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India, and the acquisition of a revenue of five (instead of seven) millions sterling, if we are just as we were, as to a surplus in 1799." If the surplus revenue, after paying the interest of the public debt, and all the charges of government be the same as it was in the year 1798, the company certainly have no reason to complain of being worse off" than in 1798; but, in fact, they are considerably better off, and their advocate, at the conclusion of the paragraph, happens to suggest what to the nation may appear some slight advantage, though unconnected with surplus revenue, namely, that 16 on the other hand we have destroyed our most formidable enemy, and the ally of France, nor can we have anything to dread from a Mahratta power in future." This advantage, to be sure, is not to be put in competition with surplus revenue; yet the gentlemen of Leadenhall must, on consideration, admit, that, "To have destroyed our most formidable enemy, and the ally of France, and not to have any thing to dread from a Mahratta power, in future,"`is, in a secondary point of view, a matter of some little importance even to themselves!

The writer observes, that "if the same scale of expence, which was sufficient for 1798, had been continued, the company would have been nearly free from debt in India." This certainly would not have been the case, because the debt was then an- · nually increasing, as the annual loans, raised at that time, sufficiently testify; and it must have increased so long as the same annual investments were provided, and not any adequate return made; but supposing otherwise, we must, to preserve the same scale of expence, conclude the same degree of security to continue, the same order of things, and the same foreign relations to remain; we must not take into account the increased danger that has since arisen to our possessions, in every part of the globe, or the increased means of our enemies; yet it is to be apprehended, that the court of directors, who, about the same time, forcibly warned Marquis Wellesley of that danger, and of those means, would hardly, had ruin ensued, have accepted, as an excuse from that nobleman for neglecting measures of security, that he could not think of exceeding the scale of expenditure, which was sufficient for 1798; nothing can be more absurd than such an argument ;--the debt of Great Britain would not have been incurred if the same scale of expence could now suffice, which was acted on half a century ago.

The writer affirms, that "in the conquest of Mysore, the Mahratta war, and in the subsidiary treaties, Marquis Wellesley acted from himself." A governor-general who is under the necessity of engaging in war in India, must always act from himself, if he does his duty; for he cannot refer the question of peace or war to the court of directors, and wait the result of deliberations in Leadenhall-street, when danger presses, when the enemy is at the door, and procrastination must induce ruin. But if the writer mean that the principles, on which these wars and treaties were founded, had not been previously recognized at home, he either has not read the official papers, or he chooses to forget them. The court of directors, in the clearest and most decided terms, approved of the principle of subsidiary alliance, in the treaties made by lord Cornwallis, by lord Teignmouth, and by Marquis Wellesley himself; they thanked Marquis Wellesley for his subsidiary treaty with the Nizam; they approved of his lordship's plan for a subsidiary alliance with the Peishwa, long before the breaking out of the Mahratta war; Marquis Wellesley, therefore, can only be said to have acted from himself, inasmuch as he applied acknowledged principles to the urgencies of the public service, and how judiciously he did so, the present state of India strik→ ingly illustrates.

After calling Mr. Fox an ignorant man, with not so much knowledge "as an ensign who had not been six months in the service," Mr. Burke, "a madman," and sir Philip Francis, a wise man; the writer adverts to the abstract proposition, formerly voted in the House of Commons against the extension of the British empire in India'; the true purport of this vote was ably and satisfactorily explained by Mr. Pitt in the House of Commons; it was intended to prevent wars of wanton aggression, and licentious ambition; but it could never be in the contemplation of parliament to pro hibit such acquisitions as were the issue of just and necessary wars, and indispensable to our own security. If this be not the true construction of the vote of parliament, lord Cornwallis ought to have been impeached for his treaty with Tippoo, and the India company ought to be disfranchised for approving of that treaty.

of this town is fixed and irrevocable, as its inhabitants have already given proof to defend themselves to the last extremity; and being well prepared to make a memorable defence, your excellencies will forbear making fresh intimations, as they shall receive no answer; the force of arms and courage alone must now decide our fate, God prepreserve your excellencies many years.

"Buenos Ayres, March 2, 1807.

"SANTIAGO LINIERS."

DUTCH DECREE AGAINST ENGLISH COMMERCE.

The following royal decree, dated the 28th of August, was published here this day: Hague, September 3.-Louis Napoleon, by the grace of God and the constitution of the kingdom, king of Holland, considering that, consistent with the true interests of our kingdom, it is our duty, by all the means in our power, to co-operate in the desired execution of the great measures adopted by the emperor and king, against the common enemy, for the purpose of obtaining a general peace, and the independence of the seas; considering that some subaltern agents have rendered themselves criminal by want of firmness, and neglect in the execution of the measures directed by our decree of the 15th of December, 1806; considering the artifice and bad faith which have been employed in several ports of the enemy, with respect to the papers of neutral vessels, and by which the health of Europe was put to hazard, by making out letters of quarantine: considering, finally, that all those irregularities ought to be terminated at a moment so critical for the enemy of the whole continent, and in particular of all commercial states; and that the honour and the dearest interests of our subjects would be compromised, were the strict execution of the laws and decrees passed for this purpose overlooked; we have, therefore, decreed as follows:

Art. 1. The agents arrested in consequence of the orders of our minister of justice and police, shall be brought before the competent courts to answer for their conduct according to the laws.

2. The vessels stopped in our harbours, a list of which is subjoined, shall be decided upon by the competent tribunals.

3. Reckoning from the date of the present decree, all vessels entering inwards shall give a double security, which shall remain until the legality of their papers be fully acknowledged, and until it be proved that these vessels have touched at no enemy's port.

4. In case the papers should be false, or it should appear that, contrary to the declaration of the captain, the ship had touched at an enemy's port, the double security shall be immediately demanded of the sureties, and the amount paid into the public treasury.

5. As soon as the security shall be settled, the delivery of the ships may take place, in presence of the persons appointed to superintend it by the minister of finance, who shall take care that the owners do not unload any articles which may be presumed to be English merchandize.

6. If it should be proved that the goods are of English manufacture, or have come from an enemy's port, they shall not only be confiscated, for the benefit of the public treasury, but the double security shall also be levied, and the ship shall be obliged immediately to put to sea; and the same shall, in case of bad weather, have no shelter, except under the strictest precautions.

7. All correspondence, journals, &c. which come in a neutral flag, shall be seized

and burnt.

8. All passengers or travellers who cannot prove that they do not come from the British isles, shall immediately be sent out of the kingdom.

9. All prohibitory regulations respecting the commerce with England remain in full. force, in so far as they are not altered by the present decree.

10. All who contravene the present regulations, shall be tried and punished for disobeying the laws.

11. Our minister of finance is solely and personally answerable for the strict execu tion of these regulations. Our minister of war shall place at his disposal such troops and vessels as he may demand.

Printed and published by G. SIDNEY, No. 1, Northumberland-Street, Strand; Sold by H. T. HODGSON, Wimpole-street; J. BELL, Sweeting's-alley, Cornhill; and by all the News-venders in Town and Country.

Vol. III. No. 14.

Saturday, October 3, 1807.

Price 10d.

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HISTORICAL DIGEST.

Having sufficiently commented upon all the circumstances connected with the expeditions to Spanish America and to Copenhagen, we are now at liberty to resume our historical narrative, as well as to review the transactions which have occurred during those discussions. The importance of the unusual number of official papers which it was absolutely necessary to insert, materially curtailed our limits; but lest their contents should have been passed over by my readers, it will be proper to embody them in this number, and to offer such remarks upon them as their nature requires.

SWEDEN. After the disgraceful treaty of Tilsit, the king of Sweden still persevered in that zealous attachment to the public cause, and to those principles of public faith, which have pre-eminently distinguished his conduct since he embarked with us in the grand alliance against the disturber of the peace of Europe. Neither the misfortunes of some of the members, nor the versatility of others who composed this confederacy, deterred him from a stedfast adherence to the line of public duty, which he had marked out for himself. As a member of the German empire, he continued to wave the sacred standard of independence from the walls of the only fortress which remained to illustrate the ancient grandeur of that once mighty confederation. This pertinacious devotion to public principles has been reproved as a species of romantic gallantry, which only served to protract, without averting, the total overthrow of the empire of Germany. But, surely, it is prudent, if calamity must come, to avert its effects as long as possible; and the example affords an instructive lesson to mankind; for, when we compare the resolute determination of the king of Sweden with the tame and compromising disposition of some of his royal colleagues, we shall, at least, derive this consolation from it, that there does exist a sovereign, who, with inadequate means to cope with the conqueror of many nations, maintained his honour, the most sacred deposit with which kings are entrusted. The surrender of Stralsund before all the means of its defence had been exhausted, does not invalidate the force of this truth; since while it retained its independence, it served as a Pharos to direct the energies of the Germans, so long as the spirit of manly resistance animated their hearts; and when it was evident that every spark of patriotism was extinguished, it was no longer necessary to hold a fortress which could not have been tenable, and which, in the event of a desperate struggle, must have been reduced to cinders. Accordingly, at the intercession of the burghers of Stralsund, who wished that their town might be spared the consequences of a bombardment, his Swedish majesty left them to act agreeably to their own discretion; but he took care, however, by a judicious feint, to withdraw all his troops from the fortress, to render its artillery useless to the enemy, to embark all the military stores which could be conveniently removed from it, or to make the remnant wholly unserviceable to the enemy. Previous to this event, the king of Sweden expressed his approbation of the conduct of the British troops, during the time they served with the Swedish army; and all the ports in Swedish Pomerania were closely blockaded by Swedish ships of war. True to his engagement, Gustavus defended Stralsund as long as the preservation of it had any political or military view; but he sacrificed to the wishes and interests of his subjects the glory of a longer defence, in order to concentrate his forces on the island of Rugen, and to maintain in his last refuge of German liberty, those principles and that system from which he has never departed. Not wishing, on any account, to enter into an agreement with the enemy respecting Stralsund, the king gave it up to the magistrates and the burghers, leaving them alone to capitulate with the general of the besjeging

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The means for the transport and embarkation of the troops had been so well con certed, and were executed with such secrecy and dispatch, that the enemy was totally deceived. He might see, from his own advanced works, the continual transport of troops; but those who ren ained last on the ramparts maintained such a countenance, and such a laudable calmness, that no attack was made, and the enemy did not discover what passed, before it was too late to prevent it. Even the furthermost outposts effected their retreat in the best order possible; and a more complete success could not have attended a plan so daring in itself, if the enemy had not known it, or not been on his guard. The king had the satisfaction of seeing the very last of the soldiers arrive safely at Altefehr; even the keys of all the gates and drawbridges, on the Tribe side, were brought to him by the lieutenant of chasseurs who had been there on guard; a proof of the cool courage with which the handful of men defended the fortress. Soon after the evacuation of the town, marshal Brune made himself master of Danholm, an islet between Rugen and Stralsund, which he effected, according to his own statement, by a combinaton of force and treachery. This advantage was afterwards followed by the conclusion of an agreement on the 7th ult. between Brune and the Swedish general Toll according to which, the Swedish troops are to evacuate within one month the isle of Rugen, and are to take with them all the warlike stores and Provisions of every description whatsoever, gun-boats, armed ships, &c. Unless a great force had been kept upon the island it could not have been long kept against the number of troops collected by the French in Pomerania. It is of little consequence as a military station, and may be easily blockaded by a few British or Swedish frigates during the summer. The king of Sweden, worn out with anxiety and fatigue, left Perth on the 6th ult. and landed at Carlscroua on the following evening, where he remained, when the last accounts came away, in a very weak state of health. Orders have been issued for the immediate equipment of the Swedish ships of war; and notwithstanding the menace which the court of Petersburgh is said to have thrown out against the Swedes, in case they should afford us any assistance, his Swedish majesty remains inflexibly attached to the engagement which he has entered into with this country.

PRUSSIA. This unfortunate kingdom has ceased to afford scope for the hopes or the fears of mankind. Her fall has been great; she has been struck out of the constellation of states in which she shone as a star of the first magnitude, with a rapidity unexampled either in ancient or modern times. Destitute of a commanding genius capable of sustaining her tottering fortune, she now moves as a secondary power amongst those nations of which she might have taken the lead; and smarts under the lash and the contumelies of her arrogant conqueror. His Prussian majesty has been obliged to issue a proclamation wherein he discharges from his service all the privates and non-commissioned officers born in South and new East Prussia, which provinces it will be recollected he was compelled to cede by the treaty of Tilsit. The object of this injunction by the dictator of Europe is too evident to be misunderstood. The Prussian army was recruited chiefly from the above mentioned districts and the dutchy of Silesia; so that this extorted proclamation amounts, in effect, to an order for disbanding the small military force which remained to his Prussian majesty. Buonaparte will not tolerate the existence of any formidable military force upon the continent except his own: small armies may be so modelled and trained as by a short process, to march in the capacity of auxiliaries to the main body of the French; but no state will be allowed henceforth to maintain an army which may secure its own independence, or repel the aggressions of its invader. That office will be undertaken and executed by France, which will take care to make herself obeyed as the protectress, umpire, and dictator of the destinies of Europe. Austria must now be sensible of this truth; and, with the exception of that state, what power remains to undergo the last awful sentence of military execution? Nothing can exceed the outrages and insults which the Prussians receive from the French: a cut-throat of the name of Rapp, who figured a few years ago, in Swisserland, as the missionary of Buonaparte for the purpose of corrupting, and sowing the seeds of division in that country, has been appointed by his same master, to the post of governor-general of Dantzic, in which, by the bye, he had no business, since that city was to have been restored, by the treaty of Tilsit, to its former independence;

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and we learn from Fontanes, the rhimer and president of the legislative body, in his address to the tyrant, that you, Sire, have availed yourself of the right of conquest only to restore peace to the vanquished, and have reinstated the inhabitants of the banks of the Vistula in all their former privileges." This lie, so congenial to the unprincipled hearts of these base sycophants, is sufficiently exposed, by the mere circumstance of the appointment of a French general to be governor of a city, which, according to all its former privileges, never admitted a foreign garrison within its gates. But we all comprehend what is meant by the French acceptation of the term independence; of which, the following is no equivocal specimen.→→ Rapp no sooner entered the city as its governor, than he began to play the part of his excellency; and with an undistinguishing cruelty and ferocity peculiar to the genius of his co-serfs, issued orders for all the Prussian officers to leave Dantzic within twenty-four hours after the publication of his proclamation. The reason which he assigned for this inhuman, and, as he himself acknowledges it to be, 66 rigorous measure," is" in consequence of improper conversation which the greater part of these gentlemen use against the French government." The penalty for disobedience to this order is confinement for eight days in prison, and the offender to be afterwards conducted by a military guard out of the territory of Dantzic, on the side of Konigsberg. "It is thus," says Rapp, "that those persons deserve to be treated who have only insolence and pride;" meaning thereby unbroken loyalty and patriotism; and by way of completing this scheme of tyranny, it is decreed, that "every inhabitant who shall harbour a Prussian officer in his house, shall be imprisoned eight days." It is thus, that Buonaparte has availed himself of the right of conquest to restore peace, liberty, and independence to the inhabitants of the banks of the Vistula!

AUSTRIA. Of such small importance are the political transactions of this empire, that I mention it merely to remind my readers, that there is such a country in Europe which is still powerful, and possesses abundant means of rising once more to eminence, if Buonaparte would suffer it for any time to remain unmolested and to recruit itself. But this would be incompatible with that system of policy which he has hitherto managed with such signal success, and which, notwithstanding the manifest advantages he has derived from it, the powers of Europe have either not seen, or, from their mutual jealousies, have not seriously endeavoured to restrain. The policy of Buonaparte consists in beating down independent states in detail; and as soon as he succeeds in dissolving any confederacy, which may be formed against him, he proceeds to make encroachments upon, and to give provocations to those who have been neutral during the contest. We cannot, therefore, be surprized at hearing that the French troops have occupied Trieste, and that they are striding forwards to out-flank the left of the Austrian empire, while 10,000 men of the corps of Davoust garrison Warsaw, and are evidently stationed in that part of Poland as a body of observation upon the right of that power. The cabinet of Vienna is not insensible of the approaching awful conflict in which it must ere long be engaged; and though its operations be conducted without bustle, noise, or appearance of hostility, it may rest assured, that Buonaparte will require a categorical explanation of the reasons for assembling so large a force as 50,000 men in Hungary, under the name of an army of Reserve. It is the misfortune of the times, that with the exception of Great Britain, there is not a single power in Europe, which is in a state of sufficient preparation, to resist long enough to admit the arrival of succours from its friends. When danger impends over them, and they perceive that fighting is inevitable, then they begin to prepare: whereas Buonaparte is always prepared, and ready at the first denunciation of hostilities to bring his collected mass to bear upon the half-fashioned and incomplete power of his enemies. Under these disadvantageous circumstances, however, the house of Austria must once more enter upon the blood-stained field. If it were possible for that power to remain a spectator only of the events which are springing into existence around its circumference, we might cherish the hope, that during a few years of peace, the forces of Austria might erect a solid rampart against the further progress of the enemy, inasmuch as the resources and population of that empire are ample, and the valour of its warriors indisputable. But all these matters are as well known to Buonaparte, and as thoroughly weighed by him, as they are felt and considered by the cabinet of Vienna. Hence, he will force Austria into a quarrel as soon as it will

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