■ • •*■ Part of the ADDJ80N ALEXANDER LIBRARY, wliicb was presented by Messrs. R. L. and A. Stuart. | Case, _o!Jv'i sw)nj 0//?//.;■ /<< >/y/?/ av < <"/////■////// £«* **^ w Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/memoirsofreignof10bels EMOIRS OF THE REIGN OF GEORGE III, FROM THE TREATY OF AMIENS, A. D. 1802, TO THE TERMINATION OF THE REGENCY, A. D. 1820. BY WILLIAM BELSHAM. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: PRINTED FOR HURST, ROBINSON, AND CO. 90, CHEAPSIDE, AND 8, PALL-MALL, AND ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, AND CO. EDINBURGH. 1824. LONDON : PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STRKET. HISTORY GREAT BRITAIN. CONTINUED FROM THE TREATY OF AMIENS, A. D. 1802, TO THE TERMINATION OF THE REGENCY, A. D. 1020. BY WILLIAM BELSHAM. VOL. X[V. In Historia — ad veritatem cuncta referantur. Cic. de Lear. L. I. LONDON : PRINTED FOR HURST, ROBINSON, AND CO. 90, CHEAPSIDE, AND 8, PALL-MAM., AND ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, AND CO. EDINBURGH. 1824. LONDON : PKINTED BY S. AND R. BENTEEY, DORSET STREET. CONTENTS BOOK XL. Session of Parliament, February 12, 1811 State of Ireland ...... Renewed Motions for the relief of the Irish Catholics Financial and Commercial Embarrassments in Great Britain ...... Reinstatement of the Duke of York New Military Regulations Bill for amending the Toleration Act Catholic Convention in Dublin Retreat of General Massena from Portugal Battle of Barossa . . ... Battle of Albuera . . . Capture of Valencia by the French . State of Spanish America Kingdom of Hayti established Mission of Foster to America Misunderstanding between France and Russia Successes of Russia on the Danube Birth of the King of Rome Papal territory annexed to the French Empire State of France. Warlike preparations in the Frencl Ports Conquest of Java ..... vol. xiv. A P«ge, 9 11 12 16 ib. 17 ib. 18 19 ib. ib. 21 22 iv CONTENT S. Naval Achievements. Destructive Tempest Dangerous State of Sicily .... Session of Parliament, January 1812 Household Regulation Bill .... Motion of Enquiry into the State of Ireland Letter from the Prince Regent to the Duke of York Provision for the Princesses .... Subsidy to Sicily ...... Renewed Motions for the relief of the Irish Catholics Orders in Council discussed .... Death of Mr. Percival ..... Liberal Overture to the Whigs Earl of Liverpool appointed First Lord of the Treasury Earl of Moira declared Governor-general of India Statement of Finance ..... Resolution of the House of Commons in favour of the Irish Catholics ...... Orders in Council suspended .... Dissolution of Parliament, September 1812 Second American War . Invasion of Canada. Naval Operations Campaign in Spain. Capture of Cividad Rodrigo And of Badajoz . . . . Victory of Salamanca ..... Repulse at Burgos : Spanish Constitution established War between France and Russia Pacific Overture from Napoleon to Great Britain April 1812 French Army crosses the Vistula Polish Diet convened, June 1812 Alliance between Great Britain and Russia, July 1812 Treaty concluded between Great Britain and Sweden Treaty between Russia and Spain CONTENTS. Treaty of peace between Russia and Turkey at Giur gewo, August 1812 Battle of Smolensko Battle of Borodino, September 1812 Napoleon enters Moscow in triumph Destruction of Moscow Disastrous retreat of the French Sicilian Parliament convened Earthquake at Caraccas Alliance between Great Britain and Persia New Parliament convened, November 181 Bill for the relief of the Irish Catholics Unitarian Toleration Act . Charter of the East India Company renewed New System of Finance Subsidiary Convention with Sweden . Campaign in Spain. Battle of Vittoria, June 181; Battle of Roncesvalles Capture of St. Sebastians . Allied Armies of Britain and Spain enter Great exertions of Napoleon Defection of Prussia Battles of Lutzen and Bautzen Congress of Prague Fifth War between France and Austria Death of General Moreau Battle of Dennevitz Battle of Leipzig .... Retreat of the French from Germany King of Saxony made prisoner Revolution in Holland. House of Orange restored Peace concluded with Denmark Swiss neutrality violated by Austria Declaration from Frankfort Extravagant conduct of Napoleon . v Page. 60 ib. 61 62 ib. 64 65 66 ib. ib. 67 70 71 73 75 76 78 79 ib. 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 ib. 88 ib. 89 90 91 ib. 92 vi CONTENTS. Campaign in Canada, 1813 . Disasters on the Lakes . . Gallant action of the Shannon frigate Capture of Fiume in the Gidpfa of Venice BOOK XLI. Parliament convened, November 1813 Militia Volunteer Act Measures of Finance Austrians, Russians, and Prussians enter France Military operations in Holland and Italy King of Naples joins the Allies Congress of Chatillon Alliance of Chaumont Campaign in France. Capitulation of Paris, March 31 , 1814 Abdication of Napoleon, April 11 Battle of Toulouse Surrender of Genoa to the English . Napoleon retires to Elba . Restoration of Louis XVIII. Treaty of Paris, (May 30) Surrender of Hamburg . Mitigation of Penal Statutes . Motion of Censure on the Speaker Princess of Wales departs the Kingdom Prosecution of Lord Cochrane . Visit of the Allied Sovereigns to England New Constitution of Holland . Hanover erected into a Kingdom Noble conduct of Norway Union of Norway and Sweden Restoration of Ferdinand VII. King of Spain His perfidy and ingratitude Reinstatement of Pope Pius VII. Page. 94 96 98 ib. 100 101 ib. 102 104 ib. 105 ib. 107 110 113 115 ib. 116 117 118 119 ib. 120 122 123 124 125 ib. 126 128 ib. 130 CONTENTS. Interference of Rome respecting Ireland Genoa delivered up to Sardinia Equitable settlement of Switzerland . Campaign in North America Fort Erie captured by the Americans Expedition by the Governor-general Prevost against Plattesburg .... Surprise and Ravage of Washington Repulse at Baltimore Disaster at New Orleans Capture of Mobille .... Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814 Session of Parliament, November 1814 Obnoxious Corn Bill Scottish Jury Act .... State of France .... Return of Napoleon, March 1, 1815 Flight of Louis XVIII. . Napoleon enters Paris Manifesto from Vienna New Constitutional Act promulgated by Napoleon King of Naples declares for Napoleon Defeat and Deposition of Murat Campaign in Flanders .... Battles of Quatre Bras and Ligny Victory of Waterloo .... Second Abdication of Napoleon, June 22, 1815 Second Capitulation of Paris (July 3) Napoleon surrenders to the English Banished to St. Helena Character of Napoleon Formidable power of Russia Unparalleled expenditure of Britain Marriage of the Duke of Cumberland VII Page. 131 132 133 134 135 ib. 137 138 ib. 140 ib. ib. 141 142 ib. 145 146 148 150 152 154 155 ib. 156 157 163 165 166 168 170 174 175 176 C O N T E N T S. Second Treaty of Paris, November 1815 Criminal Prosecutions in France Trial and Execution of Marshal Ney Noble defence of Marshal Soult Disastrous fate of Murat Inauguration of the Prince of Orange as Netherlands Germanic Confederation . Kingdom of Poland nominally restored by Alexander ..... Continental Indemnities . . . State of Spain. Insurrection of Porlier Reflections on the Gallic War Session of Parliament, February 1816 Holy Alliance concluded . Act for the detention of Napoleon Debate on Army Estimates Property-tax repealed Marriage of the Princess Charlotte . Debate on the Austrian Loans Motion on the State of Ireland Motions for the Relief of the Catholics Distressed State of the Nation Petitions and popular tumults Rise of Radicalism Expedition against Algiers State of the Continent Prosecution of Lavalette by the French G Jesuits re-established in Spain Discontents in Prussia Riotous proceedings in London Memorable petition from the Corporation to the Prince Regent Session of Parliament, January 1817 Page. . 178 180 . ib. . 183 184 King of tlu . 185 187 the Empero r ib. 188 . 189 . 190 191 . 195 . 197 . 198 200 . ib. . 231 . 202 203 205 . ib. 206 208 210 overnment ib. ib. . 211 212 of London . 213 . • 215 CONTENTS. Riot in St. James's Park Spencean Societies denounced . Habeas Corpus Act suspended Civil Service Compensation Act Catholic relief moved by Mr. Grattan, and the Earl of Donoughmore .... Circular of Lord Sidmouth Motion for Enquiry into the State of the Representation by Sir Francis Burdett Mr. Manners Sutton chosen Speaker Lord Amherst's Embassy to China Transactions in India .... War against the Nepaulese, Pindarrees, &c Trials for High Treason Death of the Princess Charlotte Prosecution of Hone .... State of the Continent .... Prosperous condition of North America Session of Parliament, January 1818 Repeal of Habeas Corpus Suspension Act . Debate on the Indemnity Act . Motion for reduction of the Army BOOK XLII. Marriages of the Dukes of Clarence, Cambridge, and Kent ...... Grants of Revenue .... Reflections on the Royal Marriage Act Motion for repeal of the Septennial Act Treaties with Spain and Portugal relative to the Slave Trade ..... Changes in the Regency Act State of Europe and the Americas Death of Charles XIII. King of Sweden Resignation of Lord Ellenborough IX. Page. 216 218 220 ib. 221 223 227 230 23A 232 234 285 236 237 240 242 243 ib. 244 245 245 ib. 248 251 ib. 252 253 255 256 CONTENTS. Page. Succeeded by Mr. Justice Abbot .... 256 Death of the Queen . . . . , .257 New Parliament convened, January 1819 . . . ib. Act for regulating Windsor Establishment . . 258 Death of Lord Ellenborough ..... 260 Committee of Finance appointed . . . . ib« Death of Sir Samuel Romilly . . . . .261 Wager of Battle abolished . . , jgg Petition from the English Catholics . . . . ib. Renewed Motions for the Relief of the Catholics by Mr. Grattan and Earl of Donoughmore . . 263 Noble Conduct of Marquis Camden . . . 265 Foreign Enlistment Bill ...... 266 Debate on the State of the Nation .... 271 Report of the Finance Committee .... 272 New Taxes imposed to the amount of 3,000,000 . 273 Improvident Settlement in Africa . . . .274 Fitzgerald Attainder reversed . . . . ; 275 State of France. Conciliatory Measures adopted by Louis XVIII 277 Disaffection in Spain. Death of Charles IV. . . 278 Florida ceded to the American States . . . ib. Reforms in Germany. Death of Kotzebue . . 279 Melancholy case of Parga ..... 280 Popular Meetings in England . . . , .286 Dreadful result at Manchester . . . .287 Petitions for Enquiry . ... . . .289 Dismission of Earl Fitzwilliam . . . .291 Session of Parliament, November 1819 . - . 292 Interesting Debates on the Address . . . . ib. Coercive Acts passed ..... 298 Demise of the King, January 29, 1820 . . , 304 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. GEORGE III. BOOK XL. SESSION of Parliament February 1S11. State of Ireland. Duke of York reinstated in office. Battle of Albuera. Cap- ture of Valencia by the French. Conquest of Java. Death of Mr. Perceval. Orders in Council suspended. Second. American War. Invasion of Canada. Victory of Sala- manca. Repulse at Burgos. Spanish Constitution establish- ed. War bet-ween France and Russia. Overture of Peace from Paris. Polish Diet convened. Battle of Borrodino. Napoleon enters Moscow. Destruction of that Capital. Disastrous Retreat of the French. New System of Finance. Battle of Vittoria. Allied Armies enter France. Defec- tion of Prussia from France. Battles of Lutzen and Bautzen. Austria declares against France. Battle of Leip- zig. Revolution in Holland. Peace concluded with Denmark. Declaration from Frankfort. The parliament was opened by commission on the 12th February 1811 ; and the speech TsiTT no wise differed in general politics from what|« s ^°^ t might have been looked for, had the King[| brua T VOL. XIV. B 2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book still exercised the powers of government. At ^^y^j the close, the prince regent expressed "his 1811, anxious wish, that he may be enabled to restore unimpaired into the hands of his Majesty the government of his kingdoms." The addresses in both houses were voted without a division. state of On the 18th February the earl of Moira Ireland. called the attention of the lords to the extra- ordinary measure adopted by the government of Ireland, in issuing circular letters to the magistrates for preventing the meetings of the catholics ; and he moved for a copy of the same, which was granted ; and also, on the motion of the earl of Liverpool, a copy of the circular letter issued by the secretary of the catholic committee in Dublin. Mr. Wellesley Pole, the Irish secretary, ap- pearing in his place on the 7th March, Mr. Ponsonby moved for copies of papers relative to this transaction. Mr. Pole in explanation "admitted the catholic committee of 1809 to have been a legal assembly, as the object was merely to petition ; but in the present instance the intention, avowed in the circular letter of the catholic secretary, was to choose delegates, ten in number, from each county, and others from the principal towns, making in the whole 358, to manage the catholic affairs, observing all the forms of the house of commons. This GEORGE III. 3 was deemed by government an illegal project, book and a violation of the convention act. With ^~^*-> the advice and concurrence, therefore, of 1811# the lord chancellor, the attorney and soli- citor general, the circular in question was issued, for the purpose of preventing such election of delegates, and arresting and hold- ing to bail all persons concerned. The Irish government did not wait for instructions from England, as this assembly might have held their meeting before such instructions could have been transmitted." After a warm debate Mr. Ponsonby's motion was negatived by 133 to 48 votes. Petitions were nevertheless presented from Motion for r Relief of the catholics, as in the preceding year, to both the Catho- houses : and in the course of the session Mr. 31.' Grattan moved that the petition to the com- mons be referred to the committee of the whole house. He declared " the emancipa- tion of the catholics to be essential to the safety of the empire, which depended on national union. There was one grand truth which had escaped the wisdom of the wise, but which had been discovered by the com- mon sense of mankind, — that every man had a right to follow his own religion without limi- tation or restriction. The garments of the petitioners are bathed in the blood of your b 2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. enemies; and can you doubt whether they are capable of allegiance ?" 1811. ^ r p erceva j said, "the principle on which he had always resisted this immunity was, that it could not be yielded without leading in no slow degree to the destruction of the national church ; yet he professed himself as strong a friend as any man to christian tolera- tion." After a long and able debate, the motion was negatived by 146 to 83 voices. A similar motion in the upper house by the earl of Donoughmore, the office being declined by lord Grenville, was negatived by 121 to 62 peers. These majorities were heightened, if not created, by the ill-advised proceedings of the catholics. Financial From the operation of the Berlin and Milan and Coin- l memai decrees, enforced as it were by the orders in Embar- ' J rassments. council, the most alarming consequences had ensued. The loan for the last year had sus- tained a ruinous depreciation ; and the foreign demand for British manufactures being greatly reduced, numerous failures were the inevi- table and melancholy result. A select com- mittee was appointed to inquire into the state of commercial credit, who recommended, as a temporary expedient, an issue of exchequer- bills to the amount of six millions, for the re- lief of such, persons as could give satisfactory XL. 1811. GEORGE III. security for the repayment of the several sums B( Jp K advanced. But as this could be done by comparatively few, no extensive benefit was afforded. For the current service 12,000,000 were borrowed for Great Britain and Ireland, and 12,000,000 of exchequer-bills were fund- ed. A vote of credit also passed for 3,000,000. Bank-notes being at this period at a discount of 20 to 30 per cent, in exchange for gold coin, an act, which seemed indeed the necessary corollary of the present system, passed, by which no person could be held to bail for any debt, who tendered bank-notes in payment ; or execution entered for rent : also, making it penal to take Bank of England notes at a value less than they nominally bore. To such evils, and to such strange and dangerous remedies for those evils, was the country now exposed and reduced. An adventurous step was adopted by the Re-instate- t> • -r» -l • /•»«■ \ men tofthe Prince Regent in the re-instatement (May 25) Duke of of the duke of York as commander-in-chief. But by this time, calm reflection had succeed- ed to passionate exaggeration ; and the country at large thought that sufficient atonement had been made by the mortifying exposures which had taken place, and the two years' submis- sive retirement from office. An high-spirited motion was nevertheless made in the house of XL. 1811. HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book commons by lord Milton, "that the advisers of this measure were chargeable with impro- priety and indecorum." The chancellor of the exchequer " admitted the responsibility of ministers ; but said that the late commander, sir David Dundas, having expressed a wish to retire, ministers had no doubt whom to recom- mend ; the duke of York's eminent qualifica- tions for that post leaving them no choice ; and no vote had passed the house to preclude his future restoration." The motion was nega- tived by a vast majority of 296 to 47 voices ; and the army was no less gratified than the public were satisfied, at a change confessedly and highly beneficial. Military Much had been recently said and written Regula- J tions. against the savage practice of flogging in the army; and while the mutiny-bill was pending, a clause was inserted at the motion of Mr. Manners Sutton, empowering courts martial to substitute at their discretion the punish- ment of imprisonment. A bill also passed, authorizing an interchange of the militias of Great Britain and Ireland, not exceeding the proportion of one-third. By a clause of this bill, Irish catholics serving in England were entitled to all the civil, military, and religious exemptions which they possessed in Ireland. GEORGE III. 7 This was the equitable measure in relation to b o o k which the fanatical cry of " No Popery" had ^-v-^ I Q1 1 been raised against the late ministers. At an advanced period of the session, lord b^ 1 f° r 1 t amending Sidmouth moved for leave to bring in a bill the Tolera- tion Act. for amending and explaining the provisions of the toleration act. The number of petitions against this bill from all parts of the kingdom, and from all classes of dissenters, astonished and appalled the house. Nor was the alarm thus taken without foundation ; as this crude and indigested alteration, stiled an amendment of that sacred charter of religious liberty, en- tirely subverted the principle of it. For the act of toleration merely requires the register of the place of worship at the quarter-session, and certificate of the minister officiating in the same, without vesting the slightest discretion in the court: whereas the present bill invested the justices with the dangerous power of judg- ing of the testimonials, and virtually of the qua- lifications, of those who applied for what was, in language wholly unauthorised by the act, now stiled a licence. This might indeed operate to the exclusion of some illiterate and incompe- tent individuals; but it would likewise subject persons of a very different description to the veto of ignorance, bigotry, and prejudice. 8 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Happily and wisely, on the second reading", ^^-^ this justly obnoxious bill was postponed to a 181L distant day. On the 24th of July 1811, the parliament was prorogued by commission ; the speech delivered in the name of the Regent express- ing "great satisfaction with all the measures of the session, and exhorting to prosecute the war with increased activit}' and vigour." Catholic On the 9th of July, an aggregate meeting held in had been held in Dublin, for the appointment of delegates to the general committee of catho- lics ; on which occasion five persons were apprehended by warrant from the lord chief- justice Downes, for a breach of the convention act; one of whom, Dr. Sheridan, was brought to trial in the king's bench. But as the pro- ceedings relative to this delegation had been carefully guarded by the catholic lawyers, it was matter of great doubt whether the provi- sions of the act had in reality been violated ; and in opposition to the opinion of the chief- justice, the jury returned a verdict of " Not guilty." The attorney-general Saurin wisely desisted, therefore, from all farther prosecu- tion. In conclusion, the committee of de- legates, so much the subject of alarm, assembled in Dublin, October 19th, to the number of about 300 ; the earl of Fingal, a GEORGE III. 9 catholic nobleman of the highest respectability book and distinguished loyalty, being called to the ^-^r^ 1 P 1 I chair. Another petition to parliament was ' ' proposed, and unanimously approved ; and when the police magistrates arrived in haste to disperse the meeting as an unlawful assem- bly, they found it already dissolved. On the second meeting, December 23d, the assembly was actually dispersed by the civil authority ; some days after which, a meeting of the catho- lics in Dublin was held, by whom resolutions were passed, complaining " of the perversion of law and the abuse of power." These pro- ceedings gave real concern to the advocates of the catholic cause in England, and afforded matter both of argument and exultation to its enemies. The Iberian peninsula still remained the Military i r • i • mi i Operations grand scene ot interest and action. 1 hough in Spain. the successes and disasters of this complicated warfare were nearly balanced, the final con- quest of Spain by the French invaders seemed more remote than ever. On general Massena's falling back on Santarem, lord Wellington advanced to Cartaxo, whence he could watch the movements of his adversary and cut off his supplies. At length the French commander, Retreat of rl ,° General in despair of planting his eagles on the forts Massena, of Lisbon, broke up his strong camp at San- 10 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. tarem, and leaving behind part of his heavy artillery, began his march to the Mondego. ^I^ 1 , 1, His retreat, though conducted with great mili- Official ° ° dispauh, tarv skill, is said to have been also clistin- March 4. f guished " by barbarities rarely equalled, and never surpassed." Notwithstanding this sa- vage policy, the French army suffered ex- tremely from incessant attacks ; and it was not without the loss of a large proportion of his stores and baggage, as well as troops, that general Massena on the 2d of April (1811,) passed the Coya into Spain. Almeida being thus left to its fate, was evacuated by the gar- rison. official During this interval, important events had Accounts, May 8-10. taken place on the side ot .hstremadura. Early in the year, marshal Soult advanced upon the south of Portugal ; and in February (1811,) the fortress of Olivenza was reduced, and the garrison made prisoners of war. In the following month, the strongly garrisoned city of Badajoz, the bulwark of that frontier, capitulated on the same humiliating terms, though it was known that lord Wellington was preparing with all diligence for its relief. On transmitting this intelligence to the regency of Portugal, the English commander indig- nantly observed, " that the Spanish nation had lost in the course of two months the for- GEORGE III. 11 tresses of Tortosa, Olivenza, and Badajoz, book without sufficient cause ; and 22,000 Spanish Us^ troops had been destroyed or captured." 18 ' These disasters were inadequately compensated Barossa. by the gallant exertions of general Graham, who, with the Spanish general La Pena, had been engaged in an expedition from Cadiz against the blockading army, then weakened by detachments. A sharp encounter occurred, March 5th, on the heights of Barossa, between the main body of the enemy under marshal Victor, and the British division, unassisted by the Spanish commander, after two successive messages. The French were, notwithstand- ing, finally repulsed with the loss of 3000 men. The laurels of victory were thus acquired without the fruits of it ; the troops returning immediately to Cadiz. General La Pena was subsequently broke by the Spanish govern- ment ; and the honours of a grandee of Spain, of the first class, conferred upon general Graham. After leaving garrisons in Olivenza and Ba- officid ° ° Dispatches, dajoz, marshal Soult returned to Seville; on June2 - which the generals Beresford and Castanos crossed the Guadiana. Olivenza surrendering April 15th, it was determined, in an interview with lord Wellington at Elvas, to lay siege to Badajoz ; the operations of which were carried 12 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book on with vigour until the 12th May, when the v — y*V re-advance of marshal Soult was announced by 1 Q 1 1 general Blake, who joined the army with a body of troops from Cadiz. At a council of war then held, the three commanders resolved to give battle to the enemy. With this view the siege of Badajoz was raised, and the army took a strong position fronting the banks of the Albuera, and extending to the village of that name, on the summit of a gradual ascent from the river. Battle of Early on the 16th May the French passed Albuera. , J . '",.': . , the stream in great force, designing to attack the Spaniards posted under general Blake on the right, and to turn that wing of the allies. After an obstinate resistance, the enemy gain- ed the heights which commanded the whole position. But while the most strenuous efforts were making to dislodge them, and the English brigades headed by general Stewart were actually charging with fixed bayonets, they were themselves charged by a body of Polish cavalry-lancers in the rear, who did terrible execution. But sir Lowry Cole bringing up the reserve at a critical moment, the enemy were at length driven from the heights with great slaughter. Their attack on the village and the bridge in the centre, was likewise success- fully repelled by baron Alten of the German XL. 1811. GEORGE III. 13 legion, which, with the division of general B o, OK Hamilton, defended that post ; and the whole French army, after six hours' fighting, repass- ed the Albuera with some precipitation, but could not be pursued, from the great deficiency of the allies in cavalry. " Never," says mar- shal Beresford, " did troops more gloriously maintain the honour of their respective coun- tries." General Stewart refused, after two wounds, to quit the field. General Hoghton, leading his brigade to the charge, fell at their head. " The Portuguese under general Hamil- ton evinced," adds the marshal, " the utmost steadiness and courage, and manoeuvred equally well with the British." The Spanish generals Blake, Castanos, and Ballasteros, sig- nalized their zeal and valour; and marshal Soult himself is said to have acknowledged, " that in the long course of his military service, he had never before witnessed so desperate and sanguinary a conflict." In this remarkable engagement, no less than six different nations were at once shedding their blood in mortal combat ; British, Spa- niards, Portuguese, Germans, French, and Poles. The French army consisted of near 30,000 men, of which number 4000 at least were cavalry. The allies were superior in infantry, but their cavalry did not exceed 14 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2000. The total loss in killed and wounded amounted to about 6000 men ; that of the 1811. p rencn rnust have been still greater; and before day-break on the 18th, marshal Soult began his retrograde march to Seville. siege of The siese of Badaioz now recommenced Badajoz. ° # J under lord Wellington in person. That for- tress was, however, of great strength ; and the garrison, though with little prospect of relief, defended the place with extraordinary resolu- tion. In two assaults on fort Christoval, the allies were repulsed with great slaughter. Meantime marshal Soult was collecting forces for its relief jointly with marshal Marmont, the successor of Massena ; and on the ap- proach of the two marshals, lord Wellington finding himself much inferior in strength, re- tired to the right bank of the Guadiana ; and thence, after a short interval, he removed his wearied troops during the great heats into cantonments in the Lower Beira. Towards the close of September the British commander again took the field, threatening the fortress of Ciudad Tlodrigo ; but before he could complete his preparations, general Marmont assembled a vast force, amounting to 60,000 men, with the view of turning the left of his position, and either cutting off his re- treat, or forcing him to a battle ; but his able GEORGE III. 15 antagonist, aware of his design, made a timely book movement beyond the Coya; and Marmont ^X^ withdrew towards Salamanca. During these 1811, operations, general Hill, who had been de- tached from the main army, being joined by a Spanish force, surprised and totally defeated (October 28th) a corps of the French under general Girard at Arroyo del Molino, the enemy losing 2000 men, with their artillery and baggage. On the east of the Peninsula, the fortress of successes Balaguer, one of the strongest in Catalonia, French in was early in the year carried by storm; and Cataonia " about the beginning of May, marshal Suchet invested the important maritime city of Tarra- gona. Aided by the efforts of the British fleet, the garrison made an able defence. But on the 28th June the town was taken after a furious assault, in which the unfortu- nate inhabitants suffered every species of out- rage. Figueras, which had been surprised by the Spaniards, was recovered by the French during the summer ; and in September, Suchet entered the kingdom of Valencia, where he was opposed by general Blake, who had re- sorted thither from Andalusia. An engage- ment took place on the 25th October, in which the Spaniards were defeated ; and the victory of Suchet was followed by the surrender of 16 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Murviedro. General Blake retired to his en- ^v-^ trenched camp near the city of Valencia; 1811 captmeof wnere a second engagement took place Novem- vaiencia. ^ eY 26th, still more disastrous than the former. The camp was afterwards forced ; and the Spanish army found no other refuge than the city, which was immediately invested. After a severe bombardment of three days, general Blake, to the general astonishment, agreed to a capitulation ; and Valencia, hitherto so nobly defended, was surrendered with 18,000 troops of the line, including 800 officers, and military stores to avast amount. Marshal Suchet then made himself master of almost every fortress in that kingdom, excepting Alicant. Proceed. I n the beginning of the year (1811) the Spa- nish cortes issued a proclamation refusing to recognise any act of Ferdinand VII. while under restraint. They passed a decree prohi- biting the torture ; they referred to a com- mittee the proposition of abolishing the slave- trade ; and made great progress in their plans for the formation of a free constitution ; but their policy respecting the Western World was tainted with antient prejudice, ill suited to present times and circumstances. state of the Almost the whole of Spanish America was Spanish . . ... . .. colonies, now involved in the calamities of civil war. In Mexico the royalists obtained a decided GEORGE III. 17 ascendancy. But the confederate states of Ve- nezuela, having placed Miranda at the head of their forces, published a declaration of inde- pendence, expressed in the glowing language of liberty, now become familiar on both sides of the Atlantic In the province of Para- guay, hostilities were carried on between the cities of Buenos Ayres and Monte-Video : general Elio, recently appointed viceroy, fix- ing his residence in the latter, attempted with a squadron of armed ships to obstruct the na- vigation of the La Plata. On the other hand, a land-force from Buenos Ayres invested the town of Monte-Video ; upon which the Portu- guese government sent a body of forces from Brazil to the aid of the Spanish viceroy Elio. In Saint Domingo, Christophe, the Negro Kingdom Y * ° of Hayti chief, caused himself to be crowned, according established. to the European ceremonial, king of the island, under the antient name of Hayti ; instituting various ranks of nobility, an order of knight- hood, an hierarchy, and all the usual appen- dages of an established and legitimate mo- narchy. Early in this year, Mr. Foster was sent to Extraordi- ... . nary Mis- the American states as envoy-extraordinary »ion to the ... . -p. , „ United and plenipotentiary. But so long as the Eng- states. lish government was determined to maintain the fatal orders in council, nothing could be vol. xiv. c 18 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book effected. An accidental encounter occurred in the month of May, originating in some point of naval etiquette, between a British and an American frigate. The two governments 1811. ©■ equally disavowed intentional hostility ; but all tended to mutual irritation. On the meet- ing of the congress, November 4th (1811), the president Maddison announced "the necessity of putting the United States into an armour and attitude, demanded by the crisis, and cor- responding with the national spirit and expec- tation." Maritime A bold attempt was made by the Danes, in Operations. * J the month of March, to recover the isle of An- holt ; but they suffered a severe repulse from the English garrison ; and in the attempt to retreat to their boats, some hundreds were made prisoners. The English fleet in the Bal- tic, under admiral Saumarez, found no oppo- nents, and attempted no hostilities. He even allowed the Swedish coasting vessels to pass Misunder- unmolested. It was indeed evident, that the between courts of Saint Petersburg and Stockholm did France, not act in concert with that of France, or were disposed to favour the grand project of ex- cluding Britain from all commercial inter- course with the Continent. The English trade to Russia was far too valuable to be relin- quished on the arbitrary demand of the French GEORGE III. 19 emperor. British colonial produce, notwith- standing- the treaty of Tilsit, had invariably been admitted into the Russian ports in neu- tral bottoms ; and the growing differences be- tween Russia and France again excited atten- tion. The campaign against Turkey had ter- successes minated with brilliant success ; and the grand on the Da - r nube. vizier, who had in the former part of it crossed the Danube, was after various sanguinary con- flicts compelled to repass the river, not with- out sustaining immense losses of every kind ; and conferences for a peace, towards the close of the year, were anew held at Giurgewo. An event exciting apparently universal joy Birth of the throughout France was the birth of an heir to Rome. the empire, on the 20th of April (1811), who was christened in great pomp by the name of Napoleon ; and upon this infant was conferred the strange title of king of Rome. In an ela- state of borate harangue, addressed by the emperor to the legislative body, June 16, he declared the union of the papal territories to the empire. Also of Holland and the Valais. The former is said "to be but an emanation of the> empire ; without Holland it would not be complete.— The union of the Valais was considered as ne- cessary to conciliate the interests of Switzer- land with those of France and Italy." To an address presented August 18th from the new c 2 20 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book department of La Lippe, he said, " the town v >--v-w of Munster belonged to an ecclesiastical sove- ' reign. Deplorable effect of ignorance and superstition! You were without country. Providence, who willed that I should restore the throne of Charlemagne, has made you naturally enter with Holland and the Hanse Towns into the bosom of the empire." In evident allusion to the political jealousies recently arisen on the part of Russia, the emperor remarks " that war over every part of the Continent is that which can alone ensure the prosperity of the English — I wish, " said he, " for nothing that is not in the treaties I have concluded. I will never sacrifice the blood of my people to interests that are not immediately the interests of the empire. I flatter myself that the peace of the Continent will not be disturbed.' 1 A French national ecclesiastical council was about this period convened at Paris: to them it was announced " that the pope's refusal to institute the bishops nominated to the vacant sees had nullified the concordate." The assembled pre- lates, however, would not admit that the sees could be regularly filled up without the inter- vention of the pope; and they affirmed " that the exercise of any such authority by the GEORGE III. 21 civil power would be subversive of the unity book of the catholic church. K ~~v~^ Avoiding to enter into any religious contro- 18n * versy, he departed towards the close of the summer on a visit to Boulogne, Flushing, and warlike Antwerp ; at all which places vast naval pre- turns in parations were going forward. At Amsterdam, p or ts. whither he afterwards repaired, he was re- ceived, as conquerors will ever be received, with all the external demonstrations of joy. On his return to Paris, he made an immediate call for 120,000 conscripts, destined to the service of the year 1812. Prussia had by this time been compelled to join the Rhenish con- federation ; the duchy of Oldenburg was an- nexed to the empire of France, " as a neces- sary appendage to the Hanse Towns," though the Duke of Oldenburg was allied in blocd, and also by marriage with the sister of the emperor Alexander, to the imperial house of Russia. Notice moreover was given to the several powers of the Rhenish league, to fur- nish their respective contingents : but the most decisive evidence of the near approach of war, was a rescript published by the emperor of Austria, directing " that a free passage and all necessary supplies should be granted to the French troops on their march through his territories." 22 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. By far the most splendid naval achievement of the year was the conquest of the isle of conquest J ava > D Y a great armament fitted out from of Java. Madras, under the immediate auspices of lord Minto, who accompanied the expedition in person : and the troops were placed under the able command of sir Samuel Auchmuty. A landing was effected without opposition, Au- gust 5th, a few leagues east of the city of Batavia, which surrendered almost on the first summons; the Dutch forces under general Jansens, amounting to 10,000 strong, retiring to an entrenched camp near Cornells. Here they were attacked by the British on the 26th, and after a gallant resistance the lines were forced, the fort of Cornells stormed, and the Dutch army routed with terrible slaughter. Soon after this, an armistice took place, and a capitulation ensued, in virtue of which the island of Java was added to the numerous con- quests cf Britain in the eastern and western worlds; — brilliant but cumbrous acquisitions, adding in a dangerous degree to the enormous expense of the national establishments, and the equally enormous patronage of the crown. Naval Opposing fleets were no longer to be found ments. on the ocean ; but in the absence of the pride and pomp of war, the public attention was attracted by a remarkably gallant action of GEORGE III. 23 commodore Hoste, who with four frigates en- book A. Li, gaged, March 13th, a French armament on v — ^^ the coast of Dalmatia, consisting of five frigates and six armed vessels, with 500 troops on board. After a severe action, the flag-ship of the enemy was driven on the rocks, two others struck, and the whole armament was dispersed or destroyed. Another action of the same heroic cast took place in May, off the coast of Madagascar, between three frigates com- manded by captain Schomberg, and three French frigates of superior force. After two days' fighting, the French commodore of forty- four guns struck ; and another frigate was captured after storming a fort, under the guns of which she had sought refuge. Towards the close of the year (December 24th), one of the most destructive tempests which had occurred in the memory of man proved fatal to the Hero of seventy-four guns, returning with a convoy from Wingo Sound, which ran upon a sand-bank near the Texel, with others of the convoy. On the same day the Saint-George of ninety-eight guns, and the Defence of seventy-four guns, were stranded on the Danish coast, and almost the whole of the crews perished. The only branch of the house of Bourbon state of which retained any reliques of its former dig- 1811. 24 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. nity was that which reigned in Sicily by the courtesy of Great Britain. Yet the conduct of the court of Palermo, and particularly of the queen, who governed the king and kingdom, was such as to make it difficult to determine upon the measures best adapted to the present critical circumstances. A British force had been maintained at a vast expense in the island, and subsidies granted to the monarch, which had been perverted to purposes far different salted from defence. As the reigning family were Travels in • -i 1 i • r-i it Sicily, &c. notoriously the objects 01 the public scorn and abhorrence,, it was deemed highly requisite by the British government that some political re- forms should be effected for the general satis- faction. But this design called forth all the rage of the queen ; and was much more the object of her apprehension, than any conse- quences that could result from putting herself under the protection of the French emperor. Such of the nobles as were disposed to the French interest were favourably received at court, while those who were known to be attached to Great Britain were persecuted or oMeara, imprisoned. " That wicked woman the queen Hekna, °f Sicily," according to the affirmation of Na- ii. P . m. p j eon himself, " proposed to him to make a second Sicilian vespers ; to massacre all the English in Sicily, if he would support her after- GEORGE III. 25 wards." Lord William Bentinck, appointed book AM* ambassador to the court of Palermo, had ^^ scarcely landed when he found its disposition 18 ' such as made it necessary to return for fresh instructions. The parliament of the united kingdom was 1812. it •• t wi-i,~,-i/-» Session of opened by commission, January 7th, 1812. p ar iia- The council appointed to assist the queen, and January ~. who were directed by the regency-act to make a report every three months of the state of the King's health, had hitherto encouraged the expectation of a favourable result. They now, however, acknowledged f that in the opinion of all the physicians his Majesty's complete and final recovery was improbable." The year of restriction and limitation was on the point of expiring, and a strong per- suasion still prevailed of a material change both in relation to men and measures. Of speech of this, however, there was not the slightest in- Regent. dication in the speech delivered by the lord chancellor in the name of the regent. The successes of the Spanish war, the consum- mate skill of lord Wellington, the capture of the islands of Java, Bourbon, and Mauritius, were dwelt upon with satisfaction. "As to America, the prince regent," it was said, ft will continue to employ such means of conciliation as may be consistent with the honour and dig- 26 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book n ity of his Majesty's crown, and the mari- v ~- v^ time rights of the empire. It was recommend- ' ed to parliament to resume the consideration of the finances of Ireland; and the two houses were assured that his royal highness derived the greatest consolation from his reliance on their experienced wisdom, loyalty, and public spirit. The addresses were voted in both houses after much discussion, without a divi- sion. Household The first measure brought forward by the Regulation . . . „ Bill. minister subsequent to the presentation of the addresses, caused very general surprise. For it did not at all enter into any calculation yet made, that the malady of the King could possibly be attended with any increase of the expenses of the court. Rather might it be supposed, that in consequence of the deep se- clusion of the monarch, and the addition to the civil list of the regent's own revenue, that a large surplus must accrue. But as the two grand political parties were now contending for favour, the season was propitious for bring- ing forward the new demands ; and in a com- mittee of the house of commons, January 1 6, Mr. Perceval moved, that an addition be granted to the civil list to the amount of 70,000/., the sum of 10,000/. being paid there- from to the queen, " to meet her majesty's GEORGE III. 27 extraordinary expenses ." " Also, as provision B ° 0K ought to be made for defraying the unavoid- ^v-^ able expense incident to the assumption of royalty by the prince, he should propose the sum of 100,000/. to be voted for that purpose." On this occasion Mr. Perceval made a memo- rable observation. " In every year," said he, " since 1804, the expenditure of the civil list has greatly exceeded the amount as then fixed. When this excess was first seen, and on every subsequent year, an account of such excess should have been laid before the house. On the contrary, from that time to this, no notice has been taken of this excess, but things have gone on, as if the expense had not ex- ceeded the estimate. He therefore meant to propose, that whenever such excess should in future occur, it should of itself be regarded as a subject of parliamentary attention." On the report of the resolutions, Mr. Creevy declared " that he should not have risen, had he not perceived that the means of meeting the increased expenditure were in part to be derived from the droits of admiralty. This he protested against, because he regarded those droits as the property of the country ; nor could he bring his mind to believe, that when his Majesty's civil list was settled at 800,000/. it was in contemplation that a fund of 8,000,000/. XL. 1812. 28 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. b ook should likewise be left at the entire disposal of his Majesty. And in the event of an Ameri- can war, this would probably be accumulated by sweeping the seas of her merchant-men, and converting the immense produce to minis- terial purposes." The bill " for regulating his Majesty's house- hold," as it was stiled, passed through the house of commons with more of dissatisfaction than direct opposition. In the upper house, lord Grenville observed " that though the bill was not such as he could entirely approve, he felt the difficulty attending the task of making provision for a case so new and extraordinary." Pending this discussion, Mr. Brougham moved a series of resolutions relative to the droits of the admiralty, all tending to the appropriation of the sums arising therefrom to the exigen- cies of the state. These were negatived in a deserted house by a majority of 94 to 26 voices. Motion of O n the 31st of January, earl Fitzwilliam Enquiry re- specting moved an enquiry into the present state of Ireland. , Houseof Ireland. "Whatever," said this distinguished nobleman, " might once have been the justice of the policy excluding the catholics from the pale of the constitution, the considerations which dictated that exclusion had long ceased to operate. No possible reason could be now GEORGE ill. 20 drawn from reference to the claims of a family B oo k which had become utterly extinct, for conti- ^-^W nuing those disabilities which naturally tended to produce irritation and discontent, which at this moment existed to an alarming degree. Every consideration of policy and safety call- ed upon us to allay and remove this angry spirit by timely conciliation." The motion was strongly supported by the dukes of Devonshire and Bedford. «' Why would not government/' said the latter of these noblemen, " hold out to the catholics the hand of friendship and peace ? Then all hearts would be engaged in defence of every thing we all hold dear, at a time when the exertions of a daring and insidious foe rendered it more than ever necessary that we should be united in one common cause for a common interest." Marquis Wellesley spoke ably on the same side, though qualified with the acknowledge- ment, " that deeply impressed as he was with the necessity of admitting the catholics into the bosom of the constitution, he could not agree that the present was a time to grant the concessions in question ; and he thought that their late conduct must form a great obstacle to the attainment of their purpose, and tended to close against themselves every avenue which might lead to it.*' The earl of Liverpool de- 30 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xl K P recate d the idea " of extorting concessions k — v^ from parliament ; and he hoped that the house would never think of going into a committee, till they knew what was expected from them. Let the advocates for the catholics lay upon the table of that house a bill which should unequivocally state what their claims were, and all persons might then form a judgment respecting them." Lord Grenville terminated the debate, which lasted through a long winters night, with an eloquent speech, in which he challenged ministers "to prove that what was required for the safety of the whole empire was unsafe for the established church. Treat the catho- lics with kindness ; then will irritation and re- sentment vanish. Shew that you have con- fidence in them, and they will place confidence in you. The charter of catholic emancipation will impart to the protestant a security which he never can obtain by oppression." On the division 79 peers voted for, and 162 against the motion, ib. ib. Upon the 3d February, lord Morpeth brought commons, forward and ably enforced the same measure in the house of commons. Mr. Canning made a brilliant speech in its favour, qualified, however, in the same manner with that of marquis Wel- lesley : and after a debate which lasted two GEORGE III. 31 nights, and drew forth almost all the principal book speakers, the motion was lost by a majority of ^-^j 229 to 135 voices. 1812 - The anticipations of whigs and tories, for these obsolete terms had once more come into common use, were for many months nearly balanced in relation to the future ; but the general opinion had of late much inclined to the probability of the continuance in office of the present ministers. The decided approval expressed by the regent of the specific measures adopted by them respecting Spain, Ireland, and America, on each of which they differed from the great whig leaders, and the act recently passed for regulating the royal household, so courtly in its complexion, all tended to the same conclusion ; but conjec- ture soon changed into certainty. On the 13th February, the prince of Wales Letter of • i i iii ~ tne Regent addressed a singular letter to the duke of to the York ; in which he declared, " that the restric- York. tions of the regency-act being about to expire, he must make his arrangements for the future administration ; his sentiments relative to which he had hitherto withheld, from his earnest desire that the expected motion of the affairs of Ireland might undergo the deliberate discussion of parliament, unmixed with any other consideration. He could not reflect 1812. 32 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. without pleasure on the events which had dis- tinguished the short period of his restricted regency. And in regard to the war in the Peninsula, I shall," said his royal highness, " be most anxious to avoid any measure that can lead my allies to suppose that I mean to depart from the present system ; and I cannot withhold my approbation from those who have honourably distinguished themselves in support of it. / have no predilections to in- dulge, no resentments to gratify. — Having made this communication, I cannot conclude without expressing the gratification I should feel if some of those persons, with whom the early habits of my public life were formed, would strengthen my hands, and constitute a part of my government. You are authorized to communicate these sentiments to lord Grey, who, I have no doubt, will communicate them to lord Grenville." But never could it be imagined that the lords Grey and Grenville, who had rejected with disdain the far more respectful overture of 1809, would now condescend to constitute a part of Mr. Perceval's administration. In a letter bearing the signature of the two lords, in reply to the duke of York, they say, " we must express without reserve the impossibility of uniting with the present government. Our GEORGE III. 33 differences of opinion are too many, and too b oo k important, to admit of such union. His royal ^J below Toledo, was forced by general Hill, and 812 ' the works destroyed. In the following month, lord Wellington victory of i , . . , A -. . . Salamanca. advanced in person with the main army in front of Salamanca ; and marshal Marmont re- treating across the Douro, the way seemed open to the capital. But Marmont, joined by strong reinforcements, made a rapid march to Tordesillas, and re-established his communi- cations with Madrid. A variety of manoeuvres succeeded, terminating in a general engage- ment near Salamanca, July 22d. In his efforts to outflank the allies on the right of their po- sition, general Marmont dangerously weakened his left and centre. This could not escape the vigilant eye of lord Wellington ; and an attack was immediately ordered in force. After an obstinate resistance, the French were driven from the heights which they occupied, in great disorder. The right of the enemy was then attacked in flank, as well as front ; and being unsupported, they quickly fled the field, and a complete victory was gained ; not, however, without the serious loss of more than 5000 men. That of the French was doubtless far greater, exclusive of 7000 prisoners. Mar- shal Marmont himself was among the wound- e 2 52 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book ed ; and five general officers, with about 140 UyO of inferior rank, were captured, with eleven 1812. pi eces f cannon and two eagles. Darkness favoured the flight of the enemy, who at length reached Valladolid in a shattered con- dition, its results. The magnitude of the victory was ascer- tained by its immediate results. On the ap- proach of the allies, the French retreated upon Burgos ; and king Joseph making his escape through the pass of Guadarama, left Madrid to the conqueror, who took possession, August 12th, of that capital, amidst the loudest acclama- tions. Before the end of the month, the block- ade of Cadiz was raised by marshal Soult, the destruction of the forts and batteries having been previously effected by means of tremen- dous nocturnal explosions. Seville was eva- cuated by the French nearly at the same time, many prisoners being captured in the pursuit. Reverse of The English commander, who in the rapid succession of honours had recently been cre- ated marquis of Wellington, still closely press- ing upon the French, marshal Marmont took a strong position on the heights in the vicinity of Burgos, leaving a numerous garrison in the citadel, which was immediately besieged. The heavy artillery had not yet arrived ; but a Repulse at . ... i Rur S os. mine being sprung with success, a too daring GEORGE III. 53 attempt was made, October 11th, to carry the book castle by storm, in which the assailants sus- ^v-^ tained a severe loss ; and the armies under marshals Soult and Suchet having formed a junction with that of Marmont, lord Welling- ton found it necessary not only to raise the siege, but to evacuate Madrid and retire upon the Douro; and toward the close of November, he fixed his head-quaters at Freynada on the Portuguese frontier. This retreat of lord Wellington, like almost Public or- ders, Nov. all other retreats when pressed by a superior 28, 1812. force, was signalized by disorder and rapine, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of the com- mander, who indignantly complained in his public orders of " a want of discipline greater than that of any army with which he had ever served, or of which he had ever read." Thus the latter portion of the campaign did not correspond to the hopes excited in the former part of it. General Ballasteros, who com- manded in Andalusia, fell under severe cen- sure for refusing to obey the orders of lord Wellington, who had relied on his co-opera- tion before Burgos. That officer was subse- quently superseded by the Cortes ; but the misunderstanding was the more unfortunate, as Ballasteros was one of the best and bravest of the Spanish generals. 54 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book The Spanish extraordinary Cortes on the Wy»£/ 18th March completed the great work which Est^ifh- nac ^ s0 l° n £ employed their labours, by the nunt of the pu blic signature of the constitutional act. De- Spanisti * ° constitu- p U ties from all parts of the kingdom were present at this ceremony. A commission was appointed to carry the instrument thus sign- ed to the regency : and on the 20th all the deputies assembled in the hall of congress, to swear to the constitution ; after which the regency entered the hall, and took the oath of office. The proceedings finished with the solemn proclamation of the constitution, the leading feature of which, unwisely devia- ting from the best models of government, was the consolidation of the legislative power in one assembly. The ordinary Cortes was con- voked for the 1st of October, 1813. war be- The approaching rupture between France France and anc i Russia, and the resolution of the French Russia. emperor to attempt the vast and hazardous experiment of invading the frozen deserts of the North, had from the commencement of the present year become manifest to all Europe. In the month of January (1812), Swedish Pomerania was occupied by 20,000 French troops ; and at the end of March, marshal Ney established his head-quarters at Weimar; troops of almost all nations assembling under GEORGE III. 55 his standard. Previous to his departure from book Paris, Napoleon caused an overture professedly ^v-^ pacific to be made in his name by the Due p^fo 2 ' de Bassano (Maret), addressed to the English j^ ertHre foreign secretary lord Castlereagh, dated April FrancCi 1 7th, " on the following basis. — The integrity of Spain shall be guaranteed. France shall renounce all idea of extending her dominions beyond the Pyrenees. The present dynasty shall be declared independent, and Spain shall be governed by a national constitution of her Cortes. The independence and integrity of Portugal shall be also guaranteed ; and the house of Braganza shall have the sovereign authority. With respect to the other objects of discussion, each power may retain that of which the other could not deprive it by war." Lord Castlereagh, in the name of the prince regent, replied, " that if by the present dy- nasty was meant the sovereignty as residing in the brother of the present ruler of France ; and by the Cortes, an assembly formed under his authority; such a proposition was totally inadmissible." As this was precisely the re- ply which Napoleon had reason to expect, it is difficult to conjecture what political pur- pose the overture was designed or calculated to answer. 56 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Various letters had recently passed between ^v the duke of Bassano and prince Kurakin the n 18 } 2 .' Russian ambassador at Paris. In the last, Recrimina- tions be- d a ted April 25, from the French minister, the tween * Fram-e and causes of complaint are formally enumerated, Russia. particularly "the violation of the treaty of lil- sit in relation to Great Britain, instanced in the ukase which opened the ports of Russia to English colonial produce imported under a foreign flag ; and the opposition made by Rus- sia to the annexation of the duchy of Olden- burg to France, rendered necessary by the French possession of the Hanse Towns." But the first of these grievances was evidently the cause, the latter only the consequence of the quarrel. Far from making any concession, the ambassador explicitly declared, that the evacuation of the Prussian states, and a satis- factory arrangement with Sweden, must be the basis of the negotiation with Russia. French Early in May, Napoleon, accompanied by Vistula, the empress Louisa, left Paris ; and on the 16th reached Dresden, where he met the emperor Francis, who had engaged by treaty to furnish an auxiliary quota of 30,000 troops. The first grand division of the army, under marshal Ney, had already crossed the Vistula; and the se- cond, commanded by marshal Junot, occupied both banks of the Oder. Meanwhile the em- GEORGE III. 57 peror Alexander, unappalled, was collecting the forces of his immense empire at Wilna ; marshal Barclay de Tolly being appointed 1813- commander-in-chief. On the arrival of the French emperor at Dantzig, June 7th, the final communications of the hostile powers took place, causing that still and awful pause which precedes and an- nounces a dreadful impending tempest. A bul- letin was at length issued, June 22d, from the grand camp of Napoleon, declaring " that no means were left for preserving a good under- standing between the two courts, and that the emperor had given orders for passing the Nie- men." The French and their allies advanced in nine divisions, composing in the aggregate the greatest force that had ever been seen in Christendom ranged under the same standard. The Niemen was passed without opposition ; and the Lithuanian capital Wilna was eva- cuated at their approach ; the Russians by degrees entirely withdrawing from the grand duchy. At this crisis a Polish diet was held at Polish Diet Warsaw, under the sanction of the French em- peror; which, resolving itself into " a general confederation of Poland," published, July 1st, a memorable declaration, announcing that the kingdom of Poland and the Polish nation 58 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. were re-established ; and appointing a council of state, consisting of eleven members, for the 1812. administration of affairs. By one of the arti- cles, the king of Saxony, as grand-duke of Warsaw, was invited by deputation to accede to the confederacy ; and by another, the empe- ror Napoleon was intreated "to encircle the reviving Poland with his powerful protection." The diet disclaimed all vindictive retrospec- tion; saying, " that it cannot regard as a true Pole whosoever shall search into the past for motives of accusation or division." The nun- cio Wybicki, head of the deputation sent by the diet to the French emperor at Wilna, in the audience of July 12th, declared " that the honour and interest of France required the re- establishment of Poland." To this bold truth Napoleon returned an answer replete with art- ful evasion. ',' He highly applauded the pa- triotism of the diet ; and had he reigned during the period of the first, second, or third partition, he would have armed all his people in their support. But in his situation he had many interests to conciliate, and many duties to perform. He, notwithstanding, authorized the efforts they wished to make ; and if they were unanimous, they might conceive the hope of reducing their enemies to acknowledge their rights. But he had guaranteed to the GEORGE III. 59 emperor of Austria the integrity of his domi- book nions. Be animated," said he, " with the v — » v^> same spirit which I have seen in great Poland, and Providence will crown with success your holy cause, and recompense that devotion to your country which has acquired you so many claims to my esteem and protection." A more favourable opportunity could never o'Meara's ri J . Saint Hele- occur for restoring Poland to its just rank an, n. 53. among nations. But Napoleon merely aimed to gain the aid of the Polish armies by flatter- ing words ; and though he subsequently affirm- ed it to have been his intention to re-establish the kingdom of Poland, and to have placed prince Poniatowski upon the throne, " in order to oppose a barrier to that formidable empire, which threatened to overwhelm all Europe," there exists no trace of any such design in his language or conduct at this period. On the 18th July, a treaty of peace and, Alliance J . between alliance between Great Britain and Russia Gr ? a * Britain ami was signed at Orebro in Sweden, under the Russia, • c 1 • 1 a • -i Schoel > x - auspices ol admiral baumarez; as was a similar 543. treaty between Britain and Sweden. On the 20th July, a treaty was concluded at Weliki Louki between Russia and Spain, of which the third article was as follows : — " The emperor of all the Russias acknowledges the legitimacy 60 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xl K °^ tne & enera l an d extraordinary assembly of y *ry~^ the Cortes held at Cadiz, as well as the con- 2 ' stitution which they have decreed and sanc- tioned !" The Russian armies still gradually retreating, were in the month of August con- Peacc be- centrated at Smolensko. Here the welcome twcen Rus- sia and intelligence was received by the emperor Turkey. - . Alexander that peace was concluded with the Turks at Giurgewo, on terms very honourable to Russia. The Pruth, from its entrance into Moldavia to its junction with the Danube, and from that junction, the left bank of the Danube itself, to its mouth at Kilia, was by this treaty declared to be the boundary of the two empires. All that portion of Moldavia and Bessarabia east of the Pruth was thus annexed to Russia; and the army of the Danube immediately commenced its march homeward. A treaty of alliance and mutual defence was nearly at the same time signed between Russia and Sweden ; and the con- federacy against France thus assumed a for- midable aspect. smofen°- f After various partial encounters, Napoleon sko - in person led his troops, August 17th, to the attack of the main army of the Russians, posted in great force on the heights above official Smolensko. After an obstinate engagement, Accounts. ° ° the Russians abandoned the defence of the GEORGE III. 61 city, and retired beyond the Nieper ; but the book invaders on entering Smolensko found it little wC-^ more than a heap of ruins, from a dreadful 1812 * conflagration ; whether accidental or other- wise, is difficult to ascertain. At this junc- ture, marshal Kutosoff, who had just return- ed covered with laurels from the Turkish war, was appointed to the chief command. On his route to Moscow, he had an interview with count Rostopchin, the governor ; and arriving at the head-quarters toward the close of August, he took a strong position between the villages of Borrodino and Moskwa, on the great road leading to the capital, where the marshal resolved to hazard a battle. The French emperor, after passing the Nie- Battle of 1 l ° Borrodino. per, continued his march toward Moscow ; and on the 7th September, he came in sight of the enemy, whom he found well prepared to receive him. The armies were estimated on the lowest calculation at 120,000 men each. The attack commenced in the morning, and raged with unabated fury till evening, when the French retired to their camp. This was one of the most sanguinary battles known in modern times. Few prisoners were taken ; but the field exhibited the horrid spectacle of 40,000 men killed or mortally wounded. Each side claimed the victory ; but the French army 62 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book being joined by the division under marshal v — v-^ Victor, again advanced on the Kalouga road 1812 towards Moscow ; and marshal Kutosoff taking a station to the south of the city, Napoleon, on the 14th September, entered that famous me- tropolis as a conqueror ; fixing his residence in the Kremlin, the antient palace of the czars. Destine- At this moment the second Charlemagne, Moscow, for such it was his eager ambition to be thought, touched the zenith of his fortune. Marshal Kutosoff had given strict orders, not only for the evacuation, but the destruction of Moscow; and scarcely were the French in possession, when the deserted city was dis- covered to be on fire in divers places. The houses were chiefly of timber ; and a violent wind arising, the conflagration quickly became general. From the elevated heights of the Kremlin, the French emperor beheld in as- tonishment the whole extent of the capital around him as a sea of fire ; immense volumes of smoke and flame enveloping the atmo- sphere. Moscow had been regarded by the French legions both as the reward and termina- tion of their labours ; and when first its golden domes and spires rose to view, Napoleon is said to have exclaimed exultingly, " All this is GEORGE III. 63 yours." Even in his present alarming situa- book tion, he seemed to expect to be addressed as a ^v^ conqueror, and made no preparation for the future ; although the division of the Russians commanded by general Winzingerode had by skilful manoeuvres gained a position in the rear of the French, dangerously obstructing their supplies. By a prompt retreat, Napoleon might doubtless still have secured winter- quarters in Lithuania and Poland ; but his faculties seemed totally confounded by the novelty of misfortune ; and his pride and pre- sumption over-balancing the most obvious considerations of prudence, he persisted in maintaining his station amidst the ruins of Moscow. At length, perceiving the armies of the J^™" enemy multiplying around him, and gaining M ° s «>w. continual advantages over the widely dis- persed divisions of the French, he deputed general Lauriston to propose an armistice to marshal Kutosoff; who replied, " that no terms would be hearkened to, so long as an enemy remained in the Russian territory." Soon after this, the communication of Napoleon with the grand depdt at Minsk being inter- rupted by the defeat of the Austrians and French in that quarter, he resolved to abandon 64 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Moscow (October the 19th), having wasted ^"-v-^ five irreparable weeks in that scene of desola- l812 - tion and despair. Disastrous Dividing his forces, Murat and Beauharnois, the French, with 50,000 men, were ordered to attack the grand army of the Russians under marshal Kutosoff; while the emperor himself, with the remainder, took the route to Minsk. The for- mer met with a severe repulse ; and nothing was now thought of but how to quit a coun- try which they had so lately entered in tri- umph. Scarcely could they hazard a march without a battle, and thus harassed, retreat became more and more difficult. Minsk itself was obliged to surrender. A stand was at- tempted at Viasma, without success ; and the French, dispirited and weary, were driven from their positions with much slaughter. The next night was rendered dreadfully memorable by a prodigious fall of snow, which was suc- ceeded by an intense frost; and from this period ensued a series of terrible disasters. Exclusive of the carnage incident to a close and unintermitted pursuit, thousands perished from cold and hunger; and a far greater number suffered themselves to be cap- tured, almost without resistance. Cannon, magazines, carriages, all the materiel of the invading army, were abandoned ; and Napo- GEORGE III. 65 leon himself with difficulty reached Wilna; BOOK whence, on the 5th December, he set out v **-v^-> without escort, and nearly without attend- ants, to Paris. To facilitate his flight, the bridges over the Beresina were destroyed be- fore the troops had completely passed, and great numbers were put to the sword, or forced into the stream amidst the floating masses of ice. The army of Napoleon, which, at the commencement of this fatal campaign, had in all its ramifications exceeded 300,000 men, after losing before the close of it above half its number, at length found a mournful refuge in Poland ; and marshal Kutosoff established his head-quarters at Wilna. In pursuance of the plan of political reform Sicilian in Sicily recommended by Great Britain, a J£a t representative assembly or Sicilian parliament convened - was convened by the prince regent at Pa- lermo, June 18th (1812). The speech addressed by him to this assembly was well adapted to the circumstances of the country. He ex- horted them " to provide for the necessities of the state, the emendation of the laws, and the reformation of abuses, and to establish a well-regulated public order. You have before you," said the prince, " a happy example of this in Great Britain, our faithful ally, whose wise and well-poised constitution has raised VOL. xiv. f 66 HISTORY GF GREAT BRITAIN. book her to that height of wealth and power to v- v-O which she has attained." But the beneficial 1812# effects expected from this measure were, from various causes, unhappily frustrated. state of i n Spanish America, civil war continued to Spanish l America. ra g e with alternate success. At Venezuela a dreadful calamity occurred, in the almost total destruction of the great and populous city of Caraccas by an earthquake; which also ex- ceedingly damaged many other towns in that province. This the priests did not fail to re- present as a judgment from heaven on the crime of rebellion ; and the war for some time took a very unfavourable turn in that quarter. Caraccas in its ruined state surrendered to the royalists ; and general Miranda being taken prisoner, was sent to Spain. Alliance j n the east, the most remarkable occurrence between ' Persia and was the conclusion of a treaty of friendship Great Bn- J l tain. and alliance between Persia and Great Bri- tain, by the ambassador sir Gore Ouseley, on conditions which were deemed highly benefi- cial to this country. New Par- The newly elected parliament of the United liamcnt ^ convened, Kingdom assembled on the 24th of November November 1812. (1812), Mr. Abbot being unanimously rechosen speaker. On the 30th the prince regent deli- vered for the first time a speech from the throne, containing a triumphant review of the GEORGE III. , 67 political and military events of the year. The book addresses in both houses, after a lengthened v -*v-»" / discussion, in which the marquis Wellesley 1812 ' and Mr. Canning took a prominent part in op- position, were suffered to pass without a divi- sion. A grant of 100,000/. was voted to the duke of Wellington ; and 200,000/. for the re- lief of the sufferers in Russia. Soon after the Christmas recess, lord Cas- isis. tlereagh presented to the house of commons a mass of papers relative to the war with the United States of America; of which by far the best vindication was the material though tardy concession made by the British govern- ment, in the revocation of the orders in council ; together with the armistice liberally offered by the prince regent and peremptorily refused by the American president. On the 25th of February, Mr. Grattan once Bil1 for J relief of the more moved, ft that the house of commons re- embolics. solve itself into a committee to consider the state of the laws as affecting the catholics." This was productive of a debate which conti- nued no less than four days, on the termina- tion of which the motion was carried by a ma- jority of 264 to 224 votes. A bill was conse- quently introduced for the relief of the catho- lics. But instead of a short and simple repeal of those statutes which created the disabilities, f 2 68 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book it proved to be a complex and intricate bill, ^v-^ qualified with odious provisoes and excep- 1813, tions, full of jealousy and distrust : and in the twenty-third clause of it the veto, or " efficient negative," appeared in a most obnoxious form. On the 24th of May, the house being in com- mittee, the speaker arose, and began with enquiring " whether this bill was likely to become a basis of general concord and satis- faction ? So far as we knew of the proceedings of the Roman catholics, some of the principal among the laity had declared against it ; and the clergy in general had loudly expressed their dissent from its ecclesiastical provisions. After all, he was himself of opinion, that the safe-guards to the protestant constitution of- fered by this bill were utterly insufficient ; and he moved that the clause enabling catholics to sit in parliament be omitted." A long and eager debate ensued ; and the motion of the speaker was at length carried by a majority of four votes ; the numbers being 251 to 247. Mr. Ponsonby then declared, " that as the bill without this clause was not worthy of the ac- ceptance of the catholics, or the support of their friends, he should move that the chair- man leave the chair ;" which being carried sAi ... without a division, the bill was abandoned, very much to the satisfaction of those whom it GEORGE III. 69 was its avowed purpose to relieve; so inade- book . XL quate was this remedial measure to the ac- ^y+j complishment of its object! The essence of 1813 - the argument to common apprehension lay in a narrow compass. Were the professions and oaths of the catholics, and especially of the catholic prelacy, worthy of credit ? If sincere, these safe-guards must be equally superfluous and invidious; if insincere, in the language of the speaker, utterly insufficient. In a word, if to restore millions to their long-lost rights was an act of imperial magnanimity, why annex to so magnificent a boon conditions which would impair beyond all calculation the grace and the efficacy of it ? Subsequent to the presentation of this bill Dissatis- of i*elief to the house of commons, the Irish [he tl Catho- catholic bishops had voted an address to the llC8, catholic clergy and laity, in which, after ex- pressing " their gratitude to the legislature for taking into its favourable consideration the disabilities which still affect the catholic body, they declared the utter impossibility of their assenting to certain of the arrangements pro- posed by the bill, and particularly those that respect the exercise of their episcopal func- tions, which would involve them in the guilt of schism. We have sworn," say they, " to preserve inviolate our allegiance, and would 1813. 70 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book willingly swear farther, if required, that we never will concur in the appointment or con- secration of any bishop whom we do not be- lieve to be of unimpeachable loyalty." When this address was laid before the catholic board, May 29th, the fate of the bill being then ascer- tained, " their respectful thanks" were in cor- dial language returned to the prelates. "But suppose," said an eloquent member of this body, " that in the new arrangement there should be no schism, there would be worse— corrup- tion, profligacy, subservience. Let our watch- word be unanimity, and our object simple re- peal." At an ensuing meeting, June 15th, a resolve passed, " that the catholics do renew their earnest petition to the legislature for the total and unqualified repeal of the penal statutes which infringe the sacred rights of religious freedom." In the autumn of this year, the duke of Richmond was succeeded in the government of Ireland by earl Whit- worth. Unitarian That the present house of commons enter- Tole ration Act. tained very liberal ideas on the subject of religious toleration, appeared in the counte- nance almost unanimously given to a bill introduced by Mr. W. Smith, member for Norwich, the long-tried friend of civil and religious liberty, fur removing the heavy GEORGE III. 71 penalties imposed by law on those who im- book pugned the doctrine of the Trinity, generally 's— Y X- / stiled •« unitarians," but comprehending all 1813# christian people who embraced, in primitive simplicity and sincerity, the apostolic faith of One God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth. The house of lords, including the ministers of the crown and the prelates of the church, were equally disposed to concur in this measure of christian candour and mode- ration ; the archbishop of Canterbury merely and truly observing, " that the bill had not been called for by any attempt to impede the worship of the unitarians, or to enforce the existing laws against them." The approaching expiration of the charter Renewal of of the East India company once more excited of the Ea!t the efforts of the commercial world, to be ad- pLy. mitted into a full participation of the advan- tages hitherto restricted to a monopoly, which, if at the first beneficial, had long since ceased to be so. Scarcely was there a port of the least consequence which did not upon this oc- casion transmit a petition to parliament for throwing open the East India trade. But the India company was now too closely identified with the state, to admit the remotest prospect of success. From simple merchant-adven- turers, the company had by a monstrous ano 72 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xl K ma ty as pi re d to the character of conquerors; v — ■ v-^ 7 in which pernicious ambition they had been too much encouraged by the applause of the public, who delighted to hear of victories obtained over nabobs, nizams, peishwas, ra- jas, and sultans, actuated merely by the in- toxication of national vanity. The natural consequence of the almost perpetual wars in which the honourable company were involved, was precisely similar to that resulting from the same cause to the British nation itself; the creation of an enormous debt, far beyond any ordinary or visible means of liquidation. The company was now dependant upon go- vernment for that financial aid which was es- sential to its existence ; and in return, the go- vernment had acquired that military and poli- tical patronage of the East, which, in conjunc- tion with various other causes, had so dan- gerously disturbed the balance of the consti- tution. In this state of things, lord Castlereagh brought forward, in a committee of the whole house, his plan of regulation; including the prolongation of the charter for the farther term of twenty years, from April 10th, 1814. The first resolution moved by this minister secured to the company all its Indian territories north of the equator, with the exclusive trade to GEORGE III. 73 XL. 1813. China; leaving the commerce of Hindostan B ?„9 K open to the public on certain conditions and to certain ports, by licence from the company: but so long as the company itself exists, the extension of the trade will, from obvious causes, be confined within comparatively narrow li- mits. A christian church was also founded in India, consisting of a bishop and three arch- deacons ; and a wide scope was given to the zealous efforts of missionaries. The dividends of the company were limited to 10J per cent, and the number of king's troops to be paid by the company was restricted to 20,000, unless a larger force was required by the directors. The whole passed into a law with no effectual opposition. At an early period of the session, the chan- New Sys- cellor of the exchequer submitted to the house nance, his plans of finance, present and prospec- tive. The loan for the current year was 21,000,000, exclusive of 15,000,000 of exche- quer-bills funded, and a vote of credit for 6,000,000. In all this there was no deviation from the established course of progression in the road to ruin. But this daring minister felt no hesitation, almost at the commencement of his career, to aim a mortal blow at that system which Mr. Pitt professed to regard as the fairest monument of his fame, and which had 1813. 74 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book hitherto remained sacred and inviolate. In- deed the act of 1786 had so anxiously guarded against the eventual alienation of the sinking fund, that scarcely could it be the subject of reasonable apprehension that any future chan- cellor of the exchequer should, in the recollec- tion of many individuals who had witnessed the acclamations attending its creation, ven- ture to attempt the subversion of this firm and solid fabric. The aggregate of the stock redeemed by the commissioners had now amounted to 238,000,000 ; a sum exceeding the total of the national debt as it stood in 1786 ; and the se- veral interests thus disengaged had to the present moment been faithfully and invariably applied in conformity with the terms of the act. But Mr. Vansittart now proposed the entire extinction of the stock transferred to the commissioners, and the application of the interests to the purposes of future loans. This, he observed, would enable the country to carry on the war Jour years longer without any addition of taxes ; thus at once destroying the silent but incessant and successful labour of twenty-seven years, and mocking the last cherished hope of financial redemption. But present relief, at whatever future cost, was the predominant feeling. The bill passed by a GEORGE HI. 75 great majority; and henceforth all the flue- book tuating schemes and projects of this minister <*< ^j had no other end in view than to put off the 1813, evil day. The treaty with Sweden was laid before Treaty with , . T -r, ... Sweden. parliament on the 11th June, rrom this it appeared, that in the recent convention be- tween Russia and Sweden, the emperor Alex- ander, notwithstanding his deep sympathy for the sufferings of Denmark, as inflicted by Britain, had not hesitated, when his own inte- rests were at stake, to engage that Norway, which had been for ages united in a federal league with Denmark, should be transferred to Sweden in compensation for Finland ; that power engaging to join the confederacy against France, and to furnish 30,000 troops, under the command of the crown prince, for active service on the continent. To this compact Great Britain had by the present treaty be- come a party ; promising moreover, in addi- tion to a subsidy of 1,000,000, and the prema- ture cession of the island of Guadaloupe, to aid by naval co-operation in the transfer of Norway, should Denmark continue in alliance with France. In return, British manufactures were to be admitted into the Swedish ports for twenty years at an ad valorem duty of one per cent. only. This treaty, so far as related XL. 1813. in Spain. 76 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book to Norway, was strongly opposed as irrecon- cilable with public law and national honour. It was, however, approved by both houses; and on the 22d July (1813) parliament was prorogued by the regent in person, who ex- pressed the highest satisfaction at their pro- ceedings, oijia campaign The campaign of this year in Spain com- menced under favourable auspices ; for the enemy not being able to obtain reinforcements from France, was compelled to act on the de- fensive ; a plan ever ruinous to invaders. Mar- shal Suchet alone attempted operations on a bolder scale ; and on April 13th he made a general attack on the line of the allies, but was repulsed with loss, and compelled to re- tire upon Villena. Before the end of May, lord Wellington moved in great force, by the route of Sala- manca, towards Madrid ; king Joseph once more evacuating that capital, and retiring to Burgos. On the approach of the British com- mander, the enemy continued his march to- wards the Ebro, without any effort to main- tain the city or even the citadel of Burgos, upon which immense sums had been expend- ed. The allies, by a sudden movement to the left, having crossed that river near its source, in their pursuit found the French encamped GEORGE III. 77 in front of the town of Vittoria, under the com- book XL. mand of king Joseph, assisted by marshal Jour- v --v~^ dan ; Soult having been summoned to the aid 1813, of Napoleon in Germany. On the 21st June, lord Wellington resolved Battle ° f c m Vittoria. upon the attack. The battle began with a severe contest for the heights of Arlanzon, on the left of the French position. These being at length carried by general Hill, he passed a rivulet which ran through the valley ; as like- wise did sir Thomas Picton at the head of another division. Nearly at the same time, general Graham, on the opposite wing, forced his passage over two bridges thrown across the stream ; upon which the whole French army retreated in good order upon Vittoria, whence they continued their march towards Pampe- luna. As Vittoria was the grand depot of the French, a great number of cannon, and stores of all kinds to a vast amount, fell into the hands of the victors ; the loss of whom was estima- ted at near 5000 killed and wounded. Though that sustained by the French in the field was probably not much greater, the victory was decisive in its consequences ; and being close- ly pursued, the enemy successively aban- doned his strong posts ; at length crossing the Bidassoa, by the bridge of Irun, into France. 78 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book A laro-e force had been last vear landed from XL. , ' ° t . ? ^-^^■^ Sicily, at the port of Alicant, under sir John operatfo'ns Murray ; from whose co-operation with lord mCataio- Wellington much had been expected, though as yet productive of no visible advantage. Early in June, however, an expedition, con- ducted by sir John Murray in person, disem- barked on the coast of Catalonia, and invested the city of Tarragona. After advancing his batteries against the place with every prospect of success, he received intelligence that mar- shal Suchet was marching at the head of a superior force to its relief; upon which he raised the siege with some precipitation, and re-embarked his troops, leaving his cannon in the batteries ; though the naval commander, admiral Hallowell, had engaged to bring them off before night. The garrison of Tarragona, after dismantling the works, was subsequently withdrawn to Barcelona ; and marshal Suchet shortly afterwards found himself compelled to. evacuate altogether the kingdom of Valencia. Marshal Sou It having resumed the command of the army discomfited at Vittoria, recross- ed the Bidassoa ; and on the 24th July he at- tacked with vigour the right wing of the allies posted at Roncesvalles, a place immortalized in history and romance by the terrible " de- feat of Charlemagne and all his peers." Al- GEORGE III. 79 though marshal Soult succeeded in forcing B °° K this position, he failed in his attempt to relieve S*\**^ Pampeluna; and the French again retreated beyond the Pyrenees. The siege of St. Sebastian was in the mean Capture of Saint Se- time undertaken by sir Thomas Graham ; but bastian. that fortress, one of the strongest in Spain, was defended with extraordinary skill and re- solution. An assault from the besiegers, July 25, was repulsed with great slaughter. The town was at length taken by storm, with the loss of 2300 lives; and the castle capitu- lated on the 18th of September. Early inTheEng- October, lord Wellington crossed the Bidassoa mander t enters in force, and at different fords, in defiance of France, all opposition from his able antagonist; and thus France itself became once more exposed to the miseries and ravages of war. At the end of this month the important fortress of Pampeluna surrendered to the Spaniards, and the numerous garrison were made prisoners. In November the French, driven from their successive positions, took refuge in their entrenched camp before the city of Bayonne ; their lines extending from the Nive to the Adour. The passage of the Nive was ac- complished before the close of the campaign, and the English commander established his winter-quarters in France. 80 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The French emperor, on returning to Paris from his wild and disastrous expedition to Russia, had been received with all the exter- ertions of n£ j demonstrations of joy ; and his flatterers Napoleon. >> J affected to say, " that he was conquered only by the elements." Byasenatus consultum (Janu- ary 11th, 1813), 350,000 men were placed at his disposal. He now also adjusted his differ- ences with the Roman see, by a new concor- date signed at Fontainebleau ; and in the midst of misfortune he still held his accustom- ed language of boast and confidence. In his speech to the legislative body, February 14th, he said, " The French dynasty reigns, and will reign in Spain. The Russians shall return into their frightful climate. England is destined by Providence to be the first victim of anar- chy, &c." After declaring the empress sole regent, he set out lor the army. Military The Prussians, as allies of the French, had in P Po a iaud. s chiefly acted on the coast of the Baltic, and had been jointly engaged in the siege of Riga; from which place marshal Macdonald had re- tired with some precipitation ; and the Prus- sians, under general de Yorcke, concluded a convention with the Russian commander Wit- genstein, by which his troops were to remain neutral in Eastern Prussia. Though the king- professed to disapprove the measure, this de- GEORGE III. 81 faction was very ominous. The Russian gene- BOOK XL. Section \ ral then entered Koningsberg, January 1813, where a Prussian regency was forthwith es- tablished. On the 13th of that month, the emperor Alexander crossed the Niemen in person, amidst the acclamations of his troops. General Vorcke being appointed commander of the regency at Koningsberg, numbers flock- ed to his standard. Frederic William himself Defection .,,-,-. °f Prussia. issued an ambiguous proclamation from Bres- lau, February 3d, summoning his subjects to take arms in defence of their king and country, without naming the enemy. Every where the current set against the French. On the 8th February, the Russians entered Warsaw ; and at the same time Dantzig and Thorne were in- vested. The Austrian^ concluded an unlimited armistice, and returned to their own territory. In fine, the king of Prussia, after a formal offer of mediation, took the decisive step, February 22d, of signing an alliance offensive and defensive with the emperor of Russia. The French evacuated Berlin March 3d, campaign in Ger- and detachments from the Prussian army occu- pied Hamburg and Rostock. Thirty thousand Swedes, under the command of the crown prince, were daily expected ; and on the ap- proach of the Russians under general Witgen- stein, the king of Saxony quitted Dresden. vol. xiv. g man v. 82 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book The French army of reserve passing the Maine, A. La v — y^ effected a junction with that of prince Beau- ' harnois in April ; and on the 25th of that month, the emperor Napoleon arrived at Er- furt, once more appearing at the head of a numerous and well-disciplined force full of Battle of confidence and eager for action. On the morn- ing of the 2d May, he advanced into the fa- mous plain of Lutzen, with the view of reach- ing Leipzig and throwing himself into the rear of the allies; but they anticipated his purpose by an immediate attack. This proved an ob- stinate and well-fought contest. Here mar- shal Bessieres, duke of Istria, was shot dead La» Cases. with a musquet-ball : " having lived like Bay- ard, he died like Turenne." Such was the emphatic eulogium bestowed on this com- mander. The battle terminated to the advan- tage of the French, and the allies retreating beyond the Elbe, Napoleon entered Dresden accompanied by the king of Saxony. Battle of Having received powerful reinforcements, Bauuen. tne a nj es took- up a strong position on the Spree near Bautzen, where they were attacked by the French on the 19th May. The field was again contended for with -equal skill and courage ; but the allies were once more compelled to retire, though in good order, GEORGE III. 83 upon Schweidnitz, and Napoleon resumed book possession of Breslau. ^v-*- / Through the mediation of Austria, an ar- c^^f mistice was concluded, June 1st, which was at Pra s ,,e - several times prolonged to the 13th August; and a congress was held at Prague, with the view of general pacification. At this period, the restoration of the Bourbons was an object not even contemplated by any power, and least of all by the emperor Francis, whose daughter was at this moment, regent of France. Yet Austria held in the existing circumstances the balance of Europe, and had a right to expect, not merely as the mediator, but " um- pire of the fray," to derive important advan- tages from an ultimate and permanent set- tlement. But in this crisis, as upon other emergent occasions, Napoleon exhibited him- self rather as the daring adventurer, than the profound and sagacious statesman. Elated with the recent victories, indecisive as they were, of Lutzen and Bautzen, he seemed to suppose that he had regained his military superiority, and refused to make the conces- sions which his situation imperiously demand- ed ; not considering, that the present confe- deracy was of a nature totally different from the preceding ones ; and that the addition of « 2 84. HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. BOOK XL. 181: Austria declares against France. Austria and Sweden, under so able a leader as the crown prince, to the already preponde- rating weight of Russia, Prussia, Great Bri- tain, and Spain, now become the assailant, must hazard his political existence. Suddenly the congress broke up, the armis- tice having produced no other result than the giving time to Austria to complete her mili- tary preparations ; and on the succeeding day (August 11) count Metternich delivered to the minister of France a declaration of war on the part of the emperor Francis, who at the same time signed a treaty of alliance with Russia and Prussia. In the Austrian declara- tion, " the usurpations of France in the north of Germany, and the impossibility of a lasting- peace in Europe, while the same system of policy was persisted in, was unreservedly affirmed. France gave no hope that she would make those sacrifices for peace, which would be sufficient to bring it back to Eu- rope." Renewal of On the renewal of the campaign, the grand hostilities. . . l ° & army of the allies, consisting of Austrians, Rus- sians, and Prussians, encamped on the Bohe- mian frontier, bordering upon and menacing Saxony. General Blucher, famous for his exertions after the fatal battle of Jena, now commanded in Silesia, and the crown prince GEORGE III. 85 of Sweden in the north of Germany; having B °p K been joined at Berlin by his renowned com- ^^^v-^ 1010 panion in arms general Moreau. The first military operation of the allies had for its object the recovery of Dresden, which was attempted by escalade on the 27th August; but the assailants were repelled with great slaughter. On reconnoitring the enemy's po- Deatb cf sition on the ensuing day, general Moreau was Moreau. killed by a sudden discharge of cannon, while near the person and in the act of conversing with the emperor Alexander. His death was deeply lamented, it may truly be said, at this juncture, throughout Europe. On the retreat of the allies into Bohemia, Napoleon detached a division of the army under general Van- - damme, to seize the passes of the mountains in their rear : but that general was himself surrounded, and, after sustaining an hopeless and unequal combat, was compelled to sur- render with more than 10,000 men, and all his artillery and baggage ; thus recalling to recollection the similar disaster of the Prussian general Finck, near the same place, about half a century before this time. Great advantages also were obtained by general Blucher in Silesia over the marshals Macdonald and Victor, who were driven back to the Elbe with heavy loss : and on the 6th 86 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book September, a splendid victory was gained at v**v-*^ Dennevitz by the crown prince of Sweden, Batt?e of over marsna ^ Ney, wno l° st m any thousands uenncvitz. { n killed, wounded, and prisoners, and thirty pieces of cannon. The allied armies now pressing on all sides upon Dresden, the em- peror Napoleon and king of Saxony quitted that capital, and concentrated their forces in the vicinity of Leipzig. Soon after this, an unexpected blow, more prejudicial than the loss of a battle, occurred in the convention signed October 8th, between the courts of Vienna and Munich, by which 50,000 Bava- rian troops were detached from France, and added to the immense force of the allies. The tide of adverse fortune now appeared wholly irresistible ; yet did not the unyielding spirit of Napoleon make the slightest advance to- wards accommodation. Battle of Leipzig was at this moment the grand ob- ject of attention ; and its fate was to be de- cided by the most numerous armies which had ever been assembled in the ensanguined fields of Germany. The united force of Bernadotte and Blucher were posted on the north, be- tween the Muldaw and the Saale ; while the Russians and Austrians, commanded by gene- ral Beningsen and the prince of Schwartzen- burg, occupied an opposite line on the south. 1813. GEORGE III. 87 After divers partial encounters, and bold efforts book 1 XL. in a great degree successful, to surround the (s -*~ v -^ / French, a general and bloody battle ensued on the 18th October. The engagement was still raging, and Bernadotte, after carrying some advanced posts, was halting for his artillery, when a large body of Westphalian and Saxon troops, the latter bringing with them twenty- two pieces of cannon, ranged themselves under his standard, and requested to be led against the French. This was decisive of the event; and it strikingly demonstrated the extrava- gance of that policy which would transform the circles of Germany into provinces of the French empire. The Russians and Austrians, notwithstanding a most persevering resistance, effected a junction towards evening with Ber- nadotte and Blucher under the walls of Leip- zig, in which city the French had sought for refuge, after sustaining the loss, as estimated by the allies, of 40,000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, and sixty-five pieces of cannon. The victory, whatever might be the details, was decisive ; and even retreat had, from the obstinacy of the French emperor in retaining his position, become exceedingly difficult; the only route now open to him lying over a marshy tract, intersected by several rivers or rivulets, swelled with rain. 88 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. During the night the French army began tv defile toward Weissenfels ; and in the morning 1813. the magistrates of Leipzig requested a suspen- the French, sion of arms for the purpose of capitulation. But this was peremptorily refused ; and Leip- zig, after a short resistance, was carried sword in hand ; the emperor Alexander, the king of Prussia, and the crown prince of Sweden, meeting before noon in the great square, amidst the acclamations of the army and the people. Napoleon had quitted Leipzig scarcely two hours previous to the entrance of the allies. - Disaster was followed by disas- ter : for as the French were retreating in great disorder over the Elster, the bridge was broken down with such precipitation, that some thousands of the rear-guard were either captured or perished in attempting to cross the stream. Among these the most distin- guished and most regretted individual was prince Poniatowski, who, by the acknowledg- ment even of his enemies, possessed every virtue and accomplishment which could add lustre to his birth. King ot Immense magazines were found in Leipzig ; Saxony ° . r & » made Cap- and the king of Saxony, with the nobles who tive. . composed his court, were sent under an escort to Eysenach. Napoleon, with the remains of his army, still amounting to more than 70,000 GEORGE III. g9 men, directed his march to Erfurt and Hanau ; at the last of which places he found the Bava- rians under general Wrede, with a corps of 1813, Austrian s, posted to intercept the passage. An encounter ensued, in which the allies were repulsed with considerable loss ; and Napoleon continued his progress to Mentz, where he arrived November 2d. The grand army of the allies in the mean time advanced to the Maine, and the sovereigns established their head-quarters at Frankfort. New causes of triumph arose in rapid sue- . Re T v , ol ,? tio ? 1 * in Holland. cession. The king of "Wirtemberg, imitating the example of Bavaria, renounced the con- federacy of the Rhine, and united his troops with those of the allies. What was of more importance, and less to be expected, was the revolution which took place at this period in Holland. On the 15th of November, the peo- ple of Amsterdam, as it were by one consent, hoisted the Orange colours, and amidst enthu- siastic shouts proclaimed the restoration of the antient government. This was followed by all the principal towns in the provinces of Holland and Utrecht ; and a deputation was sent to London, inviting the prince of Orange, son to the stadtholder, who had escaped to England twenty years before, to place him- self at the head of his countrymen ; and em- 90 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book barking on board an English squadron, he "— ^ made his entry into Amsterdam on the 3d of 1010 December. A considerable Russian force had now crossed the Yssel ; and the French, after a short resistance, were expelled from the seven provinces, with the exception of Bergen- op-Zoom and some other fortresses. In the proclamation issued by the prince of Orange from Amsterdam, it was observable that he assumed the title unknown to his ancestors, of " sovereign prince of the United Nether- lands." Peace re- The king of Denmark, though the most unas- established . . with Den- piring and unoffending monarch in Europe, was destined to be the chief victim of the war. Ear- ly in December, the crown prince of Sweden moving northward, compelled marshal Davoust to take refuge in Hamburg, and conquered Holstein ; while the Russians overran Sleswic, that duchy which the Danish monarchs of the last century had violently and unjustly wrested from the paternal ancestors of the emperor of Russia. A change now unavoidably took place in the Danish counsels ; and Frederic the Vlth, as his only resource, concluded a treaty with Great Britain and Sweden (January 14th, 1814) at Kiel, agreeably to which Swe- dish Pomerania was ceded in exchange for Norway, England retained possession ol the 1813. GEORGE III. 91 fleet which she had so dearly purchased, and 10,000 Danes joined the army of the crown prince. In the south of Germany, the arms of Austria had during this interval been no less successful. In October, general Hiller crossed the Alps with an army of 60,000 men ; and Trieste, Fiume, with the whole Dalmatian coast, were refmced ; aided by the English naval force \fk the Adriatic. The Helvetic republic was well disposed Swiss ncu- , i • r- trality vio- in the present exigency to preserve a perfect lated. neutrality; and the general diet assembled in November issued a notification to this pur- pose, and even decreed the levy of an army to support it. But their resolutions were of no avail ; for an Austrian army marching imme- diately into Switzerland, made a peremptory declaration, that its neutrality could not be permitted ; and on the entrance of count Bubna into Berne, the antient aristocracy was restored. Geneva was afterwards occupied by the Austrian army ; which, advancing to Basle and SchafThauzen, menaced the eastern frontier of France. On the 1st December, the allied sovereigns Laudable issued from Frankfort a declaration explana- tion from /•..•• it t • Frankfort. tory ot their views and policy, discovering in the height of their successes very laudable moderation. "Victory," they said, "had con- 1813. 92 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book ducted them to the banks of the Rhine, and the first use which they made of it was to offer peace. They desired that France might be great and powerful ; because, in a state of greatness and strength, she constituted one of the foundations of the social edifice of Europe. They wished that France might be happy, that her commerce might revive, and that the arts might again flourish ; because a great people can only be tranquil in proportion as it is happy. They offered to confirm to the French empire an extent of territory which France under her kings never knew ; because a valiant nation does not fall from its rank by having in its turn experienced reverses in an obstinate and bloody contest, in which it had fought with its accustomed bravery. They desired a state of peace, which, by a wise par- tition of strength, by a just equilibrium, might preserve their people from the numberless calamities which had overwhelmed Europe for the last twenty years." Extrava- This was language so different from what gant con- . . duct of had been previously expected, so just, so Napoleon. t«.- equitable, and even generous, as to diffuse a spirit of unanimity unknown since the origin of the war. The conduct of Napoleon, on the other hand, was such as to cause universal in- dignation and astonishment. He seemed to XL. 1813. OEORGi: HI. 93 be incapable of forming* an estimate of his own B 5 T OK situation and danger. The treaty of Luneville was the basis, modified according to circum- stances, to which the allied sovereigns were disposed to revert ; but the words and actions of the French emperor breathed nothing but war. On his return to Paris, he caused the senate to pass decrees for levying 300,000 men, and for doubling the public contribu- tions. By way of embroiling matters in Spain, he on the 11th December signed a treaty with his prisoner Ferdinand the Vllth, recognizing his title to the crown, on condition of his re- instating in their honours and estates all who had acted under the authority of Joseph ; of restoring the French prisoners, and causing the English to evacuate the Peninsula. Alarmed at the dangers impending over the country, the legislative body ventured to sug- gest, through the medium of a committee of deputation to the emperor, December 28th, " that the declaration of the allies should be met by a counter-manifesto on his part, dis- tinctly avowing the sacrifices which he was willing to make for the repose of Europe." Las Cases, To this counsel, enforced by the urgent re- monstrances of M. Talleyrand, he returned a haughty answer, accusing them of "drawing a line of distinction between the interests of the 94 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. sovereign and the people, and forbade the printing of the report." To the counsel of l813, state he complained in angry terms of this application of the legislative body. — " They stun me," said he, '* with their clamorous de- mands for peace. Instead of assisting me with all their efforts, they seek to obstruct mine." In fine, on the 31st December (1813), he sud- denly dissolved that assembly. Campaign In consequence of the refusal of the presi- in America. ' . • , „ dent Maddison to accept the armistice offered by Great Britain, hostilities with America were unhappily continued. It was neverthe- less hoped, as the opposition to the war was very powerful in the northern and eastern states, that Mr. Maddison, whose term of office was expiring, would not be re-elected. This expectation proved fallacious ; the presi- dent being again chosen by a majority of 128 to 89 votes; and on the meeting of congress at the beginning of the year 1813, his rejection of the armistice was fully approved : for the flattering prospect of the conquest of Canada fascinated the imagination of the aspiring poli- ticians of America, who saw in this war only visions of glory. u va er°ca°- f Eager to retrieve the disasters of the former nada. campaign, the American general Winchester again with a considerable force advanced, early GEORGE III. 95 in 1813, to the attack of Fort Detroit, but was book XL. totally defeated and made prisoner by colonel ^^O Procter, with 500 of his men. The grand de- 1813 - sign of the Americans was, however, directed against York, the capital of Upper Canada, situated at the head of Lake Ontario. The navigation of the lake, through the alledged supineness of the governor of Canada, sir George Prevost, was wholly commanded by the Americans ; and a large force, led by gene- ral Dearborne, embarking on board their flo- tilla under commodore Chauncy, landed near that place on the 27th April. It was defended by general Sheaffe with far inferior force; but he was soon obliged to retire from a combat so unequal, and the town of York, with its valuable magazines and stores, and a frigate then on the stocks, fell into the hands of the enemy. General Dearborne again embarking, landed his entire force on the Canadian shore below Fort George, on the Niagara frontier. But in this expedition, after capturing the fort, they met with a severe check in a nocturnal attack, June 3d, from general Vincent, and their far- ther projects were frustrated. Early in the spring arrived from England sir James Yeo, an officer of great skill and gallantry, to take the command on the lakes, by whom the most 90 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1813. Thomson's Historical general Dearbome Sketches of the Canadian War. Disasters on the Lakes. vigorous exertions were made to establish a superiority ; and an expedition against Sacket's harbour, the chief American depot, headed by the governor Prevost in person, was under- taken about the close of May, in the absence of the enemy's fleet, which had accompanied But this enterprize was suddenly relinquished by the governor, when it is affirmed " that not an individual, either friend or foe, doubted of success." After this disappointment, sir James Yeo had to contend, on the return of Chauncy, against a force to which his own was so infe- rior, that it was no small praise to preserve an equality of success in various bloody encoun- ters. But on Lake Erie, the British arms sustained a signal and almost unprecedented disaster. To the requisition of the commander on that station, captain Barclay, an excellent officer, for the necessary supplies, sir George Prevost had replied, " the ordinance and naval stores you require, must be taken from the enemy, whose resources must become yours." August 22. And to colonel Procter, who had " entreated that the governor would send the means of continuing the contest," sir George Prevost thought it sufficient to say, " the experience obtained by sir James Yeo will satisfy cap- tain Barclay that he has only to dare, and the 1813. sriJ GEORGE III. 97 enemy is discomfited." Thus neglected, or b ^l K rather sacrificed, captain Barclay was com- pelled to seek the enemy with a force half equipped, and manifestly inadequate to the encounter which took place on the 10th Sep- tember with the American fleet, which was far superior in force, and still more so in condi- tion. After an action maintained with heroic courage, until almost all the officers were kill- ed or wounded, among the latter the com- mander himself, and the ships reduced to wrecks, the whole were obliged to strike to the American flag. In consequence of this misfortune, the Mi- chigan territory was abandoned, excepting Fort Michilimachinac, and all the posts in Upper Canada beyond Grande Riviere. In the month of October, a combined and serious attempt was made by the American gene- rals Hampton and Wilkinson, against Mont- real and the Lower Canada ; the former pro- ceeding by land, and the latter embarking on Lake Ontario. Both were repelled with courage and success ; and the retreat of the Americans was signalized by the destruction of the infant but flourishing town of Newark. The recovery of Forts Saint George, and the capture of Niagara, by colonels Murray and VOL. XIV. H at Soissons, on the 3d of March ; and on the Mi n^ r y' 9th he was attacked at Laon by Napoleon, at °J"*~ the head of his whole collected force, whom he nevertheless repulsed with such success as compelled the French emperor to retreat dur- ing the following night, with the loss of 5000 men. Meantime, marshal Augereau, who was posted near Lyons, had received strong rein- forcements from Spain, and threatened to intercept the communications of the Austrians with the Lower Germany. This caused a far- ther retrograde movement of the prince of Schwartzenberg, and obliged him to send a detachment of 12,000 men to Dijon: but the victory of Blucher, with the welcome intelli- gence that the Austrian army of reserve, under general Bianchi, had entered France to the amount of 60,000 men, keeping Augereau completely in check, caused him again to ad- vance with hasty marches; and on the 21st March, the prince took a position before Arcis- sur-Aube. Here the French, under the em- peror, were stationed in force; but being weak- ened by an obstinate encounter under its walls with a host of enemies, he on the approach of the Austrians retired upon Vitry ; expecting to form a junction at this place with the mar- 108 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN". B vY? K shals Marmont and Mortier, and a general en- A.LJ • ° v -^ v ^*- y gagement was anxiously looked for. Allies R a sudden, Napoleon turning aside from theCanhai Vitry, which was garrisoned by the Prussians, who defied his menace of storming the place, he took the route of St. Dizier, designing to push between the two grand armies of Austrians and Russians, and to fall upon the rear of the former. But this project being by some means discovered, the armies hastened to unite their force, and adopted the daring resolution of marching upon Paris ; Napoleon by his late movement being unable to interpose any ob- stacle to this design. The marshals Marmont and Mortier, perplexed by manoeuvres so un- expected, made a precipitate retreat to Se- zanne, not without sustaining great loss. On the 27th March, the allies, under the prince of Schwartzenberg and general Barclay de Tolly, fixed their head-quarters at Coulommiers; and on the next day general Blucher passed the Marne at Meaux. The two marshals entered Paris on the 29th, and were joined by 30,000 national guards. They occupied the heights of Mont- martre, which were defended by a formidable force and 150 pieces of cannon; while the right of the allies extended to Montmartre, and their left to the wood of Vincennes. In GEORGE III. 109 this situation, the empress and king of Rome book having removed to Blois, Joseph Bonaparte vJ^X' issued a proclamation exhorting the Parisians 1814- to a brave resistance, and assuring them that the emperor was in full march for their deli- verance. On the other hand, the prince of Schwartzen- berg addressed a counter-proclamation to the people of Paris, declaring the object of the allies "to be a sincere and lasting reconci- liation with France. The attempts hitherto made to put an end to so many calamities have been fruitless, because there exists in the very power of the government which oppresses you an insurmountable obstacle to peace." On the morning of the 30th March, the Paris capi- allies commenced a general attack ; a fierce Much 31. conflict ensued, which continued till Blucher came up with the Prussians, and decided the day. The whole line of defence on the right to the wood of Vincennes was forced, and pre- parations were making for the storm of Mont- martre, when a flag of truce appeared to pro- pose a cessation of hostilities. This was grant- ed, on condition that Montmartre should be given up. A capitulation immediately follow- ed, by which the French regular troops were allowed to depart beyond the Loire, with all their warlike appendages ; and on the next HO HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. morning (March 31), the allied sovereigns en- tered Paris amidst loud acclamations. A de- 1814, claration was immediately promulgated by the emperor Alexander in the name of the allies, explicitly affirming that they would no more treat with Napoleon Bonaparte, or with any of his family; that they respected the integrity of France, as it existed under its legitimate kings, and would recognize and guarantee the constitution which France should adopt. provisional The senate assembled on the 1st of April, under the prince of Benevento (Talleyrand) as nient esta Wished. president, and passed a decree for a provi- sional government, consisting of five persons, the president himself being at the head. By a second decree it was asserted, that in a con- stitutional monarchy the monarch exists only in virtue of the constitution or social compact. It then proceeds to prove the violation of that compact by Napoleon Bonaparte in various specified articles ; and, in fine, it pronounced " that he had forfeited the throne, and that the hereditary right established in his family was abolished. " Abdication Napoleon, thus out-manoeuvred both in his ofNapo- . i-i leon. military and political capacity, learned with astonishment the danger which impended over the capital, and hastened with such expedition to its relief that his purpose would have been XLI. 1814. GEORGE III. HI effected, had the capitulation been delayed book for twenty-four hours. Of this, Marmont com- mander-in-chief, could scarcely be unappriz- ed. Finding Paris in possession of the allies, and betrayed, as he thought, by him in whom he had most confided, and who had proved " as false as Gano was to Charlemagne," Na- poleon retired in confusion to Fontainebleau ; whence he sent a deputation to the senate, offering to submit to its decision and to that of the French people, and to abdicate in fa- vour of his son. This hopeless project being- rejected, he from the height of presumption at once sunk into the depth of despair, and assented without farther effort to an absolute renunciation, for himself and his heirs, of the thrones of France and Italy ; though he had still the means of continuing the contest by retreating upon the Loire, the armies com- manded by Ney, Soult, and Augereau, being- still entire. Empowered to name a place of residence for himself and family, he made choice of the Isle of Elba, on the Tuscan coast. On the 1 1 th April, a treaty was signed between him and the allied powers, agreeably to which he and his spouse Maria Louisa were to retain the imperial title for life, with the isle of Elba in full sovereignty : the empress was likewise to be put in possession of the duchies of 1814. 112 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Parma and Placentia, with succession to her son and descendants ; also a pension of 2,000,000 of francs was assigned to him, pay- able from the revenues of France, with the reversion of 1,000,000 to the empress, and 2,000,000 and half in various proportions to his relatives. Of this treaty, England acceded only to the articles respecting Elba and Par- ma. Had Napoleon demanded Corsica instead Las Cases* of Elba, named, by his own acknowledgment, Journal, . vol. in. " in the humour ot the moment, it would i>. .us. have been conceded without hesitation. At Paris, the provisional government was occu- pied in preparing a constitutional code for the acceptance of Louis XVIII. Military The military transactions which occurred Operations onthePy- during this period in the south of France rcnecs. would have attracted great attention, had it not been for the superior magnitude and im- portance of those in the north. The advance of lord Wellington through a hostile country abounding with defensible posts, intersected with rivers, swelled with wintry floods, and opposed by an adversary so able and vigilant as marshal Soult, exhibited the perfection of military talent. On the 25th February (1814), the allies forced the strong pass of Orthes ; and on the following day they passed the Adour below Bayonne, where it is very broad 1814. GEORGE III. H3 and deep, on pontoons and rafts ; and Bay- book m • r> XLil. onne was immediately invested. The city of Bourdeaux, which had declared for the Bour- bons, was occupied by a detachment under marshal Beresford, accompanied by the Due d'Angouleme, who had recently arrived in camp ; and the inhabitants who had already mounted the white cockade, displayed their satisfaction by general acclamation. On the 17th March the English commander Battle of Ti" • • ii^i Toulouse. resumed his operations against marshal Soult, who retreated through Tarbes upon Toulouse. That city afforded a strong defensive position, being protected by the canal of Languedoc and the Garonne : and to the antient ramparts, fortified with round towers, were added re- doubts and other field-works. The floods ren- dered the river impassable till the 8th April ; when it was successfully effected, and lord Wellington made his dispositions for the at- tack. The arrest of the messengers dispatch- ed from Paris, on reaching Montauban, ten leagues only distant from Toulouse, caused an effusion of blood greatly to be lamented. In the battle which ensued, April 10th, the Eng- lish and Spanish troops seemed to vie with each other in valour ; after the loss of many thousands of lives on both sides, marshal Soult withdrew his forces into the city, which VOL. XIV. I 1814. 114 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. he evacuated during the night, and next day the white flag waved on the ramparts of Tou- louse. In the midst of rejoicing, the resigna- tion of Napoleon Bonaparte was announced. But before this intelligence reached Bayonne, a desperate sally was made from that place, April 14th, in which general Hope, who com- manded at the siege, was wounded and made prisoner. This was the last action of the peninsular war, during which, in the course of seven campaigns, lord Wellington had carried his victorious arms from the extreme limits of Portugal beyond the Pyrenees, into the heart of France ; and raised his name to a level with the greatest commanders of mo- dern times. Transac- Early in the spring, (1814,) the English tions in Italy. general in Italy, lord W. Bentinck, proceeded on his march from Tuscany, and in April ap- proached the city of Genoa, which was capa- ble, as the defence of Massena in 1800 fully evinced, of a formidable resistance. But a manifesto had been issued by the English commander at Leghorn, and circulated through- out the Genoese territory, holding out to these republicans the prospect of liberty and inde- pendence. " The troops of Great Britain," said he, "have landed on your shores. She offers her hand to free you from the iron yoke GEORGE III. H5 of Bonaparte. Let us make Italy what it book was in her better days." Animated by these vJ^X^ brilliant hopes, a capitulation was speedily I814, signed, and the British troops entered Genoa, amidst the acclamations and vivats of the in- habitants. The Austrian general Bellegarde, acting in concert with Murat, had compelled the viceroy Beauharnois to retire upon the Adige. But upon receiving intelligence of the late transac- tions in France, a convention was concluded, by which the French troops were sent back to France, and the Italian troops transferred to Austria, with the fortresses held by Beauhar- nois. From the time that Joachim entered into political connections with Austria, Eng- land ceased to act hostilely against him. In May, the king of Sardinia re-entered Turin; and a proclamation at Rome announced the happy restoration of his holiness pope Pius VII. The ex-emperor Napoleon, after taking leave N.ipoU at Fontainebleau of the imperial guard, so long eh!" his companions in victory, proceeded to the South of France, attended by commissioners from the allied powers. His progress was marked by alternate applause and reproach. At Valence he had an interview with the duke of Castiglione (Augereau) not of the most pleasing nature. Napoleon had not been i 2 on retires to 116 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B oo k satisfied with some of the military movements v — v-*^ of that accomplished general, which he now in- timated were such as to excite suspicions of his fidelity. "'Tis thou," retorted the high- spirited marshal, " who art a traitor to the army and to France. Thou who art void of courage, and who darest not to die the death of a soldier." This was not the only mortification which he experienced in his journey ; and at Avignon he was in some dan- ger of personal violence. On the 28th April, he embarked on board an English frigate, and arrived in a few days at his chosen asylum, in the isle of Elba, which thus rose into tem- porary celebrity. Restora- All things being now prepared for the de- Lou'w parture of Louis from England, that monarch XVIII. l D left his rural retirement, of which he might still be destined to regret the remembrance, and repaired to London, where he was received with all the honours due to a king of France : and on the 24th April, 1814, he embarked at Dover in a royal yacht, convoyed by the duke of Clarence. On the 2d May, Louis published a declaration from St. Ouen, in which, advert- ing to the constitutional act passed by the senate, April 6th, and which the allied pow- ers had solemnly engaged to guarantee, " he recognized that its bases were good ; but that a XLI. 1814. GEORGE III. 117 great number of the articles, bearing the marks B 5P I K of the precipitation with which they have been drawn up, cannot in their present form become fundamental laws of the state ; and he con- voked for the 10th June, the senate and legis- lative body, engaging to lay before them the result of his labours." This declaration was by no means calculated to excite, or improve the national confidence. On the next day, he entered Paris, where he was received with some tokens of applause from the people, but none from the soldiery. A definitive treaty of peace between France Treaty of and the allied powers was signed at Paris May 30th, 1814. This famous treaty, in con- formity to the liberal professions of those powers, was in respect to France equitable and honourable ; assuring to her the bounda- ries existing on the 1st January, 1792, with some slight additions of territory on the side of Belgium and Germany ; and a considerable portion of Savoy, including Chamberri and Anneci. Avignon and the Venaissin were also confirmed to France. The navigation of the Rhine was declared free, the House of Orange was recognized in its newly assumed sove- reign capacity ; and the German states were united in a federal league. Switzerland was destined to remaiu independent ; but Italy 1814. 118 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xu K was doomed again to receive the yoke of des- potism. Great Britain restored her conquests to France, with the exception of Tobago, St. Lucie, arid Mauritius ; Malta was confirmed to England ; and France engaged to erect no fortifications in India; and to co-operate with Great Britain in the eventual abolition of the slave trade. Surrender Hamburg, which had been defended with of Ham- e bur s- unavailing pertinacity by marshal Davoust, surrendered on the 16th May. Had Napoleon withdrawn his garrisons in time from this and the other Germanic fortresses, they would have furnished him with a formidable army in the field. But from the fatal period of his retreat from Moscow, he seemed no longer under the guidance of his former judgment. His hopes and projects were confounded, and he ap- peared to be actuated by all the frenzy and folly of Charles XII. Re-asscin- The parliament of Great Britain, which, pur- Ming of . ill Pariia- suant to their adjournment, assembled on the March l&t. 1st March (1814), again adjourned to the 21st. Soon after which, sir Samuel Romilly intro- duced a bill consoling to humanity, and en- forced by all the powers of reason and elo- quence, for taking away corruption of blood in cases of treason and felony. This effort of wisdom was in its progress paralyzed by an GEORGE III. 119 amendment moved by Mr. Yorke, purporting to except high and petty treason from the provisions of the bill. Another bill from the 18 same quarter, for mitigating the horrid mode of punishment assigned by the laws to high treason, was also amended in the same spirit, and in accordance with a motion of the same member, by adding the senseless vengeance of beheading subsequent to execution. A debate not devoid of interest occurred in Motion of Censure consequence of a motion by lord Morpeth, on the April 22d. This nobleman, after a high and pca merited compliment to the speaker for the general discharge of his duty, read a passage from his address to the prince regent on pre- senting the bills at the close of the last session, in which he had touched in very unusual lan- guage on the rejection of the catholic bill, cha- racterizing it " as destructive of the laws by which the throne, the parliament, and the government of this country, were made funda- mentally protestant." This was conceived by the supporters of that measure, who consti- tuted very nearly half the house, as taking upon him to pronounce, in the form of a cen- sure upon their conduct, a definitive judgment upon the case, evidently not appertaining to the speaker's office, and without the shadow of authority from the house. Lord Morpeth 120 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book then moved " that it is contrary to parliament- WvV ary usage, and to the spirit of parliamentary 1814. p rocee ding, for the speaker, unless by special direction from the house, to inform his Ma- jesty either at the bar of the house of lords, or elsewhere, of any proposal made to the house by any of its members, either in the way of bill or motion." This was a proposition very difficult to combat. Some obsolete prece- dents, however, were now resuscitated, and brought forward as authorities ; and after an animated debate relative to the discretionary power vested in the speaker, the motion was negatived by 274 to 106 votes. Princess of The unhappy misunderstanding between the parts the prince and princess of Wales was again forced into public notice, in consequence of a decla- ration from the prince to the queen, to whom the princess had announced her intention of appearing on the next court-day, " that it was his fixed and unalterable determination not to meet the princess of Wales upon any occasion, either public or private." The correspondence in writing to which this gave rise, the princess was advised to communicate to the speaker of the house of commons ; and motions were made to take the same into consideration. But the house were almost unanimously of opinion, that no advantage could arise from 1814. GEORGE III. 121 such interference. In the contemplation, how- ever, of a permanent separation, a vote passed for settling a revenue of 50,000/. upon the princess. But by an implied censure upon this liberality, she strangely refused to accept of more than 35,000/. This amendment was readily adopted ; and influenced by the same counsels, though the nation at large entered with excess of zeal into her interests, the princess, towards the end of the summer, bidding a long adieu to England, and a last farewell to her daughter, commenced a series of eccentric wanderings over Europe, Africa, and Asia. The whole amount of the supplies this year, statement 1 l J of Finance. as stated by the chancellor of the exchequer, rose to 75,600,000/. This enormous sum was supplied by the usual taxes ordinary and extraordinary, aided by loans stated at 40,000,000 and half; and a vote of credit for 3,000,000. On the 28th June, the celebrated commander Wellington took his seat for the first time in the house of lords; when his various patents of honour as baron, viscount, earl, marquis, and duke, were successively re- cited, and the thanks of the house were ad- dressed to him by the lord chancellor. In support of his new dignity, 300,000/. was voted for the purchase of a suitable mansion and 122 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xl? K domain. The generals Beresford, Hill, Gra- Srv-V ham, Cotton, and Hope, were also raised to the rank of peers, the two former by their family names, the three latter by the appella- tions of lords Lynedock, Combermere, and Niddry. The parliament was prorogued on the 30th July, 1814. Prosecu- Of domestic concerns during the session, tion of ° Lord Coch- that which excited most interest, was the pro- rane * • i • ■ secution and conviction of the gallant lord Cochrane, upon a charge supported by very ambiguous evidence. Though visibly de- clining in credit at court since his accusation of lord Gambier, he had greatly risen in gene- ral reputation, and from popular favour had been elected member for Westminster. The offence alledged against him was a participa- tion in a conspiracy for raising the price of the funds by an imposition on the stock exchange. It appeared, however, very probable from the tenor of the evidence, that lord Cochrane was himself much deceived ; and the public were indignant at the apparent eagerness of the chief-justice Ellenborough to obtain a verdict against this nobleman. He was condemned to pay a fine of o00/. and to be imprisoned twelve months. His name was erased from the order of the Bath ; and to this was added his expulsion from the house of commons. Had GEORGE III. 123 the case of Mr. Wilkes been adverted to, this book last mark of displeasure might have been ^v-^ spared, as he was immediately re-chosen by the independent electors for Westminster. In the beginning of June, the emperor of visit of the <-><-> * Emperor Russia, with his sister the duchess of Olden- Alexander -r» • t0 ^ n S~ burg, and the king of Prussia and his sons, land. visited England, attended by various persons of high distinction ; prince Metternich, prince Czernichef, generals Blucher, Barclay de Tolly, Platoff, the hetman of the cossacks, &c. The emperor Alexander acquired great popularity by his condescension and affability, as well as by the forbearance and generosity of his late conduct. The Prussian monarch seemed to labour under deep dejection. Not- withstanding his recent success, he had lost all estimation and independent consequence in Europe. He also deeply felt the untimely death, which had not long since occurred, of the queen ; a most amiable, beautiful, and accomplished princess ; who had bitterly la- o'Meara, mented the ill-advised and calamitous war of na ", i. P . 1806, against France. ' ; La memoire du grand Frederic nous a fait egarer," was her emphatic exclamation on that subject. After a residence of some weeks, in the course of which the sovereigns were magnificently entertained by the city of London, these illustrious guests 124 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book returned to the continent, much ^ratified with XLI. ... ° *«^v-*^ their visit. Newctn- ^he ^ rst care °f tne prince of Orange as so- hh'JJ of vereign of Holland, was to offer a new con- stitution to the nation, which in a numerous assembly of representatives was accepted by a majority of 428 to 25 members. It was formed chiefly upon the model of the English constitution, and was unquestionably prefer- able to the federal union which it superseded. So early as the 2d of May, the states as- sembled to take the oaths enjoined by the new government. After some deliberation it was finally resolved by the allied powers, that Belgium should be united to Holland, under the sovereignty of the house of Orange : and the prince, repairing to Brussels, published a declaration, July 31st, stating "that a new destination of their provinces was determined at the congress of the allied powers, and in the interim that he was called to the govern- ment of the country." This was accordingly resigned to him in form by baron Vincent, the Austrian governor. In August a treaty was concluded with Great Britain, by which all conquests were restored, excepting the Cape of Good-Hope and the settlements of Deme- rara, Essequibo, and Berbice, in South Ame- rica. After an interval of about six months, GEORGE III. 125 the prince of Orange was recognized by all the B °° K allied powers as king of the united Nether- ^-yW lands, and formally assumed the monarchal title. Hamburg was declared independent under ^° t ° e v d er its former municipal administration; and in jjj£ akin &- order that Hanover might rise to the same level with Bavaria, Wirtemberg, and Saxony, the now defunct dignity of elector was changed for that of king ; and upon the king- dom of Hanover an improved constitution was conferred, on the basis of national repre- sentation. Although the king of Denmark had acceded, Nobiecon- ° ° duct of from dire necessity, to the cession of Norway, Norway. the Norwegians, a brave and free people, indig- nant at being thus arbitrarily transferred with- out their own consent, resolved in a general diet to assert their independence, and offered the government of the kingdom to the prince of Denmark, nephew to the king, and viceroy of Norway; who immediately accepted the same in the capacity of Regent ; and an am- bassador was sent by him to England, to obtain the support, or at least the acquiescence of the court of London. But far from meeting with any encouragement in this application, it was even announced that measures would be taken for blockading the ports of Norway in case of farther resistance: and the king of Denmark 120 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xi? K h' mse lf expressed his displeasure at the con- ^■^r^ duct of the prince, and exhorted the Norwe- gians to compliance. In these critical circum- stances, the policy of Sweden was guided by the most consummate prudence. The Swe- dish monarch acknowledged the independency of Norway upon Sweden, in the most explicit terms. He confirmed all their rights and pri- vileges in the most ample manner; and en- gaged to grant such ameliorations of their free constitution, as should be judged beneficial to the country on the basis of national represen- tation. Union of Notwithstanding these promises and con- Norway ° i and swp- cessions, this high-spirited people resolved to have recourse to arms ; and the Norwegian diadem was actually placed on the head of the Regent prince of Denmark. The crown prince of Sweden at length (July 1814) passed the frontier at the head of a powerful military force ; and by superior generalship, with very little shedding of blood, he succeeded so far in his manoeuvres as to surround the Norwe- gian army ; still preserving in his conduct and language the greatest mildness and modera- tion. Finding resistance unavailing, the prince of Denmark resigned his authority; and on the 14th of August a convention was signed at Moss, by which the king of Sweden engaged GEORGE III. 127 to accept the constitution framed by the diet book r J XLI. of Norway, and agreed to a general amnesty. v— y-^ On the meeting of that assembly, a great majo- rity voted for the union of Norway with Swe- den upon certain conditions ; and the resolu- tion which finally passed the Norwegian diet convened at Christiana, October 20th, 1814, was conceived in the following terms : " Norivay shall, as an integral state, be united to Sweden under one king, with the preservation of its constitution, subject to such necessary altera- tions as the welfare of the country may re- quire ; having at the same time regard to the union with Sweden. These alterations in the constitution, which his Swedish majesty has acknowledged in the convention of Moss, dated the 14th of August last, are to be considered and determined upon by the diet as speedily as possible ; and as soon as this has been done, the diet will solemnly elect and recognize the king of Sweden, Charles XIII, as the consti- tutional king of Norway." All the subsequent regulations an4 provi- sions were arranged to the entire satisfaction of the people of Norway ; and the constitu- tional act was unanimously confirmed and esta- blished, as the basis of a federal union, benefi- cial to both kingdoms and approved by both. The libera] and generous policy displayed on 128 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book this great occasion, exhibited a most instruc- v — v^ tive lesson on the science of government. 1814# A striking contrast to this noble example Affairs of ? . r Spain. was unhappily to be found in the events wluch, Restoration , . i -i ' • « • mi of Ferdi- about the same time, took place in Spain. I he treaty concluded December 1813 by Napoleon with Ferdinand VII. whilst still in durance, was rejected by the Cortes as of no validity. The progress of the allied arms at length induced the French emperor to set his captive at liber- ty; and on the 24th March (1814) he arrived at Girona; whence he sent a letter to the re- gency, containing a general protestation " of his wishes to do every thing that might con- duce to the welfare of his subjects." He thence proceeded to Saragossa, and, April 1 1th, departed for Valencia, accompanied by his bro- ther the Infant Don Carlos. Perfidy of A great anxiety prevailed, amidst the joy caused by the return of the king, for his ac- ceptance of the constitution so lately and so- lemnly established ; and the long continuance of Ferdinand at Valencia, where he was joined by many of the grandees and prelates, became more and more the object of suspicion to the Cortes, who in vain urged his appearance at Madrid to take the constitutional oath. All doubt was at length terminated by a royal decla- ration, dated May 4th, in which Ferdinand not GEORGE III. 129 only utterly rejected all decrees of the Cortes which derogated from his prerogatives as sove- reign, but pronounced the constitution null 181 *' and void — commanding that assembly imme- diately to cease its sittings, and deliver up all its acts and documents, — denouncing, in fine, the penalties of high treason against all who should obstruct the execution of these orders. The decree for dissolving the Cortes, who seemed to be confounded at the suddenness and boldness of the measure, and had strangely left themselves destitute of military resource, was carried into effect without the least resist- ance : and on the night of the 10th May, a great number of persons were arrested, whose names comprised almost all those who had rendered themselves conspicuous as the friends of liberty. Ferdinand VII. entered the capital May 14, Despotism 1 J re-esta- with the customary demonstrations of joy. All bushed in things reverted to their former state. The court of inquisition was re-established ; arrests and prosecutions were multiplied ; and Spain was apparently doomed to suffer all that an unfeeling and ungrateful despot, whose perfidy and cruelty were redeemed by no one virtue, could inflict ; and no hope remained but what arose from his rashness and imbecility. No measures but those of force were thought of in VOL. XIV. K 1814. 130 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. relation to Spanish America. A compulsory loan from the merchants of Cadiz enabled him to equip an armament, on board of which 8000 troops were embarked, under the command of general Morillo, who sailed for America to- wards the close of the year ; the civil war still raging in most of the provinces with great violence. Restoration The restoration of the papacy in Rome was pacy G a also attended with the same happy effects which usually resulted from the return of what, in the language now prevalent, was stiled 9 regular government and social order." Pius VII. assuming in his proclamation from Cesena, May 5, the antient title of " God's vicar upon earth," spoke of his temporal sovereignty as essentially connected with his spiritual supre- macy. An edict soon afterwards issued from Rome, declaring " the restoration of the former pontifical, civil, and criminal code — his holi- ness reserving to himself all proceedings against those who had taken part in the late usurpation." But though the vengeance of the pontiff fell far short of that displayed by the catholic king, the spirit of bigotry and papal prejudice conspicuously appeared on the revi- val of the order of the Jesuits. On the 7th of August his holiness, sitting in state, caused a bull to be read to that effect ; conferring upon 1814. GEORGE III. 131 them all the privileges which they formerly- possessed ; and taking them under the imme- diate protection of the holy see. This pro- tection, by a subsequent act, he extended to all other monastic communities, lamenting, in the words of the edict, ¥ the almost total an- nihilation of those societies as one of the great- est calamities of the times." The renovation of all the festivals observed in the Roman church previous to the late revolution, with other like orders and edicts, shewed how deeply the pope had imbibed the spirit of his predecessors, whatever sacrifices he had made from the necessity of the times. Sensible, nevertheless, of the high obliga- interfa- tions which the holy see owed to the court of Rome re- London, the pontiff seemed very desirous to £2 testify at an early period his sense of grati- pa tion?" tude. In the month of May, appeared a letter addressed to the right reverend Dr. Poynter, an English catholic prelate, from M. Quaran- totti, president of the sacred missions at Rome, declaring his opinion, and that of a council of learned prelates and theologians convened in that city," that the propositions contained in the proposed bill for catholic emancipation, should be gratefully accepted ; only requiring an expla- nation of the article respecting intercourse with ft 2 132 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the supreme pontiff." Far from conciliating the minds of the Irish catholics to a measure, ' which in their judgment derogated from the established privileges and independency of the Irish catholic church, high offence was taken at this interference. The catholic clergy in Dublin, at a convocation held for the pur- pose of taking into consideration the rescript of Quarantotti, declared it non-obligatory on the catholic church in Ireland. Many provin- cial meetings also passed resolutions against it. The bishops themselves, in a meeting at Maynooth, made a declaration to the same effect, and determined upon a communication with the holy see on the subject. In fine, at an aggregate catholic meeting, a resolution passed absolutely denying the right of any fo- reign power to exercise dominion or control over the political concerns of the Irish ca- tholics. Genoa de- Genoa continued in possession of the Eng- toSardinia.lish till December, under a provisional admi- nistration, composed of the most liberal citi- zens, and in full expectation of the re-esta- blishment of its independence, when it was suddenly notified by the king of Sardinia, " that the Genoese territory, conformably to the determination of the congress of sovereigns, was destined to be annexed to his dominions." GEORGE III. 133 An order was at the same time delivered to book xli. the English commander, a nobleman person- ^— v^ ally of high and unimpeached honour, to re- 1814, sign the government to the Sardinian com- missioners ; lord Castlereagh in his letter, expressing '* the regret of himself and his colleagues, that they had not been able to preserve the separate existence of Genoa, without the risque of weakening the system adopted for Italy." The daring language of usurpation used by Napoleon, seemed less odious than this hypocrisy. But the argu- ments and remonstrances of the unfortunate Genoese proved wholly fruitless. Switzerland, after the examples of Venice, Eq»ji»bic r ' Settlement of Holland, and of Genoa, had reason to fear pf Switzer- land. the same fate. But in this case, difficulties might and probably would arise, not resol- vable by the same summary morality. In the month of July, a diet had been convened of the nineteen cantons, by whom a federal com- pact was published, establishing an equality of rights among all the members of the Hel- vetic body. This, however, was violently op- posed by the aristocracy of Berne, who aspired to the re-possession of their former dominion over the subject-states ; and so high did the contention arise, that an appeal to arms seem- ed inevitable, when a strong and seasonable 134 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. remonstrance of the allied powers caused the diet to re-assemble in September. A decree 1814# then passed, "that the treaty of union between the nineteen cantons, agreeably to the modi- fied copy subjoined, should be signed as a true federal convention." The canton of Berne not venturing to persist in its oppo- sition, the act was carried into complete exe- cution ; and the noble principle " that there are no longer any subject states in Switzerland," was fully and finally recognized. Geneva also, restored to its independence, was received as a member of the Helvetic union. Political Austria, under the general arrangement, ac- meSs? 6 quired or regained possession of Venice, Man- tua, Milan, Modena, Parma, Tuscany, Tyrol, and Dalmatia, &c. The emperor Alexander claimed the duchy of Warsaw, including vari- ous provinces conquered by Napoleon from Prussia ; and the Prussian monarch aimed to indemnify himself at the expense of Saxony. But the complex Germanic arrangements and compensations were referred to a future and final settlement at Vienna. Campaign The war between Great Britain and Ame- in North . ...... America, rica, alike injurious to both, was this year (1814) carried on with increase of violence and animosity : nevertheless, England had the merit of making another advance towards paci- GEORGE III. 135 fication; and plenipotentiaries were in conse- book quence appointed to treat for that purpose at ^— . y*j Ghent. The fort of Oswego was reduced by 1814, sir James Yeo and general Drummond, early in May ; and the English commodore long- blockaded Sacket's harbour, in the vain hope of co-operation from the commander-in-chief, Prevost; but on the return of Chauncy his able opponent, with a superior force, he re- tired reluctantly to Kingston. The Ameri- cans now became the assailants. A formi- dable force under general Brown, an active officer, crossed the Niagara river, and com- pelled the garrison of Fort Erie to surrender prisoners of war. He then attacked the Bri- tish lines at Chippawa ; and after a warm action, in which the American troops appear- ed to have improved much in courage and discipline, the British commander, general Ryall, whose strength was greatly inferior, retreated upon Fort George. But being joined by general Drummond (July 25th), the Ame- ricans were in their turn defeated, and com- pelled to take refuge under the cannon of Fort Erie. Large reinforcements arriving from Europe, Expedition about midsummer, sir George Prevost, after piattes- much consideration, determined upon an ex- urg * pedition against Plattesburg oil' Lake Cham- 136 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. XLI 1814 book plain; and at the head of 12,000 excellent troops the commander-in-chief ventured to enter the American territory, and cautiously traversing the banks of the lake without seeing the face of an enemy, he arrived at his desti- nation early in September. The defences of Plattesburg were no better than slight field- works, still unfinished ; and the garrison con- sisted of about 4000 men, chiefly raw militia ; but he was in vain urged to an immediate as- sault ; alledging the necessity of naval co-ope- ration. Captain Downie, who commanded the flotilla on the lake, reached Plattesburg Sep- tember 11th, and immediately commenced the attack, in full assurance that the land-works would be assailed at the same time ; but his signals were not answered. That brave officer fell early in the action ; but the squadron maintained the fight, till, completely over- powered by the naval force of the enemy, combined with the incessant fire from the works, the ships were either destroyed or com- pelled to strike. The commander-in-chief at length commenced his reluctant and long-pro- tracted attack ; but almost immediately with- drew his troops ; and amidst the loud re- proaches of the soldiery, ordered a general retreat, leaving behind him a vast quantity of stores ; but his whole loss in killed and wound- 1814. GEORGE III. 137 ed, did not exceed two hundred men. This disaster closed the campaign, if such- it could be called, in Lower Canada ; and by the exer- tions of general Drummond, wholly unaided by the commander-in-chief, the Americans were finally compelled to evacuate Fort Erie and the whole of the Niagara shore, in Upper Canada. It is both invidious and hazardous for an officer to bring charges against his superior. Nevertheless sir James Yeo hesi- tated not to prefer a direct accusation against sir George Prevost for neglect and miscon- duct. That commander was immediately re- called, but did not live to await the issue of the trial. The most important events of this campaign Expedition 1 x <-j against in America occurred to the south of the Dela- washing- ton. war. In the month of August, a secret ex- pedition was concerted by admiral Cochrane, and general Ross, against the rising metropolis of Washington. The troops being landed on the 19th at the head of the Patuxant, general Ross commenced his march for that city. After dispersing a body of troops hastily col- lected to obstruct his advance, he entered Washington on the evening of the 24th, and the work of destruction immediately began. The capitol, the senate-house, the mansion of the president, the dock-yard, war-office, trea- 138 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xl? K sur y» ^ c - w * tn tne nne bridge over the Potow- v -^v^ / mac, were quickly in flames. On the follow- ing night, the troops quitted this scene of havock and devastation, in the midst of which, however, private property had been inviolably respected. This war with the arts, so un- worthy of Britain, was said to be a measure of retaliation for the burning of Newark ; but that was an outrage not only unauthorized, but absolutely disavowed by the American govern- ment. Repulse at a similar attempt, as if this were not Baltimore. ■ vengeance sufficient, was made in September against Baltimore, one of the most flourishing of the American ports, but not with equal suc- cess. General Ross, in advancing to the attack, received a mortal wound ; and the officer next in command, finding the enemy fully prepared for defence, and naval co-operation impracti- cable, re-embarked the troops. General Ross was much lamented, as ranking among the most accomplished officers in the service. Disaster at The close of the year was distinguished by New Or~ leans. a most sanguinary contest. A British force, both naval and military, far greater than on any preceding occasion, had been collected for the siege of New Orleans, under sir Edward Pakenham ; who on the 25th December took GEORGE III. 131) a position about six miles from that city. The B ^ K American army, said to amount to 30,000 Sr v-*^ men, under general Jackson, was posted behind a canal and entrenchment ; their right resting upon the Mississippi, their left extending to a thick wood. On the 8th January, 1815, a general attack was resolved on ; with a view to which, a detached corps crossed the river in the night, with directions to silence a battery on the right bank, which enfiladed the whole front of the position. At five in the morning, the British began to advance, before this service could be performed. The troops dis- played their accustomed spirit, and pressed forward amidst a tremendous fire. While the gallant commander was in the act of cheering his men, he received a ball in the breast, and almost instantly expired. The generals next in rank, Keane and Gibbs, were carried off the field wounded ; and the battery from the river opening upon the assailants, made dread- ful slaughter. The troops finding themselves engaged in a desperate enterprize, fell back in confusion. They rallied, however, under cover of the reserve, and an orderly retreat was made by general Lambert, all the artillery and stores being brought off ; but with the loss of 2000 men, killed, wounded, and prisoners ; the 140 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book latter were treated, with such of the wounded XLI. ^ y-^ as were left on the field, with exemplary kind- ness and humanity. Capture of The latest actions of this ill-starred contest, Mobille. were to the advantage of the English. The American ship of war President, carrying the broad pendant of commodore Decatur, with 490 men, after a bloody engagement (January 15th), struck to the English frigates Endymion and Pomona: and on the 11th February, Fort Mobille capitulated to admiral Cochrane and Treaty of general Lambert. Intelligence arriving imme- diately subsequent to this last exploit, that a treaty of peace and amity between Great Bri- tain and America had been signed at Ghent, December 24th, 1814, all hostilities ceased. In the articles of the treaty, no notice was taken of the causes of the war. They no longer existed, and all things reverted with facility to their former state. session of The session of parliament opened November Parha- * * ment. 8th, (1814,) with a speech from the regent, of which the negotiation then pending at Ghent was the principal feature. He also adverted to the intended congress at Vienna, for establish- ing an equilibrium among the powers of Europe. The usual addresses were carried without a division. On the eve of the recess, Mr. Peel, secretary for Ireland, brought in a bill for GEORGE III. 141 preserving, or. rather for restoring the peace in book that distracted country, in which the system "J^^ of misrule and oppression was opposed by 4# the spirit of outrage and lawless violence. This bill, after exciting some severe animad- versions, passed into a law. The two houses re-assembled on the 9th 1815. February, 1815; and on the 17th, the house of commons, on the motion of Mr. Frederic Robinson, vice-president of the board of trade, resolved itself into a committee to examine the state of the corn laws. The most remarkable of the resolutions proposed by him, prohibited the importation of foreign wheat while the average price remained under eighty shillings per quarter, instead of sixty-three shillings, which was the former standard. This was a regulation, in the present highly artificial state of things, caused by an enormous and over- whelming taxation, not unreasonable. The passions of the multitude were, however, on this occasion, inflamed in a very extraordinary degree, under the vague notion that the bill introduced by Mr. Robinson was intended to raise the price of bread ; and tumults ensued in the metropolis, which were not quelled without the intervention of the military, and some bloodshed. 142 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book A bill generally approved, and which ulti- ^v^ mately passed into an act, was brought in by Scottish* * ne l° r d chancellor for the introduction of the Jury-Act. j. r ial ^y j ur y j n c ^ v ^ causes m to the jurispru- dence of Scotland. Its operation was, how- ever, much impeded by leaving it optional with the judges of the court of session to grant or withhold the privilege ; but this was professedly a bill of experiment. Alarming The proceedings of parliament were (April Message to ........ . .. . Pariia- oth) suddenly interrupted by an alarming mes- ment. sage from the prince regent, followed by a second, May 22d, stating " the necessity of en- tering into new engagements with his allies, for preventing the revival of a system incompatible with the peace and independence of Europe." state of A surprising scene had indeed opened on the Continent, to which every eye and every ear was turned. Although Louis XVIII. had been restored to the crown with what might be called the national concurrence, wearied as the majority of the people were with the obstinacy, the extravagance, and the desperation of the man so lately the pride of France and the terror of Europe, it required the wisdom, the generosity, and the vigour of Henry IV. to compose the jarring elements of the state, and to restore the calm and sunshine of the poli- tical atmosphere after a storm so tremendous, GEORGE III. 143 and of such duration. But the character of book xli. Louis XVIII. was feeble, indolent, and inde- ^^v^' cisive. Destitute of energy to judge and act 1815 * for himself, he was dangerously influenced by his brother the count d'Artois, who without possessing any superiority of understanding, and far inferior in the virtues of the heart, ob- tained an ascendancy over him by the violence of his temper ; and though deemed one of the chief causes of the first revolution, he now seemed equally willing to hazard a second. The current observation was, " that the Bour- bons, during their twenty years exile, had learnt nothing, and forgot nothing. Us jiont rien appris, Us nont rien oublie" Under these circumstances, questions rela- impolitic Conduct of tive to emigrant property, and the censorship Louis of the press, were carried by court majorities in a manner alarmingly adverse to public opi- nion. The " ultra royalists," as they were stiled, exulting in the patronage of the pre- sumptive heir and his sons, the dukes of An- gouleme and Berri, excited by their high pre- tensions the extreme jealousy of the constitu- tional monarchists. The protestants, known as the zealous friends of the revolution, and much favoured under the late reign, were ex- posed to every species of vexation, not to say persecution ; and the duke of Angouleme was 144 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book acknowledged to be the genuine successor of ^— v-^ St. Louis in his bigotry, and unfortunately in 8 that alone. The republicans were still nume- rous, and would join in any opposition for the chance of again rising to power. Above all, the soldiery, whose numbers had recently been much increased by the release of prison- ers, knowing themselves equally the objects of dislike and distrust to the restored govern- ment, were almost unanimously attached to their former leader, in whose glories they had so long participated, and by whom they had been flattered, honoured, and rewarded. Of this military idol, the health had commonly been drunk among them for some time past, under the familiar appellation of Corporal Violet; in allusion to the approaching spring, when they cherished some obscure notion that he would emerge from his seclusion. The monarch, meantime, the princes, and the cour- tiers, never thought of danger. Because all was externally tranquil, they were not dis- turbed by the suspicion " that they reposed upon a sleeping lion." n^* C 343 S ' Although Napoleon had not carried on di- rect correspondence in France from Elba, he was well informed of the agitated state of the public feelings. He seemed, nevertheless, not to repine at the loss of bis grandeur; and GEORGE III. 145 entertained his numerous visitors with his book xli. accustomed frankness, and even the semblance ^v-"*"' of gaiety: and the small English naval arma- 1815 ' ment which cruized off the coast, thought no specific measures of caution necessary. On the 26th of February (1815), under cir- o'Meara, r i -i -ill .St. Helena, cumstances so favourable, and veiled by the ir.p. 2C9. shades of evening, this extraordinary personage sailed from Porto-Ferrajo, on board a vessel called the Inconstant, accompanied by several smaller ones, having on board about a thou- sand men, French and Italians; and on the 1st of March he anchored off the port of Cannes, in Provence, where he disembarked his slen- Napoleon der force. After a short interval he began his France, ° o* march to Grenoble, from which place a divi- sion of troops advanced to oppose him. Ge- neral Cambronne, who commanded under the emperor, attempted to address them ; but they refused to listen, on which Napoleon himself went forward with a few of his guard, their arms reversed, exclaiming aloud, "It is said, that / dare not die the death of a soldier; let the first who pleases come forward and kill his emperor." This operated like an electric shock, dm&Vive TEmpereur! resounded through the ranks. All joined in the march towards Grenoble ; near to which Labedoyere, an offi- cer impelled by youthful enthusiasm, and VOL. xiv. 146 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book indignant at the conduct of the Bourbons, W^s*^ ranged himself and the two battalions which 1 he commanded, under the standard of the emperor, who thus reinforced entered Gre- noble in triumph. On advancing to Lyons, he was joined by the troops charged to defend that great city ; and the count d'Artois, who had repaired thither to put himself at their head, was happy to escape escorted by a sin- gle dragoon. And re- The defection of Lyons was followed by suraes the J J imperial that of the whole surrounding country; and all opposition vanishing like clouds before the sun, he now resumed his abdicated honours, stiling himself, " Napoleon by the grace of God and the constitutions of the empire, em- peror of the French/' He issued a decree annulling all changes made in his absence ; and convoking the electoral colleges to hold in the month of May an extraordinary as- sembly, called, in conformity to antient usage, the Champ de Mai. The object of this convo- cation was declared to be, first, the making- such alterations and reforms in the constitu- tion as circumstances should render advisable ; and, secondly, to assist at the coronation of the empress and king of Rome. Flight of This romantic enterprise seemed now to Louis. *■ wear a serious aspect. The king issued a GEORGE III. 147 proclamation denouncing Napoleon Bonaparte book as an outlaw ; the chambers presented loyal ^— C-^ addresses; the foreign ambassadors gave him 1815, strong assurances of friendship ; and the na- tional guards declared in his favour. For the defence of the capital a camp was formed at Melun, and another at Montargis ; thus placing the invader between two fires. But the prin- cipal confidence of Louis was placed in mar- shal Ney, who in this crisis made a voluntary offer of his services, which were eagerly ac- cepted, and the marechal quitting Paris on the 7th arrived at Besancon on the 11th of March. It is admitted that no deception was intended on taking this command ; but on Na- poleon's approach to Auxerre, the soldiery under Ney mounted the tri-coloured cockade, and the marechal himself by a sudden impulse catching the contagion, declared in favour of the emperor ; and issued a proclamation, de- claring "the cause of the Bourbons to be lost for ever ; and that the dynasty chosen by the nation was about to re-ascend the throne." All confidence in the army being now at an end, the king and court left Paris on the night of the 19th-20th of March; proceeding under an escort of household troops in haste to Lisle, whence he repaired to Ostend, and thence to Ghent, where he established his court; though L 2 enters Paris 148 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book scarcely yet could he be persuaded to think *•— -v-*^ himself in safety. Napoleon The armv °f Melun, commanded by the duke of Tarentum (Macdonald), was drawn out to oppose the march of Napoleon from Fontainebleau. But on his approach, the sol- diers, here as elsewhere, threw down their arms with shouts of " Vive FEmpereur /" The marechal and those officers who with him re- tained their loyalty had recourse to flight : and in the evening of March the 20th, Napo- leon alighted at the Tuileries, eighteen days only subsequent to his debarkation at Cannes, without firing a single musquet and amidst continual acclamations. His cirru- On his resumption of the government, Na- poleon addressed (April 4) a circular letter to the sovereigns of Europe, announcing his en- trance into Paris, and the departure of the Bourbons. " The restoration of the imperial throne," said he, " was necessary to the happi- ness of the French people. It is my sincerest desire to render it at the same time subser- vient to the repose of Europe. After having presented to the world the spectacle of great battles, it will now be more delightful to know no other rivalship in future but that resulting from the advantages of peace; and no other struggle but the sacred one of felicity for our people.'* lar Letter, GEORGE III. 140 This was followed by a declaration issued in B °°j K the same month ; and stating- the manifold vio- ^^ 1815 lations of the treaty of Fontainebleau, in vmdi- AndDec * la . cation of his late enterprise, combined with ratl0u - various other injuries and outrages. Among these, he enumerates the refusal to grant pass- ports to the empress and her son, to join him at Elba; the encouragement given by the French government to brigands and assassins ; and particularly the appointment of the Sieur Brulart, an associate of Georges, to be gover- nor of Corsica; the unjust appropriation of the duchies of Parma and Placentia, which had been allotted to the empress and her son, as an hereditary sovereignty; the breach* of promise to provide a suitable establishment for Eugene, the adopted son of Napoleon ; the withholding of the rewards, and compensa- tions, stipulated in behalf of the army ; the seizure of property belonging to the emperors family ; the non-payment of the annuities due from the French government conformably to the treatv, and the total disregard of all applications for that purpose. In fine, the re- solution fixed upon by the congress, at the in- stigation of the Bourbons, to rob him of the isle of Elba ; and had not Providence prevent- ed, Europe would have seen an attempt made on the person and liberty of Napoleon, left hereafter to the mercy of his enemies, and 150 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book transported far from his friends and followers, ^^— ; either to St. Lucie or St. Helena, which had 1815 ' been pointed out as his prison. That such a proposition might have been suggested by the vengeance of the Bourbons, is by no means incredible ; but that England, or even the other powers of the congress of Vienna, had given their assent to it, is an assertion destitute of all evidence. The prevalence of such a report, however, cannot be denied, from whatever source it originated. In the general amnesty published by Napoleon, "to all concerned in aiding the foreign armies to overthrow the imperial government in the pre- ceding year," thirteen persons were excepted ; among whom the duke of Ragusa, and prince of Benevento, (Marmont and Talleyrand,) were most conspicuous. Manifesto On the first intelligence at Vienna of the landing of the ex-emperor, a manifesto was promulgated in the name of the allied sove- reigns, declaring "that Napoleon Bonaparte, by breaking the convention which established him at Elba, had placed himself out of the pale of civil and social relations ; and as an enemy and disturber of the tranquillity of the world, had rendered himself liable to public ven- geance." On the 25th March, the treaty of Chaumont was revived and confirmed, with from Vienna. GEORGE III. 151 the addition, " that the high contracting parties book solemnly engage not to lay down their arms v-* ^O until Napoleon Bonaparte shall be wholly and 181 °* completely deprived of the power of exciting disturbances, and of being able to renew his attempts to obtain the chief power in France." The letters addressed to the sovereigns of Europe, were treated with the most contemp- tuous neglect ; and some of these circulars were returned to him unopened. Even to the declaration, stating the flagrant violations of the treaty of Fontainebleau, no answer was deigned, and these heavy charges remain on the records of history unrefuted. All France seemed to unite in favour of the Unanimity emperor ; and the efforts of the royalists to excite a reaction in the provinces, proved abortive. The duke of Bourbon failed even in La Vendee ; and the duke and duchess of Angouleme, were equally unsuccessful in the south. At Bourdeaux, so conspicuous last year for its loyalty, the duchess harangued the officers in person ; but perceiving that no impression could be made, she indignantly exclaimed, "I release you from your oaths; 1 ' and took her departure in an English frigate. The duke, at the head of a small army, ob- tained some temporary advantages near Val- ence ; but finding himself wholly unsupported J 52 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book an d i n imminent danger, he signed a conven- ^— * v^-^ tion with general Grouchy, who commanded d ' in that quarter, by which he agreed to dismiss his army, on condition of indemnity to the officers and soldiers, and that he himself should be escorted to the port of Cette, there to em- bark for Spain. Grouchy, however, detained the duke till the ratification of Napoleon ar- rived; on the receipt of which he immedi- ately set sail for Barcelona. The French nation, nevertheless, awakened by degrees to its true situation. Napoleon had inculcated the idea that Austria favoured his enterprise, and that the empress and her son would speedily arrive in France ; and in order to strengthen his interest and popularity, he was compelled, among other concessions, to restore the freedom of the press so far, as to occasion some unwelcome discoveries ; and it was on the army, now reduced in point of numbers far below its former standard, and deprived of many of its best commanders, that he must depend not for glory merely, but for safety. SutPonai On the 23d of April, Napoleon published Act " what he stiled an additional act to the con- stitution of the empire. This was to be sub- mitted to the free acceptance of France ; and it comprehended all those safeguards and bul- - GEORGE III. 153 warks of liberty, which characterize a con- stitutional monarchy. Had this been the voluntary emanation of wisdom and benefi- 1815# cence, in the height of his power, his name would have ranked among the most illustrious legislators. The grand ceremony of the Champ de Mai, deferred to the 1st of June, took place with all the imposing pageantry of a Parisian spectacle. Its business was solely to declare the national acceptance of the new act, which was done with almost perfect unanimity. The oath of Napoleon to observe the constitutions of the empire, and to cause them to be ob- served, was followed by another of obedience to the constitution, and of fidelity to the emperor by the arch-chancellor, and this was repeated by the whole assembly. The impe- rial eagles were then distributed by Napoleon himself to the troops of the line, and the national guards, who swore to defend them at the hazard of their lives, and not to suffer foreigners to dictate laws to their country. The two chambers afterwards took the consti- tutional oath. At the close of the last year, the whole for- p^^" tified frontier of the Belgic provinces on the War - side of France, was occupied by garrisons composed chiefly of British troops, or troops in. British pay. Large reinforcements had of 154 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book late been sent, and the duke of Wellington had XL/1. ^•^y~~> arrived to take the command. In May the 1815. p russ ians, under general Blucher, reached the vicinity of Namur; and the French army had assembled near Avesnes in Flanders. The Austrians and Russians were also in motion, and the full tide of war rolled its billows to the west, with overwhelming force. Las Cases. Previous to the departure of Napoleon from II. p. 224. l \ Elba, he had, in secrecy and confidence, im- Miiitary parted his determination to Joachim king of Operations » <=> in Italy. Naples, who professed an entire approval of the project, saying, " that his devotedness and ardour would obtain for him oblivion for the past." On the first intelligence, never- theless, of the landing of Napoleon, he declared to his council that he should adhere to his engagements with Austria. But on learning his triumphant entrance into Lyons, he threw off the mask, and avowing that he considered the cause of the emperor as his own, he de- manded a passage for his army through the King of Papal territories. Not heeding the refusal Naples de- * P dares for G f Pius VII. who retired to Genoa, Murat ad- Napoleon. vanced in person to Ancona ; and his army, in different divisions, penetrated to Lombardy, expelling the Austrian garrisons from Cesena and Rimini. He then issued a proclamation, calling upon Italy to assert its independence; but GEORGE III. 155 the rashness of his enterprise was too apparent. B °° K He defeated, however, a body of 10,000 Aus- ^^ trians under general Bianchi on the Panaro; 181 ' and seized upon Modena and Florence. Here his triumphs terminated. The emperor Fran- cis, incensed at his duplicity, sent gre&t re- inforcements into Italy ; and the Austrian general soon regained his superiority. After a succession of actions, in which the Neapo- litans shewed themselves ill able to cope with the Austrian veterans, Naples was invested by land, and an English squadron blockaded the port. Thus reduced to extremity, Joachim escaped in disguise to the isle of Ischia, and thence to France. But Napoleon, who had not forgotten his former defection, refusing to avail himself of his services, he retired to Corsica, where he found a safe asylum. On the 20th of May a convention was signed at Naples, confirming the abdication of Joachim. His queen, the sister of Napoleon, was con- veyed in an English frigate to Trieste. On June 17th, Ferdinand, the legitimate monarch, re-entered his capital ; and despotism, under the name of regular government and social order, was once more established among the Neapolitans. The emperor Napoleon left Paris June 12th, F^JJ^f" and proceeded to Laon with his accustomed dcrs - 156 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book expedition, resolving to assail the Prussian A..LI. ... .1 ^v-^ and British armies before the Austrians and 1815, Russians were near enough to co-operate: and at the head of a numerous and well-ap- pointed force, organized with wonderful skill, he made a furious attack at day-break, June 15th, on the Prussian posts upon the Sambre. Charleroi being carried, general Zeithen re- tired upon Fleurus, in order to unite his divi- sion with the main army near Ligny. Marshal Ney also, towards evening, forced back a divi- sion of the Belgian army to a village called Quatre Bras, in the vicinity of Brussels. Through some strange defect of intelligence, the noise of the cannon gave the first notifica- tion of this event to the commander-in-chief; who, with most of his officers was that very night engaged at a grand fete, which broke up in no small confusion. The troops in readiness were ordered under arms ; and the division under general Picton, which first arrived, was followed by the corps under the duke of Brunswick, and soon after by the duke of Quatre° f Wellington in person. Here, on the 16th, a well-fought action took place, in which the gallant duke of Brunswick lost his life, with many of his brave companions in arms. The reiterated charges of the enemy were at Bras GEORGE III. 157 length with difficulty repulsed, and the com- book ALL. munication with the Prussians re-established. v — -^J On the same day, Napoleon, with the main B ^ u]eo \ army of the French, made a furious attack Lliny - upon general Blucher, before the last division of the Prussians, under general Bulow, had ar- rived. After a bloody conflict, in which, it is said, quarter was neither asked nor given, the posts of Saint Amand and Ligny were carried by overpowering numbers. The retreat upon Wavre was conducted with skill and firmness, yet the loss was great ; and Blucher himself, scorning disguise, acknowledged in his official dispatch, that the Prussians had been totally defeated. Napoleon, in consequence of this victory, made a movement to the left, to unite his army with that of Ney; leaving general Grouchy with a considerable force to observe the motions of Blucher. The retreat of the Prussians to Wavre, Battle of Waterloo. caused the duke of Wellington to retire in the morning of the 17th upon Gemappe, and thence upon Waterloo, in order to maintain the communication. The chain of heights occupied by the British army two miles in front of the village of Waterloo, traversed the high roads leading from Charleroi and Nivelles to Brussels, and uniting at the hamlet of Saint 158 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. XLI. 1815. B Sr°r K ^ ean m tne rear °f tne British position. The right wing extended to a ravine, between which and the centre lay the mansion and gar- den of Hougoumont, which were occupied in force. The left of the centre was covered by the farm of La Haye Sainte, beyond which the position opened to that of the Prussians at Wavre. The heights of Waterloo are con- fronted by another chain to the south, the space between being scarcely half a mile in breadth. The British army and their Belgic allies passed the night of the 17th under arms, exposed, during part of the time, to a violent tempest. At the first dawn of the 18th June, Napo- leon arrived with his advanced guard to the post of La Belle Alliance, in the rear of the adverse heights, along which the French divi- sions successively ranged. The battle com- menced about ten, by a fierce assault on Hou- goumont, and a heavy cannonade. Repeated attacks, both of cavalry and infantry, were then made on different points of the line, for several hours, with astonishing perseverance, and repelled with unremitting firmness. Heavy bodies of cuirassiers and lancers also advanced, supported by close columns of infantry. They were received by the battalions of the allies formed into hollow squares, those in the rear GEORGE III. 159 covering; the intervals of those in front; the book . . XLI. artillery also being skilfully planted and served ^v-^ throughout the line, kept up a tremendous fire. 1815- The mutual slaughter was great, but the ene- my could make no serious impression. Two thousand lives were lost in the assault on Hou- goumont alone ; and this attempt being at length relinquished, a combined attack of ca- valry and infantry was made on the left of the allies; and the post of La Haye Sainte, long and resolutely defended by the Hanoverian troops, was finally carried by storm at the point of the bayonet. The event now appear- ed very doubtful, for the arrival of the Prus- sians had long been looked for in vain. Animated by success, the enemy renewed their efforts to break the British centre. At this crisis, sir Thomas Picton, who ranked among the most distinguished ornaments of his profession, leading on his division to charge the assailants, was shot through the head. A general cavalry action ensued, in which the British, pursuing too far their advantage, sus- tained considerable loss, chiefly from the Po- lish lancers. In this encounter fell sir William Ponsonby and other gallant officers. While the battle still raged with doubtful and vary- ing success, the distant sound of cannon was heard, and soon the advanced brigades of the XLI. 1815. ICO HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Prussians, under general Bulow, were seen to emerge from the woods on the left. They were immediately opposed by the French re- serve, under count Lobau. Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, were again the objects of contest, while the British, once more assailed along the whole extent of the line, were cheer- ed by the heroism of the commander, who ex- posed his person to every danger. " What will they say in England," said he, " if we are defeated ?" o'Meara, Napoleon had, at the first, mistaken the St. Helena, l i. p. 174. Prussian brigades for the troops of Grouchy ; but to his great astonishment, he at length perceived the main body of the Prussian army rapidly approaching. It was yet in his power to have effected a retreat in good order; in- stead of which, he determined to hazard a final and desperate attack, which might decide the battle before any effectual succour could be given. About seven in the evening, there- fore, he brought forward the imperial guards, who were sustained by the best regiments of horse and foot, the flower of the army, amid shouts of Vive VEmpereur! and flourishes of martial music. Now it was that Napoleon, at the head of these devoted troops, should have conquered or died ; but he satisfied himself with placing them under the conduct of the GEORGE III. 1G1 brave marshal Ney. From the rapidity and book J * i *c XLI. eagerness of their march, the columns were ^^sW^ thrown into some disorder; and this not pass- ing unobserved by the English commander, he ordered an immediate and general charge. The French fell back amazed, and scarcely waiting the exchange of bayonets, these fa- mous veterans were broke and dispersed almost without an effort ; the marshal in vain attempt- ing to rally the fugitives. The Prussians had now come up in full force ; and while the British assailed the centre of the enemy in front, marshal Blucher attacked them in flank and rear. The sun, which had been during the day enveloped in clouds, at this moment burst out in all its radiance. The French, ex- hausted and dismayed, yielded to the shock; order was no more, commands were useless, and irretrievable confusion prevailed. Napoleon himself, on seeing the columns of the imperial guard recoil, seemed much agi- tated, and when the rout became apparent, he said to the persons near him, "It is all over ; we must save ourselves." Attended by a few officers, he hastened through Charleroi to Philippeville ; and after leaving orders for reassembling the army at Avesnes, he, as if in despair of his fortune, took the road to Paris. VOL. XIV. M 162 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. That Blucher could appear again in force two days only after suffering a total defeat, oifelfa was allowed by Napoleon himself to have f t 4« elena ' been an almost unprecedented exertion. The manoeuvre also by which he effected this, by leaving a division of his army at Wavre to oc- cupy the attention of Grouchy, and to mask his own movement to the left, was very skilful. The pursuit was left chiefly to the Prussians, who continued it through a great part of the night with merciless vengeance. No victory could be more complete ; the vanquished army losing all their artillery, camp equipage, and magazines. Exclusive of the dreadful slaugh- ter in and after the battle, 7000 prisoners were taken. The French army was in effect annihilated. Nothing resembling this disaster had occurred, or been attended with such ex- tensive consequences, since the battle of Blen- heim. On the part of the victors, the loss could scarcely be estimated so low as 20,000 men ; for that of the British and Hanoverians alone exceeded 13,000. On this occasion, even the generalship of Napoleon, as usually happens to the unfortunate in war, incurred severe animadversion. "By what fatality," says marshal Ney, in a letter to M. Fouch6, " did the emperor, instead of leading all his forces against the duke of Wellington, who GEORGE III. 163 would have been attacked unawares, and book XLI could not have resisted, consider this attack as ^v~^ secondary? Had he left a corps of observa- 1815# tion to watch the Prussians, and marched with the most powerful masses to support me, the English army had undoubtedly been destroyed between Quatre Bras and Gemappe ; but fate ordered it otherwise." Napoleon arrived at Paris on the evening of second ab- 1 ° dication ot June 20th, and no attempt was made by him Napoleon. to conceal the extent of the disaster. In this emergency, it was suggested by some of his Las Ca f es » adherents that the only remedy was the as- p- 1*. sumption of dictatorial authority, and the sus- pension of the legislature. But the two cham- bers hastily assembling, declared their sittings permanent ; and denounced all attempts to dissolve them as treasonable. The ministers of state were then invited to assist at their deliberations. After a short interval of vacilla- tion, produced by the last expiring struggles of ambition, Napoleon, perceiving that his au- thority was no longer regarded, issued (June 22d) a declaration, in which, professing " to offer himself a sacrifice to the hatred of the enemies of France, he affirmed that his politi- cal life was terminated, and that he resigned in favour of his son, Napoleon II." a measure evidently and utterly inadmissible. m 2 ] 64 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xli K ^ ne mm * ster °f police, Fouche, having laid v ^v-»^ this declaration before the legislative body, Provisional that assembly voted an address of thanks for mentTp- tne sacrifice he had made, and accepted the pointed, abdication, but eluded the recognition of his son as successor. This was presented to Na- poleon by the president Lanjuinais, at the head of a deputation. A provisional govern- ment was then appointed by the two chambers, consisting of Carnot, Fouche, Caulaincourt, Grenier, and Quinette ; and a commission no- minated to repair to the allied armies with proposals for peace. The emperor, as the last act of his public life, issued a farewell address to the army, and, retiring to Malmaison, oc- cupied himself in preparing for a voyage to North America, which he had fixed upon as his future asylum ; and June 29th, he set out for Rochefort, where a small squadron awaited his orders. From Malplaquet the duke of Wellington addressed, June 21st, a proclamation to the people of France, announcing "that he had entered the country, not as an enemy — except of the usurper, the foe of the human race, with whom there could be neither peace nor truce — but to enable them to throw off the yoke by which they were oppressed." And 1815. GEORGE III. 165 this commander enforced throughout his pro- gress the strictest military discipline. At Laon, marshals Soult and Ney, who had collected the remains of the army so lately the dread of Europe, were joined by general Grouchy, making together a force of about 30,000 men ; with which, eluding all attempts to intercept them, they gained the road to Paris through Meaux. The march of the allies was one continued triumph. Avesnes, Cambray, Peronne, &c. either opened their gates, or were reduced after slight resistance. The commissioners from the provisional go- vernment were directed to repair to the sove- reigns at Haguenau. By the end of June, the second Y . ° J capitula- British and Prussian commanders invested tion of o m Paris, July Paris on both sides the Seine. The city was 3d. defended by 50,000 regular troops, besides national guards and volunteers. Yet at a gene- ral council of war it was resolved, July 2d, to send a deputation to St. Cloud, to treat with the allied generals, expecting, doubtless, under such circumstances, to obtain very favourable terms. Accordingly on the next day a con- vention was signed, importing " that Paris should be evacuated in three days by the French army, which should retire beyond the Loire ; and all individuals now resident in the 166 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book capital should enjoy their rights and liberties with- XLI. ^^-^ out being disturbed or called to account either for ' the situations they may have held, or as to their conduct or political opinio?is.'"* This manifestly amounted to a full and general amnesty. At Paris the chambers still continued their sittings; but this show of authority was soon terminated. Louis XVIII. had, in 1814, been placed on the throne in conformity to the will of the nation. He was now reinstated solely by a foreign force. The chambers were closed by order of the military ; and on the 8th of July that monarch once more made his entry into the capital, under the most gloomy and unpropitious omens. Napoleon The ex-emperor arrived at Rochefort, July toThe" er * 3d, attended by an escort of honour, and took Enghsh. U p n j g res id ence a t the house of the prefect, with the view of immediate embarkation. But the Bellerophon, a British ship of the line, and other vessels, were cruising at the entrance of the harbour. After some days of anxious sus- pense, Napoleon sent a flag of truce to captain Maitland, requesting a free passage ; but this could not be granted. He then made an offer * " Sans pouvoir etre inquietes, ni recherches, en rien rela- tivement aux fonctions qu'ils occupent, ou auraient occu- pies, a leur conduite et a leurs opinions politiques." Such are the emphatic words of the original. GEORGE III. 167 of surrender, on conditions ; but the com- mander had no power to negotiate. On the morning of the J 5th, he finally resolved to 1815, throw himself on British protection and gene- rosity ; and with his slender train, he was re- ceived with every mark of respect on board the Bellerophon, which forthwith sailed for Torbay. From the Bellerophon, Napoleon addressed a letter to the prince regent in the following terms: — "Exposed to the factions which di- vide my country, and to the hostility of the greatest powers of Europe, I have closed my political career. I come, like Themistocles, to seek the hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under the protection of their laws, which I claim from your royal highness, as the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies."* The implied reflection on the French loyal- ists, and still more on the allied sovereigns, could not fail to offend ; nor was the forced * Original. — " Altesse Royale. En butte aux factions qui divisent mon pays, et a l'inimitie des plus grande puis- sances de l'Europe, j'ai termine ma carricre politique : et je viens, comme Themistocle, m'asseoir sur les foyers du peuple Britannique. Je me mets sous la protection de ses loix, que je reclame de V.A.R. comme le plus puissant, le plus con- stant, et le plus genereux de mes ennemis. Napoleon." 168 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. allusion to Themistocles calculated to excite sympathy. No notice whatever was deigned 181j * of this letter. He was not suffered to land on the British coast. No title beyond that of ge- neral was allowed him. His property was sequestered. In fine, it was announced that his future residence was unalterably determined Exiled to to St. Helena, there to be detained as a state St. Helena. . . prisoner, under the inspection of commissioners from the allied powers. Against this terrific sentence of banishment to a rock in the southern Atlantic, he entered an energetic protest, denying that he was a captive, having surrendered himself to the protection of the British laws, which he had never violated ; and of the British government, to whose juris- diction he was not amenable. O'Meara, Having been transferred to the Northumber- land, bearing the flag of admiral sir George Cockburn, with the faithful few who chose to share his fortunes, that vessel proceeded on her voyage, August 8, and arrived in a few weeks at the place of its destination. Such is the strange vicissitude of human affairs ! and in so dark a cloud did the splendid career of Napoleon terminate ! In his state of exile he expressed indeed neither regret for his past errors, nor re- signation to his present fate. On the contrary, his language to the governor, whose resent- GEORGE III. 1G9 ment he set at open defiance, was, " You have book power over my body, but none over my soul, ^v-*^ That soul is as proud, fierce, and determined 181a * at the present moment, as when it commanded Europe." His whole deportment was govern- ed by the same unseasonable haughtiness. On various occasions application was unavail- \f* c t a ^ i ingly made to ascertain his wants and wishes, p- 70 ' 367 - To captain Hamilton, of the frigate Havanna, at an audience previous to the departure of that officer from St. Helena, he said, " They wish to know what I desire : I demand my liberty or my death. Report these words to your prince regent. I was not your prisoner. Sa- vages would have had more respect for my situation. Your ministers have basely violated in my person the sacred rights of hospitality. They have for ever dishonoured England. I have been cruelly deceived, but Heaven will avenge my wrongs," That the last scenes of his life should be embittered by every species of vexation and chagrin must, therefore, be rather the subject of regret than of wonder. After twice abdi- eating the imperial dignity, he still affected to maintain the state of an emperor. His re- monstrances were invectives tending only to irritation. Weighed down by mental suffering 170 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book and the disorders incident to a tropical cli- ^ yW mate, he expired May 5th, 1821*. character Looking to the dark side of the portrait of ieon. apo Napoleon Bonaparte, his early conduct to Venice, his barbarities at Jaffa, his warfare against St. Domingo, his treatment of Tous- saint, Wright, D'Enghien, &c, his treachery to Spain, his sacrifice of the Tyrolese, his insidious protestations to Poland, his bound- less usurpations, and inextinguishable thirst of empire, it may be asked, what can redeem the vices of his character ? But if the good and evil deeds of all men ought to be placed in balance, this is more especially the case with those who have swayed the rod of em- pire ; and compared with his more immediate * That Sir Hudson Lowe himself, the obnoxious gover- nor of St. Helena, was originally solicitous to conciliate the regard and favour of Napoleon, is sufficiently apparent even from the narrative of Count Las Cases; but his advances were repulsed with disdain. After one of his early visits to Long- wood, the ex-emperor made the following singular acknow- ledgement to his circle of friends : — " I behaved very ill to him, no doubt ; and nothing but my present situation could excuse me; but I was out of humour, and could not help it I Had such a scene taken place at the Tuileries, I should have felt myself bound in conscience to make some atonement. Here I uttered not a syllable of conciliation, and I had no wish to do so. I should have liked to have seen him evince a little anger." Las Cases, II. part III. p. 367. GEORGE III. 171 predecessors in the career of fame, Louis XIV., Peter the Great, or Frederic of Prus- sia, the moral and political conduct of Bona- 1815 ' parte will appear to no disadvantage. The first effort of his government was to restore peace to the world — an effort answered only by contumely and insult. His subsequent attempts of 1805 and 1807 were equally inef- fectual. Compelled, therefore, to press for- ward in the path of victory, he no longer sought for peace ; and intoxicated with suc- cess, he finally fell the victim of his own pre- sumption. In splendor of genius, in the patronage of arts and sciences, in national works of utility and magnificence, and in calling forth merit of every kind, he far excelled all the sovereigns of his time. Also, from the peculiar situation in which he stood, his political aggrandise- ment was closely connected with the civil and religious interests of humanity. France, Italy, and the Low Countries, felt and acknowledged the equity of his internal government. He was a beneficent legislator ; and the code which he promulgated will transmit his name with honour to succeeding venerations. " Had l»s Cases, II 281. Heaven granted me a few years," said he, "I would have made Paris the capital of the world, and France a fairy land. Rome should 172 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book have arisen from its ashes." The revolution ^v^ he described " as a general movement of the o'Meafa na ti° n against the privileged classes. It esta- ii. 349. blished equality of rights, it amalgamated the various states of the monarchy into one, with the same civil and criminal laws. Just emerg- ed from a revolution, menaced by enemies within and without, the system of govern- ment must be adapted to circumstances; but in quieter times," said he, " I should have com- menced my constitutional reign." Yet under this iron sceptre, it has been remarked, " there were no feudal tenures, no corvee, no seigneu- rial rights, no game laws, no oppressive and overgrown hierarchy, no pains and penalties for religious opinions, no privileged orders, no asylum for criminals, &c; yet all these subsist- ed under the former paternal government." session of In the parliamentary discussions which arose re^imied!" on the royal message of May 22d, and its concomitant documents, lord Castlereagh stated, " that Austria, Russia, and Prussia, had engaged to furnish contingents in the fol- lowing proportion : — Austria 300,000, Russia 225,000, Prussia 236 ,000 men ; and the re- maining states of Germany 150,000. Great Britain and Holland 50,000 each ; and Britain to advance the sum of 5,000,000 in subsidies." The measures of the ministry were supported GEORGE III. 173 by vast majorities in both houses, and the book almost unanimous voice of the nation ; there v— v-O were notwithstanding, a few individuals in each 1815, house, distinguished for talent and integrity, who differed essentially from this warlike policy : and the debate in the house of peers was rendered memorable by the opposition of sentiment on this grand point, between the lords Grey and Grenville, who had for ten years past acted in concert, with honour to themselves and advantage to the public. With lord Grenville the whole Grenville party, in- cluding Mr. Grattan and Mr. Plunket, the two most distinguished members of the Irish re- presentation, zealously concurred ; and from this sera they were considered as forming a distinct political connexion. With respect to the policy of interference in Policy of , , . , , . the War. the present quarrel, it seemed reasonable to argue, that although Great Britian had been induced by powerful motives to concur in the restoration of Louis XVIII, she was under no obligation by enormous exertions to maintain his right and title to a crown which he had lost, before the first year of his reign had closed, by his own egregious indiscretion. Had he aimed to establish his throne in the hearts of his people, he might have scorned the efforts of a fallen adversary. But though Louis had not ventured to act altogether upon the 174 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. plan of the Spanish and Neapolitan branches of his family, he had, by all the feeble displays 1815 * which his nature and situation would admit, excited the utmost jealousy and resentment of France. If the Gallic Bourbons were now re- instated, it must be effected solely by foreign force. In such a case, success would be the triumph of despotism. Formida- The danger from France, despoiled of her ble power , of Rusaia. conquests, exhausted by her efforts, and op- posed by a league the most formidable ever known, now no longer existed. Russia was evidently the power which threatened to over- whelm Europe. In that half civilized, half barbarous state of society, so favourable to military enterprize, she had within the com- pass of half a century extended her empire to the mouths of the Nieper and the Danube. By her last treaty with Sweden, she had seized upon all the provinces east of the Gulf of Bohemia ; she had since appro- priated the greater part of Poland ; which, till crushed by the force and fraud of Rus- sia, had for ages ranked among the leading- powers of Christendom, and had long been its chief bulwark against the Turkish infidels. Prussia, restored as a kingdom by the arms of Russia, was sunk to a state almost of vassalage. Scarcely indeed could Prussia, though elevated to afi artificial height by the GEORGE III. 175 talents of Frederic the Great, be regarded as book • XLI - an integral or national power ; her monarchy ^—v— ' being formed out of provinces belonging to 1815, Poland on one side, and to Germany on the other. In fine, the Russians having expe- rienced the contrast between their own fro- zen deserts and the beautiful regions of the south, would on the slightest pretexts be ever ready to attempt new conquests and new ravages, without any hazard of retaliation. Nor was the danger in the least abated by the per- sonal character of the emperor Alexander; plausible, dissembling, rapacious, yet studious of appearances ; and affecting, so long as it served his purpose, to be the patron of liberal opinions. Even should the second restoration of the house of Bourbon be deemed indis- pensable, the powers of the Continent were surely equal to the task, without again in- volving Britain in a contest, in which she had already, for a long series of years, borne so ruinous and disproportionate a share. The current of public opinion, nevertheless, Fj'JSjf" as in 1793 and 1803, set entirely in the opposite penditure J rl of Great direction; the subsidies being voted by the Britain. house of commons on a division, strange as it must appear in the retrospect, of 160 to 17 members. The first fruits of the prevailing system appeared in an estimate of expendi- ture for the present year, of a magnitude far 17C HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book exceeding" all precedent; the amount beinor vJ^O 79,968,000/. for Great Britain, and 9,760,000/. 1815. for Ireland. To meet this astonishing demand, the war taxes were continued to the height. Two successive loans were negotiated for 45,000,000 and a half; and a vote of credit passed for 6,000,000. Subsequent to the victory of Waterloo, the additional sum of 200,000/. was granted to the duke of Welling- ton. Also to the parliamentary and royal honours and rewards conferred on the victors, a national and truly noble subscription of nearly half a million was raised for the relief of the soldiers disabled by wounds, and the widows of the slain. Marriage Towards the close of the session, a message of the _ . Duke of from the prince regent announced the marriage Cumber- 1 & o land. of the duke of Cumberland with the princess of Salms Braunfels, relict of the late prince, and daughter of the reigning duke of Mecklenburg, brother to the queen. The recommendation of the message for a provision suitable to the occasion, was negatived by 126 to 125 voices. This was ascribed in some degree to the queen's disapproval of the marriage, for reasons little interesting to the British public ; but chiefly to the prevailing prepossession against the duke, who soon afterwards with his amia- ble and accomplished consort, for such she GEORGE III. 177 appeared, returned to Germany ; where he had book A. .LI. long resided. v< — v-^ On presenting the money bills for the royal Address " assent, the speaker addressed the prince jJUJlw regent in terms of the highest exultation. " The fate of Europe," said he, " has been again brought to issue. The conflict was tre- mendous, but the result has been glorious. The usurper of a throne which he has twice abdi- cated, has sought his safety in an ignominious flight, and the rightful sovereign of France has once more resumed the sceptre of his an- cestors." On the 11th of July, 1815, the par- liament was prorogued by a speech from the throne,'exhorting the two houses "not to relax in their exertions to establish the permanent peace and security of Europe." The humiliations of France may be said to Humiiia- have commenced on the day that Louis XVIII. France. made his second entree into Paris. It had been the pride and boast of Napoleon to adorn the gallery of the Louvre with the master- pieces of antient and modern art, brought thi- ther from distant regions, as the monuments and trophies of victory. These were now re- claimed, and restored to Germany, to Flan- ders, and to Italy. Venice received back the famous Corinthian horses ; Florence the Venus of Medicis ; Rome the Apollo Belvidere, and VOL. XIV. N 1815. Second 178 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN, the chef-d'ceuvres of Raffael, and Michael An- gelo. In November the terms on which France was permitted to retain her station in Treaty of Europe were definitively settled at Paris. By this treaty, Louis ceded to the allies the im- portant fortresses of Landau, Saar-Louis, Phi- lippeville, and Marienburg, with the duchy of Bouillon. Versoy and part of the territory of Gex, were yielded to the Helvetic confederacy; the works of Huninguen were dismantled ; and France engaged to erect no others within the distance of three leagues from Basle; thus leaving a free passage into the heart of France. Moreover, Conde, Valenciennes, Cambray, and fourteen other fortified towns and cities, the bulwarks of her Flemish and Germanic fron- tier, were delivered up to the allies to be held in trust for five years by an army of occu- pation, consisting of 150,000 men, to be main- tained solely at the expense of France ; who also, by way of indemnity to the allies, engaged to pay the sum of 700,000,000 of francs. Conditions so degrading, Marlbo- rough and Eugene had never offered to impose after ten victorious campaigns. Such, how- ever, was the mode adopted by the allies to maintain the imbecile and improvident Louis on his inglorious and tottering throne. GEORGE III. 179 Influenced by recent and not vet obliterated book J • . XLI. terrors, the monarch seemed to be disposed in v — v^ this new state of things, to adopt a popular ^J^f* system of government; M. Talleyrand being ^ tateof appointed minister for foreign affairs, baron Louis of finance, Fouche of police, and St. Cyr of war. And prince Talleyrand on the 27th of July addressed a letter to viscount Castlereagh, then at Paris, in reply to his urgent solicita- tions, announcing " that his most Christian majesty had issued directions in order that on the part of France the traffic in slaves may cease from the present time, every where and for ever." But a change of policy soon took place ; and an ordonnance was issued, de- claring that thirty-eight peers, who had ac- cepted seats in the chamber summoned by Bo- naparte, had forfeited their dignity. Another ordonnance contained a long list of generals and officers who had taken part in what was commonly stiled the hundred days' reign of Napoleon. These were ordered to be arrested and brought to trial before courts martial. In a second list were inserted the names of very many persons in Paris, who were ordered to withdraw into the interior till their fate could be determined on. On the 11th of August, a proclamation was issued for disbanding the n 2 180 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book army, and replacing it by a new one organized ^v-*^ on national principles. Thus was France left * without defence, and great confusion ensued ; particularly in those departments where the protestants most abounded ; and at Nismes a sanguinary scene took place, which revived the recollection of St. Bartholomew. Criminal The due de Richelieu now superseded Tal- y*rosccu~ tions. leyrand as first minister, Des Cases was ap- pointed to the department of police, and Barbe-Marbois of justice. Labedoyere, the first officer of rank who had joined Napoleon, was tried, condemned, and executed, under the royal ordonnance. After a short interval it was judged expedient to proceed with the same rigour against marshal Ney, who had fought the battles of his country with so much glory, and who, being resident in Paris at the period of the last capitulation, was unquestion- ably included in the convention by which that capital, which was very capable of defence, was surrendered without bloodshed. No ex- ceptions whatever were made ; and if words have any meaning, the amnesty was full and general. It appears that the English court had been originally much dissatisfied with the latitude and liberality of the terms of this famous conven- tion ; which, if any difficulty arose, were by the GEORGE III. 181 XVth Article to be interpreted in favour of the book XLI. capitularies : and earl Bathurst, one of the Eng- ^^J lish secretaries of state, in his letter to the duke r ]* [5 ' r Letter of of Wellington, dated July 7th, had expressed J^J t himself as follows : — " Although your grace has stated distinctly that the convention en- tered into by you and marshal prince Blucher, on the one hand, and certain French autho- rities on the other, upon the 3d instant, while it decided all the military questions, had touch- ed nothing political, and although it cannot be imagined that in a convention negotiated with these authorities by prince Blucher and your grace, you would enter into any engage- ment, whereby it should be presumed that his most Christian majesty was absolutely pre- cluded from the just exercise of his authority, in bringing to condign punishment such of his subjects as had, by their treasonable machina- tions, and unprovoked rebellion," &c. — con- cluding with the declaration, " that the prince regent deems the Xllth Article to be binding only in the conduct of the military com- manders." To this hypothetical language it may suffice to reply, that the question is not one of imagi- nation, but of fact. The convention professes indeed to touch no political questions ; but it grants life, liberty, and property without re- 182 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book servation of any kind, to the persons described ^•C.X' in the Xllth Article. Were the commanders 1815 ' who signed this convention, as soon as the ca- pital was surrendered upon the faith of it, en- titled to say, " All this means nothing. You are still liable, in common with the whole French nation, to the penalties of treason, for the article upon which you rely for security is political, and the convention touches no poli- tical question "? Would the city have been given up tamely, if such base tergiversation had been suspected ? Deciara- Nevertheless, in answer to the direct and tion of the Duke of strong appeal of marshal Ney, the duke of Welling- ° vv J ton. Wellington, to the astonishment of Europe, he- sitated not to affirm, " that the object of the Xllth Article was to prevent any measure of severity, under the military authority of those who made it, towards any persons in Paris, on account of any office they had filled or any conduct or political opinion of theirs;" — but what foreign authority could exist to punish for civil oifences ? " Had I not," said M. Ney, " re- lied on the sacred word thus pledged, I should in some unknown land have made myself for- gotten. At Naples, where the capitulation made by captain Foote was not respected by lord Nelson, and where the parties surrender- ing upon the faith of it, w^re persecuted, and GEORGE III. ]^3 perished under the re-established Neapolitan government, that odious transaction has cast a shade over the character of lord Nelson; and lsl5 - excited so much horror in England, that nothing but the eminent services of that com- mander, could have saved him from being the object of parliamentary investigation." The declaration of the duke of Wellington Execution was the death-warrant of marshal Ney ; who Ney. was executed as a soldier, high in rank and reputation, on the 7th December. He died with heroic firmness. But this act of ven- geance added neither grace, nor stability to the throne. Marshal Soult, who had been placed Noble de- at the head of the war department by Napo- souit.° leon, and was present in the battles of Ligny, and Waterloo, was involved in the same danger with marshal Ney ; but made so noble a de- fence, that it was found impossible to continue the proceedings against him. "The king," said he, " had retired from the kingdom. All France had submitted ; and the government of the usurper was established in fact. Prus- sian, English, and Austrian battalions, had already raised on our frontier the cry of hatred, and vengeance. At the approach of this torrent, composed of numerous nations, amidst which there did not appear a single Frenchman, the only prospect which seemed 184 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book to present itself, was the ruin of France. My ^^ heart told me, that a French marshal, as a 1815 - citizen and a soldier, could not allow his sword to remain in his scabbard." state of In the French West-India islands, the intelli- the French „ „ it, West gence 01 Bonaparte s success awakened the spirit of military enthusiasm. In Martinique, coiint de Vaugirard, in the fear of an open re- volt, and with the view of preventing a fatal effusion of blood, permitted all the officers and soldiers, who desired their release, to depart for France. In Guadaloupe, that revolt ac- tually took place ; the governor himself, count de Linois, issuing a proclamation in which he recognized Napoleon as emperor. The royal- ists, however, were powerfully aided by the British commanders in that quarter, sir James Leith and admiral Durham, who, landing on the island in August, after a severe conflict, compelled the insurgents to a capitulation ; but it was restored without compensation to France, on the subsequent restoration of Louis. Disastrous While Murat still remained in Corsica, he fate of Murat. received proposals from the emperor Francis of an honourable asylum in Bohemia, or Aus- tria ; in which case he might proceed to Trieste to rejoin his wife and family. This offer he rashly refused ; and having engaged some hundreds of the Corsican mountaineers GEORGE III. 185 in his service, he embarked his troops early in book October, in five small vessels, intending to ^J^^/ land at Salerno : but his flotilla was dispersed 1815# in a storm ; and on making the coast of Cala- bria, he could only muster thirty officers. On attempting to raise the inhabitants, he was attacked by an armed force, overpowered, and taken prisoner after a desperate resistance. Pursuant to orders from Naples, he was tried by a court-martial, condemned, and shot on the same day ; behaving with his wonted courage. His military talents, in his own line of a cavalry commander, were confessedly great; and Napoleon probably incurred no slight injury by not availing himself of them in the last campaign. Under his government, Naples, emerging from its barbarism, rose to a respectable rank among the nations of Europe ; but his political ability as a sovereign among sovereigns, was very limited. Since the assumption of the regal title bv inaugora- r . J fion of the the prince of Orange, his moderation and pru- Kingof the dence had been conspicuous ; and the here- iands. ditary prince, who was wounded in the glori- ous field of Waterloo, and had on various oc- casions displayed all the heroism of the house of Orange, was much beloved for the generosity of his disposition, and the affability of his manners. Subsequent to that great victory, a 186 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1815. committee had been appointed to draw up a constitution for the seventeen Provinces ; the report of whom had been transmitted to the sovereign in July ; and afterwards laid before an extraordinary assembly of the States of the United Netherlands, by whom it was unani- mously accepted. The chief objection to this union had arisen from the strong attachment of Holland to the reformed, and of Flanders to the catholic religion. This was strikingly manifested in an address from certain prelates to the king of the Netherlands, dated July 28. In this piece it was affirmed, " that the equal favour and protection to all religions promised by the new constitution, was inconsistent with the assurances of his majesty, that the estab- lishment and privileges of the catholic church should be preserved ; and incompatible with the fundamental principles of that church." This remonstrance, however, produced no serious effect. And by a subsequent royal or- donnance, the security and freedom of the catholic church were assured, without any in- fringement of the rights of toleration. In Sep- tember, the inauguration of the king took place at Brussels— with every mark of satis- faction ; and the discourse delivered upon this occasion at the cathedral of Saint Gedule, was replete with sentiments of chris- GEORGE III. 187 tian benevolence. Soon after the promulga- book tion of this constitution, a matrimonial alliance ^--v^ took place between the prince of Orange and J ' the grand-duchess Anne, sister of the emperor Alexander. By a solemn act of confederation, signed {^™"j° ic June 8th at Vienna, the German states confided tion - the governance of the general concerns, of what was still called the Empire, to a diet com- posed of the representatives of the sovereign princes and free cities, including Austria, in whom the presidency was vested, Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover, Wirtemberg, Den- mark for Holstein, and the king of the Nether- lands for Luxemburg. The smaller states were classified, and each class was empowered to send a deputation to the diet, which was appointed to be held at Frankfort. The num- ber of votes was limited to seventeen ; and all differences which might arise, were to be submitted to the arbitration of this assembly. All were leagued against foreign attack, and Germany was in fact converted into a sort of imperial republic. The Congress of Vienna decided the fate of Kingdom ° . of Poland Poland, by finally assigning the duchy of restored. Warsaw to the emperor of Russia ; who being now master of the far greater part of that antient kingdom, assumed the style and title 188 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 500 XLI c of king of Poland ; conferring also, after a Vs -~y^ short interval, upon that country, the national distinctions of a diet, and representative con- stitution ; and the Poles saw themselves re- stored, at least to the shadow of their former uundem sovere ig n ty- In compensation for the pro- nities. vinces of which Prussia was thus deprived, half the dominions of the king of Saxony, as a punishment for his adherence to the French alliance, which as Napoleon was in actual pos- session of his country he could not relinquish, were transferred to Frederic William, who then took the titles of duke of Saxony, mar- grave of the Lusatias, and landgrave of Thu- ringia. He received also Polish Prussia, Dant- zig, and Thorne, with the duchy of Posen ; and, in Germany, Swedish Pomerania, and a large tract of territory on the Rhine. The emperor Francis regained the Tyrol, an equi- valent being assigned to Bavaria in Swabia and Franconia. Hanover received the bishop- rick of Hildesheim, and the province of East Friesland, in addition to Osnaburg. In the division of the spoil Great Britain only was forgotten. She did not even obtain any se- curity for the repayment of the Austrian loans: and in lieu of solid advantages, was complimented, and recognized, as protectress GEORGE III. 189 of the Ionian republic. This, however, afforded book a new source of regal patronage. v — v— ' In Spain, bigotry, cruelty, and despotism Su Jj}£' reigned uncontrolled. In the autumn of this Spaln - year, a premature attempt was made by gene- ral Porlier, one of the guerilla chiefs, to excite the Gallicians to arms. In his proclamation (September 19th) he says, " No one is igno- rant that the king, surrounded by unjust coun- sellors, has consented to a proscription so atrocious that the most illustrious and deserv- ing men have been the first victims of it ; the flood-gates of despotism have been opened. In this situation no alternative remains, but to take up arms. Let us remove those wicked counsellors. Let us re-establish the Cortes ; and let them determine the system which is to govern us. In the mean time, let the pro- vinces appoint their " internal juntas." But insurrec the exhortations of this illustrious patriot did Gail not produce the expected effect ; and after maintaining possession of Ferrol and Corunna for some days, he undertook an expedition to Compostella ; in the course of which, being denounced by the clergy, who were very pow- erful in that city, and who are said to have lavished their wealth in corrupting the troops, he found himself suddenly deserted ; and being- captured with most of his officers, he was tion in icia. 190 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book thrown into the common prison loaded with v — v-"^ chains ; and after a short interval condemned, ' and executed, with many others of his late companions in arms. On the arrival of the first exaggerated accounts of this insurrection at Madrid, the affrighted monarch dismissed the duke of St. Carlos, prime minister, from his office; and Escoiquiez, his confessor, was removed to Cordova ; but on the suppression of this abortive attempt, the Liberates, as they were stiled, suffered under a more rigorous persecution than ever, from the execrable Ferdinand. Reflections With the second restoration of Louis XVIII. on the Gal- lic War. terminated that mighty revolution, which for twenty-five years past had fixed the attention of Christendom, and it may almost be said of the world, to the comparative exclusion of every other object. In its origin it wore a fair and promising aspect ; but inflamed by oppo- sition from without, and still more by treach- ery from within, it astonished and terrified mankind. A grand crisis occurred on the ap- plication of Louis XVI. for the mediation of Great Britain at the commencement of the war with Austria, in the spring of 1 792 ; an application which in fact made England the umpire of Europe. Not only no solid, but no plausible reason has been assigned for the 1815. GEORGE in. 191 refusal of an office so honourable, and so use- ful. But, unfortunately, the English govern- ment chose rather to take part in the war against France than to arrest its progress. The suc- cessive overtures of 1800, 1S05, and 1807, were rejected without a hearing. As a belligerent power, the achievements of Britain have been splendid ; but what are the ultimate results ? At home, an increase of 600,000,000 to the public debt ; of 30,000,000 to the permanent taxes ; an immense augmentation of the civil and military establishments ; and, consequent- ly, of the influence and patronage of the crown ; in fine, of pauperism and distress, followed, too naturally, by discontent and disaffection. '• Abroad we see the triumph of despotism and bigotry; the re-establishment of the Bourbons, and in their train the inquisition, the Jesuits, and the papacy. To these results may be added the enslavement of Italy, the political annihilation of Denmark, and the enormous extension of the power of Russia, with whom but a short time previous to the Gallic war, the English government, had not the wisdom of parliament interposed, would have engaged in hostilities for the sake of a single fortress ! And when at length the war was terminated on conditions prescribed by the allies, what were the advantages secured to this country ? 192 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. " What peace dictated by me," said Napoleon, in a voice which has resounded from the de- loir o'Meara", so ^ ate roc k of St. Helena, " had I been vic- Las cases tor i° us > could have been worse in its effects vol. hi. t j ian ^g one mac i e by i or( } Castlereagh ? By assisting the colonies of Spanish America, you might have all their commerce. In the actual position of affairs, nothing could have been refused to you. But what, in fact, has England gained ? The cordons of the allied sovereigns for lord Castlereagh ! England has succeeded in all ; she has effected im- possibilities, yet has gained nothing, and her people are starving ; whilst France, who has lost every thing, is doing well, and the wants of her people are abundantly supplied. " The worst thing that England has ever done is that of endeavouring to make herself a great military nation. The marine is the real force of your country. England, to recover herself, must renew her commerce. She must no longer be a Continental power. She must proceed in her proper sphere as possessing the command of the sea. You must return to your ships. It appears to me to be clearly the intention of your ministers to subject Eng- land to a military yoke, and to put down by degrees the liberty which prevails there ; great calamities await the developement of this sys- 1815. GEORGE III. 193 tern. All those honours conferred on the book xli. military, and the tenor of other steps lately adopted, are so many preliminaries towards it. The battle of Waterloo was as fatal to the liberties of Europe in its effects, as that of Philippi was to Rome ; and, like it, has pre- cipitated Europe into the hands of Triumvirs, associated together for the oppression of man- kind, the suppression of knowledge, and the restoration of superstition." — "England and Las Cases, . ° III. pt. iii. France held in their hands the fate of the world, p. 67. What good might we not have effected ! Un- der Pitt's system we desolated the world. Had that of Fox prevailed, we should have accomplished the dominion of principles, and every where have established peace and pros- perity." VOL. XIV. HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. GEORGE III. BOOK XLII. Session of Parliament, February 1816. Holy Alliance. Mar- riage of the Princess Charlotte. State of Ireland. Petitions to Parliament. Rise of Radicalism. Expedition against Al- giers. Despotism of Ferdinand VII. Spencean Societies denounced. Habeas Corpus Act suspended. Circular letter of Lord Sidmouth. Mr. Manners Sutton chosen Speaker. Lord Amherst's Embassy to China. Transactions in India. War of Nepaul. Trials for High Treason. Death of the Princess Charlotte. Royal Marriages. Treaty with Spain. Resignation of Lord Ellenborovgh. Death of the Queen. New Parliament convened January 1819. Foreign Enlist- ment Bill. Report of Finance Committee. New Settle?nent in Africa. Case of Parga. Popular Meetings for Reform. Dreadful Catastrophe at Manchester. Coercive Acts passed. Demise of King George III. Situation of Europe. R xl°i K The speech of the prince regent, delivered ^—v^ by commission at the commencement of the Session of session, February 1st, 1816, was filled with Fcb. ! i ment tne happiest auguries of returning prosperity. GEORGE III. 195 The commons were assured of " the disposition book XLll. of his royal highness to concur in such measures ^-v"^ of ceconomy, as would be found consistent °* with the security of the country, and with its station and high character among the Euro- pean powers." An amendment to the address, by Mr. Brand, pledged the house, in return, "to enter upon a revisal of the civil and mili- tary establishments, and at an early period to take into serious consideration the state of the country.'' The amendment was rejected by 90 to 23 votes, and the address passed in its original form. On the 9th February, Mr. Brougham moved Hol y aih- J ' ° ance be- for the copy of a treaty entered into at Paris, tweeE ' Aus - 1 J J tna, Rus- September 26th, 1815, between the sovereigns *i», and 1 ° Prussia. of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, the great trium- virs, who now ruled the destinies of Europe. This treaty was known by the strange appella- tion of " the holy alliance ; " the three sove- reigns declaring their resolution to take for their sole guide, both in their domestic and foreign relations, the precepts of the holy religion of Christ their Saviour. The first article of this confederacy united the high contracting powers in a fraternal bond of mutual aid, assistance, and friendship. The second was expressive of their delegation by Providence to govern three branches of one and the same o 2 196 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. christian nation. The third declared a readiness to receive into this holy alliance all the pow- 18 16. ers w j 10 should acknowledge the sacred prin- ciples of it. To whatever political jealousies this extra- ordinary alliance might give birth, it was gra- tifying to observe the progress of religious toleration: the three sovereigns, notwithstand- ing the diversity of their respective creeds, describing the people whom they governed as constituting one great religious community; thus reviving the exquisitely pleasing ideas comprehended in the term Christendom. Mr. Brougham observed, that there was something so singular in the language of this treaty, as to warrant no slight suspicion ; and he could not think it had reference to objects merely spiritual. Nothing had so nearly in words resembled this christian convention, as that which had led to the partition of Poland. The treaty had been signed by the sovereigns themselves, and not, as usual, by their mi- nisters; and the whole was portentous of mystery. Lord Castlereagh resisted the production of this document, Great Britain not being a party to the treaty ; though he admitted that the prince regent, whose accession had been soli- cited, had expressed his entire satisfaction in GEORGE III. 197 its tendency. This motion being negatived, a book second was brought forward by the same mem- ^-v-^ ber f for an address to the prince regent, " en- M J t ^' re . treating his consideration relative to the suffer- g 1 ^ 10 ings of the Tate Spanish regency and cortes, and representing that the alliance subsisting with his catholic majesty affords the most fa- vourable opportunity for interposing the good offices of Great Britain, with the weight which belongs to such interposition." The speech by which this motion was enforced, excited a strong sensation of sympathy and indignation; and the reply of lord Castlereagh gave extreme offence to many in the house, and to multi- tudes out of it, as exhibiting a studied pal- liation of the enormities practised in Spain, blended with the most unjust and invidi- ous reflections on the Spanish patriots. This motion proved not more successful^ than the former. A bill authorizing the detention of Napo- Biiiof . . Pains and leon Bonaparte, and enacting provisions for Penalties on Napo that purpose, passed both houses, accompa- leonBona- nied by a protest bearing the signatures of lord Holland and the duke of Sussex, im- porting, " without reference to the character or previous conduct of the person who was the object of it, that to consign to distant exile and imprisonment a foreign and captive chief, 1816. 198 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. who, relying on British generosity, had sur- rendered himself to us, is unworthy of the magnanimity of a great nation." That the pu- nishment inflicted on this " foreign chief" was a violation of the law of nations, could not be denied, even considering him in the light of a prisoner of war ; for, whatever might be his previous character or conduct, he was not ame- nable to a British tribunal. But it may be pleaded, that the safety of the nation is the su- preme law. No great nation, however, since the days of Hannibal, was ever disturbed by such terrific apprehensions from the enmity or talents of an individual, lately indeed formi- dable, but now abandoned by fortune, without friends, without resources, without a country. Debateon An interesting debate took place on the Army Esti- ° l mates. subject of the army estimates, brought for- ward by the secretary of war, lord Palmerston, who proposed for the ensuing year an esta- blishment of 176,000 men, including the forces stationed in France ; although it was impos- sible to name a period when less exposed to danger from any foreign power. Tn the speech of the regent, '■' the security of the country" was indeed not the only reason as- signed for the establishment in contemplation. It was also " to be suitable to its station and high character among the European powers." GEORGE III. 199 This was a perfectly new criterion. The book r • XLIL character of the nation never stood higher in ^-v~«^ l o" Europe than in the reigns of king* William and queen Anne ; yet the military peace esta- blishment, after the treaties of Ryswic and Utrecht, never amounted to 20,000 men. But a great standing army, among other foreign predilections, had been the ruling passion of the German dynasty ; and every reign had afforded new proofs of legislative complaisance. " The constitution of England," says the cele- brated Blackstone, " knows of no fortresses, no barracks, no such thing as a regular sol- diery established in the country." On the 25th April, lord George Cavendish moved an address to the prince regent, stating '? that the house could not but contemplate with constitutional jealousy the existence of so large a standing army, and enforcing the necessity of ceconomy in every department of the state." The order of the day moved by lord Palmerston upon this question was car- ried by 158 to 102 voices. Another division, not flattering to ministers, took place May 7th, on the motion of lord Althorpe, for the appoint- ment of a select committee to consider and report upon the reductions which could be made without injury to the public service. This was negatived by 169 to 126 voices. 1816. 200 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Notwithstanding the explicit declarations of Mr. Pitt and his successors, and even the so- p . lemn pledges contained in the successive acts .Property l © T *1T °^ parliament, that the income or property- tax should be continued only during the war, and six months after the conclusion of it ; and it was indeed the only resource, in case of future hostility, that could now be relied upon ; Mr. Vansittart hesitated not to an- nounce his intention of converting it into an annual tax; preparatory to which he had taken, as was now discovered, the precaution to omit the usual pledge in the act of the preceding year for its discontinuance. Though upon this occasion the whole force of government was exerted, the minister sustained a signal defeat; the numbers being 238 who voted for the repeal, and 201 against it. As if in cha- grin at this disappointment, he immediately notified his intention of relinquishing the addi- tional malt-tax, amounting to near 2,000,000/. In the course of this session, 35,600,000/. in exchequer-bills were funded ; and 9,000,000 borrowed at a low interest from the Bank. ol'TheT^ * n consec l uence °f a message from the prince cess char- regent, announcing the marriage-contract of Jotte. i. his daughter the princess Charlotte to prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg, who had visited England in 1814, the annual sum of 60,000/. 1816, GEORGE III. 201 was unanimously voted as a provision for the R,)fJ K requisite establishment ; the first payment to be made immediately : and in the event of the decease of the princess, a catastrophe at the present moment little contemplated, the an- nual sum of 50,000/. was continued to the prince during his life. The marriage took place on the 2d of May (1816;. About the same time was married the duke of Gloucester, to the princess Mary, fourth daughter of the King In the course of the session, lord King Deba teon ° Austrian moved for a copy of any representation made Loans. by our ministers at Vienna, at Paris, or else- where, for the recovery of the loans advanced to Austria in 1795 and 1797, now amounting with the interest to the aggregate sum of 14,000,000/. This, the noble mover said, Aus- tria was bound in honour and justice to pay; to which she was the more competent, as that power was now levying contributions on Na- ples. The earl of Liverpool stated, " that after the treaty of Campo Formio, application had been made to Austria, but it was found impossible to engage her again in the contest against France, if repayment was then exact- ed ; and considering the fairness with which Austria had acted, and her subsequent misfor- tunes; that her capital had been twice entered, 202 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and her best provinces taken from her ; he had no difficulty in saying it would be unjust to J 81(3. d emanc i it now." Lord Holland said, " they had no proof that Austria was involved in greater financial diffi- culties than other countries. If she had been despoiled of her provinces, those provinces had been restored, with many additional ones. But the money lent by Great Britain, if indul- gence was granted for a time, must, it seems, be lost for ever. It was too much to say to this country, you shall bear all the burdens of the war, and we will enjoy all the benefits of the peace." The motion was finally negatived without a division. tf!fsute°of 0n the 23d A P ri1 ' sir John Newport, at the Ireland, close of a speech in which the miserable state of Ireland was strikingly displayed, moved an address to the prince regent, " praying for documents to explain the extent and nature of those evils which rendered it necessary to maintain there an army of 25,000 men in a period of profound peace." Though no en- quiry could be more imperative upon the re- presentatives of the United Kingdom, or which an unbiassed house of commons would have more anxiously entered into, it was opposed by Mr. secretary Peel and negatived after an animated debate. GEORGE III. 203 The revived motion on the catholic question, book i • XLU - though supported by lord Castlereagh m the ^-~ ^ house of commons, was negatived by 172 to .A. ; o J Motion tor 141 voices. In the upper house, the earl of R , elie i°, f r I the Catho- Donoughmore (June 21) moved a resolution, iics - pledging the house of peers " to take into con- sideration next session the disabilities which continued to press on his Majesty's Roman catholic subjects in Ireland.*' The noble mover stated and enforced his sentiments on this mo- mentous question, with the liberality and com- prehension of a truly patriotic statesman. The resolution met with an able supporter in the earl of Aberdeen, who professed himself " in- capable of perceiving how danger to the state could arise, from converting the hostile spirit which pervaded a large mass of the population into a friendly one. However proud we might justly feel of our free constitution, it was impos- sible not to experience some degree of humilia- tion at the view of this strange anomaly, which excluded millions from the benefit of it. Earl Stanhope and the duke of Sussex also distinguished themselves as advocates for the resolution, which was opposed by the lords Bathurst, Redesdale, and more particularly the lord chancellor, who censured it " as en- tirely contrary to the spirit of the constitution, which acknowledged the king as the head of 204 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book the church; and he denied the authority of ^-v-w/ any foreign jurisdiction. Could he forget this, 1816, he should think lie had broken his bond of alle- giance. Should we pull down the bulwarks of our faith? Ought we to shake the pillars of our church, the safe-guards of our religion V In reply, the bishop of Norwich avowed his opinion " that the only way to secure per- manently the existence of any establishment, civil or ecclesiastical, was to evince liberal and conciliatory conduct to those who differed from us ; to lay its foundation in the affection and esteem of all within its influence, to bring- all dissents of faith within the pale of charity. This was the true foundation of our church : with this, it was secure from every danger ; without this, every other security was futile and fallacious.' 1 The decision of the house was not such as to discourage future applications ; the contents being 69 against 73 peers, who voted against the resolution. On the 2d July (1816), parliament was prorogued, the prince regent expressing " his deep regret at the distresses which the close of a long war had entailed on many classes of his Majesty's subjects." * *In the month of July, this year, died two persons eminent for their talents and patriotism ; the bishop of Llandaffand Richard lirinsley Sheridan, Esq. GEORGE III. 205 These distresses were, indeed, of such a book xlii. nature as to be no longer capable of conceal- ^-~v^ ment or palliation. But the language of minis- State of • ters was, that they were caused by the sudden tl,eNation - transition from war to peace, as if this transi- tion had been more sudden than usual. The causes were but too obvious : an annual taxa- tion of 60,000,000, and the loss in an alarming- proportion of the foreign market ; particularly that of America, which, in consequence of the disastrous orders in council, had been com- pelled to set up manufactures of their own ; and these they would not now relinquish. The European sovereigns, likewise, having found the possibility of dispensing with British ma- nufactures, were eager to encourage the spirit of commercial enterprize in their respective dominions. Thus the vast and unprecedented expenditure caused by the war being at once withdrawn, and not compensated as formerly by the golden reflux of prosperity in peace, the envy and admiration of the surrounding- nations at the felicity of Britain were changed into unavailing commiseration. Relief from the pressure of these accumu- petitions lated evils was sought in very different modes. ^J rllR " The petitions to parliament, which had been presented from almost every part of the king- dom, only served to shew how little sympathy 1816. 200 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. existed between the national representatives and their constituents ; nothing of consequence being effected by way of reduction of expen- diture, or of taxes ; the repeal of the odious property tax excepted, which, though carried in opposition to the court, no one ascribed to motives of pure patriotism. But if to seek redress by petitioning was futile, for the suf- ferers to take the remedy into their own hands Popular was both mischievous and criminal. This, how- Tamults. ever, was the natural progress ol popular dis- content: and in both the agricultural and manufacturing districts, particularly in Nor- folk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire, and South Wales, very serious disorders arose, which were not quelled without calling in the aid of the military ; a practice by no means novel : but in the numerous meetings held for petitioning, a new and striking characteristic of the times appeared, uise. of Since the publication of the famous and per- ism. nicious pamphlet of Paine, " Rights of Man," provoked by and written in answer to the still more famous and pernicious " Reflec- tions" of Burke, a new description of reform- ists had sprung up among the lower classes of society, holding principles subversive of the constitution : and, for the last half century, much more pains having been taken by the GEORGE III. 207 higher orders of the community to acid to the book knowledge than to the comfort and happiness ^^r^ of their inferiors, the alarming phenomenon was exhibited in almost all the popular meet- ings, of persons in the garb of poverty, who, in fluent and impressive language, could point out the various errors civil and political which during the present reign had produced the fatal change visible to all. They enlarged upon the wild and wanton waste originating in perpetual wars, in pensions, sinecures, and ex- travagances of every kind pervading the admi- nistration of government ; but above all, upon that corrupt dependence of the representatives of the people upon the executive power, which had destroyed the balance of the constitution, and superinduced a state of things in which the will of the sovereign was every thing, and that of the people nothing. The utter hope- lessness of any effectual remedy under these circumstances being manifest, the popular orators, as a corollary from these principles, urged that a radical reform in the representa- tion, including universal suffrage, annual par- liaments, and vote by ballot, was essential to the salvation of the country. This sect of reformers, who had at different times been stiled Painites, democrats, jaco- bins, &c. now received the designation of XLII. 1816. 208 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book radicals. The danger arising- from the preva- VI IT O O 1 ience of these principles proved a very serious obstacle in the way of rational and consti- tutional reform : for many truly respectable persons thought it requisite to strengthen the hands of government, when assailed from a quarter so desperate, who were far from ap- proving the general system of administration ; and the number of those were continually in- creasing, who thought that some reform in the representation adequate to the acknowledged evil, a reform which would diminish the un- constitutional influence of the crown, while it increased the constitutional influence of the people, was a measure just, wise, and ne- cessary. Expedition A naval expedition was this year undertaken gSrs" 8 against the piratical state of Algiers. Early in the spring, lord Exmouth, who commanded in the Mediterranean, received instructions to ne- gotiate with the Barbary powers for the aboli- tion of Christian slavery, to which Tunis and Tripoli assented ; but the dey of Algiers pre- tended to refer the question to the grand seignor. In the mean time he continued his outrages, and a horrid massacre took place of the Christians engaged in the coral fishery at Cape Bona. Being joined by a Dutch squa- GEORGE III. 209 dron at Gibraltar, lord Exmouth on the 27th of August again anchored in the bay of Al- giers. The dey was by this time well prepared for defence ; and the message sent by a flag of truce being disregarded, an obstinate and bloody action ensued, affording a new field for British heroism ; nor was the courage dis- played by the Dutch inferior. The firing on both sides from three in the afternoon till evening was tremendous. Eight hundred lives were lost by the assailants, but the result was decisive. The Algerine batteries, with their ships, arsenal, and magazines, were de- stroyed, and vast numbers of their men were killed or wounded. The submission of the dey was complete. He agreed to the aboli- tion for ever of Christian slavery, and likewise to the release of all Christian slaves in his dominions ; restoring the money received by him for the redemption of slaves captured since the beginning of the year. The captives thus rescued were conveyed to their own shores ; chiefly those of Naples and Genoa ; and the redemption money, amounting to near 400,000 dollars, was paid to the courts of Turin and Naples for the respective claimants. Thus a splendid service was rendered to Christendom. 1816. VOL. XIV. 210 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN, State of Spain. In France, things continued in a state of great irritation. The revolt of last year was so general, that almost the whole nation might have been included in the same indictment. Humanity and policy, therefore* would have hastened to cast a veil over the past, by an act of pardon and oblivion : but the revenge of the court was continually employed in select- ing new victims. Of these, count Lavalette, who had accepted the office of director of the posts, one of necessity under any government, was destined to capital punishment. Happily, he effected his escape by the aid of certain English gentlemen then at Paris, of whom sir Robert Wilson, distinguished for his gallantry in Egypt and Portugal, was one. For this offence they were sentenced to three months imprisonment; and sir Robert, on his return to England, received a severe reprimand issued in general orders : but the generosity of the act was loudly applauded both in France and England. The marriage of the duke ofBerri to a daughter of the king of Naples, was a source of satisfaction at this period to the court of Versailles. In Spain a royal edict was issued for restor- ing to the Jesuits " all their houses, colleges, funds, and revenues, as well in the Indies as in Europe ; they conforming themselves to the 1S16. GEORGE III. 211 constitutions of their order, as established by their holy founder, under the sanction of the pope. The queen of Portugal dying March 1816, the prince regent assumed the regal appellation of Don Juan VI. In September, Ferdinand VII. and his brother Don Carlos espoused Isabella and Maria, princesses of Portugal. The civil wars in South America still continued with alternations of success, but with no prospect of reducing the revolted colonies. The emperor of Austria, having recently lost state of his consort, chose for her successor a princess of the house of Bavaria. On the opening of the diet at Frankfort a declaration was made by the imperial representative, " that the em- peror claimed no authority in virtue of his presidency ; being merely the conductor of its proceedings." As to Prussia, though the mo- narch in the hour of distress had solemnly engaged to confer upon his people a represen- tative constitution, he had shewn, on the re- turn of prosperity, no disposition to redeem his pledge ; and much dissatisfaction prevailed throughout his dominions, as likewise in Wir- temberg, from the same cause. But the king of Wirtemberg died, unlamented, October 30th (1816), and was succeeded by his son, of whom better hopes were conceived. p 2 212 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book In England, the embarrassments of the com- XL1I. v— v^^ mercial and agricultural interests had arisen stlf^of * n tne: ^ course °f this year to an alarming Great Bri- height ;' and distress and discontent seemed tain. ° ' to pervade the mass of the people, breaking out at times into acts of tumult and outrage. On the 2d of December a meeting was con- vened in Spa-fields, at which many thousands of the~populace attended, to take into conside- ration the state of the country. Such meetings can never be wholly free from danger ; and upon this occasion, after various inflammatory harangues, a band of desperadoes, who ap- peared on the ground with a tri-coloured flag and other banners, headed by a young man named Watson, began their march toward the city ; and stopping at Snow-hill, attempted to procure arms by plundering the shop of a gunsmith ; Watson firing a pistol at, and wounding a person who remonstrated against this atrocious procedure. The vigorous con- duct of the city magistrates, aided by the military, put however a speedy stop to the mischief. Many were apprehended, and two suffered capital punishment ; though Watson himself, for whom a great reward was offered, after long concealment, effected his escape into America. GEORGE III. 213 Though the hands of government were sen- B 2£F & & XLII. sibly strengthened by the spirit of violence ^y^ manifested on this and other occasions, innu- p et itionsto merable petitions were presented to the prince R e e ffe n" nce regent toward the close of the year, stating the distresses and grievances of the nation, and imploring such relief and redress as the power and wisdom of government could afford. By far the most remarkable of these was the petition addressed to him personally and in the accustomed forms at Carlton house (De- cember 9th), by the corporation of London ; which had during the last thirty years almost uniformly supported the measures of the court, with little apprehension of consequences. But the delusion had vanished, as at the dissolving of a spell ; and the citizens of London found, in common with the rest of the kingdom, that the national glory so dearly purchased, was but the splendid precursor of national misery ; and that in the body-politic, no less than that of the individual, an unnatural state of over- exertion must terminate in exhaustion and debility. "We forbear/' say these petitioners, "to enter into details of the afflicting scenes of privation and suffering that every where exist. We beg to impress upon your royal highness that our present complicated evils have not 1816. 214 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book arisen from a mere transition from war to XLIl. peace, nor from any sudden or accidental causes ; neither can they be removed by any partial or temporary expedients. Our griev- ances are the natural effects of rash and ruin- ous wars, unjustly commenced, and pertina- ciously persisted in ; of immense subsidies to foreign powers ; of an unconstitutional and unprecedented military force ; of the unex- ampled and increasing magnitude of the civil list ; of a long course of lavish and improvi- dent expenditure ; all arising from the corrupt and inadequate state of the representation of the people in parliament ; whereby all consti- tutional control over the servants of the crown has been lost. We humbly submit to your royal highness that nothing but a reformation of these abuses, and restoring to the people their just and constitutional right in the elec- tion of members of parliament, can afford a security against their recurrence ; calm the apprehensions of the people ; allay their irri- tated feelings, and prevent those misfortunes in which the nation must inevitably be involv- ed by an obstinate and infatuated adherence to the present system of corruption and ex- travagance." The prince regent expressed, in reply, " his strong feelings of surprise and regret at this GEORGE III. 215 address and petition ; and the consolation he derived from the persuasion, that the great body of his Majesty's subjects, notwithstand- 1817 - ing the various attempts which have been made to irritate, and mislead them, are well convinced that the severe trials which they sustain with such exemplary patience and for- titude, are chiefly to be attributed to unavoida- ble causes; - " — and his royal highness concluded by deprecating " those proceedings, which, from whatever motive they may originate, were calculated to render temporary difficulties, the means of producing permanent and irreparable calamity." The session of parliament was opened Janu- p^f™ of ary 28th, 1817, by the regent in person. The J> e n nt > speech stated the anxious desire of govern- 28th. ment to make every reduction which the safety of the empire, and true policy, would allow. The deficiency in the revenue was acknow- ledged, but ascribed to temporary causes. Continued assurances of amity from foreign powers were mentioned. But the most re- markable passages of this speech are those which follow, as forming a complete contrast to the melancholy picture of the state of the country, drawn in the late petitions. " I am too well convinced," said the prince, " of the loyalty and good sense of the great body of his 216 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Majesty's subjects, to believe them capable ^ which was carried through both houses cor b M S act ^Y g r eat majorities, though accompanied by a suspended, protest signed by eighteen peers, who thought " that no such case of imminent and pressing danger had been stated as might not be suf- ficiently provided against by the executive government under the existing laws." In the house of commons, on the motion of lord Cas- tlereagh, the act of 1795, for the security of his Majesty's person, was, by no very flatter- ing compliment, extended to the prince re- gent. Also the provisions formerly made for the suppression of tumultuous meetings and debating societies, for the prevention of secret oaths and organizations, were incorporated into one act ; and a bill passed for punishing with rigour any attempt to withdraw soldiers or sailors from their allegiance. All these measures, after undergoing much discussion, received the sanction of the legislature. Reductions A select committee, on the suggestion of the of Expen- diture, same nobleman, was appointed to enquire into the state expenditure, on whose report various sinecure or superfluous offices were abolished ; but these were amply compensated to the go- vernment by a bill called the civil services GEORGE III. 221 compensation bill, empowering the crown to book grant pensions on dismission from office, ac- v ^ / ^ T q 1 y cording to the duration of service. On the motion of the chancellor of the ex- issue of chequer, a bill was introduced and passed, to bills. enable his Majesty's government to issue ex- chequer bills to the amount of 500,000/. to commissioners, to be by them applied in the construction of public works, in the encou- ragement of the British fisheries, or advanced for the employment of the poor in different parishes, on due security for repayment. This feeble and abortive attempt formed a striking contrast to the countless millions voted to the continental sovereigns, without any security for the repayment even of those sums which had been professedly advanced on loan. The annual motion of Mr. Grattan, in favour Catholic Relief of the catholics, came under discussion on Motions, the 9th of May, when he once more urged the house to resolve itself into a committee, with a view to the final and conciliatory adjustment of this great question. Mr. Grattan took upon him, on this occasion, to affirm " that the ca- tholics were now ready to concede the veto, domestic nomination, or whatever else had been deemed necessary to the security of the protestant establishment." Upon what au- thority this was said did not appear, nor was 1817. 222 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. there any indication of a disposition on the part of the petitioners to relinquish the least of their spiritual privileges, as the purchase of what they conceived to be their civil rights as true and loyal subjects. Mr. Elliot, who had filled the office of secre- tary for Ireland, under the duke of Bedford, observed " that two centuries of experience had shewn the inefficiency of the penal laws to repress the spirit or numbers of the catho- lics. They were not shaken in their faith, they were only rendered worse subjects. In the anxiety which prevailed to support the protestant ascendancy, they would, in effect, create an aristocracy destitute of all constitu- tional authority." Lord Castlereagh, the firm and invariable friend of the catholics, whether in or out of power, expressed his conviction that nothing could be done towards tranquillizing Ireland, till the catholics were restored to their rights ; till they were admitted as good subjects, to fight the battles of the constitution at home, as they had fought those of the country abroad. He felt it his duty to make an earnest and solemn appeal in their favour; conjuring the house to put an end to those afflicting dissen- sions which were constantly agitating the other country. Mr. Canning, who had to- GEORGE III. 223 ward the close of the last session accepted the place of first commissioner for the af- fairs of India, supported this truly just and 1817 * necessary measure with his usual ability. It was also zealously advocated by sir J. Hip- pisley Coxe, though unfortunately entangled in the mazes of the Veto. The chief opponent of the motion on this occasion was Mr. Peel, member for Oxford university, a young man of rising reputation in the house ; possessing talents, candour, and eloquence. He was, however, believed to be strongly attached to what was called the ultra party in the cabinet. This gentleman declared himself "adverse to the committee; and he sincerely hoped that the house would weigh the practical advantages of the government as it stood, against the visionary and theoretical benefits expected from that which was to be." On the division, at a late hour, the numbers were 221 for and 245 against the motion; the corresponding motion of lord Donoughmore in the upper house, being opposed by the minis- ter lord Liverpool with his whole strength, was lost by 142 to 90 peers. On the 12th of May an interesting discus- circular i i .of Lord sion took place in the upper house, respecting sidmouth. a circular, addressed by lord Sidmouth to the lords lieutenants of counties throughout Eng- 1817. 224 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xl?i K land and Wales ; in which this nobleman stated, " that as it was of the greatest importance to prevent, if possible, the circulation of the blasphemous and seditious pamphlets and wri- tings, now distributed in great numbers through the country, he had thought it his duty to consult the law-officers of the crown, whether a person found selling or in any other way publishing such writings, might be brought immediately before a justice of the peace by warrant, to answer for his conduct. That the law officers, after consideration, had notified to him their opinion, that a justice of the peace might issue his warrant for the apprehen- sion of a person charged before him on oath with the publication of such libels, and compel him to give bail to answer the charge. The secretary of state, under these circumstances, called the attention of the lords lieutenants to the subject, and requested that they would notify such opinion to the chairmen at the quarter session, in order that magistrates might act upon it." This letter, with the extraordinary opinion of the crown lawyers, Garrow and Shepherd, annexed to it, caused a great sensation through- out the kingdom. It was indeed admitted by all, that a magistrate has the power of hold- ing to bail any person selling blasphemous or GEORGE III. 225 seditious publications: but they must be such book as the law has pronounced seditious, or bias- ^— v-*^ phemous ; not such as every ignorant zealot in 1S the commission of the peace may think, or fancy to be so. This would indeed be esta- blishing a censorship of the press of the most odious and alarming description. " The wri- Dunning's . „ . Letter con- ters upon bail, says a great law authority, cemiog " never mention sureties for the behaviour in any case of a libel, or constructive breach of the peace. It is a doctrine injurious to the freedom of every subject, and derogatory to the old constitution." Earl Grey, in moving " that the case sub- mitted to the crown lawyers should be laid before the house," indignantly reprobated the principle, that a justice of peace might be called upon by any common informer to de- cide what was, or what was not a libel ; and to commit or hold to bail upon his sole judg- ment. He declared it to be a most dangerous extension of the official duties of a minister of the crown, to interfere with the conduct or discretion of the magistracy: and, above all, in a case where the security of the subject and the liberty of the press, were so deeply affect- ed. The noble earl then went into a .lumi- nous display of legal knowledge on this mo- mentous subject ; in the course of which he VOL. XIV. Q 22G HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book adduced the authorities of the chief justices w-*^ Hale, Holt, and Camden, to shew that a jus- tice of peace has no power to commit for libel. The present chief justice Ellenborough, nevertheless, was of opinion that justices of the peace can arrest and hold to bail in cases of libel, citing as authorities in opposition to the great names on the other side, some ob- scure and forgotten precedents of the crown officers of former days. Lord Erskine asked, " if this were law, why it happened, that on the breaking out of the French revolution, when the country was inundated with sedi- tious libels, in no one instance was such prac- tice adopted ? And he absolutely denied the legality of it." Lord Holland said " that the opinion of lord Camden, given judicially from the bench, was, he conceived, of greater weight than the practice of all the attorneys- general who had ever lived. Ship-money and general warrants had been justified by attor- neys-general ; and it would be difficult to dis- cover one practice, however pernicious in itself, or inconsistent with the liberties of the country, that had not been defended by the law officers of the crown." The motion for the production of the case was negatived by a great majority ; but an impression was made on the public mind GEORGE III. 227 which no majority could efface ; and this was book almost universally regarded as one of the C-^-O boldest attempts which had been made since 1817 - the Hanover accession, to circumscribe the rights and privileges enjoyed by the people of England, under the old constitution. The same question was subsequently brought for- ward by sir Samuel Romilly, and enforced with his accustomed ability ; but the resolu- tions moved by him were overruled by a great but very unpopular majority. On the 20th May, sir Francis Burdett once Motion for . . Parlia- more moved that a select committee be ap- mentary , . . . . , . Reform. pointed to inquire into and report the pre- sent state of the representation. " Petitions," he observed, " had now been presented from all parts for parliamentary reform : some of them had been stiled wild and visionary, as they asked for annual parliaments ; but it was incontrovertible that annual parliaments were the antient law and practice of this country. Under the present system of corruption, liberty could not long exist. They had been told that the constitution was a glorious one ; it was so in the books, in Montesquieu, but, practically speaking, the system was productive of op- pression and wretchedness. Lie exhorted gen- tlemen to take counsel from their wisdom, not from their fears ; and he hoped that the Q2 1817. 228 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xlii K P e °pl e vvou ld not cease to demand their v — ■v-"-' rights." Sir John Nichol thought " that the agitation of the question at this time might be attended with serious consequences ; and though no human institution could be per- fect, he was unable to perceive any essential defect in the present state of the representa- tion." Lord Cochrane, the colleague of sir Francis Burdett, in remarking upon an expression of the last speaker respecting the balance of par- ties in the house, said there was another ba- lance in which the whole weight of that house was on one side, and that of the public on the other. If the present system was not purified by reform, we might make a Germanized mili- tary figure ; but the ambition of converting this country into a great military nation was futile and impossible. Sir Samuel Romilly did not profess himself an advocate for universal suffrage, or annual parliaments ; but he was deeply impressed with the conviction, that reform was indis- pensable ; and though most of the petitions might go too far, that was no reason for re- fusing enquiry altogether. After a lengthened debate, the motion was negatived by 265 to 77 voices. GEORGE III. 229 A message from the prince regent, June 3d, book announced the continuance of the dangerous ^--v-^ combinations which had already engaged the Sa g™^!, rt attention of parliament. Committees of se- ? f th % Ha " ' beas Cor- crecy were again appointed ; whose reports p us Act stated, *' that the time was not yet arrived when the protection of the lives and properties of his Majesty's subjects could be allowed to rest upon the ordinary powers of the law.'' The secret committee of the lords made, ne- vertheless, the remarkable acknowledgment " that the evidence laid before the committee had been principally derived from the depo- sitions and communications of persons who were either themselves more or less implicated in these criminal transactions, or who had apparently engaged in them with a view of giving information to government ; that the evidence of both these classes of persons must be regarded with a degree of suspicion ; and that there was reason to apprehend that the language and conduct of some of the latter might, in certain instances, have had the effect of encouraging designs which it was intended that they should only be the instruments of detecting." After a warm discussion, an act passed, by great majorities, for continuing till March 1st, 1818, the suspension of the habeas corpus act. 230 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book On the 9th of July Mr. Wilberforce called XLII. . J v — v-*-' the attention of the house of commons to the Address on slave-trade, which was carried on without mo- Trade ave l est ation by the subjects of France, Spain, and, above all, Portugal, which had extended its traffic along the whole coast of Africa : so that the accession of these powers to the eventual abolition was a mere dead letter : and he moved an address to the prince regent, praying " that he would be pleased to pursue with un- remitted activity, the negotiations into which he had already entered on this important sub- ject." Lord Castlereagh suggested the danger of interfering with pendent negotiations ; but the house discovering no symptoms of alarm on that head, he acquiesced in the motion, which passed unanimously. Mr. Man- Toward the close of the session, Mr. Abbot, ners Sutton chosen who had held the office of speaker in five suc- Speaker. . . • i i cessive parliaments, with distinguished repu- tation, notified his intention of resigning, on account of indisposition ; and was soon after- wards called to the house of lords, by the title of lord Colchester ; an annuity of 4000/. being moreover granted to him for his meritorious services. The right honourable Charles Man- ners Sutton was elected in his place ; and the parliament was prorogued in person by the GEORGE III. 231 regent, in a speech of high approbation, on the book 12th of July, 1817. w^J In the month of August arrived at Ports-. l * l J- O Lord Am- mouth, from his embassy to China, lord Am-! 10rst '* em " •> bassy to herst, who had left England in February 1816. Cllin;1 - In the following July the embassy had arrived off the Chinese coast, and proceeded up the Yellow Sea. Whatever advantage might be expected from this expensive equipment, of which the prospect, after the total failure of the former embassy by lord Macartney, must have been very faint, was entirely frustrated by the refusal of lord Amherst to submit to the degrading ceremonial of prostration now required by the court of Pekin, though dis- pensed with in the person of his predecessor. The emperor, however, in " his imperial man- Translation date to the king of England," for such was the George language of the court of Pekin, expressed his satisfaction " at the disposition of profound respect and due obedience which were visible in sending this embassy." — " I therefore," says he, " thought proper to take from the articles of tribute a few maps, with some prints and portraits. In return, I ordered to be given to you, O king, a Jouee, a string of imperial beads, two large silk purses, and eight small ones, as a proof of our tender and indulgent 232 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. XLII. 1817. book conduct. Your country is too remote from the central and flourishing empire. Besides, your ambassador, it would seem, does not know how to practise the rites and ceremonies of the central empire. There will be no occa- sion hereafter for you to send an ambassador from so great a distance, and to give him the trouble of passing over mountains and crossing the ocean. If you do but pour out the heart in dutiful obedience, it is by no means neces- sary, at any stated time, to come to the celes- tial presence." corcan After this lofty rebuke, it may well be sup- iago/ P posed that a third embassy to China will not speedily take place. The ships Alceste and Lyra, employed in this service, embraced the opportunity of making a more accurate survey of the Yellow Sea and the coast of Corea than had hitherto been done, and discovered an archipelago, exhibiting a beautiful cluster of islands, inhabited by an hospitable race of people, who lived in happy ignorance of an European world. Transac- On reverting to the last ten years, the affairs tions in _ _ _ . i • i India. ot India seem to have been studiously en- veloped in mystery by the British government, who had long since engrossed both the power and the patronage of Hindostan. It was ap- 1817. GEORGE III. 283 parent, however, that the antient system, the book errors and defects of which formed the pretext ^ for transferring the authority of the court of directors to the board of control, continued in full force. The debts and the dominions of the honourable company still increased in constant and rapid progression. This difference only was observable ; that the dispatches of the directors, in their general tenor, evinced an extreme aversion to this procedure, and a per- fect conviction of its ruinous tendency, while, at the same time, their inability to rectify it was unhappily apparent. But the rejection on the part of the Indian board of the famous proposed dispatch of April 1805, addressed to the marquis Wellesley by the directors, with the honours and rewards conferred upon that nobleman, plainly demonstrated that the sys- tem of war and conquest was that which government itself approved ; and in Indian transactions the public no longer took any interest. During the last session of parliament, how- ever, the subject forced itself into notice by the accounts recently received of the triumphs of the present governor-general, who, like most of his predecessors in office, for a series of eighty years past, a period of delusive splendour 234 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book ailc i transcendent folly, had been engaged in ^v^ almost ceaseless warfare. 1 ft 1 7 war of' Toward the close of 1814 the British arms Nepaui. j ia( j i )een directed against the country of Ne- paul, which lies to the north-east of the pro- vinces of Oude and Bahar, extending to the kingdom of Thibet, which divides it from China. The mountainous frontier of Nepaui was defended by a hardy and warlike people, called Goorkahs, who were said to have en- croached upon the British dominions ; and a formidable army of 30,000 men, under general Ochterlony, entered the country to avenge this wrong. A bloody war ensued, which, as usual, terminated, December 1815, in a cession of territory to the honourable company. About the same time, the king of Ceylon, a cruel tyrant, was dethroned, and the whole island reduced under the power of Britain. After a short interval hostilities were resumed against Nepaui, in consequence of the refusal of the chief rajah to ratify the articles of the treaty already signed ; and in February J 816, a de- cisive victory was gained over the Nepaulese. The treaty was then fully acceded to, and in all points duly executed. War with On the western side of the peninsula a war the Pin- ' l darees. broke out with the Pindarees, who made an irruption into the Guntoor circar, where they GEORGE IB. 235 committed dreadful ravages. They were at book ii XLIL length driven beyond the Nerbudda ; but this t — , — ' war afterwards extended itself to all the Mah- 1817 ' ratta native princes. For the vigorous ex- ertions and brilliant successes obtained over the Nepaulese, Goorkahs, and Pindarees, enemies never before heard of, the thanks of parliament were voted to the governor-general, and the officers and soldiers under his orders. The earl of Moira was raised to the dignity of marquis of Hastings, and general Ochterlony created a baronet, receiving also the grand cross of the order of the Bath ; for this order had now been converted into a mere military in- stitution, in imitation of those on the Con- tinent, consisting of the several classes of grand crosses, knights commanders, and knights companions. Notwithstanding the late coercive measures, Trials for the tranquillity of the kingdom was far from Treason, being restored. In the month of June, James Watson senior, father of the delinquent who had absconded, was arraigned of high treason, with three of his associates, Thistlewood, Preston, and Hooper, before lord Ellenbo- rough at Westminster. Watson, whose trial came on first, was defended with great ability by his counsel, Copley and Wetherell, who demonstrated, as had formerly been done in 236 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B( j>ok the case of Hardy, the injustice and danger of v — v^ confounding the crimes of sedition and trea- 1 SI 7 son, and the unconstitutional nature of con- structive evidence. After a trial which lasted seven days, Watson was acquitted ; and the attorney general Shepherd declined farther proceedings. Castles, the chief witness on the part of the prosecution, being proved to be a spy of government, and very profligate in his general character, was not by the jury thought worthy of credit. Acts of tumult and outrage prevailed, parti- cularly in the northern counties ; and at Derby bills of indictment were found against forty-six persons for high-treason. In the month of October a special commission was appointed to try the delinquents. Upon the whole, great lenity was shown to these mis- guided people, and three only were destined to capital punishment. One Oliver, an in- former of the same class with Castles, was charged on the strongest grounds with being very active in inciting sedition and treason, with the view of being rewarded for the dis- covery. Death of The 6th of November this year, was ren- Princcss charlotte, dered fatally memorable by the sudden and melancholy demise of the princess Charlotte, presumptive heiress of the crown, immediately GEORGE III. 237 after the birth of a still-born infant. On this event, all distinction of party seemed to be absorbed in one common emotion of grief. 1817 - Her virtues, her accomplishments, her prin-. ciples, her prudence and discretion in a situa- tion of peculiar difficulty, were fully appre- ciated ; and the hope, enthusiastically che- rished, of future felicity under her government, had no parallel since the days of Elizabeth, whose name she had often on her lips, and whom in all that was great and excellent she was ambitious to resemble. Thus untimely faded " the expectancy and rose of the fair state." In every court and every country throughout Christendom, and even in the dis- tant regions of Asia and America, her death caused an unfeigned sensation of sorrow. She was interred with royal honours at Windsor, prince Leopold, her inconsolable consort, sus- taining in person the afflicting office of chief mourner. Toward the close of the year, a prosecution Prosecu- , , r , tion of little important in itself, excited uncommon Hone, interest from the unprecedented violence with which it was urged by the crown lawyers. A criminal information was filed by the attorney- general (December 1 8th) against the defendant William Hone, for a profane libel upon the Church-catechism, the Apostles' creed, the 238 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1817. book Lord's prayer, and the Ten Commandments. The profaneness consisted in adapting the phraseology of those venerable, though far from equally sacred symbols, to political pur- poses. This practice, however reprehensible, was by no means an uncommon indecorum. The essence of the charge was, " that the de- fendant Hone, meaning to ridicule, scandalize, and bring into contempt, certain parts of the service of the church, did publish," &c. This was indubitably and notoriously false. The publication, in fact, contained a poignant satire upon ministers, and its sole object was to bring them into contempt. Hone conducted his own defence with won- derful ability and presence of mind ; proving, by numerous examples, that parodies, far from implying reflection or scandal on the original, had generally been taken from the most ad- mired passages of the most celebrated pro- ductions, — as the soliloquy of Hamlet, the speech of Norval, and, in a remarkable in- stance, the noble morning hymn of Milton, by Mr. Canning, whom no one could suspect of insensibility to its beauties, in a political pub- lication stiled the Anti-jacobin. The cause was tried before Mr. justice Abbot and a spe- cial jury ; and though the judge in his charge gave an opinion against the defendant, he re- 1817. GEORGE III. 239 minded the jury that they were to be guided book J J J ° XL1I. by their own judgment, not by his. In a very short time a verdict of acquittal was returned, producing an involuntary burst of acclamation in the court. As if to demonstrate the invidious nature of Second • Prosecu- the prosecution, it was on the following daytionof , . ■, ■ r • r i Hone. resumed in a second information from the at- torney-general before the chief justice Ellen- borough, and a special jury, for publishing a profane libel on the Litany. A defence not less able than the former, and which lasted several hours, was made by the defendant. The chief justice, in charging the jury, urged upon them the importance of the case, and of their deci- sion, to the cause of religion, and the vital in- terests of the country ; and he pronounced the publication in question to be a most im- pious libel. The jury, notwithstanding, after an absence of two hours, returned a second verdict of acquittal ; and the hall a second time rang with acclamation. Exhausted and worn down by the length Thlr t d . Pro " •> ~ secution and anxiety of the former trials, the defend- of Hone - ant was on the very next day called upon to abide the issue of a third information before the same judge, and another special jury, for a profane libel on what is stiied the creed of St. Athanasius ; though well known to be a sym- 240 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book bol of faith framed in the darkest ages ; the xlii. . . . , . ^— v-^ attempt to raise the sanctity of this presump- 1817, tuous dogma, to a par with the scriptural parts of the liturgy, was so gross, that scarcely could a chance of conviction remain. The parody was stiled the Sinecurists' creed ; during the reading of which incessant laughter pervaded the court. The defendant again exerted himself with unabated animation. In excuse for his not employing counsel, he declared, " that no counsel was endow- ed with sufficient courage to withstand lord Ellenborough." After a trial of many hours, the chief justice once more charged the jury in vehement language against the defendant, but without effect ; for the jurors without the least hesitation returned a verdict of not guilty ! and the hall of justice a third time resounded with shouts of applause, not known on any occasion since the acquittal of Hardy. In acknowledgment of the courage and eloquence displayed by Hone, he was rewarded by a liberal contribution on the part of the public. In France, so far as the power or influence of the king extended, matters were reverting fast to their former state. A new Concordate was made with the pope, re-establishing the antient superstitions. Seven new archbishop- ricks, and twenty-five new bishopricks were State of France. GEORGE III. 241 erected. A law was enacted for restraining the liberty of the press : on the other hand, a royal edict, little regarded, was at length pro- mulgated for the abolition of the slave-trade ; to commence north of the line, from the end of the present year, and south of the line, from the 30th May, 1820. Spain remained in a state of sullen and in- s P ain - dignant submission to one of the most odious monarchs who ever swayed a sceptre. Insur- rections broke out at Valencia and Barcelona, byt were soon suppressed by the military. Ferdinand signalized his religious zeal by an edict, prohibiting all publications which im- pugned the authority of the Roman pontiff and the holy tribunal of the inquisition; or which contained principles subversive of mo- narchical government. In South America, the patriots made great progress, and a new go- vernment was organized in the great province of Chili. Portugal still continued in an un- quiet state, under the administration of a re- gency. In Sicily, the representative system, established under the sanction of the British government, was totally abolished by the king. Germany had been recently much agitated Germany. by the efforts made in the Prussian and other states, to obtain representative governments. The constitution offered by the king of Wir- VOL. XIV. Ji 242 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book temberg to his people was rejected as inade- ^— v-«^ quate to their wants and wishes ; and the as- 1817# sembly of the states was in consequence dis- solved. The court of Saxe Weimar had been long distinguished as one of the most polished and enlightened in Germany ; and the reigning duke not only granted to the inhabitants of the duchy a free constitution, but made a vo- luntary proposal to the diet at Frankfort, that this constitution should be placed under the guarantee of the Germanic confederation. In this, the assent of Austria the presiding state being given, all the other votes concurred. Also, by the influence of Spain, tlie reversion of Parma and Placentia was settled by the em- peror Francis on the Infant Don Carlos Louis, son of the queen of Etruria, and nephew of Ferdinand VII. Nether- T/he government of the Netherlands, in lands. ° adopting the measure of abolishing the antient monopoly of the India company, and throw- ing open the commerce of the East, acquired America, great popularity. In the United States of President. America, Mr. Maddison was succeeded in the high office of president by Mr. Monroe, than whom a happier choice could not have been made. A picture of national prosperity, ex- hibiting a striking contrast to the difficulties and distresses of England, was presented in the XLII. 181 GEORGE III. 243 message to congress, on the 2d of December book (1817), from which it appeared, that after all the expenses of the military and naval esta- blishments were defrayed, together with the interest of the public debt, a large surplus from the revenue remained towards its even- tual extinction ; exclusive of the produce of the internal taxes, of which he therefore recommended the abolition ; a proposition which was received with the applause and gratitude which it merited. The session of parliament commenced on 1818 - Session of the 28th January (1818), with a speech which Parliament, was delivered by commission. After adverting to the death of the princess Charlotte, and the consolation which his royal highness had re- ceived under this afflictive stroke, from the sym- pathy of the people, it was added that " amidst his own sufferings he had not been unmindful of the effect which this sad event must have on the interests and future prospects of the country." This was understood as an intima- tion of the royal marriages, already in con- templation. The addresses passed through both houses with no memorable opposition. One of the first measures instituted by mi- R ^peai of theSus- nisters was a bill introduced by lord Sidmouth pension of the Habe;is for repealing the habeas corpus suspension Corpus act; the state of the country being now acknow- r 2 244 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book ledged to be tranquil, and affirmed to be Sr-y^ prosperous. In assenting to this repeal, lord 1818. Holland recommended " an enquiry into the grounds of the act itself; respecting which, the evidence hitherto adduced had been very imper- fect. And adverting to the late extraordinary prosecution against Hone, he declared it to be so notoriously political, that it was impossible for the country not to despise the hypocritical pretences under which it had been brought forward." indemnity Secret committees having been once more Act. . . b appointed to examine the cases of the persons detained under the suspension, it was reported, " that the ministers, in exercising the powers vested in them, had acted with due discretion and moderation ;" and a bill was brought in, as usual, for indemnifying those who had acted under the provisions of it. Upon the second reading of this bill in the house of com- mons, sir Samuel Romilly, in the course of an eloquent speech, declared " that it anni- hilated the rights of individuals, and took away all legal remedies from those who had suffered by an irresponsible and unconstitu- tional exercise of authority." But the danger- ous discretion entrusted to ministers appearing, upon the whole, to have been exercised with moderation, the bill passed by great majorities. GEORGE III. 245 A motion made by lord Althorp, March 5th, hook on the report of the mutiny-bill, for the reduc- ^ v-^/ tion of the present military force, was opposed M ^ Q {(a by lord Palmerston, and supported by lord £™7 Re ~ J i r j auction. JNugent and Mr. Warre. The present system was declared to be ruinous to the constitution. On every occasion was seen a parade of mili- tary force. This was a great and striking change from the habits of our ancestors. The motion was negatived by 63 to 42 members. A royal message on the 13th of April an- Royal Mar- riages. nounced the intended marriages of the dukes of Clarence and Cambridge, to the princesses of Saxe-Meiningen and Hesse-Cassel : and soon after, that of the duke of Kent to the dowager-princess of Saxe-Leiningen, sister of prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg ; and the prince regent expressed " his reliance on the readiness of parliament to make the necessary provision for the same." This gave rise to a memorable debate. A previous meeting of those members whose Grants of , , . . . Revenue. support was deemed essential on this occasion, being convened at the house of the minister, it was proposed that 22,000/. per annum should be added to the parliamentary revenue of the duke of Clarence ; and 12,000/. severally to the dukes of Kent, Cumberland, and Cambridge, a year's income being paid in advance. This 1818. 246 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. would amount to 116,000/. the first year, and 58,000/. permanent increase of revenue. So little encouragement, however, did this project meet with in the first instance, that lord Cas- tlereagh thought it prudent to limit the propo- sition which he submitted to the house (April 15th) to an addition of 10,000/. to the duke of Clarence, and 6000/. to the other dukes. The latter sum was not objected to ; but no reason being assigned why the house should show any partiality to the duke of Clarence, Mr. H. Sumner moved an amendment, placing him on the same level, which was carried by 193 to 184 voices. On the following day, the question was put on the resolution relative to the duke of Cam- bridge, which was carried by 177 to 95 votes; but the same motion respecting the duke of Cumberland was negatived by a majority of 143 to 136 members. The duchess of Cum- berland was, however, included in the rever- sionary provision of 6000/. per annum for the intended consorts of the royal dukes. The duke of Clarence unadvisedly declared his determination, through the medium of lord Castlereagh, should the vote of the committee be confirmed, wholly to decline the proposed addition ; and lord Castlereagh intimated that the negotiation of the marriage might in that 1818. GEORGE III. 247 case be considered as at an end. This com- munication was received with perfect indif- ference, and the 6000/. was apparently saved to the public, though in the event it proved to be otherwise. A message from the duchess of Cumberland, delivered by lord L. Gower, was listened to with far different feeling. That nobleman de- clared, in the name of her royal highness, " that the first impression on her mind was, that although it was impossible for her not to feel a grateful sense of the kindness of the house, yet from delicacy she ought not to accept of the provision, lest, by concurring in any measure of that nature, she might appear to be separating her interests from those of her husband. But as it was the anxious desire of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, that whatever might happen to him, her royal highness should be amply provided for, she had made to the wish of the duke a sacrifice of that feeling to which she had alluded. Her royal highness, while she had the highest sense of the kindness of the house, hoped and trusted that she might never become a burden on a people by whom she had been treated with so much generosity." This touched the true chords of English feeling, and it was heard with marked approbation ; but the 248 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book duke's situation was now painful, and, in the v ^-v^ / course of the summer, he with the duchess ' again withdrew to the Continent. The same addition of 6000/. was subsequently voted to the duke of Kent. In April, the princess Eli- zabeth, third daughter to the King, espoused the hereditary prince of Hesse Homberg ; but no application to parliament was made on that account. Reflections In the course of the discussions to which the on the , _ RoyaiMar- prince regent s message gave rise, very iree remarks were made from both sides the house on the policy first introduced into this king- dom by the royal marriage act, passed at an early period of the present reign by very small majorities, and requiring the utmost exertions of the court. Mr. Canning observed, " that if there was any thing objectionable in the propositions now brought forward, it arose from the exist- ing laws of the country, which prevented the royal family from entering into engagements of marriage at home. If foreign connection proved unhappy, the fault was in the laws, and not in the individuals who were bound by them/' It was remarked, that the only plausible ground for passing the royal marriage act was the prevention of disputed claims to the 1818. GEORGE III. 249 succession : and, in a barbarous age, the rival- book XLI1. ship of York and Lancaster had indeed been productive of great calamity. But in the present state of society no such competition could be apprehended. By this act, the royal family were precluded from forming connec- tions with the noblest houses among the natives, and were forced, into alliances with the petty princes of Germany. Neither the Plantagenets, nor the Tuclors, nor the Stuarts, had thought themselves degraded by an inter- mixture of English blood. And so long as native connections are barred by law, so long will the Guelphs be regarded as a foreign family. It may also be observed, that the antient usages and constitution of this country are wholly adverse to the idea of an insulated fa- mily. The prejudice was always strong in favour of the succession of females, which is altogether subversive of the indefeasible right of a particular race. In the reign of king- Richard II. the whole nation looked up to the earl of March as the rightful heir, in virtue of his descent from his mother the princess Phi- lippa ; not at all solicitous as to the fate of the Plantagenets, And Henry IV. not choosing to trust to his parliamentary, which was incom- parably his best title, the affections of the 1818. 250 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ! xli? K nat * on revei 'ted to the house of York, as de- scended from the house of March. The title of Elizabeth queen of Henry VII. was consi- dered as decidedly superior to that of the earl of Warwick, last of the Plantagenets, though she carried the crown into a new family ; and on the recent occasion of the marriage of the princess Charlotte with prince Leopold, not the slightest symptom of uneasiness was mani- fested, either by whigs or tories, at the pro- bable transfer of the crown from the house of Hanover to that of Saxe-Coburg. The younger branches of the royal family were far from entering into the high German notions of the King. His brothers, the dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland, married English ladies of rank ; and his son, the duke of Sussex, espoused at Rome, April 4, J 793, lady Augusta Murray, the accomplished daughter of the earl of Dunmore ; the ceremony being repeated, December 5, 1793, at St. George's church, Westminster. Yet the marriage was declar- ed null and void, at the suit of the King, by the prerogative court, in 1794. In fine, by sending his sons to Germany for education, this monarch evinced partialities and preju- dices derogatory to this country, and unknown since the foundation of the monarchy. GEORGE III. 251 On the 19th May, sir Robert Heron moved for leave to bring in a bill for repealing the 1 XT 9 septennial act ; an object which had formerly Motion for been deemed of the highest importance, and had oflheTcp- excited the most strenuous efforts. The mo- tenmalAct - tion was supported by sir Samuel Romilly and Mr. Brougham. It is remarkable that upon this occasion strangers were not per- mitted to be present ; and the motion was ne- gatived, in comparatively a thin house, by 117 against 42 members. By the advocates of parliamentary reform in the present times, the restoration of triennial parliaments, unaccom- panied by other changes, was generally con- sidered as of very problematic advantage. The financial deficiencies of the present year statement 1 •' or finance. were provided for by the conversion of a cer- tain portion of the three per cents, into a new three and a half per cent, stock, which, ac- cording to the estimate of the chancellor of the exchequer, would produce the sum of 3,000,000. The remainder was supplied by an issue of exchequer-bills, a large proportion of those outstanding being funded. A treaty alluded to in the speech from the Treaty witt throne between England and Spain, relative to the slave-trade, was laid before the house, with peculiar satisfaction, by lord Castlereagh. 252 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book Conformably to the articles of this treaty, ^^O Spain, in consideration of the sum of 400,000/. 8 ' to be paid by the former in compensation of the losses which had been or might be sus- tained by the subjects of his catholic majesty engaged in that traffic, consented to its aboli- tion on all the coasts of Africa north of the line, still leaving it open to the south. What advantage could arise from this treaty seemed difficult to discover. As to the money to be paid by England, who was doomed to pay for every thing, and by whom all indemnification had been refused to her own merchants, it would doubtless, under the existing circum- stances, be appropriated by Ferdinand to the odious and unavailing purpose of subjugating the revolted provinces of South America ; and those, of whom the number was by no means small, who saw an insidious meaning in every act of lord Castlereagh, deemed this to be the real and sole intent of the treaty. A conven- tion was also concluded with Portugal to the same effect. Such was the result of the ad- dress moved at the close of the last session by Mr. Wilberforce. S"the g Re- ^he declining health of the queen caused a gency Act. j^n to jj e introduced by which some material alterations were made in the regency-act. By this bill she was empowered to nominate cer- GEORGE III. 253 tain additional members to her council; and book xlii. the clause was repealed which required the ^^^^ immediate assembling of parliament on the * demise of her majesty. The new members of council were the earl of Macclesfield, the bishop of London, lord St. Helens, and lord Henley. The present session was terminated, Dissoiu- t iii i r i • tion of Par- June J Oth, by a speech irom the prince re-iiament, gent, congratulating the two houses " on the manifest improvement of the internal circum stances of the country, and the growing indi- cations of national prosperity :" immediately after which, the lord chancellor declared it to be the will and pleasure of the prince, that the parliament be now dissolved. In the autumn, a congress was held at Aix-?, tateof ° France. la-Chapelle, attended on the part of Britain by lord Castlereagh, in which it was determined that the allied army of occupation should be withdrawn, on or before the 30th November ensuing, from the French territory. This was accordingly done, and the fortresses fully re- stored, to the great satisfaction of all parties in that kingdom. On the meeting of the legis- lative body in December, the king congratu- lated the chambers " that the French stand- ard now floated throughout the entire terri- tory of France, who had again taken the place which belonged to her in Europe." After 254 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B °? T K declaring his inviolable adherence to the char- XLII. ^ -r^ ter, he added — " In the laws which will be 1818, proposed to you, I shall take care that its spirit shall be always consulted, in order to secure more and more the public rights of the French, and to preserve in the monarchy the force which it must have to preserve all the liberties which are dear to my people." At this period Louis XVIII., sensible of the ground he had lost, seemed to be resolved on the adoption of measures calculated to re- store in some measure the public confidence. And on the 30th December, to the great chagrin of the ultra-royalists, and the count d'Artois, their acknowledged head, a total change of administration took place. In the new arrangement, the marquis Dessoles suc- ceeded the due de Richelieu in the foreign de- partment as first minister, the count de Cazes was appointed minister of the interior, the sieur de Serre of justice, baron Portal of ma- rine, baron Louis of finance. The due de Richelieu, a nobleman of great respectability, was said to retire from indisposition, and still retained the rank of minister of state. This change gave much satisfaction to the nation in general, state of The chains of Spain seemed now to be riveted under the tyranny of the perfidious GEORGE III. 255 Ferdinand. Finding; all his efforts to reduce book . . xlii. the South American provinces to submission ^— v**-' hopeless, he now proposed to them the follow- 8 * ing terms, agreeably to a formal notification made by him (June 1 5th) to the powers of the holy alliance, stating his desire "to employ every means depending upon human wisdom to reclaim his deluded subjects." 1st. A general amnesty for the insurgents immediately upon their submission. 2d. Ad- mission for Americans of suitable endowments to all offices in common with European Spa- niards. 3d. Regulations for the commerce of these provinces with foreign states, founded on principles of freedom, and conformable to the present political situation of Europe. 4th. A sincere disposition on the part of his catho- lic majesty to give his sanction to every measure which may be proposed by the high allies, compatible with his rights and dignity. This very much resembled the offer of Great Britain to her revolted colonies in 1778; and it met, as might be expected, with the same contemptuous reception. In Sweden, the death of Charles XIII., a Sweden. most respectable monarch, truly beloved and revered by his subjects, took place at an ad- vanced age, on the 5th February (1818); and he was succeeded by the crown prince, under 1818. 25G HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. bogs the appellation of Charles XIV. His coro- nation as king of Norway was celebrated at Drontheim, the antient capital, September 7th following. He was recognized by all the powers of Europe, and proved himself worthy of the throne to which he was elected. North The speech of the president of the United America. . States ot America, Monroe, in his message to congress of November 16th, announced the continuance of peace and prosperity, and the flourishing state of the public finances; the annual amount of which had now risen, not- withstanding the great reduction of taxes, to 25,000,000 of dollars. Various treaties, in- cluding extensive territorial acquisitions, had been made with the Indians. The measures of permanent defence authorized by congress, including the navy of the United States, were in progress ; and another state, " the Illinois," had been added to the union. Rcsigna- Immediately previous to the Michaelmas tion of . Lord Eiien- term, the resignation was announced of the chief justiceship by lord Ellenborough. He was succeeded in that dignity by Mr. justice Abbot ; and though an appointment of a puisne judge of the same court was not accounted altogether constitutional, as tending to create an undue influence, the new chief-justice, not aspiring to the honours of the peerage or a GEORGE III. 257 seat in the cabinet, has filled his hiarb office book XLII. with distinguished impartiality and reputa- ^-^^^ tion. I818 - The queen of England, after a long and^ea^of t- ° ° the Queen. severe illness, expired on the 17th November, in the seventy-fifth year of her age, and the fifty- eighth of her marriage with the King. The great popularity which she for many years enjoyed had long ceased to exist. Her ruling passion in the decline of life was believed to be the accumulation of riches : and the political in- fluence which she acquired during the illness of the King in 1788-9, she never lost; and it was thought to be invariably employed on the unpopular side of the question. But she was respected for her exemplary attentions to the King, for the general propriety of her con- duct, and the dignified decorum which she uniformly maintained in her household and court. The new parliament was convened for the 1819. 1 New Par- dispatch of business on the 14th of January, Hament iTi convened 1819; and on the 21st a speech was delivered January h. by the lord chancellor, who, with the lord president, the lord privy-seal, and the other lords commissioners, was empowered to open the parliament, stating the commands of the prince regent to express the deep regret felt by him for the continuance of his Majesty's vol. xiv. s 258 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B xV/i K * amente d indisposition. The severe calamity v — v-*-' caused by the demise of the queen would render the consideration of parliament neces- sary as to the measures with respect to the care of his Majesty's sacred person. The prince regent was persuaded that parliament would view with peculiar satisfaction the in- timate union which so happily subsisted among the powers who were parties to the late congress at Aix-la-Chapelle. His royal highness had the greatest pleasure in being able to inform the parliament, that the trade, commerce, and manufactures of the country, were in a most flourishing condition. And in adverting to the papers relative to India, which the prince regent had directed to be laid before the two houses, the lords commis- sioners had the commands of his royal high- ness to inform them, that the operations under- taken against the Pindarees were dictated by the strictest principles of self-defence ; and that, in the extended hostilities which followed, the Mahratta princes were in every instance the aggressors !" Bill for re- A bill was immediately brought in by the gulating the wind- earl of Liverpool for regulating the whole biishinent. Windsor establishment. The duke of York was nominated guardian of the King's person ; and it was proposed, that the same allowance GEORGE III. 259 of 10,000/. per annum which had been granted boo^k. to the queen for extraordinary expenses, un- ^v-"^ known to the public, should be continued to IS19 ' the duke. On this question a warm debate arose ; and Mr. Tierney moved that the al- lowance should be paid out of the privy-purse. This was negatived by 281 to 186 voices; the duke having previously authorized lord Castle- reagh to declare, " that he would not take, di- rectly or indirectly, what he regarded as the property of his father." This led to a farther discussion. According to the prescription of a thousand years, the King had no private pro- perty, and the privy- purse was merely that portion of the civil li^t which he chose to allot for his personal expenses. If, therefore, no personal expenses could be incurred, it again reverted to general purposes. Nor was any plausible ground stated to warrant such an application for the fulfilment of a natural duty, which involved in it no farther obligation than that of attending a monthly council at Windsor. The pecuniary embarrassments of the duke, whose revenues were confessedly very ample, were distantly hinted at. This consideration, however, was not only irrele- vant, but the cause was understood to be such as the wealth of the Indies would not relieve. s 2 2G0 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book An interval of a few weeks only had elapsed XLII n— v-^" between the resignation and the death of lord Delfhof Ellenborough ; the vacancy caused by which Lord Eiien- m the Windsor council was filled by marquis borough. J l Camden. Lord Ellenborough was an able and upright judge in the usual course of his profes- sional occupations ; but the impropriety of combining the character and authority of chief- justice of England with that of a politician and cabinet counsellor, never appeared in a more striking light. In him all the prerogative pre- possessions of lord Mansfield were seen in full force ; but, unhappily, unaccompanied by any tincture of the urbanity or noble manners of that great man. Motion for A grand and early trial of strength in the mitteeof new parliament occurred in a motion by Mr. mance. Tierney for a committee of enquiry respect- ing the restriction on Bank payments. " No financial arrangements deserving the name of system," Mr. Tierney observed, " had taken place since the re-establishment of peace. What must the nation think of a minister of finance, who, year after year, resorted to mere temporary expedients to enable him to pass from session to session, by holding out the ex- pectation that things would mend? This pro- crastination might be pleasant to himself, but it was fatal to the country. He wished for an GEORGE III. 261 open investigation, without tricks or con- trivances, or any secret movement of wires behind the curtain; for the right honourable 1819, gentleman was the occupant of an office in which he seemed to have no will of his own." The chancellor of the exchequer appealed to the justice of the house against the imputa- tions thus thrown out against him. Not ven- turing to oppose the motion altogether, he moved an amendment, importing a limitation of the object of enquiry to ascertaining in a secret committee the expediency of the re- sumption of cash-payments at the period fixed by law. The original motion being negatived by 277 to 168 voices, the amendment was carried without a division. On the 9th of February, Mr. Wilberforce pre- Petition sented a petition from the quakers, praying for the pynudT* arevisal of the penal code. In the course of his ° e ' speech on this occasion, Mr. Wilberforce al- luded to the recent death of Sir Samuel Ro- milly, who, at the last general election, had in the most honourable manner been chosen member for Westminster. He lamented " that this important question could not now be ad- vocated by one whose name would be re- corded among the benefactors of mankind, and whose memory would be cherished by all 2G2 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book who reverenced either public or private virtue. The country had been deprived of his assist- ance when it was most wanted, and when he- had proceeded but a few steps in his progress towards the present object ; in which he would in the end have disarmed all opposition by the persuasion of his eloquence, and compelled conviction by the force of his talents." This homage of praise, so justly merited, was re- ceived with the loudest applause from every part of the house. wararof j n the course of the session, a bill, brousfht Battle ' ' ° abolished, in by the attorney-general, passed into a law, Cise of Thornton for abolishing the absurd and obsolete appeal. and Ash- . . ' ford. in the case ot murder, to the trial by battle. This was occasioned by a remarkable appeal of this nature in a recent and most flagrant case of acquittal, under circumstances in- volving the strongest presumptions of guilt. By this bill the right of pardoning, in its fullest extent, was vested in the crown, which thus acquired some addition of power. Petition O n the 4th of March, a petition from the from the English English catholics was presented to the house Catholics. . _ of commons by lord JNugent, a nobleman dis- tinguished by his inflexible adherence to the principles of liberty and humanity. To this petition many thousand signatures were affix- ed, at the head of which was that of the duke GEORGE III. 263 of Norfolk, with ten other peers, praying for B £ U ° L K the removal of the various disabilities to which ^ ^ they were still subject. It was heard with silent and respectful attention. On the 22d of March, the marquis of Downshire presented to the house of lords a petition from the pro- testants of Dublin, in favour of the Roman ca- tholics. On the other hand, an anti-petition from the corporation of Dublin, against the catholic claims, was presented by lord Sid- mouth. All these were preparatory to the motion of Motion for 1 l J Relief. Mr. Grattan, May 3d, for the appointment House of Commons. of a committee to consider the state of the existing laws as affecting the catholics. He was ably seconded by lord Normanby, son of the earl of Mulgrave. This young noble- man deprecated, as totally incompatible with the received principles of the British consti- tution, the permanent exclusion of so large a portion of our fellow-subjects from the benefits of it, and retaining them in a state of political thraldrom, or degradation. " This," he ob- served, " was an extraordinary anomaly, and justly regarded as the reproach of a nation which had so often fought in the defence of the liberties of Europe." After a long and animated debate, the motion was lost by two voices only; the numbers being 241 to 243. 264 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The same great question was again brought before the house of peers by the earl of Do- similar noughmore. It was opposed, as usual, by the Houseof ^ or< ^ chancellor, " who could not see how the Lords, king's supremacy in things temporal could be reconciled with the pope's supremacy in things spiritual ; aud he referred to the history of this country, from the period of the restoration in 1660, to the revolution in 1688, in proof of this axiom." 1 Earl Grey observed in reply, " that the laws passed previous to the revolution were founded on particular circumstances, which no longer existed. It was true that our ancestors, after the expulsion of James, retained those laws, and even added to their severity ; but. they had strong reasons for so doing. The king had taken refuge with the greatest catholic so- vereign in Europe, and was supported by a number of catholic partizans in this country. The necessity for those laws having ceased, the policy of our ancestors could no longer be urged for their continuance. On the contrary, that policy which established general rights and national freedom ought now to be ex- tended to the catholics." The bishops of Worcester and Peterborough, though professing themselves friends to tolera- tion, spoke against the catholic claims, which GEORGE 111. 265 were advocated, as usual, by the bishop of Nor- wich ; who declared himself " equally averse to precipitate change, or obstinate opposition to 1819 ' any alteration of the law, however salutary ; or any accommodation to times and circumstances, however necessary. Amidst the changeful scenes of human life, we could not with safety remain stationary, and ought to learn libe- rality from the age in which we live. It was the duty of that house to consider the state of the existing laws, and not to suffer this coun- try to be the only one in Europe where reli- gious opinions excluded from civil rights." On dividing, the numbers in favour of the mo- tion were 106 ; against it, 147 peers. On the 11th of May, a bill was introduced ^of "" into the house of commons for enabling- the M ar q uis ° Camden. public to accept the magnificent sacrifice of the marquis Camden, who had some time since voluntarily resigned the surplus profits of his patent office of teller of the exchequer, be- yond the moderate salary annexed to it by the reform-bill of Burke, after the decease of the actual possessors. This was supposed to be a relinquishment of near 10,000/. per an- num. A doubt having arisen whether this princely gift was not of the nature of a benevo- lence unwarranted by law, this bill was in- tended to obviate the danger of the precedent, OQG HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book which, however, certainly was not very great ; ^^J and it will probably long remain a singular 1819. monument of the munificent patriotism of an illustrious individual. Foreign No ministerial measure of the present ses- Enlistment . Bill. sion was more warmly contested in the house of commons, or excited more indignation out of it, than the bill introduced by the attorney- general (May 13th) for preventing enlistment, and the equipment of vessels for foreign ser- vice. The first of these objects he stated to have been in part provided for by two statutes of king George II, which made it an offence amounting to felony to enter the service of any foreign state. But if neutrality were proper, it was important to extend the penalty to unacknowledged as well as ac- knowledged powers. And he proposed to amend these statutes by introducing, after the words king, prince, &c. " colony or district who do assume the powers of government." It was on a similar principle that he desired to prevent the fitting out of armed vessels, or supplying other vessels with warlike stores in any of his majesty's ports. Sir James Mackintosh rose immediately to warn the house, that however this motion might be worded and its true object conceal- ed, it ought to be entitled a bill for preventing GEORGE HI. 267 British subjects from lending" their assistance book . ... XLH - to the South American cause, or enlisting in w^js* the South American service. The statutes of George II, alleged as authority on this occa- sion, were not general laws applicable to all times and circumstances : on the contrary, they were calculated for temporary purposes ; namely, to prevent the formation of Jacobite corps, organized in France and Spain against the peace of this country. This measure was in fact designed to repress the rising liberty of the South Americans, and to enable Spain to re-impose that yoke of tyranny which they were unable to bear, which they had nobly shaken off, and from which he trusted in God they would finally be able to free themselves, whatever attempts were made by the ministers of this or any other country to countenance or assist their oppressors. Lord Castlereagh earnestly deprecated the introduction of political topics, with which the learned gentleman had filled his speech. He contended that the law was necessary to pre- vent our giving just offence to Spain, whom that house was too just and generous to op- press because she was weak and her fortunes had declined. Was not the proclamation of neutrality issued eighteen months ago gene- rally approved ? and was it not a breach of 268 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book, that proclamation, when not only individuals s-v-O or officers in small numbers went out to join 1819# the insurgents, but when there was a regular organization of troops ; when ships of war were prepared in our ports, and transports were chartered to carry out arms and ammuni- tion ? He felt some apology due to the house for not sooner bringing forward such a mea- sure. But while any hope remained of a mediation between Spain and her colonies, he had been unwilling to speak of the policy of the existing laws ; and it was but lately that such hope had entirely vanished. In the course of the debate, it was more openly avowed that the present measure was justified by the stipulations of the treaty con- cluded with Spain in 1814, and grounded on the representations of his catholic majesty's ministers in pursuance of that treaty. This necessarily excited very severe comments on the character of the king of Spain, and the baseness which would be manifested in passing a legislative measure on his suggestion, and to serve his purposes. On the commitment of the bill, June 10th, it was again assailed with all the powers of argument and eloquence, as an act of ignoble concession to the most odious of despots. In the renewed debate, sir James Mackintosh observed, " that instances of ser- GEORGE III. 269 vice like that complained of by Ferdinand book r * XLII. VII, and embarked in by the subjects of ^ v— ' this realm, were innumerable. Every one knew that Gustavus Adolphus had with him no small proportion of British troops, com- manded too by a marquis of Hamilton, a man of the first distinction in his own country. In the reign of king James I. a great body of troops, under sir Horace Vere, had served in Germany against the Spaniards; yet Gondo- mar, the Spanish ambassador, never had the courage to demand of that monarch, with whom he was so high in favour, any such con- cession : and would the house grant to Ferdi- nand VII, against whom the feelings of all men living were excited, what had been re- fused to the most powerful of his ancestors ?" The public abhorrence of this bill was strongly manifested by the numerous petitions presented against it. The division in its favour on the second reading was only 155 to 142 ; but a treasury circular being issued, that on the commitment was 248 to 174 members ; and in the successive divisions which took place in its progress, the number who voted in opposition to it probably ex- ceeded 200. It passed at length by a ma- jority of 61. In the upper house it again un- derwent a determined resistance. The mar- 270 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B ?n K °l u * s °* Lansdown forcibly remarked " that this ,v — v-^ measure would give to the government of Old Spain, to which arms were allowed to be sent, that assistance which ministers denied to the Spanish colonies." The motion of lord Hol- land that the bill be rejected, was negatived by LOO to 47 peers. The contrast between the feelings of the court and those of the country, and, what was of far greater consequence, between those of the people and the majority of their represen- tatives, could not appear in a more striking point of view. Every motive of policy, as well as of justice and beneficence, concurred in op- position to this act. Spain was carrying on a contest hopeless and ruinous ; and the best friends to that country would be happy to see it brought to a close. Great numbers of Bri- tish officers and soldiers, " whose bruised arms were now hung up for monuments," would re- joice to be employed in so noble a cause ; and by a timely interposition in favour of the South Americans, an inexhaustible mart might be obtained for British manufactures, with a boundless scope for commercial enterprise. But the ambition of lord Castlereagh was to restore in all respects the reign of darkness and despotism ; and thus the blood and tears of Europe would have flowed in vain. GEORGE MI. 271 On the 18th of May, Mr. Tierney, in one of book the fullest houses ever known, moved that v —-.^ the house do resolve itself into a committee on., 1 ? 19 *. Motion for the state of the nation. In the course of a Coa * m l ttee on the Mate long and able introductory speech, Mr. Tier- °/ theNa - ney dwelt upon " the inefficiency of the present military system to restore our # former national character and importance in the world, while our financial and naval concerns were totally neglected. A well-manned fleet, and a well- filled exchequer, were what Britain ought to confide in ; and not in an unwieldy military establishment, inconsistent with the habits and constitution of the country. He knew of nothing attempted, and much less accom- plished, by ministers for the public welfare. On the contrary, they had done their utmost to prevent the success of those by whose triumphs we might be benefited, to exaspe- rate the whole mass of South Americans, and to destroy every hope of commercial advan- tage, or alleviating the prevailing distress." Lord Castlereagh appealed to the house, " whether in the course of the past, they had ever found such an eminent failure as might justify the withdrawment of their confidence from the present ministers. In the opposition to the measures of government, he could re- cognize nothing else than a determined dispo- 272 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book sition to thwart the efforts of his Majesty's xlh. . J ^-v-^ ministers to stem the torrent of destruction 1819, which threatened the country." The motion was finally negatived by 357 against 178 members. Report of From the report of a committee of finance, Finance • j i • 1 • 1 committee, appointed early in the session, it appeared that the receipt of the year, ending January 5th, 1819, including the sums applicable to the sinking fund, was 69,370,872/. ; and that the expenditure of the same year, including the interest of the national debt, was 67,707,088/., leaving a balance of 1,663,784/. The amount of the debt funded and unfunded at this pe- riod was about 840,000,000/. To this alarm- ing report was annexed no recommendation or enforcement of ceconomy ; no mention of the abolition of useless places, pensions, or sine- cures ; of the reduction of the army, of the civil establishment, or of the eventual relief of the public, in any mode whatever. On the 7th of June, the chancellor of the ex- chequer, in a committee of the whole house, brought forward his financial statements, founded upon the basis of this report; and upon this occasion they were as clear as they had hitherto been perplexed and obscure. The supplies of the current year were provided for by taking twelve millions from the sinking GEORGE III. 273 fund, being nearly its whole produce, and a book loan of 12,000,000, five of which went to w-*> the repayment of the debt due to the Bank, and the remainder to the redemption of part of the heavy load of outstanding exchequer-bills. Having, without remorse, divested the sinking fund of 238,000,000, being the whole of the stock redeemed previous to 1813, and of nearly the entire growing produce at the present period, the chancellor of the exchequer now proposed to re-establish this abused and plun- dered fund, fixing its amount at 5,000,000, but without any additional safeguard against future depredation. What walls or bulwarks, indeed, could secure this sacred deposit against any future rapacious minister, who, as experience had proved, might, " with one slight bound, high overleap all bounds ?" When compelled to relinquish the property- jjf^J* 68 tax, Mr. Vansittart had, in no complacent mood, given up the tax on malt, estimated at 2,000,000. This he now thought proper to revive. Additional duties on wool, British spirits, tobacco, tea, coffee, and pepper, made up his catalogue of ways and means for raising the surplus of the revenue to 5,000,000, ..^ n0 qu Mr. Tierney asked if ministers thought the people of England stocks or stones, that they could endure such treatment? Was it not VOL. xiv. t 274 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book beyond the limits of human patience to be ^v~^ told, in the fifth year of peace, that the only 1819 ' remedy for an insupportable taxation was the imposition of 3,000,000 of additional taxes ? He would not enter into particulars, for his determination was to oppose the whole, for which purpose he moved the previous ques- tion. This, after a vehement debate, was negatived by a vast majority of 329 to 132 voices. On the report, Sir M. W. Ridley moved a more definite proposition — " that it was not expedient, in the distressed state of the coun- try, nor till every measure of practicable re- trenchment was adopted, to add to the burdens of the people by any fresh impositions." The chancellor of the exchequer being called upon, acknowledged that he had no specific plan of retrenchment to bring forward. Yet, on the division, the amendment was negatived by 186 to 76 voices. These majorities were, doubtless, heightened by many independent members who were reluctant to deny the sinking-fund even this forlorn hope of revival. But, like all the other evanescent schemes of this fluctuating minister, it proved to be the delusion of the moment. New At the instance of the chancellor of the ex- founded, chequer, the trifling sum of 50,000/. was voted GEORGE III. 275 for the purpose of founding a new colony on the book coast of Africa, to the east of the Cape. This ^^^ was professedly intended as an asylum for per- sons in distress and out of employment, in Eng- land. It was, therefore, proposed to convey the settlers thither gratis, and to afford them some farther facilities on their arrival. But the spot selected for the settlement was found barren and desolate, the land incapable of cultivation, and the whole project crude and impracti- cable ; so that the expected comforts of these wretched wanderers proved more difficult to endure, than even their former privations and sufferings. Among the most laudable measures of the Fitzgerald r attainder present session, was an act ot grace on the reversed. part of the prince regent for reversing the attainder of lord Edward Fitzgerald, by which the blood of his two children, a son and daughter, had been, in the barbarous language of the law, corrupted. The preamble of the bill stated, " that lord E. F. had never been brought to trial ; that the act of attainder did not pass the Irish parliament till some months after his decease ; and that the at- tainder therefore could not have issued against him upon a regular conviction." The bill was introduced by the earl of Liverpool ; and the duke of Wellington bore a generous testimony t 2 276 HrSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book to the gallant conduct of the young man in the ^--v^ army. Under such auspices, and so power- 1819. f^iiy recommended by its own merits, no ob- struction could occur. Resolution On the 1st of July a resolution, moved by sir respecting Pariiamen- Francis Burdett, " that the house would, early taryreform. . , . , . • 1 • 1 in the next session, take into consideration the state of the representation," was supported by Mr. George Lambe, his colleague for West- minster, in the present parliament. This gentleman professed himself " favourable to reform, so far as triennial parliaments and ex- tending the right of sending members to par- liament from certain large and, at present, unrepresented towns, would be included in it." This plan, combined with the necessary regu- lations respecting the exercise of the elective franchise, would, probably, be found adequate to every practical purpose. The motion was, after a long discussion, negatived by 153 to 58 votes. Proroga- The parliament was prorogued July 13, liament, 1819, by the prince regent, who, in his u y ' speech, invited " the co-operation of the mem- bers with the magistracy of their respective counties, in endeavours to defeat the machina- tions of those who, under pretence of reform, aimed at the subversion of our happy consti- tution." Yet not a single measure either of GEORGE IH. 277 relief under the present distresses, or of pre- B °° n K vention against any irregular expression of the ^—v^ • • 1819 popular feeling, had been proposed by minis- ters during the session. France was still in a very agitated state. | tate of J ° Franco. The king seemed, however, decidedly to ad- here to the moderate party, as opposed to the ultra royalists, and, in conseo^ence of a pro- position brought forward by that dangerous faction for changing the law of election, Louis, by an extraordinary exertion of his preroga- tive, and in order to secure a preponderance to their opponents, created fifty-four new peers ; at the same time recalling twenty-two of the number erased from the list by the or- donnance of 1815. Among the peers thus created, were the marshals D'Avoust, Le- febvre, Moncey, Suchet, and Jourdaine ; M. Champagny, Chaptal, Darn, Portalis, Truguet, and many others who had stood high in the favour of Bonaparte. An act of the legis- lature passed for the abolition of the droits dAubaine, and some relaxation was made in the law restraining the liberty of the press. Va- rious indulgences also were extended to the exiles of 1815; and the heroic marshal Soult, in particular, was again received into the bosom of his country. 278 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ' } ,p f n K I n Spain, the interest of Ferdinand VII. XLIl V — v-~' seemed to be strengthened by the death of Spam. Charles IV, who since his abdication had re- sided at Rome ; and to whom many began to turn their eyes with comparative complacency. Disaffection rapidly diffused itself through the nation ; and an armament being prepared at Cadiz for South America, the troops refused to embark ; declaring plainly that they would not serve against the colonies, south The efforts of those provinces had recently Arncricii. been crowned with splendid success. Lord Cochrane, who had met so harsh a return for his services in his native country, had fitted out a vessel for South America; and landing safely in that quarter of the globe, was ap- pointed to the chief command of the naval force of the new republic of Chili, in which capacity he displayed his characteristic skill and gallantry. In New Grenada, general Bolivar, who commanded the insurgents, gained decisive advantages over his antagonist, general Murillo ; and the royal cause seemed to be reduced to the lowest ebb. In virtue of a treaty signed early in this year, the United States of America obtained from Spain the cession of the Floridas, of which they were already in actual possession, but Ferdinand delayed his ratification. GEORGE III. 279 In Germany, the aspect of affairs in the book beginning of this year appeared remarkably v — v-0 favourable. Hanover, where the duke of n 1819 ' ' Germany. Cambridge acted as regent, set a laudable example of reform, by the abolition of torture, by the reduction of the army, and by various salutary financial regulations. In Wirtemberg, the modified plan of a representative constitu- tion, was accepted by the States, and received the dangerous guarantee of Russia. A similar constitution was established in Bavaria ; the king expressing from the throne, the great satisfaction which he felt in the accomplish- ment of this important object. The same beneficial change took place in the grand duchy of Baden: but Prussia, which had been most lavish of promises, still resisted. On a sudden, the whole political horizon in Germany was clouded over. The celebrated Kotzebue, long resident in Russia, had, on his recent return to his native country, engaged to furnish the emperor Alexander with regular reports relative to the German universities; where very free sentiments on the subject of government had been widely diffused. His letters were said to be filled with severe re- flections ; and his conduct had provoked the excessive resentment of those students who 1819, 280 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. had imbibed the obnoxious sentiments in ques- tion. Louis Sand, a young political fanatic of this description, belonging to Erlangen, view- ing Kotzebue in the light of a spy, a traitor, and an apostate from liberty, left his college, March 1819, and repairing to Manheim, where Kotzebue then " resided, obtained on the 23d of that month, upon the false pretence of a message from the seminary of which he was a member, admittance to that extraordinary person, and at one stroke stabbed him to the heart. He then walked calmly into the street, and plunged the same dagger into his own breast ; but the wound did not prove mortal ; and he was reserved for future and exemplary punishment. This affair was immediately brought before the diet at Frankfort ; by whom, on the motion of Austria, a commission of enquiry into all political offences was estab- lished at Mentz. The Russian students were recalled from the German universities. Nu- merous arrests took place, and some professors, suspected of favouring the new opinions, under- went severe examinations ; and now the Prus- sian monarch seemed to think himself absolved from all his engagements. Case of In the course of this summer, a transaction Parga. took place, in which the honour of Britain was deeply involved, and the circumstances were GEORGE III. 281 such as forced themselves upon the public book. r I XLII. notice at home, and abroad. v -~v—^ On the fall of Venice her possessions on the *Meara eastern side of the Adriatic shared the fate of St - Helena - that antient and famous republic, which it was the will of Bonaparte not to renovate, or re- form, but utterly to subvert. Among the last remains of those brave Greeks who, under the great Scanderbeg, so long resisted the feroci- ous usurpation of the Turks, the inhabitants of Parga were conspicuous. This city, whose population, including that of a few surrouud- ing villages, scarcely exceeded 5000 souls, is built on a peninsula opposite to the isle of Corfu, and it boasted a citadel of almost im- pregnable strength. Under the nominal sove- reignty of Venice it enjoyed its own laws, pri- vileges, and independence. By the treaty of Campo-Formio, the Ionian De Bosset, r -*t • n i °u Pare*. possessions ot Venice were confirmed to France. In the year 1800, the Russians and Turks having united to expel the French from the Ionian Isles, the Septinsular or Ionian republic was established by a convention of those powers, " after the manner of Ragusa;" which was in fact independent, paying only a small annual tribute to the Porte, as a recog- nition of sovereignty. By the same conven- tion-, Parga and other cities in Albania were 282 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ceded to the Porte on the same conditions and paying the same tribute as they had formerly 1819. d one to Venice; and this, after an interval of reluctance and. even of unavailing resistance, was acceded to by Parga, as well as the rest of these free communities. Thus matters con- tinued till 1806, when war breaking out be- tween Russia and Turkey, Ali Pacha, gover- nor of Albania, a barbarian among barbarians, took military possession of Pre visa, Butrinto, and Vonitza ; violating in the most atrocious manner all the articles of the convention of 1800, and converting their churches into mosques. He could make, however, except by burning the villages, no impression upon Parga, which, in this extremity, obtained the security of a Russian garrison. By a secret article of the treaty of Tilsit, (a. d. 1807,) the Ionian isles were, by that dire necessity which has no law, consigned, without any pretence of right, by Russia to France ; for which Mr. Canning, then minister for foreign aifairs, in an official dispatch, forci- bly reproached the court of St. Petersburg. The policy of the French emperor at this period leading him to conciliate the Porte, general Berthier, governor of Corfu, received instructions accordingly. Nevertheless, Parga being demanded by Ali Pacha, the general not GEORGE III. 283 only refused compliance, but sent a reinforce- book ment to the garrison; and his conduct was ^X; approved by Napoleon. Thus was Parga 1819 - rescued first by Russia, then by France, from the Turkish yoke. By the joint exertions of general Stuart and admiral Collingwood in 1810, the Ionian isles, Corfu excepted, were wrested from French ty- ranny, and taken under British protection. In 1814 the reverses of Napoleon revived the hopes of Ali Pacha; and the Pargiotes, perceiving* their danger, adopted the fatal resolution of placing themselves under the same protection, conform- ably to the tenor of the following declaration : " We, the undersigned Primates of Parga, engage, on the behalf of the people, that at the moment when the frigates of his Britannic Majesty shall appear before our fortress, we will subject our country and territory to the protection of the invincible arms of Great Britain ; and will plant on the walls of our fortress her glorious flag. It being the deter- mination of our country, to follow the desti- nies of the Ionian Isles, as we have always been under the same jurisdiction." Signed by Panajoti, Dessila, and eight other chiefs, March 17, 1814. This declaration being approved and ac- cepted in these precise terms, the citadel of 284 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. B ?t°i K ^ ar 8 a was P ut mt0 tn e hands of the English ; ALII. ^v-»^ that famous fortress, which had for ages defied 1819# the utmost efforts of the Turks. By the treaty of Paris, a. d. 1815, " the Ionian isles and their dependencies, as designated in the conven- tion of 1800, were placed under the exclusive protection of Great Britain." — That is, as the convention explains, " after the manner of the republic of Ragusa/' whose subjection to the Porte was merely nominal, and the tribute fixed and trivial. Previsa, Vonitza, and Bu- trinto were already subjected to the bloody tyranny of Ali Pacha, who had now likewise obtained from the Sublime Porte a flagitious grant of Parga ; and, as if Parga had been received into British protection for no other purpose than to be delivered up to the Turks, commissioners were immediately appointed to meet those of Ali Pacha at Joannina ; and terms being there agreed upon, colonel De Bosset was deputed by sir Thomas Maitland, governor of Corfu, March 19, 1817, to an- nounce to the Pargiotes the destiny which awaited them. Debate, The dismay and consternation which en- commo°ns, sued no words can describe. The unanimous 1819. * resolve of the Pargiotes was to quit their na- tive and beloved home, rather than submit to the abhorred yoke of the Turks, imploring only 1819. GEORGE III. 285 from the English governor protection for their book i • * i- • • XLIL persons and properties. All preliminaries being arranged, the deserted city was accord- ingly taken possession of by the Turkish troops, May 10, 1819; not more than forty individuals out of the whole population re- maining behind. Indemnity had been pro- mised for their properties, of which the value, including land, houses, and above 80,000 olive trees, with plantations of citrons, oranges, and cedrats, was estimated at 500,000/. But of this little more than one-fourth ever came into the hands of the sufferers, who were trans- ported first to Corfu, and subsequently to an island represented as little better than a barren rock, called Meganilsi. This affair was much the subject of discussion at home, and still more abroad, where it excited inexpressible astonishment. Certain it is that for centuries the good faith of Britain had not been so severely arraigned as in the recent instances of Malta, of Copenhagen, of the Spanish fri- gates, 1 of Genoa, of Parga; and in the view of Europe, either the character of the nation was changed, or, according to the far more general belief, that of the government. Great Britain, indeed, exhibited at this time State of Britain. a strange and melancholy contrast to the pros- perous and flourishing condition of the king- 28G HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book dom in the auspicious morning of that long v —v^' an( i memorable reign which now hastened to 1819, its dark and stormy close. Many parts of the country, under pressure of deep distress, shewed symptoms of dangerous agitation. Popular Meetings of artizans and manufacturers were Leed^&c convene d to hear speeches from popular ora- tors, and to pass, by acclamation, resolutions for annual parliaments, universal suffrage, and voting by ballot. At Manchester, at Leeds, at Stockport, and many other places, such assemblages were regularly convoked and dis- solved without any tumultuous procedure, but with minds greatly inflamed by wild declama- tions against what were called the usurpations of the higher orders, the intolerable sufferings of the poor, and similar topics. Yet it sub- sequently appeared that some of the most violent of these harangues were made by the spies of the government. Birming- £t length, at a meetino' held near Birming- ham elect- ° ° ° ingaRe- ham, not less than 15,000 persons being pre- prcsenta- A ° l tive - sent, these reformists reached the acme of po- litical audacity, by electing as their represen- tative in parliament for that great town and its vicinity, sir Charles Wolseley, a gentleman of property and character in the neighbour- hood, who had the inconceivable indiscretion to accept the delegation. Leeds and Man- GEORGE III. 287 Chester announced their intention to imitate book XLII the example of Birmingham. It now there- ^--v-^ fore became indispensable for the government, 1819# which had hitherto shewn extraordinary for- bearance, to interpose its authority ; and war- rants were issued for the apprehending of sir Charles Wolseley and others. The reformists of Manchester, who had appointed a day for the election of a representative, were fully and fairly apprised by the magistrates that this procedure was illegal, and would not be suffered ; upon which they changed their de- sign, and fixed another day for the sole pur- Meeting at ,, . . . P r . ,. Manches- pose ot petitioning tor a reform in parliament, ter. This meeting was accordingly held at noon- day on the 1 6th of August, in an open space called St. Peter's field, near a church of that name, in Manchester. During the whole of the morning, large bo- dies of reformers, arrayed in regular order, continued marching in from the neighbouring towns and villages. Each had its own banner, bearing some short inscription or motto, as " No Corn Laws," " Universal Suffrage," " Vote by Ballot," " Liberty or Death," &c. The numbers collected on this occasion were estimated at more than 50,000, very many being incited to attend from the mere eager- ness of curiosity. A band of special consta- 288 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book bles, as was requisite, took their stations on ^— v-^ the ground, and the utmost order and decency ' prevailed throughout this immense multitude ; not the slightest suspicion prevailing of cri- minality, or of danger in their proceedings. Mr. Hunt, chairman of the meeting, express- ed his full confidence in their orderly and peaceable demeanor ; nor was any offensive weapon to be seen in the whole assemblage. While he was yet speaking, surprise was ex- cited by the sudden appearance of a troop of Manchester yeoman cavalry, at the extremity of the field. On coming up, the commanding officer told Hunt that he was their prisoner ; and with others who were standing on the platform raised for the purpose, he was im- mediately, by the attendant police officers, taken into custody. The yeomanry then began to strike at the banners, not only those fixed round the platform, but various other parts of the field ; charging right and left with their drawn swords, and dashing through all that obstructed their passage. A dreadful scene of Massacre confusion and terror ensued ; numbers being Petitioners, trampled under the feet of the horses, or cut down, men and women indiscriminately, by the sabres ; the Manchester magistrates, who viewed this bloody scene from the windows of a house at a snfe distance, are said to have GEORGE III. 9g9 read the riot-act ; but this was known to few : book ... . . „ . „ XI.U. and it is certain that no time was allowed lor ^.w dispersion, conformably to the requisition of 1S19- the act, as scarcely twenty minutes had elapsed from the opening of the meeting be- fore the massacre began. The amount of kill- ed and wounded was estimated at between three and four hundred : but in a short time the ground was cleared, and military patrols were stationed in the principal streets. On the arrival in London of a dispatch from AJarm of 1 _ the Public. the Manchester magistrates to lord Sidmouth, a cabinet council was held, and a letter of thanks returned (August 21st), in the name and by the command of the prince regent, to the magistracy of Manchester, " for their prompt, decisive, and efficient measures for the preservation of the public tranquillity," including also major Trafford, and the military serving under him, " for the support and assist- ance lent by them to the civil power. " But in respect to this alarming and unprecedented transaction, nothing could be more opposite than the feelings of the court and the country, which, through its whole extent, seemed to be pervaded by one common sensation of terror and indignation : and addresses strongly ex- pressive of these sentiments were presented from the city of London, and many other vol. xiv. u 290 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN places, to th for enquiry.* book places, to the prince regent, earnestly praying 1819. * The dispatch written upon this occasion by the reverend W. R. Haye, chairman of the Manchester magistrates, to lord Sidmouth, on the evening of the fatal 16th August, states, " that the different columns were marching in from eleven to one o'clock, attended by music, flags, and ensigns with mottoes, and four if not more caps of liberty, but with no appearance of arms or pikes. Nevertheless, the ma- gistrates felt a decided conviction that the whole bore the appearance of insurrection — that the array was such as to terrify all the king's subjects, and was such as no legitimate purpose could justify : and they had very numerous depo- sitions from the inhabitants, as to their fears for the public safety. With the last and heaviest column came Hunt, with three other persons, in a barouche. A warrant was immedi- ately issued to apprehend them. The troops were mustered; and Nadin, the chief police-officer, preceding the Man- chester Yeomanry, executed it upon Hunt and Johnson on the hustings. Meantime the riot-act was read, and the mob was completely dispersed, but not without very serious and lamentable effects." But this representation, fair in its statement of facts, is sub- versive of its own conclusions. For how could the meeting bear the appearance of insurrection , when no weapon had been seen even for defence ? And if the meeting were not in itself illegal or dangerous, it could not be made so by the fears or depositions of timid and terrified persons, anxious for their own or the public safety ? The former meeting had been peremptorily, and, as all allowed, properly prohibited, by the magistrates. But of the legality of the present, no doubt had been expressed ; no warning given, even by a circular GEORGE III. 291 A numerous meeting, convened at York by book the high-sheriff, was sanctioned by the pre- ^— v^ sence of earl Fitzwilliam, lord-lieutenant of M<. et i ng " at the West Riding, as well as many other per- Vork * sons of rank and consequence. By this meet- ing, resolutions appropriate to the occasion were passed ; and a petition was voted to the prince regent, to institute an enquiry ; the only effect of which was the dismission of that highly respected nobleman from his lieuten- ancy. In the royal reply to the city of Lon- don, the prince regent referred the sufferers " to the tribunals of the country, if any injury had been sustained ; ,J but the Lancashire grand-jury threw out all the bills preferred against those concerned in the outrages and enormities perpetrated on that fatal day. It is worthy of observation, that at the numerous other meetings convened on the plan of Man- chester, the local authorities abstaining from interference, not the slightest breach of the peace ensued. If, however, this mode of peti- tioning were deemed dangerous to the public peace, the plain constitutional remedy was a preventive law, and not a massacre. founded on the opinion of the crown lawyers. In a word, no disorder of any kind existed, previous to the reading of the riot-act, and the savage violence perpetrated hy the yeomanry. u 2 ' 292 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The meeting of parliament, which was im- patiently expected by all parties, took place Meeting of on the 23d of November, 1819. The regent. Parlia- ment, on passing to and from the house of peers, was 23. m er assailed by the hisses and groans of an im- mense multitude. In his speech from the throne, he lamented the necessity of summon- ing the houses thus early, created as it was by the prevalence of seditious practices, which had been carried on with increased alacrity since the last session, f They have led," said his royal highness, " to proceedings incompa- tible with the public tranquillity and with the peaceful habits of the industrious classes of the community. And a spirit is now manifested, utterly hostile to the constitution of this king- dom, and aiming not only at the change of those political institutions which have hitherto constituted the pride and security of this country, but at the subversion of the rights of property and all order in society." And he concluded with pressing on their attention the measures requisite for the counteraction of these evils, particularly recommending for this purpose an increase of the present enormous military force. SeA?-° n ^ ne debates on the address took so compre- Souae ( torsive a turn, as to impart to them an un- Lo,rb - usual portion of historic interest. Earl Grey GEORGE III. 293 observed, M that much had been said of the B ^^ K necessity of coercion ; but he held it to be of v -^r*^ paramount importance, that in the general so- licitude for the safety of the state, the consti- tution did not receive a shock which ages might not repair. There existed, indeed, much discontent, and in the same proportion much danger ; and this must be counteracted by effi- cient means : but this state of things afforded a strong presumption of misgovernment. For men, and Englishmen in particular, were not so perversely constituted as wantonly to threaten the safety of the country. The sys- tem acted upon by ministers was calculated to produce hatred and discontent. He was far from approving the purpose of the Manchester meeting, or what was stiled ' radical reform.' Still he must consider it as a legal meeting, and the conduct of the magistrates such as called for the fullest investigation. He feared that government meant to pursue a system of unqualified coercion, and that new powers would be required, until at last all the princi- ples of the constitution would be departed from.'" The earl concluded a speech fraught with wisdom and eloquence, by moving an amendment, which, admitting the necessity of checking practices dangerous to the state, en- forced the propriety of enquiry into the late transactions. 1819. 204 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. This amendment was powerfully supported by lord Erskine, who asserted " the meeting, which was held merely for the purpose of peti- tioning, to be unquestionably legal. Had force been thought of, would the petitioners have as- sembled with their wives and children 1 In case of disorder or tumult, the riot-act ought to have preceded any measures of violence. ' Lord Sidmouth scrupled not to assert, "that the meeting at Manchester was not only ille- gal, but treasonable. The magistrates would not only have acted unwisely, but unjustly and basely, had they done otherwise than they did ! The letter of approbation was sanc- tioned by a cabinet council, and he would not shrink from any part of the responsibility in- curred by it. If there was any feature in the present danger more alarming than another, it was the conduct of some persons who encou- raged and emboldened the disaffected by standing between the government they as- sailed and the party assailing." The amend- ment was negatived, after an animated discus- sion, by 159 to 34 peers. Debate on Mr. Tierney, on making a similar motion in aress. the house of commons, avowed his opinion "that House of r Commons, one great cause of the present discontents was the want of public confidence in that house. This was not conhned to any class, and much less to that called the radicals ; and a reform in 1819. GEORGE III. 295 the representation was the only effectual re- SOOK \L'I medy. But if the object was, by new laws and military force, to stop the progress of rea- son, the country was indeed arrived at a dreadful crisis. Without enquiry, the country would not be satisfied. It was the duty of that house to enquire. Redress in the ordi- nary way was not open to the sufferers. How could the multitude obtain redress in a court of law against the magistrates ? It was idle to talk of it." The marquis of Tavistock seconded the mo- tion. " It was not," he said " surprising that there should be a want of confidence on the part of the people, when they reflected on the little sympathy which was shewn by the votes of that house with the situation of the people. He conjured the house not to drive them to despair by refusing enquiry ; by rejecting every proposition of reform, and particularly of parliamentary reform ; for so long as that house was constituted as at present, it could not, and it ought not to obtain the confidence of the people." Lord Castlereagh entered into an elaborate defence of the Manchester magistrates, who had, as he affirmed, acted in the conscientious discharge of a sacred duty. Although the meeting had shewn itself to be of a traitorous 296 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book character, yet every precaution was taken in v- v^ respect to its dispersion which the law re- quired ; and that house was not the proper place for enquiring into the facts connected with the case. He vindicated the dismissal of earl Fitzwilliam, who, as he asserted, had dis- graced the king's commission ! Mr. Plunket, the chief organ of the Gren- ville party in the house, pronounced the meet- ing at Manchester illegal, saying, " that he was not aware of any delay of justice re- specting the proceedings of the magistrates, to make parliamentary enquiry necessary."' But what caused infinitely deeper concern was the declaration of Mr. Wilberforce, "that no- case had been made out which called for en- quiry ; that the majority of thinking persons were satisfied with the steps taken by the ma- gistrates of Manchester, and would be dissatis- fied if enquiry at the bar were instituted." On the adjourned debate, lord Nugent affirmed " that enquiry was loudly called for. Appeals had been made to the common tri- bunals in vain ; and now they were told that parliament was not fit for enquiry. This con- duct was intelligible only upon the principle of denying justice altogether. All the institu- tions of social life, it was said, were crumbling around us, and anarchy and ruin threatened 1819. GEORGE HI. 207 to overwhelm us. But let us not confound B $Q. K XLI1* causes and effects. The disorders of the state ****j**>i were manifestly owing to misgovernment." Sir Francis Burdett said, " the question was not whether such meetings as that at Man- chester were desirable or proper ; but whether they afforded a sufficient cause for subjecting the people to military execution. Did the riot- act say, that if the people did not instantly disperse, they were to be sabred, and no en- quiry made 1 No. It said, you were to give them warning, to read the act, and allow them time to disperse. Danger was appre- hended from allowing the people to meet in large bodies ; but when they met in small bo- dies to petition for reform, it was asserted that no interest was taken in the subject by the bulk of the community. Whatever speculative doctrines of reform in parliament were pro- fessed, he doubted not but the nation at large would be satisfied with any reform that should establish an effectual control over the admi- nistration of government, through the com- mons house of parliament." On this, as on all other occasions, the dread naturally occasioned by popular commotions, or of popular ascendency, added beyond all other causes to the strength of government ; and on the division, after two nights" debate, 298 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the motion was negatived by 381 to 150 voices. 1819. tem of Govern- ment. New sys- u P on the 29th of November, the lord chan- cellor opened the improved system of govern- ment, by introducing a bill for taking away the right of traversing in cases of misdemeanour. This was strongly opposed by earl Grosvenor, who said, " that while the attorney-general was allowed to hold informations over the heads of defendants for an indefinite time, it was greatly adding to the grievance to abolish the right of imparlance ; for thus the security of the subject was diminished, and the power of the crown increased/' And Lord Holland urged that the measure ought in equity to be so modified, as to legislate on both sides, by preventing the delays which occurred in e.u officio informations, as well as in those by indictments. The chancellor conceded so far as to insert an additional clause, compelling the attorney-general to bring a defendant to trial within a year, or to enter a noli prose- qui; and the bill passed without farther oppo- sition. Motion for On the 30th of November, the marquis of a Commit- tee of Lansdown, after some comments on the past Enquiry. . . . House of and impending measures of administration, moved that a select committee be appointed to enquire into the state of the country. 181 IK GEORGE III. 299 This was opposed by marquis Wellesley, who agreed that the country was in danger ; but the danger proceeded from the advocates of universal suffrage and annual parliaments, and it should be met by vigorous measures. Lord Grenville declared " that he saw no necessity, either for the present motion, or for any enquiry into the Manchester transactions, convinced as he was, that the conduct of the magistrates was not only free from blame, but highly meritorious ; adding, that the courts of law were open to all who had complaints to prefer." Earl Grey rose, as he avowed, with pain, to oppose the powerful authority of his noble friend, with whom he had so long acted ; and it was with scarcely less regret that he found himself compelled to differ from another noble lord, of whose able assistance he well knew the advantages. He confessed that he had listened with astonishment to that part of the speech of the noble baron, justifying the authoritative approval given to the Manchester magistrates, in which he believed that noble lord stood almost alone. The people had a great practical grievance to complain of, in the disregard of parliament to their earnest wishes and efforts, which, if they were criminal, had been encouraged by the example of great 300 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book names. He had himself, with such powers ^x-v-^ as he possessed, contributed, as he must con- 18 iy * fess, to create the delusion ; and not he alone, but Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox, Sir George Saville, and the illustrious earl of Chatham, were guilty, if guilt were to be imputed. But there was No Guilt: for who could suppose that such men were labouring for the subversion of the constitution ? On the conclusion of an in- teresting debate, the house divided : in favour of the motion 47 ; against it 178 peers. lm. a similar motion was on the same evening House of ° Commons. ma de in the house of commons by viscount Althorp, who expressed in strong terms his disapprobation of the coercive measures now depending ; and he declared it to be both dishonourable and unjust to sacrifice the per- manent rights and privileges of the people in a case of temporary alarm. Mr. Bennet, member for Wilts, asked •' if the house ought to legislate, to the wide extent now in contemplation, upon imperfect knowledge ? Ought they to content them- selves with simply pursuing the line marked out by the ministers of the crown ? As to himself, he had no faith in the statements of ministers ; and the complaints of a distressed population ought surely to be heard." Lord Castlereagh said, *t that after having GEORGE III. 301 witnessed the whole course adopted by oppo- sition since the opening of the session, he saw little ground to hope for any aid to his Ma- 1819 - jesty's government from that quarter. He had seen them interpose to prevent the arm of justice from reaching those who wished to de- stroy all social order and regular government. He had witnessed their joining the cry of men, whose efforts were aimed against every thing valuable in the constitution. He would not impute this to any ambitious view of forcing themselves into power, for the authority of office was at this time a heavy responsibi- lity. Yet the language of the right honour- able gentlemen opposite gave currency to the assertion, that the whlgs alone could save the country. * Ministers,' said those gentlemen, ' had enjoyed power for a series of years ; and see what are the effects!' In his opinion, the opposition would have acted a better and more useful part for the country, had they lent their support to government on the pre- sent occasion." Mr. Tierney immediately rose to deprecate this attempt to excite the most acrimonious party feelings. The tories had, indeed, been in possession of the government, with short intervals, for more than fifty years ; and what was the result ? Increase of taxation, decrease 302 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book of commerce, coercion, discontent, and misery. XLII. ' T ^-v^^ Such was the government in support of which 1 ' the noble lord called upon them to unite ! such the government which challenged the con- fidence of the country ! On dividing, the num- bers for the motion were 150; against it, 323. The six The measures proposed by lord Sidmouth in the upper house, and lord Castlereagh in that of the commons, in addition to the bill introduced by the chancellor, all of which ul- timately passed into acts by great and de- cisive majorities, were as follow : A bill for punishing any person found guilty on a second conviction of libel, by fine, imprisonment, or banishment for life, or otherwise at the discretion of the judge. A bill for subjecting cheap tracts to a duty equal to that of newspapers ; and the pub- lishers to enter into recognizances for the eventual payment of penalties. A bill for preventing seditious meetings, enacting that any persons wishing to meet for the consi- deration of matters connected with church or state, should notify the same in a requisi- tion signed by seven householders ; and that it should be illegal for any person, not usually inhabiting the place where the requisition originated, to attend such assembly : magis- trates to appoint the time and place of meet- 1819. GEORGE III. 303 ing\ This bill, after vehement debate, was book . . . XLH. limited in its operation to five years. A bill to prohibit military training, except under the ■authority of a magistrate, or lord-lieutenant of a county. Lastly, a bill giving magistrates the power of entering houses by night or by day, for the purpose of seizing arms believed to be collected for unlawful purposes ; and also to apprehend and detain persons so carry- ing arms. Very forcible protests were entered on the journals of the lords against the bill last men- tioned, and more especially against that for punishing libel by transportation ; a horrid penalty, mitigated in its passage through the commons to banishment for life! "The of- fence," it is remarked, " is more than any other undefined and uncertain : so that the author of any writing, dictated by the purest intention on a matter of public interest, may expose him- self to the penalty of this act, against which no degree of caution can afford him complete security." This bill, therefore, the protesting lords denounce " as inconsistent with the policy of our law, and the practice of our ancestors ; and a most dangerous invasion of the liberty of the press." This was signed by the duke of Sussex and fifteen other peers. These were commonly known by the appel- 304 HISTORY OF GRE^T BRITAIN. XLII. 1819. Lord Bacon book lation of the sLv acts ; and they have been con- YT.TT J sidered as creating a new sera in the law and constitution. Amidst all the exclamations against innovation by anti-reformists, no inno- vation adding to the power of the crown, or de- tracting from the privileges of the people, has appeared to excite the slightest alarm. Laws made upon the spur of the occasion, according to the observation of a great man, are for the most part crude and indigested. Yet instead of expiring with the occasion, they are in almost every instance enacted for perpetuity ; and such were the laws which signalized the close of a reign which will ever rank among the most memorable recorded in history. About the end of the year it was announced that the health of the King, which had hitherto been firm for his age, was on the decline. That decline, when it had once commenced, proved to be rapid. On the 23d January, 1820, his fourth son, the duke of Kent, died after a short illness, much esteemed and lamented, leaving an infant daughter to the care of an accom- plished but disconsolate mother* : and on Sa- turday the 29th of that month, the long and Death of the King, January 29, 1820. * Victoria Alexandrina, daughter of the duke of Kent, was born May 24," 1819, at the palace of Kensington. She is a child of most engaging appearance anil manners. GEORGE III. 305 eventful career of the monarch who had at- book tained his eighty-second year, terminated by a <— ^-O quiet and almost insensible dissolution. Upon 18 ~ 0, the 31st, the prince regent was proclaimed king with the usual solemnities by the" name of George IV. The venerable a»e, the protracted suffer- Character 01 ot George ings, the private and personal virtues of King ITI - George III. with his still recent demise, render it an invidious task to delineate the political features of his reign, with historic fidelity. Hume has long since remarked, ** as the reme- Humes . . Essays. diless defect of the English constitution, that the personal character of the monarch will too much influence the measures of govern- ment." Yet of George III. it has been said wakie- on high authority, and equal truth, " that he Memoir's. would never do wrong except when he mistook wrong for right." The notions of government originally infused into his mind by the earl of Bute, probably differed little from those which Charles I. learned from archbishop Laud, however modified in practice by the necessity of circumstances. The noblest measure of his reign, nevertheless, that is to say, the equitable peace of 1763, concluded in the midst of an intoxicating series of military triumphs, must be ascribed wholly to the influence of that nobleman ; for the subsequent predilections of vol. xiv. x 306 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. book the monarch appeared to be all in favour of ^--v^ war and conquest, though never but in what "I QQf) " ' appeared to him a just cause. Las Cases, The accession of George III. says a fo- il I. pt. iii. m ° J p. 302. reign writer, " was an actual political revo- lution in England. Pretenders were no more. The house of Hanover was established. The whigs were dismissed from administration, as troublesome observers, no longer wanted. The government was again seized by the tories, those friends of power, who have ever since kept it, to the great detriment of public liberty." " Yet the King," as he adds, " was personally a friend to law and justice, and sin- cerely wished the welfare and prosperity of the country." Unhappily, the counsels by which he was habitually actuated were sub- versive of the purposes which the monarch, and even the persons with whom those coun- sels originated, had in contemplation ; for who would willingly be the authors of national distress, or the objects of national resentment? By the efforts chiefly of Great Britain, the fallen race of Bourbon, for ages hostile to this country, and deriving no instruction from ad- versity, were now fully reinstated in what the advocates of the war stiled their legitimate rights. Another result of the war equally ex- traordinary and alarming, appeared in the pro- GEORGE III. 307 digious aggrandizement of the power of Russia, book accompanied with an insatiable desire of far- "^^j ther acquisitions, to which no adequate barrier "°" can be opposed. The third grand pheno- menon of the present times, originating in the late bloody and protracted contest, is the un- paralleled magnitude of the debt contracted by this country ; a debt so enormous in its amount, that the resources of the nation, vast, as they were, seem to be absorbed and ex- hausted. Nor have any efficient means been adopted to restore this kingdom to the high and commanding station which she is entitled to hold in Europe ; an end only to be accom- plished by such a reform in the present civil and military establishment, as will create a sur- plus of revenue adequate to the national exi- gencies, and sacredly appropriated to that most important of all purposes, the reduction of the public debt. To this must be added the sub- stitution of a conciliatory and constitutional domestic policy, in lieu of a system too long prevalent, of harshness and coercion, gradually tending to assimilate the government of this country to the dominion of the Continental despots. APPENDIX. OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO INDIA. I. Major Scott Waring, the able and zealous ad- vocate of Mr. Hastings, having published a reply to that portion of the History of George III. which re- lated to the governor-general, then under impeach- ment, not only a printed but written discussion took place, which, contrary to general usage, subsided into an amicable correspondence. The largest of these MS. communications, containing a recapitulation of the chief topics in debate, though of fading interest, may still afford some particulars not wholly unimportant. And the author of this History is sincerely disposed to do all possible justice to the memory of Mr. Hastings. " Bromley, February 16, 1795. " 1 do assure you that I took no offence at the manner in which you mention my application to Mr. Burke. At the particular desire of Mr. Hastings, and as nearly as I could use them in his own words, I asked Mr. B. the first day of the session in 1786, if he persevered in the intention he had notified at the close of the last session ; and if he did, when he meant to proceed ? This step was not taken by Mr. H. without 310 APPENDIX. much and mature consideration. He had no idea of breathing in his native land at the pleasure of Mr. B. neither he nor any one conceiving the possibility of that disgraceful scene which hag been acting these long nine years. I do not say that you ought to have postponed the publication of your History until the close of Mr. H.'s trial. Far from it, I think # # * * But, sir, as the his- tory of India makes a material part of your memoirs, it did behove you to exert your great abilities fairly and honestly, in order to obtain the best possible information. You say " that the Rohillas applied to the vizier for assistance, but through the dilatory or perhaps insidious policy of the vizier, the auxiliary troops did not arrive till the enemy were repulsed." I can assure you, sir, this statement is in direct opposition to the fact. The service was effectually performed. We arrived with the British troops a few days after the Mahrattas had entered Rohilcund. We drove them over the Ganges. We followed them across that river, and remained on its banks until the swelling of the river rendered the return of the Mahrattas im- practicable. I served that campaign under sir Robert Barker. Let me, sir, earnestly recommend to your perusal, a history of the Rohillas, written by Charles Hamilton, esq. after the parliamentary acquittal of Mr. Hastings on the charge. Mr. H. unhappily is now no more. Intense application to a very laborious and useful translation of an Arabian work, " the Hedaya," or Commentary on the Mahomedan Law, proved fatal APPENDIX. 311 to him. He undertook it under the orders and patro- nage of Mr. Hastings in Bengal, and lived but to com- plete it under the patronage of the directors in Eng- land. I will send you Mr. H.'s history; and from a perusal of it you will discover that in no one instance that you follow Mr. Burke, is your account correct. Mr. Hamilton tells us •« that about 20,000 Rohillas, with a very few of their most obnoxious leaders, were, by a particular stipulation, ordered to the westward of the Ganges; and marching out of their lines crossed that river under Ahmed Khan, Buxy, and other chiefs. These were the only inhabitants of Rohilcund, who were expelled from the country in consequence of the war. The Hindoo inhabitants consist of about 700,000, and were no otherwise affected by it than experiencing a change of masters, to which, in the course of the preceding revolutions, they had been frequently accustomed." As I returned to the country this morning, where all my India books and' papers are, I have gone care- fully through the evidence given by sir Robert Barker, colonel Champion, and major Balfour, in the house of commons. Sir Robert Barker speaks positively as to the complete performance of the service on which we were sent. He speaks positively also, as to the Rohillas refusing to execute their pait of the treaty after we had fully performed our part. He describes them thus : — " It is well known that neither promises, nor oaths, have been able to bind this treacherous sect of people to their engagements." The evidence of sir Robert Barker is that of a man of honour, a sol- dier, and a gentleman. 312 APPENDIX. You say " that Mr. Hastings employed the power with which he was invested under a pernicious sys- tem, to the most pernicious purposes." You differ with me totally, and absolutely, as to our government being a blessing, and not a curse to the people of Hin- dostan ; and you quote authorities to justify your con- clusion. My authorities are the evidence of every gentleman of every party examined at the bar at Westminster Hall, during the trial of Mr. Hastings, including sir John Shore the present governor-gene- ral; lord Cornwallis, the late governor-general; and the most respectable civil and military servants of the company. Lord Cornwallis, who was examined in Westminster Hall, declared his belief" that Mr. Hast- ings was very much beloved by the people of Bengal in general ; next, he declared it to be his belief, that the people of Bengal were happier, and their property better protected, than any other people in Hindostan. 1 ' We have now authentic histories from respectable natives, by which it appears that at all periods of the Mahomedan government, they cruelly oppressed and most severely punished the Zemindars, under an idea that they collected from the people more than they paid to government. In 1765, when we acquired the Dewannee, and up to 1772, Mahomed Reza Khan had the sole management of the revenues, except of Burd- wan, Chittagong, and Midnapore, which were ceded to us by Cossim Ally Khan in 1761. The provinces were managed by the company's servants, who let them in farm to the best bidder, as Mahomed Reza Khan did Bengal. The directors hearing that their APPENDIX. 313 provinces were infinitely more populous, and better managed, than Bengal under Mahomed Reza Khan; and having a suspicion that he had defrauded them of many millions, determined to remove him ; and re- commended to Mr. Hastings to let all the lands of Bengal in farm, as Burdwan was let. He did so, and the lands were let too high. Where Zemindars did not take them, they were allowed their Moshaira, or tenth ; the proportion to which they were entitled, whether they are proprietors of the soil, as some con- tend, or officers of government, as others assert. Rec- tify your statement of the case of Mahomed Reza Khan. He never was in prison for a moment ; nor was he ill used by Mr. Hastings ; he preserved him. As to Mr»Pitt, I have stated most correctly all that he has said relative to Mr. Hastings, in the instances to which I have alluded. In another that I have not mentioned, speaking of Mr. Hastings, he says, " He made the Mahratta peace at a time when the conti- nuance of war would have proved absolute and inevi- table ruin ; and he completed it with an address and ingenuity, which did him immortal honour. May Mr. Pitt do the same with France!'"' If in this letter, or in my printed remarks, I have expressed myself with freedom, be assured I have not meant to offend you personally. If you will calmly read over all that you have said of Mr. Hastings ; if you will consider that the period you chose for pub- lication was just at that moment that a court of justice was to decide upon the charges brought before them ; and if you will consider that each mis-statement is 314 APPENDIX. highly injurious to Mr. Hastings, then I am sure, as a fair and candid man, you must admit that 1 have taken no unwarrantable liberties." In a subsequent letter, closing the correspondence on this subject, major Scott Waring expressed himself in the following liberal terms : — " I am much obliged and flattered by the attention which you have paid to the documents which I sent to you ; and I have so high an opinion of your candour and fairness, as to be convinced that after having perused all the mate- rials relating to India, you will in the next edition of your History, or in a Continuation of it, do Mr. Hast- ings the justice to which you may think him fairly en- titled ; and I have not a wish beyond that point." # ###*•##"* In consequence of the information imparted by major Scott, various corrections were made in the narrative, but without any change of opinion relative to the general policy of Mr. Hastings. As to the pre- cise period of the original publication, the author had not the presumption to suppose that it would be deem- ed by the governor-general or his friends, as of the slightest importance. Out of about three hundred peers and prelates, twenty-nine only voted on the four questions submitted to their decision : and of these no more than eight pronounced Mr. H. guilty ; nor did even that number agree on any one point. In this respect, therefore, the ex-governor had great reason to be satisfied. With the sole exception of Mr. Burke, the opponents of Mr. H. were indeed far from desiring any severe sentence to be passed on a person whose services were, in many respects, acknowledged ; and APPENDIX. 315 in the advantage of whose delinquencies, if advantage there was, the nation had participated. The positive instructions under which Mr. H. entered upon his ad- ministration were, " that in all his deliberations and resolutions, he should make the safety and prosperity of Bengal his principal object ; and fix his attention on the security of the possessions and revenues of the company" It followed therefore that the contrary system of am- bition and aggrandisement uniformly acted upon by Mr. Hastings, demanded the censure and condemna- tion of the highest judicial authority, wholly unmixed with any unworthy or degrading motives of personal vengeance. II. Extracts from the Memoirs o/'Makshal ROCHAMBEAU. During the winter of 1809-10, passed by the present writer in Devonshire, he was gratified by meeting at the town of Morton Hampsted, the late commander-in- chief at St. Domingo, general Rochambeau, then with other French officers in liberal confinement at that place. The general acknowledged without reserve that the war in St. Domingo had, on the ground of re- taliation, been carried on with dreadful barbarity on both sides. He severely reprobated Bonaparte's invasion of Spain, which he affirmed was universally disliked and disapproved in France. He observed that B. aspired to the title of Emperor of the West after the example of Charlemagne, whom it was his great ambition to 316 APPENDIX. resemble. But so much jealousy was excited among the military, as well as the nation at large, by this project, which would have degraded France to the rank of a province, that he was compelled to relinquish it. The general mentioned that his father the marshal Rochambeau had written memoirs of the revolution, of which he politely tendered the perusal. As these memoirs have never appeared in English, and few copies of the original work have reached this country, some extracts from it may not be unacceptable. Mtmoires de Rochambeau. Tome I. Les nouvelles publiques m'apprirent l'evasion du roi et de la famille royale dans la nuit du 21 Juin. .Tentendis l'instant d'apres publier dans mon carrefour, a son de trompe, un decret de l'assemblee nationale, qui me chargeoit de la defense de toutes les frontieres du royaume. Je me renfermai chez moi, frappe de consternation du tableau de toutes les suites que la fuite du roi alloit occasioner dans le royaume. C'est a cette epoque que furent mises a. decouvert la foi- blesse etla dissimulation qui, dans les dernieresannees du regne de ce malheureux prince, changerent totale- ment son caractere, ne franc et naturel. Quels reproches la posterite n'est-elle pas en droit de faire a tous ceux qui se chargerent de l'execution d'une mesure aussi mal con^ue, et qui fut executee avec autant d'irresolution que 'de foiblesse ; dont les suites, dans toutes les chances, ne pouvoient qu'etre desas- treuses pour lui! Entin, la situation du roi, etoit-ellc APPENDIX. 317 alors si descsperee, qu'il n'y eut plus a y employer d'autre remede que de manquer a tous les sermens qu'il venoit de renouveller de son propre mouvement ? Ce parjure inutile et volontaire le diffama dans le peuple ; et Ton peut dater de cette epoque la perte de l'amour personnel que le gros de la nation avoit encore pour lui. O France ! O ma patrie ! quelle est la puissance To " ie N. dans le monde qui eut pu register, par la seule force de a.d. 1793. son temperament, a toutes les secousses que tu as eprouvee dans le cours de cette annee ! Trahison et perfidie de ministres et de generaux ; tout ce que la discorde a pu jeter de brandons dans le sein de la convention nationale ; guerre civile dans pres de la moitie des departemens de 1'interieur; guerre etran- gere sur toutes les frontieres, par la coalition presque generale de toutes les puissances de TEurope ; douze armees a. entretenir dans un mouvement perpetuel ; changemens de generaux, continuellement occasionnes par leur imperitie, leurs trahisons, ou leurs malheurs. O nation unique ! tu as demontre a tout l'univers ce que tu es capable d'executer quand des tetes mieux organisees dirigeront tes conseils et commanderont tes armees ! * f ^ T * * w "t" Apres avoir brise les efforts de la coalition presque ibid. p. generale detous les rois de l'Europe, le directoire Fran- cois avoit peut-etre le desir de faire sentir sa puissance a la republique la plus oligarchique et au gouverne- ment le plus inquisitoriel qui fut sur la surface du globe. La politique Venitienne eut la mal-adresse de lui en fournir l'occasion. Apres avoir affiche la neutralite des l'entree de l'armee ,Fran§oise en Italie, 318 APPENDIX. elle servoit sous main les armees Autrichiennes ; mais retenue par les victoires et par la presence de Bona- parte au milieu de ses etats de terre-ferme, elle atten- doit sourdement le moment de le voir eloigne de son territoire. La prudence du senat Venitien l'abandonna a cette epoque ; et sans calculer que la formidable armee de Bonaparte, soit victorieuse ou vaincue, ne tarderoit pas a revenir au milieu de ses etats de terre- ferme, il fit insurger pendant la quinzaine de paques une armee de vingt mille paysans, auxquels il joignit un corps d'esclavons, des generaux, et de Tartillarie qu'il envoya de Venise. lis attaquerent presqu'en meme temps les Francois dissemines dans leur diffe- rentes petites garnisons. lis forcerent celle de Verone a se retirer dans les forts ; et exercerent contr'eux, et meme contre les malades de leurs hospitaux, des cruautes que rappelloient les anciennes Vepres Sici- liennes ; mais ils n'eurent pas le meme succes. Bona- parte revenoit avec son armee triomphante. II de- clara la guerre a l'etat de Venise. II s'empara de la capitale aussitot que ses troupes s'y presentment; et changea totalement la forme de son gouvernement. at ' '\ f Jb ' ' # . i ■ ■ JL* • . jt ' Je * dfc • . dfc •fi* -ff* w -Jr- ^ ^ -r^ 'K- l bia Aussitot que le premier consul eut pris les renes 184. ( ] u gouvernement, il ecrivoit au roi d'Angleterre une lettre honnete et pressante pour le conjurer de mettre fin a. une guerre si opiniatre, et si dispendieuse ; ofFrant de son cote d'apporter toute la moderation qui seroit compatible avec l'honneur de la nation Fran- c,oise ; en laissant au roi d'Angleterre le choix du lieu qui lui seroit le plus convenable pour entamer la nego- tiation, Celui-ci ne lui fit de reponse que par son APPENDIX. 319 ministre des affaires etrangeres. Cette note du lord Grenville etoit equivoque, surtout evasive, et ne cher- choit qu'a gagner du tems pour obtenir de son parle- ment les immenses subsides qui lui etoient necessaires pour la continuation de la guerre. II ne trouvoit pas l'autorite du premier consul assez solide pour entamer avec lui une nouvelle negotiation. Tl parloit de l'an- cienne dynastie en termes respectueux, et presentoit le desir de la voir retablir sur le trone pour servir de base a un traite. II ajoutoit cependant a, cette pro- position avancee foiblement, qu'il reconnoissoit les droits d'une nation puissante a changer son gouverne- ment; et que ce ne seroit pas sur Particle du reta- blissement de la monarchic en France que les negotia- teurs insisteroient, lorsqu'ils y verroient un pouvoir assez solidement etabli pour entrer en matiere de con- cert avec ses allies ; que cette assurance ne pouvoit lui etre donnee que par le tems, et qu'il se croyoit oblige de continuer une guerre dans laquelle la fortune avoit si bien seconde ses armes. Le ministre Anglois redoubla cependant toutes Ibid p. i i i /-i 204. ses intrigues pour rammer la guerre dans tout le Con- tinent. II fit voter par le parlement, avant de le pro- roger, un subside enorme a Tempereur pour le mettre en etat de renforcer ses armees. La reine de Naples, accompagnee du Lord Nelson et de tous les Anglois qui lui faisoient une cour assidue, partit de Sicile, vint aborder en Toscane, d'oii elle continua sa route pour Vienne, rallumant le long de son chemin les flambeaux de la discorde. Elle se servit du pouvoir de Timpe- ratrice sa fille sur l'esprit de l'empereur, pour Ten- 320 APPENDIX. gager a rompre la negotiation qu'il avoit deja fort avancee avec le premier consul de France. Aussitot que Tarmistice eut ete declare generale, entre les armees respectives, Tempereur avoit envoye a, Paris le comte de St. Julien avec des pouvoirs pour traiter des preliminaires de la paix. Ce dernier, en trois seances de negotiations, arreta et signa ces prelimi- naires. II partit pour Vienne, accompagne de Duroc, aide-de-camp du premier consul, pour avoir la ratifica- tion de l'empereur. Mais la cour de Vienne s'etant entitlement livree aux nouvelles intrigues de la reine de Naples, et de la faction Angloise, Duroc fut retenu au quartier-general de l'armee Autrichienne par un ordre de l'empereur. On lui remit un contre-projet qui detruisoit celui que son ministre avoit signe a. Paris. 2«2 P ' ^ ne ^ ou ^ e d'Anglois, au moment de la paix, se repan- dit dans nos departemens ; ils furent confondus de trouver les campagnes qu'ils croyoient en friclie, par- faitement cultivee, les villeset villages rebatis; Tindus- trie et le commerce interieurse restaurant avec rapidite : enfin, le commerce exterieur faisant de grands efforts pour renaitre de ses cendres. Ils exagererent dans leurs rapports l'etat florissant de la France ; et donnerent des forces au parti de l'opposition pour renouveller les critiques les plus ameres sur le traite d'Amiens. ibui.p. j^ est penible de voir que le ministere de cette nation, pour completer ces mesures, se soit prete a un plan de conspiration contre le premier consul, en employant des amies dont Tusage se toleroit a peine APPENDIX. 321 chezles nations les plus barbares, etqui devroient etre a jamais inconnues chez elle qui se vante d'etre civilisee. II est moins extraordinaire de voir em- ployes dans ses seductions deux agens diplomatiques Anglois accreditee, Tun aupres de la cour de Baviere, l'autre de celle de Wurtemberg, deja connus 1'un et l'autre par leurs basses intrigues en Alleroagne. lis eurent l'infamie, sous le voile de leur caractere minis- terial, de compromettre dans leur complot le due d'Enghien, prince du sang du Bourbon, reste sur les bonis du Rhin, dans les petits etats du cardinal de Rohan, aquatre lieues de Strasbourg, reunis a ceux du margrave de Bade. II est bien penible aussi de voir engage dans cette conspiration un general Frangois, recommandable jusqu'alors par des services signales lendus a. son pays. Comment le general Moreau a-t-il pu ternir le cours de sa brillante carriere, en pretant Toreille aux premieres ouvertures d'un complot aussi temeraire qu'odieux dans ses moyens d'execu- tion ? Mais ce qui est le comble de la demence est la duperie du ministere Anglois, qui se laissa trornper par l'adresse d'un ancien Jacobin nomine Mehee, echappe des prisons d'Oleron. 11 se disoit pre- sident" d'un comite de Jacobins seant a Paris, qui n'existoit que dans son imagination. II s'attira la confiance par des intrigues, et dirigea sa correspond- ance avec l'ex-ministre de la marine Francoise, Bel- trami, qui presidoit un comite d'emigres seant en Angleterre. Ce fut sur les avis d'un espion double que les ministres de Londres f'ormerent un plan pour bouleverser la France et ses allies dans l'Europe, par la destruction du premier consul et de son gouverne- vol. xiv. \ 322 APPENDIX. ment. Mehee faisoit part a la police de Paris de toutes leurs mesures. Ce fut sur ses denonciations qu'elle fit arreter tous ceux qui debarquerent d'An- gleterre sur la falaise de Beville en Normandie. Ibid. p. Un mois apres son sacre, l'empereur fit une de* marche plus importante. II ecrivit au roi d'Angleterre pour le conjurer de faire cesser l'effusion du sang humain, dans une guerre qui n'avoit plus d'objet pour l'une et l'autre nation que la destruction plus ou moins longue, mais infaillible, des finances et du cre- dit respectifs ; que la France ay ant suspend u tout son commerce exterieur, restoit invulnerable sur son con- tinent; que TAngleterre couroit de plus grands risques, et s'assujetissoit a de triples depenses dans l'etendue des terres et des mers qu'elle avoit a proteger. La reponse du ministre d'Angleterre fut plus dtce/Ue que celle que le lord Grenville avoit donnee quelques annees auparavant a Bonaparte, alors premier consul ; mais elle etoit a peu pres aussi evasive, pour se don- ner le terns de consulter des puissances avec les- quelles il n'articuloit aucun traite ; mais seulement des negotiations commencees et des connexions con- fidentielles. Ibid. p. M. Fox, beaucoup plus porte a faire la paix de sa 330 nation qu'a continuer une guerre dans laquelle ses allies avoient eprouve de si grands desastres, fit dif- ferentes ouvertures pour traiter de la paix a Paris. Les conditions principales en etoient deja. convenues lorsque M. Fox vint a. mourir, pour le malheur des deux nations. Le lord Grenville resta le maitre du APPENDIX. 323 cabinet de Londres. Aussitot qu'on y rec,ut la nou- velle du desaveu donne par Pempereur de Russie au traite qifavoit signe M. Oubril, et des armemens que faisoit le roi de Prusse, mecontent du partage qui lui etoit reserve dans les confederations dont il va etre question, lord Lauderdale fut rappelle, et revint en Analeterre. III. Letter from the Emperor Napoleon to his Ma- jesty King George III. dated January 2d, 1S05. Sir and Brother, Called to the throne of France by Providence, and by the suffrages of the senate, the people, and the army, my first sentiment is a wish for peace. France and England abuse their prosperity. They may contend for ages; but do their governments well fulfil the most sacred of their duties, and will not so much blood shed uselessly, and without a view to any end, condemn them in their own consciences? I con- sider it as no disgrace to make the first step. I have, I hope, sufficiently proved to the world that I fear none of the chances of war. It besides presents nothing that I need to fear. Peace fs the wish of my heart, but war has never been inconsistent with my glory. I conjure your Majesty not to deny yourself the hap- piness of giving peace to the world, nor to leave that sweet satisfaction to your children ; for certainly there never was a more fortunate opportunity, nor a moment more favourable to silence all the passions, and listen v 2 324 APPENDIX. only to the sentiments of humanity and reason. This moment once lost, what end can be assigned to a war which all my efforts will not be able to terminate? Your Majesty has gained more within ten years, both in territory and riches, than the whole extent of Eu- rope. Your nation is at the highest point of prospe- rity. What can it hope from war ? To form a coalition with some powers of the Continent? The Continent will remain tranquil. A coalition can only increase the preponderance and continental greatness of France. — To renew intestine troubles ? The times are no longer the same. — To destroy our finances ? Finances found- ed on a flourishing agriculture can never be destroyed. — To take from France her colonies? The colonies are to France only a secondary object; and does not your Majesty already possess more than you know how to preserve ? If your Majesty would but reflect, you must perceive that the war is without an object, with- out any presumable result to yourself. Alas ! what a melancholy prospect, to cause two nations to fight merely for the sake of fighting ! The world is suffici- ently large for our two nations to live in it; and reason is sufficiently powerful to discover means of recon- ciling every thing, when the wish for reconciliation exists on both sides. I have, however, fulfilled a sa- cred duty, and one which is precious to my heart. I trust your Majesty will believe in the sincerity of my sentiments, and my wish to give you every proof of it, &c. Napoleon. A P P^ N D I X. 325 Answer addressed by Lord Mulgrave to M.Talleyrand, January 14///, 1805. His Britannic Majesty has received the letter which has been addressed to him by the head of the French government, dated the 2d of the present month. There is no object which his Majesty has more at heart than to avail himself of the first opportunity to procure again for his subjects the advantages of a peace, found- ed on bases which may not be incompatible with the permanent security and essential interests of his do- minions. His Majesty is persuaded that this end can only be attained by arrangements which may, at the same time, provide for the future safety and tranquillity of Europe, and prevent the recurrence of the dangers and calamities in which it is involved. Conformably to this sentiment, his Majesty feels it is impossible for him to answer more particularly to the overture that has been made him, till he has had time to com- municate with the powers on the Continent with whom he is engaged in confidential connections and rela- tions ; and particularly the emperor of Russia, who has given the strongest proofs of the wisdom and elevation of the sentiments with which he is animated, and the lively interest which he takes in the safety and independence of the Continent. Mulgrave 326 APPENDIX. IV. Letter of the Earl of Yarmouth from Paris, Ju/jjmh, a. d. 1806. That the confidence of Mr. Fox in the earl of Yar- mouth's diplomatic ability during the arduous nego- tiation carried on at Paris, a. d. 1806, was not mis- placed, appears from the whole tenor of that noble- man's correspondence, and particularly from the letter dated July 30th, in reply to a dispatch bearing the name of Mr. Fox, and nominally addressed to him. But that great statesman, subsequent to his excellent letter of July 5th, had ceased, as is well known, to execute the functions of his office. This was fairly and honourably acknowledged by lord Howick in the house of commons ; and the French government was too well informed to be deceived by the use of his name. This letter of lord Yarmouth, penned in vin- dication of his own conduct, contains so masterly a view of the state of Europe at that period, as to con- stitute an important historical document. lb Mr. Secretary Fox. Sir, I had the honour to receive your dispatch of the 25th instant late at night on the 28th, and next morn- ing lost no time in asking for blank passports for a person fully instructed with the sentiments of his Ma- jesty's government, whom it was their intention to join with me in the important commission of treating for peace. M. Talleyrand told me he must take the em- peror's orders. I accordingly returned this day, when APPENDIX. 327 that minister informed me that the emperor could con- sider this demand in no other light but that of unne- cessary delay; because his Majesty's secretary of state was actually in possession of a blank passport, which would enable any person or persons to come to Paris without the loss of time occasioned by this demand ; but that, pour surcroit de facilites, there could be no difficulty about giving more. I answered that I had no knowledge of this circumstance. M. Talleyrand said it was certain, because he had sent two entirely in blank, and that one only had been used, namely, that with which I returned. It is unnecessary for me to add any thing to what I have already said in my former dispatches relative to the signature of the Russian treaty. Any inaccuracy in the statement of its contents, such as I was enabled to transmit them, may easily be accounted for by the circumstance of my not having seen the treaty itself, and by the unwillingness M. D'Oubril naturally felt to open himself to me on that subject. He informed me at the time, that he would send a copy to M. de Stro- gonoff, who would communicate it to his Majesty's ministers. It is with pain, sir, proportioned to my zeal for his Majesty's service, and to the fair and honest convic- tion of my having done nothing which the peculiar and trying circumstances of the moment did not re- quire from me, that I have learnt by the same dispatch, the expression of a wish that I had delayed the pro- duction of my full powers till I could know the im- pression which this event of the Russian treaty might produce in his Majesty's councils; and the apprehen- 3o8 APPENDIX. sion that, by the producing them so soon niter the sig- nature of the Russian treaty, an impression might be created unfavourable to the farther progress of the negotiation. If the question regarded only my own personal feel- ings, I should not think myself at liberty to allot to it so large a portion of a public dispatch. But it may not, I conceive, be unuseful, with a view to the conduct of the negotiation, that you should be apprized of some detads which I have hitherto omitted dwelling upon, partly from the urgency of more important subjects, and partly from my desire not to trespass upon your attention to so great an extent. I trust, sir, that his Majesty will see in these details wherewithal to jus- tify my conduct in the difficult situation in which I was placed. The fate of Holland and Naples were settled before 1 was honoured with his Majesty's confidence. My conversation here with M. Talleyrand soon convinced me that these were only preludes to still greater changes in the system of Europe. I saw, at the same time, a great desire of negotiation before the final execution of some of the emperor's schemes should have re- moved any hope of its being attended with success. This opinion, not preconceived or lightly taken up, but gradually formed from a variety of circumstances, was confirmed by the nature of the offers held out, un- officially indeed, but in such clear and unequivocal terms, that it was impossible to entertain any doubt oi the intention of this government to adhere to them. The point which of all others was the most essen- tial, and that on which satisfaction was due to the APPENDIX, 329 national honour and to that of his Majesty, Hanover, would, I was assured, be given up without restriction : lor I did not then know we should be asked to allow the king of Prussia to obtain the sovereignty of some of the lesser principalities. I received similar assurances about Malta and the Cape of Good Hope ; nor have I any reason to doubt, but that, before Russia had made her peace separately, these terms might have been obtained, and the treaty have had solely for its basis the uti possidetis, with the sole exception in our favour of Hanover restored; and latterly, indeed, of some arrangements tolerable to all parties in exchange for Sicily. M.Talleyrand held the same language to me with respect to Russia, which he had before held with re- gard to the affairs of Germany. — " You have now been here a month : we have been willing to converse with you, to give you an insight into our views, and to communicate them to the British government. We told you that if you had the powers, and would enter into a negotiation, we would not sign the arrangement of Germany. A reasonable time was left for you to consult your government. We had no answer. The arrangement was signed ; et nous iien reviendrons jamais. We now ask you, whether you will treat before Russia has signed, which will not pass two days?" It cannot be necessary to state my answer to such a pro- position. I will only add, that the treaty with Russia was signed within the time mentioned, and then com- menced the difficulty of my situation. " Switzerland," I was told by the same authority, " is on the eve of undergoing a great change. This 330 APPENDIX. cannot be averted but by a peace with England; but still less can we alter, for any other consideration, our intention of invading Portugal. The army destined for that purpose is already assembling at Bayonne. This is for the determination of Great Britain." But I confess, the point of all others the most deci- sive in inducing me to produce my full powers, was the language held respecting Prussia. " Prussia de- mands from us a declaration respecting Hanover. We cannot consent wantonly to lose the only ally France has had since the revolution. The declaration once made, nous tCen pouvons nous retracter. Would you have us break entirely with Prussia, when we cannot even say that Great Britain will negotiate with us ? Are you here only with orders to delay our measures till the season of the year makes exertion impossible? Or can you treat? If so, is not the assurance we give you that Hanover, Malta, and the Cape shall not be contested, sufficient to induce you to do so ? Must we lay before the British government our exact terms before they will even avow negotiation with so great a power as that of France ? Or, shall we execute our other projects, as we did those in Holland and Naples r Undoubtedly, sir, conversations of this sort, con- firmed even as they were by the events passing under my eyes, could never have induced me to commit his Majesty's confidential servants upon any point upon which 1 had not received their instructions, and which had left no time to receive them. But I did not think myself at liberty to shift from myself the responsi- bility thus thrown upon me, at the risk of stein;.! APPENDIX. 331 Portugal and Switzerland share the same fate which Germany has just experienced; and Hanover con- firmed to Prussia, until such time as his Majesty's arms should recover the possession of it. The mode of proceeding of this government left me no alternative. Either to avow negotiation, or shut up every opening to it, was my only option. I felt that I pledged his Majesty to nothing except the fact of negotiation, already privately known to every court in Europe. I carefully forbore giving any written paper, or admitting even the possibility of any other basis than that of nti possidetis. I have ascertained the real extent of the pretensions of France; and I did consider myself to have prevented a great evil at small expense, by having given time to yourself, and his Majesty's other confidential servants, to provide by the farther instructions you might judge proper, for the interest of the powers, thus for the moment at least saved from the grasp of France. I persuade myself that the motives here detailed, upon which I acted at the moment, will place in a stronger light the difficulties of my position, and will, on farther consideration, obtain his Majesty's gracious approbation of the conduct which I thought myself obliged to hold in consequence. His Majesty's ministers would have relieved me from much painful responsibility, if they had com- manded me to proceed no farther, and wait the arri- val of the person alluded to, and for whom I have the honour to enclose the necessary passport, which I have this moment received. 332 APPENDIX. Mr. Goddard, whom a long residence in France, in- dependent of his abilities and correct information on what has passed here, renders entirely able to give his Majesty's ministers every explanation they may wish for, is so good as to take this dispatch with him to England, where he is returning, at the end of his Ions captivity in this country. I have the honour to be, &c. Yarmouth. V. ON THE RIGHTS OF THE NEUTRAL FLAG. Declaration of the Empress of Russia, a. d. 1780. The empress of all the Russias has so fully mani- fested her sentiments of equity and moderation, and has given such evident proofs, during the course of the war that she supported against the Ottoman Porte, of the regard she has for the rights of neu- trality, and the liberty of universal commerce, as all Europe can witness, that her conduct, as well as the principles of impartiality which she has displayed during the present war, justly inspired her with the fullest confidence that her subjects would peaceably enjoy the fruits of their industry, and the advantages belonging to a neutral nation. Experience has, nevertheless^ proved the contrary. Neither the above- APPENDIX. mentioned considerations, nor the regard to the rights of nations, have prevented the subjects of her imperial majesty from being often molested in their navigation, and stopped in their operations by those of the belli- gerent powers. These impediments to the liberty of trade in general, and to that of Russia in particular, are of a nature to excite the attention of all neutral nations. The empress finds herself obliged, therefore, to set it free by all the means compatible with her dignity, and the well-being of her subjects : but be- fore she puts this design in execution, and with a sincere intention to prevent any future infringements, she thought it but just to publish to all Europe the principles she means to follow, as the best adapted to prevent any misunderstanding, or any occurrences that may occasion it. Her imperial majesty does it with the more confidence, as she finds these principles coincident with the primitive right of nations, to which every people may appeal, and which the bel- ligerent powers cannot invalidate without violating the laws of neutrality, and without disavowing the maxims they have adopted in their several treaties and public engagements. They are reducible to the following points : I. That all neutral ships may freely navigate from port to port, and on the coasts of nations at war. II. That the effects belonging to the subjects of the said warring powers shall be free in all neutral vessels, except contraband merchandize. III. That the empress, as to the specification of the above-mentioned merchandize, adheres to what is mentioned in the X. and XI. articles of her treaty of 333 334 APPENDIX. commerce with Great Britain, extending the terms of it to all the powers at war. IV. That to determine what is meant by a blocked- up port, it is only to be understood of one which is so completely guarded by the ships of the power that attacks it, and which are stationed there, that it is dangerous to any vessel to enter it. V. That these principles serve as a rule for pro- ceedings and judgments upon the legality of prizes. Her imperial majesty, in publishing these particulars, does not hesitate to declare, that for maintaining them, and for protecting the honour of her flag, the security of the trade and navigation of her subjects, she has equipped the greatest part of her maritime forces. This measure will not, however, influence the strict neutrality she does observe, and will observe, so long as she is not provoked, and forced to break the bounds of moderation and perfect impartiality. It will be only in this extremity that her fleet have orders to go wherever honour, interest, and necessity may require. In giving this solemn assurance with the usual openness of her character, the empress cannot do other than promise herself that the belligerent powers, convinced of the sentiments of justice and equity which animate her, will contribute towards the ac- complishment of these salutary purposes, so mani- festly tending to the good of all nations, and to the advantage even of those at war; in consequence of which, her imperial majesty will furnish her com- manding officers with instructions conformable to the above-mentioned principles, founded upon the primi- APPENDIX. 335 live laws of nations, and so often adopted in their conventions. Dated at Petersburg, April, A. d. 1780. . Iii discussing the riglits of the neutral Jfog } it may be proper to premise, that the famous maritime code, originally framed by the flourishing commercial states bordering on the Mediterranean, stiled // consolato del marc, subsisted in full force in Europe, or rather in the south of Europe, for in the north its authority was never recognized, from about the end of the twelfth to that of the sixteenth century : from the last- mentioned period it gradually though slowly sunk into disrepute. According to the fundamental principles of this con- Schlegel's stitution, an enemy's property found on board a f Neutral neutral ship is liable to confiscation ; and the right of Ve f cls > 1 ' 83 p. 5. search was supposed and allowed to be the necessary consequence, or concomitant, of the right of seizure. Queen Elizabeth was one of the first potentates who, in defiance of this antient and established consti- Busch, p. 145. tution, reclaimed the rights of the neutral flag. In the year 1596, several English vessels which had on board property belonging to certain citizens of An- twerp, subjects of the king of Spain, were detained by the Dutch. But the queen insisted on restitution being made, and also reparation for the insult. It was England, also, who concluded perhaps the ibid. earliest treaty in which the principle of the antient code was formally and expressly departed from, viz. that with Portugal in 1642: and since that period to the year 1780, according to an eminent writer on 336 APPENDIX. Croke's Remarks p. 104. Crokc on Schlegel, p. 104-5. maritime jurisprudence, thirty-five commercial treaties have been concluded on principles more or less fa- vourable to neutral rights, while two only can be found during that interval framed upon the harsh and unqualified maxims established by the consolato del mare. In 1656, England being at war with Spain, the admiralties of Amsterdam and Rotterdam issued orders to their commanders to show all honour of salutes to English men-of-war, and suffer them to speak with the vessels under their convoy, and to see their papers; but if they offered to visit, they should oppose it. And De Ruyter being met in the channel by some armed ships of England which insisted upon search, he did accordingly oppose and prevent the same, falsely declaring that he had no Spanish property on board. In the same year, a Dutch fleet of merchantmen under convoy, and bound for Spain, coming into Torbay, captain Pley, an English officer, sent his boats to board them. The Dutch commander at first re- fused : at length he consented to a slight search, but being farther pressed, knowing that he had ene- my's property on board, he hoisted the red flag, fired a gun of defiance, and sailed away. During the war between the English and Dutch republics, queen Christina of Sweden published a declaration respecting convoys, in which she orders the convoying ships, if they meet a warlike fleet, to give them reasonable satisfaction ; but as for the rest, they shall by all possible ways decline that they or any of the convoy shall be searched. APPENDIX. 337 At the eve of the revolution war, a. d. 1688, Christian V, king of Denmark, published an ordon- nance prohibiting, in the most express terras, any ships carrying the royal flag from suffering any fo- reign vessels to board, visit, or even to see the papers of any merchantmen under their protection; and that such attempt should be opposed to the utmost of their power. In the same war, the celebrated Puffen- dorf being consulted on the question of free navigation by his friend Groningius, a. d. 1692, answered thus: — " If the kings of the North can maintain their com- merce with France by having their merchant vessels sufficiently escorted by ships of war, provided that there is nothing contraband on board, nobody will be found to find fault with them ; the law of humanity and of equity between different countries not extend- ing so far as to require that a nation should deprive itself of its profit in favour of another." This is a direct condemnation of the principle on which the '* II consolato del mare 1 '' was founded. In the war of the succession, all the powers of Christendom being either engaged as parties in the grand alliance, or hostilely disposed towards France, there was little scope for any complaint of the viola- tion of neutral rights. But in the ensuing general war Schle^el, of 1740, Frederic king of Prussia caused an energetic' 1 ' memorial to be presented to the court of London, in which the rights of neutral flags were for the first time completely discussed. This memorial was answered with great ability by the British government; but the general impression throughout Europe was in favour of Prussia. vol. xi v. z 338 APPENDIX. In the seven years' war, which commenced in 1756, the disputes, or rather the quarrels, which took place between England and Holland on the subject of neu- tral rights, were public and notorious : scarcely could Schiegei, tne efforts of the father and daughter prevent an open Visitation, ru pture. In the year 1762, when the Dutch com- &c.p,8o. r J mander Dedel had repulsed by force an attempt to search the merchant ships under his convoy, the states- general gave their express sanction to his conduct by an ordonnance published September 20th in the same year. The unbounded depredations of the English cruizers during the next, or American war, were such as at length induced the empress of Russia, at the sug- gestion, as was believed, of the crowned philosopher of Sans Souci, to promulgate her famous project of the armed neutrality, which was acceded to by all the great continental powers, conformably to the declara- tion from St. Petersburg, a. d. 1780. In the war which ensued between Russia and Swe- den, Gustavus III. did indeed with disgraceful incon- sistency issue orders to the Swedish cruizers wholly incompatible with the principles he had so recently avowed. But the more magnanimous Catharine would not be deterred from the observance of them, even by the example of her enemy. The XHIth Article of her regulation for cruizers, dated December 31, 1787, ex- pressly states, " that when neutral merchant ships are convoyed by a ship of war of their nation, the Russian ships of war ought not in any manner to address them- selves to the merchant vessels, but only to the com- mander of the escort ; and that if he declares that there is not on board any merchandise contraband in APPENDIX. 339 war, they ought to be content with this declaration, . , . . ... without requiring visitation. In the same manner, the states-general, on taking part in the American war, in their ordonnance of the 26th of January, 1781, enjoined, " that in the case of meeting neutral vessels sailing under convoy, if the commanding officer declares that he is perfectly cer- tain that the ships under convoy are not laden with articles of contraband in war, credit shall be given to that declaration, and that in consequence no visit shall be required." The general peace of 1783 left untouched the sub- ject of the armed neutrality, and the principles on which it was founded remained in full force. Subse- quent to the French revolution, the constituent assem- bly even went so far as to propose the abolition of letters of marque ; but to this England would not ac- cede. Yet it can scarcely be denied, that on general principles of equity and humanity, wars should be strictly national ; and that unoffending individuals should not be made the victims of the personal or po- litical quarrels of princes. Nor can injuries of this nature, inflicted on the enemy, tend to any solid na- tional advantage. " In the commencement of the ensuing war, the Eng- Visitation lish ministry," says M. Schlegel, " entertained the idea vessels, of starving a great people, in order to make those who P- 10 - oppressed them renounce their ambitious projects.' 1 " England," says another able foreign writer, " having Hellfried's for some years remained a tranquil spectator of the in- t }, e Attack ternal commotions of France, no sooner declared war on ^ en " 7 mark, against that country, than she endeavoured to impli- p- '25- z 2 APPENDIX. cate all other nations in the contest, without any re- ference to their situation, internal condition, and exter- nal relations. Denmark and Sweden, however, firmly maintained the neutrality upon which they had deter- mined. England then adopted all the violent mea- sures to which former examples and confident superi- ority could prompt her. She again put in practice the barbarous system of starving her opponent. She brought forward her pretensions to interdict the trade of neutrals to every port; and whole tracts of coast were, by an order in council, declared to be in a state of blockade, although they neither were in reality, or could be blockaded : and finally, her admiralty court assumed the position, that a neutral vessel could not carry other goods than the natural produce or manu- factures of its own country. England attempted to persuade or to compel neutral powers to acknowledge and to obey those and other violent laws ; pretending that the war with France differed from all other con- tests, and that it was the duty of every lawful govern- ment to co-operate in the defence of all. A requisition to this effect was presented by the English ambassador at Copenhagen, on the 17th of July, 1793. England, in the mean time, pursued her arbitrary conduct with unabated vigour. During the short space between Fe- bruary and August 1793, 189 Danish vessels were de- tained and sent into English ports, of which 118 were laden with corn and provisions." Russia also, during the war with France, though still professing to maintain the general principles of the convention of St. Petersburg (a. d. 1780), suspended the exercise of them, declaring " that all general rules APPENDIX. 341 should yield to the superior object of overthrowing regicide republicanism ." These violences necessarily produced measures of retaliation on the part of France ; and the French convention, by their decree of 29 Nivose de Tan 6, i. e. January 18, 1798, went the extreme length of subject- ing every neutral vessel to confiscation, if the smallest quantity of English goods was found on board. The naval and commercial war from this time forward was carried on by both nations with unexampled and im- placable rancour, mutually injurious, but in the end in- comparably the most so to Great Britain The chief object of contest between England and the Baltic, and indeed all other powers, did not relate to the visitation on the high seas of merchant ships in general, but to the visitation of those which were placed under the protection of a convoy, expressly ap- pointed by the government of the country to which they respectively belonged. The right of visitation is admitted by the theory of all writers, and the practice of all governments. Even Hubner, "the great chain- judgment pion of neutral privileges,' 1 as he is stiled by sir Wil- swedUh liam Scott, allows this without hesitation. " Nous ne Convoy. . , . Hubner, nions pas que les nations belli ge ran tes n'aient le droit i. pt. i. de visiter convenablement les navires neutres en pleine mer pour s'assurer de leur etat. Ce droit est une suite necessaire du veritable droit de la guerre, que Ton ne sauroit contester aux peuples qui la font. Pour ne pas confondre les amis avec les ennemis, il est essentiel que les nations belligerantes sachent surement si les ii ' navnes que leurs vaisseaux de guerre ou amies en course rencontrent en pleine mer appartiennent & ceux- ci, ou a ceux-la." 342 APPENDIX. But it is contended by this great jurist, and the writers on the same side, that all the treaties which speak of visitation at sea suppose that it has for its object merchant vessels not convoyed; and that among the great number of commercial treaties which have been concluded in modern times, not one makes men- tion of this right relatively to vessels escorted by Visitation ships of war. " The power," says Schlegel, " which of Neutral , , . . • , i t ■, ,t Vessels, should put its hand to such a stipulation, would con- p 2 " sent to its own shame. In granting to its subjects an escort for the protection of their commerce, it would leave them a prey to all the avarice of privateers ; and to this baseness it would add that of making its own marine a silent witness of their insults. As the benefit of convoy is not granted but to those who are proved, and recognized to be perfectly regular, it would ac- knowledge its incompetence relatively to its own sub- jects, or what would be more disgraceful still, that it does not merit any confidence in its public con- duct." The English jurists themselves have not ventured to assert that this point of right is by the law or prac- tice of nations clearly and indisputably determinable in their favour, but have recourse to logical deductions Croke's an( ^ inference. " The belligerent, it is said, cannot Remarks b e obliged without his own consent to abide by any on Schle- & . J . J gel. particular mode of satisfaction. If the law of nations prescribes a search, it must mean an effectual search. If the cruizer was confined to any one mere formal examination, the object of the search would be com- pletely defeated, whenever those formal proofs were falsified. The governors of a country may lend their APPENDIX. 343 aid to a fraud ; and if this pretension is admitted, the petty republics of Ragusa, or St. Marino, might cover any collusion by the sanction of their respective flags." Sir William Scott, judge of the high court of ad- miralty, in pronouncing sentence of condemnation in the famous cause of the Swedish ship Maria, speaks of the question at issue as both novel and important ; and which he had, therefore, taken time to weigh fairly and maturely. *l It is high time," said he, " that the legal merit of such a pretension should be disposed of one way or other. It has been for some years past preparing in Europe. It is extremely fit that it should be brought to the test of a judicial decision. And he had weighed with the most anxious care the several facts, and the learned arguments which had been ap- plied to them." M. Schlegel, on the other hand, chal- Visitation, . . &c. p. 77, lenges this learned judge "to allege any treaty, any law, either of his own country or foreign, which au- thorizes the visiting of vessels under convoy. It has not," continues this able writer, u been more possible for him to cite, among the great number of writers who have treated on this part of the law of nations, a single authority which justifies it." Was it, then, to force the recognition of so odious, so problematic a right, such as a British judge pro- nouncing sentence in favour of the claims of his own nation, in opposition to the rest of Christendom, hesi- tated to declare perfectly clear and reasonable, that Great Britain can stand justified in the opinion of an impartial posterity in sending fire and sword into the bosom of peaceful countries, disposed to give every 3J91Cj[ APPENDIX. proof of friendship to Britain, short of relinquishing what they have ever regarded, and insisted upon, as an indubitable as well as an invaluable right and pri- vilege. In the able pamphlet published a. d. 1757, by Mr. Charles Jenkinson, afterwards earl of Liverpool, " On the Conduct of the Government of Great Britain in re- spect to Neutral Nations," he fairly says, " It is well known that ber conduct in this respect hath not been universally approved ; and that some neutral nations think they have a right to carry in their vessels unmo- lested the property of our adversaries." It would have been still more in point to acknowledge, that, at the period of his publication, the conduct of the British government was not approved by any state in Europe; and that all the neutral nations resisted the claim of searching merchant ships sailing under regular convoy. But though the great minister then at the helm reso- lutely persevered in this practice, he never thought of sending fleets to destroy the capitals of those countries which as perseveringly controverted this doubtful right. He was satisfied with acting upon a principle, which he left it to the jurists and civilians to vindicate. Next to the violence of searching vessels under con- voy, the extension of the definition of " contraband of war" to naval stores, appears to have given the highest offence to the neutral, or at least to the north- ern nations. " That tar, pitch, and hemp, going to the enemies 1 use, are liable to be seized as contraband in their own nature, cannot," says sir William Scott, " I conceive, be doubted under the modern taw of na- tions; though formerly, when the hostilities of Europe APPENDIX. 345 were less naval than they have since become, they were of a disputable nature." But the northern powers, of whom these were the staple commodities, could not be expected to recognize the validity of this modern law, or rather of this modern practice, of a single nation, arrogating the authority of all. In the interesting account transmitted to us by a Whit great man, the lord commissioner Whitlocke, of the Memorials commercial negotiation between England and Sweden P- 64 °- in the year 1656, during the protectorate of Cromwell, who certainly was not of a temper tamely to relinquish any just national right, and England being then at war with Spain, we find the following passages: — " Fe- bruary 17th, Fiennes, Strickland, and I, proceeded in the treaty at the ambassador's house. We had long- debates touching contraband goods, in which last were inserted by the council, hemp, pitch, tar, &c. The ambassador said, ' that if they would add copper and iron, it would take in all the commodities of his mas- ter's dominions.' " April 8th, the commissioners went to the Swedish ambassador's house, where the articles of the projected treaty were read, conformably to the resolves of the council. The ambassador observed, ' that the speci- fication of contraband goods did contain in it pitch and tar, hemp, flax, and sails. These were the great commodities of his master's countries, and they were never yet in any treaty made with Siceden allowed as contraband goods ; that in the treaty with the lord Whit- locke, at Upsal, it would by no means be hearkened to, as he very well knew.' " The lord commissioner Whitlocke confirmed this by saying, " that at Upsal, 346 APPENDIX. when mention was made by him of those commodities to be contraband goods, both the old chancellor Oxen- stierne, and his son the now chancellor, would by no means debate on that point, saying, it was not to be mentioned.' 1 Whitlocke, in the course of the conference, remark- ed, " that he had not found or heard of any law of na- tions which did define contraband goods ; that the word contraband came of the old French word ban, which signifies an edict or proclamation ; and contraband is as much as to say contra edictum, which is agreed upon by the nations concerned." The lord Fiennes said, " that in our late wars with the Dutch, they did by public proclamation forbid the bringing of these and other commodities to England, and did seize upon them if they found any bringing hither.' 1 The ambassador said " it was true that the Dutch did make such a proclamation, but that no nation did ever acknowledge the same to be binding ; and that the Swedes did at that time, in spite of their proclamation, bring those commodities into England; and it would be hard now to restrain the people of Sweden from trading into Spain. 1 ' In a succeeding conference, Strickland again men- tioned the prohibition of Holland ; and the ambassa- dor replied, " that such prohibition was never sub- mitted to by any nation that could be strong enough to resist it." May 13th. Letter of Carlos IV. to the Supreme Council of Castile, the Council of Inquisition, &c. dated from Bauonne, May 4, 1808. In the present extraordinary circumstances, we have resolved to give a new proof of our affection to- wards our beloved subjects, whose happiness during the whole course of our reign has been the constant object of our solicitude. We have, therefore, abdicated all our claims upon the Spanish kingdoms, in favour of our friend and ally the emperor of the French, by a treaty which has been signed and ratified, and which stipulates for the integrity and independence of the Spanish kingdoms, and the preservation of our holy religion, not only as the predominant, but as the sole and exclusive religion in Spain. We have, therefore, thought proper to send you this letter, that you should conform yourselves thereto ; publish its contents, and make every exertion in sup- port of the emperor Napoleon. Display the utmost frankness and friendship towards the French ; and, above all, direct all your care to preserve the country from insurrections and tumults. In the new condi- tion upon which we were entering, we shall frequently turn our eyes towards you ; and happy shall we be to know that you enjoy peace and contentment. I the King. 30G APPENDIX. If it appears strange that so many persons of virtue, of talents, and of genuine patriotism, members of the convention of Bayonne, manifested, to say the least, a ready acquiescence in the unprincipled usurpation then and there announced, the solution must be sought in the ineffable contempt and indignation ex- cited by the conduct of the reigning dynasty; the state of degradation, and almost of despair, to which Spain was reduced under the government of the Bourbon sovereigns ; in the promise held out by Na- poleon in his proclamation of May 25th (1808), " of securing to Spain a constitution ivhich will unite the salutary power of the crown with the liberties and rights of the Spanish nation ;" and the animating prospect of political regeneration, exemplified in the new order of things established both in the north and south of Italy, and well illustrated in the following declaration issued from Bayonne, June 23d, 1808. Joseph, King of Naples and Sicily, to the People of the Kingdom of Naples. Providence, whose designs are inscrutable, having called us to the throne of Spain and the Indies, we have found ourselves in the cruel predicament of with- drawing ourselves from a people who had so many claims to our attachment, and whose happiness was our most gratifying hope, and the only object of our ambition. He who alone can read the hearts of men, can judge of the sincerity of our sentiments ; in oppo- sition to which, we have yielded to other impressions, and accepted a kingdom, the government of which has APPENDIX. 3 G7 been put into our hands in virtue of the renunciation of the rights to the crown of Spain, which our illus- trious brother, his majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy, had acquired. In this important situation, considering that insti- tutions are alone capable of duration, we reflected with regret, that your social constitution was still im- perfect, and thought that the farther we had removed from you, so much the more incumbent upon us it was to secure your present and future welfare, by all the means in our power. For these reasons we have put the last hand to our labours, and fixed the constitu- tional statute upon principles already partially adopt- ed, and which are more conformable to the age in which we live, the mutual relations of the neighbour- ing states, and the disposition of the nation, which we have employed ourselves to ascertain ever since we were called to rule over it. The principal objects which guided us in our la- bours were, I. The preservation of our holy religion. II. The establishment of a public treasury, sepa- rate and distinct from the hereditary property of the crown. III. The establishment of an intermediate admi- nistration, and a national parliament, capable of en- lightening the prince, and of performing important services both to him and the nation. IV. A judicial organization, which shall render the decisions of the courts of justice independent of the will of the prince, and make all the citizens equal in the eye of the law. 36S APPENDIX. V. A municipal administration, which shall be the property of no man, but to which all without distinc- tion shall be admissible. VI. The maintenance of the regulations which we have made for securing the payments to the creditors of the state. His majesty the emperor of the French and king of Italy, our illustrious brother, having been pleased to confer upon this act his powerful guarantee, we are assured that our hopes with regard to the pro- sperity of our beloved people of the kingdom of Naples, thus reposing upon his wide-spread glory, shall not experience disappointment. Constitution al Statute of the kingdom of Naples and Sicily. Bayonne, June 20, 1808. TMF, KND. LONDON : PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET- ■ Esb & Ste iSi £fc2. *fe . JLi «*>• .