Fourth charge. That the said lieutenant-general Whitelocke, subsequent to the attack upon the town of Buenos Ayres, and at a time when the troops under his com. mand were in possession of posts on each flank of the town, and of the principal arsenal, with a communication open to the fleet, and having an effective force of upwards of 5003 men, did enter into, and finally conclude, a treaty with the enemy, whereby he acknowledges, in the public dispatch of the 10th of July, 1807, "That he resolved to forego the advantages which the bravery of his troops had obtained, and which advantages had cost him about 2,500 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners;" and by such freaty, he unnecessarily and shame. fully surrendered all such advan. tages, totally evacuated the town of Buenos Ayres, and consented to deliver, and did shamefully abandon and deliver up to the enemy, the strong fortress of Monte Video, which had been committed to his charge; and which, at the period of the treaty and abandonment, was well and sufficiently garrisoned and provided against attack, and which was not, at such period, in a state of blockade or siege: such conduct, on the part of lieutenant-general Whitelocke, tending to the dishonour of his majesty's arms, and being contrary to his duty as an officer, prejudicial to good order and military discipline, and contrary to the articles of war. The court-martial found the general guilty of the whole of these charges, with the exception of that part of the second charge, which related to the order, that " columns should be unloaded, and that no firing should be permitted on any account." The court was "anxious that it might be distinctly understood, that they attached no censure whatever to the precautions taken to prevent unnecessary firing during the advance of the troops to the proposed points of attack; and did therefore acquit lieutenant-general Whitelocke against that part of the said charge." The court adjudged, "That the said lieutenant-general Whitelocke be cashiered, and declared totally unfit and untworthy to serve his majesty in any military capacity whatever." This sentence was confirmed by the king, who gave orders that it should be read at the head of every regiment in his service, and inserted in all regimental orderly books, with a view of its becoming a lasting memorial of the fatal consequences to which officers expose themselves, who, in the discharge of the important duties confided to them, are deficient in that zeal, judgment, and personal exertion, which their sovereign and their country have a right to expect from officers entrusted with high commands. The plan of attack on Buenos Ayres adopted by general Whitelocke, it would appear, was none of his own contrivance, but one proposed to him by lieutenant-general Gower. This was declared by the general himself in his defence.* And general Gower admitted, in his evidence, that the basis of the plan adopted by General Whitelocke was very much like his.† Indeed, general • Whitelocke's Trial at Large, p. 541. + Ditto, p. 54. Whitelocke Whitelocke appears, from his trial, to have been very undecided and wavering in his conduct, and in that state of mind which reposes on the counsels of others. Towards the end of the trial, public curiosity was less excited to know its issue, than the interest or means by which general Whitelocke had obtained his important appointment. * General Craufurd, in his evidence, related to the court the following anecdote. The day after he arrived at Monte Video, general Whitelocke proposed to him to walk round the works with him; and in returning through the town, be desired him to notice the peculiar construction of the houses, their flat roofs surrounded by parapet wails, and other circumstances, which, as he observed, rendered them peculiarly favourable for defence, and added, that he certainly would not expose his troops to so unequal a contest, as that in which they would be engaged, if led into so large a town as Buenos Ayres, all the inhabitants of which were prepared for its defence, and the houses of which were similarly constructed to those which he then pointed out to him. In the obvious propriety of general Whitelocke's intentions, general Craufurd most heartily acquicsced. Whitelocke's Trial at Large, p. 116. 1 CHAP. CHAP. XII. State of Europe after the peace of Tilsit.-War against the Commerce of England.-Decrees of Buonaparte blockading all the Ports of Britain, and the British Dominions, in every part of the Globe.-Enforced with greater and greater rigour.-Effects of these on English Commerce.-Counteracted by British Orders of Council. General Christophe, the most powerful chief in St. Domingo, a friend to the English—his liberal and wise policy.-Capture of the Dutch Island of Curaçoa.-Transactions in the East Indies.- Consequences of the Massacre, and Insurrection, at Vel lore.-Dundie Khan.-Major-general Dickens.-His unskilfulness, and wanton disregard to the lives of the Officers and Privates under his command. AFTER the battle of Friedland defence, and that of Jutland, while and peace of Tilsit, all the continent of Europe lay prostrate before Buonaparte. But the island of Great Britain, mistress of the seas, still defied his power, and threatened to harass his extended coasts with never-ceasing aggression, which she seemed still able to continue by means of the resources opened by her vast commerce. Sweden and Portugal were willing, but not able, to maintain their inde. pendence: and Denmark was, above all things, desirous of avoiding the evils of war, either with France, or England, by a strict and rizid observance of that neutrality which had hitherto protected her. But, the open country of Holstein opposed no barriers for its own its richness and fertility both in. vited and facilitated the entrance of that army, which had hovered long on its frontier-It was against the commerce of England alone, that Buonaparte had now to make war: and as he could not do this at sea, his fleets having been almost anni hilated, he conceived the extravagant, and almost frantic* design of doing it at land, by shutting it out, not only from the ports of France, Italy, and Holland, but from all the ports of Europe. The idea of opposing power at land to power at sea, and under. mining the naval greatness of England, by excluding her trade from the great inlets of Europe, occurred to the Directory in 1796. In va. *It was an attempt, in some measure, to wage war with nature, by disputing the prerogatives of the Ocean.—When the fleet of Xerxes was defeated, and destroyed, or dispersed by the Greeks, under the conduct of Themistocles at Salamis, he lashed the Ocean, inhabited and governed, as he supposed, by gods; and seized on all the treasures of the temple of Jupiter, at Babylon; being offended at the opposition of the god to his schemes of conquest. He melted down the golden images of the deities in the temple, to reimburse him for the expence he had been put to, in an unsuccessful war against Grecce. † Vol. XL. 1798, HISTORY OF EUROPE. chap. XV. VOL. XLIX. Q rious rious publications issued by autho. in consequence of the decrees in their favour, carried their indiscriminate piracies to such a length, as wholly to drive away from the French coasts those neutral vessels which good poliey would have invited and encouraged, in order to raise the value of the produce and merchandize of France, and lower the price of freight and insurance. The French government, taught by experience, the folly of their piratical system, laid down as maxims, that the most extended and unlimited piracy is by no means a genuine source of wealth and prosperity; and that an agricultural state, such as France, rich in phy. sical productions, and various industry, which consumes a great deal, and should export a great deal, is particularly interested in the preservation of all commercial regula tions, in their greatest extent and security. rity, the advantages to be expected from such a system, were represented in glowing colours. But the impression they produced was very feeble, and that confined to the states whom the French government had other means of influencing than reasoning. But on the 3d of July, 1796, a decree was passed, directing "all French privateers, and ships of war, to treat the ressels of neutral nations in the same manner, in which the ships of those nations suffered themselves to be treated by the English." This decree was notified to the Americans by the French minister at Philadelphia, 27th of October, in the same year. In consequence of this decree, numerous captures of American vessels were made by the cruizers of the French republic, and of some, by, those of Spain. On the subject of maritime affairs, the Directory, in January 1798, issued another decree; "That all ships, having for their cargoes, in whole, or in part, any English merchandize, should be held lawful prizes, whoever might be the proprietor of that merchandize; which should be held contraband from the single circumstance of its coming from England, or any of its foreign settlements." It was also enacted, that the harbours of France should be shut against all ships, except in cases of distress, that had so much as touched at any English port; and, to complete the climax of barbarity, that neutral sailors, found on-board English vessels, should be put to death. The execution of this last decree, was prevented by a declaration on the part of Britain, threatening retaliation. The numerous French privateers The Directory having represented these things in a memorial, addressed to the legislative body, concluded that it was high time to adopt some marine code, that should be better suited than the present, to the interest and exigencies of the coun. try. They declared it to be their fixed opinion, that, in the present situation of aflairs, the liberty of privateering, instead of being farther encouraged, and extended, should be restrained and modified. This memorial respecting the ma rine trade, was referred by the council of Five Hundred to a select committee. The subject of it was under consideration, but nothing determined on, when the Directory and legislative councils were super. seded at the close of 1799, by the consular government. A matter of such importance did not escape the attention attention of the first consul. A decree was passed, annulling all former decrees and decisions, respect ing neutral vessels, and restoring the laws and usages of the monarchy, in 1778.-It is probable that, at this time, Buonaparte entertained thoughts of establishing his power, by moderation, justice, and the arts of peace, and conciliating the good will and confidence, both of France, and other nations. But if such were ever his views, they were entirely changed at the period which forms the subject of the present narrative. Every other consideration seems to have been absorbed in that of self-aggrandize. ment, and indeed, of self-preser. vation. He could exist only by war and rapine. He had deter. mined to go on, conquering, and to conquer. By a decree dated at Hamburgh, 11th of November, 1907, and another at Milan, 27th of December, declaring the whole island of Great Britain to be in a state of blockade, he prohibited and compelled all the other contiPental powers, even Portugal for a time, not excepted, to prohibit Camerce with any of the dominias of his Britannic majesty. No tation was allowed to trade with *y other country, in any articles e growth, produce, or manufac. tures of any of the British dominios, all of which, as well as the and of Great Britain itself, were declared to be in a state of blockade. He appointed commercial residents in every trading country. And no ship was to be admitted into any of his ports without a certification of origin, that is, of the nature of the goods they carried, and that no part of these was English. The wants of men, not the less importunate that they were luxurious or artificial, having opened back doors. to various English articles, both manufactures, and colonial produce, he enforced the execution of his decrees against English commerce, by means of new regulations, with greater and greater rigour. In consequence of these decrees, the English commerce, during the months of August, September, and October, 1807, that part of the year in which the Berlin decree of November, 1806, was carried iuto full effect, was not only greatly cramped, but lay prostrated on the ground, and motionless, before a protecting and self-defensive system was interposed by our orders in council. An order of council, January 7th, 1807, containing a measure of mild retaliation, had been evaded, and turned to the ad. vantage of the enemy, in carry ing on a circuitous trade to this country. Therefore new orders of council were issued on the 11th, and 21st of November, allowing neutrals to trade with countries not at peace and amity with Great Britain, on the condition of their Vol. XLII. 1800. HISTORY OF EUROPE, p. 54, 55. + Ties pint was established beyond all possibility of doubt and contradiction, by the speech of James Stephen Esq. in the debate in the house of commons, March P1, 1869, on Mr. Whitbread's motion relative to the late overtures of the Ameen zoveriament. : As in the instance of a cargo of wine from Bourdeaux, destined through this ntry for Amsterdam. At Amsterdam, insurance was done at 20 per cent. But he could be carried ou through this country, at 5 per cent. |