CHAPTER XXX.

{GEORGE III. 1814–1818}

Parliamentary Measures..... Campaign of Lord Wellington.....

The Allies enter Paris; Napoleon dethroned, &c. Treaty

of Peace..... Honours conferred on Wellington, &c.

Visit of the Allied Sovereigns..... Congress of Vienna.....

Campaign in America, &c. Treaty of Peace with America,

&c.Meeting of Parliament..... Return of Napoleon from

Elba..... Trial by Jury, &c. War resolved on; Financial

Measures..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Congress of

Vienna..... Affairs of France..... Battle of Waterloo.....

Capture of Paris..... Surrender of Napoleon, &c. Return

of Louis XVIII. to Paris..... Britain gains Possession of

the Island of Ceylon..... East India Affairs..... Meeting of

Parliament..... Debates on the Treaties..... Financial

Statements..... Royal Marriages..... Various Motions.....

Prorogation of Parliament..... Riots, &c. Expedition

to Algiers..... Meeting of Parliament..... Measures of

Economy..... Restrictions on Public Liberty..... Committee

on the Poor Laws, &c. Prorogation of Parliament.....

Riots at Manchester, &c. Death of the Princess

Charlotte.

PARLIAMENTARY MEASURES.

{A.D. 1814}

The legislative measures of parliament, when it met in the month of

March, are of little historical importance. The budget was laid before

the commons on the 30th of July, and the whole amount of supplies

exceeded £75,600,000. The session was closed on the 30th of July by the

prince regent in person. Nor did the autumnal session present any matter

of historical interest. It was opened on the 8th of November by a speech

again delivered by the regent in person, and on the 2nd of December the

houses adjourned till the 9th of February, 1815. But in the meantime

events of the greatest importance took place on the continent which

demand attention.

CAMPAIGN OF LORD WELLINGTON.

The last act of the drama was played during this year with great

rapidity. At the commencement of this year the progress of Lord

Wellington was retarded by the state of the weather, but as soon as it

became favourable he broke up his cantonments, resolving to penetrate as

far as possible into the interior of France. He first cleared the ground

on his right wing by driving the enemy eastward, and by pushing forward

his centre with a corresponding movement, after which he prepared with

his left wing, under Sir John Hope, to invest Bayonne. Marshal Beresford

was also detached with two divisions to occupy Bordeaux, the mayor and

inhabitants of which, on his arrival, of their own accord, proclaimed

Louis XVIII. Lord Wellington himself, with the main army, advanced to

Vig Bigorre, while Soult retreated to some good positions at Tarbes, and

then to Toulouse. Soult arrived at Toulouse on the 24th of March, and on

the 27th Wellington was close to him in front of that city. Between them

lay the deep and rapid river Garonne, and it was not till the 9th of

April that Wellington was enabled to get the allied army to the right

bank of that stream. On the 10th of April was fought the bloody battle

of Toulouse, in which Wellington was again victorious. Soult was driven

from his entrenched camp on the eastern side of the city of Toulouse

with a terrible loss: the victors also suffered severely. Soult

evacuated Toulouse on the 11th of April, retiring by Castlenaudry to

Carcassonne. He left behind him in the town 1,600 wounded men, and three

generals, besides artillery and ammunition, all of which were taken by

the allies, Wellington entered the city on the 12th, when a deputation

waited on him, requesting him to receive the key of the good and loyal

city in the name of King Louis XVIII. The battle of Toulouse was the

last real battle that Wellington had to fight during this campaign.

Four days after Soult’s defeat, indeed, and when the allies were in

possession of the city, and the French were flying from it, General

Thouvenot, who commanded in Bayonne, chose to make a desperate sortie

on the allies in their cantonments, while the troops were all buried in

sleep, but though he succeeded in cutting off many, he was repulsed with

an equal loss. In the meantime the English Colonel Cooke and the French

Colonel St, Simon arrived from Paris with the news that the allies

had entered the French capital; that a provisional government had been

established in the name of Louis XVIII.; and that Napoleon had abdicated

at Fontainbleau, on the 4th of April. These officers were despatched

from Wellington’s head-quarters to those of Marshal Soult, and after

some negociation a friendly convention was signed, and a line of

demarcation drawn between the two armies. This convention was signed on

the 18th of April, and on the 21st Lord Wellington, by general orders,

congratulated his army on the near prospect of the termination of their

toils and dangers, and thanked them for their valour in the field, and

for their conciliating conduct towards the inhabitants of the country.

THE ALLIES ENTER PARIS; NAPOLEON DETHRONED, ETC.

At length the “world-tyrant” was humbled. Equitable terms of peace had

been recently proposed to Napoleon by the confederated princes on the

Rhine, where they were assembled in great force, but they were rejected

by him with disdain. The confederated princes had collected their armies

on the Rhine after Napoleon’s disastrous retreat from Moscow, resolved

either to restrain his insatiate ambition, or to hurl him from his

throne. There were three armies arrayed against him. Bernadotte, crown

prince of Sweden, menaced him from the north; Blucher with a Prussian

army from the east; and Schwartzenberg, with the grand army from the

mountains of Bohemia, on the south. In the whole they numbered about

500,000 men, and Napoleon by fresh conscriptions was enabled to face

them with an army of 300,000. He had recently gained victories over the

Prussians at Lutzen, and the Russians at Bautzen, and these victories

seem to have led him on to ruin. He calculated upon victory still,

and therefore, when his generals advised him to retreat at once to

the Rhine, he refused, and bade them obey his commands. He marched to

Dresden, recently taken by Schwartzenberg, and victory again waited on

his steps; his enemies were routed with the loss of their cannon and

20,000 prisoners. But this victory was counterbalanced by the capture

of the whole force of Vandamme by the Russians and Prussians, and by the

defeats of Oudinot by the Prince of Sweden at Buelow; and of Macdonald

at Katzbach. Napoleon now retreated to Leipsic, whither he was followed

by the Russians, Prussians, and Austrians. In the plains of Leipsic

was fought the battle of nations, in which God gave the victory to the

allies. This battle lasted from the 14th to the 19th of October,

1813, and it ended with the terrible loss of 80,000 men on the side of

Napoleon, and 50,000 of the allies. The French fled towards Erfurt, and

finding no refuge there, continued their flight to Mentz and the Rhine.

As he hastened towards the Rhine his path was intercepted by an army of

Bavarians, who had taken up their position at Hanau; but he routed

them, and then established his troops on the Rhine, the allies encamping

opposite, and occupying Frankfort as their head-quarters. After the

battle of Leipsic, Europe gained her freedom, and seeing every nation

taking up arms against him, Napoleon sued for peace. He was offered

France, with the Rhine for its boundary, but he rejected this dominion

as too limited for his sway. War continued; and in January, 1814, the

allies crossed the Rhine, and invaded France. Thus menaced, the entire

male population of France was summoned to arms, 30,000 of the national

guard of Paris were put in motion, and the last resources of France

called into action. Napoleon was defeated by the Austrian and Prussian

forces at Brienne, in which battle he lost many cannon and prisoners.

Peace on equitable terms was again offered him, but peace was again

refused: he resolved to conquer or perish. Victory again waited on his

arms at Champaubert, where the Prussians had arrived in their onward

march to Paris, and he subsequently gained a victory over the Prussians

at Montmirail, and also over the Austrians at Montereau. After the

battle of Montmirail, a last effort was made to bring him to terms with

the allies, but he refused to sheathe his sword. He gained a victory

over the Russians at Craonne, but his loss was so great that it was

tantamount to defeat. The Russians retreated to Laon, where they

united with the Prussians, and where, three days after, they routed and

destroyed the French division of forces under Marmont. Hope now fled,

and Napoleon sought peace on any terms. But it was now too late: the

allies had recently agreed to drive him from his throne as a ruler

dangerous to the peace of the world. His own subjects moreover, were now

conspiring against him. Paris, Bordeaux, and other cities, were sending

upwards shouts for the return of the reign of the Bourbons. Rendered

desperate, Napoleon now turned to combat with the Austrians under

Schwartzenberg at Arcis; but after a faint struggle his troops

retreated. In the meantime the Russians and Prussians were hastening

onwards to Paris. It was on the 27th of March that the Parisians heard

the sound of war approach their gates. Marmont, Mortier, and Joseph

Buonaparte placed themselves with some forces in and around the city for

its defence; but on the 30th they were driven from their positions, and

then Paris was delivered into the hands of the Russians and Prussians.

When Napoleon heard of the fall of Paris he was hastening to its relief,

and astounded at the news he returned to Fontainbleau. He still clung

to hope, and talked of vindicating his rights by the sword, but his

marshals refused to support him, and some hinted that he was no

longer emperor. Then his proud spirit was humbled, and he drew up a

declaration, which stated that as he was the sole obstacle to the peace

of France, he was willing to resign his crown, and leave her shores, if

the succession of his son and the regency of the empress were ensured

by the allied sovereigns. But this could not be: his unconditional

abdication was demanded, and as there was no alternative, he signed a

treaty on the 11th of April, which declared him and his descendants to

have forfeited the throne of France for ever. By this treaty the island

of Elba was assigned to him in full sovereignty, and on the 20th of

April he departed with four hundred of his guard to lord it over this

island instead of a world. Thus expired the dynasty of Napoleon: a

dynasty founded in blood, and which, therefore, by the immutable law of

the Ruler of the universe, was doomed to perish. Before Napoleon signed

his abdication, the senate, hitherto obsequiously submissive to him, had

decreed that he had forfeited the throne of France, and had created a

provisional government, charged with the office of re-establishing the

functions and administration of the state. The installation of this

provisional government was signalized by an address to the French

armies, in which they were told that they were no longer the soldiers

of Napoleon, that the senate and all France had released them from

their oath. Subsequently it was resolved by the senate that the Bourbon

dynasty should be restored; and Louis XVIII. soon after arrived from

England, whither he had been residing in rural retirement, and made

his solemn entry into Paris. A definitive treaty of peace was signed

at Paris between Louis and the allies on the 30th of May and peace was

again restored to the distracted world.

TREATY OF PEACE.

The treaty of peace and amity signed at Paris, secured to France its

boundaries as they existed in January, 1792. The contracting parties

agreed that Holland should have an increase of territory; that the

lesser German states should be independent, and united by a Germanic

federal league; that Switzerland should enjoy its independence under the

government of its own choice; and that Italy, beyond the limits of the

Austrian dominions, which were to be restored, should be composed

of sovereign independent states. France recovered her colonies from

England, with the exception of Tobago, St. Lucie, and the Isle of

France with its dependencies. Malta was to be retained by England, which

country had recently obtained the Cape of Good Hope by a separate treaty

with Holland. French Guiana was restored by Portugal, and the rights of

France of fishery on the bank of Newfoundland were all to be restored

as they were by the peace of 1783. As a proof of their sincerity in

the repeated declarations they had made, that they meant no ill to

France—that they waged war only against Napoleon, the allies agreed

that their armies should evacuate France, and that all the French

prisoners should be restored. This treaty was considered final as

regards France; but there were other affairs of an extensive and

complicated nature still to be settled, the greater part of Europe

requiring reorganization, and her past misfortunes demanding some

preconcerted defences for the future—and it was therefore agreed in a

separate article that all the powers engaged in the late war should send

plenipotentiaries to a congress to be held at Vienna, for the object

of completing the pacific dispositions of the treaty of Paris, and of

preventing the recurrence of such a war as that in which they had for so

many years been engaged, and by which the countries of Europe had been

desolated.

HONOURS CONFERRED ON WELLINGTON, ETC.

The news of the important events which had taken place in Fiance arrived

while the spring session of the British parliament was sitting.

Loud acclamations were heard from every part of the house when Lord

Castlereagh, who had been our negociator at Paris, appeared again in the

house; but louder and longer still were the shouts of applause, when the

great general, who had recently been raised to a dukedom, took his seat

among them. A splendid provision was settled on him by parliament. In

addition to a former grant of £100,000 the chancellor of the exchequer

moved a farther vote of £300,000 for the purchase of an estate for him,

but at the suggestion of Whitbread and Mr. Pousonby, two leading members

of opposition, it was increased to £400,000. Moreover, the house of

commons conferred on his grace the unprecedented distinction of sending

a deputation to offer him its thanks, as well as congratulations on

his return to his own country. The duke acknowledged this compliment in

person on the 1st of July, on which occasion he was greeted by all the

members with enthusiasm, and addressed by the speaker in an appropriate

and animated speech. Nor were the duke’s companions forgotten. Grants

and peerages were bestowed on Sir Thomas Graham, Sir William Beresford,

Sir Rowland Hill, Sir John Hope, and Sir Stapleton Cotton. But there was

one name omitted in this list which gave general dissatisfaction in the

country—the name of “Picton,” by whose sword the British troops were

led to the victorious assault of Ciudad Rodrigo; by whose daring

hand the British standard was planted on the castle of Badajoz; whose

battalions, when the usurper of the Spanish throne was driven to his

last stand at Vittoria, filled the centre of that formidable line,

before which the troops of France fled in dismay; and by whose skill,

prudence, and valour, exerted in a critical hour, the enemy was foiled

in his desperate attempt to break through the barrier of the Pyrenees.

Picton received the thanks of the house for his valorous conduct for the

seventh time; but that was all, his services were left unrewarded.

VISIT OF THE ALLIED SOVEREIGNS.

As soon as the allied sovereigns had imagined their work was completed

in Paris, the Emperor of Russia with his sister, and the King of Prussia

with his two sons, came to England on a visit to the prince regent. They

were accompanied by a numerous body of counts, barons, dukes, princes,

marshals, and generals, among whom were Blucher, and Platoff the Hettman

of the Cossacks. The reception given these distinguished visitors was

both honourable and flattering; such continuous shows, spectacles,

and fêtes were given in honour of their visit as London never before

witnessed.

CONGRESS OF VIENNA.

The congress of Vienna was opened on the 1st of November. There were

present at this assembly the Emperors of Russia and Austria; the Kings

of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and Wurtemburg; the Elector of Hesse:

the Grand-duke of Baden; the Dukes of Saxe Weimar, Brunswick, Nassau,

Coburg, and several other places. The principal ambassadors and

ministers were—from the pope, Cardinal Gonsalvi; from Austria, Prince

Metternich; from Russia, Prince Rasumoosky, with Counts Stakelburg

and Nesselrode; from Great Britain, Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of

Wellington; from Prussia, Prince Hardenburg and Von Humboldt; from

France, Talleyrand and Dalburg; from Spain, Don Labrador; from Portugal,

Counts Palmella and Lobo da Silveria; from the Netherlands and Nassau,

Spoen and Gagern; from Denmark, Bernstorf; from Sweden, Lowenheim; from

Sardinia, St. Marsan, &c., &c. One of the first acts of congress was

to recognise a new regal title annexed to the British crown, that

of Elector of Hanover not being considered suitable to existing

circumstances, or to the sixth article of the treaty of Paris respecting

the independence of the German states and their federal union. In

accordance with the new title annexed to the British crown, a general

diet assembled in Germany on the 15th of December, which was opened

by the Duke of Cambridge, and which agreed to the plan of a new

constitution founded on a representative system. In the same month a

protocol from congress announced to the astonished Genoese that their

republic would be incorporated with the territories of the king of

Sardinia. The fate of its old rival, Venice, was similar; the whole of

Lombardy with its fine capital, Milan, was subjected to the leaden yoke

of Austria. Of all the sovereigns by right of French conquest

Murat, King of Naples, alone was permitted to hold his acquisitions

undisturbed.

CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA, ETC.

On the 7th of January the president of congress presented copies of

letters which had passed between Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Monroe, in

which the former proposed to appoint commissioners to treat about terms

of peace, either at London or Gottenburg. The appointed place of meeting

was Gottenburg; but the negociations were removed to Ghent, and they did

not commence till the following August. In the meantime war continued.

Early in February the American general, Wilkinson, moved his

head-quarters to Bridlington and Platsburg; and he subsequently attacked

a post commanded by Major Hancock, but was repulsed with considerable

loss. In the month of May Sir James Yeo and General Drummond reduced the

fort of Oswego, on the Lake Ontario, an achievement which was chiefly

serviceable by retarding the equipment of the enemy’s armament on that

water. Soon after this, however, the Americans became the assailants.

General Brown, crossing the Niagara, compelled the garrison of Fort Erie

to surrender prisoners of war; and then attacked the British lines at

Chippawa, and compelled General Riall to retreat on Fort George.

This officer, however, being re-enforced by some troops under General

Drummond, returned, and compelled the enemy to take refuge under the

cannon of Fort Erie. About this time the British government, on the

dethronement of Napoleon, having resolved to prosecute the contest with

increased vigour, a numerous fleet arrived in the St. Lawrence with

14,000 of the brave troops that had fought in the Peninsula. Sir George

Prévost commanded them, and in the month of September he entered the

American territory, and advanced against Platsburg, on Lake Champlain,

in conjunction with a flotilla under Captain Dordnie of the navy. This

expedition, however, resulted disastrously, and Sir George Prevost was

recalled to answer charges preferred against him by Sir James Yeo;

but he did not live to await his trial. Success, however, attended

the British arms in other quarters. During this year Admiral Cochrane

destroyed the Baltimore flotilla in the Patuxent; General Ross captured

and set fire to the city of Washington, after having encountered and

defeated an army of 9,000 Americans; General Pilkington reduced Moose

Island, and two others, in the bay of Passamaquoddy; and the English

frigate “Phobe” captured the United States’ frigate “Essex,” off

Valparaiso, on the western coast of South America. On the other hand, a

British sloop of war was captured by the American sloop “Wasp;” and

an expedition, under Admiral Cochrane and Sir E. Pakenham, against New

Orleans failed, after a severe rencontre with the American troops who

defended the city. The final event of the war was the capture of Fort

Bowyer, by the British, in the Gulf of Mexico. But before this event

took place, a treaty of peace and amity had been signed at Ghent, which

was afterwards ratified by both governments.

{GEORGE III. 1814–1818}

TREATY OF PEACE WITH AMERICA, ETC.

The treaty of Ghent was negociated on the part of America by Messrs.

Adams, Bayard, Clay, Russel, and Gallatin; and of Great Britain by Lord

Gambier, Mr. Goulburn, and Dr. Adams. On the grand cause of the war,

and the primary object of dispute—the right of search, the treaty was

wholly silent: the Americans tacitly abandoning their resistance to the

maritime claims of England. The treaty restored conquests on both sides,

and concluded a settlement of boundaries on the Canadian frontier, to be

afterwards adjusted. Both parties bound themselves to do their utmost in

abolishing the slave-trade—yet America is the land of slaves unto this

day. The Indians were to be restored to the rights and possessions which

they held in 1812. During the interval of the actual conclusion of this

treaty and the circulation of the intelligence thereof, a sea-fight took

place between the “President,” one of the largest American frigates,

and the “Endymion,” a British frigate, commanded by Captain Hope: the

“President” was captured.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1815}

The British parliament reassembled on the 9th of February. The first

measure brought under notice was the state of the corn-laws. Mr.

Frederic Robinson proposed that no wheat should be imported while

the price of a quarter remained under eighty shillings in the United

Kingdom; but that it might be introduced from the British territories in

North America when the price was sixty-seven shillings. He argued that

it was highly impolitic to depend on foreign supplies; and that the

greatest encouragement ought to be given to the production of such

a quantity of corn as would preclude famine and the necessity of

importation. This argument was forcibly controverted by Mr. Baring,

who alleged that the practice of importation was not inimical to the

progress of agriculture; that the accommodation of general consumers

ought to be consulted before the interests of landlords; and that the

suggested standard was improperly calculated on the supposed continuance

of the present expenses of the latter class. Numerous petitions from

the manufacturing and commercial towns were presented against any

alterations in the corn-laws, but the bill passed both houses. When it

was passed, the corporation of London addressed the prince regent, in

hopes that he would withhold his assent from a measure so generally

disliked by the nation, but it received his sanction. From that day to

this the corn-law question has been a source of constant clamour and

discontent. The ferment which the bill occasioned was great: the mob

attacked the houses of its supporters, and the military were obliged

to be called in to the aid of the civil power before the riots could be

quelled: two individuals were shot by the soldiers.

RETURN OF NAPOLEON FROM. ELBA.

While England was thus agitated an event took place which compromised

the peace of Europe; this was the return of Napoleon from his insular

kingdom to repossess himself of his old French empire. A message from

the prince regent was delivered to each house on the 6th of April,

communicating this information, and stating that his royal highness had

been induced to give directions for the immediate augmentation of our

land and sea forces, and to lose no time in communicating with our

allies, for the purpose of forming such a concert as might effectually

provide for the general and permanent security of Europe. The address

in the house of lords passed without a division, but in the commons Mr.

Whitbread moved an amendment expressly recommending the preservation of

peace. He was under the impression that the address covertly pledged the

house to war, but others of his party thought not, and his amendment was

lost by a majority of two hundred and twenty against thirty-seven.

TRIAL BY JURY, ETC.

In the beginning of this session an important act was passed for

extending the trial by jury to Scotland. Its provisions differed

from those of the English law, and the granting such a trial was made

optional in each case with the judges; but the lord chancellor, by whom

the bill was introduced, expressed a hope that at no distant period the

principle of the bill would receive a further extension. At a later

date a bill was passed for the continuance of the restriction of

cash-payments by the Bank of England till the 5th of July, 1816.

WAR RESOLVED ON; FINANCIAL MEASURES.

The question of peace or war was discussed at the latter end of May in

consequence of a message from the throne. In the lords Earl Grey urged

the necessity of a pacific policy, while Lord Grenville advocated war.

In the commons Mr. Grattan came forward, and with vehement and eloquent

indignation declaimed against the despoiler of Europe, and advocated

the most energetic measures to hurl him from his usurped throne. War

was resolved on by both lords and commons, and the latter granted the

necessary supplies. And this they did munificently; no less a sum than

£90,000,000 was voted for the public service. Out of this sum £9,000,000

was to be paid in subsidies to our allies, they still requiring the

gold of England to urge them onwards to action. In order to meet the

expenditure the unjust and inquisitorial income-tax was continued, and

£42,000,000 were obtained by loan. The Irish proportion of the supplies

was £9,760,814; the rest was furnished from the inexhaustible sources of

Great Britain.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 11th of July by a speech from the

throne, in which the prince regent, after recapitulating the events

which led to the glorious termination of the war—for the war, as will

be seen, had terminated—trusted that there would be no relaxation in

the exertions necessary to establish the permanent peace and security of

Europe.

CONGRESS OF VIENNA.

The Congress of Vienna continued its sitting at the commencement of this

year. The result of the deliberations of the allied sovereigns may be

thus briefly stated:—The King of Prussia obtained the electorate of

Saxony, Swedish Pornerania, and a great portion of the territory between

the Rhine and the Meuse; Russia obtained the grand duchy of Warsaw under

the name of the kingdom of Poland; Austria, as before related, recovered

Lombardy, etc.; Tuscany was given to the Archduke Ferdinand; Genoa was

bestowed upon the King of Sardinia; Parma and Placentia were ratified to

the ex-empress Maria Louisa; the foreign policy of the German states

was submitted to the decision of a federal diet, under the control of

Austria and Prussia; Sweden acquired Norway at the expense of Denmark;

England was gratified by the acquisition of Heligoland, the Cape of

Good Hope, the Isle of France, the Ionian Islands, Malta, and all the

colonies won during the war; and Holland and Belgium were confirmed as

the kingdom of the Netherlands, under the House of Orange. The

allied sovereigns were thus engaged in parcelling out the world, when

Talleyrand informed them that the prisoner of Elba had returned to

France, and was again seated on the throne of the Bourbons.

AFFAIRS OF FRANCE.

Although Napoleon consented to retire to the island of Elba over which

he was to rule, it was never his intention to remain there. No sooner

had he arrived, in fact, than he commenced his intrigues, in order to

effect a return to France and empire. Under the plea of nonnecessity he

dismissed his few troops, and these joined their old regiments for the

purpose of preparing the general mind to receive back the emperor, who

had so often led them on to victory. All these regiments were, in fact,

almost to a man in his favour; the tri-coloured cockade was preserved in

their knapsacks, and his memory in their hearts. These sentiments were

reported to Napoleon; and on the 27th of February he embarked in a brig

of war, followed by six light barks, and, stealing cautiously over the

Mediterranean, arrived on the 1st of March at Camres. He had with him

one thousand soldiers, and his three generals, Bertrand, Drouet, and

Cambronne. With these he proceeded onwards to Paris; and during several

days he marched without meeting any forces. On the 7th of March,

however, a body of seven hundred men presented themselves at the defile

of Vizille, near Grenoble; and the officer in command threatened to fire

on his party. But Napoleon was not afraid of being shot by

Frenchmen. Advancing alone, and throwing open his riding coat, he

remarked:—“Soldiers, it is I! Look upon me! If there is a man amongst

you who would slay his emperor, he comes with uncovered breast to offer

himself to his weapon!” Instead of the sound of musketry the loud

shout of “Long live the emperor!” rent the air; and, hoisting the same

standard with his own troops all marched together upon Grenoble. They

were soon after joined by Colonel Labédoyère, at the head of the seventh

regiment; and Ney was the next to join his ranks. Ney had been sent by

the French government to check his progress; and he had boasted that

he would bring Napoleon to Paris in an iron cage: but no sooner had he

reached Auxerre than he declared the Bourbon cause hopeless, and at the

head of 14,000 men joined his old emperor’s standard. Finally, with the

exception of Marmont, Macdonald, and some other marshals, all the

army deserted the cause of the Bourbons. Louis fled from, and Napoleon

entered Paris in triumph.

Napoleon resumed the reigns of empire in the midst of the loud

acclamations of the Parisians; though there were many who preserved

an ominous silence. All, however, seemed to go well; for at an

extraordinary assembly in the Champ de Mai of the electoral colleges, a

new constitution was sworn to by the emperor and men of all parties. But

there was a storm arising in the horizon which was to shatter his throne

into pieces for ever. All Europe was preparing to crush his newly risen

power. Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Holland entered into a

treaty, binding themselves to support the house of Bourbon; to preserve

inviolate the treaty of Paris; to bring into the field 150,000 men each;

and not to lay down their arms until Napoleon was for ever crushed.

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.

Napoleon saw the storm arising, and prepared to ward off its fury.

France became an immense camp. Armies were dispatched towards Belgium,

Lorraine, Franche Comte, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. The head-quarters

of the grand army were at Laon, from whence communications were

preserved with Valenciennes, Mauberge, Lisle, and the armies assembled

on the Moselle. Napoleon joined that section of the army destined to

enter Belgium, his design being to “measure himself with Wellington.”

The army raised for this project consisted of about 125,000 men and

three hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. Against this force Wellington

could only oppose 76,000 men, not one half of which were British, and

but some eighty-four pieces of cannon. The duke’s head-quarters were at

Brussels; and on his left, in and around Namur, lay Marshal Blucher,

with about 80,000 men and two hundred cannon. Napoleon commenced

operations by crossing the Sombre and taking Charleroi, which was

garrisoned by Prussians. This accomplished, Napoleon hastened towards

Brussels, resolving to strike a signal blow against the British. The

Duke of Wellington was at a ball when intelligence arrived of this

movement; and he gave orders for every man to repair to his post. At

first the English took up their position at Quatre Bras; but tidings

having arrived that Napoleon had again defeated the Prussians at Ligny,

the Duke fell back with his army to the position of Waterloo. It was at

the dawn of the 18th of June that Napoleon discerned the British on the

heights of Waterloo; and in the exuberance of his joy he exclaimed, “Ah!

I have these English!” The position taken up by the duke was in front of

the village of Waterloo, and crossed the high roads from Charleroi and

Nivelles. It had its right thrown back to a ravine near Merke-Braine,

and its left extended to a height above the hamlet of Ter la Haye; in

front of the right centre the troops occupied the house and gardens of

Hougomont, which covered the return of that flank; and in front of the

left centre they occupied the farm of La Haye Sainte. By his left the

duke communicated with Blucher at Havre, who promised to support him

with one or more corps if necessary. In the rear of the British centre

was the farm of Monte St. Jean, and a little further behind a village of

the same name. While stationed at Quatre Bras a partial engagement

had taken place between the two armies—Ney commanding the French—and

Wellington had lost 2.380 in wounded, and three hundred and fifty in

killed: his force united in the position at Waterloo, therefore, was not

73,000 men, 21,000 of whom were Belgian and Nassau troops, mostly of

an inferior quality. Napoleon had lost many in his conflicts with the

Prussians at Charleroi and Ligny, and with the British at Quatre

Bras. He had also despatched 32,000 men, under Grouchy, to follow the

Prussians, and to prevent their joining the English, so that his army

was reduced to about 78,000 men when the battle of Waterloo commenced.

But his troops were veterans almost to a man, and there were at least

100,000 soldiers of the same quality behind them in France. He collected

his army on a range of heights in front of the British position, and not

above a mile from it. His right was in advance of Planchenois, and his

left rested on the Genappe road, while his rear was skirted by thick

woods. On the morning of the 18th, when Napoleon mounted his horse to

survey Wellington’s position, he could see but few troops, and he

was induced to fancy that the British general had made a retreat.

“Wellington never exhibits his troops,” said General Foy; “but if he

is yonder, I must warn your majesty that the English infantry in close

fighting are very demons.” Soult added his warning to that of Foy; but,

nevertheless, Napoleon commenced the battle confident of victory. It was

shortly after ten o’clock on the Sabbath-day—a day sacred to devotion

and rest—that a stir was observed along the French lines, and

especially near the farm of Rossome, where Napoleon stood with

his celebrated old guard. The post of Hougoumont, on the right of

Wellington’s centre, was first attacked, which post was occupied by

General Byng’s brigade of guards: but the attack was vain; the post was

maintained, notwithstanding the desperate and repeated efforts of

large bodies of the enemy to obtain possession. This first attack was

accompanied by a heavy cannonade on the whole line of the British; which

was answered from Wellington’s cannon, and which committed a fearful

havoc among the French columns, which successively attacked the post of

Hougoumont. The object of Wellington was to maintain his positions till

the arrival of some Prussian corps; and the object of Napoleon was to

crush him before Blucher could send a single battalion to his support.

Hence it was that he repeated his attacks with heavy columns of

infantry, with a numerous and brilliant cavalry, and with his formidable

artillery. But from every charge his columns returned shattered and

thinned. Scarcely a gleam of success dawned upon Napoleon during the

whole day. In one of their attacks, indeed, the farm-house of La Haye

Sainte was carried by the French; but it was not till the German

legion which defended it had perished to a man. Thus affairs stood when

Napoleon ordered his cavalry to charge the British infantry in squadrons

and in masses—to charge home, and to find a passage through their

glittering bayonets. Their efforts were determined, but they all proved

fruitless; the British infantry formed in squares, and the best of his

horsemen bit the dust. Still Napoleon’s cry was “Forward!” thus goading

them on to destruction. Their overthrow was hastened by a charge

of British cavalry, which had hitherto been very little more than a

spectator of the battle. Seizing the moment favourable for the charge,

Wellington called up Lord Ernest Somerset’s brigade of heavy cavalry,

consisting of the life-guards, the royal horse-guards, and the first

dragoon-guards, and directed them to charge the already crippled cavalry

of Napoleon. These regiments proved irresistible; horses and men fell on

every hand; and the French cuirassiers, whose breastplates had glittered

in so many battles and victories, were completely destroyed. When Lord

Ernest Somerset’s brigade returned from their charge, they brought with

them about two thousand prisoners, and an imperial eagle. By this time,

about seven o’clock in the evening, every part of the French army,

except the guards, who had been kept as a reserve had been engaged,

repulsed, and beaten. The British loss in killed and wounded had also

been immense; but they had not lost a single position, and they were yet

full of heart and confidence in their leader. It was evident, indeed,

that even if no Prussians should arrive Napoleon would be defeated. At

this critical moment, however, a numerous body of men was seen in the

distance; and anxiety was depicted in the faces of both Napoleon and

Wellington. Napoleon hoped it might be Grouchy, and Wellington hoped it

might be Blucher. Onwards the moving mass came, and it proved to be the

Prussians under Blucher: he had left a body of men to confront Grouchy,

and hastened to support Wellington, As soon as the French generals

discovered who the new comers were, they advised Napoleon to retreat;

but although his defeat was now morally certain, his cry was still,

“Forward!” Calling forward his guard, he bade them make a desperate

effort on the British left centre, near the farm of La Haye Sainte. This

guard advanced in two massy columns, leaving four battalions of the

old guard in reserve, near to the spot where Napoleon sat on his horse,

rigid as a statue, watching their motions. They moved on resolutely

under a destructive fire from the British position; and when within

fifty yards from the British line they attempted to deploy. The close

fire upon them, however, was too terrible to admit of this movement;

their flanks were enclosed by some of our guards; they got mixed

together in a mass; and in that mass they were broken and slaughtered,

or compelled to hasten down the hill in irretrievable confusion. The

grand army of Napoleon never again stood to face its enemies; it was in

fact destroyed, for “all the rest of the work was headlong, unresisted

pursuit, slaughter of fugitives who had entirely lost their military

formation, and capture of prisoners, artillery, and spoils.” As the

imperial guards reeled from the British position, and just as Blucher

joined in person with a corps of his army to the left of the British

line, Wellington moved forward his whole line of infantry, supported by

the cavalry and artillery, and swept all before him. At every point

the attack succeeded. The French fled in the utmost confusion; Napoleon

himself setting them the example; and one hundred and fifty pieces

of cannon, with all their ammunition, fell into the hands of the

conquerors. Wellington and Marshal Blucher met at a farm-house, called

Maison Rouge; and here the duke gave orders for his troops to halt,

and left the task of pursuit to the Prussians. Blucher declared that he

would follow up the French with his last horse and his last man; and he

instantly started off with two Prussian corps in pursuit of them. The

fugitives dispersed all over the country; but the Prussians did fearful

execution upon them, knocking them down in heaps like cattle: at one

place eight hundred of them were thus dispatched. Many of the French ran

across fields and into woods, where numbers were afterwards found dead

or grievously wounded. As for the high-road it resembled the sea-shore

after some fearful shipwreck—cannon, caissons, carriages, baggage,

arms, and wreck of every kind were picked up by the pursuers. One of

the first hauls, indeed, which Blucher made, was sixty pieces of cannon

belonging to the imperial guard; and with these were captured carriages,

baggage, &c., belonging to Napoleon himself. The retreat, in a word, was

most disastrous; the French did not cease flying until they had passed

all their frontier fortresses; and then they dispersed all over the

country, selling their arms and their horses, and running to their

homes. In the battle and in the retreat the French had lost thirty

thousand men in killed and wounded; and, what was more fatal to them, by

this event their spirits were broken, and they could not again take the

field. The loss on the part of the allies was also immense; the British

and the Hanoverians alone having 2,432 killed, and 9,528 wounded, in

which number there were more than six hundred officers. Among the slain

were Generals Picton, Sir William Ponsonby, Lieutenant-colonel the

Honourable Sir Alexander Gordon, and Colonel de Lancy, Wellington’s

quarter-master general. Among the wounded, the Earl of Uxbridge,

General Cooke, General Halkett, General Barnes, General Baron Allen,

Lieutenant-colonel Lord Fitzroy Somerset, and the Prince of Orange. Of

Wellington’s staff, indeed, there was scarcely an officer who did not

receive a wound. Such was the battle of Waterloo: the victory was

gained at a great price; but by it this long and terrible war, which had

desolated hearths and firesides and the fair face of nature for many a

long year, was finished. So fearful was the scene after the battle that

the Duke of Wellington, forgetting the exultation of victory, exclaimed,

as he viewed it in the bright moonlight night which succeeded, “My heart

is almost broken by the terrible loss I have sustained of my old friends

and companions, and my poor soldiers.” Such a sentiment does honour to

humanity.

[Illustration: 360.jpg BATTLE OF WATERLOO]

CAPTURE OF PARIS.—SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON, ETC.

The first man that carried the news of the disaster to Paris was

Napoleon himself. Leaving his brother Jerome on the frontier to try if

he could rally some of the remains of his army, he flew to the capital,

where he arrived on the night of the 20th. It is evident that he still

calculated upon the devotion of the _corps législatif_ to his cause; but

he soon discovered that he had forfeited their affection. Had he been

victorious they would, doubtless, still have fawned upon him; but now

he was thoroughly beaten, they demanded his abdication. Both chambers

declared that there was but one man between France and peace; and

Napoleon found himself compelled to sign his second abdication. He did

this in favour of his son; but the chambers refused to pronounce his son

emperor, and formed a temporary government for the purpose of conducting

the administration. In the meantime the allies had been marching towards

Paris. They were opposed by French troops at St. Cloud, Issy, and

Mendon, but no successful opposition could be made; and Blucher prepared

to take a terrible revenge on Paris for the calamities brought on

suffering Europe. His vengeance, however, was averted. On the 3rd

of July Massena, commander-in-chief of the French forces, signed a

capitulation with the allies, by which it was agreed that Louis XVIII.

should be restored to his throne; that the French troops should evacuate

Paris; and that Paris should be garrisoned by the allied armies Thus

deserted, Napoleon resolved to retire from France. A frigate was waiting

at Rochefort to convey him to America; but the English cruisers were

hovering about the port, and he found escape impossible. In this

extremity he presented himself with his suite on board the English ship,

Bellerophon, from whence he wrote a letter, asking the prince regent’s

protection. He imagined that he would be allowed to reside in England

in a private capacity; but his known restless ambition precluded the

possibility of this favour being extended to him. Taught by experience

that his ambition was irrepressible, an order was given to convey him to

St. Helena; and soon afterwards he was conveyed to that rock which was

destined to be his retreat, his restraint, and for a time his tomb. The

dream of his ambition had passed away for ever.

“Fame is the shade of immortality,

And in itself a shadow; soon as caught

Contemn’d, it shrinks to nothing in the grasp.”

—Young

{GEORGE III. 1814–1818}

RETURN OF LOUIS XVIII. TO PARIS.

Louis XVIII. returned to his capital on the 8th of July. It was

not, however, until the 7th of October that the two French chambers,

corresponding with the British parliament were assembled. At that time

a treaty or convention of the allies was formally announced, and on

the 20th of November it received the final signature of the contracting

powers. By this treaty—seven French fortresses were to be occupied by

150,000 of the allied troops at the expense of France for a period not

exceeding five years, and France was to pay 700,000,000 francs as an

indemnity. Among the concessions made, was that of the Ionian Islands

being declared independent, under the protection of England. On their

part, the allies engaged to employ their united forces on any future

occasion, should the same revolutionary principles which supported

the usurpation of Napoleon under other forms again disturb France, and

menace the repose of other states. This was planting an iron foot upon

the neck of rebellion, but it was the only means of securing the peace

of Europe. The French government and the nation at large felt the

bitterness of the terms: but, conscious of their justice, they submitted

to them without a murmur. On the re-establishment of the kingly

government in France, measures were taken for the punishment of those

who had been most active in the late rebellion. Among those who were

punished with death was the celebrated Marshal Ney: “he had sown the

wind, and he reaped the whirlwind.”

BRITAIN GAINS POSSESSION OF THE ISLAND OF CEYLON.

During this eventful year the sovereignty of Great Britain was extended

over the island of Ceylon. The King of Candy, who possessed the

interior, by his atrocities, compelled the inhabitants to throw off his

yoke. Early in the year, General Brownrigg, the governor cf the British

possessions on the coast, issued a proclamation declaring that he made

war on the tyrant alone, and that protection would be afforded to his

oppressed subjects. He penetrated to the capital amidst the acclamations

of the inhabitants; the king-was delivered into his hands; and a treaty

was concluded by which the British authority was established in the

whole island, the rights and immunities of the chiefs being secured:

torture and mutilation were abolished, and no sentence of death was to

be executed without a warrant from the British governor. Thus this fine

and fruitful island was added to “Britain’s wide domain.”

EAST INDIA AFFAIRS.

In the East Indies some disputes took place this year between the

British government and the state of Nepaul, respecting boundaries.

Dispute was followed by hostility, and a force of 30,000 men was ordered

by the governor-general, Lord Moira, to penetrate that mountainous and

intricate country. Several gallant but unsuccessful attempts were

made upon the fort of Kalunga, in one of which General Gillespie the

commander, was slain. The fort, however, was finally evacuated by its

garrison; but a series of warlike operations was continued for several

months with great bravery on both sides, and with various success. The

final result of the war, however, was favourable to the British. After

a campaign of great difficulty, the whole country from Kemaoon to the

Sutlej was ceded to the British company.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1816}

Parliament assembled on the 1st of February, when, in consequence of

the indisposition of the prince regent, it was opened by commission. The

speech congratulated the two houses upon the successes obtained by his

majesty’s arms with those of his allies, and expressed a hope that it

would be followed by the lasting repose and security of Europe, The

prince regent lamented the heavy pressure which the late extraordinary

exertions had produced upon the country; but he assured the houses

that they might rely on every disposition on his part to concur in such

measures of economy as might be found consistent with the interest of

the country, and with that station which it occupied in Europe. The

address was agreed to in the lords _nem. con._, and in the commons an

amendment, moved by Mr. Brand, censuring ministers for the length of

the late prorogation, which had caused delay in public affairs of

importance, was negatived by ninety against twenty-three.

DEBATES ON THE TREATIES.

On the 9th of February Mr. Brougham moved for a copy of the treaty

concluded at Paris, and designated by the title of “the Holy Alliance.”

By this document, the three potentates by whom it was signed—the

sovereigns of Austria, Russia, and Prussia—declared their resolution

to take for their guide the precepts of the Christian religion, both

in their domestic administration and foreign relations. Mr. Brougham

observed, that there was something so singular in the wording of this

document as to warrant jealousy of their designs. He could not imagine

that it referred to objects merely spiritual, for the partition of

Poland had been prefaced by similar language, and the proclamation of

the Empress Catherine, which concluded that fatal tragedy, was couched

in nearly the same terms. Lord Castlereagh vindicated the motives of

the confederated sovereigns, and stated that the prince regent—whose

accession to this alliance was prevented by the forms of the British

constitution—expressed his satisfaction in its tendency. He opposed the

production of the document, because it was contrary to the practice of

parliament to call for copies of treaties to which this country was no

party.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

From an abstract of the net produce of the revenue in the years ending

the 5th of January, 1815, and the 5th of January, 1816, the amount

appeared to be £66,443,802, showing an excess of £1,013,821 over that

of the preceding year. But notwithstanding this excess the chancellor of

the exchequer announced his intention of proposing an income-tax of

five per cent., there being no mode, he observed, less oppressive, or so

economical. With a view of gaining over the great mass of the people, he

declared himself ready to exempt all incomes under £150 per annum, and

farms paying less than that sum in rent. But the people were not thus

to be bribed. Such a storm of opposition was raised against it by the

nation at large that when a motion for the continuance of the income-tax

was made, it was negatived by two hundred and thirty-eight against two

hundred and thirty one. Thus defeated, the chancellor of the exchequer

had recourse to a loan; and this loan was increased by £2,000,000,

by the voluntary relinquishment of the war-tax on malt, which tax was

relinquished in order to afford some relief to the agriculturists, who

were at this time labouring under great distress. In bringing forward

the budget on the 27th of May, the chancellor of the exchequer announced

that the surplus of the preceding year’s grants in hand amounted to

£5,663,755. The supplies for the year were estimated at £39,400,000,

and the ways and means to meet them as deficient about £2,500,000;

which deficiency was made up by a loan of £3,000,000, obtained from the

directors of the Bank of England, at three per cent. The amount of the

army estimates provoked a long and vehement discussion; but ministers

were successful in their favourite object of maintaining a large

standing army, their principal argument being that the situation of

the continent rendered such a measure necessary. The number voted was

176,615 men, including 30,000 stationed in France; and a vote of 33,000

men for the navy was also agreed to, after a violent debate. Out of the

large military force voted 25,000 men were to be stationed in Ireland,

in order to keep that country in awe. The necessity of such a force

naturally excited some surprise, and led to some animadversions on the

measures of the existing cabinet. But no cabinet: which has ever existed

can fairly be charged with all the evils and the abuses which have

plagued that country. Generally speaking, these evils and abuses have

arisen from the Irish people themselves, their factious spirit having

elicited the severe laws enacted to preserve peace. Mr. Peel, who had

lately commenced his political career, justly ascribed the disturbances

in Ireland to a systematic violation of all laws, which loudly called

for the introduction of a military force. The general routine of motions

for inquiry into the state of Ireland, and the repeal of Catholic

disabilities were followed by their usual results; but a measure of some

importance—the consolidation of the British and Irish exchequers—was

effected in the course of this session. A bill was also passed for a new

silver coinage.

ROYAL MARRIAGES.

A message from the prince regent to both houses on the 14th of March,

announced the marriage contract of his daughter, the Princess Charlotte

Augusta, with his serene highness, Prince Leopold of Saxe Cobourg. An

annual sum of £60,000 was voted to them during their joint lives, the

whole to be continued, should the prince die first, and £50,000 to him

should he be the survivor; £60,000 were also granted by way of outfit.

The nuptials were celebrated on the 2nd of May; the nation partaking in

the joy, not only from the lively interest which the people took in the

personal character of the princess, but from the circumstance that she

united herself with the object of her own choice. Two months after the

marriage of the Princess Charlotte, another marriage took place, between

the Princess Mary, fourth daughter of his majesty, and the Duke of

Gloucester, her cousin. Their establishments were formed on a scale

which rendered a further application to the public purse unnecessary.

VARIOUS MOTIONS.

During this session, Mr. Tierney moved the abolition of the office of

secretary of state for the department of war and the colonies, which

was lost by a great majority. A proposition that the expenditure of the

civil list should not exceed the revenue, &c., was also rejected. A

bill relative to the registry and regulation of slaves, which had been

introduced by Mr. Wilberforce towards the close of the last session,

became the subject of warm debates, in consequence of an insurrection

which had taken place at Barbadoes. A petition from the merchants of

Bristol deprecated the measure, as disclosing a spirit of interference

with the local legislation of the colonies; and on the suggestion of

Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Wilberforce postponed his motion, and moved for

papers on the subject. Mr. Palmer, who argued that the insurrection

arose from expectations among the slaves of entire emancipation,

fostered by the proposed registry-bill, moved an amendment to the effect

that the colonial authorities should be recommended to promote the moral

and religious improvement, as well as the comfort and happiness of the

negroes: this amendment was carried.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 2nd of July. The speech of the prince

regent expressed regret at the distresses suffered by many classes of

his majesty’s subjects; but which it was hoped would be found to have

arisen from causes of a temporary nature.

RIOTS, ETC.

The general distress felt at this period arose from the expensive war

in which England had been so long-engaged. As the year, advanced, the

calamities of an inclement season and a deficient harvest were added to

a general stagnation of trade and commerce. The consequence of all this

was a sudden rise in the price of the necessaries of life, which was

combined with a reduction of wages and want of employment among the

poor. Distress engendered discontent; and, unfortunately, there were

mischievous characters abroad, who availed themselves of the irritated

feelings of the people to stir them up to sedition. Serious tumults took

place in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and various other

parts of the kingdom; and in the Isle of Ely an organized insurrection

broke out which was not suppressed without great difficulty. Some of

the rioters were taken, and twenty-four were found guilty, of whom five

suffered the extremity of the law. The metropolis had continued tranquil

until nearly the close of the year, but at length the distress felt

goaded the multitude on to seditious acts. Two meetings were convened

in Spa-fields by some of the mob-orators, to petition the regent for a

reform of abuses; and a vast concourse of rabble attended which on the

second occasion led to a serious riot. Mr. Henry Hunt figured as

the principal demagogue; but though his language was seditious and

inflammatory, he had the prudence to withdraw before the consequences of

his harangue were manifested. Like Gash-ford, however, he had stirred up

mischief, though he retired before it was committed. A band of his more

desperate associates, who had attended him with a tri-coloured flag,

and other symbols of a revolutionary nature, endeavoured to lead the mob

into the city. Some few followed their standard; and on their march they

broke into the shop of a gunsmith, on Snowhill to obtain arms, and

a young man, named Watson, there shot a gentleman who offered some

resistance. Seizing all the arms they could find in that and other

shops, they proceeded to the Royal Exchange, when the lord mayor and

aldermen, after vainly exhorting them to disperse, boldly secured some

of the most forward, and shut the gates against the remainder. The mob

fired, but without effect, over the gates on the magistrates; but a

strong body of troops having been quickly marched into the city, the

rioters were finally overpowered, and compelled to disperse. Some

examples were made of the ringleaders; but the greatest criminal,

Watson, effected his escape to America. The vigilance of government was

by these events excited; and, after experience of this danger, every

popular meeting in the vicinity of the metropolis was watched by large

bodies of the military and special constables.

EXPEDITION TO ALGIERS.

The piratical state of Barbary had for ages infested the commerce of the

Mediterranean, and subjected Christians to the most dreadful slavery. No

check had been given them in their career, although during the late

war the fears of the barbarians had induced them to respect the British

flag. The renewed freedom of commerce, however, after the peace, tempted

the three principal states of Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers to augment the

number of their corsairs; and the ferocious system of depredation which

they carried on against the vessels of nations in alliance or under the

protection of Great Britain, rendered it imperative on the mistress of

the ocean to vindicate her honour. For this purpose Lord Exmouth, at

this time commanding in the Mediterranean, was instructed to demand

security from these piratical states for the commerce of the Ionian

Islands; to negociate a peace for Naples and Sardinia; and, if possible,

to obtain a general abolition of Christian slavery. His lordship

proceeded first to Algiers, where he obtained the release of all Ionian

captives, and the ratification of a pacific treaty for Naples and

Sicily: the former nation paying a ransom of five hundred dollars, and

the latter three hundred dollars per head for their redeemed slaves. His

lordship then proceeded to Tunis and Tripoli, the deys of which places

appeared disposed to accede to any terms. Lord Exmouth proposed a

treaty, for ever prohibiting the making of Christian slaves, and that

such prisoners as might be taken in war should be treated according to

the practice of civilized Europe. These stipulations were agreed to and

the treaties signed. In the meantime he had received instructions to

claim from Algiers the privilege of selling and refitting privateers

in its port. On his return to that place upon this mission, he took

the opportunity of pressing on that state the abolition of Christian

slavery; but his request was haughtily refused, and when his lordship

was returning to the fleet he was insulted by the crowd, and narrowly

escaped assassination. As Lord Exmouth had not received definite

instructions from the admiralty, he did not think himself justified in

proceeding to extremities; and he therefore agreed that the dey should

appoint an ambassador, who might proceed first to Constantinople, for

the purpose of gaining the sanction of the Ottoman Porte, and thence to

London, to treat on his proposal. His lordship then returned to England;

but before he reached its shores, accounts arrived, which determined

government at once to exact satisfaction for the past and security for

the future. On the 21st of May the dey had ordered the British consul,

Mr. Macdonald, to be confined, and all the English vessels in Oran to

be seized. The Algerines likewise murdered the crews of several Italian

vessels under the British flag, that were engaged in the coral-fishery

at Bona. Thus braved, ministers resolved to punish the Algerines, and

to enforce obedience on the common enemies of the civilized world. Lord

Exmouth received instructions to complete his work; and he sailed on

the 28th of July, in the “Queen Charlotte” of 110 guns, with four other

ships of the line, five frigates, with sloops, bomb-vessels, &c., for

that purpose. With this fleet he arrived at Gibraltar on the 9th of

August, where he met with a Dutch squadron of five frigates and a

corvette, commanded by Vice-admiral Von Capellem, who, on learning the

object of the expedition, solicited and obtained leave to assist in the

enterprise. The Algerines expected this attack, and had been preparing

for it by the removal of every article of value, and by strengthening

their already formidable fortifications. The city of Algiers is built

on the declivity of a hill, in a triangular shape; the base being the

sea-front, which rises directly from the water, and is about a mile in

length. It was strongly defended by batteries rising one above another,

and along a tongue of land, which defends the entrance into the inner

part of the harbour, and also the approach to it, was a range of strong

batteries, which our ships were obliged to pass, to take their station

near the town, for the purpose of bombarding it. In the whole, the

city was defended by about one thousand pieces of ordnance. During a

conversation with Captain Brisbane, Lord Nelson had named twenty-five

ships of the line as the force requisite to attack Algiers, but Lord

Exmouth was satisfied he could accomplish the enterprise with the small

fleet above described. He arrived off Algiers on the 27th of August; and

all proposals for conciliation, and all demands for the relief of the

British consul being ineffectual, the fleet passed the batteries and

commenced their appointed work. The “Queen Charlotte” led the attack,

and she answered to the guns of the batteries with a broadside which

swept off’ about five hundred men from the crowded mole, soldiers and

spectators. Before the battle became general, the “Queen Charlotte” had

demolished the fortifications on the mole; then drawing her broadside

more to the northward, she soon brought down the tower of the

light-house. Gun after gun fell from the batteries, and the last of them

was dismounted just as the artillerymen were in the act of discharging

it. The battle had not long commenced when the enemy’s flotilla of

gim-boats advanced with daring courage to board the “Queen Charlotte,”

which by this time was seconded by the “Leander;” but as soon as they

were discovered in the midst of the smoke, a few guns from both these

ships sent thirty-three of the Algerine gun-boats to the bottom. The

cannonade, which was of the most awful description, had continued for

an hour without producing any signs of submission, and then Lord Exmouth

determined to destroy the enemy’s ships. This was effected by throwing

laboratory torches and carcass-shells on board of the nearest frigates,

which, taking fire, communicated the flames to the rest, until they

were burnt to the water’s edge. The bombardment continued, with little

intermission, till nearly eleven: the Algerines fighting all the time

with the utmost fury and desperation. About ten it was deemed advisable

to take a large offing during the night. It was extremely dark: but the

darkness was illuminated by a violent storm of lightning accompanied

with thunder, and by the incessant fire of the batteries. The firing

ceased about half-past eleven, and Lord Exmouth collected in his cabin

all the wounded that could safely be moved to join with him and

his officers in thanksgiving to the Almighty for their victory and

preservation. The work was indeed effected: at the dawn of the returning

day the city and harbour of Algiers exhibited a shattered heap of ruins.

In the conflict, the loss of the Algerines amounted to about 7,000: the

British had 128 killed, and 690 wounded, and the Dutch, who nobly aided

in this enterprise, thirteen killed and fifty-two wounded. The dey was

now humbled. Lord Exmouth now repeated with effect the proposals which

had been before rejected, and the result of the victory was, that the

dey agreed to abolish Christian slavery; to deliver up all the slaves in

his dominion, of whatever nation they might be; to return all the money

received for the redemption of slaves since the commencement of the

present year; and to make reparation, and a public apology to the

British consul for the wrongs and indignities to which he had been

subjected. Before Lord Exmouth quitted the bay of Algiers every

Christian prisoner was set at liberty, and the dey had refunded 382,500

dollars to the governments of Naples and Sardinia. The squadron quitted

the bay on the 3rd of September, with the conscious satisfaction of

having rescued the British character from the imputation of tamely

permitting the atrocities which these piratical states had so long

exercised against the weaker powers, and with the proud consciousness

that every man had done his duty. Lord Exmouth, who was twice slightly

wounded in the action, was raised from the dignity of baron to that of

Viscount, and a considerable promotion likewise took place among the

officers who had so nobly participated in the chastisement of the

barbarian foe of the Christian world.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1817}

Parliament was opened by the prince regent in person. The chief topics

of his speech were the continued assurances of amity received from

foreign powers; the recent victory at Algiers; and the still existing

deficiency in the revenue. He concluded thus:—“In considering our

internal situation, you will, I doubt not, feel a just indignation at

the attempts which have been made to take advantage of the distress

of the country for the purpose of exciting a spirit of sedition and

violence. I am too well convinced of the loyalty and good sense of the

great body of his majesty’s subjects, to believe them capable of being

perverted by the arts which are employed to seduce them; but I am

determined to omit no precautions for preserving the public peace, and

for counteracting the designs of the disaffected. I rely with the

utmost confidence, also, on your cordial support, and co-operation,

in upholding a system of law and government from which we have

derived inestimable advantages; which has enabled us to conclude, with

unexampled glory, a contest whereon depended the best interests of

mankind, and which has been hitherto felt by ourselves, as it is

acknowledged by other nations, to be the most perfect that had fallen to

the lot of any people.”

The prince regent had good reason to complain of the turbulent spirit

displayed by the factions: for on his way to the house he had been

assailed with tumultuous expressions of disapprobation; and on his

return from it, he was assailed by missiles of every description, and

the glass of his carriage was broken by what was supposed to be

two balls from an air-gun, aimed at his person. This outrage was

communicated to the lords by Lord Sidmouth; and a conference was held

with the house of commons, at which a joint address, congratulating his

royal highness on his escape, was agreed upon. The consideration of the

usual address in answer to the speech was postponed till the following

day, when Earl Grey moved in the lords an amendment, chiefly for the

purpose of expressing an opinion that the prince regent was under a

delusion respecting the degree and probable duration of the pressure on

the resources of the country. He declared this to be much more extensive

in its operations, more severe in its effects, more deep and general

in its causes, and more difficult to be removed, than that which had

prevailed at the termination of former wars. Added to this declaration

in the amendment, was a profession of regret that the prince regent

should not have been sooner advised to adopt measures of rigid

economy and retrenchment, especially with respect to our military

establishments; and a resolution that the house should go immediately

into a committee on the state of the nation. This amendment, however,

was negatived without a division; and a similar one moved in the commons

was rejected by two hundred and sixty-four against one hundred and

twelve.

{GEORGE III. 1814–1818}

MEASURES OF ECONOMY.

On the 7th of February a communication was made by Lord Castlereagh from

the prince regent, stating that out of sympathy to a suffering people he

had determined upon a cession of £50,000 per annum of that part of his

income which related to his personal expenses, during the continuance

of the existing distress. At the same time his lordship communicated

the intention of ministers to dispense with one-tenth of their official

incomes, while the necessities of the state should require such a

sacrifice. Lord Camden, also, one of the tellers of the exchequer,

relinquished, _pro tempore_, the whole of his large profits with the

exception of £2,500, the regulated income of the other tellers. On the

reduced scale the expenditure of the year was estimated at £6,500,000

less than that of the preceding year, and a further saving of upwards of

£1,000,000 was calculated upon for the year 1818. On the same day that

Lord Castlereagh made the above communication to the house, he moved

for the appointment of a committee of inquiry respecting the income and

expenditure of the state. The first report of this committee was made on

the 5th of May, when Mr. Davies Gilbert stated that, in recommending the

suppression of certain offices, it was at the same time necessary that

his majesty should be enabled to reward meritorious persons, by the

power of granting pensions according to merit and length of service. A

bill, entitled “the Civil Services Compensation Bill,” was accordingly

introduced, with another for abolishing the offices of wardens and

justices in Eyre, both of which passed the houses with very little

opposition. About the time this bill passed Mr. Abbott resigned the

speakership, and was created Lord Colchester, with a pension of £4000

to himself and his immediate successor. He was succeeded by Mr. Charles

Manners Sutton, eldest son of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC LIBERTY.

On the 3rd of February a message was communicated to both houses,

announcing that the prince-regent had ordered the production of papers

which contained an account of certain meetings and combinations held in

various parts of the country, tending to disturb public tranquillity,

to alienate the affection of the people from his majesty’s person

and government, and to overthrow the whole frame of the laws and

constitution. His royal highness recommended these papers to the

immediate consideration of parliament; and they were accordingly

referred by each house to a secret committee. It was expected that

coercive measures would be adopted; but in the face of this a mob,

headed by Henry Hunt and others, met in Spa-fields on the 10th of

February, under the pretext of petitioning for parliamentary reform. The

reports of the secret committees were presented on the 18th of February;

and, on their recommendation, stringent acts were passed to correct the

evil. The first consequence of these reports was the apprehension of

the elder Watson, Preston, Hooper, and Keene, who were committed to the

Tower on a charge of high-treason; a reward of five hundred pounds was

also offered for the apprehension of a man named Thistlewood; and he

was also taken and lodged with his associates. The measures adopted by

parliament for the security of the public peace, were the suspension of

the _Habeas Corpus_ Act until the 1st of July next; an extension of

the act of 1795, for the security of the king’s person, to that of the

regent; the revival of an act of 1795 against corresponding societies;

and a reenactment of that regarding the seduction of soldiers and

sailors from their allegiance. Petitions were presented against these

restrictions on public liberty, and they were opposed in every stage

by the opposition; but they were carried in both houses by large

majorities. Although these acts appeared to infringe on the public

liberty, yet they were effectual in saving the country from violence

and bloodshed, if not from the horrors of anarchy. Powerful measures are

required for the restraint of hydraheaded faction. The suspension of

the Habeas Corpus struck an unexpected blow against the hopes and plans

of the apostles of reform; and Mr. William Cobbett, who at this period

figured as one of the most ardent reformers, deemed it prudent to retire

to America, promising, however, to return as soon as England should be

again under the protection of her constitution, and in the meantime to

transmit his weekly register from the land of his voluntary exile.

On the assembling of the peers after the Easter recess, it was ordered,

on the motion of Lord Grey, that a copy of the circular-letter recently

addressed by the secretary of state for the home department to the

lord-lieutenants of counties, relative to seditious or blasphemous

publications, be laid before the house. In this document Lord Sidmouth

had stated, as it was of the greatest importance to prevent, if

possible, the circulation of the blasphemous and seditious pamphlets and

writings then distributed in great numbers through the country, he had

thought it his duty to consult the law-officers of the crown, whether

a person found selling, or in any other way publishing such writings,

might be brought immediately before a justice of peace by warrant to

answer for his conduct; and the law-officers had given their opinion to

the effect, that a justice of the peace might issue his warrant for

the apprehension of a person charged before him, on oath, with the

publication of such libels, and compel him to give bail to answer such

charge. Under these circumstances the attention of the lord-lieutenants

was earnestly called to the subject; and they were requested to notify

such opinion to the chairman of the quarter-sessions, in order that

magistrates might be led to act upon it. When this circular was produced

Lord Grey addressed their lordships in a speech, in which he contended

against the principle that a justice of the peace might be called on by

any common informer to decide what was, or what was not a libel, and

to commit or hold to bail, on his sole judgment, the accused party. His

lordship argued that such a specific intimation to magistrates regarding

the mode in which they were to construe the law, even supposing the

law itself to be clear and undisputed, was a high offence against

the constitution. He moved for the production of a case that had been

submitted to the law-officers; but it was negatived on a division by a

majority of seventy-five against nineteen. A similar motion was made

in the commons by Sir Samuel Romilly, and a similar decision given. As

towards the close of the session the spirit of disaffection throughout

the country was not subdued, a further suspension of the _Habeas Corpus_

Act to the 1st of March, 1818, was carried by a large majority.

COMMITTEE ON THE POOR-LAWS, ETC.

During this session a committee on the poor-laws, with Mr. Sturges

Bourne for its chairman, was appointed. This committee made its report

in July; but not much new light was thrown upon the subject, as the

object of the members seemed to be that of neutralizing every topic as

much as possible; probably from ministerial instructions, as the cabinet

were averse to making experiments. On the 9th of July Mr. Wilberforce

moved for an address to the prince regent, submitting in dutiful,

but urgent terms, the expression of our continued solicitude for the

universal and final abolition of the slave-trade amongst the European

powers, which was agreed to _nem. con_. On the same evening a discussion

of considerable interest took place upon a series of resolutions on

finance, which had been brought forward by Mr. Tierney; and after a

debate of great length the previous question was carried upon each of

these resolutions, and counter resolutions, moved by Mr. Grant, adopted

in their stead. The last important debate of the session took place in

the commons on a motion made by Mr. Brougham, for an inquiry into the

state of the nation; a motion introduced chiefly for the purpose of

enabling the mover, as the organ of opposition in the lower house

to enter a protest, in detail, against the whole of the acts and

proceedings of ministers. In exposing the false system on which

parliament had long legislated on the subject of commerce, Mr. Brougham

remarked:—“The period is now arrived when, the war being closed and

prodigious changes having taken place throughout the world, it becomes

absolutely necessary to enter on a careful but fearless revision of our

whole commercial system, that we may be enabled safely, yet promptly,

to eradicate those faults which the lapse of time has occasioned or

displayed; to retrace our steps where we shall find that they have

deviated from the line of true policy; to adjust and accommodate our

laws to the alteration of circumstances; to abandon many prejudices,

alike antiquated and senseless, unsuited to the advanced age in which

we live, and unworthy of that sound judgment which distinguishes this

nation.” The motion was negatived without a division.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 12th of July. In his speech the prince

regent expressed regret at the king’s continued indisposition; glanced

at the subjects which had been considered during the session; and

noticed the prospect of an abundant harvest, not only in this country,

but on the continent, from which he anticipated an improvement in the

commercial relations of this and other countries.

RIOTS AT MANCHESTER, ETC.

In the last report of the secret committee of the house of commons,

mention was made of disturbances which had been experienced at

Manchester. These disturbances appear to have been of an extraordinary

description. A large body of men, calling themselves friends of

parliamentary reform, and urged by the resolution of despair, determined

to proceed to London to explain their distress to the regent in person.

Each individual provided himself with a blanket and a small stock of

provisions. On the day of their departure they met near St. Peter’s

church; and such crowds assembled around them that the magistrates

thought it expedient to call out the military. The principal instigators

of the mob were arrested; but, nevertheless, a considerable number set

out on their mission to London. More than five hundred proceeded as

far as Macclesfield, where a troop of yeomanry was stationed to

provide against contingencies. All, however, remained quiet; and this

“Blanketeering Expedition” penetrated into Staffordshire, where it

ended; the poor creatures who composed it being obliged to give it up

from exhaustion and the want of sustenance. But these riots had at least

one effect, it filled the prisons throughout the country with objects of

suspicion or of crime. Many of these were as arbitrarily released by the

authorities as they had been committed; but the more prominent leaders

were either detained in custody, or sent, for greater security, to the

metropolis. The trial of the prisoners in the Tower was commenced in the

month of June; but Watson, the first tried, being acquitted by the jury,

the other cases were abandoned. The prisoners captured in the riots

which took place in the northern and midland counties were tried at

Derby by a special commission, and twenty-three received sentence of

death; three of them only, however, suffered the extreme penalty of

the law. The last prosecution was that of a man named Hone, for some

political parodies on the Litany and other parts of our church-service.

He was tried for a blasphemous libel; but he was acquitted, chiefly on

the ground that his parodies were political, and hence not blasphemous;

and the public sympathized with the demagogue by raising a subscription,

in order to reimburse him for his expenses, and to reward him for the

trouble and fatigue which he had undergone in the prosecution. Hone

seems to have profited by the lesson he had received; for he withdrew

from the disgraceful career which he had commenced, and engaged in

literary pursuits more worthy of a rational and thinking being, and of a

good citizen of the world.

DEATH OF THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE.

The close of this year was marked by an event that filled the nation

with mourning; this was the death of the idolized hope of a free nation,

the Princess Charlotte: she whose looks of health and gladdening smiles

had been long hailed by the nation with heartfelt satisfaction by her

future subjects, expired on the 6th of November, after giving birth to a

still-born child. The indications of sorrow on this event becoming

known were unusually general and sincere. The civic procession and

entertainment on the Lord Mayor’s Day was abandoned; public

entertainments were suspended; and on the 19th, the day of her

interment, every shop was closed, and funeral sermons were preached in

churches and chapels to large and attentive congregations. The day of

her funeral was one of voluntary humiliation, and of sorrowful

meditation on the instability of human happiness. Brief as were the days

of this good princess, she had not lived in vain; her life was a bright

illustration of piety and virtue. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in

the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he

returneth to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.”