The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-04-27 00:00:00

To rim EDITOR or rim STATESMAN.

Sta,—ln reading the bistories of nations, we it.
•tract slits astonishmerit at their wonderful rise,
progress, and filial dissolution, and at the ensued
chsrecters of mem oho oss:st In their udtanroment,
userificiug all prints virus for the benefit of their
fellow beings.

We and, in early (knee, maokind founding tem-
ples to their florins', and rsi•ing such own almost to
she rook of Deities. We find she Jess bad their
Moser, the Greeks their SoLon and I.veynaus, the
t:hisess their Cuserciv., she Persians stheir Eas-
tman-la, the Romans a MINA PONPILItIs, and the
English their Amman; all men of such 'salted rank
sod virtue, that their names are spoken of with the
highest degree of veseration at this distance of time,
sad so doubt will continue, when monuments of
Mao bass mouldered into dust. Dot when we look
at asthma In their progress to decline, we obwrse
the low, sbandoned, and sopriscipled flatterer fill.
leg the el the hosoorable arid Artemis, as is
noticed ACITUS was lb. ease io the Costs of Ile
Emperor no. la the latter periods of the Ro-
meo Empire, an 'Keenest lesson is giros of the
dagger of steadies arrows by their orbissary con-
dad I. cheating ood dethroning their Emperors. ac-
cording to their wilt, which tended at last to pet a
final period to the raisrenre of the Empire. It most
he observed, If the Romans bad a Nun* POINPI-
azur, they bad also a TARQUIN sad a Nato.
The overthrow of the Greek Empire, in the 15th
moister', petunia a aselasehely pittors of the west of
public virtue.

The last Greek Emperor, PAtimeoGus found it ina.
possible to pay the soldiers at Mrs defence of Con.
atintineple ; the rich plooded poverty, or refused to
advance money to seta their country from Min, on.
Oil the victorious Tills bed planted their *laniards
on the veils of the City ; their Emperor was troddeu
to death in his ; the capital delivered op to the
wilt of the merciless conquering frialternetans, and
those searicioes men butchered or sent into slavery.
fin the dinolitinti of this Empire contributed to
disseminate kionnledge into the other pails of Ed.
rem by the Sight of learned men from that ill.
fated city while/ refute its every port of Evrepe.-
1w a few years after, free enquiry began in Germany,
which afterwards was productive of material changes
in the eharacteas of men, and tended to overthrow
blind bigotry and seperititinn, anti men began to
adapt • philosophical mode of thinking.
in niudetn times the clouded horizon of Estop*
began to assume a lamilion aspect, and the dense
stroosphere of slavery to be broken thrnagh by the
bright son of philosophy : whatever obirctiests airy be
wide to the theological opinions of the Ishilosniihns
of France, there can be bat one opinion as to their
atom So far f emancipa,ing their countrymen
from the batest state that ever degraded man, and in
this Airiness esertiso they at ono time appeared-like.
ly to be klly sattes.ful.

The long reign of Locts XIV. a voluptuary, en-
der the guidance of rims, harlots, and low centring
profligate Ministers, involved the nation In enormous
eapences—•sprees only to be premed by the rest
grinding and sesatioos methods. Ills courtiers Wet.
pith arid dissolute, his subjects oppressed and de.
graded ; the base 'pet-Oaths. 1101011111 to raise motley
ender the ll•geocy of the Duke of OULLANO, showed
the impnverished slate of the country. At the death
of I.bnis could ony set be more abandoned aid
creel than the plan laid by LAW, a Dative of Muth
!Mimi°, so 'brewer Si this lime in France, I. ro►
the Dation of bet treater., aid destroy her People
by his famous, or retherinfasnoss, M' ' ipplscheme,
holding out by false statements the guest profit to be
gained by entering into his plans, sad sending ship
foe& of deluded human beings to perish on the bees-
ing sands of South America, sad upheld in these
schemes by the virtuous Government of France ; the
Letires de Gotha, the severe and secret imp►ison-
ments, the Immense exactions, all leaded to bring
things tea crisis.

The weak reige of Louts XV. gave.. additional
lopeloosity to the motion of this long...spewed newt,
for at this time the nation possessed philosophers of
the ins order—mew who saw with the deepest regret
the degraded state of their country, lorded neer by
the tweet cootraeptible of men, *hose profligacy hod
led the nation ion the greatest *mho moots,
which timid only he get over by a lb slional beak.
Abet the year 1694 a work was published,
whirls, I 'Wok. was called. 6' Me Dissolution of
France Driounsitated,"' oiviog a particular oculist
of the then opprea%ive taarition of the costar', s.d
foretelling its effect..

The Woggles of Loots XV. With his Perlianiesteii
•n their refusing to register his ',Musty edict.,
showed Ike nation was preparing for a straggle with
bee oppressors. The King imprior Wei its Members
added mew feel to the already kindled hews. In
this state the nation sae faced at the accession of
Loess XVI.; the commencement ache new reign of
• Monarch, who appeared to passim the hews of
bis People, seemed in set aside all onplosent feeling
from the hopes of things becoming better. But the
American war was the fatal mistake of the French
Court : it arose 'rem the operation of the bad pas-
sions upon the minds of the King and his Ministers.
In their enmity to England they forgot prudence,
sod soot across the Atlantic on army of oppressed
bet w•rat-heeried, brave men, corticiant'ed by well.
informed officers, to assist In establishing Freedom
in the Western Hemisphere—freedom which was not
to be enjoyed in their awn country. In a few years
after their return to France, the effects wets visible:
they bed sten and felt the dignity of liberty in a
tuition of conquering freemen: the events produced
in France are unequalled in the histories of nations.
A Monarchy overturned that had existed fourteen
centuries; • Republic established in its stead, which
by its errors OH also ouriereed by • successful sot-
slier, oho commanded their armies, Safi again esta.
bashed Uneaten, ; but who, atter twenty 'ears so.
rumpled successes, lost his Cro el. and was sent
into perpetual banishment, or rather imprisonment,
by his (*bloomy Ike sailed Sittieigns of Door,