Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

driven back, and fired at by a discharge of darts from the towers, he first sent young colonel Brutus, with six cohorts; and after him, lieutenant-general C. Fabius, with seven more; then, as the dispute grew warm, he marched himself in person at the head of the whole detachment; postremo ipse, quum vehementius pugnaretur, integros subsideo adducit. Having, by this means, restored the battle, and forced the enemy to retire, he hastened to the side where brigadier-general Labienus was engaged; for though this gallant officer was hard pressed, the rampart and ditch, behind which he had stationed himself, being insufficient to stop the enemy, and though he had no communication with any of the other columns, he did not judge, that those next him were unsuccessful, and therefore, he did not surrender precisely at four o'clock in the afternoon. Cæsar quickened his march, that he might be present at the action,Accelerat Caesar, ut proslio intersit. From this account, it appears that Cæsar, notwithstanding the simplicity and modesty of his details, never disdained to mention what share he had in his engagements; on the contrary, he was every where when danger menaced, and exposed his person at the head of " the whole detachment," or forlorn hope. The battle was a very severe one, as is evident, from the circumstance of Cæsar's having in person led on the whole of his force, without excepting the detachment of the honourable colonel Sempronius Rutilus, which, under a less skilful general, might have received directions to wait for further orders,* although he had with him the catapulta, balista, and all the rest of the artillery.

in

[ocr errors]

But to return.--The public do not require that their general should be disgraced, much less punished, because he has been unfortunate, or because he has betrayedthe grossest ignorance and incapacity. They only ask for a fair, impartial, and honest investigation of facts, no matter how or where it may be made, not for the sake of the brave army which has been sacrificed, or of the rest of their comrades every part of the world, all of whom know how to do their duty; but for the sake of those who may feel desirous to embark hereafter in the military profession, and for the credit of the national armis. It is of the first importance that the former should feel a confidence in their chiefs, and that they should be assured, their valour shall not be thrown away; and it is no less important, that the civilized world should be convinced, that if the head were weak or deranged, the other members of the body were hale, vigorous, and sound. If none of the military present upon the scene, will bring the subject forward, (and it will really be very ungenteel in theni so to do, after almost every man has been handsomely complimented by the general in his dispatch*) or if no steps should be taken to sift the transaction to the bottom, the character of the British army must inevitably sink in the estimation of foreigners; and what affects me stronger, it will be the subject of mockery with our enemies. Indeed, they have already begun to ridicule us; for in the Moniteur of the 31st ult. it is stated, that "if the English should send their forces to Portugal, they would there find troops to contend with; they would there have to encounter the brave Castilians of Buenos Ayres." The only method to make our army formidable, is to make it respected; not only on account of its acknowledged prowess, but on account of the ability of its chiefs. The Austrian army is as brave as any upon the face of the earth; but for many years, with the exception of the Archduke Charles, it had been commanded by dotards, who had no other recommendation in their favour than court patronage, and through whose stupidity, the house of Austria lost its most valuable inheritances. It became, at length, necessary to discriminate between the generals of the court, and the generals of the army; and to make examples of pa-. tronized blockheads and favourites. The prince of Auersperg was degraded, other generals were dismissed the service, and Mack was consigned to a prison for life, but not until after the public enemy had made himself master of the capital of Austria.

* In the action at Buenos Ayres, the waiting for further orders seems to have been the parole d'ordre.

* Upon the contemptible, novel, indiscriminate, and fulsome practice of returning thanks by wholesale, to subordinate officers, see an excellent article, signed A British Soldier," in the last volume of this Review, page 524.

LINES, OCCASIONED BY BUONAPARTE'S REMARKING, THAT THE UNITED EFFORTS OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE MIGHT CONQUER THE WHOLE WORLD.

any

Ye sons of Britain, fam'd in honour's cause,
Can we forget our liberties and laws?
Shall we to France with calm submission bend?
Or, with her myriads, our assistance blend,
And all her deadly tyranny befriend?
Forbid it, Heaven!-Oh, may a nobler view,
Invite, and shew us what we should pursue;
Teach us the pleasures of a free-born state,
And curse each system of th' ambitious great!
Yes, teach us, patiently, to brave fatigue,
T'abhor the notion of so foul a league!

}

BRITANNICUS,

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE, SATURDAY, Nov. 7.
At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 4th of November, 1807; present,
the King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.

Whereas the king of Denmark has issued a declaration of war against his majesty, his subjects, and people; and his majesty's anxious and repeated endeavours to obtain the revocation of such declaration, and to procure the restoration of peace, have proved ineffectual, his majesty, therefore, is pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that general reprisals be granted against the ships, goods, and subjects of the king of Denmark, (save and except vessels to which his majesty's licence has been granted, or which have been directed to be released from the embargo, and have not since arrived at any foreign port,) so that, as well his majesty's fleets and ships, as also all other ships and vessels that shall be commissioned by letters of marque, or general reprisals, or otherwise, by his majesty's commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of Great Britain, shall, and may lawfully seize all ships, vessels, and goods, buonging to the king of Denmark, or his subjects, or others inhabiting within the territories of the king of Denmark, and bring the same to judgment in any of the courts of admiTalty within his majesty's dominions; and, to that end, his majesty's advocate-general, with the advocate of the admiralty: are forthwith to prepare the draft of a commission, and present the same to his majesty at this board, authorising the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral, or any person or persons by them empowered and appointed, to issue forth, and grant letters of marque and repri sals to any of his majesty's subjects, or others whom the said commissioners shall deem fitly qualified in that behalf, for the apprehending, seizing, and taking the ships, vessels, and goods belonging to Denmark, and the vassals and subjects of the king of Denmark, or any inhabiting within his countries, territories, or dominions, (except as aforesaid :) and that such powers and clauses be inserted in the said commission as have been usual, and are according to former precedents; and his majesty's advocate-general, with the advocate of the admiralty, are also forthwith to prepare the draft of a commission, and present the same to his majesty at this board, autho rising the said commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral, to will and require the high court of admiralty of Great Britain, and the lieutenant and judge of the said court, his surrogate or surrogates, as also the several courts of admiralty within his majesty's dominions, to take cognizance of, and judicially proceed upon, all, and all manner of, captures, seizures, prizes, and reprisals of all ships and goods that are or shall be taken, and to hear and determine the same, and, according to the course of admiralty, and the laws of nations, to adjudge and condemn all such ships, vessels, and goods, as shall belong to Denmark, or the vassals and subjects of the king of Denmark, or to any others inhabiting within any of his countries, territories, and dominions, (except as aforesaid :) and that such powers and clauses be inserted in the said commission as have been usual, and are according to former

precedents; and they are likewise to prepare, and lay before his majesty at this board, a draft of such instructions as may be proper to be sent to the courts of admiralty in his majesty's foreign governments and plantations, for their guidance herein; as also another draft of instructions for such ships as shall be commissionated for the purpose above-mentioned.

[blocks in formation]

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 4th of November, 1807, present, the King's most excellent Majesty in council.

Whereas France has taken forcible possession of certain territories and ports in Italy, and in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, and has subverted their ancient governments, and erected, in room thereof, new governments, which, under her influence, are aiding in the execution of her hostile designs against the property, commerce, and navigation of his majesty's subjects; and whereas divers acts, injurious to the just rights of his majesty, and to the interests of his kingdom, have in consequence been committed, his majesty is pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that general reprisals be granted against the ships, goods, and inhabitants of the territories and ports of Tuscany, the kingdom of Naples, the port and territory of Ragusa, and those of the islands lately composing the republic of the Seven Islands, and all other ports and places in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, which are occupied by the arms of France and her allies, so that as well his majesty's fleets and ships, as also all other ships and vessels that shall be commissionated by letters of marque, or general reprisals, or otherwise, by his majesty's commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of Great Britain, shall, and may lawfully, seize all ships, vessels, and goods, belonging to the said territories, ports, and places, or to any persons being subjects or inhabitants thereof, and bring the same to judgment in such courts of admiralty within his majesty's dominions, as shall be duly commissionated to take cognizance thereof; and, to that end, his majesty's advocate-general, with the advocates of the admiralty, are forthwith to prepare the draft of a commission, and present the same to his majesty at this board, authorizing the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral, or any person or persons by then! empowered and appointed, to issue forth and grant letters of marque and reprisals, to any of his majesty's subjects, or others, whom the said commissioners shall deem fitly qualified in that behalf, for the apprehending, seizing, and taking the ships, vessels, and goods belonging to the said territories, ports, and places, or to any persons being subjects or inhabitants thereof; and that such powers and clauses be inserted in the said commission as have been usual, and are according to former precedents; and his majesty's advocate-general, with the advocate of the admiraly, are also forthwith to prepare the draft of a commission, and present the same to his majesty at this board, authorizing the said commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral, to will and require the high court of admiralty of Great Britain, and the lieutenant and judge of the said court, his surrogate or surrogates, as also the several courts of admiralty within his majesty's dominions, to take cognizance of, and judicially proceed upon, a. and all manner of captures, seizures, prizes, and reprisals of all ships and goods that are or shall be taken, and to hear and determine the same, and, according to the course of admiralty, and the laws of nations, to adjudge and condemn all such ships, vessels, and goods as shall belong to the said territories, ports, and places, or to any persons being subjects or inhabitants thereof; and that such powers and clauses be inserted in the said commission as have been usual, and are according to former precedents; and they are likewise to prepare, and lay before his majesty at this board, a draft of such instructions as may be proper to be sent to the courts of admiralty in his majesty's foreign governments and plantations for their guidance herein; as also another draft of instructions for such shige asphall be commissionated for the purpose above mentioned. Signed as the above.]

[ocr errors]

The following is the Official Note delivered by his Majesty's Commissioners, Lord Holland and Lord Aukland, to the American Ministers, previous to the signature of the Treaty.

NOTE. The undersigned Henry Richard Vassall, lord Holland, and William, lord Aukland, plenipotentiaries of his Britannic majesty, have the honour to inform James Monroe, and William Pinkney, commissioners extraordinary, and plenipotentiaries of the United States of America, that they are now ready to proceed to the signature of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, on the articles of which they have mutually agreed. But at the same time they have it in command from his majesty, to call the attention of the commissioners of the United States, to some extraordinary proceedings which have lately taken place on the Continent of Europe, and to communicate to them officially the sentiments of his majesty's government thereupon. The proceedings alluded to, are certain declarations and orders of the French government, issued at Berlin, on the 21st of November last. In those orders the French government seeks to justify or palliate its own unjust pretensions, by imputing to Great Britain principles which she never professed, and practices which never existed. His majesty is accused of a systematic and general disregard of the law of nations, recognized by civilized states, and more particularly of an unwarrantable extension of the right of blockade; whereas his majesty may confidently appeal to the world, on his uniform respect for neutral rights, and his general and scrupulous adherence to the law of nations, without condescending to contrast his conduct in these particulars, with that of his enemy; and with regard to the only specific charge, it is notorious, that he has never declared any ports to be in a state of blockade, without allotting to that object a force sufficient to make the entrance into them manifestly dangerous. By such allegations, unfounded as they are, the enemy attempts to justify his pretensions of confiscating, as lawful prize, all produce of English industry or manufacture, though it be the property of neutrals,—of excluding from his harbours every neutral vessel which has touched at any port of his majesty's dominions, though employed in an innocent commerce; and of declaring Great Britain to be in a state of blockade, though his own ports and arsenals are actually blockaded, and he is unable to station any naval force whatever before any port of the United Kingdom. Such principles are in themselves extravagant, and repugnant to the law of nations; and the pretensions founded on them, though professedly directed solely against Great Britain, tend to alter the practice of war among eivilized nations, and utterly to subvert the rights and independence of neutral powers. The undersigned cannot, therefore, believe that the enemy will ever seriously attempt to enforce such a system. If he should, they are confident that the good sense of the American government will perceive the fatal consequences of such pretensions to neutral commerce, and that its spirit and regard to national honour, will prevent its acquiescence in such palpable violations of its rights, and injurious encroachments on its interests. If, however, the enemy should carry these threats into execution, and if neutral nations should, contrary to all expectation, acquiesce in such usurpations, his majesty might probably be compelled, however reluctantly, to retaliate in his just defence, and to issue orders to his cruizers to adopt towards neutrals any hostile system to which those neutrals shall have submitted from his enemies. The commissioners of the United States will therefore feel, that at a moment, when his majesty, and all the neutral nations, are threatened with such an extension of the belligerent pretensions of his enemies, he cannot enter into the stipulations of the present treaty without an explanation from the United States of their intentions, or a reservation on the part of his majesty in the case above-mentioned, if it should ever occur. The undersigned, considering that the distance of the American government, renders any immediate explanation on this subject impossible, and animated by a desire of forwarding the beneficial work in which they are engaged, are authorized by his majesty to conclude the treaty without delay. They proceed to the signature under the full persuasion that before the treaty shall be returned from America, with the ratification of the United States, the enemy will either have formally abandoned, or tacitly relinquished, his unjust pretensions, or that the government of the United -States, by its conduct or assurances, will have given security to his majesty, that it

will not submit to such innovations in the established system of maritime law; and the undersigned have presented this note from an anxious wish, that it should be clearly understood on both sides, that without such abandonment of his pretensions, on the part of the enemy, or such assurances, or such conduct, on the part of the United States, his majesty will not consider himself bound, by the present signature of his commissioners, to ratify the treaty, or precluded from adopting such measures as may seem necessary for counteracting the designs of his enemy, whenever they shall occur, and be of such an extraordinary nature as to require extraordinary remedies. The undersigned cannot conclude, without expressing their satisfaction at the prospect of accomplishing an object so important to the interests and friendly connection of both nations, and their just sense of the conciliatory disposition manifested by the commissioners of the United States, during the whole course of the negociation.

Dec. 31, 1806.

James Monroe, &c. &c. &c.
William Pinkney, &c. &c. &c.

(Signed)

VASSALL HOLLAND,
AUCKLAND.

TREATY BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA.

The treaty concluded by the late ministers with America, was published in a pamphlet in New York, on the 22d of September :--it consists of twenty-six articles. The following are the articles of the new treaty, which differs from the treaty concluded by Mr. Jay, in 1794.

The first article, like the first of that concluded on the 19th of November, 1794, by Mr. Jay, is merely formal; and the second confirms the first ten articles of the old treaty.

[ocr errors]

His

The third article of the new treaty provides for and regulates commerce between the United States and the British East-Indies, in the same terms as the thirteenth article of the old treaty, except that the words, and sailing direct from the ports of the said states," are inserted in the first clause, which now runs thus: majesty consents that the vessels belonging to the citizens of the United States of America, and sailing direct from ports of the said states, shall be admitted and hospitably received in all the sea-ports and harbours of the British territories in the East Indies, &c."

The fifth article of the new treaty is the same as the fifteenth of the old one, (regulating the duties on ships and merchandize,) with two exceptions: the first reserves to the United States, the right previously reserved to Great Britain, of imposing a tonnage duty equal to what shall be imposed by the other party. The second is made by substituting a new clause for the reservation formerly made by Great ritain, of the right of imposing on American vessels entering into the British ports in Europe, "such duty as may be adequate to countervail the difference of duty now payable on the importation of European and Asiatic goods when imported into the United States in British or in American vessels." Instead of this, the following words make part of the new article:-" And in the trade of the two nations with each other, the same duties on the exportation or importation of the goods or merchandize shall be imposed, and the same drawbacks and bounties allowed in either country, whether the exportation or importation shall be in British or American vessels.'

[ocr errors]

The sixth article of the new treaty states, that the parties cannot agree about the American trade to the British West-Indies; but that while they will attempt an amicable arrangement, both may exercise their existing rights."

of war.

The eighth (like the 17th of the old treaty) provides for speedy decision on the capture and detention of vessels suspected of carrying enemy's goods, or contraband There is added a promise on the part of Great Britain, that hereafter indemnification shall be granted for unjust seizure, for detention and vexation. The ninth is the same as the 18th of the old treaty, (respecting contraband) except, that tar and pitch are omitted from the catalogue, unless when going to a place of naval equipment.

The tenth is the same as the 18th of the old treaty, (respecting blockade) with the addition, that passengers, not in the military service of an enemy, shall not be taken and made prisoners.

« AnteriorContinuar »