The National Register.
London, England, 1817-03-24 00:00:00

•alio mai Wittr+

Our Ulna, Comititution anTs

MONDAY,

.11CH 24, 1817.

He next introduces his generosity to the Emperor of
Austria, King of Prussia, and Emperor of Russia. We
doubt not that while he adverted to these subjects, the
gloom of reflection shaded bis brow, and he contem-
plated with horror the wreck of that splendid empire,
which had been elevated and destroyed by his ambition.
-Ent was his Wasted moderation the result of gene-
rosity or policy ? Policy decidedly. He had obtained
great Nictories, but much -still remained unconquered.
He therefore seined the favourable opportunity of esta-
blishing, without further risk, the object he desired.
In filet he was always guided by a cold-blooded, calcu-
lating policy, that foresaw the danger of driving the
Potentates of Germany to despair, and he was restrain-
ed alone by that policy. Buti suppose for a moment
that in the midst of victory hd relented, and felt a de-
sire to spare the few victims that remained unimmo-
lated to his ambition : iu what character could we view
him so placed, but in that of a generous bandit, who
spared that which he had the power, but not the right,
to destroy.

He complains that the English treat him as a Gene-
ral only, and not as First Consul or Emperor, and at
the same time argues against the divine right of Kings.
We do not wish to support the doctrine of divine right,
but we are certain that, acCbrding to the laws of every
country, there are principles upon which right is found•
ed. Upon what then did he found his right ? Did Its
claim in right of his ancestors ? No. Did he claim in
right of election ? No. In fact, he seized the Govern- '
ment by force of arms, and ruled as a despot. Upon
force alone, his title rested. When, therefore, he was
compelled to abdicate—when he flew as a prisoner into
the arms of England, to avoid a more dreadful fate,
Empire, titles, honors all vanished, and the individual,
whose only glory consisted in military success, unsup-
ported by virtue, when defeated, sunk into the original
obscurity, from whence he had sprung. The answer
given by Lord Bathurst, upon Lord Holland's motion,
upon this subject in the House of Peers, must satisfy
all parties, that no just cause of complaint exists. Sure-
ly to allow so dangerous, so unprincipled a man, an
opportunity of again disturbing the peace of Europe, of
keeping up a correspondence with a devoted faction,
anxious for anarchy, would display, weakness, fidly, and
wickedness. This paper then, can be considered only as
a feeble eflbrt to acquire notoriety to present his past
exploits to the imagination, and to create a generous
sympathy in the public mind. We are the last that
would oppose, any of the wide feelings by %Thiel' En-
glishmen have been always distinguished, but we would
wish to direct it towards worthy objects. We do not
wish to trample upon a fallen enemy, nor to crush even
a venomous reptile, unless self-defence might make the
latter necessary, but we do and always shall oppose any
thing like approbationbeing extended to that which is base
and ignoble. We have treated Napoleon with modera-
tion—we have not accused him of any d those horrid
crimes with which he has been charged—we have only
placed against his own catalogues of victories, his ;ie.
lnowledged oflences. We have opposed with simplicity
those grounds upon which he expected to acquire a re-
putation amongst us, and hope therefore that the goad
sense of our readers will not be dazzled by that false
glory, that success may have shed upon one of the most
treacherous and remorwless tyrants that ever disgraced
humanity.

'IMPERIAL PARI.LIMEVT.
HOUSI OF LORDS.

mogimt, n.tavit 17.

Tyr R'+y'nl.\s•cnt was ei►a•a by Crsiliaii,e4on to the •rrea.ou
file Praelievs, the Army and *Navy S. dnrtiuu, the Cutler
I)aty, :►nd the King's Bench M. Waal'
The 51•ditiotta Mectimp Bill was trad a first time, and
ordered tole I cat! a second time on Thursday. —Adjourned.

riktcE 94d.

Ti`E.SDAIi, MARCH Is.
TREATMENT OF BUON A PARTE.

Lord flottayu rose, pursuant to his notice on this anbjeet,
and after some preliminary remarks, proceeded to a to the
heads of what he had to draw the attention of their Lc Mips
to. He understood, that though St. Helena was generally
reckons I a holesome climate, yet that that part of the island
where the prisoner was at present confined was far from min-
brions : and further, that exercise was most essential to
health ; yet only hours which exec rise could be taken be-
neficially there, were thoso in which the restraints laid upon
Buonaparte prevented his taking exercise. Another coat-
plaint made by the prisoner was, that he was refueled thu
of having such publications and newqmpers from
this country, and from other parts of Europe, irs hr was desi-
rous of receiving. But there was another complaint made by
Beionatim to of still more importance, which wit-, that,as he 1.114.
dies :ood, a letter addressed by Buonaparte to the Prince Regent
had been intercepted. He now wished to know, upon what
principle it was that this part of the prerogative of his Royal
Highness, exercising the functions of the Sovereigh, had been
invaded. He did not believe it was the intention of Parlia-
ment to gi ye the power of this restriction to any body. if it
was to be exercised at all, he thought it shoula certainly be
confined to the person of the Secretary of State. He wished
to ask, whether a letter had been thus intercepted, whether it
was scaled, and, if it was, whether it was intimated to the
prisoner, that although a sealed letter would not be forwarded,
au unsealed letter would. The next question lie had to advert
to, was the subject of the allowance made to Buonapate,
which was confined to 80001. a year, though it was confessed,
on all hands, that less than 20,0001. would not suffice; but
yet Ittemaparte was told, if we find yon 80001. the remaining
12,11001. you must find yourself. In any other place except
St. Helena, 50001. a year would perhaps be a sufficient allow-
ance, but in that place 20,0001. was act too much, and he
(Lord Holland) did consider, that when we had, per force.
taken Baonaparte to St. Helena, then to call neon hint to
deli ay expellee, :Ili out of our own act, was a disgrace to
the conntiy, an.; ourzlit not to be. Looking to the circum-
stances altagether hich attended the imprisonment of Wm-
Impart°, nut consider them as at all necessary ; but
even allowing t VC were circumstances which rendered his
imprisonment neue-nary, yet it would always remain illegal:
and the only justification which we should hereafter be able
to plead would be, that whilst we imprisoned him through nu.
cesaity, he was always treated with the limiest indulgence
that imprisonment would allow. After ages would not enquire
into the crimes of Buonaparte with half the aridity which
they as mild into the usenner in which Great Britain had
treated him in his adversity. The Noble Lord then adverted
to the ease of Mary Queen of Scots, who, he said, no one he
thought %mild deny, was quite as dangerona an enemy to one
illustrious Once') Elisabeth, as Buonaparte eould be to
She was detained ill this country a prisoner for many years.
Even Otis necessary step had cast an odium, 10 a certain ex-
tent, en the character of our illustrimis Queen. The Noble
Lord emicioded by moving for Copies of all met ions issued
by Government to the Governor of St. Helena, relative to the
person of Ituonaparte ; 2JIc, for all accounts rclativ e to the
expellees of Buonaparte; achy, Copies of tenets written by
Buonaparte; athly, Copies a letters written by persons at.
melted to litionaparte's person, and various oiler papers eon.
fleeted w ith Buouaparte, and the persons at Si. Heleua w ith
him.

LOrd BATHURST said, the complaints of lloonaparte
ap-
peared to have bceu classed under two heads. The first was,
a complaint that he had been restrained in communicating,
by liqicr, with his wile and family. The instructions given
to the Governor were, that all letters written by Ruonaparise,
or those with him, to friends in Europe, were to be sent open
to the Governor, and by hint forwarded. This was pray*
usual pro% ision as t egorded prisoners of war; and if Hamm.
pat tc had refused to comply wish this regulatino, he had no
right to state that he could not write to his friends, since he
might, if he chose, write as frequently as he pleased. With
respect to letters sent to him, only one letter had been writ.
ten to him, and that was from his brother Jose ph. This, after
being examined by the Governor. was immediately fitrwarded
to Cieneral Buonaparte. With respect to the letter to the
Prince Regont, no application was ever made on the subject
to Sir 11. Lowe. An application was made by Gen. Ilertvaud
to Sir G. Cockburn, to know whether if a sealed letter were
addressed to the Prince Regent, it would he sent ; but tie
soot' letter was sent and reword, u.s sta!ed by the Noble
Lord. With respect to any complaints which General
ottaparte might wish to forward to this country, it a as di
reeled that they should be examined previous to their being
sent, that the Governor might, without h:ss of Ihne, Late an
opportunity of autos cuing any charge a hick might be made
against Wit:. With respect to any sealed letter being sent to
the Prince Regent, had any such arrived, he should ls.lSe f. It
it hi• duty to have opened it before he delivered it to his
Rntial hglmess. With respect to the refusal to allow Gen.
Itmomparte to have 1).101.5, a list had been sent over by Bun-
naparte altielt, immediately on its anise!, was deli% vied over
to a person who had instructions immediately to purchase the
boots named in the list. Sainte time got in this country,
smile from Paris, but some of the books mentioned could not
be obtained : what coulee be got were sent him. With respect
to sending hint neaspopers, he could only say, that attempts
hail 1)1411 made to eui'i 1,1,111101 %%Oh the prisoner by- means Ef
newspapers. General Itoonaparte also complaint d, that ho
emit,l not eirere.pimil %%jai his banker or agent a ithout having
his !curls opened. With respect to the letters of'tticnds, it
might, to rhaps, he painful to have lile warm effusions of
hiendship, the feelings of the heart, submitted to the cold-
hearted investigation of official regulations. Hut who ever
heard of a tootler note to a stock nuirker, or on affectionate
draft upon ;t banker ith respect to the assertion ceuti, ince!
in Crunt 3lonthoten's letter, that leftists sent to individuals on
the continent 1144 i beau sent back, and those ideals tithe
kept ill lin:trance of tho fate of their fin nits in Europo, Rte

pia months longer than they need to has e been, the assertion
Was wholly unfounded. Now, with respect to the confine-
meta of General Buonaparte, and persons being prevented
from s is' g him—so far from it, at the seasons when ships
value in, any person who applied tbr a pass hail it granted to
go to Longwood ; but to prevent any persons from intruding
upon him front motives of curiosity, uo person was 'permitted
to break in upon Win at Longwood, till permission was ob•
tinned from Gen. Bertrand, or some other person about him.
Nor was any restraint laid upon his cemumnicatiou with the
inhabitants, except it was with such as were discovered going
to Longwood in disguise. With respect to the limits 4.f his
confinement, he was originally allowed a circuit of 12 miles;
hut it having been discovered that he was tampering o ith
SOM. Of the sentries, his limits were contracted to a space of
fight miles in eirl'llniference ; and he was at liberty to go to
any part of the island he chose, either in his carriage or on
horseback, hating a British officer with him of a rank not
inferior to a Captain. With respect to the interruptions given
to Bnonaparte's taking the air in his garden after sun-set,
eentinels were necessarily placed round the garden; and
Buonapartv having objected to their looking al him, Sir 11.
Lowe, allsliollll to accommodate his prisoner, immediately had
the centhiels placed in such a situation that they could no
longer see Buonaparte. Would the Noble Lord have had the
sentinels entirely removed? Supposing that had been done,
and Bunnaparte had effected his escapeotid Sir Hudson Lem e
had been called to the Bar of the House to give an account
of Oat eiremnstance, and had stated that his prisoner escaped
after front his garden, the evutinels having been pre-
viously ed ; would it hate been any deflnee that Sir
N. Lowe had said the centinels were removed at the request
of Boonaparte? The Noble Lord then entered into a detail
of the eiremnstances attending Butmaparte's residence at
Longwood ; and said, every attention had been paid to his
414 ti.rts that eircnnistances would allow of. With respect to
the allowance made for his maintenance, it was fixed at
finoul. onion an estimate and comparison with the Governor's
establishment. The Governor, with all his additional ex-
pellees, has no lucre than 12,0001.; and it is not necessary
that General Buonapate should keep up that state which the
Got ernor did, who was obliged to receive and entertain the
commissioners of the allied powers, the passengers by the
Company's ships, and the inhabitants of the island. It was
also asserted in the documents to which the Noble Lord
(Holland) had alluded, that only one bottle of wine a day was
allowed to each person of Boonaparte's establishment. The
fact was, that by the returns it appeared, that in a fortnight
336 bottles of Cape and superior wine were consumed. This,
on an average, was 19 bottles a day, for each 10 persons of
the establishment, besides 33 bottles of porter. The Noble
Lord contended, that Buonaparte had, in every respect, beer
treated with a liberality highly honourable to this country,
and he, therefore, opposed the present motion.
The Marquis of BUCKINCHAM said, The only question
was, whether he had a right to imprison Buonaparte; and if
%T had that right, whetht rwe were justified in laying a pro-
per degree of restraint upon him to keep him in captivity.
Buonaparte threw himself upon our protection, because he
feared that Austria, Prussia, and Russia, would recollect the
tenfold injuries which he had heaped upon them ; and it in-
the mad career of his ambition he had not deprived any of
those Sovereigns of their crowns, it was because they had
been forced to submit to his views, and unite with him in his
schemes against this country.
Lord DARNLEY also did honour to the motives of his Noble
Friend ; at the same time he trusted, after the able speech of
the Noble Secretary of State, his Noble Friend would consent
to withdraw his motion.
Lord HOLLAND replied, he could not receive the praises of
his Noble Friends out this oreasion, if they were to be pm--
chased by his compliance a ith the suggestion to withdraw
his motion. He would take the sense of the hunse on his
motion, if he stood alone. The Noble Lord refused to pro-
duce the documents for a Well he had moved, although the
Noble Lord had read extracts from those very documents,
which might be garbled. This was a new mode of proceed-
ing. The noble Lord treated the charges as light and un-
founded, yet lie had taken great pains to contradict them in
a speech. Had he not better have produced the documents
asked for? The speech of the Noble Lord, greatly as it had
keen complimented by his Noble Friend, was not by any
means so satisfactory to him, as the production of the papers
would have been; nor wont() the Noble Lord's speech be
half so satisfactory to posterity.
The motion was then put and negatived without a division.
Adjourued.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19.

Witnesses were examined ou Bayely's Divorce Bill; the
evidence was ordered to be printed, and taken into considt

ration on Tuesday next.
The Silk Bounty Bill, and the Marine Officers Indemnity •
Bill, were read a third time, and pa,sed.
Th:. Mutiny Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be
committed to-morrow.— Adjourned.
THURSDAY, MARCH 20.
The army and marine mutiny bids were committed.
SEDITIOUS MEETINGS.
The order of the day fo• the second reading of the sediti-
ous meeting bill being read,
Lord SIDMOUTH moved, that this bill be read a second
time; which, alter some observations from Earl Grosvenor,
Lords Holland, Erskine, and Liverpool, was accordingly read
a second time, and ordered to be committed to-m3revr.
Earl GdosvEnort then moved, that the committee be in•
struetcd to divide the bill.
The Ea rl of LivErteoor. could not conenr in that motion.
-It was di likable that the bill should proceed with all l'Cilboll-

able dispati
Lord HOLLAND thought that the bill ought to be divided
as it oas a coidissed and awkward mode of legislating to use
temp"rary and permanent provisions in the same lull.
The motion was negatived without a division.
SLAVE 'IR U)1: AIIOLITION, SLAVE REGISTRY, &c
Lord GRENVILLE rose to call the attention of the house
to a subject whtrh had been under the consideration of the
horse last session ; he alluded to the subject of the abolition
of the slave trade and the registry of slaves. He wished to
know, Ist., 1% holier there hail been any discussion by the le-
gislature of Jamaica, and by those of the other colonies, on
the subject in question any bills had bet it pass-
ed ; and it' raised, whether any of them had been received
by the ministers Of the crown ?
Earl BATIILUSI Milli now able to state to their lordships,
that intelligence had been received, that in Jamaica a bill for
the registration of slaves had been passed; and also another
bill fur giving gi eater effect to toe object of the abolition of
the slave traffic ; that in Barbadoes an act had been passed
for the registration of the slaves ; and that in St. Vincent's,
and other islands, the subject had been under discussion ;
and it Was expected that all the other legislatures would fol-
low the example of Jamaica and St. Yineent'4.—Ailjourtird.

THE NATIONAL. REcIsTEn.

FRIDAY, MARCH 21.
ROYAL COMMISSION.

The Royal assent was given by commission to the army
and mnrine mutiny bills, the silk expo' mliml !town :. bill, and
indemnity hill. (...miiinbsioners, the Lord Chancellor, Lail
of Shaft,sbury, and Lord Retlesdale.
The house having gone into a committee on this bill, In
which some technical amendments, on the niotif,n of Lord
Greville, were adopted, and -onto other alteration suggt•sted
by different Lords, resitintd, and the report ordered to be
received on Nlonday.--Adjonitivil.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

NPICI)AIt, AIARCII 17.

The Sheriffs of London presented a Petition from the
Common Conned, praying for the abolition of State Lot-
teries. _ _

The Sheriffs then presented a Petition from the Common
Council, against Mock Auctions, and praying for an act to
abolish them. —Ordered to be laid on the table.
Mr. Curwen presented a petition front Capping, in Essex,
praying a revision of the Poor lAN/A.—Ordered to be laid on
the table.
Mr. Lyttleton presented a petition from certain needle
makers in Worcestershire, complaining of distress on account
of the introdoction of machinery, and pm) ing that a tax
should be laid on it—Ordered to lie on the table.

Petitions praying for Retrenchment and Itrforne, were pre-
sentee!, and hid on the [-.able, from Ipswich; and Ross, in
Herefordshire.

The Marine Mutiny fill was passed.
The Naval Stores Bill went through a Committee, and was
ordered to be ieported to-morrow.
Mr. Brogden brought up the Report of the Committee of
Supply, which was agreed to.
Mr. M. A. Taylor brought up a for the better repairing
the pavement of the metropolis.—Read a first time and ordered
to be read a second time on Friday.
Mr. Robinson, in a Committee on the East India Trade Act,
moved a Resolution, that all the East India Trade, except that
of China, be extended to the ports of Malta and Gibraltar.—
Agreed to.