The Statesman.
London, England, 1813-08-19 00:00:00

periaiek_
frontier. In home quartet', or on his march through
the towns and villages of France, his whole depots.
rent towards the native inhabitants is an exatispie of
complaisance, and temper, .tehieh he it /
courtesy,
strictly enjoined to obeervrs. and which he piqued
himself on observing,—or violates only to prepare
for an ignominious death. Thus unhallowed power
contrive, to mitigatethe evils which are necessary*r
its existence. Thus are lightened, in some degree
the chains of abject servitude. Thus has the subtilty
of extreme despotism infused into the bitter draught
which it adtainisters, an ingredient elsewhere more
bet,eficially provided by the cares and the jealousies' '
of freedom.
But he who keeps down that host of bad passions,'
which, if let loose upon France herself, would re-
cal the anarchy from *hick he rescued her, spurs
and inflames them spied all other countries. Ilia
soldiers are his brethren in oppression. To foreign
state‘ ae is a destroyer. To France he appears but
as a conqueror. To suppose the French nation un- •
reeved by the love of sway,—or undazzlA by the
sp'endours of reiterated triumph—would he to divest
them not only of those passions which pervade most
extensive political communities, but of a train of
sehoiog emotions, which have animated and distil.-
guished in every age the national character of.
lo'retio lame So far, then, from hoping for the sym.;
rota. of France, in the complaints and suffer..
boas. of the rest of Europe, I am much afraid It
Isno!t1 he more accurate to consider the crimes of
tent coar against the remainder of mankind, as •
merits in the eyes-.of his vain. and warlike spits .
jeers. What proof have we from recent facts, that
any reliance can" be placed on the disaffection of
Franc.'••owards Bonaparte? Are the Conscripts ren-
dered desperate by conscription,—or is wot their
tonduct to he taken as a just specimen of the bias of
their countrymen towards the Government which en-
forces it :7 It so--tiow many instances have occurred
of desertion on the par' of native Frenchmen?—
We have heard of Foreigners deserting by hundreds
—the French soldier, I believe, is eminently true,—
etosot we not. then, to regard the fidelity of the sol-
dier under all his hardships, as some fair index of
voltat we might expect front the nation out of which
be emanates? The National Guards of the interior
exceed a million of men. Can we discreetly reckon
en their assistance? Marshal Soult, in his last dis-
patch, announces, that a certain proportion of
them were already in arms, and prepared to op-
pose the English. Is Marshal Soult a man to be
deceived ? or would he put • muskets in the hands
of enemies? The peasants of Gascony, too,—are'
they disaffected? They have shared with the troops'.
the frontier duty. What can we desire ? Ido not
deny that Louis the XVIIIth may have some thou-
sand partizans in France. In England, so late as
1745, there were many partizans of the Stuarts. I
only insist that they would disappear at once before
the vast body of those Who exercise the powers of the
modern Government, or who hope to rise through its
protection. To tlois it may be unanswerably added—
that any interference of the English. nation would
rain the slender prospects of the Bourbon. Every
Honest Frenchman will judge by himself, that no
honest Englishman can wish prosperity to France.—
Our detiTarrition, Therefore, In favour of the banished
Family, might instantaneously convert each foe of
Great Britain, into the Friend of Bonaparte; on
whose side, then, would be the prevalence of euthu-
siasm and of numbers ?

LONDb N:
TUURSDAT,'AUGUST 19$ Iglia

We yesterday frankly and 'fairly declared dor Sen-
timents on the tendency of the system of politics
pursued by our Ministers, and shall henceforward
continue to observe the same line of conduct, in de-
fiance of the trammels which an abused public opinion
is too apt to cast on the pen of the freest writer. It
has been the study, and
we acknowledge, the success-
ful study of some of our cotemporaries, to de-
&ire the British community, as well on the
actual state of the armies, as on the finances
which are to support those armies. It shall be
our employment, hs it is our duty, to disabuse
the people, and in the end resent their Wrongs.
Such a conduct is imperiously necessary to the man
who would follow the advice of one of the wisestand
most energetic Roman Patriots. CATO says, " No
man should be indifferent to the measures of the Go-
vernment under which he lives ; and every man should
take a part in them to the utmost of his power, and
not say to himself—' what can my feeble voice
achieve, or my weak hand operate.'" It is from the
most condemnably supine conduct in this regard, that
we see so few men in our House of Commons distin-
guish themselves, except for the dexterity of protract-
ing a debate. With respect to energy in what may be
said to contribute to the salvation of the country,
the talent appears to he almost extinct. A few soli-
tary instances alone show us that the seeds of public
virtue are not quite destroyed, although the moment
its germ appears to shoot forth, the pestiferous
hands of polluted and venal scribes throw their cor-
roding ink upon and around it, and its opening
promises are destroyed for the season at least.—
Under this disposition and resolution we were struck
with the appearance of a chain of reflections is a
cotemporary, and in some measure a rival, print,
whose general tenour had often given us just
room to complain. We would, however, be as just as
we are resolved to be severe, and therefore we ac-
knowledge that the facts contained in the article in
question are acknowledged to be such, and that the
sentiments growing out of them are quite congenial
with our own. We re-publish soma of them, as A
proof of our approbation, and thereby contribute
to render their beneficial effects more universal:
being as well pleated that the remedy, or the pre-
scription for the remedy, should come from
other hands as from our own—all that we con-
tend for, being the necessity of some power-
! ful and speedy remedy, or we perish. The writer,
after expatiating on the unwise recommendation
(from a certain quarter) of the invasion of France,
proceeds to analyse the character of the French Peo-
ple and the French Ruler, concerning whom he shows
a tolerably exact conception.
The battle and victory of the Pyrenees, for
which some of our cotemporaries were so eager to
confer a Dukedom on Lord WELLINGTON, op.- ated
very differently oft our Minds. None could be more
lensible of the prowess and the merits of our brace
army than ourselves. But, according to the old and

So much for counter-revolution.—But if conquest
be the plan—is it our design to subjugate Gascony—
or Languedoc—or Provence ? Certainly, Napoleon,
who seems so well disposed to sacrifice is 3'2rl mi-
litary ,division to the Allies, may be presumed, a
fortio►►i, to throw away, with even less reluctance
these so much more recent acquisitions!—and to ac-
quiesce with still snore cheerfulness and patience, in a
nencession of so little value as his siuthern frontier !
If we would borni,fitle runaway with these provinces,
we had better pass an Act for dismembering France.
To dismember France, nothing more would be ne-
cessary than to conquer her. " The conquW of
France!-0 tame and feeble Cervantes- with how
timid a pencil, and in what faint colours, lust thou
painted the portrait of a disordered imagination!"

Extract from the journal of. an Officer high in '
I trite adage " Finis coronet optts," %se would leave;
rank at the siege of St. Sebastian to the '26th alt. :-,- i. the rewardd of the General till the conclusion of his
" On the 24th, two breaches were repnr•.cd practi-a campaigns. With British seldiers, ulna cannot a,
cable, as was also the advance of ,:ncr,T. Lord ': Cotnraantler of common courage and moderate skint
NVeraasic.tom immediately took the de.ermination 1 perroion, -The muscle of a British grenadier,,
of joining the advance, and in the mean while strongly
lapplied
recommended the continuing the firing twenty-font ;
ii
hours longer, SO as to destroy, or at Iraq materially ; too unequal numbers, will be sore to make war,
injure, the defences of the place. Lord W. then for distinguishing his leader. We would • not,:
proceeded full speed for the main battle. On however, wish to see our Generals mere instru-
the
25th in the forenoon, from some causes at ments of Ministers. They ought to reason. 9 though 1
i
present unknown, the assault was ordered, and their subalterns in command may *be forbidden to do
lamentable has been the result. As fast as our
so. We would have them consider and, reflect on'
men came op they were knocked down by thedread- •
ful fire from the defences which bore upon the the consequences of what may be actually denomi-
breaches ; and when a few got into them they were mated a victory. We confess ourselves anxious for
unable to effect any thing from their weakness. In ' the final result of this which has been praised by the
short, the carnage was so great, that the French prostituted prints to the very skies. It is curious,
themselves called out to our Officers to draw the men however to observe one of these, in its comments on
I or, and actually ceased firing upon them. Never was
Nvitnessed such heroism as on the part of our soldiery the battle (well knowing that it has said too much be
on this occasion, particularly the Royals, due
who, : fore), now says," We would give our euemies their ,
though almost cut to pieces, absolutely refused to ' and have really a pleasure in acknowledging that the
retire till the third or fourth command was issued for French fought nobly." If we had said so much—
them to do so. At length,
after gr;at loss in killed .had fallen into such a lapsus, we should have been
and ivountled, and some prisoners (mostly made in
the body of the place), the party was withdrawn, called Jacobins, and even arraigned as traitors. The
and General GnanAn immediately proceeded to dig- fact is, that writers of the above description, who
mantle our batteries, and remove the guns to the hunt in packs, often run too far, for the views of the
water side. During this part of the business, bow- interested sportsmen, and then, after lagging behiud,
ever, the garrison made a sortie, surprising a Por- incur the lash of the whipper-in. It is plain to ob-
taguese corps, and nearly destroyed the whole.— serve that these politicians begin to feel something of
Thus ended this calamitous affair."
i the effect of Purrar's observation after one of his
The West India pock has scarcely ever exhibited :
so many external marks of a revived commerce in victories (and grieved are we it is so). SOUL? cannot
this department of our national concerns. Last certainly be regarded as hors de combat. Ile drew off
year, at the same season of the year there wad' his cannon, and may undoubtedly repair his loss of
scarcely room in this great depoWfor an additional' men; since it is an acknowledged facto that three
hogshead of sugar or rum ; but now, although the . experienced Martinets are stationed in Pau, Tarbes,
bison by its numerous masts so lately resembled a 'al
and 01 eron, preparing the conscripts and other re-
forest of trees, yet are the buildings not in the.
smallest degree encumbered with colonial produce.; -
;traits for taking the line, after the manner of old
Bow e‘traordinarr, that in a time of actual and ; Marshal Luceyea's reinforcing the army under Dv-
vluleeful warfare, full freighted ships with lieenees
VOURiEIi. What then successful can be expected in
Gn heard should clear out for Franco diato a the way of invading Franco? The Earl of Lim-