The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-08-13 00:00:00

- ..~ -llf • Itit*,, t deprive him of 66 uchy of Warsaw • because a former war will, France had nearly ruined our coun try, awl *hat it was France that lestnred us to liberty a4l independence; because your alliance would have idiot I , Saxony, as it did ruin Ilesse Cassel, in th dostruction of which you were the first to ac-, go rte.. ; and that we never knew what glory and", happiness were, till our Princes became Members of t Cont. deration of the Rniote. " Lf you apply, to the people of Westphalia, they will telT you that you were among the foremost to abandon the Hoppe of If, .se Cassel, as you were ainreig the tiro to ackttgled.4e the sovereign of West illlitias.they arc of France, it is na. tnril at on..e to their policy, their interest, and their in •lination, to par-ue the path which their destinies bay.' market for them. Finally, shall I speak in the mime of Germaits in general?—lf so, I will say, that the greatest misfortune that can befal a nation is to hove their territory. made the seat of war—that it was, the interest of Germany to be allied to you and tot Fraece—that ee have been 10 years with you, during which time we experienced nothing hut loss, disgrace, and defeat—that ou • eountry has been constantly the • 3 , 11 of war—that our banners, now milted with the Fre. ch Eagles, are spread beyond our frontiers, and that we never hear of them but we also hear of the glory that .acircles them—that experience has taught us that there is no greater scourge than to have a Russian army in our country. Moreover, by the treaty of Tilsit, which you have entered into with the French Monarch and Protector of the Confede ration, you have engaged to compel England to mike peace. Peace would have been made if you had kept to your engagements ; and peace alone can extend the commerce of Germany. You then are th • cause that the evils which press upon the world are prolonged. 44 But is it wise in a Minister to preach up to peo ple desertion of, and rebellion against, their Sove reigns? Does not the having recourse to such me thods show the injustice of your cause, 'and the weakness of your arms? What do you call a free resolution ? We make war, as we have always done, because our interest, well understood, directs its hos tility towards you. You tell us to exert ourselves ; we are not cast down, it is only people that are in a state of slavery who can extricate themselves from slavery. We are free and happy beneath the rule of Sovereigns who have governed us for 800 years. We are not subjected to foreign fire and sword—we at tend to the voice of duty—we obey our Sovereign, and those who seek to send among us the horrors of anarchy and civil war, in order to save their own country from them, enter into a vain, puerile, and crimies' calculation. W'.at ! the Austrian Eagle; the Prussian Eagle, the Bavaria', Lion, the Green Crown of Saxony— can these be considered as the banners of slavery, while t •se of tee Cossacks, Russians, Muscovites and Tartars, should he considered as the banners oi pstriotis a and G, rman freedom? You talk to us of 1 the assistance we may expect from the brave Rus. sians, who are able to carry their arms amidst a po. pulation of fifty millions of souls. When you do thus advance, let us alone, and look to how yea may I be able to defend yourselves. But we have given upl the silly tat, s welch had gained credit with respect to you ; instead of fifty millions, you do not amount to twenty-five—one part of the number is in so barbarous ! a state that they cannot be counted as any thing; another part must be employed against the Turks and Persian.; another, rising as it wore from the grave, are arming themselves to re-establish Poland.— Fight to the last drop for the independence of your country ; in doing so you do well : bat do not affect to say you are fighting for our interests ; if we had any interests opposed to those of France, and you presumed to say so, the example of ten years would show us how we ought to appreciate your power.-r Bot, at length, the mountain in labour has brought forth a mouse. These big expressions end in a pro posal to desert our country and an offer of situations in a German Legion. You desire us to betray our ! Sovereigns, our country, and our religion, to serve under your banners—most base proposal ! When a General or a Minister could forget his honour so far as to sign it, what a terrible notion we must form of the morality of the notion to which he be. longs : moreover, what should we gain by enter. I ing into your service ?—Do we not know well ? I Our pay •we should receive in paper—we should be pieced beneath the most terrible climate in the world, and we should incur the contempt which is the portion of all such as enter into the ser vice of Russia. If yoltr arms were at any time I successful, their success you owe to our country men, to the Muniches, the Ostermanns, &c. sad how did these men finish their career ?—Why, by an exile to Siberia. Your nation is naturally jet. 'lnns of, and inimical to, the permans. You have re. paid those who served you with ingratitude. With respect to the unfortunate persons whom you have seduced by the prospect of a comfortable situation in the flourishing provinces of your Empire, what has become of them ?—Their confidence in your promises has procured for them misery despair, and death. " You speak of the liberty of Germany : is that to be found in the destruction of the Houses of Aus. tria, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Wirtemburg, Radon, ! Hesse, Saxouy, Westphalia,. &c.? Unquestionably here is a project of your Prince's; which has every possible characteristic of honour and morality; and t it is very wisely addressed to us, who have been dis. tinguished for ages by an attkchment to our Sore. reigns. no you mean to express by the word liberty the Muscovite code which you could confer upon our peasantry ? is it by attaching us to the soil that you would make us free? TWO very word liberty is offensive in your mouths. How cad people .who treat men like horses dare to talk of liberty to Ger mans? Good Baron De Tolly—yon dabble in mat. ter revolutionary—you would erect hepehlics. It is you, then, hacked by a handful of-Gorman adven turers, smitten with a passion for England, who can have no rest till you have brought our Princes be neath the axe of the executioner, sot lits to oar towns and villages, destroyed our mannfoeturss ; and, un der the pretest of giving freedom to otos °sentry,. devoted the present generation to ItU tb. hOrrefi of • anarchy.. Jr *4 .tf This Proclamation bat giTen atelsewiroustie to bless ilotaTen for having given mak power to our rrotet:tor ; for it is dated neithertme Rreidett pqf ledni k 1 ' • ..- --- 7,10 , Y 4.-•-•• • • • • • • r • THE :AN. , 1A wind-ewe wpt, p er moats to be stopped etr each males pay, seder pretence of„ Munich, or Stutgard, nor yet from Berlin or War- The latianweie va have ' l ' lll 7 Ways a reishig saw • But when you are driven back' into Russia—. maid" "e ar them ;The Cemamadallt permits 16 emelmeol . drawing water the military Memos inform os, duo the Freseh when you abandon Poland through inability to vie fend it, you then give up all honour an propriety maim ., are o _,_ _ centime, persona, and useleopie to such a degree as to . have recourse to the . pen of ad- who dra'''w the ;;l ater caa r yi o b ey dn.nnt get ame4bneth of nbat it venturers and ruffians. No honourable man could , stopped. There are about 1400 of es.reeeifing pay—allowieg 11. have brought himself to sitr e t io auch a Proclamation ; centimes, like the Fronds Military, thettereensinsadetkipser it takes bat a small ee gi from such language would; have suitable to England ; ; 153 francs per moth. im mes h . . your to make us uncomfortable. We vett that the Freed Qe,-. but even the Minister of that country would not have ; each man, it Is too much ta give to peoples/deo we ew e s. dared to avow it. We shall conclude by imparting a • to restom Si ear parole, and totem iv with the humanity sad • o f a dvice. • Dtead, that while you speak of "meat , "dial th'ismatemeeteillitr. will Muth, gOodoess' piece it may be imoartea' " Indulgence that they have blthertaibee, caul oar arrival at this depot. M. Cougar says kis his eaters to treat us like ostassee berry to the people of. Germany, to your slaves --to the people of Poland. In short, Ibe assured, that the families which govern our coup- soldiers. , tries, more ancient as they are than yours, are more Sir, we remain your obliged servants, stedfast upon their ' thrones. The House of Russia The Depot of Loagwy. may. be destroyed In a moment by similar catastrophes to those which terminated the life of Peter by the hand of Catharine, and of Pa ul by the hand of —. But the Houses of Saxony, of Bavaria, of Wirtem burg, of Baden, of Hesse Darmstadt, will outlive your empty menaces. " It would be a much more easy process for Rus sia to fall back into the barbarous state from which Peter raised her, than for those illustrious Rouses to become extinct, and leave their palaces to be fired by the torches of the ruffians whom Baron de 'lolly would set in array against their Sovereigns and their country, and of whom he has condescended to be come the organ." —(Journal do 1' E mpire. ) V IEN !I A JOLT 46:--Letters from Cantu, in Upper Hungary, inform us, that the corps of troops which was in this neighbourhood, has been consider , ably augmented. Major-General Stainauger dis charges the duties of Quarter-Master -General to this corps of the army. It is intended to watch the me tions of the Russians in Wallachia. It is positively stated, that it is General the Prince of Rosenberg that has been nominated Imperial Commissary-Gene ral of Austria to the head-quarters of the French, and that he will set out immediately. His Majesty the Emperor of Austria has invested the Prince of Schwartzetiberg with the most extensive powers. He is authbrised to confer promoiion upon officers up to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel : he may confer the military order of Maria Theresa, without holding the usual chapter, and may deprive such persons as may give him cause to complain. At this moment the shocking intelligence has been received of a dreadful tire at Baden. At the time when the courier set out to give us information of the event a Considerable part of the city had already been reduced to ashes. Loagwy, Jame 4, 1811.• (DUPLICATE.) Lowry, Dee. 1811, TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD HOLLAND. Me Loao,—The Prisoners of War, whose signatures are sub scribed to the inclosed Petition, being highly grateful for the very great interest your Lordship has ever ebewn in endeavour ing to obtain an Exchange of Prisoner', have been induced to request your Lordship will do us the honour to present to his Royal Highness the Parma RESIST, the inclosed Petition, and continue your philanthropic exertions for your unfortunate countrymen in France. We beg leave to mention, for the information of your Lord. ship, that our depot, and those d the Merebant Sailors, com prise the most unfortunate of any men, prisoners in France. It may be said, that id war time we ought to consider that.we rut the risk of being captured by the enemy; bat it never can be said, that we should have expected to have remained so Mg II captivity (=ay eight years and a half); therefore, after a ow.. tain period we think ourselves entitled to some relief from our country, for whose cause we suffer, and which, if we moot be exchanged, is our desire. la former wars, merchant passengers were not detained. It has been said that the French Government will not permit any allowance to be paid us here; Watch is the case it might be paid to our friends in England, on whom, these among us who have thent able to make any allowance, cat always draw for it. The officers and men in Government service receive pay freak the French Government, according to their rank, as well asibeir pay from the British Government; as for us and the amerebeat sailors we only receive the pay from the French Govern■llt, consequentky we are the most distressed. We beg your Lordship will excuse our addressing you on the envelope of the Petition, which we are obliged to do, owing to the extreme difficulty we experience in the emausanicstion. Should this be so fortunate as to reach your Lordship, wesWt be greatly obliged by your coodescending to inform the Sects. tary of the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd's of it, and deli hag MOW let us know it through the Rev. Mr. Gordon, at Verdes. We are, with the greatest respect, Your Lordship's Most obedient and obliged humble servants, for the Prisoners of War in the depot of lastly, ALEX. SMITH, Capt. of the London West WANDA& JOHN MORTON, Merchant Passenger. RUSSIAN BULLETINS' POSTSCRIPT TO THE ST. PETERSBUfGH GAZETTE. 14aWS OR Tag WAIL /ROW ■LD-QUAtTI'IY, Tag 2. 0. s. (IVLY 14,) 1812. - By every information it would appear, that the enemy is cot-, letting his force en the right of the trmy of attack. Our• Com mander in Chief does not neglect the proper measures for ren dering the latentiens of the enemy unavailing. Prince Begroties, on his side, continua his movements vs has been prescribed ts him. General Plater, lying In ambush, fell In with the enemy on the 26th June, 0.11. (July 8), going from Nevogrodok to /Cure-1 I Hitch s his vsossad consisted of three columns of bone. which were overthrown * the reed by oar Cossacks going out of vogrodok. On soother day, 47th June (9th .duly), our supe riority was still we remarkable. The enemy haw iegstreagth erred his advanced guard, attacked General Pistol*, who °ems ' pied a small plate called Mere. Three regiments of Polish Hu. laws, commended by General Toorno, were completely routed upon this occasion. We took prisoners two Colonels, several other Olken, and two hundred rank and file. General Toorno himself narrowly escaped the same fate with a very small num ber of bis Hulans. • (DUPLICATE.) TO MS ROYAL iIIOHNILIS GEORGE PRINCE OF WAKES, ac. ac. REGENT OF BRITAIN AND IBELA UNITED KINGDND. 014 OF GREAT 1111 e It ri.ZASt 'iovß ROYAL MIGUNCSII I We, the undersigned Captains, Mates, and Pas. osengers of British Merchant Ships, Prisoners of War, st.present detained in the depot of Longwy, consi• dering the present a proper epoch for addressing your Royal Highness,' humbly beg leave to condole with you, in the most sincere and affectionate manner, on the unfortunate affliction of our most beloved Mo. narch ; and, at the same time, to felicitate your Royal _Highness, in the most sincere and humble terms, on your accession to the Regency of the (Jolted King dom. Being well convinced that we are writing to our Prince and countryman, whose only study is the happiness and welfare of his subjects, we humbly presume to take this mode of acquainting your Royal Highness of our present miserable situation, trusting you will remonstrate with the French Government for the harshness with which our class is treated. The town of Longwy (as it is called by the French) is nothing bit a strong, fortified citadel, surrounded with ramparts, ditches, and sentinels, about 400 paces long, from north to south, and not quite so much from east to west. We are deprived of our parole, and not even per mitted to approach the ramparts. Daring the sum. mer months we are obliged to muster three times a day ; at present we muster twice, be the weather ever so inclement, which is very inconvenient at this ____ season of the year, as most of us have not a change TO THE EDITOR OP THE STATESMAN. - • of clothes, ihoula we get wet. We are at present Sza,—We, the British Merchant Olken, Prisoners of War, obliged to be in the barracks or , our lodgings by half. forming the Depot of Loagwy, take the liberty of sending in closed a Copy of a - Petition seat to the Right Hoo. Lord Hoc- past eight. o'clock in the evening ; should we had- Lane, which we requested his Lordship to do US the hangar to vertently exceed that time, we are taken up and con. present to his Royal Highaess the Panics REGINT 1 as we have fined in a cold damp jail, until after muster at eight not received an amwer, we presume that , the Petition Wands- o'clock next morning,, and sot liberated until' we carried. We, your unfortunate Countrymen, will consider'it as a particular favour, if you will have the goodness to publish pay six sole - jail fees. In case of sickness, we are it in your Paper, with the Letter to his Lordship ; by so doing, 'twelve leagues from the Hospital at Metz, which is we think it will, is all probability, meet with atteotiou from app ointed to receive us ; and ihould any sudden ae hig Royal Higisams, and his Lordship will likewise see that we vithritaia the highest esteem for himself, and that we are fully cident happen, we may perish before we can reach immible of the value of his patriotic exertions in our favour: it, it being two days' journey for the corresponding 'aka Is publish this Letter, that the whole may be seen by the Ge' ns &Armes, into whose custody we are given.— Preeeirenvernmeat. We beg leave to Warns you, that si n ce dtedite of the Petition, our ease is considerably altered for the We have an unfortunate case before us—Tousles .worse; the price of bread is double, and all ;Om articles have THOMAS, Mate of a Merchant ship, in endeovooring rises in proportion; the liberty of living in town iotakon from to desert, fell from one of the out-works, a place us; and we are obliged to slap two in o bed, in the barracks; t fifty feet high, and twitted his uncle in such hi a few words, we are treated with great severity, our cow abo ut , . madam being governed by his Faigilsh Interpreters, and so is. a manner that the. resident -Medical Gentleman de- d')/I"ee can be granted, exelPt through the°. At Pre' dared, it was highly imprudent to .send him to seat, the few permit meeting with intulgesee are, tire ' lto- .. zwetz.—lits bill, for medicine and attendance,' t erprt ee, e, worried men who lave their wives with them, Ithaw tint hive married French women, or peep n ee * a im ,: amount! at present to 1340 francs, 940 of which "'""'• We 11 " e 'keg intoned, by letter, *ow hike ihse has been paid: by the Committee for the Patriotic t h e Minister a war i tatigped with bowie( emsplalats F un d, so the rema nng n o wt 0 , ; u w eegeee, we sake t hi s „m e lad " of aap.irtag •'d 'i I 400 will be paid by. sub. his Excellent'''. 905 any complaints. whatever that may h ave actiptiOn. 'We are sorry to say, that, notwithstand ing', seat apastill YRIIIICIbis &seat, an auslorroorstl,,mul wild- s Ing the attention' which has been paid him, we fear his out fesedaties, If ba MU have the goodness to esquire of M. 1 ., mnit • lui s , Th i s i o d 14 V114.10n, asiensandasit d'Awits, the Civil Alithovitien, the - e' - - - r — #.• • Military Mee% or iney other person, wept as; COCIALT, 0010 T , We have pareyva. the French Government, le , j 1 4.46.t or kik. l ows; sat, will fed that we have always cam. art Taipeetfai manner, itatiog our cvait alio , dieted ourselves will the greatest propriety atatregalwity (env '-i _ . 4111* l l, t r ofdifilk killildeelinjities'A apt !be few desestittes), sad they must be plated to the rev* - I— "Y" — weaves adopted by' td. C. I and these Mal been but Doe deatiß, , . 'win"' L------- llMPAlNlggillei' OPP. With FrelilliPti Cof poo fgoo.riok 4 :1.100 was ofe."Mits Vila& qbg fASOSPOSSOL 114,1411. 1 14 *WOW OEO4 ato . Amy Aelf• NQ. POSTIIGNITT TO TIE ST. TETEPSIIEOGO t. ALBITE. WfWll 7110 M TVS ■ZAD-QOARTIRS OF TIM AIINT TO TIM 7u JULY, 0.6. (JULY !9). Nothing new of moment has takerkplace in oar army, except ing an attack made by the enemy, to the number of 7 or 8000 sea, upon a rear-guard under General Polintz, of e.OOO men. The French were defeated, and their Commander, General Ge nies, taken, and 150 of hie men. • Pursuant to the main design our army continues to withdraw by degrees. On the 6th (July 18) some preparations were nr. dered for the further ezeentioa of this plan, but no movement was made. The affair of the 9d (15th July) is more decisive than was at first imagined. We have taken 17 Officers of dis, tinction ia that successful surprise. 'fhe enemy has been assembled is very great force on the banks of the river, and the passage will probably be hazarded. Preparations have been made at Wittespk for the Emperor of all the Russia', to which plane the head-quartets will neat be transferred. On the sth (July 17), the Duke of Treviso and 30,000 men, appeared in the vicinity of Olaubokoy, bat an attack was mad* upon their advanced guard, which fell back about a mile, and this successful movement stopped the eßemy for that day." BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN FRANCE. • .; - . I ,pert frees oer friends ; and to augmnt our ply t o what ire used to rec Are in all former wars, viz. sr) lines per month, as we then ranked with Lieu. tenants a the Navy ; but the French Governmatit has net eves condescended to givejas an answer. We have borne our misfortunes with patience and resignathoss for a number of years, thinking some political entire might be the reason we were n o t exchanged; certainly no rich satire can exist kr • eight years. We bass existed. epee the smelt pittance of 22 litres (245. 4d. sterling) per month, allowed us by the French Government, which, your Royal High. ness must be well convineed, is insu ffi cient to supp ort a class of men who have hitherto moved iu a sphere of mediocrity. We Batter ourselves the merchant service h o f peat importance to the State; for, without merchantmen; there would be no commerce, no r nursery for seamen. We are the most oppreesed, ' but we think not the most undeserving, of his Mu jesty's subjects ; most of us are fathers of families ) and we have for many years paid taxes to Goveru. meet. , The moment we are captured, our pay from our ampletyers cea s es, which reduces . ' us to the greate s t i distemai Wu" deprived of the means of supporting our wives, and educating our children, as formerly, by the produce of our industry; on the contrary, the little hoard that was pat by to comfort old age in its infirmities, has been expended to assist us in our miserable and unparalleled captivity. We humbly beg your Royal Highness to order the Minister to lay our situation before Parliament, and to request them to extend their bounty towards their unfortunate countrymen ; many of whom bear scars of wounds received in defence of their country, and the most part have served the early part of theist lives on board of his Majesty's ships. 4 Far be it from us to complain o'f the humanl4l strewn by our country to unfortunate stranger' driven from their homes; but, we presume to think, we merit the bounty of our nation, as much as the French Emigrants, and we should consider ourselves handsothely relieved, if the same allowance was made to us, as is given to the meanest them; which might be either remitted us through the Patri• otic Fend at Lloyd's, or be paid to our friends Is England. Notwithstanding the immense sums which have, been contributed to the Patriotic Fund, we have re. ceived no other support from it, during the whole time of our captivity (many pow reckon upwards of eight years), than the sum of seventy-eight lirrea (31. ss. sterling), with the exception of the under, tonnage masters (that Is masters of vessels under SO tons, who receive but the rations and pay of a sailor), who have for some time past received nine litres per month. We have received information, that several evil. disposed persons have asserted that 29 litres per month is sufficient far all our waists, therefore, we have taken the liberty of annexing a note of erpence► for one month ; by condescendi►►g to look over which, your Royal Highness will see the deplorable manner in which we exist. The few among us who have small funds, or friends, in England, lose more than one quarter, and frequently, one third of what we draw, the exchange being so much against us. May it please your Royal Highness, the porpoft of this Petition is not to Icor a triding support—.that is only a secondary consideration ; but to beg yeti Royal Highness to strike at the root of the evil It oncr, by making an Exchange of Prisoners, Horstoro us to our country, to our wives anti families, before we become too old either to be of use to them or to ourselves. Your Royal Highness will be pleased to recollect, that although we are only lilerchait eers, there are amongst us navigators and pilots as pable of conducting ships from London bridge to all parts of - the known world. difwan.inforenell-br the Fretidb, that -tE # ths fa* of our own Government that an Exchange has tot taken place. Gracious Gon l will future ages ever believe, that a great nation, like the United Kingdom, would sacrifice thousands of her eabjects for so many years, when she is expending her blood and treasure for Foreign Nations. Being fully convinced that your Royal Highness will take such steps as you in your wisdom shall think most proper to effect an Ezcbange, We are, with the highest esteem and most prefonad respect , Your Royal Highneis's Most faithful and obedient subjects and servants, Alex. Smith Thos. Jones Thomas Cabbage John Sutton George Hawkins Nicholas pleats Thos. Howson Edw. Rabic George Purdy. John Ross Joseph Bishop J. Pratt Thos. Young Thai. Jeeb John Davidsoe Thos. Booth Thos. Lyell Alex. Maclauren Jobs Findlay . George Batchelor Henry Quinton James Berry Robert Harris Thomas Bly Janses Me di Jos. 'Hoskin Samuel Jay Robert Miller John Burry 'ravines Wells Thooms Parker John Dentilas Thomas Coulon Stephen Redma Thomas Graves W. Meusfurth,ur l7s John Orfewr Richard Simms -Wm. Martin James Donoisocs William Atkinson W. Meazies John Morton Nicholas Purdge Thus. YonogiM o Was. Summers Web. O'Connor Jacob Hare, o• "This. Stickle Charles Newton W. Huggins Nicholas Owe*, Thomas lisbett - Robert Capp Thearro Korvin- • bawl Graves Jobe Hines • 'Thos. Was. Forster Was. Brown Thomas Nieman • I , o fs lefibt*We , Wail Michael taw Edwafts Wait .. r ~ , ii t ~k~ ~~ f !': ` l l ~. -