The Sun. — London, England, 1815-01-21 00:00:00

SO, Tilt SUN RElrkiV. (No. I.XV.) 1115To!tICAL SCIRI 4 7II' Of the CITARACTER of NAPOLEON ntioNAPARTE; ' funded en' his own Words and Actions, farming an Introdfiction to the "Verret .Ifintoirx." By One rtho never quitted him for Fifteen Years.. .Tratislated from the 6th, Paris edition. 12in0. pp. 92. U. Collsurn. 'This little Volume is from the same pen which, *rote the secret Memoirs, the subject of two for. mer'Nundicrs 41f- the SUN REview. The umbra of BOONAPARTE' for 15 years might, we think; have tohl.us much more than this writer seems to know ;. and . We are inclined to believe, that : a masterly delineation of 'the 'Character of that man of extraordinary guilt and fortune, must be the work of sonic future painter.• Sunk into insignifi cance, as the once powerful Tyrant isit this hour, there is still so much of the personalinemoryof'his• crimes or favours, extant, that it would be difficult to find a historian of Ids . deeds whose entire im partiality could be relied on. Each, however, who. attempts the task will produce his facts, and these being sifted and weighed hereafter, will, from the pallet of an Artist, furnish; the picture of the. greate.A scourge of mankind that ever steeped the world in blood. In the Mean time we shall select only one passage from this publi catipu, which has already furnished•mmany co lumns to every newspaper in the,Country, as to lose any interest it might at tirq-possess for our R.F.VIEW. The Writer thus sums uphii opinion of BiMNAPARTE ":NaeoLuon BUONAPARTE was at the stone time renowned and guilty: He was less indebted .for , • nis triumphs to native genius; - than to the bravery oftlie French nation, and the torrents - of blood, that' he,eaused to he shed. An achni.; rable. General, in the hour of victory, he was the most timid of warriors, when compelled to re treat.' From the Kremlin he came to Paris, and left behind him, without pay,. Without remorse, myriads -of unfortunate soldiers; abandoned, tts the most hideous calamities. Never man attach ed so little value to the life of man. If he spared sonic persons wha were according to his moral code, it was strictly self-interest that sug g,--ited the pardon which. his lips pronounced. Ile was devoured by passions ; or rather. he had but one,. which devoured every other._ This was a measureless ambition, to which the an- • uals of Mankind do not furnish a parallel. It was a sort of frantic desire to he spoken of, no matter !loon what account. To this frenzy he sacrificed millions of human beings, incalculable treasures, and ultimately--,,himsefft : Tower and OlOry bad calcined "his very heart's core. The fumes of grandeur had rendered liirlincapa ble of the softer affections ; he was, therefore, surrounded by courtiers, but never had a friend, not eve!) in the bosom of his own family. Sys tematically.imperious, no man could be in the right, when he wished, him .to be in the wrong. If he had a crowded Court, the crowd was pelted thither by the stimulants of •avarice and ambition Nations were to him What flocks are to the proprietors . he calculated upon the fleece and the carcase: The word humanity had -no sense in his mouth; he conic! associate no mean-' ing with the term. Absolute authority had:ren dered him " a dead corpse in complete steel," In short, if, any thing can palliate thefunereal•cele brity of this man, and extort from the French nation that forgiveness which religion enjoins, it is the reflection, that he -was the work of an angry God, an instrument of, divine vengeance on the undivulged crimes of Europe. " Let us not, then, be more of Royalists than the King himself, or less merciful than the Divi nity. If the hand of God has -reserved for him peace and happinesl among the rocks ofElba, it is because, in tqs 0-seeing eyes, he is less.guilty than in our's ". . A -CAUTION AGAINST FIRE, 116 - I UiVI:4. As considerable importance has been attached to the affair .in ‘rhich this Gentleman's name is implicated, and as, .from- its connexion with the snbject of the Property Tax, it becomes of c:n . - siderahle national interest, we make no apology for offering a few observations upon it ; first as relates to Mr. GLAnsTorsiE, and secondly as re-' lates to my Lord LlVErtroot...• - The original pa ragriiiih Which lCd to thiS controversy appeared in the Morning Chronicle of the 7th, and was as follows :- " We find that it was not to Mr. Hart Davis* alone th.t • the Earl of Liverpool addressed a letter respecting the cottti: , nuance of the Property Tax; but he has written to others of the devoted aim expectuat friends of the Trea4nryin different towns-, requestin, them to feel the ;while pulse On the oeca- . sion, and let him know Me' revisit. A WIG,. of this kind, from• the Noble Earl, addressed, -to Mr. Isladstone .of :Liverpool (the friend of Mr.. Canning), was shewn about by that Gentleman, with great salt-importance. It. stated • the anxious desi - ..e of Government to learn whether the loyal Town of Liverpool would approve of the' conti nuance of the Property Tax for another year, to wind up-the • expenses of the war, and requesting to have an answer. It is supposed at Liverpool that Mr. Gladstone has replied in theatfirniative. But 'the sentiments 'of the great Majority of the , connereial men there, iisoopposite,'and;ihe feeling is so universal, that a' M ee ti ng i s to b e held on the subject,- and in this the Tories th emse l ves take the-le'l.— Thi4 may serve to shcw to the Country at large what is be- Come necessary fOr them to do ; and how important it is to beware of the insldious artifices of the known Agents of the Treasury." In answer to this statement (as false and un just as ever appeared in a public Journal, and having nothing . o truth connected with it hilt the bare fact.of Lord LtvattrpoL'i having written, to Mr. , GLApSTONE), tt ie following Letterwas:al diesSed to several Liverpool and Loudon News • papers , . " Liverpool, 9111 Januar:, 1915. have to -day yea!' a paragraph in yoUr Paper of the 7th instant, stating, That a Letter had been received by me ' from the Earl of Liverpool, wlierein the Noble Earl ex ' pressed the anxious desire of Government to learn whether •' the loyal town of Liverpool would approve of the Property Tax for another year, to wind up the expeuSei of the wiii t ant requesting to have an answer.' In consequence I land inform you, .that the assertion is without fonn: dation : I hare not received such a'leiter: nor has Ids Lard put any questions to me on the subject. I therefore. desire that you will, as an act of common justice, ihsert this in your . next paper; and'l also trust that in future you will be more cautious how you lend yourself for the purpose of giving cir cutatiOnto statements not less false than evidently founded in Motives of the most malignant nature. Should the Editors of other Papers have copied the statement, I expect they will also`publish this letter. " 1 am, Sir, your's, &c. " JOHN G LADSTONE." If ingenuity or malice can torture any thing out of the assertions of the Chronicle, and the contra diction of Mr.GLAusTONE, it must be that the latter' did not think' hiMself called upon by a malignant, false, and anonymous charge, to enter more into the particulars •of the correspondence between , Lord Liv4eoot. and hitnself,.than simplyto deny that there was any foundatiim for such scan dalous allegations as were made against him. For this exercise of his discretion," and for this alone,, is Mr. GLADSTONE. before-the public,-which will decide whether he is to be commended for his prudence in not unnecessarily disclosing what v.-.as entrustcd to him in privacy and confidence, or con: detuned for not being inure explicit. For Our : selves-We shall only say, that if be had been pro' yoked by the calamnious imputations of the. . Morning Chronicle to publish what was confided. to him; we should have considered him to be un worthy of the good opinion which led to that: communication, and have dewply lamented an example of the fact, that of all • the harassing and inquisitorial powers• ever vest ed in any human authority,' the most grost ly oppressive and dangerous • was that which belonged to the, press, which by vague surmises anti false accusations could wring out every mar.'s secret from his"bosom: The stone gradnally creasing in weight . which the old law -laid upon . the breasts of suspected persons, to extort-con fessions, was a mercy, to this novel, undefined, and unlimited rack. - - With the two documents (above extracted) he- fore ey6, the Foiltor of theWorning Chronicle has this day the shameless effrontery to adeto his 4.1 ;7, ;ITU - ) Uy 1,1111.;; : i VIM 11,111 S Uri disLell sct (lolls " Mr. Gz.AnsioNE has chosen to print in The Liverpool Courier, a st<iteincut in explanation of his fainons letter, tviiich s . ve re-published yesteillby: In that letter lie positively declar e : o , 7 i n the fate of his enquiry, shut the Earl if f,ivetpoiii hod not written to him, _nor errii kit - a qui...alai to him rol ccr;iing the Property Tux. This deciar.itton, under hishanl, he_ had the decency to rettnet in a full asiembly of his fellow- Citizew:!' Mr. GLADSTONE'S letter :is , printed above,, and we put it to the Reader, of whatever . Party he may he, to say if there is a word of truth in these assertions of the Chronicle: to say, if it is not at teily false that ever Mr. GLADSTONE .deCiated"that Lord LtvEnPooe had . not written to .him„--et terly false that he has retracted his' assurance that Lord LIVERPOOL had put no question' to him, concerning the Property-TaN. On the contrary, it was impossible that Mr.GLAnsToNE'enuld act in this manner. He had shewn Lord Livcarooe's letter It) many persons in Liverpool in the end' - tif Pecendner—he bad not only consUlted his friends upon it., but corunitinicated it to his political ad, versay-ies ; and will any man credit • the 'absurd imputation, that on the 9th. of January he Would publicly deny ,the existence of that of v%:•liiell lie knew .there were huntircsds who could disprove the truth from his . 6Wn lips; and under his own hand-writing any man believe that he would, be,so• insane as pnbliely to. disavow what the Chronicle-itself tells us he ''' had show, about with so niuckself-importance." We shall not take.npnsore time ih exposing the inconsistency and folly of the charge againit this respectable Gentleman, who will no doubt defend his ,character from. such aspersions more ably than a third person can do, though a sense of common justice impelled us to offer these re flections upon the case. With regard to Lord LIVERPOOL, anovring the ''truth Of all that has been said respecting him, -it amounts to this, that the Prime Minister -of Great Britain pays that deference to the 'Sentiments of the People that he is anxious to knoW what these sentiments are, before be pro poses or rejects the proposition of a great politi cal measure in which the interests of the People are most intimately involved. This, we imagine, will be deemed a very popular offence, and likely to render his Lordship no common favourite with all ranks in the nation. Having thus fairly delivered ourselves upon this -important subject, we shall only 11 , d , that if the Sense of the People (not of the brawling Party, who' are . always 'noisy and busy in trying to embarrass the Government,) is decidedly ex pressed against' this Tax, either in Consti tutional Petitions, or by 'the Voice of their Representatives in Patliament, it will behove Ministers to see, if .possible, to do without it.- - How this can be done, we confess we do not know. By departing from the •fundamental priOCiple on which our financial greatness rests, viz. that of raising the supplies for the year within the year, a part of the burthen of ‘1815 . -16 may, perhaps be transferred . Co, 1.81 6-1 7: Another source of .our .prosperity, the Sinking Fund, may also be invaded 'for the payment of interest. More Exchequer Bills may be issued, and our money market, de preciated, and our exchanges turned against us. And last of all, an increase of the Assested Taxes may furnish what is still wanting for the necessi ties of the Country. The consideration is, whether the Property Tax, with all its blemishes, is not preferable to these expedients ? MAILS. ARRIVED--3 Dublin, .1 Waterf*ird. Dus-2 France, I Lii. bun, 1 Harolmro, 1 Holland, .• PftiCE 0 THIS LMY AT T' sTocKS ELVE Bank Stocie, • liauk 1.. Ann. 16 7-16ths 3 per Cent. Red. 66,1 lndia Bonds, 17s. 18s. pr. 3 per Cent. Cons: 651 Esc!leg: Bills, 2S. ss. pr. 4 per Cw►t. Cons. 83 • Oinniunt, if die. 4 per CentNaryAnn. 944 i 95. Cons. .for: February, 663 661 . 1-11.G11 WATEk AT,.1.6 - ,cDoN BRIDGE TO7NIORROW. Nlornint,7,minntes after 11. lEV min kites ,iviter I I T.1.1E :',.:SUIS:4 sordtm QuIS nicEttEFALWA Au DRAT? TO TILE SlR,—Being greatly shocked at hearing of 's -o many instances of women being - burnt to 'death from their clothes accidentally taking fire, I wish to otter few-hints on this occasion ; - which, if • duly attended to, would (I think) often 'prevent the accident proving fatal. ft ; is generally the lower part of the dress which catches fire : then, if the person remains in an upright posture, the flame, naturally rising upwards; 'Will quickly reach - the head .or stomach, -and he likely to bave a fatal effect ' , llist,• it she-immediately lay- down upon thq floor, she might:in- general very easily extingiash the .flame by rolling•herself. • Or, if a; num he present, be may pull off his coat; and with that very_ soon extingiiish the biae. It there be a hearth rug, it would answer•the purpose better than almost any other thing. It is the' want of knowing before-hand "'what is proper to be done in %itch a 'case," that occasions - loss of time, and thereby increases the mischief. .And then the v iolent fright 'destroys •altpresenee of mind 'and yal,ei Hie, case become quite detsperlitc, which' at 6rstquight easily have been remedied. • J. 'C. At our New Market' ott Saturday, fat *cattle averaged 7-Ll. per lb.; sheep 8-Id.; pigs The nutnbee of each- was ..unusually large at this season.; there were• few buyers, and .prices bad much declined since Our last fair. • • A Correqondent,. no friend to farrners,• re quests Us, in the fallowing truly, elegant language, to advkii them to humble then:selves, arid " put their hands to the plough--the wife tO.the cow--; ap d f am ily t o th e - mow ; —they•tchon/d then . find a good living by the sweet of their'brow—and pay emery one now 1."--,•(Shreivsbury.Chron.) *TIiF .Bristol Journal contains the following Not 7 ce, which s h ew s that Mt Davi s 04,4 is adverse to the continuance of the Tai) Las been as-much -misrepresented as Mr. Glad- stone Th 3 conduct o s f Mr. Davis," otir Member, has, we are as sured,'been also as much misinterpreted as Mr. Cladstone's conduct at Liverpool has been. It is true, Mr.tak is receiv ed froM.Lord Liverpool a letter, stating that it was the 4 1 ' tention of Ministers to take the Sense of Parliament upOn the necessity of continuing the Incon I%m ; but so far from Lard Liverpool having sent this information to Mr. D. with' c; to feet the pulse tpliis conseihmes, we have reason to believe '4e are correct in .saying, that Lord L'! communication was in reply to a previous letter of Mr. D's, in which he informed his Lordship, that he.had not only ce tson to think that the sense:of his Censtituents was inimical to the continuance of the,Tax, but tbat his own sentiments were repugnant to it, and when opportunity UFercd, be should feel it . 1114 'duty t& oppowit." •• LONDON, NATURDaY, JAYl.74lty it ; 1815. We are still without foreign arriirals to-dAy,' and the consequence, as usual, is, that the news from Vienna is more consistent and There is .no reason to indtice us to alter the °pi . tionS we have a l rea dy l a id b e f ore t h e Public. What the conferences at Vienna are near a close, we are well convinced, and that , thearrangements we have stated, will he their result we have not the slightest 'douht 4 Lord 6t4TLEREAGIii as we mentioned long ago, may shortly be expected in this court.; try, 'and we are informed that the Speedy de parture of the Monarchs from Vienna for Berlin .is As confidently to be anticipated. As for the wars shall only notice thew with the French inteijece tiot) , Bahl When-we yesterday ,avo wed cur intention 9 offering a few remarks on' the subject of the Pro-.. petty Tax, we were aware that so much prejudice existed . against the opinions we entertain, that were we to fill whole columns with explanatory matter, We could not expect to escape miscon struction.. We shall, therefore only say, that we should individually be •nruch benefitted and e%,- ceedirwly rejoiced were that Tax at an end---aritt . 5' • - therefore, in supporting the expediency o f itg• continuance for another -year, we may at least be credited for speaking• on public grorindS, - since both our private interests and private feelings are marshalled on the other We Will..graiit to those who join in the POi• dons . , at present so prevalentin many parts of the country,- that this Tax is-irksome, is.moreinqui - .: sitorial -than accords with the free nature of our Constitution, is in some instances oppressivW; anal in all burthensome, and that nothing in the civ.- cle of Taxation can be much more -desirable doll its termination. But it has beeir.sribmiteed - tO with all its grievances for many. years,_ and whyt becauseit furnished that revenue, which no other means could produce,' and sated us from' . evils a , . thousdnd fold more intolerable than . those it in flicted : • Because, if the Tax Gatherer visited our houses Oftener than,we wished, it was.tei save us altogether from the more unpalateable visit of a ,foreign Enemy : Becarise, if we paid - ten per cent, on our incomes, itiireserved the other ninety per cent. from the hie : Because,• if we. were un pleasantly called on to divulge the hiStOry of our fortunes, the secret was at least, let_ out to our own Government, which protected us in the full enjoyment of the property not . required -for the exigencies of the State, and riot to a Conquer-. ing Invader, who would have : stripped us of all ; Because, if it so far invaded our private, it guatranteed our more valuable public tights : And. , because if our Contributions were large, they were still the contributions of Freemen, and' nobly applied under wise and able Ministers, ts • the result has proven, to rescue us l from degeada tion and slavery, -If then we have paid dearly foC - • our blessings, our blessings are well worth a mighty price. But it is said, the War is ended, and this Which ..., was most distinctly understood to be a War taxi ought to end with it. Granted, if the.. War be really and virtudtly ended; but this seems to us tQ be-a mere quibble upon words.. When the ter!" initiation of :the, impost was contempltted ) contemporaneous with theconalusiOn of the great struggle in which we were engaged at the time it was t imposed by Parliament and consented to bf , the Country, it was not the literal signature of the a treaty of peace—but real cessation of the demands incident to such a state of military array as we were compelled to maintain, which °ld . viously constituted the spirit of the Legislative Enactment. The War, then, in this point of view, . is not ended —the necessity which induced us to • resort to _this severe but.etlicacious measure stilt .f. In Flanders we have an army almost as 'numerous as we had in Spain ; and till the other Powers of Europe resume the condition of Peace, we must maintain our warlike attitude, orlose a few weeks of apparent weakness, many of ihosi advantages for which we have Contended so vigo rously. • Our relations with Ahierica also, absO 'lntel) require an immense Naval and 11Tilitark. Establishment to be kept up, and until the Con'7 . gress at Vienna comes to a pacific. determination, and the Congress at Washing'/on ratifies 'the . Treaty of Ghent, it may indeed be said;- " the war is at an end," but will any man in his. senses assert that such a state of circumstances exists as to relieve us from a war ,exPentli!• . rure, or induce the people to weaken the hands of ~Governinent, by ill-tiinesl..remonstrancca 4nd judged claurours. We have run a gloriotis tacor-s' the goal is iu'view,witkthe terialuiy of ttitunphlf we.perscvere tcl the l ast--is this then a extoll ttf ECkic in 'out speedi ;airire our osertions , ? If iVc do i obi overarnent. but the Nation is to bl ame for sacrificing, in - one moment of lid 4, becility, the good which long years of firmnos s and constancy have placed within our grasp.. Tjoon this subject, the LiverpOol Courier, which $0 , menttonen yesterday, with that- eulogy due to it*. merits, makes these o serrations, with which we' shall conclude„ as . heing,petiectly consonant - t° our own opinions : exists. ,4 We are nominally at peace, hut aie.'not in our FOC attitude; and npie hut thezveries't itCp,olitics Ca - 3 suppose we can he as long as Europe remains unsettled, " from Europe we. turn to America, the case is, '6tio moro übvioui. • • hostilities have nut ceased, che Titaty is "itnrilt i. ned, i'Lll(FOrii• 'preparations anuthq eatnpaigni very ixplf . r" sive,; hilt very proper ones, are goirig tlft;- To meet- thel expellees, looney miist I,* ! found, and to. urge the inslilL relinquishruent of a war tax., , licuive we are bat nc,Pii 7 ta l t:' at peace, is to take advantage of natn“ 'And appearances t° embarrass Uovernmerit, Thisis coirying, and nut wa M riotis_` . and it i, very unworthy o f men who profess to ilaye the terest of the cutustp;• at heart; As . for those who hive oppc,sl', tian fc# avvn s,ii e, Cie affair faiiialite for' tactic."