on account of the peculiar circumstances of the hostility which is carried on in that vi cinity. There are, moreover, 25 or 30,000 troops on the frontiers of Sweden; and, notwithstanding all these deductions, there are still 300,000 well disciplined and hardy troops, between the Black Sea and the Bal tic. One hundred thousand of such gallant and hardy men, if once landed in Italy, would not be so easily conquered as some of the French politicians are pleased to suppose. Let them only bring to their recollection the gallant achievements of a handful of Russians, who, in the last war, in one campaign, drove all Italy and Lombardy before them, and they will find that the most renowned French generals were de feated one after another; and that, even at Zurich, Russia gained admiration, notwithstanding the faults of her Chiefs, and the backwardness of her allies.--All this serves to prove, that a declaration of war, on the part of Russia, against France, would be sufficiently formidable to encourage the German Empire, now crushed by the latter power, to occupy the troops of France, and by that means to afford an opportunity to Italy, to Swisserland, to Spain, to Portugal, to Holland, and to Hanover, to shake off the Gallic yoke. As to the project of invading England, it is an absolute chimera, a castle in the air, which can never be successful; and even were it so, it must prove. destructive to the rest of the world. England is at this moment at the highest point of elevation; she can never decline if she continue where she is, for higher she cannot be. But how can England, who only exists by her industry and her trade, preserve her present situation, unless by upholding the balance of the world? It is then the obvious interest of Russia to assist England, who, by its system, should be friendly to all nations; and to repress France, the selfish principles of whose government are inimical to the. greater powers of Europe, and oppressive to the smaller,

from the interior, and foreign officers; on the left, the Civil and Religious Functionaries. The remainder of the space in the middle was occupied by the Imperial guard, and the musicians on one side, and 200. drummers on the other; at its extremities were the grand staff of the army, and the general staff officers of the camps. The Emperor saw on his right the two camps and the batteries, the entrance of the port and a part of the roads; and on his left, hẹ had a view of the port of Vimereux and the coasts of England. In front of him advanced 60 battalions formed in twenty columns, the heads of them occupying half the circumference of the circle. In front and in the interior part, still nearer the throne, were platoons of legionaries of all ranks, and of the different branches of the service. The extremities of the columns advanced towards the heights, which were, occupied by twenty squadrons in battle at ray, and which were completely, covered and decorated with an immense crowd of spectators, and the tents appointed for the ladies. Never was there a disposition more simple, nor one which presented a more imposing aspect, But every thing announced that the tempest, which prevailed on this part of the coast for eight and forty hours, would also disturb the enjoy ment of this splendid day. The south-west wind accumulated dark clouds, and agitated the waves. The English cruizers had retired, and appeared only through the haze of the horizon, At noon the Emperor left his hut, and a salute from all the batteries of the coast announced his arrival. That instant the sun illuminated the ceremony, and there was no more wind than was sufficient to make the colours wave.————— On the appearance of the Emperor, the drums began to beat, and the shouts of joy, on the part of the army and the spectators, marked his presence, and the enthusiasm which it excited. The drums then beat a charge, and the dif ferent columns instantly closed their ranks. This fine movement electrified all the heroes with a military ardour.—The Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour pronounced a discourse; and, after a ruff of the drunis, his Majesty recited the oath; all the legionaries exclaimed, "we swear it!" From a spontaneous impulse, the whole army repeated this, oath of fidelity and attachment; and the cries of Live the Emperor! resounded amidst all the ranks, who brandished their arms, and waved their colours, by way of expressing their joy.The great officers, the commandants, the officers, and the legionaries,, then, app oached the throne, where, being presented by the Minister at War, they indi

vidually received from his Majesty's hands, the decoration of the Eagle.--It was de lightful to behold the Marshals of the Empire, the Generals, the Counsellors of State, the Prefects, Bishops, Officers, Soldiers, and Sailors, receiving each in their turn the re, ward of honour from the hands of Buonaparté, who recognizing all of them, received them as the companions of his toils and his glory. The decorations were held up by several officers, in the helmets and bucklers of the armour of Duguesclin and Bayard. The sight of this splendid and brave army, of those fields, of those ports, the work of their hands, of those piers and light-houses, resounding with the noise of the waves and cannon; the view of the chalky coasts of England, those rays of the sun darting through the clouds to illuminate this august scene; those hostile vessels, tossed by the tempest, and disappearing in the haze of the horizon; all those objects combined gave to the sentiments and thoughts excited by the presence of the Emperor, on the soil once trod by Cæsar, a grandeur, an indefinite charm, incapable of being expressed.There was one trait wanting to complete this magnificent picture. The flotilla could not go out; but the stars of the Emperor conducted one, as if for the express purpose, from Havre. All eyes were tarned towards the sea, and the most lively joy was manifested, in beholding the ocean pay its tribute to the entertainment of the Emperor, and that convoy which had been expected for six days, arrive at the moment of the solemnity.

It was now four o'clock, the wind freshened and the billows rose. After the flotilla entered, four boats and five pinnaces, which had cleared the Channel, grounded on the sand bank under the wooden fort; they have, however, received no damage, and next tide they will be floated off and brought into harbour.The Emperor passed the evening in his hut; and all the legionaries were entertained at the tables of Prince Joseph, the Minister at War, the Minister of the Marine, Marshal Soult, and Admiral Bruix, in tents decorated in a military stile, and the health of the Emperor was drank with enthusiasm, amidst the report of all the artillery of the batteries on the coast.

Paris, Sept. 11.-Imperial Decree. Napoleon, by the Grace of God, and by the constitution of the empire, Emperor of the French, upon the report of the minister of the marine, and of the colonies, with the approbation of the counsel of state, decrees,

II. The chief of the marine service shall preside at the court-martial. His two as sessors shall be chosen by himself, the onefrom the oldest military officers, and, failing these, from the oldest officers of the marine artillery, the other from the oldest officers of the administration; and, failing these, from the oldest officers of marines. Their age must at least be 25 years.-III. An of ficer of the jendarmerie, attached to the maritime service, provided he hold the rank of lieutenant, and be of the age of thirty years, or failing him a lawyer, (avocat), the one or the other, at the choice of the presi dent, shall perform the functions of com missary-auditor.--IV. The functions of keeping the register shall be performed by a clerk of the marine, also chosen by the president.-V. Each maritime court-martial shall be made up in conformity to the law of the 12th of October, 1791, for the organization of a maritime court-martial, and the regulations of the same law with respect to competency, to the form of procedure, and the infliction of punishments, shall be executed according to their form and tenor.-VI. The minister of the marine and the colonies is charged with the execu tion of the present decree. NAPOLEON. (Signed) H. B. MARET.

DOMESTIC OFFICIAL PAPER. Copy of a Letter from Lord Harrosby, bis Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State for the Foreign Department, to P. Colquhoun Graf, Esq, relative to the Navigation of small Craft, between Tonningen and Ham burgb.-Dated Downing Street, July 8th

1804.

"That the lighters be permitted to navigate between the rivers Weser and the Elbe. Orders have accordingly been sent to his Majesty's ships of the blockade, to permit the passage of lighters, barges, and other small craft, answering the above description and carrying unexceptionable goods for neu tral account, and to suffer the same to pass without molestation to and fro, along the Danish side of the Elbe, through the Wat ten, between Tonningen, and Hamburgb.His Majesty hopes, that this permission will be properly attended to, and not abused, and that no unfair advantages shall be taken of it, by which his Majesty should see himseir forced to order the blockade to be resumed with greater strictness. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) HARROWBY...

SUMMARY OF POLITICS.

sion, is a subject that can never be uninteresting as long as those dangers exist. That invasion, if seriously attempted, cannot be repelled without a powerful army, unless frustrated by our fleets, most men will rea dily allow; and, as nothing is so uncertain as operations by sen, it necessarily follows, that our security depends upon possessing a powerful army. The questions, then, which naturally present themselves, are, have we such an army? and, if we have not, how ought we to proceed in order to obtain it? The minister, who, be it observed, was the real adviser of all the steps which have led to our present situation in military matters, will probably say, and, if he does, his partisans wi'l be ready to swear, that we have a powerful army; and, if he should not be. quite so pertinacious upon that point, he will, doubtless, contend, that the way to obtain a powerful army is to proceed with his volunteering and his army of reserve. The reverse, as to both these points, has been maintained by many persons, out of parliament as well as in parliament, and, to the weight on this side of the question Sir Robert Wilson has now added that of his talents and experience, in a pamphlet addressed to Mr. Pitt, under the title of "an In"quiry into the present State of the Military

Force of the British Empire, with a view to its re-organization." -- That this pamphlet has given great umbrage to the person whom it is addressed to, and in disapprobation of whose projects it very free

speaks, there would be little doubt, even had its author been suffered to pass unabused by the prints of the treasury; but, whatever desire Mr. Pitt may have to prevent military men from di-cussing his milifry measures, the public can have no such desire; and, therefore, I shall in this place endeavour to lay before my readers the substance of those parts of this work which appear to me to be of the greatest and most immediate importance.--Sir Robert Wilson gives no opinion as to the time when an invasion may be expected; but he appears to entertain no doubt as to the attempt being made, first or last, and that too in fearful force compared to that which we have, at present, to oppose to it. "Strange and fearful times," says he, "are approaching. On British ground must Englishmen, within a few years, if not sooner, contest for the future possession of the soil. This, if Buonaparte lives, is the arena, where he will combat for the empire of the world. He comes not, like a thief in the "night, to pillage and depart, but he bla

zons forth his mighty preparations, and he braves, in pride of daring, our fiercest re

"sistance." This opinion so perfectly coincides with what was expressed by me, in the preceding sheet, page 438; that, in or der to give the concidence the weight which it is fairly entitled to, it is proper to observe, that, when the passage last referred to was written, I had not seen the pamphlet of Sir Robert Wilson: To this point it is the more necessary to attract some attention, as there appears to prevail, particularly amongst the partisans of the ministry, a notion, that, from some cause or other, they know not what, Buonaparté will, at no very distant day, be very glad to desist from his purpo ses, if we will acknowledge his new title. And, what can this notion possibly have arisen from? Acknowledge his new title! Why, did he ask Mr. Addington, the colleague of Lord Hawkesbury; did he ask them to acknowledge his other title, either of consul or president? What is so disgust ing as the pride of a state from which the power is departed! No; be assured, that Napoleon will never suffer my good Lord Harrowby to insert, in any treaty with him, any expression that shall possibly bear a con struction that may favour the idea of Eng land having acknowledged his title to the diadem he is about to assume. Desist from ** his purpose! What should induce him to desist? Has he not advanced regularly on towards the conquest of this country, with out experiencing any inconvenience from his efforts? Has his ambition been repressed by the war? Has his insolence been chass tised? To what, either in his character or his conduct, even his recent conduct, do we look for the hope of security from his pacifie intentions Sir Robert Wilson considers the state of our military defence under the four heads of volunteers, militia, army of reserve, and regulars. Under the first head, he sets out with the following exposition of the fashionable error in comparing our vo lunteers to those of France. By the ex "traordinary energy of the nation, an armed body of 500,000 men have assembled to "learn military exercise, and defend the country in case of invasion. At the first "enumeration of this number, it must ap pear to superficial observers, that invasion no longer could be hazarded, even if the "battalions of this force were alone destined to oppose the army that should be disem"barked. The brilliant successes of the "French national troops, at the commence

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ment of the contest, have impressed the "generality of all nations with false notions "of the prowess of aur armed populace. "The change of name and of dress have "deceived mankind, and the sympathetic "enthusiasm, excited in favour of med

"fighting for liberty, has produced a vo"luotary failure of recollection as to the circumstance of there being near 250 000 "regular instructed troops, amongst whose ranks the volunteers and conscripts were "dispersed. Of which original force, two "or three regiments only quitted the repub

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lican service, and but few officers, and after the first year the, French army was never augmented more than one fourth, so that in fact, these volunteer battalions "were as well organized as any in Europe, and as fit for service.- -But the British "volunteer system presents a very different "formation, and they must march into the "field under auspices diametrically adverse. "Nevertheless with all the advantages "which the French national armies re"tained, were they not beaten every where 4 at the commencement of the war; and "was not a tract of country instantaneously over run by the allies, which if traversed "in England by a French army, from the "most distant point of debarkation, would "be more than necessary to bring the enemy to London And how was the retreat "of the Duke of Brunswick at last effected? Certainly not by force or any apparent "danger -- Let us hope, theu, that this deception will no longer prevail. Let us hope, that the nation will not be the dupes of their own indolence and fears, which teach either to neglect the means of defence, or to shut their eyes against the danger. How often were we, at the beginning of the present mad system, reminded by the ministers of the feats of the volunteer armies of France and Ameri a, and, how often were those ministers told, that not only the situation of France aud that of America were totally different from the situation of this country, but that their volunteers were dif ferent from ours, and really because regulars before they were led to battle, and were, after all, for a long time beaten by their assailants; how oft n were they told this by Mr. Windham, Col. Craufurd, and others, and how often did they in spite of refutation upon refutat on, again and again put for ward the delusive argument diawn from, the deeds of the volunteers of France!--The next topic with Sir Robert, is, the incapaci ty, as commanders in the field, of the vo lunteer officers, and here, I am persuaded, that the justice of his remarks will meet with no denial.- ——" I do not arrogate for "the officers of the army superior courage,

or am ignorant that the greater part of the "volunteer officers possess the highest feel ings of honour, and natural spirit I know that they are fellow-n en, fellowcitizens, and have been educated in the

same notions of manly character; but is

not the novelty of action sufficiently ex"traordinary and agitating as to require "their whole attention for their own indivi 66 dual demeanour, without expecting from "them the responsibility of commanding "others? And would not the anxiety of "the men probably terminate in irresolution "and panic, when they find themselves in 66 a new danger, without the appui of con"fidence to invigorate their minds ?—nor "could they be justly stigmatised as cow"ards. Ignorance, cannot demand the ho*mage which is the right of experience.→ "He who studies the history of mankind, knows that it requires the powerful sti"mulus of example to infuse the energy of an active courage, which capacitates men "to advance against danger, when their nas tural passions are not operating; and that "the strong grasp of discipline and long ba "bits of obedience can alone secure the stea ediness of the mass in perilous exigencies."Active courage and resignation to inevita "ble death, are very different efforts of the "mind. The most abject people will die "with calmness, nay, apparent indifference. "Nations have submitted to slavery, torture, "and individual extirpation, but, neverthe "less, dared not to rise upon the handful "of their oppressors. The annals of the "world teem with instances of even warlike "nations being subjugated by small but "well disciplined armies. The rebellion in "Ireland is a remarkable proof that experi

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ence and confidence in officers was requi "site, and the more recent events in India "establish the fact, that immense numeri"cal superiority and equal personal cou66 rage are unavailing against troops composed of the same nations, but officered by those whose capacity to command was "not problematical. Many, unacquaint "ed with the operations of war, presume "that the use of the truly British weapon the bayonet,' would compensate for this "deficiency, and imagine that the inclination to engage in close action ensures the opportunity. Perhaps I may fail in correcting this opinion, but nevertheless the idea is altogether erroneous. An able "and active en my will, in an inclosed country, mock such an attempt, and in security mow down the hordes of assail. ants. The invention of gun-powder has "facilitated the enterprise of invaders, by elonging the otherwise overbearing "weight of numbers, and unless the French,

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despising the advantage of grouud, and "ra-bly confident in presumed superiority " of skill, venture upon Salisbury plain, or some other particular open tract, it can

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only be after the most frightful loss (indeed too frightful for the best troops) that "the intrepid survivors reach their ranks, "But are the necessary qualities for this he"roic determination, and indifference to "sacrifice so instantaneously acquired? Are “previous habits, the comforts of life, and endearments of existence, from which "they have been so recently separated, so "soon forgotten? Does the mere investi"ture of a British uniform endow with all "the splendid military virtues? Are the "influence of a military life, a particular "train of consequent reasoning upon the "object and chances of the profession, the "habitude of considering a premature death "as preferable to disgrace, a cannon ball "a better destiny than the ordinary termi

sorry not to regard them as possessing cou rage greatly superior to that of ninety-nine hundredths of the volunteer officers, and I am much deceived if these latter would not participate in my regret. The nature of his objection to them required no such pattiation. He was about to state truths which no one not engrossed by empty vanity would attempt to deny. To say, flat and plain, that they and their men would run away in the day of battle against regular troops, would not have been going too far; for, I am deceived if the history of the world affords a single instance to the contrary. "The regular army is composed of "the same sort of men." No. They are all of the same country; but, the latter, besides being fitter from hardships previous to enlistment, have been changed by their submission to martial law. The babit of obedience; not a sort of sham obedience; not obedience for show in Hyde Park, and to talk about in a news-paper; but real obe dience, obedience against the feelings both of the flesh and the spirit, and that obedi

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army had received its reinforcements, a "fatal proof to the contrary would assuredly " have been manifested, and even now the ❝errors of the establishment may only be " corrected after a severe experience of their "existence. The creation in time of dan

ger of an amphibious force partially par"taking of the military character, but incessantly maintaining the nature, and ap"puying itself upon the rights of the citizen,

is no more than an artifice to impose by a "return of numbers, but is in fact a body "affording no real protection to the state." --In pointing out these fearful evils, the author has, I think it will be allowed, pushed his candour and politeness to the utmost, in appearing to have perceived, that "the greater part of the volunteer officers possess the highest feelings of honour." True, they are our countrymen, a term which I prefer to " fellow-men" and "fellow-citi"zens;" but, is it so very easy to find fifty or sixty thousand men of the highest ho "nour," in any country; especially when we consider, that no trifling part of them belong to those occupations which have always been denominated servile, and which are servile too? It might become Sir Robert Wilson not "to arrogate superior courage. "for the officers of the army," he himself being one of them; but, I should be very

and this alone, will make an army capable of meeting and resisting a regular army. But, this is a truth so universally acknowledged in theory, and so firmly established by practice, that one cannot help being ashamed, that there should exist a necessity for enforcing it. Such, however, is the fact; such necessity does exist, and that in a very great degree; for, so great have been the pains, which the minister, with view of at once securing popular favour and sheltering the weakness of his means, has taken, and so extensive the influence employed, for the purpose of propagating the notion of security arising from the volunteer system, that the brain of the country actually seems to be turned, insomuch that men have lost the faculty of reasoning upon the consti tuent parts and the operations of armies.If, unhappily, an invasion by a large army should take place, while our military force is in its present state, the evils arising from the high rank, which has been bestowed on volunteer officers will be dreadful. To avoid these evils, Sir Robert Wilson would not have collected the volunteers into regi ments, except in the metropolis; he would have placed the volunteers of each parish, or smaller district, under the command of some gentleman of the neighbourhood, and would have confined the rank to that of captain commandant, which, in such case, he ju ty observes, would have contented the gentle men, and would have been more convenient and more pleasing to the privates. When