au commencement de l'an XI. pour fervir de reponse á l'ecrit intitulé, De l'etat de la France à la fin de l'an VIII; et pour faire fuite au Tableau des pertes que la revolution et la guerre ont caufées au peuple Français. Before we pass to the body of the prefent work, we thall furnifh our readers with an abstract, from the introduction, of Sir Francis's view of the prefent ftate of the French finances. He contends that the deficit muft infallibly be four times greater than under the monarchy, if the confular government obftinately perfift in all the expences it has decreed. The fum demanded for the peace eftablishment was 500 millions, and the tribune Himbert affirms, that in the courfe of year IX, 473 millions had come into the public treafury. On infpecting the accounts, however, to which the tribune himself refers, it appears that the receipts had not amounted to 353 millions, and the minifter himfelf, in the feventh month of year X, makes use of the following fingular statement: Lorfque le recouvrement de tous les revenus de l'an IX fera ACHEVE, leur total AURA ETE de 473, 508, 571 francs net. It also appears from the fame public documents that many fources of revenue, fuch as the farming of the national domains, &c. &c. are merely temporary, having furnished 153 millions in the year VIII, and only 57 millions in year IX: and when thefe, as muft foon be the cafe, come to be totally exhausted, the revenue on which they themselves count cannot exceed 400 millions.

But there is ftill an artifice on the part of the minifters in fixing the expences at 500 millions, as he excludes or neglects thofe of the departments, municipalities, &c. which must at least amount to 100 millions, befides the fix thousand legionaries, the army of referve of 150 thousand men, &c. &c. which cannot require lefs than 100 millions more. If then it may be granted, that they be able to raife even 500 millions within the year, and to reduce their expenditure to 600 mil lions, which is granting infinitely more than probability warrants, there will fill be a deficit of a 100 millions a year. Yet fuch is the pompous confidence with which the confular quill-drivers affert the profperity of their finances, that even M. Neckar has been deceived; and confiders as pofitive, what at best is merely fpeculative, and that as matter of fact, which is mere matter of expectation.

But we are confidently affured, that the embellishments of Paris, the eclat of its theatres, and the magnificence of national fetes, furnish fo many pofitive proofs of national riches. On this fubject the author gives us the following table, taken from the public accounts,

National

In fpeaking of the encouragement thus beftowed by the government on the theatres, the minifter coolly remarks, that this kind of encouragement had not been comprehended in Chap. VI. for the year IX. and that the claffification of year X, has rectified this omiffion." It is natural to enquire from what funds thefe encouragements have been taken. The fame minifter mentions his having received an order to apply 2,261,785 fr. to the reconstruction of Landrecies; but that in the fpace of two years, he had been able to referve for that purpofe only 53,431 fr.; a fervice of ftill greater importance, namely, the repair of the works under the city of Paris, has been equally neglected. During the monarchy, the fum of 346,920 liv. was religioufly applied to this fervice every year. The complaints of neglect on this head, during the Revolution, have been numerous and frequent; but in the accounts of the year IX. we only find 3019 fr. 60 cent. applied to it, whilft nearly two millions have been employed in ufelefs embellish

ents. The most important public works in the departments have been equally neglected, in fpite of frequent and forcible appeals to the government on the fubject; and thus it is, that the departments are facrificed, and the most neceflary works poftponed or neglected, for the fake of embellifhing the new metropolis of the western empire.

The boafted reftoration of the military to productive labor, alfo attracts the notice of this author; and he juftly refers to the new law, placing 60 thoufand confcripts to complete the ftanding army, at the immediate difpofal of the government, and 30 thoufand more to form a new army, to be augmented in five years to 150 thoufand, as the beft proof of the abfurdity of this boaft, and as matter of ferious alarm, both for France and for Europe. The great economics alfo announced by Bonaparte are stated as follows: in the year VIII. the ordinary and national expences of peace were to be fixed at 350 millions; in the year IX. at 415, and were certainly not to exceed that fum; in the year X. after having raifed them to 500, the

dd:

additional expence of the army of referve, and of fix thousand legionaries is decreed, as well as additional falaries to the fe nators and counsellors of ftate.

But Bonaparte afferted in November, 1802, that his revenues would increase of themselves with the peace; on which head the present author refers to the table which terminates the recent work of the ex-minifter Ramel. It there appears, that the indirect contributions which in the year VII. had produced above 150 millions, furnished in year VIII. lefs than 128, and in the year IX. 110. It alfo appears from the fame ftatement, that the twelve articles claffed under the title of revenues, and which in the year VIII. afforded 194,252,764 fr. amounted in the year IX. only to 99,690,000. With refpect to the return of eafe and luxury, it is not fair to judge from the capital. Ramel ftates, that 2,300,000 fr. were expected, in the year IX. as the fum of the fumptuary contribution; whereas it appears from the last debates, that it only amounted to 900,000, and that one whole department, which is not named, had afferted that there was not a fingle propri etor in it liable to this tax. The hopes held out of the increase of commerce, we alfo find by a reference to facts, have not only not been realized, but on the contrary their commerce has decreased. Our readers will certainly not be difpleafed with the following extract, which properly follows the foregoing reference to facts.

"Such," fays Sir F. D. " are fome of the facts which I propofe to collect, and which must be verified and weighed, if we wish to avoid becoming the dupes, like M. Necker, to the abfurd boaftings of certain confular writers, who reprefent the republic as already marching to opulence with as much rapidity as the marched to victory. In vain will they continue to reproach me with opening their wounds at pleafure: it is only by unfolding them that their chief can be compelled to take upon him the task of curing them. I do not accuse him of being the first author of them, though moft affuredly he has been, and is ftill the accomplice of thofe who caused them; but befides that, in recalling his attention to what is paffing in the interior of France, I may flatter myself with turning it from without; my great object is to keep his neighbours on their guard against every temptation to affoeiate their destinies with it. As long as he fhall continue to speak to the French of the extent of their conquefts, and the glory of the Revolution, I fhall continue to let them know the price of the former, and the punishment of the latter.

"If it be asked by what right I come to expofe the mifery and even the afflictions of a foreign nation? My reply is ready-by the fame right that their chief affures them, that all other nations envy their deftinies. Undoubtedly, when he takes all other nations to witness, that they envy the lot of that which he governs, it is he himself who opens a great controverfy in Europe. After fuch an appeal every

ftranger

ftranger is entitled to examine every one of his measures, in order to discover if the definies of the people thus extolled, merit indeed envy or pity."

It would not be eafy, without referring to records and dates, and hiftorical collections, to give even a fimple list of all the contradictory fyftems and opinions, which at different periods of the Revolution have predominated in France, which have fluttered their hour upon the ftage, and difappeared for ever. But one general remark refpecting them is obvious; every one of the multifarious experiments which have been fucceffively tried, and for a moment eltablished there, has been exalted during its day of favour, over every thing which exifts or has exifled in other countries, and has been recommended to the adoption of other nations, with as much confidence and zeal as if it had been really deftined to laft for ages, and infallibly calculated to promote the happinefs of mankind. The deftruction of the Gallican Church was at one time reprefented as the triumph of philofophy and truth, over abfurdity and error; and the people who hefitated to follow this glorious example, were ftigmatized as the puny adherents of fuperfition and folly. But no fooner had it pleafed Bonaparte to reeftablish the fame church with an entire equality between the different modes of worship, than his brother Lucien comes forward, and endeavours to fhow that England did wrong in fhaking off the yoke of Rome, and that we ought at leaft to follow his brother's example in treating all fects with equal favour, even fuppofing them all to be erroneous. Sir Francis D'Ivernois juftiy remarks, that the beft antidote to this example, is to draw afide the veil which covers it, when in the present inftance we fhall perhaps find, that the equality fo highly praised and fo generoufly recommended, is, in fact, only an equality of mifery, leading directly to the contempt of all religion.

At one period our conflitution was faid to be an abfolute defpotifm, affording no protection to the rights of man, allowing no influence to the fovereign people, and affording no protection against oppreffion; the prefs which we confidered as free, was really not fo, becaufe injurious falfehoods could be legally pro fecuted and punished. It was then, therefore, faid to be our undoubted duty to abolish every thing which the wifdom of our ancefters had eftablifhed, and the experience of ages fanétioned, and to try the experiment of French anarchy. Fortunately we did not follow the advice which was then fo gracioufly be ftowed upon us; for now we are informed, on the authority of the confular official gazette, that all the changes now abfolutely neceffary, are in a contrary direction. Our conftitution affords a licence, which the powers of Europe have a right to require

to

to be reftrained, and it is now an undoubted fact, as that authority tells us, that unless our prefs be laid under the fame restraints. as that of France, it may be faid there is no government in our ifland. All this is really worfe than abfurd; the regime of furveillance, eftablished in France, may indeed be necellary for the bell of people; but the great Conful muft excufe the good people of England if they reject the recommendation of defpotism, as they did that of licence; though by fuch interference and recommendation, he afford us a right to "compare with what paffes here, the acts of that government which complains that we have no government at all." We have never approved the acrimony which has fometimes appeared in our newfpapers; prudence and good manners, and a proper fenfe of our own dignity, equally difclaim it. But in England, thefe reflections proceed from the feelings of individuals totally unconnected with the executive power; whereas the infolent calumnies of the Moniteur muft be confidered as proceeding from the confular government, and fully entitle us to judge of the merits and demerits of that moft immaculate form of adminiftration, which the Conful has fan&tioned with his fiat; and fcrupuloufly to examine every one of thofe acts, which he afferts to be fo exclufively advantageous to humanity.

Before the author proceeds to difcufs the Five Promises, which Bonaparte has hitherto neglected to perform, he gives him credit for numerous acts of administration, to which he was bound by no promife, and even for fome which he had refolved against on his first acceffion to power. Some of thefe may indeed, on after-examination, be found to be rendered illufory, by pofterior decrees; and fome, by the fame means, to be rendered cruelly unjust towards numerous individuals. The annihilation of anarchy, the fuppreffion of robbery and murder, the re-establishment of religion and of order in the colonies, and the recal of the emigrants, muft, however, be granted to be fo far highly meritorious. Nor does this author blame him even for reftraining the prefs, the liberty of which, as eftablished in this country, he confiders the French nation as totally unable to bear. He conceives, however, that even in this refpect the Conful carries things with too high a hand, and with a defpotifm too unqualified; that he feems fo intoxicated with the power he has acquired, and the abject fubmiffion he has hitherto met with, as to difregard the maxims of prudence, and the wife remark of Galba to Pifo, particularly applicable to the nation which has committed its deftinies to him; You are about to govern men who can neither bear their ancient liberty nor abfolute flavery.

BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XXI. FEB. 1803.