The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-07-01 00:00:00

THE INTRIGUES OF FRANCE.
IN THE •
TURKISH ENIPIRE.
As the Official Moniteur accuses Engtland of in-
triguing in Egypt, the particulars of the intrigues
employe& by France since the Revolution in the
Turkish Empire, may be acceptable to English
readers.
In 1781 when the Revolution took place, the
Turkish Empire had to combat two powerful ene-
mies, Austria and Russia, with only ot I ally, the
spirited Gustavus nl. King of Sweden ; but whose
alliance was nentralized, or rendered ineffeEtual, by
the intrigues in his army, of those very ministers
who had prepared the I:evolution, and the ruin of
their own country.

France'pretended then, as it does now, to be the
natural ally of the Turks, and but for the liberal
interfetence of England, after the capture of Bel-
grade in October 1789, by Josephus 11. the then
real allies of France, Austria and Russia would
have divided Turkey in 1790, as they did after-
wards, jointly with Prussia, the republic of Poland,
in 1794.

Amongst the unprincipled and dangerous in-
triguers employed by Necker and other revolu-
tionary ministers, to propagate their principles, to
embroil empires, to excite subjeEls to revolt, and to
undermine thrones, was Marquis de St. Croix, bet-
ter known to the world by his revolutionary name
Descorches, who was sent into Poland, there to
keep up the spirit of anarchy, discontentment, and
rebellion, which ceased only when Poland ceased to
be a nation. This Descorches, who had so ably pre-
pared the rain of one empire, was chosen by Brissot
and his faCtion in ;Of, as a fit instrument to effeet
the destruction of another.
At the period that Descorches arrived at Con-
stantinople, France had been declared a republic,
its armies were vklorious, and its navy command-
ed the Mediterranean, insulted Naples, and attacked
Sardinia, and he was received by the impolitic
Turkish Empire as General Brune has been lately.
The situatito of Europe at this time was particu-
larly dreadful ; revolutionary, antisocial and athe-
istical opinions were propagated every where, and
whilst one sovereign in a dungeon was expeCting an
ignominious death, all the other sovereigns trembled
more or less for their power on their tottering
thrones; but England armed, Pitt spoke, and re-
bellion trembled in its turn.
Descorches bad been employed without any
public charaaer under the ministry of Vergennes
during the American war, both in Turkey and in
the East Indies, and he arrived at Constantinople
with the knowledge of the language, an acquaint.
ante with the country, and connexions with the
dissatisfied and disaffeEted.
During the busy campaigns of 1793 and 17951,
England, Austria, and Prussia, had little time to at-
tend to Descorches' manoeuvres in Turkey; and
Russia perhaps secretly approved of them, as being
likely to produce consequences advantageous to its
own views and ambition. Descorches instituted,
therefore, without many obstacles, Jacobin Clubs at
Constantinople, Smyrna, Cairo, Alexandria, Mecca,
Suza, and in every city where a French agent or
consul resided, even as far as Seringapatam in the
East Indies ; but bad principles badly explained
and worse understood, caused much discontentment;
many insurrections, but no revolution. Descorches'
revolutionary fanatics had not time enough to era-
dicate the religious fanaticism of the Turks, and
their ignorance saved them from the dangers in-
tended by French philosophy. Red Jacobin caps
wcre however publicly worn every where in the
Turkish Empire; but Descorches was too soon re-
called after the death of Robespierre, to permit
those in Turkey who wore them (after the example
of those in France) to cot off the heads of those
who did not wear them. According to the official
report of Descorches' successor, the French Hotel
at Pen, in the suburbs of Constantinople, had
, not only its Jacobins, its Sans Culottes, its tribunes,
• its galleries, but also a guillotine ; and Descorches,
his secretaries, his dragoman, his interpreters, and
-his servants, were all dressed, and conversed as their
fellow Sent Cubtte: at Paris, in the most brilliant
days of Marat and Robespierre.
Amongst the Rebels instigated, and the rebel-
lions fomented by Descorches, his emissaries, and
by his principles, the only remarkable which he left
for his successors to support, were those of Paswan
Ogiott and of the Beys in Egypt ; both of which
have since been very useful to the French plans, and
advantageous to the French Politics. And though
the French DireEtory publicly disapproved of Des-
torches' condua, his successors were ordered to
follow his example.
Afier the unfortunate campaign of 1791, several
•migranu of the navy, artillery, and of the corps of
engineers, went to Constantinople, in the hope of
:s9inent ; some of those in distress, Descorches
i over and rent to Egypt, to the East—lndies,
o Paswan Oglou ; others under the prole tion
Prussian Ambassador, were employed by the
or permitted to reside at Coestaatiseple.

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