570 
PARIS. 
nerons, and free, people, over their government, decided 
him to prefer the protection of thefe laws to that of a 
father-in-law, or an old friend. 
“ The Emperor Napoleon had it in his power to fecure, 
by a diplomatic treaty, whatever was perfonal to himfelf, 
by putting himfelf either at the head of the army of the 
Loire, or at the head of the army at the Gironde com¬ 
manded by General Claufel; but ^vifhing, henceforth, 
for nothing but retirement, and the protection of the 
law's of a free ftate, either Englifh or American, all ftipu- 
lations appeared to him unneceflary. He conceived that 
the Englifh people w’ere more bound by a conduft which 
was, on his part, frank, noble, and full of confidence, 
than they would have been by the ntoft folemn treaties. 
He has been deceived; but this error will for ever caufe 
true Britons to blufh, and will, in the prefent as well as 
future generations, be a proof of the bad faith of the 
Englifh administration. 
“The Englifh minifters have caufed the Emperor Na¬ 
poleon to be tranfported to St. Helena, at the diftance of 
2000 leagues from Europe ! This rock, fituated within 
the tropics, and 500 leagues from any continent, is fubjeCt 
to the devouring heats of thefe latitudes. It is covered 
with clouds and fogs during three-fourths of the year, 
and is at once the moll arid and molt humid country in 
the world. Such a climate is moft inimical to the health 
of the emperor; and hatred muft have dictated the choice 
of this refidence, as well as the inltruCtions given by the 
Englifh miniftry to the officers commanding in the ifland. 
“They have even been ordered to call the Emperor 
Napoleon General , as if it were wiflied to oblige him to 
confider himfelf as never having reigned in France. 
“The treaty of the 2d of Augult, and the aCt of the 
Britifn parliament, called the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, 
and gave him only the title of General. The title of Ge¬ 
neral Bonaparte is doubtlefs eminently glorious : the em¬ 
peror bore it at Lodi, at Caftiglione, at Rivoli, at Arcole, at 
Leoben, at the Pyramids, at Aboukir; but for feventeen 
years he has borne that of Firft Conful and Emperor, which 
proves that he has been both firft magiftrate of the repub¬ 
lic, and fovereign of the fourth dynafty. 
“It is in the fame hateful fpirit that orders have been 
given that the Emperor Napoleon fhall not be allow'ed to 
write or receive any letters, unlefs they are opened and 
^read by the Englifh minifters and the officers at St. Helena. 
They have interdicted to him the poftibility of receiving 
intelligence from his wife, his mother, his fon, or his 
brothers ; and when, in order to avoid the inconvenience 
of having his letters read by fubaltern officers, he wifhed 
to fend letters fealed to the prince-regent, he w'as told 
that the order could not be departed from, and that the 
letters muft pafs open, fuch being the inftruCtions of the 
miniftry. This conduft needs no obfervation ; it gives 
rife, however, to llrange ideas as to the fpirit of the ad- 
miniftration which could diClate what would be disavowed 
even at Algiers. Letters have arrived at St. Helena, for 
the officers in the fuite of the emperor; they were broke 
open and tranfmitted to you, but you have not commu¬ 
nicated them, becaufe they did not come through the 
channel of the Englifh miniftry. Thus they had to go 
back four hundred leagues ; and thefe officers had the 
grief of knowing that there was intelligence on the rock 
from their wives, their mothers, their children, and that 
they could not know the nature of it for fix months. 
“You haveinterdidled all correfpondence between us and 
the inhabitants of the illand ; you have, in faCt placed the 
houfe at Longwood aufecret; you have even prevented any 
communication with the officers of the garrifon ; itfeems, 
therefore, to be your ftudy to deprive us of the little refource 
which this miferable territory affords, and w'e are here 
juft as we fhould be on the infulated and uninhabited rock 
of Afcenlion. During the four months that you have 
been at St. Helena, you have, fir, rendered the fituation 
of the emperor much worfe. Count Bertrand hasobferved 
to you, that you violate even the laws of your legillature. 
and that you trample under foot the rights of general offi¬ 
cers, prisoners of war. You have replied, that you aft 
according to the letter of your inftruftions, and that your 
conduft to us is not worfe than is diftated by them. I 
have the honour to be, &c. Montholon.” 
All thefe expreffions look very well upon paper, and 
read very fmooth. But, when we come to confider the 
fafts of the cafe, we fhall be convinced, that they have 
no foundation whatever; and that Bonaparte very well 
knew that no nation he could have fubmitted to, was 
likely to treat him with fuch humanity as the Englifh. 
He therefore afted wifely in fubmitting to them. Let the 
reader look back to pages 535,42, 4, 5, 53. and to various 
other palfages in the courfe of this article ; and, w'hen he 
notices there, the extreme bitternefsof the Pruffians, and 
particularly of Blucher, againft the French, let him judge 
what would have been the treatment of their chief, had 
he fallen into their hands. Had he given himfelf up to 
the magnanimous Alexander, he would moft likely have 
been banifhed to Siberia, a climate not quite fo congenial 
to the conftitution of an Italian as that of St. Helena. 
By his father-in-law his treatment might perhaps have 
been more tolerable; but in no refpefts equal to that 
which he now continually laments and complains of. 
And indeed, when the matter was brought before the 
upper houfe of parliament, by lord Holland, on the 18th 
of March, 1817, lord Bathurft, after replying to various 
particulars, very juftly obferved, “ that fir Hudfon Lowe 
had only afted up to his inftruftions, and impofed fuch 
reftriftions as were necefiary to the fecure keeping of the 
prifoner ; that Bonaparte had expreffed the belief that 
a change, of government, in this country or in France, 
would be the means of his releafe; and that all his com¬ 
plaints had arifen from not heingallowed to ride out with¬ 
out an attendant officer.” 
The narrative of M. Santini contained a variety of in- 
terefting particulars; and he endeavoured to prove that 
the ex-emperor had not only been ill-treated in regard to 
his rank, &c. but that he was abfolutely expofed to a ftate 
of ftarvation. “ It is to be recollefted,” fays he, “ that the 
governor took upon himfelf the entire charge of the main¬ 
tenance of Napoleon and his fuite; but the provisions he 
furnilhed were always in too fmall a quantity, and alfo 
very often of bad quality. In the latter cafe, when the 
emperor’s houfe-fteward (Cipriani) has found himfelf 
under the neceflity of fending back the provilions, the 
articles were never replaced by others more fit for ufe, 
and it has been necefiary to wait until the following day 
for a frelh fupply. It has often happened that, on find¬ 
ing himfelf wuthout any butcher’s meat for the emperor’s 
table, the fteward has fent me to purchafe a Sheep, for which 
I paid four guineas ; and often could only procure pork for 
making foup. Captain Poppleton of the 53d regiment, 
appointed to guard the emperor, if he is the man of ho¬ 
nour I believe him to be, will not fail to bearwitnefs that 
he has often lent candles to light this abode of defolation, 
as well as bread, butter, poultry,-and even fait. I was 
even, from neceflity, in the habit of repairing Secretly to 
the Englifh camp to purchafe butter, eggs, and bread, of 
the Soldiers’ wives ; otherwife the emperor would often 
have been without breakfaft, and even without dinner. 
There is no water fit for cooking at Longwood : very 
good water may, however, be procured at a diftance of 
1200 yards, which might be conveyed to the emperor’s 
barracks at an expenfe of 12 or 1500 francs. The houfe 
is Supplied by the water which is brought from this foun¬ 
tain; but it is open’ only once during the day; at all 
other times it is locked. It is guarded by an Englifh 
officer, who is Scarcely ever prefent when water is wanted. 
There is a conduit for conveying water to the Englifh 
camp ; but it was thought unneceflary to do as much for 
the unfortunate Napoleon.” 
We have not room to notice any further particulars in 
the ftatement of M. Santini; but have now to obferve, 
that it muft be extremely vexatious to the bulk of the 
Englifti 
