Newspaper Page Text
VOL. VI.
AUGUSIA printed BY DANIEL STARNES 6? Co. west end ©f broad-street. SATURDAY Night, March 19, 1814.
Pr*m Cobbctt’, Weekly Political Remitter
of December i 1, 181$.
Conquering France.
From one step we proceed
to another. For many years
part we have been told, that
the war was carried on for
our independence - y and that, if
we did not go on with it, wc
should become the real liases
of Bonaparte. Self-preser
vation was then the cause in
which the nation was called
upon to filed its blood and
expend its money. Our
views extended as Napoleon
retreated. He was to be
driven into the undent boun
Janes of France. But novo
he is to be beheaded , accord
ing to the Times newspaper;
and according to the Cou
rier newspaper, the people of
\ France are to be punished ,
i unless they abandon him, &;
" obey, at once, a Bourbon in
his (lead. Thus, in the space
of four months, the war,
from a war of self-defence , a
war lor our own existence, is
become a war for imp-ding a
government upon theFrcnch
people. In fhorr, we have
returned to the notions and
the feenes of 1792 & 1793.
The Allies arc eroding the
Rhine, and, as we are told
by these writers, proclama
tions are to be i/Tued, similar
to that of the DukeofSrunf
wick, in which the people
of France were threatened
with dreadfu 1 punishments ,
unless they submitted to the
dictates of the Allies with
regard to the arrangement
of their government. The
articles to which I allude
here, I willinfert; not only
bccaulc I wilh to place them
upon record, but because the
reader should be convinced
that I do not misrepresent the
writers, and because it will
be ulelul for the public to
fee dearly what the views
of thele writers and of their
abettors really are. The fol
lowing article is from the
Times of the 4th inflant:
When, or under what cir
cumftanccs, the great com
mander may think fit to
carry his forces again ll the
large military or commercial
fthc fouth of France,
we go not pretend to form
conje&ures. We are confi
dent, that as nothing will
diliurb the calm and medi
tative prudence of his plans,
to nothing will arrest the
rapidity of their execution.
We trufl alike ia hi* c. ution
and in his refolutitn ; but,
•'Cihaps, there may be in
icre for him a higher dedi
cation than the capture of a
own cr the reduction of a
MIRROR OF THE TIMES.
province. What if the army
opposed to him ihould rc
lolvc to avenge the cause of
humanity, and to exchange
the bloody & brutal tyranny
of a Bonaparte for the mild
and paternal sway of a Bour
bon? Could a popular French
General open to himfelf a
more glorious career at the
pielent moment, than that
which Providence seemed to
have dellined to the virtuous
Moreau ? Or, is it poliiblc
that any power now exiting
in France could flop such a
General and such an army,
lupported by the unconquer
ed Wellington and his for*
midable legions, if they were
to refolvc boldly to march
to Paris, and bring the Usurp
er to the block ! Every difpo
labie loldier in France is on
the Adour or on the Rhine.
In the cale we are supposing,
there would be no enemy to
encounter, unless the north
ern irontier were at once
denuded of troops, and the
road to Paris on that fide laid
open to the Allies. This is
no question of the attach
ment of the French nation
to one dynasty or to another :
it is a queilion of military
enterprize, in the minds of
military adventurers. The
simple poflibility, not to fay
the high moral probability,
that in a moment of general
dcfc&ion, an army which
has so much in its hands may
run with the stream of popu
lar feeling throughout Eu
rope, is enough to make the
tyrant tremble on his throne.
Lord Wellington is doubt
lels prepared to take advan
tage of lo deirable an oc
currence, in case it should
happen without his previous
interference ; but we wish
him to interfere ; we wish that
he were authorized plainly &
openly to offer his mighty
' co-operation to any body of
men who would fhakc off
the tyrant's yoke in France,
as has been done in Italy, in
Germany, and in Holland !”
Let it be observed, that it is
here expressly recommended
to make war for the purpefe
of putting Napoleon to death. !
He has been acknowledged
as lawful ruler of France by
all the powers at war with
him. Fie has had almotl
every one of the hoflile so. /
vereigns absolutely in his
power. He has spared not
only their lives but their
throne*; ard now an Eng
hlh journalill recommends
to thole lame fevereigns to
make war upon him lor the
express purpole ot putting
him to death. Nothing can be
HOLD the mirror up to nature — Shakespeare .
clearer than that he owes his
present dangers wholly to his
having spared thole, who arc
now his molt formidable
enemies. If he had extin
guished the Aultrian power,
he would never have been
in danger. The sottish de'-
lire to royalize his family, ]
and the hope of being abis 1
j rule die people of France
l as the old families loled:
thele have led to his prelent
I A?fe of peril, and, it the
people of France turn againfl
him, will, in all probability,
coll him hf* life; but, at
j any rate, that life ought not
to be lought by those whom
he his spared. More ol this
another time. Let 11s now
hear the Courier; that vile
trumpet of cvcrLfting war :
“ We expe<sl that the next
difpatciies from the Allies
will announce their having
crossed the Rhine. Lord
Cathcart, we understand, in
his lafl difpatciies, Bated
that it was ihc intention of
the Prince of Schwartzen
burg to pass the Rhine in a
fortnight from that date.—
We are glad to hear jJiia— j
for not a moment fturiid be
1 loft —no time given to Bo
naparte to reancmble a large
army, and recruit his means.
By palling the Rhine and
entering the Netherlands at
once, they will immediately
i deprive him of the refourccs
■ in men & neccfTiries which
he might derive from that
country, disable him from
carrying on the conscription
in that quarter, and thus!
Holland and the Netherlands
I being cut off, he mull be
reduced to depend upon old
Fiance alone, which, having
thus an increased pressure
| upon her, mu ft feel more 6c
more difaffeefted to his gov
ernment and person. Lord
j *
Wellington, we tliould fop.
pose, will advance from the
I touth, vvhilft the allies march ;
| into France trom the eaftj
The aggregate force of all !
the armies againil Bonaparte,
including the relcrvcs, is es
timated at eight hundred
thousand men. The passage
of the Rhine by the Prince
of Schwartzenburg will be
j accompanied by a proclama
tion in the name ot all the'
Sovereign*, allied againfl Bo
f naparte, Hating their objects
and views. This important
document we have not yet
teen ; but we should be eiad
to nnd it buttoned upon 1
this princ.ple, that the Al
lies, convinced by experience j
that no lecure peace could
be made with Bonaparte,
who had uniformly shewn
himk.i an enemy to the re
pole and independence of j
the world, and whom no *
treaties and no principles of j
justice and good faith could
bind, would not make peace
with hint as the ruler of j
France ; that it remained for
j France to determine whether
\ the preferred incurring all
the miseries in which adherence \
to him must involve her , or 1
i restoring herlelf at once to
real peace, fecurity,and inde- \
pendence , by throwing off his |
tyranny, and rein Bating her
ancient family ? Bonaparte
and war ! The Bourbons and
peace ! This should be their 1
device, and a Bout bon thouid
accompany the Allied Ar
jmies'.”—Whether this and
such like writings be intend
ed to feel the public pulse, I do
not know; but I really do fear
that the notions here pro
mulgated are not very rare.
The projeft is here openly
avowed ; the project com
pelling France to adopt that \
sort of government which we
approve of, and which, or
couric, is moit likely, in the
j opinion of these writers, to
1 keco France in a low and
1 •
feeble Rate. At any rate, ,
, here is the project openly 1
j avowed of punching the
1 French nation, if they refufe
to obey the orders of us and
of those who arc subsidized
|by us. Here ace we, the
! inhabitants of these inlands,
1 at the end of twenty years of
war and taxation, to defend
l ourfdves againfl France, let
ting our fclves up, in the lan
guage of this writer, as the
I dictators of a government to j
a country like France ! Let j
this be borne in mind.—To
jhear our newspaper people
talk, who would not ima
| gine, that France wasacoun
' trv of the lize of the jfle of'
1 * >
1 Wight, and that her inha- j
bicants were like those of
j Java or India ? It is molt
prefumptuouK, moil impu- j
(dent language? and who
will make a bet, that it is
language of which we shall j
not 010 ft sorely repent. — If
any thing can exceed its im- i
pudencc, it is its folly . Do i
these foolifh and malig
nant men imagine, that the
French people will like Bon
aparte lets at their retom
j mendation, or at the recom
mendation of the sillies? If
the French people arc really
attached to him, can it be
fuppoled that a proclama
tion, threatening them with
punishment, uniefk they turn
against him, is the way to
make them turn against him ?
T here is, a* as 1 can fee,
»
l
no (ign of difjfte&ion to
j waids !iim in France. Difaf
-1 fcdtion may exili j hut there
; is, as yet, no iign of it.—An
English army has in
j France for some time ; but
jit is not pretended that the
people of that country has
hailed its arrival with juy.
On the contrary, we fee that
lit does not advance into
i France. Yet, if the people
really lighed for a return of
! the old government, Here is
a motl fair opportunity for
them to (how their difpoli
tion. This project of dictat
ing a government to France
is, perhaps, the very thing
that Napoleon wilhes. Let
the Bourbons once march
with the Allies, and then all
France is up in arms ior
or again tt Napoleon. The
queilion will be brought to
ifluc without delay, it is
much easier to talk about
ciofling the Rhine than to
crols it; and, suppose it
eroded, how far Will the al
lies be able to go, it the peo
ple of France are cordial on
the /ide of their n!ler?~ All
depend* upon the difpt fitiou
of the people of France !
! But, who .vill give us fccu
i uty that the Emperor $f /lus
i trut will not make peace with
< Napoleon? The latter has
ample means in his hands of
gratifying his father in-law.
If Francis be reinttated in
all his oid titles, Emperor of
Germany , fitc. &c. ; if all
the little Sovereigns who
have bten enriched at his
expense be (tripped of the r
new territories ; ifthehoule
I of Auftriagain largely on the
’ fide of Italy, and be made
matter of the house of Bran
denburg ; if this cake piace,
what is to pievent Napo
leon and Francis from again
becoming allies? And, if
they do become allies, what
(hill we have gained by
the retreat of Napoleon l
Os one thing we may be
quite sure ; that i«, that each
power will do that which it
(hall deem molt conducive
to its own particular inter
ett ; and if is very clear, that
the intrretts of the ieveral
Allied Powers are diretttly
oppo/ed to each other.—
j There leems ulrciuy to be a
strange lagging in the war;
r l he feverai armies lenn to
have come to a itand.—
There is no reason why Ruf
iia should wifli to fee Aufiria
aggrandized, while the Ti
mer gains nothing at all, to /
fay nothing of the part whic h /
Austria took in ihe war, f
during which Moscow
burnt. The allied Cabin#
No. 283.
