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Public Affairs in May.

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Smithfield: Beef 5s. to 6s. 6d.-Mutton 6s. to 7s.-Veal 5s. to 9s.-Lamb 12d. to 14d.-Pork 68. to 8s.-Bacon 8s. 4d. to 8s. 8d.-Irish ditto 6s. to 78.-Fat 5s. 4d. Skins -Potatoes 20s. to 61.-Oil-cake 161.

Corn Exchange: Wheat 56s. to 80s.-Barley 30s. to 40s.-Oats 128. to 28s. The quartern loaf 112d.-Hay 31. to 51. 5s.-Clover ditto 61. to 71.-Straw 11. 10s. to 21. 58, Middlesex, May 21, 1814.

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Observations on the State of the Weather, from the 24th of April to the 20th of
May, 1814, inclusive, Four. Miles N.N.W. of St. Paul's.

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The rain fallen is equal to two inches in depth.

East.

This variation has occurred several times in the course of the month,

The average height of the thermometer for the whole month is equal to 48°.6, and that of the barometer to 29.7 inches. The easterly winds have as usual at this season much prevailed, and in the midst of scorching suns the air has been frequently very keen. We have seen several white frosts, and we have heard of thick ice a few miles from the metropolis. The number of brilliant days to those in which there has been rain is as 15 to 10, the other 5 are to be reckoned fair or cloudy. As it too frequently happens in this island, the fruit trees have suffered from the blights; whole banches of treas, as well those on the walls as the standards, have been utterly destroyed.

STATE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN
Including official Papers and authentic Documents.

S every exertion of fraud and ina
rent month to convert the recent ar-
rangements in France into a means of
rivetting the chains of slavery more firmly
on the French people, and of frustrating
THAT GREAT VICTORY OF PRINCIPLE
OVER PREJUDICE, with which the revolu-
tion appeared to be likely to terminate,
we have judged it proper to reprint the
proclamation of Louis the 18th, issued
from Hartwell House, on the first of Fe-
bruary, 1813, as an instrument which com-
mits the personal faith of that monarch,
whatever may be the activity of the
intriguers by whom he is surrounded, or
the incendiary language of the writers in
certain unprincipled London papers.

Alice has been made during the cor

We feel it, at the same time, but jus tice to ourselves to reprint from the Monthly Magazine, published two years before (January 1, 1811), an extract from an article signed CoMMON SENSE, relative to Louis the 18th, the communication of which article prompted the exiled monarch to write with his own hands, and under the impulse of his own henevolent mind, that preclaration which

MAY.

paved the way to his restoration; and which he published contrary to the feel. ings of others by whom he was surrounded, and without the approbation of the British ministry, as they afterwards declared in parliament. It is evident, however, that without such a royal pledge, no powerful party in France would ever have treated with the Bourbons, and that without the aid of such party, the allies could never have advanced to the Rhine, and much less have reached or entered Paris! What a complication of WICKEDNESS then would it now be, if the faith of all the parties were to be broken, and if a proclamation suggested for the security of liberty, and published for the attainment of a throne on legitimate grounds, were to be considered as a dead letter as soon as the purpose of its publication were accomplished! Yet such has been the declared wish of certain London papers, and the hope unequivocally expressed of many emigrants and political sycophants in England. The allied sovereigns and the members of the Bourbon family must, however, know better than so to degrade the kingly character! Their royal pledge

made

made before their purpose was achieved, as their only means of achieving it, is, we trust, a sufficient guarantee to the people of France and the friends of liber ty throughout Europe, for the exact and liberal performance of their preliminary treaty with the senate of France and the members of the French government, who, on conditions which guaranteed public liberty, consented to betray and overthrow the usurped government of Napoleon.

The article to which we allude, was published in the Monthly Magazine, dated January 1, 1811, and is entitled, "Anecdotes of Louis the XVIII. and of his visit to Blenheim, with a plan for his restoration."* Speaking of the king's person, the writer, who was disgusted with the effects of the Spanish invasion, and who considered every movement in regard to a change in the government of France, as properly French, and as contaminated by the interference of foreign force, remarks, that "the profile of Louis XVIII. is exactly that of the unhappy Louis XVI: and I do not doubt," says he, "but his whole contour is very like that of his bro ther. Habitual good temper appears to,

Let the reader here remark, that for a considerable time past certain MISCREANTS, to serve their sinistrous purposes, have been describing the Monthly Magasine as devoted to the interests of Napoleon!!! We forbear to harrow up the moral feelings of our readers, by drawing the disgusting portraits of these wretches, because to notice them would be to honour them. The discerning and experienced part of the public will not fail, however, to ascribe to its true causes the abuse with which we are often complimented in verse and prose in all those vehicles of slander, which, as their means of existence, do any dirty work for those who choose to pay thein. The force of our arguments is proved by the necessity which these malignants find themselves under of misrepresenting us; their importance is admitted, by the notice which they extort, and our confirmation in the virtue and justice of the cause which we have maintained, is fixed by our acquaintance with the base, sordid, and knavish, character of the persons that are opposed to us. Their railings we treat with an indifference or levity,

which to witness would be certain death to them; but, if they were, perchance, to favour us with an argument against any position which we have asserted, we pledge ourselves to wave all other considerations, and to treat any novelty of that kind with the attention and gravity that is due to the grand principles of TRUTH

be the prevailing quality of his mind, and he bears no outward sign of anxiety to recover the fortunes of his family. If ho is not too easy, and too likely to be mis led by favourites, I should think him the very man subject to whom a people might live happy under their laws, without disturbance from his ill-humour or ambition.

"We afterwards," says the writer, "met with his Majesty at Oxford, where he recognized us, and we left that city at the same instant, his Majesty for Gosfield, and I, with my family, for London. On our route, I amused myself in projecting a plan for his restoration, which, for the sake of the peace of Europe, I conceived, and still conceive, may be effected, by his publicly announcing to the French people:

1. A general amnesty.

2. Property to remain as it is, or as ☎ life-interest in the occupier, and in dispu table cases, to be referred to arbitration.

9. Military, and other Promotions and Preferments, to be respected so far us regards rank and pay!

4. A solemn pledge to be made to esta blish a constitution, in spirit like that of England, and to govern according to laws made by a free legislature.

5. The limits of France to be the great rivers and chains of mountains.

who have lost their estates or preferments.
6. Equitable indemnities to families
7. Toleration in matters of religion.
8. General risings to take place on
fixed days.

"Perhaps, however, such an extinc. tion of prejudices is expecting too much of human nature; and Louis and his courtiers may probably prefer exile, the spirit of revenge, and the hope of arbitrary power, to a kingdom, with for giveness of injuries, and concessions of civil liberty to the people."

Louis XVIII. however, waited for a suitable opportunity, which was presented at the beginning of 1813, in the destruction of Napoleon's army by the climate of Russia; and he then issued the following well drawn proclamation, which our readers will perceive bears a close analogy, as well in juxtaposition as in sentiment, with the preceding propo sitions. No person can be at a loss te consider all that has since happened in France as the mere and sole effect of this cause;

and it is our opinion that the same effect would have taken place ten years before, if a similar proclamation had then been published, and if there had been no external confederacy against

France;

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France, serving to give military strength to its government, and to knit and bind all the French in one impregnable body.

ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF FRANCE.
LOUIS XVIII. &c. &c.

The moment is at length arrived, when Divine Providence appears ready to break in pieces the instrument of its wrath. The Usurper of the throne of St. Louis, the devastator of Europe, experiences reverses in his turn. Shall they have no other effect but that of aggravating the calamities of France; and will she not dare to overturn an odious power, no longer protected by the illusions of victory? What prejudices, or what fears, can now prevent her from throwing herself into the arms of her king; and from recognizing, in the establishment of his legitimate authority, the only pledge of union, peace, and happiness, which his promises have so often guaranteed to his oppressed subjects?

Being neither able nor inclined to obtain, but by their efforts, that throne which his rights and their affection can alone confirm, what wishes should be adverse to those

which he has invariably entertained? what doubt can be started with regard to his paternal intentions?

The king has said, in his preceding deelarations, and he reiterates the assurance, that the Administrative and Judicial Bodies shall be maintained in the plenitude of their powers; that he will preserve their places to those who at present hold them, and who shall take the oath of fidelity to him; that the Tribunals, Depositories of

the Laws, shall prohibit all prosecutions bearing relation to those unhappy times of

which his return will have for ever sealed

the oblivion; that, in fine, the code polluted by the name of Napoleon, but which, for the most part, contains only the ancient Ordinances and customs of the realm, shall remain in force, with the exception of enactments contrary to the doctrines of religion, which, as well as the liberty of the people, has long been subjected to the saprice of the tyrant.

The Senate, in which are seated some men, so justly distinguished for their talents, and whom so many services may render illustrious in the eyes of France, and of posterity, that corps, whose utility and importance can never be duly appreciated till after the restoration, can it fail to perceive the glorious destiny which summons it to become the first instrument of that great benefaction which will prove the most solid, as well as the most honourable guarantee of its existence and its prerogatives?

On the subject of property, the king, who has already announced his intention to employ the most proper meaus for conciliating the interests of all, perceives in the mumerous settlements which have taken

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place between the old and the new land. holders, the means of rendering those carea almost superfluous. He engages, however, to interdict all proceedings by the Tribn nals, contrary to such settlements,-to encourage voluntary arrangements, and, on the part of himself and his family, to set the example of all those sacrifices which may contribute to the repose of France, and the sincere union of all Frenchmen.

The king has guaranteed to the army the maintenance of the ranks, employments, pay, and appointments, which it at present enjoys. He promises also to the generals, officers, and soldiers, who shall signalise themselves in support of his cause, rewards more substantial, distinctions more honourable, than any they can receive from an usurper, always ready to disown, or even to dread their services. The king binds himself anew to abolish that pernicious conscription, which destroys the happiness of families and the hope of the country.

Such always have been, such still are the intentions of the king. His re-establishment on the throne of his ancestors will be for

France only the happy transition from the calamities of a war which tyranny perpe tuates, to the blessings of a solid peace, for which foreign powers can never find any security but in the word of the legitimate sovereign.

Hartwell, Feb. 1, 1813.

Such were the voluntary concessions made to the people of France, confirmed and extended by subsequent arrange ments, and binding on the Bourbon dy nasty for ever!

The new Constitution was in accordance with this proclamation, and "with the state of knowledge in France;" but on his approach to Paris, Louis published the following Declaration:

"Recalled by the love of our people te the throne of our fathers, enlightened by the misfortunes of the nation which we are destined to govern, our first thought is to invoke that mutnal confidence so necessary to our repose and their happiness.

After having read with attention the plan of the constitution proposed by the senate, in the sitting of the 6th of April last, we have recognised that the bases were good, but that a great number of articles hearing the marks of the precipi. tation with which they have been drawn up, cannot, in their present form, become fundamental laws of the state.

Resolved to adopt a liberal constitution, we wish that it should be wisely combined, and not being able to accept one which it is indispensably necessary to correct, we convoke for the 10th June of the present year, the senate and legislative body, engaging to lay before them the result of our labours, with a commission chosen from

those

those two bodies, and to give that constitution the following guarantees:

The representative government shall be maintained such as it exists at present, divided into two corps, viz.

The senute and a house composed of deputies of departments.

The taxes shall be freely imposed.
Public and private liberty ensured.
The liberty of the press respected, with the
Precaution necessary to the public tranquillity.
Fhe freedom of worship guaranteed.
Property shall be sacred and inviolable.
The sale of national domains shall remain
rrevocable.

The ministers, responsible, may be prose outed by one of the legislative houses, and tried by the other.

The judges are irremovable, and the judial power independent.

The public debt shall be guaranteed. Pensions, ranks, military honours, preserved, as well as the ancient and new nobility.

The legion of honour, the decoration of which we will determine, shall be maintained. Every Frenchman shall be admissible to vil and military employments.

In fine, no individual shall be disturbed for his opinions and votes. (Signed) Louis. Done at St. Ouen, May 2, 1814. Nothing can be finer than these declarations, and if they are contravened by any article of the constitution, it is to be regretted that the precise objection were not stated; because we well know, in England, that the noblest principles in theory may in practice, by the force of regulations and qualifications, be rendered public curses, instead of blessings. We hope and trust, however, that nothing more is meant than meets the eye; yet, it forebodes il, that this demur of the king should be coupled with the intemperate language and base insinuations of certain London papers, known to be the agents of that malignity which revels over the miseries of the world, and of that corruption which only thrives during the expenditure of wars.

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at the sixteenth part. The maintenance of the children of France, in the direct line from the king, male and female, will be hereafter provided for.

The Conscription.

The continuance of the conscription is abolished. The peace and war establish ments of the army will be fixed by the law, which will in like manner determine the modes and extent of the recruiting service; the military expenditure of each year; the way in which advances shall be made. Similar regulations with respect to the marine establishments. The provision for the army retained in actual service, and that for retired or pensioned officers and soldiers will be taken into serious consideration. The marines will experience a similar at tention.

Questions of Peuce and War.

The rights of peace and of war shall ap pertain to the legislative bodies conjointly, subject to the following limitation:-War cannot he decided upon but by the special decree of the two chambers, upon the formal and necessary proposition of the king, and sanctioned by his majesty.

The care of the external relations of the kingdom; the maintenance of the rights and possessions of the kingdom; the care of its political relations; the military preparations, with reference to those of neighbour. ing states; and the repelling imminent or incipient hostilities, is entrusted to the king. of the forces of the state, the king shall, But, in cases of extraordinary movements without delay, give notice of the same to the legislative bodies, and make known the causes and objects thereof. And if the le gislature be not then sitting, the same shall be immediately convoked by his majesty. When the legislative bodies shall deem the causes and objects legitimate and admissi ble, war shall be declared by the king in the name of the French nation. It shall then be deemed national, and the necessary supplies shall be provided. If the two chambers shall decide that war ought not ters, on their responsibility, to adopt, with to be made, the king shall order his minis out delay, measures for the cessation or prevention of all hostility. It appertains to the king to conclude and sign all treaties of peace, alliance, and commerce, and other conventions with foreign powers, which he shall deem advantageous for the state; but such treaties and conventions shall not take effect until they be ratified by the legislative bodies. With respect, however, to the general peace about to be concluded in Paris, between the emperors and kings in person, and with the minister plenipotentiary of England, in case the Prince of Wales should not personally as sist, as eagerly desired by the French; this peace which is so nearly connected with our internal tranquillity, will be secur ed by constitutional institutions.

This

peace

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peace, in short, so long desired, concluded after too long an interval of tyranny, shall be definitively concluded and signed by the king, with the different powers, without the necessity of any ratification by the legislative bodies. This legitimate homage is rendered to the wisdom, the equity, and the magnanimity of the emperors, kings, and princes."

In our last Magazine, we gave place to the other articles of this admirable constitution, which may serve as a model for all nations, and we then entertained no doubt but it would be cheerfully accepted by the Bourbons, as a peace offering due to France and to Europe: We were, therefore, deeply concerned on perusing the ill-timed proclamation from St. Quen's, which, at least, served to create doubts in regard to the bona fide intentions of the Bourbons, and to place at hazard the satisfactory conclusion of those discussions which have caused the waste of so much blood. If nothing be intended, why suspend, at a crisis of such agitation, that gracious acquiescence in the wishes of all people which would instantly have terminated further animosities? And if much be intended by the delay, then we fear that the troubles of France are not yet at an end, nor those of the European nations, should their governments, in the teeth of all experience, persist in seeking to regulate the internal affairs of France, and in making war against the unalterable principles of Truth and Liberty.

Bonaparte's last general Order of the Day;

published at Fontainbleau.

Fontainbleau, April 4. The emperor thanks the army for the attachment it has shewn to him, and, above all, because it acknowledges that France resides in him, and not in the people in the capital. The soldier follows the fortune of his general, his honour, and conscience.

The Duke of Ragusa has not inspired his brethren in arms with those feelings; he is gone over to the allies. The emperor cannot approve the conditions on which he has taken this step; he camot accept his life and liberty as a boon from a subject. The senate has allowed itself to dispose of the government of France; it has forgotten that it is indebted for the power which it now abuses to the emperor alone; that he saved a part of its members out of the storms of the revolution, raised another part from nothing to greatness, and protected them against the hatred of the nation. The senate appeals to the articles of the constitution in order to overthrow it. It does not blush to make reproaches on the emperor, without reflecting, that the senate itself, as the first body in the state, has had a share MONTHLY MAG, No. 255,

461

in every event. It has gone so far as to dare to reproach the emperor with having falsified the official documents in the pub lication; the whole world knows he had no occasion for such artifices: a hint from him was a command for the senate, which al ways did more than was required of it.

The emperor has ever been ready to at tend to the well founded advice of his ini nisters, and he expected from them, une der present circumstances, the fullest ap probation and support of his measures. If, out of zeal, exaggeration has slipped inta the public addresses and speeches, the ed, but ought not those who have held such emperor may certainly have been deceiv language to him, to reproach themselves for the consequences of their own flattery?

The senate is not ashamed to speak of libels against foreign powers, and forgets that they were composed in its own bosom. As long as fortune remained faithful to their sovereign, these people never let a syllable of complaint about the abuse of power escape their lips. If the emperor had despised mankind as he is upbraided with having done, the world must now acknowledge that he had some reason to despise

them.

and the nation; they alone can take it from He has received his dignity from God him. He has always considered this dig nity as a burthen, and when he took it up.. on himself, it was from the conviction that he alone was able to support it in a becom ing manner. His fortune seemed to be his destiny. Now that fortune has declared against him, nothing but the express will of the nation could prevail upon him to remain any longer on the throne.

If he must consider himself as the only obstacle to peace, he most willingly makes to France his last sacrifice. He has ac the Dukes of Vicenza and Tarentum, to cordingly sent the Prince of Moscow, and Paris, to open a negotiation. The army piness of France shall never be opposed to may be assured that its honour and the hap each other.

CONVENTION FOR A SUSPENSION OF HO3-
TILITIES WITH FRANCE. SIGNED AT
PARIS, THE 23D OF APRIL 1814.
In the Name of the most holy and undis
vided Trinity.

THE Allied Powers, anxious to termi nate the misfortunes of Europe, and to lay the foundation of its repose on a just divi sion of power between the states of which it is composed; desirous of affording to France, (now that she is reinstated under a Government whose principles offer the necessary guarantees for the maintenance of Peace, proofs of their disposition to place themselves in the relations of friend. ship with her; and wishing at the same time that France should enjoy the blessings of peace as much as possible, even before 30

the

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