The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-12-27 00:00:00

suffers front the ottraordinary 'state of idlers, which, forming, as it were, two massea.: one, of the Continent of Europe ; the other j of the seas, and the coantries from which those seas divide as, leaves them without say permitted cornmeal cation.—Nevertheless, the home consump._ Cos, in which a much larger number of individuals participate, since plenty (Paisonce) is known to classes hitherto strangers to it and our connections with our neighbours, maintain a great activity In a trade of barter. Our connections with the United States of America are suspended ; but, formed by mutual wants, they will soon re. some their course. Lyons Wholds the prosperity of her manufactures revive ; and receives the or. ders of Germany, Russia, w.►d the Interior. Na. plea fasaishes lib cotton, which her soil daily pro duce., with increased abundance, and which diu►i. Dish the more distant importations. rINAN C ES. " The con nect ioa ofeuni:nerce with public credit will naturally lead your attention to a phenome non, which strikes us less at-present because each year reproaches it; the exactness of all payments without new contributions, without loans, with out anticipations, and in the midst of a war for which, at any other time, the most extra ordinary efforts would have appeared below what such enterprises required ; the admirable effect of the simplicity of springs and movements of a vigorous order, and the exactness of c4lcu lations, into n hieh his Majesty has not disdained to enter himself. The registers , of landed pre_ petty is continued ; its advantages are found in the sub-partition of a great number of cantons and communes ; we shall soon derive from it the general amelioration of the land-tax, and the just proportion of the contribution to the pro ducts. ADMINISTRATION% OF THE INTERIOR AND - JUSTICL. " The administration of the Interior in 1809, has followed the same progress as in the preceding years. Order and cranquillity have been main. tained ; justice hat been promptly and equitably administered ; tho name of the. Emperor has been blessed in the bosom of families, rendered happy by interior peace. The Departments of Tuscany bay. received the benefits of general organization. ItEricaOus woltsitiP. " The Government, in its respect for con sciences, has not deviated (ruin the line which it had tracod out to itself. Its principles with re spect to religion have had their application this year, as in the preceding. (The cei:c!ti.ion :.f the article on Religion. which's prlnci pally a philippic agaiu:t the Pope, we defer till to-morrow. WAR. This sahject is introduced by a re-capitulatints oldie " pro wirisads" to Madrid, theezpuission of the Lnglish, and the at tenspt of the hmperor of Atulria to penetrate into the }Wiwi) territory tbroagh BavAria at the head of 5.10,000 the raising of which is described as " the prodigious and miraculous cp.st-t el Paper Money.") _ _ _ " The Ein:seror left Paris on the 18th, with. out guards, without equipage, and without troops; his armies hastily assembled from the different parts of Germany, fult astonished at the unfore seen aggression, and at the multitude of enemies who surrounded them on all sides. Ratisbon had been taken, with tme of the ftnest regttnents of the army ; but the news of his Majesty's ar rival reached the troops and flew through all the ranks. The Leper Jr having, by his accustomed minKurre, separated two corps of 1 the enemy's army, beat them on the 20th, 1 near Abensberg. On the 21st, he marched against Landshtst, rendered himself maste r of that towh, and of the bridge across the Iscr, the haul-quarters and central point of the enemy's operations ; intercepted, by thi4 move. went, the communication of the enemy's army, and took his baggage, his pontoons, and his hospi tals. On the 21d,lie marched to Echmuld) turned the loft of the ArchtlukeCharles's army l reduced to four corps by the separation of the two others, routed that army, took 30,000 primmers, with 100 pieces of cannon, and the same evening arrived in the plain of Ratisbon, where he rested in the head-quarters of Prince Charles. On the 23d, he closely pursued the enemy, destroyed the Aus. trims horse, and took Ratisbon, and the 12,000 men, whom the enemy had left in that place. In forty-eight hours the Austrian army, struck, as it were, by a thunderbolt, saw its fate decided. Of six corps, which composed it, each 40,000 strong, five were already defeated, reduced to half their number, and separated from each other. The remains of the four corps were driven to the Daanbe, and the two others to the Inn, without bridges, magazines, and without hospitals. The rumour of then disasters soon reached the cars of the Sovereign of Austria, and in less than two der the most profound consternation succeeded the most foolish presu:iption. " In the mean time, the Bth and 9th corps, which formed the Austrian army in Italy, had sur. prised our troops, who were far from expecting such treacherous proceedings, bloskaded Palman, Nova, and Venice, and reached) et the (28th of April, the Adige. " The Emperor's plan was no longer doubt ful. After having defeated the grand army of the Archduke Charles, and driven four of the corps to Bohemia, he pursued the two corps which fell back to tko lon, march. ed to Saltsburgh, Lintz, Upper Austria, and Styria, in order to turn the Austrian army of Italy, and secure his own army and his dominions in Italy which are so dear to his heart. One' , south had scarcely elapsed since the unjust ag gression of the Austrian army, when Vienna was bombarded and compelled to open its gates, and bow to our victorious arms. The Austrian army of Italy soon perceived that its flanks were un. severed, and felt the necessity of falling back. The Viceroy who defeated the enemy on the' banks of the Piave, on the Noric Alps, and in Gambols, pushed on to the frontiers of Styria, and formed a junction with the Grand Army. Shortly after he defeated theenemy in the interior of Hungary. Thu battle of Raab was the celebration of the memorable Anniversary of Ma. rengo and Friedland, which induced the Emperor to write to his adopted scia--" if a THR STATESMAN. " grand-daughter of Marengo." The scattered remains of the different enemy's corps could not ,have rallied, and would have been taken and disarmed, had not a fortteitout event, the rise of the Danube, which overflowed its banks, arrrested the French army ; the genius of war, and the effects of art overcame those unfore seen obstacles. In the profession of arms, it is at times necessary to join the courage and force of the lion, to the cunning and prudence of the fox. The battle of %Vagrant, followed by the Armistice of Znaim, made the arms drop from the hands of our enemy ; he had no other hope left than the generosity of the Conqueror, which ha had so often slighted. " By the peace of Vienna, France and her allies have obtained considerable advantages, and the Continent of Europe has regained tranquillity and peace. Let us hope that this Peace will be more permanent than that of Presburgh; and that the men who deluded the Cabinet of Vienna after the Peace of Presburgh, will not succed in deceiving i it again after that of Vienna; they would pro nounce the doom of their Masters ; fur France, ever great, powerful, and strong, will always know how to destroy and counteract the combi nations and intrigues of her enemies. In the mean time, England, seeing that our armies were em ployed in Germany, and being always ill informed, notwithstanding the immense treasures she wastes in paying spies, fancied that our veteran troops had left Spain, and that the weakened French army would nut be able to withstand their efforts. Forty thousand men were disembarked in Porte. gal, joined the iesurgents, and flattered themselves they should be able to march to Madrid ; they gathered nothing but disgrace from their enterprize; they were met by armies in all places, where they fancied to find unly divisions. Forty thousand men landed at the same time at Walcheren ; and with. out having commenced the siege, by means of a short bombardment they rendered themselves in a fortnight masters of Flushing, which was de. fended in a cowardly manner. his Majesty or. tiered a report to be made to him on this subject. The Emperor generously rewards those, who, ani mated with his sentiments, and sensible of what they owe to the honour of France, are faithful to glory and their country ; but he severely punishes those who calculate the danger when victory alone should occupy their mind, and prefer a disgrace ful flight to a glorious death. In the mean time all the departments were in arms : 150,000 men of the national guards put themselves in motion, while at the same time 25,0(X) troops, drawn from the depots, assembled in Flanders, and the Gens d'Arnies formed a corps of 8000 choice cavalry. The English Commander in Chief, as a wise and prudent maii, would not expose his army to dan ger more destructiwe than the plague ; ho returned to England. All the departments gave striking proofs of their attachment to the Government and Emperor, some districts only in the depart. mcnt of the Sarre showed a contrary disposition. Commissioners have been appointed to enquire into their conduct. The districts and private indi viduals, who have misconducted themselves, shall be deprived, during the space of twerity-five years, of the rights of citizens, and subjected to a double contribution. Over their, doors shall be written the words—" This is not a French Com mune." " His Majesty has also ordered to be laid he. fore him designs of monuments to be erected at Arras, 'longer, and Lisle, tending to preserve the memory of sentiments, which have given him so much satisfaction. 46 But the momentous influence of the events of the year 1809 on the face of the world, attracts all our attention. POLITICS. " The. Duchy of Warsaw has been enlarged with .i part of Gallic's. It would have been easy for the t inperor to unite all Gallicia with that state, but he would not do any thing which could ekeite the least uneasines in the mind of his Ally, the Emperor of Russia. Nearly all Gallicia, of the first partition, has been left to Austria. His Majesty never entertained the idea of restoring the kingdom of Poland. What the Emperor has done for New Gallicia was prescribed to him by sound policy as well as honour ; he could not surrender to the vengeeace of an impla cable Prince, people who had displayed inch fervent .seal in the cause of France. A you,' Austrian Prince, the same who commanded in Ulm in 1803, as arrogant as he is ignorant, and unacquainted with the art of. war, did only know how to get himself, with 40,000 011111,defeatal by Prince Jos. Poitiatowsky, who had only 13,000 under his orders. Through the unskilful combi. nation of her Gomel, Austria lost West Gallicia, the inhabitants of which shook off, with enthu siasm, the iron yoke which bore them down. It was the Emperor's duty nut to subject them to it again. It is his Majesty's wish, that under the wise Government of the King of Sateny, the ants of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw secure their tranquillity, and, without giving cause of uneasi ness to their neighbours, enjoy their fortunate Ai- tuition. ' 6 The Kings of Bavaria, Westphalia, and thereat of the Confederation, will obtain an an accession of territory. It would undoubtedly have been safe for France to extend her frontiers bend the Rhine, but that river remains the invaable limits of the neighbouring States of her Empire. The Hanseatic towns shall serve as lowans of the reprisals of war with England. " The peace with Sweden shall immediately be concluded. Nothing shall be changed injthe po. litical relation of the Confederation of the,Rhint., and the Helvetic Confederacy. For the first time, since the days of the Romans, all Italy will again be subject to the same system. The re-union of the Estatei of Rome was requisite to effect this measurc—they intersect the Peninsula from the+ Mediterranean as far as the Adriatic sea, and his. tory has evinced the importance of an immediate intercourse between Upper Italy and the kingdom of Naples. Three centuries ago, whilst Charles VIII. was effecting the conquest of this kingdom, the Pope suddenly changed his opinion, formed a a formidable league against him. The retreat of the King being intimated, he could only return to France by marching over the necks of the confe. rates beaded by the Pope. " But wherefore should we seek for examples in the history of Charles VIII ; of Louis 111 ; of Francis I. Have we not seen in our days, the Pupa protecting the English in his capital, who, from his asylum were agitating the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom .of • Italy ; distributing money and poniards to the assaisint, ' who slaughtered our soldiers in the ♦allies of Ca. labria ? The Emperor has demanded of the Pope to shut his ports against the English. Who could have thought that the Pope would havn re jected his demand? lie has proposed to him to form a league, offensive and elvfolsive, with the' kingdom of Naples, and that of " The Pope has rejected this proposal. No circumstance bus occurred since the Peace of Presburgh,w herein the Court of Rome has oat evinced its hatred ngainst France. What ever power happens to preponderate iu Italy becomes immediately her enemy. Hence, before the battle of Austerlitz, before that of Friedland, the Emperor re raised from Rome briefs replete with acrinriny. " We next beheld the Pope complaining of the principles of toleration, sacred by the Code of Napoleo.; ; oe beheld him rise against the organic laws, whirl) governed the inte rior of the Empire, nod in which, under no title whatever, had he any right to interfere; we saw him east fire-breads in out provinces, aad thus endeavour to occasion divisions io, and to shake the great Empire; and it is not to be doubt ed what he would have done, had any important battle been lost: The Court of Rome has unveiled its secret sentiments too much. She has not bean able to disown the services rendered by the Em peror to religion; but this motive of acknowledgment, which should have been so powerful over the Chief of the Church, could not overcome the hatred of the temporal liovereign.— Convinced of these truths, sacred by the history of former antes, and by our own experience, the Emperor had only too ways to choose—either to creme a Potriarea, and sepa rate Femme from every relation with a limier Mintiest to her, and which endeavoured to annoy her; sir to destroy a tem poral sovereignty, the only source of the hatred of the Good of Rome against France. GRAND THEATRICAL RECONCILIATION DINNER. T HE REAL FRIENDS of the DRAIIA will dine together at the CROWN AND ANCHOR TAVERN, STRAND, On THURSDAY, the 4th JANUARY NEXT, 1610, to celebrate the re4toration uf HARMONY at COVEN l'- GAR DEN THEATRE, to which Dinner the Proprietor and Massagers will he hurtled. HENRY CLIFFORD. Esq in the Chair. Tickets 12s. 6d. each, to be had at the Bar of the l'avern; Mr. Hathaway's, Newspaper Office, /trips' Exchange; T. Tegg. 111, Cheapside; Mr. Gardiner, Teinele Cottee-Monse, Lssex-coact, Strand ; and at the °See of lad STATBSSI•X Newspaper, 87, Fleet-st ree t. Dinner oa Table at Five o'Clork precisely. THE STATESMAIV. PKOPOSITI TtNAX. LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMDER 27. Sr. JOHN Er A GELIST. —Holiday et the Public-Offices. Tee French and Dutch Papers, the former to the 19th, and the latter to the 9.3 d instant, Coo. taitt matter of unprecedented interest and im portance. The Expose of the state of the French Empire, will produce astonishment in those weak minds that have, for 17 years, yieldAl themselves to the credulous anticipation of the utter ruin of France. The formal repudiation of the assenting Jose phine,is a solitaryinstance of even the appearance, of a consent:mous sacrifice of the most acute be. man feelings, to political necessity. That passion can have had any share in procuring this remark*- , ble event, it were most absurd even to suspect. — It can only be viewed, as a measure •f deliberate policy, and calculating foresight, taken, with the concurrence and advice, of the soundest heads in France. From what quarter comes the succes. sor of Jostranic? From Petershorgh...froin Sax. uny...or from the House of Bourbon ? BY the Speech of the American President it will be seen, not only that Mr. JAcitiotes con duct has been personally offensive, but that the instructions with which he was furnished were wholly unsatitfactory to the American Govern ment. It is some consolation to find nu arrange. 'went has been effected between Ainerica and France. COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE. The impietatioas of the Public were lotus.. what disappointed last night, by an unfortuato re. curreace of one of those sudden attacks of Wisp°. anon to which Mr. Coax): is so liable. The house was a bumper, the audience in perfect good hu. moor, and curiosity to hear Mrs. CLARXF., held every person present in anxious silence. The in disposition of Mr. Cooaa manifested itself so I:ro minently, in the first act, that the audience were in momentary expectation of " epilepsy." Ilap. pily, however, the indisposition of the Roman Father did not assume quite so serious a character. Between the first and second acts, en int , rral of unusual length, excited the dis::pprobation of the audience, in a very serious degree. At length, Mr. Youmo appearing, addressed the audience to the following effect " LAMS MID GENTLEMEN—I am desired, by the Pro prietors to acquaint . yon, that the unfortunate condition in which Mr. COOILIL ts, renderitii him incapable of perform ing hit duty this evening. it has become nece s sary to resort to some other meson of furuishbox forth your proposed amusement ; and the only way in which that can be now effected is, by your permitting Air. EGERTON to read the part of llsratias....-Ladles and Gentlemen, L am instructed to assure you, that under the present circumstances of the The atre. there is uo other play which could be substituted ; and to wires' their hop, that a measure whicu nece,sity dic tate%, and they inoA feelingly regret, will be tolerated with that liberality and kindness which you hate on many other occasions eitended to them." Plaudits immediately succeeded, and the part of Mr. Coolie was read by Mr. EGERTON. The performance, and the performers, were alike disarranged by the unfortunate interruption of the Pieee, which, ss r 'amens the more, a► it very obviously impeded the efforts of Mrs. Clarke; who waF, however, lousily, assd, as far as we could judge under the circumstauces of her performance, very justly applauded. THE NloW PANTOMIME. After this mernorsadis Tragedy, the children of this vast metr.)putis o with that itcs;•riptiva of ace., t. .►- who are merely children of a larger growth, were entertained with their &Antal dramatic organ ct wand nnimmcry, called a Pantomime. The name of this new Spectacle is Ileirimptit. Pedlar, or the Haunted Well. The piece opens with the view of a well, pith s number of country people, who are alarmed at the sound of a coach. Harlequin appears dressed as a peasant, with an ass, and attempts to draw water from the well, when a Fairy arises, who communi. uates to him the presage of nis future fortune. At this period he is metamorphosed from • Peasant to a Harlequin. The scene is changed to a Pavilion, and from that 1011 E! mansion of Sinitarmadukeßu. pee, Columbine's father. In this !mit the Clown makes his appearance as a fat Valet, but is oren tually changed into that species of Pierrot, w hick we have been so long accustomed to behold, and which has more of novelty than truth to recom mend it. The scenes were well painted, and some of tit.: tricks excellent, particularly the cnange of t. 1,3 harrow to a ladder. BOLOGNA danced with atembeurine, with agility; and the Misses Adams exerted the.iise t.s with grace and meekness. The Piece is too long, as It was nearly two hours in the representation. Seine of the machi. eery failed, but that is not very stirpris'eg on the ant night of a Pantomime, produced under such peculiar circumstances. Mr. GRINIALDI, as usual, was the Tierra of the evening, and certainly„iill were requisite that *Clown shoved be a postiore.usaster, he flat •icry just in his exertions : butas.we arc not convinced of this necessity, we must take the freedom of entering uur protest egainst the continuance of such praeti ces. if we are asked whether we were, or Wore not, occasionally amused by the tricks of Mr. GRI MALDI, we should certainly answer, yes ; but then the pleasure would he confined to the sense of see. ing only ; and it is necessary that the business of the Clown should interest the feeling, as Well as the sight. A rope-dancer, or tumbler, et' vaulter, has a privilege to arrest our epplaugs through the medium of sight ezriuSisely ; but this privilege is not allowable to a Cloon in a Pantomime, because he is a primary person in a little scenic history, of which his actious consti. tute a great portion, by the way of illustration as well as erect. We never sire a Picrrot in France, Oermany l Italy, Spain, or Portugal, that did nut maintain the accastotned traits of the Clown j nor in England, until Mr. Joscen GnIMALDI de stroyed the vital attributes of the character, by substituting agility fur buffoonery, and distortion andgeneflelion for comic humour. It is to be lamented, that the example of Mr. I;utx.%Lut 114; been so successful, that all our Picrrots now deem it expedient to be posture-masters, and mere gri. matiers, and the tree character of a Pantomimic Clown may be codsidered as banished, or eutosits. ed for ever ! We du not know in what state of perfection the Pantomimes were in the days of Mr. Hama, who has been represented by Writers as paying more attention to them tuan the Sister Muses; and who has been thus satirised by Port fur this pro-, pcnsity innuirtal Rica. reen.ws et Mist; hfid mows of—paper, and mad showers othiseas; tirent Heroic Arbiter of Time nod Space Whilst one rr. t egg nri.igs turtle the human race. But in our day of observation we have found none that have been produced, of a nature equally mag. niticent and attractive with those which h.,u be e n annually brought forward, as a Christmas offer. ing, at Covent.garden Theatre. Although ,iota. lar attempts have been made at Drory.lano Theatre (and we comprehend the dramatic ad. ministration of Mr. GARRICK, as well as Mr. SusitiDAN), yet none of them have been so ably managed or decorated as at this Theatre. Yet we are Inc to confess, teat (be stones upon which the mans points should hinge, are woe, in any degree, so well told new as they were formerty, w hen Mr. WuoDwa no got up Queen Nab, and played the Harlequin hiu-self. At that period, they would adopt some fable frum °vita, and' terow as gleam of success over the prntlitelluit ; has now the hope of success rests upon the l'aiuirr, tho Machinest, and the Posture-master. Pier, et has assumed new hilnisnies ; the Soirall..u,.ls is eXtiiiguistie.l ; the Pantaloon is trjust and Harlequin is supet sided in all Lis jsitu t neis honours by Mr. GRIMALDI, and his eovntioss web of imitators, from London to the Lain;', We have no testimony extant to prove that 4..3 Ancients had any knowledge of that absurd site. cies of entertainment which the French have called Pantomime. It is asserted by some French. cri. tics, that Pantomime originated in France from an Actor, whose name was Harlequin, and that it consisted, agreeably to his arrangement, of a se.. ries of incidents of a ludicrous nature, all opera. tang to the furtherance of a fantastic Lover's de. sires for his Mistress. The established name of the Lover Harlequin, and that of his Mistrals Colonibine, which, as well as Pierrol, were tile real names of the Performers. It was the custom then to speak a great part of-the dialogue extempore, in stich gallimanfry productions ) and their repartees pleased the vulgar. [The German and Italian Critics, however, derive the name of liatkquia frosts a :ntirgeal character introduce al in the time of the Emperor Charles V. to ridicule that Myna:a. The part) -coloured Hero of the Pantomime, tay !Love h maintain this *pinion, was named " Nor/eft/In, tuillenessi nate " Cliarks is (unt.") - - The first appearance of harlequin on &Leaden Stage was in the year IGB7, in a Drama, writteia by Mrs. Brio, callcd The Emperor of eta Maws; in which this motley Hero bore a very active part —a circumstance which gave much (silence to Mr. DRYDEN, and the contemporary Dramatists of that period. We believe that a Maitre dc Bailee, whose nam c was %Vaasa'', was the first pevson who composed any entertainment in Great Brim a in the resemblance of a Pantomime. lie produced a spectacle in 1716, under the tido of 7'iza Lover of Mars and Venus, in wi.ich the sereery was un usually splendid, and the dancing illustrative at the sub2 t ect ; but awes') its characters bore the foreign names, yet their agency approached too nearly to the iteWID Mimics, to be Jefitiosafely pententiosicisi. . • J J