^ iiAiOlliiiilil, ) \ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT of Huntington Library HISTORY OF EUROPE FROM THE FALL OF NAPOLEON IN MDCCCXV ACCESSION OF LOUIS NAPOLEON IN MDCCCLII SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON, BART. Aathor of the " History of Europe from the Commencement of the French KoToIution, in 1789, to the Battle of Waterloo," &c. &c. VOL. L NEW YORK: H A E P E R & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 329 & 3 31 PEARL STREET, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1 8 7 5. PREFACE. During a period of peace the eras of history can not be so clearly perceived on a first and superficial glance as when they are marked by the decisive events of war ; but they are not on that account the less obvious when their respective limits have been once ascertained. The triumphs of parties in the Senate-House or the Forum are not, in general, followed by the same immediate and decisive results as those of armies in the field ; and their consequen- ces are often not fully developed for several years after they have taken place. But they are equally real and decisive. The results do not follow with less certainty from the movements which have pi'eceded them. It is in tracing these results, and connecting them with the changes in leg- islation or opinion in which they origina- ted, that the great interest and utility of the history of pacific periods consist. The periods which have passed over dur- ing the thirty-seven years of European na- tional peace — from the Fall of Napoleon, in 1815, to the Accession of Louis Napol- eon, in 1852 — are not so vividly marked as those which occurred during the wars of the French Revolution, but they have a distinctness of their own, and the changes in which they terminated were not less important. The resumption of cash pay- ments in England in 1819 was not, to outward appearance, so striking an event as the battle of Austerlitz, but it was fol- lowed by results of equal permanent im- portance. The Reform Bill was not the cause of so visible a change in human af- fairs as the battle of Wagram, but it was attended with consequences equally grave and lasting. Without pretending to have discerned with perfect accuracy, as yet, the most important of the many important events which have signalized this memo- rable era, it may be stated that it natu- rally divides itself into five periods. The First, commencing with the entry of the Allies into Paris after the fall of Napoleon, terminates with the passing of the Currency Act of 1819 in England, and the great creation of peers in the demo- cratic interest during the same year iii France. The effects of the measures pur- sued during this period were not perceived at the time, but they are very apparent now. The seeds which produced such de- cisive results in after times were all sown during its continuance. It forms the sub- ject of the first volume, now submitted to the public. The Second Period is still more clearly marked ; for it begins with the entire es- tablishment of a Liberal government and system of administration in France in 1819, and ends with the Revolution M'hicli overthrew Charles X. in 1830. Foreign transactions begin, during this era, to be- come of importance ; for it embraces the revolutions of Spain, Portugal, Naples, and Piedmont in 1820 ; the rise of Greece as an independent state in the same year, and the important wars of Russia with Turkey and Persia in 1828 and 1829 ; and the vast conquests of England in In- dia over the Goorkhas and Burmese em- pire. This period will be embraced in the second volume of this history. The topics it embraces are more various and exciting than those in the first, but they are not more important : they are the growth which followed the seeds previ- ously sown. England and France were still the leaders in the movement ; the convulsions of the world were but the consequence of the throes in them. The Third Period commences with the great debate on the Reform Bill — of two years' continuance — in England in 1831, and ends with the overthrow of the Whig Ministry, by the election of October, 1841. The great and lasting efiects of the change in the Constitution of Great Britain, by the passing of the Reform Act, partially devel- oped themselves during this period ; and the return of Sir Robert Peel to ])ower Avas the first great reaction against thorn During the same time, the natural efii^cls of the Revolution in France ajjpeared in the government, unavoidable in the cir- cumstances, of mingled force and corrup- tion of Louis Philippe, and the growth of OO'"" 1> r:^^ ruE r A c K. tlis-coutoul iu llio infVrior classes of sooiely, liiMU the ilisajijioiutinont olthoir oxpecta- iions as to tho rosults oflho previous con- vulsion. Foreign ei)isoiles of surpassing interest signalize this period ; for it con- ;ains the heroic ellort of the Poles to re- store their national imlojienilence in 1831 ; llie revolt of Ibrahim Pacha, the bombard- ment of Acre, and the narrow escape of Turkey from ruin ; our invasion of Af- jihanistan. and subsequent disaster there. This period, so rich in important changes ami interesting events, Mill form the sub- ject of the third volume. The Tourth Period, commencing with tiie noble constancy in adversity displayed by Sir Robert Peel and the Enghsh Gov- ernment in 18-12, terminates with the over- ilirow of Louis Philippe, and consequent European Eevolutions in February, 1848. It" these years were fraught with internal and social changes of the very highest moment to the future fortunes of Great Britain, and of the whole civilized Avorld, lliey were not less distinguished by the brilliancy of her external triumphs. They v.itnessed the second expedition into Af- ghanistan and capture of Cabul; the con- clusion of a glorious peace with China under the "walls of Nankin ; the conquest of Scinde, and desperate passage of arms on the Sutlej. Never did appear in such striking colors the immense superiority \\ hich the arms of civilization had ac- quired over those of barbarism, as in this brief and animating period. The Fifth Period commences Avith the overthrow of Louis Philippe in Februa- ry, 1848, and terminates with the seizure <.t' supreme power by Louis Napoleon in i >52. It is, beyond all example, rich in external and internal events of the veiy highest moment, and attended by lasting Consequences in every part of the world. It witnessed the spread of revolution over Germany and Italy, and the desperate rnilitary strife to M-hich it gave rise ; the brief but memorable campaign in Italy and Hungary ; and the bloodless suppres- sion of revolution in Great Britain and Ireland by the patriotism of her people and the firmness of her government. In- teresting, however, as these events were, they yield in ultimate importance to those Xvhich, at the same period, were in prog- ress in tiie distant parts of the earth. The rich territories of the Punjaub were, dur- ing it, added to the British dominions in India, which was now bounded only by the Indus and the Himalaya snows. Al the same time, the spirit of republicai; aggrandizement, not less powerful in the New than in the Old World, impelled the Anglo-Saxons over their feeble neighbors in Mexico : Texas was overrun — Cali- rOUNiA conquered — and the discovery oi gold mines, of vast extent and surpassing riches, hitherto unknown to man, changed the fortunes of the world. The simulta- neous discovery of mines of the same pre- cious metal in Australia acted as a mag- net, Avhich attracted the stream of migra- tion and civilization, for the first time in the history of mankind, to the Eastern World ; and now, while half a million Europeans annually land in Amerif.i, and double the already marvelous rale of Transatlantic increase, a hundred thou- sand Anglo-Saxons yearly migrate to Aus- tralia, and lay the foundations of a sec- ond England and another Europe, in the vast seats provided there for their recep- tion. Events so wonderful, and succeeding one another w-ith such rapidity, must im- press upon the most inconsiderate ohserver the belief of a great change going forward in human aflairs, of which we are the unconscious instruments. That change is THE SECOND DISPERSION OF MANKIND ; the spread of civilization, the extension of Christianity, over the hitherto desert and unpeopled parts of the earth. It is hard to say whether the passions of civilization, the discoveries of science, or the treasures of the wilderness have acted most power- fully in working out this great change. The first develo])ed the energy in the breast of civilized man, which rendered him capable of great achievements, and inspired him with passions which prompt- ed him to seek a -wider and more unlet- tered situation for their gratification than the Old "World could afford. The second, in the discoveries of steam, furnished him with the means of reaching with facility the most distant parts of the earth, and armed him with powers which rendered barbarous nations powerless to repel his advance ; the third presented irresistible attractions, at the same time, in the most remote parts of the earth, which overcame the attachments of home and the indo- lence of aged civilization, and sent forth the 'hardy emigrant, a willing adventur- er, to seek his fortune in the golden lot- tery of distant lands. No such power- ful causes, producing the dispersion of the r R E F A C E. species, have come into operation since mankind were originally separated on the Assyrian plains ; and it took place from an attempt, springing from the pride and ambition of man, as vain as the building the Tower of Babel. That attempt was the endeavor to es- tablish social felicity, and insure the for- tunes of the species, by the mere sjiread of knowledge, and the establishment of emocratic institutions, irrespective of the moral training of the people. As this project was based on the pride of intellect, and rested on the doctrine of human per- fectibility, so it met with the same result as the attempt, by a tower raised by hu- man hands, to reach the heavens. Car- ried into execution by fallible agents, it was met and thwarted by their usual passions ; and the selfishness and grasping desires of men led to a scene of discord and confusion unparalleled since the be- ginning of the world. But it terminated in the same result in Europe as in Asia : the building of the political tower of Babel in France was attended by consequences identical with those which had followed the construction of its predecessor on the plains of Shinar. The dispersion of man- kind followed, in both cases, the vain at- tempt ; and after, and through the agen- cy of a protracted period of suffering, men in surpassing multitudes found themselves settled in new habitations, and forever severed from the land of their birth, from the consequences of the visionary projects in which they had been engaged. Views of this kind must, in the. present aspect of human affairs, force themselves upon the most inconsiderate mind ; and they tend at once to unfold the designs of Providence, now so manifest in the direc- tion of human affairs, and to reconcile us to much which might lead to desponding views if we confined our survey to the fortunes of pai'ticular states. An examin- ation of the social and political condition of the principal European monarchies, particularly France and England, at this time, and a retrospect of the changes they have undergone during the last thirty years, must probably lead every impartial iierson to the conclusion that the period of their greatest national eminence has passed, and that the passions by which they are now animated are those which (end to shorten their existence. But we thall cease to regard this inevitable change I'.ilh melancholy, when we reflect that. from the eflect of these very passions, the British family is rapidly increasing in dis' tant hemispheres, and that the human race is deriving fresh life and vigor, and spreading over the wilds of nature, from the causes which portend its decline in it.« former habitations. As the history of a period fraught with such momentous changes, and distinguish- ed by such ceaseless and rapid progress, as that Avhich is undertaken in this Avork, of necessity brings the author in contact with all the great questions, social and political, which have agitated society dur ing its continuance, he has deemed it es- sential invariably to follow out the two rules which were observed in his former publication. These were, to give inva- riably at the end of every paragraph the authorities, by volume and page, on which it is founded ; and never to introduce a great question without giving as copious an abstract as the limits of the work will admit, of the facts and arguments brought forward on both sides. The latter, espe- cially, seemed to be peculiarly called foi in a work which is more occupied with social and political than with military changes, and which is occupied with a period when the victories were won in the Forum or the Senate-House, not the field. The author has made no attempt to dis- guise his own opinions on every subject ; but he has not exerted himself the less anxiously to give, with all the force and clearness in his power, those which are adverse to it ; and he should regret to think that the reader could find in any other publication a more forcible abstract of the arguments in favor of Parliament- ary Reform, a Contracted Currency found- ed on the retention of gold, or Free Trade in corn and shipping, than are to be met with in this. In making this abstract, he has adopted two rules, which seemed essential to the combining a faithful record of opposite opinions with the interest and limits nec- essary in a work of general history. The first is to give o?ie argument only on each side, and not attempt to give separate ab- stracts of the speeches of difierent men. Felicitous or eloquent expressions are oc- casionally preserved ; but, in general, the argument given is rather an abridgment of the best parts of" the arguments of many difierent speakers than a transcript of the oration of any one. That this is neces- sarv, must be obvious, from ihe considcr<» i'REFACE. Uon that the author is often called on to give tho marrow ot" an arijuinent in three or lour nages, which is oxpeniled over s<.nJU' huuilroils of Hansard or the Mo/ii- tfur ; and it is surprising; how ellectually, where the attoiupt is made in sincerity and pood faith, it proves successful. The second is, when a subject has been once uitKuluced, and the opposite arfrumeuts fully given, to dismiss it afterward with a mere statement of the fate it met Mith, or the division on it in the Legislature. As the same subject was constantly debated in both Houses of Parliament, both in France and England, for many consecu- tive years, any attempt to give an account of each year's debate would both lead to tedious repetition and extend the work to an immoderate length. For a similar reason, although the His- icry is a general one of the whole Euro- pean states, yet no attempt has been made to bring forward, abreast in every year, the annals of each particular state. On the contrary, the transactions of difTer- ont countries are taken up together, and brought down separately, in one or more chapters, through several consecutive years. Thus the first volume is chiefly occupied with the internal annals of France and England, from 1815 to 1820, when all the great changes which after- ward took place were prepared ; the sec- ond, besides the annals of France and En- gland, with the foreign wars or revolutions of Russia, Spain, and Italy, or the distant conquests of the English in India during the next ten years. In no other way is it possible to enable the reader to form a clear idea of the succession of events in eojch particular state, or take that interest in its fortunes which is indispensable to Eu^cess or utility, not less in the narrative of real ihan in the conception of imagvo ary events. One very interesting- subject is treated of at considerable length in these volumes, which could not, from the pressure of war- like events, be introduced at equal length into the author's former work. This is an account of Literature, Manners, the Arts, and social changes in the principal European states during the period it em- braces. An entire chapter on this sub- ject, regarding Great Britain, has been in- troduced into the first volume ; similar ones relating to literature and the arts in France, Germany, and Italy, will succeed in those w'hich follow. This plan has been adopted from more than an anxious desire — strong as that motive is — to re- lieve the reader's mind, and present sub- jects of study more generally interesting than the weightier matters of social and political change. During pacific periods, it is in the literature, which interests the public mind, that we are to find the true seat of the power which directs it ; and if we would discover the real rulers of man- kind, we shall find them rather in their philosophers and literary men than either their statesmen or their generals. The only difierence is, that it is a posthumous dominion, in general, which the author obtains : his reign does not begin till he himself is mouldering in the grave. By steadily following out the rule of dis- missing every subject of political debate when it has once been fully laid before the reader, the author has no doubt of his being able to comprise the history of the whole period in five volumes. The last volume will be accompanied by a copious Index. A. Alison. Fossil House, Lanarkshire, ) October 8, 1853. J CONTENTS OF VOL. I. CHAPTER I. SlMtRAI, SICETCH OF THE WHOLE PERIOD FROM THE FALL OF NAPOLEON TO THE ACCESSION OF LOUIS NAPOLEON. Resume of the War just concluded. — The second Drama was one springing out of Social Passions. — Causes which rendered it so Violent. — Govern- ments now aimed at Peace, and the People clam- ored for War. — Causes in France which predis- posed to the Revolution of 1830. — Causes which made England share in the Convulsion. — Great ^ effects of the Revolution in both Countries. — Po- litical Alliance between France and England which followed this Change. — Effects of the Change upon the Colonial Empire of England. — Still greater Results of the Free-trade Policy of England. — Vast Extension of the United States of America. — Vast Increase of Russia during the same Period. — Continued Increase of Russia from the Revolutions of 1830 and 1848. — Simultaneous Conquests of the English in India, and their Origin in necessity. — Their great Frequency and Extent. — Revolution of 1848 in Paris. — Causes of the Fall of Louis Philippe. — Calamitous effects of the Rev- olution of 1848 in Europe. — Extreme Violence of the Revolution in Germany. — Successful stand against the revolutionary Spirit in England and France. — Restoration of military Power in Aus- tria. — Restoration of military Despotism in Prance by Louis Napoleon. — Great Increase of external Dangers from the Effects of the Revolution of 1848. — Disastrous Effects of this Revolution on the Cause of Freedom. — Dangers of Great Britain in particular. — Causes which have rendered the Con- dition of Great Britain so precarious. — Extraor- dinary Change in the national Mind in this re- spect. — Dangers springing from the Free-trade System. — Dangers arising from the Change in our foreign Policy. — Gold Mines of California and Aus- tralia. — Tendency to undue Influence of Wealth in the later stages of Society. — Way in which this is brought about. — Influence of Contraction and Expansion of the Currency on Rome, and on Eu- rope in the sixteenth Century. — Vast effects of the Expansion of the Currency during the War. — Great Distress over the World from the Contraction of the Currency since the Peace. — Amount of that Contraction. — Hopeless prospects of Industry in ■' Great Britain. — Vast effect of the Discovery of the CalifornianGold. — What if California had not been discovered ? — Vast blessings which its Discovei-y has introduced. — Immense Ell'oct of the applica- tion of Steam to mechanical Labor and Import- ance of its being inapplicable to Agriculture. — Proof of this from statistical Considerations. — What if the Case had been otherwise? — Influ- ence of this Law on the Fate of particular Nations. — Great clfcct upon the Fortunes of the Species. — P]fl'ect of general Education on general Morality. — Proof of this from various Countries. — Reasons of this peculiarity in human Nature. — General Power of Thought over Mankind. — Great conse- quent Influence of Mind on human Affairs. — Ease with which the Press may be perverted to the purposes of Despotism. — Great effect of the dis- covery of Steam and Electric communication. — In- creased corresponding Activity in the principles which counteract Evil. — Way in which this was brought about. — General longing after repreoen tative Institutions. — Doubts which their geners.1 Failure has excited among Men. — Effect of repre- sentative Institutions in Britain. — Its eflPects its America. — Rise of Divisions andPassions of Race. — Great error in supposing national Character de- pends on Institutions. — V/ars of Races are tho great passion of Eastern Europe. — Doubts as ta the wisdom of representative Institutions. — Real Character, good and evil, of representative Insti tutions. — Great effect of the Social Passions of Europe in propelling its Inhabitants to the New World and of the discovery of the Gold Mines of California and Australia. — What if the Case had been otherwise? — Increasing Influence of Russian Conquest. — Migratory propensities of Men in the youth of Civilization. — Corresponding moving propensities in the maturity of Civiliza tion. — Necessity of republican Institutions to Colo- nial Settlements. — Adaptation of the Sclavonic and Anglo-Saxon Character to the parts assigned them in their Progress. — Destiny of the raceof Japhet in reference to Christianity.— Increasing influence of Religion in Europe. — Differences of the era of this Histoi-y and that of the Last. CHAPTER IL HISTORY OF ENGLAND FROM THE PEACE OF PARIS, IN 1815, TO THE END OF THE YEAR 1816. Commanding Position of Great Britain at the close of the War.— Statistical Pacts proving the general Prosperity of the State. — Warm and general An- ticipations of general Prosperity on the Peace. — Universal disappointment of these Hopes, and general Distress. — Beginning of the Distress among the export Merchants. — Its spread to the Agriculturists. — Severe scarcity of 1816. — Dis- tress among the Manufacturers, and Causes to which it was owing. — This general suffering was not owing to the transition from Vv^ar to Peace. — Diminished supply of the precious Metals from South America. — Simultaneous and rapid Con- traction of the Paper Currency of Great Britain. — Important Discussions on the Property Tax and other topics. — Argument against the Property Tax by the Opposition. — It was specilically a War Tax. — Not necessary as a general measure of Fi- nance. — Argument on the other side by the Min- istry. — No breach of Faith in its continuance.— The Petitions for its repeal not unanimous. — Ne- cessity for its Continuance. — Abolition of the Tax. —Reflections on this Subject. — Vital Consider- ations on the Cluestion, which were overlooked at this Time. — Remission of the War Malt Tax.— Reduced Estimates formed by Government.— Ar- gument for a Reduction of Expenditure by the Opposition. — Argument on the other side by Min- isters. — Establishments ultimately voted. — De- bates on Agricultural Distress. — Argument of the Opposition on the subject. — Argument on ilia other side by the Ministry.— Measures of Gov- ernment in regard to the restriction of cash Pay- ments and a Loan from the Bank.— Argument of tho Opposition against the continuance of tho Bank Restriction Act.— Answer of the Ministry. -Reflections on this Subject.— Extraordinary In- sensibility to right Conclusions which then pro- vailed. — General errors on the Subject which llieu pr«v»iK>il.— C«>itiii« tho Holy AUinnco by Mr. 15io\ii;h- am. — Hill lor the di-tontioii of Nnpoloon. — Mar- riai;i> of tho I'riiiccss Clmrlotte of NVnIos.— Votes for public Monumonts. — Mominionts to Sir T. I'ic- Ion Biiil others. — lirants to tho Ollicers niui Men employed in iho War. — New Coinage. — Uellec- tions on tho preeeding parliamentary Narrative. — KtForts of tho factious to stir up Sedition. — Spa- licld Uiots. — Expedition to Aljriers. — Outrages which led to it.— Description of Algiers. — Lord Kxiuouth's Preparations for nn Attack. — The man- ning and liltins; out of the Fleet. — Departure of the' Fleet andA'ovaLrc to Algiers.— Preparations oftheAlgerines.— Arrival of the Fleet off Algiers. -Commencement of the Battle. — Continuance of tho Action, and Positions taken by the Ships. — Destruction of tho Enemy's Ships and Flotilla. — The Fleet moves out of the Bay. — Results of the Battle, and killed and wounded.— The Algoriues subuli^ and Peace is concluded. — Honors bestow- ed on Lord Exmouth and the Fleet. — Reflections on this Battle, ami the commencement of the as- cendant of Christianity over Mobammedauisni. — Progressive ascendant of Christianity over Mo- hammedanism. CHAPTER ni. HISTORY OF FR.\SCE mOM THE SECOND HESTOR.V- TICS OK LOLIS XVIII. TO THE OUDI.NANCES OF SEPTEMBER 7, 1816. Extraordinary DiflBculties of the Government of France after the Battle of Waterloo. — Difliculties arising from the changeable disposition of the French People. — Important effects this produced in 1815, and Causes of the violence of Opinion. — Unbounded Humiliation and Sufferings of France at this time. — Which occasions a universal Re- action against Napoleon and bis adherents. — Dif- licalties"which these feelings threw in the way of the new Government. — Difficulties of Louis XVIII. in the choice of his Ministers. — Talley- rand and Fouche are appointed to the Ministry. — Formation of the Ministrj', and Retirement of Chateaubriand. — The King's Proclamation from Cambray. — His entry into Paris. — Violence of the Royalists, and diflBculties of Louis. — Difficulty in reff'ard to the Convocation of the Chambers, and Debates on it. — The King issues an Ordinance, changing the mode of Elections, of his own au- thority. — Royal Ordinance, changing the Modes and Rules of Election. — Disunion between the King and the Duke d'Angouleme and Count d'Ar- tois as to the Prefects. — The Freedom of the Press is restored in all but the Jounials. — Reasons which rendered the Punishment of the leading Napoleonists necessary. — Lists of Persons to be accused, prepared by Fouche, and sanctioned bj- a royal Ordinance. — Ordinances regarding the Chamber of Peers. — The Peerage is declared he- reditary. — Arrival of the allied Sovereigns in Paris. — Army of the Loire. — Its Submission. — Disbanding of the Army of the Loire. — Reorgan- ization of the Army into departmental Legions. — Breaking up of the Museum. — Desperate state of the Finances. — Settlements of the allied Troops in France, and their Exactions. — Reaction in the South. — Massacre at Marseilles. — Departure of Marshal Brune for Paris. — He is murdered at Avignon. — Further Massacres in the South. — Atrocities at Is'imes and the surrounding Countrj'. — Persecution of the Protestants by the Roman Catholics. — Temper of France during the Elec- tions. — Their ultra- Royalist character. — Dismissal of Fouche from the Ministry. — Fall of Fouche, and his Death. — Fall of Talleyrand, and his Ministry. — Ministry of the Duke de Richelieu. — Life of the Duke de Richelieu. — His Character. — Biography ofM. Decazes. — DiflBculties of the Negotiations nilL ibe allied Powers. — Exorbitant Demands of CONTENTS. Austria and the lesser Powers. — Treaty of Pans — Convention of iiOth November, between the al- lied Powers, for Exclusion of Napoleon and hia Family from the Throne of Franco. — The Holy Alliance, and Causes which led to it. — Terms of the Holy Alliance. — Treaties regarding tne Ionian Isles, a Russian Subsiiiy, and Napoleon Bona- parte. — Rellcctions on these Treaties. — Violent Temper and Disposition of the Chamber of Dcp uties. — Composition and Parties in the Chambers — The extreme Royalists and their Leaders.^ The Provincial Deputies. — The Opposition and its Leaders. — Composition of the Chamber of Peers. — Opening of the Chamber, and Speech of the King. — Manner in which the Speech was re- ceived by the Chamber. — Ditliculties at taking the Oath of Fidelitj-. — Answer of the Chamber of Deputies. — Law against seditious Cries. — Law suspending individual Liberty. — Discussion on it in the Chambers. — Vehement Discussion on the Law against seditious Cries. — Law establishing Courts-martial for political Offenses. — Proposal for rendering the inferior Judges removable dur- ing a Year. — Discussion on the Acts in the Peers. — Answer of M. de Fontanes and M. de Brissac. — Argument against the Law on seditious Cries. — Speech of Chateaubriand on the Subject. — Re- flections on the Deaths of Ney and Labedoyere. — External Influences exerted against the Gov- ernment — Considerations which weighed with the Court. — Measures of the Government to give the accused Persons the means of Escape. — Treachery of Colonel Labedoyere. — His Arrest. — His Trial and Condemnation. — His Death. — Trial of Marshal Ney. — His treacherous Conduct. — His Departure from Paris, and Arrest at Bossonis. — His Trial before the Chamber of Peers. — His De- fense and Condemnation. — Appeal to the Capitu- lation of Paris. — He is found guilty, and sentenced to Death. — His Death determined on by the King. — His Execution. — Reflections on this Event, and on the Duke of Wellington's share in the Transaction. — Trial of Lavalette. — The King's pardon is applied for in vain. — He escapes by the aid of his Wife, and in her Dress. — Sir Robert Wilson, Mr. Hutchinson, and Mr. Bruce enable him to escape. — Mode in vi-hich they effect his Escape, and their Trial. — Adventures of Murat after the Battle of Waterloo. — He embarks, and lands in Corsica. — His arrival at Ajaccio, and de- scent on Naples. — The King lands. — Where he fails, and is arrested. — He is condemned by a Court-martial. — His Death. — Reflections on this Event. — Death of Monton-Duvemet and General Chartraud. — A general Amnesty, ■which is cold- ly received by the Chamber. — Modifications with which it is passed into a Law. — Proposals for a new Law of Elections. — M. Vaublanc's Argrament in favor of the ministerial Project on the Elec- tions. — Project of the Royalists. — The Project of the Rojalists is carried in the Deputies and re- jected in the Peers. — The Budget. — Ministerial Plan on the Subject. — Proposition of the Chamber regarding the Clergj-. — Argument in favor of aa Endowment of the Church. — Answer of the Min- istei's, and their counter Project. — Argument of M. Bonald against the Law of Divorce. — Changes in the Administration. — Conspiracy of the Liberal Party. — Outbreak, headed by Didier, at Grenoble. — Exaggerations of General Donnadieu, and need- less Severities. — Conspiracy in Paris. — Conspira- cy at Lyons. — Preparations of the Government fur a Change in the Electoral Law, and its difti ciilties. — Speech of M. Decazes in favor of a Covp dElat. — Adoption of these Principles _ by the King, and Preparations for carrying them into Ex- ecut-ion. — Ordinance of Sept. 5, 1816. — Consterna- tion of the ultra- Royalists, and Dismissal of Cha- teaubriand.— Great effects of this Ordinance. — The whole Chambers were elected bj- royal Ordi- nance. — Reflections on the Reaction of 1815, which was forced by the Nation on the Govern C N T E N T S. IS inent. — Tho greatest Iniquities of the Period were committed by Juries. — Expedience of abolishing entirely the Punishment of Death in purely polit- ical Otienaes. — Banishment is its proper Punish- ment. CHAPTER IV. rOMESTIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND, FROM THE COM- MENCEMENT OF 1817 TO THE REPEAL OF THE BANK RESTRICTION ACT IN 1819. . Vicissitudes and ceaseless Chain of Events in hu- man AflFairs. — Exempliticatious of this Vicissitude in the History of Prance and England after the H-evolution. — Consoling Features even in the Ruin of the Old ^Vorld. — Fundamental Cause vphich has led to Disaster in France.— What has done so in England.— The mercantile Aristocracy pursue Measures for their peculiar Interests. — Which, in Ignorance, are supported by the operative Man- ufacturers. — Reason of this frequent Disappoint- ment of general Wishes. — Continued Distress and Discontent in the Country. — Plan fomied of a gen- eral Insurrection. — Meeting of Parliament, and Attack on the Prince-Regent. — Report of the Se- cret Committee in both Houses. — Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and passing of the Sedi- tious Meetings Act. — Measures of Government to suppress the Insurrection, which breaks out at Derby. — Extension of the Suspension of the Ha- beas Corpus Act. — B.estoration of Confidence and improved Prospects toward the close of the Year. — Finance Accounts of 1817, compared with 1816. — Mr. Peel's Irish Insurrection Act. — Trial by Jury in civil Causes in Scotland. — Its entire Fail- ure. — Acquittal of Watson and Hone. — Reflec- tions on this Subject. — Error at that Period in the English Law. — Good effects of the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. — Motion of Mr. Brough- am regarding the Trade and Manufactures of the Country. — Establishment of Savings Banks, and diminished severity of Punishment in criminal Cases. — Return of Mr. Canning from Lisbon, and Death of Mr. Ponsonby and Mr. Horner. — Mr. Hor- ner's Life and Character. — His Character as an Orator and political Philosopher. — Death of the Princess Charlotte. — Universal Grief of the Nation at this Event. — Improved Condition of the Coun- try in the end of 1817 and Spring of 1818. — Cause of this increased Prosperity. — Steps of the Bank toward Cash Payments. — Argument for the re- sumption of Cash Payments by the Opposition. — ■ Answer by the Ministers. — Bill of Indemnity for Persons seized under the Suspension of the Ha- beas Corpus Act. — Military and Naval forces voted, and Revenue. — Expenditure, and Increase of Exports, Imports, and Shipping, in 1817 and 1818. — Grant of a Million to build new Churches. — Treaty with Spain for the abolition of the Slave Tr.ade. — Alien Bill, and Mr. Brougham's Connnit- tee conceniing Charities. — Efforts of Sir Samuel Romilly to obtain a relaxation of our Criminal Code. — Death of Sir Samuel Romilly. — His Char- actor. — Death and Character of Lord lOUenbor- ough. — Death of Warren Hastings and Sir Philip Francis. — Sir .lames Mackintosh: his early Life. — His Character as a Statesman and Writer. — His Character as a parliamentary Speaker. — Death and Character of Uuccn Charlotte. — Favor- able aspect of Affairs at the opening of 1819, and Disasters at its close. — (yomracncement of the De- bates on tiie Currency u-li was wiinling on the Con- sioalivfsulo; raus«s ol'llie UlUiriiico, und ad- xaittit^o ol llio NViugs in tins ri'spcct. CHAPrr.K VI. lUSTORV OK KRAXiK KKOM TllK lOll' b'ETAT OV «IK|-TKMB>>K 5, IHIG, TO THE CREATION OF I'EEUS IN l^l'J. ElTii-taof the Coup (V Etat o( 5l]i Scptombor, 181C. — Dtinocnitir Basis on which the elective Fran- chise was tounded. — The Elections of 1815, and Measures taken to secure them.— Etlorts of" the Kovalists and Liberals.— Kesult of the Elections. — Internal government after the Coup d'Etat of 5th Seiiteinticr.- Great Distress in P'rancc in the Winter of 181l>-17.— Opening of the Chambers.— State of Parties in tlie Chamber of Deputies. — Centre and Left. — Law of Elections of 5th Feb- ruary, 1817. — Argument of the Ministers in sup- port of the Measure. — Answer by the Royalists. — Ii is passed. — Hellections on this Law. — Laws on personal Freedom and the Liberty of the Press. — Projects of Laws regarding the Liberty of the Press and personal Freedom. — Argument against the Law on the Liberty of the Press by the Op- position. — Answer of the MinisteriaUsts. — Ex- treme Scarcity, and Measures of Government in consequence. — More liberal System in the Army. — Concordat with Rome. — Extreme Difficulty re- garding the Finances. — Efforts of the Emperor Alexander and the Duke of Wellington to obviate these Difficulties. — Convention of 11th February, 1918, for the Diminution of the Army of Occupa- tion. — The Budget of 1817. — Law regarding Be- ijuests to the Church. — Arguments for a proprie- tary Clergy. — Answer of the Ministerialists. — Re- s'ilt of the Debate. — Modification of the Ministry. — Biography ind Characterof Count Mole. — Gou- vion St. Cyr. — The Elections of 1817. — State of public Opinion. — State of public Opinion, and of the Press. — The Orleanists. — Measures of the Session : the Law of Recruiting. — TheLaw of Re- cruiting proposed by Government. — Argument in support of the Project by Ministers. — Argument on the other side by the Royalists. — The Bill is passed into a Law. — Law regarding the Liberty of the Press. — Expiry of the Laws against per- sonal Freedom and the Prevotal Courts. — Failure of the Law for establishing the new Concordat. — The Budget. — Conclusion of an Arrangement re- garding the Indemnities. — Aix-la-Chapelle and its Concourse of illustrious Foreigners. — Embassa- dors there, and Instructions of Louis to the Duke de Richelieu. — Brilliant Concourse of Strangers at Aix-la-Chapelle. — Conversation of Alexander with Richelieu. — Conclusion of the Treaty of Aix- la-Chapelle. — Secret Treaty with the Allies. — Answer of Louis XVIIL — Secret Protocol. — Se- cret military Protocol. — Military Arrangements. • — Secret Royalist Memoir presented to the allied Sovereigns at Aix-la-Chapelle. — Evacuation of the French Territory by the Allies. — Noble Con- duct of the Duke of Wellington on this Occasion. — Attempted Assassination of the Duke of W\'l- lington. — Visit of Alexander to Louis XVIIL at Paris. — Elections of 1818. — Financial Crisis. — Difficulties of the Duke de Richelieu. — Divisions in the Cabinet, and break-up of the Ministry. — Formation of the new Ministry. — Recompense voted to the Duke de Richelieu, and declined by him. — Measures of the new Ministers. — General promotion of the Liberals in the civil Service. — Movement against the Electoral Law in the Peers. — Argument of M. Barthelcmy for a Change in the Law of Election. — Answer on the part of the Ministerialists. — The Proposition is carried, and vast sensation throughout France. — Measures of the Cabinet, and Liberals in the Chamber of Dep- uties. — Argument in support of M. Barthelemy's Proposal. — Argument ol the Ministers on the other side. — Adoption of M. Barthelemy's Propo- sition, and Defeat of Ministers on the fixing of the financial Year. — Measures of the Ciovernment.^ Great Majority in the Chamber of Deputies for Ministers. — Great and Lasting Results of the Changes already made in France. — Repeated Coups d'Etat in France since the Restoration. — The Coups d'Etat were all on the popular side. — Causes of this Peculiarity. CHAPTER VII. SPAIN AND ITALY FROM THE PEACE OF 1814 TO THF, REVOLUTION OF 1820. Analogy of the early History of Spain and England. — The Colonies were not a Source of Weakness to Spain. — Colonies are always a Benefit to the Parent State. — Support which Colonies afford to the Mother Country.^ — What the Colonial Policy of the Parent State should be. — Inevitable Loss to the Parent State from the Separation of the Colonies. — Tyrannical Ruleof old Spainoverher Colonies. — The Trade of Spain was all with for- eign Manufactures. — Want of Industry in the na- tional Character. — The Physical circumstances of Spain favored Commerce, but not Manufac- tures. — Effect of the long-continued Hostility with the Moors. — Impolitic Laws of Spain in regard to Money. — Important Effect of the Romish faith. — Difference of the Towns and Country in respect of Political opinion. — Disposition of the Army. — The Church. — State of the Peasantry. — State of the Nobility. — Huge gap in the Revenue from the loss of the South American Colonies. — Constitu- tion of 1812: how it was Formed. — Its extreme Democratic tendency. — Utter unsuitableness of the Constitution to the generality of Spain. — Uni- versal unpopularity of the Cortes and Constitu- tion. — Influence of the Cortes on South America. — Situation of Portugal : effect of the Removal of the seat of Government to Rio Janeiro. — Its general Adoption of English Habits and Ideas.— Character of Ferdinand VII. — Ferdinand's ar- rival in Spain, and Treatment by the Cortes. — Universal unpopularity of the Cortes. — Decree of Valencia. — King's Declaration in favor of Free- dom, and Promise to convoke a legal Cortes. — Universal transports in Spain at this Decree, and the King's return to Madrid. — Reflections on this Event, and the obvious Courses which lay open to the King. — Ferdinand's despotic Measures. Re-establishment of the Inquisition. — Discontent in various Quarters. — Revolt of Mina in Navarre. — Fresh arbitrary Decree of Ferdinand. — Farther , violent Proceedings of the King, and Porlier's revolt. — Its Failure, and his Death. — Invasion of France, and Retreat of the Spaniards. Fresh tyrannical Acts of the King. — Change of Minis- ters, and Policy at Madrid. — Restoration of the Jesuits, and other Despotic Measures. — Double Marriages of the Royal Families of Spain and Portugal. — Creation of the kingdom of Brazil. — ■ Insurrection in Valencia. — Abortive Conspiracy in Barcelona, and Death of General Lacy. — Papal Bull regarding the Contribution by the Spanish Church. — Treaty regarding the Queen of Etruria. — Treaty for the Limitation of the Slave Trade. — Miserable state of Spain : its Army and Navy. — Extreme penury of the Finances of Spain. De- cree, April 3, 1818. — Death of Queen Maria Isa- bella of Spain. — Disastrous fate of the first Ex- pedition to Lima. — Fresh Revolt at Valencia, which is Suppressed. — Causes of the Revolt in the Isle of Leon. — Efforts of the Cadiz Liberals to promote it. — Insurrection at Cadiz. — The Con- spiracy is at first arrested by d'Abisbal. — D'Abis- bal is deprived of the (Command of theExpedition. — Additional Measures of Severity on the part of the Government. — Yellow Fever at Cadiz. — Sale of Florida to the Americans. — Marriage of the King. — Revolution attempted by Riego. — Vigor- CONTENTS. ous Measures adopted against the Insurgents. — Capture ol'the Arsenal, and Expedition of Riego into llie Interior. — Its Deleat and Failure. — Per- ilous position of Quiroga in the Isle of Leon. — Insurrection at Corunna, and in Navarre. — Rev- olution at Madrid : the King accepts the Consti- tution. — Reflections on this Revolution. — Rapid advances of the Revolution.— Reception of the Revolution at Barcelona, Valencia, and Cadiz. — Massacre at Cadiz. — New Ministry at Madrid. — First Measures of the new Government. — Estab- lishment of Clubs in Madrid, and other Revo- lutionary Measures. — Legislative Measures. — Meeting of the Cortes : its Composition. — Dis- orders in the Provinces. — Murder of one of the Body-guard, and Reward of the Murderers. — Opening of the Cortes. — Report on the State of the Army. — Majority of the Cortes : its Leaders. — Suppression of the Jesuits, and Measures re- garding Entails. — Financial Measures. — Tumult at Madrid, and Dismissal of Riego. — Closing of the Session, and Rupture with the King. — Re- ception of the Decree against the Priests in Spain. — illegal Appointment of General Carvajal by the King. — Return of the King to Madrid. — Victory of the Revolutionists. — New Society for Execu- tion of Lynch Law. — Identity of recent History of Spain and Portugal. — Revolution at Oporto. — Which is followed by a Revolution at Lisbon. — Establishment of a Joint Regency at Lisbon. — Return of Marshal Beresford, who is forced to go to England. — Effect of the Banishment of the British. — Reaction, and Adoption of more Mod- erate Measures. — Commencement of Reforms in Italy. — Breach of the King's promise of a Consti- tution. — Progressive but slight Reforms already introduced. — Origin of Secret Societies. — Their Origin and previous History. — Commencement of the Neapolitan Revolution. — Defection of Gen- eral Pepe and the Garrison of Naples. — The King yields, and swears to the Constitution. — Causes which prepared Revolution in Sicily. — Revolu- tion in Palermo. — Frightful Massacre in Palermo. — First Measures of the new Junta. — Failure of the Negotiations with Naples. — Suppression of the Insurrection in Palermo. — Renewal of Hos- tilities. — Meeting of the Neapolitan Parliament. — Insurrection of the Galley-slaves in Civita Vecchia. — Commencement of the Revolution in Piedmont. — Revolt in Alessandria and Turin. — The King yields, and accepts the Constitution. — Resignation of the King, and Proclamation of the Prince of Carignan as Regent, and the Spanish Constitution. — General Character of the Revolu- tions of 1820. — What caused their speedy Over- throw. — What should the Military do in such cir- cumstances? CHAPTER VIII. RUSSIA AND POLAND, FROM THE PEACE OF 1815 TO THE ACCESSION OF NICHOLAS IN 1825. Vast Growth and Extent of Russia, America, and British India in recent Times. — Increase of Rus- sia by the Treaties of 1814 and 1815. — Important Acf|uisition of Russia in the Grand-duchy of Warsaw. — .Statistics of the (irand-duchy of War- saw. — Establishment of the Kingdom of Poland. — Biography of the Grand Duke Con.stantine. — His Character. — His first Acts of Administration, and Training of the Army. — Great Advantage to Poland from its Union with Russia. — Great In- crease of its Military Strength. — Failure of the Representative System in Poland. — Great Influ- ence of Russia. — Great Wisdom of its External Policy. — Their Unity of Purpose. — Statistics of the Empire ; its Population. — (Jrcat Rapidity of Increase of the Russian Population. — Great Room for future Increase in its Inhabitants. — Unity of Feeling in the whole Empire. — Reason of this Unity. Their Asiatic Habits and Relig- ious Feelings. — Unity of Interest in the Empire. — General Insufiiciency of the Schools to produce Enlightenment. — The Clergy. — Rank in Russia: the I'chinn. — Great Power given by the Tchinn. — Caste of the Nobles. — Of the Bourgeois and Trading Classes. — The Serfs : their Number and Condition. — Privileges and Advantages they en- joy. — The Tieglo : its Advantages and EviJs. — Way in which it is carried into Effect. — Con- trast of English and Russian Cultivators. — Opin- ion of M. Haxthausen on the Serfs and their Enfranchisement. — Evils of the Russian Serf System. — Foreign Conquest ever forced upon Russia by its Climate. — Fear the universal Prin- ciple of Government in Russia. — General use of Corporal Chastisement. — Character which these Circumstances have imprinted on the Russians. — Causes which have led to this Character. — Great Effect of the Distances in Russia. — Civil- ization depends entirely on the Higher Ranks. — Strong Imitative turn of the Russians. — Military ' Strength of Russia. — The Military Colonies. — The Cossacks. — The admirable Discipline and* Equipment of the Army. — Russian Navy. — Rev- enue of Russia. — Positions of the principal Ar- mies. — General Corruption in Russia. — Enor- mous Abuses which prevail. — Striking Instances of this Corruption. — Emigration in Russia is all Internal. — Great Impulse to Agricultural Industry in Russia from Free Trade. — What is the Destiny of Russia? — Two different People in Russia. — Liberal Ideas with which the Troops returned from France and Germany. — First steps of Alex- ander on his Return to Russia in 1814. — His beneficent Measures. — Marriage of Alexander's sister to the Prince of Orange, and of the Grand Duke Nicholas to the Princess of Prussia. — In- cessant Travels of Alexander from 1815 to 1825. — Various beneficent Measures introduced by him. — His arrival at Warsaw in 1818. — Alexan- der's memorable Speech to the Diet.- — Journey of Alexander to his Southern Provinces. — His Ef- forts for the Enfranchisement of the Peasants. — Transactions of 1819. — Expulsion of the Jesuits. — Great Changes in the Emperor's mind from the Revolution of 1820. — Violent Scene, and Dis- solution of the Polish Diet. — Congress of Trop- pau. — Congress of Troppau : its Resolutions. — Congress of Laybach. — Reflections on the Divis- ion among the Allied Powers. — Limits of the Right of Intervention. — What Share had the Holy Alli- ance in this? — Attitude taken by England on the occasion. — War declared against the Revolution in Naples. — Unresisted March of the Austrians toward Naples. — Subjugation of Naples, and Re- turn of the King. — Movement of the Insurgenio in Piedmont. — Meeting of the Allies, and fresh Rev- olution in Genoa. — Increasing Dillicultios of the Insurgents. — Total Defeat of the Insurgents at Agogna. — Submission of the Capital, and Termin- ation of the War. — Violent Reaction in Italy. — Reaction in Piedmont, and Treaty withAuslria. — Revolt in a Regiment of Guards at St. Peters- burg. — Ah^xander refuses to Sui)port the Grec ks. — Extension of the Russian Empire in North America. — Suppression of Freemasons and olher Secret Societies. — General Failure of the JOm- jieror's Philanthropic Projects. — Dreadful Flood at St. Petersburg. — Description of the Situation of St. Petersburg. — Great Inundation of Si. Peters- burg. — Nobl(! Charity of the Emperor and Nobles. — Internal Measures of 1824, and Settlement of the Boundaries of Russian America. — The Em- press of Russia : her Birth, Parentage, Marriage, and Character. — Amours of the Czar. — Dealii of Alexander's Natural Daughter. — Reconciliation of the Emperor and Empress. — Solemn Service in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Kazan.— His Departure from the Cathedral. — His Arrival at Taganrog. — His last Illness. — And Death.— And Funeral. — Death and Burial of the Empress.^ sil CONTENTS. II , —His FiiiliiK^s.— State of ihc Suc- t-, , I'liixiuf. — L'oustuiitmo ri'liist's tlic •J-;.,, i\ lliis Oiimc iibout. — Constimlmc's prvviou!) Ki-minciiitioiiol his Ki^lit ol Siu-ccssion. — Nii-hi>l;is rt'tust-s the Crown, luul proi-luiiiis Con>iaiiliiu>.— Contest of (.ic-norositylwlwcen the two Hrothers. anil Nichohis mounts the 'rUrone. — Aei-oiint of the Consiuriiey jigainst him. — De- tails on the Conspirney.— iTiformation given of the Cons;.in«ev to Alexander.— riiuis of the Conspir- ators.— A Revolt IS decided on by the Conspir- ators.— Commencement of it.— Heroic Conduct of Nicholas on the occasion.— Nicholas advances ag.vnst the Kelu-ls.- Forces on both Sides, and Irresolution of the Chiefs of tlie Revolt.— Death of Milar.-idowitch.- The Archbishop also fails in reducing the Mutineers.— The Emperor gains the Victory.— Seizure of the Leaders ol tiic Conspir- acy, and generous conduct of Nicholas to the Privates. — Appointment of a Commission of In- quiry. — Its Composition and Report. — Leaders of the Revolt in the Army of the South. — And in • thit of the West. — Arrest of the Mouravicds, and Outbreak of the Conspiracy in the Army of Po- land. — Its Suppression. — Sentences on the Con- spirators. — Their conduct on the eve of Death.— '1 heir Execution. — Reflections on this Event. — Noble Conduct of the Princess Troubetzkoi and the other Wives of the Convicts. — Condition of the Exiles in Siberia. — Generous Conduct of the Emperor to the Relatives of the Convicts. — Ex- piatory Ceremony on the Place of the Senate. — Great Reforms in all Departments introduced by the Emperor. — Great legal Reforms of the Emper- or. — Crime of the Insurgents. — Coronation of the Emperor and Empress at Moscow. — Character of tne Emperor Nicholas, and parallel between him and Peter the Great. — He is essentially Rus- sian. — His personal Appearance and Failings. CHAPTER IX. ROYALIST REACTION IN FRANCE. FR.VNCE FROM THE COUP D'ET.iT OF 5TH MARCH, 1819, TO THE ACCESSIO.X OF THE PURELY ROY- ALIST MINISTRY IN DECEMBER, 1821. Great Evils of France at the Close of 1816. — Rapid Flow of Prosperity which succeeded them in the next Vear. — Brilliant appearance of Paris. — Ex- ports, Imports, and Revenue of France during this Period. — Thorough Establishment of Repre- sentative Institutions in France. — Which have no Effect in conciliating the Liberal Party. — Popular Acts of the New Ministry. — Return of Marat and many other of the Proscribed to France. —Increasing Strength of the Liberals, and Re- sistance to the Government. — Law regarding the Press. — Debate on the Return of the Proscribed Persons. — Speech of M. de Serres on the Sub- ject. — Immense Sensation produced by this De- bate. — Increasing Violence and Exasperation of the Press. — Budget of 1819. — Preparations for the Election of 1819. — Their Result : Election of the Abbe Gregoire. — Biography of the Abbe Gregoire. — General F"oy. — His Biography. — M. de Serres. — His Character. — Conversation of Louis XV'III. and the Count d'Artois on the Election. — Change in the Ministry. — Violent Attacks on the new Ministry by the Press. — King's Speech at Open- ing the Session. — Comparative Strength of Par- lies in the Chamber. — Designs of the Liberals in Paris. — New Electoral Law proposed by the Gov- ernment. — Electoral Law finally agreed on by the Government. — Violent Opposition of the Liber- als. — The Duke de Berri. — His Biography. — Louvel, his Assassin. — Assassination of the Duke de Berri. — His last Moments. — His Death. — Im- mense Sensation which it produced. — Chateau- briand's Words on the Occasioa — General Indig- nation against 1\I. Dccazcs. — The King resolve* to supi)ort him. — He at length agrees to his Dis- missal. — Resignation of M. Docazes, and the Duke de Richelieu sent for. — The King's In- clination for Platonic attachments. — The Count- ess l)u Cayla. — Her first Interview with Louis, w)iich proves successful. — Character of M. De- cazcs. — Merits of his Measures as a Statesman. — Division of Parties in the Assembly after M. Decazes' fall — Funeral ofthe Duke de Berri, and Execution of Louvel. — Ministerial Measures of the Session: Argument against the First. — • Answer by the Government. — Censorship of the Press : Argument against it by the Opposition. — Answer by the Ministerialists. — Result ofthe Debate. — Reflections on this Subject. — Alarming State ofthe Country, and defensive Measures of Government. — Denunciation of the Secret Gov- ernment. — Ministerial Project of anew Electoral Law. — Argument against it by the Opposition. — Answer by the Ministerialists. — CainiUe-Jour- dan's Amendment carried. — The Amendment of M. Boin is carried by Government. — Disturb- ances in Paris. — Which become serious. — Loud declamation on the Subject in the Chamber of Deputies. — Their Suppression. — The Budget. — Military Conspiracy, headed by Lafayette. — Their Designs, and Efforts to corrupt the Troops. — Which fails by Accident. — Lenity shown in the Prosecutions. — Birth of the Duke of Bordeaux. — Universal Transports in France. — Congratula- tions from the European powers, and Promotions in France. — Rupture with the Doctrinaires.— Views ofthe Doctrinaires. — Views ofthe Royal- ists. — Disturbances in the Provinces. — Internal Measures of the Government. — Changes in the Household, — New Organization of the Army. — Ordonnance regarding Public Instruction. — The King's Circular to the Electors. — Result of the Elections favorable to the Royalists.- — Effect of the Change in the Assembly. — Accession of V'il- Idle, &c., to the Ministry. — Speech of the King, and Answer of the Chambers. — Measures of the Session, fixing the Boundaries of the Electoral Districts. — Law for additional Ecclesiastical En- dowments. — Modifications in the Corn-laws. — Law for the Indemnity ofthe Imperial donataries. — Law regarding the Censorship of the Press. — Speech of M. Pasquier on the Occasion. — In- creasing Irritation of Parties, and Difficulties of the Ministry. — Rupture with the Royalists, and Fall ol the Richelieu Ministry. — The new Min- istry. — Reflections on this Event. — Great Effects of the Change in the Electoral Law. — Defects of the Representative System in France. — Un- due Ascendency of the Parti-Pretre. — Cause of the Reaction against Liberal Institutions. — Death of Napoleon. — Reflections on his Captivity. — Great Exaggeration regarding the English Treat- ment of him. — Lamartine's Account of his Exile. — Irritation between him and Sir Hudson Lowe. — All Parties were wrong regarding his Treat- ment at St. Helena. — Change on Napoleon before his Death. — His Death. — His Funeral. — Im- mense sensation it excited in Europe. — He was the last of the Men who Rule their Age. CHAPTER X. DOMESTIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND, FROM THE PASS- ING OF THE CURRENCY ACT OF 1819 TO THE DEATH OF LORD LONDONDERRY IN 1822. Difference of the Objects of the Liberal Party in France and England. — Difference in the Causes which produced Discontent in the Two Coun- tries. — Great Effects ofthe Change in the Mone- tary Laws. — Mr. Smith's Views on this Subject. — Great Effects of any Variation in the Value of the Standard of Value. — Examples of this from former Times. — Discovery and wonderful Effects CONTENTS. of a Paper Currency. — Advantages of a Paper Circulation, duly limited. — What is the Standard of Value? — Vast Effect of V^ariations in the Currency. — When this Effect takes place. — Vast Importance of an inconvertible Currency as a Regulator of Prices. — A Currency based on the precious Metals is always liable to Fluctuations. — Concurring Causes which brought about the Bill of 1819. — Danger of a Currency entirely rest- ed on a Metallic Basis. — True System. — Peculiar Dangers with which the Resumption of Cash Pay- ments was attended. — Strain on the Money Mar- ket, from the immense Loans on the Continent. — Great Prosperity of England in End of 1818 and Spring of 1819, from Extension of its Currency. — Great Internal Prosperity of the Country. — Disastrous Contraction of the Currency. — Its Ef- fects on the Bank Issues. — And on Prices of all Commodities. — Rapid Increase of Disaffection in the Country. — Meeting at Peterloo. — Great Ex- citement, and Objects of the Meeting.— Its Dis- persion by the Military. — Noble Conduct of Lord Sidmouth on the Occasion. — Result of Hunt's Trial. — Reflections on the Im[)olicy of allowing such Meetings. — And on the Conduct of the Mag- istrates. — Seditious Meetings in other Quarters. — Augmentation of the Chelsea Pensioners. — Meeting of Parliament, and Measures of Govern- ment. — Lord Sidmouth's Acts of Parliament. — Impression Lord Sidmouth and Lord Castlereagh made on the Radicals. — Death of the Duke of Kent. — Death of George III. — Deep Impression which his Death made on the Country.— Birth of Queen Victoria.— Alarming Illness of George IV. — Ominous Questions regarding the Omission of Queen Caroline's Name in the Liturgy. — Re- markalile Speech of Mr. Brougham. — Cato Street Conspiracy.^ — -Thistlewood's previous Life. — De- sign of the Conspirators. — Their final Plans. — Conflict in the dark in the Cato Street Loft. — Execution of the Conspirators. — Disturbances in Scotland and North of England. — Insurrection in Scotland. — Outbreak of the Insurrection, and its Suppression. — Death and Character of Mr. Grattan. — His Character as a Statesman and Orator. — Increase of the Yeomanry Force. — The Budget for 1820. — Important Subjects of Debate in this Session. — Statistics on Education in En- gland and Wales by Mr. Brougham.— Difficulties of this Subject, and Necessity of an Assessment. ■ — Its Difficulties, and Attempts at their Solution. — Probable mode of solving it. — What is to be done with the Educated Classes? — Effect of Education in leading to the Dispersion of Man- kind. — Disfranchisement of Grampound, and transfer of its Members to Yorkshire. — Rise of Free-trade Ideas among the Merchants, and Lord Lansdowne's Declaration on the Subject. — Lord Liverpool's memorable Speech in reply. — Ap- pointment of a Committee to Inquire into Agri- cultural Distress. — Opinion of Mr. Brougham on this Subject. — Answer by Mr. Ricardo. — Addi- tional Facts since discovered on this Subject. — Commencement of iheTroubles about the Queen. — Sketch of her Life prior to this Period. — Her Conduct abroad, and Proceedings in consequence of it. — Omission of the Qiieen's Name in the Lit- urgy, and her Return to England. — Her Landing in England, and enthusiastic Reception. — Views of the Radical Leaders on the Occasion. — En- thusiastic Reception of the Queen at Dover and in London. — I'ailurc of the Negotiations, and Commencement of the Inquiry. — Scene which ensued on the Trial. — Progress of the Trial, and its Difficulties. — Peroration of Mr. Brougham's Defense. — Queen's Defense, and Failure of the Bill. — General Transports of the Peojde. — Rapid Rcactio7i of Public Opinion. — Consternation of the Ministry, who resolve to remain at their Posts. — Return of Popularity of Ciovernment, and Causes of h. — Meeting of Parliament, and first Proceedings. — Debates on Foreign Affairs. — Sir James Mackintosh's Efforts to Improve the Crim- inal Law. — Mr. Canning's striking Speech on Catholic Emancipation. — Answer by Mr. Peel. — ■ Which is earned m the Commons, and lost in the Peers. — Lord John Russell's Motion for Parlia- mentary Reform. — Appointment of a Committee to Inquire into Agrici^tural Distress. — Bank Cash Payment Bill. — Mr. Baring's Speech on the Sub- ject. — Vehement Demand for a Reduction of Tax- ation. — Agricultural Committee Reports, and State of tlie Consumption of Articles of Luxury. — Increase of the desire for Reform among the Agriculturists. — Coronation of George IV. — Cer- emony on the Occasion. — Aspect of Wellington, Londonderry, and George IV. — The Queen is re- fused Admittance : her Death. — King's Visit to Ireland. — Funeral of the Queen. — Dismissal of Sir R. Wilson from the Army. — Changes in the Cabinet. — Retirement of Lord Sidmouth, who is succeeded by Mr. Peel as Home Secretary. — Lord Wellesley appointed Viceroy of Ireland, and Change in the Government there. — Cause of the Wretchedness of Ireland. — What would have re- lieved the Country, and its Neglect. — Ruinous Effect of the Contraction of the Currency upon Ireland. — Progress of the Agrarian Disturbances in Ireland. — Lord W'ellesley's able Conduct and Impartiality. — Dreadful Examples in the Disturb- ed Districts. ^ — Dreadful Famine in the South and West of Ireland. — Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and Insurrection Act. — Divisions on the Catholic Claims. — Increasing Strength of the Minority on Parliamentary Reform.— Peroration of Mr. Canning's Speech. — Sir James Mackin- tosh's Motion regarding the Criminal Law. — Great fall in the Price of all sorts of Produce. — Measures lur the Relief of the Agricultural Class- es. — Detailed Measures of Government for the Relief of the Agriculturists. — Motion of Mr. Western on the Currency. — Mr. Huskisson's Ar- guments in Support of the Existing System. — Reply by Mr. Attwood. — Repeated Defeats of Ministers in the House of Commons. — Great Re- ductions of Taxation introduced by Ministers. — The Budget. — Reduction of the 5 per cents. — Equalization of the Dead W'eight, and Military and Naval Pensions.— Details of the Measure. — ■ Important Small Notes Bill. — Its Provisions. — ■ Six Acts relating to Commerce and Navigation. — Visit of the King to Edinburgh. — Particulars of the Royal Visit. — Death of Lord Londonderry. — His Character. — Its indomitable Firmness. — His Policy m Domestic Affairs. — Political Changes in progress, from the Resumption of Cash Pay- ments. — Internal Changes arising from the same Cause. — Lord Londonderry was the last of the real Rulers of England. — Increased ascendant of the Rulers of Thought. — Simultaneous Outlireak of the Revolutionary Spirit in Different Coun- tries. — Different Characters of the Revolts in the different States. CHAPTER XI. ENGL.\ND, FRANCE, AND SPAIN, FROM THE ACCES- SION OF VILLELE IN 1819 TO THE CONOUESS OP VERONA IN 1822.' Divergence of Franco and England in regard to ihn Spanish Revolution. — Peculiar Causes which augmented this Divergence. — Character of Mr. Canning. — His peculiar Style of Eloquence. — His Defects. — Viscount Chateaubriand. — His Merits as an Orator. — His Character as a States man. — His Defects. — M. de Villelo. — His pecu- liar Turn of Mind, and Course of Policy. — M. de Corbierc, M. Mathieu de Montmorency, M. dc Peyronnet, Victor. — Law regarding the Press. — Its Stringent Provisions. — Discussion on it. — Rise of the Carbonari and Secret Societies in C O N T E N T S. France. — Rur of C'arK^nnrismiu Franco. — Ahort- ivf fonspiracv M Hflorl— Ucrtou's I'oiispiniiv ,,. r,.:i.s r.Misinracy at lurr.'.-tu>ns at (.'oliuar, Marsi'illos, . il.Mi — lliulgrl ol lf<-i*.— Kavoralile Utsiilt l.lfilious lo the Royalists. — tjlate ol Pub- Alttinptcil Ki-storaliouolllie Koyal V Mmlrul. — Opiiiliisolllii'Uorles.and 1 liio Miiusurs. — (Jomlucl ot tlic Cor- t. , ..M>i Vi>i'»iiiiim'Ut Ola Now Ministry .—ElVect pr..'l i.-.-.l in Spun l>y iho Crushing ot the Rev- o! 11 .n in Italy. —Kxtraordinary Outbreak ol Rev- ..I li Ki.iry Kury iii the East ol Spain.— Revolu- ti.iiv L.1W.S passed by the Cortes.— Barbarous M ir br ol'tho Priest Vinuesa.— Institution of the Or i r of the Hammer.— insurrection in Navarre, a:i i Ai

>intmentof.Murillo at Madrid.— Proceed- ings of the Cortes.— Deplorable State of the Fi- nances, and Measures regarding them.— Fresh Tumults in Madrid. — Resignation of General Murillo. — The Secret Societies, or Communcros. — Rioio's Plot at Saragossa, and his Arrest. — Sujipression of the Tumults thence arising at Madrid. — Yellow Fever at Barcelona. — Fresh Agitation. — Refusal of Cadiz and Seville to re- ceive the King's Governors, and Revolt at Corun- na. — Opening of an E.xtraordinary Cortes. — Con- tradictory Resolutions of the Cortes. — Irresolute Canduct of the King, and Royalist Insurrection in the North. — Proposed Laws against the Press and Patriotic Societies. — Riots in Madrid on the pi-ssing of a Bill against the Press. — Composition of the new Cortes. — New Ministry. — Opening of the Cortes, and disastrous State of the Finances. — General Disturbances in Spain. — Proceedings of the Cortes, and Progress of the Civil War. — The Trappist : his Appearance and Character, an J Followers. — Desperate Assault of Cervera. — Defeat of Misas. — Severe Laws passed by the Cortes. — Great Extension of the Civil War. — Deplorable State of the Spanish Finances. — Riot in .Madrid, and Death of Landabura. — Commence- ment of the Strife between the Guard and the Girrison. — Departure of the Royal Guard from Madrid. — Progress of the Negotiations with the Insurgents. — .\ttack of the Guards on Madrid, and its Defeat. — Destruction of the Royal Guard. — Defeat of the Insurgents in .\ndalusiaand Cadiz. — Change of Ministry, and complete Triumph of the Revolutionists. — The New Ministry, and Provincial Appointments. — Murder of Geoiffeux. — Second Trial, and Execution of Elio. — Civil War in the Northern Provinces. — Vigorous Meas- ures of the Revolutionary Government. — Capture of CastelfoUit, and Savage Proclamation of Mina. — Continued Disasters of the Royalists, and Flight of the Regency from Urgel. CHAPTER XII. CONGRESS OF VEROXA — FRENCH INVASION OF SPAIN — DEATH OF LOCIS XVIII. Great Effect produced by these Successes of the Liljerals. — Effect of these Events in France and Europe.— Lamartine's Observations on the Sub- ject.— Opposite Views which prevailed in Great Britain. — Repugnance to French Intervention. — Dinger of a Renewal of the Family Compact be- tween France and Spain.— Influence of the South American and Spanish Bondholders.— Immense Extent of the Spanish and South American Loans.— Views of the Cabinet and Mr. Canning on the Subject. — Coneress of Verona aereed oii by all the Powers. — Members of the Congress •Jjfife. — Description of Verona. — Views of the Different Powers at the Opening of the Coneress. —Brilliant Assemblage of Princesses and Court- iers at Verona. — Treaty for the Evaruation of Piedmont and Naples. — Resolution of the Con- gress regarding the Slave Trade. — Note of En- gland regarding South Amorican Independence. — Instructions of M. de \ illelc to M. de Mont- morency regarding Spain. — .Mr. Canning's In- structions to Duke of V\ ollington. — Measures adoi)tod liy tiie Majority of the Congress on the Subject. — Questions proposed by France, and Answersof the Continental Powers and England. — Views of what had occurred in this Congress. — Views of M. de ViUele and Louis XVIII. — Secret Correspondence of M. de Villele and M. de Lagarde. — Utliate on it in the Cabinet, and Resignation of M. de Montmorency, who is suc- ceeded by M. dc Chateaubriand.— The Warlike Preparations of France continue. — Failure of the Negotiations at Madrid, and Departure of the French Embassador.— Speech of the King at the Opening of the Chambers.— King of England's Speech at Opening of Parliament. — Reply of the Spanish Government. — M. Hyde de Neuville's Address in Reply to the Speech of the King. — Speech on the War in the House of Commons by Mr. Brougham. — Mr. Canning adopts the Princi- ple of Non-interference. — M. de Chateaubriand's Reply in the French Chambers. — Immense sensa- tion produced by this Speech. — M. Talleyrand's Speech on the War.— Vote of Credit of 100,000,000 francs. — Affair of M. Manuel in the Chamber of Deputies : his Speech. — Storm in the Chamber. — Expulsion of M. Manuel. — Dramatic Scene at his Expulsion. — General Enthusiasm excited by the Spanish War. — Preparations of the Lil)erals to sow Disaffection in the Army. — Feelings of Mr. Canning and the English people at this Crisis. — Views of Mr. Canning at this Juncture. — Portrait of Mr. Canning, by M. Marcellus. — His Opinion as to the probable Duration of the War. — Views of George IV. and the Duke of Wel- lington on the Subject. — Difficulties of the French at the entrance of the Campaign. — Which are ob- viated by M. Ouvrard. — Forces, and their Dis- position on both Sides. — The Spanish Forces. — Theatrical Scene at the Passage of the Bidassoa. — Progress of the French, and their rapid Suc- cess. — Advance of the Duke d'Angouleine to Madrid. — Advance of the French to Madrid. — Entry of the Duke d'Angouleme into Madrid. — Advance of the French into Andalusia. — Pro- ceedings of the Cortes, and Deposition of Fer- dinand VII. — Violent Reaction at Seville, and over all Spain. — State of Affairs in Cadiz. — Advance of the Duke d'Angouleme into Andalu- sia, and Decree of Andujar. — Its Provisions. — Violent Irritation of the Royalists in Spain. — Progress of the Siege of Cadiz. — Assault of the Trocadero. — Operations of Riego in the Rear of the French. — Defeat and Capture of Riego. — Re- sumed Negotiations at Cadiz, and Assault of Santa Petri. — Deliverance of the King, and Dis- solution of the Cortes. — Scene at his Deliverance. — First Acts of the New Government. — Loud calls on Ferdinand for Moderation and Clemen- cy. — Sentence of Riego. — His Execution. — En- try of the King and Queen into Madrid. — Dis- tracted and miserable State of Spain. — State of Portugal during this Year. Royalist Insurrec- tion. — Royalist Counter-revolution. — Triumph- ant Return of the Duke d'Angouleme to Paris. — Offer of Assistance by Russia to France re- jected. — Views of Mr. Canning in Recognizing the Republics of South America. — Mr. Canning did not give Independence to South America, but only acknowledged It. — Recognition of the South American Republics by Mr. Canning. — Effects of this Measure on British Interests. — M. de Chateaubriand's Designs in regard to the South American States. — Speech of Mr. Canning at Plymouth.— The Elections of 1824, and Strength of the Royalists. — Great Effect which this had on the future Destinies of France. — Atpptins of the Chambers, and Measures announced in the Royal CONTENTS. Speech. — Law of Septenniality : Considerations in favor of it. — Argument on the other Side. — Law for the Reduction of Interest of the National Debt. — Which is passed by the Deputies, Imt thrown out by the Peers. — Reflections on this De- cision. Difference of the English and French Funds. — Splendid Position of M. de Chateau- briand. — His Dismissal, and that of Marshal Vic- tor. — Statistics of France in this Year. — Reign of Louis X Vin. draws to a Close. — His declining Days. — His great Powers of Conversation. — His Religious Impressions in his Last Days. — His Death. — Characterof Louis XVIIl. — His Private Qualities and Weaknesses. — Political Inferences from the Result of the Spanish Revolution. — Great Merit of the French Expedition into Spain in 1823. — It had nearly established the Throne of the Restoration.— The French Inva- sion of Spain was justifiable. --Was the English Intervention in behalf of South America justifi- able ? — Its ultimate DisastK^us Effects to En- gland. HISTORY OF EUROPE. CHAPTER I. SENEllAL b.KETCH OF THS WHO£-E PERIOD FROM THE FALL OF NAPOLEON TO THE AC0ESSIU5 07 LOUIS NAPOLEON. The fall of Napoleon completed the first J drama of the historical series aris- Resunieofthe ing out of the French Revolution, war just con- Democratic ambition had found its eluded. natural and inevitable issue in war- like achievement; the passions of the camp had succeeded those of the forum, and the conquest of all the continental monarchies had for a time apparently satiated the desires of an am- bitious people. But the reaction was as violent as the action ; in every warlike operation two parties arc to be considered — the conqueror and the conquered. The rapacity, the insolence, the organized exactions of the French proved griev- ous in the extreme ; and the hardship was felt as the more insupportable, when the administra- tive powers of Napoleon gave to them the form of a regular tribute, and conducted the riches of conquered Europe in a perennial stream to the Imperial treasury. A unanimous cry of in- dignation arose from every part of the Continent: a crusade commenced in all quarters, from the experienced suffering of mankind ; — from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, the liberating warriors came forth, and the strength of an injured world collected, by a convulsive efTort at the heart, to throw off the load which had oppressed it. Securely cradled amidst the waves, England, like her immortal chief at Waterloo, calmly awaited the hour when she might be called on to take the lead in the terrible strife ; her energy, when it arrived, rivaled her former patience in privation, her fortitude in suffering; and the one only na- tion which, throughout tlw3 struggle, had been uneonquercd, at length stood foremost in the fight, and struck the final and decisive blow for the deliverance of the world. J3ut the victory of nations did not terminate c the war of opinion ; the triumph of The secniid armies did not end the collision of drama was thought. Franco was conquered, one springing but the principles of her Revolution OMt of social ' .' . , , , vassions. were not extirpated : they had cov- ered her own soil with mourning, but they were too flattering to the pride of the human heart to be subdued but by many ages of suflering. The lesson taught by the subju- gation of her power, the double capture of her capital, was too serious to be soon forgotten by her rulers; but the agony which had been pre- viously felt by the people, had ended with a gcn- Voi.. I.— A eration which was now mouldering in the grave. It is by the last impression that the durable opinions of mankind are formed ; and eflects had here succeeded each other so rapidly that the earlier ones were in a great measure forgotten. The conscription had caused the guillotine to be forgotten ; grief for the loss of the frontier of the Rhine had obliterated that for the dissolution of the National Assembly. Men did not know that the first was the natural result of the last. There was little danger of France soon crossing the Rhine, but much of her reviving the opinions of Mirabeau and Sieyes. The first drama, where the military bore the prominent part, was ended ; but the second, in which civil patriots were to be leading characters, and vehement political passions excited, was still to come ; the Lager had terminated, but the Piccolomini was only beginning, and Wallen.stein's Death had not yet commenced. Every thing conspired to render the era sub- sequent to the fall of Napoleon as 3 memorable for civil changes as that Causes which era itself had been for military tri- rendered it so umphs. Catherine of Russia had '^'°'*^"'- said at the commencement of the Revolution, that the only way to prevent its princi})les spread- ing, and save Europe from civil convulsion, was to engage in war, and cause the national to su- persede the social passions. The experiment, after a fearful struggle, succeeded ; but it suc- ceeded only for a time. War wore itself out ; a contest of twenty years' duration at once drained away the blood and exhausted the treasures of Europe. The excitement, the animation, the mingled horrors and glories of military strife, were followed by a long period of repose, during which the social passions were daily gaining stiength from the very magnitude of the contest which had preceded it. The desire for excite- ment continued, and the means of gratifying it had ceased : the cannon of Leipsic and Water- loo still resounded through the world, but no new combats furnished daily materials for anxictv, terror, or exultation. The nations were chained to peace by the immensity of the sacrifices made in the preceding M-ar : all governments had sul- fcred so much during its continuance, that, like wounded veterans, they dreaded a renewal of the fight. During the many years of constraiiicil repose which succeeded the bat'ls of Waterloo, the vehement excitement occasioned by tho Rov- HISTORY OF EUrxOTE. [Chjip. 1. oluiionary wiirs ci>miiimii ; Iml, iVom ilefaiill of external, it tiinioil to iiiit-i mil olijei'ts. Dunio- cratio liuuo iiisiciul of iiiilitury nmbitioii ; the six'ial Miocceiioil the nnlioiial pajijiions; the spirit WHS the M\me, Imt ils lielil was ohanjicil. Mean- while the blesseil etVeet ol" loii^-coiitiiuieJ pcaee, by allKwiiiij inclu^lry in every quarter to reap i's iVuits in quiet, was daily aiiJinir to the strength nnd ef.er^y, bceause augmenting the resourecs, of the middle class, in whom these feelings are ever the strongest, because they are the first to be pro- moted by a change; while, in a similar proportion, the i>OMcr of government was daily declining, from the necessity of providing for the interest of the debts contracted during the preceding strife, and reducing the military forces which had so long averted ils dangers or achieved its triumphs. The chauixe in the ruling passions of mankind clearly appeared in the annals of Govt-rnmcnts nations, in the thirty years which now aimed at followed the lall of Napoleon. Gov- peai-c. and the ernmcnts had often great difficulties •^'ll^w^I"""' to contend with— not. however, with each other, tiut with ilieir subjects; many of them were overturned, not by foreign armies but by their own. Europe was often on the verge of a general war, but the danger of it arose, not, as in former days, from the throne, but from the cottage : the persons who urged it on were not kinixs or their ministers : they were the tribunes of the people. The chief efforts of governments in every country were directed to the preservation of that peace which the col- lision of so many interests, and the vehemence of such passions endangered: war- was repeat- edly threatened ; but by the people, not by sov- ereigns. The sovereigns were successful; but their being so only augmented the dangers of their position, and increased the peril arising from the ardor of the social passions with which f.hey had to contend ; for every year of repose added to the strength of their opponents as much as it diminished their own. The preservation of peace, unbroken from - 1815 to 1830, was fraught with im- Canses in mense blessings to Europe, and, had France which it been properly improved, might '"^^h'^R°^^*^i ^^^'^ '^^^" ^° '° ^^^ cause of free- tionoflfeSO. ' ^'^^ throughout the world; but it proved fatal to the dynasty of the Restoration. From necessity as well as inclin- ation — from the recollection of the double cap- ture of Paris, as well as conscious inability to conduct warlike operations, Louis XVIII. re- mained at peace ; and no monarch who does so will long remain on the French throne. Death, and extreme prudence of conduct, alone saved him from dethronement. The whole history of the Restoration from 181-5 to 1830, was that of one vast and ceaseless conspiracy against the Bourbons, existing rather in the hearts and minds, than in the measures and designs of men. No coccessioLs to freedom, no moderation of govern- ment, no diminution of public burdens, could reconcile the people to a dynasty imposed on them by the stranger. One part of the people were dreaming of the past, another speculating on the future : all were dissatisfied with the present. The wars, the glories of the Empire, rose up in painful contrast to the peace and monotony of the present. Successive alterations of the elective constituency, and restrictions on llie press, had no effect i.i diminishing the feel- ings thus excited in ihc minis of men, and which only became, like all other cor.cealed passions, more powerful from the dilliculty of giving it ex- pression. France was daily increasing in wealth, freedom, and material well-being, but it was as steadily declining in contentment, loyalty, and happiness — a strange combination, though one by no means unknown in private liTe, when all external appliances are favorable, but the heart is gnawed by a secret and ungratified passion. At length the general discontent rose to such a pitch that it became impossible to carry on the government ; a ccnip d'etat was attempted, to restore some degree of efficiency to the execu- tive, but it was conducted by the "feeble arms of confessors and kings;" the army wavered in its duty; the Orleans I'amily took advantage of the tumult, and the dynasty of the elder branch of the Bourbons was overthrown. That so great an event as the overthrow of a dynasty by a sudden urban insurrec- g^ tion, should have produced a great Causes which impression all over the world, was made England to have been expected; but it could ponvmsTon!**^ hardly have been anticipated it would have been attended by the effects which actually followed in Great Britain. But many causes had conspired, at that period, to prepare the public mind in England for change ; and, what is very remarkable, these causes had arisen mainly from the magnitude of the successes with which the war had been attended. The great aristocratic party, whether in land or money, had been .so triumphant that they deemed their power beyond the reach of attack; compromise, con. cession, or even consideration for their opponents, was out of the question. They neither consid- ered their interests in legislation, nor had re- gard to their feelings in manner. The capital which had been realized during the war had been 30 great, the influence of the moneyed interest so powerful, that the legislature became affected by their desires. The Monetary Bill of 1819, I before many years had elapsed, added fifty per ; cent to the value of money, and weight of debts j and taxes, and took as much from the remunera- tion of industry. Hence a total change in the j feelings, influences, and political relations of j society. The territorial aristocracy was weak ; ened as much as the commercial was aoTrrand"i ized ; small landed proprietors were generally I ruinedfrom the fall of prices; the magnates stood j forth in increased lustre from the enhanced value j of their revenues. Industry was querulous, from ; long-continued sufi"ering; wealth ambitious, from sudden exaltation. Political power was coveted in one class, from the excess of its riches ; in I another, from the depth of its misery. The emancipation of the Roman Catholics severed the last bond, that of a common religion, which I had hitherto held together the different classes, and imprinted on the minds of a large and sincere class a thirst for vengeance, which overwhelmed every consideration of reason. The result of these concurring causes was that the institutioni j of England were essentially altered by the earth- i quake of 1830, and a new class elevated to su- preme power by means, bloodless indeed, but scarcely less violent than the revoluticri which had overturned Charles X. I The revolution of 1830 tTevatcd the cidfii» Chap. I.] HISTORY OF EUROPE, class to ihi ilircptiiii of nlVaiis. and ilio Reform 7 Bill hi lOiiiiliiud vested tlicisanieclass Great cflects in eiiect with supreme power in the oftheRevolu- British empire. Vast consequences ''''" , ,'" ''""* followed this all-important change in both countries. b ov the nrst time in the history of mankind, the experiment was made of vestinfr the electoral franchise, not in a varied and limited class as in old England, or in the whole citizens, as in revolutionary France or America, but in persons possessed only of a certain money qualification. The franchise was not materially changed in France ; but the gen- eral arming of the national guard, and the revo- lutionary origin of the new government, eflectu- ally secured attention to the wishes of the burgher aristocracy. In England they were at once vest- ed with the command of the state, for the House of Commons was returned by a million of elec- tors, who voted for 658 members, of whom two- thirds were the representatives of boroughs, and two-thirds of their constituents shopkeepers, or persons whom they influenced. Thence conse- quences of incalculable importance, in both coun- tries, and cflects which have left indelible traces in the future history of mankind. The first eft'ect of this identity of feeling and 8. interest, in the class then for the first Political alii- time intrusted with the practical di- ance between j-ection of affairs in both countries, France and . i-.- in- u England '^'^^ * close political alliance be- which fol- tween their governments, and an lowed this entire change in the foreign policy change. ^j- q^.^^j. grkain. To the vehement hostility and ceaseless rivalry of four centuries succeeded an alliance sincere and cordial at the time, though, like other intimacies founded on identity of passion, not of interest, it might be doubted whether it would survive the emotions which gave it birth. In the mean time, how- ever, the effects of this alliance were novel, and .n the highest degree important. When the lords of the earth and the sea united, no power in Europe ventured to confront them ; the peace of Europe was preserved by their union. The Czar, in full march toward Paris, was arrested on the Vistula; he found ample employment for his arms in resisting the efforts of the Poles to restore their much-loved nationality. Austria and Prussia were too much occupied with the surveillance of the discontented in their own dominions to think of renewing the crusade of 1813: nor did they venture to do so when the forces of England were United to those of France. The consequence was that the march of revolu- tion was unresisted in Western Europe, and an entire change was effected in the institutions and dynasties on the throne in its principal con- tinental states. The Orleans family continued firmly, and to all appearance permanently, seated on the throne of France; Belgium was revolu- tionized, torn from the monarchy of the Neth- erlands, and the Cobourg family seated on its throne ; the monarchies of Spain and Portugal were overturned, and a revolutionary dj'nasty of queens placed on their thrones, in direct violation of the Treaty of Utrecht ; while in the east of Europe the last remnants of Polish nationality were extinguished on the banks of the Vistula. Durable interests wero overlooked, ancient al- liances broken, long-cstab ished rivalries forgcjf- icn in the fleeting passions if the moment. Con- federacies the most opposite to thr lasting policy of the very nations who contracted ihem were not only formed, but acted upon. Europe beheld with astonishmenv the arms of Prussia united with those of Russia to destroy the barrier of the Continent against the Muscovite power on the Sarraatian plains ; the Leopards of England joined to the tricolor stcftidard to wrest Antwerp from Holland, and secure the throne of the Nether- lands to a son-in-law of France ; and the scarlet uniforms blended with the ensigns of revolution to beat down the liberties of the Basque prov inces, and prepare the heiress of Spain for the arms of a son of France, on the very theatre of Wellington's triumphs. Novel and extraordinary as were the results of the Revolution of 1830 upon the political rela- tions of Europe, its efl^ects upon the colonial em- pire of England, and, through it, upon the future destinies of the human species, were still greater and more important. To the end of the world, the consequences of the change in the policy of England will be felt in every quarter of the globe Its first efl"ect was to bring about the emancipation of the negroes in the Effects'of .no West Indies. Eight hundred thou- change upon sand slaves in the British colonies, the colonial in that quarterof the globe, received g|"J"J'^ "'' ^" the perilous gift of unconditional freedom. For the first time in the history of mankind, the experiment was made, of extending the institutions of Japhet to the sons of Ham. As a natural result of so vast and sudden a change, and of the conferring of the institutions of the Anglo-Saxons upon unlettered savages, the pro prietors of those noble colonies were ruined, their affections alienated, and the authority of the mother country preserved only by the terror of arms. Canada shared in the moral earthquake which shook the globe : and that noble ofishoot of the empire was alone preserved to Great Brit- ain by the courage of its soldiers, and the loyalty of its English and Highland citizens. Australia rapidly advanced in wealth, industry, and popu- lation during these eventful years ; every com- mercial crisis which paralyzed industry, every social struggle which excited hope, every suc- cessful innovation which diminshed security, add- ed to the stream of hardy and enterprising emi- grants who crowded to its shores. New Zealand was added to the already colossal empire of En- gland in Oceania; and it was already apparent that the foundations were laid in a fifth hemi- sphere of another nation destined to rival, perhaps eclipse, Europe itself in the career of humau im- provement. For the first time in the history of mankind, the course of advancement ceased to be from East to West ; but it was not destined to be arrested by the Rocky Mountains ; — the mighty day of four thousand years was drawing to its close ; but before its light was extinguished in the Wpst, civilization had returned to the land of its birth ; and ere its orb had set in the waves of the Pacific, the sun of knowledge was illumin- ating the isles of the Eastern Sea. Great and important as wore these results of the social convulsions of France and .,, England in the first instance, they still groattr sank into insignificance compared rcsultH of the to those which followed the change Free-trade .1 „ 1 1- , }? policy of Fr» in the commercial policy, and the gia„d increased stringency of the monetary HISTORY OF EUROPE. [(.-AP. Ii,, '• , r.niaiii riu- »• Ill-It of 111 i>so nll- ,»uro5. f.-nn wlmli so niiali was r- : Ml lilllo, MiM- Mitlcriiif:, roc-civC(i, „ nt to an ••xlraoiiliimry tiiul uiipurnl- 1. ; lie onrirriM/ loiuleiu-y of ihc British ,.-. j.i 1 l.o oKricultiiral po|nil:ition, ispeciullv !n Ir.-!nml. wcro viol.-ntiv l«rn up from tiio laiul »,, ' ■': l.v w.K-*ii. iiiiroiiiii,' ; ft lainiiic ol t 1 lipiH-nri-.l iiniid tlio population ot v; . . !, riiiMirv ; and to tliis terrible, but iranMcni, M.uri-e of Millerinjr, was supoiaikled Ibc U^tinu discoura-ieniont Hrisinared in full operation ; the old and rioh state enn always undersell the young and I>i«>r one in manufaetures, and is always under- s<>M bv it in a<;rieultural produce. The fate ol old Kume apiinreiitlv was reserved for Great Biiiain; the harvests'of Poland, the Ukraine, and America, beyran to prostrate agriculture in the British Isles as eflectually as those of Sicily, Libya, and P'.gvpl had done that of the old Pat- limimy of iho Lesions; and after the lapse of ri<_'hiei-n hundred years, the same effects ap- peared. The great cities flourished, but the country decayed ; the exportation of human be- ings, and the importation of human food, kept up a gainful tralTic in the seaport towns ; but it was every day more and more gliding into the hands of the foreigners; and while exports and imports were constantly increasing, the mainstay of na- tional strength, the cultivation of the soil was rapidly declining. The effects upon the strength, resources, and population of the empire, and the growth of its colonial possessions were equally, important. Europe, before the middle of the century, beheld with astonishment Great Britain, which, at the end of the war, had been self-sup- porting, importing ten millions of quarters of grain, being a full lifthof the national subsistence, and a constant stream of three hundred thousand emigrants annually leaving its shores. Its in- habitants, which for four centuries had been con- itantly increasing, declined a million in the five years from 184G to IS50 in the two islands, and two i^illion in Ireland, taken separately; three millions of quarters of wheat ceased to be raised in the British Islands ; — but the foundation of a vast empire were laid in the Transatlantic and Australian wilds; and the annual addition of three hur.dred thousand souls to the European jKipulation of the New World, by immigration alone, bad come almost to double the already marvelous rapidity of American increase. While this vast transferrenee of the Anglo- Saxon and Celtic population to the embryo states of America and Aus- tralia wa.s going forward, the United States of America were rapidly in- creasing in numbers and in extent of territory. The usual and fearful II. *■»»« men- Hon of ttie fnitcd Klatra of Anwrnca. ambition of republican states there appeared in more than its usual proportions. During ten years, from 1%40 to 1%.30, the inhabitants of the United States increased six millions : they had grown from eighteen to twenty-four millions n,SOO,000 square miles. A territory nine times the size of old France was added to the devour- ing Republic in ten years. The conquests of Rome in ancient, of the English in India in modern times, afford no parallel instance of rapid and unbroken increase. Every thing indicates that a vast migration of the human species is going forward, and the family of Japhet in the cxiurse of being transferred from its native to it; destined seats. To this prodigious movement it is hard to say whether the disappointed energy of democratic vigor in Europe, or the insatiable spirit of Republican ambition in America, has most contributed ; for the first overcame all ihft attachments of home, and all the endearraenti of kindred in a large — and that the most ener getic — portion of the people in the Old World; while the latter has prepared for their reception ample seats — in which a kindred tongue and institutions prevail — in the New. While this vast and unexampled exodus of the Anglo-Saxon race, across a wider jg ocean than the Red Sea, and to a vast increase greater promised land than that of of Russia dur- Canaan, was going forward, a cor- ing.^he same ,'. ^ I • . period, responding, and, m some respects, still more marvelous increase of the Sclavonic race in the Muscovite dominions took place. The immense dominions and formidable power of the Czar, which had received so vast an addition from the successful termination of the contest with Napoleon, was scarcely less aug- mented by the events of the long peace which followed. The inhuman cruelty with which the Turks prosecuted the war with the Greeks awakened the sympathies of the Christian world ■ governments were impelled by their subjects into a crusade against the Crescent; and the battle of Navarino, which, for the first time in history, beheld the flags of England, France, and Russia side by side, at once ruined the Ottoman navy, and reft the most important prov- inces of Greece from the dominions of Turkey. The inconceivable infatuation of the Turks, and their characteristic ignorance of the strength of the enemy whom they provoked, impelled thera soon after into a war with Russia; and then the immeasurable superiority whixjh the Cross had now acquired over the Crescent at once appeared. Varna, the scene of the bloody defeat of the French chivalry by the Janizaries of Bajazet, yielded to the scientific approaches of the Rus- sians ; the bastions of Erivan to the firm assault of Paskewitch ; the barrier, hitherto insurmount- able, of the Balkan, was passed by Diebitch; Adrianople fell ; and the anxious intervention of the other European powers alone prevented the entire subjugation of Turkey, and the entry of the INIuscovite battalions through the breach made by the cannon of Mahomet in the walls of Constantinople. Great as were these results to the growth of Russia of the forced and long-con- tinued pacification of W^estern Eu- continued rope, still more important were crease of Rus- those which followed its intestine sia from tlia convulsions. Every throe of the ^/7^^}J'T/ , .. , 1 . T^ of 1630 ana revolutionary earthquake in France is48. has tended to her ultimate advant- But the increase of its territory was still more j age, and been attended by a great accession extraordinary : it had been extended, during the I of territory or augmentation oi nifluecce. The »anie period, from somewhat above 2,000,000 to , Revolution of 17S9, in its ultimate effeo s nroneh^ Chap. I.] ir IS TORY OF EUROPE. jhe Cossaoks to Paris ; that of 1830 extinguished the last remains ol' Polish nationality, and e;-tab- lished the Muscovites in a lasting way a.i the banks of the Vistula. The revolt of Ibi^him Pacha, and the victory of Koniah, which brought the Ottoman empire to the verge of destruction, advanced the Russian battalions to the shores of Scutari — and thus averted the subjugation of the Porte by a rebellious vassal, only by surren- dering the keys of the Dardanelles to the Czar, and converting the Black Sea into a Russian lake. Greater still were the results of the French Revolution of 1848 to the moral influ- ence, and. through it, to the real power of Rus- sia. Germany, torn by revolutionary passions, was soon brought into the most deplorable state of anarchy; Austria, distracted at once by a Bohemian, Italian, and Hungarian revolt, was within a hair-breadth of destruction; and the presence of 150,000 Russians on the Hungarian plains alone determined the Magyar contest in favor of Austria. Immense was the addition which this decisive move made to the influence of Russia ; no chafge of the Old Guard of Na- poleon at the close of the day was ever more triumphant. Russia now boasts of 60,000,000 of men within her dominions ; her territories embrace an eighth of the habitable globe; and her influence is paramount from the wall of China to the banks of the Rhine. Great as the acquisitions of the Muscovite 14. pov^'cr have been during the last Simultaneous thirty years, they have almost been conquestsof rivaled by those of the British in Ihe English in ^ ,. n-r i *. u r • i India, and India. Ihe latter have lairly out- their origin in stripped every thing in this age of necessity. wonders; a parallel will in vain be sought for them in the whole annals of the world. They do not resemble (he conquests of the Romans in ancient, or of the Russians in modern times ; they were not the result of the lust of conquest steadily and perseveringly ap- plied to general subjugation, or the passions of democracy finding their natural vent in foreign conquest. As little were they the offspring of a vehement and turbulent spirit, similar to that which carried the French eagles to Vienna and the Kremlin. The disposition of the Anglo- Saxons, practical, gain-seeking, and shunning wars as an interruption of their profits, was a perpetual cheek to any such disposition — their immense distance from the scene of action on the plains of Hindostan, an effectual bar to its indulgence. India was not governed by a race of warlike sovereigns eager for conquest, covet- ous of glory; but by a company of pacific mer- chants, intent only on the augmentation of their profits and the diminution of their expense. Their great cause of complaint against the Gov- ernors-General, to whom was successively in- trusted the direction of their vast dominions, has been that they were too prone to del'ensive pre- parations; that they did not sufliciently study the increase of these profits, or the saving of that expenditure. War was constantly forced upon them as a measure of necessity ; repeated coali- tjons of the native sovereigns compelled them lo draw the sword to prevent their expulsion from the peninsula. Conquest was the con- dition of existence. Yet such was the vigor of the Anglo-Saxon race and the energj- with which the succes- sive contests were maintained by the diminutive force at the disposal of the Com- jj pany, that marvelous beyond all ex- Their great ample were the victories which they frequency am' gained, and the conquests which ^'''^"'* they achieved. The long period of Europeat peace which followed the battle of Waterloo, was any thing but one of repose in India. It beheld successively the final war with, and sub- jugation of, the Mahrattas by the genius of Lord Hastings, the overthrow of the Pindaree horse- men, the difficult subjugatio.** of the Ghoorka mountaineers; the storming of Bhurtpore, the taming of "the giant strength of Ava;" the conquest of Cabul, and fearful horrors of the Coord Cabul retreat ; the subsequent gallant recovery of its capital ; the conquest of Soinde and reduction of Gwalior ; the wars with the Sikhs, the desperate passage of arms at Feroze- shah, and final triumphs of Sobraon and Goojerat. Nor was it in the peninsula of Hindostan alone that the strength of the British, at length fairly aroused, was exerted; the vast empire of China was wrestled with at the very moment when the strength of the East was engaged in the Affghanistan expedition ; and the world, which was anxiously expecting the fall of the much- envied British empire in India, beheld with astonishment, in the same Delhi Gazette, the announcement of the second capture of Cabul in Ihe heart of Asia, and the dictating of a glo- rious peace to the Chinese under the walls of Nankin. While successes so great and bewildering were attending the arms of eivili- jg, zation in the remote parts of the Revolution oi earth, a great and most disastrous ^^'^^ '" Pans, convulsion was preparing in its heart. Paris, as in every age, was the centre of impulsion to the whole civilized world. Louis Philippe had a very difficult game to play, and he long played it with success ; but no human ability could, with the disposition of the people, permanently main- tain the government of the country. He aimed at being the Napoleon of peace ; and his great predecessor knew better than any one, and has said oftener, that he himself would have failed in the attempt. He owed his elevation to revo- lution ; and he had the difficult, if not impossible, task to perform, without foreign war, of coerc- ing its passions. Hardly was he seated on the throne, when he felt the necessity in deeds, if not in words, of disclaiming his origin. His whole reign was a continued painful and perilous conflict with the power which had created him, and at length he sank in the struggle. He had not the means of maintaining the conflict. A successful usurper, he could not appeal to tradi- tionary influences; a revolutionary monarch, he was compelled to coerce the passions of revolu- tion; a military chief, he was obliged to restrain the passions of the soldiers. They demanded war, and he was constrained to preserve peacf ; they sighed for plunder, and he could only meet them with economy ; they panted for glory, and his policy retained them in obscurity. Political influence — in other words, corruptioa — was the only means left of car- rying on the government, and that „ ^'^' , , ■ CftusuM of ilic state engine was worked with great fan of Louis industry, and for a time with great Pliilippo. success. But although gratificution ITISTOKY or EUROPE. [Cu la ibe «€• fi>li |v»N>i«ii>s must nlwnys, in the long ports of a iicoplo incapable ^f exer run Ik« \\\f main lountliition of "oveinnn'iit, men! powers, iinil unuble to delcnd ts rifrht exercisinc its • ro not oiitiiolv. and lor over, novniud by their »nt!uciu-e. "O'cst rimajiinalioii." said iNapo- looii. -ipie domino lo monde.' All nations, and moot of nil the French, oeeasionaily roipiirc ali- ment to the i>as»ions ; and no dyn:isly will long maintain its sway over them, which docs not fietjuently gratify their i-uliiig di.-iH).viiions. Na- poleon was so popular because he at once con- kwhed their interests and gratilied their passions : Louis rhilip()c the reverse, because he attended only to their interests. Great as was his influ- rnce, nnUiunded his patronage, immense his re- venue, it vet fell short of the wants of his needy Still more serious and forniidalde were the convulsions in Germany; for theie ,„ were men inspired with the Teu- Extreme vio tonic love of freedom, and wielding icn-ie of the the arms which so long had been Revolution ii , ,, , , "7. 7, Germany, victorious in the fields ol i^uropean fame. So violent were the shocks of the revo lutionary earthquake in the Fatherland, lliat the entire disruption of society and ruin ol' the na- tional independence seemed to be threatened bj( its elfects. Government was overturned after i violent contest in Berlin. It fell almost withouf a struggle, from the pusillanimity of its mem pjHirters ; he experienced ere long the truth : hers, in Vienna. The Prussians, especially ii of "the well-known saying, that every olTice given away made one ungrateful and three dis- contented. The immediate cause of his fall, in Februan,-, IS-IS, was the pusillanimity of his lamily, who declined to head his troops, and the weakness of his counselors, who counseled submission in presence of danger ; but its re- mote causes were of much older date and wider extent. Government, to be lasting, must be lounded either on traditionary influences, the gratiliealion of new interests and passions, or the force of arms ; and that one which has not the first will do well to rest, as soon as possible, on the two last. Disastrous beyond all precedent, or what even could have been conceived, raiamiioM were the efTeets of this new revo- cirecw of f lie luiion in Paris on the whole Conti- Ri volution of nent ; and a very long period must roTc "* elapse before they are obviated. The spectacle of a government es- teemed one of the strongest in Europe, and a dynasty which promised to be of lasting dura- lion, overturned almost without resistance by an urban tumult, roused the revolutionary party every where to a perfect pitch of frenzy. A universal liberation from government, aiid re- straint of any kind, was expected, and for a time attained, by the people in the principal Continental states, when a republic was again proclaimed in France; and the people, strong in their newly-acquired rights of universal suf- frage, were seen electing a National Assembly, 'o whom the destinies of the country were to be intrusted. The etfect was instantaneous and universal ; the shock of the moral earthquake the great towns, entered, with the characteris- tic ardor of their disposition, into the career ol revolution ; universal siiHVage was every where proclaimed — national guards established. The lesser states on the Rhine all followed the ex- ample of Berlin ; and an assembly of delegates, from every part of the Fatherland, at Frankfort, seemed to realize lor a brief period the dream of German unity and independence. But while the enthusiasts on the Rhine were speculating on the independence of their country, the en- thusiasts in Vienna and Hungary were taking the most effectual steps to destroy it. A fright- ful civil war ensued in all the Austrian prov- inces, and soon acquired such strength as threat- ened to tear in pieces the whole of its vast do- minions. No sooner was the central authority iii Vienna overturned, than rebellion broke out in all the provinces. The Sclavonians revolted in Bohemia, the Lombards in Italy, the Magyars in Hungary; the close vicinity of a powerful Russian force alone restrained the Poles in Gai- licia. Worse, even, because more widely felt than the passions of democracy, the animosi- ties of R.vcE burst forth with fearful violence in Eastern Europe. The standard of Gbrgei in Hungary — whom the Austrians, distracted by civil war in all their provinces, were unable to subdue — soon attracted a large part of the in- dignant Poles, and nearly the whole of the war- like Magyar.^, to the field of battle on the banks of the Danube. Not a hope seemed to remain for the great and distracted Austrian empire. Chaos had returned ; society seemed resolved into its original elements ; and the chief bulwark of Europe against Muscovite domination ap- was felt in every part of Europe. Italy was i peared on the point of being broken up into immediately in a blaze; Piedmont joined the I several separate states, actuated by the most revolutionary crusade ; and the Austrian forces, I violent hatred at each other, and alike incapable, expelled from Milan, were glad to seek an asy- singly or together, of niakins head against the lum Ijchind the Mincio. Venice threw off the vast and centralized power of Russia. German yoke, and proclaimed again the inde- The first successful stand against the deluge j>endence of St. Mark ; the Pope was driven of Revolution was made in Great 20. from Rome ; the Bourbons in Naples were Britain ; and there it was withstood, Successfnl f^ved from destruction only by the fidelity of not by the bayonets of the soldiers, ^}^^^ against ihcir Swiss Guards;— Sicily was severed from j but by the batons of the citizens. lilfnan^^'pirU their dominion ; and all Italy, from the extremity The lOlh of April was the Waterloo in England ol Calabria to the foot of the Alps, was arrav- ing its forces against constituted authority, and ill opposition to the sway of the Trannontane go- vernments. The ardent and enthusiastic were every where in transports, and predicted the resurrection of a great and united Roman re- public from the courage of modern patriotism ; the learned and experienced anticipated nothing but luin to the cause of freedom from the trans- of Chartist rebellion in England ; — ^^^ France, a memorable proof that the institutions of a free people, suited to their wants, and in harmony vvith their dispositions, can, in such felicitous circumstances, oppose a more successful barrier to social dangers than the most powerful mili- tary force at the command of a des}>otic chief. Rebellion, as usual when England is in dis- tress, broke out in irclana i-u! .' ':aiiist any country which may Imvc provokcil their re- •icnimont. ' Siioh have been tho results of the French Revolution ol IMS, nnil the riso of •• liherty, equaiitv, ami fraternity" in the centre >f Kun)|>enn civiiiraiion. l)is«^trolls lieyoml all prececlent have been the eliccts of this revolutionary convul- II-. ?i"..-.r sion, from which so much was ex- v,-H i.r ihi« jiecteil by the ardent anil cnthusiast- i;.M>:uiion on ic in everv counlry. upon the cause ' '" • '""•' "^ of freedom throughout tho work!. Not only has the reign of repre- sentative institutions, anil the sway of constitu- tional ideas been arrested on the Continent, but the absolute povernment of the sword has been established in its principal monarchies. Austria ha-s openly repudiated all the liberal institutions forced upon her durinn the first throes of the convulsion, and avowedly based the government upon the army, and the army alone. Prussia is more covertly, but not less assiduously, following out the same system; — and in France, the real Council of State, servile Senate, and mock As- sembly of Deputies of Napoleon, have been re- established ; the National Guard generally dis- solved; and the centralized despotism of Lotiis Napoleon promises to rival in efficiency and general support the centralized despotism of A igustus in ancient days. Parties have become so exasperated at each other, that no accommo- dation or compromise is longer possible ; injuries that never can be forgiven have been mutually inflicted ; the despotism of the Prfrtorians, and a Jacquerie of the Red Republicans, are the only alternatives left to continental Europe; and the fair form of real freedom, which grows and flourishes in peace, but melts away before the first breath of war, has disappeared from the earth. Such is the invariable and inevitable re- sult of unchaining the passions of the people, and of a successful revolt on their part against the government of knowledge and property. Still more pressing, and to ourselves formid- 25 able, are the dangers which now DanpcrH of threaten this country, from the con- Great Hriiain sequences of that revolt again.st '" ^"""' "■ established institutions, from which '.be reign of universal peace was anticipated .'our years ago. Our position has been rendered insecure by the very effects of our former tri- umphs: we are threatened with perils, not so much from our enemies as from ourselves ; it is our weakness which is their strength; and we owe our present critical position infinitely more to our own blindness than to their foresight. Insensibility to future and contingent dangers has in every age been the characteristic of the F-nglish people, and is the real cause why the long wars, in which we have been engaged for the last century and a half, have been deeply checkered in the outset with disaster ; and to this is to be ascribed three-fourths of the debt which now oppresses the energies and cramps the exertions of our people. But several causes, springing from the very magnitude of our former triumphs, have rendered these dispositions in an especial manner powerful during the last thirty ve^re: «ud '• is ihc copscquence of their united influence which now renders the condition of this country so precarious. Tho Contraction of the Curreticy introduced in 1819, and rendered still more stringent by the acts of 1811 and cauJs'MrUch 18-15, has changed the value of have rendered money fifty i)er cent.; coupled with the condition Frec'Trnile in all the branches of ol. Great Pri- • 1 . -.1 1 1 1 1 •• T .1 tiun so pre «- mdustry. It has doubled It. In other ^joug. words, it has doubled the weight of taxes, debts, and encumbrances of every de- scription, and at the same time halved the re- sources of those who are to pay them. Fifty millions a year raised for the public revenue, arc as great a burden now as a hundrecl millions a year were during the war ; the nation, at the close of thirty-five years of unbroken peace, is in reality more heavily taxed than it was at the end of twenty years of uninterrupted hostility. The necessary consequence of this has been, that it has become impossible to maintain the national armaments on a scale at all proportion- ate to the national extension and necessities; and it has been exposed, on the first rupture, to the most serious dangers from the attacks of artless and contemptible enemies. Our Indian empire, numbering a hundred millions of men among its subjects, has been brought to the verge of ruin by the assault of the Sikhs, who had only six millions to feed their armies; and the military strength of Great Britain has been strained to the uttermost to withstand the hostil- ity at the Cape of Good Hope of the CafTres, who never could bring six thousand men into the field. In proportion to the extension of our colonial empire, and the necessity of increased forces to defend it, our armaments have been reduced both by sea and land. Every gleam of colonial peace has been invariably followed by profuse demands at home for a reduction of the establishments and a diminution of the national expenses, until they have been brought down to so low a point that the nation, which, during the war, had a million of men in arms, two hundred and forty ships of the line bearing the royal flag, and a hundred in commission, could not row muster twenty thousand men and ten ships of the line to guard Great Britain from invasion, London from capture, and the British empire from destruction. Still more serious, because more irremediable in its origin, and disastrous in its eflects, has been the change which Extraordina- has come over the public mind in ry change in the most powerful and influential t^ie national part of the nation. This has mainly ""'"1'" **''• p t • 1 r* respect, arisen from the very magnitude of our former triumphs, and the long-continued peace to which it has given rise. The nation had gained such extraordinary successes during the war, and vanquished so formidable an oppo- nent that it had come to regard itself, not with- out a show of reason, as invincible; hostilities had been so long intermitted that the younger and more active, and therefore influential, part of the people, had generally embraced the idea that they would never be renewed. Here, as else, ■where, the wish became the father to the thought, the immediate interests of men determined their opinions and regulated their conduct. The pa- cific interests of the empire had increased sc ■immensely duiing the long peace; so niany Caat. l.J HISTORY OF EUROPE. 9 fortunes and establishments had become depend- ent on its continuance ; exports, imports, and manufactures, had been so enormously augment- ed by the growth of our colonial empire, and the preservation of peace with the rest of the world, that all persons interested in those branch- es of industry turned with a shudder from the very thought of its interruption. To this class the Reform Bill, by giving a majority in the House of Commons, had yielded the government of the State. To the astonishment of every ihmking or well-informed man in the world, the doctrine was openly promulgated, to admiring and assenting audiences in Manchester and Glas- gow, by the most popular orators of the day, that the era of war had passed away; that it was to be classed hereafter with the age of the mammoth and mastodon ; and that, in contem- plation of the speedy arrival of the much-desired Millennium, our wisdom would be to disband our troops, sell our ships of the line, and trust to pacific interests in future to adjust or avert the differences of nations. A considerable part of the members for the boroughs — three-fifths of the House of Commons — openly embraced or in secret inclined to these doctrines; and how clearly soever the superior information of our rulers might detect their fallacy, the influence of their adherents was paramount in the Legis- lature, and Government was compelled, as the price of existence, in part at least, to yield to their suggestions. The danger of acting upon such Utopian ideas has been much augmented, in the Dangers ^^^® °^ '^'^ country, by the corn- springing mercial policy at the same time froiy the Free pursued by the dominant class who Trade sys- ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ entertain them. If it be true, as the wisest of men have affirmed in every age, and as universal experi- ence has proved, that the true source of riches, as well 'as independence, is to be found in the cultivation of the soil, and that a nation which has come to depend fur a considerable part of its subsistence on foreign states has made the first step to subjugation, the real patriot will find ample subject of regret and alarm in the present condition of Great Britain Not only are ten millions of quarters of grain, being a full fifth of the national consumption, now imported from abroad, but nearly half of this immense importation is of wheat, the staple food of the people, of which a third comes from foreign parts. Not only is the price of this great quan- tity of grain — certainly not less than filteen millions sterling — lost to the nation, but«so large a portion of its food has come to be derived from foreign nations, that the mere threat of closing their harbors may render it a matter of necessity for Great Britain to submit to any terms which they may choose to exact. Our colonies, once so loyal, and so great a support to the mother country, have been so thoroughly alienated by the commercial policy of the last few years, which has deprived them of all the advantages which they enjoyed I'rom their connection with it, that they have become a burden rather than a benefit. One-half of our diminutive army is absorbed in garrisoning their forts to guard against revolt. Lastly, the navy, once our pride and glory, and the only certain safeguard cither ftgajnsl the dangers of foreign invasion or the olockade of our harbois and ruin of our com- mercc, is fast melting away; f )r the reciprocity system established in 1S23, and the repeal of the Navigation Laws in 1849, have given such en- couragement to foreign shipping in preference to our own, that in a few years, if the same system continue, more than half of our whole commerce will have passed into the hands of foreign states, w"hich at any day may become hostile ones. To complete the perils of Great Britain, arising out of the very magnitude of its gg former triumphs and extent of its Dangers aris- empire, while so many causes were ing from the conspiring to weaken its internal change in our 111- IT -^ r -1 foreign policy. Strength, and disqualiiy it lor with- standing the assault of a formidable enemy, others, perhaps more pressing, were alienating foreign nations, breaking up old alliances, and tending more and more to isolate England in the midst of European hostility. The triumph of the democratic principle, by the Revolution of 1S30 in France, was the cause of this ; for it at once induced an entire change of government and foreign policy in England, and substituted new revolutionary for the old conservative alli- ances. Great Britain no longer appeared as the champion of order, but as the friend of rebellion ; revolutionary dynasties were, by her influence, joined with that of France, established in Bel- gium, Spain, and Portugal ; and the policy of our Cabinet avowedly was to establish an alli- ance of constitutional sovereigns in Western, which might counterbalance the coalition of despots in Eastern Europe. This system has been constantly pursued, and for long with ability and success, by our Government. Strong in the support of France, whether under a "throne surrounded by republican institutions," or those institutions themselves, England became indiflerent to the jealousy of the other Continental powers ; and in the attempt to extend the spread of liberal institutions, or the sympathy openly expressed for foreign rebels, irritated beyond forgiveness the cabinets of St. Petersburg, Vien na, and Berlin. While the French alliance con- tinued, these powers were constrained to devour their indignation in silence; they did not venture, with the embers of revolt slumbering in their own dominions, to brave the combined hostility of France and England. But all alliances form- ed on identity of feeling, not interest, are ephem- eral in their duration. A single day destroy- ed the whole I'abric on which we rested for our security. Revolutionary violence every day worked out its natural and unavoidable result in the principal Continental states. A military despotism was, after a sanguinary struggle, established in Austria and Prussia; the 2d De- cember arrived in France, and that power in an instant was turned over to the ranks of our enemies. Our efforts to revolutioiMze Europe have ended in the establishment of military des- potisms in all its principal states, supported by fifteen hundred thousand armed men ; our boast- ed alliance with France, in the placing of it in the very front rank of what may any day become the league of our enemies. When so many causes for serious apfrehiMision exist, from the ellect of the changes wnich are now going on, or have been in operation for the last quarter of a century in European society) it 10 HISTORY OF KUIIOPE. {Chap. 1. .» coii«olut>n' 10 think lliat thrro arc sumo in- jp lliu'nci's of on (i|i|Hisiio li'iiiU-ney, Goi uf hiimiui Au»ir»lia. ^,.,|,|,i,u.^'s. or the oli-viilioii ul tlio jIPIutaI luiiul. In the very front nuik ol iliis rute- porv wo must plnoo the iliscovery ol' the -jold mines olCaliliirnin nml Australia, wliiih promise, in thfir ultimalc elli'i-ts, not only to ohvialc many ((■ the creati'sl evils under wliich society has l>ni,' laliorod, hut to brinu about a new balance i>r|o«er in every stale, and relieve industry from the worst i>art of the load which has hitherto oppressed it. This subject is neither so jrener- ally appreciated or understood as its paramount imjv>rianee deserves ; but it is every day forcing itself more and more on the attention of the thinkini.' j-'art of mankind, and, through them, it will ere long reach the vast and unthinking multitude. Whoever has studied with attention the struc- 3]. ture or tendencies of society, either Tcnilency to as they arc portrayed in the annals undue u'l'"- of ancient story, or exist in the com- Tn'^u'ie^Vatcr plif 'itf J relations of men around us, stages of so- must have become aware, that the cicty. creatcst evils which in the later stages of national progress come to aillict man- kind, arose from the undue influence and para- mount importance of realized riches. That the rich in tiie later stages of national progress are c instantly y fitful and transient gleams of prosperity. In France the condition of the working classes, and the ceaseless exactions made from them by the moneyed, have been so incessant, that they were the main cause of the Revoluiion of 1S30, and have produced that tendency to Socialist and Communist doctrines which has subsequently taken such deep root, and produced such disas- trous consequences, in that country. In Amer- ica such has been, during the same period, the distress jiroduced by the alternate expansion and contraction of the currency, that it has ex- ceeded any thing recorded in history, swept * See "Tlie Fall of Rome," Alison's Essays, iii. 4'10, where the author lias endeavored to trace out in detail, and ftom authentic materials, this most momentous subject. four-fifths of the realized cajiital ol the countrj-, away, and at once reduced its ii^iports from this country from twelve to three millions and a half annually. The thoughtful in all countries had their attention forcibly arrested by this long succession of disasters, so different from what had been anticipated during the smiling days of universal peace, and many and various were the theories put forward to account for such dis- tressing phenomena. The real explanation of them is to be found in a cause of paramount iin- portance, and universal operation, though at the time unobserved — and that was the simultan- eous contraction of the monetary circulation of the globe, from the effects of the South Amer- ican revolution, and of the paper circulation of Great Britain, from the results of the act im- posing the resumption of cash payments on ihe Bank of England. The first of these causes, in the course of a few years, reduced the annual gg supply of the precious metals fucm Amount of the Mexican and South American that contrac- mines, which, anterior to the com- ^''*"- menceiTient of the troubles in that quarter of the globe, had been, on an average, about .£10,000,000 sterling, to considerably less than half that amount ; and at this reduced rate the supply continued for a great many years.* The second, at the very same time, reduced the paper circulation of the British empire, which, including Ireland and Scotland, had been, during the last years of the war, above £60,000,000 annually, to liitlc more than half that amount. The effect of this prodigious contraction in the circulating medium of the world in general, and of this country in particular, was much enhanc- ed by the state of affairs, and the circumstan- ces of society in all the principal countries of the earth, at the time when it took place. Uni- versal repose prevailed almost unbroken during the whole period; and the energies of men in all nations, violently aroused by the excitcmcjit and passions of the contest, were generally turned into the channels of pacific industry. As a necessary consequence, population in- creased, and the transactions of men were im- mensely multiplied ; and as this occurred at the very time when the circulation by which ihcy were to be carried on was reduced to less than a half of its former amount, the necessary result was a great and universal reduction of prices of every branch of produce, whether agricultural or manufactured, which, before the lapse of thirty years, had every where sunk to lilllo more than half of their former amount.) * See Humboldt's Amivdle Espagne, iii. 398; and Alison's Europe, chap. Ixvii. ^ 48, iiot'o. 180.') 1800 18(17 1808 180'J 1810 1820 1821 1822 £ 7,104,436 (;,.0I)2,M2 s,:ir)0,ir)2 fi,U)'.),(i:)8 0,007,853 3,8:i,s,:!:,o 3,5,'-)7.2:i0 2,887,487 2.500.000 1814 1815 IhlO 1810 1 820 1821 1820 1830 "Kit Bank nnd Ciink L-ra' N.iti-., gbnd. £ 47,.'»(l 1.080 •)('i,272,050 ■l'J,l(l'.l,l',20 4ll.'.12S, 1-JS 34.115,:!05 30,727,0:1(1 2H,:ioi,):i7 2S,501,t54 2fi.O(\5.004 Yrar I'ri.-,.. of w(u-.t ,„.r r|U,ulfr. s. d. 1814 85 IMS 70 iNKi t2 IMO 78 1820 76 1821 71 1 h20 55 4 i8:i(i 01 10 1831 5H 3 — Alison's Europe, chap xcvi., Appendix. hi STORY OF EUROTR [C;iA! Grcttl Brimin, as the richest eoiintry in the J- pit'be, niul llie oiio in which the lloiw!. Is hir>:est tinunint of indiisliy was car- pnwjH.ts or rii-il „n^ was llie one ol course in I"il'.'ri'^,'.!l.„ ^vliich this rcJuclii.n dl" prices was most sorely lelt ; nml it canic to a(- iVct the well-hein-; of the liirjiest portion of the iH'opie. It was not merely the reiluclion of prices on an average of years which was I'clt as ^o j;ricvous an evil, but this vacillation from year to year, with the llueluations ol" a currency since ISI'J rcnilered mainly liepciiilent on the retention ol" tjolti. The parlia'meiilary procecilings during the whole period are lilled with petitions com- plainini: alternately ol" agricultural and manu- lacturing distress, which were regularly referred to committees, and as regularly followed by no alleviating measures. In truth, the evil had got beyond the reach of human remedy ; for it arose from the conlirmed ascendency in the legislature of a class which had gained, and was gaining, immensely by the general suffering with which it was surrounded. It was hard to say whether the manufacturing aristocracy engaged in the export trade gained most by the general reduc- tion in the price of commodities, and, as a nec- essary consequence, in the wages of labor, or the moneyed from the commercial catastrophes which brought interest up to a usurious rale, and enabled them to accumulate colossal fortunes in a few years. Every thing turned to the profit of capital and the depression of industry ; and so strongly were the interests magnified by these changes intrenched in the legislature, that the cause of humanity seemed hopeless. Every ef- fort of industry, every triumph of art, every in- crease of population, tended only to augment the general distress, because it enhanced the dis- proportion between the decreasing circulation and increasing numbers and transactions of man- kind ; and prophetic wisdom, resting on the past, and musing on the future, could anticipate no- thing but a decline and fall, precisely similar to that of ancient Rome, for modern Europe. But Providence is wiser than man ; and often 35 when human effort is inadequate to Vast effect of arrest the current of misfortune, and •^'^ /discovery nothing but disaster can be antici- Qia gold. '"^' P^l^tl ''"■ 'he future of mankind, a cause is suddenly brought into op- eration which entirely alters the destinies of the species, and educes future and unlimited pood out of present and crushing evil. At the close of the fifteenth century the working classes over all Europe were sunk in a state of debase- ment, from which extrication seemed hopeless, from the strength of the position occupied by the feudal aristocracy by which they were oppressed. Providence revealed the compass to mankind, the Almighty breathed the spirit of prophetic heroism into one man — Columbus spread his sails across the Atlantic, the mines of Mexico and Peru were discovered, and the destinies of the world were changed. Less oppressed in appear- ance, but not less depressed in reality, the labor- ing poor were generally struggling with diffi- culties in every part of the civilized world, after the termination of the great strife of the French Revolution ; the moneyed had come instead of the feudal aristocracy; and so strongly was the com- mercial class, which had grown up into impor- \t "ce during its continuance intrenched in the citadclsof ]iowci lliat relief or cmancipalion from evil seemed alikt. out of the (juestion. Even the terrible monetary crash of 1S48 failed in draw- ing general attention to the subject, or making the suffering classes aware of the source from which their dilliculties proceeded. Financial difficulties induced by that very monetary pres- sure drove the Americans into the career of con- quest; repudiation of debts was succeeded by aggression on territory; Texas was overrun by squatters, California conquered by armies, the reserve treasures of nature opened up, and the face of the world was changed. To appreciate the immense and blessed influ- fluence of this event upon the hap- ,„ piness and prospects of mankind, -wiiat if Cali- we have only to suppose that it had fomia hud n u not taken place, and consider what been discov- would, in that event, have been the destinies of the species? America, with twenty- four millions of inhabitants, is now doubling iis numbers every Iwenty-five years ; Russia, with sixty-six millions, every fifty years ; twenty-five millions are yearly added tothe inhabitants of Europe, west of the Vistula; and the British col- onies, in Australia, are rising at a rate which promises ere long to outstrip the far-famed rapid- ity of Transatlantic increase. Great and unprece- dented as is this simultaneous growth of mankind in so many different parts of the world, it is yet outstripped by the increase of their industry and transactions. The enhanced activity and energj-, springing from the development of the demo- cratic passions in Western Europe ; the multi- plied wants and luxuries of man, arising from the long continuance of peace, and growth of realized wealth ; the prodigious change effected by steam, at sea and land, in their means of communica- tion, have all conspired to multiply their trans- actions in a still greater ratio than their num- bers. In these circumstances, if the circulating medium of the globe had remained stationary, or declining, as it was frcm 1815 to 1849 from the effects of South American revolution and English legislation, the necessary result must have been that it would have become altogether inadequate to the wants of men ; and not only would industry have been everywhere cramped, but the price of produce would have universally and constantly fallen. Money would every day have become more valuable — all other articles measured in money, less so ; debts and taxes would have been constantly increasing in weight and oppression : the fate which crushed Rome in ancient, and has all but crushed Great Britain in modern times, would have been thatof the whole family of man- kind. The extension and general use of a paper currency might have alleviated, but it could not have removed these evils; for no such currency, common to all mankind, has ever yet been found practicable ; and such is the weight of capital, and the strength of the influences which, in an artificial state of society, it comes to exercise on the measures of Government, that experience gives no countenance to the belief that any neces- sities of mankind, however, urgent, would lead to the adoption of measures by which its realized value might be lessened. All these evils have been entirely obviated, and the opposite set of blessings introduced, by the opening of the great reserve treasures of nature in Caliiornia and Australia. As clearly as the Cv>p. I. HISTORY OF EUROPE. 13 basin of the Mississippi was prepared by the 40. hand of nature to receive the surplus Vast Wess- population of the Western World, ings which its ^vere the gold mines of California fiitroduced^''^ provided to meet the wants of the Western, those of Australia of the Eastern Hemisphere. We can now contem- plate with complacency any given increase in mankind ; the growth of their numbers will not lead to the aggravation of their sufferings. Three years only have elapsed since Californian gold was discovered by Anglo-Saxon enterprise, and the annual supply has already come to exceed £25.- 000,000 sterling. Coupled with the mines of Australia and the Ural mountains, it will soon exceed thirty, perhaps reach forty millions ! Be- fore half a century has elapsed, prices of every ar- ticle of commerce will be tripled, enterprise pro- poriionally encouraged, industry vivified, debts and taxes lessened. A fate the precise reverse of that which destroyed Rome, and so sorely dis- tressed England, is reserved for the great family of mankind. When the discovery of the compass, of the art of printing, and of the new world, had given an extraordinary impulse to human activ- ity in the sixteenth century, the silver mines of Mexico and Peru were opened by Providence, and the means of conducting industry in con- sistence with human happiness was afforded to mankind. When, by the consequences of the French Revolution, the discovery of steam con- veyance, the improvement of machinery, and the vast extension of European emigration, a still greater impulse was given to the human species in the nineteenth century, the gold mines of Cali- fornia and Australia were brought into operation, and the increase in human numbers and transac- tions was even exceeded by the means provided for conducting them ! If ever the benevolence of the Almighty was clearly revealed in human affairs, it was in these two decisive discoveries made at such periods ; and he who, on consider- ing them, is not persuaded of the superintendence of an ever-watchful Providence, would not be convinced though one rose from the dead. Coexistent with this boundless capability of 41. increase afTorded to the circulating Immense medium of the globe, are the vast effect oi the additions which the powers of art appliration of , i ^ ,i r • Kteani to have made to the resources of m- tn(!chani(v_ dustry and the means of human labor. communication. It is hard to say whether the application of steam has acted most powerfully, by the almost miraculous mul- tiplication it has produced of the powers of mechanical invention, or the facilities it has afforded to the communication of mankind with each other, and the mutual interchange of the produce of their labor. When we contemplate the effect of the steam-engine on machinery, and the conducting of nearly all the branches of manufacturing industry, as it has been exempli- fied in Great Britain for the last eighty years, we seem to have been entering on a career to which imagination itself can assign no limit. All that is told of the wondcr.s of ancient art, all that is imagined of the fabled powers of genii or magicians, has been exceeded by the simple experience of the capabilities of that marvelous agent. It has multiplied above a hundred-fold the powers of industry; it has penetrated every branch of art and carried its va-^t capabilities into the most hiddet^ rci. tses of mechanical labor. It has overturned constitutions, changed the class in which the ruling power was vested, saved and conquered nations. It outstrips the wonders figured by the fancy of Ariosto; it almost equals the marvels of Aladdin's lamp; it seems to realize all that the genius of iTlschy- lus had prophesied foV mankind, when Prome- theus stole the fire from heaven. Great as are the things which the steam- engine has done tor mankind, it 42. may be doubted whether what it And import- has left undone are not still more tein*'' hianpii- important to human happiness and cable to agri the moral purity of the species, culture. Its marvels are confined to manufacturing in- dustry : it is incapable of application to the cul- tivation of the soil. It enables one man to do the work of two hundred men, in providing dress or luxuries for mankind; but it has not super- seded even the arm of infancy or old age in fur- nishing them with the means of subsistence. Behold that boy who fends his flocks on the turf- clad mountain's brow : he is as ignorant of art as his predecessors were in the valleys of Arca- dia ; but will the steam-engine ever encroach on his blessed domain? Listen to the song of the milkmaid, as she trips along yon grassy mead ; is that gladsome note to become silent in the progress of civilization? Observe that old man who is delving the garden behind his cot- tage ; the feebleness of age marks his steps, the weakness of time has all but paralyzed his arms; yet art, in all its glory, will not equal his laboi in the jiroduction of food for man. Cast your eyes on that orchard, which is loaded with the choicest fruits of autumn — on that sunny slope, which seems to groan under the riches of the vintage — on that garden, which realizes all that the soul of Milton has figured of the charms of Paradise — and say, will these primeval and de- lightful scenes ever, in the march of improve- ment, be lost to mankind? The powers of steam, the inventions of mechanism, the division of labor, have done wonders in all the branches of handicraft ai.d art; but they have left un- touched the marriage of industry with nature in the fields; and in the last days of mankind, as in the first, it is in the garden of Eden that mar. is to find his earthly paradise. The proof of this is decisive; it is to bo lour.u not less in the figures of the statist 43 than in the dreams of the poet. Proof of this The old state can always undersell ''>■'"" statist i- ihe young one in manufactures, but !'T''„^""^"'" . ' • !• 1 1 111.. aUOnti. It IS as uniformly undersold by it in subsistence. England can produce cotton goods cheaper than any other nation, from a material grown on the banks of ihe Mississippi, and it is the consciousness of that abilily which makes her now advocate the doctrines of Free Trade; but she is unable to compete with the harvests of Poland, the Ukraine, and America, just as ancient Italy was with those of Libya and Egypt. At this moment she exports sixty-fivo millions' v/orth of manufactures ; but she imports ten millions of quarters of grain, of which nearly the half are of wheat, being a full third of that staple food of our whole people. Grain is never raised so cheap as in those places where tli« soil is rich, the people poor, and civili/.alicii. compitratively speaking, in a slate of iniancy i4 HISTORY ( F EUROTE. [ClIAI. 1. The reason is, that in the old state, hc'iu^ ihe richer of the two, money is more nbnn(hiiit, the wuires of labor hijjiher, ami the consecjr.cnt cost of raisiii'i liHxl greater than in the poorer state, where wages are low because money is scarce. Machinery obviates, and more than obviates, this moneyed inequality in the production ol'man- ulaciures, but it has no iilliuence in chea|iciiinKP. I.j HISTORY OF EUROPE. n tance of empires, has been greatly enhanced by the still more wonderful powers of the electric telegraph, which will soon, to all appearance, render all the civilized world one great com- munity, over which the communication of intel- ligence and thought will be as rapid as over the i/treets of a single capital. With what import- ant eflects these great discoveries will be here- after attended, may be judged of by the rapidity with which the electric shock, communicated fiom Paris, spread over Europe in IS-IS. Great consequences must inevitably result from this prodigiously enhanced rapidity of communica- tion ; but it is hard to say whether the con- sequences will be for good or for evil. Vigor of thought, spread of ideas, interchange of knowledge, have been immensely enhanced ; but is it quite certain that these powers will be exclusivel}' applied to good ends ? Are the powers of evii not capable of taking advantage of the means of enhanced rapidity of communi- cation thus put into their hands ? Is not the spread of evil, and falsehood, and exaggeration, in the first instance at least, more rapid and certain than that of reason and truth, just in proportion as works of imagination are more eagerly sought after than those which depict reality ? And is not the unexampled rapidity with which Europe took fire in 1848, a decisive proof that the increased rapidity in the com- munication of thought among nations tends to convert society into a huge powder-magazine, liable to blow up on the first spark falling into it? That there is much truth in these apprehen- 54. sions, it is in vain to deny; but. Increased happily for mankind, the remedy is correspond- as swift as the disease. "Experi- tlie principles ence," says Dr. Johnson, '-is the which count- great test of truth, and is pcrpetu- uract evil. a^jiy contradicting the theories of men." Suffering, we may add, is the great, and perhaps the only effectuai monitor of na- tions. In vain do men seek to elude its admoni- tions, to forget its lessons; it comes with unerr- ing certainty when the paths of evil have been trod; and not now, as of old, on the third and fourth generation, but upon the very generation which has committed the forfeit. So sv/ift is the communication of thought, that changes ])roduce their inevitable results with unheard- of rapidity; and the cycle of excitement, folly, crime, and punishment is run out in a few years. Decisive proof of this has been afforded within the memory of many of the present generation ; if the records of the past are referred to, the illustrations of it are innumerable. Eighty years elapsed, in ancient Rome, from the time when democratic ambition was first excited by the proposals of Tiberius Gracchus, till the period when the wounds of the Republic were stanched, and its peace restored, by the despot- ism of Augustus Ca3sar ; eleven years passed away, in modern times, before the passions of France, in 1789, were stilled by tie sword of Napoleon ; ten years marked the jnterval be- tween the commencement of the troubles in lOn- gland, and the contirmcd military government of Cromwell. But in France, in recent times, before four years had elapsed, the dreams ot " Liberie, Egalitc, Fraternite" were superseded bv the general deinaml lor a string govern- B ment, and the establishment of the rude but effective military despotism of Louis Napoleon ; and befoi'e the cry for Italian nationality, Ger« man unity, and Hungarian independence had ceased to resound on the banks of the Rhine, the Po, and the Danube, the ominous sounds were hushed by the force of arras on the Hun- garian plains. The reason of this superior rapidity, both in the transmission of danger and the extrication of its remedies, in mod- -yy^y j„' ern times, is very apparent. The which this laws of nature, in all ages and w_as brought under all circumstances, are ad- verse to crime, iniquity, and injustice ; they are calculated to foster only justice, industry, chai- ity. But there is now no special interposition of Divine power, to enforce the laws of the Divine administration ; the agents in this mighty system of wisdom, folly, crime, retribution, and punish ment, are men themselves. The extension of the power of reading, the enhanced rapidity in the communication of thought, bring the lessons of experience more swiftly home to mankind ; they cause both the seeds of evil, and the prin- ciples of good, to bring earlier forth their appro- priate fruits. Such is the rapidity with which ideas are now communicated, that it resembles rather an electric shock than any of the ordinary means by which thought was formerly diffused ; and as thought is directed by experience and sufiering, not less than by passion and desire, the eradication or limitation of evil has become as rapid as its extension. The desire of all civilized nations, during the last half-century, has been for re- • • 56 presentative institutions; every at- General' lon"- tempted convulsion has had this oh- ing after ject — every successful revolution representa- has immediately been followed by [|of,s""""" its accomplishment. The exam- ples of England and America, where they have been found to have been attended by rapid increase of wealth and population, a vast devel- opment of intellectual power, and a proportional extension of political influence, have been deem- ed decisive; and other nations considered them- selves secure of the same advantages, if they obtained the same form of government. At ditferent periods — in 1820, 1830, 1834, and 1848 — their efforts proved successful, their desires were accomplished. Piedmont, Naples, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France. Austria, Prussia, have successively obtained this mueh-eovetcd blessing ; and the sequel of this history will show whether it has iinmedkitcly, or genei ally been followed by the advantages which A'ere anticipated. Certain it is, that at this moment (February, 1852) representative institutions are, with a few trifling exceptions, virtually extin- guished on the Continent, and the despotic pow er of sovereigns re-estublished and supported by 1,500,000 armed men. And in South America, where royalty has been every where abolished, and republics established in its stead, the con- sequences have been so dreadful that popula- tion has generally declined a third, in .some places a half, during the last thirty years, and a series of revolutions have succeeded each other, so rapid and destructive that history, in despair, has ceased to attempt to record their thread. i8 HISTORY OF EUROPE, [Chap. I. ft?. which Itif ir p-iirral f;nl- un- lias rvcit- rtl nmuiig UHn the niaturi. • 1 1 • , 1- n ■. • 1 ty of civiliza- neighboring coasts ol Britain and (jpf,_ Gaul , no distant settlements were formed by the sea-kings of the norlh. The At- lantic can be bridged only by the powers of civilization; but these powers are equal to the undertaking, and they are called into action at the time when the necessities and passions of aged societies require their operation. Multi- tudes nursed by the industry and opulence of former times, but now crowded together, require a vent, and eagerly look for new fields of settle- ment : the powers of steam furnish them with the means of migration; the passions of demo- cracy render the transportation an object of de- sire. As strongly and irresistibly as the nomad tribes are impelled into the regions of opulence, and the daring hunter into the wilds of nature, is the civilized European urged to commit him- self and his family to the waves, the ardent re- publican to seek the realization of his dreams on the other side of the Atlantic. Insensibly, under the influence of those desires, the frontiers of civilization are extended, the sea*s of man- kind changed; and a new society is formed in regions unknown to their fathers, in w^hich the different members of the European family find a cradle for future general ions of their descend- ants. " For here the exile met from eyery clime, And spoke in friendship every distant tongne Men from the blood of warring Europe sprung Were but divided by the running brook ; And happy where no Rhenish trumpet sung, On plains no sieging mine's volcano shook, [hook. The blue-eyed German changed his sword to pruning- And England sent her men, of men the chief, Who taught those sires of Empire yet to be, To plant the tree of life — to plant fair Freedom's tree!"* Not only is the democratic passion in this way the great moving power which ex- pels, as by the force of central heat, Necessity of civilized man into the distant parts republican in- of the earth, but it is the most ef- stitutions to fective nurse of energy, progress, t°e^"'nts^*" and civilization, when he arrives there. The pastoral tribes, whose passion is conquest, require a military chief to direct their movements ; but the agricultural colonists, whose warfare is with Nature, invariably pant for dem- ocratic institutions. Left alone in the woods, they early feel the necessity of relying on their own resources ; self-government becomes their passion, because sell-direction has been their habit. All colonies which have flourished in the world, and left durable traces of their existence to future times, have been nurtured under the shelterof republican institutions : those of Greece and Rome, on the shores of the Mediterranean — those of Holland and England, on the wider ] margin of the ocean, attest this important fact. The colonies of Great Britain at this lime, though nominally ruled by Queen Victoria, are for the j most part, practically speaking, self-directed; and where the authority of the central govern. i _^ , 1 * Gertrude of Wyoming. 1] HISTORY OF EUROPE. nient has made itself felt, it has cfeiierally been ' existence, each has been provided with a fittinf» only to do mischief, and weaken the bonds which unite its numerous olTspring to the parent state. Wherever democratic institutions do not prevail, colonial settlements, after a time, have declined, and at length expired; and it seems to be im- possible to enijraft republican self-direction upon original subjection to monarchical institutions. It must be bred in the bone, and nurtured with the strength. The Portuguese settlements in the East are almost extinct, and exhibit no traces of the vigor with which Vasco da Gama braved the perils of the stormy Cape ; the attempt to introduce republican institutions, after three cen- turies of servitude, into the Spanish colonies of South America, has led only to anarchy and suffering : and the decisive fact, that the repub- lican states of North America, though settled a century later, have now more than double the European population of the monarchical in the South, points to the wide difference in the future destinies of mankind of these opposite forms of government. Certain it is that, great as the British military empire in India now is, it will leave no settlements of Europeans behind it among the sable multitudes of Hindostan; and possibly future times may yet verily the saying of Burke, that, if the Englishman left the East, he would leave no more durable traces of his existence than the jackal and the tiger. Observe, in this view, how the character of 72. the races to whom the development Adaptation of of this mighty progress has been tlie Sclavonic intrusted, and of the institutions and Anglo- 11,1 1 /• 1 Saxon charac- which they have created lor them- ler 10 iiie parts selves, is adapted to the parts sever- fn^their^^'5r? '^"^ destined for them in it. It gress.^"^ '"^°" "light have been otherwise. The character of the two great families of the race of Japhet might have been reversed, or the place assigned them on the theatre of existence different from what it is. The Anglo- Saxon, impelled by a secret impulse to effort, to commerce, to freedom, and to colonization, might have found himself in the plains of Mus- covy or Siberia ; the Sclavonian, with his sub- missive habits, roving propensities, and lust of conquest, might have been located in Germany and the British isles. What would have been the result? Could the European family have spread the European influence as it has done? Could the race of Japhet have performed his destined mission, to replenish the earth and sub- due it? No: by this simple transposition of race, the whole destinies of mankind would have been changed ; the accomplishment of prophecy rendered impossible; the spread of Christianity arrested. The Anglo-Saxon, with his maritime inclinations, his aspirations after freedom, his industrious habits, would have been swept away in Scythia by the squadrons of the Crescent ; the Sclavonian, with his roving propensities, his thirst for conquest, his aversion to the ocean, would have been forever arrested by the waves of the Atlantic. Crushed in all attempts at colonization or settlement beyond his native seats, the Anglo-Saxon would have pined in im- potent obscurity in the plains of Muscovy; re- strained by the impassable barrier of the ocean, the Russian would have been forgotten in the fore.:ls of Britain. Placed as they have been reipectively, by Providence, on the theatre of stage for the exercise of his peculiar powers^ and found around him the elements in nature adapted for their development. The Anglo- Saxon found in the I'orests of England the oak which was to give to his descendants the empire of the waves ; the coal which was to move the powers of steam ; the iron which, in a future generation, was to renew the age of gold. The Sclavonian found in Central Asia the redoubt- able horsemen who were to add strength and speed to his battalions; the naked plains, where they could act with resistless force; the en- ameled turf, which every where provided them with the means of subsistence and migration. The free aspirations of the first impelled him into the career of pacific colonization ; the ocean was his bridge of communication : the despotic inclinations of the last prepared him to follow the standards of conquest; the steppe stretched out before him, to facilitate the migration of his conquering squadrons. When Providence gave the blessings of Chris- tianity to mankind, their diffusion at 73, the appointed season was intrusted Destiny of tha to the acts of free agents; but a par- raceofJaphei ticular race was selected by whose ciirfslianUy." voluntary co-operation its design might be carried into effect. Beyond all ques- tion, the race of Japhet was the one to which this mighty mission was intrusted. The energy and vigor, the intelligence and perseverance, which have so long rendered it pre-eminent among men, bespeak its fitness for the under- taking ; and it may bo doubted whether any other family of mankind will, for a very long period, be fitted for the reception of the faith which it bears on its banners. Experience gives little countenance to the belief that the race of Shem and Ham can be made to any con- siderable extent, at least at present, to embrace the tenets of a spiritual faith. Christianity, as it exists in some provinces of Asia, is not the Christianity of Europe ; it is paganism in an- other form ; it is the substitution of the worship of the Virgin and images for that of Jupiter and the heathen deities. If Christianity had been adapted to man in his rude and primeval state, it would have been revealed at an earlier period ; it would have appeared in the age of Moses, not in that of Ca3sar. Great have been the elibrls made, both by the Protestant and Roman Catho- lic churches, especially of late years, to diffuse the tenets of their respective faiths in heather lands ; but, with the exception of some of the Catholic missions in South America, without the success that was, in the outset at least, antici- pated. Sectarian zeal has united with Christian philanthropy in forwarding the great under- taking ; the British and Foreign Bible Society has rivaled in activity the Propaganda of Rome; and the expenditure of £100,000 annually on the enlightening of foreign lands has afforded a mag- nificent j)roof of devout zeal, and British liberal- ity. ]5ut no great or decisive cfiects have as yet followed these eilorts — no new nations have been converted to Christianity ; the conversion of a few tribes, of which much has been said, a|ipcars to be little more than nominal: and the durable spread of the gospel has been every where co-extensive only with that of the Eu- ropean race. But that race has increased, and HISTORY OF EUROPE. fCn^p. is incronsinp, with imoxnni|ilt>d rnpii!iiy; i's universal ijrowth, and wide oxtcnsioii, liesppuk the evuliilioiis ol" a niijjhty ilostiiiy ; uiiil it has now liooomo apparent, ihnl tho Aiifjlo-Saxon colonist bears with his sails tlio blessings of rhristianity tu mankind. The inlluenco of Christianity is obviously in- -^ croasinir in all tho nations of Eu- Inrrrnsingln- rope, ami to nothing has this in- tliHMireofrfli- crease been so much owing as to fion in Eu- iiip iireligious spirit which occa- '"'*' sioned the French Revolution. Vol- taire was the author of the second great crusade, he was the Peter the Hermit of the eighteenth century; without intending it, he, in the end, roused all nations in behalf of religion. He con- ferred one blessing of inestimable importance on mankind — he brought skepticism to the test of experience. He forever revealed its tendencies. and demonstrated its elfccts to the world. The Reign of Terror is the everlasting commentary on his doctrines ; Robespierre is at once the dis- ciple and the beacon of those of Rousseau. No- where has this reaction been more apparent than in France, the very country where infidelity was hrst triumphant. The increasing spirit of devo- tion in its rural districts has long been a matter of observation to all persons acquainted with French society ; and the proof of this is now decisive — universal suffrage has brought it to light. Louis Napoleon has seized supreme pow- er; but he seized it by the aid of the clergy. His first step was a solemn service in Notre Dame, the theatre of the orgies of the Goddess of Reason ; and the votes of seven millions of Frenchmen demonstrated that the vast majority of the people coinoidcd with his sentiments. In England, the influence of religious opinion has in- creased to such a degree as to become in some measure alarming ; it begets, in the thoughtful mind, the dread of a reaction. Christianity, in Russia, is the mainspring both of government and national action : the Cross is inscribed on his banners ; it is as the representative of the Almighty that the Czar is omnipotent. In no country in the world is religious zeal warmer, religious impressions more general, than in America, though unfortunately they have not had the eflfeet of restraining their public actions. These appearances are decisive as to the future progress of the Christian faith, and its diffusion by the spread of the European race. When France and England, America and Russia, dif- fering in almost everything else, combine in this one impression, it needs no prophet to announce the future destinies of mankind. Such are the vievss which occur to the re- tecting mind, from the cmtemplation of the eventful period in the histohjr of Europe which it is proposed to embrace in this _, work. Less dramatic and moving DiflVrcnrescJ than the animated era which term- the era of thi« inated with the fall of Napoleon, it history and thit of tlift IS, perhaps, still more important: ,^g( it contains less of individual agency, and more of general progress. There are som« incidents in it second to none that ever occurred, in tragic interest : the Affghanistan disaster, the passage of arms in the Punjaub, the revolutions of 1848 in Europe, will forever stand forth- as some of the most heart-stirring events in the annals of mankind. But these are the excep- tions, not the rule. The general character of the period is one of repose, so far as relates to the transactions of nations ; but of the most fear ful activity, so far as the thoughts and social in- terests of the people are concerned. The heroes of it are not the commanders of armies, but the leaders of thought ; the theatre of its combats is not the tented field, but the peaceful forum. It is there that the decisive blows were struck, there that the lasting victories have been gained. The volumes of this History, therefore, will differ much from those of the one which has pre- ceded it; they will be less dramatic, but more reflecting ; they will deal less with the actions of men, and more with the progress of things. In the former period, individual greatness de- termined the march of events, and general his- tory insensibly turned into particular biography, in the present, general causes overruled individ- ual agency, and the lives even of the greatest men are seen to have been mastered by the progress of events. It is a common complaint in these times, that the age of great men has departed ; that the giants of intellect are no longer to be seen : that no one impresses his signet on the age, but every one receives the impression from it. But the truth is, that it is the strength of the general current which has swept away particular men; the stream, put in motion by greatness in a former age, has been so powerful that it has become impossible for individual strength in this to withstand it; it is not that the age of great men has departed, but that of genera! causes has succeeded. But the ascendant of intellect is not thereby diminished : its triumphs are only postponed to another age ; its sway begins when the body to which it was united is mouldering in the grave. The prophet is even more revered in future times than the lawgiver; when time has placed its signet on opinions, they carry conviction to every breast ; and he who has had the courage to defend the cause of truth against the prejudices of one d^fc, is sure of gaining the suffrages of the ne<.i. 1815.^ HISTORY OF EUROPE 95 CHAPTER n. HISTORY OF ENGLAND FROM THE PEACE OF PARIS, IN 1815, TO THE END OF THE YEAR 1813. So great had been the success, so glorious the triumphs of England, in the lat- Commanding ^^r years of the war, that the least position of ° sanguine were led to entertain the Great Britain most unbounded hopes of the future fh "'v '^^"^^"'^ prosperity of the empire. Prosper- ity unheard of, and universal, had, with a few transient periods of distress, when the contest was at the worst, pervaded every de- partment of the state. The colonial possessions of Great Britain encircled the earth ; the loss of the North American colonies had been more than compensated by the acquisition of a splen- did empire in India, where sixty millions of men were already subject to our rule, and forty mill- ions more were in a state of alliance ; the whole West India islands had fallen into our hands, and were in the very highest state of prosperity ; Java had been added to our Eastern posses- sions, and had been only relinquished from the impulse of a perhaps imprudent generosity ; and the foundation had been laid, in Australia, of those flourishing colonies which are, perhaps, destined one day to rival Europe itself in num- bers, riches, and splendor. How dilTerent was this prospect from that which, a few years be- fore, the world had exhibited ! There had been a time when, in the words of exalted eloquence, " the Continent lay flat belbre our rival ; when the Spaniard, the Austrian, the Prussian, had retired ; when the iron quality of Russia had dissolved ; when the domination of France had come to the water's edge ; and when, behold, from a misty speck in the west the avenging genius of these our countries issues forth, grasp- ing ten thousand thunderbolts, breaks the spell of France, stops in his own person the flying fortunes of the world, sweeps the sea, rights the globe, and retires in a flame of glory."* Nor had the domestic prosperity of this memorable period been inferior to its external renown. Agriculture, commerce, and manufactures at home had gone on increasing, during the whole struggle, in an unparalleled ratio; the landed proprietors were in affluence, and for the most part enjoyed incomes triple of what they had possessed at its commencement ; wealth to an unheard-of extent had been created among the I'armers ; the soil, daily increasing in fertility and breadth of cultivated land, had become ade- quate to the maintenance of a rapidly-increas- ing population ; and Great Britain, as the elfect of her long exclusion from the Continent, had obtained the inestimable blessing of being self- supporting as regards the national subsistence. The exports, imports, and tonnage had more than doubled since the war began ; and although severe distress, especially during the years 1810 and 1811, had pervaded the manid'acturing dis- tricts, yet their condition, upon the whole, had been one of general and extraordinary pros- perity. * Grattan. Facts proved by the parliamentary records sufficiently demonstrated that this description was not the high-flown statistical picture of imagination, but the nicts proving sober representation of truth. The the general revenue raised by taxation within f^eTtaVe^ °^ the year had risen from £19,000,- 000, in 1792, to £72,000,000, in 1813 ; the total expenditure from taxes and loans had reached, in 1814 and 1815, the enormous amount of £117,000,000 each year. In the latter years of the war, Great Britain had above 1,000,000, of men in arms in Europe and Asia; and besides paying the whole of these immense armaments, she was able to lend £11,000,000 yearly to the Continental powers ; yet were these copious bleedings so far from having exhausted the cap- ital or resources of the country, that the loan of 1814, although of the enormous amount of £35- 000,000, was obtained at the rate of £4 lis. Id. per cent, being a lower rate of interest than had been paid at the commencement of the war. The exports, which in 1792 were £27,000,000, had swelled in 1815 to nearly £58,000,000, offil cial value ; the imports had advanced during the same period from £19,000,000 to £32,000,000. The shipping had advanced from 1,000,000 to 2,500,000 tons. The population of England had risen from 9,400,000 in 1792, to 13,400,000 in 1815 ; that of Great Britain and Ireland from 14,000,000 in the former period, to 18,000,000 in the latter. Yet, notwithstanding this rapid increase, and the absorption of nearly 500,000 pairs of robust arras in the army, militia, and navy, the imports of grain had gone on con- tinually diminishing, and had sunk in 1815 to less than 500,000 quarters. And so far was this prodigious expenditure and rapid increase of numbers from having exhausted the resources of the state, that above .£0,000,000 annually was raised by the voluntary ellbrts of the inhab- itants to mitigate the distresses and assuage the sud'erings of the poor ; and a noble sinking fund was in existence, and had been kept sacred during all the vicissi- ij^^!'*','^!'''}.'' '" tudesof the struggle, which already £',''ropo ° hail reached £10,0000,000 a year, App. c.'xcvl and would certainty, if left to ilsclf, wliuru Uie have extinguished 'the whole public Jf^'J,^*' ""' '" debt by the year 1815.' When such had been the prosperity and sr. great the progress of the empire, durinj; the continuance of a lone 3- , 1111 ■ .1 7- Warm and and jjloody war, m the course ol „^.,|(,rlll anti- which it had repeatedly been re- eipations of duccd to the very greatest straits, K'n<'ral prow- and compelled to" tight for its very '[.'l^^. '"' ^'''' cxistentjc against the forces of com- bined Europe, there seemed to bo no possible limits which could bo assigned to the prosperity of the state when the contest was over, and tho blessings of peace had returned to gladden our own and every other land. If the industry of M HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chap. 11 our |H'i>iilr luul lu'Oii sn sn^iiuiicd, llii'ir pidijfrcss M> ^rcat, iliuiiii; a war in wliirli we wcio lor n loiiii jK-riixl .-lull out riniii till" Conlineni, ami for a lime from Amcrii-a uImi, wlial niii:lit be cx- jH^clcd when universnl pence prevailed, and the Lirbors of nil nations, ioni; fainisliinjr for tlie luxuries of British prinliicc and mariiiractnrcs, were every where thrown open for their recep- tion? Views of this sort were so obviously supported by the appearances of the social world, that they were embraeed not only by the ardent and enlhusiastic, but the prudent and the sagacious, in every part of the country. The landholders borrowed, the capitalist lent money, on the faith of their justice. The merchant embarked his fortune in the sure confidence that the present flattering appearances would not prove fallacious ; and the eloquent preacher expressed no more than the general feeling when he said — "The mighty are fallen, and the weapons of war have perished. The cry of freedom bursts from the unfettered earth, and the standards of victtry wave in all the winds of heaven. Again in every corner of our own land the voice of joy and gladness is heard. The cheerful sounds of labor rise again in our streets, and the dark ocean again begins to whiten with our sails. Over this busy scene of human joy the genial influences of heaven have descended. The unclouded sun of summer has ripened for us ail the riches of harvest. The God of nature hath crowned the year with his goodness, and all things living are filled with plenteousness. Even the infant shares in the general joy; and the aged, when he recollects the sufferings of former years, is led to say, with the good old Simeon in the Gospel, ' Lord, now let thy servant de- part in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salva- tion.' " ' Such were the expectations and feelings of the 4. people at the termination of the war. Univer-sal dis- Never were hopes more cruelly dis- of ^hese™^"' appointed, never anticipations more liopes, and desperately crossed. No sooner was general dis- the peace concluded than distress. tress. wide-spread and universal, was ex- perienced in everj' part of the country, and in every branch of industry. It was felt as much by the manufacturers as the agriculturists ; by the merchants as the landlords : and, ere long, the general suffering rose to such a pitch that, while the table of the House of Commons groan- ed under petitions from the farmers, complain- ing of agricultural distress, the Gazette teem- ed with notices of the bankruptcy of traders ; and disturbances became so common and alarm- ing in the manufacturing districts, that special commissions bad to be sent down, in this and the following year, to Ely, Derby, and the prin- cipal seats of the outrages, by whom the law was administered with unsparing but necessary rigor. The farmers, as usual with that class. bore their distresses with patience and resigna- tion ; but the manufacturers, alw.iys more ex- citable and tumultuous, were not so easily ap- pea.sed. In the southern part of Staffordshire the distress was felt as peculiarly severe, and the working people in the populous village of Bilston were reduced to such a degree that they all fell upon the parish, the funds of wb'ch ' Sermon on (he Thanks- giving, Jan. 13, 1614, by the Rev. Archibald Alison — Ser- nions, i. 450. were inadequate to preserve them from abso- lute starvation. The iron trade in particular was eve;7 where sullering under great distress: large bodies of workmen, dismissed from their forges, paraded the country, demanding charity in a menacing manner ; and at Merthyr-Tydvil, in South Wales, the disorders were not appeas- ed without military interference. To excite public commiseration, great numbers of these dismissed workmen fell upon the expedient of drawing loaded wag- jgie^p g^f'^ ons of coals to distant towns ; and Memoirs of a division of these wandering pcti- Lord Sid- tioners approached the metropolis. J^y^'isi'"' and were only turned aside by the ' " resistance of a powerful body of police." ' It was with the merchants engaged in the ex- port trade that the di.stress, which soon became universal, first began; i)(.„in„ing o' and in them it appeared even be- the^distress fore hostilities had ceased. Pos- among the ex- sessed with the idea that the inhab- P^""' "^"' „ , „ . , chants, itants ot the Continent were lan- guishing for British colonial produce, from which they had so long been excluded, and inflamed by the prospect of the sudden opening of their ports to our shipping, the English merchants thought, and acted upon the opinion, that no limits could be assigned to the profitable trade which might be carried on with them, especially in that ar- ticle of merchandise. So largely was this no- tion acted upon, that the exports of foreign and colonial produce from Great Britain and Ireland, which in 1812 had been £9,533,000, rose in 1S14 to £19,365,000. The necessary effect of so prodigious an increase of the supply thrown into countries impoverished to the very last de- gree by the war, and scarcely able to pay for any thing, was that the consignments were, for the most part, sold for little more than half the original cost, and ruin, wide-spread and uni- versal, overtook all the persons engaged in the traffic. The eastern ports of the kingdom, in particular London, Hull, and Leith, suffered dreadfully by the extensive and disastrous ship- ments to the north of Europe. England then began to learn a lesson which has been suffi- ciently often taught since that time — namely, how fallacious a lest the mere amount of exports is of the flourishing condition of the country in general, or even of the branches of trade in which the greatest increase appears in particu- lar. That increase often arises from a failure of the home market, which renders it necessary to send the goods abroad, or from absurd and ruinous speculation, which terminates in nothing but disaster. The year 1514, during which foreign and colonial produce to the extent ol £19,500,000 was exported, was far more disas- trous to the persons engaged in that trade than the three succeeding years,'* in , Annual Reg. which the exports ol that descrip- ]614, 219; tion sank to little more than a half 1815, 144 of that amount. This distress, however, was not long of spread- ing to the agriculturists, and among them it * Exports of foreign and colonial produce : 1814 £19,365,981 1815 15,748,554 1816 13,480,781 1617 10,292,684 -Auso.n's Europe, Appendix, chan. xcvi .815.] assumed HISTORY OF EDROPE. 21 more formidable, because seltleJ g and irremediable form. Notwith- Us spread to standing the protection to British the agricul- agriculture whicli had been afforded turists. jjy jj^g PQ|.jj jjj^y passed in 1S14, of which an account has already been given/ it had 1 History of already become apparent that the Europe, c.xcii. opening the harbors of America '*•*"• and Northern Europe for supplies of grain, coupled with the cessation of the lavish expenditure of the war, would seriously affect the prices of every species of agricultural produce. Already, they had fallen to little more than two- thirds of what they had been during the five last years of the war.* Although the prices which they still fetched may seem high to us, who have been accustomed to the much greater re- duction which has since taken place, yet the fall from 120s. in 1813, to 76s. in 1S15, and 57s. in the spring of 1816, for the quarter of wheat, was sufficiently alarming, and struck a prodigious panic into the minds of alj persons engaged in agricultural pursuits. The rise in the price of rural produce had been so steady and long-con- tinued, and the affluence in consequence arising to all persons connected with land, or depending either on the sale of its produce or the purchases flowing from its prosperity, so great, that all classes had come to regard it as permanent, and they had all acted accordingly. The land- owners had borrowed money or entered into marriage-contracts on the faith of its continu- ance : present expenditure, provisions to chil- dren, had been regulated by that standard. The tenantry, in those parts of the country where leases were common, had entered into lasting contracts, in the belief that the high prices would continue ; and they could now anticipate nothing but ruin if they were held to their en- gagements. A general despondency, in conse- quence, seized upon the rural classes; numbers of farms were thrown up in despair ; and the universal suffering among that important class not only spread a general gloom over society, but seriously affected the amount of manufac- ' Ann. Heir, tured articles taken off by the home 1815, 144, 145; market, by far the most important 1810,92,93. ygf)(. j-Qf that species of industry.* Before the close of the year 1816, these causes 7, of distress assumed a diiferent, but Severe scare- a still more alarming form. The ityofl816. summer of that year was uncom- monly wet and stormy, insomuch, that not only was the quantity and quality of the grain every where rendered deficient, but in the higher and later parts of the country the harvest never ripened at all. So stormy, melancholy a seasor had not been experienced since 1790; the con- sequence of course was. that the price of grain rapidly rose, and the average for the year was 82«. a quarter. But it was much higher than this average in the latter months; indeed, in some places in the north of England, wheat in October was at a guinea a bushel. t The ef- * Average price of wheat per Winchester bushel : 1809 1810 1811 1812 ShiMinso 105 112 108 118 1813 1814 1815 1810 Sliillings. 120 85 76 82 feet of this, of course, was to admit foreign im- portations duty free — the prices having sur- mounted that of SCs., fixed by the sliding scale as the turning point at which free foreign im- portation was to commence. This happy cir- cumstance had the efiect of checking the rise in the price of provisions, which, but for that cir- cumstance, would doubtless have reached the level of a famine. The importation of wheat in that year amounted to 22.5,000 quarters ; but in the next, when the eflect of the scarcity of 1816 was felt, it rose to 1,620,000 quarters, and in 1818 to 1,593,000.1 But from this circum- stance sprang up a new cause of i porter's distress to the farmers, which was Prog, of Nat felt with the utmost severity in ^^~' ^'^ ^'^i'- this and the two succeeding years. The im- portation kept down prices, but it did not re- store crops; it deprived the farmer of a remu- nerating price for what remained cf his produce, without making up to him what had been lost And the nation, on comparing its present con- dition with what it had been during the last years of the war, began to feel the „ , ■„ 1 /■ A 1 o ■ 1 • 1 " Ann. Keg. triuh of Adam bmith s remark — 1816,144; "High prices and plenty are pros- Sidmouth's perity ; low prices and want are l*''*^' "'• ^^^< misery .2 * When such general distress pervaded the whole classes depending upon land „ — then, as now, by far the largest Distress and most important part of the com- among tlie munity t — it was not to be supposed manuiactur that the in.iuu,aeturing interests causes to were not also to be laboring under which it waa difficulties. The distress among owing. them, accordingly, was universal — and equally among those who toiled for the foreign, as with those who supplied the home market. In some branches of industry which went directly to the supplying of arms and stores of war the depression, on the cessation of hostilities, was immediate and excessive. England had for several years past been the great armory of the world, and could not but suffer severely in several branches of its industry on the return of peace. It is to this cause, chiefly, that the rapid reduction in the price of copper and iron was to be ascribed — the former of which had fallen from £180 to £80, the latter from £20 to £8 per ton.' But the Liibjiii""^^ depression was not confined to those branches of industry which were directly em- ployed on warlike stores ; it was universal, and felt as severely in those which were devoted to the supplying of pacific wants, as in those -Allson's Euuope, Appendix, chap. xcvi. t On 8lh October, the Earl of Darlington wrote to l»ord Sidinouth, llien Home Secretary ; — " The distress in Yorkshire if unpreredented ; there Ih a total stagna- tion of the little trade we over had ; wheat is already more than a guinea a bushel, and no old corn in store ; the potato crop has failed ; the harvest is only begiiuiing; the corn being in many parts still green, and I fear a total defalcation of all grain this season, fVom the deluge of rain which has fallen for several weelis, and is still falling." — Earl of Darmnoton to Lord Sidmouth, 8tli Oct. 1816. Life nf Sidrnuulh, iii. 150. * "If we think we are to go on smoothly without the effectual means of repressing mischief, and large mean.* too, we shall be most grievously mistaken. I look lO the winter with fear and trembling. In this island our wheat is good for nothing ; barley and oats reasonably good. As a farmer I am ruined here and in Durham. So much for peace and plenty." — Lord Chancellor Eldon to Lord Sidmouth, 8ih Oct. 1810. Subnoulh's Life, iii. 151. t The classes directly or indirectly dopcnident on land are now (1852), in round numbers, 18,000,000; on man- ulacturos and towns, 10,0C"J,000.— SrACKMA.N'a Tabid, 1852. HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chap, ll wlm-h were immeiliiitoly connected wilh hos- soon demonstnitcd the fallacy of all hopes of a 111. lies. All were suli'erinji:, and apparently j relief to the public sulfering from these appli- wiih equal severity. llistress was as great ances. Retrenchment was, by the voice of the among the colton-spinners of Manchester or ; country and the anguish of general suffering, (.ilnsgow, the silk-weavers of Spilalliclds, or the forced upon the Government; the income and malt taxes, amounting to £17,000,000 a year, were abolished ; the public expenditure was glove-maiuifactur«rs of Nottingham, as anionr the hardware-men of Uiriningham, or the iron- niouldors of Merihyr-Tydvil. The home mar- reduced from £102,000,000 to £82,000,000 •iei was soiii founil to be reduced to a half of ; nearly 300,000 men were disbanded in the army and navy ; and still the distress went on con stantly increasing, and was greater than ever in the close of the very year 1816, in the course of which these immense reductions had been carried intoefTect. It is evident,. therefore, that some more general and lasting cause was in op- eration than those to which the adherents of either party at that period ascribed it ; and without denying altogether the influence of some of these subordinate ones, it may now safely be affirmed that the main cause was the following : The annual supply of the precious metals for the use of the globe, derived from jo. the South American mines, had Diminished been, for some years prior to 1808, supply of the about ten millions sterling: and of ^ffai*^% '.ts former amount ; and the manufacturers, finding their usual vents for their produce ("ailing them from domestic wants, sent them in Jespair abroad ; but with so little success that , ... , _ the entire exports of British pro- ' Alison s Eu- , , ' ,. , I • L • duce and nianulactures, which m 1S15 had risen to £42,875,000, sank in the succeeding year to £35,717,000.' Depression so severe and wide-spread could rope, c. xcvi. App. Sill- mouth's Life, ill. 151, 153. 0. not be explained by the mere trans, ition from a state of war to one of peace, to which the partisans of Government at that period, and for long after, constantly ascribed it. Every impartial and thinking per- son saw that, although that might explain the depression in some particular branches of in- dustry which had been connected with hostilities. This general Bii/Tering was not owiiis to the transition from war to peace. 'o ).""""' metals from this, about a half w^as coined in South Amer- South America, and the remainder ^'^^■ it could not account for the universal depression for the most part found its way to Europe in the in all branches of industry, alike agricultural and manufacturing, for the home trade and the ex- port sale. Still less could it explain the fact that the depression was universal in all markets, and even greatest in those connected with paci- fic employments, w'hich might have been ex- nected to have taken an extraordinary start on the termination of war expenditure. As little could the reduction be accounted for by the re- duction of taxation, and diminution of the ex- penditure of governments in general, and that of Great Britain in particular ; lor that only altered the direction of expenditure, without lessening its amount ; if it put less into the hands of Gov- ernment to spend for the people, it left more in the hands of the people to spend for themselves. The Whigs and Radicals had a very clear solu- tion of the question : the difficulties all arose -Vom excessive taxation, and the measures of a corrupt oligarchy ; and the remedy for them was to be found in parliamentary reform, and an un- sparing retrenchment in all branches of the pub- lic expenditure. A vehement outcry, according- ly, was raised for these objects, which was sup- ported with equal eloquence and ability both in p.nd out of Parliament.* But experience very * " From a struggle which appalled, I believe, the fMjIdest among us, we have by the talents and firmness of our general, and the intrepid and patient courage of our troops, been blessed with glorious victory. By the act of Ministers we have, from a state of triumph and exultation, from hopes of security, justified by success, been left to contemplate the real result of all these things. Let us look around us and sec the state of our country ; let us go forth among our fields and manufactories, and let us see what are the tokens and indications of peace. Can we trace them among a peasantry without work, and consequently without bread?— among farmers unable to pay their rents, and a fortiori unable to contribute to that parochial relief on which the peasantry is rendered dependent ? — among landowners unable to collect their rents, and yet obliged to maintain their rank and station as gentlemen in society 7 Let us listen to the cry of the country— it is poverty, from the proudest castle to the meanest cottage, poverty rings in our ears ; it lies in our path whichever way we turn. It is not the congratula- form of bullion.* The rapid rise i Humboldt's in the price of commodities all over Nouv. Esp. Europe, during the latter years of "'■ ^^®- the war, was in part owing to the increased supply of the precious metals, obtained in conse- quence of the great rise in their value from the necessities of the belligerent powers. Gold, in consequence of this, had in 1813 and 1814 risen to £5. 8s. an ounce, from £4, which it had been in the beginning of the century. But the long and desolating wars in which the whole Spanish provinces of South America had been involved since 1809, in consequence of their calamitous revolution, soon put an end to this auspicious state of things. The capitalists who worked the mines were ruined during these disastrous con- vulsions; the mines them.selves ceased to be worked, the machinery in them went to destruc- tion, and they were in many places filled with water. So complete did the ruin become, that the population of the city of Potosi, in Peru, from whence the celebrated silver mines of the same name were worked, which in 1805 contained 150,000 inhabitants, had sunk in j „.., , 1825 to 8000.* The only supplies Mem. ii. 319- of the precious metals which were Alison's Eu obtained during these disastrous '"P?) ''^ Ixvii. years, were from the melting down of their gold and silver plate by the wealthy pro- prietors of former days, who had been reduced to ruin, and from turning over the heaps of rubbish which had been turned out of the mines in the days of the r prosperity. But so diminutive and precarious were the supplies thus obtained tory that can drown this lamentable cry ; it is not in the power of the noble lord, it is not in the power of this House or of Parliament, to stifle the cry of want, nor to brave the stroke of universal bankruptcy. There is but one means left to satisfy the country, to avert these evils, or to redeem the pledged faith of Parliament— Retrench- ment, rigorous and severe retrenchment, in every branch and in every article of the public expenditure." — Lord Nuoent's Speech on Lord G. Cavendish's motion for . reduction of expenditure, April 25, 1816, Pari. ZJei. xxxii- tions of the noble lord opposite, it is not the song of vie- ; 1222 18 IC] HISTORY OF EUROPE. 29 that they rapidly ilocliueil from year to year; and in the year 1S16, the whole amount raised and coined in South America was only £2,500,000, , _ just a quarter of what the amount ro7ef c"u%ui!' raised in all parts of the globe t)^ 84, 87 ; had been ten years bcl'ore, and only Uunibolili's a third of what had been raised 3%"40^^'''"'' ^'"1 '^°'"e'i '" ^o"'^^ America in ' '■ 1S05.1* This great diminution in the supply of the 11. precious metals for the use of the Simultaneous globe was necessarily attended by aiiU rapid con- .^ (reneral fall of prices over the traction ol the ,» , , , , ' paper curren- whole world, and was one great cy ol' Great cause of the poverty and sullisring liritain. which every where prevailed. But its effect was most seriously aggravated, in the particular case of Great Britain, by the simulta- neous and still more serious contraction in its paper circulation, and the credit afforded to its merchants, by the declared intentions of Govern- ment in regard to the resumption of cash pay- ments by the Bank of England. By the existing law under which that establishment acted, it was provided that the restriction on cash pay- ments should continue "for six months after the conclusion of a general peace, and c *t\^^° "" ^on^-cr." 2 As the time had now arrived when it was necessary to come to some resolution on the subject, because the six months was on the point of expiring, Ministers proposed that the restriction should be continued till the 5th July, 1818, and the Oppo- sition strenuously contended for its being con- tinued only to 5th July, 1817. The former reso- lution was adopted ; but the discussion of the subject, and the difficulty Government had in -•arrying the prolonged period, spread such a panic among bankers, that the commercial paper under discount at the Bank of England, which in ISIO had been, on an average. i:20,070,000, sank in 1816 to £11,410,400, and in 1817 to £3,060,600; and the country bankers' notes in circulation, which in 1814 had amounted to £22,700,000, had sunk in 1816 to £15,096,000. Nothing in so prodigious a contraelion at once of the precious metals for the use of the globe, und of the paper accommodation and circulation ol Great Britain in particular, saved the country from absolute ruin, but the continuation of the restriction on cash payments by the Bank of En- gland, which enabled it to continue its circula- tion of £27,000,000 of notes undiminished, and the rapid return of the precious metals from the Continent, which, in defiance of all the predic- tions of the Bullion Committee, Uowed back in such quantities to the centre of commerce, on the termination of the demand for them on the ■i V \ T) b t)oiitinent for the operations of war, xxxiv. 573 that the Earl of Liverpool said, in &7y; Alisou'H his place in Parliament,^ that it liad Jtiurope, exceeded his most sanguine expect- xcvi. pp. ations ; and the price of gold in the * Gold and silver coin annually raised and coined iu South America : 1803... £5,032,227 1810... £5,807,072 1804... 5,058,211 1811... 5,718,584 1805... 7,104,436 5812... 3,0iy,.352 1806... 6,502,142 1813... 3,78-1,700 1807... 5,356,152 1814... 3,687,249 1808... 6,109,038 1 1815. . . 3,104,565 180'J... 6,997,853 1816. . . 2,528,00* — *i.json's Europe, Appendix, cliaji. xcvi. English market fell from £5, S. _ which u had been in 1814, to £3, 19s. in 1810.'* The general distress and despondirg feelings of the country, arising from the fearful contrast between the sad in-portant realities that had ensued on the re- discussions turn of peace and the sanguine ex- onthePropei pectations of felicity which had so otherTo^cs. generally been Ibrmed, naturally led, as might have been expected, to important discussions in Parliament, and material modifiea. tions on our military and naval establishment, and the whole system of British finance. These discussions and measuris are the more import- ant, that they form the basis, as it were, of the whole subsequent monetary and financial policy of the empire, and all the incalculable conse- quences which have flowed from it. The year 1816, the first year of peace, marks the transi- tion from the old to the new system in these respects, and therefore its legislative measures arc in an especial manner worthy of attention. Four subjects, each of paramount importance. were brought under discussion — the continuance of the Bank Restriction Act, the continuance of the Property Tax, Agricultural Distress, and the Army and Navy Establishment. The priority, in point of time, belongs to the debate on the property tax; but it is difficult to fix upon any particular occasion on which the discussion on it was brought to a point, as it was renewed almost every night, during two months, on the presentation of successive petitions from all parts of the country on the subject. But, with- out asserting that they were contained in any one debate, the principal arguments on the sub- ject will be found to be contained in the follow- ing summary : On the one hand, it was contended against tho continuance of the tax, by Mr. Pon- sonby, Mr. Baring, and Mr. Brough- Argument am — "The petitions against this lax against the are innumerable, and all couched Property Tax in the strongest possible language. J^y^Uie Oppose They state facts which are undeni- able, they advance arguments which are unan- swerable. They do not come from any one class or section in tho community ; they come from all sections and all classes, and complain of an oppression from the operation of this tax, which is universal and intolerable. Tho farmers com- plain that they arc assessed, on an arbitrary rule, on property which does not exist. To pay it, they are consuming their capital; they can nei- ther stock their farms, nor maintain their fami- lies, but by encroaching on their substance. How could it be otherwise, when the price of j wheat had fallen from llOs. a ipiarter to 85s. in j the last two years, and every other species of agricultural ]n-oduce in the same proportion? I 'ilio merchants and bankers are equally loud [ and emphatic in their denunciation of this in- icjuitous tax; the petition from tho merchant.s * " Many of tho speculations publishril in I hi^ Rr|iort of the Bullion Committee had been completely liilwiiicd by events. The restoration of peace in 1811, and ImhI year, had had the cllbct, by stopping tho foreign cxiiondituro, of bringing b.icit the specie eveu more rapidly than ever he had contemjilatod. Hut alter so long a Ibrcign expendi- ture as that since 1808, it was not a favorable exchange of a few months which would bring things back to Iheii former level. This would re(puro a I'onHidcrablu lime." — Earl of LlviiuroOL's Speech, May 17, 1816, I' irl. Deft xxxiv. 574. HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chap II %ad bankers of tS* oiiv of Lorvlon is perhaps the ■KMtr. int thai over vas 1 that or any ocb«r > .- I- ••••V vexatious aad a! . ^.-i^ because it implies an iaqw»>' vatc ailairs, at alt tirnes Inanlous l>ut doubly s<> ia a period of H^tr."* If any thing could add to the force of these last words, it would be the cun- ning device adopted of amitting them in the hurried renewal of the statute, on the return of Napoleon from Elba last year. It is true, that the faith of Parliament stands pledged to the eoontry on this subject; but it stands pledged to the removal of the tax, not its continuance.^ The countr)- is now agitated from one end to the other ; and it is universally felt that any renewal of the tax. even at the reduced rate of five per cent., and for a single year, is a direct breach of the public faith with the nation, which is little deserved, after the patience with which the tax was borne daring the years when it really was jna voidable. ■• Equally vain is it to assert, that the contina- jy ance of the property tax is necessa- KMMccssary ry as a general measure of finance, — * ge neral and to uphold the credit of the ^J^"*^ ^ country. The Chancellor of the Exchequer says, if it is not contin- ued, there will this year be a deficit of ten mill- ions, which will render it necessary for him to go into the money market and borrow to that amount, which would depress the Funds, and raise the interest of money. But supposing this to be the case : supposing that it is impossible, by economy, and reducing our establishments, to avoid a considerable loan, what is the incon- Tenience thence arising to that which may be *''Be it enacted, tkat tbU Act akaU fiiiiaiii ■ml take (Act fron QktUhof Aprd ISOt, and that the aaid Act. and the datiea tberect, slan eoat i — e ia ttm&anag ihe preMsc wv, avi antU tbe 6th of Aiwil aext, after the deflaitrre ncnstBre of a treaty or peace, mrf ■• faiver.-— i MT. P^aperfy Tcz Dttate. I anticipateii from the continuance, even for a single year, of this most odious and grinding lax? Nothing whatever. Ministers have told us of the prosperous state of the finances of the countr)-, and adverted to the fact, which is ! undoubtedly very remarkable, that the Sinking Fund, though trenched upon since 1S13, is still I twelve millions. What would it take from the I efficiency of this fund, to take the interest of the whole loan which may be required, which at the very utmost will not exceed £600,000 a year from that fund? Is not such a measure better than continuing a burden on tne country which it is wholly unable to bear, and wnich threatens, if longer continued, to drain away the resources of the people, and cripple Gov- ernment most seriously in future years, by pre- venting the ordinary taxes from continuing productive ? What would a loan of nine or ten millions be, which would perhaps be melted in one week into the general transactions of the country? Nothing whatever. And was the House, for so inconsiderable an advantage as avoiding placing the interest of such a loan on the Sinking Fund, to turn a deaf ear , _. . _. . ■ ^ 1,1- ' Part. Deb. to the prayers, and shut their eyes lo xixui. 1210. the distresses of tbe country, and ruin 1236 ; and their character in the opinion of their ^^ *^" ^^• constituents?'"' ~ On the other hand, it was contended by Lord Liverpool, Lord Castlereagh, and .. the Chancellor of the Exchequer — AisumeDt oo " The principle on which the prop- the other side erty tax was originally proposed by ^y •** Minis- Mr. Pitt, and sulSequently extended ^' by Lord Lansdowne, was not merely to avoid the inconvenience of a large loan. The princi- ple was, that it is important to provide a large supply within the year, in preference to the in- definite extension of permanent taxation by the indefinite accumulation of debt, as had been the case, and thereby to provide for the vigorous prosecution of the war, and for the future relief of the nation in peace. These objects had both been gained ; and by the unswerving prosecu- tion of this system, and the patience with which it had been borne by the nation, we had now nine millions less of permanent taxes to pay than we should have had if the opposite system bad been continued. The burdens laid on during the war had been, upon the whole, collected with so much wisdom and success, that now the Consolidated Fund had a greater surplus than in the year 1791, or than was even hoped for by the Finance Committee of that year. We had now a surplus of £2,500,000, with a Sinking Fund of £11,000,000 — in other words, £13,500,000 aimually applicable to the reduction of debt. Could such a favorable state of things have arisen, had noi the vigorous measure of a large property tax been adopted; and now that its fruits were beginning to be reaped, is it to be abandoned ? '• To show that there is no breach of faith with the nation in proposing the con- j- tinuance of the property tax for two No breach of vears longer, it is onlv necessary to f*»tl» in its recollect, that when' the property "»«»»«">« tax was raised to ten per cent by the Whig Ad- ministration in 1807, and when a permanent system of war expenditure, estimated at £3-2.. 000.000. was adopted, it was conlemplatetl thai 1616.J HISTORY OF E UROI'K. :ne loans which would he necessary should be secured by mortgaf,'e of all the war taxes, in- cluding the properly tax. It was no doubt said by the noble Marquis (Lansdowne), then Chancellor of the Exchequer, that if the war continued only seven years, it would not be necessary to mortgage the* property tax: and it was also true, that instead of the war expendi- ture being on an average £32,000,000, it had been £52,000,000 since that time, and the con- test had lasted more than seven years; but that only showed the more clearly, that the mortgage of all the war taxes was contemplated by those who extended the property tax, and thpt the out- cry now raised as to a breach of faill. with the public, in proposing its continuance, is entirely without foundation, seeing the very event has occurred which was always looked to as render- mg its prolongation necessary. "Nothing but an imperious sense of duty jy could have induced his Majesty's The petitions Ministers to propose the continu- for its repeal ance, even for a short period, of a not unanim- burden in opposition to the general reluctance which it was foreseen would be felt to submit to heavy taxation after the conclusion of the war, more especially when very severe distress was at the same time ex- perienced from extraneous and temporary causes. But Government would be shrinking from its first duty, if it did not persevere in the course they had adopted. The utmost deference was due to the public voice on the subject; but. numerous as the petitions agamst the tax had been, they are not so expressive of general opinion as might at first sight appear. They are in all 400, of which one-third come from the two counties of Devon and Cornwall. !Man- chester, Liverpool, Glasgow, and all the great commercial towns, are divided on the subject. When this is considered, and the great popular- ity of any reduction of taxation is kept in view, it is not going too far to assert, that the strength of the demand for the remission of the tax has been much overrated, and that all that can be said is, that the nation is strongly agitated, and much divided on the subject. " But supposing the popular demand on the ]9 subject to lie as strong as is repre- Nccessity for sented on the other side, there are its eontinu- considerations connected with the *"'^' financial situation of the country which render it the painful but necessary duty of Government to withstand it. In round num- bers, the expenses for the present year may be calculated at £30,000,000, exclusive of the per- manent expenditure arising from the interest of the debt. There was good reason, however, to hope that this large sum would be reduced next year by a third, or to about £20,000,000. All the retrenchments proposed by the gentlemen opposite, even if carried with unflinching rigor into full effect, would not reduce this sum by more than £2,000,000 annually. This, then, being our necessary expenses, what arc our resources to meet them? Much ha.s been said about borrowing on the credit of the Sinking Fund, or even applying a large part of that fund at once to the current expenses of the year. But as that fund does not now much exceed £11,000,000 a year, after what has been taken frooa is during the last three years, if it is to be applied in whole or in part to meet the cur- rent exigencies of the year, the country wil! soon be in the situation ol having a debt ol above £700,000,000, without any fund whatever to I look to for its redemption. It is upon that : ground that Government feel them.selves imper- j atively called upon by the duty they owe to the I country to resist the abolition of this tax. If it is withdrawn. Government, as a matter of neces- sity, must go into the market and borrow this { yeartwelve, next year six or seven, millions: what effect will this have upon the price of the Funds, i and, through it, on the rate of interest in the I country? And if capital is kept locked up, or advances rendered costly by this cause, how are country gentlemen, how are merchants and traders, to obtain the accommodation necessary to carry on their undertakings, or overcome the difficulties with which they are surround- ed ? Would the British people, with the good sense and spirit which animated them, now shrink from the exertion which was neces- sary for their own preservation ? — i p^^j p^^ would they, in fact, be so infttuated xxxiii. 1217, as to turn their backs upon them- 1222; xx.\it. selves ?''' 447,450. Notwithstanding the manliness of this appeal, which came with so much weight 20. from the Ministers who had brought Abolition of the contest to a triumphant issue, 'hei^x- and the cogent nature of those arguments, such was the weight of the public voice that it prov- ed irresistible. Upon a division, the ,, . ,t, „ ^, .' , ,• • r , March 18 motion lor the entire abolition of the tax was carried by a majority of 37 — the numbers being 201 and 238. The division was received with rapturous cheering in the House, which con- tinued lor several minutes ; and the joyous sound being heard in Palace Yard, the huzzas soon spread through the dense crowd there assembled, and in a few minutes over all London. Never, since the battle of Waterloo, had such general joy been felt through the nation as was on this occasion : nothing like it occurred again till ihe second capture of Cabul and the conclusion of the Chinese war were announced in a single Delhi gazette. We must not estimate the uni- versal transports felt on this occasion by what would be felt if the modified income-tax of seven- pence in the pound, introduced in 1812 by Sir R. Peel, was now abolished — for his was a light burden in comparison, and it extended to persons enjoying an income of £1.50 and upward alone; whereas the former was a tax of two shillings in the pound, and extended to al! incomes of £00 and upward. As the heavier tax, when it wa.s taken off, was producing at ten per cent. £15,000,000 a year, the assessable income of Great Britain must have been, at that period, £150,000,000 a year. And when we tike into consideration the innumerable evasions generally practiced, especially among the manufacturing and trading classes, where such were so easy and difficult of detection, it is within bounds to conclude, that the aggregate incomes of persons in Great Britain above £00 must at that period have been at least .£200,000,000 ; an astonishing fact, when it is recollected that the whole in. habitants of the island did not, at that period, exceed thirteen millions ; and that the nation had just concluded a war of twenty years' duration, in the cmirse of which £000,000,000 had b. cti Ill ST DRY OF r, UROl'f ndiloil to ilio public tlobt. aiul ilie sums nnnually » r.irl. IVb. mised liv tuxiitioii piofjiossivdy in- ii\.v ,000 to X72,- I'.il tMisJt). 000,000. • 111 consiiloriiif; tliis sulijoct, wliicli has been 81. of such numioiit in the subsequent Rodcriions >n tinanciul unJ soei:il condition ol tlic tm» sui'jtHi.. Britis.!, ompiro, it will probably be found, ns is «> .''Finance Statement," Ann Reg 1610, 420 ; and 1817, 210. Vol. I.-C 34 HISTORY OF EUROPE. [CUAP. II. sider the enormous nmoiint of our nfttional debt, aiul tlie oomplcto triumph of our aruis which wns purchased by it, nothiufj can bo more evi- diMit than that at no former period were large reduetions in our peace e^tabll^hment both more loudly called for, or more safe and practicable, than at the present moment. What is the value of our boasted victories, if, after they have been ;;ained, we are oblifjcd to remain armed at all |H>ints. as before the contest in which they were achieved commenced? Some reductions, it is true, have been made, but on a scale by no means proportioned to the necessities of the case; and if our financial situation is considered, it will at once appear that, unless the expendi- ture is reduced on a very dilTerent scale from what has hitherto been attempted, the empire will be involved in inextricable ditTiculties. " The total sums required to be provided for the service of the year amount, ac- Continued. cordMg to I he statement of the Chan- ccIIot of the Exchequer, to £31,- 0S3,000, of which the establishments of the country formed upward of £28,000,000. In ad- dition to this, by the Treat}' of Union, two-sevcn- leenths of the joint expenditure of the empire was to be charged to the account of Ireland ; and such was now the financial situation of that country, that its finances were not equal even to the payment of the interest of its debt — so that, instead of ils contributing any thinire ? Then how has (hi» ;,Mcat dcpre- j before that time comes, the return i Pari. Debat. cintion hccn hroujjht about? It bcijan, as has i of the precious metals to the eoun- xxxiii. 1119, been correctly staled, in lhl3; anil the cause to try will have rendered it a safe ''^7. which it was then owinjj was very obvious. It measure to resume cash payments. But, above was the prosiu'ct of the opening of the Baltic all, let it never, under any circumstances, be harbors, and the Icttiuij in of the <;reat harvests proposed to trench upon the Sinking Fund, the of IVland on our markets, coupled with the line sheet-anchor of the country, and any serious season of that year, which produced the fall, diminution of which will render its financial The farmers of this country, who, from the allairs altogether desperate." etfects of war had long enjoyed a monopoly in No legislative measure did, or could, result the home market, were suddenly exposed to the i from this debate, how interesting 45 competition of great grain-growing countries, or important soever, for it related Measures of where corn could be raised at a third of the cost j to a subject altogether beyond the Government at which alone it can here be reared. It was 1 reach of human remedy. But it {"iJ^rcstricUon to mitisjate this danger, one of the most ap- | was otherwise with another subject ofcashpay- r>allin<' which could befall any nation, that the j closely connected with the former, uienis and a corn law of 1S14 was passed, without which the on which the measures of Govern- B^nk'™'" '''^ depression, "-reat as it has been, would have ment had a great and decisive effect been far greater.* It is consolatory to find that , on the future condition and ultimate destinies that measure, which, at the time it was intro- of the country. The proposal of Government, duced. was the subject of such unmeasured eon- \ on this point was, that the Bank should lend the demnation by the gentlemen opposite, is now 1 Treasury £0,000,000, and, in return, receive a admitted to have not only been a necessary ! prolongation of the suspension of cash payments measure in our own defense, but the only eil'ec- for two years subsequent to 4th July, 181G. In tual antidote to the still greater difficulties in 1 this way, it was thought, the double object which we are now involved. would be gained, of providing a supply adequate '•Corn, which in 1812 was selling at 120s. or 1 for the necessities of the state, the resources of 130s. the quarter, has now fallen to j which had been so much impaired by the repeal 56s. Nothing more was requisite ; of the property tax, and giving time for the to explain the agricultural distress , Bank to make the necessary arrangements for which everywhere prevailed. It induced that ' the resumption of cash payments. This proposal most fearful of all contests which can agitate a 1 gave rise to animated and important debates in community, the contest of class with class in the both Houses of Parliament, which are of the struggle to shake the burden off upon each other, highest importance, as indicating the views But there is no reason to believe that this alarm- entertained at that period on this all-importanl ing contest will continue long. Shut out as subject on which subsequent expe- d b t this country is, in a great measure, from foreign rience has thrown such a flood of xxxiii. 719. " supply, there is no reasonable room for doubt light. ^ that the price of wheat will gradually rise to an \ On the part of the Opposition it was contended average of 80s. and, with it, the profits of agri- by Mr. Horner, Mr. Ponsonby, and 46. cultural industry again reach a remunerative | Mr. Tierney — " If any thing is to Argument of level. Great pressure is unhappily now felt, \ be regarded as fixed in the legisla- ^^'^ Opposi- and some land has probably been brought into tion, or to which the Government tnTcofuinu- tillage which had better have been left in pastur- of the country is pledged, it is that anee of the rtge. There was no reason to suppose that the the restriction on cash payments Bank Restrio paper circulation was excessive, or would pro- is to continue till the conclusion of '°" ^ ' duce any very dangerous convulsion ; still less a general peace, and no longer. The proposal that the great mass of agriculture was in a now made to continue this restriction for two tottering state. It is .secured against the only | years longer has already had this pernicious enemy who can beat it down — foreign ; it is also 1 efleet, that it has thrown a doubt upon the sin- secure from domestic competition, arising from cerity of all the former professions of Ministers other modes of employing capital; this being so, , on this subject. The I5ank directors had de- it must in the end attain remunerative prices. j clared, time out of mind, that they were most '• Coincident with the fall in the price of corn ' anxious to resume the system of cash payments ; has been a great reduction ^n the but it now appears that they eagerly grasp at Concluded, amount of the circulating medium, 1 the first opportunity of postponing that happy and with it unhappily has departed ! consummation. They have no objection to con- ihe confidence which had existed before. Be- tinue the system of over issue from which they yond all question, this is the principal cause of have so long derived such exorbitant profits. the distress which now generally prevails. But The conduct of the Bank directors evinces such this diminution of the circulating medium is not an example of rapacity on the part of a corpo- founded on causes of a permanent nature. The i rate body, and of acquiescence on the part of return- of peace must eventually lead to the j Government, as stood unrivaled in the financial return of old maxims — to the return of those history of any country of Europe. It is evident common principles on which the circulation of ] that Government have no settled ideas at all every country ought to be regulated. All must upon the subject, but that they have a confused see that the time is fast approaching when the notion that the longer the present system con- country will again possess a large circulating tinues the better ; and that by mixing up present medium, and, with it, the means of carrying on measures of finance with its prolongation, it * See History 0/ Europe, chap. xcii. «« 22, 29. may be continued for an indefinite period, 1816.J HISTORY OF EUROPE. 39 " Even when first introduced, ^d when the fatal principle of making the restric- Conti'tiued ^'°" '*^'' ^^ '°"» ^^ ^^^ ^'^'" <^o"^'""ed was adopted, it was universally under- stood, and most solemnly declared, that it was to cease within six months after the conclusion of a general peace. Last year when the pros- pect of a durable peace was not nearly so fa- vorable as at present, the prolongation was only made to the 5th July in the present year. Now, however, it was to be prolonged for two years longer, for no reason that can possibly be assigned but that it has become mixed up with a loan from the Bank, and is thought to be connected with the general agricultural dis- tress. Bat if the Bank restriction is to be con- tinued to uphold the profits of the farmers, why is it to be limited to two years? Why not render it perpetual ? If the prospect of resum- ing cash payments is the cause of the agricul- tural distress, will it not recur, perhaps, with additional force whenever cash payments are re- sumed ? If this view be well founded, we are only postponing the dreaded evil, not averting it. " Are there no evils arising from the s)'s- tem now going on of indefinitely post- Continued. PO"'"g 'he resumption of cash pay- ments ! During the war we borrow- ed money when it was of small value, and we are now obliged to pay it off when it is of high value ; and this evil is every day increas- ing with the postponement of cash payments. This is by far the greatest danger which now threatens the country; for the debt was for the most part contracted in one currency, and the taxes, which come in from year to year, are paid in another. A greater and more sudden contraction of the currency has never taken place in any country than in this since the peace, with the e.\ception, perhaps, of France, after the failure of the Mississippi scheme. This sudden contraction has been the cause of all our distresses ; it is, and will long continue to be, the cause of all our diiriculties. It arose from the previous fall in the price of agricultu- ral produce. This had occasioned a destruction of the country bank paper to an extent which would not have been thought possible without more ruin than had ensued. The Bank of En- gland had also reduced its issues. The average amount of its currency during the last year had not exceeded £3.5,000,000, while, two years ago, it had been i;29;000,000, and at one time M'as as high as £31, 000,000. But we must consider the vast reduction of country bank paper as the main cause of the vast fall of prices which had ensued. " A fluctuating currency is the greatest curse which can by possibility befall an opu- Continued. '''"'■ ^"^ commercial community. At ail times, and to all classes, it is preg- nant with disaster; at one time unduly elevat- ing the creditor at the expense of the debtor : at another as unjustly benefiting the debtor at the expense of the creditor. This is a state of things so fraught with ruin, first to one class and then to another, that it neve^can too much occupy the attention of a wise and paternal Government. As long as we have no standard, no fixed value of money, but it is allowed to rise and fall like quicksilver in the barometer, no man could conduct his property with any se- curity, or depend upon any certain profit. M' prices were fixed and steady, it is uTiniateria what is to be assumed as the standard. Last year, though it was for the most part one of peace, gold was never below £4, 8s. the ounce ; this year, as so great a contraction of the coun- try bankers' notes has taken place, it has fallen to nearly the INIint price of £3, 17s. lOd. the ounce. This, however, all took place in con- sequence of the impending resumption of cash payments, which, by the existing law, was to begin on July 5, 1816. If, however, a further suspension of cash payments takes place, the banks will begin issuing in all directions as before ; prices will again rise, and we shall, a second time, enter upon that fatal mutation of prices from the effects of which we are just es- caping. This is openly announced in certain publications. It is said if the restriction on cash payments is continued, and the issue expands again, prices may be run up to lOOs. a quarter oi" wheat. Are the gentlemen opposite prepar- ed to support this measure on such grounds ? If not, now is the time to stop short, and avoid entering on a cycle flatter- ^^^^l' £39 ing in the outset, but fraught with 147. " ' ultimate ruin." 1 On the other hand, it was contended by Lord Liverpool, and the Chancellor of sq, the Exchequer — "The Bullion Answer of the Committee themselves were ef Ministry, opinion that cash payments should not be re- sumed for two years after the return of peace, so strongly were even they impressed with the dangers to property and existing engagements which would result from the sudden contraction of paper credit. The difference between the two parties is not so great as would at first sight appear ; it is a difference in point of time only, not of principle. There is no man on this side of the House who contends for the eternity of the restriction ; none on the other who pleads for its instant termination. Is not two years a fair compromise between them ? Preparations on the jiart of the Bank w^ere indispensable before facing so great a change ; one of the most neces- sary would be the permitting the Bank to issue £2 and £1 notes alter the restriction ceased, as they had so loiig formed the staple of the circula- tion of the country. No reason had been assigned why two years was an unadvisable period ; and although it did seem rather long, yet it was better to delay than precipitate important changes. '•It is a mistake to say prices have been forced by the copious issue of the cur- rcncy ; on the contrary, the increased conUiiued. issue was the effect of the previous high prices. The rise of prices preceded the increase of the currency ; and it has now been proved, that the fall has not proceeded from its contraction, for it is admitted on ihc other side that it [jrcceded that conlraciion. It is no doubt true that, when the prices of all arti- cles of consumption began from the great im- portation to fall, the country banks, seized with panic, drew in their advances, and thereby aug- mented the genei-al distress; but what did this prove ? Nothing, but that jiapcr currency could not be extended beyond what the circulation rc- (juircd. The variations in the price of gold showed they were unconnected with the price of grain. In the beginning ol' ISKi, wheat was at r^Os. 7d., in the end of the same year it vvaa 10 H 1 S T O K Y OF E U R O V E ICUAP II S"2s. 4il.; wliilc the price of •.'old in the bcgin- niiifj of lluit yi'tir was i;.'), Os. CkI. iiu dunco, and lu the end £'>, 10s. This showed dislinetly that the priee of <;old arose from the demand lor it- sell", arising Irom causes abroad, and was wholly irrespective ol" the amount of paper issued at home. To the e'.ernal credit ol this country, it will be recorded in history, that the Bank re- otriction, though perhaps originally forced upon the country hy necessity, and having forced up the price of gold, had proved the salvation of Europe, by enabling us to carry on a system which could not otherwise have been supported. "The opinions of those who would uphold prices by a continued and lavish issue ^ '.'"■. of iiapor, are as much condemned on this side ot the House as the other. Nothing is farther from the intentions of Gov- ernment than to make the restrictions on cash payments permanent. It is merely a question of time when they are to cease. The Bullion Committee had recommended two years from the conclusion of peace — all he asked for was two years and seven months. It was not till December last that the ratifications of the defin- itive treaty were interchanged. Several of the most eminent members of the Bullion Commit- tee had concurred in this opinion. The restor- ation of the old state of the c\irreney must obvi- ously be done gradually, and with ample time for preparation; for it was to be recollected the Bank of England would be called upon to fur- nish cash for demands, not only on the Bank of England, but those of Ireland and Scotland." Upon a division, JMr. Horners motion, which was for a select committee to inquire into the resumption of cash payments, was ' Pari. Deb. negatived by a majority of 146 to xxjuv.139,166. ;3.i These debates on agricultural distress and the 53. currency are almost as memorable Reflections on for what was left unsaid, as what this subject ^^.^g gj^j j j,^ ^j^g eourse of their dis- cussion. Both parties were to a certain degree right, and to a certain wrong, in the opinions they advanced. Lord Liverpool was unques- tionably right when he affirmed that the nation, and through it Europe, had been saved by the suspension of cash payments during the war; fer but for it the armaments neve* could have been produced which brought it to a successful issue; and that the rise in the price of gold, which look place in its latter years, was owing to the increased demand for that article of commerce to meet the exigencies of war on the Continent, where hostilities on a great scale were going on. On the other hand, i^Ir. Horner, who had thought and written more profoundly on the subject of the currency than any other person then in ex- istence,* was equally right when he observed, that the extensive issue of paper during the war was the cause of the rapid and extraordinary en- hancement of prices which then took place in every article, whether of rude or manufactured produce, w bile it lasted ; that the still more rapid and disastrous fall of prices which had taken place since the peace, was the result of the great contraction of the currency, especially of country * Several of that most able and lamented gentleman's papers on tlie subject in the Edinburgh Review, as well as his spi^ches on it ir. Parliairient, are models of clear »ii J fiirc'y e reasoning. bankers, which had ensued from the prospect of immediately resuming cash payments in terms of the cxh-ting law on the termination of hostil. ities ; and that by far the greatest evil which im- pended over the country was the necessity of pay- ing olf in a contracted, and therefore dear, cur- rency during peace, the debts, public and private, which had been contracted during the lavish issue of a plentiful, and therefore cheap, currency dur- ing the war. The extraordinary thing is, that when so many of the true and undeniable views on 54. the subject were entertained by the Extraordina ablest and best-informed men in the r>' insensibi .1 1 • 1 • lity to right country, the obvious conclusions coiiiclusions which llowed from them were, by which then common consent, rejected on both prevailed, sides. Mr. Horner saw clearly that we had been so prosperous, and done such mighty thingsduring the war, because we had possessed a currency adequate to our necessities, and had languished and suffered since the peace, because it had been suddenly and violently contracted from the pros- pect of immediately resuming cash payments. He saw also that intei'minable disasters impended over the country in the attempt to pay off war debts, public or private, in a peace currency. But neither he nor his opponents on the Treasury Bench perceived, what is now evident to every reasonable person who, apart from interested motives, reflects on the subject, that all those difficulties and dangers might have been averted, without either risk or dettiment, by the simple expedient of taking the paper currency, like the metallic, at once into the hands of Government, and issuing, not an unlimited amount of notes, like the French assignats. not convertible into the precious metals, but such a limited amount as might be adequate to the permanent and aver- age wants of the community. He saw clearly that oscillations in the value of money, and con- sequently in the price of every article of com- merce, were among the most grievous evils which can afflict society, and rendered property and un- dertakings of esery kind to the last degree in- secure ; and he thought that he would guard effectually against them, by fixing the entire cur- rency on a gold basis — forgetting, what he him- self at the same time saw, that gold itself is an article of commerce, and, like every other such article, is subject to perpetual variations of price ; and that, from its being so portable and valuable, and every where in request, it is subject to more sudden and violent changes of value than any other article in existence. He saw clearly that the great contraction of the currency was owing to the pros- 5(;_ pect of the resumption of cash pay- General errors ments : but he could see no remedy o" '^p subject r ., ' •, ,1 ■ ■ I . ■ which then lor the evils thence arising but in prevailed. the immediate adoption of such pay- ments. Hesawthe impossibility of paying off war debts in a peace currency ; but it never occurred to him that the whole difficulty might be avoided by extending the war currency, under adequate safeguards ag^nst abuse, into peace. He was as much alive as any man to the perils of a sud- den contraction of the currency; but it never oc- curred to him how fearfully these dangers must be aggravated by the contraction of paper going on at the very time when a still greater contrac- . lion of the annual produce of the treasure mines for TS16.1 HISTORf OF EUROPE. 4^ the use of the globe was going on, from the dis- asters consequent on the South American revolu- tion. The truth is, that, as generally occurs in hu- man affairs, men's attention was fixed exclusively on the Inst evils which had been experienced; and as these had been the ruinous rise of prices, and destruction of realized property which had resulted from the frightful abuse of the system of assi^nats in France, the eyes of a whole gene- ration were shut to the still more serious and last- ing evils Resulting from the undue contraction of the currency, and the fixing it entirely on a me- tallic basis, of which Great Britain was ere long to furnish so memorable an example. A measure, of great importance to both coun- tries, passed both Houses in this ses- ConsoHdation ^'°" of Parliament, for the consolida- oftheEnglisli tionof the English and Irish Exche- and Irish E.x- quers. It appeared from the state- May^'o'^isie "'^"'^ °f '^^ Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, that the unredeemed debt of Ireland was £105,000,000 ; the Sinking Fund, £2.087,000 ; and the whole charge of the debt, in- terest, annuities, and Sinking Fund, £5,900,000. On the other hand, the entire permanent revenue was only £2,081,000 a year, having risen to that amount from £847,000 in 1797. The entire gross revenue of the island was £7,000,000 ; but the clear produce, after deducting the expense of collection, was £.5,752,000; and as it was stip- ulated in the union that two-seventeenths of the expenditure of the United Kingdom should be defrayed by Ireland, the result was that the clear revenue of Ireland was unable to defray the in- terest of its own debt, without contributing any thing at all to the joint expenses of the United Kingdom, which for several years past had been entirely provided for by Great Britain. In these circumstances, a consolidation of the two Ex- 1 -n 1 n V. chequers had become a matter of i an. JL/eoat. i i . •. i -^ xxxiv.5t8 615. absolute necessity, and it was ac- cordingly unanimously agreed to."^ This was undoubtedly a very great improve- 57. ment ; for, as matters stood before, Heflections on the confusion arising from the sep- '.his subject. j^,.jj^g charges for Ireland had been such as to occasion very great difficulty in ar- riving at a clear idea of the revenue and finan- cial condition of the United Kingdom. Unhap- pily, however, the state of Ireland ha.s ever iince been such that it has been found imprac- licable to carry into execution the declared in- tentions of Government, in bringing forward the consolidation, of subjecting both countries to a similar measure of taxation. Ireland has from first to last been most generously treated by England in the article of assessment. It never paid the income-tax or assessed taxes, nor, till within these few years, any poor-rates. With the exception of a trifiing hearth-tax, no man in Ireland has ever paid any direct tax to Government. Yet such has ever been the im- providence and want of industry of its inhabitants, that allliough possessing triple the population, and more than triple the arable acres ol' Scotland, Ireland has never paid its own expenses ; while ; Scotland has yielded, for half a century, above five millions a year of clear surplus to the Im- perial Treasury ; and in the great famine of 1840, while Ireland received .£8,000,000 from the British Exchequer, Scotland, gr(^at part of which had sulfcred just as much, got nothing In a very early period of the sejsijn. Mr. Brougham, moved for a copy of „ the treaty concluded at Paris on Motion re the 2Gth September, 1815, entitled spectinsthe "The Holy Alliance," of which an Holy Allianoe account will hereafter be given. i{^^J' ™"^' This treaty he stigmatized as no- thing but a convention for the enslavi.ig ol mankind, under the mask of piety and religion. Lord Castlereagh, without denying the exist- ence of such a treaty, which he stated had been communicated to the Prince-Regent, and of the principles of which he entirely approved, added that it had not received his royal highness's signature, " as the forms of the British Con- stitution prevented him from acceding to it." This being the case, the rules of Parliament forbade the production of any treaty to which this country was not a party. The House, upon a division, supported the latter view, the num- bers being 104 to 30. There can be ho ques- tion of the wisdom of this determination on the part of the British Government; for however sincere and philanthropic were the feelings which undoubtedly prompted the Emperor Alex- ander to bring about that celebrated Alliance, they were such as could be acted on only by absolute governments, omnipotent for good or for evil, and never could be rendered palatable, to a popular government such as great Britain, divided by the passions, political and religious, of a whole people, and ruled by a legislature chiefly intent upon the present ne- cessities and practical wants of its ^^"'3^^363' subjects.' ' A warm debate also ensued on another topic of foreign policy, a bill for the de- ^g tention of Napoleon in St. Helena. Bill for the de- This bill was strongly opposed by tention of Na- Lord Holland and Lord Lauder- l'"^'^""- dale, who stigmatized the detention as illegal, unjust, and ungenerous; while it was defended by Earl Bathurst and Lord Castlereagh as a measure for the general security of the world, agreed to by the whole allied powers, and ren- dered unavoidable by his breach of all his en- gagements, and open declaration of war against the Allies, by returning from Elba and dethron- ing Louis XVIII. The debates on this subject, which terminated in the bill being passed in both Houses without a division, are of little his- torical value; for if the detaining Napoleon in captivity was illegal, it could not be validated by any British Act of Parliament — if legal, it required no such authorrty for its support. But it must always bo a matter of regret to every generous mind in Britain that the conduct of so great a man, in breaking his engagements, had been such as to render his detention a matter of absolute necessity; and of gratificalion to every British subject, that necessary as that detention was, it excited so strong a feeling of commise- ration and regret in the breast of 1 p^^l. Dcbai. a large portion of the English peo- xxxiii. JOH. ple.i ■ loiu. Another topic was soon brought forward of still more general interest, and which [lassed both Houses of Par- j^/jarrrf'n of liamenl without a dissentient voice, the I'rinccts as it excited a universal feeling ol' cimrlotte o( joy throughout the country. On w'"''',"^', . '.1 1 1.1 ■>« 1 T 1 I • -^ 1 Mar<;li 14 the Mth March, Lord Livcrpoo , HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chap. 11, in ilie Hi'iisp of Lords, aiitl Lord Cnstlereagh in the House of t'ommous, iospoi;tivcly pic- seiiteil i\ niossnge Crom the rriiico-Ueifciit to the ellei-t ihnt he had consented to a man iayc ol his daii-jhter. the I'lineess Charlolto Augusta, to I'rinee Leopohl ol Saxe-Coboinu;. The an- noiineem«nt of this auspicious union was re- ceived with the utmost satisfaction by both Houses if Parliament, and universal joy by the \i.,.h i« country; and on iho next day the March 15. ,, ■'',.,, .• 1 ,1 House of Commons hxcd the pro- vision of her royal highness at j:GO,000 a year, of which jf 10,000 was to be for her own privy purse, and jt^O.OOO for the support of their es- tablisiuncnt. The like sum was settled as a pro- vision for the Prince of Cobourg, in the event of his surviving his august spouse. These pro- visions were independent of £00,000 for the oultit of the royal pair, and were all agreed to without a dissenting voice. The marriage, from which so much was hoped, took place on the 2d May following, and ere long the situation of her royal highness gave hopes of an heir to the monarchy. The Prince and Princess fixed their residence at Claremcnt, near London, now an object of melancholy interest to every Brit- ish heart, where their simple, unostentatious life, their fervent and mutual attachment, their kindness and alfability of manner, won the af- fections of all who approached them, as the 1 Pari. Debat. "oble example of domestic virtue .x.xxiii. 37b, and purity which they exhibited in 362; Ann. their conduct commanded the re- Reg. 1816, 96. ^jjp^.^ ^,. ,,jg ^,j^^,^ nation. I The heart of the nation still beat violently gj at the recollection of the glorious Voles for pub- events of the war; and the chill of lie moiiu- inditi'erence and economy had not ments. ^.^^ paralyzed the expression of it by public grants. At an early period of the session a monument at the public expense was unanimously voted for the battle of Waterloo, to which, soon after, one was also agreed to for the battle of Trafalgar. The.se graceful trib- utes of a nation's gratitude to the gallant men by which it had been brought through the perils of the war, gave universal satisfaction, and great expectations were formed of the magnifi- cence of the monuments which would thus be added to the growing splendor of the metrop- olis ; for it was understood that £250,000 would be expended on each monument. Unfortunately, however, although the monuments were unani- mously voted, their cost did not enter the esti- mates for the year, and thus nothing was done toward their commencement at that time. In subsequent times, the national ardor cooled, or the national necessities had increased ; and the result has been, that two sterile votes of the House of Commons remain as the only national monument for the greatest and mo.st glorious ' Pari. Debat. triumphs which ever immortalized xxxi. 1049 i the history of a nation in modern xxih. 311, times.i To the memory of individual heroes who had g2. died in the contest, however, the Monument.sto public gratitude was evinced in a ^'n^h^"^'"" more satisfactory way. Monuments and otners. ^.^^.^ ^^^^^ ^^ j..^ Thomas Picton, Sir Edward Pakenham, and Generals Hay, Gore, Skerrett, Gibbs, and Gillespie, and the requisite funds set apart for their completion. They were with great propriety placed in St. Pau.ls, ni Westminster Abbey was so full that space could scarcely be found for any additional structures, and began that noble circle of sepulchral sculp- ture which now adorns tha', sublime cathedral, and which, having been commenced at a periotl when taste was comparatively pure, and the finest monuments of antiquity were accessible to artists, is in a great measure free from that painful exhibition of conceit and bad taste by which, with a few exceptions, those of West- minster Abbey are characterized. A great im- pulse was given to sculpture in this year, and the only secure foundation laid for national eminence in that art, by the grant from Parlia- ment of £3.5,000 for the purchase from Lord Elgin of the Friezes, which he had by the per- mission of the Turkish Government brought from the Parthenon of Athens. Certainly, how- ever nuich the traveler who sees the chasms which their removal has made on the still ex- quisite remains of that inimitable edifice may regret the spoliation, no Englishman can fail to feel gratification at beholding them arranged with so much taste and efl"eet as they now are, in the noble halls of the British Museum ; and not only forming the last stage in the historic gallery, beginning with the Nineveh sculptures, which are there preserved, but laying the only sure foundation, in the study of an- iparl. Deb. cient perfection, of the desire to emu- xxxiv. 1027, late it, in the only nation perhaps now 1039; xxxi. in existence capable of approaching xxxii^822 it.i ^Magnificent grants, bespeaking the nation's gratitude, were bestowed by Parlia- 53 ment on the officers and men en- Grams to the gaged in the war. A vote of thanks officers and was proposed and carried with en- l^llXeT^f thusiastic cheers, in the Houses of Lords and Commons, to the Duke of Wellington, Prince Blucher, the Prince of Orange, and the officers and men engaged in the Waterloo cam- paign. An additional gi-ant of £200,000 was bestowed on the Duke of Wellington — making, with former grants, £500,000 which he had received from the justice or gratitude of his country. On this occasion, Mr. Whitbread. who had alwa3'S been a vigilant opponent of Govern- ment, and had more than once condemned in no measured terms the military conduct of the Duke of Wellington, made an amende honorable to both, which can not be read without emotion by any generous mind, and which is not less honorable to the party making than to those who received it.* Finally, the sacrifices of the war * " He had always bnen one who watched with an eye of extreme jealousy the proceedings of Ministers ; but their conduct in tlie prosecution of the war, waiving for the moment all consideration of its necessity or policy, was such as extorted his applause ; and he had no hesi- tation in saying, that every department of Government must have exerted itself to the utmost, to give that com- plete efficiency to every part of the army which enabled the genius of the Duke of Wellington, aided by such means, to accomplish the wonderful victory he had achieved. It was gratifying to the House to hear the traits of heroism which have been mentioned of that noble Duke, especially that of his throwing himself into one of the British squares when charged by the enemy. To see a commander of his eminence, distinguished above all the commanders of the earth, throw iiimself into a hollow square of infantry, as a secure refuge till the raga and torrent of the attack was passed, and that not once only, but twice or thrice during the course of the battle proved that his confidence was placed not on one par 64. New coinage. 1816.] were wound up oy a grant of £800,000 to the troops engaged in the Peninsula from 1807 to 1814, for the stores and munitions of war cap- tured by them during its campaigns. And al- though this grant rather fell short of, than ex- ceeded, the value of the captures made by the army, yet it must always be considered an hon- orable trait of the English Parliament that they agreed to «o considerable a payment to their gallant defenders after the contest and the dan- ger were alike over, and the nation was laboring under the accumulated evils of gen- xxxi'^978^999! ^"^^^ distress and a fearfully dimin- ished revenue.^ A measure of less thrilling interest, but great practical importance, was passed in this session of Parliament, the bene- fit of which the nation has ever since experienced. This was the formation of a new silver coinage. The old coins which had been for above half a century, some a whole century, in circulation, had become extremely worn out and debased, and a new issue, especially of shillings, was loudly called for — the more so as, from the contemplated return to cash payments, it was evident that the entire currency of the country would ere long be rested on a metallic basis. An act passed accordingly, authorizing a new silver coinage, and the calling in and re- moulding of the old one. This great improve- ment was carried into execution with entire success — the new coins were elegant in design, and substantial in material ; and to such an a Pari. Debat. extent did the issue take place, x.\xiv. 1018, that in the Ibllowing year no less 1027; Alis- than £6,711,000 was thrown off c°T%i AnT' at the Mint and sent forth to the public.2 Long as the preceding abstract of the parlia- mentary proceedings in the year Reflections ^^i-^ has been, it will not by the on tlie preced- reflecting mind be deemed inordi- ing Parlia- nate. During peace, it is the na- ratWe"^ "'''"" tional thought and social interests which are the real objects of historic portraiture; its battles and sieges are to be found in the debates of the legislature. 'J'here is no period of repose, in this view, which is so in- teresting and important both in England and France, as this year ; for not only was the tran- sition then made from war to peace, but the great questions then emerged which have dis- tracted the later period, and still divide the opinions of the world. The great fall of prices then began, which has ever since, with a few intervals, been felt as so serious an impediment to British industry. The sudden contraction of the currency, from the prospect of a speedy re- sumption of cash payments, then involved one- half of the I'armcrs and traders of the United Kingdom in bankruptcy. The evils of an. ex- cessive importation of the principal articles of HISTORY OF EUROPE. 41 ticular corps, but in the whole British army. In that mutual confidence lay ttio Htroneth and power of the British army. The Duko of Wi'ilinKton knew ho was safe when ho thus tru.sleil liimMoM to the fidelity and valor of his men, and they knew and Iblt lliat the sacred charge thus confided to them could never l)e wrested from their ha^vls. If such a trait were recorded in history as having occurred ten centuries ago, with what emotions of ad- miration and generous enthusiasm would it be read I" — Mr. \Vh iDBi^D's Speech, June 23, 1H15, Pari. Deb. xxxi 991 «92. consumption reacted by for:.ing on a ruincj.s export of our manufactures, in search of a mar- ket which general cheapness had so much in- jured at home. The Exchequer shared in th^ universal embarrassment, and the demand for a general remission of taxation was so loud and general, that Government were reluctantly com- pelled to abandon at once above a fourth of the revenue, and thereby, for the time at least, com- pletely to nullify the action of the Sinking Fund. The difficulties of peace rose up in appalling magnitude in the very first year of its endurance ; and it is not the least important part of history to unfold their origin, trace their effects, and portray the contemporary ideas which they awakened in the general mind. When so many causes contributed to produce, in an unexampled degree, gene- „„ ral distress and suffering through Efforts of ths the country, it was not to be ex- factious to pected that the efforts of faction st^'|"^up ^edi- were to be awanting to inflame the general discontent, and direct it to the demand for a great and theoretical change in the gov- ernment. This accordingly was in a very re- markable manner the case in Great Britain at this period; and perhaps at no time in its long annals was discontent more general, or were the efforts of faction more systematically directed to inflame it into sedition, or involve it in overt acts of high treason, than in this and the three succeeding years. Persons unknown before, unheard of since, suddenly shot up into portent- ous celebrity with the manufacturing classes, by magnifying their sufferings, inflaming their passions, and ascribing all the public distresses to the measures, the corruption, and the oppres- sion of their superiors. According to these men, the reckless prodigality of Government, sup- ported by a corrupt majority in Parliament, and sustained by fictitious paper credit, was the source of all our distresses ; it was this which made provisions high, wages low, imports ruin- ous, and want of employment universal. The only remedies for these evils were a great re- duction of expenditure, reform in Parliament, and a return to a metallic currency. The Com- mon Council of London, that faithful mirror of the feelings oi the populace of the metropolis at this juncture, presented a petition to the Prince Re- gent, which as a picture of the capacity of that body for the duties of legislation in peace, de- serves a f)lace beside the celebrated specimen of their fitness for the duties of war, adbrded by their diatribe against the Duke of Wellington after the battle of Talavera.* It is remarkaiile that the measures which they rccohmicndcd as likely to alleviate the public distress — viz., a sudden reduction of ex- 1 A?."' ?''^'^'- pcnditurc, and return to a tnct»llic iiuyhcs' Ilis- currency — are the very ones which tory of Eng- experience has now proved were '''"''> '"■ •"'* best calculated to increase them. 't **' "*^addy ho conooivi-d that inferior functionaries and demuiioijiies were sU-Ji more inlenipcralo and violent ill tiieir measures. An cxaniplo of this soon oeeiined in the metropolis. On .December •J, a mob, collected by hand-bills plentifully dis- persed over the whole mnnufacturiiiiT districts of London, and roused by the speeches delivered at a seditious mectinuf held in the same place a forlniiL'ht before, assembled at Spaficlds to hear the answer to a petition they liad voted at the rormer meetinij to tho Prinee-Recjcnt. They waited some time for ilr. Henry Hunt, the lead- inii orator, who was expected to address them; and as he did not make his appearance, they proceeded with tri-color flaijs and banners, and enteriiijT the city, headed by a man of the name of Watson, they attacked a gunsmith's shop, whom they shot when defending the entrance ; and having rided the shop, and loaded the guns thcv got. they marched on in military array to the Royal Exchange, where they were met by the Lord iNIayor, Alderman Shaw, and a strong body of police ; but notwithstanding their resistance, the rioters forced their way into the building, when three of the ringleaders were seized and made prisoners. The mob upon this fired over I he rails, which had been closed upon the mag- istrates, and moved off to the Minories, where they broke into two other gunsmiths' shops, and remained for a considerable time in possession of that part of the town. Strong bodies of police and military, however, now rapidly arrived and surrounded the insurgent district; and the mob, finding themselves overmatched, by degrees dis- persed. Two of the persons seized v\-ere con- demned and executed ; but the greatest criminal, Watson's son, escaped to America. This tu- mult, as is generally the case with such disor- ders, when promptly and firmly met by those in authority, was in the end attended with benefi- cial eli'ecls, by awakening the vigilance of the Government, by whom such meetings were after- ward carefully watched, and showing the people ' Ann. Renst. '^^''^'^ ^^'^'^^ danger they are attend- It>l6, lyOjIoii cd, what were the real objects of Chronicle, their leaders, and how thin is the iic^o^"-' ^'' partition which separates seditious 316, 31/. ' , , p ' 1-111 assemblages from general pillage.' One glorious exploit, ser-ond to none which has graced the annals of the British Navy, illus- tion, much less to bear up against our present enormous burdens. " Our (rricvanccs are the natural effect of rasli and ruinous wars, unjustly commenced and pertinaciously ad- hered to, when no rational object was to be attained ; of immense subsidies to foreign powers to defend their own lerritories, or to commit aftircssions on those of their nciehbors ; of a delusive pajier currency ; of an unconsti- tutional and unprecedented military establishment in (mie of peace ; of the unexampled and increasing mag- nitude of the civil list ; of the enormous sums paid for unmerited pensions and sinecures ; and of a long course if the most lavish and improvident expenditure of the public money throughout every department of Govern- ment — all arising from the corrupt and inadequate repre- sentation of the people in Parliament, whereby all con- stitutional control over the servants of the Crown has been lost, and Parliaments have become subservient to he will of Ministers." — Address of the Lori Mayor and Council of London, Dec. 9, 1616. Ann. Reg 1616, 417. State Papers. tralcd this year. It had long been a matter of re])roaeli to the Christian powers o^. that the piratii'al states of 15arbary Exjiedition ic were still permitted, with impunity, Algi>-'rs. to carry on their inhuman warfare against ll"i6 states of Europe, and that their pri.sons exliib- ited captives of every nation, who were detained in hopeless slavery, and exposed to the most shocking barbarities. In one instance, fifty out of three hundred prisoners died of harsh usage, at Algiers, on the very day of their arrival. Neither age nor sex was spared ; and one Nca- politan lady of rank was rescued by the British, in the thirteenth year of her captivity, having been carried off with her eight children, six of whom had died in slavery! Notwithstanding these enormities, such had been the jealousies of the European power.*, and their animosity against each other, that these audacious pirates had in an unaccountable manner been allowed to carry on their hostilities against the jMediter- ranean states with impunity, and it was sus- pected that the British connived at these depre- dations, as their flag, being the only one which wa& respected, gained an advantage \i.^.^ j^g„ in navigating that inland sea.' The 1816,97;" piracies were renewed on a more ex- Hughes, vi. tended scale with the revival of com- ^^'• meree after the peace, and the only cheek which the corsairs received was from the Americans, who, in the year 1S15, in a very spirited man- ner, vindicated the honor of their flag, which had been insulted by these ferocious attacks. At length, however, the general system of piracy which the Dey of Algiers 69. had adopted, brnnrrht him into eon- Outrages tact with the subjects or allies of whichiedtoit. Great Britain; in particular the inhabitants of the Ionian Islimds, and of Naples and Sardinia. Lord Exmouth,* accordingly, who commanded * Edward Pellew, afterward Lord Exmouth, was born at Dover on Ayf\\ 18, 1757. Ilis father was commander of the Post-ofiice Packet on the Dover station ; his mother a daughter of Edward Saughton, Esq., of Herefordshire, a woman of extraordinary spirit and determination of character. Early difficulties drew forth young Edward's energies. His father, who w:is a most exemplary man, died in 1765, leaving s:?. chir.i- i ; and a subsequent im- prudent marriage of their motu<.r having deprived them of the support of' their surviving parent, they were thrown on the world with scarce any resources. Edward en- tered the navy in 1771, in the Juno, Captain Stott, in which he was sent to the Falkland Islands. Soon after he sailed in the Blonde, Captain Pownall, an officer of the kindest and most elevated character. There he soon showed both his daring and humane disposition. On one occasion, in 1775, when the vessel was taking General Burgoyne out to America, tlie g"neral was horrified at seeing a midshipman on the yard-arm standing on his head ; but Captain Pownall quieted him by saying, it was one of the usual frolics of young Pellew, and that he need not be unea.sy, for if he fell, he would only go under the ship's bottom, and come up on the other side. What was then spoken in jest by the captain was actually realized by young Pellew ; for on an occasion soon after, a man having fallen overboard when the ship was going fast through the water, he actually sprang from the foreyard of the Blonde and saved the man. Captain Pownall re- proached him for his r.ashness, but never spoke of it aga:n without tears in his eyes. After the American war broke out, a party from the Blonde, of whom young Pellew was one, was sent across to Lake Champlain, where he was employed in the Carleton, and distinguished himself so much by his gallantry in performing a service of extreme danger, which no other man would execute, that it drew forth a letter of strong commendation from his com- mander, Sir Charles Douglas, and a holograph letter, ap- pointing him lieutenant, from Lord Howe, the First Lord of the Admiralty. He was afterward attached with a party of seamen to General Bourgoyne's expedition, which terminated in such disaster at Saratoga ; but even heri ]816.J HISTORY OF EUROPE. 4A fhe British squadron in the Mediterranean, re- .. ceived orders to proceed to Tunis, Tri- poli, and Algiers, and insist upon tlie in- habitants of these states being included in the same pacification as Great Britain, and, if possi- ble, obtain a general abolition of Christian slav- er}'. To these demands the beys of Tunis and Tripoli at once agreed : but the Dey of Algiers refused to consent to the last, on the ground that, being a subject of the Ottoman Porte, he could not do so without tlie consent of that gov- ernment. He agreed, however, to dispatch a messenger to Constantinople in a frigate, to ob- tain instructions on the subject, and actually did so. Satisfied with these concessions, which at- tained all that he could reasonably expect, Lord Exmouth returned with his squadron to Great Britain. In the mean time, however, an outrage took place, which broke ofl' the negotiation, and rendered immediate hostilities unavoidable. At Bona, on the coast of Algiers, on the festival oT ,. ^ 2„ the Ascension, on 23d May, as the crews of a number of Italian, Corsican, and Neapolitan vessels were preparing, under the shelter of the British flag, to hear mass and join in the solemnities, they were, on the signal of a gun fired from the castle, suddenly assailed by a body of two thousand Turks and Moors, who cut the greater part of them to pieces, tore to pieces the English flag, broke into and pillaged the English consul's house, and thrust him into prison. Upon receiving intelligence of this out- rage, the English Government, in a worthy spirit, not only resolved on demanding entire satisfaction, but on seizing the opportunity of destroying the nest of pirates who had so long inflicted their barbarities on the whole states of lie contrived to distinguish himself, for he recovered a vessel, containing provisions, with such skill and gal- lantry, that General Bourgoyne thanked him in a letter written with his own hand. When the cap'tulation was proposed, Pellew, who was the you;i'iest officer in the council of war, earnestly entreated to be allowed to fight his way back with his handful of sailors, alleging he had never heard of seamen capitulating ; and it was with great difficulty that Bourgoyne succeeded in dissuading him from making the attempt, by representing it would lead to a general ruin and violation of the capitulation. He returned to England in 1777. and was immediately promoted. lie had already acquired such extraordinary skill in rowing and swimming, that he often ran the greatest risk by the dangers incurred, /rom his confidence in his own powers, and the fearless courting of danger which he constantly exhibited. In 1780, when on board the Apollo, still with Captain Pownall, he fell in with the Stanislaus, of heavier calibre, and Captain Pownall was badly wounded early in the action. ■' Pellew," he said, " I know you won't throw the ship away," ami died in his arms. He continued the action an hour longer, and drove the enemy dismasted ashore, but was disappointed of his prize, by her claiming protection from a neutral harbor. His gallant conduct on this occasion led to his being appointed to the command of the Hazard sloop in July, 17bO, and afterward to the Pelican, in which he per- formed many important services. When the war of the French Revolution broke out, he was appointed to the Nymph frigate, in which, alter a desperate action, in which the commanders and crews of both vessels dis- played the utmost skill and courage, he captured tho Krencli frigate Ch^opatra, for which he was knighted, lie was next appointed to tho Arcthusa frigate, in which, on 23d August, 1794, ho took La Pornono, French fl-igatc. After this he nearly lost his life in attempting to save two of his crew who had been washed overboard ; and signal- ized himself in the most distinguished way at ttie wreck of the Dutton, near Plymouth, when he boarded the ves- sel Hs it was lying a wreck on the coast, took the com- mand, and, by his energy and skill in running a hawser to the shore, succeeded in saving the whole crew, who would otherwise infallibly have i)eri.shei)r were eovoioil with llio stronjrest r«.>rtirn-utii)iis. At tlio |)ioi-lii-;ul slucul the lijjht- hoiiM' hiittci V, «i larire eireuhir foit, iiumntcd by fifty lioavy jruns, in tliii'o tiers, exactly like those of ii'tliiee-decker. At tlie outer ettrctn- ity of the roek was another battery of thirty neavy guns aixi seven mortars, arranged in two tiers. The molo itself was also lined with cannon in two tiers, like the sides of a linc- of-battlo s-hip; but the eastern end, near the lighthouse, hail an inner fortification w ith a third tier of guns, making sixty-six in the mole alone. On these batteries, at the entrance of the har- bor, were mounted '220 guns, almost all thirty- two or twenty-four pounders. On the sea-wall of the town were nine batteries, the strongest of which was the tishmarket battery, in three tiers. Altogether there were nearly 000 guns I Ostler's Life defending the sea approaches of of Lord Ex- Algiers ; and as the ramparts were mouih, 307, admirably constructed of hard Resist "l8l6 Stone, and in the very best order, a lOl"; Hughes, more formidable object of attack vi 310. could hardly be imagined.' Nelson, in a conversation w^th Captain Bris- _. bane, on a former occasion had said Lord Ex- that Algiers could not be success- mouth's pre- fully attacked by less than twenty- parations for fl^g ships of the line. Great, there- *" ^ '^ ' fore, was the surprise of the Admi- ralty when Lord Exmouth proposed to attack it with five sail of the line, five frigates, and as many bomb-vessels ; and many of the most ex- perienced officers at the Board considered the works so strong, that the place was altogether unassailable. The opinion of that gallant and experienced officer, however, was founded on actual observation, ■which Nelson's was not, and it proved entirely correct. The truth is, that not one-half of the ships which Nelson spoke of oould have found room abreast of the Algerine batteries; and being of necessity crowded one behind another, they would only have augment- ed the confusion, and presented an additional' mark to the enemy's fire. He explained his plans accordingly to the Admiralty, showing the position which each ship was to occupy, and the works it was intended to rake ; and they very wisely allowed him to act on his own judgment, though they entertained serious apprehensions is to the result ; and there were not wanting those who predicted that the undertaking could terminate in nothing but disaster. His own confidence, however, never wavered. " All will go well," he said ; " at least so far as de- pends on me. If they open their fire when the ships are coming up, and cripple them in the ' Ostler's Life masts, the difficulty and loss will of Exuiouth, be greater ; but if they allow us to 31". take our stations,^ I am sure of them, for I know nothing can resist a line-of- battle ship's fire." Scarcely was Exmouth appointed to this 72. perilous service, when officers in The manning crowds, tenfold greater than could and fitting out jjg accepted, came forward to offer oftheUeet. ... ' . ' „ ■ r» .■ their services. He lelt the entire selection to the Admiralty, and refused all his own relations, though many were anxious to ac- company him. An entirely new squadron was fitted out, none of the ships which had just re- turned from the Mediterrar>ean being sert back. It was thought best that a fleet which was go. ing to fight a severe bailie should be manned entirely by volunteers. No difficulty, however, was experienced in getting sailors for the squadron ; as soon as it was known it was go- ing on a service of danger, the volunteers came forward in crowds. The ship's company of the Leander, then on the point of sailing for the North American station, where it was to be the flag-ship, volunteered to a man. Among them were a great number of smugglers, who had been taken on the west coast and sentenced to five years' service in the navy : they implored to be allowed to share in the perils of the expe- dition, and Lord Exmouth acceded to their re- quest, and took them into his own ship the (iueen Charlotte. His confidence was not mis- placed : they behaved with such gallantry in the action which ensued, that Lord Exmouth ap- plied to the Admiralty after his return, and ob- tained their discharge. Rear-Admiral Milne, a noble veteran, who had just got the command on the North American station, obtained per- mission to go out with the Leander ; and as Sir Charles Penrose did not join at Gibraltar, he hoisted his flag on board the Impregnable, as second in command. Before Lord Exmouth sailed, he made every arrangement, as if for im- mediate death. Among the rest he wrote a long letter to his eldest son, detail- ing the duties which would devolve 'Of tier's Life ^ , ■ T) •.• 1 11 of Exmouth, upon him as a British nobleman, 310 3x2, which v.'as found among his papers after his death.' He felt that he was setting out on what might truly be deemed a holy war : his feelings were those of Godfrey of Bouillon, or Raymond of Toulouse, when they mounted the breach of Jerusalem. Lord Exmouth hoisted his flag on board the Queen Charlotte of 100 guns. His ,^3 fleet consisted of five line-of-battle Departure 01 ships, of which two were three- the fleet, and deckers, three large frigates, and ■^o>'='S^ ^° ^- two smaller ones ; four bomb-vessels, and five gun-brigs. His plan of attack, whicli was fully explained to all the officers in the fleet, was, that four of the line-of-battle ships were to breast the fortifications on the mole ; a fifth cover them from the batteries of the town on the one side, while the heavy frigates did the same on the other; and the bomb-vessels, aided by the ships' launches, fitted up as rocket and mortar boats, were to keep up an incessant fire on the ships in the harbor, arsenal, and town. The fleet left Ports- mouth on 25th July, and on the 28th was off Falmouth, where Lord Exmouth parted with his brother, at the very place where, three-and- twenty years before, he had sailed to fight the first battle of the war. From that place the Minden of 74 guns was sent on to Gibraltar, to provide supplies, and thither the whole fleet ar- rived on the 9th August, the evening after the Minden. On the voyage, the crews of all the ships were sedulously trained to their guns and ball practice ; and on Tuesdays and Fridays, the whole were cleared for action, and each fired six broadsides. On board the Queen Charlotte, the captains of guns were constantly trained by firing a twelve-pounder at a small target hung from the fore-topmast studding-sail boom ; and to such expertness did they soon arrive, that after a few days' practice the target was never raissec^ 1816. HISTORY OF EUROPE. thouffh il was only three feet square, and ten or twelve bottles were hit every day. By these means, and by the effect of the raental excite- ment arising from the noble enterprise on which the}' were jfroceeding, the crews of all the ves- sels were highly elated, and kept in the best possible spirits. Not a doubt of their success was entertained by any one on board any of the vessels ; and such was the eflect of this mental excitement on the health of the men, that scarce a name was on the sick list ; and when the Queen Charlotte was paid off on her return, only one man had died, excepting those slain i^Ostler, 316, j^^ action, out of a thousand who had joined her throe months before.' At Gibraltar the fleet was joined by Vice-Ad- ^4 miral the Baron Von Capellan, with Preparations a Dutch squadron of five frigates apd of the Alger- a corvette, who, on learning the no- ''^®®" ble object of thi expedition, solicit- ed and obtained leave to join it. On the 13th, every vessel was furnished with a plan of the fortifications and the place assigned to each in the attack. To the Dutch ships was allotted the attack of the fort and batteries toward the south of the town, a duty formerly allotted to the Min- den and Hebrus, which were now brought up among their comrades on the front of the mole. On the same evening the Prometheus arrived from Algiers, bringirt^ the wife, daughter, and infant child of Mr. MacDonnell, the English consul, the consul himself and fourteen of the crew of the Prometheus being detained in prison. The two former had escaped disguised as midshipmen ; the last was detected by its crying as it passed the gate, and arrested ; but the Dey sent it on board next morning — " a solitary instance of humanity," said Lord Exmouth, "which ought to be recorded." The Prometheus brought the most formidable accounts of the preparations made at Algiers to resist the attack. Forty thousand troops had been collected in the town, all the Janizaries called in from the distant gar- risons, and the fortifications and batteries put in the best possible state of defense. The whole naval force of the regency, consisting of four frigates, five large corvettes, and thirty-seven gun-boats, were assembled in the harbor, manned by their most experienced and daring sailors. ' „ ^ ■ „.o This intelligence, instead of daunt- " Ostler, 318, • . i , i i . • . .u 3jy ing, contributed only to animate the sailors on board the British licet, by showing the importance of the service on which they were bound, and the magnitude of the blow against the enemies of Christendom they were about to strike. On the morning of the 27th August, at day- -5 break, the licet was olF Algiers; Arrival of the Lord Kxmouth immediately dis- fleet off Al- patched a Hag of truce to the Dey, giers. Aug. 27. ^^.■^^^ ^^^^ termsdictated by the Prince Regent, which were the entire abolition of Chris- tian slavery and liberation of all captives, and full compensation to the British consul, and the sailors of the Prometheus, who had been imprisoned. An answer was promised by the port-captain in two hours, and meanwhile the Heet stood into the bay and anchored within a mile of the town. At two P.M. the boat was seen returning with the signal that no answer had been given. Lord Exmouth immediately made the signf.1, " Are you ready?" And the affirmative beuig return- ed from every vessel, the signal to advance was given, and every ship bore up for its appointed station. The Queen Charlotte headed the line, and made straight for the mole-head. It was Lord Exmouih's intention not to have opened his fire urdess that of the enemy became very galling, and the guns on the upper and lower deck, ac- cordingly, were not primed till the ship had an- chored. But the Algerines, confident in their defenses, and hoping to carry the principal ves- sels by boarding, after they had taken their sta- tions, allowed the Queen Charlotte to bear in without molestation, until she anchored by the stern, just half a cable's length from the mole- head, and was lashed by a hawser to the main- mast of an Algerine brig that lay at the harbor's mouth. Meanwhile the other vessels, in silence and perfect readiness, moved slowly forward un- der a light sea-breeze to their appointed sta tions. Not a word was spoken in the , , , „ vast array ; every eye was nxed on jnouth's in the enemy's batteries, which were structions, crowded with troops, with the gun- Ostler's Me- ners standing with lighted matches i"?,"'^;,,'^^^" P" beside their pieces.' 319, 320 " There was silence deep as death As they drifted on their path, And the boldest held his breath For a time." The mole-head at this time presented a denst mass of troops, whose turbans and ~g shakos were distinctly seen crowd- Commence- ing on the top of the parapets, feiit of the Standing on the poop, Lord Ex- ^ ' ^' mouth waved with his hand to them repeatedly to get down, as the firing was about to com- mence. When the ship was fairly placed, and her cables stoppered, the crew gave three hearty cheers, which were answered from the whole fleet. The Algerines answered by three guns from the eastern battery, one of which struck the Superb. At the first flash Lord Exmouth gave the word "Stand by;" at the second," Fire;" and the report of the third gun was drowned in the roar of the Queen Charlotte's broadside. So terrible was the eflect of this discharge, that above five hundred men were struck down on the mole by its eflects. Li a few minutes, and be- fore the action had become general, the fortifica- tions on the mole-head were ruined and its guns dismounted ; upon this the Queen Charlotte sprang her broadside to the northward, and brought her guns to bear upon the batteries round the gate which leads to the mole and the upper tier of the lighthouse battery. With such accuracy were the shot directed, that the light- house tower was soon in ruins, every successive discharge bringing down some of the guns; and when the last fell, a Moorish chief was seen sprinn'in'r up on the fragments of , , , _, 1 . 1 -.1 • . . ' Lonl Ex- tlie parapet, and witii impotent rage rnoutli's Dlsp. shaking his scimitar at the giant of Ostler, 32i), the deep which in so brief a space T?lv^'',*L',fi ""' had worked such fearful devasta- jjj"^'' ' tion.' Meanwhile the Algerines were not idle: a tremendous and well-sustained fire „_ was kept up from every battery and ('„ntiininncc gun on the ships as they approached oi' the aciioii, and cast anchor ; every bastion and and piMii.niia battlement streamed with flames, ^l^\'" '' and the roar of above a thousand can. 49 Hlbl UUr OF EUROPE. IClIAP. II noil on tlic two s'ulos, wiiliin a space not more than half A mile in lneiiilth, cxceoJed any thlnij, since tlid battle of Coponhasjon, l.oaiil in naval war. Tho Li-aiuler clo'soly followed the llajj^-^hip, and nnclinred astern of her; next eanie tiie Superb, which took her station two hundred and lifty yards Rstcrn of the Lcandcr; the Mindcn anchored about her own len<;th from tlic Superb. Astern of the iMiiuIen lay the Albion, the former pass- i.ig h( r stream cable out of the larboard <;iin- room port to the Albion's bow, and lashing the two ships together. The Impregnable came in last, and was anchored astern of tlie Albion in a situation very much exposed to the enemy's bat- action of an hour's duration had produced nc signs of submission. Lord Exmouth determined to attcm])t the destruction of the Algcriiie ships. The nearest frigate was accordingly boarded by Lieutenant llichards in the Queen Charlotte's barge, accompanied by Major Gossctt, of the marine artillery; and in a few rainutes she was in a perfect blaze. When the frigate burst into a flame, he telegraphed to the fleet tlic animat- ing signal, "Infallible;" and as the barge re- turned alongside, she was received with three cheers. The burning ship broke from her moor- ings, and drifted along the broadsides of tho Queen Charlotte and Leander, and grounded leries. The three large frigates and the Dutch [ ahead of the latter, under the town wall, so that the conflagration did not spread. Upon this the gunboats and barges opened a fire with bombs and carcasses on the largest frigate in the centre of the harbour, and she was soon in flames, from which the fire spread i Lord Ex- to the other ships around, which moutir.s Disp. were all consumed with the exccp- ^""- ^*JIS- tion of a sloop and brig. The arsenal A|>p.'to ' al.so took fire, and, with all its stores, Chron.; Osi was totally consumed. ' "«>■. 324, 326. After sunset a message was received from Admiral Milne, in the Impregnable, 79 which had sufl'ered extremely from The fleet her position, exposed to the batteries moves out of and had lost 210 men killed and ^1^" I'ay. wounded, and requesting that a frigate might be sent to take off from her some of the fire under which she was suffering. The Glasgow immediately weighed anchor for that purpose, and gallantly stood forward into the thickest of the tire; but it was found impossible to reach the desired position, owing to the want of wind. An ordnance vessel was accordingly run ashore under the lighthouse battery, and blown up^ which in some degree slackened the enemy's fire in that quarter. Toward night the fire of the Algerincs slackened in all quarters, and at last entirely died away, except from the Em- peror's Fort,* on the high ground, which, being above the range of the guns, continued firing with destructive effect to the very close of the action. On the side of the British, also, the fire slackened considerably; for the chief objects of the expedition having been gained, it became necessary to husband their powder and shot, the consumption of which had been beyond all parallel. t A little before ten the Queen Char- lotte's bow-cable was cut, and her head hauled round to seaward. Warps were run out to get out, but they were in part cut by shot from the Emperor's Fort, and the batteries south of the town, which had been only partially engaged About half-past ten the land breeze, on which Lord Exmouth had calculated, sprang up, = Lord Ex- and by the aid of the boats towing, mouth'.s Disp she, with the remainder of the fleet, jVig 933''o34 was got out of fire.* Soon after the App.'u) breeze freshened, and a tremendous Chron. ; O.st- storm of thunder and iishtning came l';'"'''^"^;!' ~3j' ; .., , I. T^ _ 1 -^1 i_ , Von (,apel- squadron went into action with a gallantry which never was surpassed, and took their stations amid a tremendous fire, with the utmost accu- racy. The Leander was placed athwart the Queen Charlotte's bows, her starboard broadside bearing upon the Algerine gun-boats with the after-guns, and on the fishmarket battery with the others. The Severn lay ahead of the Leander with all her starboard broadside also bearing on the fishmarket battery. Beyond her the Glas- gow was stationed, and brought her larboard guns to bear on the batteries of the town. The Dutch took their position with great steadiness in front of the works to the south of the town. The two smaller frigates, the Hebrus and Grani- eus, v.ere left to come into the line wherever they could find an opening. The former pressed for- ward to get next the flag-ship, but being be- calmed, she was obliged to anchor on the Queen Charlotte's larboard quarter. Captain Wise, of the Granicus, steered straight for where Lord Exmouth's flag was seen towering above the smoke, and with a skill equal to his intrepidity, ' Lord E.v- succeeded in placing his vessel in mouth's Disp. the open space between the Queen ^J5r"o^o^'. Charlotte and the Superb; thus IblC, 232; Ap. , . . . T * 1 T-. 1 to Chron. ; taking a position, as Lord £.xmouth Ostler, 322, justly said, which a three-decker ^"^3- might have been proud to occupy.' Eastward of the lighthouse, at the distance ~g of two thousand yards, were placed Destruction the bomb-vessels, the shells from ofUieencmy's which were thrown with admirable ships and flo- precision by the marine artillery ; while the flotilla of gun, rocket, and mortar boats. distributed in the openings of the line, kept up an incessant and destiuctive fire on the ships in the harbor. Soon after the battle be- came general, the Algerine flotilla, under cover of the smoke, advanced, with true Mussulman intrepidity, to board the Queen Charlotte and Leander. and they were very near before they were descried ; but when they were so, the fatal precision which the British gunners had acquired appeared conspicuous. The Leander brought her broadside to bear upon them, and, ty a few discharges, thirty-three out of thirty- seven of the gun-boats were sent to the bottom. The thick smoke round the Queen Charlotte pre- vented the atlmiral from seeing the vessels as they came in and took up their position ; but he soon received joyful proof of their presence, and (he accuracy of their fire, by the yawning breaches and crumbling ruins which appeared, when the smoke for a few seconds cleared away, in the walls opposite the positions as- signed to them. At lour o'clock, as a close on, with torrents of rain, which last- lan'sAcooiinc, ed three hours, but could not extin- Ann. Reg. 2-12, guish the flames of the burning 213. * So called from having been built by tlie Emperor Charles V. when he besieged the town in 1557. + They had fired 118 tons of powder, 50,000 balls, weighing above 500 tons of iron, and 9C0 thirleen aiiiJ ten inch shells thrown by the bomb- vessels and lann.'lies IflG.J HISTORY OF EUROPE. 4^ killed and woiuxled. ships, arsenal and t.ouses, which cast an avvlnl 'JQht over the scene of luin. Before it had sub- sided. Lord Exmoiuh assembled in his cabin all the wounded who could be moved, that ihey might unite with him and his oflicers in thanks to the Almighty Disposer of events for their v'ictorj' and preservation. Such was the battle of Algiers, one of the CQ most glorious even in the resplen- r«sults of tbe dent annals of the British navj'. It battle, and was, withal, one of the most bloody — the best proof of the desperate nature of the service, and the heroic courage requisite to render it successful. In the British squadron, 12S were killed and 690 wounded — in all, 81S : a greater proportion to the number engaged than in any action during the preceding war; for in Copenhagen itself, the bloodiest of that contest at sea, there were only 1200 killed and wounded out of eleven line- of-battle ships engaged ;* but here there were SIS in five ships. The loss fell chiefly on three ships: in the Impregnable, which bore Admiral jNIiine's flag, there were 50 killed; and in the Leandcr and Granicus, which also took up line- of-battle positions, the loss was very severe. In the other line-of-battle ships the entire loss was only 26 killed and 62 wounded. The Dutch squadron had 13 killed and 52 wounded. Lord Exmouth had several most narrow escapes : he was struck in three places ; a cannon ball car- ried away the skirts of his coat, and a shot broke the spectacles in his pocket. On the side of the Algerines it was computed by Lord Ex- mouth that 7000 had perished ; a fearful loss, but which is not improbable when the crowded state of the batteries and the extraordinary pre- cision of the English fire are taken info consid- eration. The British loss would have been much greater but for the commanding position taken at the very commencement of the action, and maintained throughout by the Queen Char- lotte, wh.ich swept by her broadsides the whole batteries on the mole, the most formidable in the enemy's defenses. Admiral Capellan estimated that 500 men were thus saved to the allied squadron, who otherwise would have been de- stroyed. During the action the Queen Char- lotte was often in the most imminent danger of being burned, from the blazing Algerine vessels which floated close past her. which came so near that Lord Exmouth was almost scorched as he stood on the poop, and he was obliged to liaul in the ensign to prevent ils being con- sumed. But when Admiral von Capellan ant! I Admiral the other captains, seeing his im- Capellan'H mincnt danger, olfered him llic as- n ''*'';'.^^"!!;« sistance of the boats of the fleet to Ueg. lblG,242, , , . • . . r i u,i . 243 ; Ann. to '"^'^'' ""^^ °"'i ''C replied, "that Clirnn.; (Jsi- having calculated every tiling, it Icr, 3:)0, 332 ; behoved tli<;m by no means to be rnouihtoM* alarmed for his safely, but only to l'('ll<-w, Sept. continue their fire with redoubled «, ibKJ ; Ost- zeal for the execution of his orders, er, 330, 337. ^^j according to his cxample."'t * Ai,ison'.s Europe, chap. liii. i) 60. t Admiral Capellan, who nobly Hcronded Lord Kx- /noulh on this occasion, bore the followinn honorable ICHtimony to Lord Exmoutli's conduct diirinK tlu; battle: — " The Dutch squadron, as well as the lirilish force, ap- peared to be inspired with the devotedness of our mag- nanimous chief in the cause of mankin">■ Lam. V 429 • abject condition under the Reign of | formal cabinet council was held at Gonesse on Cap. iiL 4 ; Terror, and at the gates of the Rev- j the 25th June on the subject, and Chateaubriand, with the utmost vehemence, maintained the op- posite side. "The elevation," said he, "of such a man must produce one of two results : tlie abolition of the charter, or the fall of the minis- try at the commencement of the session. Let us figure to ourselves such a minister on the 21sl January.* interrupted every moment by a dep- uty from Lyons with the words, ' You are the man !' Men of that stamp can never be osten- sibly beat with the mutes of the seraglio of Ea- jazet, or the mutes of the seraglio of Napoleon. What would come of the ministers if a deputy from the tribune, with a Monitcur of the 9lh August in his hand, should demand the expul- sion of Fouche from the ministry, as, in his own words, 'a robber and a terrorist, whose atro- cious and criminal conduct reflect- , ,t -„ j , ,. , , , . - Mem. de ed dishonor and opprobrium on any Chateaub. vii. assembly ofwhich he may be a mem- 57,58; Lac. i. ber?' "1 328, 329. Strong as these considerations were, the neces- sity of the case was still stronger, and all the practical men about the Formation of king impressed upon him so urgent- the Ministry, ly the impossibility of guiding the a»'l retire- vessel of the state through the break- ers with which it was surrounded, without the aid of so experienced a pilot, that he was obliged most reluctantly, at the eleventh hour, to give in. M. Talleyrand was named President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Afl'airs; Fouche, Minister of Police, with the superintendence of public opinion ; Baron Louis resumed the seals of ilinister of Finance ; M. Pasquin became Garde dcs Sccaux ; Gouvion St. Cyr, Minister-at-War ; M. Jaucourt, of the ]\Ia- rine ; the Due de Richelieu, the Household of the King. M. Pozzo di Borgo was offered the Ministry of the Interior, but declined it. Cha- teaubriand retired, being resolved to take no part in a ministry of which Fouche was a mem- ber. The party of the Count d'Artois were in transports, not less at the retirement of the stur- dy royalist, than at the admission of the dexter- ous regicide. "Without Fouche," they exclaim, ed, " there can be no safety tor France. He alone has saved France ; he alone can complete the work he has begun." Every consideration of principle, honor, loyalty, consistency, was for- gotten in the universal joy at regaining their offices and emoluments by the aid of the arch- traitor. Many went so far as to assert that, if their heads were still on their shoiddcrs, they owed it to Fouche. Louis XVIII. and Chateau- briand, though constrjiincd to yield to the torrent, were not less decidedly of an op]iosilo opinion; and before separating at St. Denis, on their ad- vance to Paris, they had the following remarka- ble oonversation : "Eh bien!" said Louis XVI II., w'Um they were left alone. " Eh bien, sire," replied (Chateaubriand; "you have taken the Duke of Olranto." " It was unavoidable," re- plied the i7M3narch ; "from my brother to the bailli dc coiifon, who at least is not suspected, all said I com 1 not do otherwise. What think you of it?" "Sire," replied Chatcaidu-iand, "the thing is done; I request permission of your » Chateaubri- and, Mem. d'Outre Toiiibe, vii. 39, 40. The day on which Lou .b XVI was executed IlISTOKV OF KUUOrE. lCh..p 11," Mnjcsty to bo silent." "No, no, speak out; you know how 1 liavo resisted ever siiieo wo left 'Jlient.' " Sire, I only obey your onlers ; pur- iion my fiilclity ; I think it is"ull over with the monnri'hy." The kinjr romaiiieil sonic time si- lent, nnif Chateaubriand beijan to foar ho would , L.,^. i 32t; have cause to" repent his boldness, 3-2ii"; Chii- ' when at length he answered, "To icaut>. Mem. say the truth, j\I. do Chatcaubri- vn. 09, 70. j^ijj^ J ,^„^ oi'your opinion.'" Beroro Icavini; Cunibiay, the King, on the QSth June, issued a proclamation to the liio KiiiK'.s French people, which deserves a pro.-laimition jilace in history, IVom the magna- I'rom t'!>">-^, nimity which it breathes, and the bray. Juno Ob. ^^^j^.^^ ^j- nioderation, in the most dilFicnlt circumstances, by which it was distin- guished. " The gates of my kingdom," said he, " are opened before me ; I hasten to collect my wandering subjects, to place myself a second time between the allied armies and the French, in the hope that the regard which I hope they feel for me may turn to the advantage of my subjects. That is the only part which I wish to take in the war ; I have not permitted any Prince of mj' family to enter any foreign corps, and I have restrained the courage of my serv- ants, who were desirous of ranging themselves in arms around my person. Returned to the soil of my country, I rejoice to speak to my peo- ple in the voice of contidence. When I first ap- peared among them. I found the minds of men carried away and agitated by passions, dilTicul- ties, and obstacles. Faults were scarcely to be avoided in such circumstances : perhaps they were committed. There are times when even the greatest purity of intention will not suffice ; when sometimes it even misleads. Experience is then the only safe guide; it shall not be thrown away ; I wish all that can save France. My subjects have learned by bitter proofs that the principle of legitimacy in sovereigns is one of the fundamental bases of the social order; the only one which can establish in the midst of a great people a wise and well-regulated liberty. That doctrine has been promulgated as that of entire Europe. I had consecrated it beforehand in my charter ; and I have in view to add to it such guarantees as may secure its benefits. Much has been said, of late, of the restoration of titles and feudal rights : that fable, invented by the common enemy, has no need of being re- futed. It is not to be expected that the King of France is to demean himself to reply to calum- nies and lies. If the holders of national domains have conceived disquietudes, the charter should reassure them. Have I not myself proposed to the Chambers, and caused to be executed, sales of those properties ? That proof of my sincerity is decisive ; I do not intend to banish from my presence any but the men whose renown is a subject of grief to France, and terror to Europe. In the conspiracy which they have set on foot. I perceive many misled, some guilty; I promise, I who, as Europe knows, have never promised in vain, to pardon all the Frenchmen who have been misled, all that has passed from the day when 1 quitted Lille in the midst of so many tears, until that when I re-entered Cambray in the middle of so many acclamations. But the blood of my children has flowed from a treach- ery without example in the annals of the w-'-ld. That treachery has brought tl.j i^ranger into the heart of France ; every day reveals to me a new disaster. I owe it then to the dignity of my throne, the interest of my people, the repose of '^urojic, to except from the pardon the instiga- tors and aulluirs of that horiible calamity. Thcv shall be marked out for tho vengeance of the law by the two Chambers whom 1 propose to assemble without delay. Frenchmen, such are the sentiments which he whom time can not change, nor misfortune exhaust, nor injustice depress, brings back into the midst of you. Tho King, whose ancestors have reigned over yon lor eight centuries, returns to devote the re- mainder of his days to your defense i Lac. i. 315, and consolation.'" * 317. The King arrived at St. Denis on the Cth June, but he remained two days jj. there, awaiting tho occupation of His entry inte the capital by the English and ^""8. June 8. Prussian troops. They made their public and triumphant entry on the 7th July, and on the day following it was determined that the King should make his entrance. JM.Deeazcs, dread- ing the Faubourg St. Denis, through which the cortege required to pass, and which was in a violent state of fermentation, advised Louis to postpone the entry till the night; but the King replied in a worthy spirit, in allusion to the nocturnal entry of Napoleon on the 20th !March, " No, I will traverse Paris at mid-day, and in the middle of my people ; when they see their King in France, conspirators disappear." Still the ministers insisted, and, as the King pro- posed to enter in an open carriage, they repre- sented that a shot or a stone, thrown from ore of the roofs in the Rue St. Denis, might prove fatal to France. "There is a misfortune," said he, " which I shall never know — that of fearing my people." In effect, the King made his entry at noon on the 8th. Though the ut- most elforts were made by the police to put the people on a wrong scent, the crowd was im- mense on the passage; from the Porte St. Denis, where the procession entered the capital, to the Tuileries, where the King alighted, the streets seemed paved with human heads. Ever pas- sionately fond of theatrical display, the Paris- ians on this occasion had a still more pressing motive for crowding to see the entry ; they sought a momentary distraction to their thoughts — they hoped to see in the pacific monarch the dove with the olive branch, which returned with the glad tidings that the deluge was retir- ing. The National Guard in full uniform every where lined the streets, and evinced for the most part, with perfect sincerity, the utmost enthusiasm on the occasion. The applause was universal ; white flags were generally hung out from the windows or suspended from the roofs, and the cheers of ihe multitude resembled rat.ier the exultation felt at the sight of a triumphant conqueror, than the feelings awakened by the re- turn of a fugitive monarch in the rear of foreign bayonets. The partisans of Napoleon, few in number, humiliated in feeling, and execrated by their countrymen, had retired with the army behind the Loire, or sheltered themselves in obscure corners of the metropolis. The feel- ings of all present were uiia.iimous ; tears flowed down many cheeks ; the extremity o( disaster had reconciled many enemies — causc(i mb.\ HISTORY OF EUTxOPE. Ul and dilTicul- ties of Louis. many fends to be forgot; en ; cries of "Vive Henri IV. f — "Vive Louis XVIII. !'' were heard on all sides ; and in the midst of unpar- > Lac. i. 326 alleled difliculties and public disas- 327 ; Lam. v. ters, the monarch experienced a few '.^"'1^' ' '^''^V- minutes of heart-felt joy as he re- "'■ ' ■ entered the palace of his lathers.' But the pleasing illusion was of short dura- jq tion ; and Louis soon experienced Violence of 'liG bitter truth, that the worst pos- the Royalists, sible foundation for a dynasty is "^ ' conquest by foreign arms. It is impossible to imagine the violence of the victorious Royalists, or the urgency with which they besieged the sovereign for venge- ance, speedy, general, and unrelenting, against the authors of all their calamities. An entire purification of the Chamber of Peers, of the magistracy, of the army, and of the ministry; the restoration to the provinces of the power of the clergy, and of the noblesse, were the con- ditions held out as indispensable by such of the Royalists as were most moderate, and least in- clined to sanguinary measures. Argument was out of the question : there was no discussion or division of opinion in the saloons of the Fau- bourg St. Germain; universal transport gave vent to the universal fury. But in the midst of these dangerous excesses, the king had a ver}' difKcult part to play ; for there were perils, and no light ones, on the other side ; and the ministry contained men who were themselves the chief objects of popular reprobation, and yet whose aid could not be dispensed wilh in the critical state of public affairs. Talleyrand and Fouche, on their part, as strongly inculcated the extreme danger of any violent reactionary movement, and represented the strength of the party in France which was attached to the principles of the Revolution, enriched by its spoils, and resolute not to be stripped of any of its acquisitions. To add to the general dif- ficulties, the allied cabinets loudly demanded some guarantee for the peace of Europe, by the punishment of the most guilty among those who had dislurbed it ; while the French, on all sides, as loudly complained of the dreadful exactions of the allied troops, and insisted that the I'lvst care Cap.iii. 4,7; of the sovereign should be to en- 332, deavor to procure some mitigation of the suiferings of his subjects." But there was a question of still greater 13 nicety, and attended with more last- Ditlicuity in jng consequences, which remained behind, and that was the convoca- tion of the legislature, witiiout the aid of which it was evidently im- possible that any of these objects could be attained, or even the government be carried on for any length of time. Two plans here suggested themselves ; but each was at- tended with very great (lillicullies. The one was to convoke the dcpulics of ISM, who were the existing legislature at the period of tlx; re- turn of Napoleon from Elba ; i)assing over the Hundred Days entirely, as a usurpation of no legal elfect, and entitled to no consideration. The second was, to have a new election. It was impossible to go on with the Chamber re- cently elected under Napoleon, as it was of so extremely democratic a character that even his rtrm hand had p 'ovcd unable to guide it. To Lac 333 rcciard to tlie convocation of the Cliain- liers, and de- bates on it. an Englishman, aecuitomed as the peojile of this country have been to the vicissitudes of a con- stitutional monarchy, there could be no doubt what course in these circumstances should have been pursued. This was to convoke simjiiy both Chambers as they stood at the dept.rture of the king for Ghent, as was done in this cotui try on the restoration of Charles II. in IGGl. But the French cabinet decided otherwise, on the ground that the first requisite of a repre- sentative legislature is to be in harmony with the feelings of the people ; that the events which had passed since the preceding Man-h were equivalent to an ordinary century; ar.d that no unity of feeling could be expected be tween the representatives of the first and the people of the second ^^ '■*?•'"• ''> restoration.' But another question was wound up with the first, and upon its decision the 54 future fate of France in a great Tlie King is- measure hinged. By what laws sues an ordi- were the elections to be regulated ? Ufg"!"; moj';! By those of the Empire, or of pre- ofelections,ol ceding times during the Revolu- his own au- tion? The ActeAdditionnel, pass- "lority. ed by Napoleon during the Hundred Days, was felt to have contained some important modifica- tions of the charter in this respect; and it had been determined at Ghent to adopt some oi them, if a second restoration should take place. In particular, the reduction in the age requisite for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, an in- crease in their number, and the power of pro- posing laws or resolutions, seemed desirable, and in harmony with the spirit of the age. In the absence of any existing legislature, there was no authority from which these changes could emanate but that of the king in council; and the 14th article of the charter, which re- served power to the king of introducing such modifications in the charter as the interests o( the state required, seemed to give sutlicipiit authority for such a proceeding. In conliirmiiy with these views, an ordinance was is- sued, which stated in the preamble : "It "^ was his Majesty's intention to have proposed to the two Chambers a law for the regulation of election of deputies for the departments. His wish was to have modified, in conformity with the lessons of experience and the well-under- stood wishes of the nation, many articles of the charter, especially those touching the conditions of eligibility, the number of deputies, the initia- tive in laws, and the mode of deliberation. The misfortunes of the times having interrupted the sitting of the Chambers, the king still felt that at present the number of deputies in the depart- ments was much too small to render the nation suOiciently represented. It .seemed in an es- pecial manner to be necessary that the national representation should be numerous ; that its powers should be periodically renewed ; that they should emanate directly from the electoral colleges; in fine, that the elections shoidd bo the expressicm of public opinion at the moment. As no act of the legislature can authorize these changes, any more than the modifications in- tended to be introduced into the charter, tho king thought it was just that the nation should, in the mean time, enjoy the advantages it would derive from a legislature at once more numei 3« HISTORY OF EUROPE [CUAP. ill. ons niul less restricted in tlic coiuliiimis of eligibility. \Visliin ed by Fouclie, his long Career ; and he put the ^lwA sanction- crowning act to the whole by eoun- ed by a royal tersigniiig the ordinance which ordinance. Ju- marked them out for punishment. ^ ' As originally prepared by him, the lists were much larger than was finally agreed to. The number of those ordered to leave Paris within twenty-four hours, which at first contained sixty names, including two ladies,* was reduced, by the humanity of Louis, or the intercession of his ministers, to thirty-eight; and nineteen were or- dered to be arrested and delivered to the proper military tribunals for immediate trial. The num- ber, considering the magnitude of the conspiracy, and the terrible results which had flowed from it, was not great ; but it had a melancholy in- terest from the celebrity of many of the names, immortal in history, which were contained in it, and the great and glorious deeds in French an., nals with which they had been connected. The names were — '-Marshal Ney, Labedoyere, the two brothers Lallemand, Drouet, D'Erlon, Le- febvre Desnouettes, Ameile, Brayer, Gilly, Mou- ton, Diivernet, Grouchy, Clausel, Dcville, Ber- trand, Drouot, Cambronne, Lavalette, Rovigo." To all who are acquainted with the history of the revolutionary wars, many of these names arc as household words.* The second „ ^ ,. r t . • • .1 r ^1 ^ Ordinance, list containing the names oi those juiy o.j jgis- who were to bo banished forty Monitcur.Juiy leagues, was more numerous, and 2"; '--''!'■ "f- contained names not less illustrious; sHy^-j;^!^^'^' ' but it has not the absorbing interest of the former, from none of the persons contained in it having met with the same tragic fate.t Before any person could be brought to trial under this ordinance, two other or- dinances appeared, regarding the ordinances Chamberof the Peers. By the first regarding tie of these, issued on the same day as Chamber of the fatal lists prepared by Fouche, J^^j:^^ It was declared that all those ol the reditary. July former Chamber of Peers sitting 21, and Aug. under the monarchy, who had ac- '"> "'"^ -"^"S' ecpted seats in the one convoked by * Mcsdames Ilamelen and Dc Sonza. t " Les individus dont le.s noms stiivent— Lavois, Mnr('>- chal Soult, Alex. E.xcelni.'ins, liassaiio, Marbot, Foli.x Leiielletier, Houlay de la Mcurthe, M()liiil,Tous.saint, Gen Lairianinc, l.ohati, Hard, Pierre liurrere, Arnault, Pome- reiil, UeKMaull de SI. Aiigely, Arriplii de Padoua, Dessau (Ills), (Jarraw, Real, Douvier, Derm.slard, Merlin de Douai. IhirlKich, Uirat, IJcferniont, Uory St. Vincent, Felix Desi>ortes, Gamier do Saintes, Mellinet, Ilullin, VAuys, (;ourtin, Forbin, Jancon (Ills aine), Lctortjue, Dideville — sortiront dans troi.s jours do la villc do Paris, ct so rctirront dans I'intcrieur de la France, dans le lieu que notrc Mini.strc de la Police-G6n^rale leur d^signera, et on ils resteront sous sa surveillance, en attendant ice, 21th July, 1815 ; Monitcur, 25 »8 1! IS TOU Y OF EUROPE. [Chap. Ill Kapoloon ilurinp the Hiimlrcil Pays, shmild be bel I to have, ipso /tuto, vaculoil iliiir t^i-nls in •.lie fninu'r iissemliiy, ami lie now orasocl fiom tl:e list of its monibors. ]5y anollier oriiiiianec, (latoil 17tli August, no less than oiiilily-twomcni- Iteis woio addod to tlio pci'ia<,'e. This large addition was anxiously oonsidficd lK>th by the king ar.l his cabinet; and many names, afier being .rtscited, were erased, and again inserted. 'J'he list, as linally arranged, contained many illustrious names, then lor the lirst time elevated, or restored to that dignity, and exhibited a curi- ous proof of the various and contending interests which had been at work in its formation. The king invested with the peerage INI. do Blacas, the Count de la Chatres, the Dukes d'Enars, d'Avaray, and dAumont, the Count d'Artois, Viscount Chateaubriand, Count Wathieu dc Jlontmorcncv, Jules de Polignac, and the !Mar- quis de Riviere, the Duke d'Angoulemc, General ^lonnier, Admiral Gantheaume, the Duke de Berri, the Count de la Guiehe, and the Count ■ Ordinance, *^^ '^ Ferronnays, U. de Talley- Aug. 17, 1615; rand, the Abbe de iMontesquieu, Moniteur, the Marquis d'Ormond, the Duke Aug. 18; Cap. j-Alberg, and several others.^ To 111 'l 1 4 ' " these were afterward added the sons of the Duke of Montebello, of ^larshal Berthier, and JNlarshal Bessieres. A still more momentous change took place by 2] an ordinance which appeared a few The peerage days after, on August 19, making is declared he- the seat in the Peers hercditarv, CT^stTa!' ^"" '^^■liich was the subject of long and anxious discussions during four days in the cabinet. Louis argued strongly that, in agreeing lo ibis change, he was stripping the crown of one of its most important prerogatives, and of nearly all its influence in the Chamber of Peers. " With the cessation of ambition," said he, "my influence over the peerage is at an end. When it becomes a family inheritance, I have no power over it : I can no longer put a ring on the finger of one of my own household." Talleyrand insisted vehemently for the heredi- tary succession: "We must have," said he, "stability: ivc must build for a long foiturc.'' At length it was carried for the hereditary right ; and the preamble of the ordinance bore — " The king being desirous to give to his peoole a new pledge of his anxiety to establisti in the most stable manner the institutions on which the gov- ernment reposes, and being convinced that no- thing insures more the repose of states than that inheritance of feeling which is created in fami- lies, by being called to the exercise of important functions, which creates an uninterrupted suc- cession of persons in high stations, whose fidelity to their prince and devotion to their country are guaranteed by the principles and examples they have received from their fathers." There can be no doubt that these observations are well founded, but unfortunately something more is required to render a hereditary House of Peers either useful or influential — cither a rampart to the crown, or a barrier against its encroach- ments — and that is, a corresponding succession of fortune to support the dignity, which can only be secured by territorial aristocracy, and the right of primogeniture. Both were swept away in the very commencement of the Revolution, an! with them the possibility of reconstructing society in France on ine basis of European free, dom, in whicli a powerfid hereditary aristocracy is nn essential clement. \Viihout it there re- mains to society only the chuice of Oriental despotism, or American L'^'*''a 'l' ^^' equnlity; the tyranny ol jiachas and ance, Auwust agas, or prefects in the Old World, 1'-', I'blS; llo- or the im[)erious commands of a 2],"'"'^' '^"° numerical majoi ity in the New.* In the midst of these important discussions, the allied sovereigns returned to Paris. go The importance of the negotiations Arrivarof the of which it had become the theatre Allied Sover- rendered their presence indispens- ^'^"'o''' ^'■,"^'^ II T> • .1 • , IT July 8 and 11 able, isut their entry was very dif- ferent from what it had been the year before : the melodramatic display of generosity was at an end, the reality of vengeance was to com- mence. They came without external pomp or parade, and after their arrival were entirely oc- cupied with the important negotiations which were going forward. If they appeared at all, it was attended by a single footman, and driving in a traveling caleche with a pair of horses. They had no need of the pomp of royalty in the metropolis; their attendants were sulhciently numerous through the country. They extended from the British Channel to the Pyrenees. Never had such an inundation of armed men poured over a single country. Eight hundred thousand warriors in the highest state of discipline and equipment had already entered, and the stream still continued to flow on without any visible abatement. The eastern provinces could no longer contain the armed multitude ; already they extended over the central parts of the country, and were even approaching those which were washed by the Atlantic waves. A certain district behind the Loire, occupied by the troops which had retired from Paris,' and a can. iii. 44 the wreck of the army which had 45; Laiix v. fought at Waterloo, alone .'•emained ^^'^' l^''- in the hands of the French, surrounded by the innumerable multitude of their enemies; but even this last relic of nationality was ere long swept awa)'. The army which had retired under the com mandof 3Jarshal Davoust behind the -22, Loire was still 45,000 strong, with Army of the 120 guns ; and as it was for the Lo'^e. most part composed of the corps of Marshal Grouchy, which had, comparatively speaking, suffered little during the brie/' campaign iu the Netherlands, it presented a very imposing ap- pearance. The peasants in the departments in which it was cantoned, seeing those dense bat- talions, splendid regiments of cavalry, and long trains of artillery and caissons, still in the finest possible order, could not be persuaded that the army had suffered any serious reverse, and loudly demanded to be incorporated in its ranks, and led against the enemy. The soldiers, and nearly all the colonels and inferior officers, shared the same sentiments: Insomuch that it was with no small difficulty that they were restrained within the bounds of discipline, and prevented from breaking into open revolt. The chiefs of la Ven- dee had entered into correspondence with them, and offered to array the whole strength of the western provinces round the sacred standard of national independence. But noble as these sen- timents were, and honorable to the men who in iSlS.l HISTORY OF EUROl'E. 50 this extremity forgot tlicir former feuds in the common desire to save their country, they were far from being shared by the superior olficers, and generals of the army, ]\Iarshal Davoust, General Haxo, General Gerard, and Kellerman, 'I'lio we-e at its head. Without undervaluing (heir own resources, they were more aware of the strength of the enemy opposed to them. It was in vain to expect that 45,000 or 50,000 men could maintain a contest with 400,000 or 500,- 1 Lam. T. 182 000, who could be brought to bear 183 ; Cap. iii. upon them.' Davoust accordingly 49> 50- issued a proclamation to the soldiers on the 14th of July, in which he called on the troops to unite themselves to the king ; and, how- ever unpalatable to them the stern realities of their situation, it carried conviction to every breast.* So general was the feeling of the absolute ne- 24. cessity of these sentiments, that on Its submis- the day following Davoust was en- Bion. July 15. abled to present to the king the un- qualified submission of the troops. '• Sire!" said he, "the army, full of confidence in your gener- osity, and determined to prevent, by uniting itself to you, civil war, and to bring back, by their ex- ample, such as may be estranged from you, flat- ters itself that you will receive its submission with kindness, and that, throwing a vail over the past, you will not close your heart to any of your children." On the day following, Davoust ventured on the still more decisive and perilous step of causing them to hoist the white flag. " Soldiers !" said he, " it remains for you to com- plete the act of submission you have just made, by a painful but necessary sacrifice. Hoist the white flag ! I know that I demand of you a great sacrifice; during twenty-five years we have gloried in the colors which we bear. But, great as it is, the good of our country demands that sacrifice. I am incapable, sol- I Moniteur, dicrs, of giving you an order which July 17, lbl5; is contrary to your honor; preserve ham. V. 163, foj- your country a brave and nu- 184. ■' ;;i merous arm}'. ^ But although the army of the Loire had thus 25 hoisted the white flag, and submit- Disbanding of ted to the royal authority, it still the army of the formed a formidable body, and its ^''^®' dissolution was justly deemed by the allied sovereigns an indispensable condition of a general peace. The Emperor Alexander in par- ticular, was in an especial manner urgent upon that point, and through his minister, Ncssclrode, demanded, in peremptory terms, its immediate disbanding. Several secret notes had been pre- sented to that sovereign, which p.iinted in strong but not exaggerated colors the danger of allow- * "Lea commissairc.s donncnt rassuraricc qu'unc reac- tion nc 8era pas i craindre, que Ics passions weront dom- ineer, les hommes respectfis, les jirinciijes Hauv(5s ; qu'il n'y aura point de destitutions urbitraires dans I'ami6e, que son honncur sera a eouvcrt. On en a pour gage la nomination du ManJclKi! St. (Jyrau ministere de la guerre, celle de Fouchii au iniiiislcre de la police. C'es conditions sont acceptables. L'iiilt ret national doit reunir (ranclie- ment I'armde au roi. Cot int6rc:t exige quelques sacri- fices ; faisons les avec uiie Anergic modeste. I/armee, I'armee unie devicndra au besoin le centre de rallie- ment des Franpais ct des Royalistcs eux-nieiiies I Unis- tions-iious, serrons-nou.s, nc nous separoiis jamais. 1 *()yons Franijais 1 Ce Cut toujours, voun le save/,, le sen- iir'ient qui doniina rnon arv U ne me qiiiltera <|u'avcR lion dernier soup. r." — Pro'.inmation ilii Mnrcrhut DuvousI, •4 July, 1615 ; Sloniteur, 15 July, lbl5. ing apowerfid body of turbulent men, trained by twenty years of war and license, to remain as :t nucleus for the disaffected in the heart of the country.* No sooner was the formal demand for the dissolution of the army of the Loire pre- sented by the allied sovereigns to the French Government, than they took the most effective means to enforce compliance with the requisi- tion. 225,000 men rapidly defiled toward the Loire, and took up positions around it in every direction, which rendered resistance or escape alike impossible. The king made no opposition to the demand, too happy to have the powerful armies of the Allies to enforce a measure, indis- pensable alike for the stability of his throne and the peace of his kingdom. No new ordinance was promulgated ; the ordinance of 23d March, 1S15, which proclaimed the disbanding of the army on Napoleon's return, was only oHicially published, and ordered to be acted upon by the authorities. Thus France was , ,, .^ , ,, ^-r .■ 1- • ' Moniteur, spared the mortification ot seeing jaiy24, 1615; her army disbanded by an ordinance Cap. iii. 45, emanatinii directlv from the Allied 47 ; Lam. v. .1 ■" 1 ■ 19'^ 103 head-quarters.' *-,.-• Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr, as war minister was intrusted with the regulations for the reorganization of the army. Rcor^aniza- The great object in vicvi', in that tionoi'tlie measure, was to extirpate the esprit irmy into de de corps which attached so strongly f,!^™''''' to particular regiments from the memory of glorious deeds, and substitute in its room the attachments and associations connected with the provinces. For this purpose the whole army was not only disbanded, but entirely broken up, the officers and men detached from each other, and rearranged in new battalions formed after a totally diil'erent manner. Eighty-six departmental legions, of three battalions each, vi'cre formed, and fifty-two of cavalry and artil- lery. Every soldier, conscript or recruit, was enrolled in the legion of the department where ho had been born ; and the old soldiers of the Empire were so scattered through the diflbrent legions that not only was their spirit broken, but their numbers rapidly declined, and their ascend- ency was at an end. This plan, the execution of which was intrusted to the experienced hand of ]\Iarshal JMacdonald, was admirably calcu- latctl to cxtinguisli the military esprit tie corjia in the army, which had proved so latal to Franco and to Europe ; but it was likely to in- duce hazards of a dillerent kind if serious inter- nal troubles arose again, and the ardent Royalist legions of la Vendee and Provence i ^^^ y^■^ ^g came to bo arraycil against the 51 ; Lam. v. sturdy republicans of Eurgundy or '■'•'; Lac. i. Alsacc.i ^^^' ^•^•^- * " Vingt ann^es de guerre et do licence ont fonn6 c5 France une population mililaire qui so refuse d touto or- dre ct a loule souiiiisslon. L'armco voulait la chance dea hazards, les dotations, ellcs avanccmcnts dans les grades. Ello ne les voyait que dans le rappel de son chef, ct olio y 6tait decidee avec rage. L'armee Franf aisc rappolle a la fois les souvenirs do.s Mamcluks en Egypte, de la Ganlo I'rutorienne a Home, des Arabes fanatiques sous Ma- homet. I'oui servir a l'epo"■ ""^^ Muso- risians in the breaUin^ up of the j "'" preat museum, anil tlie restoration < of f'nose clonous works o( art wwh had been , carried otV by the French from all the countries j which they had conquered. This important event, which has been already noticed as closing ] ' Hist. 01 Eu- tl'espera'te exceed it ; and if some breathing 6tate of the time had not been given by the Al- fiiiances. jj^^ j^^ ^jj^jp requisitions, utter ruin must have overtaken the French nation. Baron Louis, the new finance minister, had entered upon the duties of his office on the evening of the 10th of July. He found the coffers empty, credit ruined, the revenue forestalled by the re- quisitions in the provinces, or dried up by the impossibility of collecting any taxes. In the general despair, every one looked only to his own security ; and the most obvious and effica- cious way of doing that appeared to be for every f^rson to hold fast by his own property, and cease altogether the payment of any demand by another. Revenue there was none ; for the bay- onets of the Allies, who had overspread three- fourths of the territory of France, forced payment of their scourging retjuisitions without leaving a sous to meet any other demand. Several meas- ures to raise a supply for the immediate neces- sities of the state were adopted, as the sale of woods, and certain properties belonging to mu- nicipalities, which the Crown had a right to dispose of. But this was a trifling and tempor- ary relief only; the material thing wn to get some modification in the grinding requisition^ of the Allies, which rendered all collection of the revenue for the internal necessities of the kingilom hopeless. The capitalists, who had great confulcnce in the good fai.il of the Gov- ernment and credit of the country, made this an absolute condition of any advances on their part to meet the necessities of the state; and at length, on the urgent representations of Baron Louis, an arrangement was concluded which in some degree alleviated the distress of the treasury. It was agreed that, in consideration of the sum of 100,060,000 francs (£-1,000,000 sterling), instant- ly paid down, the requisitions should cease for two months. This sum was raised by forced loans laid on the chief towns, in payment of which the Government agreed to take bills pay- able at distant dales, which the treasury dis- counted on reasonable terms. The measure was violent, but the public necessities left no altern- ative ; * and to the credit of the French capital- ists it must be added that they came liberally forward, and aided the municipalities powerfully in providing for the sums assessed upon them. So successful were their efTorts, that the crisis was surmounted better than could have been ex- pected. The deficit for the year was onlv r)5,- 000,000 francs (£2,200,000), the in- 1 cap. Hi. 51, come being 876.318.232 francs, 52;Stat.dela (£3.5.000,000), and the expenditl France, Art. ure 931.441,404 francs, or £37,- f^""^. PP- 200,000.1 Notwithstanding this convention, which af- forded great relief when it was once 29. fully acted upon, and the regular Settlements payments begun, the exactions of o^ 1816 1,055,854,028 " i2,zju,^.'d in hopes of finding barks to escape from their murderers. The whole, with their wives and chiliiren, were slaughtered, and thrown into the water. A few who had swam out to sea were dispatched by musket shots after they had gained a considerable distance. Having once tasted of blood, the multitude wa.s as fierce a* r, addening wolves in pursuit of their prey. Ltiring the whole night, and the day following, they sought out tlie old officers and soldiers of the Imperial army, and bay- oneted them without mercy. Among the vic- tims was M. Angles Capefigue, a man of emin- ence and respectability, the friend of IMassena, and many of the leading men of the Empire ; his body was pierced in a hundred places with pikes. Powerless, and passed by their follow- ers, in the strife, the Royalist Committee re- mained passive spectators of the massacre. At length, after two days of tumult and bloodshed, and the loss of above a hunilrcd lives, a sort of urban guard was assembled, and messengers dispatched to some English vessels in the bay, and by the aid of succor sent by them an end was ])ut to the massacre. Marseilles proved on this occasion the satanie wis- i Cap. iii. 174. doni with which the chiefs of the 170 ; Lam. v. Gironde had sent for and awaited f''^';!"'^ ; 1-ac. the arrival of the Fi'dcrcs de I\Iar- jiisiory of' seilles, to head the insurrection on Kuropo, c. vii. the ISth August, 17IJ-,'.' <> 'JU- ]\Iarshal Bnuie wlicil in the ca])ilal, ami «jonorally recojinizod tliroii'^hout France, he hiiisleil the white llajj, anil sent in his adhe- sion. The Royalists liad no fault to reproach him with hut his ready reeotrnition of Napoleon, and tardv return to the colors of the monarchy. To exi)lain his conduct in these particulars, the marshal set out on the 31st for Paris by land. His friends, who dreaded the catastrophe which followed, in vain besought him to change his route, and embark at Toulon for Havre de Grace. The old soldier revolted at such a pro- posal as an imputation on his courage, and, only the more resolute to brave the dangers from the ' I.am. V.-107 ; representations of their reality, per- I'ap. i. 177; severed in his intention of proceed- Lac. i. 351. jno; by land.^ On the 2d August he arrived at Avignon, 33 whither the rumor of his approach He i.s murder- had preceded him. He stopped in eil at Avis;- ihg morning at a hotel near the noil. Aug. -. £i,Qr,e jq change horses ; his count- enance was recognized, and a crowd immedi- ateh' assembled, in which the ferocious pas- sions and vehement spirit of the south were soon conspicuous. A rumor, as false as it was cer- tain to be believed, spread rapidly through the crowd, that he had been actively concerned in the massacres of September, 1792, in Paris, and had actually carried the head of the Princess of Lamballe, affixed to a pike, to the windows of the king. His friends in vain represented that he was not in Paris at all, but on the frontier with the army, on the occasion. That state- ment, though true, did not produce the slightest impression. It was added, that he was not go- ing to Paris, but to the army of the Loire, to aid in leading the troops and renewing the war. Twice he set out from the hotel under the escort of the prefect, M. de St. Chamont, the mayor of Avignon, and a handful of intrepid citizens, who, though Royalists, had hastened with generous devotion to save the life of their opponent at the hazard of their own ; and tv\ ice he was forced to return, from the experienced impossibility of forcing a passage. At length the people became so furious that all resistance was in vain ; they violently assaulted the prin- cipal gale of the hotel, and while the prefect and mayor, with a handful of troops, bravely made good that post, a few dastardly assassins got in by a back window, and, breaking into the room where the marshal was, laid him dead at their feet by two shots from carbines. Fero- cious shouts, as from the demons of hell, imme- diately followed the bloody deed ; the body was dragged by the heels through the streets, and cast into the Rhone. That rapid stream quick- ly floated it down to the sea, by the waves of which the body was cast ashore in a deserted haven between Aries and Tarascon, where it was descried amid the sea-weed by the vul- tures, which in those warm climates never fail to discover their prey. Their concourse at- tracted the attention of a poor fisherman, who approached the spot and discovered the corpse. He retired at the moment for fear of danger to himself, for, being an old soldier, he recognized the feature! of him who had once b jcn his gen- eral ; bt;t rnurned at night, and v ith his own hands gave it a decent srpnilure in the sands of the shore — as if to jirove (hat the most renowned tragedies of anti- ' ^'^"'; ^- ""*• (piity were to find a )>arallel in those j7g'i7y^L',c which arose out of the French Rev- j. 301, 332 olution.'* Such was the impotence, not merely of the con siitutcd authorities, but of the Roy- 34 alist committees, who were sup- Further mns- posed to direct the public movement, nacres in the that the oflicial gazette announced j^""'- ''^"^• that Marshal Brunc. menaced by the populace of Avignon, had committed suicide. It was not for a considerable time after that the real facts became known — so powerful is popu- lar passion, not merely in instigating to the most atrocious deeds, but in c'Aiccaling their enormity, or misrepresenting the: r character. The horrid example was not lon^ in being followed in the adjoining provinces. Bands of assassins, issuing from Avignon, Nmici, and Toulouse, devastated the houses of the f.uspected persons wherever they could be founc"., and perpetrated cruelties on the unhappy inmates, which recalled the memory of the worst atrocities of the Revolution. After sacking the chateau of Yaquervillc, the wretched inhabitants were burnt alive in its flames. At Toulouse, General Ramel, commander of the department, was murdered in his own hotel in open day. A band of assassins burst into the room where he was sitting. "What do you wish?" said he. "To kill j'ou, and in you, an enemy of the king," was the reply of one, point- ing his musket at his breast. A sentinel sprang forward and turned aside the muzzle Ramel drew his sword and advanced, determined to sell his life dearly ; but while he did so, a fresh shot pierced him through the breast, and he fell mor- tally wounded beside the faithful sentinel, who had been already slain by his side. The dying general was carried up to his room and stretched on his bed ; but soon the assassins burst in, and although the surgeon on his knees besought them to spare the last minutes of a dying man, they hacked him with sabres, and plunged pikes in his body, till he was literally cut to pieces. When this was done, the frightful multitude defiled regularly in, and went round the 1 Lam. v. 447 bed singing songs of triumph, and 448 ; Cap. iii. dipping their pikes in the blood of his ?^1' l^- \ Lac. 1 ' 1 • 1 1. 353, 464. mangled remams.' ' These atrocities were but a specimen of what went on during the whole of August 35 in the south of France. At Nimes, Atrocities at the brave General Lagardt was se- Nimes and the verely wounded, while endeavoring ^oumry.'^'"^ at the head of his troops to suppress a sedition in the public square, which had arisen from no other cause but his having had the cour- age to arrest Trestaillon, the chief of the assas sins. This open contempt of the law produced a great impression on the king, who ordered an unlimited number of troops to be quartered on the town till the guilty parties were given up. But this act of firmness produced no result. Justice, as usual in such cases, was impotent in the midst of crime ; the tyrant n^aiority was alike guilty and secure of impunity. Unable to * The classical reader need not be reminded of the I frcedrr.an and old soldier of Pompey eelehratiiip the funeral ob.sequies on the shores of Egypt after llie lat- tie of Pharsalia. 1S15.J HISTORY OF EUROPE. 63 make head airaiiist sut-li a universal dclxirlc of violence, the prefect of tlie department, Al. Dar- baud de Jouqiie, a moderate but firm man, se- lected for that perilous oilice for his known ability to discharge its duties, entreated the Duke d'An- couleme to come to Nimes, in the hope that the presence of a deservedly beloved prince of the blood would tend to calm the effervescence of his impassioned adherents. He arrived accordingly, and for a time succeeded in overawing the vio- lence of the Roj'alists. When pressed by nu- merous influential bodies, especially among the Roman Catholic clergy, to order the liberation of Trestaillon, he replied, "No! 1 will never screen assassins and incendiaries from the law." Trestaillon accordingly was brought to trial ; but here the inherent weakness of jury trial amid the eflervescence of the passions became apparent. Both he and Bovines, the assassin of Lagardt. were, in the face of the clearest evidence, acquit- ,. ,,, ted unanimously by the jury, and im- 1 Lam. V. 413, ,• . , ■ i- * • i .u u 416- Lac. i. mediatelycarried mtnumphtnrough 352,353: Cap. the streets of the town which they iii. 181, 182. j,j^(j disgraced by their crimes.^ The impunity with which these atrocious crimes were committed led to a fear- Persecution of ful multiplication of similar deeds ilie Protest- of blood. The passions of the mo- ants by tlie rnent became engrafted on those of oUcT" ' centuries' duration, and the power of murdering without risk revived the frightful thirst for blood which in those re- gions had led to the crusade against the Albigeois, and all the savage deeds which have forever dis- graced the Roman Catholic religion. The two most violent and dangerous passions which can inflame the human breast — political Zealand re- ligious fanaticism — were aroused with the ut- most violence at the same time, and for once pulled in the same direction. The Royalists held that they were entitled by their temporal wrongs 10 wreak their vengeance without restraint on ^he Napoleonists ; the Roman Catholics deemed themselves secure of salvation, when they burned the temples or plunged their pikes in the bosom of the Protestants. The Crusade of the thirteenth was blended with the reaction of the nineteenth century. In vain the allied sovereigns interested themselves in the unhappy Protestants of the south ; in vain the Duke of Wellington, with gen- erous humanity, made the utmost efl'orts for their protection. The king issued a noble proclama- tion, denouncing these atrocities, and calling on the magistrates to bring the guilty parties to justice.* The prefects followed his example, * " Nous avons appris avcc douleur, que dans les d6- partements du Midi, plusieurs de nos sujets se soiit r6- cemmcnt portds aux plus coupables excoH ; que sous pr6- texte de se faire les initiistrcs do la veiideaiice publiiiue, des Frangais, satisfaisaiit leurs liaincs ct leurs vengeances privies, avaicnt vers6 le sang des Frani^ais, nicrno dcpuis que notre autorito 6tait univorsellement relalilie et recon- nue dans notre royaume. (Jcrtes, d'iiil'amos trahisons, do grands crimes, out ct6 commis, et ont plong6 la France dans une atjiine de maux : inais la |iunitioii de ces crimes doit etre nationale, solcnne'ile, et reguliere ; les coupablos doivent tombcr sous le glaive de la loi, ct non sous le poids de vengeances particuliorcs. Ccscrait bouleversorronlre social que de se faire a la fois juge et ex6cutcur pour les olTenccs qu'on a recucs ou munie jmur les attentats com- mis contre notre personne. Nous esporons que celle odie\ise enterprise do prcvenir Taction des lois a deja cease; elle serait un attentat contre nous et contre la France, et quelquo vive douleur (|uc nous passions en resscnlir, rien ne sorvit 6pargne poor pnnirdc tels ;rimr:s. ("CKt pouniuoi nous avons recoiinnunili; par des ordres and called on all good citizens to aid them in the discovery and prosecution of the assassins, who were a disgrace to society. It was all in vain; the guilty majority was omnipotent. The free institutions which France had won proved the safeguard of the criminals. The guilty were screened from arrest; if taken, witnesses were suborned, removed, intimidated ; juries proved " the judicial committee of the majority,''* and acquitted in the face of the clearest evidence ; and, to the disgrace of free institutions be it said, the whole of this long catalogue of frightful crime in the south of France passed over without one single criminal being brought to justice, while more than one judicial murder, on the other side, proved that the passions of the moment could direct the ver- dicts of juries as well as the pikes of assassins.' Tranquillity was not restored till, by i Lam. v. 419, orders from headquarters at Paris, 422 ; Cap. iii the allied troops were spread over ^^' ^'^"'olo^ ' the disturbed districts, and the Im- '"^' '' perialistsand Protestants found that shelter under the bayonets of their enemies, which they could no longer look for in the justice of their country- men. It was in the midst of this vehement eflerves^ cenee of the passions that the dec- 3- tions took place over France, and Temper of never vi'as evinced in a more strik- Prance dur- ing manner the extreme danger of l"i;,i''^ !• 1 II' iiont>. appealmg to the people durmg a period of violent public excitement than on that occasion. Already the King and Council of State, who were resolutely bent on moderate measures, had become apprehensive of the vio- lence of the current which vv'as setting in in their own favor, and strove by every means in their power to moderate it. Secret instructions were sent down to the prefects and presidents of col- leges, to favor as much as was in their power, or consistent with their duty, the return of mem- bers who might not by their violence occasion embarrassment to the Government. Fouche set all his agents and intrigues, and they were not a few, in motion, to support the Republican candi- dates, and form a respectable minority, at least, in favor of liberalism. But it was all in vain; and the elections of 1815 alforded the iirst indi- cation of what subse(iucnt events have so com- pletely proved, that though France in general is entirely submissive to Paris, and follows with docility the mandates of the cajiital, yet its real opinion is often very diflbreiit; and when an op- portunity docs occur, in which it can , (-., , j^ jg^ make its voice be heard, it docs so iHli; Lam. v' in a way which can not ho mis- •'•'•''• 335 ; Lac taken.' '• ^^'l. 35- Public opinion in the provinces threw itself, without reflection and without re- ^g serve, into the very extremes of Their ultra- Royalist prejudice. Prudence, wis- Koyalistchar dom, foresight, moderation, justice, '"^''^''• were alike disregarded; one only voice was listened to, and it was that of passion ; one only thirst was felt — it was that of vengeance. A flood, broad and irresistible as the tides of the ocean, overspread Franco from the baifljs of the precis k nos ministres at inos mngistrats do faire siricte- mint respcclcr les lois, ct de no mettrc iii indilgencc ni faililcssi^ ibuis la poursuite de ceux qui les ont 'iolees "— Mimilriir, .Inly 2(1, 1815 ; CArEFlouE, i. 54 * Dj Toinucvillc in regard to America S4 HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chaj. ill. Rhine to the ^horcs of iho Alliintic. All at- ' tem|tts lo stem it were ia vain, or rather, liy irriiaiin;:, tliey tended only to iiillaine ils violence. Ev»>!i the j>rescnee ol" the allied troops, and their ^ oecu|>ation of the eities and departments where i the elections were {joing on, was no restraint >jpon the general fervor : on the contrary, they tended only to increase it ; for who had hroui^ht that burden upon themselves — that disf,'raco upon their country ' Moriilicd by defeat, humiliated liy conquest, oppressed by contributions, irritated by insult, the French people had no mode of pivina vent to their universal feclinsrs of indigna- tion, but by returning to the legislature mem- bers animated by the same sentiments; and so strong were their feelings, so universal their in- dignation, that they sent to Paris a Chamber of » Lam. V. 335, Representatives more counter-revo- 336; Cap. iii. lutionary than the allied sovereigns 1S6, 1&7. — more Royalist than the King.^ The known tendency of these elections, and the 39 increasing vehemence with which Dismissal of extreme Royalist opinions were pro- Fouch6 from mulgated in the now unfettered me ministry. ^^„~^^ ^f jj^^ Parisian press, ren- dered the position of the two leaders of the revo- lutionary party in the ministry e vei'y day more pre- carious. Fouche, in particular, against whom, from the bloody reminiscences connected with him, and his imparalleled tergiversations, the public indignation was in an especial manner directed, began to perceive that he would not be able much longer to maintain his ground. The party of the Count d'Artois daily insinuated to the King, that public opinion was now declaring itself so strongly that all attempts to withstand it were in vain, and that both Talleyrand and Fouche must be dismissed. The latter, con- scious of the sinister eyes with which he was regarded, came now very rarely to the Tuileries ; when he did so, a murmur always ran through the courtiers. "There is the regicide." The very persons who, a few months before, had joined in the chorus that he was the saviour of France, and the only man who could extricate it from its difficulties, because he was likely to favor their ambition, were now the first to ex- claim against him, because he threatened to op- pose it. In despair of being able to influence the affections of men, he appealed to their fears, and wrote with his usual ability several reports on the state of public opinion and of the country, ostensibly intended for the eye of the King, but which, from the extensive circulation surrepti- tiously given to them, were obviously intended to intimidate the Court. In them he portrayed in strong, even exaggerated colors, the dangers of the country, and the strength of the party, especially among the great body of the rural proprrietors, who were still attached to the prin- ciples of the Revolution.* Notwithstanding the * '• Les villes sont opposees aux carnpagnes, dans I'ouest meme, oii Ton vous flatte de trouver des soldats. Les acquereurs de dnmaines nationaux y resisteront a quiconque entreprendrait de les deposseder. Le Royalisme du midi s'exhale en attentats. Des bandes armees par- courent les campagnes et penetrent dans les villes. Les pillages, les assassinats se multiplient. Dans Test, I'hor- reiij de Tinvasion et les fautes des precedents ministres ~t hit", he was nottiins daunted, lie married a young lady of good family, Madame de Castellane, whom he had met at Aix at the close of the Empire; and relying on his talents, his good fortune, the favor of the Duke of Wellington, and the politi- cal necessity which had compelled the King to get over his repugnance, he still hoped to ovei come the didiculties with which he i (^^p jjj jj^ was surrounded. He now openly 115; Lam. v! professed his adherence to the prin- 336, 3-Jl : Lac. ciples of monarchy.* " When one '" ^^^' ^^'' is young," said he, "revolutions please; they excite — they agitate, and we love to mingle in them ; but at my age they have lost their charm : we sigh for repose, order, and security ; we no longer wish to gain, but to enjoy." Talleyrand now saw that Fouche was no longer necessary to the maintenance 40 of his power — that, on the contrary. Fall of Fou- the prejudice against him was so die, and his violent that it seriously impeded the "^'^'^ Government. He consented, therefore, not un- willingly, to the instances of the Count d'Artois and his party, who urged his dismissal. To give a color to his downfall, he was in the first in- stance appointed minister at the court of Saxony. With his fall fi'om power, Fouche"s influence was at once at an end ; and with such violence did the public indignation burst forth against him, that he was obliged, in crossing France on his way to the Rhine, to travel in disguise under a false name, and with a false passport. Within a few months after his arrival at Dresden, he was recalled from that oflice, forbidden to re- turn to France, and exiled to Austria, where he spent the last days of his life in obscurity at Lintz, alike detested and despised by all parties in the world. His vote lor the death of Louis XVI., and his atrocities at Lyons, had forever shocked the Royalists — his signature of the re- cent lists of proscription alienated the Republic- ans. His only consolation was in the kindness and tenderness of his young wife, who, with a true woman's fidelity, clung only the mors closely to him from the desertion of all the rest of the world. Tormented to the last by the thirst for power, he never ceased to solicit INI. Decazes, then minister to Louis XVIII., and Prince jNIet- ternich, for leave to reside at Paris or Vienna; but they both withstood his importunities. Cast away on the shore, he could not, like the sea- bird, live at rest on the strand, but ever thi'ew a lingering look on the ocean on whose waves he had been tossed; and his last thoughts 1 Lam. v. 345. were in anticipation of the storms 347; Cap. iii. which were to succeed hiin.'* ^^'• D'un cote le clerge, les nobles, les anciens possesseurs des biens nationaux aujourd'hui vendus, les rnembres des anciens parlements, des hornmes obstines, qui ne vculcnt pas croire qjie leurs idees anciennes soient en dcfaut, et qui ne peuvent pardonner a une Revolution qu'ils ont maudite ; d'autres qui fatigues du mouvement, cherchent le repos dans I'ancien regime ; quelques ecrivains pas- sionnes tlatteurs des opinions triomphantes Dj cote oppose, la presque totalile de la France, les constitution- nels, les republicains, Tarrnee, et le peuple, toutes les classes des mecontents, une multitude de Francais meme attaches au Roi, mais qui sont convaincus qu'une tenta- tive, et qui meme une tendance a I'ancien regime, serait le signal d'une explosion semblable a celle de 1789." — Memoire de Fouche, Lamarti.ne, v. 339, 340. * "J'ai signe I'ordinancede la Proscription; elleetalt, et elle fut consideree alors comme le seul moyen de sauver le parti, qui m'en accuse aujourd'hui. Elle I'enlevait i la fureur des Royalistes, et le mettait a I'abri dans I'exil Talleyrand and his ministry did not long sur- «j vive the disgrace of the regicide Fallofialley- Minister of Police, whom they had rand and liis introduced into power. Manycaus- iTiinistry. ^^ contributed to their downfall, and they were so powerful that, sooner or later, they must have led to that result. The demands of the allied powers in the negotiations for a gen- eral peace — of which an account will immedi- ately be given — had become so exorbitant, that they recoiled from the thought of subscribing them, or even making them known to the public. The Emperor Alexander, who had so powerfully supported Talleyrand on occasion of the first restoration in 1814, was now cold and reserved toward him ; he had not forgotten his opposition to the demands of Russia at the Congress of Vienna. The King of France, although fully sensible of the great ability and consummate ad- dress of the minister who had contrived to keep afloat through all the storms of the Revolution, was in secret jealous of his ascendency; he felt the repugnance of high birth at the guardianship of intellect and experience. Though so experi- enced a courtier, i\l. de Talleyrand could not avoid, on some occasions, letting fall expressions indicating his sense of his own influence with foreign powers, and services under the Empire. But most of ail, the elections had now been de- cided in favor of the extreme Royalists, by a majority which it was hopeless to withstand. By the 20th September they were all concluded : and the result was such a preponderance on that side as left no doubt that the ministry could not maintain their ground. Unable to contend with a hostile majority in the Chambers, J\I. Talley- rand did not yet despair. He desired to engage *he King in a contest with the legislature, and l.iioughl he had influence suflicient to efl'ect that object. Buthe was much mistaken. When Tal- leyrand, at the conclusion of his speech in the cabinet council, tendered his resignation and that of his colleagues, if the proposed measures were not adopted, the King calmly re- ' P*'";,''^- ^?.l' plied — •' You resign, then : very 3d4; Cap. ui. ' ,, T n • * .1 • • 128,131 ; Lac. well ; I will apponit another mmis- i. 356, 357. try," and bowed them out of the apartment. 1 Along with M. Talleyrand, there retired from 42 the ministry M. Louis, iM. Pasquin, Ministry of Ja'uconrt, and Gouvion St. Cyr. the Duke de The ministry required to bo entirely Richcheu. j,p^ modeled ; and the king, who had long foreseen the necessity of this step, and was not sorry of an opportunity of breaking with his revolutionary mentors, immediately author- ized M. Uccazes, who had insinuated himself into his entire confidence, to olfer the place of President of the Council, corresponding to our Premier, to the Duke de Richemeu. Inde- HISTORY OF EUROPE. OS }« ne desire pas que les partis soicnt ^crasfis en France ; maiB je forme dcs voeux ardcnls pour qu'ils soicnt con- fenus Qu'oii rcduise les revolulionnaircs a un role d'op- nosition rai.soniiablc ; qu'on no «c';pare pa.s le Roi de la Nation, en Ic consideraiit comme son advcrsaire. On c»t trc.p en eardo contro les Royalistes cxacerirt: on no I'est pas conli-e I'autre parti. RKli.sez I'histoire dc la I'ologne ; vous etes menaces du munie sort, si vous ne vous rcndez, pas maitres ilcs passions. .le lis une histoire de la cam- pagne dc 1815, par le General Gonryand. .Je ne suis pas felonne du laneace de h(i;i maitre a mon tgard : il est commode a Napoleon d'excuser toutes ses sutlisc-i en •outenani qu'il a ct6 trahi. Non, il n'y a ou do tr.iitfs lue ses tidttcurs."— LA.M\r. riN^ v. 315. 317 Vot.. I.— E pendent of the high descent and personal merits of that very estimable man, there were pecu- liar reasons of the most pressing nature which pointed him out as the proper minister of France at that period. An intimate personal friend of the Emueror Alexander, and having acquired his entire confidence in the covu^se of the im- portant government with which he had been intrusted at Odessa, there was every reason tc hope that his influence with the Czar would in some degree tend to moderate the severity of the terms which, as the conditions of peace, the allied powers were now insisting for. M. de- Richelieu felt the painful position in which he would be placed by accepting office, the first step in which would be the signature of a treaty in the highest degree humiliating to France : but he vi'as clear-sighted enough to perceive the necessity of the ease, and too patriotic to refuse to serve his country even in the worst crisis of its fate. He accepted office accordingly, and with him the ministry underwent an entire change. M. Decaze.? vi-as appointed Minister of Police, an office which, in those critical times, was of the very highest importance ; the seals were intrusted to IM. Barbe-3Iarbois ; the Duke de Feltre (Clark) was appointed Minister at War; M. Vaublanc, JNIinister of the Interior; while the Duke de Richelieu dis- i^ jjj j^^ charged the duties at once of Pres- 136; Lac. i. ident of the Council and Minister 358;Moniteur, of Foreign Aff-airs.' ^^^"- ^' l^^^- Ariiand, Duke de Richelieu, grand-nephew by his sister of the cardinal of the 43 same name, was grandson of the Life of the Marshal de Richelieu, so celebrated Duke de Rich- in the reign of Louis XV. as the '^'"^"' Alcibiades of France. When called to the min- istry in 1815, he was forty-nine years of age. Consumed from his earliest years, like so many other great men, by an ardent thirst for glory, he had joined the Russian army in 1785, and shared in the dangers of the assault of Isma<»l under Suwarofl'. When the French Revolution rent the nobles and the people of France asunder, he hastened from the Crimea to join^the army of the emigrant noblesse under the Prince of Condc; and remained with it till the corps was finally dissolved in 1794. He then returned to Russia, where he was at first kindly received by, but soon after shared in the caprices of, the Emperor Paul. On the accession of Alexander, t!.ie conformity of their dispositions, with the known abilities and illustrious descent of Riche- lieu, endeared him to that benevolent monarch, and he selected him to carry into execution the philanthropic views which he had formed for the improvement of the soulhcrn provinces of his vast dominions. During ten years of a wise and active administration, he more than realized the hope of his illustrious master. The progress of the province intrusted to his care was unpar- alleled, its prosperity unbroken, during his ad- ministration. To his sagacious foresight and prophetic wisdom Russia owes the seaport of Oi)Ess.\. the great export town of its soulhcrn provinces, and which opened to their bouiidlcs.'j agricultural plains the commerce of the world. 'I'hc French invasion of 1812 recalled him from his pacific labors to the defense of the country and he shared the intimacy and coiin(;ils of Alex ander di\ring the eventful -car.^ which succeed- 66 HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Cha? fll. oil, liU the laki.ijr of Paiis in ISM. Allcrniitely , ,, ,. . ut I'uris, at Viomia, or at (.iliont. ' Hioe. I niv. , , 1 I ■ ' 1 an.Uii'liclioii '"•' ri'pi'csenlt'il Ins soveiTign, anu Sup.; Laiii.v. served as a link between tlio eourt Silt, .WO; Cap. ol" Russia anil the newlv established "•• '^" '•^- throne of Louis XVIIL' His character qualitied him in a peculiar man- ner lor this delicate task, and now which he was called — that ol stand- inij, like the Jewish lawgiver, between the peo- ple and ihe plague. He was the model of the ancient Trench nobility, lor he united in his per- son all their virtues, and he was free iVoni their weaknesses. He was considered, alike in the army and the diplomatic circles at homo and abroatl, as the most pure and estimable charac- ter which had arisen during the storms of the Revolution. His fortunate distance from France during so long a period, at once preserved him from its dangers, and caused him to be exempt from its delusions; he had studied mankind in the best of all schools, that of real practical im- provement, and neither in that of theoretical speculations nor of military ambition. His phys- iognomy bespoke his character. His talents were not of the first order, but his moral quali- ties were of the purest kind. A lofty forehead bespoke the ascendant of intellect; an aquiline nose and high features, the distinctive mark of family; but the limpid eye and mild expression revealed the still more valuable qualities of the heart. It would seem as if a sad and serious revolution had passed over the hereditary lustre of his race, and impressed upon it the thought- ful and melancholy character of later times. He was adored by his sisters, the Countess of Jumilhac, and the Marquise de Montcalm, the latter of whom was one of the most charming women in France ; but it required all their influ- ence, joined to the entreaties of the king and the representations of the Emperor Alexander, to • Lam. V. 359 overcome his natural modesty, or 302; Cap. iii. induce him to take the helm in this ^^^- crisis of the fortunes of his country.' M. Dec.\zes, who at the same period com- 45. menced his brilliant career under Biofrraphy ol' the Restoration, had not the same M. Decazes. ^ advantage of family as the Due de Richelieu ; but this deficiency was compensated by his natural abilities, and still more by the address and fact which in so peculiar a manner fitted him to be the minister of a pacific sover- eign. He rose to greatness neither in the cabin- el nor the field ; the bureau of the minister of police was the theatre of his first distinction.* * " lie was the son of a magistrate of Libourne, in the department of the Gironde, the district of all others in !■ ranee which has given birth to the greatest number of eminent political men, and made the greatest figure since the Revolution in the civil government of the country. Jle was ai this time in his thirty-fifth year. He had come 10 Paris in the last days of the Empire, to prosecute his .egal studies, when his elegant manners and talent in conversation attracted the regard of the daughter of M. Muraire, the President of the Court of Cassation, who bestowed upon him her hand. This led to his obtaining employment under the Imperial Government, but he did not sliiire in ils fall, and, both during the first Restoration and Hundred Days, made himself conspicuous by his steady adherence to Royalist principles, insomuch that he was banished to a distance of forty leagues from Paris by Napoleon. This was the making of his fortune : upon the return of Louis he was Immediately selected b)' Fouche •iid TaJlevrand to fill the situation of Prefect of the Police, Ho. had already becoi.ie remarkable for the zeal and activity with which he had discharged the duties of prefect of ])olicc at Paris, when the skill with which he withdrew its funds from the rapacious hands of the Prussians had excited general attention. Rut vrhat chiefly attracted the confidence of Louis was his natural repug- nance to and distrust of Fouche, and yet the ex- perieneed necessity of having some one in the police on whom he could rely, and who might supply information directly on the state of public o])inion, and any designs which might be in agitation. In short, he desired a spy on Fouche. who had spies on every one else ; and the address and intelligence of M. Decazes answered this object so completely, that he had already come to be in intimate daily communication with the sovereign, before the chanse of ministry opened to him the situation of minister of jiolice. His great talent consisted in his knowledge of man- kind, and his ready insight into the prevailing dispositions or weaknesses of the principal per. sonages with whciii he was brought in contact. Thus he early divined that the ruling passion of Louis was a love of popularity, his prevailing inclination a love of ease, and his favorite amuse- ment hearing and retailing little anecdotes and scandalous reports, which the agents of police could of course furnish to him in sufficient abundance. By these means, joined lo his fidel- ity to the interests of his sovereign, as well as the indefatigable zeal with which he attended to the duties of his station, he not merely won the confidence of his sovereign, but the esteem of the nation, and the support of a steady majorit}' in the Chambers, which enabled him i cap. iii. 140 to conduct the administration during 143 ; Biog. several years, amidst very great dif- ^^"^- Suppl. £ u- -.i . . •' = , (Decazes.) fieulties, with surprising success.' The new ministry had need of all their skill and influence with foreign powers ^g to weather the difficulties with Difficulties of which they were surrounded, for the negotia- never did embarrassments to ap- f'o."s with the , , ' allied powers pearance more insurmountable over- whelm any government. But here the benevo- lent views of the Emperor Alexander, and the personal influence of the Duke de Richelieu with that monarch, aided by the moderation of En- gland and the justice and firmness of the Duke of Wellington, came to the timely aid of the French administration. The principal difficulty was with the lesser powers : the great states, farther removed from the scene of danger, and having more extensive resources to rely on, were more easily dealt with. But in appear- ance, at least, the Allies were entirely united; all their deliberations were taken and answers given in common ; and the last answer of 31. df Talleyrand, before he went out of office, har only called forth an ultimatum of the most des perate severity. Not only were enormous pe- cuniary sacrifices required of France, but large portions of its territory on the frontier were re claimed for Flanders, Prussia, and the lesse^ German states. The Duke de Richelieu, ii accepting the head of the administration, hac not disguised from the Emperor Alexander that he did so in reliance on his moderation and in which capacity his zeal, acti\'ity, and devotion soo» attracted the regard of Louis XV ill." — Lamartine, v 214,216; axid Biographie Vniti'sdle — Suppl (Decades.) :si5.] HISTORY friendship; nml, in a secret interview, the Czar had assured him that he should not do so in vain. "I have no other interest," said the monarch, "in this negotiation, but to secure the repose of the world, and the stability of the system which we are establishing in France." With that very view, however, he was easily brought to see the necessity of moderating the demands of the allied powers, and not exacting conditions which would prove an arret dc mnrt to the dynasty, the sta- bility of which appeared the only guarantee for the peace of Europe. But so keen were the feelings of the allied sovereigns that it required all his influence, joined to the energetic co-opera- tion of the Duke of Wellington, to obtain any considerable modification of the demands; and as it was, the Duke de Richelieu said, at the time he signed the treaty, and only on the earn- est entreaties with tears of the kini:, that he did so -'more dead than alive.'"* The Emperor Alexander gave him at the time a map cotftain- ing the provinces marked which had been re- claimed by the allied powers, and which he had prevailed on them to waive their claims to. '■Keep it," said the Czar; "I have preserved that one copy for you alone. It will bear testi- mony in future times to your services and my . lendship for France, and it will be the noblest lap. iii.2I9, ^''1^ of nobility in your family." :'■'>; Lam. v. It is Still in possession of his suc- ifOoui L«ac. ce.ssors.^ It is remarkable that Austria was the great power with vi'hich there was most Exnriiltantde- 'I'fficulty in coming to an accommo- mands of Aus- dation. She openly demanded the tria and tile cession of Alsace and Lorraine, the lesser povv- first inheritance of her family ; and in order to induce Prussia to concur in the spoliation, she offered to support the de- mand for that power of any fortresses on the frontier from Cond6 and Philipville, in the Low Countries, to Joux and Fort Ecliise on the borders of Switzerland. Finding Prussia too much under the influence of Russia and England in acquiesce in these demands, the cabinet of Vienna addressed itself to the lesser German powers, and conjointly with them prepared a plan by which France was to be shorn of great part of its frontier provinces, and nearly all its strong places on the Rhine. They even v."ent so far as to demand the demolition of the fortifi- cations of Huningen and Strasbourg. When this project was submitted to the Emperor Alexan- der, he communicated it to the Duke de Riche- nea who exclaimed, "They are determined on another war of twenty-five years' duration ; well, they shall have it ! In a few days the army of the Loire could be recalled to its standards and doubled; la Vendee will join its ranks, and monarchical France will show itself not less formidable than Republican." Louis XV'III. declared that there was no chance of wir so terrible or disastrous, which he would not prefer to a treaty so ignominious. But these were vain * "Tout est consomm6 ! J'ai npi)0H6 plus niort quo Tif mon nom a ce fatal traiti;. .I'avais jur6 de nc pas le faire, et jc I'avais dit au Iloi. Ce inallieurcux Prince m'a conjur6, en fondant cii lanncs, do ne pas I'abandonner, Je n'ai plus h6sit6 I J'ai la confiance de croiro (juo per- Honnc n'aurait ol)tenu autant '. La France, cxpirar't sous le poids de calamitcs qui raccable,rcclamait imp6ricuse- ment une proniple delivrance." — ,1/. le Due (le7iicnY.hiKv a Madame la Marquise dc Montcalm, sans date -Lamar- TtNE, V. 365. F EUROPE. 67 menaces; eight hundred thousand armed mec were in possession of the French capital, fo« tresses, and territory ; its army was disbanded and it had no resource but in the moderation oi policy of the conquerors. At length, by the united eflTorts of the Emperor Alexander, Lord Castlereagh, and the Duke of Wellington, the demands of Austria and the lesser German pow- ers were abated, and a treaty was concluded, which, although much less disastrous than might in the circumstances have been expected, was the most humiliating which had been imposed on France since the treaty of Bre- i Lac. i. 360, tigny closed the long catalogue of 361 ; Lam. i^ disasters consequent on the battle ^.';'*'' ^!'," i,i-I'*l'" f . • . , ^ 111. 220, 223, 01 Agincourt.i By this treaty the limits of France were fixed as they had been in 1790, with the 43. following exceptions : the fortresses Treaty of Pa- of Landau, Sarre-Louis, Philipville, !:'«> ^'o^- ^0, and Marienbourg, with the territory annexed to each, were ceded to the Allies; Ver- soix, with a small district around it, was ceded to the canton of Geneva ; the fortifications of Huningen were to be demolished ; but the little territory of Venaisin, the first conquest of the Revolution, was preserved to France. Such was the moderation of the Allies, that after so entire an overthrow she lost only twenty square leaijues of territory, while, by the retention of the Ve- naisin, she gained forty square leagues. But the payments in money exacted from her were enor- mous, and felt as the more galling because they were a badge of conquest. A contribution of 700, 000, 000^ francs (£28,000,000) was provided to the allied powers, as an indemnity for the expense of their last armaments, to be paid reg- ularly day by day. In addition to this, France agreed to pay 73-5,000,000 francs (i;29,500,000) as an indemnity to the allied powers for the contributions which the French troops had, at I different times during the war, exacted from i them; besides 100.000,000 francs (X1,000,000) ; to the lesser powers who subsequently joined I the Alliance— in all, 1,535,000,000 francs, or £01,500,000 ; — probably the greatest money payment ever exacted from any one nation j since the beginning of the world.* In addition to this, it was stipulated, as a measure alike of security to Europe and protection to the ncwly- I * The proportions in which this sum was claimed by the Allies, and agreed to be paid by France, were as fol- lows : Frnnc. £. Austria 189.000,000 or 7,360,000 I'russia 106,000,000" 4,210,000 Netherlands 88,000,000 " 3,520,000 Sardinia 73,000,000" 2,920,000 Hamburg 71,000,000" 2,840,000 , Tuscany 4,.'500,000 " 180,000 : Parma 2,000,000 " 80,000 Bremen 3,000,000 " 120,000 Lubock 4,000,000" 160,000 Haden 1 ,500,000 " 60,000 Hanover 25,000,0(10" 1,000,000 Hesse Cassel 1 ,500,000 " 60,000 Hesse Darmstadt, &c,.. 20,000,000" 800,001) I Mecklenborg-Schwcrin . . 1,000,000" 40,000 ' Denmark 17,000,000" 680,000, Rome 20,000,000 " 1,1 60,0110 I Davaria 72,000,000 " 2,120,000 Frankfort 3,000,000 " 120,000 Switzerland 5,000,000 " 200,OOC I Saxony 15,000,000 " fiOO,OOC I Prussian Saxony 5,000,000 " 200,09? 735,500,000 " ■n*,SOO,0^ --C'ArEFiouE . 227 cs HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chap. Ill ^stalilishoil ilynasty in Franco, that an aiiny of iTiO.OOO men, bolon<,'in!f to llie Allies, was to lie put in possession of the |)rineipal frontier for- tresses of France — viz., Caiiihray, Valenciennes, liouehain. Conde, Quesnoy, Maiibctipe, Laniire- cies, Avcnnes, Rocroy, CJivet, Sedan, Montmedy, Thionville, Longwy, Bitehe, and Fort Louis — for not less tlian three, nor more than five years. This army was to he entirely maintained, paid, , J. and clothed at the expense of the tyirTMartoMs] French nation. The continjrcnt of Rei-iu'ii lies ' Great Britain was 30,000 men; and TraiiC's. ii. \\-^q goal was put to its national soluH-lK'.xr'' S'o'T. "nJ t'l*^ personal fame of its 501, Si's; fjrcal General, by the allied sover- Hard. xii. 540, eigns unanimously conferring the sio'q'>9'' '" C"fi"'""<' o' 'he whole upon the ' *' Duko of Wellington.' On the same day on which this treaty was 49. signed, another treaty was con- Convention of eluded between Russia, Prussia, aoih Nov be- Austria, and England, which after- Iwcen the al- , , ' r ' . , . lied powers, ward became ci essential import- ibr exclusion ance in the direction of European oi" Napoleon afiiiirs. France was no party to this and his family . , •. i i i ri ,i . from the treaty; it was concluded, like that throne of of Chaumont in 1813, as a measure France. of security for the allied powers among each other. By it the four allied powers renewed, in all. its provisions, the treaties of Chaumont and Vienna, and in an especial man- ner those which " exclude forever Napoleon Bonaparte and his famihj from the throne of France." * It was declared that the occupa- tion, during a limited number of years, of the military positions in France, was intended to carry into effect these stipulations ; and, in con- sequence, they mutually engaged, in case the army of occupation should be menaced by an attack on the part of France, or if a general war should arise, to furnish without delay, in addition to the forces left in France, each their full contingent of 00,000 men. Should these prove insufficient, they engaged to bring each their whole forces into action, so as to bring the contest to an immediate and favorable issue, and in that event to make such pacific arrange- ments as might effectually guarantee Europe from a return of similar calamities. This treaty •was communicated to the Duke de Richelieu, with a letter from the four allied powers, in which they expressed their entire confidence in the wisdom and prudence of the king's govern- ment, and his determination, without distinction of party, or lending an ear to passionate coun- cils, to maintain peace and the rule of justice in his dominions, t Finallj', it was determined to * "Lcs hautes puissances renouvellent et confirment particnlierement Vexclusion a perpetuile de Napoleon Buonaparte, et de sa familh, du pouvoir supreme en Trance, qu'elles s'engagent a maintenir en pleine vigueur, et, s"il etait necessaire, avec toutes leurs forces." — Act 2, Convention, 20th November, 1815 ; Schoell, xi. 063, and Martens' Sup. t "Les Cabinets Allies trouvent la premiere garantie de cet espoir dans les principes eclaires, les sentimens magnanimes, et les vertus personnelles de sa Majeste tres chrctienne. Sa Majeste a reconnu avec eux, que dans un elat ddchir^ pendant un quart de siecle, par des convulsions revolutionnaires, ce n'est pas a la force seule a ramener le calme dans lcs esprits, la confiance dans les ames, et I'equilibre dans les differentes parties du corps social ; que la sagesse doit se joindre a la vigueur, la moderation a la fermet6, pour operer des chanpemens heureux. Loin de craindre que sa Majeste ne pretat ja- mais roredle a des conscils imprudens ou passionnis, renew at stated periods these congresses of so\ ereitrns, to arranL'o without blood- •, c„i,„„» 1 r 1 .V ■ .^.. II SchOOlI : XI siieil the allairs oi Europe; and the 503,565; Mar first of these was lixed for the au- tens' Su)). n. tumnoflSlS.' Cap.i23'J,4() On the same day on which these importan treaties were signed, another one, ^ which ac(iuirod still greater ccle- -pj^g jjq]„ ^j. brity at the time, but was not des- liaiice, and lined to jiroducc such duralile con- ^"lUNe.s whicfc sequences in the end, was conclud- go jgJs ' °* cd. This was the celebrated treaty of " TuK Holy Alliance." Its author was the Emperor Alexander. This sovereign, whosi, strength of mind and knowledge of mankin^ were not equal to the magnanimity of his dis- position ami the benevolence of his heart, hai' been in some degree carried away by the all important part he had been called on to pla at the first taking of Paris and the Congress oi Vienna, and the unbounded admiration, alike among his friends and his enemies, with which his noble and generous conduct on these occa- sions had been received. He had come to con- ceive, in consequence, that the period had ar- rived when these prineijilcs might permanently regulate the aflairs of the world — when the seeds of evil might be eradicated from the human heart; and when the peaceful reign of the Gos pel, announced from the throne, might forever supersede the rude empire of the sword. In the belief of the advent of this moral millennium, and of the lead which it was his mission to take in inducing it, he was strongly supported by the influence and counsels of iMadame Krudener, a lady of great talents, eloquence, and an enthu- siastic turn of mind, who had followed him from St. Petersburg to Paris, and was equally per- suaded with himself that the time was approach- ing when wars were to cease, and the reign of peace, virtue, and the Gospel, was to commence on the earth, Alexander, during September and October of this year, spent whole days at Paris in a mystical communication of sentiments with this remarkable lady. Their united idea was the establishment of a common international law, founded on Christianity, over all Europe, which was at once to extinguish the religious divisions which had so long distracted, and the warlike contests which had desolated it. Sovereigns were to be regulated by the principles of viitiie and religion, the people to surrender themselves in peace and happiness to the universal regen- tendant a nourrir lcs mecontentemens, k r«nouveier les alarmes, a ramener lcs haines et les divisions, les Cabi- nets Allies sont completement rassures, par les disposi- tions aussi sages que genereuses, que le Roi a annoncee."! dans toutes les epoques de son regne, et notarnment a celle de son retour aprcs le dernier attentat criminel. lis savent que sa Majeste opposera a tous les ennemis du bien public, et de la tranquillite de son royaume, sous quelque forme qu'ils puissent se presenter, son altache- ment axix lois constitutionelles prornulguees sous ses pro- pres auspices, sa volonte bien pronoucee d'etre le pere de tous ses sujets, sans distinction de classe ni de relig- ion ; d'effacer jusqu'au souvenir des maux qu'ils ont soufferts, et de ne conserver des temps passes que le bien que la Providence a fait sortir du sein nieme des catamites publiques. Ce n'est qu' ainsi que les vcbux formes par les Cabinets Allies, pour la conservation d I'autorit^ constitutionnelle de sa Majeste, pour le bonheur de son pays, et le maintien de la paix du monde, seront couronnes d'un succes complet, et que la France, retab- lie snr ses anciennes bases, reprendra la place eminente a laquelle elle est appelee dans le systeme Europeen."— Lettres ties Quatre Puissances a M. le Due de Richtiiiti. 20 Nov. IS15- -Schoell, xi. 565 506 d 1&).5.J HISTOrxY OF EUROPE. es eraiiou of maiikinJ. This treaty, from being ' and class them with tlie pl)iiantlir(i|/ic eflusioni concluded between the absolute monarehs ol' ; of Freemason meetings, or the jjcii- i s„g .i,e Riissia, Austria, and Prussia, was long- the ob- erous transports ol'a crowded theatre treaty in jeet of dread and jealousy to the liberal and rev- olutionary party throughout Europe. But now that its provisions have become known, it is re- garded in a very ditferent light, and looked upon which melt away next morning be- Sciioell, xi. fore the interests, the selfishness, ?^^'^^'*.i'^l.''£" , , ', . . , , , ' tens, xui. 6U/. and the passions oi the world.' This treaty, out of compliment to its known as one of the etTusions of inexperienced cnthu- j author, the Emperor Alexander, was 50 siasm and benevolence, to be classed with the dreams as to the indefinite prolongation of hu- man life of Condorcet, or the visions of the 1 (^ iii.216 Peace Congress which amused Eu- 217; Lam. v! rope amid universal preparations 369, 370 ;_Lac. for war in the middle of the nine- 1. 36G, 3G7. teenth century. 1 By this celebrated alliance, the three monarehs gj subscribing — viz., the Emperors of 1 straints imposed upon him as a constitutional Terms of the Russia and Austria, and the King of monarch prevented him from becoming a party IlolyAllumce. Prussia — bound themselves, "in con- I to any convention which was not countersigned Nov. 20, 1815 1 I -■ rt ere long acceded to by nearly all Treaties re- the Continental sovereigns. But garding tlie as it was signed by the sovereigns RussiLriull-'' alone, without the sanction or inter- sidy, and Na- ventionoftheir ministers, the Prince- poleonBuona- Regent, by the advice of Lord Cas- P'*''"^- tlereagh, judiciously declared, that while he ad- hered to the principles of that Alliance, the re- formity with the principles of the Holy Scriptures, which order all men to regard each other as brothers, and, considering them- selves as compatriots, to lend each other every aid, assistance and succor, on every occasion ; and, regarding themselves toward their subjects and armies as fathers, to direct them on every occasion in the same spirit of fraternity with which they are animated to protect religion, peace, and justice. In consequence, the sole principle in vigor, either between the said gov- ernments or among their subjects, shall be the determination to render each other reciprocal aid, and to testify, by continued good deeds, the unalterable mutual affection by which they are animated ; to consider themselves only as mem- bers of a great Christian nation, and not regard- ing themselves but as delegates appointed by Providence to govern three branches of the same family — viz., Austria, Prussia, and Russia; con- fessing also that the Christian nation of which they and their people form a part has in reality no other sovereign to whom of right belongs all power, because He alone possesses all the trea- sures of love, knowledge, and infinite wisdom — that is to say, God Almighty, our Divine Saviour Jesus Christ, the Word of the Most High, the Word of Life — they recommend in the most c;irnest manner to their people, as the onlj' way (>r securing that peace which flows from a good co„science, and which alcne is durable, to fortify ihomselves every day more and more in the frinciples and exercise of the duties which the )ivine Saviour has taught to men. All the powers which may feel inclined to avow the sacred principles which have dictated the pres- ent treaty, and who may perceive how import- ant it is for the happines.s of nations too long agitated that these truths should henceforth by a responsible minister. Several minor treat- ies, but still of considerable importance in future times, were also concluded in the usual way be- tween the allied powers in this great diplomatic year. 1. The first of these regarded the seven lonianlslands, which had been taken .. , ,c.,^ ri. r^ ^ r, ■. ■ 1 r\oy. 5, lbl5. possession oi by Great Bntam during the campaign of 1813, with the exception of Corfu, ceded to them by the treaty of 1S14, but the destiny of which had not hitherto been made the subject of a formal treaty between the allied powers. It was now provided that the Islands should form a separate state, to be entitled the "United States of the Ionian Islands," to be placed under the immediate protection of Great Britain, by whom its fortresses were to be gar- risoned and governors appointed — all the other powers renouncing any pretensions in that re- spect. 2. In consideration of the f. , . j^,,- vast efforts made by Russia during " ' the preceding campaign, which, it was declared, had moved 100,000 men into the interior of France beyond what she was bound to have done by the existing treaties, of whom 40,000 were placed under the immeclirite command of Iho Duke of Wellington, besides a reserve force of l.'JOjOOO, which had passed her frontier, and advanced as far as Franconi.T, Great Britain agreed to pay to that power an additional sub- sidy of 10,400,000 francs, (X llG.GtiO.) 3. A con- vention was concluded bci'wcen the four allied powers on the 2d August, 181.5, for the . , disposal ol the person of Napoleon. By it he was declared a prisoner of the four allied powers which had signed the treaty of 2.5ll: March preceding, at Vienna. The custody of his person was in an especial manner intrusted to the British Government; but the three other powers were to name commissioners, who should exercise on human destinies all the influence reside at the place which the British Govern which should pertain to them, shall be received mcnt should assign as his ])lace of residence, with as much eagerness as affection into the , without sharing the responsibility of his delenl present alliance. (Signed) Francis, Frederick-' tion. The King of Franco was to bo invited t.i Wiliam, Alexander." There is no good Chris- send a commissioner, and the Prince-Rcgciit of tian, and even no good man with a good heart, [ Great Britain pledged himself faith- i scliodl xi. who must not feel that the princijtlcs recognized fully to perform the engagements 550, Ooa/Mnr in this treaty are those which should act jate the : undertaken by him in this treaty.' '"•'«> "'• ^27 conduct both of sovereigns and their subjects: Such were the treaties of 181.';, for ever mcni. and that the real millennium is to be looked for \ orablo as terminating, for a time 53, when they shall do so, and not till then. But the at least, the revolutionary govern- neflcctionHon experienced observer of mankind in all ranks ments in the civilized world, and these treaties and ages will regret to think how little bkely closing in a durable manner the ascend* ncy of 'hev are to bo carried xclically into ell'ect, Imperial Franco in Europe. It is hard to aa\ /o rilSTORY OF EUROPE. .Cut III whetlior llit inajjnitmle of the triumphs which h;ul piocciloil it, or the nKulcriitioii displiiyeil hy tho victors in the moinciit orcoiuiucst, were the most aiimirublc. France, imleeil, was subjected to immense pecuniary payments, but that was only in requital of those which she had, in the hoiir of her triumph, imposed on others ; — and they did not reach halt" their amount, for £01,- 000,000 sterling only was imposed on France, with its oO,OOOJ)00 oMuhabitants; whereas Na- poleon, after the battle of Jena, had imposed £■24,000,000, in contributions and military ex- actions, on Prussia alone, which had only 0,000,- WlistofEu 000 of souls in its dominions.' But rope. e. 40, <) as rcf^ards durable losses, she not 'i^■ only had no ground of complaint, but the highest reason to be satisfied and grate- ful. After the most entire conquest and subju- gation recorded in history, when her Emperor was a prisoner, her capital taken, her army dis- banded, and 1,100,000 men were in possession of her fortresses and territory, she lost only twenty square leagues of territory, just half the area of the Venaisin, the first conquest of the Revolution, which she was permitted to retain ! What did Napoleon do to Prussia after the battle of Jena ? — Deprived her of half of her dominions,' 2 Hist, of Eu- What to Austria, after the battle rope, c. xlvi, ^ of Wagram? — Cut off a sixth of '"• the whole Austrian States from the house of Hapsburg,^ If the allied powers had 'Hist. ofEu- acted to France as France did to rope, c. U. them in the hour of her triumph, ♦ 41^- they would have reft from her Lor- raine, Alsace, Picardy, Franche-Comte, French Flanders, and Roussillon, and reduced the mon- archy to what it was in the days of Louis XL And England, in an especial manner, displayed the magnanimity in prosperity which is the true test of greatness of soul. She made no attempt to retaliate upon France in the moment of its sorrow the successful partition of her dominions by the accession of Louis XVL to the American War, but when her ancient rival was prostrate at her feet, threw the whole of her weight in diplomacy to moderate the demands of the victors ; and, when the treaty was con- cluded, took neither one ship nor one village to herself, and bestowed the whole of the war in- demnity which fell to her share upon the king- dom of the Netherlands, to reconstruct the bar- «nist. ofEu- ^^^^' ■^'h'ch had been cast down by rope, c. ix. 9 the philanthropic delusions of Joseph 52- IL before the Revolution.* It was 'a the midst of the negotiations which were to lead to these results that Vwlenf'temp- ^^^ Chambers met in France, and er and dispo- the strong feelings of the nation sition of ttie found a vent in the resolutions and Chamber of measures of its representatives. It might have been anticipated, what experience soon proved to be the case, that the greatest difficulties of the Government in this crisis would be, not with the strangers, but with its own subjects, and that the violence of the legislature would call for measures which the wisdom and foresight of the executive would be fain to moderate. This is invariably the ease. Great reactions in public opinion never take place from the force of argument, howsoever convinciniT, or the evidence of facts alTecting •iihers, h w conclusive soever. Against all sudi the groat majority of mc are always suf. liuienlly fortified, il' their ])assions are inflamed, or their interests, or supposed interests, are al stake. But this very circumstance renders the reaction the more violent, and the more to be dreaded, when these passions or interests are turned the other way, and men are taught by suU'ering, and, above all, by pecuniary losses, to themselves, the consequences of the course which they have so long pursued, and to the dangers of which they remained obstinately blind till those consequences were fully devel- oped. That effect had now taken place in France; events had succeeded each other wilh more than railway speed ; the last three years had done the work of lliree centuries. Tho forces which poured into France had gone on in- creasing till they had now reached the stupen- dous amount of eleven hundred ami forty tlioit- sand men. The armed multitude was all led and maintained by the French people ; and exactions of an enormous and unheard-of amount were made upon the government, for the expenses which the putting such a crusade in motion had occasioned to the foreign governments. The truths which reason and justice would have striven in vain to impress upon the majority in France, were now brought home to every breast by the irresistible force of mortification and suf- fering ; and, in despair of effecting any thing against the Allies, who were the immediate cause of their disasters, the only 1 Cai). iii. 167 vent which the public indignation 189 ; Lam. v! could find was against the party in 373, 374; Lac France which had induced them.' '' Great as the dangers were which, under any circumstances, must have beset a ,, legislature elected amid the fer- composition vor of such feelings, they were and parties in much aggravated in France by the ^'^ Cham- peculiar situation of the provinces, from which a majority of the representatives had been drawn. The gieat addition of 133 mem- bers made to the Chamber of Representatives by the royal ordinance of July, which raised their number to 3S9, and the admission by the same ordinance of all the members of the Le- gion of Honor to the right of voting, joined to the general excitement and vehemently roused passions of the moment, had immensely increas- ed the Royalist majority in the Chamber. So entire had been the defeat of the Imperial and Republican parties in the elections, that the re- gular opposition — that is, the persons attached to the Republican or Imperial Government — • could never muster above forty or fifty votes. The majority was composed of persons about the court — emigrants, journalists, or pamphlet- eers on the side of the ancien regime^ nobles from the provinces, or red-hot Royalists from the departments — men wholly unacquainted with business, in great part imperfectly educated, but all smarting under the intolerable sense ol present wrongs, and conceiving themselves in- trusted with one only duty — that of avenging on their authors the sins and sufferings of France. One universal feeling of indignation pervaded this bod^', and in the vehement passions with which it' was animated the women of the high- est lank connected with the members stood pre-eminent, and strongly exci'led all the men with whom they were cunnecied, or whom ihey .S15.] IlISTORx" OF EUROPE. could influence. The human heart is the same ut all times, and in a'.l pi-ades of society ; and the same pi-inci[ilc which causes two-thiids of the crowd at every public execution to be com- posed ol' the humt ler part of the softer sex, now - Cap. iii. 167, '"endered many of the hif^hest fore- 189;Lani. V. ' most in the demand for scaffolds 373, 375 ; Lac. -^-hjch were to cover France with i- 409, 410. mourning.^ Several men of unquestioned talent were to Kg be found in the ranks of this formi- Thc extreme dable majorit}', and some acquired Koyalists and the lead of the several sections of their leaders. ^^,j^j^,,^ j^ ^^,^^ composed. The sec- tion of extreme Royalists, of whom the Count d'Artois, the heir-apparent to the throne, was the acknowledjTed head, and which was known in France by the name of the " Pavilion Mar- san," from the quarter in the Tuileries where the apartments of that prince were situated, was mainly under the direction of M. de Vit- rolles, a man of talent, activity, and the most agreeable manners, who had acquired an unlim- ited command over his royal master, and was looked forward to as his future prime-minister. Chateaubriand also, in the Chamber of Peers, at that period belonged to the same party, and lent it the influence of his great talents and lite- rary fame; while 31. de Bourrienne, with less genius, but superior talents for business, and all the zeal of a new convert from the Imperial regime, was a valuable all}', especially in mat- ters of detail, and those connected with the public administration. Several of the old no- blesse also, particularly M. Armand de Polig- nac, destined to a fatal celebrity in future times, M. le Vieomte Bruges, and Alexander de Boisgelin, were also numbered among their most warm adherents, and, without the aid of great talents, possessed considerable influence in 1 Cap. iii. 189 *'i'' Chamber, from their high rank, 191 ; Lam. v. and their known connection with 207,211. tije heir-apparent to the throne.* Above half of the Chamber of Deputies was 57_ composed of persons who might be The provin- considered as representing with cial deputies. fjJclity the provinces, the inhabit- ants of which formed a large majority of the peo- ple of France. It was to this class that the 133 new deputies, admitted by the royal ordinance of2'llhJuly, IM-j, chiefly belonged ; and it was that ordinance which gave them a majority in the Chamber, and rendered it so difficult of management by the court. Their ideas were peculiar, antitiuated, and for the most part at variance with the settled ideas which the Rev- olution had impressed on the metrfipolis and great towns. Common hatred of the Xapoleon- ists and sufrering under the exactions and humil- iations of the Allies, had for a time united them in common measures ; but it was easy to fore- see that this alliance could not long survive the catastrophe which had given it birth. They were at once impregnated with Royalist and Republican ideas — with the former, in so far as any measures for the support of the monarchy or the Church were concerned; with the latter, in so far as a career might be opened for the in- lelligence and ambition of the piovinces, in the offices at the disposal of the central government. Jealousy of Paris and provincial ambition were the leading princij-'es by which they were act- uated ; ihey hoped out of the departments to raise up a counterpoise to the long-established reign of the metropolis. The chiefs of this party were men of remarkable abilities, far su- perior to those of the Pavilion Marsan for the conduct of affairs, and accordingly ere long they acquired the direction of the country. M. de Bonald, I\I. de Villele, de Corbiere, and Gros- bois, were the most remarkable of them, and soon acquired the lead in a large section of the Assembly. The first was a man of decided talent, inflexible integrity, and ready conversa- tion, with the mildest manners, but the sternest and most uncompromising Royalist principles. M. de Villele, as yet unknown, and a deputy from the south of France, soon gave proof in the committees of the Chamber of those great business talents, and prodigious command of de- tails, which, like similar powers in Sir R. Peel, ultimately gave him the lead in the Assembly, and made him head of the Administration. M. de Corbiere, formerly remarkable by the in- dolence of his disposition, was roused by am- bition to different habits, and by his talent ir. drawing reports and capacity in business, soon became distinguished; while M. de Grosbois was universally respected from his energy, his eloquence, and the power which he i Cap iii. 191, evinced not less in business than 19-2 ; Lam. v. debate.i 212, 214. As is invariably the ease after the decisive triumph of one party in a great po- 58_ litical crisis, the minority, to all Tlie Opposi- practical purposes, was entirely un- 'i*^", ^"^^ its represented. The liberal opposition '^'^ '^^' in the Chamber could not at the utmost number above sixty persons in its ranks — not a sixth of the whole, which comprised 395 members ; and it was rare on a division involving any vital question that they mustered more than forty-five. But the influence of a minorit}', and its chances of ultimate success, are not always to be meas- ured by its numbers at the outset of a parlia- mentary contest; the history of England, espe- cially in later times, aflbrds numerous instances of courageous and united minorities, first com- manding respect by their talents and consistency, and ere long acquiring power by the disunion of their opponents, or tlio general admiration which their qualities have awakened. The rea- son is that the minority arc forced to evince courage and appeal to principle; and it is by these qualities that, in the long run, when the passions are excited, mankind are governed. The chiefs of this small party were M. Royer Collard, de Serres, Parcjuicr, and Bratpiey — men of lofty feelings, ardent minds, and persuasive clo(|uence, who never ascendeil the tribune with- out commanding attention, and seldom left it without having in some generous breast awak- ened sympathy, in some powerful intidlcct pro duced conviction. ]\I. Royer Collard, and de Serres in particular, were gifted with such great powers of oratory, that though they could never win over any thing like a majority to their side, they seldom failed to awaken the unanimous ad- miration of the Chamber; and from, admiration it is but a step to influence, not less in |)Mbli(! assemblies than in allairs of the heart. Siuh wa.s the power in debate of these very eminent men, that they insensit)ly won over .several of the chief members on the other side to their opinions on HISTORY OF EUROPE. [Chap. Ill ninny poii.ts ; nmonpr whom may I'O named M. llyilc Jo Neiiville, one of the ablest ami noblest n( ilie Royalists, whose subsequent eareer lias sullieienily proved the elevation of his mind and 1 Cap. iii. 193, P"'''V "' 1>'S principles,' and who 106; Lac. i.' has dcmonstrateil, like C'hatcaubri- «n,4ia and, that the warmest devotion to the throne, in jjeneious breasts, is consistent with, and in truth proceeds from, the same prin- ciples as the most sincere attachment to public liberty. The Chamber of Peers deserves much less rn consideration, for unhappily the f^en- tompos'ition eial want of great and independent 01" lUe Cliam- proprietors in its ranks, the servil- her oi Peers, jjy ^,.,j frequent tergiversations by which it had invariably been distinguished in later times, and the recent creation of ninety-two new peers by the king, had nearly deprived it of all consideration in the country. The major- ity was decided on the Royalist side; indeed, the recent numerous creations were made with no other view but to effect that object. But it was less compact and decided than the majority in the Chamber of Deputies ; for, being com- posed for the most part of men experienced in )uil)lie life, it was more inclined to moderation — of those inured to revolutions, disposed to tem- porize. The leaders of the Royalist majority were the Count Jules de Polignae, the Dukes de Fitzjames. de Serent, d'Uzes, and de Grammont, and the Viscount de Chateaubriand. The great literary fame and splendid eloquence of the last would have rendered him beyond all question the most powerful man in the Assembl}', had his rea- son been as powerful as his imagination, his con- sistency as his oratory. But unfortunately these qualities were by no means equally strong in his ardent mind ; and he adds another to the numer- ous examples which go to prove that in public life the judgment is a more important faculty than even genius, and that it is not so much the pre-eminence of any one mental quality, as their happy combination, which is the secret of suc- cess. Ever energetic and eloquent, he was not always consistent : on reviewing his political life, it is hard to say what his opinions really were ; and no better refutation can sometimes 2 Cap. iii. 198 ^'^ sought for his arguments at one 199; Lac. i. ' period than his speeches at an- 4o«,4ii. other." The session was opened by the king in person, gQ with great pomp, on the 7th Octo- Opening'oftlie ber. The restoration of the Bour- Chamber, and bons. the unparalleled misfortunes kina'"o° t *7.^ which had befallen the country, the "' ' still greater evils which it was fear- ed were impending over it, all tended to invest the ceremony with a melancholy and absorbing interest. The sovereign appeared, surrounded by his brothers, his nobles, the marshals of the empire, and all the pomp of the monarchy; and the speech which he delivered is memorable, not only as an important state paper in an unparal- leled crisis, but as known to have been his unaid- ed composition.* He spoke as follows : "When, * " J'ai eu ce discours tout entier ecrit de la main du Roi, sur una petite feuille de papier a lettre, avec cette Dcriture si nette, qu'il ernployait a la correspondance. 11 »e reservait la redaction claire et elegante de ses discours ; il y rnettail un soin iiifini ; c'etait pour lui une alTaire lit- teraire a laquelle il attachait de rimportatie ■, nieme sous In rapiion du style."— CAPEfiGUE, ni. 203 last year, I for the first time convoked the Cham- bers, I congraluhitod myself upon having, by an honorable treaty, restored peace to France. It was beginning to taste the fruits of it, a!! the sources of public prosperity were reopening, when a criniinal enterprise, seconded by the most inconceivable defection, arrested their course. The evils which that ephemeral usurpation have caused to my country alllict me profoundly; but I must declare, that if it had been possible they could have reached me alone, I should have re- turned thanks to Providence. The marks of at- tachment which my people have given me, in tho most critical moments, have been a solace to my personal distresses; but those of my subjects, of my children, press upon my heart. It is in order to put a period to that state of suspense, more trying than war itself, that I have felt it my duty to conclude with the powers who, after having overturned the usurper, occupy at present a great part of our territory, a convention which will regulate our present and future relations with them. It will be communicated to you without any reservation, when it has received the last formalities. You will feel, the whole of France will feel, the profound grief which I must have ft It on the occasion ; but the salvation of my kingdom rendered that great determination nec- essary : and when I took it, I felt the whole duties which it imposed upon me. I have directed that this year there should be transferred from my privy purse to the ceneral exchequer a consid- erable part of my revenue ; my family, the mo- ment they heard of my resolution, have done tho same. 1 have ordered similar reductions on the salaries of all my servants, without exception; I shall ever be ready to share in the sacrifices which mournful circumstances have imposed upon my people. The public accounts will be laid before you; you will at once see the neces-' sity of the economy which I have prescribed to my ministers in all branches of the administration. Happy if these measures shall meet the exi- gencies of the state ; but, in any event, I reckon on the devotion of the nation, and the zeal of the Chambers. But other, sweeter, and not less im- portant cares await your attention. It is to give weiirht to your deliberations, and to obtain myself the advantage of greater light, that 1 have created new peers and augmented the number of the dep- uties. I hope I have succeeded in my choice; and the zeal of the deputies, in such a difficult conjuncture, is a proof alike that they are ani- mated by a sincere afleetion for my person and an ardent love for our country. It is therefore with asweet joy and entire confidence that I be- hold you assembled around me, certain that you will never lose sight of the fundamental basis of the felicity of the state, a cordial and loyal union of the Chambers with the King, and re- spect for the constitutional charter. That char ter — on which I have meditated with care be- fore giving it — to which reflection every day attaches me more — which I have sworn to main- tain, and to which you all, beginning with ray family, are about to swear obedience — is, with- out doubt, like all human institutions, susceptible of improvement ; but I am sure none of you will ever forget that side by side with the advantage of amelioration is the danger of innovation. To I cause religion to flourish, 'o purify the public j morals, to found liberty on a uespect for ihc laws, ISlft.J HISTORY OF EUROPE, to fjive stability to credit, reorganize the arm}', Ileal the wounds which have too much wound- ed our country, to secure internal Oct "la'Tsis • tranquillity, and cause France to be Lam. V. Z~g] respected without : these are the 378 ; Cap. iii. en^jg to which all our efiorts should ^'''^"'- tend."' These were noble and dignified expressions, worthy of a king of France meeting vrnTin^i'.n the representatives of his people in which the a period ot unequalled gloom and speech was difficulty. Inexpressibly striking receiveu by ^j scene which the Chamber he Chamber. i , • i ■ i i- presented during their delivery. There was none of the enthusiasm usually ex- hibited on these occasions ; none of the trans- ports which in general attend the restoration of a monarch of an ancient race to the throne of his fathers. The Chamber was profoundly loyal, but the public misfortunes crushed every heart. It was known that a treaty of peace was in progress, that grievous exactions would be made by the Allies, and that probably a consid- erable portion of the territory on the frontier would require to be abandoned. Sadness, con- sternation, despair, were on every countenance as the words so prophetic of evil were pro- nounced by the king. The obscurity of the ex- pressions rendered them more terrible ; no one knew what the impending calamity would be, or on whom it would fall. The deputies of the departments which it was feared would be ceded on the frontier, shed tears at the thoughts of their approaching severance from their country. It was felt by all that a family long united was about to be broken up ; the well- \k)^^C^ ^"^' known halls would be deserted — 203 ' 204. * the gladsome hearth become deso- late.* The king, before even the session began, had g2 a convincing proof of the thorns Difficulties at with which his path was to be be- taking the set. The oath of fidelity to the Oath of Fidel- j^jj^^ ^^^^ ^^^ Constitution required to be taken by the whole of the leg- islature, beginning with the peers of the blood- royal. But here a didieulty at once arose. The Count d'Artois at first refused to take the oath, and it was only after a long and diflicult negotiation that his scruples were overcome. The Prince of Conde made similar dilfieulties, and feigned sickness to avoid taking it. M. Jules de Polignac and M. de la Bourdonnayc refused to take it altogether, though they were among the newly-created peers. The deputy of Montauban, when called on, insisted on mak- ing some reservations. These incidents were not material, but they indicated the strength of the prevailing feeling, and in what quarter it was that the princi[>al dilliculties of the session would arise. When the vote came to be taken for the president of the Chamber, the strength of the several parties was at once demonstrated. M. Laine, the president during the former year, and whose intrepid conduct on more than one eventful crisis had won for him the esteem of all parties, was indeed called to the chair by a large majority ; he had ^'28 votes out of 340. But. the strength of the opposition was tried and appeared on the vote for the second candidates, or supplians. The Prince de la Tremoiiillr, who represented the opinions, and was support- ed by the whole strength ol the Count d' At- tois' party, had 229 votes; \vhile i Moniteur M. de la Rigaudie, who united the Oct. 15 and suftVages of the united Liberals and ?7> '^'^ •,*;:*? moderate Royalists, had only 1C9 Lam v. 3&4.' votes. 1 The answer of the Chambers, though upon the whole, as the speeches of the ^g mover and seconder of the Address An^werofthe are in England, an echo of the «"hambcr of speech from the Throne, yet gave Deputies proof of the profound feelings of indignation with which the representatives were animated '•The evils of the country," said M. de Laine, "are great, but they are not irreparable. If the nation, albeit inaccessible to the seduction of the usurper, must nevertheless bear the bur- den of a defection in which it has taken no share, it will submit. But in the midst of our wishes for universal concord, and even to cement it, it is our duty to solicit your justice against those who have imperilled alike the throne and the nation. Your clemency. Sire, has been without bounds ; we do not come to ask yon to retract it ; the promises of kings, we know well, should be held sacred. But we do supplicate you, in the name of the people, who have been over- whelmed by the weight of their misfortunes, to cause justice to march when clemency is arrest- ed; and let those who, now encouraged by the impunity they have enjoyed, are not afraid to make a parade of their rebellion, be delivered ovei to the just severity oy the tribunals. The Cham- ber will zealously concur in the passing of such laws as may be necessary to eflect that object. We will not speak of the necessity of intrusting to none but pure hands the ditlerent branches of your authority. The ministers who surround you present sufficient guarantees in that respect. Their vigilance in its prosecution will be the more easily exercised that the events s Moniteur which have occurred, have suffi- Oct. 17, 1815; ciently revealed every sentiment, ^'ap. iii. 207, and laid bare every thought." ^ ^08. The first measures proposed in the Chamber were nothing but an attempt to g^ carry into execution these ulcer- Law against ated feelings. They were chielly seditious three : a law against seditions cries ; *^''^'^^- *-*"• ^"• one suspending individual liberty, and investing Government with extraordinary power of arrest ; and one establishing courts-marliul for the sum- mary trial of political oU'endcrs. The first was introduced by M. Barbc-Marbois. the Keeper of the Seals, who thus expressed the grounds on which Government proceeded in bringing forward the measure: "If great atrocities have been committed ; if, to avoid his own destruction, the loyal citizen has been comiielled to rcmair. a passive spectator of the deeds of seditious mobs; if crime has enjoyed for some time fatal triumphs, these calamities arc prolonged even when their success has been intcrrui)tc(l. Then it is that the insurgents endeavor, by the forco of audacity, to recover their lost ground; the seditious mutually encourage each other, and exert the nselves to bo seen in every place, and at every hour, as if advancing to an assured victory. If they succeed in inspiring fear, they associate in their ranks all whom tiic army lias expelled with indignation, and all the criminals whom their obscurity has screened from lh» HISTORY OF ErPvOPE. IChaf. Ill vencenncc of the lav i. ShouliI tlio l\iroe of the lioviTiiinoiit arrest tlieir ilesif,'ns, ihey never tiiiiik of renounein