The Sun.
London, England, 1814-03-18 00:00:00

G.T:.;jOI,IN. SUFFEnErts.

• Extfaiir Of a Letftei• zultiressed to 11, TllotirroN,.
Treasurer of the, Committee for the Relief
of the .Snifgrers in Germany, by Sir Tao. R -
NT /I ITT,
" London, Feb. 18, 1814,
•

" having fallen to ,my lot, in the
course of 'my journey on the Continent, 41 the,
discharge of Official duties, to be au eye-witness
of the sufferings of the people. in Germany, and
more especially of the various and aggravated
miseries inflicted on the inhabitants of those dis-
tricts which have been the seat of war during the
last memorable campaign, I felt so convinced that
their unhappy situatio❑ would call forth the be-
nevolent assistance orthe British Nation, that
had , determined, immediately on my 'return to
F.ngland, to submit a plan, in most respectssimi-
lar to that• which has been already so promptly
adopted, with a view to the relief of these suffer-
ings. Finding myself, however, anticipated lin
this object, by the generous feelings of the Cdrn-.
mittee tb which you belong, I cannot, neverthe—'
less, refrain from expresiing my.conviction, that
among' the numerous occasions upon which the
consoling aid of the people of• England has been
directed to the ;melioration of human calamity,
there never was ~an instance which carried
with it stronger claims to universal comnaisera-
tion and individual assistance, than the present
state of Germany ; in which country the enemy
has carried on a system of warfare unparalleled in
the 'history of the civilised world. It IS too well
known how, many provinces have been laid waste
by this warfare, and the nature of their sufferings,
have been already tOo amply described by various
anthtiltic communications" from the seat of war,
to render it necessary for me to trespass' upon you
with details : thrJughout the whole of .tke coun-
try which has been occupied. by the armies of
France, either as conquerors or as allies, •their
progrets.bas been alike Marked by a general-de- •
struction and devastation. . 1

- -
let:n:e territories of Pritssia, in great part of
Silesia, in Lusatia; in Saxony,. and from the Elbe
to the Rhine, many. towns,- and hundreds of vil-
lages, have been utterly destroyed, and ,their in-
habitants bereft of' every ineans'pf support. \Vbeie
desolation and Pillage have been so general., it
wodhl he difficult to select instances where the
miseries of I.var have not been 'felt in the utmost
degree of severity. 00 account of themagnitudeof
their losses, however, and the probable (Lunation of
their sufferings, uuless prompt and effectual aid be
afforded, the Peasaufry of, Germany appear to be
peculiarly deserving of-our-earliest attention. In.
the immediate vicinity of those memorable spots
where the arm;es, of the Ruler- of France have
been successfully combated, as well as in the
whole line of his retreat from theKatzbach to the
Rhine, the dwellings of the pekCiantry have been
almost without 'exception reduced 'to ruins, in
niftily instances under the eye of Buonaparte; and
their corn and cattle entirely wrested nom them
or wantonly destroyesl: the inevitable conse-
quences of these outrages were, to consign the
unhappy sufferers-to the horrors of famine in the
woods, whither they fled for temporary shelter;.
or to deprive the survivors of every resourr:e for
pres'ent subsistence, or for the-progressive repara-
tion of losses.

In closing this letter, I must add, that bav-
ing•instituted in Germany some inquiries respect-
ing the nature of the distresses of the people in
the provinces whivh have been the immediate seat
of war, particularly in Silesia, I. have, since my
arrival in England', received a communication,up-
on the subject from a personage bottling a high
sititation in the Government of Berlin ; this com-
munication, with further details which I expect
from the same .quarter very shortly, I shall be
happy, and think it my duty, to lay tefore you,
for the information of the subscribers."