of Austria will not wink at assassinations, row. and Louis the Fourteenth, are those, who were the most adored by their subjects. The misfortunes of the late king may have excited compassion in many a bosom, but not a note of admiration is ever uttered when he is mentioned. He is called le pau- Qui sert bien son pays, n'a pas besoin d'ayeux. A lucky warrior was the first of kings;- BONAPARTE AND THE BOURBONS. Will the days of Ulm, of Austerlitz, of Mr. Editor,-Having observed in your Jena, of Friedland, of Aspern, and of invaluable Register of the 12th of March, Wagram, have contributed to lessen this an article entitled "Magnanimity of Bona- enthusiasm ?- -If among those who were parte," in which there is an extract from the most forward in expressing general disAnne Plumptre's narrative of a three years satisfaction and discontent with Bonaparte's residence in France; I beg leave to direct government, inquiries were made into the your attention to the following remarks of reasons of their discontent, it appeared that the same able writer on the Character of these were not very easily explained. Was the French Emperor, which at this even- he addicted to gallantry? No. To the tual moment, when the restoration of the pleasures of the table? No.-Was he a Bourbons is so much spoken of, may be gambler? No.-Did he squander away deemed acceptable to your numerous read-the money of the country in gratifying idle ers. Speaking of the accusation of moroseness of temper, which the enemies of Napoleon have brought against him, Miss P. observes: But even supposing Bonaparte's manners ever so violent and unconciliating. he has a hold upon the public opinion of another kind, so forcible, that, while supported by that, it is difficult to conceive it in the power of any thing else to shake him. Military glory is, and ever has been, the idol of the French nation; and the greatest military heroes among their kings, Francis the First, Henry the Fourth, fancies of his own? No.-Had not all his expenses some great public object in view? Yes.-Had he not restored the nation, harassed by faction, to unanimity and tranquillity! Yes. Had he not extinguished the dreaded flames of civil war? Yes. Had he not restored the emigrants to their country? Yes.-Had he not restored their religion to all? Yes.-Were not religious opinions free and unshackled? Yes,-Did he neglect the duties of his station? did he leave to others the business which he ought to attend to himself? Oh! parbleu non! He was always at business, he would hardly allow himself time to eat or sleep; nay, he would scarcely even allow those about him a moment's respite from their labour. His private secretary was kept' so hard to work that he was obliged one day to remonstrate against it, and beg that a second secretary might be employed, to take some of the burden off his hands; but Bonaparte, instead of yielding to his remonstrance, answered, that he certainly should not take a second, that he only regretted the being obliged to have one; he wished nothing so much as that it were possible to do all the business himself. "Let Bonaparte restore us our lawful "king," say some," and we will then "confess that he is a truly great man." These are of those zealous royalists, "who, "seated comfortably by the fire-side, with "their feet upon the fender, declaim in very severe terms upon the dastardly behaviour of their countrymen towards "their monarch; and who, it might there"fore be supposed, had doue prodigious "things for him themselves; but who had "in fact deserted him on the first approach "of danger, and left him to scuffle through "his difficulties as well as he could; the 66 consequence of which was, that he could "not scuffle through them at all: yet now "they are very zealous for the restoration of "his heir." But would Bonaparte do a real service to the French nation in restoring to them their lawful king? herents of the Bourbon cause, if they should ever again obtain the ascendancy, is sufficiently demonstrated in the outrages com. mitted by the Sabreurs at Marseilles. They plainly showed that they had no objection to license and anarchy, when they were themselves at the head of it; they only objected to it when they became its victims. To restore the family of Bourbon to the throne would now be only to sacrifice one faction to another; whereas the way to promote the general peace and prosperity of the country is to keep a vigilant eye over them all.- -But there is yet another question to be asked, Is it in Bonaparte's power to restore this lawful king?-would the nation at large permit his restoration ?—[ am firmly of opinion, not. However attached these zealous champions of the royal cause may be to the ancient dynasty of their kings, it is by no means clear that the sentiment of the nation, taken in the aggregate, corresponds with theirs. Bonaparte might overthrow his own power in attempting to restore Louis the Eighteenth; but it is far from certain that he would seat him on the throne: the nation, which has delegated to him the task of governing it, would scarcely choose that he should delegate that task to another, without their opinions being consulted upon the subject; but, if he proposed to quit his station, would reserve to themselves the right of deciding whò should fill it. Such an immense mass of in may be made a question. What certainly terest against the return of the Bourbon sort of a ser family has been created by twenty years of více did Monk render to England in restoring revolution, that even if Bonaparte were as the two sons of Charles the First? A very great a tyrant as he is represented, and his sorry one indeed;-one which occasioned tyranny should become ever so insupportthe necessity of a second revolution only able to the nation, though they might make twenty-eight years after. And is there a him descend from his present eminence, better prospect in the restoration of the they would not invite a Bourbon to be his Bourbon princes?—have any of them ever successor. In the time of the League, a evinced the talents requisite for guiding the priest of that party once, when he was to helm of a great nation?-are they so ex- preach took for his text the passage in the alted by their virtues above the rest of sixty-ninth psalm, which in our translamankind, that they hence derive a just tion runs, "Lord, deliver us out of the claim to command and rule over them?" mire!" which he translated, Seigneur, or is it to be expected that in returning to power they would bury all their animosities in oblivion, and not execute what they would call retributive justice upon the authors of their sufferings? Nothing, that has hitherto appeared in any part of their conduct, gives reason to answer these questions in the affirmative. What then would be the prospect of the country in seeing them restored, but to become a prey to fresh scenes of carnage and desolation? The conduct to be expected from the ad debourbonnez nous !-In such a prayer I believe ninety-nine out of every hundred, or perhaps nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand, among the French, would now join.- "Let Bonaparte restore me all that I have lost," say others," and I will then acknowledge him truly the friend and benefactor of the country." This is modest; it is identifying the public good with their own individual ease.-One trifling objection, however, stands in the way of accomplishing what these gentlemen, who result be beneficial to the inhabitants of Oxford, the liberal and philanthropic mind, it is hoped, will not be disposed to object to the publication of this correspondence, merely because it is of a local nature. The two letters formerly given, were confined to one side of the question. The following, which I have since received, is intended as an answer to the one that appear has already been published in an Oxford paper, together with the subjoined reply, from the able pen of the writer of the first letter: are indisputably of the faction of the im- | patient, require,-that the thing is impossible. Supposing Bonaparte ever so well disposed to comply with their wishes, yet where is all that they have lost to be found? -But have they forgotten that many of them were once strangers in foreign lands, wanderers on the face of the earth; and that they have now a home and a country, with the means of subsistence, though noted in the Register of 26th February.-It of living in their ancient luxury? To attempt the restoration of all their possessions, would be to plunge the country into worse calamities than those from which it has recently been rescued; to relume in its bosom the flames of civil war. Instead then of murmuring and repining at petty inconveniences, which they find personally, and attributing them to the present governinent, they should reflect, that a very great length of time is necessary to correct the numberless abuses to which such a period of anarchy has given rise; and consider that the work of destruction is the operation of a moment, while that of regeneration is of necessity extremely slow. The one is the impulse of a hasty movement executed without reflection, under the guidance of a heated imagination; while every thing relating to the other, must be poised in an exact scale, weighing deliberately the advantages and disadvantages which may result from any measure proposed, without suffering passion or prejudice to give the least preponderance either to the one side or the other; and recollecting always that the general good is the main object to be kept in view, not the particular convenience of this or that individual."I am yours, &c. ARISTIDES. Edinburgh, 4th April, 1814. OXFORD UNIVERSITY. Two letters having already appeared in the Register, on the abuse of the Procuratorial power in the University of Oxford, the subject, which certainly is of great importance to the inhabitants of that celebrated place, appears to have excited a considerable degree of interest, and to have given rise to a discussion which, it is to be hoped, will lead to a radical reform of the abuses which are said to belong to the procuratorial office. In giving publicity, how ever, to these letters, it is not my intention to pledge myself for the accuracy of the statements which they contain. The writers are unknown to me; but, as truth will probably be elicited between them, and the MR. EDITOR, I will not intrude upon so large a portion of your valuable columns as has been occupied by the writer of a letter from this place, which I have read in your paper. I have only to observe, that it is utterly false that the Proctors of the University exercise or possess any right whatever of being judges in their own causes; and I need not say that this is the main hinge upon which all your Correspondent's subsequent observations turn. It is equally false that the statute cited by your Correspondent conveys the power of a general search-warrant; inasmuch as the power of entering the houses of the inhabitants is given to those Officers of the University, solely and expressly for the necessary purpose of ascertaining whether any of their own body are therein; and cannot therefore, authorize them to proceed in the manner in which they would be entitled to act under the authority of a search-warrant. It is absolutely false that any prostitutes have been apprehended "for merely appearing in the streets, though walking orderly, and quietly in the day-tine;" they are at no time put into confinement without suitable warning, nor without the most earnest endeavours to reclaim them from their vicious mode of life; and it is especially false, "that an instance is well known to have occurred in Oxford, of an unfortunate prisoner being driven into a state of insanity, from which she never recovered." The discipline and authority of the University, which are of vital importance to the interests of the State at large, cannot be impaired by the sophistical argumentation of your Correspondent; but it is perhaps due to a cause, however strong, to shield it from wilful misrepresentation of facts. Of such misrepresentations I have selected only some of the most glaring specimens; but I may safely assert, that there is scarcely a sentence in your Correspondent's letter, which does not contain some thing of the same nature.I am, Mr. | The words of the Statute are these:-" In Editor, your obedient servant, Oxford, 11th March, 1814. sessor. APSEUDES. MR. EDITOR,-From the style and manner of the above letter from Oxford, I have great reason to suppose it to be the production of one of the very persons, whose conduct I exposed in my "Observations on the Statutes," &c.-The anger of APSEUDES gives me much pleasure and satisfaction. I am gratified in seeing that my animadversions have taken effect. "Let the gall'd jade wince."But now for matter of fact. The following short statement will, I think, sufficiently shew what claim this writer has to his assumed name of APSEUDES. If APSEUDES will take the trouble of consulting the University Statutes, he will find, notwithstanding his assertion to the contrary, that the Proctors have the right of sitting as judges in the Vice-Chancellor's Court, without any restriction, "whenever they may think fit to attend," along with the Vice-Chancellor, or his Deputy or AsThe words of the Statute are these: "Cui [Curiæ] præsit Commissarius sive Vice-Cancellarius Universitatis, ejusve Deputatus; assidentibus sibi duobus (cum ipsis videbitur) qui pro tempore fuerint, Universitatis Procuratoribus." TIT. xxi. 2.-This, however, is not "the main hinge upon which all my subsequent observations turn;" for I stated, that it is a court" in which there is no jury;" a court, in which "the process is tedious," and in which the expenses are so great as to operate to the total exclusion of the poorer clients.". -If APSEUDES, while the Statute Book is in his hand, will turn to TIT. xv. 4. he will find that the Universityofficers have the power of searching houses both by day and night; a power equivalent in effect to that of a general search-warrant. I will, however, take this opportunity of pointing out an important difference in one respect, which seems to have escaped the sagacity of APSEUDES; it is, that their power does not extend to the forcing or breaking open of doors; though I heard an instance, a few years ago, in which this power was illegally exercised by them.* The officers of the University have not the power of forcing doors, or breaking into a house, if refused admittance, in any case whatever. If any person refuse them admittance, he is liable to a penalty of twenty shillings for the first offence. On a repetition of this offence, if com mitted by a non-matriculated man, he is to be subsidium Vice-Cancellarii et Procuratorum, potestas sit Præfectis Ædium Domos Oppidanorum intrandi; ut explorent am aliqui e suis illic versentur de die vel de nocte."- -If APSEUDES from his own knowledge is not sufficiently acquainted with the fact, he will find, by making the necessary inquiries, that within the last twelvemonth (though, I believe, not before) prostitutes have been apprehended by the Proctors, and committed to prison by the Vice-Chancellor, for "merely appearing in the streets, though walking orderly and quietly, in the day-time." Indeed the fact speaks for itself; for before this illegal severity took place, women of this description were frequently seen walking in the streets in the day-time, but now very rarely; and, I am ready to allow, that if this alteration could have been brought about by legal means, exercised with proper temper and discretion, it would have been desirable. But the Proctors have not any power in the streets, in the day-time, over any but matriculated persons. The time of watch-and-ward does not commence till nine o'clock at night, and it ends at five in the morning, and it is only during that time that the Proctors have any power in the streets over those who are not matriculated; for all jurisdiction over them in the daytime belongs exclusively to the Mayor. I must here add, that if any endeavours have been used to reclaim prostitutes from their vicious mode of life, they are solely owing to individual exertion, and not to the officers of the University in their corporate and magisterial capacity.- -If APSEUDES will condescend to ask almost any inhabitant of Oxford concerning an unfortunate femaleprisoner "being driven into a state of insanity, from which she never recovered,” he will learn that her name was Susanna Gray. She was a prostitute, and was sentenced to imprisonment, at the QuarterSessions, for being concerned in a riot. The circumstance happened nearly twenty years ago, and, at the time, made a great impression on the public mind. I have reason to think, from information with deprived of all intercourse or commerce with privileged persons; and if committed by a privileged man, he is to be deprived of his privilege. See Stat. Tit. xv. § 4.-How these penalties are to be enforced, we are not informed. Their walking used to be checked, in some degree, by a kind of compromise or agreement, that if they did not appear in the streets, in the day-time, they would not be molested by the Proctors at night in their houses. which I have been favoured, since I ad- Y. Z. Another Correspondent has transmitted the following: own door, with words to the following effect: "Unless you go into your house immediately we will take you to gaol." He replied, that he had done no harm, and that he did not like to be driven like a dog into his kennel :" on which, without further parley, they instantly ordered him into the custody of their assistants, and he was taken to the county gaol, where he was confined two nights and a day, without being confronted by his accusers, in the vagrant-cell, a cold, damp, detached building; a place very improper for a man of his habits and situation in life, and still more so for one of his age and infirmities. The consequence of his being confined in that cold cell was, a severe fit of illness, which lasted several weeks; a violent cold settled in his limbs, and occasioned a lameness from which he never recovered; his mind, too, suffered so considerably from the thoughts of having been confined in a common prison, the receptacle of rogues and vagabonds, that he never appeared to have regained that happiness and serenity, which he had previously been accustomed to enjoy.- -This unfortunate man was a fishmonger. He had kept a shop for many years in the High-street; but when this affair happened he lived in Queen-street. -An action at common law was commenced against the Rev. William Wood, one of the Proctors; but the acting officers of the University pleaded their privilege, obtained cognizance, and moved the cause into the Vice-Chancellor's court.- -His friends, being aware, that in a court in which there is no jury, and in which the defendant, being Proctor, had a right to sit as one of the judges, he could have but little chance of redress, very prùdently ad The MR. EDITOR,-The great power of the Proctors, and the frequent abuse of that power having become, in consequence of the letter which appeared in your Register of Feb. 26, the chief topic of conversation in Oxford, I send you the following case, which can be supported by the testimony of many respectable persons, and request you to lay it before the public.- -In the summer of 1800, a few students of this University, met several successive evenings, at about eight o'clock, towards the upper part of the High-street; and violently assaulted those inhabitants of the city who happened to be passing.On the third evening of their continuing the outrage, the Proctors came, and sent the students to their colleges. On that even-vised him to drop the prosecution. ing, Mr. Bayliss, of the parish of St. Martin, in this city, was quietly standing at his own door, in Queen-street, at some little distance from the scene of riot. Mr. Alderman Yates came up to him, and inquired what was the cause of so many persons being assembled. They were soon afterwards joined by Mr. Thomas Ensworth, sen. of the Corn-Market; when the Proctors, with their attendants, came up to THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON AND HIS ARMY. them, and desired Mr. Ensworth to go -I shall not be induced to give up the home. He said, he was standing on his title which I have chosen for this article, own ground, that he had purchased the until I find that Bonaparte has not an army freedom of the city, and that he should go to command, even although the sovereign home when he thought proper. One of power should be assumed at Paris by Louis the Proctors next accosted Bayliss, who was XVIIIth; because I do firmly believe, a feeble inoffensive man, and upwards of that the French people are warmly attached seventy years of age, while standing at histo Napoleon, not only from interested mo widow of Mr. Bayliss is still living, and Yours, &c. CIVIS. |