VOL. XVII. No. 1.] /0/LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 1810. 86 [Price 1s. nity, which the pride of power, the inSUMMARY OF POLITICS. "toxication of success, and a temper naNAPOLEON'S PROjects. — These proturally arrogant, ate calculated to in jects were, in the main, evident enough spire. When he talks of "immolating before, but they seem now to be rather the most sacred of his affections to the more fully developed.- -The MORNING" wants of his people, and the uneximpled. CHRONICLE and other prints, call the Di-" sacrifice which he has made, he must VORCE a solemn farce; and they have wis-entertain either the most sovereign condom to set down the people of France as "tempt for the capacities of the great mass slaves, because they suffer such a thing to "of the French nation, or take a strange take place. What! and is this, then, a delight in outraging the feelings of those proof that the French nation is enslaved ?“ against whose hostility he considers himself Because an old woman is put away for the" as perfectly secured. There must, howpurpose of having a young one put in her ever, be many in France whose enmity is place; because a woman, who has been "not to be despised. Many who cannot married to Buonaparté, is put away by endure, with perfect indifference, that him, are we to conclude that the nation are "insult should be added to their political deslaves? I must here insert the passages, gradation, though it is probable that a to which I allude; for, it will, ano- great majority of those on whom this ther day, be amusing to look back, and see "solemn mockery cannot impose, will how measures (which, in all human pro- "dismiss the matter with a shrug of the bability) will be so important in their con- shoulder, and a significant laugh, if they sequences, were, at first, spoken of in Eng-" can venture so far to express their feelings. land. The projects of Napoleon, and The horrid events which accompanied the reasons for assembling at Paris all the Revolution, the habit of submily to the host of tributary Kings and Princes. the oppressions of the couscription, and begin to be developed. The first scene the despair of being able to better their "of the drama appears to be, the long- situation, have produced a degree of "talked-of dissolution of the marriage of apathy in France which even the most Napoleon and Josephine. We have ex-" humiliating proceedings of their Tyrant can"tracted a description of the form and not effectually disturb." A more "manner in which this Imperial pair were senseless set of observations than these I "released from their marriage vows, and do not recollect to have seen. -What “which our readers will find highly amusing, does this writer mean by a farce? What "The farce which was played for the does he mean by the appearance of a of giving something like the ap-legal sanction? Is not the thing real; pearance of a legal sanction to this pro-and, as to legal, what more of legality ceeding, is extremely laughable. Napo- can any thing have, than has been given to leon having thus got rid of an old woman, this divorce? The act has been approved "the next step, we suppose, will be to of and passed by those who make laws for marry a young one. This, indeed, is France; and, if you call it farcical, you pretty plainly hinted at in his speech may, if you please, call those acts farcical, apon this subject, in which he intimates by which Napoleon was made Emperor of "his desire to have children, who shall the French and King of Italy.It is, "inherit his love for France, and so forth." therefore, downright silliness, or very Again, The solemn farce which childish affectation, to call this act a farce; Buonaparté has exhibited in dissolving to say, that it is highly amusing, and extreme"his marriage with Josephine, is a com-ly laughable. Men, in our situation, who "bination of hypocritical deference to pub- can laugh at this act, which is evidently "lic opinion, with that real disregard of the forerunner of great events, must be "the sentiments and understandings of made of strange stuff indeed. I should "the better informed class of the commu-ike to know, too, upon what ground it is, " purpose " A that Buon parté is, upon this, occasion, and hatred shift about as occasion requires. charged with hypocrisy. His conduct has The biographer, to whom I allude, and been pretty open, I think. His motives whose book, I believe, is entitled the REmust have been fairly avowed, because he VOLUTIONARY PLUTARCH, has described the cannot be actuated by other motives than EMPRESS JOSEPHINE as the most dissolute, those which he has avowed. If it had been and most impious wretch that ever dis the grasification of mere passion that ani- graced the female sex and form. She is, mated him, there would have been no need by this writer, said to have been one of at all for the divorce. There has been no those, who, in a state of perfect nudity, redisguise at all. Not only is the motive evi- presented, before the public eye, the Goddeit, but it is openly and most explicitly dess of Reason; and, she is said to have avolved by him; and, yet, the Morning declared, during the life-time of her forChronicle.charges him with hypocrisy.— mer husband, that, though she had several Next comes a most pathetic lamentation children, born after her marriage with him, over the poor French nation, whose capaci- she was proud to say, that he was the father ties have been so contemned, and whose feel- of neither of them. I remember these ings have been so outraged in this transac- two anecdotes; but, there are, in the tion. Alas! and Alas! says the Morning work alluded to, two hundred, probably, Chronicle, the poor nation have been so as disgraceful as these.This book has completely bent down by the habit of sub- been very much read. It has been mitting to oppressions, that they will hardly received with a greediness proportioned venture to express their feelings at this new to the envy of some and the fear-ininsult, added to their political degrada-spired hatred of others. It has been tion, or even at the most humiliating proceedings of their Tyrant !- -Alas! and alas! for the poor people of France! Alas! poor people, their sovereign has put away his old wife with a view to take a young one. Just as if Mr. Perry never knew this done before. Just as if this was the first time that the thing had happened in the world. Just as if the writer imagined, that, by affecting to have lost his own powers of recollection, he would be able to deprive his readers of those powers. -But, pray, Sir, what reason have the French people to be offended at this proceeding of their Emperor? I, for my part, can see no reason whatever for their being offended. I can see, in this act of divorce, no contempt offered to the mental capaci-,nicle in pretending to believe, that, in putties of the French nation: I can see, in it, no outrage offered to their feelings: I can see, in it, nothing insulting to the nation, nothing, either in the matter or manner of It is hardly possible, but, really, the whole, or any part, of the proceeding, upon looking over the article again, I am humiliating, in the smallest degree, to the half afraid, that the Morning Chronicle French nation. On the contrary, I think has given a little into cant, upon this subthat man's mind must be strangely per-ject, and has made an effort to induce his verted, who does not perceive, that the proceeding must be grateful to the feelings of the French nation; must be flattering to the people of France, who will certainly prefer an Empress, young and of spot less fame, to one, of whom the world took the liberty to speak rather lightiy, and whom an English biographer has described as one of the most infamous wretches that ever lived upon the face of the earth. It is quite curious to observe, how our love believed, or affected to be believed, by a great part of those who have read it; and no small part of our daily, weekly, and monthly publications have bestowed their sanction upon it.—Well, then, if this book does not speak truth; if we are now ready to disavow the contents of this book, and to say, that Josephine is a mighty good sort of woman, who will believe us in future; and what a pretty figure shall we make in the world? If, on the contrary, we stand to what we have said; if we still assert, that Josephine has been, and is, the most dissolute and the most impious wretch amongst the daughters of EvE; if we still assert this, with what face can we join the Morning Chro ting such a woman away, Napoleon has "insulted the understanding," and " Outraged the feelings," of the people of France? readers to consider this act of Napoleon as irreligious. If this be his meaning, let me ask him what he thinks of the divorce bills, which are passed in England; and let me then ask him why a divorce bill should, in France, be any more irreligious than it is in England? Or, does he think, that the thing, when prefaced by an act of adultery, is not so irreligious as when not prefaced by such an act? Let me ask him, too, as he seems to have his religious scru may hear the crian .Ꮭ .. the [G ples on board, what he thinks of the cus-quering Spain and Portugal, ho tom in America, where, at any assizes, he upon the entrance steps, proclaim, after three times ringing a bell, the dissolution of marriage between such a man and such a woman, and that, too, without any crime whatever having been alledged against either party to such marriage. Nay, amember, when, a marriage have ing taken place contrary to the wish of parents of the lady, she was forcibly carried home, and there kept, until an act of the Legisture, without the consent of the husband, dissolved the marriage.To talk, then, with seeming horror, of the late proceeding in France is, to say the very best of it, miserably silly; and, it has, besides, this very mischievous effect, that it draws the public mind away from that view of the matter which it ought to take, and which, if it did take that view, would be preparing itself for the consequences. Instead of affecting to laugh at the grand political measure in question; instead of affecting (and most wretched affectation it is) to pity the people of France; instead of thus wasting the precious time for reflection and preparation, we ought to be well weighing the probable consequences of this grand stroke of policy. The project, so long talked of, and such a favourite with the people of France, who, down to the street-sweepers, think that France ought to command the world; the project of Napoleon's being proclaimed EMPEROR OF THE WEST Seems now to be upon the eve of being put in execution. The King of Hoiland resigns, and so, it is very likely, will the king of Spain. These two countries, including Portugal of course, once well subdued; once brought to hand, as the saying is; once rendered manageable and applicable to all the purposes of war, that war will, that war must, in all i's terrors, be levelled against these Islands This is what we should think about, and not about the legality, or illegality, of Napoleon's divorce, as if we, living, for our sins, under a government of barristers, were consulting whether we should not assail him with an information for bigamy. that he would treat with us about any The divorce, especially if followed up by a thing but mere islands and maritime stainarriage, which shall give fair hopes of tions? Is there upon earth a wretch so children to the Emperor, will greatly con takeette these islands to make part of his dominions, in as far, at least, as related to title and homage. How should we like that? I beg the reader duly to consider it. I beg him not to rely upon any thing, till he has tried its foundation. How many, and how many times, have we been disappointed in our hopes! How many times has Napoleon becn upon the brink of destruction, bodily or political? Still he lives, and at the close of every succeeding year, he seems twice as great as he was at the close of the preceding one. At every peace, with whomsoever made, he gains s mething. I beseech the reader to look over the world now; and then look back to the epoch of the peace of Amiens. Why, there is such a change in favour of Napoleon's power; others have lost so much and he has gained so much, that one cannot, without some time spent in the endeavour, bring back one's mind to the then state of things. still attend the conqueror, and, if we still Well, if this progress continue; if success proceed in our present course, what does But, are there no means of ellectually proreason say, that our fate must be? viding for our safety? means, which shall enable us to say: Are there no we defy your power? who recommend peace as the only means Some there are, of saving ourselves. I have no objection to peace, in the abstract; but, I do not see how peace is at all to tend towards our safety against the power of Napoleon ; how it can at all tend to rescue us from that danger, into which we have been plunged during the un-checked sway of the Pittites. Suppose, for instance, that peace were to be treated for now, is there any one, except, perhaps, Fitzgerald the pensioned poet, or some such person, who could expect, that Napoleon would permit us to say one single word about Spain, Portugal, Holland, the Hans-Towns, Denmark, Naples, or any part of Italy or Germany? Is there any man, not much more than half an idiot, who supposes, tribute towards the establishment of the ment, that Napoleon would make any contemplated WESTERN EMPIRE. devoid of sense as to believe, for one mo Now peace with us, except for the mere pur our (start not, reader, at what I am going to pose of being enabled to prepare for a say) I should not be at all surprised, if, war, in which we should breathe supposing Napoleon to succeed in con last? I do not believe there is, He 7] Would make a peace; aye, would he, and containing nine or ten ferrets, who, it was hling In he leaves to Kings who hard pe supposed, by forming a grand coalition, noddles; but he would certainly not the morning, however, when the door of suffer us to interfere in the concerns of the the den was opened, out bounced the Southern Peninsula. He would not hear a cat, leaving all the ferrets dead upon the word from us upon the subject. Well, straw.- -From being the assailed France then, what should we get by such a peace? quickly became the assailant; and other Diminish our expences? Yes, indeed, if we nations, from entertaining hopes of being were to act upon different principles of de- able to partake in the spoils of her, have, fence than those we now act upon. But, sup- one after another, had to supplicate her posing our present system all to continue, to spare them some trifle of their posseshow should we dare to diminish our ex- sions. There remains not one nation, pences, either by land or sea? Napo- England excepted; in all Europe there leon, who, be it observed, is never in remains not one, except England, which any fear of us; and here I cannot re- has not been compelled to bend the knee frain from taking a look at our situation to France; and, can any man believe, that in this respect; at the dreadful odds the ruler of France will ever, while he has against which we have to contend; and life, cease to endeavour to make England at the humiliating contrast which the state also bend the knee?--Napoleon has, of England now presents when compared and will have, in case of peace nothing to with her state only seventeen years ago.fear from us. Ile will need to employ At that time, if any one had said; at that time, when the grand master of talk was annually making his display of the inexhaustible resources of the nation; if, at that time, any one had risen up, at the end of one of the grand master's rattling speeches, and foretold, that, under the sway, the absolute unchecked sway, of this same "heaven-born" talker and his disciples, the English nation should be in such a situation as for it to become a matter of course, that the contest, in which she should be engaged, should, on her part, be a contest for existence, and, on the part of France, a contest merely for conquest; if any one had, at the time referred to, so predicted, he would have been set down as a madman or a fool; he would have been the standing jest of all the pert tribe of "young friends," of all the swarm of punsters and parasites, by whom the grand talker was surrounded. First the grand talker made war against France, in order to keep democracy in check; next he wanted indemnity for the past and security for the future; last, his disciples and successors are making war for our existence as a nation. The result of the combination against France puts me in mind of what I once saw with respect to a CAT, an animal renowned for its number of lives, but not for more lives than the French, whom the grand talker, with the aid of D'Ivernois and others, killed more than nine times. The cat, of which I was speaking, was doomed to die, and in order to save trouble, and, at the same time, to turn his carcass to account, he was tossed into a den, none of his resources for purposes of defence, while we must be always as much upon the alert, as if war were actually going on. He will, in the meanwhile, be employed in building ships and in establishing a navy, and that, too, upon a scale of which none of us seem to have formed any idea. But, let any man cast his eye over the ports and think of the maritime means, of all sorts, that Napoleon will possess; then let him look at the last "Ex"POSE" let him see what stupendous works are even now going on in our enemy's vast empire; let him look at the extensive preparations which are already making, all pointing to the last great object, our subjugation; and then let him say, if he can, that our danger is not most imminent; let him say, if he can, that there could possibly be, for England, any chance of repose in peace, unless our system undergo a change.The peace of Amiens was never finished. Our ministers then told us, that we went to war again, because we could not remain at peace. How, then should we be able, with the same system, to remain at peace when Holland and the Southern Peninsula, when all continental Europe in short, is moulded into one solid empire, under the sway of a man, capable of wielding it for our destruction? -If peace, then, brought no repose; if its dangers and alarms were as great, or greater than those of war; if it brought no sensible diminution of expense, is it to be expected, that we could long live in that state? And, is it not to be feared, that the nation, at last wearied out by the harrassing threats "tion of all kinds of religious forms of worship, it honours and encourages The different sects of Chris "them. of an enemy, whom it never could harrass with any alarms in return, would feel disposed to lend its neck to his yoke, having the example of all other nations to keep it" tianity, founded on the morality of the in countenance?—The title of EMPEROR" Gospel, are all useful to society. The OF THE WEST; the bare taking of that "Lutherans of the Fauxbourg St. Antoine, title, would have not a little effect upon "whose number amounts to 6,000, had no men's minds. The title would grow fami- "temple, and, from time immemorial, liar amongst us in spite of ourselves. By "exercised their worship in the Swedish little and little the desire for repose would "Chapel. Their church has been acknowsubdue the remains of national spirit and of "ledged; their Ministers have been apantipathy towards the conqueror; and, "pointed by the Emperor, and are mainfrom that state, it would be but one step to submission to his sway. Let any man take a calm and impartial view of the matter; let him consider, that it must be the anxious desire of Napoleon to conquer England, in which object he will have the hearts of all Frenchmen with him, and in which object, from the joint operation of shame and envy, he will have with him the hearts of all the nations he has subdued; let it be considered, that, without the conquest of this kingdom, Napoleon can never look upon his work as half finished: let any man calmly consider these things; let him consider how rapidly we have gone on from bad to worse, and that the last year of our progress, in this way, has been more rapid than any former one; and, when he has thus considered, let him say, what hope we have of safety, unless we have recourse to means not hitherto tried. We have, God knows, not been wanting in exertions. We have made exertions enough; but, they have proved to be of the wrong sort. We have raised armies and fitted out fleets; but we have not made exertions enough, nor, indeed, any would be nothing at all. at all, towards arming the hearts of the peo- the people must have a new spirit put ple, and especially the people in that part into them. But, I think we should begin of the kingdom, which, in all cases, must with Ireland; for, it is impossible to say be most exposed to the attacks of the how soon that nation may be put to the enemy.Ihave lately described the state test. Upon this subject, and by way of of Ireland; I have lately appealed to my supplement to my late articles, relative readers, as to what the feelings and dispo- to Ireland, I shall insert, in my next Resition of the Irish Catholics, that is, in gister, a letter which comes from DOCTOR fact, the Irish nation, must be; and, I MILNER, the contents of which are very need not ask what their additional feelings interesting and important. The bare must be upon reading, in Napoleon's Ex-reading of this letter is sufficient to conposé, his sentiments, views, and measures vince any man, that the measures, which with regard to religious toleration. Upon it recommends, ought to be adopted withthe subject of "RELIGIOUS WORSHIP," out delay.I do not think, that, amongst tained at the expence of the State.-A "School of Calvinistic Theology has "been established at Montauban.” This is as much to be feared as an army of 200,000 men! This is long-sighted policy. How many thousands and hundreds of thousands of hearts will this win! Napoleon, as was observed by the Morning Chronicle, out-bid us in Spain; and he is here endeavouring to out-bid us at home. He neglects nothing that is calculated to advance his purposes. He leaves not a soul untempted to join him, while those who have to combat him seem as if they were afraid of having too many friends. The contest is, indeed, fearfully unequal. He sets all prejudices at defiance; while they seem to desire nothing so much as petty squabbles about what can be of no use, except it be to produce divisions, and, of course, weakness, amongst those who, if united, might mar their interested views.- -We should, under the sway of the most wise, and most liberal men, have much to do, in order to enable us to obtain a fair chance of safety. A little matter The whole of all the circumstances, favourable to the views of Napoleon, any one is so favourable as the present state of Ireland. He is, we may be assured, as well acquainted with that state as we are. He knows, to a hair, what can and what cannot be done He has, in his pay, persons whose the Exposé says: "out to itself. |