The Sun. — London, England, 1814-03-29 00:00:00

LETTER S ON THE POLITICAL AND FINANtIAJ, STATE OF 'THE NATION AT THE COMMENCVMENT OF THE YEAR 1814, ADDRESSED TO . THE EARL OF LI- VERPOOL. LETTER n•.* MY La: 0,--At length the auspicious moment stems to be arrived, when Europe may, with safety, declare its open wish, nor fear resistance even from the voice of France herself. The Star or BouttnoN,so long eclipsed and veiled in night, now shews itself above the horizon n ith mined splendour, whilst the baleful _Meteor of Ajaccio sets, as I trust, with all, - its Arain of hor rors, in everlasting darkness, The return. to loyalty and reason will be at least as. rapid, and, beyond all doubt, more permanent than the departure from, them. Already has the child of Gallia's school, " The foul philcisophy that sins by rule ; " With all her train of reasoning, damning arts, " Begot by brilliant heads or worthless hearts; 44 Like things that quicken after Nilus' hood, 44 The venoed birth of sunshine and of mud:"— Already has this foul and misbegotten imp—, this illegitimate offspring of dulness and false genius, lost -its evanescent sway over the deluded minds of Frenchmen, and wherever they can find protection from the Tyrant and his satellites, the magistracy and the people alike resume the plain unvarnished language, and utter the wholesome dictates of common sense, as if the, advance of . the British, like the touch of the Angelic steel, - bad aroused them from the the transitory incohe rent follies of . a deep deluding dream, to the sober realities of waking truth. So rapid.has been the reverse, that it is not im probable, ere this can meet your Lordship's eye, the reign of usurpation may be completely extin guished, and the Usurper himself have met the fate he merits. No, my Lord,---not the fate he merits, for that would be the rack and wheel, the ignominious exit of a bloodstained malefactor; but the far More honourable, though not less cer • taus termination of a soldier in the field of bat tle. Let us not, however, cavil at the tikle, so that we obtain the end ; nor object to any casualty that rids the world of such a monster of iniquity, whose whole life has exhibited a constant scene of enmity to.' all mankind, whose frozen stony bosom has presented' only one . unvarying speci• 'well of " Heartless speculative ill; " youth's transgression, with all age's skill; " The apathy of wrong, the bosom's ice; • A sl 9 w and cold stagnation into vice." Rather let us'rejoice, my Lord, at any fate 'which saves an English Gentleman the fear of being prevented from paying the accustomed tribute of Ws loyal affection and dtity to his Sovereign's .throne,lest he. should be shouldered in his Prince's drawitig-room ,by one of the pickpockc . princes, or unfettered Peers of theCorsican-Court ; by the midnight murderer CAULAINCOURT, the but cher SU CIIET, or the merciless and insatiable thief DAVOUST. From scene-5, and fears of scenes, like these, with what heartfelt satisfaction do. I turn to con template the well-deserved, the transcendently triumphant glories of my native country ; and most sincerely do 1 congratulate you, my Lord, and your Brother -Ministers, on being relieved from the hard necessity of listening• to the cold dictates of political expediency, whilst every better feeling of your hosoms must long since • have pressed you to the bold avowal of equitable right and moral principle. The disgrace of treat ing with the mock Emperor, Tuf raising the low born family of BUONAPARTE to a bei , -Jit above the • illustrious Hous"e of Brunswick; is now, thank Goa, no more a point in question. With tile real Sovereign of the French, with the descendant of the great HENRI, with Lot's XVIII. you will snot be afraid to negotiate on the fairest and most liberal terms, convinced that what is a►reed to solemnly, will be kept religiously: for what ever errors may have marked the early part of the career of the Bourbon Prinaes--rto whatever, erratic gallantries or dissipated extravagancies the youthful ebullitions of high and ardent spi rits, nursed in the soft, luxurious lap of roy alty, may heretofore have given birth, now chastened and subdued by the severe, hut useful lessons of long-endured adveisity, and counselled by the constant experience of the mild and limited rule bf British Monarchy, their conduct, when restored to the throne and fortunes of, their-an cestors, will doublers prove to be but a 'continti imce of the benevolent government of their mar tyred predecessor, too merciful only for the times fi in he lived ; and all their youthful follies will have been equally long abandoned and con temned. " Speuto it rigur,,,he i ran desir nudrira, " to ugni cur nun sul rien mancu amure ; " Ma chi piu arse, del suo fulle errure " 1)i ricurdursi pur abborre c schiva." And, after all, even allowing to the:Usurper the full extent of talent claimed for him by his besotted admirers in this couhtry, but which I deay.to him, and admitting that the lawful princes were as far below bins in the intellectual scale, as / ( 1 0 ,„t believe tieuz to be, although they may not be able to% •mananivre a brig'%de bf holdiers with quite so much accurate rapidity ; the people of France would then only have to decide, by its The three Erst Letters of this series appeared in 7ie News.papers of the 31st January, 9th arid :'id of Pe- Lruary las t ; but the Editor of that Paper having, on' their fast colulaurtication tr him, iu manuscript, eapres:ed his re rret, that, after the Meeting of Parliament, it WWII,' nut he in. his poNt..cr ttr afford room for any more, - they are' now, by the liberal Itii:dnes, otthr Edina' of the Sus, a ltoi'eti to be communicated to the Pablic throneli this channel, insulated merits in the present instance, on a question which their favourite NEcitia has cannot be submitted to any general decision on simple and abstract principles: " L'ou a gnelquefeds agittf, tan linnnue sans principes, mai: , gni reuniroit a des :, , randes lumi!•res 1111 esprit smcriedr, n'etn:t pas pins cont - enable a l'adonnistration qu'up humane vertneux rpais depourvu de talens. Cast une que6tion chat notetre de velles qui nr peuvent jamais etre soutnists a uue de cision simple et absolue." Our oltt school acquaintunce 4ESOP has, how ever, settled this.matter' much more easily than the SwisVFinanaier ; and I am apt to imagine, that the French, if left to themselves, completely independent of all cotitroul, either foreign or domestic, would not he long in- returning to the gentle sway of King Log, rather than continue subject to the'Yoracions appetite of the conscrip- Live Stork. Anxiously, neverthOess, as I feel expectant of the restoration of the House of Botratiox to their ancient seat in France, I any by no means de sirotis of enciatv,cring that balance of power, which I trust to see so soon restored in Europe, by suffering- too minty countries to remai:. sub ject to the .sway of one family. France atlSpi-iin are full enough. to he governed by the Princes of that race it Will, therefore, te ,an act of wis dom, not to permit any part of ,Ittily to continue under the dominion ot, a 'branch . of the same stock ; and a compact and powerful kingdom founded there, whose Sovereign shall not be con nected in hloOd with either of the houses of Bour bon or of Lorraine, would be a iniasure most ad visable. I3tit, I confess, at the some time, my Lord, that./ cannot approve of the man who is already seated. on the throne.of Naples ; neither his conne:sions• nor iris moral Tr.ralities are such as . I could wish: Besides, I think . , such a I , vide distinction in the ultimate destinies of I3uONA PARTE and his brother-in-law, has 'too Much of the " eadem tliverso crimina' foto ;'! and !though I am perfectly ready to adjmlgt the " illi crucem," I am not quite so well 'disposed to allow the "hie diadema." • ' • Mr. BuRKE, indeed, has given-us a dispensa tion from high l birth, when he says, " There is no qualification for government but virtue; .and wisdom, actual .or presumptive. Wherever they are actually found, they have, in whatever state, condition, profession, or ,trade, the passport of Heaven to human place and power." But then, my Lord, we' must have the existence of the wisdom and tha virtue in actual proof,, before we admit the validity of the certificate. - • . . I have said, in a former letter, that even when the active part of, the contest shall be over in the field, there will and must be much serious matter of discussion remaining for the Cabinet. - The whole fateof Eueope.has been so completely coil vulsed. and distorted ; `sitelt changes of territory, such dislocations of jurisdiction have taken place in almost every country on the Continent, that tvithOut attempting 'to reduce the Whole to a corn plete and perfect status quo ante bellum, which, under the existing circumstances, would, perhaps, be,quite impracticable, it will yet require a long and Undivided attention from the wisdom of the wisest,_ and the temper of the most temperate of European statesmen, to reconcile the jarring in terests, and give any thing like a satisfactory set tlement to the claims of the many powers •con cened. But this, my Lord, however intricate in its diseussion, and tedious as to its duration, is a point not •so much dangerous as troublesome. 'lire nations of the continent have suffered too deeply already from the long, lengthened period of years • consumed in warfare ; have had too much . of ac tual distress brought home to their very doors, and mostly even to their fire-sides, to be ea s ily seduced into a renewal of hostilities with one an other, for the sake of claims, either doubtful in themselves, or admitting of convenient and ade quate cOmpensation. And. your ,own country, though happily exempted from 'heal -suffering or lOss of foreign possession, has yet eruhiredsuch -heavy burtheus, and submitted to such enort.aous sacrifices in. finance, that the moment of peace, when peace can be honourably and safely p ro _ / cured, must be mdst anxiously sighed for by every man of every pi;•ty and description. Let, - then, the knell of the Tyrant, the corn mon enemy of all mankind, be once but' actually rung, and the world may safely rest upon it arms immediately ; and ail the anxieties, and almost all the barthens of warfare, may be at once thrown aside. In such a case, I see , nothing to prevent the return, in a very short ..s.-_.rieel, •to • the com mon expenditure of a peace establishment ; not, indeed, the low establishment-of five and twenty years back, but such as would, however, admit of great and essential relief to 'the pithlic burthens hnmediately But fit, very far different, indeed, must be the prospect, under any peace that could be made with BnorAft - rE. What Minister, my Lord, would be bold enough to disarm this Country Finder such a contingency ? 1 have heard it Bait'.- that the Al lied Powers would compel the enemy to a similar measure. M) Lord, it is impossible ; thkre is no Power on earth which could enforce a ilisArming' of BU6N.I.PAItTR'S strength, similar in. al.l its con= sequences to the disarraying of the military force of Britain. Let us recollect the tedinus, tardy process by which we have arrived at our present strength in the field, and on the, ocean ; remem-' bet. all the statutes for encouraging yeomanry ca valry, a n d volunteer int'antry . ; the numberless vo lunteerings front the militia ; the limited and un limited service men ; 'with all the various plans that have been contrived to increase otir armies by slow and painful steps ; and say, What pro portionate force.they all bear to the energetic ra pidity of a single conscription. The Corsican Emperor might be without a soldier, beyond the Imperial Guards of his sacred and illustrious Per son, ode day, and would have a formidable army almost on the next. No real Sovereign, no Mo narch, governing by known and. ascertained laws, 'could possibly execute such vigorous und decisive measures ; and therefore, in the commencement . . of a struggle, the advantage is entirely with a Despot ; the. "Lnperator solus et conditor et inter pres legis," whose quick and'uncontroled attacks resemble the feverish, phrenetic, but powerful exertions of a Alatituan; whilst time and coolness can give due . eirect wily towards the latter end of the eontegt, to the-warier effotts of health and sa nity,. • Of - these England has, at present, the full benefit' ; so, indeed, has all. Europe; ought-4T, , „ then, to !brow away this ha,rd-earned, slovlyiktA, quire(' superiority, without the prospect of .sos certain and equivalent adtantage ; but where that' taryivalent to be found, in what form it is to presented to us, 7 am 3nre•l knuw not ; and think it would puzzle the. most acute politician to point it - out. lVere Peace, in any reasonably durable shape, to be attained,, no one couleue more sincerely re, juiced by the event than myself; but the hollow, fallacious, insecure, armed truce, which is . all that , we could conclude with 13CTONAPARTE, under the semblance only of real Peace, the '" Bellunz invo- Intunz pads nontine," is a thousand times more to be - dreaded and deprecated, than continuance, however long' protracted, of open- war. " Et apteni, "Jupiter, ut sit, ait; metuo tame!' amnia." The successes of the Allies, of which every day brought fresh accounts, seemed, - a short time since, to put this out of question.- The masterly combinations of simultaneous movements on the Marne, the Aisne, the Aube, and the Seine; and the, hurried and distracted rapidity with which the surrounded Corsican was obliged to turn his de fensive operations from one point to another, sufficiently evinced the falling state of his for tune, and "gave dreadful note of preparation " for the near approaching conclusion of the Ty rant's bloody career. But with all this . fair out side spew of union and vigour, there was some thing rotten at the core, which paralyzed the best energies of ItAsia, and reduced the - heroic valour of the brave Prussians, and their immortal Com mander, to be no avail; and when the tableOilill Of the veteran .31.11c1-tea had foiled the Corsican on every point, when every eye was turned, • with anxious expectation; to the imme diate march of the Austrians to the Frehch me tropolis—what followed—a fearful pausewhich, I fear, from. the uncertain Councils of FRANCIS, threw away a precious moment for decisive action, worth whole ages of irresolute hesitation, or tor pid inactivity. Nor am 1 mainly satisfied . with hitn.who seems to say so much and do so ; and, contented with having strested.a province front the Crown , of I3enmark for his own purpose; still keeps his forces, idly lingering I' the North, " When they should serve their Sovereign in the West." it'4such'half-Jaced felloWship, as this that has kept all Britain iu the aguish fevery intermissions of hope and fear; one moment expecting the downfall of the Usurper, and the next, dreading to hear ot a treaty with the bloodiest Monster that ever disgraced alliance. But now, thank Heaved, the shivering tit is past ; and the glorious ..progress ot our trium pliant,\VELLlNoTor?, and the unbiassed declara tion of the whole people of - that portion of the French kingdom which is at liberty to declare it self, have decided the question beyond the power of the whining, puling ad"tocates of peace to alter. • Even if preliminary articles were signed, which GOD, forthe honour and security of every true Englishman, forbid came when they win, they are nOw of no•avail ; they mutt, as fias so energetically been said, be mere waste paper. We /Jaye no power to sign away the rights of a whole n a ti on , h p - the acknowledgment of an Usurper, against the voice of tine people•over whom be has usurped his swan. I' could go much further in this argument, fin; it would be' a waste of tirpe-- the measure will execute itself; and the French' %vitt have their own Sovereign in spite of all up positron. It is, to be hoped, that the Parisians themselves will be the principal actors in the, concluding s'..'me of the tragedy, and that the Royalists of the (lathe metropolis will redeem-their : city's reputa tion, by bringing the monstrous malefactor to the har.of justice on the very spot where his Royal "Master -had bled s'o Many years before ; 'but be that as it may, let hini but t , !!cl in any place or mode, and the world will once more beat rest and in security. Yet, independently of the great principle of re tributive justice on this rank offender, it is to be wished, for the sake of literature and th e fi ne arts, that Paris, the present museum and depot of almost every saered relic of ancient • 31...i11, or specimen ,of modern ingenuity ; that the grand magazine of every thing valuable to the than of taste and science, should not be.exposed to the desolating and irremediable ravages of savage ig norance and rapacity ; and the best chance; of avoiding this, scents at present to he by the re• -call of the lawful Prince, and• the execution of summary justice on the traitor'whO has usurped his place ; for if once the Cossacks enter the Gal lic metropolis, we may. expect to bear of the Louvre and the nuillerics, the splendid palaces of the arwient Kings of France, being consumed in flames ; and wild would be more irreparable to the world at large—all the fine Monuments of Grecian sculpture, and thateldess • productions of the ltalian Schools of Painters ;* all that the combined efforts of science, taste, and genius . have drawn from long past a ge s, t o so f ten and ameliorate the mind of than, woeld sink together in one common wreck, nor leave a ve&tige of a loss, beyond the power of time to remedy. If, however, the Princes of France are suffi ciently active to prevent this scene of devastation ; ifihe Allied Sovereigns and their Generals are ac- ,tuated by due liberality and clear judgment ; and, above all, if the Parisians themselves are duly sensible Of their owit interests and ditty, and dist. claim the usiirper, and invite their lawful Soyt'- reign (by his brother and,. representative) to 'his ancient metropolis, then,•as I trust it will, may the threatened storm pass innocuously over the domes of Paris, an the treasures, of antiquity and genius yet be safe front spoliation. Indeed, the restoration of the lawful Govern nient,_by. the return of the Boy ItIIONS to their hereditary Throne, is the only certain. guarantee of permanent pe ace i n E urope ; t h at i s toy say, of. such a peace as might be looked to for any rea sonable presumption of continuance... It Was this alone which could justify the passage ofthe Rhine, this the only legitimate object of carrying the arms of the Allies within the boundaries of ancient France. " linen est ilia dies mihi . quam Itubieolis ad undas, " l'Anui4saaa AUzzini cljtis spe nauviruus arena." • 4 FALE.L.AND. " tfALTA MAIL. " Malta ; Dec. :27, 1915 gi I have trittch satisfattion in acquaintiugl l ' . that the public, health irr thiS Islapd coalii;ues wear• the Most favourable appearanef. Sinc4; th e Proclamation whith issued on the 4th inst. and which I had the ,honour to inclOse you in my Teti 4er. of- the 51b, nothing untoward has occurreG, and we have now completed our first tweet; (IRV . of clean quarantine. There is,' however,. one village in the country where the disease still lit►" gets in a trifling degree, but it is now w alled round ,by a double wall; aud surrounded' with 3 curdonof . troops ;- in fact,. it is - treated inevetY respect as a lazaretto, and we have no fear what . " - ever of it-s infecting airy other part Of the Isbell• " I have the honour to be, Sir, " Your most obedient, humble servant, " T. MAITLAND.. "To his Excellency Lieut.-Gen. Campbell." GIBRALTAR, MARCH s.—The Malta Ilacke came in on Wednesday, in 30 days when sit e left the Wand things remained in the state de*" scribed by General Maitland, in the Letter we gO re : on Saturday last.—( Gibraltar Chronicle, 'March 5)• --On the 27th January a Proclamation Was - . ? 5 " sued by Get*ral Maitland, at Malta, stating, iirt' t the general quarantine would cease on the 2 9111 ' which day he ordered to be set apart as a day solemn prayer and thanksgiving to almighty Go d ' CADIZ, FEB, 26.—0 n the 3d 'inst. was signe' l in Naples between the Plenipotentiaries W. C " Bentinck„ COmmander in Chief of the 13riti5il Forces in the Mediterranean, and:the Duke d° Gallo, _Minister for Fol.:rip Affairs' - to the 1 04 of Naples, the' following Con vention : Art. I. From this day liostilitis shall cease, both bYs'' and land, between The English and Nea/iDlitan forces, 011 ' 11 are in the islands of the Mediterranean and Attriabc,' pr ant other forces wha.tcve . r, :ander the'curnakand of English ci: o rnanderS. - 11. During the Armistice, there be, between Gre ° Britain anti the Kingdc.in of i';aples, and islands mentioned in the preceding article:, it free: trade, in arti..les not 1 0 ' 3 ' 1' bited, subject to the regalia:ens established by the respec tic6. Ge.vernorA, or those which have been previously establi.. l34 : 111. If, from any ~.attse,: t he Armistice should cease, lA g '' tilities slie.ll not recommence till three Erik/tabs after iti lDeini denounced by one of th e tw o Parties: IV. Ilete sli4; be ioirtediatvly coricluditd a Military C'n vention I:etween the Grrieral or `-'itlperior Otlicers of the - 1-11 '; triao, linglilb, arid Neapilitan Armies, to establish a Pl an operatiom, accoi.dirig tt - ixhicii the xe. , pee.tive trout' nr"l . 1 in the same cau , ,, act in Ttsly: E ‘ST INDIA PAPIAS to hi OCT, Letters have been r ece i ve d rrom Persi a . .are informed that a Russian Ambassador bad rived at Taharan, and that SiP GORE OLI . SELtY W'l " 6 employed in negotiating a Treatk o f rcace tween the two Powers,---Cal. G(l2, Sept. 30. An express reached town on Tuesday nig h from Kiclgeru, announcing the safe arrival of Majesty's ship Stirling Castle, Connuf)dore 110Nt E POPHAM, IlliVing on imamleis Exeellel the. Right Id s on. the Earl of I7oa tt ;' l , hi s family 2 ° 1.1 Suite from Aludras. The State vessel's . 1w the rc ' cow 'dation of his Lordship left town on 'filcs day night for •Kidgeru -and Diamond barho" r ' -' GIt ' AN:T REIR, Adjittallt-General Of ti' , - 6 King's troops, th e Joins' E. Et.LtoT, Yll rate Secretary to the Right [lon. the Gni - v. General, am! Lieutenant A LLEN , p rocee d e d the riser in the Phcelix agent vet. , sel, to ceeei. rd,l4 i p.— /b. The Compttny's shiip Princess arO Ch' ce f Wnles arriv e d a t S anger on the 23d in' t s :—►1 tp from Java and,Prince of Wales's island.-1. ISIURDEIt. „ . A murder of the most barbarous and unr"74e ed.description *Vs Committed in the night (if,' 4th current, at Ca wnpore, On the person • renan; CooPElt, of his Maje:styrs 67th Rogito cl ' ; ,, by an Europiati . private named Pamir, hcloin ing to th.c. same corps. It appears by the acc 4 l-*.. of this trait3a c ti tn , with which we haveLieOr t!cf vonrcd, that the deceased being the 1 . /tEec!Y (? main guard for the night . , had laio down . r> 9 couch about ten o'clock,. and tl!at ri‘EILLY ; ditty as centiati in th:” sante ver:irdah 'Where tenant Coo PER was •reposing a short tiwe he was posted, Rt.:J . I.LT asked Lieutenant Co'' bearer for a gl ass o f water, but the niqt l ;: i r, r , state°, would not get rip t 9 give it him: Wltc Pli )i vokyd h,,r this circumstance, or Irani other cause, certainly does not appear,, tVe told that the sentinel proceeded ft4thwith Frady to load his firelock, and !Infixing the !it')'" : net, so as t o get rear to I.k object, he rested piece on the conch, wi t h t h e muzz l e c l ose to t sc helol of Mr. CimPra (who was a t thi s tit" fad asleep) arid blew his brains out. The report of the musket brought the scrie' in ) t t of the guard to the sp o t, w h o. f oun d Li eu ten"r_ Courant bl ee di n g an d dead. REILLY, it t h e I ncarl while, had rel oa d e d his piece, which be preset: t : d at the s e rj eant ; b u t the latter instantly rusbe 6ri c - c ., turn, wrested the musket from his hands, i cured him. The only reason which the Wr e ' assigned for, thi s act was, that Mr. 'CooFER s 6e1,,, vaut had ,'-,nee before refused eive him water.He ~ was of course or d ere d into clue confinculeill% sa.nEll4•X?!.:l'd be sent to Cal cu tt a f or tr i a l. W i f 'Vent to add, that the d ecease d h as left ~w and family to latimiit his loss: (Cidcat4 q azl " tei ZJ.)