LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE r\- "2G MEMORIALS OF CHARLES JOHN, KING OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY: ILLUSTRATIVE OF HIS CHARACTER; OF HIS RELATIONS WITH THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON ; AND OF THE PRESENT STATE OF HIS KINGDOMS. WITH A DISCOURSE OX THE POLITICAL CHARACTER OF SWEDEN. BY WILLIAM GEORGE MEREDITH, ESQ. A.M. II OF BRAZENOSE COLLEGE, OXFORD. LONDON : HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1829. :.in LONDON : I'RINTED BY S. AND K. KENT LEY, Dorse-t Street, Fleet Street. TO THE BARON ULRIC DE KOSKULL, CHAMBERLAIN AND AIDE-DE-CAMP TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING OP SWEDEN AND NORWAY, LIEU- TENANT COLONEL IN THE ROYAL STAFF CORPS, KNIGHT OF THE MILITARY ORDER OF THE SWORD, &c. &c. &c. MY DEAR BARON, I BEG to dedicate to you a Volume which derives from your friendship all that it contains of interest and of value. You are the person to whom I am indebted for the documents of which it principally consists ; and to the many agreeable hours which, during my visit to Stockholm, I passed in your company and in that of our excellent and patriotic friend, Baron IV Fleming, I owe the greater part of the in- formation which may illustrate them. If this Publication tend to make my coun- trymen better acquainted with the character of Sweden and its Monarch, I shall have accom- plished all that I can wish, and more than I can hope. I beg to subscribe myself, my dear Baron, with the highest consideration, Your very obliged friend, And very faithful servant, WILLIAM GEORGE MEREDITH. London, June, 1829. CONTENTS. I 'age Introduction ...... i Schemes of Baron Goertz . . 2 Sweden previous to 1808 . . . .3 Invasion of Finland by Russia ... 4 Peace with Russia . . . . .11 Treaty of Fredericshamn . . . . 12 Change in the Swedish Policy . . .13 Last port in the Baltic closed against Great Britain 14 Continental System . . . . .10 Election of Bernadotte . . . . 17 Irritation of Napoleon . . . .18 Sweden Declares War . . . . 20 Wisdom of the British Cabinet . . .21 Application to Napoleon .... 22 Violence of the French Government . . .24 French Ministers dismissed ... 25 Organized System of Diplomatic Insull ou the part. of France . . . . 20 Conduct of Sweden .... 30 b VI CONTENTS. Page Approach of the Great Crisis . . . .31 The French invade Pomerania ... 32 Sweden applies to Russia . . . .34 Declaration of the French .... 35 Last Letter of the Crown Prince to the Emperor Napoleon . . . . .37 Norway and Finland .... 39 Alliance with England . . . .41 The Swedish Army .... 43 Sweden obtains Norway . . . .44 Peace of Kiel ..... 45 Convention of Moss . . . . .46 State of Sweden . . . . . 47 Her skilful Policy . . ... 48 A Peninsular Kingdom .... 49 Impolicy of her ancient Continental System . . 50 Natural Alliances ..... 54 Co-operation of Sweden why desired by Napoleon 55 Union with Norway . . . . .57 Its consequences on Sweden ... 58 The general Security of Sweden the Guarantee of her Repose . . . .59 The present Policy of Sweden ascertained . 70 Sweden a Naval Power . . . -78 Influence of Russia in the Baltic ... 80 Necessity of a Neutral Power in the Baltic . . 82 Duties of a Neutral Power ... 85 Station of a Neutral Power . . . .86 Remarks ...... 87 The King ...... 89 Conclusion 91 CONTENTS. vii MEMORIALS OF CHARLES JOHN. PART I. Page Speech of the Crown Prince . . . .95 Letter to the King .... 96 Speech of the Crown Prince to the Deputation of the States .... 98 Reception at Stockholm . . . .100 Address of the Crown Prince to the King and the States General of the Kingdom . . .101 The Crown Prince to the Emperor Napoleon . 106 Speech of the Crown Prince at the close of the Diet . 110 Speech of the Crown Prince in the Academy of Military Sciences . . . . 112 Address to a Deputation of the University of Upsala 114 Speech of the Crown Prince in the Academy of Sciences . . . . . .11,5 The Crown Prince to the Emperor Napoleon . 117 Disturbances at Vermdb'n . . . .125 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputation from Roslagen . . . . .129 To the Deputies of the Bank . . . 132 From the Baron D'Engestrom to the Baron De Cabre 135 From the Baron De Cabre to the Baron D'Engestrom . 136 State of the Nation in 1812 . . . 137 The Crown Prince to the Emperor Napoleon . .148 Speech of the Crown Prince on receiving a Medal from the Academy of Sciences . 1 5o viii CONTENTS. Page The Crown Prince to the Emperor Alexander . .151 The Crown Prince to the Emperor Napoleon . 153 Openingof the Diet in 1812 .... 156 To the Due de Bassano .... 159 Speech of the Crown Prince on the closing of the Diet 166 Education of Prince Oscar . . . .170 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Students of Upsala 179 Academy of Agriculture . . . .180 The Due de Bassano to M. D'Ohsson . .185 The Crown Prince to the Emperor Napoleon . 190 Proclamation of the Crown Prince to the Army of the Interior . . . . . .199 to the combined Army of the North of Germany ..... 200 The Crown Prince to the Marshal the Prince of the Moskwa ...... 203 Proclamation to the Saxons . . . 205 to the Duke of Sudermania . . 206 to the French . . . 207 to the Swedish Army . . . 209 of the Crown Prince to the Army . 211 Proclamation to the Norwegians . . .213 The Crown Prince to the Deputies of the Storthing 218 Proclamation of the Crown Prince to the Army . 219 Speech of the Crown Prince in the Storthing . 220 Speech of the Crown Prince at the close of the Storthing ...... 224 PART II. From the General Peace, 1814, to the Close of the last Diet . 231 CONTENTS. IX Page Speech of the Crown Prince to the Members of the Academy of Agriculture . . . 237 General View of the Campaign . . . 238 Agriculture ..... 242 Speech of the Crown Prince on the Opening of the Diet, 1815 . . . . .245 Answer of the Crown Prince to the States General . 249 Napoleon and Charlemagne . . . .251 Results of the War .... 252 Defiance to Intriguers . . . .253 Speech of the Crown Prince on the Close of the Diet, 1815 ...... 254 Commerce . . . . . . 258 The Peasantry ..... 259 The Crown Prince to Monsieur Catteau . .260 Gustavus Adolphus . . . .261 Speech of the Crown Prince in the Academy of Agri- culture ...... 262 Intrigues against the Succession . . . 265 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputies of the Burgesses of Stockholm . . . .268 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputies of the Order of Peasants . . . .272 Speech of the Crown Prince at the Krigsbefal . 273 The Army Indelta . . . . 2 ? 4 Answer of the Crown Prince to a Body of Merchants of the City of Stockholm . . . 277 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputies of the Bank ...... 280 Speech of the Crown Prince in the Council of the State 283 X CONTENTS. Page Practical Advice to a Prince . . . .283 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputies of the Town of Orebro .... 295 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputies of the States General . . . . .296 Answer of the Crown Prince to a Deputation from the Province of Malmohus .... 300 Answer of the Crown Prince to the Deputation of the States General . . . . ib. Answer of the Crown Prince to a Deputation of the States ...... 302 Proclamation of the King to the Inhabitants of Sweden, on ascending the Throne .... 303 Answer of the King to a Deputation from the Univer- sity of Upsala . . . . . 307 The Coronation . . . . .309 Answer of the King to the Deputies of the Storthing 31 1 Oath of Allegiance . . . . 312 Speech of the King on the Close of the Diet, in 1818 314 Answer of the King to the Four Orders of the Kingdom 320 Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Nobility . 323 Answers of the King to Deputations of the Norwegian Storthing . . . . . .324 Answer of the King to the Deputies of the States Ge- neral . . > . . .330 Answer of the King to the Grand Governor . .33! Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Province of Malmohus ..... 333 Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Academy of Lund . 335 CONTENTS. XI Page Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Province of Dalecarlia . . . . .336 Answer of the King to a Deputation of Dalecarlian Peasants . . . . . .338 Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Province of Gefleborg ..... 339 Answer of the King to the Directors of the Works of the Canal of Sodertelge . . . .340 Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Four Orders of Upland ..... 343 Answer of the King to the University of Upsala . 345 Answer of the King to the Magistrates and the Bur- gesses of Upsala .... 347 Answer of the King to the Members of the Society of Forges ...... 348 Answer of the King to the Members of the Academy of Lund ..... 350 Answer of the King to the Deputies of the States Ge- neral ...... 352 Speech of the King at the Opening of the Norwegian Storthing ..... 354 Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Royal Aca- demy of Sciences . . . . .357 Speech of the King on the Institution of the Royal Court for Seania and Bleking . . . 359 Answer of the King to the Norwegian Storthing . 361 Speech of the King at the Close of the Storthing . 363 Answer of the King to the Swedish and Norwegian Councils of State . . . . .367 Speech of the King at the Academy of Agriculture 369 Xll CONTENTS. Page Answer of the King to the Clergy and the Magistrates ofNorrkoping . . . . .371 Speech of the King on the Opening of the Storthing 372 Speech of the King on the Opening of the Canal of Gotha ...... 374- Speech of the King to the Society of Agriculture . 376 Answer of the King to the Storthing of Norway . 378 Answer of the King to a Deputation of the Storthing . 381 Speech of the King on the Close of the Storthing . 383 Speech of the King on the Opening of the States Ge- neral . . . . . .388 Answer of the King to the States General . 396 Threatened Assassinations of the King and Prince . 398 Coronation of the Queen .... 400 Speech at the Closing of the Secret Committee . 401 Speech of the King to the States General . 402 Fundamental Laws of Sweden . . . 404 Canal of Gotha . . . . .405 Answer to the Deputations of the Four Orders at the Close of the Diet . . . . .407 Answer of the King to the Count de Brahe . 411 Speech at the Opening of the Storthing . . 412 Conflagration at Norrkoping . . . 416 University of Lund . . . . .417 Close of the Storthing, 1824 , . . 419 Speech delivered at the Sitting of the Academy of Agriculture . . .421 MEMORIALS, INTRODUCTION. POLITICAL CHARACTER OF SWEDEN. I. FOR nearly a century after the death of Charles the Twelfth, the genius of Sweden slumbered. That intrepid warrior, but unskil- ful statesman, had left the affairs of his king- dom in too complicated a state for the weak hands of his successors to disentangle them. Sovereign of a country, the capital of which he had not visited for years, he was too much engrossed by distant wars to attend to the in- trigues, the distress, and the disorganization B 2 SCHEMES OF BARON GOERTZ. which reigned at home. His name alone serv- ed to keep together the dilapidated edifice of the State, and that talisman removed, the whole empire had nearly fallen to ruin. II. Those who study and compare the his- torical events of different periods, will discover a curious resemblance between the political schemes of the Baron Goertz, and the revolu- tions which have actually taken place, though with a slower operation, in these latter days in the Scandinavian empire. That crafty diplo- matist had just quitted the Congress at the isle of Aland, and was bearing the preliminaries of the peace with Russia to Charles, when his progress was arrested by the news of the death of that monarch before Fredericshall. The fundamental articles of this treaty assured the union of Norway, and the restitution of the German provinces to Sweden ; and in return, Ingria, Esthonia, and Livonia were to be for- mally ceded to Russia : a cession of no great importance, since the Czar was already in pos- session of them, and he not of a character lightly to part with what he had so hardly earned. As to Poland, Stanislaus was to be SWEDEN PREVIOUS TO 1808. 3 re-instated. The result is well known : Goertz was arrested on a charge of high treason, and perished on the scaffold; the royal power in Sweden was materially abridged, and war was declared anew against Russia. This war was concluded, in 1721, by the peace of Nystad; when, as the Czar Peter frankly avowed, he obtained even more than he could have hoped for. Not only the provinces of Esthonia, Li- vonia, and Ingria, but also part of Finland, were ceded to Russia, by which that vast em- pire added to its dominions an extent of nearly three thousand square miles of territory. III. From that period, to the fatal year of 1808, the annals of Sweden present nothing of interest except in their disasters. Internal troubles and unsuccessful wars reduced her to the last state of exhaustion. Her territory on the side of Russia encroached on, was threat- ened on the side of Norway ; her German pos- sessions were occupied by the French ; her na- vies were destroyed, her finances and army were disorganized. During this gloomy period, the power of the State, successively transferred to different parties, alternated in strange vicissi- B 2 4 INVASION OF FINLAND BY RUSSIA. tudes, not in the steady pursuit of any well- digested plan, but according as the rival orders of the kingdom obtained the ascendancy. Hence the form and spirit of the government were vacillating and unsettled. The military genius too of Scandinavia seemed to have fallen before Fredericshall ; her armies were no longer disciplined by renowned tacticians, and her legions no longer carried that terror among their enemies, and that confidence of victory within themselves, which had once, under the great Gustavus, and the two Charles's, esta- blished on the surest foundation the military fame of Sweden. The fatal days of Willman- strand and Fredericshamn, and the idle aggres- sion which preceded the fruitless peace of Varela, stood arrayed against them : and the battle of Hoogland, though it promised a brighter sera to the Swedish flag, was a victory dearly bought, accompanied and followed by losses which their navy could ill afford to suffer, and which the government had not the means quickly to repair. IV. Such was the state of Sweden, when a crisis arrived whicli seemed to threaten the INVASION OF FINLAND BY RUSSIA. 5 kingdom with entire dissolution : this was the invasion of Finland by Russia, in 1808, a movement which was one of the secret results of the deliberations between the two great mo- narchs of the North and the West of Europe at Tilsit. In one campaign, the political system of Russia had undergone a complete change ; and the power which had expressed in the preamble of its treaty with England, in April 1805, " That the boundless ambition of the French Government, and the extreme influence which it desired to arrogate to itself, were the causes which deprived Europe of her peace, her independence, and her happiness," openly aban- doned, in 1807-8, the very objects for which she had been subsidized by England, and for which she had fought at Eylau and Friedland. These were " the independence of the North of Germany, of Hanover, and Holland; the re-establishment of the King of Sardinia ; the security of the kingdom of Naples, and the entire evacuation of Italy by the French troops ; combined, moreover, with the establishment of a safe and moderate order of things on the continent of Europe generally." Whoever O INVASION OF FINLAND. will compare these objects with the Russian recognition of the kings and empires of the Napoleon dynasty in the peace of Tilsit, may be amused in observing the strange discordance. Certainly the deliberations of Tilsit, or the pre- ceding combats, must have contained in them something very persuasive, to have effected in so short a time so singular an instance of politi- cal inconsistency. But let us look for the motives of this aggres- sion in the events which followed. Unfortu- nately for Sweden, the invasion of Finland was a measure equally agreeable to the Emperor of Russia and the Emperor of France. The im- portant acquisition of that country, with its fortresses and harbours, and its frontier coasts on the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland, was a very principal object of the aggrandizing system of the Russian policy : and a favourable oppor- tunity seemed now to present itself of effectual- ly weakening what had often proved a trouble- some, and once a very formidable neighbour. By the removal of the frontier to a distance from the Russian capital, and by throwing it back in a proportionate degree on the enemy's INVASION OF FINLAND. 7 centre, Sweden, thus closely hemmed in between two kingdoms, would naturally be crushed, and either dwindle into a dependent state, or at length be entirely absorbed in the Muscovite empire. As regarded France, this measure seemed scarcely less desirable. Sweden, by the attach- ment to the British interests which she had ex- hibited during the war, had incurred the en- mity of the great Emperor ; while her situation, difficult of access, save in her Continental pos- sessions, which were then in his power, had hitherto protected her from his invasion. The territorial aggrandizement of Russia at her ex- pense, while it would be a propitious immola- tion to the ambition of Alexander, could excite no jealousy on the part of Napoleon. On the contrary, its results would to all appearances precisely coincide with the views of the Em- peror of France. He would thus, by means of the arms of his ally, take vengeance on a refrac- tory power, and obtain the accession of Sweden to his Continental system, so that every shore of the Baltic would be closed against British mer- chandize and shipping: an object this of the first importance in the system of policy on 8 INVASION OF FINLAND. which Napoleon then acted, and made a very principal article in all the treaties which were concluded, and the theme of all the decrees which were issued about that period. Of the indifference which France exhibited on this occasion to the fate of the Swedish kingdom, and the aggrandizement of Russia, or rather of her pledged neutrality in all the pro- ceedings relating to that operation, there is a most clear, and at the same time most curious proof in the answer returned by the Emperor Napoleon to the entreaties of Charles XIII. when the King, after having lost Finland, wrote to the Thuilleries, praying for the preservation to Sweden of the isles of Aland ; the mockery of the answer was brief as it was bitter " Apply to the Emperor Alexander ; he is great and generous !" The designs, however, which emanated from the alliance between the Russian and the French empires, as they could not long remain concealed, so they were not allowed to be effected without a struggle. The peace of Tilsit was signed in July 1807, and Great Bri- tain was not slow in perceiving the new dan- INVASION OF FINLAND. 9 ger, which menaced her own commerce, and the kingdom of her ally. In February 1808, a treaty of subsidy was signed at Stockholm between Great Britain and Sweden, reciting in the preamble, that the consequences of the treaty of Tilsit between Russia and France unfolded themselves more and more, in such a manner as to threaten Sweden with a speedy invasion for the purpose of forcing her to ac- cede to the French system. And accordingly, in each of the years 1808 and 1809, a subsidy of 1,200,000. was granted to the King of Swe- den, to be employed in putting in motion, and keeping on a respectable establishment, all his land forces, and such part as should be neces- sary of his fleets, and particularly of his flotilla. But Sweden, in her exhausted and reduced condition, was utterly incompetent to oppose the Russian armies single-handed, while dis- sension and discontent raging in the interior paralysed her powers of resistance. The plans, too, which were proposed by England for as- sisting her with troops and ships, were rendered fruitless, partly by the difficulties attending the execution of them, and partly by the extrava- 10 INVASION OF FINLAND. gant demands of the Swedish monarch relative to the terms on which they were to co-operate. Finland, therefore, vigorously invaded, while a powerful Danish force threatened Sweden on her Norwegian frontier, was quickly lost. Meantime, in consequence of a combination of circumstances, now too generally known to require any narration, and which, fortunately, all tended to the same end, a rapid and bloodless revolution removed the reigning monarch from the throne. The States General, convened in the midst of the tumult of arms and invasion, digested a constitution, the same by which Sweden is now governed ; the vacant throne was offered to the Duke of Sudermania, who accepted the new constitution on the 6th, and was crowned by the style of Charles XIII. in the cathedral of Stockholm, on the 29th of June, in the same year of 1809- By the resignation of Gustavus IV. and the conquest of Finland, Russia had succeeded in the object of the war, as far as she was concerned, and she lost no time in setting negotiations on foot to legiti- mate by treaty what she had acquired by force. An armistice was agreed upon at Umeo, be- PEACE WITH RUSSIA. 11 tween the Russian and Swedish Generals, Bar- clay de Tolly and Cronstedt, and a Plenipoten- tiary was sent from the Imperial Court to the Swedish head-quarters to negotiate a peace. V. By the treaty, which was signed in conse- quence at Fredericshamn, September the 17th, 1809, all Finland, comprising the governments of Kymegard, of Nyland, and Tavastehus, of Abo, and Bib'rneborg, with the islands of Aland, of Savolax, and Carelia, of Wasa, of Uleaborg, and part of Westrobothnia, as far as the river of Tornea, which forms the boundary of the two states, was ceded in full sovereignty to Russia. These boundaries were again more clearly de- fined in the following year; and the act of demarcation was concluded in November, by commissioners entrusted with powers for that purpose on the part of both Courts, and ratified at Stockholm and St. Petersburg, on the 5th of December. All matters were arranged to pre- vent any future causes of difference respecting the separation of properties, and the rights of free communication between the countries, which henceforth were to be two. By the treaty of Fredericshamn, also, the King of 12 TREATY OF FREDKRICSHAMN. Sweden farther engaged to make peace with France and Denmark, and promised to adhere to the Continental system, reserving, until the stipulations could be agreed upon with France, the right of importing salt, and such colonial produce " as was become by custom necessary to the inhabitants of Sweden." This ambiguous expression, adroitly intro- duced in this article of the treaty, and which virtually annulled the clause which preceded it, was suffered to stand by Russia, who did not deem it necessary to incur the odium of a restriction, by which France alone would be benefited. But the French Government could not be prevailed upon to allow this stipulation to stand in the treaty which was signed at Paris, on the 6th of January, 1810, between France and Sweden. As far as regards terri- torial possession, this treaty, under all circum- stances, may be considered sufficiently advan- tageous to Sweden, for Swedish Pomerania and the isle of Rugen, with their dependencies, were restored, and by the seventh article the Em- peror Napoleon guaranteed the integrity of his possessions to the Swedish monarch. But the CHANGE IN THE SWEDISH POLICY. 18 great consequence of this treaty was an entire alteration of the policy of Sweden. The peace was declared common to the other Napoleon dynasties of Europe, which were formally ac- knowledged; namely, the Kings of Spain, of Sicily, and of Holland, and the Confederation of the Rhine : and lastly, Sweden acceded en- tirely to the Continental system, renounced the right of purchasing colonial produce, which she had retained by the treaty of Frederic- shamn, and reserved only the right of im- porting sufficient salt for the consumption of the country. Another treaty was also signed, in pursuance of the second article of the treaty of Fredericshamn, on the 10th of December, 1809, between Sweden and Denmark, at Jon- koping. VI. Thus was the last port in the Baltic closed against the ships and commerce of Great Britain ; and the advancing fortune of Napoleon having by the treaty of Tilsit destroyed and swept away all the dispositions made by Eng- land in the coalition of 1805, completed the revolution of interests by the new engagements of Sweden with Russia and France. But in 14 LAST POUT IN THE BALTIC those times one victory was of more avail than many treaties. There are moments when the dictates of political integrity, the objects of general interest, and the impulse of national feeling, must alike yield to necessity, and to the imperious call of self-preservation. " Un trait6 entre les souverains n'est souvent qu'une soumission a la necessit6, jusqu'a ce que le plus fort puisse accabler le plus foible." But in spite of the edicts which were fulmi- nated from Berlin and Milan, notwithstanding the blockade of the coasts of a considerable portion of Europe by a military force, and in defiance of the decrees which had been pub- lished by the governments of Holland and of Prussia against commerce with England, the wants of the people, and the ready mart which they thus found for their own accumulated produce, had taught them to elude the strictest ordinances, and the severest preventions, even in the countries more directly within the sphere of the power and superintendence of the French Government. But in Russia, which was more remote from CLOSED AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN. 15 his influence, and less apprehensive of his power, the severity of the decrees of Napoleon was considerably relaxed : while the Swedish Government, fully aware of the injury which their commerce must sustain by a rupture with England, and not insensible, on the other hand, to the danger which menaced them from Russia and Denmark, aided by France, if they refused to embrace the Continental system, wavered between the choice of two evils. They temporized for awhile, and took no im- mediate measures to execute vigorously the conditions of the treaty of Paris. What they desired for it was their real policy, but what Napoleon would never grant, was a state of strict neutrality. Such a measure would at once demolish his system, and render all his decrees completely futile. " There are no longer any neutrals ; England acknowledges none, nor can I acknowledge them any longer." And at a later period, when the matter had given rise to some altercation between the Courts of Stockholm and Paris, he was instant in demanding " a state of open war or constant 16 CONTINENTAL SYSTEM. friendship/' by which last term he implied as absolute a compliance with all his regulations as he had enforced in Holland or Prussia. VII. The consequences of this backwardness on the part of the Swedish Government soon became perceptible ; a contraband trade was carried on to a great extent, and English goods abounded on the shores of Scania and Holland; while, to make the contrast the greater, the Danes, irritated by the invasion of 1807, equipped numerous cruisers, which intercepted English vessels, and were active in throwing shot and shells at the English convoys which passed the Castle of Cronberg. These circumstances, and the ultimate objects of Sweden, could not long remain concealed from the active inquiries and penetrating eye of Napoleon : part was accurately reported, much greatly exaggerated, enough was true to give him fair cause for irritation. One small portion of the southern coast of Scan- dinavia was doing him more harm, to use his own expression, than five coalitions together. VIII. While these seeds of dispute were daily ripening, one party rigorously demanding the ELECTION OF BERXADOTTE. 17 iteral execution of the conditions of the treaty of Paris, the other pleading then- in- ability to go to war with England, when their magazines and arsenals were empty, and their treasury without money to equip a fleet, or organize an army ; and representing the in- evitable destruction of their trade in iron with America, and the loss of all the ships employed in that branch of commerce : a new character, and one destined to play an important part in the future history of Sweden, entered on the scene. The vacancy caused in the succession to the throne by the decease of the Crown- Prince, Christian Augustus de Holstein Au- gustenbourg, was supplied by the election of a French marshal, Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte Corvo. He was chosen by the States- General, in the Diet of Orebro. on the i21st of August, and landed in Sweden on the 20th of October, 1810. IX. Scarcely had the future monarch ar- rived, when he found it necessary to take a decided part in this disagreeable altercation with his former country. The Crown-Prince hesitated not to adopt that conduct which was 18 IRRITATION OF NAPOLEON. demanded by the interests of his new country, but not without sanguine hopes that, by his exertions, he might be able to reconcile all differences. In addition, however, to the rigo- rous demands of France, a new source of irri- tation speedily arose from the imperious be- haviour of Baron Alguier, the French Minister at Stockholm. The Crown-Prince, in the first letter which he addressed to Napoleon, dated November llth, 1810, complained of the severe instructions which that Minister had received : and it seems, that as long as he remained in Sweden, (from which he was finally removed on account of his offensive conduct to the offi- cers of the Swedish Government,) he gave the Crown-Prince no reason to alter the opinion he had at first conceived of him. X. Scarcely had the first conciliatory letter been sent, when a dispatch arrived from Baron Lagerbjelke, the Swedish Minister at Paris, de- tailing with minuteness a very stormy interview with Napoleon, who, in a disjointed and inter- rupted harangue of upwards of an hour, dis- coursed on a variety of subjects relating to the Continental system, complained bitterly that IRRITATION OF NAPOLEON. 19 he had been duped and cajoled by Sweden, protested that he would acknowledge no neu- trals, and alluded strongly to the reports then in circulation, of the jealousy of Russia re- lative to his projects of dismembering that empire, by forcing the Swedes against her on one side, and the Saxons and Poles on the other, in order to re-erect in its original inte- grity the kingdom of Poland, of which the Grand- duchy of Warsaw was to form the nucleus. Finally, the Emperor demanded an open state of war, or of adhesion to his system ; and called on Sweden formally to range herself on the side of England, against France and her Allies, or to unite with him against England. " If within five days after the official note has been presented by M. Alguier, the King has not re- solved to be at war with England, M. Alguier shall set out immediately, and Sweden shall have war with France and her Allies. A ma- ritime peace at any price !" At the same time the Baron Alguier, in con- formity with his instructions, presented an official note to the same effect, demanding an answer within five days, and declaring war in c 2 20 SWEDEN DECLARES WAR. the event of Sweden refusing to comply with the propositions which it contained. XI. By this decisive step of Napoleon, marked with his characteristic firmness and energy, no alternative was left for Sweden, but to adopt on the instant some positive measure. Some severe regulations were framing at the time when these dispatches arrived, but the answer demanded must be categorical. War was accordingly determined on against Eng- land, and the commerce of Sweden was aban- doned to the discretion of the British Cabinet. On the 17th of November, a declaration of war was published by the King of Sweden against the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, " in order to destroy in the most effi- cacious manner the doubts which had arisen touching the relations of his kingdom with England;" and all navigation, commerce, dis- patch of mails, and other correspondence what- soever, was prohibited. And on the 19th of the same month, a decree was published, com- manding the seizure of all British ships, and of all ships coming from Great Britain or its colonies, or laden with their produce ; prohibit- WISDOM OF THE BRITISH CABINET. 21 ing the exportation of any such merchandize from Sweden to the ports on the Continent, and the importation of any colonial produce whatsoever ; and directing search to be made for all contraband British, or colonial merchandize, imported into Sweden since the 14th of April in that year ; reserving, however, to the King the right of determining what should be done therewith. XII. The British Cabinet exhibited on this occasion much moderation and much adroitness. They were sufficiently aware of the disposi- tion and the sentiments of the Cabinet of Stock- holm, as well as of what was required by the interests of the nation, and they agreed in the necessity which urged the Swedish Govern- ment to this step. They therefore neither declaimed violently against a breach of faith, nor invoked the sanctity of treaties, but passed over the decrees without notice. They made no confiscations, and at a later period we find British ships of war convoying the Swedish merchantmen, and Swedish vessels, provided with British licences. XIII. But, notwithstanding the considerate 22 APPLICATION TO NAPOLEON. policy of Great Britain, Sweden suffered se- verely. At one blow, the greatest portion of her revenue, arising from the customs, was swept away, and this at a time when the in- crease of the army and navy, necessary to a war establishment, called for an outlay on the part of the treasury of a sum of nearly 600,000^. The commerce, also, on which Sweden so greatly depended, and by means of which she exchanged her native produce for foreign ma- nufactures and articles of utility or luxury, was reduced to a mere coasting trade, and her in- tercourse with America was rendered preca- rious and difficult. XIV. In this emergency, the Crown-Prince, in two letters of the 8th and 19th of Decem- ber, 1810, applied to the Emperor Napoleon for assistance. He described the exhausted state of the country, and the necessity of peace for Sweden, to recruit her losses, to arrange her finances, and to re-organize her military sys- tem. Instead of this, in compliance with the Imperial demand, she had declared war ; she, who had not a single battalion ready to march, no material in her arsenals or magazines, and APPLICATION TO NAPOLEON. 23 not a dollar in her treasury. He reminded the Emperor of the constant friendship which had subsisted between the two countries ever since the alliance concluded between Francis the First and Gustavus Vasa, and of the desire by which Sweden was still animated that that harmony might be continued. But without assistance from France, Sweden was unable to move, and for that assistance the Crown-Prince in these two letters urgently applied, " We offer you arms and iron, and we ask of you in return those means which Nature has refused to us." XV. No answer was ever received, nor any notice taken of these applications ; in fact, the subsidizing system appears never to have en- tered into the notions of the French Govern- ment, unless, indeed, the quartering of a body of troops on a country can come under that denomination. Sweden, in the past century, had been subsidized by France for preserving neutrality, but her present forced state of war did not seem to call for such assistance. The only offer of the kind was made by Napoleon in 1812, when, among various other much less 24 VIOLENCE OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT. palatable conditions, he promised to purchase colonial produce of Sweden to the amount of twenty millions of francs. At present, however, instead of any direct answer to the application of the Crown-Prince for assistance, a series of propositions and de- mands on the part of the French Government were made by the French Minister, Baron Alguier, of the most extravagant nature, and aiming to incorporate Sweden with the great Continental Confederation, which at that time unhesitatingly obeyed the despotic impulse of Napoleon. A body of four thousand seamen was de- manded to serve in the French fleet at Brest ; the demand was refused, on the grounds of being contrary to the letter of the constitution : a confederation of the North, between Sweden, Denmark, and the Grand-duchy of Warsaw, the nucleus contemplated for the future king- dom of Poland, was also proposed, but declined on the part of the Swedish Government. At length, in July 1811, in addition to the disagree- able instructions, by virtue of which he acted, the behaviour of the French Minister having FRENCH MINISTERS DISMISSED. 25 become personally offensive, his recall was for- mally demanded, and he was replaced by M. de Cabre ; who was, however, rather unceremo- niously dismissed in December 1812, for con- duct which, in an official paper of a Swedish Minister of that period, is stigmatized as being " rather less in accordance with the law of na- tions than is usually conceded to ambassadors." Of Baron Alguier, besides the complaints made against him by Baron Engestrb'm, the Crown- Prince, in his letter to Napoleon of the 24th March 1812, expressly states that "that Minis- ter hurt the national pride, and that his arro- gance spoilt every thing. His communications bore no mark of that respect which crowned heads mutually owe one another ; and by ful- filling the intentions of Napoleon as his own , passions dictated to him, he spoke in the style of a Roman proconsul, without recollecting that it was not to slaves that he was addressing himself." XVI. In this behaviour of the French Min- isters at Stockholm, if we connect it with the expressions frequently used, and the temper usually exhibited by Napoleon himself, and with 26 ORGANIZED SYSTEM OF DIPLOMATIC the events which afterwards took place, it will be by no means difficult to trace an organized system of insult, which was then merely sus- pected, but which at this distance of time, when we can connect facts and compare them, appears sufficiently evident to claim a place in history. Both the measures and the actions of the Swe- dish Government, and the person of the indi- vidual who took the principal part in the affairs of that Government, had roused the enmity of the French Emperor. He was conscious of the decline of French influence in the Cabinet of Stockholm, but it was too late to stem the tide, and the means which were adopted were ill advised and ineffectual. His feelings with re- gard to the Crown-Prince may be collected at once from the expressions which fell from his lips when that personage was on the point of quitting France for his new country. " We have not understood each other ; now it is too late : he has his own interests, his own policy, and I have mine."* * " Napoleon, devenu plus rigide dans son systeme conti- nental, a mesure qu'il voyait approcher la detresse de 1'An- gleterre, exigea une fermeture plus exacte des ports de la INSULT ON THE PART OF FRANCE. 27 Of such sentiments, the behaviour of the French Ministers in their relations with the Swedish Government were manifestly the echo ; for a minister takes his tone from the disposi- tions of his court ; and he is arrogant and pom- pous, or courtly or servile, as the spirit of the power which he represents is transmitted to him, bearing the impress of its designs, of its apprehensions, or of its contempt. True it is, that there are insulated examples Suede, a laquelle il ne laissa que 1'option (Tune guerre avec 1'Angleterre ou avec la France. Ces exigeances si impolitiqites centre une puissance independante, provenaient en partie de son meconteniement conire Bernadotte, proclame Fannee pre- cedente, par la volonte unanime des Etats, Prince Royal, et successeur hereditaire du Roi Charles XIII. Croyant meme pendant quelques mois qu'il le tiendroit en Suede forcement dans 1'orbite de sa politique, il adressa notes sur notes, in- jonctions sur injonctions, au gouvernement de Charles XIII, pour qu'il tint ses ports rigoureusement fermes au commerce Anglais. Irrite de ce qu'on ne se pressait pas assez de rem- plir ses vues, il fit enlever par ses corsaires les navires Sue- dois charges de merchandizes coloniales, et persista dans Foccupation de la Pomeranie. Des griefs reciproques s'etant ainsi etablis, Napoleon donna de nouvelles inquietudes au gouvernement dont Bernadotte ctait devenu 1'espoir et Far- bitre. Toute Fannee 1811 se passa en altercations entre les deux Etats."- Memoires de Fouche, Due d'Otrante, tome ii. p. 82. 28 ORGANIZED SYSTEM OF DIPLOMATIC of a very reverse behaviour : we are told of the fiery Buckingham giving the lie to Olivarez ; but on that occasion the individual impulses of the man burst through the measured feelings of the diplomatist ; and we know also that an indiscreet envoy may misrepresent and thwart the fairest intentions of his government, as did the maladroit De Breze, when he drew on himself the lofty rebuke of the great Gustavus at Mentz. But in the case before us, it is not one incident, or the tone and actions of one minister, that strike us ; there is a succession of men, but an unity of conduct, which forces us to conclude that the French Ministers at the Court of Stockholm, represented rather the passions of their sovereign, than the dignity of his empire. We first notice the mysterious behaviour of M. Desaguiers, the French Charge d' Affaires at Stockholm, presenting a note in fa- vour of the King of Denmark, the rival candi- date for the succession to the Swedish throne. The action was disavowed, and M. Desaguiers was recalled ; but " they had sacrificed an in- nocent man."* Next comes the extraordinary * A confession of the Due cle Cadore to M. Lagerbjelke, INSULT ON THE PART OF FRANCE. 29 behaviour of M. Alguier, and we shall after- wards find M. de Cabre, the successor of M. Alguier at Stockholm, dismissed for practices still more unaccountable than those of either of his predecessors. It is a lamentable fact, and one of too frequent occurrence in the diplo- matic intercourse between nations, that the of- fice of ambassador, than which, by the common consent, and for the common benefit of all, none is more sacred, none more dignified, none more inviolable, should be too often exercised in direct perversion of the very principles on which that inviolability and those immunities are founded. We have recently had a most striking example of this in the revolutionary history of one of the States of the Western hemisphere. XVII. The animosity of the French Go- vernment was farther unequivocally exhibit- ed in the unlimited scope given to cruisers, and in the systematic injustice of the officers who presided in the French prize-courts. At the Swedish Minister at Paris. My only authority for this anecdote is a paper, No. VI. in the Appendix to Sir Waiter Scott's Life of Napoleon. 30 CONDUCT OF SWEDEN. the opening of the season of 1811, the seas were swept by privateers, and during this year more than fifty Swedish merchantmen were captured by vessels bearing the friendly flags of Den- mark and France. Complaints and represen- tations were made by the Swedish Minister at Paris, but no redress was obtained, for at no time in the course of these proceedings did it seem to form part of the policy of the French Cabinet, either to return categorical answers, or to proffer amicable satisfaction ; abundance of peaceful protestations without any object, but all the rest was mystery and darkness. The French prize-courts, therefore, still persisted in making unwarrantable awards, while those judgments which were favourable to Sweden were never confirmed by the French Govern- ment. XVIII. The Swedish Government, finding their remonstrances ineffectual, and that it was useless to look to Paris for redress, in Decem- ber 1811, took the defence of their commerce into their own hands ; and in consequence the Mercury, a French privateer, which had long infested their coasts, was seized and brought APPROACH OF THE GREAT CRISIS. 31 into a Swedish port. This step taken to show their determination, the Swedish Charge d' Af- faires at Paris, M. d'Ohsson, by command of his Government, repeated his applications to the French Court, on the 15th of January, by an official note, stating what had happened, and what Sweden desired as a guarantee for the future. This, however, shared the fate of many other similar pieces, and never received an answer. XIX. While affairs were in this situation, and the relations were daily becoming more embroil- ed between Sweden and France, the great crisis which agitated all Europe in the year 1812, was approaching, and both parties were beginning to take their measures, and to array their forces for the momentous struggle. Whether the in- vasion of Pomerania arose from a determination to bring matters between Sweden and France to an issue, or from a consciousness of the dan- ger of leaving a territory of doubtful adhesion on the flank, and eventually in the rear of his operations ; or whether we must seek for the cause in a personal enmity of long standing on the part of the French Emperor against the 32 THE FRENCH INVADE POMERANIA. Crown-Prince, as some have positively asserted, it is difficult to discover, though, doubtless, there are many still alive to whom the causes of the transactions are not unknown. On the 27th of January, 1812, a division of the army of Marshal Davoust, Prince of Eckmuhl, under General Friant, entered Pomerania, which, to- gether with the Isle of llugen, was presently reduced, and the whole occupied by the French troops. On intelligence of this invasion being re- ceived at Stockholm, a note was addressed to M. de Cabre, the French Charge d' Affaires, then resident in that capital, demanding an explana- tion ; but M. de Cabre professed ignorance, and returned no farther answer. M. d'Ohsson, the Swedish Charge d'Affaires at Paris, address- ed one note more to the same effect to the Due de Bassano. In reply, he was asked whether his note was presented in consequence of official orders from his Court, and apprized that it was necessary to wait for such orders before any an- swer could be given. They were accordingly dispatched from Stockholm, on the 4th and 7 th of February, and were confined to the de- THE FRENCH INVADE POMERANIA. 33 rnand of a frank explanation of the intentions of the Emperor Napoleon, relative to the occu- pation of Pomerania. On the llth also of that month, a letter on the same subject was ad- dressed to the Emperor himself by the Prince- Royal. The former never reached their desti- nation ; neither of the three were ever answer- ed ; and it now appeared but too clearly to be the object of the French Court to prevent all communication, and their intention to give no satisfaction for the outrage which had been committed. XX. At length came M. de Signeul, on a sort of demi-official mission, bringing no expla- nation, but fresh proposals on the part of the French Government of a very extraordinary nature. The following were the two principal bases. Firstly, a fresh declaration of war against England was demanded, and that of- fensive measures should be taken against Eng- lish shipping in the Cattegat and the Baltic : and, secondly, that Sweden should levy an army of forty thousand men to operate against Russia on the side of Finland, the recovery of which to Sweden was held out as an indern- D 34 SWEDEN APPLIES TO RUSSIA. nification. But M. de Signeul arrived too late, for the resolution of Sweden had been already taken. Early in March, the Count de Lowen- hielm had been dispatched to St. Petersburgh, bearing a letter from the Crown-Prince to the Emperor Alexander, announcing the invasion of Pomerania, describing the unnatural and dis- tressed state of Europe, and invoking the inter- ference of that monarch. A treaty was in con- sequence concluded on the 24th of the same month between Russia and Sweden. M. de Signeul, therefore, returned to Paris from his ineffectual mission, carrying with him the last letter from the Crown-Prince to Napo- leon, which bore even the semblance of friend- ship. But even here, no adjustment of the disputes between the two countries was hinted at, while his Royal Highness declared that Sweden had been necessitated to take precau- tions against the storm which was ready to burst over the Continent. The approaching general war was the subject of his appeal to the humanity of Napoleon ; and with that view he made an offer, which he could not doubt would not be accepted, to be the proposer of the pos- DECLARATION OF THE FRENCH. 35 sibility of an accommodation between him and the Emperor Alexander. XXI. Long after this, in the February of the ensuing year, subsequent to the campaign of 1812, and at a time when the alliance of Sweden would have been of vital importance to the French arms, an official note was address- ed to M. d'Ohsson, by the Due de Bassano, which originated in the former having verbally demanded his passports, and declared that, his Court not having yet received any explanation touching the occupation of Swedish Pomerania, he considered that diplomatic relations were thenceforth without an object. In this note, which bears the signature of the Due de Bas- sano, but which everywhere discovers the com- manding hand, and betrays the private feelings of his Imperial master, Sweden is again charged with the breach of the treaty of Paris of 1810, and with the seizure of the French privateers, which was alleged by Napoleon as the cause of the invasion of Pomerania. This, however, must be considered rather as a pretext than a cause ; as the French had, by a variety of move- ments, sufficiently demonstrated their intentions D 2 36 DECLARATION OF THE FRENCH. against that province several months before the seizures took place. Nor can we suppose that a Government, actuated by amicable motives, or guided by the dictates inspired by the laws of nations, would assume as the cause of a war, an action of justifiable violence committed by a friendly power in defence of their merchant shipping against pirates rather than privateers, who had been supported by the country to which they pretended to belong, in exceeding the powers of their letters of marque, and who by abusing the very flag which they ought to have protected, tarnished the honour of their own. The authorized communications of M. de Signeul are next alluded to, and the " outrageous" demand of Norway by Sweden is set down as the cause of their fruitlessness. The remainder of the note is principally occu- pied by allusions to the part taken by the King of Sweden during the wars of the Revolution, and a most artful attempt made by charging the Crown-Prince with " private enmities, violent passions, and ill-directed ambition,'' to raise in the mind of the King of Sweden doubts as to the policy which the Prince was LAST LETTER OF THE CROWN-PKINCE 37 then following, and suspicions of the motives by which he was directed. The writer con- cludes by declaring that Napoleon would do every thing in his power to avoid the eclat of an open rupture. This produced the celebrated letter addressed by the Crown- Prince to the Emperor Napoleon, of the date of March 23rd, 1813, and which amounted, on the part of Sweden, to a positive declaration of war. XXII. This able composition, which may be not inaptly denominated an epistolary ma- nifesto, and which put an end to all farther communications between Sweden and France, embraces a variety of subjects, and minutely answers all the charges emanating from Napo- leon through the medium of the official letter of the Due de Bassano. It is replete with reflections and allusions, which must have been gall to the bitter spirit of the Emperor : it in- dignantly abandons all the attempts which the Crown-Prince had so long and so fruitlessly made to gain his confidence and his friend- ship, and bids him to look to the good disposi- tions of the Emperor Alexander and the Bri- tish Cabinet for peace. No hopes now re- 38 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. mained of a partial pacification ; the cause of Sweden was intimately connected with the policy of Russia and England, and to them must the Emperor Napoleon resort. XXIII. Since the invasion of Pomerania, Sweden had lost no time in consolidating her connections with those Courts whose assistance would be the most effective in aiding her against France, and whose ulterior alliance would be the most lastingly important to her interests. Napoleon held out the forlorn hope of the restitution of Finland, but Russia en- gaged to unite the kingdom of Norway to Sweden, and to guarantee the peaceable pos- session of it to that Crown. A like demand, with respect to Norway, had been proposed to France, through M. de Signeul, but it was rejected with indignation, and the Due de Bassano termed it "an outrage." In his an- swer to this particular, the Crown-Prince in his last-mentioned letter says, " that Sweden, con- vinced that it was only to you, Sire, that she owed the loss of Finland, could never believe in your friendship for her, unless you obtained her Norway as an indemnification for the mis- NORWAY AND FINLAND. 39 chief which your policy had done her." We have before stated our conviction of the just- ness of this remark, nor, perhaps, is any farther proof of its truth necessary. The Due de Rovigo, however, in his Memoirs recently pub- lished, acknowledges the fact with a frankness and honesty so impressed with the stamp of truth, that we are induced to record it. " The fact is," says that writer, " that after having relinquished the immense advantages which the war had given us over the Russians, and done so for no other purpose than to obtain their alliance, we failed of securing it, although we had sacrificed to them the Turks and Swedes, our natural allies; and we were now forming a connection with the Austrians, who appeared to be our irreconcileable enemies." Whether the union with Norway compen- sated Sweden for the loss of Finland and her Continental possessions, we shall shortly take occasion to examine ; the question at present is, which party Sweden (allowing her the right of election, which is undeniable) was justified by the rules of sound policy in adopting. Independent of a variety of other considera- 40 NORWAY AND FINLAND. tions, which the actual state of Europe, the possible chances of the war, the general as well as the political interests of the country, and last, though, we believe, much the least, some mixture of personal feeling suggested, the re- covery of Finland would leave Sweden at the end of the war in a worse condition than her present one. She would then have a frontier of more than one hundred and fifty leagues, at a considerable distance from the centre of her force, to defend against a power far superior to her in strength and in resources, and whose means were as unlimited as her ambition would be obstinate. She could expect nothing less than to be involved on the first oppor- tunity in a war against this powerful and ambitious neighbour, for the possession of a province which she had herself formally ceded and secured to that neighbour by treaties. And in case of her recovering it, by whom would it be guaranteed ? By France, a mighty empire, and powerful, it is true, but very dis- tant, and whose means of annoying Russia in her own territory had even before the year ALLIANCE WITH EGLAND. 41 of 1812 been proved to be somewhat in- sufficient. But by the measures which Sweden adopted, she retained her boundary line of coast on the Gulf of Bothnia, while the river of Tornea, by a natural limit, divided her territories at the narrowest part of the peninsula from the Russian empire. She at once procured pro- tection for her shipping and activity for her commerce, by an alliance with the greatest maritime power on the ocean, and she joined her arms to a confederation of mighty empires animated by the enthusiasm which burst forth on the breaking of the spell, which had so long enchained Europe. XXIV. On the 15th of August, 1812, the ports of Sweden were thrown open to vessels of all flags and nations, with certain restric- tions and reservations in favour of Swedish shipping. XXV. On the 18th of July, the friendly relations, which had scarcely been severed, were renewed by the treaty of Orebro between Sweden and Great Britain, who pledged her- 42 ALLIANCE WITH ENGLAND. self to assist the former in securing the safety and independence of her states. By the treaty of concert and subsidy, signed at Stockholm between the same powers, March 3d, 1813, the King of Sweden engaged to employ a force of thirty thousand men to act in concert with the Russian troops, placed under the command of the Crown-Prince, in conformity with the ar- rangements made to that effect in the pre- ceding year between the Courts of Stockholm and St. Petersburg!!. And the King of Great Britain engaged on his part to furnish a sub- sidy of one million sterling, for the service of the campaign of the year ; and acceded for- mally to the conventions existing between Russia and Sweden, relative to the union of Norway. XXVI. The two preceding years had been diligently employed in organizing the Swedish army, which had been increased, in April, 1812, to sixty thousand men, ready to march. In May 1813 the Crown-Prince, with his Swedes, crossed over to Stralsund to await the arrival of the Russian troops, which were to join him. He took the precaution, however, to THE SWEDISH ARMY. 43 leave two divisions of the Swedish army, under the command of Marshals Toll and Essen, to observe the Norwegian frontier. It was not till after the conclusion of the armistice of Pleiswitz, on the 10th of August, that the Crown-Prince took the field, at the head of an army of about eighty thousand men, Swedes, Russians, and Prussians, con- centrated in the neighbourhood of Berlin, be- sides the detached corps of Prussians under Hirschfeld, and the army of observation on the Lower Elbe, under the Count de Wall- moden, whose advanced posts extended as far as Dassow, opposite Lubeck. The active part which this army, called the " Combined Army of the North of Germany," took in the cam- paign of 1813, is too well known to all who have interested themselves in the events of that time to require notice. XXVII. After the memorable battle of Leipsic, the Crown-Prince directed his opera- tions against the French, who still remained under the command of the Prince of Eckmuhl, on the North of the Elbe, and against the Da- nish forces in Holstein. When the armistice 44 SWEDEN OBTAINS NORWAY. of Renzbourg was concluded, on the 15th of December, for fourteen days, between the army under the command of the Crown-Prince and the Danish troops, the Combined forces had oc- cupied Holstein and part of Schleswic, as far as the line between Eckernforde and Husum. This armistice was afterwards prolonged till the 7th of January, 1814, when the Danish Government having rejected the basis of paci- fication which was offered, hostilities were re- commenced. Fredericsort and Gluchstadt, which were excepted from the operation of the armistice, had capitulated on the 19th of De- cember and the 5th of January, and Renzbourg was closely invested, when the peace of Kiel was at length concluded, and signed on the 14th of January. It is not strange, that the King of Denmark, as long as there was the most dis- tant prospect of success for his arms, should have been unwilling to accede to a treaty by which he would lose a country containing up- wards of a million of inhabitants. The resolu- tion to deprive him of Norway, indeed, formed the principal difficulty in the negotiations for peace; for the attachment of Denmark to the PEACE OF KIEL. 45 French party was but lukewarm, and the King had at an early period in the campaign manifest- ed an inclination to side with the Allied powers. But the dismemberment had been resolved upon, and opposition was useless, for the star of Napoleon was now waning. By the peace of Kiel, the King of Denmark engaged to sup- ply a body of troops to the Allied powers, for- mally ceded Norway, and resigned all future pretensions to that kingdom in favour of the King of Sweden ; he received in return Pome- rania and the Isle of Rugen. These provinces, however, did not long remain under his domi- nion, but were incorporated by an act of the Congress of Vienna with the Prussian empire. Thus the second object of the conventions of St. Petersburgh and Abo, namely, the union with Norway, being effected, the Crown-Prince conducted his troops to the banks of the Rhine. But it was destined that the union of the two kingdoms should not take place without a far- ther struggle. Prince Christian Frederic, the heir-presumptive to the crown of Denmark, and Governor-General of the kingdom of Norway, placed himself at the head of the 46 CONVENTION OF MOSS. Norwegian troops, and resisted the delivering up of the fortresses to Sweden, according to the stipulations of the treaty of Kiel. A Diet as- sembled at Eidswold, and began to busy them- selves in framing a constitution. But a short campaign, every where in favour of the Swedish arms, terminated on the 14th of August by the armistice and convention of Moss, by which a general amnesty was granted to all persons engaged in the resistance, and Prince Christian withdrew with dignity from his ano- malous kingdom. The King of Sweden, on his part, promised to accept the constitution of the Diet of Eidswold, with only such modifica- tions as the union of the two kingdoms might render necessary. A storthing was in conse- quence assembled at Christiania : they digested the constitution for Norway, which was ratified on the 4th of November, confirming the union of the two kingdoms, and assuring the crown of Norway to Charles the Thirteenth, and his successors. XXVIII. And thus, by pursuing a steady and skilful system of policy through troublous times and in trying circumstances, did Sweden STATE OF SWEDEN. 47 not only raise herself from the lowest and most perilous state of her fortunes, but by a happy combination of events found herself, at the end of the long and doubtful strife which shook the Continent, restored to that rank among the nations of the North, which, by a long series of misgovernment, and military disasters, she ap- peared to have forfeited for ever. We have seen her at the commencement of the trans- actions, of which we have given a slight out- line, thrown back from her eastern frontier by her mighty and ambitious neighbour the Rus- sian, and menaced on the side of Norway by her ancient enemy the Dane, while her Conti- nental possessions were occupied by the armies of France. It was not the integrity only of her empire that was endangered, for that was already dismembered, but it was her very po- litical existence as a nation that was at stake : she survived the storm, but the calm which ensued was little less perilous than the turbu- lence of the ocean. She found herself shackled with a treaty of peace, the conditions of which left her to balance between the utter ruin of her commerce, and a state of war with one who 48 HER SKILFUL POLICY. was then known to be unvanquished, and was by all deemed invincible. The former alter- native was hesitatingly chosen ; but even that, fraught as it was with evil, did not avail to preserve her. Her friendly relations witli France, too powerful to be an ally, and too interested to be a friend, were daily becoming more precarious, when she was rescued from the difficulties that beset her, by the approach of that grand crisis, wherein, vast as were the preparations and the strength exerted on either side, her situation and other circumstances made it of no inconsiderable importance into which scale Sweden might throw the sword. She had now the choice of her own terms ; she fought for the deliverance of Germany, and she emerged from that momentous struggle with a well-organized and victorious army, with new laurels added to her ancient crown, enrolled among the principal European powers by firm and honourable treaties ; and having obtained, by the union of Norway, that com- pactness and independence of territory, which many great statesmen in Sweden had fre- quently, though vainly projected ; and which of itself more effectually than treaties guaran" A PENINSULAR KINGDOM. 49 tees the security and glory of the Northern Peninsula. The result which was thus brought about, namely, the final abandonment by Sweden of the last of her Continental possessions, and the formation of one great peninsular kingdom, by the union of the two Scandinavian nations, had been operating in a variety of revolutions for upwards of a century. This change in the locality of her territories must of necessity be accompanied by a corresponding alteration in the system of her policy, and in the nature of her relations. When Charles the Twelfth ascended the throne of Sweden, he had the undisputed so- vereignty over many fair possessions, extend- ing along the shores of the Baltic and the Gulf of Finland, from the Duchy of Bremen and Verden to the Provinces of Livonia, In- gria, and Carelia. They had been won in their Continental wars by his warrior predecessors, but principally by the great Gustavus ; they were guaranteed by treaties, but more especially by the terror inspired by the Swedish arms. That magnanimous and brave, but extravagant E 50 IMPOLICY OF HER ANCIENT and impolitic monarch, by his obstinate perse- verance in measures wildly suggested, not by zeal for the welfare of his country, not even by ambition of conquest, but by motives purely private and personal, during twenty years spent in affording a lesson to his descendants, and in depriving them of the means of profiting by the severe instruction, succeeded in destroying the charm by which Sweden had hitherto held her sway among the nations of the Continent. Care- less of events in his own kingdom, which he left to be regulated by a regency, and defended by raw recruits, he was so intent on his extrava- gant projects in Poland, that he looked with indifference on the progress of the Czar in Ca- relia and Finland, until the time arrived when that monarch, by unwearied and undaunted per- severance, learnt to beat his conqueror, and dis- played sufficient power to retain the possession of that territory which he had been suffered to gain by the complacent contempt of his royal adversary. From the moment of the battle of Pultawa, Sweden began to feel the difficulties attending her Continental relations. " In large bodies the circulation of power must be less CONTINENTAL SYSTEM. 51 vigorous at the extremities ;" and here was a country, with no less than four millions of in- habitants, mistress of provinces dispersed along a line of three hundred and fifty leagues, every- where intersected and intermixed with king- doms, all of which separately and collectively aimed at their appropriation. Russia, Poland, Prussia, Mecklenbourg, Hanover, and Den- mark, each had its project. With these sur- rounding powers, Sweden must without fail be perpetually brought into collision. Straggling duchies, and insulated cities, might form good ttes-de-pont for the invasions of victorious armies, but not the most consummate general could devise a plan by which they could be simultaneously defended. Moreover, Sweden now began to feel the difference between a war of invasion, which feeds itself by contributions, and by other less legitimate plunder, and a war of defence, which drained money and troops from the mother country, already exhausted by twenty years of war, and with her finances re- duced to the lowest state of insolvency. France had been the ally of Sweden from the date of the first treaty between Francis E 2 52 IMPOLICY OF HER ANCIENT the First and Gustavus Vasa, in 15421; and down to a very late period tliis connexion was considered a natural alliance. As long as Swe- den from the North, and France from the South, could by their union hem in the powers of the Empire between the Oder, or even the Elbe and the Danube, the alliance might have been natural ; for it was advantageous to France in her views for preserving the due balance in Europe, and honourable also to Sweden. But the politicians who advocated this alliance in later times, forgot, or pretended to forget, the total changes which a century and a half, since the death of Gustavus Adolphus, had effected in the kingdoms of Europe. They followed the systems of that monarch and of Richelieu, without inheriting the motives or the prospects of either of them, and without reflecting on the want of analogy in their relative situations. Many an alliance outlives the causes which gave it birth, and reminiscences and ancient feelings enchain those whom true policy would sever. Thus was it in the present case. In the course of a century and a half the Muscovite empire, long considered in the light of an CONTINENTAL SYSTEM. 53 Asiatic power, had increased immeasurably in proportion to its original bulk, and had be- come active and formidable in Continental af- fairs : the genius of Frederic the Second had erected Prussia into a powerful kingdom t Austria had greatly consolidated her States : and all three kingdoms had jointly strengthen- ed themselves on the spoils of dismembered Poland. In proportion as they advanced to- wards maturity, the Continental influence of Sweden declined : the balance between France and Austria had been thrown into the hands of other and greater powers. But notwithstand- ing the loss of many of her provinces, the pos- session of Pomerania, with the Isles of Rugen and Usedom, and the port of Wismar, necessa- rily, though fruitlessly, involved Sweden in the Continental struggles, and diverted her at- tention to foreign affairs, from what concerned her much more nearly at home. With her di- minished forces and influence, it was a fruitless attempt to prevent the remaining provinces from being absorbed. Still Sweden persever- ed : she dreamed of a balance which had been long since destroyed, and the union of Norway 54 NATURAL ALLIANCES. no longer haunted her visions, as it did those of Gustavus and of Charles. Those of her ori- ginal ideas were preserved, which the course of events should have taught her counsellors to forget, while they seemed entirely to have abandoned those which, in the actual posture of affairs, were alone practicable or desirable. Until, therefore, she was relieved from the spell with which this once natural alliance bound her, Sweden was positively in an unnatural situation. The events of later times proved it. She was involved in a Continental policy in which she had no interest, and which cost her heavy sacrifices, with no prospect of future advantage. She was alternately dismembered with the consent of France, as a peace-offering to Russia, or urged by this same ancient ally against Russia and England ; two out of the three nations whose friendship Nature points out to her principally to cultivate. And this connexion with France was called a natural al- liance ! No alliance could be more unnatural, or less advantageous to Sweden. The truth was at length apparent : Sweden deserted the policy of history, and adopted the policy of cir- THE CO-OPEllATION OF SWEDEN 55 cumstance, the policy suggested by her actual situation. And what were the results ? She was regenerated, and her happiness and her consequence were fixed on the solid foundation on which they now rest. It will not, however, be a matter of difficulty to ascertain the reasons why Napoleon and his ministers persevered in representing the alliance with France in the favourable view which they gave to it. That great tactician had discovered that Russia, a mighty but an unwieldy power, would be greatly embarrassed by simultaneous invasion on two opposite frontiers. Perhaps his own experience in the Spanish Peninsula may have suggested the idea. But acting on this knowledge, he planned accordingly ; and could all his combinations which he meditated have been put into execution, Russia would have been attacked at the same time by Sweden from the side of Finland, in the centre by the French and the Poles, and from the south by the Ottoman empire. In this light the co-ope- ration of Sweden would have been of the last importance; but would the advantages which he promised to her have been permanent, and 56 WHY DESIRED BY NAPOLEON. and would her reward have been secure ? We have shown before that they would not : for in all these designs there was this necessary fault, that France, by extending' her directing influ- ence so far in the North of Europe, had placed herself in a false position. She had no business there with her garrisons or her armies. Nature has interposed between France and Russia two vast empires, besides other smaller states ; and notwithstanding one of them had been crippled in furtherance of his projects, the sequel of those preliminary proceedings proved the impracticability of the projects which Na- poleon had prepared to execute, and which no one but himself could have dared even to con- ceive. In case now of hostile attack, the Sweden of the present day need no longer look with appre- hension to the instigated hostilities of her Nor- wegian brethren. United by their geographi- cal position, by a similarity of interest, and therefore by a sympathy of sentiment, the Swede and the Norwegian cannot fail of per- ceiving that their former separation was alike UNION WITH NORWAY 57 injurious to both. By their union they have acquired, on one side, constitutional liberty, and legitimate independence ; and on the other, a national fraternization with those whom Na- ture herself has pointed out to be their brethren and fellow-citizens. Sweden, therefore, is now independent of Europe; and, as she has nothing to dread from the nations of the Continent, so neither is it her wish to interfere in their con- cerns, farther than the amicable relations mutu- ally necessary and profitable to all nations, who would assist one another in the grand objects of preservation and improvement, may require. And therefore it was, that, in the last war, she fought and was victorious in the cause of liberty for the Northern States of Germany : their freedom and that of Europe was her object, but Norway was her guerdon. She knew that until a general and common pacification was obtained, she could never possess Norway with safety, and that, without Norway, there never could be re- pose or entire security for herself ; she mingled her own cause in common with that of the other nations. The integrity of her territory, 58 ITS CONSEQUENCES ON SWEDEN. and the Scandinavian union, was to form one clause in the re-edification of the social system of Europe. Thus free and united, unfettered by a geo- graphical incorporation with the States of the Empire of Germany, absolved from all con- nexion with that Confederation, the variety of whose interests and the intermixture of whose territories caused perpetual differences, Sweden is not, as formerly, borne by the tide of Con- tinental systems winding round the subjects of political collision. Unembarrassed by the pos- session of distant points of attack, and free from the glance of ambition, she is secure and concen- trated in herself. She may choose her part or stand aloof, she may interfere or persevere in preserving her neutrality with greater ease and dignity. She is not liable to be disturbed by paltry debates concerning the freedom of navi- gation of rivers, or the lines of military roads intersecting her territories ; she does not see her towns garrisoned, and her provinces occupied by the friendly forces of an overwhelming neighbour. The outline of her kingdom is no imaginary line drawn through a lake with all THE; GUARANTEE OF HER REPOSE. 59 its entanglement of islands, or meandering among streams or over mountains. The Icy and Northern oceans, the Baltic sea, the Sound, and the Cattegat, guard her boundaries, and alike preclude all idea of aggrandizement on her part, and destroy all thoughts of aggression on the part of others. On the side of Russia alone she has a land frontier ; but marked as it is by the course of rivers, and minutely set out in the act of demarcation of 1819, nothing but the most obstinate violation of the law of na- tions, could possibly tempt either party to me- ditate its transgression. The general security of Sweden is the gua- rantee for her internal repose. The peasant cultivates his fields without any apprehension that the marching or countermarching of hos- tile or friendly armies will plunder his stores or trample over his crops. Hence, and from the especial protection accorded by the late and the present monarch to the different branches of agricultural industry, so great a progress has been made, that from being unable to supply herself with corn, as was the case not many years since, Sweden now annually grows suf- 60 THE GENERAL SECURITY OF SWEDEN ficient to leave a considerable surplus, after the quantity necessary for the year's consumption has been deducted.* In the cities of Sweden, the merchant fears neither siege nor bombardment, nor that legiti- mate plunder, so often levied under the name of contributions on the cities of the Continent. And even most of her sea-port towns, lying as they do on the banks of arms of the sea, but at a considerable distance from the main, and * An evil of considerable magnitude has arisen from this too plentiful production ; the overplus converted into spirit- uous liquor, is cheaply sold and drunk in great quantities by the lower orders, to such an extent as to weaken the con- stitutional strength, and greatly demoralize the general po- pulation. As the progress of this ruinous habit was ob- served and publicly noticed. by the Crown-Prince, even so early as in his report to the King on his Majesty's resuming the government in 1812, it is fair to suppose that the in- creased production arising from the advancement and im- provement of agriculture must have effected a correspond- ing increase in the consumption of those deleterious liquors. It has even affected the hardy and primitive Dalecarlians, the very core of the strength of Sweden. But as, where there is subsistence, there will always be population, and as the number of souls in Sweden has of late years greatly multiplied, the increased numbers of consumers will render useless and paralyse the distillery of spirituous liquors from grain, by the greater demand for it which must necessarily ensue. THE GUARANTEE OF HER REPOSE. 61 well protected by fortifications to guard the entrance, are less liable to assault than those harbours which are scarcely a bomb-shot dis- tance from the ocean. To our English readers, whose shores have for so many centuries been unscathed by foreign invasion, and whose plains have never been the " seat of war," the advantages arising from internal tranquillity may not, perhaps, appear in so forcible a light. But let us for a moment put ourselves in the place of those nations who have found " Their long fair fields plough'd up as hostile ground, Disputed foot by foot ;" Let us identify ourselves with those people, unconcerned, perhaps, in the fray, but whose lands have been marked out as lists for the bat- tle of contending armies, and we may perhaps feel the value of the great exemption. If we turn our eyes to the Continent of Europe, where shall w r e find a spot which has not, in its turn, been ravaged, trampled over, and despoil- ed by the fury of enemies, and exhausted by the succour of friends ? Ismail, in the extreme O2 THE CONSTITUTION OF SWEDEN East, Ilochelle in the farthest West, have alike been the scenes of slaughter and of famine ; while Copenhagen, Stralsund, Dantzic, vie in their reiterated tales of horror with Genoa, and with Numantia, or Saragossa, the meteors of ancient and modern history. There are Mag- deburg, Mantua, and Mentz, each sadly im- mortalized in letters of fire and blood. There is the soil of Flanders, of Savoy, of Piedmont, and of the Iberian Peninsula, so often, both in later times, and of old, trod, and re-trod, and glutted with gore. There are the plains around Leipsic, to which four of the greatest battles ever fought by man, have given a frightful celebrity. And there are the Tagus, the Seine, the Rhine, the famous Elbe and Danube, the Oder, and the Vistula, which have all, and each of them, so often marked the lines of military operations by their blood-stained streams. The traveller is lost amid his reminiscences of horror as he passes through endless fields of battle. But these sensations are quickly effaced, for the desolation of the moment is succeeded by ages of glory. XXIX. But the internal repose of Sweden, THE GUARANTEE OF HER REPOSE. 63 and consequently the firmness of her attitude towards foreign powers, is farther steadily gua- ranteed by the equitable constitution which she now enjoys. This constitution has been proved by an experience of twenty years to be suited to the genius of the country, and to be eminently qualified to secure the dignity of the crown, the due influence of the nobility, and the just liberty of the citizen. It is a matter of but little difficulty to perceive that the unsettled state of her Government, throughout a great part of her history, has operated in retarding that progressive advancement of the country, which, under different circumstances, would have been the effect of her situation, of her natural powers, and of the peculiar character of her inhabitants. But Sweden wanted one weight in the balance, the absence of which prevented the adjustment of an equilibrium. She had no middle class. There was the noble, and then, with few intervening grades, there was the peasant; an intelligent, an enlightened, a wealthy order of commoners, was not to be found. A perpetual struggle for power be- tween the Sovereign and the nobility agitated 64 THE CONSTITUTION OF SWEDEN the State : but they could not share that power, and it was thus always exclusively possessed by one of these contending parties ; while the third class was wielded as a blind instrument against the stronger, but without contributing to their own elevation, or ensuring their per- manent benefit. Indeed, the answer of the Dalecarlian peasant, when solicited to assist Gustavus Vasa, in his resistance to the tyrant Christiern, would have applied equally well to his successors for many generations " He leaves us alone, and lets us have plenty of salt-herrings." But a third class has at length arisen in Sweden, and the merchants and burgesses, and even the peasants, now mix with solemn inter- est in the legislative proceedings of their Diets. When we cast our eyes over the articles of the different ephemeral constitutions, which party spirit, taking advantage of favourable circum- stances, imposed upon the country prior to 1809, we are even surprised that their existence was not more transitory. The only guarantee for their duration was the continued predo- minance of the faction which framed them. THE GUARANTEE OF HER REPOSE. 6*5 By the act of the Diet of Stockholm, which the weak but ambitious Frederic signed in 1723, the King consented to fundamental acts which made him merely a cypher : for the miserable gratification of wearing a crown, he stripped himself of every prerogative which could make that crown any thing else but a cir- cle of metal. He reduced the King of Sweden to the rank of a hired functionary. Every thing was thrown into the hands of the States General. The Sovereign interfered no farther in the legislative affairs of the kingdom, than by making propositions which the Diet might negative, and by affixing his signature to their acts ; an idle ceremony which he had no power to refuse, or which, in case of his refusal, was deemed unnecessary. Nor were they satisfied with excluding the Sovereign from his share in the legislative enactments ; they seized on that part of the executive which is guided in its proceedings by the law of nations. Peace and war, diplomatic relations, the ordering of the army and navy, all were entrusted to their secret committees. Such was the King of Sweden, as he was made by the Diet of 1723. F G6 THE CONSTITUTION OF SWEDEN The fury of party continued to rage ; intrigue and treason corrupted the vitals of the state till the reign of Frederic Adolphus, when the cord was stretched to the utmost. The year 1772, under his successor, gave to Sweden a new modification of the constitution, de- stroyed the oligarchy, and made Gustavus the Third an absolute monarch, in spite of the oaths he had taken at his coronation. Hav- ing thus by courage and perjury, equally intre- pid, obtained the ascendancy, he kept it, till his life was sacrificed at the same shrine which had degraded Frederic the First, and insulted Fre- deric Adolphus. Gustavus the Third support- ed himself on his thone, not by an union of sentiments in his favour, but by craftily balan- cing the physical force of the people against the influence of the nobility. But he was gradu- ally, unknown to himself, preparing the feel- ings of the nation for the important alterations in the form of the constitution, which were to succeed the deposition of his successor. He had wrested the supreme power from the nobles that he might usurp it himself: but he was foiled ; it escaped from his grasp, and became THE GUARANTEE OF HER REPOSE. 6? gradually and equally disseminated among the body of the people. But this instability of the government produced a calamitous effect on the affairs of Sweden. Wherever there is a discon- tented party in the state, however weak they may be, their existence must be injurious and dangerous, for they always choose the moment when their aid is most peremptorily required, to advance their claims or to redress their griev- ances. How much greater must be the risk* when the oppressed party is formidable from its strength and from its influence ! It is in the time of public danger that plots generally fer- ment ; in the crisis of public misfortune, latent discontent ever bursts forth, and insensible to patriotic emotions, strives to regain ascendancy at the expense of the commonweal. Impeach- ments, treason, mutiny, inactivity in the public service, fatally combine their efforts with the shock of foreign invasion. Those only exert themselves who feel that they have a stake in their country worthy of exertion : the oppress- ed either take advantage of the moment to re- gain their rights, or heedlessly look on with the dull apathy of strangers. F 2 68 THE CONSTITUTION OF SWEDEN The machinations of foreign faction had long been denounced as a fatal canker in the health of Sweden. Whence did they arise, but from the eagerness with which party discontent catches at any aid, and encourages any design, in order to reinstate itself in the power of which it has been deprived ? Are the nobility sway- ed by the practices of Russia ? The King suf- fers himself to be subsidized by the Court of Versailles ; and thus two rival powers are intro- duced into the confusion of the state, hand in hand with two rival factions. Hence intrigues, plots, individual perfidy, public ruin. It must be a source of astonishment to phi- losophical politicians, that Sweden, although to all appearance aptly constituted for enjoying the benefits of a liberal government, should, nevertheless, have continued so lamentably in want of a permanent fundamental arrangement, which might appease the rage of parties, and amalgamate in one great mass the variety of contending interests. But she seems never to have been able to extricate herself from the re-action of revolutions. At length, however, in 1809, she appears to have discovered the THE GUARANTEE OF HER REPOSE. 69 equilibrium which suited her, and the calami- ties of dissension had taught each party mode- ration. They retained to themselves those rights which were necessary for individual li- berty, and they yielded up those which the public good demanded them to vest in the Sovereign. Sweden is now governed by a limited, though hereditary monarchy. The King, with the assistance of his council, has the entire direction of the forces by sea and land, and of the fortresses : to the King are entrusted the diplomatic relations with foreign powers, and the supreme administration of justice, throughout the kingdom. The States General assemble at intervals of five years, and are com- posed of the four orders, of nobility, clergy, burgesses, and peasants. A majority of three orders expresses the sense of the Diet, except in any propositions for the alteration of the fundamental laws, when they are all required to be unanimous. On such occasions also their proceedings are marked by a certain cautious delay, for no such measure can be carried in the same Diet in which it is proposed, but is deliberated on at the succeeding meeting of 70 THE PRESENT POLICY OF the States General. In these legislative pro- ceedings, the King has the power of exercising a negative voice, and makes such propositions as may appear to the Government conducive to the good of the country. In short, in the pre- sent framework of the State, all orders labour freely, for they have at length discovered, that private interest is best promoted by the general welfare. A mutual confidence, and a mutual co-operation, accordingly exist. Princi- ples, feelings, and opinions now no longer fluc- tuate in accordance with the oscillations in the form of the constitution, which thus becomes most truly " la base de la tranquillite publique, le plus ferme appui de l'autorit politique, et le gage de la Iibert6 des citoyens." XXX. Let us now, then, consider Sweden in her present situation of territorial secu- rity and geographical independence. Her past history and her present relations ; her natural position, and the situation of her principal sea- port towns ; the facility of her interior com- munications, and the variety of her natural productions, all point her out as an essentially commercial and maritime power. She presents SWEDEN ASCERTAINED. 71 two coasts of great extent ; one fronting the North Sea and the Cattegat, extending north- ward from the point of Falsterbo to the Bay of Christiania, and thence round Lindersnos even to the North Cape ; while her interior coast, was hedby the Baltic, stretches eastward again from Falsterbo to the river of Tornea, in the northernmost recess of the Gulf of Bothnia. Along these shores are the ports of Drontheim, Bergen, Christiania, Uddevalla, Gothenbourg, Halmstad, Carlshamn, Carls- krona, Norkceping, Stockholm, and Gefle, besides numerous others. But in case of a Baltic war, the squadron of an enemy, by blockading the entrance to the Sound, might utterly neutralize all benefit resulting to Sweden from the possession of the sea-ports on her eastern coasts. To obviate this inconvenience, therefore, and to facilitate the transport of the iron, the wood, the agricul- tural and other produce of the interior to the grand depots, and the principal marts for con- sumption, as well as to the most considerable towns of the country, it had long appeared desirable to effect a junction between the Cat- 72 THE PRESENT POLICY OF tegat and the Baltic, as also between the cities and provinces of Sweden one with another, by means of the great lakes of Wenern, Wettern, and Malarn, which wash so many provinces of the interior, and by the rivers which feed those great inland basins. By the Canals of Arboga and Stroemsholm a junction had been effected between the lakes Hielmar, of Malarn, and of Barken, which facilitated the intercourse be- tween the towns of Upland and Westmania, of Sudermania and Nericia. But the effect of these canals is merely local, promoting the circulation of grain and iron among these districts. The grand project of uniting the Baltic and the Cattegat had occurred to Johan Brask, Bishop of Linkoping, so early as the end of the fifteenth century, during the wars between Sweden and Denmark ; in which that latter power had occupied the Sound, and prevented the importation of the necessary articles of consumption into Sweden : but a series of years of internal commotions prevented it being carried into execution. The design was SWEDEN ASCERTAINED. 73 again revived during the reign of Charles the Twelfth, and that monarch had given orders to Polhem, the great engineer, for its execution, when his death before Fredericshall again caused the design to be abandoned ; nor was it resumed till about the year 1750. At length, in 1800, the canal, which overcame the difficulties arising from the falls of Troll hoetta (Fiendsden), was completed ; by means of which, and the river of Gotha, which enters the lake near Wenersborg, Wenern mixed its waters with those of the Cattegat, near Go- thenbourg. The works were next prosecuted between the lakes Wenern and Wettern, under the direction of the Count de Platen, and were opened with great ceremony by Charles XIV. in 1822. This, which is called the canal of Westrogotha, leaves lake Wenern near Sjotorp, opposite the island of Thorso, and enters the small inlet of Viken, which joins the Wettern near Vanas. And lastly, the canal of Ostrogotha will complete the junction of the Wettern with the Baltic. Its course runs from the inlet of Varviken on the 74 THE PRESENT POLICY OF eastern shore of the Wettern to the small lake of Boren ; this is again connected with lake Roxen by a canal running parallel with the course of the Motala river. It thence pur- sues its course eastward, and enters the gulf of Slat-baken, near Soderkoping, in Ostrogotha, which finally communicates with the Baltic about 58 25' north latitude. To estimate the importance of these inland communications to Sweden, it is only necessary to consider how many of her most productive provinces and most populous towns are washed by the lakes, which have been joined with one another, and with the two seas, and which thus facilitate the interchange of the several commodities of these provinces among them- selves, the transporting of others to depots, pre- vious to their exportation in return and ex- change for foreign commodities, and the sup- ply of the arsenals and magazines with such stores as they may require for fitting out naval expeditions, or organizing military forces. Nor should we forget that winter does not pre- vent this communication, but that, when frozen over, these lakes are little inferior to our rail- SWEDEN ASCERTAINED. 75 roads, and that the heaviest substances can be transported at that period of the year in sledges. But another, and even still more important con- sideration is, that Sweden, by possessing these means of communication, has it in her power entirely to neutralize the effect, which an enemy by blockading the Sound would formerly have exercised over her commerce, her shipping, and her resources for domestic consumption. An enemy's fleet, stationed in the narrow strait be- tween Elsinore and Helsingbourg, if seconded by the formidable batteries of Cronberg Castle, would so effectually impede the entrance through the Sound to the Baltic, that nothing but a very overwhelming squadron, pushed through with much loss, could force its way through these Propylsea, the Thermopylae of the North. And even then, so long as war continued, the navigation of that confined, and, in some parts, intricate sea, could not be effect- ed without much difficulty and risk arising from shoals, and the danger of being attacked by gun-boats and small craft in the event of calms. But, by means of the works of the present reign, the port of Gothenbourg once 76 PRESENT POLICY Ol<' SWEDEN. reached, all danger will be over. A much shorter course will pass merchant vessels through the interior of Sweden into the Baltic, by So- derkoping and the Gulf of Slat-baken ; or their cargoes are discharged at Gothenbourg, thence to be distributed over the interior by means of the numerous native vessels which navigate the lakes. Let us add to the advantages inalienable from her thus possessing in her own territo- ries the key to the Baltic, exclusively, and not affected by any neighbouring state, some of the other capabilities which Sweden presents to con- stitute her a commercial and maritime country. Her northern climate renders it necessary for her to procure from various countries divers commodities, some necessary, others articles of luxury, which either her soil cannot bear, or which do not come within the extent of her na- tional industry. In return for these, she gives her iron, her copper, timber, pitch, potash, flax, and hemp, and salt-fish, sufficient to make the value of her exports exceed by a considerable proportion that of her imports. Hence, in spite of modern lecturers and modern profes- PRESENT POLICY OF SWEDEN. 77 sors, the prosperity of a country : but that prosperity is increased in a twofold proportion, when such exchange is carried on principally, or to a great extent, by native vessels. New branches of industry are then opened ; the owner of the forest, the proprietor of the iron forge, the ship-builder, and a variety of other interests, with all their dependant operatives, are set at work, and a new portion of the population is called into active employment. Sweden possesses, either in her own country, or has near at hand, all the articles necessary for building and fitting out ships. If, there- fore, those ships be skilfully handled, the ex- penses of freights ought to be proportionally reasonable, and her mercantile navy must in- crease in consequence ; while her long extent of coast, from Tornea to the very rudest ex- tremity of the Icy Capes, furnishes innume- rable expert and hardy sailors, sufficient not only for her fisheries, and her merchant navy, but to man her ships of war. To render these establishments more secure, Sweden must be a naval power ; but not on that small and secondary scale, to which her necessary mili- 78 SWEDEN A NAVAL POWER. tary establishments have until late years con- fined her fleets, but in sufficient strength to enforce the respect due to her flag, and her maritime independence in the Baltic. In those seas the Russian naval power has now been long mistress ; but another day of victory for Sweden may yet return ; for her superiority must be a matter of surprise, when we reflect that the principal harbour and arsenal of Russia is situated at the eastern extremity of the perilous Gulf of Finland, which for six months in the year is from ice and tempest un- navigable. And it is still more extraordinary, seemingly incongruous, that while she has for more than a century possessed a military ma- rine, her commercial navy should, until late years, have been trifling and insignificant. Even in the last year, notwithstanding the ad- vantages resulting from the acquisition of Fin- land, out of 295,314 tons of Russian merchan- dize imported into England, the great proportion of 271,033 tons, was in British shipping. The remainder, which was trifling, was carried in foreign vessels, all of which, it is probable, were not Russian. On the other hand, the mercan- SWEDEN A NAVAL POWER. 79 tile intercourse of Sweden and Norway with Great Britain, consists of 136,174 tons, of which only 25,703 were in English vessels. It must be confessed, however, that Finland is a pro- vince of immense importance to Russia ; it has given her a long line of coast, inhabited by in- trepid mariners, and she has added to her em- pire the docks and harbours of Helsingfors, Ekenes, Abo, Biorneborg, Nystad, Carleby, Christinestad, Wasa, and Uleaborg, no small contribution to her means of enlarging her naval power. But Sweden has also acquired Norway, and from Bergen, or Christiansand, or Christiania, and the harbours on that coast, one port might be selected, which ever should seem pointed out by Nature, and the commodiousness of its position, for a strong naval station. This harbour and Gothenbourg would be the chief stations on her western coasts, while Carlskrona would contain her grand Baltic fleet on the eastern shores. XXXI. But whoever pays the least atten- tion to Northern politics, and to the relative feelings and forces of these three great naval powers in the Baltic, cannot fail to have dis- 80 INFLUENCE OF RUSSIA IN THE BALTIC. covered that, as they are at present situated, it would be a work of great difficulty and even hazard to Sweden to establish a navy on such a footing, as we could wish to see her enabled permanently to support. It cannot be conceal- ed that Russia exerts such paramount influence in those seas, that no rising navy could with safety refuse to join their flag in any coalition with hers, however unwilling they may be, or however contrary such a step might prove to their peculiar interests. But, we would ask, is such a state of affairs natural? Does it not completely prevent the due developement of the powers of any neighbouring kingdom, and does not Russia thus become an incubus, paralys- ing the energies, and destroying the just and proportionate equality of those neighbouring states? Her weight, thus pressing on the in- ternational system, prevents all the benefits which might arise from the justly arranged di- versity of their interests, either to the individual nations, or to the entire political frame of Eu- rope ; and by this forced distortion of their po- licy, she places them in a position, highly preju- dicial to themselves, and alike unnatural to all. NECESSITY OF A NEUTRAL POWER. 81 To neutralize this influence, and to restore the just equilibrium between those powers them- selves, the presence of a strong neutral navy is all that is requisite ; this once established, all the difficulties would vanish. But independent of political surmises and conjectures arising from geographical position and statistical data, the events of the last fifty years have abundantly proved to us that the presence of some such force is necessary for the preservation of the due balance of power in those seas, and for the pro- tection of the weaker navies against stronger o o ones, single or confederated, native or foreign, which may seek to oppress them. Divided as the balance of power is between three nations, one of which is strong and mighty in its gigan- tic resources, whilst the other two have, from the course of circumstances and the scantiness of their revenues, never been able to rise beyond an ascertained level, whatever may be the com- binations, an inequality must ensue. By the expedient we suggest, if the power were exer- cised with discretion, and on strictly neutral principles, the repose and security of those seas would be guaranteed, all immoderate designs G 82 NECESSITY OF A NEUTRAL POWER would be checked, and all unequal coalitions crushed. For even when the Northern powers have united their forces for the protection of their maritime interests, they have constantly mixed up with their proceedings the jealousies of their rival navies. They have never disco- vered disinterested concert, except in their trea- ties and manifestoes ; but in the time of action and of peril they have exhibited such a vacilla- ting indifference, such a generally mutual dis- trust, and such a backwardness in mutual aid, that either their coalitions have been untimely dissolved by the incongruous nature of the powers of which they were composed, or one of their fleets, deserted and exposed to vengeance, has heavily suffered for the too faithful but solitary performance of its duty, in what should have been a common and a combined system of warfare. The scheme which we propose, would prevent the recurrence of such accidents as happened in 1801 and 1807 ; it would ce- ment the grand Confederation of the North ; it would ensure the safety of the subordinate powers ; and by overawing the strong, and hold- ing out assistance to the weak, it would render IN THE BALTIC. 83 the whole individually secure and conjointly formidable. But where is such a force to be found? Prussia can scarcely venture with her merchantmen in the Mediterranean. The Grand-duke's pleasure yacht constitutes the navy of Mecklenburgh ; and Austria now aspires no more, as she did in the days of Wal- lenstein, to fix her flag in the Baltic. A Han- seatic league might have effected much, but their days of strength have now passed away. It follows, then, that we should examine the reasonableness of introducing for this purpose some foreign power, unconnected with the Bal- tic as regards territorial possession, but united with it in interest by reason of its commercial relations. Against such a measure, many weighty objections would be urged, and dif- ficulties might present themselves in the exe- cution. But in answer to them, one important consideration should not be overlooked, which should banish all apprehensions suggested by jealousy of foreign intervention, and teach the nations of the North to estimate rightly the difference between the guarantees offered by Powers whose geographical position must more G 2 84 NECESSITY OF A NEUTRAL POWER. or less operate on their maritime policy, and by those who have indeed a stake in the Bal- tic, but not one which any convulsions by land could materially affect. In reasoning on this point, we must constantly bear in mind the object here meditated, which is to produce an equilibrium by means of which the three ma- ritime nations of the North may each be free to pursue their own measures, so long as they do not interfere with, or be not detrimental to, the others, and secondly, to provide efficient means in the common operations for the pro- tection of their own commerce and that of the other nations bordering on the Baltic, without any reference to, or connexion with, events which may be going on by land. Now it is ma- nifest that such a result could never be produ- ced by any pretended neutrality of a neighbour- ing power ; indeed, it appears impossible that such a neutrality should exist ; for how could they ever disengage their maritime policy from the bias of their Continental relations? Such a power, therefore, could never, in the nature of things, constitute a strictly neutral guarantee. Now the foreign neutral is affected by no such DUTIES OF A NEUTRAL POWER. 85 circumstances : the interests of his commerce prompt him to adopt warmly every measure which the powers, with whom he is joined, would propose as advantageous for themselves ; and his mercantile navy, dispersed among their harbours, is an all-sufficient pledge that he will not undertake any thing in violation of the law of nations, or of their individual rights. Such a proceeding would be equally impolitic and absurd, and could have but one conse- quence. And thus, intimately connected, and acting closely in concert with the interests of the powers of the North, his office would be simply that of an armed mediator, an attitude perpetually assumed by great independent pow- ers in the adjustment of disputes, and the re- gulation of interests in Continental affairs, and which only needs to be put to the proof to be acknowledged as equally efficient by sea. About twenty-five leagues south of Carls- krona lies the Island of Bornholm, with a group of isles at a distance of about two leagues to the North-east, called the Eart- holms. There are upwards of twenty of them, but the three principal ones are Christiansa?, 86 STATION OF A NEUTRAL POWER. Fredericshae, and Graesholm. These lesser isles are the most important as regards strength of fortifications and capaciousness for anchorage, while Bornholm forms a necessary appendage to supply them with provisions. From their centrality of situation, from their capacity of defence, and from the commodiousness of their harbour, these isles may be not inaptly termed the Malta of the Baltic. This spot we would fix upon as the point d'appui, and central station of a neutral naval force in the Baltic. With such powerful and equitable guarantee, working in support of all her natural advan- tages; with the justly acknowledged skill of her hydrographers and her naval architects, with the ardour of her officers, and the bravery and practice of her seamen, Sweden might become a strong and imposing maritime power, and one which would exercise a very considerable influence on the destinies of the navigation of the North. XXXII. Such a result cannot be brought about without the intervention of many years, and the beneficial assistance of Time and Oppor- tunity. But we must not therefore deride it REMARKS. 87 as impracticable and visionary : that which is required for the benefit of mankind is never impracticable, and the proposition which is founded on the eternal principles of justice and beneficence is not visionary, but prophetic. Justice has more to do with modern politics than sciolists are able to believe ; and he who, instead of narrowing his political speculations to the character of one man, and the influence of one country, is wise enough to take a com- prehensive glance of social Europe, will find that, however it may for a time be opposed by the ambition of an individual or a people, a principle of benevolence will insensibly regu- late the happiness of the majority. Never was a measure more necessary for the happiness of all concerned than the union of Sweden and Norway. That union formed the despair of statesmen almost for centuries, and was finally consummated at a moment when the very existence of Sweden, as an independ- ent and sovereign state, seemed doubtful. We must not forget this striking lesson. Time, too, will do for Sweden all that Europe requires. Kingdoms are not established with the same 88 REMARKS. facility with which, in the present day, we draw up a charter or consolidate a code. All history shows us that the results of evil and impolitic counsels are ever the speediest in developing themselves ; while measures of the most last- ing utility and importance, the establishment of kingdoms, the aggrandizement of nations, are only to be effected by long meditation, by mature designs, by sagacious measures in effect- ing them, by profiting from seasons and oppor- tunities, by skilful and patient reconcilement of discordant interests, and by steadfast and unshaken perseverance in the original design, even though circumstances may for a while render it necessary that it be abandoned. And yet all these objects attained, may be frustrated and swept away by the single hand of a rash and inexperienced minister. Such is the slen- der thread on which hangs the fate of king- doms ! Never w r as Napoleon so mistaken as when he affirmed that " twenty years of vic- tory would be requisite to destroy what twenty years of victory had created." Two campaigns proved the falsity of his doctrine. But still more frail than the reputation of a conqueror is THE KING. 89 the polity raised by a sudden, an unnecessary, a violent, and therefore an unnatural revo- lution. XXXIII. Having now endeavoured to as- sist the reader in forming a clear conception of the character of a country, of which we are too ignorant, our attention is naturally at- tracted to a consideration of the indivi- dual by whom that character has principally been formed. The time has long arrived that Charles John of Sweden should be extricat- ed from the pen of fugitive pamphleteers and political adventurers. Envy, indeed, will not yet be silent, but her whisper will not reach Posterity. In England, we have been too apt to consider this King as one of the mushroom monarchs of Napoleon, fortunate in not being as evanescent as his fungous brethren. We forget that he was the free choice of a free peo- ple, and that perhaps no event was more galling in the life of Napoleon, than the election of his ancient brother in arms to the throne of the Vasas. Even those who are unprejudiced, and who pay homage to the talents of the King of Sweden, consider him only as a skilful 90 THE KING. general and a subdolous politician. What else he may be, and what are the sentiments of the writer of this notice with regard to him, it is unnecessary to state. We have no wish to interfere in the opinion which the reader may himself form from the following documents, which must command, if not his admiration, at least his attention. In them we may trace the King of Sweden from the moment he landed on the Quay of Helsingbourg, to his very last meeting with the representatives of his people. We shall find him during the course of his extraordinary career, in all pos- sible situations, and under the influence of all the feelings with which men can sym- pathise. As a warrior, as a statesman, as a patriot, as a father, as a promoter of science, and as a patron of the arts ; in his tent, in his cabinet, invoking an implacable despot, plan- ning the studies of his son in the hall of agri- culture, in the theatres of universities, in the academies of science, he alike fixes our in- terest. We are surprised to hear one whom we have considered only as a successful soldier, CONCLUSION. 91 giving utterance to feelings of refined sensibility in language of majestic eloquence. XXXIV. Here we close our unpretending labours, which, if they be considered as having contributed in the slightest degree to the in- terests of the great and noble science of Politics, our purpose will be amply achieved, and our exertions amply recompensed. MEMORIALS OF CHARLES JOHN PART I. MEMORIALS OF CHARLES JOHN PART I. FROM HIS ARRIVAL IN SWEDEN, 1810, TO THE GENERAL PEACE, 1814. SPEECH OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE GENTLEMEN WHO RECEIVED HIM ON THE QUAY AT HELSIM; BOURG, OCT. 20, 1810. Gentlemen, The King and the Nation of Sweden have given me a great proof of their esteem and con- fidence. I have sacrificed every thing in order to return it. I have quitted France, the country for which I have lived up to this day. I have separated myself from the Em- peror Napoleon, to whom the most lively grati- 96 LETTER TO THE KING. tude and innumerable ties attached me. It is not the hope of a crown which can indemnify my heart for such painful sacrifices ; no, Gen- tlemen, I can never be repaid but by the hap- piness of my new country. I come then amongst you with the most perfect self-aban- donment, and with the most ardent desire to do every thing to contribute to that happiness. I bring to the King, whom you so justly revere, an unbounded devotion. Let us unite, then, Gentlemen, to fulfil his paternal wishes ; and let us never suffer our country to lose aught of that illustrious rank, which it owes to the va- lour and to the virtues of his ancestors. THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE KING OF SWEDEN, ON BEING APPOINTED GENERALISSIMO. Helsingbourg, Oct. 21, 1810. Sire, I have received the commission of General- issimo of the forces by land and sea, which your Majesty has deigned to send me. I shall not endeavour to describe how sensibly I feel this new mark of your confidence. It is not in words to express my gratitude. My whole LETTER TO THE KING. 97 life will be scarcely sufficient to render myself worthy of so much goodness ; the only use which I desire to make of the eminent dignity with which, Sire, it has pleased you to invest me, is to augment still farther, if it be possible, by my own example, the tender and respectful attachment which the whole Swedish army entertains towards its King. With this view, I shall glory still more in being the chief of so many heroes. I have at length arrived in the midst of this nation, for which I already cherish the most lively affection ; but it is still wanting to my happiness to present my homage to the Prince, whom all the Swedes revere as their father, and who has already deigned to call me to be the first amongst his children. How dear does this sacred title become to my heart ! In a few days, Sire, I hope to enjoy the fairest of my rights, that one which empowers me to ap- proach your august person. H 98 THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTATION OF THE STATES, ON THEIR PRESENTING HIM, ON THE 31sr OCTOBER, 1810, AT DROTTNINGHOLM, THE ACT OF ELECTION, AND ON THEIR RECEIVING THE SIGNATURE OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS TO THE ACT OF GUARANTEE. My good Lords and Citizens of Sweden, A premature death has destroyed the hopes which Sweden had reposed on the person of the Prince Charles Augustus. He desired the good of his country ; and the tears which flow on his tomb prove the gratitude of the nation. Happy the princes who are thus re- membered and regretted ! After having from my youth served the country which gave me birth, I desired to end my days in repose, when Sweden offered me the hereditary succes- sion to the throne of her kings. In the consent of a justly- venerated monarch, and in the free and unanimous choice of a celebrated nation, I thought I perceived a de- cision of Providence ; I made it my duty to submit to it ; and my soul elevated itself to the level of my new destiny. In placing my foot on the territory of Sweden, I was already entirely a Swede : I became a Swede from the moment when I sacrificed all to return your DEPUTATION OF THE STATES. 99 confidence ; from the moment when I had, as it were, commenced a new existence to be conse- crated to you. I do not conceal from myself the difficulties inseparable from the elevated dignity to which 1 have been called ; but I shall consider myself sufficiently recompensed if I can contribute to the prosperity of our country. This end cannot be attained unless I am supported by all the Swedes. Heaven has given us the best of Kings ; let us fulfil to- wards him the duties of love, respect, and obe- dience ; let every private interest give way before the great interest of the public good; let the most perfect union reign among all the orders of the State. Gentlemen, you are shortly about to return to your hearths ; bear thither, and maintain there, concord and peace : such dispositions alone can consolidate the pros- perity and the independence of our common country. I receive with gratitude the expres- sion of your sentiments towards my person ; I deserve them by the attachment and the sincere friendship which I vow to each of you. H 2 100 RECEPTION AT STOCKHOLM. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PKINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE CAPI- TAL WHO RECEIVED HIM AT THE GATES, NOV. 2, 1810. To the Grand Governor. These repeated acclamations, these solemn meetings already trace out to me the rule of my duties. The obligations which I have con- tracted towards Sweden shall be religiously fulfilled ; for the first desire of my heart will always be the affections of my King, and the support of the nation. On this Scandinavian soil, surrounded by Swedes, I regret nothing : I would not exchange your love for the first throne in the universe. It is agreeable to me on entering the capital, to receive its first homage through the medium of a man with whose writings I am already acquainted, and who now represents to me the purity of the national character. To the Magistrates. It is with deep emotion that I find myself among the magistrates of the capital of the kingdom. I know that their good conduct in all circumstances has been appreciated by the King. Their example is highly useful among so numerous a population. It is only by en- lightening the citizens on the duties which ADDRESS TO THE STATES. 101 they have to fulfil, that magistrates deserve well of their country. Continue, Gentlemen, to perform this honourable duty, and remind all that there is no happiness in society without the love of order and justice, and without a respect for the laws. To the Elders of the Capital. If in the honourable and arduous duty which I have to fulfil, I encounter obstacles and diffi- culties, my courage will never abandon me, when I recollect that I have been saluted to- day by the elders of the capital, and that their vows second my efforts. ADDRESS OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE KING AND THE STATES- GENERAL OF THE KINGDOM, NOV. 5, 1810. Sire, On appearing this day before the throne of your Majesty, surrounded by the States- General of the kingdom, my first duty, as well as my first desire, is to lay at your feet the public homage of those sacred and inviol- 102 ADDRESS TO THE STATES-GENERAL. able sentiments, which will attach me to your Majesty while I live. I pay this homage, Sire, to my King, but I also pay it to the person of a Prince who, long before he mounted the throne, had earned by his virtues the confidence and the love of the nation. In situations of difficulty, the State has always had recourse to your Majesty. Twice had the throne been vacant, and twice had your Majesty undertaken the laborious duties of royalty, with no other object than the public good. But on a sudden there burst forth one of those revolutions, which Heaven seems sometimes to permit as a lesson to princes, and the nation conjured your Majesty to mount that throne which you had so long defended. Little could I ever have foreseen that I should one day be associated in so glorious a destiny, and that your Majesty, after having deigned to fix on me the suffrages of your people, would have crowned so many acts of goodness, by adopting me as your son ! A title so dear to me fills my soul with an ambition the most noble. What ought I not to do to merit, to support that illustrious name which your Ma- jesty this day transmits to me? It is not with- out a great mistrust in my own strength, that ADDRESS TO THE STATES-GENERAL. 103 I have accepted a task at once so honourable and so difficult. If I have been able to resolve upon it, it has only been by determining to fol- low in every thing the counsels of your Ma- jesty, and to learn from you the noble art of governing. May God grant, Sire, that I may long be able to enjoy your lessons ! May God grant that the infant soul of my son may mould itself after yours, and be penetrated by the glorious examples which your Majesty offers to your descendants ! Deputies of the Nobility, Called to be the first among the defenders of the throne and of the State, 1 hope that I shall be seconded by you in this noble employ- ment Nobility, Gentlemen, you well know, was originally the reward of great services ren- dered to the country and what obligations do they not owe to the State, who enjoy from their birth the well-earned honours of their ances- tors ? The sacrifice of their life on every occa- sion is the least of their duties ; it is only by setting the example of perfect disinterestedness, and of an entire submission to the King and to the laws ; it is, in short, only by an irreproach- able life, that you preserve in reality the nobi- lity of your forefathers. 104 ADDRESS TO THE STATES-GENERAL. Members of the Clergy, The sublime doctrine of the Gospel, which it is your office to preach, should serve as a guide to all mankind ; it contains lessons for kings and nations : I shall guide myself with eagerness by the lights which you afford me, and my heart will be your debtor for the good which you will do by disseminating, as faithful pastors, the precepts and the consolation of the religion of Jesus Christ. Deputies of the Order of Citizens, Industry, arts, and commerce insure the prosperity of the State, besides increasing the well-being of families in a free nation under a just Government: genius and talent lead to every thing, and those who distinguish them- selves in your order, have a strong claim to the esteem of the Sovereign. And you, honest Swedish Peasants, Everywhere have I heard praises of the qua- lities which distinguish you ; I regard with emotion the particular consideration which your country pays you. And are they not well worthy of such consideration they whose arms by turns nourish and defend it? Continue to ADDRESS TO THE STATES-GENERAL. 105 adorn by your labours and your virtues the useful and respectable rank which you con- stitute in the State. Your King watches, as a father, over your dearest interests, and his Majesty will permit me to share his tender solicitude. I now address myself to you all, faithful re- presentatives of the Swedish nation. The King- has deigned to propose me as his successor on the throne, you have confirmed his choice by a free and unanimous election, and his Majesty this day rivets by an indissoluble knot the ties which already bound me to you : so many acts of goodness, so much esteem and confidence, impose on me the greatest obligations ; I feel them acutely, and I have a strong desire to fulfil them. Bred in camps, I bring you a soul frank and loyal, an absolute devotion to the King, my august father, an ardent desire to do every thing for the happiness of my new coun- try : with such intentions I hope to do good. The only policy which the laws of God au- thorize, must have justice and truth for its foundation : such are the principles of the King, and they shall be mine likewise. I have beheld war near at hand, and I know all its evils : for it is not conquest which can console a country for the blood of her children, spilt on 106 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. a foreign land. I have seen the mighty Em- peror of the French, so often crowned with the laurel of victory, surrounded by his invincible armies, sigh after the olive-branches of peace. Yes, Gentlemen, peace is the only glorious aim of a sage and enlightened government : it is not the extent of a state which constitutes its strength and independence ; it is its laws, its commerce, its industry, and above all, its na- tional spirit. Sweden, it is true, has suffered great losses, but the honour of the Swedish name is untarnished : let us conform to the decrees of Providence, and reflect, Gentlemen, that it has left us a soil which supplies our wants, and iron to wield in our defence. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, Nov. llth, 1810. Sire, In my first interview with the Baron Al- quier, I easily perceived that that Minister had received very severe instructions relative to TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 107 the English commerce, and that they had been caused by complaints marie to your Majesty, touching the protection, which it would seem was afforded to that commerce by Sweden. I was determined to know the truth, and im- mediately sent a confidential person to Gothen- bourg to collect information. The English commerce is not tolerated there, as persons have told your Majesty. It is true, that there have been there, as everywhere else, smug- glers, and these are for the most part Jews, who are in communication with other Jews, established in the neighbouring countries. I only beseech your Majesty not to give credit to exaggerated reports, which can only be dic- tated by the private interests of those who are pleased to disseminate them, and by a spirit of hatred which the enemies of Sweden love to foment. I also beg your Majesty to remark that the royal authority in Sweden is very limited, and that there are customs and privileges which the Constitution does not permit the head of the State to destroy. All that I can assure your Majesty is, that all that is possible shall be done to second the Continental system. 108 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, 1810. At the moment when I was going to ad- dress my thanks to your Majesty, for your good- ness in extending for a year the leave granted to the French officers who accompanied me to Sweden, I am informed that your Majesty has retracted that favour. This unexpected dis- appointment, and, indeed, every thing that reaches me from Paris, makes me sensible that your Majesty is not well disposed towards me. What have I done, Sire, to deserve this treat- ment? Calumny alone must have been the cause of it. In the new situation, in which for- tune has placed me, I should doubtless be more exposed to it than ever, were I not fortunate enough to find a defender in your Majesty's heart. Whatever may be said, Sire, I be- seech you to believe that I have nothing to reproach myself with, and that I am entirely devoted to your person, not merely from the strength of my old associations, but from a sen- timent that is unalterable. If things are not conducted in Sweden entirely according to your Majesty's wish, this is solely owing to the Constitution. To infringe this Constitution is TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 109 not in the power of the King, and still less in mine. There are still here many private in- terests to be melted down in the great national crucible ; four orders to be bound together as the fasces of the state ; and it is only by means of very prudent and measured conduct that I can hope to sit one day on the throne of Sweden. As M. Gentil de St. Alphonse, my aide-de- camp, returns to France, in conformity with your Majesty's orders, I make him the bearer of this letter. Your Majesty may question him : he has seen every thing ; let him tell your Ma- jesty the truth. He will tell your Majesty whether or not I am anxious to please you, and if I am not here in a state of continual inquie- tude between the pain of displeasing you, and my new duties. Sire, your Majesty has grieved me by with- drawing from me the officers whom you had granted me for a year. Since you command it, I send them back to France. Perhaps your Majesty will be inclined to alter your decision ; in which case I beg that you yourself will fix the number that you may think proper to send me. I shall receive them from you with gra- titude. If, on the contrary, your Majesty re- tains them in France, I recommend them to your goodness. They have always served with 110 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1810. distinction, and have had no share in the re- wards which were distributed after the last campaign. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE AT THE CLOSE OF THE DIET, NOV. 12, 1810. Deputies of the Nobility, I accept with pleasure and gratitude the sentiments which you express towards me. I rely upon your affection as you may upon mine. The Diet, which has just terminated its labours, will be celebrated in the annals of Sweden by the spirit of union which has pre- sided at its deliberations. The King, the su- preme depositary of the laws which you have enacted, will maintain them, and cause them to be respected by all, without distinction of rank or person. You will always find me ready to join you in the defence of our country, and when its honour and its glory shall require it, happy shall I be to shed the last drop of my blood in her cause. CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1810. Ill Deputies of the Clergy, The first Swede with whom I became ac- quainted on arriving in my new country, was the worthy head of your order. From him I formed an exalted opinion of the Swedish cler- gy ; and those amongst you whom I have since known, have confirmed my opinion. Ministers of peace and union ! you have given an ex- ample of it in the Diet which has just com- pleted its labours. I recommend to your pray- ers the King and our country. Deputies of the Order of Citizens, I thank you for the sentiments you have just expressed towards me; you may depend equally on my solicitude in all that concerns your welfare. The constitution guarantees the liberty of the individual, and the rights of the citizens. Enjoy this precious blessing ! Enjoy the happiness of being governed by a King, who is the father of his subjects, and let each one discharge his duty to the country in the career which he has embraced ! The more I become acquainted with you, Gentlemen, the more happy and honoured I count myself in being a Swede. 112 ACADEMY OF MILITARY SCIENCES. Good and Honourable Deputies of the Order of Peasants, I am extremely glad to have seen you assem- bled at Stockholm ; but the King will shortly permit me to visit his provinces, and I antici- pate the pleasure I shall have in again seeing you in the bosom of your families. The Gov- ernment will continue its efforts to maintain peace ; but if one day the country should call your sons to the battle, tell them, that in your absence, it will be I who will stand to them in the stead of a father. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE IN THE ACADEMY OF MILITARY SCIENCES, NOV. 14, 1810. Gentlemen, I thank you for the sentiments which you have expressed for me, and it is with true satisfaction that I find myself in the midst of you. After having myself run during thirty years the career of arms, I cannot but take a lively ACADEMY OF MILITARY SCIENCES. 113 interest in all that concerns the military art ; and moreover, the labours with which you oc- cupy yourselves, deserve the attention of a Government, since, by gathering together the examples and the lessons of great captains, you assist in forming a military spirit, which may have an influence on the destinies of the coun- try. Every good citizen must be a good sol- dier ; this is almost a natural disposition in the Swedish nation ; but bravery is not sufficient. The excellence of our profession consists in a respect for discipline, in a religious devotion to its duties, and lastly, in the voluntary self- denial of all the enjoyments of life to serve the King and the State. 1 am sensible, Gentlemen, of the regret which you must have felt in losing the Prince Charles Augustus ; all my endeavours shall be exerted to soothe it ; I will act like him, and, like him, I hope to gain your esteem. 114 UNIVERSITY OF UFSALA. ADDRESS TO A DEPUTATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UPSALA, NOV. 26, 1810. Gentlemen, Public instruction is the object of the great- est interest to a nation friendly to liberty. The Government cannot bestow on it too much care and attention. I shall therefore rank in the number of my principal duties, those of the post, which the King permits me this day to occupy amongst you. Education perfects the work of nature ; it is education which developes the germs, from which are formed heroes, legislators, statesmen ; it is education which directs the aspirations of young minds towards all that is noble and just. Religion, Morality, and Literature, these are the grand sources of civilization. Religion is the first want of every society, since it is re- ligion which binds men mutually together. Without religion, the wisest laws would be insufficient. Morality powerfully supports us in walking with confidence through the thorny path of life, and Literature strengthens in our souls the happy impressions of youth ; it calms the pas- ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 115 sions, it represses the vices, it rouses us to the practice of virtue by the examples of the great men whom it celebrates. It is thus, Gentlemen, that you will commu- nicate to your young pupils the desire of tread- ing in the footsteps of those of their ancestors who have adorned their country ; you will remind them that Sweden already possessed a settled Government and laws, when a great part of Europe was still plunged in barbarism, or bowed beneath the yoke of a stranger, and you will thus inspire in them the noble ambi- tion of maintaining their ancient independence. The celebrity which the University of Up- sala enjoys, the learning which distinguishes its present members, render the relations which I shall henceforward maintain with you doubly precious. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE IN THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. NOV. 29, 1810. Gentlemen, the Members of the Academy of Sciences, The King, in permitting me to accept a place among you, has thought that the heir i 2 116 ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. to his throne ought not to be a stranger to any of the sources of the prosperity of the State. The Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, founded by the zeal of individual citizens, has devoted all its labours to the propagation of that knowledge which increases the resources of nations, and which preserves them from falling into degradation and slavery. I accept with pleasure the title which you offer me ; I shall be proud to bear it : if those high duties, which Providence has called me to fulfil, do not leave me sufficient time to as- sist in your studies, I shall with my thoughts at least be always among you, and you will find in me constant protection and friendship. And above all, Gentlemen, let the discovery of Truth be the object and recompense of all your labours. In proportion to the charms with which Error is sometimes surrounded, ought to be our efforts to guard against it, and to pay our homage to Truth. TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 117 THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, Nov. 19th, 1810, Sire, By my letter of the llth of November, I had the honour of informing your Majesty that the King was ready to do every tiling which the laws of the Constitution would permit, to pre- vent the introduction of English merchandize. The Ministry were employed in framing a very severe regulation on this point, when a dis- patch from M. Lagerbjelke arrived, which filled the King's mind with grief, and even sensibly affected his health. This dispatch proved to what a degree your Majesty was prejudiced against us, since by giving us only five days to answer, you treated us with the same rigour as you would use towards a hostile nation ; and the official note, presented by the Baron Alquier, has only left to Sweden the sad alternative, either of seeing the ties broken which unite her with France, or of delivering herself up to the mercy of a formidable enemy by declaring war, without possessing any means of prosecu- ting hostilities. When I decided on accepting the succession 118 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. to the throne of Sweden, I ever hoped, Sire, that I should be able to reconcile the interests of the country which I had faithfully served and defended during thirty years, with those of the country which had just adopted me. Scarcely had I arrived, when I saw that hope destroyed ; and the King must have remarked how grievously my heart was divided between its attachment to your Majesty, and the con- sciousness of its new duties. In so painful a situation, I could only aban- don myself to the decision of the King, and abstain from taking part in the deliberations of the Council of State. The Council of State did not conceal, 1st. That an open state of war, provoked by vis, would infallibly cause the capture of all the vessels which are engaged in carrying iron to America. 2ndly. That in consequence of an unfortu- nate war, our magazines are empty, our arsenals devoid of activity and totally unprovided, and that our funds are insufficient to meet our wants. Srdly. That considerable sums are necessary to protect the fleet at Carlskrona, and to repair the fortifications, but that there are no funds to supply such sums. TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 119 4thly. That the assembling of the army re- quires an extraordinary outlay of at least seven or eight millions, and that the Constitution does not permit the King to levy any tax with- out the consent of the States- General. 5thly, and lastly, That salt is an object of the first and most absolute necessity in Sweden, and that it is England alone which has fur- nished it up to this time. But all these considerations, Sire, have been waived from the desire of satisfying your Ma- jesty. The King and his council have shut their ears to the cry of public misery, and a state of war with England has been resolved on, merely from respect for your Majesty, and to convince our calumniators that Sweden, enjoy- ing a sage and moderate government, only as- pires to a maritime peace. Happy, Sire, will that Sweden be, so ill-known until now, if she can obtain, in return for her devotion, some proofs of good-will on the part of your Majesty. 120 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, Dec. 8, 1810. Sire, By my letter of the 1 9th of November, I had the honour to inform you that the King, faith- ful to the sentiments which he had pledged to your Majesty, had declared war against Eng- land, in spite of all the objections which the safety of his States could raise against this step, and with the sole view of pleasing your Ma- jesty. The King will always be proud of having given this proof of his devotion to your Ma- jesty ; but it is for me, who am the daily witness of his trouble and disquietude it is for me to appeal to the magnanimity of your Majesty, in a case which may affect the health of the King, as well as the welfare of the kingdom. I flatter myself that your Majesty will receive my ob- servations with favour. In addressing myself to you, Sire, direct, I make use of an ancient privilege, which I shall ever delight in preserv- ing, and which will revive in my soul remi- niscences as agreeable as they are glorious. Sweden, in the sad condition to which the last reign had reduced her, neither could nor TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 121 ought to aspire to any thing but to a long peace. Her sole object was to repair by agri- culture and commerce the loss which she had suffered, thus to re-establish her finances by degrees, and to re-model entirely her military system and her administration. So far from doing this, she has just declared war ; she has hazarded this step without having a single bat- talion ready to march, without the slightest supplies in her arsenals or her magazines, and, what is still worse, without a farthing to meet the expenses of so great an enterprize : in a word, in the present state of this country, such a step would be a decided act of madness, if it were not warranted by the support of your Majesty. Sweden, it is true, possesses in herself the elements of a great force ; her inhabitants are naturally warlike, her Constitution permits her to levy 80,000 men, and her male population is such, that such a levy might be easily made ; but you, Sire, well know that war is only fed by war, and a great military establishment purely on the defensive is a burden, which Sweden cannot support without foreign as- sistance. The laws of the Constitution forbid the King to establish new taxes without the consent of 122 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. the States-General ; and the war has just anni- hilated one of the principal branches of the public revenne, the Customs, which produced more than six millions of francs yearly. To this must be added that the contributions are in arrear, and that the confiscations which are made, affect the Swedish subjects, and not the strangers, who have taken the precaution to insure the payment of the merchandize they imported. In short, Sire, our situation is most alarm- ing, if France do not come to our assistance. Ever since the first alliance concluded between Francis I. and Gustavus Vasa, France has not only been the constant friend of Sweden, but she has moreover supported and assisted her in all her wars. Nature appears to have destined these two nations to live in harmony ; and if she has refused riches to the Swede, she has endowed him with valour, and all the qua- lities necessary for the execution of the grandest designs. There is here but one desire, that of being on sincere terms of friendship with France, and of participating in her glory whenever an opportunity shall present itself. But we are without money. In peace, the laborious Swede, contented with his fields and his mines, would have TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 123 patiently relied on time and his economy for a happier state of things. Forced by your Ma- jesty to declare war, we look to you with con- fidence. We offer you men and iron, and we ask in return those means which Nature has refused us. Deign, Sire, to give your particular conside- ration to the state of this country ; and be pleased to accept with favour the expression of the sentiments, &c. THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, 19th Dec. 1810. Sire, M. de Czernicheffhas begged me to entrust him with a letter for your Majesty, which I hasten to do, hoping that he will report to your Majesty what he has seen in Sweden. In fact, Sire, full of confidence in your magnanimity and your particular kindness towards me, I have but one thing to desire, which is that you should be apprized of the truth. 124 TO THE EMPEROR, NAPOLEON. M. de CzernichefF will tell your Majesty that Sweden is on the point of being reduced to the most deplorable state ; that she is entirely with- out means of supporting the war which she has just declared ; that the Government, notwith- standing, redoubles its efforts in so momentous a crisis, but that it is not in the power of the King, as elsewhere, to extend the system of confiscations ; that the Constitution of this country guarantees the rights and property of every one, and that if the King himself were to adopt a contrary measure, no counsellor of state could give his consent to it. I am happy in having the general opinion of the nation in my favour, but I should most certainly lose that moral influence the very mo- ment I was suspected of the slightest attempt against the Constitution. The King offers your Majesty every thing that is in his power. He will spare no sacri- fice to prove to your Majesty his devotion to France ; but I entreat you, Sire, to deign to cal- culate our means, and grant us the confidence which we deserve by our sincere and unalter- able attachment. DISTURBANCES AT VEEMDON. 125 ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTATION FROM VERMDON, TESTIFYING THEIR DEEP REPENTANCE OF THE LATE DISTURBANCES THERE, MAY, 26th, 1811. The King has heard with sorrow the criminal disturbances which have taken place at Verm- don. If his Majesty had not suffered himself to be guided by the clemency which charac- terizes him, he might in an instant have put your isle out of the pale of the Constitution, and have stamped its inhabitants with the seal of general reprobation. The King has ordered nothing which is con- trary to the laws : his Majesty has only put in execution a resolution of the States of the kingdom, sanctioned and approved by himself. The King, consequently, has a right to expect the strictest obedience. The period of disorder is passed, the reign of the laws must com- mence. The King being legally empowered to levy 50,000 men, according to the resolution of the States, for the recruiting of his army? has, how- ever, only required 15,000, because he thinks that number sufficient for the defence of the country. 126 DISTURBANCES AT VERMDOX. And yet you could mistake the paternal in- tentions of his Majesty ? If your fathers had been as lukewarm in their patriotism, Sweden would now be a slave, under a foreign yoke. I ask you, do you desire to remain as you are free and independent Swedes ? I bear all good Swedes in my heart. I have been called to this country by the united wishes of the nation, and of its King. I came, with confidence, to defend and to protect you ; but if any dare to oppose the execution of given orders, the guilty one shall be smitten by the authority of the law, quick as though he were struck by lire from Heaven. For the rest, I put myself in your place : you yet preserve a galling remembrance of the usage of the ancient Landtvarn (conscription) ; he who then saw his son perish miserably, may at least hesitate before he abandons another child, for whom he dreads the same fate. But, I repeat it to you if the interest of the State requires your sons to march, (which I do not yet apprehend,) I shall march with them, and they shall receive the same treatment as my own Son. Calm, then, these childish alarms, and recol- lect that the only means to be masters at home, is to be prepared against all hostile attacks. DISTURBANCES AT VEBMDON. 127 I observe with pleasure the repentance which you express. Experience has given me the power of reading men's thoughts by their faces; I see that your hearts acknowledge their cri- minality. I am persuaded that you have not been perverted, but only for a moment seduced by the influence of strangers. I will beg the King to pardon you, and to forget all, in consideration of your prompt re- pentance ; but learn to prove by your conduct in future, that you are deserving of the favour of his Majesty. I do not desire to know the names of the individuals who have taken part in the tumult ; but I shall preserve for ever the remembrance of those of the inhabitants of Vermdon who have shown themselves good Swedes, and I am gratified to find that their number is the most considerable. To prove to you that I wish to draw a curtain over what is passed, I will come some of these days with my Son to visit you in your isle ; I shall be unguarded, for I desire no other guard than that which 1 hope always to find in your hearts. [His Roval Highness, accompanied by the Duke of Sudermania, by his Court, and the 128 DISTURBANCES AT VERMDON. deputation of Vermdon, then proceeded to liis Majesty, where he delivered the following speech.] Sire, Your faithful subjects of the Isle of Vermdon come to testify to your Majesty the profound repentance with which they are pene- trated. Symptoms of disobedience manifested themselves amongst them in defiance of the orders of your Majesty : it was, however, the smaller number which took part in the disor- der ; they come to implore that clemency, Sire, which is innate in your heart, and they only wait to hear a word from the mouth of your Majesty, to return tranquil and happy to their habitations. May your Majesty permit me to join with them in asking oblivion for their errors, and in promising, in the name of all the inhabitants of the Isle, an irreproachable con- duct in future. Sire, The measures taken for the re-assemb- ling of the army are founded on a resolution of the States of the kingdom, sanctioned by your Majesty. They are founded in justice. Where, moreover, is the peasant, who ought not to appreciate the benefit, when the lands hither- to privileged are no longer exempted from the levy ; when every individual of the requisite DISTURBANCES AT ROSLAGEN. 129 age is liable without distinction ; and when, in short, this extraordinary burthen does not weigh heavier on one class than on another? All good Swedes will feel that it is only the intention of your Majesty to convince our ene- mies that Sweden can defend herself. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTATION FROM ROS- LAGEN, JUNE 26th, 1811. In causing to be executed a law of the king- dom, with a provisional diminution of two- thirds of the levy enacted for the recruiting of the army, the King did not anticipate meeting with any obstacle : he has not been deceived in his expectations ; all the provinces have recog- nized in the orders given by his Majesty a con- tinuation of his solicitude for the independence and the future happiness of Sweden. Some parishes only have dared to question, whether the resolution of the States of the kingdom, sanctioned by his Majesty, should be executed or not. K 130 DISTURBANCES AT KOSLAGEN. From that instant, the means of justice and of force have been employed to bring back those misguided people to obedience, and to punish the movers of such criminal attempts : these latter cannot hope for any pardon ; the law will strike them. Look back upon the past, recollect what you were twenty years since, and what you are now ; to preserve what remains to you, there is no guarantee save in arms, and in the fixed determination to use them in case of necessity. Fear not that your children will be ill- treated ; I will relieve their wants, I will share their privations when the time shall come. The career of honour is open to all ; those who conduct themselves well may aspire to the rank of officers, and even to become among the chiefs of the army. I willingly yield to the prayer you present to me, to solicit your pardon with the King ; but answer me, Are you really repentant ? Is it fear, or hypocrisy, which brings you here ; or is it the love for your country, a religious regard for your oaths, and respect for your Sovereign ? If you are not animated by the most sincere repentance, do not present yourselves before the King ; he would see by your countenances DISTURBANCES AT ROSLAGEN. 131 that your patriotism was feigned ; but if, as I believe, you are sincerely repentant, his Ma- jesty will receive you like a father who re- covers his erring children. Now that you have a hope of obtaining your pardon, tell me avow frankly, if in your tu- multuous assemblies you did not fear to see the shade of Charles XII. stride in amongst you, and reproach you for hesitating a moment to furnish defenders to your country ! [Then his Royal Highness proceeded to the King, and pronounced the following speech :] Sire, The inhabitants of Roslagen have beseeched me to plead for them with your Majesty. They come to solicit that clemency which has ever characterized you ; they come to declare to your Majesty that they never intended to oppose the execution of orders emanating from the throne. Some evil-disposed persons alone, and reports disseminated by strangers, have disturbed for a moment the decency and tran- quillity which ought always to reign over their assemblies : they are now all persuaded that the moment of disorder has disappeared from Swe- den, never to return ; they all feel convinced that no happiness can exist for them without a K 2 132 DEPUTIES OF THE BANK. love of the laws and of justice, and without the most profound respect for the commands of your Majesty. I beseech your Majesty then to pardon the inhabitants of Roslagen, and to add, to all your acts of goodness towards me, this new favour. ANSWER OF THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE BANK, WHO WAITED ON HIM ON HIS RECOVERY, AUG. 31st, 1811. Gentlemen, I thank you for the sentiments which you have expressed towards me ; you well know those which animate me for the good of the nation. During the illness with which it has pleased Heaven to visit me, I have suffered less from the derangement of my health, than from my grief at my inability to alleviate the labours of the King. The prayers offered for my recovery have affected me extremely : the summit of my de- sires is, that Providence will grant me sufficient DEPUTIES OF THE BANK. 133 length of life to see my hopes for Sweden realized. Since the breaking up of the assembly of the States of the kingdom, the execution of a law, which ought to be sacred to all, namely, that relative to the defence of the country, has met with some opposition in two provinces, and especially in Scania. The authorities have been obliged to use force ; but let us throw a veil over events the recollection of which afflicts me. Those who were led astray by a foreign influence, now implore the clemency of the King ; and I owe it to truth to say, that no- where have there been discovered any traces of an organized conspiracy against the Govern- ment. His Majesty is generally satisfied with the zeal of the magistrates, and with the good feel- ing which animates all the inhabitants of the kingdom ; everywhere the extra-rotering, (new formation of regiments from districts till then privileged,) is on the point of being enrolled in the army ; and the 15,000 men required to recruit it are all ready for service, if the emer- gencies of the country should require it. By this means the land forces will consist of about 60,000 men, and our naval force will comprize 15,000 sailors. These forces appear to the 134 DEPUTIES OF THE BANK. King sufficient to preserve the Swedish terri- tory unviolated ; but the intimate union which exists between him and the nation, is the strongest guarantee of our independence : this union will render the efforts which may be made to subdue us, as idle as the fury of the billows which break against our rocks. Gentlemen, a most precious deposit is en- trusted to you ; that of the public fortune. I have seen, and I see with much sorrow, the at- tempts which are made against it by specula- tors in the public funds of the kingdom. The persons who persist in confounding Stock-job- bing with Commerce, lie under an error which may prove fatal to them. The Government will protect lawful commerce, it will encou- rage industry, but it will baffle speculation, and punish the stock-jobber. If it be impolitic not to keep pace with the spirit of the age, it is specially so in the matter of finance. The most puissant governments in Europe offer us grand examples ; let us learn to profit by their lessons. M. D'ENGESTKOM TO M. DE CAERE. 135 NOTE FROM THE BARON D'ENGESTROM TO THE BAkON DE CABRE. Stockholm, Jan. 5, 1812. I had the honour to acquaint you the day before yesterday, that the King, having ad- dressed himself to his Majesty the Emperor of the French, to complain of the piracies com- mitted by the privateer, the Mercury, relied too much on the justice and friendship of his Imperial and Royal Majesty, to consider it necessary to detain the privateer until the arrival of an answer from Paris ; and that, therefore, this vessel, with all the subjects of the Emperor who were on board of it, will be placed at your disposal whenever you desire. It is to render this step the more official, that I have the honour of repeating this offer in writing. Orders having been issued to bring the cruiser in question into a Swedish port, where it will be in greater security than in the Vade- ron roads, I will not fail to inform you of the J name of the port where it is stationed, as soon as I shall have received the intelligence. [Orders were immediately issued, and the privateer sailed.] 136 M. DE CAERE TO M. D'ENGESTROM. NOTE FROM THE BARON J)E CAJ5RE TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE BARON U'ENGESTROM. Stockholm, Jan. 4, 1812. I have received the letter which your Excel- lency did me the honour to write to me yester- day, in which you acquaint me, " that his Ma- jesty the King of Sweden deems it unnecessary to detain the French cruiser, the Mercury, until he has received an answer from Paris ; and that this vessel and the subjects of the Emperor who were on board of it are at my disposal." M. Baron, I know nothing about this affair except what you have had the goodness to communicate to me ; I am absolutely ignorant of where the Mercury is : it is consequently impossible for me to transmit to the crew the new dispositions of the Court of Stockholm in their favour. In order, therefore, to give them their full effect, it is necessary for your Excel- lency to forward to the Swedish port, whither this vessel has been taken, the order of the King, to inform the commander that he may go wherever he pleases. I submit this measure to your discretion, M. Baron ; and your Excel- lency will judge if it be proper. STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. 137 Meanwhile, I hasten to inform his Excel- lency the Duke of Bassano of the contents of your letter of yesterday. I have likewise forwarded to him the documents relating to the same affair, which you have been pleased to communicate to me before. AUG. DE CAERE. REPORT MADE BY THE CROWN-PRINCE ON THE OCCASION" OF HIS MAJESTY RESUMING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM. Stockholm, Jan. 7, 1812. Sire, My fondest wishes have been fulfilled ; and the health of your Majesty being reinstated, now permits you to resume the government of your kingdom. Suffer me to appeal to your own heart, that you may judge of the tender emotions which mine must feel in replacing in the hands of your Majesty a power, the pro- longed exercise of which has constantly re- minded me of the danger which menaced your life. 138 STATE OF THK NATION. Notwithstanding the daily reports which I have laid before your Majesty on the external as well as the internal situation of the State, I think, nevertheless, that I ought to take ad- vantage of this opportunity, so important to me in every respect, to present a rapid sketch of it to your Majesty. When your Majesty determined on embrac- ing the Continental policy, and on declaring war against Great Britain, Sweden was just emerging from an unfortunate contest ; her wounds were still bleeding; she was forced to make new sacrifices at the very moment of her losing one of the principal branches of her public revenues, almost the entire of the produce of her Customs. Notwithstanding this isolated state, she has done for the interest of the common cause all that could be expected of a people faithful to its engagements ; more than two millions of rix- dollars have been expended in re-organizing the army, and putting in a state of defence our coasts, our isles, our fortresses, and our fleet. I will not conceal from your Majesty that our commerce, reduced as it were to a simple coast- ing-trade from port to port, has suffered much from this state of war. Privateers under friendly flags, against whom it would have been wrongful to take measures of safety and precau- STATE OF THE NATION. 139 tion, have profited by our reliance on treaties, to capture one after the other nearly fifty of our ships. But at length, Sire, your flotilla has received orders to protect the Swedish flag, and the harmless commerce of your subjects against piracies, which could be neither avowed nor authorized by any government. The captures by Danish cruisers have caused many protests to be made on our part ; but the injuries diminish daily, and every thing seems to hold out the hope that the lawful commerce of Sweden will be no longer disturb- ed, and that the relations of good neighbour- hood will be more and more strengthened. The cruisers under the French flag have given an unlimited extension to their letters of marque ; the injuries they have done us have been made the subject of protests; the justice and good faith of the Emperor of the French warrant us in hoping that they \vill be re- dressed. The protections given by friendly Govern- ments have been respected ; and those of their vessels which have touched on our coasts, have been free to continue their course, what- ever may have been their destination. About fifty American vessels, cast on our shores by successive tempests, have been re- 140 STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. leased: this act of justice, founded on the law of nations, has been appreciated by the United States, and appearances promise us that more definite relations with their Government will facilitate the exportation of those great stores of iron, which encumber our public magazines. Political considerations unite with the family ties which bind your Majesty to the King of Prussia, in consolidating the friendly relations which exist between the two powers. The peace with Russia cannot be disturbed ; the treaties which have cemented it are exe- cuted on either part with honesty and good faith. Our relations with the empire of Austria are on the most friendly footing : glorious recollec- tions unite the two nations, and your Majesty neglects nothing which can contribute to main- tain the reciprocity of confidence and esteem which they beget. Whenever the affairs of Spain and Portugal become more settled, these countries will offer to the commerce of Sweden advantages which warrant the improvements which she has intro- duced in the working of her iron-mines. Our relations with South America have en- tirely ceased ; civil war ravages those beauti- ful but unfortunate countries ; when they pos- STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. 141 sess a regular government, the produce of the kingdom will find there an advantageous mart. The maritime war has interrupted our com- mercial relations with Turkey, but nothing which concerns this ancient ally of Sweden can be indifferent to your Majesty. Sire ! Such are the external relations of Swe- den. Justice and good faith towards nations are the rules of the policy of your Majesty, in like manner as the independence and the hap- piness of your subjects are the end which it proposes. The army, and the finances, those two prin- cipal guarantees of the preservation of the State, have eminently engaged my constant solicitude. A prudent economy has directed the em- ployment of the funds destined for the arma- ments which the state of war rendered neces- sary. This war, by its essential effect on the exportation of articles of Swedish produce upon the general progress of commerce, and upon the minds of commercial men, had caused the ex- changes to rise in an exorbitant degree. I em- ployed myself particularly in arresting this scourge of states, which when it has once broken its banks, knows no bounds to its ravages. By repressing on one hand the speculations in the 142 STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. funds, by calling into force the ancient ordi- nances against the illicit exportation of gold and silver, by imposing a transit duty on the transportation of ingots arriving in Sweden from foreign countries, by trying to recall the nation to the principles of economy which distin- guished their ancestors, I endeavoured on the other hand to give an impulse to the internal in- dustry and to the lawful commerce of Sweden. I have had the satisfaction to see my efforts crowned with success, and that the course of exchange with Hamburgh, which had risen to 136 sk. the 19th of March, improved to 84 sk. the 3rd of January. I have taken measures to encourage and ren- der more general the cultivation of flax and hemp ; to give activity to the search for salt- mines ; to continue the cultivation of lands in Dalecarlia ; to establish a new communication and new markets in Vermland ; to form a com- pany for the herring-fishery in the high seas ; to extend the commercial relations with Fin- land ; to put in execution the financial resolu- tions of the States of the kingdom ; and to recognize the direction of the magazines, and of the Customs, and the government of the Isle of St. Barthelemy. The harvest not having been plentiful, I have STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. 143 resolved on means to prevent a scarcity by im- porting corn from abroad, with a permission, in order that this importation may not affect the course of exchange, to export salt on being bound to take grain in return. This exchange can be the more easily effected, as there still exists a sufficient provision of salt in the coun- try for two years' consumption. I have observed with sorrow that the immo- derate use and manufacture of brandy from a preference of private interest to the public good, will demoralize the nation, and expose it sooner or later to an inevitable famine. I have only been able to use exhortations on this subject, which I have borrowed from the paternal senti- ments of your Majesty ; and I leave to a future time, and to the wisdom of the kingdom, the care of stopping an evil which every individual acknowledges, but which perpetually increases. I have paid particular attention to the state and organization of the hospitals, to the reli- gious establishments, and to the means of pre- venting, or at least of relieving mendicity. The Police of the Interior, and Agriculture have not been lost sight of; and a central acad- emy of Agriculture has been just formed, for the purpose of giving an impulse and encou- ragement to public economy and to statistical 144 STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. knowledge, which will contribute to insure the prosperity of the State. The works on the canal of Gotha, that grand monument of the reign of your Majesty, have been prosecuted with great activity. Those of the canal of Sodertelje, stopped by obstacles which the zeal of the directors could not sur- mount, will resume a more rapid progress. I have put into execution the solemn resolu- tion of the States of the kingdom, sanctioned by your Majesty, concerning the national arma- ment ; but careful not to take away from the labours of agriculture more than the arms in- dispensably necessary for the defence of the country, I only ordered a levy of 15,000 men, out of the 50,000 whom the States had placed at the disposal of your Majesty. Fatal errors breaking out in Scania even to acts of violence, and an open rebellion, threatened for a moment to impede the execution of the measures which had been ordered. Already our enemies, or those who envied our purpose, began to rejoice at our intestine dissensions, when they were quickly suppressed by the united force of arms and of the laws, by the re-action of national feeling, and of the sentiments of duty. The skeletons of the new rotering are nearly filled up, and all the requisite measures have been STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. 145 taken to employ them usefully. The regular army has been recruited, and, as well as the re- serve, new clothed, and supplied with arms in good condition. A sufficient quantity of them has been found in the magazines, and the ma- nufactures of arms have received a new activity. The manufacture of gunpowder and saltpetre has been enlarged and improved. The artillery is in a respectable condition. Pensions to be granted to officers and sol- diers wounded in service have been either established or augmented. The fund for the expences of the late war has been realised ; and measures successively adopted have had no other end than to render the troops fit to march, and to furnish all their wants. Your Majesty will deign to observe by this sketch, that, although the detractors of Sweden have dared to say that it would take sixty years before she could organize an army of 60,000 men, she will notwithstanding be able to show herself in the month of April next, to the friends, as well as to the enemies of your Ma- jesty. The end of this augmentation of our mi- litary forces is purely defensive. With no other ambition than that of preserving her liberty and her laws, Sweden wishes to be able to defend herself; and she can do it. Bounded on one L 146 STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. side by the sea, on the other by inaccessible mountains, it is not alone on the courage of her inhabitants, nor on her bright recollections of glory, that she depends for the preservation of her independence ; she has besides these her local position, her mountains, her forests, her lakes, her frozen regions. Let her learn, then, to profit by these united advantages ; and let her inhabitants be thoroughly persuaded of this truth, that if the iron, offspring of the womb of their mountains, prepares the harvests by fur- rowing their fields, it is also iron alone, and the determined resolution to make use of it, that can defend them. I have been seconded in my efforts by the fidelity and good spirit of the army, by the zeal and intelligence of the public functionaries. The magistracy have maintained their an- cient reputation ; they have had painful duties to fulfil ; but they have gained a new title to public esteem. The different departments of the Chancery of the State have rivalled each other in bestowing on the affairs coming under their cognizance all the dispatch which is com- patible with the formalities required by our laws and customs. The office of Secretary of State for Religious Worship has dispatched, since the 17th of STATE OF THE NATION, 1812. 147 March, nearly 600 cases ; that of the Interior, 952 ; that of Finances and Commerce, 1653 ; and of War, 2535. The cases which have not received the final decision, and which are confined in every de- partment to a very small number in comparison with the relative extent of their business, are of a nature to require either the resolution of your Majesty, or farther evidence. If your Majesty deigns to perceive in the picture I have submitted to you, the desire I have had to justify the exalted confidence which your Majesty has reposed in me, it will be, next to the joy I feel at the recovery of your Majesty, the most agreeable recompense for my labours. May Heaven, in accordance with my vows, preserve the life of your Ma- jesty ; and may Sweden, protected, Sire, by your virtues, find a lasting source of future pros- perity in the absolute devotion which my heart has vowed towards your Majesty, in the respect- ful attachment of my Son, in the sanctity of the laws of the State, in the uprightness of the public functionaries, in the union, the courage, and the patriotism of the Swedes ! L 2 148 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Feb. 11, 1812. Sire, The reports which have just arrived bring intelligence that a division of the army under the orders of the Prince of Eckmiihl, in- vaded the territory of Swedish Pomerania on the night of the 26-27th of Jan. This divi- sion has pursued its march, has entered the capital of the duchy, and has occupied the Isle of Rugen. The King waits for your Majesty to make known the causes which have induced you to act in a manner so diametrically opposite to existing treaties. My ancient relations with your Majesty authorize me in supplicating you not to delay an explanation of the motives, in order that I may give the King my opinion on the line of policy which Sweden ought now to adopt. The outrage gratuitously committed on Swe- den is deeply felt by the people, and doubly, Sire, by myself, who am charged with the ho- nourable duty of defending them. Although I TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 149 have contributed to render France triumphant, although I have constantly desired to see her re- spected and happy, it never has entered into my thoughts to sacrifice the interests, the honour, and the independence of the Country which has adopted me. Your Majesty, so good a judge in this affair, has already penetrated into my resolutions. Little jealous as I am of the glory and the power which surround you, I am jealous, Sire, of not being regarded as a vassal. Your Majesty commands the greater part of Europe, but your dominion does not extend to the country whither I have been called. My ambition is bounded to the desire of de- fending it, and I regard that as the lot which Providence has marked out for me. The effect produced by the invasion, of which I complain, upon this people, may have incalculable con- sequences ; and although I may be no Corio- lanus, nor the people whom I command Volsci, yet I have a sufficiently good opinion of the Swedes to assure you, Sire, that they are capa- ble of daring every thing, and of enterprizing every thing, to avenge affronts which they have not provoked, and to preserve rights to which they cling perhaps as tenaciously as to their existence. 150 ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. SPEECH OK THE CROWN-PRINCE, ON RECEIVING A MEDAL FROM THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, FEB. 12, 1812. Gentlemen, The immortal Linnasus cherished hopes which you have realized. Animated like him by a love of the Sciences, you will like him ex- tend their influence by diffusing fresh know- ledge. Continue occupied in the search after truth and utility. Under a King, who loves the cultivation of the Sciences, who protects and encourages them, your example will inspire our youth with a taste for study ; and the habit which they will thence contract, will take root, and will iden- tify itself with their existence. Your writings will have a great influence on the morals and the genius of the nation. Recollect that the truths which electrify the soul by enlightening the understanding are those which contribute the most to the maintenance of peace and liberty. Gentlemen, Let us imitate those men who of old rendered Scandinavia famous. Superior to all private interest, they triumphed over their enemies and their rivals, because they were always united when the safety or the glory of TO THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER. 151 the country required it. The trophies which public gratitude erected to them, still do honour to the Swedish name. It is by treading in the footsteps of these celebrated men, by esteeming like them the respectable name of citizen, and by ranking it among the most glorious of titles, that we shall preserve our independence and our rank among nations. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER. Stockholm, March 7, 1812. The occupation of Swedish Pomerania by the French troops induces the King to dispatch the Count de Lowenhielm, his principal Aide-de- camp, to your Imperial Majesty. This officer, who enjoys the entire confidence of his Sove- reign, is ordered to make known to your Ma- jesty the causes which have served as a pre- text to this invasion, in diametrical opposition to existing treaties. The successive union of the coasts of the 152 TO THE EMPEKOK ALEXANDER. Mediterranean, of Holland, and of the Baltic ; the hemming in of the interior of Germany ought to have convinced princes, the least clear- sighted, that the old system being discarded, was about to give way to a new system, which, destroying all degrees of balance, would unite a crowd of nations under one single chief. The tributary monarchs, alarmed at this ever in- creasing domination, await in consternation the developement of this vast plan. In the midst of this universal mourning, the eyes of men are turned towards your Majesty; already are they raised, and they look up to you, Sire, with the confidence of hope. But allow me to observe to your Majesty, that to secure any success in life, there is nothing like the magic of the first instant ; so long as its power continues, every thing depends on the person who dares to act : the astonished are incapable of reflection, and all yield to the will and the impulse of that charm which they fear, or which they admire. Deign, Sire, to receive with kindness the ex- pression of my gratitude for the sentiments which your Majesty bears towards me. If any thing remains for me to wish, it is for the continuation of a happiness which I shall always deserve from the value which I attach to it. TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 153 THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, March 24th, 1812. The notes have just arrived, and I hasten to disclose my opinions on them with all the frankness which distinguishes my character. When the wishes of the Swedish people called me to the succession of the throne, I hoped, on quitting France, to be able always to reconcile my personal affections with the in- terests of my new country ; my heart nourish- ed the hope that it could identify itself with the feelings of this people, and preserve at the same time the recollections of its first affections, never losing sight of the glory of France, or of the sincere attachment which it has vowed to your Majesty an attachment founded on a brotherhood in arms, which so many mighty deeds have adorned. It was with this hope that I arrived in Swe- den. I found a nation generally attached to France, but still more to its liberty and its laws ; ambitious, Sire, of your friendship, but never desiring to obtain it at the expence of their honour and independence. Your Majes- ty's Minister has chosen to outrage this national 154 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. sentiment, and his arrogance has spoilt every thing; his communications do not bear any marks of the respect which crowned heads mutually owe one another : in fulfilling your Majesty's intentions, in accordance with his own passions, the Baron Alcjuier spoke like a Roman Proconsul, without reflecting that he was not addressing himself to slaves. This Minister, then, has been the principal cause of the distrust which Sweden has begun to entertain of your Majesty's intentions to- wards her: subsequent occurrences have na- turally added to it an additional weight. I have already, Sire, had the honour of repre- senting to your Imperial Majesty, by my letters of the 19th of November and the 8th of De- cember, 1810, the situation of Sweden, and the desire which she had of finding a supporter in your Majesty ; in your Majesty's silence she has observed only an undeserved indifference, and she has found it necessary to prepare her- self against the storm which is ready to burst on the Continent. Sire, humanity has already suffered too much. For these twenty years, the earth has been glutted with human blood ; and it is only wanting to the glory of your Majesty to pre- vent its farther effusion. TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 155 If your Majesty think proper that the King should make known to the Emperor Alexander the possibility of a reconciliation, I augur suffi- ciently well of the magnanimity of that Mo- narch, to dare to assure you that he will listen to overtures, equally advantageous for your empire, and for the North : if an event so un- expected and so universally desired could take place, how would the people of the Continent bless your Majesty ! Their gratitude would be increased by the fear under which they at present suffer of the return of a scourge which has borne so heavily on them, and whose ra- vages have left such cruel traces. Sire one of the happiest moments I have known since I left France, was that which as- sured me that your Majesty had not altogether forgotten me. Your Majesty has judged right of my heart ; you have discovered how much it must be harassed by the grievous prospect of seeing the interests of Sweden on the point of being separated from those of France, or of sacrificing those of a country which has reposed in me the most unbounded confidence. Sire ; although a Swede by honour, by duty, and by religion, I yet identify myself by my wishes with that lovely France which gave me birth, and which I have faithfully served from my child- 156 ON OPENING THE DIET, 1812. hood : each step I make in Sweden, the homages which I receive there, awake in my mind those bright recollections of glory, which have been the principal cause of my elevation ; and I never conceal from myself that Sweden, in no- minating me, wished to pay a tribute of esteem to the French people. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE STATES-GENERAL, APRIL 27th, 1812. Deputies of the States General, When the King, in consequence of the un- certain state of his health, deigned to entrust me with the government of the kingdom, this mark of his confidence would have been pain- ful to my heart, if I had not first been re- assured by my knowledge of the real character of his malady. On assuming the reins of government, I knew beforehand the obstacles which I should have to surmount, and the difficulties which it would be necessary for me to conquer. OPENING OF THE DIET, 1812. 15? Convinced that a well-disciplined army is the essential strength of a state, I employed myself in the execution of the resolutions taken for its augmentation. The events which followed have proved to us, that good laws are not sufficient of them- selves to preserve nations from ruin, but that they also require courageous armies to defend them. You will have, then, to occupy yourselves, Gentlemen, with all that relates to the recruit- ing : your decision will determine the destinies of Sweden ; and, if I may trust to my presen- timent, we shall see the return of those brilliant days, when, respected abroad and tranquil at home, she raised herself by her close union and confidence in her Sovereign, to that elevated degree of glory which was the basis of her prosperity. Your thanks, Gentlemen, are the more flat- tering to me, as no personal views have drawn me aside from the noble ambition of rendering my new country flourishing : from the bottom of my soul I can say with pride, that never did Swede entertain sincerer wishes for her liberty and independence. For myself, I desire neither glory nor happiness : the glory and happiness of the Swedes are my only aim, and they will 158 OPENING OF THE DIET, 1812. always be the main spring of my actions. This self-denial I communicate to my Son ; his young soul receives these impressions, and I see with pleasure that his respect for the Swedisli nation already renders him worthy one day to com- mand them. . The wishes which you have expressed before the throne, are a new proof to me of your affec- tion. May the day be far remote when T shall be compelled to fulfil the new task which the con- fidence of the King and you impose upon me ! The remembrance of the important services performed by his Majesty for his country, ought to make every Swedish heart pray that the Al- mighty may be pleased to prolong his days. His paternal goodness towards me has pene- trated my soul with the most lively gratitude ; and if my vows are accomplished, Heaven re- serves for me the happiness of long profiting by his instructions and his experience. TO THE DUC DE BASSANO. 159 NOTE PRESENTED BY M. D'OHSSOX, SWEDISH CHARGE D'AFFAIRES AT PARIS, TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE DUC DE BASSANO. May 28th, 1812. The injuries committed by privateers under the French flag against the Swedish commerce, increasing to an incredible degree, and extending even to provisions, which their avidity included in the regulations as it suited them, of neces- sity imposed on the King the sacred obligation of seeking to inform himself, as well as his sub- jects, on a state of affairs which gave to peace ah 1 the character of war. The privateer the Mercury, being stationed on the Swedish coast, in order to exercise its piracies at pleasure, and having thus made itself an enemy de facto, was at length seized in its cruises, and brought into a Swedish harbour, from a motive of self-defence which could not be mistaken. The King, who had never for a single mo- ment doubted of the sentiments of justice which animate his Majesty the Emperor of the French, King of Italy, had on different occa- sions addressed that Sovereign to complain of the conduct of the French cruisers, so diametri- 160 TO THE DUC DE UASSANO. cally in opposition to the nature of the relations which existed between the two Courts, to the tenor of treaties, and even to that of the letters of marque, with which those cruisers were provided. His Majesty, however, not having obtained any answer to the just complaints, which the interests of his people impelled him to make, sent immediately, on receiving news of the seizure of the privateer the Mercury, an ex- traordinary courier to the undersigned, with the view of placing in all its bearings before the eyes of the French Ministers, a summary both of what had happened, and of what Sweden desired as a guarantee for the future. The undersigned fulfilled these orders on the 15th of January last, and this communication also remains unanswered. While in expectation of this, and when his Majesty, only listening to his sentiments of es- teem and friendship for his Imperial and Royal Majesty, was now yielding to his well-founded hopes, he learned that a very considerable corps of French troops had, on the 27th of January, entered Swedish Pomerania. The French Charge d'Affaires residing at Stockholm was invited to explain himself on the motives of this sudden and unexpected invasion ; but he professed the most entire ignorance on the sub- TO THE DUG DE BASSANO. 161 ject. The undersigned addressed his Excel- lency M. the Due de Bassano, to the same effect, and obtained for answer, that he must wait for his orders from the Court of Sweden. These orders, confining themselves to the demand of a frank and open explanation of the intentions of his Majesty the Emperor and King, with reference to the occupation of Po- merania, were forwarded on the 4th and 7th of February from Stockholm. These dispatches have never reached the undersigned. o The interruption of the ordinary course of letters destined for Sweden having commenced soon after the French invasion of Pomerania, the certainty of the search made at Hamburgh after money lodged there on the account of Sweden, the seizure and even sale of Swedish vessels in the ports of Mecklenburgh and Dantzic, opened a vast field for conjectures. In order to obtain accurate information of the state of affairs in Swedish Pomerania, the King- dispatched General D'Engelbrechten thither to hold parley with the French General ; but having speedily learnt that the General, Count Friant, had refused to receive the Swedish General, or even to return an answer in writing to the letter which the latter had addressed to him, his Majesty then thought that he disco- M 162 TO THE DUC DE BASSANO. vered a regular system in the ignorance in which it was desired that Sweden should be kept, as well on general affairs, as on those which interested her individually. Notwithstanding all the precautions to the contrary, many details were learnt of the con- duct of the French troops in Pomerania, a conduct which ill agreed with that show of friendship which it seemed to be an object to attach to the invasion of that province, the integrity of which, just as much as that of Sweden, had been guaranteed by his Majesty the Emperor in the treaty of Paris. Public functionaries arrested, dragged even to Hamburgh, threatened with the most rigorous treatment to make them violate their duties and their oaths ; the King's chests put under seals ; the vessels of his Majesty forced, by firing on them, to remain, and then unladen and confiscated for the benefit of France ; onerous burthens imposed on a country which had scarce had time to recover from the mis- fortunes which it had suffered ; and lastly, the disarming of the Swedish troops which were placed there ; all these motives joined together were sufficient to justify the desire of the King to receive an explanation, which TO THE DUC DE BASSANO. was alike demanded by the dignity of Sove- reigns, and by the stipulations of the treaties subsisting between Sweden and France. The King had no engagement with any other powers contrary to the treaty which bound him to France, and the conditions of which it was his Majesty's constant desire to perform. If British squadrons protected the coasting trade of Sweden, that conduct was gratuitous on their part, and arose doubtless from a desire of opposing their measures to those adopted by the privateers of powers in friendship with Sweden. If the Swedish ves- sels, which carried the produce of their country into the ports of Germany, made use of English licences to escape from the enemy's cruisers, they could never expect to be confis- cated on their arrival, knowing as they did for certain, that Dantzic vessels, bound for England, had passed the Sound, furnished with licences from his Majesty the Emperor and King. If the King, attacked by France in one of his provinces, then began to take measures for the safety of his kingdom, his Majesty flatters himself that his Imperial and Royal Majesty himself would not have acted differently had lie M 2 164 TO THE DUC DF. 15ASSANO. been placed in the same situation. Any thing may be denied except actual facts, and it is on facts alone that the King relies. In consequence of the above stated facts, his Majesty has ordered the undersigned to declare officially to his Excellency the Due de Bas- sano : That the King protests formally against the invasion of Swedish Pomerania by the French troops. That his Majesty can only look on this invasion as a violation of the treaty of peace between Sweden and France : that by reason of the principles of moderation which his Ma- jesty desires to follow in his line of policy, and of the continuance of his sentiments towards France, his Majesty does not yet consider him- self in a state of war with her, but looks to her Government for a frank and open explanation of the invasion of Pomerania. That to establish a perfect reciprocity until this explanation be made, the payment of the interest and capital of the sums due to the countries united to France by virtue of the Imperial decrees, shall be suspended, which measure will be continued until the evacua- tion of Swedish Pomerania, and the re-esta- TO THE DUG DE BAS1SANO. 165 blishment of good harmony between the two Courts. That, lastly, as the military occupation of Swedish Pomerania has placed his Majesty in a condition to consider himself entirely libe- rated from the private engagements which he had contracted with France, and especially of the obligation to continue a war, which Swe- den only undertook by reason of her adhesion to the Continental system, which adhesion was merely the condition attached to the restitu- tion of Pomerania ; the King declares, that he henceforth considers himself in a state of neu- trality with France and England ; that in fol- lowing up this system adopted by his Majesty, he will employ all the means in his power to protect the neutral flag of Sweden against de- predations which have only owed their conti- nuance to his long patience. Sweden, attached to France since the time of Francis I. only desires to ally her affections with the maintenance of the independence of the North. The King, therefore, would be deeply grieved if he saw himself forced to sa- crifice his natural inclination to the grand in- terests of his country, which reject servitude as they abhor shame. But firmly resolved to sus- 166 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1812. tain the dignity of his crown, and the liberty of the people whom he governs, his Majesty will quietly await for the farther developement of events. The undersigned beseeches his Excellency the Due de Bassano to have the goodness to make known the contents of this note to his Majesty the Emperor and King, and to com- municate to the undersigned, as soon as it is possible, the answer of his Imperial and Royal Majesty. The undersigned has the honour, &c. C. D'OnssoN. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE STATES GENERAL ON THE CLOSING OF THE DIET, AUG. 18, 1812. Deputies of the Nobility ; The Diet which has just closed will be cele- brated in the annals of the country. Notwith- standing the din of arms which resounds from the banks of the Dwina to the shores of the Tagus ; notwithstanding the menaces of some of CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1812. 167 our neighbours, your deliberations have that stamp of calmness which always distinguishes valour and justice. The nobility have acquired new claims on the esteem and benevolence of the King: this order will always follow the honourable example of their ancestors, and when the glory of their country shall require it, they will esteem the sacrifice of their lives as the dearest and the most precious of their duties. If circumstances ordain it, if Sweden cannot hope to cultivate her fields in peace, the King will appeal to your courage, and our rallying word shall be, God, our Liberty, and our Country ! Members of the Clergy ; 1 have seen with pleasure, and I know how to appreciate, the spirit of concord and peace which has reigned during the course of this Diet. This concord and this harmony of opi- nions are principally owing to the patriotism and the devotion, of which all the orders of the kingdom have given proofs. May your hearts enjoy the sweetest of all recompenses in the remembrance of having co-operated for a salu- tary end ! Return to your dioceses and to the places of which the spiritual guidance is entrusted to 168 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1812. you ; try to instil the precepts of Jesus Christ into all hearts, and be indefatigable in spread- ing abroad the beneficent light of his doctrine. I recommend to your prayers the King, the Country, and my Son. Members of the order of Citizens ; The useful and estimable class, which you represent, will always enjoy the protection of the King : commerce, trade, and national in- dustry, are the first sources of prosperity to a country. The solicitude of the King for their increase must convince you that no fetters will be placed on your transactions. His Majesty hopes that the order of Citizens will second his efforts for the maintenance of public credit and prosperity. The King has seen with joy the concord which has reigned in your discussions on the question of assigning funds for the indispensa- ble wants of the State. It is a true pleasure to me to give you this testimony of his satis- faction. Good and honourable Peasants; The love which you have shown towards your King, the new proofs which you have given him of your attachment to his person and CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1812. 169 to your country, would augment, if it were possible, the sentiments of love which I vowed to you from the first moment I saw you. Con- tinue to do honour to Sweden by your bravery and your virtues. Let the peasants of foreign countries envy the just esteem which your country has sworn for you. The King places unlimited confidence in your sentiments for him, and will never in vain claim the support of your order. He will always behold in you the supports of his throne, and you ought always to regard him as the foremost defender of your rights. If, in consequence of the crisis in which Eu- rope is now involved, your children should be called upon to fight for our religion, our rights, and our laws, I will follow them, I will share their hardships, I will try to relieve their wants, and in the moment of danger I will be to them as a father. Carry back to your hearths the spirit of con- cord which has guided your actions during the course of this Diet ; and repeat to your con- stituents, that the happiness of nations rests on an intimate union with their sovereign, and on an obedience to the laws of the kingdom. 170 EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. ON THE EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE BARON CEDERHJELM. Stockholm, Oct. 29th, 1812. I have begged the King to appoint you governor of my son, the Prince Oscar ; and his Majesty is pleased to comply with my request. Your merit has determined his choice. You are about to form the mind of my Son, and to develope his character ; his happy dis- positions will assist you. By exerting yourself to inculcate in him the manners and the customs of the country, in a word, the national character, you will satisfy my desires ; let his education be entirely Swedish, and the nation will owe you all the good which such an education must produce. You will strengthen in his heart the sen- timents of religion, of morality, and of love for the laws and his country. You will supply his thoughts with the ex- amples of good kings ; and you will also excite in his soul that thirst for true glory, which ought always to have for its object the desire of being useful to his fellow-creatures, and of contributing to their happiness. EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. 171 My Son is of an age when the impressions that are received, last for life : you should therefore guard against his forming false ideas of what is called character ; the firmness, which ought to be the basis of that of a prince, should never be considered a virtue, except when it is employed to a good purpose. It will be easy for you to make him under- stand, that his duty is always in accordance with the impulse of his heart, when the succour of the unfortunate is in question ; and that his benefactions ought to bear the stamp of mag- nanimity, and never that of ostentation or of prodigality. The indigent classes ought to excite the soli- citude of a prince ; I desire that my Son may be impressed with this principle. A prince should be proof against either fear or suspicion ; he should not hesitate to expose his own life to ensure the glory and the well- being of his country. He should judge with- out passion, and with that imposing calmness which distinguishes good sovereigns. Apply yourself, my Lord, to impress these principles on the heart of my Son ; I entrust him to you at a period when he has strength to receive them, that you may cherish all those ideas which may combine for the happiness of Swe- 172 EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. den. Repeat to him unceasingly, that one of the greatest scourges which Heaven can inflict on a nation, is a feeble prince ; that the over- throw of states, civil war, and the slavery of nations, are usually the fatal consequence of the timidity of sovereigns ; that war is the most terrible of all evils which can befal a state, but that there are occasions when it is a salutary remedy, to restore energy to a nation, to force it to resume its ancient character, and to pre- serve it from the evil of losing its name by sinking into a province of another empire ; that when a kingdom is thus menaced, and when it cannot avoid shame without an appeal to the fate of war, the prince has no longer the power of election ; he must dare every thing, and en- terprize every thing to maintain the indepen- dence of his country. It is then that the ener- gies of his soul should develope themselves ; it is then that every circumstance demands that he should surround himself with men of pro- bity and courage, whatever may be their poli- tical opinions on other points, since his great end is to preserve his country ; and the true means to preserve a country is to combine against the oppressor. You will guard my Son against reposing his confidence in the indiscreet and the prodigal ; EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. 173 the first will betray it from self-love, the last from their mercenary dispositions. Religion, history, geography, statistics, ma- thematics, the elements of ancient and modern literature, drawing, and bodily exercise, will form the education of my Son for two years ; after which I will beg the King to permit another system to be followed. The study of religion leads to that of a mild and beneficent morality. With such senti- ments you will fill the heart of my Son. He should be acquainted with the history of all nations, but in pursuing this study, you ought to direct him principally to distinguish that of their governments, their laws, and the influence they have had on the manners and public happiness. The art of war ought more particularly to fix the attention of my Son. In our days a Prince ought to be a General ; we have seen the fatal results of opposing a ge- neral who was responsible to his master, against a chief whose decision was absolute. My Son, then, must be accustomed betimes to brave the seasons, and to make the most of his bodily strength, lest a too sedentary life should influ- ence his active powers, or those habits of per- sonal inspection of affairs so necessary for a Prince. Journeys over mountains, visits to 174 EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. mines, swimming and riding, are exercises which develope the energies of the mind, by reminding him of war, and awakening the idea of danger, which must ever be present to be- come familiar. The study of geography should be regularly followed up by statistics, and especially by those of Sweden. With these my Son should be acquainted in their most trifling details, in order that he may form a just idea of the re- sources of the kingdom, and not yield to illu- sions dangerous for the people and for himself. It is my wish that this part of his education should not be confined to a mere superficial knowledge: as it is necessary that his know- ledge of this branch should be thorough, it should be impressed on his memory by travels, and by intercourse with the best informed men of each state. In the provinces, the pea- sants and enlightened agriculturists of the dis- trict which he is visiting, will give him ideas on the fertility of their soil, on the nature of their productions, on the price of their provi- sions, on the taxes with which their lands are charged, &c. In the towns, the governors will instruct him on the general administration of their province, and lawyers of eminence will form his society during his stay there. Their EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. 175 conversation will serve to give him an out- line of the jurisprudence and the laws of Swe- den, until the time when his age shall permit him to prosecute the study of the law. It will be necessary to take advantage of the curiosity which the dawn of knowledge will excite in the mind of my Son, to conduct him to all places where there will be any thing to learn. These excursions may be made an inducement to read, before and after, whatever may relate to the objects in question. When he visits ships, he should acquire a knowledge of the most celebrated naval battles ; and a skilful seaman should accompany him, to explain the ma- noeuvres which decided those engagements. When he inspects a fortress, he should be ac- companied by an engineer, to explain to him on the spot the science of fortification, and of the attack and defence of places. He will find in Smith all the necessary information on finances and manufactures. The works of Winckel- mann will give him a just idea of the fine arts ; and he will form his literary taste by reading the most celebrated authors. The great difficulty in education is to com- mand the willingness of the pupil. It is im- portant, then, to give my Son historical books which he shall have pleasure in reading, and 176 EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. which he may peruse alone. He must give an account of what he has read by word of mouth rather than by writing ; for a power of speaking is a primary attainment for a prince of Sweden. I think, therefore, that for the purpose of improving him in the art of speak- ing, you should invite as his visitors, once or twice a week, from seven o'clock till nine in the evening, persons whom you shall choose, and with whose merit you are acquainted. I wish my Son to consecrate a portion of his time to foreign literature. He will there learn to distinguish the characteristics of other nations, and to converse with foreigners on subjects which are out of the usual routine of the conversation of princes. It now remains for me to fix the hours of work for my Son, and his domestic habits. He will rise at half-past seven, that he may begin his studies at eight, and he will continue them till eleven. At eleven, he will breakfast with his tutors and his gentlemen in waiting ; from half-past eleven till one o'clock will be set apart for re- creation. On Sundays only, two persons of your selec- tion will be admitted to his breakfast. From one o'clock till five in the afternoon EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. 177 he will continue his studies ; at half-past five he will come to dine with me on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays ; on other days he will dine at home. It is in company and at table that by little and little we learn to form opinions of men, and to penetrate their charac- ter. The habit of mixing with the world gives ease and grace, and removes that timidity so common in children educated in solitude and privacy, and so dangerous for a prince, whom it would expose to become the dupe of im- pudence, and of those who gain credit by a decided and peremptory tone. When dining with me, my Son will find the first men in Sweden assembled, so that this society will assist his education without his feeling the restraint of study. From seven till nine in the evening my Son will alternately spend his time in paying his respects to their Majesties, either at the theatre, or at some ball, or in the parties which he should give once or twice a week, and of which I have spoken above. At ten o'clock he should always have retired to rest. Thus my Son will work seven hours a day ; this appears a sufficient time for his age. It remains for you, my Lord, to determine the nature of the studies which should occupy each N 178 EDUCATION OF PRINCE OSCAR. hour, in conformity with my desires on this subject. One of the points which I would have most seriously impressed, is the tender respect which my Son ought always to show towards the King. In every thing his wishes should be those of his Majesty himself. All his actions ought to have for their aim to adorn the old age of his Majesty ; and he ought to have it constantly present to his thoughts, that no re- pentance can atone for the slightest disquietude he may occasion him. I seize with pleasure this opportunity, Baron Cederhjelm, to renew to you my assurance of the sentiments with which you inspired me from the moment I became acquainted with you ; and I pray God to have you in his holy and worthy keeping, and to grant his blessing on your labours. STUDENTS OF UPSALA. 179 ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE STUDENTS OF UPSALA, ON THEIR PRESENTING HIM A MEDAL, NOV. 29, 1812. Gentlemen, I receive with gratitude the expression of the sentiments which you have just manifested towards me. The medal which you offer is the token of them ; it will remind me of one of the moments in my life which I shall always recollect with pleasure, that, when I went to visit the abode of science and of literature. You are the hope of the country ; profit by the benefits of a good education ; it is that which forms and distinguishes men, it ennobles the sentiments, it exalts the courage, and gives that enthusiasm to the soul which directs it to every thing that is grand and sublime. It forms the magistrate, the warrior, the states- man, and the artist ; in a word, it is education that makes us love our country, for it creates our best citizens. Religion is the warrant of reciprocal honesty between men ; its morality raises the soul above all fears, and aids it in supporting all the troubles of life. x 2 180 ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. I have learnt with pleasure that you are con- vinced of all these truths ; your good conduct, and the talents you develope, give me an assur- ance that you will preserve that liberty which you owe to the perseverance and the courage of your ancestors. Continue, Gentlemen, what you have so happily begun, and reckon on the favour of the King, on the gratitude of the Country, on my gratitude, and on my peculiar protection. DISCOURSE OP THE CROWN-PRINCE, ADDRESSED TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE, ON HIS INSTALLATION. Jan. 28, 1813. Gentlemen, I have proposed to the King to found an academy for agriculture ; his Majesty has deigned to consent to it, and to nominate me President. Similar establishments exist in almost every state; their public utility was the cause of their institution. But there is perhaps scarcely any country where agriculture ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. 181 can present so vast a career to the industry and the hopes of good citizens. Sweden is almost equal in extent to ancient France, and its population is ten times less numerous. There are doubtless parts of the kingdom to which Heaven has not granted fertility, but there are many also which might be cultivated, but which are still barren. The progress of agri- culture is favourable to the spirit of order and of liberty. It gives to the inhabitants of a country steady and continual occupation, which leads them away from factious agitations, ever injurious to the prosperity of a state, and ren- ders more dear to them the country which they have themselves formed by their labours. The most industrious nations have acknoAv- ledged the imperious necessity of extending agriculture ; and distinguished writers on poli- tical economy assert, that the nations which have carried it to the highest perfection, owe to it likewise the improvement of arts, of sciences, and of letters. I do not, Gentlemen, conceal from myself the great difficulties which you will have to conquer before you obtain the first results. Our good peasants, accustomed from their childhood to the practices which they inherited from their fathers, will not adopt any others 182 ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. without previously witnessing their good effects, We must address them, Gentlemen, in the lan- guage of experience, and demonstrate to them, that agricultural speculations succeed in the highest degree in free countries, because it is under the empire of the laws alone that we can trust in the future. Neither must it be con- cealed that the progress of agriculture requires considerable outlay. We must deprive our- selves for a moment that we may reap the fruits ; but how fully are we repaid for our sa- crifices ! All classes of society gain by the im- provement of the cultivation of the earth. The merchant barters the productions of the soil against the articles which he is obliged to pro- cure from abroad ; the manufacturers, by the aid of these same productions, make their first materials ; and lastly, the State sees its defend- ers multiplied by the augmentation of its re- sources. The chief riches of Sweden consist in its extent of soil. Uncultivated lands, and unwholesome marshes, may, in the course of years, be covered with harvests. In some cases, agricultural industry has even contrived to fertilize rocks ; and we may see in this, as in all free countries, the agriculturist developing the fecundity of nature in spite of all obstacles. I have passed my life in camps and in the ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. 183 midst of the tumult of arms ; I know better than any other the evils of war, and I feel with proportionate acuteness the necessity of repair- ing them. Scandinavia, more happy in this respect than the Spanish Peninsula, but not less animated than her by a love of independ- ence, is sheltered from foreign invasions. The inclemency of the climate protects her, and the bravery of the Swedish troops is an additional rampart, not less formidable than the ocean of the Baltic. The inhabitants of the country may therefore cultivate their lands without apprehension. I promise, in the name of the army, in the name of the intrepid warriors who compose it, that the laborious tiller of the soil shall henceforth gather in peace the fruit of his toils, nor fear that any domineering ruler will come to break his ploughshare, to burn his harvests, and to overthrow our laws. The scarcity with which we were threatened this year is, I hope, happily prevented by the pains which the King has taken to procure from abroad corn and pulse of every kind. Our good understanding with Russia and Eng- land has been useful to us in the two calami- tous years which have just passed : the assist- ance we have received from them affords salu- tary lessons. They show us what remains to be 184 ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. done to place us henceforward in security from want and famine. The Government has been regulated in its policy by truth and justice : the only guides which God authorizes, because they alone can bring internal prosperity to a state. But how great a service will you render us, Gentlemen, if you can spare us the anguish which we have this year suffered. The people suffers, but we do not feel the less ; we, who placed as vanguard of the Government, ought to serve as a buckler to the Swedish people, and renounce all repose as long as their wants are not satisfied. It is for you, Gentlemen, to second the King by your efforts. He desires that his reign may be signalized by the beams of a pure and benefi- cent glory, and we can do nothing better to arrive at this object, than to augment by the progress of agriculture the industry and the population of the country. May Providence, Gentlemen, bless your ef- forts, and avert from the bosom of our country the evils which ravage the earth. Far from lowering our courage, let the difficulties which daily arise only inspire us with the noble reso- lution of conquering them ; let the example of your zeal and your cares, by communicating itself to all classes of the citizens, unite as the THE DUC DE BASSANO. 185 fasces of the State, the talents, the patriotism, and the industry of the whole nation. It is then, Gentlemen, that you will have adorned the grey hairs of your King with laurels which shall have cost no tears. My heart will be your debtor for all the good which you do, and the victory which you will obtain over a barren soil will justly gain you a civic crown. OFFICIAL NOTE ADDRESSED BY THE DUC DE BASSANO TO M. D'OHSSON 1 . Feb. 13th, 1813. The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Af- fairs, having informed his Majesty the Emperor and King of the demand which M. d'Ohsson, Charge d' Affaires of his Majesty the King of Sweden, has made for his passports, has received an order from his Majesty to deliver them, and he has the honour to enclose them with the present note. But as, in addressing this demand verbally to the undersigned, M. d'Ohsson has deemed it 186 THE DUG DK BASSANO. proper to declare that bis Court, not having yet obtained explanations relative to the occupation of Swedish Pomerania, thought that the diplo- matic relations between the two countries were thenceforth without any object ; and as he afterwards complained of three or four hundred men, officers and soldiers, of the Swedish regi- ments in Pomerania being sent into France, the undersigned has also received orders to re- turn him the following answer. Sweden, not content with having openly violated during a whole year the conditions of the peace, by the treaty of Paris of the 6th of January, 1810, caused armed French vessels to be attacked and seized in the month of Decem- ber 1811, on the high seas, and their crews to be cast into prison ; she neither offered nor gave any satisfaction for so unexpected and serious an insult. It was then that Pomerania was occupied. This occupation was almost immediately fol- lowed, not only by explanations, but by over- tures which could not fail of convincing the Swedish Government, that whilst she took a measure to which her honour had imperiously forced her, France preserved towards Sweden the sentiments which had united them for cen- turies. THE DUC DE BASSANO. 187 A war, which his Majesty had in no way provoked, but the issue of which might restore to Poland her ancient independence, and insure to the Ottoman Porte the integrity of its pos- sessions, appearing on the point of breaking- out, it was giving to the Swedish Government a proof of the dispositions of France, to offer her the means of embracing a cause, which was in reality that of the Swedish nation. He was fully aware of it himself, and authorised the Sieur Signeul to enter into a negotiation for a treaty of subsidy ; a negotiation which was only broken off because the Sieur Signeul was commissioned to demand that his Majesty should authorize Sweden in obtaining Norway, and guarantee it to her. The friendship and alliance which unite his Majesty to Denmark being known to all Europe, this demand was an outrage which his Majesty was content to answer by an indignant silence. These circumstances, which doubtless have not been concealed from the knowledge of the King, sufficiently prove that the reason given by the Swedish Cabinet for the measure which they have just taken is not the true one. If this step had been determined on in con- sideration of the losses which the French armies have suffered from the severity of the seasons ; 188 THE DUC DE BASS A NO. if these losses have given rise to an opinion that France can no longer do any thing for Sweden ; that she can no longer strive with advantage against enemies whom she has so often con- quered, and that she must be sacrificed to them ; his Majesty cannot sufficiently express his as- tonishment that such an opinion should have been formed by a Prince, who in other times, and when he governed Sweden as Regent, judged so well the issue of the struggle in which France was then engaged against the coalitions which threatened to annihilate her, who appreciated the whole extent of her re- sources, foresaw her triumphs when Europe was foretelling nothing but disasters, and there- by showed as much penetration as prudence. It would moreover be a very strange policy to take advantage of the success of his own natu- ral enemy to insult an ancient friend, an old and faithful ally, against whom the successes would have been obtained. Whatever may happen, his Majesty knows that neither individual hatred nor momentary seductions can destroy the relations which the nature itself of things has established between the two nations, the interests which arise from these relations, and the sentiments which ori- ginate therein. He will not, therefore, change THE DUC DE BASSANO. 189 his system ; he will repel by every means in his power a war which he could only consider as a civil war. Such were his sentiments when the last King of Sweden put himself in a state of hostility against him : he was not the ene- my of Sweden, and when that Prince had brought upon himself, by the errors of his po- licy, the catastrophe which befell him, he pitied his faults and his misfortunes. His Majesty, therefore, will delay as much as lies in his pow r er, the eclat of a rupture. He will not apply this term to the interruption of the diplomatic and commercial relations ; he- will not believe in the war, unless Sweden de- clares it, or by executing the projects which are represented as the object of her arming, she attacks by open force the coasts of the Baltic, or the possessions of the King of Denmark, for the defence of which his Majesty is engaged to furnish a force of 40,000 men. Even then his Majesty will only make war for the defence of his allies, to hinder Sweden from injuring them, and not with any view of injuring the Swedish nation, whom he would be grieved to see drawn by violent passions and by an ill-directed am- bition into one of the greatest political blunders ever committed. As to the Swedish officers and soldiers who 190 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. were found in Pomerania, it was not by orders of the Government that they were sent into France, but by way of precaution which the generals who commanded in that province thought they ought to take, when, at the end of last year, many partial descents attempted on the Isle of Rugen by Swedish ships of war, and threats of descents ostentatiously an- nounced, caused a fear that the armaments which were being made in Sweden might be destined against Swedish Pomerania. These officers and soldiers will be sent back to Swe- -den as soon as Sweden shall send back to France the crews of the French vessels seized by the Swedish gun-boats, and who have for more than a year unjustly groaned in chains. The undersigned, &c. The Due DE BASSANO. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. Stockholm, March 23, 1813. Sire, As long as your Majesty only acted or caused others to act against me directly, I thought my- TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 191 self bound only to oppose you with calmness and silence ; but now that the note of the Due de Bassano to M. d'Ohsson seeks to throw the same torch of discord between the King and myself, which facilitated your Majesty's entry into Spain, all ministerial relations being broken, I address you in person to remind you of the loyal and open conduct of Sweden even in the most difficult times. To the communications which M. de Signeul was instructed to make by order of your Majes- ty, the King answered, that Sweden, convinced that it was to you only that she owed the loss of Finland, could never believe in your friend- ship, unless you gave her Norway as an indem- nification for the mischief which your policy had occasioned her. With regard to all that relates in the Due de Bassano's note to the invasion of Pomerania, and the conduct of the French privateers, the facts speak for themselves ; and by comparing the dates, we may judge, Sire, which of the two was in the right, your Majesty, or the Swedish Government. A hundred Swedish vessels were captured, and more than 200 sailors put in irons, when the Government found itself under the neces- sity of ordering the arrest of a privateer, who, 192 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. under the French flag, came into our harbours, carried off our ships, and insulted our confidence in the faith of treaties. The Due de Bassano declares that your Ma- jesty has not provoked the war ; and neverthe- less, Sire, your Majesty passed the Niemen at the head of 400,000 men. From the moment that your Majesty plung- ed into the centre of that empire, the issue was no longer doubtful. The Emperor Alexander and the King foresaw as early as the month of August the result of the campaign, and its pro- digious consequences. All the military combi- nations rendered it nearly certain that your Majesty would be taken prisoner. You have escaped, Sire, from this danger ; but your army, the flower of France, Germany, and Italy, no longer exists. There lie, without burial, the heroes who saved France at Fleurus, who con- quered in Italy, who resisted the burning cli- mate of Egypt, and who planted the standard of victory under your command at Marengo, at Austerlitz, at Jena, at Halle, at Lubec, and at Friedland. Let your heart, Sire, be moved at this agoniz- ing picture ; and if any thing be yet wanting to prevail on you, let it remember the death of more than a million of Frenchmen, left on the TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 193 field of honour, victims of the wars which your Majesty has undertaken. Your Majesty appeals to your claims on the friendship of the King ; permit me, Sire, to remind you of the little value you attached to it at a time when a reciprocity of sentiments would have been of great service to Sweden. When the King, after having lost Finland, wrote to your Majesty, to entreat you to pre- serve to Sweden the Isles of Aland, you an- wered him " Apply to the Emperor Alex- ander, he is great and generous !" and to com- plete the measure of your indifference, you caused to be inserted in an official journal, at the moment of my departure for Sweden, (Mo- niteur, Sept. 21, 1810, n. 264,) that there was an interregnum in the kingdom, during which the English were carrying on their trade with impunity. The King retired from the coalition of 1792, because that coalition proposed to divide France, and because he would not participate in the dismemberment of that fair monarchy. He was actuated in this step a monument of his political glory, as much by his attach- ment to the French nation, as from his desire to heal the wounds of the kingdom. This wise and virtuous conduct, founded on the principle o 194 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. that each nation has the right of governing itself by its own laws, its customs, and its will this conduct serves as a rule to him at the present moment. Your system, Sire, aims at depriving nations of the rights which they have received from nature the rights of mutual commerce, and of mutual assistance, and of intercourse, and of peace ; and yet the existence of Sweden de- pends on the extension of her commercial re- lations, without which she cannot supply her wants. Far from observing any change of system in the conduct of the King, the enlightened and impartial will only find in it a continuation of that just and constant policy, which was deve- loped at a time when the Sovereigns of Europe were combining against the liberty of France, and which is pursued by him with energy at a moment when the French Government conti- nues to conspire against the liberty of nations, and of sovereigns. I know the good dispositions of the Emperor Alexander and of the Court of St. James's for peace ; the calamities of the Continent de- mand it, and your Majesty ought not to refuse it. Possessor of the finest monarchy in the world, would you always be extending its li- TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 195 mits, and would you leave to an arm less puis- sant than your own the sad legacy of inter- minable wars ? Will not your Majesty apply yourself to close the wounds of a revolution, from which there remains nothing to France but the recollections of her military glory, and her present domestic miseries? Sire, the ex- amples of history, the feeling of independence, which may be deadened, but cannot be effaced from the hearts of nations, reject the idea of an universal monarchy. Sire, weigh all these con- siderations, and for once sincerely embrace the idea of a general peace, of which the outraged name has caused the shedding of so much blood. I was born in that fair France which you, Sire, govern ; its glory and its prosperity can never be indifferent to me. But, though I cease not to offer up vows for its happiness, I will defend with all the powers of my soul, both the rights of the people who have in- vited me, and the honour of the Sovereign who has deigned to call me his son. In this struggle between the liberty of the world and oppression, I will say to the Swedes, " I fight for you, and with you, and the vows of free nations accompany your efforts !" In politics, Sire, there can be neither affection nor hatred ; there are but the duties which we o 2 196 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. have to fulfil towards the people whom Provi- dence has called us to govern. Their laws and their privileges are the treasures which are dear to them ; and if, in order to preserve them, a Prince is obliged to renounce ancient ties and family affections, if he wish to do his duty, he cannot hesitate in his choice. The Due de Bassano declares that your Majesty will avoid the publicity of a rupture ; but, Sire, is it not your Majesty who has inter- rupted our commercial relations, by ordering the capture of Swedish vessels in the midst of peace ? Is it not the rigour of your orders, which for three years has forbidden us all com- munication with the Continent, and which, within that time, has detained more than fifty Swedish vessels at Rostock, Wismar, and other ports in the Baltic ? The Due de Bassano adds, that your Majesty will not change your system, and that you will prevent with all your might a war, which you will consider as a civil war; which is to say, that your Majesty intends to retain Swe- dish Pomerania, and that you do not abandon the hope of commanding Sweden, and of thus disgracing, without running any risk, the Swe- dish name and character. By the term " civil war," your Majesty means, doubtless, a war be- TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 197 tween allies, and any one can guess the lot you destine for them. But let your Majesty recol- lect the disapprobation you expressed on hear- ing of the armistice which I granted this brave nation in 1809, and you will then acknow- ledge the necessity, to which this country has found itself reduced to do every thing which it has done to this present moment, to pre- serve its independence, and to rescue itself from that danger, into which your policy, Sire, would have dragged it, if it had been less understood. If the events which have so rapidly succeeded one another for the last four months have thrown on the generals of your Majesty the responsibility of the disarming, and sending into France as prisoners of war, the Swedish troops in Pomerania, so good a pretext will not easily be found, Sire, to justify the refusal which your Majesty has always given to con- firm the sentences of the prize courts, and the particular exceptions you have for three years made against Sweden, although those tribunals had pronounced in our favour. For the rest, Sire, no one in Europe can be misled by the blame which your Majesty casts upon your generals. The note of the Minister for Foreign Affairs 198 TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. of the King, and the answer which M. Cabre made him on the 4th of January, 1812, will prove to you, Sire, that his Majesty had anticipated your desires, by setting at liberty all the crews of the privateers. The Government since then has gone so far as to release Portuguese, Alge- rines, and Negroes, taken in the same ship, who called themselves the subjects of your Majesty. Nothing, then, should prevent your Majesty from ordering the release of the Swe- dish officers and soldiers, and yet they still groan in prison. As to the menaces which the note of the Due de Bassano contains, and the 40,000 men whom your Majesty intends to send to Den- mark, I think it unnecessary to enter into de- tail on this subject, the more because I doubt whether the King of Denmark can avail him- self of their assistance. Concerning my personal ambition, it is great, I confess : it is an ambition to serve the cause of humanity, and to insure the independence of the Scandinavian peninsula. To accomplish this, I rely on the justice of the cause which the King has ordered me to defend, on the constancy of the nation, and on the loyalty of our allies. Whatever may be your determination, Sire, PROCLAMATION TO THE ARMY, 199 relative to peace or war, I shall not the less preserve towards your Majesty the sentiments of an ancient brother in arms. PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE ARMY OF THE INTERIOR, CARLSKRONA, MAY 28th, 1S13. Soldiers, The King, when he ordered me to proceed to take the command of his army in Pomerania, directed me also to leave in Sweden two divi- sions sufficiently numerous to insure the fron- tiers of the kingdom, and to act on the offen- sive, if the honour and interest of the country require it. These divisions will be commanded by the Marshals Toll and Essen. Yield to them your confidence ; you owe it to their services, their patriotism, and their experience. In quitting for some time my King, my Son, and you, my companions in arms, it is not to trouble the repose of nations, but to co-operate in the great work of a general peace, which 200 PROCLAMATION TO THE ARMY. sovereigns and nations have sighed after for so many years. Soldiers, A new career of glory and sources of prosperity are opening to our country ; trea- ties founded on sound policy, and aiming at the tranquillity of the North, guarantee the union of the people of Scandinavia. Let us render ourselves worthy of the high destinies which are promised to us, and let the people who extend to us their arms never have reason to repent their confidence. Soldiers, Our ancestors distinguished them- selves by a daring bravery and a steady cou- rage : let us unite to these warlike virtues an enthusiasm for military honour, and God will protect our arms. PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE COMBINED ARMY OF THE NORTH OF GERMANY. Head-Quarters at Oranienbourg, Aug. 13, 1813. Soldiers, Called by the confidence of my King, and by that of the Sovereigns of the Allies, to guide PROCLAMATION TO THE AltMY. 201 you in the career which is about to be re-opened for you, I rely for the success of our arms on the Divine protection, on the justice of our cause, on your valour, and your constancy. Were it not for the combination of extra- ordinary events, which have given to the last twelve years such a terrible celebrity, you would not be assembled on the soil of Germany ; but your Sovereigns have felt that Europe is one great family, and that none of the States which compose it can remain indifferent to the evils which a conquering power imposes on one of them. It is also determined, that when one such power threatens to invade and subjugate the whole, there should exist but one wish amongst the people who are resolved to escape from disgrace and slavery. From that moment you were called from the banks of the Wolga and the shores of the Don, from the coasts of Britain and the moun- tains of the North, to unite yourselves to the German soldiers who defend the cause of Europe. It is now that all rivalry, all prejudices and national hatreds, should disappear before the great object of the independence of nations. The Emperor Napoleon cannot live in peace with Europe, unless Europe is subjected to 202 PROCLAMATION TO THE ARMY. him. His temerity has conducted 400,000 brave warriors 700 leagues from their country ; calamities against which he did not deign to provide have confounded them, and 300,000 French have perished on the territory of a great empire, whose Sovereign had tried all means to remain at peace with France. One might have hoped that this great disas- ter, the effect of the wrath of Heaven, would have brought back the Emperor of France to a system less destructive, and in short, that, in- structed by the example of the North and of Spain, he would abandon the idea of subjugat- ing the Continent, and would consent to grant peace to the world : but this hope has been frustrated, and this peace so much desired by all Governments, and which they have all proposed, has been rejected by the Emperor Napoleon. Soldiers, It is to arms, then, that we must have recourse, to obtain repose and indepen- dence by victory. Imitate the French of 1792. The enemy was on their territory ; they united to give him battle. Let a similar sentiment now animate and direct your valour against him who, not content with invading the land which gave you birth, enchains also your brothers, your wives, and your children. Soldiers, What a magnificent prospect pre- TO MARSHAL NEY. 203 sents itself to you ! The liberty of Europe, the re-establishment of its political balance, the ter- mination of that state of convulsion which has lasted for twenty years, in short, the peace of the whole world, will be the result of your efforts. Render yourselves worthy by your union, your discipline, and your courage, of the noble destinies which await you. THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE MARSHAL THE PRINCE OF THE MOSKWA. Juterbock, Sept. 9th. 1813. On the evening of the 6th, after the battle of Dennewitz, I learnt that one of your aide-de- camps was wounded and made prisoner. I hastened to send one of my own to meet him at Treuenbreitzen, who had the misfortune to find that he had been sent on to Berlin ; but, before his departure, he had addressed to me a letter, which the magistrate of the town de- livered to my aide-de-camp, and which you will find enclosed. I have given orders that 204 TO MARSHAL KEY. Colonel Clouet shall be treated with all the care which his state requires, and with the re- spect which is due to his rank, and to the per- son to whom he was attached. Although the interests which we serve be dif- ferent, yet I have pleasure in thinking that our sentiments have ever remained the same, and I shall ever seize with the greatest eagerness all opportunities of assuring you that I remain constant in those which you know I ever en- tertained for you. For a long time we have been ravaging the earth, and we have yet done nothing for the cause of humanity. The confidence which you so justly enjoy with the Emperor Napoleon, might, it appears to me, be of some weight in determining this Sovereign at length to accept an honourable and general peace which has been offered to him, but which he has rejected. This glory, Prince, is worthy a warrior such as you ; and the French nation would rank this eminent service amongst the number of those which we performed twenty years ago, when, under the walls of St. Quentin, we fought for its liberty and for its independence. PROCLAMATION TO THE SAXONS. 205 PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE SAXONS. Head- quarters, Jiiterbock, Sept. 15, 1813. Saxons, The Combined Army of the North of Ger- many has passed your frontiers ; this army does not make war on the people of your coun- tries, it is only directed against their oppressor. You ought to offer up vows for our success, since it tends to re-establish your fallen pros- perity, and to restore to your Government its lustre and independence. We persist in considering all Saxons as our friends. Your property will be respected, the army will ob- serve the strictest discipline, and their wants will be provided for in the manner which will be the least burdensome to the country. Quit not your hearths, and continue to employ your- selves in your customary occupations. Great events will shortly put you in safety from all political ambition. Show yourselves the worthy descendants of the ancient Saxons ; and if German blood must flow, let it be for the independence of Germany, and not for the will of a single man, to whom no tie, no interest, attaches you. France is a country sufficiently 206 TO PRINCE OSCAR. beautiful and sufficiently extensive, and con- querors of old would have been contented with such a dominion. The French themselves de- sire to return within the limits which Nature has marked out for them : they loathe the tyranny which they support. Dare to tell them that you have resolved to be free, and the admiration of these very Frenchmen will incite you to persevere in your noble and gene- rous enterprise. THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE DUKE OF SUDERMANIA. Lubeck, Dec. 7, 1813. My Dear Oscar, The people of Lubeck assisted Gustavus the First in restoring liberty to his country ; I have just cancelled this debt of the Swedes Lubeck is free. I had the happiness to gain possession of the city without bloodshed. This advantage is dearer to me than victory in battle, even at an easy rate. How happy are TO THE FRENCH. 207 we, my dear Son, when we can prevent the shedding of tears ! how calm and sound is our sleep ! If all men could be convinced of this truth, there would no longer be conquerors, and nations would be governed only by just kings. I set off to-morrow for Oldeslohe, and the following day whithersoever events may all me. I do every thing to make them con- ducive to the good cause and the benefit of my country. The only recompense I desire is, that it may second you, my dear child, in every thing you will one day undertake for its prosperity and welfare. Your affectionate father, CHARLES JOHN. PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE FRENCH. Head-quarters at Cologne, Feb. 12, 1814. Frenchmen, I have taken up arms by order of my King to defend the rights of the Swedish nation. 208 TO THE FRENCH. After having avenged the affronts which they had received, and contributed to the deliver- ance of Germany, I have crossed the Rhine. Once more in sight of the banks of this river, where I have so often and so happily fought for you, I feel a desire to communicate to you my thoughts. It has been the constant effort of your Go- vernment to debase every thing that it might despise every thing ; it is time that this system should change. All enlightened men desire the preservation of France ; they only require that she shall be no longer the scourge of the earth. The Allied Sovereigns have not coalesced to make war against nations, but to force your Government to recognize the independence of states : such are their intentions, and I pledge myself to you for their sincerity. The adopted son of Charles XIII. placed by the election of a free people in the succession to the throne of the great race of Gustavus, I can no longer have any other ambition than that of labouring for the prosperity of the Scandinavian Penin- sula. O that in fulfilling this sacred duty towards my new country, I could contribute at the same time to the happiness of my ancient countrymen ! TO THE SWEDISH ARMY. 209 PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE SWEDISH ARMY. Lubeck, May 21, 1814. Soldiers, A conqueror, as formidable in his views as in his means of carrying those views into effect, threatened to invade Europe, and made Ger- many groan under the weight of his power. Sweden conceived the noble design of co-ope- rating in the enfranchisement of the nations of Germany ; but before she sent her defenders on a foreign land, it was necessary that she should secure herself against a neighbouring country, subjected to the influence of the com- mon enemy. By preventing the establishment of a northern confederation, your King had in truth preserved the country from the calamity of becoming the province of another empire ; but he could not ensure its liberty without giving the Norwegians as friends to the Swe- dish nation. Solemn treaties were concluded; they guarantee the union of Norway with Swe- den, and the King of Denmark, by his cession in the treaty of Kiel of his rights over that country, has given to these treaties a sacred and inviolable character. 210 TO THE SWEDISH ARMY. Soldiers, The yoke is broken, Germany is free, and you have contributed to its deliver- ance. A Prince, to whom the welfare of the Norwegians has been committed, is resolved to sacrifice their happiness. By pursuing the po- licy, in opposition to which the Allies took up arms, he refuses, in spite of the desire of the nation, to execute a treaty which, independent- ly of the other advantages granted to Denmark, has given up the Duchies of Schleswic and Holstein, which it should be the ambition of this Prince one day to govern. If he persist in turning a deaf ear to the voice of duty and rea- son, if we are reduced to the unfortunate neces- sity of establishing by force of arms the valid- ity of treaties and the rights of Sweden, recol- lect, Soldiers, that it is not on the Norwegian nation that we make war, it is the instigators, who lead them astray, whom we must punish, and the armed power which domineers over them that we must fight against. Treat with tenderness your blinded brethren, who, reclaim- ed from their error, will find that the Swedish Government, in desiring the union of the two countries, has had no other view than to insure the tranquillity of the North, and to render the Norwegians free and independent. Soldiers, Full of the same confidence with TO THE ARMY. 211 which I led you to the shores we are now about to quit, I will conduct you to fulfil the glorious duties to which the interests of your country call you. You will fulfil those duties, because you are Swedes ; and God will bless our cause, because it is just. PROCLAMATION OP THE CROWN PRINCE TO THE ARMY. Head-quarters at Wennersborg, July 17, 1814. Soldiers, It is six months since you were masters of the Duchies of Schleswic and of Holstein ; the fort of Fredericsort had capitulated, and the fortress of Gluckstadt, which the victorious arms of the generals of the great Gustavus had been unable to reduce, had fallen into our hands. Your operations in Funen and in the Northern part of Jutland would have been for you but one triumphal march. The Danish p 2 212 TO THE ARMY. Government invoked our respect for the blood of mankind, and this appeal on its part arrest- ed our progress. The treaty of Kiel intervened ; and the evacuation of the Danish territory was the immediate consequence of this treaty, which acquired for the Crown of Sweden the union with Norway. Soldiers, It was on the faith of those pro- mises that I led you to the banks of the Rhine, and it was in the hopes of freeing Scandinavia that you passed the Baltic to contribute to the deliverance of Germany. Now that the heir to the throne of Denmark regards the sanctity of the treaty of Kiel as an idle w r ord ; and now that, by following his original instructions, he withstands the conditions of peace ; it is no longer to negotiations that we must have re- course, it is to God and our arms that we must appeal. Our King, so good a judge in deeds of glory and valour, is in the midst of us ; he will follow us with his eyes and his thoughts ; let us justify his hopes by our courage in sup- porting privations, and by the perseverance which will insure us success. Let us exert all our efforts to bring back our misled brethren to an understanding of their happiness and their duty, and let this second crown, which is about to encircle the brow of our venerable TO THE NORWEGIANS. 213 monarch, be from henceforth only an additional guarantee of his love for his children. Soldiers, I repeat to you, that there will be no repose for us, until the Scandinavian Penin- sula is united and free. PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE NORWEGIANS. Head-quarters at Wennersborg, July 17, 1814. Norwegians, Destined by Nature to be united with the Swedish nation, your destiny was accomplished when the King of Denmark ceded to Sweden, by the peace of Kiel, his rights over Norway. He obtained, immediately after his signing of the treaty, the evacuation of the Duchies of Schleswic and Holstein, the surrender of the fortresses of Gluckstadt and Fredericsort, the recognition of the Sound dues, the abandon- ment of more than 12,000,000 of contributions imposed on the Duchies, the renunciation of a like sum due to the Swedish Government 214 TO THE NORWEGIANS. for captures made by Danish vessels during the peace, a considerable sum in money, part of which has been paid ; and lastly, the promise of Swedish Pomerania, to be ceded immediately after the surrender and occupation by the Swe- dish troops of the fortresses of Kongsvinger, Fredericshall, Fredericstadt, and Aggershus. These great sacrifices were only made to Denmark in consideration of a promise that you should recognize peaceably and without op- position the authority of the King of Sweden ; and you will appreciate them when you read the treaties which had united Sweden, Russia, Eng- land, Prussia, and Austria, against the common enemy. If in this age these treaties could be eluded by civilized nations, good faith would no longer exist on the earth. At the period when your Government fur- nished France with many thousand sailors to equip their ships of war, Sweden acknowledged the indispensable necessity of rendering herself independent of the Continent. She refused to humble herself before the idol of the day; and relying with confidence on herself and her con- stitutional laws, she dared to invoke them in favour of her sons, and rejected the demand of a like number of sailors. She did more ; she united herself at the most critical period, which TO THE NORWEGIANS. 215 our annals record, to a monarch whose ruin Na- poleon had resolved on. She is now proud of having preceded so many nations in the mani- festation of her opinion. Norwegians, The smaller states are always the puppets of the more powerful ones. You cannot form an independent government ; and the idea of the man who misleads you is to re-unite at some future day the crown of Nor- way to that of Denmark. But Nature, in ac- cordance with sound policy, has determined that the Norwegians and the Swedes should be friends and brothers : it is also as brothers that the Swedes wish to live with you. Uniting and affording one another mutual support, Swe- den and Norway will present on every side an impregnable barrier. Isolated and separate, they will have every thing to fear both from themselves and from others. Look at Eng- land : that celebrated isle founded her prospe- rity on a similar union ; that of Norway and Sweden is guaranteed by the first-rate powers of Europe. An experience of many centuries proves that the divisions of the North have always entailed its ruin. This idea struck the great Gustavus. After having previously arranged the peace of Europe, and established the freedom of religion, 216 TO THE NORWEGIANS. his plan was to unite you to Sweden. Death frustrated the attempt ; the consequences for you have been fatal. Norwegians, After the memorable battle of Leipsic, your interests should have told you that your union with Sweden could alone con- stitute your happiness and establish your secu- rity. The great Powers desire this union ; all have agreed that it was time to put an end to the dissensions which resulted from the separa- tion of the two nations. Will you alone oppose yourselves to the general wish ? Will you fight single-handed against the Swedes, and the Sovereigns who have guaranteed your union with us ? Their glory, their interests, and the sanctity of treaties, demand that it should be carried into effect. I arrive among you with the hope that you will treat as brothers this brave army of sol- diers, whom I bring back from a campaign as glorious as it has been astonishing. Neither this army, nor that which a year since was sta- tioned on your frontiers, desire laurels which must be stained with your blood. The Swedes are, like yourselves, members of the Scandina- vian family ; and battles fought between the two nations are equally repugnant to nature, to reason, and to sound policy. TO THE NORWEGIANS. 217 Norwegians, Suffer not yourselves to be in- flamed by the instigations of individuals who have only in view their personal interests ; sa- crifice not the welfare of your country to the deceitful illusions which they present to you ; open your eyes to the dangers into which a criminal ambition precipitates you. Sweden will not lay down her arms before she has ac- complished an union necessary for her security and repose. You have it in your power to prevent the evils of a war, which can only be advantageous to your seducers. Direct your minds to the prospect which awaits you, and to the glory and prosperity which must result from the union of the two nations. Norwegians, reject, therefore, an influence and errors equally unworthy of you ! Let the wish of the nation express itself! Let this wish fix its laws under the protection of an en- lightened and beneficent monarch ! He offers you, with the entire removal of all war, inde- pendence, liberty, and the enjoyment of all your privileges. Your loyalty will be the pledge, while his virtues are the guarantees. 218 TO THE STORTHING OF NORWAY. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-l'RINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THK STORTHING AT CHRISTIANIA. Fredericshall, Nov. 7, 1814. Gentlemen, It was with regret that the Swedes fought against you ; the war was without a purpose from the moment when your chief offered to resign the power into the hands of the nation. The King does not desire to take advantage of his rights. Firm in the path which he has marked out for himself, more happy to reign over a free nation than over a people subjected by force of arms, he has allowed you time to discuss the grand principles which constitute the liberty and the independence of States. I have been informed of the spirit which directs the meeting. If there have been some errors in principles, I have had the satisfaction of dis- covering perfect good faith. Let us thank Providence for having pointed out to us the rule of our duties, and let us reflect that we have the same interests to defend, the same dangers to run, the same glory, and the same prosperity to hope for. TO THE ARMY. I comply willingly with your desires, and shall set out to-morrow with my Son for Chris- tiania. PROCLAMATION OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE ARMY. Head-Quarters at Fredericshall, Nov. 8, 1814. Soldiers, For a long time your first wish, as well as that of all your countrymen, has been the union of the people of Scandinavia. It was to attain this great end that we took up arms. Provi- dence has crowned our efforts, our hopes have been fulfilled : henceforth the Swedes and the Norwegians have the same interests to defend, the same glory to sustain, and the same results will be for them the reward of the same vir- tues. Soldiers, One of the happiest moments of my life is arrived; that in which, in the name of the King and the country, I have to express to you their gratitude for the bravery, the discipline, and the excellent conduct by 220 SPEECH IN THE STORTHING. which, while you showed yourselves worthy of your ancestors, you have rendered the Swedish name alike loved and respected. Return to your hearths ! Bear in the exercise of the du- ties of peaceable citizens the same love for your country, the same obedience to the laws, which have distinguished you as warriors; and the pro- tection of your King, and the esteem of your fellow-citizens shall be your well-earned re compense. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE IN THE STORTHING, NOV. 10, 1814. Gentlemen, The King has seen the vows accomplished, which he has unceasingly offered for the hap- piness and the independence of the Scandina- vian peninsula ; the two people have forsworn their long and unfortunate enmities, and hence- forth they will know of no rivalry but in their love for their common country. By contribu- ting to this great end, you have acquired, Gen- SPEECH IN THE STORTHING. 221 tlemen, sacred titles to the favour of his Ma- jesty, and the gratitude of your fellow-citizens. It was reserved to the King to see two free nations offer him the crown by their sponta- neous and unanimous wishes. He did not en- force with the Swedes the rights of his birth ; and in like manner, he hath preferred to the titles, which he acquired by the most solemn treaties, those more tender and dearer ones which he has obtained from your affection. The King has always desired, that being equal in their rights, the Norwegians and the Swedes might enjoy the same constitutional advan- tages ; and the new fundamental law, which you have just adopted in concert with the King, will serve at the same time as a guarantee to your liberty, and as a proof to Europe of the liberal views and the moderation of your So- vereign. You will requite, Gentlemen, the just con- fidence which he has reposed in you ; you will guide this loyal people ; and after having zea- lously fulfilled your functions as legislators, you will contribute, by your enlightened feel- ings, and your personal exertions, to make them love the Government which you have given them. 222 SPEECH IN THE STORTHING. To do this, it is essential to enlighten the nation on its situation and its hopes. They must not attribute to the new authority evils which did not originate with it ; the people must be informed in what condition the King has found your finances and your administra- tion, in order that they may judge impartially of the improvements which must naturally fol- low his Government. You will receive, Gen- tlemen, a proposition on the preparatory mea- sure which will be necessary in this respect. The union between Sweden and Norway is founded on our geographical situation, on the national character of the two people, on their reciprocal interests, and on the wisdom which has presided in their deliberations, and I will add, on the love they both entertain for indi- vidual liberty, for the rights of property, and the representative Government. Thus shall we ever remain two nations united and indepen- dent. Satisfied with the boundaries which Na- ture has prescribed to us ; penetrated with the great truth, that beyond these limits there can exist no real good for us, our policy will be to abstain from provoking war, and to maintain religiously the good harmony which exists be- tween us and all other Powers. Since Provi- dence has made our happiness and our duty the SPEECH IN THE STORTHING. 223 same, I am not afraid of entering, in the face of the Universe, into the solemn engagement, that no foreign dominion shall violate your soil or attack your rights. ' Gentlemen, The King has accepted the Con- stitution, such as it was agreed on between you and the Commissioners of his Majesty. He reserves for himself to present for the sanction of the States-General of Sweden those articles which will cause any change or modification in the Swedish Constitution. I now, Gentlemen, present to you, in the name of the King, his oath to govern the king- dom of Norway according to its constitution and its laws, and I invite you to take your oath of allegiance to his Majesty. The contract, then, which he has entered into with the Norwegian people, is about to be definitively completed. May Providence, who watches over the destinies of empires, bless that solemn moment which opens to the two nations of the Scandinavian Peninsula a new career of glory and of prosperity. I will second the paternal efforts of the King for the welfare of the Norwegians, and I will transmit to my Son the sentiments of love and affection which I bear them. In the midst of the tumult of arms, and when T was marching 224 CLOSE OF THE STORTHING. with the Allies of Sweden on the fields of Ger- many, to oppose a tyranny the most frightful that ever pressed upon Europe, I looked for- ward to the present moment as the reward of my labours ; and the palm of peace which I receive this day from the hands of a free people, is more satisfactory to my heart than all the laurels of victory. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurance of my sentiments ; they are as sincere as they are deeply graven in my heart. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY AT THE CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, CHRISTIANIA, NOV. 26, 1814. Gentlemen, You have seen the paternal intentions of the King manifested by his sanction of the consti- tutional law, which ensures the liberty of the Norwegian people. If, in changing suddenly from an arbitrary government to one founded on law, fears and apprehensions have been CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, 1814. 225 occasionally mixed with the desires which you expressed, they must be attributed to the re- membrance of a time and circumstances which no longer exist. You were animated by a zeal for defending the rights of the people ; the King, guided as much by his own feelings as by the free Constitution of Sweden, resolved to recognize them. The people, who have fol- lowed with an attentive eye your deliberations, will see in their progress and their result the King's religious adherence to his promises, and his respect for the national liberty ; and they will acknowledge that the wisdom of his Ma- jesty has saved you from the two evils of anarchy and despotism. Contented with the successive advancements of our commerce and our agriculture, we shall desire no other than that of occupying in his- tory the place of a happy people. But whilst peace is our only aim, we must not forget that the surest method of main- taining it rests on our own courage. The duty of defending his country guides the war- rior in his career of glory, and entitles him to the esteem of his fellow-citizens, which is the highest recompense for the dangers which the soldier braves. The King, accustomed to reign over a free Q 226 CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, 1814. people, has recognized with the most lively satisfaction the rights which the Constitution grants to the honourable body of labourers, whose toils supply the cities, whilst their arms defend their country. Gentlemen, The extraordinary Storthing having concluded its deliberations, 1 declare, in the name of the King, and by virtue of the power with which the act of the Constitution has invested his Majesty, that the session is finished. On returning to your peaceable abodes, each of you strong in his conscience, and happy to have insured the independence of his country and the liberty of his fellow- citizens, should bear in mind, that the strength of the State depends on order and concord, and ought to be cemented by a general obedience to Law. The first duty of a monarch is to enforce a religious respect for this mistress of kings and nations. Never have the inhabi- tants of the North conferred the title of Good on a Prince without energy. Show yourselves worthy descendants of your estimable fathers ; propose, like them, the good of your country, as the aim of all your actions ; like them, hand down to your children the doctrine, that the strict execution of their duties is the surest guarantee of their rights. Return to the occu- CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, 1814. 227 pations which you have quitted to answer the public confidence. The fear of God is the only fear which free men should know. May it accompany you in your labours, and guide your actions ! Then will happiness fix her dwelling among you, and the liberty of Scandinavia will be as immoveable as her mountains. May God protect the King and his two kingdoms, and may he have you all, Gentle- men, in his holy and worthy keeping ! END OF PART THK FIRST. Q 2 PART II. PART II. FROM THE GENERAL PEACE 1SU, TO THE CLOSE OF THE LAST DIET. THE campaign of the Allied Army, of which the Crown-Prince was Commander-in- Chief, is faithfully and spiritedly described in the bulletins issued from the head-quarters of the Combined Army of the North of Germany. These bulletins, thirty-one in number, extend from the 13th of August, 1813, three days after the denouncement of the armistice of Pleis- witz, to the 12th of February, 1814, when the Crown-Prince arrived with his army on the banks of the Rhine. The operations recorded in them may be di- vided into two periods : the first from the com- PART THE SECOND. mencement of hostilities to the famous battles of Leipsic, fought on the 18th and 19th of Oc- tober, during which time the army, under the command of the Crown-Prince, was acting in concert with the other armies of the Allies, namely, the Silesian, the grand Russian, and the Austrian ; and the second period, from the date of that eventful combat to the 12th of Fe- bruary, during which time the Combined Army of the North was acting independently of the other Allied troops, and was employed in re- ducing the countries lying to the east and the north of the Rhine and the Mayne, on the Weser and the Elbe, and in the winter cam- paign in Holstein and Schleswic. At the commencement of the operations, the Combined Army of the North of Germany oc- cupied positions in a line extending from Miin- cheberg to Brandenbourg, between the Oder and the Elbe, a little in the rear of Berlin. It consisted of Prussians, under Tauentzien and Bulow, who formed the reserve and left wing ; of Swedes, under Count de Stedingk, in the centre ; and of the Russians, under Winzinge- rode, whose head-quarters were at Branden- bourg, and who communicated with a Prussian corps under General Hirschfeld before Magde- PART THE SECOND. 233 bourg, and farther still with the Army of Obser- vation on the Lower Elbe, under General Count de Wallmoden. Detached corps belonging to the army of Count de Tauentzien blockaded Stettin and Custrin. This army, after the termination of the armis- tice, commenced an advance, concentric with the other Allied armies, which were marching from the north and the east, first against Dres- den, and afterwards on Leipsic. In the period anterior to the battle of Leipsic, two attempts were made by the French in force to impede its advance, and drive it back on Berlin, but they were repulsed each time, and two great battles were fought and won by this army. That of GROSS-BEEREN, on the 24th of Au- gust, against a French army of ninety thousand men, consisting of the corps cfrarmee of the Dukes of Reggio, of Belluno, and of Padua, and of Generals Bertrand and Regnier, who were pushing on to Berlin ; and the battle of DENNEWITZ, fought on the 6th of September, against the corps d'armee of the Duke of Reg- gio and the Duke of Padua, and of Generals Bertrand and Regnier, the whole united under the command of the Prince of the Moskwa, in a second but fruitless attempt to surprise the 234 PANT THE SECOND. Prussian capital. After this latter victory, the Combined Army met with little opposition in their march on the Elbe. On the 4th of Octo- ber, a junction was effected with the army of Silesia, under Marshal Blucher, near Rosslau. The bulletin, No. 21, of the 21st of October, gives an account of the share which the army of the North of Germany and the army of Silesia took in the sanguinary battles of the 18th and 19th of October, before Leipsic. It accurately describes all the movements, and the various positions successively occupied by the armies as they advanced to their hardly -earned victory. The bulletin concludes thus : " It is inconceiv- able how a man w r ho has commanded in thirty pitched battles, and has raised himself on his military renown, by appropriating to himself that of all the old French generals, could con- centrate his army in so unfavourable a position as the one which he chose for it. The Elster and the Pleisse in his rear, marshy lands to pass over, and only one bridge to secure the retreat of his army and baggage. We ask our- selves, whether this is the great captain, who has till now made Europe tremble ?" Truly a fatality appeared to attend the fortunes of Napoleon in that awful battle ; but there are insinuations in this last quoted passage, which, PART THE SECOND. 235 although, perhaps, calculated to animate the sol- diers of the Allied armies, and although in a style very common in the bulletins and manifestoes of that period, might, we think, have been spared. Of the other French Generals, these bulletins speak with an honesty and candour which greatly adorn the noble rivalry in the race for glory. Witness the character of the Prince of the Moskwa, in the twelfth bulletin, issued after the battle of Dennewitz. " If the Prince of the Moskwa be dead, the Emperor Na- poleon will have lost one of his best generals. Long accustomed to war on a large scale, he had given proofs on all occasions of rare intre- pidity and of consummate talent. In the last campaign of Russia, it was he who preserved the wreck of the French army. That army and all France have borne this honourable testi- mony in his favour." Ney was, indeed, " the bravest of the brave," but we must not forget to consider the above eulogium in the light of a funeral oration. After the battle of Leipsic, the Army of Ger- many pursued the French, and even preceded them on the road between Leipsic and Frank- fort, and harassed them on the right as far as Muhlhausen. Thence leaving General Czer- nichefF with a flying corps to accompany the 236 PART THE SECOND. French army to the Rhine, the Prince Royal marched northward, and joining the corps of Wallmoden, on the Elbe, he commenced an active campaign against the French and Danish troops posted in those parts. It was neither long nor severe. The Prince of Eckmuhl was forced to retire from the line of the Stecknitz to Hamburgh, the Swedes and Russians entered Holstein and Schleswic, and the King of Den- mark at length signed the peace dictated at Kiel, on the 14th of January, 1814. While these corps of the Army of the North of Germany were thus employed, Count de Tauentzien, and General Benningsen, were left to watch the movements of the French garri- sons left behind in Dresden, Torgau, Wittem- berg, and Magdeburg. The remainder occu- pied the country, and reduced most of the for- tresses east of the Rhine, thus clearing the way in the rear of the other Allied armies, while they pushed their successes into the very heart of France. Some of the preceding papers have reference to particular incidents of this celebrated cam- paign. The proclamations of the Crown-Prince to the Swedes, the Saxons, the French, and the Norwegians, and his speeches in the Storthing, demonstrate the spirit by which he was ani- GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN. 237 mated, and the objects which lie wished to ac- complish. But for a general and comprehen- sive view of this great struggle, we must have recourse to an animated speech of his Royal Highness, delivered in the Academy of Agricul- ture after his return, and which will appropri- ately introduce our Second Part, SPEECH OF THE CROWN-l'RIM'E TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE, JAN. 28, 181.'.. Gentlemen, After a lapse of two years, memorable in the annals of Sweden, it is with a sweet satisfaction that I again find myself among you. 'When my duties kept me at a distance from you, my thoughts and my wishes followed all your labours. You recollect, Gentlemen, what was the situation of Europe at the period of the insti- tution of this Academy. Preserved by its geo- graphical position from the immediate effects of the general crisis, Sweden had, nevertheless. every thing to fear from its i'atal results. If 238 GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN. success had crowned the gigantic efforts of that extraordinary man, to whom such great talents and such enormous power seemed only granted to serve as an example to conquerors, the Continent would have been enslaved, and Sweden would have had no other resource than to sully by a shameful submission the glory of so many centuries. The gratitude of the na- tion has paid its homage to the measures which were taken on that occasion by the Govern- ment ; every thing contributed to determine the King in forming an aUiance, the advan- tageous fruits of which the North has reaped, while an impartial posterity will one day ap- preciate its happy influence on the destinies of Europe. Here gratitude obliges me to pay a tribute to the Emperor Alexander. Never had Sweden a more faithful ally, or one more scru- pulous in performing his promises. Truth pierces through the gloom of ages, but it is a delightful task for me to anticipate the homage of posterity by that of friendship and of justice. The world felt their hopes revive, when they saw the issue of the formidable expedition directed against the power and the crown of the Sovereign of Russia. Prussia broke the chains of her dependence, patriotism and love for their King changed her peaceable citizens into war- GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN. 239 riors. and their numerous battalions joined the Muscovite armies. Napoleon had suffered great losses, but he was still formidable. Absolute master of the richest country in the world, with her immense resources at his disposal, supported by power- ful alliances, replacing his losses by new armies, in whom valour and the hope of conquest sup- plied the place of practice and experience, and lastly, strong in the opinion he had gained by so many victories, of which his recent misfor- tunes had not yet destroyed the impression Napoleon still menaced the liberty of the Con- tinent. The cause of nations and govern- ments demanded our assistance. How power- ful were the reasons for taking part in that struggle which was to decide between oppres- sion and liberty ! The glorious example of the great Gustavus, whose phalanxes had battled in the plains of Germany for liberty of con- science, humanity to avenge, chains to burst asunder, and lastly, the prospect of a close union with a neighbouring people ! A Swedish army crossed the Baltic ; the King had entrusted me with the command. They saw us depart with apprehension, but not without hope. If the former could be justi- fied by the recollections of the past, the second 240 GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN. was founded on the indispensable necessity of reviving in all its glory the splendour of the Swedish name, by associating it anew with the memory of the Charles's and the Gustavi. Con- stant in my love of that liberty which is alike earned and warranted by respect for the laws, 1 went forth to fight for it anew ; I went far from my adopted country, to defend her rights on the Germanic soil, already invaded and drenched with the blood of her intrepid de- fenders. But I had moreover another end, a far different motive : when I foresaw all the difficulties which we should have to overcome, and all the different interests we should have to conciliate, I looked forward as a recompense for my labours to the day, when a free people, uniting its destinies with those of Sweden, should regard that union as the pledge of its independence, and the source of its future wel- fare. My hopes have been borne out by the generous efforts of the nation ; all had their children in the army, all offered up prayers that fortune might crown the undertaking of a na- tion, once so celebrated once so revered. You have followed with interest, Gentlemen, the events of the year 1813. You saw with unavoidable alarm Napoleon, at the beginning of the campaign, master of a great part of the GENERAL VIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN. 241 Prussian monarchy, and his armies only a day's march from Berlin. This capital, ennobled by the talents, by the genius, and by so many mo- numents of the reign of the Great Frederic, was in danger of falling into the power of the enemy. A single manoeuvre saved it ; that ma- noeuvre was a victory. The charm had disap- peared, and the Allied armies marched on from success to success. You are acquainted, Gen- tlemen, with the astonishing results of this cam- paign. The bloody dream of an universal mo- narchy faded away let us hope, for ever and the dawn of liberty blazed anew over Europe. A peculiar happiness was reserved for Sweden : their country saw almost all her children return to her bosom who had gone forth to defend her cause on a foreign land : they have re- turned, esteemed by their enemies, followed by the good wishes of the inhabitants of all the countries whither war had led their march ; in short, worthy of the favour of their King and the affection of their fellow-citizens. The fore- most wish of that good King, of myself, and of all the Swedes, has been accomplished. The manes of the hero who sealed by his blood this desire of his exalted soul, the union of Sweden with Norway, are appeased. It has become a most worthy monument, raised to the memory R 242 AGRICULTURE. of three great Kings, who in all their actions aimed at that event which Providence had reserved for our times. The British nation, which has always taken so lively an interest in the liberty of other peo- ple, this generous nation will enjoy with admi- ration the rare sight of an union, founded on the principles which she recognizes as the basis of her independence and her strength. This great event, and happy one for all the inhabitants of Scandinavia, ought, Gentlemen, to appear especially so to you. It will inflame your zeal, it will elevate your ideas : yours is the honourable office of perfecting by your re- searches and by your information, the first art of mankind agriculture ; that estimable art, the necessity and the elements of which are taught by Nature herself. It is this primitive con- nexion between the earth and mankind which constitutes the power of political bodies. A country which neglects agriculture seldom en- joys good laws ; their institutions can never bear the stamp of grandeur, and still less that of liberal ideas. All nations, whose prosperity has been lasting, have owed that flourishing state to their attention to agriculture. Look at ancient Egypt ; never was there a country where the sources of happiness and civilization AGRICULTURE. 243 were better known, because there never was a people which carried to such a pitch its acti- vity and skill in the cultivation of the earth. Among the Romans, how great was their ve- neration for agriculture ! Their first standards bore the emblems of this admirable art : in the most glorious times of Rome, the greatest men occupied themselves with agriculture. Cincin- natus and Atilius were employed in tilling their fields when their citizens came to offer them the command of their armies. In China, is not agriculture the source of that prosperity, and above all, of that enormous population which astonishes us? The Sovereign there honours the plough by deigning to guide it himself. This, then, is an incontestable truth : agricul- ture is the firmest prop of states, and it should be the constant object of the encouragement and of the solicitude of a wise and paternal go- vernment. Such a government will always find among its labourers simplicity of man- ners, strength of body, a love of their country, a readiness and a power to defend it. Scandinavia, by its position, by the nature of its soil, and above all, by the character of its inhabitants, is destined to enjoy that happiness which I have just sketched out to you. This R 2 244 AGRICULTURE. country, having nothing to desire, and still less to fear, will henceforth be only influenced by the genius and the patriotism of its people. All good men, in whatever class they may be found, all those persons who rejoice in the hap- piness of their fellow-creatures, will combine to increase its commerce and its industry. Gentlemen, enrich agriculture with your own useful discoveries ; introduce on the Scan- dinavian soil the discoveries of other nations, and you will have a right to say We con- secrate our labours to the welfare of two na- tions, we teach them to value the treasures of the earth, of that fostering mother so bene- ficent towards her children when they appre- ciate her inexhaustible bounty ; their happiness and their blessings will reward us for our toils. Yes, Gentlemen, you will not be deceived in this hope ; your fellow countrymen will appre- ciate your efforts, their gratitude will recom- pense your labours, and their regrets will honour your memory. OPENING OF THE DIET, 1815. 245 SPEECH OF THE CROWN PRINCE ON THE OPENING OF THE DIET, MARCH 4, 1815. Deputies of the Nobility, I receive with a sweet satisfaction the expres- sion of your sentiments. From the moment when the wish of the nation called me to the succession to the throne, my only thought was to see the ancient country of heroes resume among independent states the glorious rank which had ennobled it for so many centuries. When we parted at Orebro, war was committing her ravages from the Tagus to the Dwina ; we were pressed by our neighbours, and our mer- chant ships required all the support of our naval forces to be able to navigate the seas, which Sweden has in common with the other powers of the Baltic. Now, our flag floats in either hemisphere : we have thrown off the yoke which a renowned conqueror wished to impose on us : we have remained ourselves that is, free and Swedes. The nobility has acquired, during the memo- rable period which has just passed, new claims on the esteem and the affection of the King. 246 OPENING OF THE DIET, 1815. The defence of the national honour has been for them the first as well as the dearest of their duties. The King applied with confidence to the first order in the State, and the assistance which he has received from them is a pledge of what he may expect in circumstances of diffi- culty. I renew to you, Gentlemen, with pleasure, the assurance of the sentiments inspired in me by the services which your order has rendered to the country. Members of the Clergy, At the time of the close of the Diet of Orebro, the country was in great danger, and the future existence of Scandinavia was a pro- blem. This problem is now solved : Heaven has granted your prayers : God has not willed that this country should be the victim of an- cient prejudices stimulated by the vast projects of a conqueror. The country is free; protected by the shield of the Almighty, she reposes with security on her laws and her strength. Called by the King to deliberate on all that relates to the interior administration of the kingdom, your order will introduce in its dis- cussions the calmness which always accompa- nies superior knowledge, and by rendering to OPENING OF THE DIET, 1815. 247 the common cause the tribute of information acquired by meditation and labour, you will add to the claims which you already possess on the protection and benevolent care of your Sovereign. In renewing to you the expression of my sentiments for your order, I recommend to your prayers my King, my Country, and my Son. Members of the Order of Citizens, It is with much pleasure that I have just heard the testimony of your attachment to me and my Son, and I thank you for it. Called by the King to deliberate with him on the interior administration of the State, it is under the most happy auspices that you are as- sembled round the throne. Those threatening; o clouds are dispersed which darkened the hori- zon of the country : that Providence, which always watches over the destinies of Sweden, has realized our fondest hopes, and to be happy and to be powerful, we need now only desire it. The favourable circumstances in which we are situated, and which have been created by the Avisdom of our Monarch, open a vast field to commercial enterprizes, to the arts, and to na- tional industry. New advantages will reward your activity. By performing the duties with 248 OPENING OF THE DIET, 1815. which public confidence charges you, you will increase your rights to the esteeem of your fel- low-citizens, and I shall thus find myself per- sonally happy in being able to do justice to the patriotism which animates you, and which must necessarily have an equally great influence on public prosperity. It is grateful to me, Gentlemen, to renew to you the expression of all my sentiments. Good and honourable Peasants ! It is with a very lively satisfaction that I again see you to-day. When, at the close of the last Diet, I took my leave of you, I told you that the King and the country reckoned on the devotion which, from time immemorial, distinguished your order. At that period, the greater part of the States of Europe were marching under the banners of a conqueror, and our existence was menaced. We went to the succour of Germany, and the cause of nations triumphed. I promised you, that in leading your sons to the combat, I would be their protector and their father. Returned to the roof which gave them birth, they must have told you that I fulfilled my promise. They now enjoy the sweets of peace; but if any enemy, jealous of our repose, were to wish to TO THE STATES GENERAL. 249 attack our independence, he will find these same men again in arms who have fought for liberty and for their country. Continue, good Peasants, to exercise the vir- tues which were transmitted to you as an heir- loom by your fathers, and Heaven will bless your labours. The King has called you to deliberate with him on the administration of the kingdom ; you know the regard of his Majesty and my- self for your order, it is founded on your pa- triotism, and on the other virtues which distin- guish you. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE ADDRESS OF THANKS OF THE STATES GENERAL, MARCH 13, 1815. Gentlemen, I receive with the most lively satisfaction the expression of your sentiments. The gra- titude which you have expressed in relation to the system of the King, gives me the greatest pleasure, inasmuch as the confidence with which 250 TO THE STATES-GENERAL. his Majesty honours me, has permitted me to contribute to the measures adopted by the Go- vernment. I have ever been sensible of the approbation with which the Swedish people has rewarded my labours. As I have undertaken nothing but for their interest and their happi- ness, their suffrages and their blessings are my sweetest recompense. Called by the unanimous choice of the nation, I arrived among you with the firm resolution of investing the Swedish name with that splen- dour, which for centuries had rendered it the object of the admiration of Europe : I felt, if I may use the expression, a new life ; I swore to consecrate it to the service of the Country which had adopted me. I found a generous and loyal people; a hundred years of misfortunes had destroyed their hopes, and abated their ardour, without, however, extinguishing either their courage or their original energy. When I called this people to arms, it was not personal glory that I had in view. Content with that which I had had the good fortune to obtain, my only ambition was to enable the nation, which had voluntarily called me to the succes- sion of the throne, to enjoy the sweets of peace. I owed them every thing ; they were every thing to me. But besides this, I was well ac- NAPOLEON AND CHAKLEMAGNE. 251 quainted with the Swedish character ; I knew that they would have no peace that was bought at the expense of their honour and their liberty; and yet this very liberty, this first want of man would have been lost, had we lulled ourselves in a false security. A celebrated conqueror, whose name will always recall exalted recollec- tions, even despite of his faults and his misfor- tunes, threatened to usurp Europe. Fifteen years of continual successes seemed to insure him a succession of them. No treaty of alli- ance or of neutrality would have guaranteed our independence for the future. Napoleon would not suffer any Power to refuse to bend under his yoke. Apparently ambitious of tak- ing Charlemagne for his model, he did not pro- fit by his example. Charlemagne, after having in vain solicited the alliance of the North in his expeditions against Germany, dared to menace the Scandinavian people. He had the sorrow of being convinced, before his death, how ill he had appreciated their character. Napoleon wished to force us to draw his triumphal cha- riot : the world has seen what in his case have been the consequences of a like aggression. I have no need, Gentlemen, to remind you of the great events which have been the conse- quence of the King's magnanimous resolution, 252 RESULTS OF THE WAR. which you so nobly seconded. At the moment when that resolution was taken, there was not a part in the whole Spanish peninsula, except Cadiz and the Lines of Torres-Vedras, which re- sisted the conqueror. From the Tagus to the Niemen all obeyed his will ; in a word, the Continent was enslaved or menaced. Your neighbours, the most abject allies of the con- queror, projected the dismemberment of Swe- den. But Providence has laughed their pro- jects to scorn, and Sweden has resumed her ancient rank in the political system of Europe. Seconded by faithful Allies, we have procured for ourselves a solid and glorious peace: we have insured our independence; in fine, we have consolidated our political existence by the union with a nation whom nature, customs, re- ligion, and language, should have ever rendered the friends of Sweden, and which, in truth, they would have been, had it not been for a foreign influence. But the times are changed ; the illu- sion is destroyed. The Norwegians and the Swedes, enlightened by the principles of a sound policy, will be no longer rivals, save for the good and the glory of their common country. Strong in this union, we no longer desire any thing but to live free and independent in the midst of our forests and our mountains. Surrounded DEFIANCE TO INTRIGUERS. 253 by the seas of the North and the Baltic, we possess in the interior of our country all the elements of a free and happy existence. We have no occasion to presume that any Govern- ment, jealous of this happiness, will seek to dis- turb it ; but if such did exist, let them know, that if the annals of this country speak of the insults which others have sometimes dared to throw upon it, they speak also of the vengeance which it has taken for them. The indignation which you have felt, Gen- tlemen, in reading the attacks made against your liberty and your independence, would add, were it possible, to the profound esteem I bear for you, and to the entire devotion which I bear towards the Nation. Strong in the rights which you have given me, happy in having as- certained the extent of them, and still more happy in having fulfilled my duty towards my country, I will await with tranquillity those who would dispute with us such legitimate titles ; I will await them until their madness has blinded those men so far as to make them believe, that nations have lost all their right of election ; and then unfolding all the energy of my soul, and all the courage with which Hea- ven has endowed me, I will employ them in defending your rights as well as my own. 254 CLOSE OF THE DIET. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE ON THE CLOSE OF THE DIET AUGUST 15, 1815. Deputies of the Nobility, The important deliberations for which the King called you around him are terminated. The ancient edifice of the kingdom, often sha- ken, sometimes threatened with total ruin, has always been supported by a protecting Provi- dence : never did the head of the State assem- ble the nation under such happy auspices ; never has he been able to communicate events so fa- vourable as those which the King has this year been enabled to report to the members of the Swedish Diet. A kingdom united with Swe- den, our public debt liquidated, the taxes dimi- nished, and peace with all the Powers : such, Gentlemen, are the advantages with which, by the aid of the Almighty, the paternal solicitude of the King can bless the Swedish nation. Swe- den has manifested its gratitude ; the King knows it, and he knows also, Gentlemen, how the nobility contributed to set the example. His Majesty has seen with pleasure that you have recollected that the social compact, in as- signing you the first rank among your fellow- citizens, imposes on you the duty of doing every CLOSE OF THE DIET. 255 thing for the good of the country ; of devoting, if it be necessary, to the liberty, the glory, and the independence of the State, your talents, your labours, and your fortunes. The King has felt a most agreeable satisfaction in seeing the nobility, in all affairs of essential importance, form one and the same opinion with his expressed desires; and his Majesty, confiding in the sentiments and magnanimity of your order, will repose tranquilly, under cover of the buckler of honour and of patriotism. I could not hear without emotion the ex- pression of your gratitude and your sentiments; I owe you for them the deepest obligation. The love which you bear for my Son, and the wishes you have formed for him, are intimately connected with the loyalty, the glory, and the repose of the Scandinavian people. You have been able during this Diet to observe his pro- gress ; and I see with much pleasure that he already justifies the hopes of the nation. This conviction completes my happiness, and I can await with calmness the moment which Provi- dence has fixed to end my days. Adieu, Gentlemen : continue to love your country and liberty. May God watch over each of you, and grant you his almighty pro- tection. 256 CLOSE OF THE DIET. Deputies of the Order of the Clergy, The duties of citizens, which had assembled you round the throne, are completed ; you are going to return to your peaceable abodes, to attend to the respected functions to which you have consecrated yourselves. In the dark ages, ignorance and superstition gave to your order an unlimited power over the minds and the will of men : civilization and knowledge have succeeded, and, ministers of a God of truth, you have renounced a sway which is incompatible with the doctrines you profess ; you have re- nounced this dominion to exercise a more salu- tary influence, admitted by the heart and by reason. If, in those times of calamity with which the Eternal Wisdom has sometimes judged it neces- sary to visit this country, your task has been to support the feeble, to console the unfortunate, to reanimate faded hopes, more pleasing duties now summon you. You have to inspire into the soulsof your flocks the sacred sentiments of the gratitude due to that God of mercy, who, in the midst of the cala- mities which have ravaged the world, has pour- ed forth so many blessings upon Sweden. You will teach them that the manner most accept- CLOSE OF THE DIET. 257 able to the Supreme Being of acknowledging and deserving his benefits, is to exercise the virtues of faithful subjects and of active and useful citizens. By instilling these precepts, you will obtain a reward superior to all worldly recompenses ; that internal approba- tion, that peace of conscience, in the absence of which happiness is alike a stranger to the hut of the peasant and the palace of the prince. Pray God, Gentlemen, that his powerful goodness may watch over the King and the two nations of Scandinavia. You have ever had claims on my affection, you have just acquired fresh ones to my gratitude. Deputies of the Burgesses, The deliberations of the Diet being con- cluded, the King has pronounced the close of the two assemblies. His Majesty recognizes the share which you have taken in producing the happy results of this Diet. On ceasing to serve the State in quality of representatives of the nation, you will continue to be useful to the country in the exercise of the duties of your different vocations. Commerce is the tie which unites the two hemispheres ; it contributes to the perfection of the arts and of trades, to the 258 COMMERCE. spread of knowledge, and to the communica- tion of ideas from nation to nation. Ever since the time when, forming societies and civil compacts for their mutual security, men emerged from the state of simple nature, com- merce became a necessity ; and experience has proved the error of systems, which tend to con- fine the trade of a nation to the narrow circle of its own productions. The Government, faith- ful to the principles of which your order has gathered the productive results, will always en- courage with its protection commerce and in- dustry, the attendants and supporters of agri- culture, which cannot flourish without them, and whose prosperity has so great an influence on theirs. At a period when privations and sufferings have been the lot of other countries, Heaven has loaded ours with its most precious favours. Let us render ourselves worthy of their continuance by labour, by activity, and by economy. In the eyes of a patriot, the civic crown exceeds every other glory ; let this flat- tering reward be the object of your efforts, and they will prepare the auspices under which I hope to meet you again, when the interests of the State will recall you around your Mo- narch. Rely, Gentlemen, on the protection which THE PEASANTRY. 259 your order lias a right to require of me, and on the affection which I have vowed to you. Good and loyal Peasants, The deliberations of the Diet are finished, and the fields and the harvest now call you to other labours. You have just exercised the precious right of voting on the interests of the country, a right which the Scandinavian culti- vator enjoys by virtue of just laws, of which he is at once the guarantee and defender. All men have risen from the common cradle of the different orders of society, and all derive their origin from the honourable class of agricul- turists. When they consecrated this great truth in the form of government given to Swe- den, your ancestors erected a monument of their own wisdom, and of the respect of their princes for the dignity of man. This respect, which is innate in me, and which has influ- enced my whole life, is an additional tie which binds me to you, good Peasants. Amid the fatigues of war, it was a pleasure to me to think upon your attachment. I remembered with emotion, that at the time when the country required defenders, it was with a touching devotion that you gave your children to its cause : these children will again repeat to you s 2 260 TO MONSIEUR CATTEAU. that I have watched over them, that their health, their glory, their welfare have been the objects of my constant solicitude. Go, good Peasants, and take with you my earnest wishes for your prosperity. Go, and resume the peaceable occupations, which do honour to man by bringing him near to the innocence of his primitive condition. Cherish the consoling conviction of having remained faithful to the sentiments which your ancestors have transmitted to you, attachment to your native land and to its independence, confidence in the paternal disposition of your King, of that King, who, chief of one great family, devoting his labours, consecrating his life to the happi- ness of his children, asks not, knows not a sweeter recompense than the tribute of their love and their gratitude. THE CROWN-PRINCE TO MONSIEUR CAlTEAl'. Stockholm, Jan. 30, 1816. I have received a letter which you have ad- dressed to me, with a copy of the History of the GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 26l Queen Christina. This work, which recalls re- membrances glorious for Sweden, must obtain the approbation of the Swedish people. It gives me pleasure to add my personal senti- ments towards the author, who, though he has quitted Sweden, has not renounced the attach- ment which he bore to it. You have given a new proof of this, Sir, by recording the me- morable period, when a state, scarcely emerged from a long series of misfortunes, and still strug- gling against the factions which rent its bosom, saw itself on a sudden, by the genius of a great man, victorious in the most noble of causes on the banks of the Rhine and the Danube, and holding in its hands the balance of Powers at a Congress, which was to insure for one hundred and fifty years the tranquillity of the Conti- nent. I have had the glory of commanding the Swedes on the very plains which had been ren- dered illustrious by the triumphs of the great Gustavus. I will confess that my companions in arms and myself aspired to leave one day, as an example to our children, reminiscences wor- thy of those which inflamed us. It is from the impartial historian that the warrior expects lasting laurels. You, Sir, have just added one more to the ancient standard of Sweden. The King and myself owe you our gratitude, and 262 ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. every good Swede his admiration. His Majes- ty has charged me to inform you that he has just named you Knight of his Order of the Polar Star, and that he has commanded that this de- coration be sent you in diamonds. Receive, Monsieur Catteau, the expression of my marked sentiments. I pray God that he may have you in his holy and worthy keeping. SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE CROWN PRINCE IN THE ACADEMY OP AGRICULTURE, JAN. 28, 1817. Gentlemen, To-day is the fifth anniversary, on which you have assembled for the purpose of joining the tribute of your labours to that union of happi- ness and festivity, with which his rural children know how to repay the cares and the solicitude of the best of Kings and the most tender of fathers. For a society, whose labours embrace so large a circle of activity, five years are but the com- mencement of their existence, and it is not in ERRORS OF AGRICULTURAL ACADEMIES. 263 his first lustrum that man developes all his powers. Nature, in her wisdom, has subjected every thing to a gradation, which she herself follows in her labours, in order that she may give them more strength and more solidity ; but man, impatient of enjoyment, often mars his own exertions by mischievous impatience. It is not in precocious fruits that we find sub- stance or flavour. It would be then, Gentlemen, a fatal error, and one which would cause you to fail in the accomplishment of your objects, if you did not measure the results, which you have a right to expect, by those which you have already ob- tained. You, who well know that the inhabi- tant of the country is no inventor, but essen- tially a copyist ; that it is not by discourses and theories, but by facts and examples, that we are enabled to fix his attention ; and that it is from no researches of his own, but by tradition that he is guided in the cultivation of his fields; you will adopt the simplest and most certain method of introducing the improvements of which his practice is susceptible. Let us avoid, Gentlemen, the errors of so many societies of agriculture, whose existence has preceded ours. Let us not incur the ridicule which has been 264 ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. sometimes too justly heaped on them, of pro- posing the same cultivation for different cli- mates and for different soils, and of laying down what are mere probabilities, as matters of de- monstration. Well knowing that to warrant our proposal of the adoption of a new method, it is not sufficient for ourselves merely to be convinced of its superiority, let us not require the farmer to risk, on the strength of our as- sertions, the hopes of his harvest. Before we recommend him to substitute a new instrument in the place of that which he is accustomed to use, let us be certain that it can economise his strength, and that it is more easy in use, or cheaper of construction ; in short, let every im- provement be promoted by little and little, and through the evidence of results obtained, by first addressing ourselves to those whose property protects them from the apprehensions of a first attempt. Such an advancement, Gentlemen, does ho- nour at once to your learning and to your philanthropy ; it is more slow, but it is more rational and more safe. It proves that you are capable even of sacrificing the soundest ideas to the march of time and experience. Pursue, then, with constancy, your honourable task : consider that it matters not to proceed quickly, INTRIGUES AGAINST THE SUCCESSION. 265 but to proceed well ; and that public gratitude, though it may come late, will only be the more deserved and the more glorious. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE MILITARY DIVISIONS, AND TO THE KRIGSBEFAL,* THE CHIEF OF WHICH, HIS ECCEL- LENCY THE MARSHAL COUNT DE STEDINGK, ADDRESSED HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS ON THE OCCASION OF SOME DISTURBANCES. MARCH, 14, 1817. Gentlemen, I am sensible of the step which your attach- ment for me has prompted you to take to-day ; I expected no less from my brave and faithful comrades in arms, who have seen what I have done for the country, and who know what I am ready to do for it again. What means this feeble and contemptible handful of turbulent ;s, who seem to busy themselves in darkness to * Krigsbefal, a military assembly convened from time to time, in which the colonel of each regiment sits in his own right, and one captain, elected by the officers, for the purpose of regulating the pension fund. 266 INTRIGUES AGAINST THE SUCCESSION. disturb the public tranquillity ? If they aimed at nothing beyond the lives of myself and my Son, I should treat with contempt their plans and their endeavours. I am a soldier ; I have long ago learned to be careless of life ; but their object is to shake your laws, to attack your honour and your liberty ; I am bound in this case to rise and defend them. The free will of the nation has called me to the succession to the throne ; the army knows that I have not intrigued for this honour, but I have justified it by supporting your choice : in doing this, I have at the same time upheld your rights, and for that end I will exert that energy and strength of mind which Nature has granted me, and which, perhaps, have gained me some reputa- tion. It was not to satisfy an empty pride that I came among you. My personal ambition is satiated, for myself I have acquired enough of glory. The happiness of Sweden is the only object to look to ; that alone is the first spring of all my actions. For you I desire liberty, for you I desire glory, for you I desire prosperity, and, spite of the attempts which shall be made, I will secure you these advantages, the most precious that can be enjoyed by good men. You know, Gentlemen, that I only proceed with the law, and it is with the law only that I INTRIGUES AGAINST THE SUCCESSION. 267 wish to proceed. But if, forgetting what T owe you if, forgetful of my character and my prin- ciples, I were one day to suffer myself to be in- toxicated with the cup of power, so as to make attempts on your liberty, dare to bring me to myself again ; it is the duty of the brave to speak with frankness and loyalty ; my heart will be ever ready to listen to you ; and if, the enemy of my own glory and my own interests, I refuse to listen to you, then turn I give my consent turn against me those same arms, which you have just offered me on this occa- sion for my defence. Gentlemen, You have no need to renew your oaths to me, I were ungrateful did I doubt of your sentiments. They have dared to throw suspicions on some of my brothers in arms, but 1 rejected the odious surmise ; I remembered with gratitude and emotion, the title of Father, which the army had so often decreed me. The brave can never be perjured ; under the garb and in the heart of a Soldier there ever reside honour and good faith. 268 INTRIGUES AGAINST THE SUCCESSION. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE BURGESSES OF STOCKHOLM, MARCH 14, 1817. Gentlemen, I needed not this new proof of devotion, which you give me to-day, to be convinced of the attachment which you bear to me as well as to my Son. For some months past vague rumours have been circulated in the country : one day, the King had just breathed his last ; another, my Son was on the point of dying ; another time again, it was I who was threatened. It was thus that they attempted to spread disquietude in the country. Some disclosures having been since made, they attracted the attention of the police, and even of Government. Judicial in- vestigations have been ordered, and the guilty or the false accusers will be judged according to the existing laws. If it were only my life which they desired, I could have pardoned the authors of these reports ; but it was your liberty, your constitution, your laws, and your honour, which guarantees those laws, it was these ob- jects, the most sacred to all good men, which they wanted to endanger. HIS TITLE TO THE CROWN. 269 AVhen, in the despair into which a long series of disasters had plunged you, you directed your attention to those princes who were known by the services which they had rendered to their country, and you fixed your choice on me, I resolved to deserve it ; I even felt my capacity increase at the idea of your perils, and capable of forming the most vast designs to answer your confidence, I consented to quit for you the sweets of a retired life, to which I had re- solved to consecrate the remainder of my ex- istence : I devoted myself to the service of a nation, of old so celebrated, and then so unfor- tunate. I came among you ; for titles and for guarantees, I brought you my actions and my sword : if I could have added to them a lineage of ancestry from Charles Martel, I could only have desired it for your sakes ; for myself, I am equally proud of my services and the glory which has raised me. To all these titles I add that of the adoption of the King, and of the unanimous election of a free people. It is on them that I found my rights, and so long as jus- tice and honour shall not be banished from the earth, these rights are more legitimate and more sacred than if I were a descendant of Odin. The annals of the world prove that no prince ever ascended the throne except by the con- 270 HIS RESOLUTION. sent of the people, or by force of arms. It was not by arms that I opened myself a road to the succession to the throne of Sweden, it was the free choice of the nation which called me, and it is of this right that I speak to you. Consider the state in which we were when I arrived, and see what we are now. It is true, that there are evil-minded people in all countries ; but the few who can be found here, have no other cause for their discontent than the tranquillity which this country enjoys. There are certain mischievous beings who only love disturbance ; disorder is their element, and supports, if I may say so, their existence : but this feeble handful of turbulents does not require extraordinary measures to repress their efforts, and to remind them of their duty. The King proceeds according to law, and the law will be strong enough without recurring to extreme measures. Every thing, Gentlemen, ought to inspire us with this security. The in- terior is tranquil. The course of justice has been nowhere interrupted. The cultivator thanks Heaven for the calm which he enjoys. We have nothing to apprehend from abroad ; we do not busy ourselves with what passes there, and we have assurances that foreign Powers act in like manner by us. Your rights, HIS RESOLUTION. 271 then, are secured both in the interior arid with- out ; and every thing assures us that it will be long before we shall be obliged to defend them : but if it were necessary, if the national honour called for it ; followed by a faithful army, train- ed in war, and disciplined and supported by the supreme will of the King and the nation, I would march to meet our enemies, preceded by the omen of success ; and on such occasions I would willingly shed my last drop of blood in the service of the country. I cannot express myself as I could wish in the Swedish language, but my Son, he speaks it for me ; he has been brought up in the midst of you, and it is on him that your great hopes should centre : as for myself, I speak the lan- guage of honour and of liberty, and that is un- derstood by every Swede who truly loves his country. 272 INTRIGUES AGAINST THE SUCCESSION. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE ORDER OF PEASANTS, MARCH 15, 1817. Worthy Members of the honourable Order of Peasants, It is with the most lively satisfaction that I receive your address. I have ever been assured of the sentiments which you have expressed to me on your part, and on that of the brave pea- sants of Sweden. The judicial power is about to examine whe- ther there are guilty persons. To calm you, I can give you the assurance, that the public tranquillity and the inviolability of our consti- tution are in no danger, and that the King, my- self, and my Son, have received from all quar- ters the most ardent testimonies of fidelity and attachment. I and my Son may soon die, but if it be the will of Providence that such an event should take place, I have sufficient confidence in the noble and firm character of the Swedish nation, in the love of liberty and independence which has ever animated it, to feel persuaded that it will maintain its resolutions, and always re- main worthy of itself. I pray you, honest and THE KRIGSBEFAL. 273 worthy peasants, to make known to all your bre- thren the sentiments of affection and of confi- dence which 1 have vowed them for ever. SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE CROWN PRINCE AT THE KRIGS- BEFAL, MARCH, 27, 1S17. Gentlemen, It is with sincere pleasure that I see the la- bours of the Krigsbef al terminated to the satis- faction of the King and of the Army. I ex- pected nothing less from the spirit of justice and disinterestedness which has directed your deliberations ; they furnish a fresh proof of all the good that a government can produce in every class of the state, when, by an open and just course of proceeding, it watches over the interest of all. Force is the ally and auxiliary of the law. So long as the latter is respected, force is inac- tive. But if the laws be violated, if the social balance be destroyed, it is to the pillars of the state, to the defenders of the country, that the T 274 THE ARMY INDELTA. people have recourse to repress the evil-disposed. When he is called to combat enemies from without, the warrior sheds with pleasure his blood for his country, and the gratitude of that country does honour to his ashes. He who has fought for the rights of his country, and has renounced some of his own to comply with the strictness of military discipline, is the person on whom all eyes are fixed in the moment of danger. Let us recollect, Gentlemen, that it is arms which raise empires, while good laws insure their durability. Let us recollect again, that these same laws, however just, and however salutary, may be overthrown, either by foreign legions, or by domestic inactivity, if he, who ought to watch over all, hesitates for an instant to call in the assistance of armed force, when it is necessary to inforce respect for the will of the nation, expressed by the organ of their repre- sentatives. The army indelta* is the palladium of our liberty. The immortal Charles XI. created it, and insured by its organization the existence of Sweden. Our constitution and our fun da- * The army indelta is composed of those regiments, the soldiers of which are supported by proprietors, and the officers in general by domains. THE ARMY INDELTA. 275 mental laws have consecrated this act of fore- sight conceived by the genius of that great King. So far from wishing to do away with so useful an institution, as some persons have sedulously circulated, his Majesty meditates on the means of perfecting it. Already has a great part of the contracts of the Colonels been reimbursed, and a sum of more than three hun- dred thousand rix-dollars, designed to make the first payments, is expended. His Majesty is also engaged in increasing the appointments of the officers of many regiments indelta, whose pay is not on a scale with that of the other corps of the army. His Majesty hopes to accomplish it without being obliged to have recourse to the public treasure. The sacrifices and anxieties of the King to maintain the credit of our circulating medium, are amply compensated by the thanks which you have offered at the foot of the throne. The nation, generous and liberal, does not desire that the children of their country should receive as a recompense for their services a valueless paper ; and what Swede can look with tranquillity on the attempts which some would make on our national credit ? Who could see with indifference the public administration and the security of the State compromised for de- T 2 276 THE KKTGSBEFAL. fault of funds to provide for them ? The King has felt the extent of his obligations, he has fulfilled them. Assisted, Gentlemen, by you, by the public officers, and by all good men, his Majesty has grounds for hoping that the considerable sums contained in your fund, and which should serve to insure you a peaceable old age, will be at the least maintained in the same value in which you now leave them. I can assure you, that his Majesty will not relax his efforts, and that I will employ all my zeal and all the means in my power to consolidate this property of the brave, the only resource for their old age. The sentiments which his Excellency the Marshal has just expressed in the name of the army, will remain engraved on my heart in indelible characters. Adieu, Gentlemen ! On taking leave of you, with prayers to the Almighty to guide and protect you, I believe that I shall please you, when I invite you to pray for the King, the father of the country. The vows of the brave are fervent and sincere, and Heaven, who reads their hearts, always listens to their prayers. COMMERCE. 277 ANSWER OP THE CROWN-PRINCE TO A BODY OF MERCHANTS OF THE CITY OF STOCKHOLM, APRIL 13, 1817. Gentlemen, The step which you have just taken will be very agreeable to the King. It is a striking proof of your disinterestedness and your civism, it sets a good example to the rest of the com- mercial community. His Majesty entertains an equal solicitude for all the classes of the State ; he loves to see them combine for the common prosperity. The King knows too well the importance and the utility of commerce to suffer it to have any other shackles than what the interest of all im- poses on it; but this interest is the supreme law, and the first duty of a good government is to prevent it being misunderstood. You know, Gentlemen, the character of our country : you cannot deny that the nature of the soil and the climate has circumscribed our en- joyments. It is to be desired, then, that indus- try and commerce should vie in their efforts to increase and extend them. The Government will exert itself for their encouragement. But if it happen that persons err; if industry is 278 COMMERCE. exercised on productions which come from abroad instead of on those which Nature fur- nishes us ; if the speculations of certain persons favour importation instead of exportation, it is very evident, that, instead of conspiring to- wards the common prosperity, this industry and this commerce would involve the ruin of the State ; and if we had money in circulation it would finally disappear. The Government, therefore, ought to consi- der it one of its most sacred duties to direct its care to maintain an exact balance between the articles exported and those imported, whatever may be their value or their description ; and it is necessary that those who make the exchanges themselves an object of industry, should be subjected to this superintendence, and should expect to be included in the general rule. They should know, that no one can live at the charge of the State without supporting its expences; and that the cultivator has a right to complain, if he sees his contributions doubled through the ill-conceived operations of some individuals : they should know, in short, that it is but just that the people, that mass which constitutes the strength of all states, should be the object of the constant solicitude of a govern- COMMERCE. 279 ment which knows its duties and is determined to fulfil them. These, Gentlemen, are the true principles which should direct commerce and industry in a social body. It is only by making them subor- dinate to the general interest, that they become the beneficial channels of public prosperity. If we permit private interest to turn aside their course, we see, it is true, some great fortunes created ; but the rest droop, the fountains are dried up, and the state is on the brink of ruin. It is only to a forgetfulness of these prin- ciples that we must ascribe the financial crisis from which the King has just extricated us. His Majesty does not regret the sacrifices which it has cost him. He could not make a better use of his resources, than in remedying an evil which some ill-planned speculations had caused. But what we may choose to consider as an error, which his paternal heart has prompted him to repair, would in another instance become an inexcusable crime, which the law ought to repress. Your example, Gentlemen, is a good omen. My heart tells me that your patriotism cannot want imitators. The good Swedes do not give themselves up to the insensibility of selfishness ; 280 NATIONAL MEDALS. they love to salute one another with the name of brother, and they will not desire to augment their fortune at the expense of public esteem. Preserve and propagate these noble sentiments: let us not suffer that national spirit which dis- tinguishes us to be weakened; let us, in short, be Swedes ; let us not be content with only half that title. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE BANK, ON THEIR PRESENTING HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS WITH A MEDAL, STRUCK IN COMMEMORATION OF THE OATH OF FIDELITY TAKEN BY THE PRINCE OSCAR TO THE KING, AND OF HIS PROFESSION OF FAITH MADE AT THE FOOT OF THE ALTAR, MAY 19, 1817. Gentlemen, You have just offered me a new proof of the wisdom of the States of the kingdom, and of their solicitude for the prosperity of the nation which they represent. Far different from those monuments which are erected by servitude to the vanity of men, the medals which the States of Sweden have caused to be struck, have a more noble and NATIONAL MEDALS. 281 a more useful end. It is thus that we have seen the nation commemorate that memorable period, when, seizing the reins of the State which was on the brink of ruin, it entrusted them to a Prince who was so well entitled to receive them, and who was so worthy of its confidence and affection. Thus, too, we have seen them commemorate the period when, the decree of Providence having deprived them of a successor to the throne, the nation assembled to make a new choice, and gave, by its unani- mous vote, the most striking proof that its resolution was not the effect of passion or of haste, but of a necessary and firm deliberation, having for its object to repair a long series of misfortunes and disasters. By such medals the States of the kingdom leave imperishable evidences of the will of the nation, and of their stipulations for the mainte- nance of their rights, and of the social compact which results from that maintenance. I see in the medal, which you this day offer me, the laudable intention of the States to re- mind my son of the profession of faith which he has made at the foot of the altar, and of the oath of fidelity which he has taken to the King and the Swedish people. They thereby identify themselves with me in the care which 282 PRINCE OSCAR. I take to impress on the heart of my son the extent of his obligations. Hitherto I have found him answer my expectations ; I see de- veloped in him my own sentiments of love and of gratitude for the King, who has named me his son, and for the nation, which has by so many solemn acts sanctioned that adoption. This double legitimacy excites in the soul of my son the most ardent emulation to share with me the duties which I perform with our august Monarch, and to prepare himself for the bur- then which awaits him. But if the decree of Providence were to abandon his youth to the dangers which even a maturer age finds so much difficulty to avoid, the sight alone of this medal would, I am convinced, suffice to excite in his soul the desire of surrounding himself with men of integrity and worthy of the public confidence, and the representatives of the nation would once more have cause to congratulate themselves on their wise pre- cautions. It is, therefore, with a lively and deep inte- rest that I add this medal to those which I have already received. By transmitting to my Consort the one which you offer me for her, I shall increase the desire which she feels of being able shortly to come among you. PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. 283 It is with pleasure, Gentlemen, that T renew to you on this occasion the assurance of my constant regard. SPEECH OF THE CROWN-PRINCE IN THE COUNCIL OF STATE, THE DAY ON WHICH HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF SUDER MANIA TOOK HIS SEAT FOR THE FIRST TIME, JULY 11, 1817. Sire, This meeting of the Council in which my Son takes his seat for the first time excites in my heart a strong emotion. For him, as for myself, it is a new benefaction, for which we are indebted to your Majesty. I am certain, Sire, that he cannot mistake the motives which have called him to your Council of State. I presume to hope that your Majesty will permit me to develope them, and that the members of the Council will willingly yield for this time to the tenderness of a father a duty which each of them could equally well fulfil. My dear Son, the education which you have hitherto received, has been merely a preparatory 284 PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. education ; the knowledge which you have acquired is common to you with all the young people of your age, whose parents have wished to make them well-informed and virtuous men and useful citizens. No more is necessary for those who in private life confine themselves to the honest enjoyment of their fortunes ; but those who are destined for the duties of the State and for public offices, must render them- selves fit for them by labours of a new kind. To-day, therefore, your peculiar education does but begin, that, I mean, of the station to which you are called. In the care which I have taken to prepare you, I have principally dwelt on the study of history; it is now that you will begin to be sensible how useful may be its lessons. It has shown you the origin of princes, it has taught you the source of their titles, and how those titles are lost and are destroyed. It must have convinced you that a prince must purchase his exalted rank by eminent virtues and superior qualities ; that by great actions they excite the admiration of the people, but that they must perform good ones to win their love. All that interest or flattery have invented to give an irresponsibility to princes quickly disappears before the light of truth. Utility, justice PRACTICAL ADVICK TO A PRINCE. 285 these are the tests which are respected by ages these the only foundations for real fame. This great truth, my Son, the study of his- tory should already have taught you. Engrave its lessons deeply in your heart ; bear in mind that the august crown, which is decreed you by a free people, will never be firmly fixed on a head inflated with pride and with caprice. Bear in mind, that you must prepare yourself for your functions by a profound consciousness of the duties of a King and of the rights of a people. Evil be to the prince who persuades himself, that by effacing the traces of the rights of his nation, he exalts the splendour and the power of his throne. Remember, my Son, that he is the wisest prince who keeps his eye steadfastly fixed on the elements which threaten the de- struction of empires, who arrests them before the explosion bursts, and who knows how to pre- vent their return by his own respect for the laws. It is to an intimate acquaintance with these laws, for the purpose of following them your- self, of making them observed by others, and of carrying them to still greater perfection, that you must henceforth direct all your exertions. It is the science of government which must be the object of your new studies ; it is this which is the completion of your education. 286 PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. We have long been accustomed to compare a state to a family ; the head of the state, admi- nistering with wisdom the public fortune, to an economical father, provident and jealous of the welfare of his children. Of such a government, then, we say, that it is paternal ; and of those who thus govern, that they are the fathers of their people. This language is simple as the idea which it expresses ; mankind have conse- crated it as the type of the administration of states, whatever may be the form of their go- vernment. In states as in families, there are many causes of increase and prosperity, and many causes of decay and ruin. The father of a family may be of a temperate disposition, a friend of order and economy ; he may exert in the cultivation of his estate, or in the direction of his manufac- tories, the most industrious activity ; he may strictly regulate his expenses by his income ; all this will not suffice to insure the welfare and the destiny of his children. He must not be quiet, he must not think that he has performed his duty, until, by a wise foresight, he shall have increased his stores so that he can encounter the year of scarcity or of stagnation ; until, by his wisdom and the strength of his character, he shall have succeeded in bringing up and main- PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. 287 taining his children in the same spirit of order, of activity, and of industry ; until, in short, he shall have secured their inheritance from any controversy occasioned by his own connections, or the transactions of preceding years. The prosperity of a state depends on causes still more complicated, for it embraces not only the general relations which bind the different classes of which it is composed mutually to- gether the government to the nation, and the nation to the government but also the particu- lar relations of this government with those of other nations. It is not enough for a government to attempt by an economical and prudent administration to satisfy the interests which bind it to the nation, as well as the private interests of each of its classes. The existence of such a State would still be precarious, if this government did not keep its eyes open to the proceedings of its neighbours, if it were not provided with either the means or the will to repel an unjust aggres- sion. The history of nations has afforded but too good evidence that their very greatness is sometimes the cause of their ruin, and that a people cannot reckon on a long peace except by ever keeping themselves in readiness for war. Neither, also, is it enough for a government 288 PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. to direct all its attention to keep itself in har- mony with foreign states : it is not enough by a warlike attitude to secure yourself from all hostile enterprises : the state would not be going the less rapidly to its ruin, if, by a bad system of interior administration, the true sources of public prosperity were allowed to be diverted or to be drained. Woe to the people, whose monarch is only fit to be a warrior ; woe to those who have only an economist for their head. Nations, in ignorance and barbarism, were long seduced by military glory alone ; in their songs and their festivals they celebrated only the heroes who led them to battle. But the nations, whom the torch of reason guides to the object which Nature points out to them, have discover- ed by a long experience, and by a sad series of calamities, that it is in the concurrence and the combination of military and political science, that the art of governing a nation and of ac- complishing their happiness essentially exists. The government which is acquainted with this art, and which applies it with courage, is en- titled to that gratitude which, in an enlightened age, is the reward of genius and of virtue. Such are the maxims which have regulated my conduct since that period, for me so glori- ous, when the Swedish nation and its virtuous PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. 289 monarch, by a double adoption, imposed on me the sacred obligation of employing all my facul- ties in the defence of their rights, and in a de- votion to their happiness. In my ardent desire to justify so noble a confidence, my first cares were devoted to the study of the fundamental laws of the State, to a discovery of the elements of its existence, to a full knowledge of its resources, and to the ob- servation of the customs and the virtues of my new countrymen. Suddenly carried away from these occupations by the invasion of our ter- ritory, we were forced to draw the sword and fly with our brave soldiers to the defence of our rights outrageously attacked. The state of affairs in Europe did not permit us to confine ourselves to avenging our own injuries. Swe- den was forced to make common cause with the victims of oppression. This cause was just; Providence seconded our efforts, and the result of this grand struggle was to re-establish in the North a new order of things, which re-united with the old Scandinavian family a people, at- tached to them by Nature herself, and which the passions of man alone could have separated. Happy in having fully accomplished all that had been required by circumstances no less urgent than difficult, full of confidence in the 290 PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. harmony which reigned among the govern- ments, whose faith could not be suspected, since their common reverses and successes had en- gaged them to unite for the tranquillity of Europe ; able also to rely on the excellent sys- tem of military defence which we had succeed- ed in establishing ; every thing, in short, pro- claiming that our tranquillity and our happiness only depended on ourselves, I directed my cares and all my thoughts to the important object of the administration of the interior, which we should consider as the legitimate source of our future prosperity. To the information which I had collected from the writings, or in the society of the most celebrated characters, on what constitutes the administration of a state, to the information which I had acquired by my own experience, I wished to add new and more positive know- ledge on that system of administration which would best suit Sweden, from the nature of her resources, of her relations, and of her locality. I animated the zeal of all those whom I thought capable of supplying me with informa- tion and useful notions, I sought for them in all classes, and I have gi^en the most constant attention to their memoirs and their conversa- tions. I have almost always found in them PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. 291 unequivocal proofs of their uprightness, and of their zeal for the good of the country. It is with heartfelt satisfaction that I render them this tribute, and thus return them my thanks for their assistance. But from all my researches, and from the profound meditations on the results with which they have supplied me, I have learnt how rare and even difficult it is to raise oneself to a height suitable to consider questions of this nature, questions in which one wishes to seize upon the connections of things in all their rami- fications, without which it is impossible to ob- tain their exact solution. I have found that partial laws were almost always stamped with a mark of individuality, that this was the most radical fault, and the most difficult to avoid, be- cause it originates in human weakness, and be- cause each order of the State is naturally direct- ed to turn the march of administration to their own advantage. I warn you of this stumbling- block it will too often lie in your way. You will find that the word " to govern " has a dif- ferent meaning in the language of each class of the State, and if care be not taken to make them understand that this latitude, which each one claims, cannot be permitted unless it har- monizes with the common interest, to which it IT i> 292 PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A FltlNCE. is indispensable that all should be subordinate, you will only have a disordered, incoherent, and capricious system a system which will infalli- bly produce an increase of price in the commo- dities necessary for the first wants of life, which will bring misery on the people, and in its train those tumults and commotions which demo- ralize nations, and are the first causes of their decay. But ought this to be the case in a nation like Sweden, which is so constituted by its funda- mental laws, that each class of the State is cal- led to deliberate on the framing of the laws which must direct it ; and where the Govern- ment, to which the execution and maintenance of those laws is confided, derives all its power from the will of the nation ? Such a nation ought to create for itself a system of adminis- tration more agreeable and more in conformity with its social compact. In order that this sys- tem may not be in opposition to its fundamen- tal laws, the interests of each class must be so nicely balanced, that all kinds of property and all objects of industry should be equally pro- tected in all that is in conformity with the com- mon weal. This system must of necessity hold forth the accordance of the public good with individual advantages, as the only object which PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PRINCE. 293 the Government should propose itself, and which the governed ought to expect from it. It must, in short, be established by such simple and positive laws, that the internal laws of the State shall be framed with as much regard to the general good as the act of the Constitution itself. This it is which constitutes the only system of rational and just administration, the only one worthy of a people conscious of its dignity and jealous of its rights, and determined to main- tain them. It is to attain so important a result, and to carry our system of administration to this ex- alted point of perfection, that his Majesty pro- poses to convoke the States of the kingdom. He wishes to confide to their learning and to their patriotism the means of consolidating this improvement by their legislative authority. The nation will answer this august appeal, and will second such generous intentions. And you, my Son, how ought you to congratulate yourself on being admitted to the Council of State on an occasion when it is employed in discussing objects of such importance. You now understand what are the great and solid principles of the father of his country, with whom I am so happy as to have but one 294 PRACTICAL ADVICE TO A PKINCE. thought and one sentiment. Let your soul be penetrated with all the august and sacred re- collections which the fourth day of July pos- sesses for you ; recollect that it is by its re- sults that you must repay that beloved King who has consecrated to us all the affections of his heart, and who, at the end of his long and glorious career, will fix on you one last look of confidence and love. On this day, by your age, as well as by our laws, you are no longer under the parental authority ; but that authority you know, my Son, ever was for you only that of my tender- ness ; neither the laws nor your age can weaken it, and you will still be under its wing, as long as Providence shall spare the days of your fa- ther and of mine. Take advantage, my dear Son, of the time which it grants us ; strengthen your mind and your character ! Let the cares and the burthen which await you ever find you ready to support them. NATIONAL MEDAL. 295 ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE TOWN OF OREBRO, WHO PRESENTED HIM, ON THE 10th OF JULY, 1817, WITH A MEDAL STRUCK TO COMMEMORATE THE ELECTION OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS. The medal which you have presented to me, Gentlemen, recals to my mind the time when the Swedish people and their venerable monarch gave me the preference over many princes who showed themselves so ambitious of obtaining it. It was not the first time that the Swedish nation had sought in camps for the supporters of their rights and their independence. I am happy to have justified your choice, by fulfilling, as much as was in my power, the extent of my obliga- tions. The marks of confidence and devotion which I have received from the province of Ne- ricia, and especially from the town of which you are the deputies, ought to convince you, Gentle- men, of the sentiments which I bear towards you all. The town of Orebro has particular claims on my remembrance. In its bosom was formed the national wish, which binds my destinies ir- revocably to those of Sweden ; and it was there also, that on the occasion of an unexampled crisis in Europe, which threatened the existence 296 THE STATES-GENERAL. of nations and of governments, the nation, by fixing the age at which their youth should be called to defend the country, showed its resolu- tion of remaining worthy of its ancestors. I thank you, Gentlemen, for the medal which you have presented to me for my consort, and I will fulfil your desire by placing it in her hands. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE DEPUTIES OF THK STATES-GENERAL, NOV. 26, 1817. Deputies of the Nobility, You are acquainted with the events in conse- quence of which the King has deemed it neces- sary to assemble around him the representatives of the people. His example should render us provident; you are about to deliberate on the fortune and the credit of the State, and it is with calmness and tranquillity that you should watch over such interests, and discuss the pro- ject which the King is about to present you. The pilot who steers the vessel finds it easy to THE STATES-GENERAL. 297 avoid the breakers when the crew are willing workers. The King is persuaded that the nobility of the kingdom will continue on this occasion to set the example of a general devotion to the interests and the glory of the country. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurances of my sincere attachment, and of the wishes which I form for every thing that can be agreeable to you. Deputies of the Order of the Clergy, The proclamation of the King has informed you of the motives which have induced his Majesty to convene the States-General: the crisis which has just taken place affords an im- portant lesson which ought to be useful to us. The Clergy, whose holy office it is to disse- minate learning and the Word of God, will set an example of prudence and foresight. The King appreciates too well the deserts of your order, not to reckon invariably on both the one and the other. You know the attachment which I bear for you, and to which you daily increase your rights. The sentiments which you have just declared shall be for ever treasured up in my heart, and in that of mv Son. 298 THE STATES-GENERAL. Deputies of the Order of Burgesses, The great advances made by the King for two consecutive years, having only operated in retarding the failure of the caisses d'escompte, his Majesty has re-assembled the States-General of the kingdom, in order to deliberate with them on the most efficacious method of lessening the consequences of such an event, and of prevent- ing the possibility of its recurring in future. No order, Gentlemen, is so much interested as yours in preserving a steady value for the circulating medium in all transactions. By constantly keeping in view, that the solidity of the public fortune is the best guarantee of pri- vate wealth, the Order of Burgesses will con- tribute to the grand object which it has to dis- cuss, and it will insure its own prosperity by labouring for that of the country. Good and honourable Peasants, The States-General have been convened because the caisses d'escompte have suspended their payments. The sacrifices, which the King has been making for two years, have not been able to prevent their fall. His Majesty will order to be presented to the representatives, depositaries of the interests and the wishes of THE STATES-GENERAL. 299 his faithful subjects, a project for remedying the inconveniences caused by the present catas- trophe, and for eradicating at the same time one of the most destructive evils to a state, namely, the fluctuation of the value of the circulating medium. How important is it to you, my good Pea- sants, who cultivate the earth, to receive, when you sell the fruits of your labour, a coin which shall preserve the value for which it was given you, and in which you need fear no deprecia- tion from one day to another. The loyal zeal, which your order has for ages exhibited, will assist you in attaining this im- portant end, and while cordially uniting your labours with those of your colleagues of the other orders, you will remember that you are all children of the same mother, and that your interests and hers are inseparable. I pray Heaven to repay the labours of the cul- tivator, and the accomplishment of this prayer will always be one of the first enjoyments of my life. 300 DEPUTATION OF THANKS. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO A DEPUTATION FROM THE PROVINCE OF MALMOHUS, DEC. 15, 1817. Gentlemen, Next to the happiness which a Prince feels when he has been useful to his fellow-citizens, what he should most desire is to see his services discerned and appreciated. You know, Gentle- men, that I have not challenged your thanks, but I receive them with pleasure, and my heart is grateful for them. I shall always feel a real satisfaction, whenever I shall be able to give you proofs of my affection ; and when occasions present themselves for its exertion, you may address yourself to me with the most perfect confidence. ANSWER OF THE CROWN-PRINCE TO THE GRAND DEPUTATION OF THE STATES -GENERAL, WHO PRESENTED THEIR VOTE OF THANKS, DEC. 23, 1817. Gentlemen, I thank you for the step you have taken, it gives me an opportunity of telling you, that the DEPUTATION OF THANKS. 301 services which I have had the happiness to ren- der you have fulfilled my hopes. For six suc- cessive reigns great misfortunes and, perhaps, faults, have overwhelmed Sweden. The reign of the virtuous Charles XIII. has repaired the one, and consoled you for the other. This good King and his adopted Son, the object of your choice, may, perhaps, have some claims on your gratitude. Cherish, Gentlemen, all that which you owe to your Sovereign, and as to the por- tion which you think is due to me, I beseech you to reserve it for my Son. An enlightened and liberal Government de- sires to be judged by its actions : it is the only national homage which it can wish for ; such homage is engraved in the hearts of all virtuous citizens. In assembling you, his Majesty has only wished to lay open the arena of patriotism. It is in its circle that statesmen, the lumi- naries of the church, jurisconsults, patriot war- riors, economists, and skilful financiers, dis- cover themselves. It is there that the King should be able to distinguish beforehand all men capable of serving the nation and of rais- ing it to that height of glory and prosperity, which it will one day attain, if a noble emula- tion unites the efforts of all good citizens round the altar of their country. 302 THE DUKE OF SUDERMANIA. Gentlemen, my sentiments and my wishes are sufficiently well known to you. Placed between the King and the nation, the first sub- ject and the first citizen, I will always set you the example of devotion to the Monarch and of respect for the Constitution. ANSWER OP THE CROWN-PRINCE TO A DEPUTATION OF THE STATES, ON PRESENTING THEIR RESOLUTION THAT THE DUKE OP SUDER- MANIA MIGHT ASSUME THE GOVERNMENT IN CASE OF THE ILL NESS OP THE KING AND THE PRINCE ROYAL, JAN. 20, 1818. Gentlemen, The resolution, which the States-General of the kingdom have submitted to the King for his sanction, is a monument of their foresight and of their respect for the will of the nation. The unanimity, with which this measure has been carried, is a new pledge of the fidelity which the Swedes will preserve for my Son. I congratulate him, not on his having been elected one day to mount the throne, his own experience will teach him the cares arid the ASCENDS THE THRONE. 303 solicitude inseparable from so exalted a situa- tion ; but I congratulate him on having been able, on arriving at the age of maturity, to unite without any exertion on his part, the sponta- neous suffrages of the nation and of its repre- sentatives. May Heaven, Gentlemen, inspire you with the same union, the same concord in the re- solutions which you are about to make for the good of the people. May the love which I bear for it, and which I am sure you divide with me, conduct you to results happy and satisfactory for its dignity and for its internal welfare. PROCLAMATION OF THE KING TO THE INHABITANTS OF SWEDEN, ANNOUNCING HIS ASCENT OF THE THRONE AS KING OF SWE- DEN AND NORWAY. Stockholm, Feb. 5, ISIS. When in consequence of the proposition made by our late father, the most puissant King and Sovereign Charles XIII. to the 304 ASCENDS THE THRONE. States-General, we were unanimously elected on the 21st of August, 1810, as his successor to the throne of Sweden ; and when, called at once by the voice of the Monarch and the will of the people, we accepted this glorious but difficult vocation, we were guided by the powerful con- sideration, that your free and spontaneous reso- lution was brought about by circumstances which were entirely unknown to us, and en- tirely independent of our will. This resolution caused us to renounce a peaceable life, which was then the object of all our desires. We received, on our arrival in Sweden, the most striking proof of the confidence and tenderness of your King in the act by which he adopted us as his son ; and this adoption, by impressing a more solemn and sacred seal on your proceed- ings, augmented in a still greater degree our obligations and our devotion towards ovir new country. During the years which have elapsed since this period, so precious to our heart, we have tried to fulfil towards this Prince, ever loved and ever regretted, all the duties of a faithful subject and of a tender son, and we have each day found the highest recompense for our efforts in his paternal affection. This blessing for us exists no more; death has snatched from us him who had devoted to ASCENDS THE THRONE. 305 us all his affections. Torn from our arms, from those of an inconsolable wife, from the circle of his weeping family, taken from a people of whom he was twice the preserver, he died with the tranquillity of a philosopher, with the calm of a pure conscience ; and accompanied by the consolations of religion and the tears of grati- tude, he has gone to claim his reward in a better world. We received for you his last benedictions, which were as fervent at the end of his career as in the days of the fulness of his vigour. Ascending, in consequence of this sorrowful event, the throne of Sweden and Norway, to govern the two kingdoms in accordance with their fundamental laws and the Riks-Akt, de- creed and resolved on by the States-General of Sweden, on the 6th of August, and by the Storthing of Norway on the 31st of July, 1815, we give you our Royal assurance that we will govern the kingdom according to the act of the Diet of the 2nd of May, 1810. Ever since our first entering into the land of Sweden, the principal object of our cares has been to defend your liberty, your rights, and your independence. Providence has deigned to crown our efforts, and on this mournful occa- sion our first duty, as well as our first thought, x 306 ASCENDS THE THRONE. has directed us in like manner to invoke its powerful protection for the happy issue of our future labours. We look forward to be strongly supported by your unanimity, and by your patriotism. On close terms of union with your Constitutional King, you will con- tinue to be free and independent ; it is thus that you will do most worthy honour to the memory of a Prince, whom we this day lament in common with yourselves. May his guardian manes ever watch over the destiny of a people, who were rendered happy by his cares, and who, on the tomb of their King, may exclaim in the fulness of their gratitude, " Without him we should not enjoy those laws which we have ourselves established, nor that land of liberty which contains the ashes of our fathers, nor that future prospect which his virtues and his sacri- fices have prepared for us." Whereupon we pray Almighty God to have you, our good and faithful subjects, in his holy and worthy keeping. [The Norwegian proclamation, besides a few trifling changes, had the following conclusion.] May his guardian manes ever watch over the destiny of a people who were rendered happy ASCENDS THE THKOXE. 307 by his cares, and who may exclaim over the tomb of their King, in the fulness of gratitude, " He calmed by his wisdom the spirit of dissen- sion ; he succeeded by an even-handed justice in uniting them with the bonds of fraternity : had it not been for him, Hatred would still be exhaling her venom among the nations of the North, which is now dissipated by the splen- dour of his immortal name." ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF UPSALA, FEBRUARY 17, 1818. Gentlemen, Never had grief a more just and sacred cause than that which the members of the University of Upsala have manifested at the news of an event which has plunged in mourn- ing the two kingdoms of Scandinavia. Un- happily, it is but too true : Charles XIII. is no more. The country has lost him who honoured and defended it for forty years of his life ; him, in short, who found his only personal happiness x 2 308 ASCENDS THE THRONE. in the benefits he dispensed, in the protection which he afforded to Literature and Science, and in the institutions which he founded in favour of public education. I have deeply felt this loss ; Heaven has taken away from me my King, my father, I may venture to say, my friend, but it has left me the example of his virtues for my guide. It is with pleasure that I comply with the request you have made. The post of Chan- cellor of the University of Upsala will fur- nish my Son with opportunities of profiting by your learning, and of personally judging of the different modes of instruction. By frequenting your University as much as his other duties permit him, he will be able be- times to mark out among the youth, who at- tend your lectures, the servants and future props of the State. CORONATION. 309 ANSWER OP THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE STATES-GENERAL, TO REQUEST THAT HIS CORONATION MIGHT TAKE PLACE WHILE THEY WERE ASSEMBLED, FEBRUARY 19, 181S. Gentlemen, If any thing could soften the profound grief, into which I have been plunged by the death of a King who had so many titles to my vene- ration, it would be the sorrow which the nation has shown on the occasion of this sad and de- plorable event, a sorrow which the members of the States-General have been the foremost to express. In calling to his reward the defender of the State, the father of his people, Providence, has wished to put both our constancy and our pa- triotism to the test. That Providence, who reads the hearts of men, has seen the sincerity of our grief; it will deign, in its Almighty goodness, to watch over the two ancient realms of the North, and to listen to the fervent prayers of the monarch whom we lament. Inheriting, as I do, his love for you, I pray Heaven to grant me power to execute all that the amiable and generous soul of that Prince had conceived for your prosperity. I am sensible of the sincerity of your senti- 310 COKUNATION'. merits towards me, from the step which you have taken, and you may announce to the States-General that I acquiesce in their request. The ceremonial of the Coronation adds nothing either to the obligations or the prerogatives of a prince ; but by sanctifying the ties which unite him to the people, it furnishes a free nation with the opportunity of rendering its solemn homage to him, whom it has invested with a lawful power, for the purpose of main- taining each citizen in his rights. This cere- mony, at the same time, is an additional reason for a prince to remember the gratitude due to a people, who find the accomplishment of their desires in the splendour and the respect with which they invest him. I feel a sweet satisfaction in renewing to you the assurance of the sentiments of regard, which you know I entertain for the States-General of the kingdom, and for each one of its members individually. THE DEPUTIES OF THE STORTHING. 311 ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE NORWEGIAN STORTHING, WHO CONGRATULATED HIM ON HIS ASCENDING THE THRONE, MAY 10, 1818. Gentlemen, I receive with gratitude this new assurance of devotion and fidelity which you have just offered me in the name of the Storthing- : I am particularly pleased by the selection of your- selves as the interpreters of its sentiments. It is with pleasure that I see you in the midst of the Swedes. You may convince yourselves in person of the fraternal sentiments which they entertain for you ; you will inform your countrymen of it, and you will tell them, that every friend of the two Scandinavian na- tions ought, like me, to cherish the hope of seeing these two brother-people duly strengthen their mutual confidence by relations of recipro- cal utility : relations guaranteed by sacred oaths, by the first proviso of the Constitution, and by the Rigs-Act, which has been its consequence. At the time of your departure I will charge you with my answer to the Storthing, and you will be again the depositaries of my wishes for the prosperity of the Norwegian people. 312 OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. SPEECH OF THE KING ON THE DAY OF TAKING THE OATHS OF ALLEGIANCE AND HOMAGE, MAY 19, 1818. Deputies of the Order of the Nobility, of the Clergy, of the Burgesses, and you, good Peasants, The solemn seal of religion, stamped on the compact which has united the destinies of the Swedish nation with mine, and with those of my Son, has, in an indissoluble manner, bound our existence to yours. You are witnesses of the oath which I have taken before God ; I have invoked His inexhaustible goodness in behalf of that people, adorned with so many virtues, a people whom a noble perseverance ranks among the most renowned nations whose brilliant deeds are recorded by history. May Heaven listen to my prayers : may it pour forth all its blessings on the nation of whom we are the representatives ! Resolved to maintain and to defend your rights, we will exert all our efforts to place you in the rank of happy, and not of conquering na- tions. Separated as we are from the rest of Europe, our policy, as well as our interest, will make us carefully abstain from mixing in any OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 313 discussion foreign to the two people of Scandi- navia ; but my duty and your dignity will al- ways be the rule of our conduct, and both one and the other prescribe to us never to permit interference in our internal affairs. This nation, equally brave and jealous of its independence, has rewarded by a loyal return our cares and our devotion. It has justified and fulfilled our expectation. The numberless proofs which it has given of its affection, the gratitude which it expresses for the affection which we bear it, guarantee the stability of its destinies, and the inviolability of its oaths. It is in sight of this monument, raised by public gratitude to the memory of the great monarch who died fighting for liberty of con- science, that we invite you, Gentlemen, to take before your Constitutional King the oaths dic- tated by our laws. The Sovereign, to whom Sweden owes the glory of having reassumed the pride of her ancient attitude among the nations, and who, by the adoption with which he ho- noured me, confirmed your choice, is at this moment looking down on you ; from the height of those celestial regions where his great soul receives the recompense of its virtues, he will approve this majestic ceremony. At the very time that you pronounce this oath, my 314 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. heart will repeat that which I have already taken before the Almighty and before you. Would that from this throne, to which you have raised me, I could this moment see all the Swedes, now my children, assembled, and make them hear these words which are the expres- sion of what I indeed feel. " If the title of your King is precious to me, it is because it enables me to occupy myself more particularly for you and your happiness. This is my dear- est, my only ambition ; it will inspire all my thoughts, it will direct all my actions, and your love shall be my recompense." SPEECH OF THE KING ON THE CLOSE OF THE DIET, JULY 21, 1818. Gentlemen, During the eight months that you have been assembled round the throne, I have constantly, and with the most lively interest, followed your deliberations. If some delays have retarded your progress, observing men have been aware that they were caused as much by the difficulty CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. 315 and importance of the objects which you had to discuss, as by the defects of our social organ- ization. But these delays are not lost for the future and for experience. Let us hope that future diets will profit by them, by giving to their deliberations, and to the progress of ad- ministration, the union, the activity, and the perfection which are wanting. During the course of this session, the people and its representatives have developed great public spirit, and I have the satisfaction of ob- serving on your separation, that you are all con- vinced, that a nation which owes its political eminence to a justly acquired glory, and to laws which consecrate the origin and the true legiti- macy of its rights, can only forfeit that emi- nence by its dishonour or its destruction. Generations and empires advance in succession and disappear, but the principles of eternal truth are secure from time and from circum- stance. If prejudices would combat or would stifle them, such a struggle can only ultimately serve to make their triumph the more glorious. The union with Norway is strengthened daily. The force of events, the respect for oaths, and mutual interests, warrant its stabi- lity and its continuance. Passion everywhere subsides, for people are determined to be tran- 316 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. quil, and governed by the empire of the laws. Reason tells them that the continuance of their liberty and independence is founded on an im- mutable and constitutional confidence between the two nations. I thank you, Gentlemen, for having given to the Norwegian people a new pledge of the constancy of your sentiments to- wards them. The law which you have adopt- ed, without discussion, relative to the respect due to their rights and their institutions, is an irrefragable proof that you have no other will, no other desire, than to maintain the political union between the two nations of this Penin- sula. Since you have been assembled, two events, which must be known to you, have given new strength to those principles which serve as the basis of the compact which unites Scandinavia to its Constitutional King. A great monarch, supported by the a?gis of his power, has restor- ed a country to a people as interesting by their misfortunes, as renowned for their ancient glory. The Sovereign of one of the important States of the Germanic Confederation, has just presented to his country a representative con- stitution. These benefits, disseminated among nations, are a distinguished homage paid to those people who, while investing their kings CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. 317 with a power founded in confidence, have not, however, abandoned to chance, and to the caprice of the future, the prosperity, the ho- nour, and the existence of their descendants. Gentlemen, before I separate from you, my heart feels a desire to pour forth anew its lamen- tations over the loss of that beloved King, who was your father, and who honoured me with the name of his son and of his friend. His noble spirit will never cease to inspire me, it will serve as my guide in all my actions. I will think on what he has done, on what he would yet have done had Providence prolonged his days. His loss has been followed by another which ought sensibly to affect us. His consort only survived him a few months. During the whole period of their long union, she constantly employed herself in ministering to the happi- ness of her august spouse. On this account her memory should be equally dear to us ; on me that memory has still another claim, from my recollection of the sentiments of love and ten- derness which she entertained for me. Gentlemen of the Order of Nobility, Your titles supply you with glorious remi- niscences, and brilliant examples. You will march at the head of your countrymen for 318 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. the defence of the State, if it stand in need of your courage and your patriotism, and if it ask for your counsels, you will give them with frankness and with loyalty. Gentlemen, the Members of the Clergy, You will guide your brethren in the exer- cise of the Christian virtues, the principal foun- dations of social order and happiness of all. God will inspire you with the sentiments which must insure the triumph of your re- ligious efforts. The knowledge of the age is perpetually enlarging the empire of toleration, and the Scandinavian Clergy has been among the first to set an example. Gentlemen, Members of the Burgesses, The general peace gives a fresh activity to your industry and your commercial relations, it must increase the resources of the State. By always making your operations advance in unison with the national prosperity, you will give a permanent stability to your fortunes, and by your patriotic sentiments you will en- sure for yourselves the noblest recompense to which a good citizen can aspire. CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. 319 Good and honourable Members of the Order of Peasants. May Heaven bless the toilsome labours of the agriculturist, and may the order, which you re- present, live in happiness and independence under the aegis of the laws. Reckon on the o paternal and the tender interest of your King. Preserve that courage, that loyalty, and that energy which distinguished your fathers, and Sweden will ever contain within her boun- daries men free and worthy of their freedom. Farewell, Gentlemen ! return to your fami- lies, enjoy there all the happiness which your King can desire for good citizens. You know my wishes for the prosperity of the country ; but that prosperity will never be durable until our circulating medium shall have recovered its value. It is this value which is the principal support of our social system ; it is this which, being maintained with discretion and prudence, enriches the States, while it ameliorates the condition of all classes of citizens. You know, then, all that the country requires of us, and what are the useful and important resolutions which remain for us to take. No exertion will appear to me too great to obtain this grand re- sult ; I shall never be happy until it is attained, 320 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. and for that end I shall not hesitate, if circum- stances require it, to assemble around me the national representatives, even before the period fixed by the constitution. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE FOUR ORDERS OP THE KINGDOM, ON THEIR COMING TO TAKE LEAVE, JULY 21, 1818. To the Order of the Nobility. Gentlemen, I thank you for the sentiments which you have just expressed for me. You know mine, and it is always agreeable to me to renew the assurance of them to you. It is by this reciprocity of devotion and affection be- tween the Prince and the subject, that States prosper and become firmly established. I can without fear join my conviction to yours, on the good which we have attempted to effect, and posterity will judge of the merit of my efforts. Adieu, Gentlemen ; you are about to return to your homes, thither the heart of your King will follow you. You will, I am confident, make it your duty always to set an example CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. 321 of love for the country, and respect for the laws. To the Order of the Clergy. Gentlemen, The duties of citizens, which you have been performing, are closely connected with the doctrine, the holy truths of which you preach. In proportion as the nation shall reap the fruits of your labours, its gratitude will be your portion. By opening to the view of your hearers the consolatory prospect of a future ex- istence, you at the same time strengthen that virtue which, next to God, has for its first ob- ject the King and the Country. The people entrusted to your charge await the assistance of your knowledge. Continue to edify and in- struct them by your examples and your lessons ; inspire them with love for the public good, and respect for the laws. These sentiments elevate and consolidate states ; they fortify the soul, they dispose it towards all that is useful and all that is sublime. I recommend, Gentlemen, to your prayers my Son and the two people of Scandinavia. To the Order of Burgesses. I thank you for the sentiments which you have expressed for me. The resolutions of the Y 322 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1818. Diet which has closed its sittings, must have considerable influence on the public prosperity ; they must re-establish that order and that con- fidence in your relations, which distressing cir- cumstances had for a short time disordered. You are now about to resume your labours, from which you have been taken for eight months. Continue to do honour to the order of which you have been the representatives. The productions of Sweden offer a noble career to your enterprises ; to encourage them, form useful establishments ; take advantage of the improvements already introduced. Commerce and industry will then be a source of abundance and prosperity for you and the whole country. Adieu, Gentlemen : I rely on the devotion of your order, as you may likewise reckon on my affection and my protection. To the Order of Peasants. Good and loyal Peasants, It is with a sincere satisfaction that I receive these fresh assurances of your love. You cannot doubt my senti- ments towards you. The proofs which I have already given you of them should serve to you as a pledge for the future. Inheritor as I am of the crown of my father, as well as of his pater- nal tenderness towards you, you have the right MARSHAL OF THE DIET. to expect every thing from me, and I the right of requiring every thing of you for the coun- try. Carry back to your dwellings the satis- faction of having well fulfilled your duty, and be persuaded that your King desires no other recompense than the love of his people. I re- new to you the assurance of my royal favour. ANSWER OP THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE NOBILITY, WHO REPLACED THE BATON OF MARSHAL OF THE DIET IN THE HANDS OF HIS MAJESTY, JULY 21, 1818. The baton of Marshal of the Diet which you return to me, has been wielded in a manner alike honourable to the first order of the king- dom, and to him who has guided their deli- berations. Tell the Marshal for me, that he has entirely justified the confidence which I reposed in his merit, and that this merit determined his selec- tion for that distinguished office, which he quits to-day. To give additional weight to my opinion, I have but to appeal to that which Y 2 324 THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, 1818. the members of the nobility entertain of him. The citizen, who in the exercise of important duties, has only the welfare of his country in view, who joins to this a firm resolution, and takes honour for his guide, seldom misses the noble end to which he aspires. May the pre- sent Diet fulfil the wishes of the country ; and neither your order, Gentlemen, nor he who has presided at its deliberations, will be the last to reap the glory of it. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE NORWEGIAN STORTHING, AUGUST 12, 1818. Gentlemen, I receive with satisfaction the assurance of the sentiments you have expressed towards me; they are the reward for the attachment which I bear for the Norwegian nation. I have prolonged your sessions long beyond the period fixed by the laws, in order that you might be able to make yourselves masters of the general state and progress of affairs, and THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, 1818. 325 that becoming better acquainted with them, you might feel how frequently governments are stopped by obstacles, which retard their operations, without any ground for accusing the purity of their intentions. Distrust and suspicions lead to hesitation and wavering, always dangerous, since they never exist but at the expense of the happiness of the people ; for to be happy a people must enjoy tran- quillity. One of your legislators has very wisely re- marked to me, speaking of the political situa- tion of Norway, that "nations also have their infancy as well as men." The age of maturity ought to be the object of our wishes, and to arrive at it we must have calmness and confi- dence. Thus only can we succeed in cement- ing that concord which is so necessary to the Scandinavian peninsula. Once united, she in- closes in her interior all the elements of a last- ing prosperity, and this prosperity must render her invincible. If the burthens of the nation have been heavy, she has laid them on herself. Time and experience will teach the means of sim- plifying the administration. Its progress will then be more easy, and thence the relieved people will yield to all that fulness of confi- 326 THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, 1818. dence which they ought to repose in their representatives. Some sacrifices will perhaps be necessary ; I and my Son will be the first to set the example, and it will cost us nothing to contribute to the happiness of the Norwegian people. Adieu, Gentlemen : rely always on my royal favour. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE NORWEGIAN STORTHING, ON THEIR TAKING LEAVE, AUG. 24, 1818. Gentlemen, I could have heartily wished to be able, during the ceremony of my coronation, to sur- round myself with the whole of the national representatives. I am obliged to sacrifice this desire to the importance of the decisions which remain to be made, since they have the equal division of the public burthens for their object. On parting from you, I carry with me the agreeable conviction that your assembly is ani- mated with a love for the public good ; this THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, 1818. 327 conduct will always earn my confidence. It is by a close connexion between the national representatives and the Prince, that the people prosper, that their rights are preserved, their liberty maintained, and their name respected abroad. I will repeat with fervour before God the oath which I have taken to you to govern the kingdom according to its constitution and its laws ; I will pray Providence to grant me the wisdom and the strength which directed the actions of those great kings of whom you have just spoken, and whose memory has been trans- mitted to us in the annals of the North. Adieu, Gentlemen: I renew to you the expression of my royal favour, and I pray Heaven to direct your labours, and to take you under its Divine protection, 328 THE CORONATION. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE DEPUTATION OF THE NORWEGIAN STORTHING, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS MAJESTY'S CORONATION, AT DRONTHEIM, SEPT. 6, 1818. Gentlemen, I receive with peculiar satisfaction the fresh assurance of devotion and fidelity which the Storthing of the kingdom of Norway expresses through your medium to me. Animated by the most lively zeal for the welfare of the Norwegian people, I must feel a double happiness at learning that the Storthing justly appreciates my efforts. The proofs of truly filial affection which all classes of citizens have testified towards me during the course of my journey to Drontheim, those which I have received in the two capitals which I have visited, strengthen in my soul the sentiments which I have vowed for the nation, and inspire me at the same time with an unalterable desire to repay with a paternal kindness the noble and touching confidence of the people. The religious and solemn act of the Coro- nation, far from diminishing one tittle of the rights and prerogatives of the nation, accustoms them to regard the monarch as the defender of their rights. It consecrates him, who, invested THE CORONATION. 329 with the supreme and hereditary magistracy, maintains the sacred deposit of the laws of the country, and makes them respected by all, with- out distinction of rank or person. The people, who, the first, gave me their confidence, who called me to defend and pro- tect them, this people, who have so many claims on my love, share in all my sentiments for the Norwegian nation ; they desire the tranquil- lity and the happiness of their new brethren, the increase of their commerce and their indus- try, and they will esteem themselves happy if they can contribute to that great result. Be the interpreters to the Norwegian people of this true attachment and this sincere friendship. Repeat to the Storthing the wishes which I form, that Heaven may bless the results of their labours ; and add, with the assurance of my Royal favour, that the choice which it has made of you to assist at the ceremony of the corona- tion, is very pleasing to my feelings. 330 THE CORONATION. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE STATES-GENERAL OF SWEDEN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY AT DKONTHEIM, SEPT. 6, 1818. Gentlemen, The mission on which you are sent on the part of the States-General of Sweden, is a new proof of their attachment to me and to the Norwegian people : these sentiments for me have been expressed on various occasions, and I always receive them with new pleasure. Chosen by the Swedish people to govern them according to their constitution and their laws, 'I have exerted all my efforts to fulfil the obligations which such a confidence imposed on me. Providence has deigned to guide and to support me. It has united two nations alike proud of their ancient glory, and alike jealous of maintaining their independence. In Sweden, as in Norway, I neither desire to reign, nor will I, except according to the laws. My first ambition, is that of maintain- ing the constitutional rights of the two people. It is under the aegis of the laws, protectors of the liberty of the individual, and of the right of property, that nations prosper and are firmly established. Already Sweden feels their happy RETURN TO STOCKHOLM. 331 influence, and your King will ever consider himself sufficiently rewarded by the conti- nuance of those sentiments which you have hitherto never ceased to express towards him. The glory of conquerors may die away, but that of men who defend the liberty of nations is handed down from age to age ; the remem- brance which you preserve of the great King who defended your liberty, is a religious homage paid to his memory, and this homage is as ho- nourable to the nation who proffers it, as to the Prince to whom it is rendered. The sentiments of affection which I have vowed to the Swedish people and their repre- sentative are well known to you, and these sen- timents I personally entertain for each of you. ANSWER OP THE KING TO THE GRAND GOVERNOR, ACCOMPANIED BY THE MAGISTRATES AND THE ELDERS OF THE CITY OF STOCK- HOLM, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS MAJESTY'S RETl'KN TO THE CAPITAL, SEPT. 22, 1818. Sir, The magistrates and the burgesses of Stock- holm have, since my arrival in Sweden, given 332 HETURN TO STOCKHOLM. such numerous marks of their attachment to my person, and their zeal for the public good, that nothing which evinces a noble and perse- vering character could astonish me on their part. They have accustomed me to reckon on their devotion to myself and to my Son, and upon their unchanging sentiments for the good of the country. The new proof, which I receive of it on this occasion, penetrates me with the deepest emotion. I see assembled around me nearly the whole of the inhabitants of the ca- pital. The homage with which I am surround- ed, the blessings which meet my ears, and above all, the joy which sparkles in every eye, fill me with a lively regret that it has not been in my power to do more for the nation. JVIy first wishes are always for Sweden, and I pray Hea- ven to fulfil them. Assure the magistrates and the inhabitants of Stockholm, Sir, that a real attachment and a deeply-felt gratitude will always bind me to them. THE PROVINCE OF MALMOHUS. 333 ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE PROVINCE OF MALMOHUS, PRESENTED BY THE GOVERNOR AT RAMLOSA, JULY 5, 1819. Gentlemen, I receive with satisfaction the assurance of your sentiments ; those which I have vowed to you are as true as they are lasting. This province, interesting as it is for the richness of its soil and the industry of its inhabitants, is doubly so for me, since, when I gave myself to the wishes of the nation which had called me, it was here that I received the first testimonies of its attachment. Your gratitude is pleasing to me. It was my duty to watch over your prosperity. But in exerting my efforts to attain this end, I do not think that I have acquitted myself of all that I owe to a nation which has given me so striking a proof of its confidence. Gratitude is a senti- ment necessary to my existence, and I shall ever delight to recall the remembrance of that which I have pledged to you. Let us give thanks to Providence, who has deigned to crown the labours which I have un- dertaken for your happiness ; let us also thank 334 THE PROVINCE OF MALMOHUS. God that the terrors of a bad harvest have dis- appeared ; the last reports are re-assuring, and we have reason to hope that in some places we may find abundance, and in all a sufficiency. Commerce resumes its activity, and all the branches of national industry have made within a few years a rapid progress. The financial crises which have taken place in other countries, the great failures which have happened in the first commercial cities, have affected our course of exchange; but the measures taken to re- establish the credit of our circulating medium, must gradually bring about the results which we anticipate from them. But of what avail would all these advantages be, without that independence which is the first aim of all nations ? It is towards this great end that I have directed my most unceas- ing efforts. It is for that purpose that I have employed myself in forming an army animated by the love of their country. I glory in the cares which I have bestowed on the well-being of your defenders, and in the strict and pater- nal discipline which I have introduced among them. You have been able yourselves, Gentle- men, to see and judge of a part of this army. Every thing announces that Heaven will, in its infinite goodness, grant us the benefits of a long THE ACADEMY OF LUND. 335 peace ; but if the necessity of supporting the honour and independence of the State were to call forth our warriors, who, Gentlemen, can share more largely than myself in the honour- able opinion which you have conceived of them? In nominating my Son Commander-in-chief in Scania, I wished to give you a new pledge of my affection. I know that he shares in the sentiments which I feel for you, and I am sure of your sentiments in his favour. Adieu, Gentlemen : tell your fellow-citizens that they will ever find in me a tender father, who has no wish but for their happiness. Rely on all occasions on my affection, as well for yourselves as for the inhabitants of the pro- vince which you represent. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE ACADEIWV OF LUND, AT RAMLOSA, JULY 5, 1819. Gentlemen, I thank you for the sentiments which you have expressed towards me in the name of 336 DALECARLIA. the Caroline Academy. I have often had re- ports made to me of its labours, and I have seen with pleasure that they were always worthy of its ancient reputation. You do me justice in relying on my protec- tion. Princes are above all others bound to protect Literature and Science ; for if they are happy enough to distinguish themselves by some useful labours, it is Literature and Science which hand down their honour to posterity. Gentlemen, continue your exertions for the education of the youth entrusted to your care, and you will deserve well of your country : thereby, too, you will acquire claims to my gratitude, since you will concur in spreading information equally useful to the warrior, the statesman, and to all classes of citizens. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE PROVINCE OF DALECARLIA, AT FALUN, SEPT. 11, 1819. Gentlemen, The sentiments you testify towards me had already reached me. I have long projected this DALECARL1A. 337 visit to your province, so celebrated by the re- collections of history, and so interesting by the activity of its inhabitants. You know your- selves the obstacles which have retarded the execution of this plan. I congratulate myself on having made this journey in a year when Nature has been so bountiful. Our geographi- cal position, peace with foreign countries, gua- ranteed by solemn treaties, and tranquillity at home, now permit us to devote our efforts to the advancement of all branches of industry. This happy situation may rouse jealousy, and perhaps even envy ; for enemies, I do not be- lieve that we have any. But if any one were to attempt to trouble the repose which we en- joy, then your constitutional and lawful King, doubly legitimated by the election and the una- nimous suffrages of a free people, and by the adoption of the virtuous Charles XIII. would not address himself in vain to your patriotic devotion, to call you to defend the honour, the liberty, and the independence of the nation. 338 THE DALECARLIAN PEASANTRY. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF DALECARLIAN PEASANTS, AT MORA, SEPT. 19, 1819. Good and loyal Peasants, After a long train of misfortunes and severe losses, the nation, through the medium of its faithful and loyal representatives, called me to defend it, and to maintain its constitution and its laws. I came to a country of freemen ; I rejoiced to see the Swedish people worthy to ap- preciate this noble title. Providence has deign- ed to guide me, and has blessed my labours by enabling us to cultivate our fields in peace. Never lose sight of this benefit, let the remem- brance of it remain engraven in your hearts ; let it never be effaced. Continue to serve God, to respect the laws, to obey your magistrates, and you will resemble your ancestors, who, from the depths of their valleys, made liberty burst forth into every part of Sweden. I receive with satisfaction the expressions of your gratitude and your fidelity. You know that I love you with all the affection and ten- derness of a father, and my Son partakes of my sentiments. THE PROVINCE OF GEFLEBORG. 839 ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE PROVINCE OF GEFLEBORG, AT GEFLE, SEPT. 25, 1819. Gentlemen, On entering your territory, I experienced a sweet enjoyment, that of seeing the people raise their vows to Heaven for my happiness and for that of my Son. These testimonies of devotion and love form our principal glory. Happy the princes who can inspire such senti- ments. A citizen on the throne, I have devoted my- self to maintain the law, and thus to preserve us from the evils which an ill-regulated liberty produces. In our transactions with foreign nations, I have sustained the national dignity, and the public spirit has seconded my efforts. Seas and vast deserts are our boundaries, we can, therefore, with security, employ ourselves in perfecting our internal organization ; and by relying on ourselves, we shall preserve the blessings most precious to men, liberty, and a country. The rapid advances of industry, and the increase of our commerce, will augment our prosperity ; the constant union between the government and the nation insures to this z 2 340 CANAL OF SODERTELGE, Peninsula all the advantages which civilized states can desire. I receive with a peculiar satisfaction the ex- pression of gratitude which you have offered me in the name of the inhabitants of the pro- vince. After many years of scarcity, Heaven has blessed their labours ; the successes obtained this year over a rugged soil encourage the hopes that the cultivator will hereafter find in the productions of the earth an indemnification proportionate to his outlays and his labours. Adieu, Gentlemen : reckon always on my constant and paternal solicitude, and assure your fellow-citizens of the extent of my royal favour. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE WORKS OF THE CANAL OF SODERTELGE, ON THE OCCASION OF ITS OPEN- ING, OCT. 7, 1819. Gentlemen, The opening of the Sodertelge canal, by establishing the communication between the OPENED BY THE KING. 341 Baltic and a lake which bathes so many fertile provinces, is a monument which will attest to our descendants the courage and the heroic firmness of the Swedish nation. The impartial historian will tell, that Sweden, at the moment of losing some of her fairest provinces, and in the most painful and the most difficult circum- stances, did not despair of preserving the primi- tive soil of the mother country. Supported by the King, Charles XIII. whom the State had entrusted with its defence, she dared even to conceive from the first year of the glorious reign of that Prince, the design of joining the two seas. Amid the agitations and the events of war, the labours were not discontinued : the general peace has afforded us the leisure and the means of completing one of these great enterprises, and of prosecuting the other. It is by increas- ing the public welfare, it is by perfecting what we have already so happily begun, by opening new sources of prosperity in the interior, and fresh outlets abroad, that a celebrated people replies to the enemies of its glory and of its political independence. Providence lias visibly announced the protection which it has granted to this nation ; it has fixed its boundaries in a time of peace, but it opens to it a vast career if .'342 CANAL OV SODKItTELGE. it be ever unjustly attacked. The only victo- ries of which we are ambitious are those which we gain over the rugged soil which we culti- vate ; these are the only durable conquests, these are the conquests which the people ap- preciate when they are accompanied by the legislative power, and the guarantee of personal liberty. I accede, Gentlemen, with pleasure to the two requests which you make me in the name of the shareholders of the canal. The zeal and the perseverance which you jiave exerted for the completion of this work deserve my sincere satisfaction. You know, Gentlemen, all my personal sentiments. When I choose on this occasion, for the purpose of giving you my so- lemn assurance of them, the anniversary of the birth of the late King, I am certain that you will partake of my recollections and my gra- titude. UPLAND. 343 ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE FOUR ORDERS OF UPLAND, AT UPSALA, OCT. 18, 1819. Gentlemen, I receive with a lively satisfaction the assu- rance of the sentiments of gratitude which you have expressed to me in the name of the inha- bitants of the province of Upland. The fairest recompense for a prince, the only one which can enable him to forget the cares and the troubles inseparable from his high calling, is the eagerness of the citizens to surround his person, even in the bosom of tranquillity and of public peace. It is consoling to humanity to find that gratitude, one of the noblest qualities implanted by the Creator in the soul of man, is not en- tirely banished from this age, so celebrated by the succession of important events, but which, at the same time, presents so many afflicting examples of a forgetfulness of the most emi- nent services. Let us thank Heaven, Gentle- men, for having preserved to us, in the midst of the frosts and rocks of the North, this vir- tue, the faithful companion of liberty ; for having limited our ambition to form no other wish, to express no other desire, than to live 344 UPLAND. under the eegis of our protecting laws, and to offer to nations the picture of a family direct- ing all its cares to the encouragement of its agriculture, and to the completion of the great works undertaken for its prosperity. Doubtless, there yet remains much for us to do to strengthen our institutions ; but judging of the future by the past, by yielding to the lessons of experience, and following the steady march of time, by cementing every day the reciprocal confidence which so happily unites the government and the subject, we may hope to consolidate the public fortune, and to pre- serve from every attempt the rights and the dignity of the nation. It is to this great end that I direct my efforts ; and this great end the patriotism and the preseverance of the Swedes ensure. Adieu, Gentlemen : be the faithful inter- preters of my sentiments to your fellow-citi- zens, and always rely on my royal favour. PUBLIC EDUCATION. S45 ANSWER OP THE KING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF L'PSALA. OCT. 18, 1819. Gentlemen, When at the close of 1810 you expressed to me for the first time your congratulations and your wishes, I told you that it was public edu- cation which ought chiefly to interest a nation friendly to liberty ; that education, completing the work of Nature, matures the germs of which heroes, legislators, and great statesmen are formed ; that it was education which directed the flight of youthful souls to all that is just, grand, and sublime. I begged you constantly to recall to the minds of your pupils, that Swe- den already possessed its government and its laws, when a part of Europe was still plunged in barbarism. I was persuaded, that by re- tracing to them the virtues of their ancestors, you would inspire them with the noble ambi- tion of maintaining the national independence. I have now to congratulate you on the suc- cess which crowns your cares for the instruction of youth ; and I think that I cannot give you a more striking proof of my confidence and my esteem, than by permitting my Son to pass his 346 UNIVERSITY OF UPSALA. time among you, when his duties do not require his presence elsewhere. He already knows the obligations which the office of Chancellor of your University impose on him ; he will collect on the very spot infor- mation as to its constitution and its statutes ; and you will be able to point out to him the improvements of which it is capable, in order that he may be able to contribute by his exer- tions to their creation. But this is not the only advantage which I have promised myself by the Crown-Prince of Sweden becoming the Chancellor of the Uni- versity of Upsala. I think with you that all the young citizens, who fill your university, and towards whom I look as to the hope of the administration and of the public service, will find in the presence of their Chancellor new motives for courage and emulation ; while on his side, my Son, who will thus become acquainted with them at that happy age when the passion for good is the predomi- nant desire, will have more certain data for not calling to the different employments any but those who are the most worthy to fill them. I hope, also, that he will derive from your discourses those true principles of public mo- UNIVERSITY OF UPSALA. 347 rality and patriotism which naturally emanate from our happy social organization. Morality has rules no less positive than science ; it ought always to be illuminated by the torch of reason. The order and the stability of institutions should always go hand in hand with the respect for the rights of citizens and for the dignity of man. Your conversations with my Son will constantly communicate to him those important results of your learning, which, like the star of the north, guides the mariner in that sure course, beyond which there is nought but dan- ger and shipwreck. Believe me, Gentlemen, I shall always take a lively interest in the existence and the repu- tation of this Academy. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE MAGISTRATES AND THE BIRGKSSES OF UPSALA, OCT. 18, 1819. Gentlemen, I receive the expression of your sentiments -day with the same satisfaction I felt when 348 SOCIETY OF FORGES. the magistrates and burgesses of Upsala offered them to me eight years ago. During this period, Providence has lavished on us numerous benefits. The union of the two Scandinavian nations, which for their own interests should never have been separated, allows us peaceably to employ ourselves in per- fecting our interior industry, and gives us a political strength which promises the happiest results. I thank you, Gentlemen, for the regret and the tears which you give to the memory of the late King ; it is the most certain and the most satisfactory manner to convince my heart of your love and your attachment for me. Adieu, Gentlemen : rely on all occasions on my royal favour. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE MEMBERS OP THE SOCIETY OF FORGES, MAY 17, 1820. Gentlemen, I feel a sweet satisfaction if the assistance which I have afforded to a province, where the SWEDISH IRON. 349 manufacture of iron is so considerable, has been able to augment and favour your industry. Nature, when she refused us the precious metals with which she has enriched other countries, deposited in the bosom of our mountains trea- sures more analogous to our character; let us not accuse her of having treated us with rigour ; contented with her gifts, let us endea- vour to profit by them, and to render ourselves worthy of them, by our love for the soil which she has given us. According to the evidences which I have obtained, the riches which this soil covers are nearly inexhaustible ; well em- ployed, they may raise Sweden to an exalted degree of prosperity ; but to attain this end we must not forget that real wealth consists in the price of labour and of produce : as long as their value is in proportion to the money in circula- lation, wealth is not artificial ; it is real and permanent. It is this fixed value which should occupy your cares ; on this depends not only your prosperity but also the advancement of a branch of industry which supports a consider- able part of the population, and without which there would be no longer any balance in the state of your finances. By directing my attention to a distant pro- vince which encloses beneath its ice and its 350 PUBLIC EDUCATION. snow the rich treasures of nature, I wished to give a proof of my solicitude for the country. I do not conceal from myself the difficulties which will oppose this undertaking, but I trust that, guided by the counsels and the experience of men skilful in the art of working mines, I shall succeed in fertilizing and rendering useful to the kingdom a district which has long been abandoned to the most complete neglect. I beseech Providence to bless your efforts, and to crown them with a happy success. Reckon always, Gentlemen, on my favour, and on the pleasure I shall feel on every occasion when I shall be able to afford you proofs of it. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY OF LUND, PRESENTED AT SKARHULT, AUGUST 25, 1820. Gentlemen, I have always regarded public instruction as an important object of the solicitude of princes. Ignorance makes men the slaves of their own passions, and tributary to those who wish to PUBLIC EDUCATION. 351 enslave them. In proportion as a nation be- comes enlightened, a patriotic zeal developes itself in its bosom, which is the guardian of its greatness and its independence. History proves to us by more than one example, that when con- querors have subjected the human intellect to oppressive regulations, they have brought real misfortunes upon the people. It is for you, Gentlemen, to disseminate knowledge through- out the country, and I feel a lively satisfaction in applauding your efforts to fulfil that noble task. In developing the intellectual faculties of youth, you begin by engraving in their hearts the precepts of our holy religion ; and it is upon that solid basis that you establish the edifice of their education. All branches of human know- ledge come within your sphere, but it is only by accompanying them with a deep sense of morality and of the public interest, that you wiU give them that brilliancy which beams afar. In cultivating the mind of your pupils, never lose sight of the grand object that of forming their hearts to virtue. Repeat to them unceas- ingly, that if science and talents ensure them the admiration and respect of their fellow-citizens, it is by the qualities of the heart that they must earn their love and their esteem. You will, I am sure, continue thus to fulfil your noble call- 352 MEDALS. ing, and thereby to acquire honourable claims on the confidence and the gratitude of the country. Reckon, Gentlemen, on my constant protec- tion for your University, and on my peculiar favour for each of you individually. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE DEPUTIES OF THE STATES-GENERAL AT THE BANK, FEB. 7, 1821, Gentlemen, I accept the three medals which you have offered me in the name of the States-General. The first, struck to perpetuate the memory of a beloved King, revives in my heart sorrowful re- collections ; but these sad impressions are soft- ened by the satisfaction which I feel at seeing your homage to the memory of this good King, who only lived for the happiness of the Swedes, after having been twice the liberator of his country. The States-General, by placing my portrait by the side of that of the monarch who adopted me for his son, have acquired new MEDALS. 353 claims on my favour, and the delicacy of their resolution makes me feel all the value of it with double force. The sweetest consolation which kings can carry to the grave, is the certainty that their cares for the cause of humanity will not be forgotten. The object of the second medal is as flattering to my Son, as it is delightful to my heart. The honourable testimonies with which the nation has been pleased to honour his youth, impose on him great obligations. I know his respect for his duties and his love for you, and I enjoy the happy persuasion that he will seek to fulfil them. The event commemorated in the third medal, is one of the most important to be found in the annals of modern history. The religious refor- mation of Luther taught men that they were possessed of certain rights, and that liberty of conscience was one of the noblest gifts of the Creator. I receive, in the name of the Queen, the medals which are intended for her ; and I en- treat you, Gentlemen, always to rely on the continuance of my favour. 354 STATE OF NORWAY, 1821. SPEECH OF THE KING AT THE OPENING OF THE NORWEGIAN STORTHING, FEB. 8, 1821. Representatives of the Nation, Six years have passed away since the period when your King accepted the compact, which, by uniting you to a nation descended from the same ancestors as yourselves, insured your li- berty, and placed you in the rank of indepen- dent people. The report which will be made you on the state of the kingdom, will enable you to appreciate the advantages of your pre- sent situation. No nation on the earth has established their rights and obtained their con- stitutional guarantee with fewer sacrifices than the Norwegian people. But to preserve such precious gifts of Providence, let us remember that no people deserve to be free, unless it learn to enjoy that freedom under the law. Let us not forget that many States have struggled for a long time against despotism, anarchy, and civil war ; that others, after having braved all tempests, have been forced for the public in- terest to restrain and modify their rights, which the impetuosity of passion had abused. By examining all the administrative measures STATE OF NORWAY, 1821. 355 which have been adopted since the Storthing of 1818, you will be convinced of the paternal solicitude of your Government, and of the con- stant activity with which it watches over your happiness. Much, it is true, remains to be done. Our civil and criminal code is not com- pleted, the balance and distinction of authorities are not clearly established ; but the caution which I have used in all affairs where my Royal intervention was necessary, ought to fill you with the most perfect confidence. The budget, and the satisfactory statement of the revenues of the kingdom, will give you the necessary information on your resources, and will furnish you with means of adopting measures necessary to meet the national duties. The liquidation with the Danish Government of the Dano-Norwegian debt is effected. If it had been necessary to fix the quota of Norway, according to the ninety -third article of the Con- stitution, and in proportion to the population, it would have been fixed at nearly a third of that debt ; but the reasons which your Govern- ment has established, have diminished the quota much below that which was laid to the account of the country. Providence has blessed our harvests. The rapid progress of our rural economy will, 1 2 A 2 356 STATE OF NORWAY, 1821. hope, shortly secure us from all hazard in fu- ture. Agriculture, manufactures, and trades, are the grand sources of the public wealth, sources which are ever inexhaustible to a sober and laborious people. The commercial situation of Norway parti- cipates in the depression which exists all over the world. Let us hope that conjunctures will be more favourable; and in the mean time let us obviate by labour, economy, and prudence, the difficulties which this stagnation occasions. The relations of peace and good understand- ing between the two kingdoms of the Scandi- navian Peninsula and Foreign Powers, continue on the most friendly footing ; and it is with the most sincere satisfaction that I can announce to you, that notwithstanding the disagreeable incident which took place at Bodoe, I have every reason to hope that our commercial rela- tions will not suffer any injury from an event which presented itself under so unfavourable an aspect. The Government of Great Britain has shown upon this occasion a spirit of conciliation, of which I have fully felt the value, and our dignity requires that we should make a proper return. A power is not estimated by its mere strength, but by the stability of its institutions, ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 357 and the independence of its character. The aim of your King will always be to maintain that guarantee, which is indispensable to powers of the second order, and is the guardian of tran- quillity among nations : his will can never be otherwise than that of the laws ; his glory is inseparable from your liberty. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE ROYAL ACA- DEMY OF SCIENCES, ON THEIR RETURNING THANKS FOR HIS SANCTION OF A NEW REGULATION, MARCH 3, 1821. Gentlemen, It is with satisfaction that I have given my sanction to the regulation, which you submitted to me. I have done it with the more readiness, because it is the fruit of the meditations of men celebrated for their talents and their learning, and whose names are the property of Europe. In making theory and experience the foun- dations of your labour, you have laid down rules which, while they extend the dominion 358 UNIVERSAL PEACE. of Science and of Learning, enable us to judge of the progress of the human mind, and to re- gulate its developement. In all governments, but more particularly in free states, the sovereign should be the patron, as he is the defender, of Science and Literature. By these means both the prince and the people may expect the establishment of those rights, the principles of which are implanted by Nature in the human breast. Persist, Gentlemen, in the diffusion of know- ledge ; Knowledge is the inheritance of Rea- son, whose empire will one day banish those scourges which have so long ravaged the sur- face of our globe, and which have devastated by turns, without distinction, the fairest as well as the least fertile countries of Europe. Universal peace, tranquillity, and the secu- rity of states, these are what nations desire, these are the blessings which they claim. Let us concur to make our country enjoy all these advantages, to which its position, and the cha- racter of its inhabitants entitle it, and we shall then have deserved well of our country. Assure the Academy of my favour, and rely, Gentlemen, on the continuation of my senti- ments. JUSTICE. 359 SPEECH OF THE KING ON THE OCCASION OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE ROYAL COURT FOR SCANIA AND BLEKING, MAY 24, 1821. Of all the attributes which surround royalty, there is none which should be more flattering to a sovereign than the power of doing justice. It is the attribute most worthy of the elevated rank to which he is raised; it is that above all, of which I am the most proud. I feel, there- fore, Gentlemen, a sweet satisfaction at this moment, when I have raised a new temple to Moral Virtue, and when I find assembled around me the ministers charged to interpret its deci- sions, and to render them respected. What indeed is more precious than justice ? It is one of the first wants of man, it is the bond and the soul of society, and the true foundation of public liberty. Where it reigns, every thing flourishes, every thing prospers, and its happy influence spreads everywhere Confidence and Peace. In the origin of society, and in the infancy of nations, all power was in the hands of the chief. Those individuals, whose private in- terests were affected, found then no other sup- port but in the arms which defended them 360 ERECTION OF A NEW COURT. against the attacks of the enemy. It was for a long time also that the same hand wielded the sword of the warrior and the scales of the judge. But as civilization insensibly advanced, this concentration of power was found danger- ous for all. Thenceforth, sovereigns, reserving to themselves the privilege of being the source of all protection, entrusted the administration of justice to persons distinguished for their in- tegrity and learning. The judicial, being thus separated from the executive and the legislative power, became for nations an inestimable bene- fit, the pledge of the preservation of their rights. In pursuance of this principle, different tri- bunals have been formed. In proportion as these tribunals are multiplied, the course of jus- tice is accelerated, and becomes more certain. These reflections have determined me to erect a court for Scania and Bleking, provinces so interesting for their population, their riches, and the industry of their inhabitants. It is you, Gentlemen, whom I have chosen to form this august tribunal. Go, and fulfil your ho- nourable functions : organs of the law, resem- ble it in its inflexibility, and by justifying the confidence of your King, deserve the esteem of those to whom you dispense justice. NORWAY. 861 A solemn alliance is from this moment esta- blished between you and the supreme chief of the national authority. This chief assures you of the intervention of his power, the very in- stant that your judgments, dictated by the book of the law, shall be disobeyed. Certain of this beneficial and salutary support, be the dread of the wicked and the refuge of the in- nocent. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE NORWEGIAN STORTHING, AT CHRISTIANIA, JULY 30, 1621. Gentlemen, I have heard with pleasure the expression of the sentiments which you have declared, in the name of the Norwegian nation, for me and for my Son. Those among you, who have the hap- piness to be fathers, will easily understand my emotions and my sensibility at the recital of the interest you have taken in the danger which he has past through, and of the prayers which you have offered to the Almighty for the re- 362 THE STORTHING. covery of his health. He will fulfil your hopes ; he will be a citizen to respect the laws, and a soldier to defend them. The discipline of camps, and the glory of the field of battle, have seductive attractions ; but there is another glory, which in all well-regu- lated countries is not less eminent ; it is that glory which a government that aspires only to perfect the organization of the State, derives from its success, a success obtained without con- vulsion or without violence. Let us, Gentlemen, mutually support one an- other ; let us openly communicate our thoughts, but let us never forget that the national repre- sentatives, who have attempted to domineer over the authority of the executive power, have occasioned schisms, the result of which has been but anarchy or despotism. Let us avoid these two great scourges, and fulfil the expectations of the nation. It forms no other wish than to be able to enjoy in peace a liberty which gua- rantees to it the exercise of its rights. Never have the people of the North saluted a monarch devoid of energy with the title of GOOD ; never have their armies marched with confidence under the banners of a feeble and timid prince. NORWAY. 363 Rest always assured, Gentlemen, that my happiness is inseparable from the prosperity of the Norwegian nation. SPEECH OF THE KING AT THE CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, AUG. 21, 1821. The political events which we have wit- nessed for this past year, must have convinced you, Gentlemen, of the constant attention which Governments have paid to the mainte- nance of order and tranquillity in Europe. Norway could not remain ignorant of it. In proportion as the privileges which she enjoys offer points of comparison, the use which her legislators would make of these privileges, must necessarily furnish subjects for a general obser- vation. If it be in the nature of constitutional go- vernments to favour the developement of ideas, it is also the duty of enlightened men to pre- vent the dangers of an extravagant advance- ment. The past is far from us ; let us profit 364 THE STORTHING. by it to direct our thoughts. It is only after a mature examination into my own duties and into the wants of the nation, that I have pre- sented to you the different propositions for alterations in the act of the Constitution. 1 have been guided only by the desire of main- taining and consolidating the liberty which I obtained for the Norwegian people, this title to their gratitude being the dearest and the most lasting which I can desire. I flatter myself that the public opinion, well directed, will appreciate my intentions, and I ought to be able to rely in this respect on the frank and loyal co-operation of the national re- presentatives. Impress upon your fellow-citi- zens that liberty is only stable when the Go- vernment is strong, that there is no guarantee where the power is imperfectly balanced, and that a constitutional state, which desires to avoid convulsions, the consequences of which are incalculable, should throw all the superflu- ous preponderance on the side of a protecting government. The resolution which you have taken for the payment of your ancient debt to Denmark, will operate favourably on the public credit. I am not ignorant of the difficulties which still remain for us to overcome ; they proceed partly NORWAY. 365 from the stagnation of commerce, the activity of which would furnish such an useful support to the industry and the finances of Norway ; but my constant solicitude for your welfare will increase with the urgency of the circum- stances, and I hope that Providence will bless my efforts. Proud of commanding a people who enjoy the noble right of publishing their thoughts and of boldly expressing their opinions, I shall respect courageous truth, while I repress licen- tiousness of language. True literature, an es- sential part of national glory, repels insult and calumny ; the author, who has the feelings of a true citizen, should be the first to acknowledge that when duties are contemned his rights cease to exist. I see with pleasure the time draw nigh when the zeal and the learning of those, to whom the important task of digesting a new code for the kingdom is entrusted, will remove all contra- diction between the principles of your ancient laws, and the rights which you have acquired. This ambiguity is especially observable in the question on the responsibility of my counsel- lors of state. These officers are exposed in all constitutional countries to a freedom of remark ; they require, at least, a guarantee that they 366 THE STORTHING. shall be judged according to fixed principles, and not by arbitrary or deceptive analogies. I propose to regulate the constitutional privi- leges of each counsellor of state, and I shall have laid before the next Storthing a project of a law on their responsibility, which will fix for the national representatives the amount of their prerogatives. The political situation of the Scandinavian peninsula, with regard to the other States of Europe, leaves nothing to desire for the con- tinuation of our amicable relations. It is for us to maintain these elements so important to the existence of every well organized society. In declaring now, in conformity with the law, that the session of the ordinary Storthing for 1821 is concluded, I renew to you, Gentle- men, the assurance of my sentiments and of my royal favour. CHARLES XIII. 367 ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE SWEDISH AND NORWEGIAN COUN- CILS OF STATE, ON THE INAUGURATION OF THE STATUE OF THE LATE KING, CHARLES XIII., NOV. 5, 1821. Gentlemen, The sentiments which you have just express- ed, are dear to me on more than one account ; they show the perfect agreement of our affec- tions and our thoughts ; they prove to me that I had augured aright of the virtues of the Scan- dinavian people, when I thought that by this act of filial piety I should anticipate their inten- tions and fulfil their wishes. These sentiments are genuine. Contempora- ries have no cause to fear that posterity will disavow them : history will explain their mo- tives ; it will tell them, that after having acceded to the wishes of the nation, which by a glorious choice had called me to the succes- sion of the throne, this good King adopted me for his son, and ever preserved towards me the tenderness of the best of fathers. The eager- ness with which all classes of citizens assemble at the solemnity of this ceremony, is an authen- tic testimony of his benefactions, and of the remembrance which you preserve of them. Our descendants will rejoice to see, in this 368 CHARLES XIII. statue, the portraiture of the Prince to whom two emancipated nations entrusted their poli- tical regeneration, of that citizen monarch, who repaired so many misfortunes, and showed him- self so religious an observer of the laws. Happy in having been the prop of his old age, my happiness is increased each time that I reflect on the projects which his generous soul conceived, and of which he has bequeathed to me the execution. We have now for many years been reaping the fruits of what Charles XIII. did for his country; and the remembrance of his brilliant services will endure longer than the monument which I this day raise to his memory. May this remembrance maintain among us, and perpetuate from age to age, the happy har- mony, the manly courage, and the noble vir- tues which constitute the strength, the glory, and the prosperity of nations. ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE. SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE KING AT THE ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURE, JAN. 28, 1822. Gentlemen, On this solemn day, the anniversary of the institution of the Academy, and on which we are going to open the new building which is appropriated to it, I come among you, to give you a particular proof of my solicitude. I have followed your labours and their results. The fruits of your exertions are not immediately felt, but the improvements which are matured by time are always the safest and the most lasting. Continue, Gentlemen, to communicate the assistance of science and learning to the cultivator ; and while we enlighten them, let us respect this laborious class, which constitutes the real strength of the State. Remember that it is the source of all that is grand, or noble, or exalted in this world, and that the men, whom Providence has permitted to be placed by nations on the highest summit of power, draw their origin from this common cradle of the human race. Our harvests have been blest. If, in traver- sing Sweden, T have seen barren districts, I have likewise seen immense plains covered with 2 B 370 AGRICULTURE. the richest harvests, which might vie with the most fertile countries in Europe. Let vis thank Heaven for the advantages which it has given us ; but let us consider how well to employ this mass of production, that abundance may not become a source of internal embarrassment. Let us open markets for the cultivator, and let us use all our endeavours, that in the midst of the richest and most fertile country, towns may consume the fruit of the labour of the agricul- turist, may become the centre of industry, and may increase still farther, by their manufacto- ries, the national wealth. It is thus that, by courage and perseverance, virtues so essential to nations who desire to raise themselves to a high degree of internal strength and foreign consi- deration, we shall acquire our prosperity and insure our independence. The happy effects of this perseverance already manifest themselves. The reports rendered of the increase of the population prove that, since the union of the two Scandinavian kingdoms, it has increased by 140,000 souls in Sweden, and about 60,000 in Norway. This increase is doubtless equivalent to the acquisition of a pro- vince, which would have cost us large sums of treasure, and a great effusion of blood. CONFLAGRATION AT NORRKOPING. 371 ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE CLERGY AND THE MAGISTRATES OF NORRKOPING, JUNE 18, 1822. Gentlemen, I have felt severely the misfortune which has befallen your town. I recall with gratitude and with emotion the numerous marks of devo- tion and fidelity which its population has given me. I come to offer you consolation as a man, and as King to bring you assistance. I see with satisfaction that you have recovered from that first consternation, the natural consequence of a great disaster. Continue to look up to Provi- dence, and hope every thing from its infinite goodness. It has been pleased to try you on this occasion, but it has only smitten you with a passing evil. Activity, sobriety, industry, and labour, will assist you in repairing your losses, and in replacing the town of Norrkoping in that rank which it held but a short time since. The State is rich, it will succour you ; and by prudently employing these resources, the days of prosperity and ease will return, which this town now mourns. Rely always, Gentlemen, on my favour, and on my eagerness to supply your wants. 2 u 2 372 NORWAY. SPEECH OF THE KING ON THE OPENING OP THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, SEPT. 20, 1822. It is always with a fresh satisfaction that I address the representatives of the people whom Providence has confided to my care. The happiness which I find in multiplying the proofs of my disposition in their favour, pro- ceeds from a well-founded conviction, that they are in conformity with equity and sound rea- son, since they tend to consolidate the empire of the laws, freely agreed to, and firmly exe- cuted. You know, Gentlemen, by what heroic efforts, and what painful sacrifices, institutions are obtained or acquired by nations ; you are aware of the difficulties they meet with in con- solidating them. More happy than others, you have received these institutions as a gift from Providence. You ought, therefore, to feel the necessity of labouring, with a prudent hand, to root out from them all that is contrary to their execution, and to add to them all that they re- quire for their stability. It is to ensure this stability in the exercise of your rights, that I have convened you, in order to confer on a method of fulfilling, in a manner independent NORWAY. 373 of accidental conjunctures, the engagements which have only been a natural consequence of the liberty which Norway enjoys as a state. The resources which you have placed at my disposal to pay the debt owed by Norway to Denmark, are positive, and I still think, that if they could be realized, they would be suffi- cient. Not less confident in your intentions than in my own, I shall order the means the most pro- per to obtain this desirable result, without aug- menting the public burthens, to be laid before you immediately. Your patriotism and my solicitude strength- en my belief that I shall find no other rivalry among you, than that of vying in your respect and support of the national honour. Our united flag has obtained new commer- cial advantages in the Black Sea, and our rela- tions of good understanding with all Powers continue on the most amicable footing. I assure the Storthing of the continuation of my royal favour. 374 GOTHA CANAL SPEECH OP THE KING ON THE OPENING OF THE CANAL OF GOTHA, AT SJOTORP, SEPT. -23 1822. Gentlemen, When the Swedish people, twelve years since, called me to defend their rights, I did not he- sitate to accept that honourable choice, for I knew their energy, and I felt that a nation which had withstood so many vicissitudes, was destined to preserve its station among inde- pendent monarchies. Enemies without, and internal agitations, still threatened to impose on it the fetters of slavery, when it dared to form a project worthy of the most celebrated people, that of joining the two seas, separated by the whole extent of the kingdom. Many of our great Kings had before formed this vast pro- ject. The great Gustavus Adolphus would have executed it, if death had not struck him, while fighting on a foreign land for liberty of conscience. Happier than him, I have realized the plan which he had conceived, that of re- uniting two people, who were designed by Na- ture to be eternal friends. It remained for me to effect the junction of the seas which bathe our coasts, and I have the satisfaction to-day of OPENED BY THE KING. 375 seeing this vast enterprise in a great measure terminated. The advantages which must result from this new communication are evident. Years must certainly elapse before they can be felt, but as certainly the time will arrive when these ad- vantages cannot be mistaken. The rising gene- ration will bless the courage of those men who conceived this sublime project, and the perse- verance of those who have executed it will find a place in our history. It is with a lively pleasure that 1 hear the praises which you give to the soldiers who have been employed on the Gotha canal. I know from experience their bravery, and their love of discipline ; it is agreeable to me to hear that they display the same zeal in those peaceable works which have for their end the prosperity of the interior. I appreciate the skill and the activity of the generals, the officers, and of all the function- aries who have contributed to the execution of this noble work. I have often had occasion in my journies to do them this justice, and I beg you to express to them my entire satisfaction. I thank you all, Gentlemen, for the constant attention which you have paid to this glorious monument of my reign ; and you, Count do 376 AG1UCULTURE. Platen, receive my congratulations on the zeal, the energy, and the talents of which you have given so many proofs. The happy result which we celebrate to-day, is principally owing to the liberality with which the States-General have furnished the sums necessary for the continuation of the works. Wishing to perpetuate the remembrance of these generous sacrifices, I give on this solemn occasion to the first lock the name of " Consti- tution," and to the four which succeed it, those of the four orders of the kingdom. SPEECH OF THE KING, ADDRESSED TO THE SOCIETY OF AGRI CULTURE OF THE PROVINCE OF SKARABORG, AT HAJSTORP, SEPT. 24, 1822. Gentlemen, When nations form themselves, and when they establish for the base of their social com- pact the liberty of the individual and the right of property, they feel the necessity of insuring that liberty by augmenting their productions, AGRICULTURE. 377 by increasing their industry, and by creating a defensive system. Sweden, dependent on her neighbours in years of scarcity, was obliged to direct her attention to the cultivation of her soil. This wise precaution has given rise in most of the provinces to societies of rural eco- nomy, and the solicitude of the Government has founded the Academy of Agriculture in the capital, to serve as a central point. The productive soil of the province of Skara- borg has induced its inhabitants to put in prac- tice foreign enquiries and discoveries. Success each day crowns their efforts, and if, in the late productive years, the moderate price of corn has diminished the profit on which the agriculturist had reckoned, this loss has been compensated by the plenteousness of the harvests. I then remembered that the cultivator in barren years had been compelled to have recourse to the public magazines. These loans, valued at the price of corn at the time when they were con- tracted, would have weighed heavily on him, if he had not been allowed to repay them in the article ; and the Government hastened to afford to its debtors all the facilities compatible with the laws and its own duties. The junction of the seas, by facilitating com- munication, will have the most happy effects. 378 AGRICULTURE. You will find in plentiful years a more certain outlet for the productions of your soil, and in years of scarcity the Government will be able to give you readier assistance. The province of Skaraborg, by its position between the two great lakes, will draw immediate advantages from it, which will operate in turn on all the branches of its industry. Continue, Gentlemen, the useful labours which are the object of your Association. Rely always on the eagerness of the States-General to augment the national prosperity, and be as- sured that, united by my feelings and by my duty to the delegates of the people, I will con- tinue to support with all my means and all my constitutional authority the measures which they shall take to consolidate your welfare. ANSWER OF THE KING TO THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, WHO CAMS IN A BODY TO PRESENT THEIR HOMAGE TO HIS MAJESTY, ON HIS ARRIVAL AT CHRISTIAN IA, OCT. 1, 182S. Gentlemen, I receive with heartfelt pleasure the assur- ances of your attachment, for I know that they NORWAY. 379 are sincere. Organs of the sentiments of the nation, you have expressed what it has so often proved to me. Never doubt my gratitude ; the care which I have taken of your welfare is a lively proof of it. My glory, my happiness, are intimately connected with those of the Norwegian people ; and when, in the course of Nature, I shall have ceased to exist, my Son will continue the work which I have so happily begun, that of cementing the independence and the prosperity of Norway. I am not ignorant of the inconvenience which you must feel on quitting your commercial, your agricultural labours, or whatever other branch of industry each of you may profess. But I never for a moment doubted your patriot- ism, or your eagerness to make personal sacri- fices when the State required it, and I have always thought that, when necessity urges, the promptest remedies are those which should be preferred. I have had the propositions laid before you, on the measures which I think advantageous in o the present state of the finances of the king- dom. If, in the course of your discussions, your view of the question be different from mine, I shall respect your constitutional privileges, and you will not cause me the slightest displeasure NORWAY. by frankly announcing your thoughts. I shall never conceive the idea, that a difference of opinions between us can have any other motive than that of true patriotism. I consider that it would be advantageous for Norway, to possess within itself the assistance which circumstances require, and to avoid as much as possible all foreign dependence. I am of opinion, that to effect this, we have but to make a prudent use of the effective resources which we possess. But if the commercial interest take alarm at the loans which the bank would raise on the State, if you fear that a new deterioration of the value of the paper currency will result from it, I abandon my idea. I am averse, it is true, to annual loans, which absorb the national property, but I willingly accede to the plan of borrowing a large sum to fulfil our engagements towards Denmark. We shall be able to raise it on be- neficial terms, and I know that we have the means of satisfying the contractor in the space of thirty years. I do not wish to exercise any influence over your deliberations. My only de- sire is to fulfil my royal duty, and to pursue the dictates of my heart, by giving you my counsels as a friend and a father ; and I fondly persuade myself that you will never misconceive the purity of my intentions. THE STORTHING. 381 I am sensible of the regret which you mani- fest that my Son does not accompany me on this journey. You may be convinced, Gentle- men, that he returns all the attachment you en- tertain for him. His absence will not be long ; he will return to our peninsula towards the end of the following month. But before many days, I shall make a communication to you, relating to him, which will be agreeable to you. I pray God, Gentlemen, to guide your la- bours, and I assure you all of my royal favour. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, ANNOUNCING TO HIS MAJESTY THAT THE STORTHING HAD ACCEPTED THE ROYAL PROPOSITION ON THE MODE OF LIQUIDATING THE DEBT TO DENMARK, AT CHRISTIANIA, NOV. 11, 18-22. Gentlemen, The address which you have just presented to me, proves that I had foretold aright the sen- timents and the feeling of the representatives of the nation, by convening them around me in an extraordinary Storthing. This result of 382 NORWAY. your deliberations is extremely pleasing to me, and the people will successively reap from it all the advantages which they have a right to expect. Continue, Gentlemen, to disseminate by your example and your discourse, constitutional principles among your fellow-citizens, and im- press daily on them this truth, that, when the legislative authority and the executive power are not directed, by a mutual understanding, towards those great objects, the glory, the pros- perity, and the independence of the nation, states, even the most powerful, and governed by these principles, may be exposed to real danger. The literal and religious observance of the laws will always be my desire. I hope that future assemblies will present bodies not less enlightened than that which has gained so much honour in the present Storthing. Assure the Storthing of my royal favour. NORWAY. 383 SPEECH OF THE KING ON THE CLOSE OF THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, NOV. 16, 1822. Gentlemen, The important business on which I summon- ed you to this Storthing extraordinary, being now concluded, I have great satisfaction in an- nouncing to you, that I have the best founded hopes that the result of your deliberations will be of a nature to consolidate the prosperity of the kingdom. I do justice to the spirit of mo- deration and patriotism which has presided in your sittings. You have decided that the interests of individuals must yield to the in- terest of the mass, and that private fortunes cannot be insured until the public fortune is established on a solid foundation. You have recognized that immutable principle, that good faith is the aegis of the law, and the safeguard of liberty. After many ages under an absolute Monarchy, Norway has suddenly come under a Constitutional Government ; in spite of that, you have avoided the dangers which the most civilized and most enlightened nations have not been able to escape, and you have maintained, with a religious reverence, the fundamental 384 NORWAY. act, by acknowledging that it is only with ex- perience that we should proceed to alteration and to improvement. In the progress of the social state, great diffi- culties arise. These difficulties are less in an unlimited monarchy, where the will of one rules all ; where force is only accountable to force, the sovereign can restrain and repair every thing. But in a representative monarchy, where the king and each citizen have their duties and their rights fixed by the law, it is necessary to use great circumspection. If only one individual attempt to overstep the line of his rights, he runs a risk of compromising at once both his own and those of others. You have seen fatal examples of the evils to which a state may be exposed, if its represen- tatives are not guided by conviction, and the agreement of public opinion. You see, even now, in one of the most beautiful countries of Europe, a valorous nation, which has been fighting so many years for its liberty, but which, rent asunder by a discordance of feelings and wishes, sees no end to its misfortunes, spite of the most heroic efforts and the most painful sacrifices. A mutual confidence between the chief and his citizens, and a noble denial of all selfish views, and of private interest in favour NORWAY. 385 of the public good ; these are the true means to make a state prosper, to render it flourishing in its interior, and respected abroad. You, Gentlemen, have performed the condi- tions, and the State will reap the fruits of your patriotic efforts. You will enjoy in your own persons a sweet recompense, the favour of your King, the esteem and the gratitude of your fel- low-citizens. I am happy to be able to bear wit- ness publicly, that you have justified my hopes, and fulfilled the expectations of the country. On declaring now, by virtue of the fiftieth section of the Constitution, that the session of this Storthing extraordinary is closed, I invite you, Gentlemen, to join me in returning thanks to Providence, which ceases not to shower its benefits upon us, and to watch over the Scan- dinavian Peninsula. In tranquillity at home, at peace and on friendly terms with all nations, we can devote our exertions to the increase of the different branches of national industry, the primary and inexhaustible sources of the prosperity of states. When you return to your hearths, you will set your brethren the example of con- cord, of labour, and of a prudent economy; and, although the duties which you have so honourably performed for these two months 2 c 386 DEPUTATION OF cease to-day, you will continue, I am sure, to be useful to your country. Adieu, Gentlemen : I offer vows for the hap- piness of each of you, and I assure you all of my Royal favour. SPEECH OF THE KING, JAN. 21, 1823. To the Grand Deputation of the Nobility. I receive with a fresh pleasure the expres- sion of the sentiments of the Nobility : the first order of the State, I can reckon invariably on their fidelity to the laws, and their devotion to the country and to me. You know my feel- ings towards your order : they are always the same, and will ever continue unalterable. To the Grand Deputation of the Clergy. The sentiments which the Clergy express for me, acquire for me a new value. I rely on their enlightened zeal for the public good, and I pray Heaven to guide their labours. THE STATES-GENERAL. 387 I assure the order of the Clergy of the full extent of my Royal favour. To the Grand Deputation of Burgesses. I receive with satisfaction the assurance the Burgesses have given me of the continuance of their devotion and fidelity. My confidence in this order assures me already of the happy result of their deliberations. I repeat to the order of Burgesses the expression of my Royal favour. To the Grand Deputation of Peasants. Every opportunity that is afforded to me to give a proof of my protection to the order of Peasants, I seize with pleasure. Never forget the important advantages which you enjoy in the State : deliberate with calmness and tran- quillity, and give your King that satisfaction which he has a right to expect from the order which you represent. Rely always on my sen- timents and my Royal favour. 2 c 2 388 STATE OF SWEDEN, SPEECH OF THE KING ON THE OPENING OF THE STATES-GENEHAL, JAN. 21, 1823. Gentlemen, For fourteen years, since Sweden gave her- self a new Constitutional arrangement, this day is the first on which the representatives of the nation have met in ordinary Diet. Four years and a half have elapsed since the close of our last session. So long a period in the midst of internal peace, with a new constitution, adapted to ancient laws, and to still more ancient or- dinances, is a rare example in the annals of the world. The events of our days furnish proofs of the misfortunes to which empires are expos- ed by revolutions. The fury of anarchy, the convulsive movements of democracy, and lastly, despotic oppression, these are the scourges from which few nations have been able to preserve themselves. They have been dispersed in Swe- den by the celestial breath of Providence, and your constitution, digested in the midst of poli- tical storms, has been religiously maintained. Every good citizen will feel that the inestim- able benefits of internal tranquillity and inde- pendence abroad, are the results of the attitude SWEDEN, 1823. 389 of the Government, and of the regular course which it has followed. It is for you, Gentlemen, who represent one of the most virtuous nations on the earth, to aid me in preserving for that nation the blessings which it has hitherto en- joyed, and to which it is attached by the ties of the dearest interest and the fondest affection. It is for you also to acknowledge, that a state, governed by constitutional forms, cannot enjoy the protection which these forms afford, unless each individual remains within the limits which they prescribe. The report which will be laid before you of the situation of the kingdom, will give you a just idea of the careful endeavours which the Government has used to introduce improve- ments, which the country already appreciates. The secret committee which I intend to form, will be informed of the difficulties which I have had to surmount, and of the obstacles I have had the happiness of overcoming. Gentlemen, the Members of the Nobility, Your order was instituted for the defence of the State ; it derives its origin from the services which your ancestors have rendered to their fellow-citizens. With their names, and the re- collections of their virtues, they also bequeathed 390 SWEDEN, 1823. to you their duties. Continue to bear for your motto : HONOUR THE COUNTRY and THE KING. Gentlemen, the Members of the Clergy, If it be the obligation of the Nobility to de- fend against all enemies the temples of our holy religion, the palace of the rich, and the cot- tage of the poor, if the sacrifice of life is the least of their duties, your calling is to diffuse and to implant the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Minis- ters of a God of peace, preach concord and union, and direct men's minds to one common point obedience to the Law and to its ministers. Gentlemen, the Members of the Burgesses, Make commerce and industry flourish ; en- deavour to give a value to our productions. In a free state, the honourable professions which you exercise are on an equality with all the ad- vantages derived from success in arms, and the glory which attaches to them. And you, good and loyal Peasants, Ever glory in being the fostering fathers of the present generation, and of those which shall succeed it. Never look with disdain on that plough, which, whilst it attests your labours, SWEDEN, 1823. 391 gives you a right to say with a noble satisfac- tion " The strength of a state lies in the num- ber of its agricultural population. The land which we till, supplies our fellow-citizens with their first wants ; and the same arms which cul- tivate the soil, are likewise always ready to pre- serve it from foreign invasions." Gentlemen, The public security requires us to employ ourselves in giving to the nation laws in har- mony with the Constitution which regulates the State. The governors and the governed equally merit our constant solicitude. The people de- sire to know their obligations and their rights in a clear and precise manner ; they also wish their representatives and the Government to lend one another mutual support ; and they expect from this union of strength, of free will, and of patriotism, their happiness and conse- quence ; for the law of self-preservation is as imperiously implanted by nature in nations as in individuals. Long consideration has convinced me that the kingly power should be distinct and sepa- rated from the judicial power, except in the case of the appeal to mercy. The President- ship of the Supreme Tribunal, devolved on the 392 SWEDEN, 1823. King by the Constitution, should cease ; and the judicial power should thus be disengaged from the influence which the Sovereign may exercise over the highest court in the kingdom. A message on this point shall be presented to you, according to the forms of the Consti- tution. The circulating medium constitutes the for- tune of the citizens, since it represents the value of immovable property, and of all produce. The keeping up its value should be one of the principal objects of the legislature : but be- ware, Gentlemen, of the dangers which result from too sudden innovations, and avoid losing all by wishing to recover too much. Expe- rience, that sublime instructor of man, will guide you in the resolutions which you will take. As the Constitution does not give me any direct right of interference in the financial system of the kingdom, I must confine myself to wishes that your measures may be of such nature as to avert from this country the fatal effects which so many states have had to de- plore. The first wish of my heart, always connected with the interest of the country, will lead me constantly to diminish the public charges ; ne- vertheless, the desire to preserve the stability SWEDEN, 1823. 393 of your independence, a sentiment closely con- nected with your national existence, assures me that you will know how to distinguish all that is required by the present circumstances, from that which, at first view, might appear to you superfluous. In the midst of abundance and the most pro- found peace, Providence has willed that we shall know that there is no happiness in this life without alloy. Two great conflagrations on the same day threatened the capital, and con- sumed two-thirds of the town of Norrkoping. Scarcely a month since, the town of Boras was almost utterly destroyed by a similar event. I hastened to afford assistance to the victims of these disasters. The loss of money it is easy to repair, and I rely with confidence on your co- operation in the rebuilding of these towns, so essentially connected with the welfare of the neighbouring countries. The duties of sove- reigns are so weighty, that you will, I am sure, remember that to relieve their suffering sub- jects, is a power which may compensate to them for the burthen of many others. The works to join the Baltic with the lake Malarn by the canal of Sodertelje, were finished about the end of 1819. The commerce of the provinces of Upland, of Westmania, of Suder- 394 SWEDEN, 1823. mania, and Nericia, must increase in conse- quence of this new communication. The junction of the lakes of Wenern and Wettern, so ardently desired by the interior pro- vinces of the kingdom, was finished last year. From the coasts of Smiiland and Ostrogothia the navigation is open to the North Sea, and the works have been carried on from the Wettern to the Baltic. This great monument, begun at a period when Sweden was threatened with the loss of its very name, will attest, when going down to posterity, the bold conceptions of those men who extended their ideas even to the junction of the two seas. 1 thank you, Gentlemen, for the means which you have furnished me for the comple- tion of the greater part of these works, and I hope that you will support me in continuing them. The results which they must bring about, are connected with the dignity of the nation, and the perseverance which distinguishes its character. The compact of union concluded between Sweden and Norway is consolidated. The re- ciprocal good faith, with which the two nations recognise and respect their rights, guarantees the tranquillity of the peninsula, and its rapidly increasing prosperity. SWEDEN, 1823. 395 The relations with Foreign Powers continue to be confidential and friendly. The system of my Government, purely defensive and pacific, cannot fail of maintaining the good intelligence which subsists between Scandinavia and the states of all ranks. My Son has, with my authority, asked in marriage the Princess Josephine de Leuchten- berg and d'Eichstedt, grand-daughter of the King of Bavaria. This sovereign has given his consent to the union. I could not resist the pleasure of communicating it to you, even be- fore the arrival of the ratifications. This happy event, by fulfilling your wishes and my own, insures to the Scandinavian Peninsula that solidity which the love of its inhabitants for me, and for my Son, and our reciprocal senti- ments, give it the right to expect. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurance of all my sentiments and of my Royal favour. 396 SWEDEN, 1823. ANSWER OP THE KING TO THE STATES-GENERAL WHO CAME TO PRESENT THEIR ADDRESS OF CONGRATULATION, FEB. 18, 1823. Gentlemen, I receive your address, and the congratula- tions which it contains, with the feelings with which I shall be ever penetrated for all that bears the stamp and character of a true at- tachment and of a sincere gratitude. The discussion which took place on the sub- ject of the terms of this address, has given me a fresh proof of the spirit which animates the national representatives towards me and to- wards my Son. This rivalry among you would increase my affection for you, if the faculties of my soul, and my ardent wishes for the country, could acquire a greater intensity. A representative government should bear its course between two extremes despotism and licentiousness. The natural inclination of the human mind carries it towards these extremes ; therefore is it so difficult to obtain the just mean, and to maintain it. We have arrived at that object. With us there is neither despo- tism nor licentiousness. Zeal and ardour for the cause of liberty are no doubt praiseworthy ; SWEDEN, 1823. 397 but when they are not restrained within just limits, the people lose, instead of acquiring the liberty which they love. I am fully aware of the great difficulties which I have to surmount to maintain this equilibrium. They are increased when the course lies between ancient institutions and a new Constitution, between the laws and the customs which those institutions have conse- crated, and the improvements which are re- quired by the new compact. Guardian of this compact, I feel the necessity of directing both the influence of opinion and the force of habit. I respect that predilection, so powerful among men, for things which they have been taught from their childhood, and to which they some- times remain as much attached as to their own property. I pray Providence to assist us in preserving untouched the national honour, that blessing which, when once lost, is so difficult to recover. It is then that, as first magistrate and first citi- zen, I shall have obtained imprescriptible rights to the gratitude of a loyal and brave nation, which has called me to consecrate my services to its cause, and to support and raise the splen- dour of its name. I thank you, Gentlemen, for the love and the 398 THREATENED ASSASSINATIONS devotion you manifest towards my Son and his future wife : I appreciate it as a King and a father. At the age to which I have attained, man is ordinarily near the end of his life ; few years are probably reserved for me, but my last breath will invoke the blessing of the Most High on the Swedish people, and the Scandi- navian Peninsula. Assure the States of the continuance of my Royal favour. ANSWER OF THE KING TO AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY THE STATES-GENERAL OF THE KINGDOM TO HIS MAJESTY, MARCH 15, 1823, ON THE SUBJECT OF ANONYMOUS LETTERS, ASSERTING THAT CERTAIN FOREIGNERS HAD COME TO SWEDEN TO ASSAS- SINATE THE KING AND THE PRINCE ROYAL. Gentlemen, The horror which the States-General and all classes of citizens have spontaneously expressed at the first news of the plots which the Genius of Evil was framing against me and against my family, will amply indemnify me for the anxiety I may have felt on their account. Organs of a loyal and faithful nation, I see you with emotion pressing around me ; not OF THE KING AND PRINCE. 399 that I believe I indeed run any danger ; I dis- dain to suppose that there can be any truth in it. But this burst of your souls, true emblem of all that patriotism presents of the most im- posing and solemn character, will demonstrate to the eyes of foreigners the completion of the inviolability of your rights, of the sanctity of your fundamental compact, and of the free and unanimous choice which was its consequence. To maintain liberty, if it is to be maintained, the union of our wills and the continuation of all our energy is required. Nations rarely prosper when the princes and the people are not united by mutual agreement and interest. The glory of the prince is re- flected on the nation, as the prosperity of the nation is reflected on the prince. I have already proved to you that my happiness is centred in yours, and that I only breathe and live for the people. I am confident that I shall succeed in rendering it independent and respected abroad, if each citizen participate in my desires. All inquiries authorized by our laws con- tinue to be made. There remains to me, how- ever, one hope, which is, that the odious pro- ject which has been conceived, did not originate in the bosom of a Swede. I renew to the States-General the expression of my sentiments and of my Royal favour. 400 CORONATION OF THE QUEEN. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE MAR- SHAL OF THE DIET, AT THE HEAD OF A GRAND DEPUTATION OF THE FOUR ORDERS OF THE STATE, DEC. 4, 1823. Gentlemen, The wish just expressed by the States-Ge- neral inspires me with a lively satisfaction. I should many months since have anticipated their wishes, by making the necessary orders for the coronation of the Queen my wife, if I had not been restrained by the thought that this solemnity, consecrated by ancient custom, came exclusively within the department of the grand State ceremonies. This conviction was sufficient to determine me to wait for the ex- pression of the wishes of the States-General ; and I receive it with the gratitude which each new proof of their devotion for my family in- spires me. I acquiesce in their desire, and I will fix the day definitively. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurance of my sentiments, and of my Royal favour. SECRET COMMITTEE. 401 SPEECH AT THE CLOSING OF THE SECRET COMMITTEE, DEC. 18, 1823. I wished, Gentlemen, to assemble you before the close of the Diet, to inform you that your duties are concluded, and to testify to you my satisfaction at the patriotic feelings which have dictated your opinions. The result of late events in Europe proves the justness of the political views which I had developed to you. It is only by the modera- tion and prudence of the legislative assemblies, that representative governments can hope to preserve the prerogatives and the rights assign- ed to them in the fundamental laws of each state. It is this moderation alone that can pre- serve them from the breakers towards which their elevation has led many nations. Sharing, as I know you do, this conviction with me, I am certain that you will maintain the principles resulting from it, and that you will disseminate those feelings on your return to your homes. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurance of my Royal favour. 402 DIFFICULTIES OF LEGISLATION. SPEECH OF THE KING TO THE STATES-GENERAL, ON THE CLOSE OF THE DIET, DEC. 22, 1823, Gentlemen, Although the fundamental charter only al- lows you to remain assembled four months, I felt bound to yield to your wishes, by permit- ting you to prolong your sittings seven months more. On the first political glance, there would perhaps appear cause for astonishment at the length of this session ; but experience in busi- ness, and skilfulness in treating important af- fairs, often fail from the diversity of interests inherent in the social state of man. Circum- stances exercise a peculiar sway beyond all cal- culation and all combination ; and events, some- times the effects of chance, or of some unfore- seen cause, frustrate the efforts of the most consummate prudence. If you have not now fulfilled the expectations of every one, you have prepared for the future Diet, a facility of establishing the basis of a financial improve- ment, desired by all classes. Liberty, in giving man the consciousness of his dignity, gives him strength and resignation INTERNAL TRANQUILLITY OF SWEDEN. 403 to support with fortitude the vicissitudes of life. But this liberty quickly disappears, when the Government is not invested with a sufficient extent of authority to preserve to the people what they have acquired. You have witnessed the events which have afflicted the most flourishing countries in Eu- rope. When States are troubled, it is the peo- ple at last which most suffers. The conviction of this should determine us never to lose sight of their welfare and tranquillity. The first of the blessings which they have the right to demand of us, is their internal repose ; and to obtain that, their voice commands us to put in execution, without distinction, the laws which form their safeguard. We feel the happy influence of a peninsular locality ; if, however, the laws which govern us have not acquired the degree of perfection which we might desire, time alone can improve the system. To effect these changes suddenly, would be to render problematical all the advantages of the present and all the bright hopes of the future. Nations have their peculiar character. By precipitating the natural progress of their genius, we should expose them to those cata- 2 D 2 404 FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF SWEDEN. strophes, of which the present day furnishes us irrefragable proofs. I have followed the same system of circum- spection in the application of our reciprocal duties, and I have steadily refused aU partial interpretation of our fundamental laws. De- siring only to preserve my lawful prerogatives without encroaching on yours, I shall be always disposed to concert with you on all that can give more clearness to our compact, and thus lead us on to the constant increase of the public prosperity, in a firm and united manner. Our exportation has been very active, and the balance of commerce for this and the pre- ceding year, has been in our favour. The har- vests have been abundant, and still the cultiva- tor is embarrassed. He will continue to be so until a new mortgaging system places him in a more secure position, than that which he is now in. If the hope which I entertain of see- ing their situation improved, is not justified, I will again assemble the States-General around me, in order to propose measures to them, the efficacy of which cannot be doubted, except in those cases which are not within the reach of our assistance. The committee charged with digesting the new code, has completed its labours. This NEW CODE CANAL OF GOTHA. 405 code will be presented in the next session, with the modifications or improvements which I shall judge right to introduce. The code of criminal law is also the object of my solicitude. Its di- gest will bear the stamp of individual liberty and of general security. The sums which you have placed at my dis- posal for the completion of the grand works of the canal of Gotha, and for other works of pub- lic interest, appear to me sufficient ; and I hope to be able to fulfil your expectations and my own. The progress of administration developes it- self in so evident a manner, that it is impossible for any observer, even the least clear-sighted, not to mark its advances. Happy the nations, which in the bosom of public peace can thus increase their welfare, and simplify their in- stitutions. The system of neutrality which my Govern- ment has adopted in all affairs, which do not essentially and immediately affect the existence of the two kingdoms, insures us that this neu- trality will continue to be respected. On our part, we will neglect nothing to make it last- ing. The friendly relations existing with all the Powers of Europe, augur a lasting peace, which forms the object of our wishes. 406 CLOSE OF THE DIET, 1823. I thank you, Gentlemen, for the multiplied proofs of affection and devotion, which you have given me, as well as each of the members of my family. I regret that the separation of the Diet, joined to the bad season of the year, should have prevented the execution of the desire which you manifested to me for the coronation of the Queen, my wife. This de- sire shall be gratified at the next meeting of the States-General. On returning to your hearths, and to the bosom of your families, strengthen the bonds of peace and union. Be friends, be Swedes ! That glorious name reminds you that the em- pire of firmness is the first of all, but that weak- ness and discord destroy states, and snatch their liberty from mankind. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurance of all my sentiments, and of my Royal fa- vour. SWEDISH NOBILITY. 407 ANSWER TO THK DEPUTATIONS OF THE FOUR ORDERS, AT THE CLOSE OF THE DIET, DEC. 22, 1823. Gentlemen, the Members of the Nobility, The sentiments which you have expressed for me, are my recompense for the troubles and cares inseparable from a throne ; and I receive them with the satisfaction and the gratitude with which this new offering of your devotion inspires me. The first order of the State, and enabled to appreciate the advantages of a social organi- zation, you must have observed the benefits which arise to nations from the system of jus- tice by which the administration acts. Civil dissensions, the abandonment of agriculture, and the enslavement" of the people, are gene- rally the fatal results of the timidity and weak- ness of governments. We shall avoid these scourges, the destruction of empires ; and the country will continue to enjoy its internal re- pose, and its independence abroad. The Nobility will, I am sure, second me in my efforts for the happiness and the glory of the nation, and will thereby prove that they have never ceased to honour the ashes of those 408 SWEDISH CLERGY. heroes who were the first founders of their order. I renew to you, Gentlemen, the assurance of all my sentiments, and of my Royal favour. Gentlemen, the Members of the Order of the Clergy, br!-I thank you for the sentiments which you have just expressed to me ; they are the same as those you have always manifested both by words and actions, and it is an agreeable satis- faction to me to render this justice to the order of the Clergy. The pure evangelical doctrine has laid in Sweden the foundation of your social organiza- tion. Ministers of that Church, specially charged to enlighten men, and to strengthen their reli- gious belief, you perform at once the double task of forming citizens faithful to the state, and of instilling that pure and Christian mo- rality, which makes man at peace with him- self, and teaches him to place all his hope and all his trust in the infinite goodness of the Creator. Continue to diffuse the salutary principles which you profess ; and while you contribute to the perfecting of public education, impress on youth the distinction between truth and false- WEALTH OF NATIONS. hood, justice and all that bears only the appear- ance of it. In declaring to you that I reckon on your efforts to perform this grand national object, I seize with pleasure this occasion to assure the order of the clergy of my support, of my affection, and of my Royal favour. Gentlemen, the members of the Order of Burgesses, Commerce and industry are the principal sources of the riches, of the strength, and of the security of empires. It is by commerce and navigation that we have acquired the knowledge of our globe : it is commerce which has civilized the world ; and it is commerce, moreover, which has raised many states, such as England and North America, to the height of prosperity which they now enjoy. These coun- tries afford an incontestable proof of the great advantages which result from a well-established national industry. We ourselves daily acquire the happy experience of the affluence which it introduces in all classes, and in how much it generally improves our situation. You may rely then, Gentlemen, on the protection of Go- vernment. I am persuaded that your order will continue to second me by its efforts in all that can contribute to the maintenance of the 410 WEALTH OF NATIONS. public credit, the principal basis of the preserva- tion of our wealth, our liberty, and our inde- pendence. I receive, Gentlemen, the expression and the assurance of your sentiments with the satisfac- tion which I derive from the conviction that I have acquired your attachment for myself and my family ; and I am delighted to renew to you the assurance of my Royal favour. Good and loyal Peasants, The Diet which has just closed has afforded me a new pledge of the frank an-d patriotic sentiments which animate the class of the Swedish peasants. With their devotion and fidelity to me I am well acquainted, but it is always very delightful to hear the expression of it repeated. Supporters of the State, the props of the throne, and defenders of the liberty of the nation, the order of Peasants may expect every thing from me, when their interest and welfare are in question ; and I, in my turn, have the right of demanding every thing of them, when the public prosperity and preservation of our rights are at stake. Carry back to your peaceable dwellings the favour of your King, and the assurance of the tender interest which he takes in you. MARSHAL OF THE DIET. 411 ANSWER OF THE KING TO M. THE COUNT DE BRAKE, WHO HAD RETURNED TO HIS MAJESTY THE BATON OF MARSHAL OF THE DIET, DEC. 22, 1823. Count De Brahe, and you, Gentlemen, The Marshal who has borne the baton, which you now return to me, during this Diet, has fully justified the confidence which I had placed in him. I was guided in my choice, not only by the esteem which your order entertains for him, but moreover by the knowledge which I had acquired of the exalted qualities which have always distinguished him. In the important duties which he has per- formed, he has had no other aim than the wel- fare of his Country, and the glory of his King. Inform him, that to give a marked proof of the satisfaction I feel at his honourable services, I have raised him to the dignity of Noble of the realm. The nobility will observe in this resolution the continuance of my sentiments towards them. Be persuaded, Count De Brahe, that I shall always be gratified at having an op- portunitv of renewing my expressions of them. 412 NORWAY, 1824. SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE STORTHING OF NORWAY, FEB. !), 1824. Gentlemen, The fundamental law, by virtue of which you are assembled in ordinary Storthing, points out to each of you his duties and his rights. It is not so much to the obligations thus im- posed, as to the enlightened patriotism and the good faith of its representatives, that the people look for their tranquillity at home, and their consequence abroad. And moreover it is only by a perfect union between their delegates and the chief of the State, that they can enjoy the beneficial effects of their Constitution. It is with these happy auspices that I salute you to-day, on the opening of your session. The report of the state of the kingdom, which will be laid before you, will instruct you in detail of the salutary effects resulting from the confidence reposed by the last Storthing in the Government. Agriculture has made a rapid stride, and commerce has recovered itself. New lines of communication have favoured the common interests of the two brother-nations. The finances of the State have been adminis- tered with so much regularity, that I have had CONSTITUTION OF NORWAY. 413 no necessity to make use of the credit which was offered to me by the Bank ; and the politi- cal engagement which we had made with Den- mark has been performed according to the basis laid down by the Storthing of 1821. It remains for us to improve our social com- pact : you are about to deliberate on the changes which have already been proposed in the last Storthing. I appeal to the conviction of all of you, to judge of their utility. A pa- ternal government applies itself to enlighten the citizens, and it is for their judgment to recognize the urgency of the measures which it has originated. If the absolute will of the chief must be executed on the instant in the field of battle, it is not thus, when the settlement of a nation is debating. It is by calmness, by meditation, by abstraction from all particular interests, and by a proper mastery over their wills, that men suc- ceed in giving themselves institutions analo- gous to their locality and their character. Con- cord is chiefly necessary for the bringing about the final result of real happiness. The organization of a country ought to esta- blish a perfect balance between the sovereign and the legislative assembly : this balance, the essential base of mutual confidence, is contained 414 PROPOSED ALTERATIONS. in the spirit of our fundamental law ; and the people who invest their legislators with the right of proposing laws, desire, at the same time, that their permanent and hereditary chief should, on his part, affix his sanction to the laws which he finds just and useful. I think it due, therefore, to repeat to you, what I said at the close of the Storthing of 1821, "That it is only after mature reflection on my duties, and the wants of the nation, that I have caused to be laid before you the different propositions for the alterations in the act of the Constitu- tion." It is for you to examine what is immediately necessary, and what may be the subject of more mature consideration. It is for you to foresee the inconveniences which may arise, if shackles, which are not authorized by the spirit of the Constitution, prevent the Government from procuring for the people all that is required by the present state of society. In the number of changes proposed, that which concerns Section 79 is especially of great consequence. The necessity of making this section harmonize with Sections 1 and 3 is evident ; and 1 invite you, Gentlemen, to em- ploy yourselves on this subject, with the at- MARRIAGE OF THE CROWN- PRINCE. 415 tention which should characterize the represen- tatives of a body politic. In extending your views beyond our sphere, may noble thoughts elevate your minds, and preside over your deliberations, as also over the resolutions you are about to take. You will then be convinced, I am sure, that justice and moderation are the essential bases of the strength of Constitutional assemblies. Exer- cise, Gentlemen, those noble virtues ; and when your session shall be closed, you will find your recompense in the conviction of having fulfilled your duties, in the favour of your King, and in the gratitude of your fellow-citizens. The communications which I made to the last Storthing extraordinary, concerning the union projected between my Son and the Princess Josephine Maximilienne Eugenie de Leuchtenberg, have been accomplished. The marriage was celebrated at Stockholm on the 19th of last June, in the presence of the States- General of Sweden, and of the deputies nomi- nated by the Storthing of Norway. Our relations with all powers are friendly, and we continue to enjoy the happy results of neutrality and peace. My efforts are exerted to insure their duration. 416 CONFLAGRATION AT NORRKoriNG. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE TOWN OF NORRKOPING, FEB. 13, 1824. Gentlemen, The misfortune which struck the industrious town of Norrkoping in 1822, and destroyed your fortunes, furnishes you, nevertheless, with a new cause to trust in Providence to repair the losses you have suffered. It is Providence which has raised your courage, and given you strength to confess, that it never abandons, even in the greatest disasters, religious citizens, faithful to their Government, and submissive to the laws. When I came among you at the period which you have just recalled to me, I did but obey a paternal feeling, and a duty which I had it in my power to perform. Your gratitude doubtless exaggerates this benefit, but it is to me a fresh proof of those national virtues which distinguish the Swedish people. The desires expressed by three orders of the State on the subject of our commercial regula- tions, are the object of my continual reflections. Invested by the law with the right of deciding on this great question of the public indepen- UNIVERSITY OF LUND. 417 dence and prosperity, I shall preserve in my reso- lution, the impartiality which the high situation I fill demands. I hope to be able to reconcile the interests of commerce, those of agriculture, and lastly, all which concerns the existence of the manufacturing class of this kingdom ; for if one of these branches suffer, the others can only drag on a feeble and languishing existence. The advancement of the arts, of the sciences, and of all possible kinds of industry, are indis- pensable to those nations which desire to pre- serve their civil liberty and their political inde- pendence. Assure the inhabitants of your town that their attachment to me and to my family will always be valued by me, and that I shall ever preserve a remembrance of the repeated proofs of it, which they have already given me. ANSWER OF THE KING TO A DEPUTATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LUND, RAMLOSA, JULY 9, 1824. I assent to the measure you have proposed, and I appoint the Chancellor whom you re- quest me to nominate. 2 E 418 UNIVERSITY OF LUND. Unity in the principles of public instruction gives a direction to the national education, which operates upon the prosperity of the country, and on the continuance of its national feeling. My Son is already identified with this in- struction. He will feel for the young students, who profit by your lessons, the same interest and the same affection which he already bears towards the pupils of the University of Upsala. The two Universities of the kingdom will have by my side, the same support and the same defender. My Son will be happy to distinguish at Lund, as at Upsala, those young men, who will be called one day to undertake the principal duties of the State. The new obligations which he will henceforth have to fill, will not be a burthen to him. The friend of Science and of Literature, he appreciates and honours those who, by diffusing them, shed a splendour on all that accords with truth and with justice. I seize with pleasure this opportunity to as- sure you, Gentlemen, of the continuance of my protection and royal favour. CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, 1824. 419 SPEECH OF THE KING DELIVERED BY THE PRINCE ROYAL, AT THE CLOSE OF THE STORTHING, AUGUST, 10. 1S2J. His Majesty announces to the Storthing, that its session is closed. During the whole time that it has been assembled, the King has seen with satisfaction, the good feeling by which it has been directed. Many laws have been adopted essential to the public and private interest, and His Majesty anticipates from them the best results. His Majesty regrets that the constitutional propo- sitions made by him in 1821, and especially the one relating to section 79, on the power of ab- solute negative, have not been adopted in this session ; but, at the same time, His Majesty finds a source of consolation in his firm convic- tion that the non-acceptation of this proposi- tion has not originated in a spirit of opposi- tion, but rather in a fear of encroaching on the act of the constitution. His Majesty is of opinion that the explana- tions which have been since given to the Storth- ing, will dispel the doubts which may still exist on the absolute negative, which the head of the 2 E 2 420 VETO ABSOLU. state ought to have on the propositions of the legislature. The King feels convinced that the Storthing partakes of the happiness which his Majesty feels on the improvement of all branches of public administration. Although this good works slowly, the evidence of it developes it- self so clearly to the eyes of all, that even the most stubborn injustice cannot call it in ques- tion. The King is convinced that all the members of the Storthing will concur with him in aug- menting and maintaining, by every means in their power, all the sources of the public pros- perity ; and his Majesty will readily have re- course to the assistance of the national assem- bly, on all occasions when he thinks that the good of the State requires it. His Majesty renews to you all, Gentlemen, and to each one in particular, the assurance of his royal favour. AGRICULTURE. 421 SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE SITTING OF THE ACADEMY OP AGRICULTURE, JAN. 28, 1825, Gentlemen, It is twelve years to-day since the time, when on founding this academy, I told you that agri- culture prospered in the highest degree in that country where, under the asgis of guarantees, men could confide in the future. The results have exceeded the hopes that we then conceived. The strength of the law, the respect for its exe- cution, the security which each citizen has enjoyed, and the assurance that the power of the government was occupied in perpetuating that security these are the causes which have given rise to the immense produce which we have obtained, in spite of the severity of our climate. Twelve years ago we were dependent on oui* neighbours for the first necessaries of life. Now we can offer our assistance to those who may suffer from a scarcity. The harbours of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean have seen Swedish vessels export our corn to their shores. But, Gentlemen, there is one great point which we should never lose sight of we should esta- 422 AGRICULTURE. blish, as well as extend. As long as that cau- tion regulates enterprizes, the riches of the na- tion increase, and the fortunes of individuals are confirmed. At the present time, we should direct the impulse given to agricultural specu- lations, much rather with the view of regulating and consolidating it, than of maintaining the momentum already communicated, which has been pursued with so much perseverance, and crowned with so much success. Conquests have an end ; the strength of cir- cumstances, that of events, Nature herself, all show it. Let us profit by the lessons which every thing concurs in giving us. To be useful to a nation, to preserve its rights, and to ensure its prosperity, we must banish that precipitancy, which consolidates nothing, we must introduce lasting improve- ments, whose durability is ensured by the test of experience. There are individuals, who do not always comprehend the beneficent inten- tions of a government, and it sometimes hap- pens that they think themselves injured, when we desire only to break the fetters by which habit has bound them ; while with others, the very extent of their knowledge leads them to overstep the bounds which are opposed to their AGRICULTURE. 423 wishes. If it be a part of the duty of a citizen to respect the laws, even in the errors which they contain, the chief of a state oftentimes finds himself obliged to act with circumspec- tion, when he wishes to abrogate customs con- secrated by time, however opposed they may be to the developement of the greatness and of the wealth of the country which he governs. Nations do not resemble individuals. The latter are in haste for enjoyment : every thing that dazzles, governs and seduces them. Na- tions, on the contrary, mark the passage of cen- turies, and await new ones. The slow march of Time and the experience of the Past, con- solidate their existence, and prepare for them a Future which they may contemplate with pride. It is on this progressive march that I depend in the cause of agriculture. It shows us that the excess of agricultural produce should be exchanged for the produce of the industry of cities, and that when these latter are cultivating and not manufacturing, a country may certainly be tranquil in its interior, and content with its daily enjoyments, but for the very reason that the cities compete with the country in the cul- tivation of the earth, they must at length cir- cumscribe the first of these branches, by not 424 AGRICULTURE. applying themselves to the production of those articles for which we are still indebted to foreigners. Every Swede has the satisfaction of know- ing, that since 1811 the population has increas- ed by a number equal to the inhabitants of the two most popular provinces of the kingdom at that time. As a nation studies the legislation of its neighbours, and seeks to discover what- ever excellence it may contain, in like manner it should study their agriculture and their ad- ministration to profit by their discoveries, and to avoid their errors. Agriculture is, in truth, the first of all branches of industry. But, like all other branches of industry, it must be regu- lated by the quantity of consumers. If the production be much more considerable than the consumption, and if it have no vent for its overplus, either in the country or abroad, the situation of the producer, instead of improving, becomes each day more grievous and more perplexing. Let us take advantage, then, of all that is useful; let us reject all that is injurious; let us look back upon the past ; let us observe the present, and await with confidence the future, under the protection of a Providence which has watched in so miraculous a manner, over one AGRICULTURE. 425 of the most ancient people of Europe. Let us reflect, that while many countries are troubled to find new resources to supply their annual deficiency, the two governments of Scandinavia while they prosecute for the interest of agri- culture those great works of internal commu- nication, which are completing under our eyes, offer each year either diminutions of the taxes which have weighed most on the cultivator, or an excess of revenue ; let us reflect that to con- tinue to be free in our domestic policy, and in- dependent in our political relations, we have need only of our own endeavours, and that all that is necessary is to reconcile the love of in- dependence with a due regard for the consti- tuted authorities ; let us maintain our present relations of union, of confidence, and mutual devotion between the two people of the Pen- insula. Strong in this union, equally strong in the policy of their government, they aim at nothing beyond what they now possess ; but the same motive which prompts their Mode- ration, bids them also discard Fear. LONDON : PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTI.EY, Dorset Street, Fleet Sucet. Preparing for publication, 8vo. THE HISTORY or INTERNATIONAL INTERCOURSE. FROM THE EARLIEST ACCREDITED PERIODS TO THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA. BY WILLIAM GEORGE MEREDITH, ESQ. A. M. IMPORTANT WORKS, JUST PUBLISHED, OR NEARLY READY FOR PUBLICATION, BY H. COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1. LIFE of JOHN LOCKE. With Extracts from his Correspond- ence, Journals, and Common-place Books. By Lord King. In 1 vol. 4to. with Portrait. 2. PERSONAL NARRATIVE of TRAVELS to CONSTANTI- NOPLE. By Captain C. C. Frankland, R.N. In 2 vols. 8vo. with Plates. 3. THE DIARY and CORRESPONDENCE of PHILIP DOD- DRIDGE, D.D. Edited from the Originals, by his Great-Grand-son, John Dod- dridge Humphreys, Esq. 3 vols. 8vo. 4. THE LOVES of the POETS. 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