the presence of the nation, I declare, I will take with pleasure the oath of obedience to the Constitution of the Empire, and of fidelity to the Emperor? (General cries of" To the vote! to the vote!") M. GOURLAC-The Member has spoken of the efforts of the foreigners to divide us; it might have been added, that in La Vendee the enemies of the interior employ all means to subdue the men of the revolution. I am for the oath (Fresh calls of " To the vote! to the vote!") The President consults the Chamber, and the proposal for the oath is unanimously carried. M. Gen. CARNOT-I move, that to add to the glory and to the enthusiasm of our armies, the Chamber decree that they deserved well of their country. They have avoided the shedding of blood, and their moderation has equalled their courage. Representatives took the benches in the centre. There was a bench for the Ministers and Council of State. His Majesty was received at the foot of the steps by the President and twenty-five Members of the Representative body. His Majesty stopt in the hall and received the President and Vice-Presidents, who were severally presented to him. He then entered the Assembly amidst the unanimous acclamations of all present, who received him standing. Having taken his place on the throne, surrounded by the Princes, Grand Dignitaries, Ministers, and Grand Eagles of the Legion of Honour, &c.: the Master of the Ceremonies received his Majesty's order to invite the Peers and Representatives to sit down. The President of the Representatives took his seat in a chair in the centre of the hall, having two ushers behind him. The names of the Peers M. DUCHESNE-We are all of the same were then called over, and each took the mind respecting the army. It has given oath. A Secretary having called the name proofs, and its glory is established. But of the first alphabetically, pronounced the in the present circumstance we ought to form of the oath." I swear obedience to say only that we expect every thing from the Constitutions of the Empire, and fideits courage. Since it has not yet been lity to the Emperor." The Peer, standable to signalize itself afresh, I do not ing up and lifting up his hand, said, I think that (marked and gencral disappro- swear it." In like manner the Chamber bation.) of Representatives was called over alphaM. REGNAULT DE ST. JEAN ANGELY-betically, and took the oath each, in the With all our attachment to the army, I same terms. The appeal being thus gone must say that the declaration demanded through, the Emperor uncovered for a by General Carnot, cannot emanate from moment, then having re-covered his head a single branch of the Legislature. We he delivered the following speech: are not definitively constituted; hence we have not even the legal character necessary to make it the object of a simple resolution. But if you cannot alone give this honourable testimony to your sons, to mine who forms part of that formidable barrier to foreign invasion, to those brave National Guards, raised on all sides, and in a number which it is not yet time to disclose to our enemies, it is to the whole nation to pay that sacred debt. I move, that acknowledging all the justice of our Colleague's proposal, the decision be adjourned till after the union of the three powers. The adjournment was pronounced. PARIS, JUNE 8.-Yesterday, at four o'clock, his Majesty the Emperor went in state to the Palace of Representatives, to open the Session of the Legislature. The Peers went with an escort of honour to the Palace of Representatives, and took their seats to the right of the throne; the Messieurs of the Chamber of Peers and Messieurs of the Chamber of Representatives-For the last three months existing circumstances and the cor fidence of the nation have invested me with unli. mited authority. The present day will behold the fulfilment of the wish dearest to my heart. I now commence a Constitutional Monarchy.Mortals are too weak to insure future events; it is solely the legal institutions which determine the destinies of nations. Monarchy is necessary to France, to guarantee the liberty, the independence, and the rights of the people-Our Constitution and laws are scattered; one of our most important occupations will be to collect them into a solid body, and to bring the whole within the reach of every mind. This work will recommend the present age to the gratitude of future gene. ratious. It is my wish that France should enjoy all possible liberty. I say possible, because Oft did NAPOLEON offer PEACE, anarchy resolves itself into absolute Government. ↑ die rather than survive the dishonour and degra. A formidable coalition of Kings threaten our dation of France. The sacred cause of the counindependence; their armies are approaching our try shall triumph! frontiers. The frigate La Melpomene has been This discourse was followed by cries of attacked and captured in the Mediterranean Vive l'Empereur! Vive l'Imperatrice! after a sanguinary action with au English ship of Vive la Famille Imperiale! Vive la Patrie! Vive la Nation!-The same accla 74 guns. Blood bas been shed in time of peace. mations, the same transports, followed his Our enemies reckon on our interual divisions! Majesty when passing through the crowd They excite and foment a civil war. Assemblages of Deputies, as he left the hall. The Prehave been formed, and communications are car-sident re-conducted the Emperor at the ried on with Ghent, in the same manner as with head of the Deputation. Coblentz in 1792. Legislative measures are, therefore, become indispensibly necessary; and I ON THE THREATEN'D INVASION OF FRANCE. place my confidence, without reserve, in your paAnno Domini 1815. triotism, your wisdom, and your attachment to my person. The Liberty of the Press is inherent in our present Constitution; nor can any change be made in it, without altering our whole political system; but it must be subject to legal restrictions, more especially in the present state of the nation. I therefore recommend this important matter to Swearing they'll once more FRANCE invade your serious consideration. My ministers will inform you of the situation of our affairs. The finances would be in a satisfactory state, except from the increase of expence which the present circumstances renders necessary; yet we might face every thing, if the receipts contained in the budget were all realizable within the year. It is to the means of arriving at this result that my minister of finance will direct your attention. It is possible that the first duty of a Prince may soon call me to the head of the sons of the nation, to fight for the country-the army and myself will do our duty.-You, Peers and Representatives, give to the nation an example of confi. dence, energy, and patriotism; and, like the senate of the great people of antiquity, swear to Temple, June 12th, 1815. And still his foes refuse to treat. A Bourbon on her throne to seat: Thus, among nations, FRANCE alone A host of foes, where he appears; Nor further dictate laws to France, ALFRED N. Printed and Published by G. HOUSTON, No, 192, Strand; where all Communications addressed to the Editor, are requested to be forwarded. VOL. XXVII. No. 25.] LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1815. [Price 1s. 7697 LETTER V. To LORD CASTLEREAGH. On the late WESTMINSTER MEETING, and on the Declarations of MR. HUNT with regard to the conduct of the EMPEROR NAPOLEON, as far as relates to the Death of the DUKE OF ENGHIEN and CAPTAIN WRIGHT. C [770 they appear to have been threatened. They now see, that no one had a right, that no one had a legal authority, to prevent them from meeting; and, another time, it is to be hoped, that they will remember this. The "SEDITION BILLS" may, indeed, be revived; but, then, we shall have liberty to talk about the revival; shall we not, my Lord? And the world, especially the French and Americans, will hear what we say; will they not, my pired long ago. Yet, such is the effect of habit, especially the habit of submission, that the people have continued to act ever since, as if the penal laws about Meetings were still in existence! The City of Westminster, with SIR FRANCIS BURDETT at their head, have set an example of spirit sufficient to overcome this habitual submissiveness, and that example will, I dare say, now be followed by other places. MY LORD, The public prints inform The people of Nottingham were, the other us, that, at the Meeting of the City of day, deterred from holding a public meetWestminster, held on the 15th instant, toing to petition against the war. Indeed, consider of another petition to the House ommons, their former petition against * French war having been refused to be eived by that honourable body; at Meeting, we are told, that your rdship was present, in your capacity f course, of a citizen of Westminster. I was sorry to perceive, that your Lordship was not well received by your fellow citizens, who, it is stated in the Times newspaper, attacked you, and compelled you to seek safety in the speed of your horse. It is also added, that it was found to be necessary to send a detachment of HORSE SOLDIERS to guard YOUR HOUSE during the succeeding night. I notice these facts, my Lord, merely to have occasion to observe to you, that, if we were to hear of MONS. CAMBACERES, or MONS. CARNOT, being thus treated by their fellow citizens, I am quite sure that this same TIMES newspaper would cise it as a certain proof of the speedily approaching downfall of the French Government: yes, this corrupt print would not fail to cite it as a complete proof of those Ministers, as well as their Master, being held in universal horror and execra Lord? But, the matter which attracted my attention the most forcibly, in the speeches of this Meeting, was, that which was brought forward by Mr. HUNT, with regard to the conduct of the Emperor Napoleon, as far as relates to the death of the Duke of Enghien and of Captain Wright. The COURIER newspaper abuses Mr. HUNT for what he said, or is reported to have said, upon this occasion. It says, that that gentleman undertook to justify Napoleon in his murders of the Duke of Enghien and of Capt. Wright. But, it appears, from the report itself, that Mr.Hunt, so far from justifying murders perpetrated by Napoleon, denied that Napoleon had, in the alledged cases, committed any murder As to the Meeting itself, I am very at all. The reason why Mr. Hunt made happy to see, and so must every friend of this denial was very good. He had perfreedom, that there is one City, at any ceived, that the vile London presss had rate, who have had the sense and the re- succeeded in making the people, or a solution to exercise their rights once more. great part of them, believe, that Napoleon The laws which were passed, during the had been guilty of these murders. This first French war, to prevent the people done; hatred and abhorrence thus cxfrom meeting without the consent of cited against him, it required less trouble the King's Justices or Sheriffs, have ex-te acconcile them to the prescut war, tion. which is, in this manner, on the part of the deluded people, a war of passion, in which, of course, reason, justice, policy, and even self, bare self-interest, are suffered to have nothing to say. Mr. HUNT, as was his DUTY, his strict duty, having the opportunity, endeavoured to shew that this hatred of Napoleon was founded in falshood; and, though it may surprise your Lordship, I really think that Mr. Hunt was perfectly right in his efforts, if he was convinced of the correctness of what he stated. The great point, however is, was Mr. Hunt right in his STATEMENT, or was he wrong? Precisely what his statement was we cannot collect from the report of his speech, published in the corrupt TIMES and COURIER newspapers. But if what they say be true, Mr. HUNT said, in substance this: that the Duke of Enghien was "shot in consequence of a court-martial "regularly convened, and agreeably to "law, he being charged with traitorous proceedings against his country, and "with plotting against the life of Bona(6 parte by the means of assassination; "and that, as to Capt. Wright, he was "charged with having landed Georges, "Pichegru and others, on the coast of "France, from England; and these men having been convicted of a plot to assas~"sinale Bonaparte, he, Capt. Wright, 66 was not regarded, by the French, as a "prisoner of war, but as guilty of a crime 66 against the laws of war; and that, be"ing confined in prison, and, as he natu"rally thought, liable to be put to an ig"nominous death, he put an end to his "own existence.” This, my Lord, appears to have been in substance, the statement of Mr. Hunt; and, I am sure, that your Lordship, who was present at the Meeting, would have contradicted this statement, if you had not known it to be TRUE. At any rate, true it is, unless all the official papers, published at the time, in the face of all Europe, can be proved to be false, which they never have yet been, as far, at any rate, as my observation has gone. And here, my Lord, I wish to be very precise; I say, that authentic, public papers, published by the French government, attest the truth of Mr. Hunt's statement; and, I say, that I have never seen any paper, published by our, or any other government, disproving, or even contradicting, the assertions of the French government upon either of the two principal points; and, I allow, that I have had fair opportunities of seeing all that ever was published on the subject. Therefore, if there ever was any authentic document, disproving or contradicting the allegations of the French government upon the points in question, I allow, that I may be fairly suspected of publishing a wilful falsehood at this moment. But, my Lord, we will not let this matter go off thus. Since the busy slaves of the TIMES and COURIER will keep ringing in our ears the charge of murder against Napoleon; since they will insist upon our waging a war of passion, grounded upon this charge; since, if events should, as in the case of America, compel you to make peace with this prescribed Chief, and to acknowledge the legitimate title of him, who is now doomed at every breath, to everlasting outlawry; since, in such case, you and your worthy colleagues might be greatly embarrassed by the charge of murder still resting on the head of him, with whom you would thus be compelled to treat: since, in short, wisdom and truth demand a recurrence to the real facts, I am resolved to recur to them, and to erable my readers to judge between Napoleon and the vile slaves, who have the audacity to charge him with murder, in order to delude and inflame the people of England. The death of the Duke of Enghien took place in the month of March, 1804. He was tried by a special military com mission, at Vincennes. The President of the Court-martial was General HULEN. The charges against him were:-1. flav ing carried arms against the French Republic. 2. Having offered his services to the English government, the enemy of the French people. 3. Having received, and having, with accredited agents of that government, procured means of obtaining intelligence in France, and couspiring against the internal and external security of the State. 4. Being at the head of a body of French and other emigrants, paid by England and formed on the frontiers of France, in the districts of Fribourg and Baden. 5. Having at tempted to foment intrigues at Strasbourg, with a view of producing a rising in the adjacent departments, for the purpose of called usurpers by the loyal adherents of the family of Stuart, and, especially, by the members of that family. Before we go any further, let me offer you an observation about these foreigners. The rable in England (I mean the rable, the stupid, prejudiced, hood-winked, cajoled, rich, rather than the poor) are frequently told, that the Emperor Napoleon is a foreigner in France. If he be a foreigner in France, all the inhabitants of the islands of Guern sey and Jersey, of the Isle of Wight, and even of ireland, are foreigners in England; to say nothing of those numerous fellowsubjects of ours who have been born in our North American and West Indian colonies. Our present king, indeed, was born in England, but his two immediate predecessors were as completely foreigners as Napoleon himself is now a foreigner to England. Much more might be said upon this subject; but here is enough to expose the absurdity, the gross ignorance, or the base duplicity of those, who pretend that Napoleon is a foreigner to France. operating a diversion favourable to Eng- | was an usurpation; that the Duke of Enland. 6. That he was one of those con- ghien as a loyal subject of the king, aud cerned in the conspiracy, planned by the especially as one of the royal family, he English, for assassinating the First Con- had a right to do every thing that he could sul, and intending in case of the success to overturn the French government, and of this plot, to return to France. to cause to be put to death the First ConThese were the charges preferred sul, who was at the head of that governagainst the Duke of Enghien. The court-ment. But, my Lord, let us see how this martial found him guilty upon all and doctrine will suit, if applied to ourselves. every one of the charges, and the court There was a time when the Hanoverians, was unanimous in this their decision. who were put upon the throne in England, They were unanimous also, in condemn-at the beginning of the last century, were ing him to death. This sentence was passed in conformity to the second article, title 4, of the military code of offences and punishments, passed on the 11th of January, 1795, and the second section of the first title of the ordinary penal code, established on the 6th of October, 1791, expressed in the following terms: "Article 2d, (11th January 1795), every "individual, whatever be his state, quality, or profession, convicted of acting as a spy for the enemy, shall be sentenced "to the punishment of death.""Every "one engaged in a plot or conspiring "against the republic, shall, on convic❝tion, be punished with death."Ar"ticle 2d, (6th October, 1791), every one connected with a plot or conspi"racy, tending to disturb the tranquillity "of the state, by civil war, by arming one class of citizens against the other, or against the exercise of legitimate au"thority, shall be punished with death." This sentence was put in execution, and thus ended this unfortunate young man. Now, my Lord, there never has been When the loyal subjects of the Stuarts any doubt expressed, that I have heard of, had the audacity to call our Hanoverian of the truth of these charges. So far from Sovereigns usurpers, and, aided and asit, that the friends of the Duke of Enghien,sisted by the malice, the insolence, and the have made it a merit in him, to have done arms, of the perfidious and tyrannical the acts here imputed to him. It was Bourbons; when the loyal subjects of the afterwards fully proved, if we give credit Stuarts, thus encouraged and supported, to the official documents of the French, threatened England with invasion, and, that the Duke had acted his full share in indeed, actually invaded her, for the purwhat was carrying on on the frontiers of pose of making her submit to the divine France, against the peace of the republic, right of that stupid family, what did his and the life of the First Consul; but, to Majesty's predecessors do? Did they the argument of Mr. Hunt, or rather to stand quietly by, as our writers would his statement, no proof of this sort is ne-have had the First Consul do, in the case cessary, seeing, that it is acknowledged to the honour of the Duke of Enghien, by his friends, that he had done all these things of which he was accused. They say that it was great merit in him to do all that he was accused of doing. They say, that the government existing in France, .66 66 of the Duke of Enghien; did they stand and gape like sucking geese, when that gallant youth, the son of the Pretender King, was approaching towards London with an army of what he called loyalists, but whom our forefathers called rebels? No, faith! our good Hanoverian Kings did 2 B2 |