The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-10-05 00:00:00

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bia, she weakened the barrier between rrance and
the principal States of the South of Gerinanv, and
when, by a combined system of oecnatistra ions, pre-
tensions, caresses, and Menaces, she was incessantly
aiming to secure to herself an exclusive. u iiversal,
and arbitrary influent e, over that part of the G. r-
man Empire. She, therefore, evidently vii.lated the
.existing ere sties, and every one of her efts may he
considered as an iiifratlion of the peace. Since the
rupee of the Treaty of Amiens, Austria bad, on
mine than one occasion, shown a pariah' y to Eng
land. She had recognised by her arts the pretend d
right of blockade, which the Cabinet of St. James's
has dared to arrogate. and, accordieg to which. a
simple declaration ot the English Admiralty • suffi-
cient ,o put under iiiterdia all the coasts of a vast
empii•-• ; she had suffered, without remonstrance or
complaint, the neutrality of her flag to he continu-
ally violated to the detriment of France, against
whom all the violence, offered to neutral flags were
evidently directed. All these filets were known to
the Emperor: many of them excited his solicitude.
These were real grievances : they would have been
just motives for war ; but Po the love of peace, the
Emperor even abstained from all complaint, and the
Court of Vienna received ft m him only new testi-
monies of deference. He had made r law for himself,
to avoid every thing that could give offence to Au-
stria. When called by the wishes of his pc .ple sf
Italy, be repaired to Milan. troops were assembled,
camps were formed. With the nineie view of mixing
military pomp with religious and political solemio-
ties, and-of preseethig the Sovereign Majesty in the
midst of that spleedour that pleases the eyes of the
people. The Emperor will allow, tha; he had also
some pleasure in seeing his companions in arms re-
assembled in the places, and on the very spnts,which
were consecrated by their viEforir• ; but wishing to
prevent the uneasiness of the Court of Vienna, if it
were po,sibite that Court could feel any on the occai,
'ion, he caused that Court to be Aimed of his paci-
fic intentions, by declaring that the camps which had
been formed would he raised after some days, and
this promise was really fulfilled.
Austria answered by protestations equally friend.
ly and pacific. and the Emperor quitted Italy with
the pleasing hope that the peace of the Continent
would be preserved. But how great was his asto-
nishment, when, scarcely arrived in France, while
at Boulogne. hastenitig the preparations for a • expe-
dition, which he was at length on the point of carry-
ing into effea, he received from all parts the intel-
ligence, that a general motion pervaded all the forces
of the Austrian Monarchy ; that they were advan-
cing by forced marches nn the .Adige, in the Tyrol,
and on the banks of the Inn ; *hat these absent on
furlough were recalled ; that magazines were form-
ing ; that arms were manitlefluring ; that levies of
hot set were raising; that they were ereding fortifi-
cations in the defies of the Tytoi and about Venice;
and that every thing was doirg which announces
• ay is charaaeristic of an impending war. he
Emperor ci iiid not at first believe that Austria se-
riously sshed for war; that she wished to commit
to new hazards. and to condemn to new calamities
her people, fatigued by so many reverses, and ex-
hausted by so many sacrifices. Having had it twice
in his power to deprive the House of Amnia of
half as hereditary States. far from diminishing its
power, he had increased it. If he could rot count
on its gratitude, he thought he could rely on its
faith. He had given it the highest mark of confi-
dence it W.ll possible for him to gide, in leaving
Lis Continental frontiers ungarisened and dis-
armed. He believed it incapable of abusing this
confidence, because he would have been so him-
self. There are suspicions which cannot enter into
renerous hearts, nor find place in refleeling minds.
The Emperor took pleasure in confirming himself
in his feviotrable presumptions, and he did not
fear to shew to what point he desired to see them
establohed. The Court of Vienna omitted nothing
to prolong the illusion. It multiplied pacific
declarations ; it protested on its religious attach-
ment to treaties ; it authorised its Ambassador to
make the most assuring declarations ; it sought, in
fin-, as well by plausible explanations as formal de-
nials. to dissipate the suspicions its measures may
Wye given rise to: still, the hostile preparations re.-
cloueliog every day in extent and a.tivity, became
more difficult to be justified. The Emperor order-
ed that Count Philip de Cobentzel. Ambassador of
the Court of Vienna. should be invited to fresh con-
ferences, and that the correspondence of the diplo-
matic and commercial agents of His Majesty should
•he communicated to him. For four successive days
M. de Cobentzel waited on the Minister of Foreign
Relations, who placed before his eyes the dispatches
previously received, and those which arrived succes-
sively from all parts of Germany and Italy. The
Cabinets of Europe will find, in their archives, few
examples of similar communications made in cir-
cumstances in which suspicion was so natural. The
Emperor could not give a more convincing poof of
his good faith ; he could not carry sincerity or deli-
cacy tarther. The Ambassador from Vienna took
a view of the most positive, the most iniontestittle
documents, which, from all parts, annohnceil the
speedy breaking out of a war, always preparing,
though so studiously concealed. What anewu could
he make? Up to that motnent, peace had been
loudly protested by his Court at Paris, and at Vienna;
but on all its frontiers war was at length openly or-
ganised. The Emperor, however, was unwilling to
'cies, all hope of accommodation. He persuaded
himself that Austria may have been led .sway by fo-
reign suggestions, he resolved to do every thing to
bring her hack to a sense of her true interests. He
represented to her, that if she did not wish fix war,
ell her praparations were without an °lira, insn.
much as all her neighbours were at peace; that,
therefore, she was unconsciously, and contrary to her
intention, semi g the cense of England, by making in
her fivers a diversion not less powerful. nor less inju-
cious to France, than a declared war would Ise.
If she wished for war, he made her see its pro-
hable consetpiences. Superior to ell the considera-
ti ms. which are bars only to woekness, he did not
dissemble that he dieaded war : out that after so
Many bash s fought in the three parts of the old
*oaf. he coirld tear dangers, so often braved, and
so often suimounted; but he feared war on ac-
count nt the t,100,1 it causes to be spilled. ,stn
account of the sacrifices without number it must
cosr to 'Eitrope ; and, in conseqaence of a love, per.
ace. heconjured Austria to de-
which, is the present stets

haps. erre s rr, for peace. i
eid liven preparations. wL
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