The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-05-02 00:00:00

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it navvies him continually ; however, lie has found
an admirahleexpedienbto recover his coorage. You
should,' says he, orrer the soldiers a small increase
of pny beyond what they receive of the pteseut Go-
vernment.'

Worthy discovery of a corrupt Minister, of a
Government which weighs with gold every salon,
and every hiimaa affdtion ! Nothing, according to
them, can resist this gold, which is above. every
thing ; and the French arniv, making honour its
idol, attached to it by the glory of a thousand bat-
tles, and of ten years viaories; this army, which
spurns seduaion, because the sednceis and seduced
are the greatest cowards:, this army, I say, yielding
to the attra&ion of a wretched increase of vay,
shall sacrifice whatever is most dear to it, all its
most honourable recolldlions; in short, its Govern-
ment, its liberty, to the irreconcileable enemy of
'their country ! What horror 1 what madness!
" I shall not be more prolix on these disgusting
details ; besides, to insist long on the indignation
which the political and military projects of Mr.
Drake inspire, is to do them too much honour :
they are both ridiculous and absurd in an eminent
degree; and I think it is a very appropriate punish-
ment for him, to give up to the contempt and ridi-
cule of the public the enterprises of this Minister,
still mare credulous, move ieukwarti, and more weak
than wicked.

" An English Minister, such as Mr. Drake, can-
not be punished by obloquy. This can only mortify
men who feel the price of virtue, and know that of
honour; but Mr. Drake is proud and vain. The
rrofits of his secret missions must have made him
wealthy and covetous He will be punished, when
he shall know, that the revolt of the four depart-
ments, the capture of Hunir.gen, the seduction of
the army, the libnation of Fichegro, Moreau, of
Georges, and his confederates; the- existence of
the Diplomatic Committee; in short, the talents,
the credit and projels of this demagogue General,
by nature endowed with a sublime eloquence, an
imposing figure, and who is quite disposed to effeu,
at his will, the overthrow of France, are chimeras,
with which the Prefei2 of Strasburg has liked to feed
his simple credUlity.
" He will be punished, whets he learns that all
his bulletins, which were sent to Loodonly extra-
ordinary mes:eugers, communicated to every court,
hawked about by the English Ministers as far as
Constantinople, and of which traces are found, even
its the discussions of Parliament, were fabrications,
and contained nothing either true or probable; that
before they Were transmitted to him, they had been
communicated to the agents of the Police of Paris,
who blushed on reading them; and could nor recsmet
from their surprise, on setiog that fables, framed
with so little care and trouble, could charm Mr.
Drake, and serve as a basis fur the operations and
calculations of the cabinet.

" Mr. Drake will he punished, when he shall
know, that his bills, his gold, -his correspondence,
those of his collea ;arcs, the spies at Rotterdam,
Abbeville, Paris, and Alunich, are the sport of men,
who, by approaching him and his colleague at Stut-
gard, by watching •1 ,:cps, and by studying their
charafeer, hay itarr,ed and can teach Europe, that
a Ministry, such renders itself de-ricable by the
choice try the condo& of its diplomatic agents,
cannot inspire either fear or cr-ofidence in the Go-
vernments of the Continent ; and that the inweleoce
and corruption, which that Ministry empl:;; al
weapons to intimidate or lead astray the Councils
Sovereigns. do now find a powerful antidote in the
•discovery of the meanness, the immorality auel stu-
pidity of their diplomacy.
" Concerning Mr. Spencer Smith, I have strong
reasons to think that the operations entrusted to
him arc not confined to these pLes ; that he dire is
the events which are taking place is tit, ('aeon of
Zurich; and that the disturbances, by wool that
miserable distrifl is again agitated, are owing to his
gold and hi, intrigues.
" Citizen First Consul, perhaps I transgress the
bounds of my funthion ; but I must tell you, with
that truth which you love to hear, France cannot
suffer a hostile power to establish, on neutral ter.
ritory, accredited agents, chose principal mission is
to carry diseord to the bosom of die Republic. You
are at the head of a nation great enough, strong;
and brave enough, to obtain, as your right, an abso-
lute neutrality. You have constantly commanded
me not to staffer that conspiracies be framed in any
part of our immense territory, against any existing
Government; and already, during the short space
of time elapsed since I have been entrusted with
the administration of the police, have I repeatedly
annulled machinations which threatened the King
of Naples and the Holy See ; I have permed as far
as B!rasimrgh the forgers of Vienna bank-notes.
All these fatqs have proved how sincere your wish
is to secure established Cowernraents against every
kind of propaganda, and plots. Why should you
not have the right to demand an entire reciprocity
from the States of the Germanic Empire ? Why
should Munich, Sturgard, Ettenheira, sod Fri-
burg, have the right of remaining the centre of
the conspiracies, which England neser ceases to
form against France and Ileivetia ?
" These objets deserve your utmost solicitude,
Citizen First Consul ; and I d:ue to tell you so,
because this privilege toiongs to the Chief of Justice,
r aid the mist serious attc:aton in this respea forms
#art of your first dunes.

It may be &jetted, I know, that England, as
a friendly power, has a right to send minister, to the
Elettors of Bavaria, Baden, and Wirternburgh,
Bat English diplomacy is composed of two sorts of
agents, whom all the Continent well knows how to
distinguish. Such Ministers as Cornwallis and
Warren, are navel. accredited but for hononiable
missions, to maintain a.good understanding between
natior.s, and to regulate the grand interests of policy
or of commerce ; whilst the Wkl:lam4 the Drakes,
and the Spencer Smiths, aft known throughout F.u-
sJpe as the artificers of crimes, whose cowardice
is protetted by a sacred charatter. I will say more :
the presence of these contemptible agents is very
mortifying to the Princes in friendship with France ;
and the Courts of Munich and Stutgard cannot
support, withcut disgust, Drake and Spencer Smith,