The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1810-07-19 00:00:00

No. I.

The political commen's of Newspapers are, from
the periodical stature of these publications, ro much
in deteil, and detached, i►s the various points t.r
luso:titivation arise in the'progress of time', that it
may cut, perhaps, be deemed an useless task, occa-
sionally to take a more c.-nprehensive view of the
"thole cf the vast macliiue of EllrOpt'a 11
*rid connect together all those •arious I a b winch
redact day to ley chti:uu ut:i. Mention. Such is the
purpose of t short series 'of Eva) a, of a Melt the
present is the commencement.
in pursuing this design, ri e look in vitiator 04
arra in the modern history of the wee/Marotta whirl►
to leasour b, a aalugy on the existing state of F.ll
rope. Our wondrous tines stand yer•Se. like to
stone precrtlitig, sod to he discos/ad solely m►
new ,grorrods and foundations peculiar to their 014
estiortiiiisry nature. The phantom of the Political
• 6slowe of power. that speculative chimera whiCh so
long 'engaged the heads of European statesmen,
and the swords of Eurnpeaa armies, to preserve, has
vanished like an unreal vision, before • cause appa-
rently the moot unlikely to produce so great an
ellect. But this famous system. though immense
in magnitude, Vas out in reality plant in rtrcrigtis.
The nice ounterpoise of power, which had to be
kept lit even scale by the accurate weighing of al-
most acre ng..iust ticreof territory, sod one hundred
against 'another of population, tell with one tee.
asetidous crash before the Freut i► r, volution. Un-
der any other circuinstai.ces, this event would (at
least for many years) only have materially affected
the country in which it happened; but the. retreats!
ilea of the bulanre of po►aer still floating in the
winds of the politicians and rulers of other 'mimes,
tempted them to interfere in thb internal regula-
tions oh France, and (rein this one source sprung
the amazing change which a few short years hair
• wrought on the Continent of Europe.
A nation nerved with new energies (as nations
ever are after revolutioos) successfully remstrd •
totabination of heterogeneous materials and ill-ac-
cording prisc►ples. The different interests of the
Allies soon coded in producing a dissolution of
their cooperation ; and France, lefties contend •uly
against Britain in a naval war, proceeded through
various. horrid forms of government to a military
despotism—one of the most repugnant to the feel.
logs of mankind, but at the same time the best
adapted to give efficacy to the military efforts of a
country.

Surroanded with foes, and exposed to new and
ipoarerfuleminhinations et every town of event*, this
was preeisely the form of government fl•ted for the
situation of France. A country, rich to i :ituir4l
anoint es, entenaive in territory, strong in rot tistion„
and west in population, left to be wielded at the
slitposal of one man, night well he expected to
ailsi,ve mighty aciime% But; •wherf to RH thew
advantages, were awirritslilesi the consummate •tali-
tie• of taut insiivislual ; his taleut to the field of
war; his inlehlaVI:11411 'pint and art its the cabinet;

• is
his daring daring mitidittiltestesinedlg any ties of huma-
nity, and unishi;:kled loy any fettling nluvh could
raise an obstacle iii the way of his ambitious career;
when suck a man became the head of torch a preside,
the penetrating eye of "timid judgment might have
foreseen many of those events which have since oc-
curred, and appeared to common observation in-
credible and prodigioits. Alone, this might have
been the prolific source of alt the wonders we have
witues:ed fur the last ten years ; but every other cir-
cumstance seemed to combine to give strength and
effect to the incipient stream of greatness. The
coutinued opposition of other countries confirmed
and combined among themselses the French people,
who would otherwise have liven apt to encounter
new convulsions from thf sti:l latent seeds of party,
and the wismothered embers 4.f those distractions
which for see.-riteen years had never ceased to flame
with all the fury of intestine discord. The revolu-
tion had iiitiodueed and elevated men of the great-
est abilities, from every tank and station of life, to
take the most promusent parts iu the direction and
business of the state. With profound and intrigiiing
Statesmen to guide their courreile, arose superior
genius in the military art to lead their armies. The
nation too became military—every man was a sol-
dier, and • succession of ware gave them experience
and discipline.

Thus in herself France presented a dangerous
and almost invincible front to her adversaries; and
well conducted must that combination have been,
common in its objects, faithful in its engagetnents,
and mighty in i:s strength, which could have
shaken the newly, lint firmly established power
of that country. Can we Le surprised then, wheu
we consider whit all political c-Nnhinations ure; how
d:ssimilur in their compoi.ent parts, and easily dis-
united; hut, alwee all, when we consider what kind
of combinations every one of these formed against
the growing power of France have been : can we be
surprised that they have not oniy failed, but that they
have brought ruin and disgrace upon most of the
parties concerned ; nod added to the security and
stability of the nation r rather, speaking of hitter
times, the verso's) against whom they were di-
rected

Another prolific source of nieces% to the Frew])
despot, :vas found in the corrupt state of all the old
Governments in Europe. Remaining under a
sy►tem of feudinity, the people could not entertain
that warmth of attachment, either to their country
or their rulers, which is I:.:rtnreil by freedom : in
gemral, they had nothing to fight for; and a change
of Masters was more l.kely to better than to injure
their condition., Tile only ps.csin in their breast.
(if pissiona may,be cqlled) was VIAL of habit, end
the ineate dislike Which mankind feel against evt
the improvements that may be introduced by fo.

reign invaders : but this opposed only a feeble har-
rier to Gallic ; and we coroequently find
that in every country against which Napoleon
turned hi. arniN: they were distracted by factions,
and divideti iu their intereste.

The prevalence of corruption. too, from 'ie
highest Officir of the State to the Captain of the
most ,insignificant fortress, afforded . Bonaparte
Shoo opportunities (of which he so much availed
himself) of effecting more by the influence of gold
thou by the force of his arms. Against his sol.
titers' be had soldiers to contend with in the field,
but in the more secure path of bribery he had no
competitor—his ministers, his generals, his an-
emias in every department, acre men who had risen
with him, who hs.l shared his fortnnes, and who, if
he fell, must foil with him—his cause was; their
owl), and they were proof ugsinst all the seductions
Of gold. Nut so the civil and military servants of
Germany : fruits Mack, the most reputed and ale.
vetted general of Austria, to the governor of a
petty battery on the Dantarb, we have seen the uni-
versal predoinitl•uu•e of treachery, and the incalcu-
lat.•le ailvautages thence derived by the enemy.
Leaving out of our view Sprit', Holland, Italy,
and other c.,unto tea, which, in the .earlier stages of
I the war* arising out of the. French revolution,
took part in the contest, but which latterly merg.
ins into France, have no claim to our attention as
c (inflected with the pc. huh of tittle embraced in
th. se ohservatunos; we shall preeeril to take a uhurt
notice of Austria, Russia. *nil Prussia; the only
Powers which could materially *tots:lkea with, or
I check the ambitious projects of Bonaparte.

Austria, in situation the nearest to Franee—more
her equal in 'tower than any of the others—her an-
cient riv.ll, and the natural eueiny of ►he new system,
from the near connection of her Sovereign with the
deposed and worth-rid dynasty of Buurbou—Aus-
►a has cniitioned, till the wonderful issue of the
at conflict, the most constant and persevering
continental opposer of the encririchinents of Gal-
he ambition : unfortunately fur the /louse of
Austria, it was placed at the head of that " rill/Mo-
ves rowpissed," the German Eropiri—a confede-
racy of State a the most absurd, the most inju-
diciously conneeted together, and the most lour-
teat, that ever tie imagination of injle attempted to
combine li--/Zin'ts indivstapie moles, in itself
containing the gems of eternal jottings and ulti-
mate dissolution; how ill was its separate interests
anti mutual jealousies calculated to resi-t the unit-
ed energies of France, and sincontrolled sway of
her Ruler! in !mint of fact, one third of Germany
was French at the coutinonceinent of the contest ;
and Austria, is the very States of which she was

uominally. the heed, cad more dangerous enemies '
to cope with than swirl in the ostensible foe kig,l! list
whom she took the field.
Bavaria, Saxony. Wirtemherg, &c. htlt, more
than :t the rest, Prussia, which, though a separate
kingdom, formed a principal ingredient in the.
compositiou of the Germanic Body, being ill-dis-
pelled to any accession of greatness on the part of
Austria, admitted, with much facility, the influence
of France, and were soon 'detached from what was
called, originally, the Comman Cause.. Prussia,
with internal joy, saw the pride of Austria humbled.
to the dust; in all the impotence of political saga-
city, foully imagining, that the humiliation of a
Power of which she wis jealous, would, as in for-
mer uul more c 3111111011 tunes, have promoted her
own interests, and given her a greater chalice of
rivalry in any future struggle fur that worthless
bauble—the Imperial Diadem of Germany Spee-
dily, however, was she taught in sorrow to lament
the irremediable error into which these short-
sighted councils had led her. Bonaparte, whose
maxim was only Divide et imperil, had no sooner
reduced Austria to u state of depression from which
she could not suddenly emerge, thati he turned
his eye upon Prussia, found u pretext to come to
a rupture with that selfish Power, and, on the plains
of Jena, at one blow punished her perfidious po-
litics, and reduced her. fium a potent, iiidepeird-
ent monarchy, to the rank of an ios;giiificant priii-
cipality, whose servile sovereign he permitted to
retain the empty title of king.
.Thus Austria, in turn, had her revenge grati-
fied: alit!, without dwellitig longer on this part. of •
our subject. we may simply state, that Austria arid
Prussia fell sacrifices to their mutual jealousies;
and never had the genius of Gallic intrigue u fairer
field on which to exercise his talents, than in the
discordant, divided, and distracted councils which
guided the unwieldy motions of' the Germari Em-
pire.

ltussia, the only other porerful state upon the
Continent, took no small share in the alliances
tint-red into, mid efforts made, to check the pro.'
gressire coarse of French dOmination. But Rus-
sia was too distant. front the scene of action, to be
of Ihot weight she might otherwi,e hare been in
the ricalej and, from tr a miserably-constructed sys-
tem of geiteral operations, she always came too
late for co-operation ; and in no one instance had
Bonaparte ever to contend with the united strength
of any tom of his opponents. The treaty of Tilsit,
at length, utterly changed the politics of Russia
and, in the la-t contest between Austria and Frani e,
she took i:alt with the latter against her quondam
ally. •
At this moment, when the utmost ambition of
the alder of France appeared to be gratified, am.
all Europe was either prostrate at his feet, fir-•A
the tenor of his 171014 or closely connected with
him in designs, which, having for- thtir basis
mutual advantage, were likely to continue so long
as he desired they might—at this moment, a new
and unlooked-for Revolution broke out, where it
was least to be expected—in Spain. In producing
this singul tr phenomenon, we trace that—