questions are not to be resolved by diplomatic common places. W hen you are disposed to make peace, France will be ready to make it. Of this you cannot be ignorant; you well know it. An anecdote generally known may he quoted in sup port of this assertion : When the Imperial Guard set out for Jena, and-it was known that the Emperor was to join the army few days after, Lord Lauderdale asked M. Champagny, whe ther, if England male race, the Emperor Napoleon would consent to stop and countermand the march of his troops awainst Prussia. The Emperor replied in the affirmative. With one word you could have saved Prussia. By preventing the fall df this power, you would have maintained on the Ellie that harrier so necessary to your dearest interests, the re-establishment of which in future is impossible." A large succeeding part of the Manifesto relates to the affair of Copenhagen: but although much is said, nothing new is produced. It is merely a repetition of what has al ready been advanced in the Moniteur. But our Readers will be interested to learn the terms which France and Russia propose to demand for Denmark : " France, Austria, and Russia require that the Danish fleet should be restored ; that reparation sitnuld be made to the • PrinCe Royal ; that the English people, following the example of the Romans upon a similar occasion, should surrender into • the 4ai l ds.of th e Prince Royal the person who adyised the ex neigioa ngaiust Copenhagen ; that the houses dt•stroyed in that • lily slioulkibe rebuilt tit the expel l ee of England, and finally that his Britannic Majesty should disavow the outrage offered to all Sovereigns. This is fur distant from the proposals made by England." • • In regard td the declaration of our Ministers that we arc a;Wayx ready to make peace with France on reasonable terms; that we briAC °front- last negotiation only for Rus sian interests, but will never consent to be dictated to by any power, the Moniteur declares the latter sentiment to be insulting to Russia : it attiring that if the interests of Russia are regarded, peace may immediately be concluded ; and it asserts that France has never thrown any obstacles in the way of iwace.. Put the most important article in the whole .Manifoito is the last paragraph. It relates to• that declaration which our Ministers made, in defence of Russia's adherence to the principles of the armed neutrality, that we should re solutely maintain our principles of maritime law, and never allow them to be brought into question. It is as fol. lows : • .. " It is because you do not wish for peace that you raise Use less questions. France, Austria, Spain, Holland, Naples, say, as well as the Emperor of Russia, that they proclaim anew the principles of the Armed Neutrally. 'Phase Powers have daub:- less the right to declare the principles which are to be the rule of their policy ; they have the right to say on what conditions it becomes them to be your enemies, or neutral. You, yois proclaim anew the principles of your Maritime Laws. Well then ! this opposition of principles ss ill not he an impediment to the re-establishment of Peace. They have on neither side any effect during peace; they - have no application except when you are at war with a Maritime Power; hut in that ease, each Go vernment has the right and power to consider the first violation of its flag as an act of hostility. The circumstances in whieft YOU will then find yourselves is ill determiue your conduct then. If it is with France that you arc at war, you w ill not judge her a power sufficiently feeble to render it indifferent to you whether yon draw other enemies upon you, and you will chew some consideration for the rest of Europe. You did not venture to irealt the flags of every power, till you had the address to atm all the Continent against France. It was then your maritime. principles were changed ; and they became more unjust and more violent, in proportion as your Continental connections became more contracted, or your allies maiutained with more difficulty the struggle in vi high you had engaged them. It was thus that when Russia was obliged to collect all het force ataihst the French in Polled, you violated her flag, and refused her, in respect to her Commercial Treaty, concessions which you showed yourselves disposed to grant when she bad no longer any enemies to combat. The Powers of the Continent, ill p. - oclaiming anew the principles of the; armed nrotraliln, do but announce the maxims upon which the purpose to act in tlse next maritime war. You cat not prei;ent their die: sting their policy as they understand it; they exercise in this tee right which appertain; to all Oovermacies, and to the usurpation of which they would have nothing to oppose but the ultimo ratio regum. On your part, you proclaim the principles of your maritime laws, that ia, the maxims which you will employ in your next War. The Con tinont has no interest in detoandieg from you either des clarations or renunciations. Declaratisns would have tio effect, from the moment you might thick you could forget them with impunity. Renunciations are without an object. since we cannot renotive.. what ase do not possess. If we judge of what you will do, by what you have hitherto done, we may conclude, that you will not require from the Powers of the Continent either declaration or renunciation; and as they will demand from you, there is hence no question to discuss, no difficulty to resolve; there is nothing which can retard for a day the ble-- sings of peace. If, however, you should raise the strange and tios vel pretension of iinposine upon France, and the other Powers 0 1' the Continent, by an act of your will alone, the obligation of sub scribing to your maritime laws, this is as if you were in require that the Legislature and Sovereig nty of Russia, France, and Spain should be transported to London—a tine prerogative for yous Parliament. It would be the same as if you were to proclaim everlasting war, or as if yon were to fix as the termination of war the moment when you should have seized no St. Peters burgh, Paris, Vienna, and Madrid. But if this. be not at C , e bottom of your sentiment, there is no further obstacle to peace : for, according to your own expressions, ncgociations were bro ken of on points which touched intmediately not the interests ef his Britannic Majrsty, but those of his Imperial ; for the Imperial Ally of his Britannic Majesty has informed you, that peace is henceforth the principal end of his wish, the principal object of his iuterest." Our readers will perceive, with pleasure, that this article contains far more pacific indications on the part of France than have hitherto been uttered. She ingeniously finds out a mode of getting over the chief difficulty which stood in the way of pacification; and when this is once removed, certainly veri little seems to stand in the wly of opening negociations, if our Government is inclined,