The Life of Napoleon I Part 64

"DOWNING STREET, _March 22nd_, 1802.

"I think it right to inform you that I have had a confidential communication with Otto, who will use his utmost endeavours to induce his Government to agree to the articles respecting the Prince of Orange and the prisoners in the shape in which they are now proposed.

I have very little doubt of his success, and I should hope therefore that you will soon be released. I need not remind you of the importance of sending your most expeditious messenger the moment our fate is determined. The Treasury is almost exhausted, and Mr.

Addington cannot well make his loan in the present state of uncertainty."]

[Footnote 197: See the British notes of November 6th-16th, 1801, in the "Cornwallis Correspondence," vol. iii. In his speech in the House of Lords, May 13th, 1802, Lord Grenville complained that we had had to send to the West Indies in time of peace a fleet double as large as that kept there during the late war.]

[Footnote 198: For these and the following negotiations see Lucien Bonaparte's "Memoires," vol. ii., and Garden's "Traites de Paix," vol.

iii., ch. x.x.xiv. The Hon. H. Taylor, in "The North American Review" of November, 1898, has computed that the New World was thus divided in 1801:

Spain 7,028,000 square miles.

Great Britain 3,719,000 " "

Portugal 3,209,000 " "

United States 827,000 " "

Russia 577,000 " "

France 29,000 " "

[Footnote 199: "History of the United States, 1801-1813," by H. Adams, vol. i, p. 409.]

[Footnote 200: Napoleon's letter of November 2nd, 1802.]

[Footnote 201: Merry's despatch of October 21st, 1802.]

[Footnote 202: The instructions which he sent to Victor supply an interesting commentary on French colonial policy: "The system of this, as of all our other colonies, should be to concentrate its commerce in the national commerce: it should especially aim at establishing its relations with our Antilles, so as to take the place in those colonies of the American commerce.... The captain-general should abstain from every innovation favourable to strangers, who should be restricted to such communications as are absolutely indispensable to the prosperity of Louisiana."]

[Footnote 203: Lucien Bonaparte, "Memoires," vol. ii., ch. ix. He describes Josephine's alarm at this ill omen at a time when rumours of a divorce were rife.]

[Footnote 204: Harbe-Marbois, "Hist. de Louisiana," quoted by H.

Adams, _op. cit._, vol. ii., p. 27; Roloff, "Napoleon's Colonial Politik."]

[Footnote 205: Garden, "Traites," vol. viii., ch. x.x.xiv. See too Roederer, "Oeuvres," vol. iii., p. 461, for Napoleon's expressions after dinner on January 11th, 1803: "Maudit sucre, maudit cafe, maudites colonies."]

[Footnote 206: Cornwallis, "Correspondence," vol. iii., despatch of December 3rd, 1801.]

[Footnote 207: See the valuable articles on General Decaen's papers in the "Revue historique" of 1879 and of 1881.]

[Footnote 208: Dumas' "Precis des evenements Militaires," vol. xi., p.

189. The version of these instructions presented by Thiers, book xvi., is utterly misleading.]

[Footnote 209: Lord Whitworth, our amba.s.sador in Paris, stated (despatch of March 24th, 1803) that Decaen was to be quietly reinforced by troops in French pay sent out by every French, Spanish, or Dutch ship going to India, so as to avoid attracting notice.

("England and Napoleon," edited by Oscar Browning, p. 137.)]

[Footnote 210: See my article, "The French East India Expedition at the Cape," and unpublished doc.u.ments in the "Eng. Hist. Rev." of January, 1900. French designs on the Cape strengthened our resolve to acquire it, as we prepared to do in the summer of 1805.]

[Footnote 211: Wellesley, "Despatches," vol. iii., Appendix, despatch of August 1st, 1803. See too Castlereagh's "Letters and Despatches,"

Second Series, vol. i., pp. 166-176, for Lord Elgin's papers and others, all of 1802, describing the utter weakness of Turkey, the probability of Egypt falling to any invader, of Caucasia and Persia being menaced by Russia, and the need of occupying Aden as a check to any French designs on India from Suez.]

[Footnote 212: Wellesley's despatch of July 13th, 1804: with it he inclosed an intercepted despatch, dated Pondicherry, August 6th, 1803, a "Memoire sur l'Importance actuelle de l'Inde et les moyens les plus efficaces d'y retablir la Nation Francaise dans son ancienne splendeur." The writer, Lieutenant Lefebvre, set forth the unpopularity of the British in India and the immense wealth which France could gain from its conquest.]

[Footnote 213: The report of the Imaum is given in Castlereagh's "Letters," Second Series, vol. i., p. 203.]

[Footnote 214: "Voyage de Decouverte aux Terres Australes sur les Corvettes, le Geographe et le Naturaliste," redige par M.F. Peron (Paris, 1807-15). From the Atlas the accompanying map has been copied.]

[Footnote 215: His later mishaps may here be briefly recounted. Being compelled to touch at the Ile de France for repairs to his ship, he was there seized and detained as a spy by General Decaen, until the chivalrous intercession of the French explorer, Bougainville, finally availed to procure his release in the year 1810. The conduct of Decaen was the more odious, as the French crews during their stay at Sydney in the autumn of 1802, when the news of the Peace of Amiens was as yet unknown, had received not only much help in the repair of their ships, but most generous personal attentions, officials and private persons at Sydney agreeing to put themselves on short rations in that season of dearth in order that the explorers might have food. Though this fact was brought to Decaen's knowledge by the brother of Commodore Baudin, he none the less refused to acknowledge the validity of the pa.s.sport which Flinders, as a geographical explorer, had received from the French authorities, but detained him in captivity for seven years.

For the details see "A Voyage of Discovery to the Australian Isles,"

by Captain Flinders (London, 1814), vol. ii., chs. vii.-ix. The names given by Flinders on the coasts of Western and South Australia have been retained owing to the priority of his investigation: but the French names have been kept on the coast between the mouth of the Murray and Ba.s.s Strait for the same reason.]

[Footnote 216: See Baudin's letter to King of December 23rd, 1803, in vol. v. (Appendix) of "Historical Records of New South Wales," and the other important letters and despatches contained there, as also _ibid_., pp. 133 and 376.]

[Footnote 217: Mr. Merry's ciphered despatch from Paris, May 7th, 1802.]

[Footnote 218: It is impossible to enter into the complicated question of the reconstruction of Germany effected in 1802-3. A general agreement had been made at Rastadt that, as an indemnity for the losses of German States in the conquest of the Rhineland by France, they should receive the ecclesiastical lands of the old Empire. The Imperial Diet appointed a delegation to consider the whole question; but before this body a.s.sembled (on August 24th, 1802), a number of treaties had been secretly made at Paris, with the approval of Russia, which favoured Prussia and depressed Austria. Austria received the archbishoprics of Trent and Brixen: while her Archdukes (formerly of Tuscany and Modena) were installed in Salzburg and Breisgau. Prussia, as the _protege_ of France, gained Hildesheim, Paderborn, Erfurt, the city of Munster, etc. Bavaria received Wurzburg, Bamberg, Augsburg, Pa.s.sau, etc. See Garden, "Traites," vol. vii., ch. x.x.xii.; "Annual Register" of 1802, pp. 648-665; Oncken, "Consulat und Kaiserthum,"

vol. ii.; and Beer's "Zehn Jahre Oesterreichischer Politik."]

[Footnote 219: The British notes of April 28th and May 8th, 1803, again demanded a suitable indemnity for the King of Sardinia.]

[Footnote 220: See his letters of January 28th, 1801, February 27th, March 10th, March 25th, April 10th, and May 16th, published in a work, "Bonaparte, Talleyrand et Stapfer" (Zurich, 1869).]

[Footnote 221: Daendliker, "Geschichte der Schweiz," vol. iii., p.

418; Muralt's "Reinhard," p. 55; and Stapfer's letter of April 28th: "Malgre cette apparente neutralite que le gouvernement francais declare vouloir observer pour le moment, differentes circonstances me persuadent qu'il a vu avec plaisir pa.s.ser la direction des affaires des mains de la majorite du Senat [helvetique] dans celles de la minorite du Pet.i.t Conseil."]

[Footnote 222: Garden, "Traites," vol. viii., p. 10. Mr. Merry, our _charge d'affaires_ at Paris, reported July 21st; "M. Stapfer makes a boast of having obtained the First Consul's consent to withdraw the French troops entirely from Switzerland. I learn from some well-disposed Swiss who are here that such a consent has been given; but they consider it only as a measure calculated to increase the disturbances in their country and to furnish a pretext for the French to enter it again."]

[Footnote 223: Reding, in a pamphlet published shortly after this time, gave full particulars of his interviews with Bonaparte at Paris, and stated that he had fully approved of his (Reding's) federal plans.

Neither Bonaparte nor Talleyrand ever denied this.]

[Footnote 224: See "Paget Papers," vol. ii., despatches of October 29th, 1802, and January 28th, 1803.]

[Footnote 225: Napoleon avowed this in his speech to the Swiss deputies at St. Cloud, December 12th, 1802.]

[Footnote 226: Lord Hawkesbury's note of October 10th, 1802, the appeal of the Swiss, and the reply of Mr. Moore from Constance, are printed in full in the papers presented to Parliament, May 18th, 1803.

The Duke of Orleans wrote from Twickenham a remarkable letter to Pitt, dated October 18th, 1802, offering to go as leader to the Swiss in the cause of Swiss and of European independence: "I am a natural enemy to Bonaparte and to all similar Governments....England and Austria can find in me all the advantages of my being a French prince. Dispose of me, Sir, and show me the way. I will follow it." See Stanhope's "Life of Pitt," vol. iii., ch. x.x.xiii.]

[Footnote 227: See Roederer, "oeuvres," vol. iii., p. 454, for the curious changes which Napoleon prescribed in the published reports of these speeches; also Stapfer's despatch of February 3rd, 1803, which is more trustworthy than the official version in Napoleon's "Correspondance." This, however, contains the menacing sentence: "It is recognized by Europe that Italy and Holland, as well as Switzerland, are at the disposition of France."]

[Footnote 228: It is only fair to say that they had recognized their mistake and had recently promised equality of rights to the formerly subject districts and to all cla.s.ses. See Muralt's "Reinhard," p.

113.]

[Footnote 229: See, _inter alia_, the "Moniteur" of August 8th, October 9th, November 6th, 1802; of January 1st and 9th, February 19th, 1803.]

[Footnote 230: Lord Whitworth's despatches of February 28th and March 3rd, 1803, in Browning's "England and Napoleon."]

[Footnote 231: Secret instructions to Lord Whitworth, November 14th, 1802.]

[Footnote 232: "Foreign Office Records," Russia, No. 50.]

[Footnote 233: In his usually accurate "Manuel historique de Politique Etrangere" (vol. ii., p. 238), M. Bourgeois states that in May, 1802, Lord St. Helens succeeded in persuading the Czar _not_ to give his guarantee to the clause respecting Malta. Every despatch that I have read runs exactly counter to this statement: the fact is that the Czar took umbrage at the treaty and refused to listen to our repeated requests for his guarantee. Thiers rightly states that the British Ministry pressed the Czar to give his guarantee, but that France long neglected to send her application. Why this neglect if she wished to settle matters?]