coasts; the interior will now be enlivened. In Morbihan, Napoleonville is proceeding the plans decreed this year; it is al upon rounded; at Ambleteuse, the works necessary for deepening the port, the elevation of the jetty, which protects it from the sand driven against it by the west winds, the line-ready advanced. Military structures and walls, and the buildings; at Brest, the for- civil edifices are erecting there--the Lyceum mation of an artificial island, the excavations is ready for the reception of one hundred in the rock, the hospitals, the magazines, and fifty pupils. Situated in the centre of the arsenal, the barracks, and the completion the new canals of ci-devant Bretagne, Naof the batteries; at Antwerp, the continua- poleonville will, in peace, be the centre of tions of the rapid works, which are to form an extended commerce; in war, an imposthe arsenal of our marine, on the North Sea, ing military centre, a depôt for the equirthe erection of quays and work-shops; in ment of our marine. La Vendée hails the road of Rochefort, the jetties on which the birth of its new capital; the city of Fort Bayard is to be erected, and the opera- Napoleon has beheld the foundations laid for tions of every kind required by this difficult all the great establishments which are suited construction. Eleven other points have to its destiny, and are capable of vivifying constantly had works in activity; Ostend, for the department, of which it is the centre. the completion of the batteries, and the for- Issuing from a forest, formerly deserted, it mation of a marine hospital; Dunkirk, for will summon the bustle of commerce, by cleansing and repairs; Etaples, for the esta the roads that will cross each other under its blishment of a powder magazine; Havre, walls; it will behold its happy situation refor the maintenance of its establishments; sorted to, by a population, faithful and del'Orient, for the erection of an armoury, and voted to the Prince, who has restored to it, the repairs of its buildings; Rochefort, for religion, tranquillity, and abundance,-The the repair of the quays, the enclosure of the Emperor has given permission for his name arsenal, &c.; Toulon, for the construction to be impressed on those two magnificent of the general magazine which was burned, works, as on two unperishable medals: they the building for the great masts, and the will revive the recollection of great calamiworks for raising four vessels, by which it ties completely retrieved.-But here, and it was obstructed. This port, one of the most is necessary to declare it boldly to the nation, beautiful works of art and nature, recovered that its safety requires that a numerous arfrom its disasters, will soon be free from my should be kept on foot; that fleets should every vestige of them; the same hand which be constructed, and seamen raised to protect took it from the enemy, will restore it to its our commerce, our colonies, and our rights. former prosperity.- The erection of 125 These circumstances require productive fiweighing machines, 100 of which have al- nances. The Emperor thinks eight hundred ready reached the places of their destination, millions will be necessary in time of war, decreed by the laws of the 29th Floreal, year and upwards of six hundred during peace; 10, and the 25th Ventôse, year 12, will se- as the fate of a country should never be left cure the roads from the injuries committed to the mercy of an obscure plot, nor any by the imprudence of carriers, by obliging intrigue of a cabinet; but in all cases, it them to proportion the breadth of their should be ready to make head against any wheels to the weight of their carriages- storm, and silence the jealous clamours of Three telegraphic lines are formed to Brest, its enemies. It is the will of the Emperor, Brussels, and Strasburgh; and branches to as well as the desire of the whole nation, to Boulogne and Cape Grinez. A fourth line augment our navy; and, as we lost some will, in six monthlis, extend to Milan, through ships in the late engagements, it is a new Lyons and Turin.The organization of motive for redoubling our ardour. A great bridges and causeways, established on a plan number of our cruizers are scouring the more extensive, and more regular, decreed seas, and have attacked the commerce of in the year 12, and executed in the year 13, our enemies in the remotest regions. Our insures pensions to old age, rewards to ser- whole flotilla shall shortly revive by the revices, advancement to merit, and encourage- turn to its banks of the conquerors of Uln ment to all the engineers; and proportions and Austerlitz. But all those warlike meathat corps, throughout the whole extent of sures shall be nothing more than measures France, to the system of the public works. to peace, and even of a moderate peace, in -Two new cities are rising in the bosom of which we shall secure the pledge of not be a country, formerly desolated by civil war, ing surprised and seized upon under the and too long a stranger to our commerce, most vain and perfidious pretences; it were and to our arts, as well as to our manners. otherwise better to endure still the miseries Its whole population was fixed upon the of war, rather than make a peace which would expose us to new losses, and afford fresh aliment to the bad faith and avarice of our enemies. The union of Piedmont with France, two years ago, rendered necessary the union of Genoa, which is a part of it. That of the city of Genoa, for a long time occupied by the French, and defended by them during the second coalition, is a consequence of the will and independence of that republic. This union does not increase our strength on the Continent; England alone had the right to complain of it; nor was it the cause of the war just terminated. The union took place in June, and in the month of April, the cabinet of Petersburg had been seduced by the intrigues of England. The abasement of France, the dispossessing her of her provinces, was decreed. It was not only the kingdom of Italy, of which they would have deprived us; Piedmont, Savoy, the Duchy of Nice, even Lyons, and the united departments, Holland, Belgia, the fortresses on the Meuse, these were the conquests prescribed to the confederates by England; and to this they certainly would not have confined themselves, if they had triumphed over the perseverance of the French people.-England attaches no great interest to Italy. Belgium is the true ground of the hatred which she bears to us. But Holland, the hundred and ten departments of France, the kingdom of Italy, Venice, Dalmatia, Istria, and Naples, are now under the protection of the Imperial Eagle and the union of those states only affords us the means of being formida ble on our frontiers and coast.- Bavaria, Wirtemberg, Baden, and several of the principal powers of Germany, are our allies. Spain, firm to its purpose, has manifested a laudable diligence, valour, and fidelity.-In former wars, England and Russia had promised the Emperor of Austria an augmentation in Italy, to draw him into war; but that Monarch, better informed of the state of things, has acknowledged the danger of being in alliance with England, and leaves all the affairs of Italy to France: having merely gained re-possession of his states through the moderation and magnanimity of the Emperor, he knows that he can only find in the friendship of France, the repose and happiness which his subjects want more than any other nation in Europe.The Emperor of Russia, unable to do us harm, will feel, that the true policy of his country is concnetered in the friendship of France; every thing, as well as his genuine glory, is .fi concentered in the liberation of the seas, and in the refusal to recognise principles which are detrimental even to the smallest states, and which has led them to sustain bombardments and blockades, rather than submit to acknowledge these principles.-The Emperor, after each victory, offered peace to Austria. He also offered it to Naples before the war-peace violated as soon as sworn, and which has produced the downfal of that house. He also offers it to England. He does not mean to force that power to proceed from the prodigious changes made in India, as little as Austria and Russia from the partition of Poland; but he has a right to refuse to recede from the alliances and unions which form the new federative systems of the French empire.-Turkey has continued under the yoke of Russia; and it was the Emperor's chief aim, by getting Dalmatia into his hands, to be ready to protect the most ancient of our allies, and to enable him to maintain his independence, which is of more importance to France than to any other power. The first coalition, terminated by the treaty of Campo Formio, had the favourable issue for France of the acquisition of Belgium, the frontier-separation of the Rhine, the bringing of Holland under the federative influence of France, and the con quest of the states now forming the kingdom of Italy. The second coalition gave it Pied mont; the third brings Venice and Naples under the federative system.-Let England be finally convinced of her imbecility: let her not try to operate a fourth coalition, if it were, in the nature of things, possible to renew it. Such have been the exertions of government for the glory and prosperity of France; the Emperor looks only to what remains to be done, which he considers as superior to what he has already performed; but it is not conquest that he projects. He has exhausted military glory. He wants none of those bloody laurels, which he has been compelled to gather-To perfect the public administration; to make it a source of lasting happiness for his people, as well as of an increasing prosperity; to render his acts the lesson and the example of a pure and elevated morality; to ierit the blessings not only of the present, but future generations, whose interests ever occupy his mind: such is the glory which he aims to possess; such is the recompence which he promises himself, for a life devoted to the most noble, but, at the same time, the most painful duties. Printed by Cox and Baylis, No. 75, Great Queen Strect, and published by R Bagshaw, Bow Street, Covent Garden, where former Numbers may be had; sold also by J. Budd, Crown and Mitre, Pall-Mall. VOL. IX. No. 17.] " LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1806. [PRICE 10D. "I shall be satisfied, if ministers (the Addingtons) will take up the matter (the seizure of "the Carnatic by Lord Wellesley) in such a way as to bring it to a full and fair investiga ❝tion; but, if they do not, I pledge myself to take it up in such a way, that, if the government of India has been guilty of the inordinate acts which are now charged upon them, the British nation, at least, shall be rescued from the suspicion of giving countenance to acts so flagrant and atrocious."- MR. SHERIDAN's Speech in the House of Commons, 28th of June, 1802. " I retain all my former sentiments respecting the transactions in the Carnatic; but, I have expressed, in confidence, to the honorable gentleman (Mr. Francis), the impropriety of "introducing any subject that would have a tendency to divide His Majesty's ministers at "this important crisis. A time may come, perhaps, when the subject may be taken up "with advantage, but I do not think that the present moment is a favorable one."MR. SHERIDAN'S Speech in the House of Commons, 22d April, 1806. "But, gentlemen, what ought most powerfully to attract your attention, is, that His Majesty's ministers, that the men to whose hands are committed the receipt and the dis"bursement of that immense amount of taxes, which are taken from the fruit of your "labour, have, from the first moment to the present, exerted their power and their in"fluence to the utmost stretch, for the purpose of screening Lord Melville."- -MR. Fox's Speech to the electors of Westminster, in Palace Yard, 3d May, 1805. "To all these points we beg the best attention of your honourable House. We beseech you to pursue with effect what you began with so much honor. We intreat you not to "relax in your efforts till you have brought Viscount Melville to condign punishment, and given to all, who shall be found to have committed similar crimes, a signal demonstration, that, in the representatives of the people, instead of abettors of their iniquities, they will find only the faithful guardians of the nation, and the zealous vindicators of "the laws. And by so doing your petitioners will ever pray."- -PETITION OF THE ELECTORS OF WESTMINSTER, seconded by Mr. Fox, and presented by him, 3d May, 1805 "When a bad system has prevailed, the best mode of remedying it is not by impeaching “an individual, but by removing the person who has carried on such a system, and to "take care that none such shall be acted upon in future...... I believe, that, in some "cases, charges against individuals may be brought forward, rather with a view to popularity, than from any very ardent desire to promote the ends of justice......... No "honest man, in a criminal case before the House, would wish to use any other influence "than that derived from the force of truth; and, for this reason, I shall wait till the "whole of the information is before the House, and I highly disapprove of sounding a trumpet in every stage of the business."MR. Fox's Speech in the House of Commons 18th April, 1806. 609] SUMMARY OF POLITICS. AFFAIRS OF INDIA. (Continued from pages, 171, 197, 237, 303, 368, 460, 530, and 545.) On Friday, the 18th instant, a debate took place in the House of Commons, upon a motion, made by Mr. Paull for the production of papers relative to the conduct of Marquis Wellesley towards another of the unfortunate princes of India.. In the course of this debate, Mr. Francis took occasion to repeat, that, having published his speech of the 5th of April last, in which speech the conduct of Lord Wellesley was 1610 condemned in the most unqualified terms, Mr. Fox, after having read that speech, in a pamphlet, told him Mr. Francis, that the speech was unanswerable. This opinion, thus deliberately given, Mr. Francis.certainly meant the House to compare with Mr. Fox's present conduct, with regard to Lord Wellesley; and, the effect of auch comparison, the reader will already have felt in his own mind. Mr. Fox, having evidently made up his mind to go the full length, through the whole of the question, rese, and said, that, the speech referred to, he did say was unanswerable, but, he meant of course, that it was unanswerable, "unless some one should be able to answer "it"! Whether we should call this a mental reservation, or by what other name we should depominate it, is a question that one would like to refer to some Doctor of St. Omer's, if that celebrated seminary were not, unhappily, no longer in existence. He said, that, if he approved of Mr. Francis's speech upon the whole, he particularly approved of that part of it, wherein the honourable gentleman expressly declined the intention of impeaching Lord Wellesley.The whole of this speech of Mr. Fox was curious in the highest degree, Some of its most prominent sentiments will be found in the last paragraph of my motto. I have stated them as I find them in the newspapers; and I do sincerely wish, that I could doubt of the correctness of the statement; but, to my great grief and mortification, I myself heard them uttered. Upon these sentiments it was my intention to make some observations; but, having received, from a real friend of Mr. Fox; from a friend long disinterestedly attached to him, a letter, addressed to that gentleman upon the subject, I will insert the letter here, word for word, and, whatever may be whispered in the hear of Mr. Fox, however he may flatter himself, or be soothed by the flattery of others, I venture to affirm, that this man expresses the opinions and the feelings of all, yea of ull those, whose attachment has hitherto reflected honour upon Mr. Fox," To the Right Honourable Charles James Fox. Sir, when I first saw your name on the list of his Majesty's confidential servants, I was one of those who looked for a most happy result, I had supposed, that the æra had arrived, when the country might expect to see realized, what the promise of many years had held out : that there would be a speedy enquiry into, and a thorough remedy of all subsisting abuses. But I am concerned to find, from your late parliamentary declarations, that our hopes, here, are to be sadly disappointed: and that we are to behold the disinterested patriot, dwindling, from paltry personal considerations, into the dependant of a party, and into the defender of those abuses, which he solemnly pledged himself to reform.I do not mean to say, sir, because you had once stood forth, as the advocate of supposed Eastern wrongs, that you should volunteer your services, without a knowledge of the subject, or a conviction of the merits of it, in the support of every case, wherein prejudice or partiality should think fit to demand them. But though you have not accepted, nor are bound by any general retainer; we surely might have expected from Mr. Fox another sort of declaration, than that which he has made; which is not only at war with all his former, principles, but with every notion of justice and of right; which would not only go to discourage every enquiry, but to protect every delinquent; whatsoever might be his of fences or his crimes.You have shewn no shame, but have assumed, Sir, rather a pride, in the public dereliction of sentiment. For you have applauded the conduct of your former colleague, (Mr. Francis) on the question of the Mahratta war, because he saught not in the investigation, to involve the advisers of that unhappy measure in the pains of a criminal prosecution. You have expressed yourself satisfied, that the author of the mischief, if it were any, had been driven from his office. Your argument deems it sufficient to cut off the existing evil, without examining how it originated, or preventing, by wholesome correctives, the possible recurrence of it. That it is enough in all bad measures, to take away the framers of them, so as to leave, no doubt, a free circulation of offices-that this may be convenient for placemen, we will not dený, but that this is a doctrine to be favoured by the minister of the day, is too intolerable to bear.What, Sir, are men to be permitted to go from one enormity to another (for to such an extent does your argument proceed), and when the measure of their sins is full, that, gorged with gain, and bloated with blood, they be allowed to retire from their situations, to the enjoyment of their well-earned wealth, in peace and in impunity?That they be dismissed in course, with “Edisti satis atque bibisti, p "Tempus abire? Thus, the only security against future maladministration, is the expected virtue of the new minister; in which, it is not very impossible, as I have, shewn, that we inay eventually be deceived. But what, in such an order of things, should insure the right use of power in the successor? Certainly not the escape or immunity of his predecessor. He is to be left at large; and if the example teach him any thing, it is this: "Go and do thou likewise!"-To this strange doctrine of the inviolability of the persons of gover. ors, you have added something yet more strange as to the consideration of their offences: I allude, Sir, to your declaration about systems. You have stated,-giving a seeming credit to the acts of the late Governor-General of India, which you confess that you have not yet considered,-that, sick of impeachments, you are not inclined to impeach any governor, merely for the system of his government. This avowal may square, perhaps, with your present notions of responsibility, but cannot be reconciled to any received opi nion of mankind.- -What if a man lay down a rule of rapine and of murder,-which, I think, is your argument,-and have nerve and hardihood enough to pursue it, in an undeviating course, and with laudable and persevering industry, that he shall find, in the continuation of his enormities, the exculpation and expiation of his guilt! that is a puny, solitary sin, may be prosecuted to conviction and the scaffold; but when a bold and barefaced crime is kept in countenance by a hundred brethren of the same dye, it is to lose, in the new school of morality, the opprobrium and the name of guilt, and to be dignified with the appellation of a liberal and enlightened system worthy of approbation, and exempt from vulgar sanction. This is a principle which few would dare to broach; and none, with less ability than you possess, could possibly attempt to vindicate.-I have sought not, in what I have just written, to pronounce an opinion,' one way or other, on the merits or demerits of Lord Wellesley's government; but to acquaint you, that your friends have noticed your extraordinary assertions on this head, with concern and regret; for the meanest capacity must be sensible, that your new principle, in every application of it, but more particularly to the affairs of a distant government, is replete with danger. Incalculable mischief night be committed in India, before the report of it could reach the mother-country; and before the author of it could be removed, the evil might be come irremediable. I think it may be added, that there can be no chance of a pure government in the East, but by teaching governors, by severe, but salutary examples, that, as the national confidence is particularly reposed in them, the abuse of their power will be visited by a pu nishment suitable to their crimes." The words, as quoted from Mr. Fox's speech in Palace Yard, I myself heard, and very much approved of. I was one amongst those who signed the petition; and what, then, must be my sentiments at hearing the speech last quoted! It is easy for the sycophants of Whitehall to imputesto me "love of opposition" it is easy for them to say, that I must always be in opposi 66 tion" but, I can assure them, that these imputations and assertions will in no a wise serve their purpose: the public wil see the consistency of my conduct, and, in spite of all such imputations, they will applaud it. My wish, and my confident expectation was, not to be in what is called opposition, and, of this, I am certain the ministers themselves are well convinced; but, if the choice lies between going into opposition, and an abandonment of my principles, no one man whom I respect will think it necessary for me to hesitate. Mr. Fox's conduct has given me great pain. I do not say this by way of trick. He knows that I do not. He knows that I always expected a change of system, and especially a rigorous pursuit of all peculators, a rigid inquiry into, and correction of, all abuses that were known to exist, and particularly those abuses which tended. to burden the already over-burdened people. I was always of opinion, an opinion a hundred times over expressed, that, without this, it were better that no change of men should take place. This opinion might be erroneous. I think, that it was not so. But, be that as it may, it was my expressed opinion; and, therefore, for the sycophants of Whitehall now to pretend that I have changed, merely from a love of opposition, can be regarded as nothing more than a proof that they have not one single argument on We now come to the debar side. 1 of Monday, the 21st instant, upon a motion of Lord Archibald Hamilton for producing, upon the table of the House of Commons, a copy of the intended dispatch of the Court of Directors to Lord Wellesley, dated 3d of April, 1805. This motion was, as usual, resisted by Mr. Fox. His reason may easily be guessed at, when it is known, that he was most loudly cheered by Lord Temple; or, better, perhaps, when the reader has considered the reasons for producing it, as stated in page 545 and the following. Upon this occasion Mr. Windham and Dr. Laurence stood forth in the cause of far investigation. They broke loose from the shackles that appear to have been, and still to be, so powerful. Mr. Wilberforce and several other independent members of parliament supported the motion. The debate closed with a division, which produced only 27 votes for it, while there were 121 against it. Those who voted in the minority were as follow Andover, Lord w Fonblanque, J, Moore, P. Prinsep, J. Thellusson, G. W Wiberforce, W, |