The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-06 00:00:00

TH

RAILWAY COMMITTEES.

LITERATURE.

(THIS DAY.)

HISTORY OF THE CAPTIVITY OF NAPO-
LEON, Vols. 111. and IV. By General Count
Montholon.
Exactly twenty-six years ago, dating from this sth of
May, 1847, namely, on the .sth of May, 1821, the Emperor
Napoleon died in the arms of Montholon on the miser-
able island of St Hslena. It cannot be without peculiar
emotion that those who sympathize with genius and mis-
fortune, op n a narrative penned by so faithful and affec-
tionate an adherent. The aspiration of Lord Palmerston,
that all our old animosities should be buried in the tomb
of Napoleon, has been long since fulfilled, and it is now
the particular privilege of Englishmen to atone for the
unmerited aspersions of a preceding generation, and the
inaliguant cruelties of a former Government by the
candid and honourable reception of such histories as the
one just completed by General Count Montholon. The
work is unquestionably among the most remarkable of
the present century ; and it is remarkable not so mach
for the additional light it throws open the domestic
virtues of Napoleon, as for the new illustration it aff .rds
of his legislative policy, and his incomprehensible intel-
lect. In these respects the " History of the Captivity" by
Montholon possesses a twofold interest. It completes the
picture of the exile at Longa ood, which had becn already
commenced by Las Cases, by Gourgaucl, by Miss Bal
combo (now Mrs. Abell), by O'Meara, by Captain Basil
Hall, and by Antammarchi. It does more, it furnishes
conclusive testimony as to the principles by which the
imperial Government was actuated, and the plans it was
intended to accomplish. This testimony, be it observed,
is contained in very lengthened dictatione from the lips
of Napoleon himself. Thanks to the eternal vitality of
trutb, the facts of history will " out," as assuredly as the
commission of murder. In spite of the most specious
and elaborate. 3 calumnies, in spite of lying biographers,
and unprincipled historians, and infamous commentators,
no personage really great and good can long he held up
to the detestation of mankind. How sublimely has not
this been very recently instanced in the case of the Lord
Protector, Oliver Cromwell ! The character of the tm-
Peror Napoleon is in like manner becoming gradually
revealed to us English in its true brightness ; the fogs of
vituperation and slander are rolling away from the noble
and majestic name which they have hitherto darkened.
No man has ever been so monstrously and pertinaciously
traduced ; no man has ever been the object of such gra-
tuitous and flagrant obloquy. That libels should have
appeared in the heat of international conflict is but the
natural consequence of the bitter sentiments engendered
by warfare. That an ungrateful hypocrite like Bouri-
enne should malign his benefactor is a very comprehen-
sible act of atrocity, for, as William Hazlitt has said,
" there is no hatred equal to that we feel towards those
we have injured." That a brother like Louis Bonaparte
should publish two volumes of false accusation against
the very man who had crowned him with the diadem of
Holland, is one of those deplorable ebullitions of spleen
which can be readily understood, and it is a fault which
has been generously forgiven and nobly expiated. We
can conceive, too, how a regicide like Fouche could de-
scend to the ignoble and damning infamy of traduce-
ment. But that Chateaubriand—the pure and lofty-
minded Chateaubriand, the panegyrist and the philoso-
pher of Christianity—should become the lying pam-
phleteer of legitimacy; that Sir Walter Scott—the high-
priest of imaginative literature, the avatar of romance,
and the glory of his age—should dwindle down
into the sycophant of a king-adoring rabble ; that
Colonel Mitchell—a member of that profession
which, before his appearance, had been remarkable
for its love of honesty, and valoir, and truthfulness,
—should degenerate into the falsifier of history and the
slanderer of a deceased hero ; that these and a host of
less important writers should deliberately, with malice
prepense, endeavour to garble a story which was the
sacred depositary of many illustrious lives, is utterly
beyond comprehension, and must inevitably render
them the perpetual derision of mankind. Their venom
and ability have been equally employed in vain. Their
aspersions have fallen as ludicrously short of the mark
as the javelins of the Lilliputians did of the head
of the upstanding Gulliver. Napoleon himself was
conscious of that sublime moral integrity which can
alone render an historical character invulnerable to
attack. He smiled with equal contempt at the libels of
his many assailants and at those fulsome panegyrics
which were so often uttered at the foot of his throne in the
days of his supreme greatness. " I appeal to history !"
was his frequent exclamation ; as in his celebrated pro-
test of the 4th of August, 1815. He was consoled by
an implicit confidence in that love of distant posterity
which the author of " Waverley " has happily spoken of
as "in some degree, the metaphysics of natural affec-
tion." And his reliance is already being verified. Not
merely is his last wish complied with, not only do his
august remains repose "in the midst of that French
people whom he loved so well," not merely is a monu-
ment being erected to his memory " under the dome in
the midst of the temple consecrated by religion to the
God of armies," but it was solemnly asseverated in the
Chamber of Deputies, by the French Government of
1840—during the reign of the Orleans Louis Philippe,
and consequently of a younger Bourbon—it was
solemnly asseverated before Europe, " Napoleon was an
Emperor and a King ; he was the legitimate
sovereign of our country I" Paltry then was the
revenge, which denied to bins in his captivity that im-
perial title which had been conferred upon him by the
voice of an unanimous people, and the chrism of the Pon-
tificate! What does history declare of the unanimity of
the French people in his election to the throne? Thus
speaks Bourienne—even Bourienne—(vol. iii., p. 163.)
ande
hveotdat
vvhn
against.
oec
e.e
were
6eot
hereditary
:..I.3l,ll,isdmietw4a,(rasylr9BdB.o.u4ocv)feoe3etoe:ssnroisto.oani
on.
00e, d 108 departments,
oflc,hti these seelpsoenba only s d
g2siesvo6:9nt
son this occasion; of whom' only b
p.
6915,,a,i;30;5°0 had
againstparueedhess
dA hthe
nproposition." speaks
onslfw
5t woii. rthy
o 1 fir)e,mo f.a,
negativer,trkvwho,
oetthat
millions
First
oAocnr
nso
dt.hes
oeut n enems hundredpi
speaksre
declared
l
theeue
Hazlitt
et
became Emperor,
thousand bt(yhlvi :natk.e
s1-majo-
rity to a.
few hundreds." Was William of Orange,
rightful Sovereign, as we all acknowledge him to be,
welcomed with a similar accordance by our Eng-
lish forefathers ? To gratify, therefore, an
ignoble malignity, the Government of St. James's,
ranging from 1815 to 1821, subjected Napoleon
to this frivolous insult ; and but one man, Vassal Hol-
land, had the courage or the magnanimity to raise his
voice in the House of Lords against this wretched system
of persecution. One of the old blundering opinions is,
therefore, as we have already shown, for ever dissipated
—namely, the belief that Napoleon was an usurper; and
England, by signing the Treaty of Paris with him in
1814, and by comining with the other powers of
Europe to restrict his Sovereignty within the
circumference of Elba, there and then virtually
proclaimed before the world that he was
no usurper. The arch-sin that remains levelled
against him is consequently the sin of ambition ; and to
discern how far he is culpable or not in this respect it is
necessary to discover the principles and the purposes of
that ambition. Mankind cannot rest satisfied, however,
in observing with the Encyclopcedia Brttannica, that
"in extenuation of this glorious fault,' he might say,
like Mahommed,
" Je fus ambiticux
Mais jamais roi, pontife, ou chef, ou citoyen,
Ne congas in projet aussi grand qui le mien."
Mankind, we repeat it, cannot rest satisfied with such
an extenuation. We are not all of us capacitated, like
Thomas Carlyle, to become mere hero worshippers.
The tangible glory must rest upon the durable basis of
moral greatness to win universal admiration, and a last•
ing popularity. A schoolboy may have his mind in-
flamed with wonder and enthusiasm by the idea of
Napoleon on the bridge of Lodi, among the quagmires
of Arcola, under the shadow of the Pyramids, among
the olives of Mount Thabor, among the corn-fields of
Marengo, or among the crags and glaciers of the Great
St. Bernard. But the full-grown man, the ripe thinker,
the lover of judicious discrimination, will look rather to
the causes and effects than to the actual achievments ;
he will inquire rather into the origin of a battle than
into the trophies of a victory ; he will consider the con-
sequences effected by a campaign rather than the vari-
able disposition of the belligerent armies ; and, above
all, he will regard the intentions and the spirit of the in-
ternal andexternal government of &wonderful mortal like
the Emperor Napoleon. "I shall go down to posterity," he
said, " with the Code in my hand." That, for example,
is one of his chiefest glories—the Code Napoleon—which
has been justly declared to have proved not only" a boon
of inestimable value to France, but to be even at this
day received as authoritative in a great portion of Eu-
rope." Those who have not already formed a decisive
opinion as to the character of this extraordinary man—
who have not investigated the writings, for and against,
by Botta, Capefigue, Caulaineourt, Bourienne, Boutourli
lln,
Norvins, Paces, Pelet, O'Meara, Larrey,: Lecretee,
Antommarchi, Las Cases, Beauchamp, Scott, Artaud,
Hazlitt, Berthier, De Bausset, Ireland, Thiers, Mignet,
Michelet, Vandoncourt, Thibaudeau, D'Abrantes, St.
Hilaire, Segur, Rovigo, Gourgaud, Montgaillard, Men-
neval, Jomini, Labaume, Chaboulon, Dumas, Benjamin
Constant, and a multitude of other authoritiles the very
enumeration of whom is bewilderingwl find mate-
rial assistance in these volumes by General Count
Montholon. As an example of how far the " History
of the captivity," tends to the elucidation of Napoleon's
policy, and the explanation of his ambition, we give this
one significant paragraph:—
" Peace once signed is Moscow, the war in Russia would
be the last continental war of the reign of Napoleon ; as re-
garded the great cause of the people, it would be the ter-
mination of danger and the beginning of security. A new
era would open, and new works be commenced for the well-
being and prosperity of all. The European system being
founded, there would only be to consider of its organization.
The cause of the age would be gained, and the revolution ac-
complished. Napoleon would be the arch of the ancient and
new alliance, the natural mediator between the old and new
order of things. Not having identified himself with either,
he would belong to both, and would conscientiously support
the cause of each in a general congress, where everything
would be organized for the European continent, in the
wisely-combined interest of the people and their govern-
ments. His glory would consist in his equity. Europe would,
in future, be really only one combination of all the people
who inhabit it.
" When this great work was finished, he would associate
his son with him in the empire; his reign as Dictator would
terminate, and a freely constitutional reign would commence.
He meant to found a royal institution at Meudan for the
education of the King of Rome, and his project was to edu-
ef it
tthwe
van
ot
thrones,
ro thosenes,
in branches
order t
joincate there together all the princes of his family, particularly
haidchhteaghes of private an(l public
education. placed foreignonohi
e
education. Destined to reign over differentnations, these
children would have acquired, during the course of their
education in common, similar manners, principles, and ideas;
and in order the better to facilitate the
fusion
of
the
h e
federa-
tive pactions of the empire, each of these pri • nces should have
taken with him, on his leaving the institution, ten twelve
young persons of his own age, and of the first families of his
adopted country ; and the effect of this would have been
immense."
To those individuals who view lispolcon as goaded on

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

This GROtheU XX.
, Committee met at P usual hour this morning ; Mr.
von bu rn in the chair.
31141111,ZINGRANE AND oxrOR,D JUNCTION,
ti:l4n) BIRMINGHAM, DUDLEY, AND WOL-
....ftUAMPTON AMALGAMATION.
-" IVIIATELv opened the case for the promoters of this
11Lii lie went at some length into the circumstances con-
-IZ,‘"led with the passing of the Birmingham and Oxford
von-"d 4 pointing out to the Committee the fact that it was
eeh,rceded by Parliament on the ground that the line should
fldl Bean independent line, competing with the London
then orth Western Company. The Learned Gentleman
r: proceeded to detail a correspondence which took
.?_,5 before the passing of the Bill between
112, Ilatherton, the chairman of the company, and Mr.
0471eY, the tenor of which appeal% d to express a desire,
th.re part of certain large shareholdere in the undertaking,
8,4". the directors should endeavour to come to an amicable
I,o:ll,gement with the London and North-Western Company,
,'ne directors declined to do anything of the kind, feeling
irutl the interest of the public was far more important than
to of the shareholders ; and the line was therefore allowed
Pass in •
the London irect opposition to, and as a competing line with,
London and North-Western Railway.

GROUP XXII.
13/4.I7CESTER AND HEREFORD, AND
The CANAL PURCHASE.
Committee met this morning at twelve o'clock; Mr.
--elmond in the chair.
The ease fur the promoters was proceeded with.
I,!kler.eStephenson, the engineer, and Mr. Bartley, his assistant,
The at some length with respect to the line.
Mat line i 3 Opposed by the Great Western, on the ground
fa,_, their Hereford, Ross, and Gloucester lines will be un-
4ra interfered with by the project, and that their lines offer
ace,Pmmodation which the district requires.

GROUP XXXIII.
4411134335 e DEWSBURY, AND MANCHESTER
(;TENSION
Th TO WAKEFIELD, &c.)
11,;-"e Committee met this morning at the usual hour; Mr.
ein the chair.-emidence in support of the opposition of the landowners,
Dartienlarl7 that of the proprietors of the Wakefield cattle
zlkelet;is continued at the sitting of the Committee.
ftr• Sergeant WILKINS then addressed the Committee at
in opposition to the project, and in favour of the
paten he represents—the Great Northern Railway
(the
_nun to Leeds, and the Manchester and Leeds)—
to.,_tvco_lines are about to amalgamate), whose projects, he
tuvrienta, daz,i would intersect the most populous parts of the
kodation. would, consequently, offer the greatest accom-

GROUP XLII.
WATERFORD, WEXFORD, AND
WICHLOIAT.
The Committee met this
morning at twelve o'clock—Mr.
Tollemache in the chair—when a long discussion ensued as
to the right of the Company to deprive the Carrick-bridge
ciotomittee of their tolls, and Counsel were heard at
erg
able length on their behalf, against the preamble o

ROUP LVIII.
This Committee metro-day atXtwelve o'clock; Lord Courte-
' aay in the chair; all the members present.
CCDONIAN, GLASGOW, GARNIEXTUL, and
~,„__°4IIIILIDGE (BRANCH TO GLASGOW
0 ).
• ...
roc On the assembling of the parties the clauses of this Bill
.7 ere _ .
A▪
considerable
with.
nsiderable time was spent in the discussion of the
uses to be inserted in the Bill to regulate the works, so ase
• Protect the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
'orth and Clyde Navigation. and th

ROULIX. •
u
This Committee asseGmbledP at X
the usual time to-day; Mr.
Cri
Pps in the chair ; all the members present.
• e.axmaorizarr AND GLASGOW, AND
CMEENOCIC AMALGAMATION.
e case on behalf of this Bill was resumed.
Cubitt, C.F., examined—Deposed that he was con-
rg engineer of the London and Brighton line, and bad
erience of its working. Formerl the London and Croy-
Was an independent company between London
Rand Croydon. Then came the London and Brighton
rn anY, which constructed the portions from Croydon to
FLgate. Since then the South-Eastern came in, and the
• Zult!on and Croydon portion was worked by the three coin-
theB The London station was jointly used by them. From
at he had learned of the Glasgow and Paisley joint sta-
Present
n, he apprehended no difficulty in the working of it. If the
amalgamation took place it would lead to a great
ee',llPuly in the working of trains and management.
r, 'NA% Harding, formerly secretary and manager of the
tireenock Railway, and now superintendent of the Bucking-
-4,11na lines, deposed as to the financial condition of the
e°lllPanY when he was connected with it. They
could, on several occasions, barely pay a dividend of one per
et,nt, and had to abridge their expenses very much in
()ulcers, trains, and general management. He was firmly
Persuaded that the proposed amalgamation would serve, not
°lll}' the shareholders, but the public.
This closed the case for the promoters.

GROUP LI.
taller
The Cco itmmtee met to-day at twelve o'clock ; Sir J. Y.
, hman.

NORTH BRITISH.
Mr.
den%Dudgeon, farmer, near Kelso, corroborated the evi-
diet,,given yesterday by Mr. Rutherford, as to the expe-
whine of connecting Hawick and Carlisle by a railway
the nvrould give the agricultural districts of Roxburgh and
fi.„2elghbouring counties the advantages of lime and coal,
07wwhwichhich they were at prese debarred, and from the want
they suffered so severelynt .
A)nr. William Soon, cattle dealer, St. Boswell's, gave evi-
m6E oe as to the great accommodation which the opening of
tat ilawick and Carlisle continuation of the North British
ne would give to the dealers in his neighbourhood, by les-
Selling the cost of transit to the great markets of the
north of England, namely, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds,
and Newcastle. --kle was 01)140 at present, to bend ,his
stock for the former markets round by Glasgow, or-through
Howick to Annan, there to be shipped. This mode of con-
veyance necessarily involved a great cost, and much loss,
from the over-fatigue to the cattle and the detention at the
ports before they could be got to sea.
Mr. Wallbank, cattle-dealer, lieighley, West Riding of
Yorkshire, said that if the railway from Hawick to Carlisle
were finished, he should at once take his cattle to the latter
town, and thence on to the markets of the West Riding by
the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway.
Mr. Mark Tumbril!, miller, Melrose, gave evidence in fa-
tour of the line, as tending to increase the consumption of
grain in the district. There were two distillers at Lang-
holm, who consumed large quantities, but they were unable
to supply the orders they received from the country between
%%wick and Carlisle, because they could not get carts to
convey the produce to its destination. If the railway were
completed this objection would be done away with.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
130irrsmouTir, MAY. s.—The Odin steam-frigate, and the
Geyser steam-sloop. are ordered here from Ireland to fit for
foreign service. The Avenger has been taken into the basin
*-1 -:•-she is intended for the Mediterranean. The officer from
• the Treasury in charge of the seed corn, &c., on board the
Avenger, disposed of a large quantity at Killibegs and Tober-
morey, but very little at Lough Swilly ; the land in that
,eighbourhood was highly cultivated. The Averger brought
`nick 1,400 sacks of seed barley, which are ordered to be
ground into meal.
__The Dee steam transport is ordered here from Oban, to
embark a company of marine artillery, and convey them to
rembroke.
eThe augmentation of the marine corps, by adding 1,500
121 ?to its strength, has been announced to the head-quarters
of the various divisions, and they are ordered to recruit ac-
cordingly. V.„1;13'. Each company of marine artillery is to amount
ot) officers and men, and there are to be three additional
companies of that branch of the corps. The companies of
the marines are to be increased to 110 officers and men.
Finemarine cadets have passed out of the Excellent this
day into the corps. Companies have been selected by the
Rear- Admiral Superintendent, and will receive their com-
missions or appointments on the men being formed into
squads.
nTihe customary notice has been issued to the captains and
V.manders of the ships in the port to attend at the Clarence
ic
Puilling-yard on Friday at three o'clock, to receive her
4•Livesty on her visit to the Isle of Wight.
Champion and Serpent brigs will be taken out of dock
9 a missor two, and put in the basin, masted, and got ready
tor coion. The Champion has had Muntz's mixed
metal sheathing (a dirty yellow) put on, instead of copper.
The Serpent has the usual copper applied.
Her Majesty's steamer Bulldog is expected here from
Plymouth, for a court-martial to be held on one of her
Officers.
DEATH or Amman& ADMIRAL.—The navy has lost
another of its old and distinguished officers, in the death of
Admiral of the White Stephen Poyntz, the third of the list
of full admirals wbo have died within the last few days.
The gallant officer was made a lieutenant in April, 1791,
•
commander, October, 1795, captain, December, 1796. He
commanded the Solebay at the capture of a French squadron
i n the West Indies in 1799, and, when in command of the
Melempus, assisted at the destruction of the Impetueux off
Cape Henry, in 1810. He succeeded to his flag as rear
• admiral in August, 1819, vice admiral, July, 1830, and ad-
miral, November, 1841.
By the decease of Admiral Poyntz, the following promo-
tions will take place :—Admiral of the Blue H. R. Glinn,
to be Admiral of the White ; Vice Admiral the Right
Ron. James Marquis of Thomond, G:C.H., to be Admiral
of the Blue ; Vice Admiral Richard Matson becomes
senior of that grade ; Vice Admiral of the White Sir
Edward Dumford King, K.C.8., K.C.H., commander-in-
chief at the Nore, to be Vice Admiral of the Red. Vice
Admiral of the flue Matthew Buckle to be Vice Ad.
miral of the White, and Rear Admiral the Hon. George
Elliot, C. 8., to be Vice Admiral of the Blue ; Rear
Admiral the Right Hon. Lard William Fitzroy, K.C.8.,
becomes the senior of that grade ; Rear Admiral of the
White John Ayscough to be Rear Admiral of the Red ;
Rear Admiral of the Blue James Whitley Deans Dundas,
C. 8., one of the Lords of the Admiralty, to be Rear Ad-
miral of the White ; and Captain Edward Wallis Hoare
(1810), to be Rear Admiral of the Blue. The senior
captain now on the list, is John Coode, C.B. By the promo-
tion of Captain Hoare another good-service pension falls
• to the patronage of Lord Auckland. Not less than nine flag
Officers,„ have died since the promotion and retirement in
November last.
Woot.wicir, MAY s.—Tbe Dragon steam-frigate was corn-
Missioned to-day by Captain Hull, and is to have a crew of
19G men.
Mr. Watts, a resident in Woolwich, and father of William
Watts, late mate of the Loch Ryan steamer, which was lost
;,s
tile North Seas on the 9th of October last, presented a
memorial to the Lords of the Admiralty, on the Bth of March
Of the present year, requesting that their Lordships would be
pleased to take into consideration the humane and zealous
exertions of Captain Hammer, of the Norwegian brig Del-
phin, Fredericshall, who saved the lives of twenty of the
crew, out of twenty-one, on board the Loch Ryan, when she
encountered the gale which caused her loss. A letter was
eceived yesterday by Mr. Watts, announcing that their
Lordships had been pleased to award 201. to Captain Hammer,
• and 30/. additional to be divided amongst the crew a his
v
essel, for their exertions on that occasion.

foro trmhe
g, of the Regent's- p ark , is the competitor
P remium offered by the committeesuccessful charged with the
erection of a tower in commemoration of her Majesty's most
gracious visit to this island. We understand that nearly
tinny designs were sent in, some of which are said to have
possessed i
great merit. Mr. Coiling arrived. here on Friday
_ft, and n the course of the afternoon inspected the proposed
oti,e3.-- Guernsey Star.

.11

by an insatiable lust for war, we commend the following
brief sentences :
rd
tow"aNrdaspotlneeonregreengearateid a generalennfEurepe p;e
aancde awsb
etnh
hefirst
the very height of his power, he renewed his offer of peace
with England, in concert with the Emperor of Austria and
the King of Prussia, who had gone to Dresden for the ex-
press purpose of paying him a visit, and openly testifying
the sincerity of their alliance. The English Ministry and
the libels of all the oligarchs in the world may say what
they please ; it is nevertheless true, that the Emperor Na-
poleon always desired peace with England.
" So also, when surrounded by a royal cortege, and when
400,000 soldiers, under the French eagle, were encamped on
the banks of the Niemen, he again held out a friendly hand
to the Emperor Alexander, and sent to him his aide-de-camp,
Count Narbonne, to make a last effort for the re-establish-
ment of harmony between two sovereigns, who, not long be-
fore, had mutually engaged to act as brothers."
These statements rewinds us of some observations
contained in the Memoirs of Rovigo, the recollection of
which can never fade from our memory. "The Em-
peror," says Savary (Vol 3, p. 81), " far from taking
an undue advantage of any his victories, had always re-
frained from oppressing the vanquished. He constantly
checked himself in his triumphs, being reluctant, as he
used to say, to reduce a nation to despair. In Italy he
made the first step towards reconciling the French revo-
lution with Europe ; and he laid the basis of a peace
which was signed at Campo Formic,. After
the battles of Marengo and Hohenlinden, he stopped
when it was in his power to have marched
to Vienna. After the battle of Austerlitz, he stopt short,
when it was in his power to have confounded the most
shameful of aggressions. And at Tilsit, after the battle
of Friedland, he renounced all the advantages of a war
still more fortunate than the first ; and did not follow
up s his against
he gainsta power whose forces were ex
ha us successese
d ,hee
uwished to facilitate peace, and
to secure the tranquillity of Europe on a
steady foundation. Such examples of magna-
nimity," concludes the Duke of Rovigo, "deserve
to be remembered." As a species of corollary to this,
we extract the entire of a very long document, too im-
portant, for a thousand reasons, to curtail ; it contains
"Napoleon's Advice to his Son," the King of Rome, dic-
tated to Count Montholon, by the Emperor, shortly be-
fore the death of the latter. Let those who consider
Napoleon only as a despot, as a successful soldier, as a
monster of cruelty, as an enemy to liberty, and especially
to the liberty of the press—weigh every phrase and
syllable of this glorious and beautiful document.
" My son should not think of avenging my death ; he
should profit by it. Let the remembrance of what I hare
done never leave his mind ; let him always be, like me,
every inch a Frenchman. The aim of all his efforts should
be, to reign by peace: if he should recommence my wars out
of pure love of imitation, and without any absolute neces-
sity, he would be a mere ape. To do my work over again
would be to suppose that I had done nothing; to complete
it, on the contrary, would be to show the solidity of the
basis, and explain the whole plan of an edifice which I had
only roughly sketched ; the same thing is not done twice in
a century: I was obliged to daunt Europe by my arms; in
the present day, the way is to convince her. I saved the
revolution which was about to perish; I raised it from its
ruins, and showed it to the world beaming with glory. I
have implanted new ideas in France and in Europe; they
cannot retrograde : let my son bring into blossom all that I
have sown; let him develop all the elements of prosperity
enclosed in the soil of France, and by these means he may
yet be a great sovereign.
"The Bourbons will not maintain their position after my
death ; a reaction in my favour will take place everywhere,
even in England ; this will be a fine inheritance for my son.
It is possible that the English, in order to efface the remem-
brance of their persecutions, will favour my son's return to
France ; but in order to live in a good understanding with
England, it is necessary, at any cost, to favour her com-
mercial interests : this necessity leads to one of these two
consequences—war with England, or a sharing of the com-
merce of the world with her. This second condition is the
only one possible in the present day; the exterior question
will long take precedence in France of the interior. I be-
queath to my son sufficient strength and sympathy to enable
him to continue my work with the single aid of an elevated
and conciliatory diplomacy. His position at Vienna is de-
plorable. Will Austria set him at liberty unconditionally?
But after all, Francis L was once in a more critical position,
and yet his French nationality was nothing impaired by it.
Let not my son ever mount the throne by the aid of foreign
influence; his aim should not be to fulfil a desire to reign.
but to deserve the approbation of posterity. Let him cherish
an intimacy with my family, whenever it shall be in his
power. My mother is a woman of the old school; Joseph
and Eugene are able to give him good counsel; Hortense
and Catherine are superior women. If he remains in'exile,
let him marry one of my nieces. If France recals him, let
him seek the hand of a Princess of Russia : this Court is the
only one where family ties rule policy. The alliance which
be may contract should tend to increase the exterior in-
fluence of France, and not to introduce a foreign influence
into its counsels. The French nation, when it is not taken
the wrong way, is more easily governed than any other : its
prompt and easy comprehension is unequalled; it immedi-
ately discerns who labours for, and who against it; but then
it is necessary always to speak to its sense, otherwise its un-
easy spirit gnaws, it ferments and explodes.
" My son will arrive after a time of civil troubles; he has
but one party to fear—that of the Duke of Orleans: this
party has been germinating for a long time. On this point,
repeat to him what Bertrand said to me : let him despise all
parties, and only see the mass of the people ; excepting
those who have betrayed their country, he ought to forget
the previous conduct of all men, and reward talent, merit,
and services, wherever he finds them. Chateaubriand, not-
withstanding his libel, is a good Frenchman.
" France is the country where the chiefs of parties have
the least influence ; to rest for support on them is to build on
sand. Great things can only be done in France by having
the support of the mass of the people; and, besides, a Go-
vernment should always seek for support where it is really to
be found. There are moral laws as inflexible and imperious as
the physical ones. The Bourbons can only rely for support
on the nobles and the priests, whatever may be the constitu-
tion which they are made to adopt; the water will descend
again to its level, in spite of the machine which has raised it
for a moment. I, on the contrary, relied on the whole mass
of the people without exception. I set the example of a go-
vernment, which favoured the interests of all. I did not go-
vern by the help of, or solely for, either the nobles, the
prim*, the citizens, or the tradesmen ; I governed for the
whole community, for the whole family of the French ne-
e::
which-npm nooor ttr
arblonewchedai.
eioadnedtdh,
made
e;bi
besides,
saicdaedns
na-
tion. To divide the interests of a nation is to injure them
all, and engender civil war. A thing indivisible by nature
constitution,raofnnt
.olythbi
neoosof id
thhotoei.
uldalatdye principal atbtaacsehsnoof
be
et mayd
definitively
vbeal
yd
sbeuttt I eidtsonfutismpoeinnttalwpitrhinoucitptlehesfhoormuladl cboentsheentunofivtehresanlaitt3i.ono,f•
votes.

on the other hand, the North advances against civilisation,
the struggle will be of shorter duration, but the blows more
fatal; the well-being of nations, all the results which it has
taken so many years to obtain, will be destroyed, and none
can foresee the disastrous consequences. The accession of
my son is for the interest of nations, as well as of kings. Be-
yond the circle of ideas and principles for which we have
fought, and which I have carried triumphantly through all
difficulties, I see nought but slavery And confusion for France
and for the whole of Europe.
" You will publish all that-I have dictated or written, and
you will engage my son to read and reflect upon it. You will
tell him to protect all those who have served me well, and
their number is large. My poor soldiers, so magnanimous,
so devoted, are now perhaps in want of bread I Whaecou-
rage, what good sense is there in this French people I What
buried riches, which will perhaps never again see the light of
day ! Europe is progressing towards an inevitable transfor-
mation : to endeavour to retard this progress, be but
to lose strength by a useless struggle; to favour it, is to
strengthen the hopes and wishes of all.
" There are desires of nationality which must be satisfied
sooner or later, and it is towards this end that continual pro-
gress should be made. My son's position will not be exempt
from immense difficulties ; let him do by general consent what
I was compelled by circumstances to effect by force of arms.
' When I was victorious over Russia, in 1812, the problem of
a peace of a hundred years' duration was solved. I cut the
Gordian knot of nations: in the present day it must be untied.
The remembrance of the thrones which I raised up, when it
was for the interest of m general policy so to do, should be
effaced. In the yesr 1815 y , I exacted from my brothers that
they should forget their royalty, and only take the title of
French princes. My son should follow this example; an
opposite course would excite just alarm. It is no longer in.
the North that great questions will be resolved, but in the
Mediterranean ; there, there is enough to content all the am-
bition of the different powers, and the happiness of the civi-
lized nations may be purchased with fragments of barbarous
lands. Let the kings listen to reason; Europe will no longer
afford matter for maintaining international hatreds. Preju-
dices are dissipated and intermingled; routes of commerce
are becoming multiplied; it is no longer possible for one
nation to monopolize it. As a means by which
my son may
see whether his administration be goad, or the contrary—
whether his laws are in accordance with the manners of the
country—let him have an annual and particular report pre-
sented to him of the number of condemnations pronounced by
the tribunals. If crimes and delinquencies increase in number,
it is a proof that misery is on the increase, and that society is
ill governed ; their diminution, on the other hand, is a proof
of the contrary.
" Religious ideas have more influence than certain narrow-
minded philosophers are willing to believe: they are capable
of rendering great services to humanity. By standing well
with the Pope, an influence is still maintained over the con-
sciences of a hundred millions of men. Pius "VII. will be
always well disposed towards my son: he is a tolerant and
enlightened old man. Fatal circumstances embroiled our
cabinets; I, regret this deeply. Fesch did not understand
me ; he upheld the party of the ultramontanes, the enemies of
true religion in France. If yen are permitted to return to
France, you will still find many who have remained faithful to
my memory. The best monument which they could raise to
me would be to make a collection of all the ideas which I
expressed in the Council of State, for the administration of
the empire; to collect all my instructions to my Ministers;
and to make a list of the works which I undertook, and of
all the monuments which I raised in France and Italy.
Maret, Daru, Mollien, Merlin, and Cambaceres, may contri-
bute to this work; it will be the completion of what I charge
Bignon to write on my foreign policy and the general heads
which I have indicated to you on my wars. In what I have
said in the council of state, a distinction must be made be-
tween the measures, good only for the moment, and those
whose application is eternally true.
" Let my son often read and reflect on history ; this is the
only true philosophy. Let him read and meditate on the
wars of the greatest captains; this is the only means of
rightly learning the science of war.
" But all that you say to him, or all that he learns, will
be of little use to him, it he has not in the depth of his heart
,hat sacred fire and love of good which alone can effect great
,hings.

will hope, however, that he will be worthy of his

distiny."
We must content ourselves for the present with these
quotations ; and we cannot more appropriately conclude
our remarks on the anniversary of the death of this
astonishing being, than in the exquisite and mournful
language of Count Montholon :--" After such a variety
of fortune, the Emperor at length reposes in his last
and unchangeable resting-place. The immense drama
of his marvellous destiny has closed with the gates of his
tomb ; but this glorious tomb itself will remain as an
abiding lesson to the whole family of man; it will always
remain to recal to the world the vanity of all earthly
greatness and splendour. There sleeps the Emperor,
together with the passions and animosities of which he
was the object or the originator!"

COURT CIRCULAR.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited the
Queen and Prince Albert yesterday.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on horse-
back yesterday, attended by his Equerry in Waiting,
Colonel Bouverie.
The Queen had a dinner-party yesterday at Bucking-
ham Palace. The company included her Royal High-
ness the Duchess of Kent, their Royal Highnesses the
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, his Serene Highness
the Prince of Leiningen, his Serene Highness Prince
Edward of Saxe Weimar, the Duke of Wellington, the
Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, the Marquis of Aber-
corn, Earl Cawdor, Earl Howe, Earl Fortescue, Earl
Spencer, Lady Augusta Bruce, Lady Augusta Cadogan,
Baroness de Speth, Viscount Clilden, Captain Francis
Seymour, Sir George Couper, and Baron Knesebeck.
The band of the 2d Lite Guards was in attendance

during dinner.
At a quarter past eight o'clock, his Royal Highness
Prince Albert, accompanied by the noble directors of
the Concert of Ancient Music, left Buckingham Palace
for the Hanover-square Rooms, his Royal Highness
being the director for the evening.
In the carriage with the Prince were his Royal High-
ness the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Wellington,
and the Earl Cawdor. Three of the Royal carriages
followed, conveying the Earl Howe, the Marquis of
Abercurn, Viscount Clitden, Sir Edward Codrington,
Captain Francis Seymour, Colonel Bouverie, Sir George
Cuuper, and Baron Knesebeck.
About ten minutes after the departure of the Prince,
the Queen left Buckingham Palace for the Hanover-
square Rooms, to honour the performance of the Con-
cert of Ancient Music with her presence. Her Ma-
jesty was accompanied by her royal and distinguished
guests. The August party left the Palace in the fol-
lowing order:--
A carriage, conveying the Hon. Misses Kerr and
Cavendish, Lord Waterpark, and Lieut.-Colonel the
Hun. C. B. Phipps.
A carriage,earriage,
conveyingconveing Lady Augusta Bruce, Lady
Augusta Cadogan, and Baroness de Speth.
A carriage, conveying the Lord Steward, the Lord
Chamberlain, and the Master of the Horse.
A
Countess of Desert, his
Leiningen, and his Serene Highness P 'nee Edward of
Saxe Weimar.
A carriage, ene 14
Serene
eDueliess
Highness o f Norfolk,he
Prince t he
f e
conveying her Majesty the Queen, her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, and her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the
Princess Royal took airings yesterday in the royal
garden.
Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred, the Princess
Alice, and the Princess Helena, accompanied by the
Dowager Lady Lyttelton took a drive yesterday in a car-
riage and four.
Among the visitors to inspect the royal pictures in St.
James's Palace yesterday were the Bishop of Rochester,
Lords Falmouth Leigh,
Walsingham and Fortescue,
Dowager Lady Suffield, Lady Mary Howard, and Lady
1 Radstock.
A deputation from the London and South-Western
Railway Company, had an interview with the Right
Hon. E. Strutt yesterday at the office of the Commis.
sioners of Railways, in Great George-street. The depu.
tation consisted of Mr. Chaplin, M.P. (Chairman), Earl
of Morley (Deputy-Chairman), Hon. Francis Scott,
M.P., Mr. H. Ker Seymer, M. 13., Mr. Laurentz Camp-
bell (secretary), Mr. Joseph Locke, and Mr. F. 'l'
Bircham.
The Portuguese Minister transacted business yester-
day at the Foreign-office.
Mr. Pringle bad an interview with Sir George Grey
yesterday. Sir William Pym had also an interview with
the Right Hon. Baronet, at the Home office.
The Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord President of the
Council, gave a dinner to the Cabinet Ministers last
evening at Lansdowne Rouse.

c :a
isut: i '
assume
of
fa
eyimumnoyo3r,beci
morall
toi
itl nobility will,onecan affordndgqpeu ireieses:sea.rt
Ni .
one
From
by
tyosomu traditionp ptoh succeedret
.) . toeit
year
nhmr
eny:f
aaBscklorisnen,
dg;
all
depo-
sit
he
pter 1
oeml ;
grandees openly espoused the opposite party. I felt no re-
liance either on my marshals or my nobility, not even on
my colonels; but the whole mass of the people and the
whole army, up to the grade of captain, were on my side. I
was not deceived in feeling this confidence; they owe much
to me ; I was their true representative. My dictator-
ship was indispensable; and the proof of this is, that
they always offered me more power than I desired.
In the present day, there is nothing possible in France but
what is necessary. It will not be the same with my son :
his power will be disputed; he must anticipate every desire
for liberty. It is, besides, easier in ordinary times, to reign
with the help of the Chambers than alone: the assemblies
take a great part of your responsibility, and nothing is more
easy than always to have the majority on your side; but
care must be taken not to demoralize the country, The in-
fluence of the Government in France is immense; and if it
understands the way, it has no need of employing corruption
in order to find support on all sides. The aim of a sovereign
is not only to reign, but to elitfuse instruction, morality, and
well-being; and any thing false is but a bad aid.
" In my youth, I, too, entertained some illusions; but I
soon recovered from them. The great orators who rule the
assemblies by the brilliancy of their eloquence are in general
men of the most mediocre political talents: they should not
be opposed in their own way; for they have always more
noisy words at command than you. Their eloquence should
be opposed by a serious and logical argument ; their strength
lies in vagueness i they should be brought back to the reality
of facts; practical arguments destroy them. In the council,
there were men possessed of much more eloquence than I
was; I always defeated them by this simple argument—treo
and two make four. France possesses very clever practical
men; the only thing necessary is to find them, and to give
them the means of reaching the proper station : such a one
is at the plough, who ought to be in the council; and such
another is Minister, who ought to be at the plough. Let not
my son be astonished to hear men, the most reasonable to all
appearance, propose to him the most absurd plans. From
the agrarian law to the despotism of the Grand Turk, every
system finds an apologist in France ; let him listen to them
all ; let him take every thing at its just value, and surround
himself by all the real capacity of the country. The French
people are influenced by two powerful passions, which seem
opposed, but which, nevertheless, are derived from one and
the same feeling—viz., love of liberty, and love of distinc-
tion. A government can only satisfy these two wants by the
most exact justice. The law and action of the government
must be equal towards all; honours and rewards must be
bestowed on the men who seem in the eyes of all to be the
most worthy of them. Merit may be pardoned, but not in-
trigue. The Order of the Legion of Honour has been an
immense and powerful incitement to virtue, talent, and cou-
rage ; if ill employed, it would become a great evil, by alien-
ating the whole army, if the spirit of court intrigue and co-
terie presided at its nominations or at its administration.
" My son will be obliged to allow the liberty of the press
this is a necessity in the present day. In order to govern, it
is not necessary to pursue a more or less perfect theory, but
to build with the materials which are under one's hand ; to
submit to necessities, and profit by them. The liberty of the
press ought to become, in the hands of the Government, a
powerful auxiliary in diffusing, through all the most distant
col ners of the empire, sound doctrines and good principles.
To leave it to itself would be to fall asleep on the brink of a
danger. On the conclusion of a general peace, 1 would have
instituted a Directory of the Press, composed of the ablest
men of the country, and I would have diffused, even to the
most distant hamlet, my ideas and my intentions. In the
present day, it is impossible to remain, as one might have
done three hundred years ago, a quiet spectator of the trans-
formations of society ; now, one must, under pain of death,
either direct or hinder everything.
" My son ought to be a man of new ideas, and of the cause
which I have made triumphant everywhere. lie ought to
establish institutions which may efface all traces of the feudal
law, secure the dignity of man, and develop those germs of
prosperity which have been budding for centuries. He should
propagate, in all those countries now uncivilised and barba-
rous, the benefits of Christianity and civilisation. Such
should be the aim of all my son's thoughts; such is the
cause for which 1 die a martyr to the hatred of the oligarchs,
of which I am the object. Let him consider the holiness of
my cause. Look at the regicides I They were formerly in
the councils of a Bourbon ; to-morrow they will return to
their country—and I and mine expiate iu tortures the bless-
ings which I desired to bestow on nations. My enemies are
the enemies of humanity; they desire to fetter the people,
whom they regard like a flock of sheep; they endeavour to
oppress France, and to make the stream reascend towards its
source. Let them take care that it does not but st its bounds !
With my son, all opposite interests may live in peace; new
ideas be diffused mid gather strength, without any violent
shock or the sacrifice of any victims, and humanity be spared
dreadful misfortunes. But if the blind hatred of kings still
pursues my blood after my death, I shall then be avenged,
but cruelly avenged. Civilisation will sutler in every way,
if nations burst their bounds, and rivers of blood will be shed
throughout the whole of Europe ; the light of science and
knowleuge will be extinguished amid civil and foreign war-
fare; more than three hundred years of troubles will be re-
quired in order to destroy in Europe that royal authority
which has but for a day represented the interests of all
classes of men, but which struggled for several centuries be-
fore it could throw off the restrainte of the middle ages. If,

THE LORD-LIEUTENANT OF
IRELAND.
DUBLIN, MAT 4.—The symptoms to-day have changed
for the worse. The first bulletin this morning states,
that the cough was troublesome throughout the night,
and that his Excellency is not so well as yesterday. It
is apprehended that a suffusion of water in the region of
the chest, which gave way to medical treatment towards
the close of last week, is again accumulating, affecting
the respiratory organs, and inducing the cough, which
deprives the Noble Earl of the rest which is all-essential
to his depressed condition.
Up to post hour there was no change in his Ex-
cisesluleed. -_
nc y's symptoms, nor was there any other bulletin

HEALTH OF THE KING OF HOLLAND.--The follow.
ing bulletin was issued under date Hague, May 4 :—" The
intermittent fever under which his Majesty is suffering con-
tinues to abate.—The Hague, May 3.
Thee isad
iedvdeinet.
sttoroeket
" P. F. EVERARD, M.D.
" ••••••• BECKERS, M.D."
,Plaafetee after bUrioelfl dial ill-
ness OF Mn. GEORGE WIGNET.--It is our pain
ful task this week to record the death a Mr. George Wigney,
ness not extending beyond week. Mr. Wigney was the
second son of the late Mr. William Wigney, the founder of
the brewery which still goes by his name, and the Bright-
helmston Bank,—Brighton Guardian.
of
morning,this to want ,hbi
srerweesri
d.
DEATH OF VISCOUNT ASHBROOK.—We have to
record the decease of the Right Hon. Henry Jeffrey Viscount
Ashbrook, who expired on the 4th inst., at his seat, Beau-
mont Lodge, Old Windsor, in his 71st year. He was mar-
ried to a sister of the late Lord Metcalfe, and was father of
the Duchess of Marlborough.
The Earl Fitzwillia.m entertained a distinguished
circle at dinner on Tuesday evening, at Mortimer House,
Halkin-street. The guests included the Earl of Burlington
and the Hon. Mr. Cavendish, Viscount and Viscountess
Milton, Sir Robert and Lady Price, the Hon. F. Dundas,
and a distinguished circle.
AMATEUR DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE ST. JAMES'S
THEATRE.--lier Majesty, we understand, has commanded
her box to be retained for the second amateur performance
for the benefit of the distressed Scotch and Irish, which is
to take place at this theatre on the 13th inst. Her Royal
Higbness the Duchess of Kent has also retained a box for
the occasion. The performance will consist of Lord Elles-
mere's adaptation Victor Hugo's•
c play of Her-
nani, and rlanche'of romantic
comedy of Faint Heart Never Won Fair

Lady.
The Societe Generale of Belgium has just lowered
to 4i per cent. its rate of discount on commercial bills.

SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENIN CT, MAY 6, 184