66 upon this important subject, to endeavour [ Austria first compelled France to unsheath to enlighten others whom we see in error, the sword, the same Assembly declared, and thus to deserve no part of that reproach" that the French people, faithful to the which will justly fall upon those who "principles of its constitution, which forshall have been instrumental in the utter" bid it every kind of conquest, and from ruin of our country. "arming against the liberty of any people, You will please to observe, that I am "is now arming only for its own freedom, very far from thinking, that we can live in its independence, and its sovereignpeace with France, unless we change our ty."-It is true, these principles were system. With taxes to the amount of afterwards departed from; but this was Sixty millions a year, while France is in not the spontaneous act of the French goher present state, we never can live in vernment. It was not with them a matter peace with her and retain our greatness. of choice when they proclaimed "peace People, who are able to remove, never "to the cottage and war to the palace." will long continue to walk on foot on this We must look to the Duke of Brunswick's side of the water, if they can ride in Manifesto for the cause of this.-Here incoaches on the other. Where the rich deed we shall find enough to palliate, if are, thither will go those arts which the not to justify, all the subsequent hostile rich support. I am well aware of all this; proceedings of France against her external but, it is not by war that I would endea- enemies, and all the dreadful convulsions vour to keep Englishmen at home. By with which she was so long agitated interpeace, by œconomy, by reducing the mili-nally." The inhabitants of cities, towns, tary establishment, by conciliatory laws," or villages, who shall dare to defend and especially by a constitutional Reform themselves against the troops of their in the Commons' House of Parliament, I" Imperial and Royal Majesties, and fire would make Englishmen feel; I would" upon them either in the open country, not tell them, but I would make them feel, " or from the windows, doors, or other that there was nothing for them to envy," openings of their houses, shall be pu or to seek after, in France, in America,nished on the spot with all the rigour of or in any other country upon earth. "martial law, and their houses shall be With that respect to which your good" pulled down or burnt.”—“The city of sense and public spirit entitle you from all your countrymen, I remain your friend, Botley, May 2, 1815. WM. COBBETt. "Paris and all its inhabitants without dis"tinction shall be bound without the "smallest delay, to submit to the king, to "set him at full and perfect liberty, and secure to him, as also to all the royal 66 66 persons of his family, the inviolability "and respect which, according to the "laws of nature and of nations, are due " from subjects to their sovereigns; their "Imperial and Royal Majesties declaring, that all the members of the National As "sembly, of the departments, districts, municipalities, national guards, justices WAR AGAINST FRANCE. MI COBBETT,-You have already, and most ably shewn, that there exists, at this period, a striking similarity between the invasion of France in 1792, and that which is again threatened in 1815.-In nothing" is the resemblance more obvious than in" of the peace, and all other persons what the pacific and moderate language now soever, shall be answerable with their used by Napoleon, and that employed by "lives and fortunes for all events; tried the National Assembly when it met to de- by martial law, and punished without termine this great question, whether the hopes of pardon: their said Majesties right of making war and peace belonged to "further declaring, upon the faith and the king or to the nation? Having decided "word of an emperor and of a king, in favour of the exclusive right of the peo-"That if the palace of the Thuilleries ple, they decreed, "that the French na- "shall be forced or insulted, if the least tion formally disclaims all wars from violence, the least outrage shall be of ❝motives of ambition, or views of con- "fered to their Majesties the King and quest; and engages never to employ Queen, or the Royal Family; if provi "her forces against the liberty of any other❝sion shall not be made immediately for "people. DillEverts when the conduct of" their safety, their preservation, and their ALFPE en "liberty, they will take a signal and me- " to France, would again become French, morable vengeance, by delivering up the" and the triumphant eagles would again city of Paris to military execution and "carry beyond the Rhine, the Alps, and 64 complete subversion: and the revolters," the Pyrenees, the independence and the "who shall have given occasion for such emancipation of nations. But if the แ vengeance, to the just punishment of "nation is respected, if her rights are not "their crimes."" Such are the 7th and "contemned, all her energy will subside 8th articles of that humane Manifesto," into the only wish which she formswhich served as a signal to rouse, and to "that of a free Constitution. Then all render furious the minds of almost the "France may proudly repeat what Pliny whole population of France, and which," said to Trajan,' If we have a Prince, it instead of tending to preserve the life of "is to preserve us from having a muster.'" the unfortunate monarch, hastened his It is much to be regretted, that there are conveyance to the scaffold. The Times so few who are capable of justly apprecinewspaper asserts, that "it is not histori-ating the causes of the war of 1793, or of cally true that the Duke of Brunswick's that with which we are now threatened. "Manifesto occasioned the failure of the The ignorance generally prevailing on this "first invasion of France."-Critically subject, seems to arise from the implicit respeaking, it may be that the mere publicu- liance that is placed in the statements of tion of this document had not that effect; our newspaper press, the sole object of but it is also true that the measures pur- which is to obscure truth, to paralyze the sued by the Allies, which were exactly in mind, and to excite the ferocious passions the spirit of the Manifesto, were the cause of cannibals, who delight in war because of their armies being driven from the soil it satiates their thirst for human blood.of France, and of the war being after- How few are there, of the present day, wards carried into the bosom of their own that have any recollection of that " territory. The object of the Times writer thusiasm" which animated Frenchmen, was to make it be believed, that the De- when the soil of France was first invaded; claration of the Allies against Napoleon, how comparatively few are to be found, would not occasion any new disaster, in that are any way acquainted with those case they should again enter France. The individual traits of valour and attachment disgraceful termination of the campaign to liberty, which a former violation of her which followed the Duke of Brunswick's territory called forth amongst that brave Manifesto, is sufficiently conclusive as to and gallant people. France was then its effects; and although the new fulmina- fighting for freedom, for independence, and tion against the "rebel and his adherents," for sovereignty. She is now arming in the is not so bloody in its aspect, though same sacred cause. It was the efforts of equally sanguinary, its consequences must her citizens that then insured her the vicbe, indeed already have been, to unite tory. Why may not similar efforts again all the energies of the French nation in crown her with new triumphs?—The sasupport of Napoleon." It is not justice tellites of corruption tell us, that Napoleon (6 (says the Gazette de France), which has no regular army, and that he is destiarms the Sovereigns of Europe, but pas-tute of every thing necessary to fit one ❝sion and anger. Let them beware all out. Be it so. It was not by regular "the coalitions directed against France armies that France vanquished her ene"for twenty years were unsuccessful, "whilst they presented only a confedera"tion of Princes, and not a league of nations, and whilst France remained con"centrated in herself, and was united by a national will. Let them not then re"vive in France the frenzy of 1793. The same violation of her territory, the least "insult to the moral character of the nation, would produce the same enthusiasm, the same exasperation, and the same vengeance. Soon all the provinces, "which, during twenty years, were united 66 mies in 1793; it was not by Swiss guards, nor by mercenary troops, that she carried terror into the ranks of her invaders. It was the energies of an undisciplined, an almost unarmed population, animated by the enthusiasm of liberty, indignant at the haughty threat of punishing the defenders of their country, and resolved to revenge the insults offered to the national honour, that delivered France from the terrible state of degradation with which she was then threatened. A departure from first principles, subsequently placed her, in nerable to all attacks that could be made against her?-I admit that the Volunteers of France will have no dominant church, no overgrown nobility, to fight for, because every religion in that country is alike protected, and because the division of property is more equalized than before the Revolution. But they will have much more powerful stimulants. They will have equality of rights to contend for; they will have that admirable code of laws which Napoleon consolidated, those benevolent institutions which he established, those unrivalled specimens of the fine arts which he collected, those extensive national improvements which he created and patronized. All this, and the integrity of that delightful country which produces so many comforts for the use of man, the Volunteers of France will have to protect, to defend, and to succour in the hour of danger. They will also have to guard against the return of that system which formerly rendered existence almost into some measure, at the mercy of her inva ́ders; but although she was believed to be overcome, the spirit of independence was not subdued. It was only in appearance she yielded for a moment, that she might derive new life, new vigour, to resist her assailants. Of what consequence is it, then, whether France has regular armies or not; whether her forces are trained to battle; whether they wear red coats, yellow coats, or green? The whole population are resolved, like the Americans in the late war, "to defend their country, or to perish in the contest." The spirit which enabled these patriots to combat so successfully for liberty, and to triumph over those who threatened their independence, now animates all Frenchmen. Nor has Napoleon neglected to take advantage of this noble feeling, to which he has given a direction similar to that which, even in this country, is said to have, at one period, baffled his designs against us, and to have saved us from a foreign domination. Independent of the National Guards, esti-lerable in France, and tended only to inmated at two millions of men, corps of volunteers are every where forming in France, who are not, as with us, to wear gaudy uniforms, and, in all cases, are to serve without pay. If this species of military defence was regarded of such vast importance here; if to the Volunteers of Great Britain we are now indebted for the possession of our invaluable Constitution, of the whole of that "Social System," those ancient, those sacred, those venerable institutions, in which our fathers so much delighted, and which they took so much pains to hand down unimpaired to us. If to these ardent and patriotic supporters of church and state we owe so many blessings, is it not reasonable to expect that France will feel equal benefit from the exertions of her volunteers? If we confided our all to them; if it be true that our embodying this description of force obliged the enemy to abandon his intention of invading this country, why should not the Volunteers of France appear equally terrible to her invaders? Why should not Napoleon have as much reliance upon them as our Government had upon our volunteers? And where is the prospect of the Allies being able to subdue France with such an armed force to oppose them, when it was so confidently believed that a similar force rendered Great Britain, even single handed, invul to crease the luxuries of an insolent nobility, and to augment the power of a contempti ble race of monarchs. But above all, these brave defenders of their country will have to protect it against the encroachments of the priesthood, who, more than any other set of men, have desolated France, and subjected the sovereign as well as the people to the most degrading and abject slavery. These are objects worthy the attention of every people. Without these, life is not worth having. To defend them to the last extremity, is what constitutes real patriotism; and when a nation is once convinced, as it appears me the French nation now is, that the war threatened against her is for the purpose of depriving her of so many advantages, it can scarcely be a matter of doubt that she will ultimately triumph over all her enemies.-But if this conclusion is fairly drawn on the supposition that France has no regular army, and must rely upon Volunteers and her National Guards, how much greater must the probability of her success be, when it is recollected that Napolcon has at this very moment under his command, an army of veteran soldiers, amounting to little short of 300,000 men, and that they are known to be well equip ped, and amply supplied with every necessary for carrying on active operations. Supposing it true, that the Allies will be her able to bring forward double this number; thousand reasons which might be given. supposing that so large a body of Russians, He was the upholder of those laws to which Austrians, Prussians, Saxons, Bavarians, they looked for security and happiness Belgians, English, Swedes, Danes, and the in the undisturbed enjoyment of those Lord knows what; supposing that so he- advantages which the Revolution had given terogeneous a mass could be brought into them. The majority were strangers to the field, to co-operate cordially with each the Bourbons, and had grown up with other; that a general could be found ca- Napoleon, whose brilliant exploits against pable of giving so vast an accumulation of the enemies of France reflecting its lustre discordant materials a proper direction; on his subjects, completely identified this that he was in no risk of being counter-susceptible people with their Emperor, acted in his schemes by the jealousy of whose successes and misfortunes they felt other generals, of equal rank and talents, to be their own. n. But to shew why Boover whom he might be placed. Supposing all this likely to happen, we find that Napoleon is sufficiently prepared for it." If "the enemies of France," says he, "bring << 600,000 men against her, she will meet "them with two millions."-Laying out of view, therefore, the probability that Belgium, that Italy, that Swisserland, that Saxony, that Poland, and that Denmark, are friendly to France, and may be prepaTing to assist her. Making no account of this, or of the military operations, already begun, of Murat king of Naples, France has, in my opinion, the means within herself of maintaining her independence; and directed, as these means will be, by the only man in the world possessing talents for so great an exertion, France must timately triumph.-Yours, &c. May 2, 1815. ARISTIDES. naparte is popular in France would be only to repeat, what you, Sir, so clearly proved must be the case, in your letter addressed to Louis the 18th. Every where, and among all classes, I found admirers of Napoleon. At Paris, I was told by a Merchant, at whose house I visited, (an assertion which was confirmed by many of his guests,) that an immense number of young men in that city applied for arms to defend it against the Allies, but that none could be obtained. Their number was stated at 100,000. In several companies, where I afterwards mentioned this circumstance, the answers were, "Oui, Monsieur, c'est "bien vrai." At Fontainbleau, their exiled Emperor was the subject of the most unul-qualified panegyric. "Ah, Monsieur! c'est un grand Homme. La France est bien "malheureuse de l'avoir perdu," was the universal answer to any questions concerning him. At a Table d'Hote in THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. that town, I frequently met an elderly. MR. COBBETT,-I was in France last Captain who had made the campaign of summer nearly ten weeks, and as far as Russia with Napoleon; he had narrowly my observations extended, I can bear tes- escaped with life, and was covered with timony to the truth of Mr. Birkbeck's wounds. The enthusiasm of this veteran statements respecting the condition of her soldier for his master, it is impossible to do peasantry and the cultivation of her soil. justice to; but as his popularity with the It is, therefore, with much pleasure I find military has been never called in question, this interesting publication is now in its it is needless to retail the words of the third edition, and that you have enriched Captain.-Why should we not make peace your Register by such copious extracts with Bonaparte?-But he is a violator of from it. Mr. A. Young's account of the treaties, and no confidence can be safely state of France under Louis the 16th, and reposed in him. This only appears Mr. B's book, ought to be read by every clear to those who have never read the person in Great Britain, since a want of suf- French side of the question. How does ficient information on this subject, coupled it appear that he broke the peace of Amiens, with the ceaseless attempts of a lying press to which we concluded with him? Was it blacken the character of Napoleon, have not the refusal of the English to give up the unfortunate effect of reconciling the Malta, after that Island had been conceded people to a renewal of the war against to France, which occasioned the renewal that celebrated character. It is impossible of the war?-Aided by English money, that Napoleon should not be popular with were not the continental powers continuthe present race of Frenchmen, for aally leaguing against their conqueror, and the great balance of Europe was about to be adjusted to the nicety of a hair; behold out crept the great Rat from his rock in the ocean, and twirling his tail about, it unluckily struck against one of the evenpoized scales of the great balance that hung over Europe; which scale then kicked the beam, and in a moment overturned the beautiful "order of things so "happily established for the tranquillity of breaking the treaties they had sworn to to a most happy conclusion, and when preserve with France? To wage war against prospective ambition is proclaiming interminable hostilities. All Sovereigns are more or less ambitious, and circumstances will ever occur to bring this passion into action.-Bonaparte is not of royal origin, and it appears that adversity has taught him moderation. His enemies, on the contrary, have profited nothing from their former reverses; they have completely disappointed the raised expectations" nations." And now, how shall I venof Europe; and viewed as the promoters of assassination, have forfeited all claims on the respect of their people. Let us, however, by all means dictate to the French nation and appoint them a ruler, but at the same time let us be prepared for a national Bankruptcy as the reward of our interference. Yours, &c. W. R. H. THE CATS IN COUNCIL. MR. COBBETT,-It happened once upon a time, that there lived in the French country, a great Rat, which soon became the terror of almost all the world, Whereupon all the Tom Cats of Europe met together in grand council, and resolved, to spend their last drop of blood in a war against the great Rat of France. It so fell out, however, that the great Rat was too powerful for the Allied Powers, during several years, till at length the great Rat himself, having been burnt out of his hole in the city of Moscow, was conquered in his turn, and condemned to become an exile in the Island of Elba. The High Allied Cats now mewed most gloriously, and resolved once again to assemble, in order, for the last time, to settle the affairs of Europe, and to restore liberty and happiness to a long-afflicted world. All the Mice in Europe were to be divided into exact numbers, and the extent of territories was to be marked out by pencil and compasses. The like to this never before entered into the imagination even of man! So much wisdom and justice were never before exhibited! One would have thought it was an assembly of Gods! Each of their High Mightinesses moved forth in a most pathetic manner, how much he had at heart whatever tended to the public weal! But, alas! how soon the glory of this world fadeth away! Sad to relate, when all things were nearly brought ture to describe the astonishment of the May 2, 1815. A MOUSE. CATS, RATS, AND OTHER VERMINE. MR. COBBETT,-As you are sometimes very minute in your observations, you will not (I hope) be offended with me for the remark I have to make on the debate of Monday. An Honourable Member is reported to have broken out into a very severe censure upon the charge for cats in the Navy estimates, deeming it " mon strous extravagance."-Now if a man out of the Honourable House may be allowed to pass his opinion upon this article, I for one, do not think it a monstrous charge by any means; very much the contrary, for I know that the rats are very plenty in some of the Dock-yards. I hope no one will be of fended with me for saying so, because it is the truth; and if two guineas' worth of Cats will be a means of clearing them, I am sure the public need not grumble at the expense. Bu the Honourable Secretary |