The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-08-13 00:00:00

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t deprive him of 66 uchy of Warsaw • because a
former war will, France had nearly ruined our coun-
try, awl *hat it was France that lestnred us to liberty
a4l independence; because your alliance would
have idiot I, Saxony, as it did ruin Ilesse Cassel, in
th dostruction of which you were the first to ac-,
go rte.. ; and that we never knew what glory and",
happiness were, till our Princes became Members of
t Cont. deration of the Rniote.
" Lf you apply, to the people of Westphalia, they
will telT you that you were among the foremost to
abandon the Hoppe of If, .se Cassel, as you were
ainreig the tiro to ackttgled.4e the sovereign of West-
illlitias.they arc of France, it is na.
tnril at on..e to their policy, their interest, and their
in •lination, to par-ue the path which their destinies
bay.' market for them. Finally, shall I speak in the
mime of Germaits in general?—lf so, I will say, that
the greatest misfortune that can befal a nation is to
hove their territory. made the seat of war—that it was,
the interest of Germany to be allied to you and tot
Fraece—that ee have been 10 years with you, during
which time we experienced nothing hut loss, disgrace,
and defeat—that ou • eountry has been constantly the •
3,11 of war—that our banners, now milted with the
Fre. ch Eagles, are spread beyond our frontiers,
and that we never hear of them but we also hear of
the glory that .acircles them—that experience has
taught us that there is no greater scourge than to
have a Russian army in our country. Moreover, by
the treaty of Tilsit, which you have entered into with
the French Monarch and Protector of the Confede-
ration, you have engaged to compel England to
mike peace. Peace would have been made if you
had kept to your engagements ; and peace alone can
extend the commerce of Germany. You then are
th • cause that the evils which press upon the world
are prolonged.
44 But is it wise in a Minister to preach up to peo-
ple desertion of, and rebellion against, their Sove-
reigns? Does not the having recourse to such me-
thods show the injustice of your cause, 'and the
weakness of your arms? What do you call a free
resolution ? We make war, as we have always done,
because our interest, well understood, directs its hos-
tility towards you. You tell us to exert ourselves ;
we are not cast down, it is only people that are in a
state of slavery who can extricate themselves from
slavery. We are free and happy beneath the rule of
Sovereigns who have governed us for 800 years. We
are not subjected to foreign fire and sword—we at-
tend to the voice of duty—we obey our Sovereign,
and those who seek to send among us the horrors of
anarchy and civil war, in order to save their own
country from them, enter into a vain, puerile, and
crimies' calculation.
W'.at ! the Austrian Eagle; the Prussian Eagle,
the Bavaria', Lion, the Green Crown of Saxony—
can these be considered as the banners of slavery,
while t •se of tee Cossacks, Russians, Muscovites
and Tartars, should he considered as the banners oi
pstriotis a and G, rman freedom? You talk to us of 1
the assistance we may expect from the brave Rus.
sians, who are able to carry their arms amidst a po.
pulation of fifty millions of souls. When you do
thus advance, let us alone, and look to how yea may I
be able to defend yourselves. But we have given upl
the silly tat, s welch had gained credit with respect to
you ; instead of fifty millions, you do not amount to
twenty-five—one part of the number is in so barbarous!
a state that they cannot be counted as any thing;
another part must be employed against the Turks and
Persian.; another, rising as it wore from the grave,
are arming themselves to re-establish Poland.—
Fight to the last drop for the independence of your
country ; in doing so you do well : bat do not affect
to say you are fighting for our interests ; if we had
any interests opposed to those of France, and you
presumed to say so, the example of ten years would
show us how we ought to appreciate your power.-r
Bot, at length, the mountain in labour has brought
forth a mouse. These big expressions end in a pro-
posal to desert our country and an offer of situations
in a German Legion. You desire us to betray our!
Sovereigns, our country, and our religion, to serve
under your banners—most base proposal ! When a
General or a Minister could forget his honour so
far as to sign it, what a terrible notion we must
form of the morality of the notion to which he be.
longs : moreover, what should we gain by enter. I
ing into your service ?—Do we not know well ? I
Our pay •we should receive in paper—we should be
pieced beneath the most terrible climate in the
world, and we should incur the contempt which
is the portion of all such as enter into the ser-
vice of Russia. If yoltr arms were at any time I
successful, their success you owe to our country-
men, to the Muniches, the Ostermanns, &c. sad
how did these men finish their career ?—Why, by
an exile to Siberia. Your nation is naturally jet.
'lnns of, and inimical to, the permans. You have re.
paid those who served you with ingratitude. With
respect to the unfortunate persons whom you have
seduced by the prospect of a comfortable situation
in the flourishing provinces of your Empire, what
has become of them ?—Their confidence in your
promises has procured for them misery despair, and
death.

" You speak of the liberty of Germany : is that
to be found in the destruction of the Houses of Aus.
tria, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Wirtemburg, Radon, !
Hesse, Saxouy, Westphalia,. &c.? Unquestionably
here is a project of your Prince's; which has every
possible characteristic of honour and morality; and t
it is very wisely addressed to us, who have been dis.
tinguished for ages by an attkchment to our Sore.
reigns. no you mean to express by the word liberty
the Muscovite code which you could confer upon
our peasantry ? is it by attaching us to the soil that
you would make us free? TWO very word liberty
is offensive in your mouths. How cad people .who
treat men like horses dare to talk of liberty to Ger-
mans? Good Baron De Tolly—yon dabble in mat.
ter revolutionary—you would erect hepehlics. It is
you, then, hacked by a handful of-Gorman adven-
turers, smitten with a passion for England, who can
have no rest till you have brought our Princes be-
neath the axe of the executioner, sot lits to oar towns
and villages, destroyed our mannfoeturss; and, un-
der the pretest of giving freedom to otos °sentry,.
devoted the present generation to ItU tb. hOrrefi of
•
anarchy.. Jr *4
.tf This Proclamation bat giTen atelsewiroustie to
bless ilotaTen for having given mak power to our
rrotet:tor ; for it is dated neithertme Rreidett pqf

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