STATE PAPERS. 



723 



encamped in the midst of marshes, 

 and destitute of water fit for drink- 

 ing, lost upwards of one- third of its 

 soldiers. But the facility which the 

 English have of going by sea from 

 one quarter to another, may lead us 

 to expect that all that will have 

 escaped the disasters of this expedi- 

 tion, will be sent to reinforce their 

 army in Portugal. 



Sire, the various fields of battle 

 in which your armies have distin- 

 guished themselves are too remote 

 from each other, to admit of your 

 inarching without inconvenience to 

 the soldier, one of your armies from 

 one scene of action to the other ; 

 and your majesty, so highly satis- 

 fied with the zeal of the troops you 

 command beyond the Danube, is 

 anxious to spare them from the fa- 

 tigues of the war in Spain. Be- 

 sides, the French armies beyond the 

 Pyrenees, now consist of 300 bat- 

 talions and 150 squadrons. It is 

 thereforesufficient, without sending 

 any additional corps thither, to keep 

 up at their full establishment those 

 already there. Thirty thousand 

 men, collected at Bayonne, afford 

 the means of accomplishing this ob- 

 ject, and of repulsing any force 

 which the English may cause to 

 advance. 



In this state of things, I con- 

 ceived that it corresponded with 

 your majesty's views to limit the 

 levy, necessary at this moment to 

 the contingent indispensably requi- 

 site for replacing, in the battalions 

 of the interior, the drafts which are 

 daily made from them. The re- 

 turns which will be laid before your 

 majesty, will inform you, that of 

 the conscription for the years 1806- 

 7-8-9 and 10, there still remain 

 more than 80,000, who, though bal- 

 lotted, have not yet been called in- 



to actual service. This immense 

 reinforcement might march against 

 your enemies, should that measure 

 be rendered necessary by any im- 

 minent danger to the state. I pro- 

 posetoyourmajesty to call out only 

 36,000, and to declare all those 

 classes entirely free from any fu- 

 ture call. 



By this means, your armies, Sire, 

 will be maintained at their present 

 respectable establishment, and a 

 considerable number of your sub- 

 jects will be definitely released from 

 tlie conscription. Your majesty 

 will also have at your disposal the 

 25,000 men, afforded by the class 

 of 1811, upon whom I shall not 

 propose to your majesty to make 

 any call, unless events should disap- 

 point your hopes and pacific inten- 

 tions. 



Your majesty's armies are equal- 

 ly formidable from their numbers 

 as from their courage. But who 

 could advise France not to propor- 

 tion her efforts to those of her ene- 

 mies? In giving such advice, the re- 

 sult of the most imprudent securi- 

 tj', it would be necessary to forget 

 that Austria, very lately, had on 

 foot 700,000 men ; and tliat to cre- 

 ate this gigantic force, that power 

 did not hesitate to expose her po- 

 pulation to almost total destruction, 

 and to attack the very basis of her 

 prosperity. We must equally for- 

 get, that England has taken part ia 

 the continental war, by landing, at 

 the same moment, three different 

 armies, on the coasts of Naples, 

 Holland and Portugal. 



The agitation of those who are 

 jealous of France has been redou- 

 bled, because they are conscious 

 that the present crisis has for ever 

 fixed her greatness. Their efforts 

 will be impotent, because France 

 3 A 2 has 



