Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive) BELLâS ENGLISH HISTORY SOURCE BOOKS _General Editors_: S. E. WINBOLT, M.A., and KENNETH BELL, M.A. ENGLAND AND NAPOLEON BELLâS ENGLISH HISTORY SOURCE BOOKS Scope of the Series and Arrangement of Volumes. 1. Roman Britain to 449. 2. 449-1066. 3. 1066-1154. 4. 1154-1216. 5. 1216-1307. 6. 1307-1399. 7. 1399-1485. 8. 1485-1547. _Immediately._ 9. 1547-1603. _Now Ready._ 10. 1603-1660. â 11. 1660-1714. â 12. 1714-1760. â 13. 1760-1801. â 14. 1801-1815. _Immediately._ 15. 1815-1837. 16. 1837-1856. 17. 1856-1876. 18. 1876-1887. 19. 1887-1901. 20. 1901-1912. _The volumes are issued in uniform style._ _Price 1s. net each._ ENGLAND AND NAPOLEON (1801-1815) COMPILED BY S. E. WINBOLT, M.A. [Illustration: colophon] LONDON G. BELL & SONS, LTD. 1912 INTRODUCTION This series of English History Source Books is intended for use with any ordinary textbook of English History. Experience has conclusively shown that such apparatus is a valuable--nay, an indispensable--adjunct to the history lesson. It is capable of two main uses: either by way of lively illustration at the close of a lesson, or by way of inference-drawing, before the textbook is read, at the beginning of the lesson. The kind of problems and exercises that may be based on the documents are legion, and are admirably illustrated in a _History of England for Schools_, Part I., by Keatinge and Frazer, pp. 377-381. However, we have no wish to prescribe for the teacher the manner in which he shall exercise his craft, but simply to provide him and his pupils with materials hitherto not readily accessible for school purposes. The very moderate price of the books in this series should bring them within the reach of every secondary school. Source books enable the pupil to take a more active part than hitherto in the history lesson. Here is the apparatus, the raw material: its use we leave to teacher and taught. Our belief is that the books may profitably be used by all grades of historical students between the standards of fourth-form boys in secondary schools and undergraduates at Universities. What differentiates students at one extreme from those at the other is not so much the kind of subject-matter dealt with, as the amount they can read into or extract from it. In regard to choice of subject-matter, while trying to satisfy the natural demand for certain âstockâ documents of vital importance, we hope to introduce much fresh and novel matter. It is our intention that the majority of the extracts should be lively in style--that is, personal, or descriptive, or rhetorical, or even strongly partisan--and should not so much profess to give the truth as supply data for inference. We aim at the greatest possible variety, and lay under contribution letters, biographies, ballads and poems, diaries, debates, and newspaper accounts. Economics, London, municipal, and social life generally, and local history, are represented in these pages. The order of the extracts is strictly chronological, each being numbered, titled, and dated, and its authority given. The text is modernised, where necessary, to the extent of leaving no difficulties in reading. We shall be most grateful to teachers and students who may send us suggestions for improvement. S. E. WINBOLT. KENNETH BELL. NOTE TO THIS VOLUME It will be obvious from the Table of Contents that, though there is a great wealth of illustrative matter for this period, I have preferred to draw largely upon the _Diary and Correspondence of Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester_, published in three volumes in 1861, and the _Despatches of the Duke of Wellington_, by Lieutenant-Colonel Gurwood. The latter is a very convenient selection. The title of the volume is justified by the fact that some eighteen out of the forty-eight pieces have more or less direct reference to Englandâs struggle with Napoleon. S. E. W. CHRISTâS HOSPITAL, _October, 1912_. TABLE OF CONTENTS DATE TITLE PAGE INTRODUCTION V 1801. BATTLE OF THE BALTIC _Campbell_ 1 1801. STATE OF IRELAND â_Diary of Lord Colchester_â 3 1801. GOLF AND FOOTBALL _Strutt_ 8 1802. PARTY SPEECHES OF SHERIDAN AND CANNING _Stanhope_ 9 1803-1815. TYPICAL VESSELS OF THE ROYAL NAVY _Clowes_ 13 1803. DESIRE FOR PITTâS RETURN TO OFFICE _Stanhope_ 15 1803. CANNING ON ADDINGTON _Stanhope_ 17 1803. NOTES BY PITT ON THE WAR, GERMANY, AND NAPOLEON _Stanhope_ 18 1803. GUN-BOATS FOR DEFENCE â_Diaries of George Rose_â 20 1804. THE POOR IN MANUFACTURING TOWNS â_Gentlemanâs Magazine_â 21 1804. WHEAT, FLOUR, AND BREAD â_Gentlemanâs Magazine_â 24 1805. ENGLAND AND THE MEDITERRANEAN (I.) _Pitt_ 25 ENGLAND AND THE MEDITERRANEAN (II.) _Nelson_ 26 1805. THE BLOW THAT KILLED PITT (I.) _Pitt_ 27 THE BLOW THAT KILLED PITT (II.) _Canning_ 28 1805. ROUTINE ON A BRITISH MAN-OF-WAR _Clowes_ 29 1805. NELSONâS PLAN FOR TRAFALGAR _Clowes_ 32 1805. TRAFALGAR _Southey_ 34 1806. THE YOUNGER PITT _Scott_ 43 1806. MINISTRY OF ALL THE TALENTS _Earl of Malmesbury_ 44 1806. MILITARY PLANS _Lord Colchester_ 46 1807. CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION (I.) _Lord Colchester_ 47 CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION (II.) _Malmesbury_ 50 1807. PARTY POLITICS _Leigh Hunt_ 52 1807. BERLIN DECREES _Colchester_ 53 1809. CORUNNA (I.) _Colchester_ 55 CORUNNA (II.) _Charles Wolfe_ 55 1809. PUBLIC ECONOMY â_Diaries of George Rose_â 57 1809. RESIGNATION OF PORTLAND _Colchester_ 58 1809. DUEL OF CANNING AND CASTLEREAGH _Colchester_ 59 1806-1809. MILITARY EXPENSES _Colchester_ 60 1809. TALAVERA: PROTEST BY LORDS _Protests of the Lords_ 61 1810. WALCHEREN EXPEDITION _Colchester_ 62 1810. WELLINGTONâS DIFFICULTIES IN SPAIN _Wellingtonâs Despatches_ 65 1811. THE REGENCY _Colchester_ 71 1811. FÃTE AT CARLTON HOUSE _Colchester_ 73 1812. WEAVING MACHINES _Byronâs Letters_ 76 1812. BADAJOZ _Wellingtonâs Despatches_ 79 1812. MURDER OF PERCEVAL _Colchester_ 84 1812. SHERIDANâS LAST UTTERANCES IN THE HOUSE _Moore_ 85 1813. SIR STAPLETON COTTONâS MILITARY SERVICES _Colchester_ 86 1813. VITTORIA _Wellingtonâs Despatches_ 87 1814. DEPOSITION OF NAPOLEON _Byronâs Letters_ 95 1814. CAPTURE OF TOULOUSE _Wellingtonâs Despatches_ 96 1814. DUKE OF WELLINGTONâS THANKS _Colchester_ 102 1814. NEGOTIATIONS WITH BUONAPARTE _Southey_ 105 1815. INTERVIEW WITH NAPOLEON IN ELBA _Vivian_ 109 1815. WATERLOO _Wellingtonâs Despatches_ 112 ENGLAND AND NAPOLEON 1801-1815 THE BATTLE OF THE BALTIC (1801). =Source.=--Thomas Campbell: _Historical Lyrics and Ballads_. P. 93. I. Of Nelson and the North Sing the glorious dayâs renown, When to battle fierce came forth All the might of Denmarkâs crown, And her arms along the deep proudly shone; By each gun the lighted brand, In a bold determined hand, And the Prince of all the land Led them on. II. Like leviathans afloat Lay their bulwarks on the brine; While the sign of battle flew On the lofty British line: It was ten of April morn by the chime: As they drifted on their path, There was silence deep as death; And the boldest held his breath For a time. III. But the might of England flushed To anticipate the scene; And her van the fleeter rushed Oâer the deadly space between. âHearts of oak!â our captains cried; when each gun From its adamantine lips Spread a death-shade round the ships, Like the hurricane eclipse Of the sun. IV. Again! again! again! And the havoc did not slack, Till a feeble cheer the Dane To our cheering sent us back;-- Their shots along the deep slowly boom: Then cease--and all is wail, As they strike the shattered sail; Or in conflagration pale Light the gloom. V. Out spoke the victor then, As he hailed them oâer the wave, âYe are brothers! ye are men! And we conquer but to save! So peace, instead of death, let us bring; But yield, proud foe, thy fleet With the crews, at Englandâs feet, And make submission meet To our King.â VI. Then Denmark blessed our chief, That he gave her wounds repose; And the sounds of joy and grief From her people wildly rose, As death withdrew his shades from the day: While the sun looked smiling bright Oâer a wide and woful sight, Where the fires of funeral light Died away. VII. Now joy, Old England, raise For the tidings of thy might, By the festal citiesâ blaze, Whilst the wine-cup shines in light; And yet amidst that joy and uproar, Let us think of them that sleep Full many a fathom deep By thy wild and stormy steep, Elsinore! VIII. Brave hearts! to Britainâs pride Once so faithful and so true, On the deck of fame that died With the gallant good Riou! Soft sigh the winds of Heaven oâer their grave! While the billow mournful rolls And the mermaidâs song condoles, Singing glory to the souls Of the brave! IRELAND IN 1801. _Source._--_Diary of Lord Colchester_, 1861. Vol. i., p. 286. MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS IN IRELAND FROM JULY TO DEC. 1801; AND OUTLINES OF IRISH BUSINESS FOR 1802, REPORTED AND READ OVER TO MR. ADDINGTON, FEB. 1802. IRISH AFFAIRS, JAN. 1802. I. Their present state, including a detailed Account of the Government Transactions there during the last Six Months. II. Outline of the Public Business of Ireland for the Year 1802. I. THE GOVERNMENT. 1. _Lord-Lieutenant._--Unsettled powers; question whether a Lord-Lieutenant from England, administering the protection and patronage of the Crown subordinately to the Kingâs Ministers--or a Government by Lords Justices setting up for themselves, and tyrannising over their countrymen--or endeavour to govern Ireland entirely by a Secretary of State at Whitehall. N.B.--No communication has been made to Lord Hardwicke in answer to the paper transmitted by him to Lord Pelham, containing remarks upon Lord Pelhamâs proposition. 2. _Chief Secretary._--Unsettled emoluments of the Office in Ireland. Unsettled footing of the Irish Office in London. Query.--Suppress its establishment as an Office accredited with the Secretary of State for the Home Department; and as hitherto employed for soliciting Civil Patents and Military Commissions in the place of the old office of Resident Secretary (Fremantle and Jenkinson). And transfer the agency and fees of the business to the Secretary of Stateâs Office; leaving no establishment in London for the Chief Secretary to transact his business, except what assistance he may personally obtain for himself from Dublin Castle, etc. N.B.--The salary and fees of this Office upon Peace Establishments, viz. about 5,000_l._ British, are not more than adequate to the necessary expenses of the office conducted with economy; having houses and servants in each country; and the removal of a family twice a year across the Channel. 3. _Private Secretary._--Unprovided present subsistence, and no certain future provision. 4. _Lord Chancellor_ (_Lord Clare_).--Hostile to any Government by Lord-Lieutenant. Desirous himself to be Lord-Deputy, or at the head of Lords Justices; and for Mr. Cooke to be Secretary of State under him. 5. _Commander of the Forces._--Sir W. Meadows, cordially co-operating with the Lord-Lieutenant. 6. _Royal Building, &c._--In the Castle a library for printed books upon Irish affairs. Orders also given for arranging the State Papers, &c., in the Birmingham Tower. Plans and estimate ordered for rebuilding the Castle chapel, and adapting it to choir service. _Parliament House._--A proposal transmitted to the Kingâs Ministers for selling it to the National Bank of Ireland, or appropriating it to Public Offices. _PhÅnix Park._--Walls and roads ordered to be repaired; rights of Park officers ascertained; encroachments defeated. 7. _Union Engagements._--Many liquidated. No vacant office has been given away without considering to what promise it could apply. II. FINANCE. 1. Treasury Statements of Annual Income and Expenditure of Ireland assimilated to the British series of Public Accounts, and adapted to the same annual and quarterly periods. 2. _Revenue Boards._--Examination into its past state by personal conference with each of the four senior Examiners; all of them agreeing that it was corrupt and inefficient; proved also by lists of Officers accused and protected; proved also by reports of Mr. Beresford, in 1792; and of the Acting Surveyor-General, Mr. Cooke, in 1800. Division of the Board into Customs and Excise, as projected in Lord Townsendâs and Lord Buckinghamâs Administration, and executed now in the manner prescribed by Mr. Beresford, in a letter written by himself on a former occasion; a copy whereof was delivered to me by Mr. B., with a recommendation of its being adopted for this purpose at this time. _Dublin Quay Regulated._--Tobacco stores, gate notes, &c., under advice of the Board, and upon suggestion and report of Mr. Croker, who was appointed acting Surveyor-General of the port, with joint approbation of Mr. Beresford and Mr. Annesley, and established in the Office of Surveyor-General by Lord Hardwicke. Regulations enforced prohibiting all Revenue Officers from being traders. Revision and Amendment of the Distillery Laws considered. Throughout Ireland the Surveyors-General ordered to report quarterly from their actual surveys. N.B.--Dublin Customsâ duties are one half, and Dublin Excise duties one quarter of all Ireland. A mode settled for passing Collectorâs accounts in Dublin with more expedition, and (as in England) without their personal attendance. Cruisers called in; inspection of repairs ordered, and a report upon the future complement of men for their Peace Establishment. Additional officers appointed, not for patronage, but upon special reports of the Board, and upon considerations of personal merit, viz. two Surveyors-General, one Inspector-General, and one Inspector, and two Landwaiters in the Port of Dublin. General plan for prevention of smuggling and illicit distilleries prepared for consideration. Commercial regulations between Great Britain and Ireland considered, and reported upon by the Commissioners of Revenue. 3. _Auditors of Public Accounts._--Their accounts methodised on the British plan, and brought up to 5th January, 1802, showing the actual amounts of debts due from Public Accountants. 4. _Stamps._--After a previous investigation by the Treasury, and personal conference repeatedly with the Commissioners. Establishment settled on the British model, and report upon the building purchased for the use of this Office before the Rebellion. Consignments to distributors, and the appropriation of their receipts new modelled. Debts from deceased and dismissed distributors called in; securities of distributors raised. Inspectors-General ordered upon survey throughout Ireland, and to make quarterly reports; and two new inspectors added at inferior salaries, with prospect of succession to the higher, if merited. Revision and amendment of the Stamp Laws prepared. N.B.--Last summer, in the counties of Wicklow and Wexford, several Justices of Peace refused to convict in penalties for evading the Stamp Duties. 5. _Crown Lands._--A report upon their state, extent, and value ordered to be made out in thirty-two books for the thirty-two counties. 6. _Board of Works._--Appropriation of issues between May 1801, and August 1801, viz. 20,000_l._ having been called for, and no account being produced of time or place, of articles supplied, or work done, nor any check appearing; an inquiry directed for settling an efficient system of checks for the future; report made and instructions issued to take effect prospectively from 5th January, 1802. N.B.--By Comptroller of Accounts (who has controlled the Barrack Accounts), and two Privy Councillors. All the old accounts ordered to be balanced and closed to 5th January, 1802, where a debt stated in November to be 11,000_l._, was stated in January to be a debt of 37,000_l._; though no new work was ordered or executed in the interval. And it appeared also that no final accounts had been settled with the tradesmen for [1] years. How many years? N.B.--During the period within which this debt was incurred, there was an annual issue to the Board of from 25,000_l._ to 32,000_l._ a year. No new building, except one house, which cost 3,000_l._, was erected. The Castle or public apartments are worse furnished than any private gentlemanâs house in England. _Note._--The First Commissioner of the Board, consisting of seven, is also sole Barrackmaster-General; and has the sole expenditure of nearly 300,000_l._ a year. And the latest of his accounts delivered in to be audited, viz. March, 1800, did not come down to a later period than 25th March, 1796. N.B.--Lord Tyrawley, from a very moderate beginning, is reputed to have made a landed property of 10,000_l._ a year, out of private trusts (viz. law arrears, &c.), and out of public offices, viz. the Board of Works and Barrack Office. As to the economy of his department, _ex uno disce omnes_. Ready-made sentry-boxes sent in carts from Dublin to Cork. Extravagant expense of carriage, and destruction of the articles themselves. GOLF AND FOOTBALL (1801). =Source.=--Struttâs _Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_, 1801. Pp. 93 and 97 of Methuenâs edition, 1903. There are many games played with the ball that require the assistance of a club or bat, and probably the most ancient among them is the pastime now distinguished by the name of golf. In the northern parts of the kingdom golf is much practised. It requires much room to perform this game with propriety, and therefore I presume it is rarely seen at present in the vicinity of the metropolis. It answers to a rustic pastime of the Romans which they played with a ball of leather stuffed with feathers, called _paganica_, because it was used by the common people: the golf-ball is composed of the same materials to this day; I have been told it is sometimes, though rarely, stuffed with cotton. In the reign of Edward III. the Latin name _cambuca_ was applied to this pastime, and it derived the denomination, no doubt, from the crooked club or bat with which it was played; the bat was also called a bandy, from its being bent. Golf, according to the present modification of the game, is performed with a bat, not much unlike the bandy: the handle of this instrument is straight, and usually made of ash, about four feet and a half in length: the curvature is affixed to the bottom, faced with horn and backed with lead; the ball is a little one, but exceedingly hard; being made with leather, and, as before observed, stuffed with feathers. There are generally two players, who have each of them his bat and ball. The game consists in driving the ball into certain holes made in the ground; he who achieves it the soonest, or in the fewest number of strokes, obtains the victory. Football is so called because the ball is driven about with the feet instead of the hands. It was formerly much in vogue among the common people of England, though of late years it seems to have fallen into disrepute, and is but little practised. I cannot pretend to determine at what period the game of football originated: it does not, however, to the best of my recollection, appear among the popular exercises before the reign of Edward III., and then, in 1349, it was prohibited by a public edict; not, perhaps, from any particular objection to the sport in itself, but because it co-operated, with other favourite amusements, to impede the progress of archery. When a match at football is made, two parties, each containing an equal number of competitors, take the field, and stand between two goals, placed at the distance of 80 or 100 yards the one from the other. The goal is usually made with two sticks driven into the ground, about two or three feet apart. The ball, which is commonly made of a blown bladder, and cased with leather, is delivered in the midst of the ground, and the object of each party is to drive it through the goal of their antagonists, which being achieved the game is won. The abilities of the performers are best displayed in attacking and defending the goals; and hence the pastime was more frequently called a goal at football than a game at football. When the exercise becomes exceeding violent, the players kick each otherâs shins without the least ceremony, and some of them are overthrown at the hazard of their limbs. SHERIDAN FOR ADDINGTON, CANNING FOR PITT (1802). =Source.=--Stanhopeâs _Life of Pitt_, 1862. Vol. iii., p. 415. The great speech of Sheridan was, however, reserved till the 8th of December, when the Army Estimates came forward. They were moved by Mr. Charles Yorke as Secretary at War. âI was much surprised,â said Mr. Yorke, âwhen, on another evening, I heard an Hon. gentleman (Mr. Fox) maintain that there was no reason why a larger establishment than usual in former periods of peace should be maintained in Great Britain; and that there were reasons why even a smaller force would suffice everywhere but in the West Indies.â It was no hard matter for Mr. Yorke to argue against this proposition, or to point out the dangers that impended from the Continent of Europe. He could reckon on the support of the House for the proposal which his speech contained--to provide for a regular force of nearly one hundred and thirty thousand men, counting officers, and including the regiments in India. This was an increase on the establishment voted on the first conclusion of the peace. Then and after some other speeches Sheridan rose. He referred to Fox as to the man whom of all men upon earth he most loved and respected. But these sentiments did not withhold him from some keen animadversions, although in covert terms, upon the course which Fox had latterly been seeking to promote. He approved of the Kingâs Speech. He approved of the large establishments. He approved of Addington as Minister. What (he asked) had other members really to allege against that Right Hon. gentleman? Theirs was a mere capricious dislike; for no better reason than is given in an epigram of Martial, or in an English parody upon that epigram: âI do not like thee, Dr. Fell, The reason why I cannot tell; But this Iâm sure I know full well, I do not like thee, Dr. Fell.â Those who call to mind that Addington already bore the nickname of âthe Doctor,â and who know the keen relish of the House of Commons for almost any jest, may easily imagine the roars of laughter with which Sheridanâs allusion was received. Sheridan proceeded in a strain of blended wit and argument. âWhat,â he said, âdid these gentlemen expect from the present Chancellor of the Exchequer? We treated him when in the Chair of this House with the respect he merited.... But did they expect that when he was a Minister he was to stand up and call Europe to Order? Was he to send Mr. Colman, the Serjeant-at-Arms, to the Baltic and summon the Northern Powers to the Bar of this House? Was he to see the Powers of Germany scrambling like Members over the benches, and say--Gentlemen must take their places? Was he expected to cast his eye to the Tuscan gallery, and exclaim that strangers must withdraw? Was he to stand across the Rhine, and say--The Germans to the right, and the French to the left? If he could have done these things, I for one should always vote that the Speaker of the House should be appointed the Minister of the country. But the Right Hon. gentleman has done all that a reasonable man could expect him to do.â âSir,â--so Sheridan continued--âI confess I wish to know what Mr. Pitt himself thinks. I should be glad to hear what his sentiments are of the call made for him; and loudly too, in another place by a vigorous statesman.[2] I well remember, Sir, and so do we all, the character Mr. Pitt gave of the present administration. Does he mean to retract that character? I cannot suppose he does.... Sir, when I see so many persons anxious about that gentleman, I am glad to hear that his health is re-established. But how, I would ask, can we with any consistency turn out the man who made the peace to bring in the man who avowed his approbation of it?... I suspect, therefore, that the political Philidorâs game has been misunderstood; that his friends have displaced a knight and a castle when they should only have taken two pawns; that they have made an attempt to checkmate the King when they had no instructions for doing it. I cannot forget the period when the august Person of the Sovereign was held up as the only man who was against extending privileges to the Catholics in Ireland; and I cannot, therefore, brook the idea of calling that Right Hon. gentleman back to power, and forcing him upon the Crown.... Mr. Pitt the only man to save the country! If a nation depends only upon one man, it cannot, and I will add, it does not deserve to be saved; it can be saved only by the Parliament and people.â Next after Sheridan rose Canning. In his great speech that evening he displayed not only a luminous eloquence, but the rarer gift (rarer, I mean, in him) of perfect discretion. He desired to express his sentiments, not of satisfaction merely, but of thankfulness, for the part which his Hon. Friend (Mr. Sheridan) had that day done. âIt is by no means the first time,â he said, âthat my Hon. Friend, throwing aside all petty distinctions of party feeling, has come forward, often under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, often discouraged, always alone, as the champion of his countryâs rights and interests, and has rallied the hearts and spirits of the nation.[3] I trust we shall now hear no more of those miserable systems, the object of which is not to rouse us to ward off our ruin, but to reconcile us to submit to it.... âWe have nothing to dread from France but a rivalry in commerce,â says the Hon. gentleman opposite to me (Mr. Fox). Look round, Sir, on the state of the world, and can such an argument even from such a man need farther refutation?â âAnd what, Sirâ--so Canning went on in another passage--âwhat is the nature of the times in which we live? Look at France, and see what we have to cope with, and consider what has made her what she is? A man. You will tell me that she was great, and powerful, and formidable before the date of Bonaparteâs Government; that he found in her great physical and moral resources; that he had but to turn them to account. True, and he did so. Compare the situation in which he found France with that to which he has raised her. I am no panegyrist of Bonaparte; but I cannot shut my eyes to the superiority of his talents, to the amazing ascendency of his genius. Tell me not of his measures and his policy--it is his genius, his character, that keeps the world in awe. Sir, to meet, to check, to curb, to stand up against him, we want arms of the same kind. I am far from objecting to the large military establishments which are proposed to you. I vote for them with all my heart. But, for the purpose of coping with Bonaparte, one great commanding spirit is worth them all. This is my undisguised opinion. But when I state this opinion thus undisguisedly, is my Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Pitt) to be implicated in a charge of prompting what I say?... âSir, of all the imputations to which that Right Hon. gentleman could be subjected, I confess I did think that of intrigue and cabal the least likely to be preferred against him by any man who has witnessed his public conduct.... No, Sir. Never did young Ambition, just struggling into public notice and aiming at popular favour, labour with half so much earnestness to court reputation and to conciliate adherents, as my Right Hon. Friend has laboured since his retreat from office not to attract, but to repel; not to increase the number of his followers, but to dissolve attachment and to transfer support. And if, whatever has been his endeavour to insulate and individualize himself in political life, he has not been able to succeed wholly, even with those who would sacrifice to his wishes everything but their attachment to him--if with the public he has succeeded not at all, what is the inference? what but that, retreat and withdraw as much as he will, he must not hope to efface the memory of his past services from the gratitude of his country?--he cannot withdraw himself from the following of a nation; he must endure the attachment of a people whom he has saved.â TYPICAL VESSELS OF THE ROYAL NAVY (1803 to 1815). =Source.=--Clowes: _The Royal Navy_, 1900. Vol. v. (1803 to 1815), p. 15. Models of many of the most typical vessels which were added to the Navy during the period under review are to be seen at Greenwich. Among them are whole or half-block models of the following ships: +--------------+------------+----------+----------+ | Name. | Length of | Beam. | Depth in | | | Gun-deck. | | Hold. | +--------------+------------+----------+----------+ | | Ft. In. | Ft. In. | Ft. In. | |_Caledonia_ | 205 0 | 54 6 | 23 2 | | | | | | |_Hercules_ | 176 1 | 48 4Â¼ | 21 0 | | | | | | |_Bulwark_ | 181 10 | 49 3 | 20 7 | | | | | | |_Java_ | 171 11Â½ | 44 1 | 14 3 | | | | | | |_President_ | 173 3 | 44 4 | 13 11 | | | | | | |_Chesapeake_ | 151 0 | 40 11 | 13 9 | | | | | | |_Lively_ | 154 1 | 39 6 | 13 6 | | | | | | |_Euryalus_ | 145 2 | 38 2Â½ | 13 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |_Lacedemonian_| 150 4 | 40 0Â½ | 12 9Â½ | | | | | | | | | | | |_Barbados_ | 140 0 | 36 7 | 16 0 | | | | | | |_Eden_ | 108 6 | 30 8 | 9 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |_Andromeda_ | 129 7 | 36 5-3/8| 11 0 | | | | | | |_Florida_ | 119 5Â½ | 32 0 | 14 2 | | | | | | |_Epervier_ | 95 1 | 28 6 | 8 9Â½ | |_Cadmus_ | 90 3 | 24 6 | 11 0 | | | | | | | | | | | +--------------+------------+----------+----------+ +--------------+-------+------+-------+-------------------------------+ | Name. | Tons. | Men. | Guns. | When and where Built, or how | | | | | | Acquired, etc. | +--------------+-------+------+-------+-------------------------------+ | | | | | | |_Caledonia_ | 2,616 | 875 | 120 | Launched 1808, at Devonport. | | | | | | Designed by Sir W. Rule. | |_Hercules_ | 1,750 | 590 | 80 | Launched 1815, at Chatham. | | | | | | Designed by Surveyorâs Dept.| |_Bulwark_ | 1,940 | 590 | 74 | Launched 1807, at Portsmouth. | | | | | | Designed by Sir W. Rule. | |_Java_ | 1,458 | 480 | 60 | Launched 1815, at Devonport. | | | | | | Designed by Surveyorâs Dept.| |_President_ | 1,533 | 480 | 50 | Taken 1815, from | | | | | | the Americans. | |_Chesapeake_ | 1,135 | 315 | 48 | Taken 1813, from | | | | | | the Americans. | |_Lively_ | 1,076 | 284 | 46 | Launched 1804, at Woolwich. | | | | | | Designed by Sir W. Rule. | |_Euryalus_ | 946 | 264 | 42 | Launched 1803, by Adams, | | | | | | Bucklershard. | | | | | | Designed by Sir W. Rule. | |_Lacedemonian_| 1,073 | 264 | 38 | Launched 1812, at Portsmouth. | | | | | | Built after the French | | | | | | _HÃ©bÃ©_, taken in 1782. | |_Barbados_ | 800 | 195 | 36 | Ex. _Brave_. Taken from | | | | | | the French, 1804. | |_Eden_ | 451 | 150 | 28 | Launched 1804, by Courtney, | | | | | | Chester. Designed by | | | | | | Sir W. Rule. | |_Andromeda_ | 812 | 195 | 24 | Ex. _Hannibal_. Taken 1812, | | | | | | from the Americans. | |_Florida_ | 539 | 135 | 20 | Ex. _Frolic_. Taken 1814, | | | | | | from the Americans. | |_Epervier_ | 315 | 121 | 16 | Taken 1803, from the French. | |_Cadmus_ | 237 | 76 | 10 | Launched 1808, by Dudman, | | | | | | Deptford. Designed | | | | | | by H. Peake. | +--------------+-------+------+-------+-------------------------------+ DESIRE FOR PITTâS RETURN TO OFFICE (1803). =Source.=--Stanhopeâs _Life of Pitt_, 1862. Vol. iv., p. 28. _Mr. Long to Mr. Pitt._ BROMLEY HILL, _April 3, 1803_. DEAR PITT, I am anxious to give you some account of what passed between Addington and myself upon my return, reserving details upon the whole subject till we meet. He seemed extremely anxious that you should not consider a pending negotiation as any obstacle to coming forward at the present moment, but it is hardly necessary to say what he stated upon this subject, because he has since altered his opinion, and rather thinks the fit time would be when the negotiation is brought to a point _either way_, which (in conjunction with Lord Hawkesbury, Lord Castlereagh, and your brother) he is satisfied will be determined before you meet at Bromley Hill. Upon the whole question of arrangement he seemed disposed to adopt what you had authorized me to state, not as anything settled, but as a general idea upon the subject, but at the same time expressed great difficulties about Lord Hobart (none about Lord Pelham). He ended this part of the subject by saying that of course you were the best judge of those persons who had claims upon you, but that he trusted you would not decide anything upon this point (if the thing proceeded to that length) without also considering the fair pretensions of those who had claims upon him. I instanced Bragge, Smyth, Lord C. Spencer, and Wickham, as persons _accidentally_ placed in the situations they held, and whom it might be necessary to call upon to give way: he admitted the justice of what I said upon all these persons, and of the possible necessary arrangement respecting them, but added that he believed the last particularly agreeable to the Chancellor of Ireland and the Lord Lieutenant, and also well qualified for his office. With respect to Lord Grenville, he thought it impossible to admit him or any of his friends at the present moment without a marked degradation of himself and his colleagues, but that he could not mean to proscribe them, or to preclude you from taking whatever assistance you thought right at any future time. I then mentioned Canning and Rose: he said the first had been personally offensive to him; but upon my submitting to him whether he could justify the suffering even personal offence to stand in the way of what he had taken so much pains to convince me was a necessary public arrangement, he seemed very much softened upon this point, and with respect to Rose he stated no objection. There was no difficulty in leaving the vacancies at the Treasury, provided something else was done for Broderick, for whom he had pledged himself to provide. He then showed me a letter from Lord St. Vincent, requesting, on account of his state of health, that he would find him a successor as soon as he conveniently could, and expressed a wish to send the papers which referred to the points upon which you desired information. It is very probable you may want further information upon these subjects, which of course you can have at Bromley Hill. I saw Lord Castlereagh the next day: very anxious that you should be induced to come into the proposal, even during negotiation, if, contrary to all appearances, it should be protracted. He argued the cases of war, of peace, and of protracted negotiation very ably, as each affording sufficient grounds for your placing yourself at the head of the Government. If we were led into war, no person could conduct it with effect but yourself. You could prevent the negotiation spinning out to a disadvantageous length; and in peace, the state of parties was the ground upon which he urged the necessity of your taking the Government. Neither he nor Lord Hawkesbury concealed from me the _necessity for a change_. Lord H. was of opinion Lord Grenville could not possibly come in under this arrangement, but seemed to think there would not be any difficulty at a future period.... I have made some endeavours to obtain the opinion of the City: as far as I have been able to ascertain it, it is uniform--a very strong wish that you should take the lead in Government, but an almost equally strong opinion that Grenville should be no part of it. Thornton gave me some strong grounds for supposing this was the general opinion upon both points; but as I know how often people give their own opinion as the public opinion, only for the purpose of strengthening it, I receive a public opinion with some caution. At the same time I have heard the [same] from so many quarters, that I believe it is not mistaken; and there is one point at least in which I think you will concur with me--that pending the negotiation it would be extremely prejudicial to yourself to take office with Grenville; for if it ended in war, his influence would be supposed to have occasioned it; and things are certainly in that state in which it is the general wish that we should at least give ourselves every fair chance of preserving peace.... I have only had time to scribble this as fast as I could since Huskisson told me he was going to Walmer. I hope you will find it intelligible. Ever yours, C. L. VERSES BY CANNING AGAINST ADDINGTON (1803). =Source.=--Stanhopeâs _Life of Pitt_, 1862. Vol. iv., pp. 58, 59, 60. Praise to placeless proud ability Let the prudent Muse disclaim; And sing the statesman--all civility-- Whom moderate talents raise to fame. * * * Splendid talents are deceiving, Tend to counsels much too bold; Moderate men we prize, believing All that glitters is not gold. When the faltering periods flag, Or the House receives them drily, Cheer, oh cheer him, brother Bragge! Cheer, oh cheer him, brother Hiley! Each a gentleman at large, Lodged and fed at public charge, Paying, with a grace to charm ye, This the fleet, and that the army. Brother Bragge and brother Hiley, Cheer him! when he speaks so vilely; Cheer him! when his audience flag, Brother Hiley, brother Bragge. If _blocks_ can from danger deliver, Two places are safe from the French: One is the mouth of the river, The other the Treasury Bench. Pitt is to Addington As London to Paddington. NOTES ON THE WAR, GERMANY, AND NAPOLEON, BY PITT (1803). =Source.=--Stanhopeâs _Life of Pitt_, 1862. Vol. iv., p. 223. THE WAR. (_Paper-mark_, 1803.) âWhether the attacks should be numerous or few in order to strengthen them, and in what points:-- â1. _South of Italy._--Besides Neapolitans, 10 or 15,000 British troops and as many Russians; besides free corps raised in Albania and Italy, the latter by the King of Sardinia. â2. _North of Italy_.--_Switzerland and South of Germany._--Austrian troops supported by 60,000 Russians as auxiliaries. â_North of Germany._--40,000 Russians, with a body of Hanoverians, a Swedish army, and a diversion from England. To advance towards the Low Countries. âThe operations on the two flanks may be modified according to the conduct of Turkey. These will probably only act when forced. Austria and Sweden may, it is thought, be brought to act voluntarily. âIt is not meant by diversion that any descent should be made from hence in the beginning, but that we should continue to menace their coasts, and not attempt anything in the interior till after some decided success. âAdvantages to be given to any Power if necessary should be regulated with a view to the future safety of Europe, and the zeal shown by each Power. It is supposed nothing can be proposed for Prussia consistent with the safety and interests of the rest of Europe, except the provinces she ceded to France. Austria is expected from the little which has passed to be very moderate, and content with inconsiderable acquisitions in Germany and Italy. âKing of Sardinia should not only be re-established, but his share should be made as large as possible. âSwitzerland should be _arrondi_, and its position strengthened as much as possible. âThe same principle should be followed with respect to Holland.â GERMANY. (_Paper-mark_, 1803.) âThe present situation of the German body neither good for the countries themselves nor for Europe. âShould a part of it be _englobÃ©_ by the two great Powers, or a third great State formed in the middle of Germany? This can scarce be thought of, from its injustice to so many Princes of the Empire. âCould a more concentrated Federative Government be formed out of the different States; and should not in that case both Austria and Prussia be separated from it? âPrinciple of mediation being to precede war. âIntimate union necessary between England and Russia, who are the only Powers that for many years can have no jealousy or opposite interests.â NAPOLEON. âI see various and opposite qualities--all the great and all the little passions unfavourable to public tranquillity--united in the breast of one man, and of that man, unhappily, whose personal caprice can scarce fluctuate for an hour without affecting the destiny of Europe. I see the inward workings of fear struggling with pride in an ardent, enterprising, and tumultuous mind. I see all the captious jealousy of conscious usurpation dreaded, detested, and obeyed--the giddiness and intoxication of splendid but unmerited success--the arrogance, the presumption, the self-will of unlimited and idolized power, and--more dreadful than all in the plenitude of authority--the restless and incessant activity of guilty but unsated ambition.â GUN-BOATS FOR DEFENCE (1803). =Source.=--_Diaries ... of the Right Hon. George Rose_, 1860. P. 69. _Mr. Pitt to Mr. Rose._ MARGATE, _Oct. 18th, 1803_. DEAR ROSE I received your letter just as I left home this morning. I had not forgot your wish to have a description of our gun-boats; but as many of my friends here are more expert in fitting a boat, or fighting it, than in writing or drawing, I could not at once obtain one which would explain to you the last improved mode of fitting as accurately as I wished. But Mr. Whitby, the Assistant of Sheerness Yard, who has been appointed to superintend the work, and whom I saw yesterday, has promised me to send immediately to your house, in Palace Yard, a small model of the frame and slide, which will, I trust, completely answer the purpose. I should hope it will reach your house in a day or two, and you will, I take for granted, send orders for its being immediately forwarded to you by coach. We have now fitted, or are fitting, I believe, about 170 boats between Margate and Hastings, which, I think, will contribute not a little to giving the enemy a good reception whenever they think proper to visit us. By the intelligence I collect, and by the orders for extraordinary preparation which are received from London by this post, I am much more inclined than I have ever been hitherto to believe that some attempt will be made soon. In this situation I am likely to have my time very completely occupied by the various concerns of my regiment and my district. I hope, however, to find some interval for attending a little to the cursory remarks, when I hear from Long, which I am expecting to do every day. Our volunteers are, I think, likely, to be called upon to undertake permanent duty, which, I hope, they will readily consent to. I suppose the same measure will be recommended in your part of the coast. I wish the arrangements for defence were as forward everywhere else as they are in Hythe Bay, under General Moore. We begin now to have no other fear in that quarter than that the enemy will not give us an opportunity of putting our preparations to the proof, and will select some other point, which we should not be in search of in the first instance. I write here to save the post, as I shall not get back to Walmer till a late hour. Ever sincerely yours, W. PITT. CONDITION OF THE POOR IN MANUFACTURING TOWNS (1804). =Source.=--_Gentlemanâs Magazine._ Vol. 74, July to December, 1804, p. 710. _July 17._ MR. URBAN, âJudge not, lest you be judged.â The benevolence and humanity of Dr. Lettsom must ensure esteem; and certainly the trouble he has taken to meliorate the condition of the labouring poor must deserve praise, and be grateful to his own feelings, but, in the way of doing good, there is much delicacy required; and while we are zealous in our endeavours to promote an active charity in one particular instance, we should be careful, in the extension of this important Christian duty, not to forget the other Christian branch of charity to others also. In his Remarks on the Condition of the Children of our labouring Poor, this worthy medical gentleman has, I think, been too partial in confining his subject to the great manufacturing towns of this kingdom, and very particularly so in his comparative view of the new Lanark Mills and those of Holy-well and Manchester. I have always understood there is great difficulty in the attempt of separating the cause of the evil which a state derives from the immorality and the emasculated condition of the poor, from the important benefits which it derives from the increasing manufactures carried on by these objects of our speculation. That the regulation of the morals and the health of the rising progeny of a state, as conducive to industry and to opulence, demands every attention, it is needless to argue; but let us see the great difficulties which our principal manufacturing towns labour under, such as Birmingham and Manchester, compared with the less contaminated primitive and more hardy poor connected with the manufactories of Scotland. From several generations past, the manufactories of our great commercial towns have encouraged the most extensive employment to the labouring poor; motley groups of individuals from various quarters have been lured to them; the parental stock in various particulars originally defective in point of stamina, and their progeny of course, unhappily tainted with the same misfortune; the gleanings of work houses from the capital, from many parts of the country, have been thrown into these great towns; forsaken children from impure connexions, in whom squalid poverty has laid the foundation of many disorders, and which growing up and settling in these places have been communicated to a succeeding race: this evil is therefore not the present growth of our large factories. In Scotland, it is but of late years the manufactures have sprung up; the stamina of their labouring poor is naturally more hardy and less corrupted, not having the intercourse of the Southern provinces; and by recruiting constantly from the same parental source, no wonder that the children at the Lanark Mills have been found more healthy than those of the English manufacturing towns. Although the proprietor of the Lanark Mills may deserve praise for his attention to the health of the children employed in his establishment, it does not follow that other gentlemen, eminently signalized for their enterprising spirit, industry, and abilities, owing to the natural advantages of Mr. Dale,[4] deserve a public exposure and stigma. I think Mr. Bott, of Nantwich, in Cheshire, is highly to be commended, for his denial of an entry into his manufactory; and if the visit of the benevolent Mr. Neild was only to wrest from his mill articles of crimination for an exposure before the public, Mr. Bott has acted very wisely, by the interdiction of curiosity and intrusive inquiry at his own expense; but there are many other reasons which may be fairly alledged for this gentlemanâs refusal. I am informed, that it frequently happens that many persons, on gaining admittance to these extensive manufactories, have suborned the artisans from their employers, and in various other respects have caused much disorder to the establishment. By the law of the land, it is ordained that these factories should be opened to the regular and periodical visits of Magistrates; therefore, by thus exposing the partial evils of these extensive commercial establishments, which few human undertakings of such a vast magnitude can be exempt from, where such immense numbers of hands are employed, an oblique reflection is doubtless cast on the judicial administration of the State. The benevolence and zeal of a patriotic character should recommend itself in a more effectual manner than by publicly praising one man or set of men at the expense of others, equally, and in the fullest extent as
{'title': 'England and Napoleon (1801-1815) by S. E. Winbolt, Kenneth Bell, and S. E. Winbolt', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}