oOO FRANCE. 
were made at one period, without trenching on the fources 
of her population, and the ill confequences of it being 
hereafter felt. Yet the fertile province of Flanders which 
has been fo often the feat of the moll deftruCti ve wars, 
after a refpite of a few years, has always appeared as rich 
and as populous as ever.” 
The wonderful extent of the population of France has 
always, to the aftonifhment of Emope, rapidly recruited 
and maintained the full eftablifhtnent of her military force. 
Under the monarchy, the peace elfablifitment was efti- 
mated at 225,000 effective troops, of which 170,000 were 
infantry, 44,000 cavalry, and 11,000 artillery. But by 
the “ Etat Militaire’' for the 8th year of the republic, the 
French army confided of 110 demi-bi igades, each of three 
battalions, and when complete of 3,200 men; of thirty 
light demi-brigades of like number; eight regiments of 
foot artillery, each of twenty companies ; eight of horfe- 
artillery, each of 466 men ; twenty-fix regiments of ca¬ 
valry, and twenty regiments of dragoons, each of 800 men ; 
twenty-five regiments of chafleurs, and twelve regiments 
of huffars, of the like number. The whole, without in¬ 
cluding the engineers, miners, &c. forming a force of 
413,728 effective troops. The emperor'Napoleon, how¬ 
ever, has declared, in the face of the world, “ that he 
can and will, as often as the enemies of F'rance 'halt make 
it needful, keep up a regular efficient army of a million 
of men.” It is lamentable, however, that the population 
of dates fliould be confidered only in reference to war. 
When will the time arrive, in which nations will confult, 
not how they may annoy, but how they may mod advan- 
tageoudy interchange the bounties of nature, and the 
bledings of indudry ? More than 800,000 troops are faid 
to have been actually embodied, including the contingents 
from Holland, Genoa, Swifferland, Italy, Bavaria, &c. 
during the late German war; fo that in every part of 
France the bayonet is continually flafhing before the eye, 
and every citizen is a foldier. 
The maritime power of France, however, has never 
kept pace with her formidable-army. The reafon ap¬ 
pears obvious : placed as it were in a ring fence, in the 
fined country and climate upon the continent, and fur- 
rounded with envious neighbours, who have no fen to 
crofs to didurb her repofe, but could attack her in the 
mod vulnerable part at pleafure, it became her policy to 
ereCt a double or treble line of well-fortified garrifons 
upon her frontiers, but which could never be defended 
without a large handing army ; whereas upon the feas die 
had little to proteCl, and only one enemy, England, to 
combat. Until the battle of La Hogue, her maritime 
force was in general formidable to England ; but fince 
that period the Britifh flag has maintained the exclufive 
fovereignty of the ocean. So frequent, fatal, and deci- 
fiive, during the late and prefent wars, have been the vic¬ 
tories obtained at fea by that power, that the French navy 
cannot now form a fleet fufficient to cope with the Englifn, 
without the aid of Spain. Previous to the battle of Tra¬ 
falgar, the whole navy of France did not ambunt to more 
than thirty fhips of the line; while England boafled of 
having, at the end of the year 1805, no lefs than 131 
fillips of the line, and 149 frigates ; which is greatly fupe- 
rior to the united maritime force of France, Spain, and 
Holland. Nor can this inferiority of men of war be eafily 
remedied ; for though (hips might be bought or conftrutt- 
ed, yet it would neceflarily require a confiderable time to 
effe6t the objeft on a large fcale ; befides that it mull: be 
the labour of many years to form a numerous body of 
experienced Jailors. 
The political importance and relations of France might 
be faid to vie with the world ; nor w'as the prodigious 
power of this flate ever fo completely felt and acknow¬ 
ledged, as after a revolution and a war which threatened 
her very exifience. When expedled to fall an eafy prey 
to be divided amongft her intended conquerors, (he fud- 
denly arofie the aggreffor, and aftonifhed Europe by the 
rapidity and extent of her viftories. The rivalry of many 
centuries between France and England funk into a petty 
difpute, when compared with the mighty conteft in Italy 
and Germany, which will be felt and deplored even by 
diftant pofterity. The Britifh empire, however, thanks 
to her infular fituation and invulnerable navy, rofe fupe- 
rior to the reft of the world, and remained free from thofe 
fcenes of carnage and devaftation, which attended the 
progrefs of the French arms in other countries. After 
all tL;e continental powers have failed, it would be vain 
to fuppofe that any one of them can, for many years to 
come, be again formidable to France. And though many 
thoufands of miferable peafants fliould hereafter be in¬ 
duced by foreign gold to form an infurrettion, and defpe- 
radoes employed to condiuff them, yet there is little caufe 
to fuppufe that France would be divided againft itfelf, 
while the love and admiration of his country continues 
to be the firft and warmed paflion of a Frenchman. The 
diftance of Ruffia, the only formidable oppofing power now 
on the continent, renders her favour or enmity of fmall 
importance to France, particularly while the houfe of 
Auftria is barred on every fide, her dominions curtailed, 
and her fpirit broken. 
ARTS, COMMERCE, MANUFACTURES, a\-d 
PRESENT STATE. 
To the honour of France it (lands recorded, that in no 
country whatever have the liberal arts experienced greater 
encouragement, or been more amply protected, than un¬ 
der the foftering care of its illuftrious kings. From the 
reign of Francis I. till the fatal period of the decapitation 
of Louis XVI the light of fcience has gradually expanded 
itfelf from the French caphul to the neighbouring nations 
of Europe, while its growth was inceffantty watched and 
matured in that noble inftitution, the Royal Academy of 
Paris. The benefits refolting to mankind from the more 
recent difcoveries and improvements made by modern 
philofiophers in France, are every where felt and acknow¬ 
ledged. The French people themfielves, as indeed they 
ought, have experienced in a high degree the advantages 
to be derived from a competent knowledge and expanfion 
of the arts: at a moft ciitica.l period of the revolution, and 
when the affairs of France were on the brink of ruin, (lie 
owed her prefervation entirely to her ffavans, her pro- 
feflors in the fciences. 
When it became expedient for the people to rife en majfe t 
and 900,000 men were ordered to be provided with arms 
and ammunition, the hulk of the fenators declared it was 
impoflible : the contrary, however, proved to be the 
fa6t. Orders were decreed for every engine to be fet at 
work. For this purpofe, the old ordnance manufaftories 
were comparatively nothing; feveral of them, fituated on 
the frontiers, were invaded by the enemy ; but they were 
revived every where with an activity till then unexampled. 
Men of fcience were charged to defcribe and Amplify the 
necelfary proceedings. The melting of the church-bells 
yielded at once the neceffary material. The bells pro¬ 
duced 27,442,852 pounds of metal. This article, valued 
at ten ions per pound, reprefents fifteeu millions of francs, 
625,0001. fterling. A part ferved for the fabrication of 
copper coin, the remainder furnifhed plenty of ordnance. 
Steel was wanting; none could be obtained from abroad; 
the art of making it w’as unknown. The J^avans were 
afked to create it; they fucceeded, and this part of the pub¬ 
lic defence thus became independent of foreign countries. 
The exigencies of the war had rendered more glaring 
the urgent neceflity of having good topographical maps, 
and the infufficiency of thofe in life became every day 
more evident. The geographical engineers, which corps 
had been fupprefled by the conftituent affembly, were re¬ 
called to the armies ; and although they could not, in thel'e 
firft moments, give to their labours the necefiary extent 
and detail, they neverthelefs paved the way to the great 
refults fince obtained in this branch of the art military. 
Nothing 
