Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1813-07-08

I'M or RUSSIA attempts to draw favorable {
onciusions from The disposition of the peo-
lie OF France. III any doubt had remained
n that head, 1t would have been complete
resolved by the open declaration and ad-
MISSIONS oi the eXiled Bourbon who calls
himself Louis XVIII. He promises, Just in
70 many words, L" that the administrative
and judicial bodies shall be maintained in
: the plenitude of their powers that he will |
preserve their places to those who at pre- |
= sent hold them, and who shall take the |
: oath OF fidelity to him that, in fine, the |
" .NUfotson code, which, for the most part,
" contains only the ancient ordinances and
" customs of the realm, shall ren,oi, in
force" He q" guarantees to the army the
=" maintenance, % the ranks, employmeDts,
" pay ard appointments, which it at pre-
" sent enjoys" What greater compliment
could be paid to the government of Bona
parte than thiP The heir of the Bourbo1s, the
rival OF the throne, has nothing to offer pre-
ieraoie to what Napoleon has given! 1t is
mus that this imbecile exile, the sport Of
fortune, and the greater sport of the enc
mics OF France, seals his own perdition. He
co'J Sses the cXcellencies of the Bonapar-
team institutions ;aud makes the contest for
the crown a mere question of hersons. I'm
TINS he gives the reigning emperor every
possible advantage; because no people in
tnelr senses would, in the choice Of chief
hesitate moment which to choose, the re-
iuse OF the bourhcrn dynasty, or the great
est chieftain of the age. Louis XVIII
does, indeed, tell the French nation, that he
viii abolish the conscyIhfion. But what will
he substitute Will he restore those DAYS
OF corruption, when the rich and nominally
noble were excused from military service,
and the poor peasant and mechanic were in
weighed and dragged to the perpetual servi.
tude OF the camps IfFrance is to remain
ma tial nation, the conscription is the best
system for her. 1t is the best, because it is
the tairest; fer it operates alike on ALL
There can be no substitutes no man is ex-
oherated the son OF the rich man as well as
the offspring Of the poor, at the proper age,
must march at the command of the sove-
reign. The universally of the system rem
ders 1t less odious and, in practice, it is
not halt so tyrannical as the English in,hress.
In tue latter, press gang knock down at
random and bear off by force their hapless
victims, whilst the CONSUMPTION is the effect
OF an established law operating equally
throughout the whole extent of the French
empire. To offer to abolish the conservation.
then, is to offer very little, especially when
we reflect on the evils that would accrue,
from the restoration of Bourbon, to the
new proprietors oflands, K the anarchy that
would be introduced by the swarm of emf
grants that would return with the exiled
family. In calling Bonapare an usurper,
Louis XVIII appears willing to forget the
origin of his own family. Hughes Capet, the
founder of that race of Kings of which the
house of Bourbon was branch, rose from
the state OF a vassal to the roy al dignity bv
talents and treachery. He supplanted the
last OF the Cariovingians, and may be said
to have destroyed the sovereign whom he
succeeded. IF with this historical fact we
contrast the rise of the house of Bonaparte.
we shall find Napoieon's title 10 the Imperi
al throne much more just than that of Capet.
in as much as he rose by his personal me
rit, had no hand in the deposition of his King.
and succeeded by means Of the confidence
with which he had inspired The French peo-
pie in his abilities. ViGw TIE basis Of the
power of Napoleon as we will, therefore.
beth within and without, physically and mo-
rally. it seems to promise to his authority
duration not to be curtailed by such an ac-
cdentai event as that Of the late Russian
campaign.
Many persons are inspired with the tho't
that Bonaparte's continental sysfen,, which
is plan OF general policy apart from his
VI 1NuJOlSOH COtlC, Is a Cnlmerd. 4
the mere dream of a man led away by the
wildness OF ambition. 1t is the interest of
England to- iRculcate snch notion. She has
a deep stake in making the V orld believe so.
Before the attempt to establish this CONT
mental system, it was mere sport for the
British ministry to set the different states of
Europe to wrangling & fighting. Such wars
were, OH the whole, advantageous to English
commerce. But the continental system cuts
up this course of things altogether. Great
Britain, by it, is excluded from having any
influence in continental affairs, and is driven
more TO rely upon her own population aud
resources II is th;spolicy which laid the |
foundation CT tile confederation of the Rhine, |
which placed France at the head Of that lea
que, and promised Europe futurity full of
peace and prosperity. Austria, whose So |
vereigns mad manifested want of faculty |
sufficient to ensure her continuance at the |
head of the Germ IN States, con;en ed her |
self with proceeding by kind of political |
willing to gain by gradual accreti- |
on what she could not secure by wisdom and |
valor. Prince Kaunitz, who perceived the |
of Austria to the consolidation OF |
the true interests OF Europe, did great |
deal towards transferring the supreme in |
nuence among the states OF that continent to |
France, and his views were more fully re :
allied by the marriage Of Maria-Antoin. |
cite with Louis XVI.-Had that prince |
been as capable as Bonaparte, the French |
revolution, in all probability, would never |
have happened. He would have done what
Bonaparte has done: lie would have new |
the government and have changed |
the politicsl face of Europe. The state Of |
society in France at the end Of the eighteenth |
century, had outgrown the Capctian code |
and there had sprung up, neither on thC /
throne NOR arnope, che ,,rieet. and iii. .