* 
§22 
no force in the Turkish empire ade- 
quate thence to dislodge him; and 
on such a foundation it was an easy 
flight for his ambitious fancy, to 
bound his oriental empire only by 
the farther limits of Asia! It be- 
came evident that the subjugation 
of European Turkey was also me- 
ditated, for it was not alone to 
Egypt and Syria, but to the re- 
public of the Seven Isles, that Se- 
bastiani’s mission extended. ‘This 
person had landed, on the 2d of Ja- 
juary, at Zante, and immediately 
demanded. an interyicw with the 
Delegate Regent; whom he imme- 
diately assured of the protection 
that Bonaparte meant to extend to 
‘all classes of the citizens of that re- 
public; and having prevailed upon 
him to invite certain noblemen, 
merchants, and others, the princi- 
pal inhabitants of tl:e island, to the 
palace ; he commenced a laboured 
harangue, in. which he dwelt upon 
the anxious wishes of the first con- 
sul of I'rance, for their prosperity 
and happiness, and his earnest de- 
sire that they should adopt a system 
of government analogous to that of 
France ; that in such case, so-seduc« 
tive an okject held up to the view of 
continental Greece, might rouze up 
the ancient ardour and enthusiasm 
for liberty in that people, and by 
which the republic of the Seven Is- 
bands, would become @ power supe- 
rior even to its own expectations; be 
then invited them to convey gene- 
srally to the people, not only of the 
neighbouring coasts, but of the 
Seven Islands; those assurances and 
sentiments of Bonaparte; and con- 
cluded. by expressing himself in 
terms of marked disrespect, of the 
emperor of Russia. -Sebastiani had 
#hivigued to get this speech applaud-. 
ANNUAL REGISTER, -1808. 
ed by some of the lower ordem 
of the people; but the Russian 
commandant considered both 
the oration and his whole conduct, 
as an outrage to his master, and 
represented both in the strongest 
terms to his court. M. Romicu, 
the French chargé d’affairs, also 
wrote a letter to the prince of the 
senate, and the vicar-general of the 
Roman catholic churches at Corfu, 
informing them that he had re- 
ceived express orders from his go- 
vernment, to place the Roman ca- 
tholic church of the republic, under 
the special protection of the first” 
consul of Trance; and _ therefore 
expected that prayers would be put 
up in the different churches of that 
religion in the islands, for the 
prosperity of the- Trench govern- 
ment, and the health and preser- 
vation of its consuls! A more 
decided demonstration of the in- 
tentions of Bonaparte to assume. 
their future sovereignty, coul. 
not be given. When it is recol- 
lected what importance he aflixed 
to the island of Corfu, on his 
first acquiring it from the Venetian 
state; that he had originally pro- 
fessed to consider it as the key of 
the Adriatic, and the direct me- 
dium through which Greece, might 
be conquered, it may easily be sup- 
posed that he would make use of » 
every possible means for its repos- 
session, By the conduct of his 
missionary Sebastiani, he eyinced 
his perseverance in that intention. 
It was therefore most evident, that 
he had marked the whole of the 
‘Turkish empire as his prey, and he 
did. not conceive, that either Eng- 
land or Russia possessed the power 
or the will to obstruct the accom- 
plishmept of this-object. Such was 
oF the 
. 
