STATE PAPERS. 



6Q5 



nation which the political and mili- 

 tary projects of Mr. Drake inspire, 

 is to do thfin too much honour ; 

 they are both ridiculous and absurd 

 in an eminent degree ; and I think 

 it is a Tery appropriate punishment 

 for him, to give up to the contempt 

 and ridicule of the public the en- 

 terprises of this minister, still more 

 credulous, more awkward, and more 

 weak than wicked. — An English 

 minister, such as Mr Drake, can- 

 not be punished by obloquy. This 

 can only mortify men who feel the 

 price of virtue, and know that of 

 honour ; but Mr. Drake is proud 

 and vain. The proiits of his secret 

 missions must have made him weal- 

 thy and covetous. He will be pu- 

 nished, when he shall^ know, that 

 the revolt of the four departments, 

 the capture of Iluningen, the se- 

 du6tion of the army, the lib-ration 

 of Pichegru, AJoreau, oi Georges 

 and his confederates ; the existence 

 of the diplomatic committee, in 

 short, the talents, the credit, and 

 projects of this demagogue general, 

 by nature endowed with a sublime 

 eloquence, an imposing fisure, and 

 who is quite disposed to efiect, at 

 his call, the overthrow of France, 

 are chimeras with which the pre- 

 fect of Strasburgh has liked to feed 

 his simple credulity. He will be 

 punished when he learns that all 

 his bulletins which were sent to 

 Loudon by extraordinary messen- 

 gers, communicated to every court, 

 hawked about by the Knglish mi- 

 nisters as far as Constantinople, 

 and of which traces are found even 

 in the discussions of parliament, 

 were fabrications, and contained 

 nothing aither true or probable ; 

 that before they were transmitted to 

 him, tlicy had beim communicated 

 to the agents of the police of Paris, 

 Vol. XL VI. 



who blushed on reading them: and 

 could not recover from their sur- 

 prise on seeing, that fables, framed 

 with so little care and trouble, 

 could charm Mr. Drake, and serve 

 as a basis for the operations and 



calculations of the cabinet- Mr. 



Drake will be punished when he 

 shall know, that his bills, his gold, 

 his correspondence, those of his 

 colleagues, the spies at Rotterdam, 

 Abbeville, Paris, and Munich, are 

 the sport of men, who, by ap- 

 proaching him and his colleague 

 at Stutgard, by watching their 

 steps, and by studying their cha- 

 racter, have learned and can teach 

 Europe, that a ministry which ren- 

 ders itself despicable by the choice 

 and by the conduct of its diplo- 

 matic agents, cannot inspire either 

 fear or confidence in the govern- 

 ments of the continent; and that 

 the insolence and corruption, which 

 that ministry employ as weapons 

 to intimidate or lead astray the 

 councils of sovereigns, do now find 

 a pow Tful antidote in the discovery 

 of the meanness, the immorality, 

 and stupidity of their diplomacy.— 

 Concerning Mr. Spencer Smith, I 

 have strong reasons to think that 

 the operations entrusted to him are 

 not confined to these plots ; that he 

 direfts the events which are taking 

 place in the canton of Zurich ; and 

 that the disturbances, by which that 

 miserable distrift is again agitated, 

 are owing to his gold and his in- 

 trigues. — Citizen first consul, per- 

 haps I transgress the bounds of my 

 function ; but I must tell you, with 

 that truth which you love to hear, 

 France cannot suHer a hostile pow- 

 er to establish on neutral territory, 

 accredited agents, whose principal 

 mission is to carry discord to the 

 bosom of the republic* You are at 

 Ss the 



