BONAPARTE. 



609 



sfon of the Russian power by the Turkish war ; the 

 skirmish at Heilsberg, June 10 ; at Ostrolenka, on 

 the 12th ; and the battle of Friedland (q. v.), on the 

 14th, finally resulted in a truce on the 21st; and, 

 on the 7th of July, in a peace between Russia and 

 France, and, on the 9th, between France and Prussia, 

 it Tilsit. In the article Tilsit, Peace of, are given 

 the results of this peace, the main features of which 

 were, that Prussia lost upwards of four millions ot 

 subjects, and had to pay exorbitant contributions. 

 Her principal fortresses remained in the power of the 

 French until all was paid. The newly-created duchy 

 of Warsaw was given to the elector of Saxony, who 

 was promoted to the royal dignity. A new kingdom 

 was composed of Hessia, Brunswick, Hanover, Osna- 

 bruck, and part of Prussia, reaching to the Elbe, 

 called the kingdom of Westphalia (q. v.), the crown 

 of which was given to Jerome, the youngest brother 

 of the emperor, married to a princess royal of Wur- 

 temberg. Whatever views Napoleon himself enter- 

 tained respecting these newly-created kingdoms 

 whether they were at some future time to give way 

 to institutions more calculated for stability and inde- 

 pendence, or whether he actually thought it possible 

 and desirable to establish, in this way, a permanent 

 dependence of foreign countries upon France a view 

 which can hardly be ascribed to him, as the impracti- 

 cability of it was too evident (the existence of this 

 system of foreign dependencies resting upon his per- 

 sonal energies, and the strange conflict of interests in 

 Europe) we say, whatever were his views, it ought 

 to be remembered, that he abolished aristocratic pri- 

 vileges in the conquered countries, and transplanted 

 thither various institutions, founded on liberal princi- 

 ples, the free operation of which, of course, was im- 

 peded by the protracted wars in Europe. 



Napoleon returned to France, and received in Paris 

 the visits of the German princes. In destroying the 

 power of Prussia, he probably had three objects: 1. 

 to deprive Russia of a power ever ready to unite itself 

 with her, in her attacks upon the new order of things, 

 particularly since the spoliation of Poland, in which 

 they both shared ; 2. to be safe against attacks from 

 the east, whilst his attention was attracted to the west; 

 3. to ensure the rigorous observance of the continental 

 system along the coast of the Baltic. The interview of 

 Napoleon and Alexander, at Tilsit, resulted in a per- 

 sonal friendship between the two monarchs, promoted, 

 perhaps, by the late conduct of Britain towards the 

 emperor of Russia. Britain suspected the conclusion 

 of secret articles of peace between them, and insisted 

 on knowing them. As this was refused, she feared 

 that Denmark, unable to maintain her neutrality in 

 such a state of things, would yield up her ships to 

 supply the French loss at Tralalgar. The British 

 cabinet, therefore, resolved to possess themselves of 

 the Danish fleet, and succeeded, September 7. after 

 the bombardment of Copenhagen. The Danish fleet 

 consisted of eighteen vessels of the line, fifteen fri- 

 gates, six brigs, and twenty-five gun-boats. The fate 

 of Denmark, at this time, was the harder, as she had 

 honestly struggled to preserve her neutrality ; but, 

 in great political crises, it is impossible either for na- 

 tions or for individuals to remain neutral. 



One of the first measures of Napoleon, after his re- 

 turn to St Cloud, July 27, 1807, was the dissolution of 

 the tribunate. On the other hand, the cour des comptes 

 was established, containing, as before the revolution, 

 three departments ; one for the expenditure ; ano- 

 ther for the revenue ; and the third for the expendi- 

 ture and revenues of the cities and communities. His 

 attention to internal improvement was unabated.* 



* His attention to this subject appears from many docu- 

 ments, and U strikingly shown in the following letter, 



Still further to straiten Britain, Napoleon now shut 

 up the ports of the Pyrenean peninsula. Portugal, 

 which has, for the last century, always been depend- 

 ent on England, attracted particularly Napoleon's 



" FoMTAINEBLEAUjNoV. 14, 1807. 



" Monsieur Cretet, 



" You have received the imperial decree by which I 

 have authorized the sinking fund to lend 3,000,000 franca 

 to the city of Paris. 1 suppose that you are employed in 

 taking measures which may bring these works to a speedy 

 conclusion, and may augment the revenues of the city. In 

 these works, there are some which will not be very produc- 

 tive, but are merely for ornament. There are others, such 

 as the galleries over the markets, the slaughter-houses, &c. 

 which will be very productive ; but to make them so will 

 require activity. The shops, for which I have granted you 

 funds, are not yet commenced. I suppose you have taken 

 up the funds destined for the fountains, and that you have 

 employed them provisionally for the machine at Marly. 

 Carry on the whole with spirit. This system of advancing 

 money to the city of Paris, to augment its branches of re- 

 venue, is also intended to contribute to its embellishment. 

 My intention is to extend it to other departments. 



" I have many canals to make : that from Dijon to Paris; 

 that from the Rhine to the Saone ; and that from the Rhine 

 to the Scheldt. These three canals can be carried on as 

 vigorously as could be wished. My intention is, indepen- 

 dently of the funds which are granted from the revenues 

 of the state, to seek extraordinary funds for the three ca- 

 nals. For this purpose, I should like to sell the canal of St 

 Quentin, the produce of which might be employed to 

 expedite the works of the canal of Burgundy. In fact, I 

 would sell even the canal of Languedoc, and apply the 

 proceeds to the construction of the canal from the Rhine to 

 the Soane. I suppose that the canal of St Quentin might 

 be sold for 8,000,000 francs ; that of Loing for as much ; and 

 the canal of Lauguedoc for more. There would then be 

 30,000,000 procured immediately, which I should employ in 

 carrying on the three great, canals with all possible rapidity. 

 I have the money ; the state will lose nothing : on the con- 

 trary, it will gain ; since, if it loses the revenues of the 

 canals of Loing, St Quentin, and that of the south, it will 

 gain the product of the canals of the Scheldt, Napoleon, and 

 Burgundy ; and when these works are completed, if circum- 

 stances permit, 1 shall sell these, in order to make others. 

 Thus my object is to pursue a directly opposite course to 

 Britain, or to what is proposed to be done there. la 

 Britain, a charter would have been granted for construct- 

 ing the canal of St Quentin, and the work would have 

 been left to capitalists. I have, on the contrary, begun by 

 constructing the canal of St Quentin. It has cost, I be- 

 lieve, 8,000,000 francs ; it will produce 500,000 francs. I 

 shall, then, lose nothing by selling it to a company for what 

 it has cost me ; since, with this money, I shall construct 

 other canals. Make me, I beg of you, a report upon this 

 subject ; otherwise, we shall die without seeing these 

 three canals navigated. In fact, it is six years since 

 the canal of St Quentin was begun, and it is not yet 

 finished: Now, these canals are of much more importance. 

 The expense of that of Burgundy is estimated at thirty 

 millions. What can be expended from the general funds 

 of the state does not exceed a million yearly ; the depart- 

 ments do not furnish more than 300,000 francs. It would, 

 then, require twenty years to finish this canal. What may 

 not happen in this time? Wars and inefficient men will 

 come, and the canals will remain unfinished. The canal 

 from the Rhine to the Scheldt will also cost a large sum. 

 The general funds of the state are not sufficient to carry 

 them as quickly as we could wish. The canal of Napoleon 

 is in the same situation. Let me know how much it will bo 

 possible to expend yearly on each of these three canals. I 

 suppose that, without injuring other works, we might allow 

 to each yearly, three or four millions ; and that thus, in five 

 or six years, we might see them all navigated. You will 

 inform me how much the existing imposts will furnish for 

 these three canals; how much I have granted for 1808, 

 and the supplementary funds which I granted in 1806, for 

 carrying on these works with the greatest activity. You 

 will propose to me to sell the three canals already finished, 

 and at what price it would be best to sell them. I take 

 upon myself the charge of finding purchasers : then we 

 shall have money in abundance. You must tell me in your 

 report, how much the three which 1 wish speedily to finish 



