The gazette. [volume], September 17, 1798, Image 1

About The gazette. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1798-1799

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xjvmt* si.] . Alley Jenks, Portland, Maine. -lr3ivia ^
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Monday, September 17, 1798.
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[ Warning to Americans:
OR,
[ EFFECTS cr FRENCH DIPLOMA
TIC SKILL.
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[ [My reader* are here furnifiled with an authentic a d
minute hiftory Cf the f.;'l of the Swrifs government
and freedom ; as alfo an intcrefting narrative of t; e
I conduA of the French to vat d* Geneva—contaned in
a letter wr Men by an eye witnef to thefe impo t«mt
crent*.——Americans ! you arc threartnsd with the
fame deftru&ion1 The fa'e of Europe n republics
t* held out 3* an example f<|r you, by thofe mongers
of luniian depravity, the Director* of France!—Keid
t this ali-importaut Hi ft cry, which unfolds a feene of
treachery, iniquity, an I bar arity. tint Freuc'un n
only are capable of aiding. It fhould opera c as a
r folemn call from the graves of murdered at ions, to
awaken the energy of freetnen. and fummon them
to a timely refinance —I hope no one will com-dain
•f the length of an article fo iutcrefting to man
kind.} A
S The LETTER axd BISTORT
Sir, ^ =
THE f.ite of Swi xerland no longer per
mits me to defer anfwcring your letter, in which
with fuch lively intcreft, you exprefs yoar e.igcr
nefs to learn the news of Genera: and evince
your folicitude and hopes ftill to find that the
Helvetic Body perieveres in its fyftem of neu
trality. The tehcr of ycur applmfe of their
conduit recalls to my ihind the eulogium peife-J
on it by lord Lanfdown, *• that kumin •wfJom
had taken refuge in the fsvereign council of Berne
I own to you, Sir, that with you and his lord
1h'p, I had, at times, flattered my felt that, in
fcrupuloufty avoiding to give the lead umbrage
to the belligerent powers, the Swift cantons
would efcape the double fcourge of revolution
and of war. This illusion is vanithed forevrr ;
the fined part of Switxerlan.l is now nothing
more than a province of Fran e. ^his power
has taken from the inhabitants, their magiltrutes,
the’r laws, and their property ; and not content
with depriving them of their aims, it has dc
^ ftroyed even thofe monument* which brought
to their recollect on the glorious purpofes to
whirh their ancedors devoted them.
> /• « • ■ « to « «
li you nave received cue ricncnpapers m y
will have already given you a fufticient idea of
fc's (cent of defolation, to had you to conjec
ture wlut they have thought proper to conceal
I never could have the courage to m ike up the
deficiency by fuch an horrible recital j but I
flatter myfli that l ihall fitisfy your eurofity,
an-1 that of yopr friends in a more ufeful man
rer by tracing the dreadful cataftrophe of the
Swifs to its original caufe, the feeble end uade
cideJ con lu<$ of their own governments.
That of Berne will fufiice me : From its pre
pondcrance in the league, it has, alrmft always,
guided the reft of the confederate cantons ; and,
fr m the d vifions of its Senate, you will derive
a faithful image of wh.it pafled in the other can
tens.
Evet fnce the beginning of th’s centurv, there
has exited in the fore reign council of Berne, a
party of “ oppafilim” called “ patriots ;** and it
mud be admitted that, in ordinary times, this
party was emin n>ly u eftil, in regaining the
ariftocracy. and moderating its power. But
iince the crifis, which yet agitates Europe, thefe
two parties became more marked and di ting
uhbed ; cm of them was denominated the
F ench party ; the other the EngliTh ptvty.—
Neither merited thefe infulting appellations ;
both parties were, eiciufitely, attached to their
own country, and differed on’y as to the mea^s
of faving it lrom the (form with which it was
threatened. One of thefe, directed by the ad
vcyer Stiigner, looked upon a war with France,
*s inevitable ; they faw, at lead, no o.her re
fourcc ro avoid it, than that of being pe*fe£tly
prepaied before hand, and refilling with firm
nets, ail innovations on the'r internal policy, of
prefenting to foreign na.t’ons, a firm and deter
min’d at i ud% and of fubmitting to no a<5is of
cond ifcenfmn to republican France, which had
not been granre ', under its monarchical ftatc ;
in fh >rt, to obfervc, faithfully, towards her all
their ancient trea i-s, but to luFer, ro vio’a'ion
on any terms. It was in conformity to thef:
principles, that Steii?ner would have had the di
et, in 1792, fo h:ve peremtorily exafled the e
vacuaiion of that part of the Bifhoprick of Baft.',
which the French troops had invaded, al ir'Ugh
that ftatc had a rght to the confederated pro
region of Berne 10 which it was Itriflly allied.
, The other p«rty, at the he id of which was the
treafurcr Fr firing, wiihed on the contrary, to
a* oid all cbfcufu »n, wh;ch m:ght prov»*e a rup
ture with Frauce ; it believed, that in the midft
of the almoft, ttnivt rfal confl gration of tlie con
tinent, Switzerland could fave herfelt only by*
the policy of pet y ft.aes, that.of tempording
and delay : that above every t’-4ng, it was im
per ant to arrive at the end of fie war without
f taldng any pat in it $ that to reach the port,
as it was cade , tiny ought to corce;1! the r
yrievm:rs, or. at intll, to throw over them a
Lind of ve l ; to compliin of them with the
as dhhonored by any afts of comp’aifance to
which they could l'ubmit without immediate
danger.
This party, at fir ft the weakeft, did not fail
to obtain much influence, when the repeated
dele its of the allied troops had furniftied the
moft powerf il argument, of the impoffibility of
’lie Sw.fs refiftiug, by arms, a nation which
had va: qu filed the heft troops of Europe, and
wh ch was e eelrihed by its victories: Thus the
policy qi the Bernois became, by degrees, that
ot the conleder.itts ; and they were much lefs
aw.*re ot the fnare into which they were betray
ing themfelves, from France availing herfelf of
ir at fi ft, vvi:h the greateft circumfpeiftion , for
the evident rc-ifon that the neutrality of Swit
zerland covered her frontiers on the moll vul
nerab'e bde.
However, the thirteen cantons would ir.fall bly
have opened their eyes on the danger which
it waited them, if Fiance had not Fnt them,
Tor minifler, Iier m ft able r.egociator, and per
haps the only cue capable « f feduciog them. I
ought to expla*n myJcif : For in thus imputing
to Mr. Barthe emy th ir ruin, I do not pr.ten 1
to fay, that he had forefern it, much lefs that
he was willing to be inftrum ntal in eff.fting
it. He has beeq the v.£tim, even before them,
of the fat d counfeE he gave. In accepting his
nomination to the Direffory he has afforded
the moft fatrsfadlory pnxif, that he h d aban
doned himfclf to the fenfclefs hopes with which
he had lulled the Swifs magiftrates, and this
will explain to you how he proceeded in obtain
ing frern them fo many afts to which they were
fo a veil!*. He always foftened the harftmefs by
the manner of h:s demands ; nor fbd he at
times even diff mb'e that he perfonaily difap
proved cf them ; but lie conjured them to tern
pOrze ; he told them that Europe rapidly ap
proached to the end cf the fterm ; that it deeply
concerned the Helvetic Body to let it p.ifs
without being drawm into its vortex, that
they would be expofed to iofe the fruits of a’l
the facrifues hitherto made, if they rtfufed cer
tain concetlions w*h'ch were the inevitable con
fequences of what had been before acceded.—
It was by thefe arguments and others of a like
kind, that he even ch ained the expu’fion of
me oanunea melts, to wnom Switzerland na-l
g'ven an afyltim ; but altho the magi ft racy
were blind, tlve Swif. people began to awake,
and to fed themrel es degraded in the perfons
of their leaders : Frr, fir, you will agree with
me, that one of the greateft crimes th it c in be
corr mUtted by the chiefs of a free people is to
difg a'e them in their own opinion.
Without doubt you were aftonilhed at the
time, at the weaknefs of the Helvetic body, and
at the afeendency which Barthslemy had ac
quireJ in its councils : but perhaps you do not
know to what a point his perfonal morality, his
wifdom and upiightnefs, and above all, the fin |
cere intertft he took in the h ippinefs of the Swifs,
were calculated to gain iheir confidence. I lhall
never forg-t the lively impeflioa that he one
day made on me on perceiving my aftonifhment
that a man like him (hould confirm to remain
undrr the orders of Rob.Tfpierrc—he conduct
ed me towards a map of Europe, and encompaf
fing vvith two fingers the fpace that compre
h nded Switzerl nd, he f id “ no, you w 11 not
blame me in the end, »f, in thus devoting roy
felf, I fu ceed in preventing the lava of this vol
cano fron reaching this little comer of the
earth, fo happy, and Co worthy of being happy.”
Oifrrve alfo, that at the fame tune, while
Earthelemy obtained from the Helvetic gov
; ernment aim ft all the conceflions which he
demanded ol them, he covered them with his
(h eld, in aiding them, in difearding the French
emiflbries who came to revolutionize their peo
ple, and in refilling decidedly his fupport to all
the revolutionary Swifs. He did yet more—
He had the addrefs to perfuade all the various
fa&ions which fucceffively attained the feat of
tne government or rrance, mat the tirlt attempt
of the kind, which they Ihould permit, would
pufh the diet to the d^fpera'e reiolution of af
fording a paffage to the German troop*. It
was by tin's double Icrvice that Barthelemy
rendered himfelf, by degrees the mediator be
tween France and Switzerland ; and that the
people, whofe hearts he had, truly gained, firf
fered tbemfelvesto he drawn imp rceptibiy from
conceffion to concellion. If by good fortune,there
had been fent, at firft, a rafh <5t intriguing minif
tej^thcy would have been appnfed in lime of their
danger, and tlvir prompt reunion with the w
alition might, pcilibly, have changed the face of
affa'rs. But I repeat, that Barthelemy, vho
lulled them to deep, fo lorg t me, on the brir.lc
of the gulph of dcftrnfHo#, f> little fufpetfed its
depth that he precipitated himfelf into it ; for
he accepted, as be ore obferved, the eminent
place which was offered h»T! at Pars, only be
caufe he confiJered the revolution as finifhed
within France, and that he could confolidste it
by accelerating a general pacification. You may
recoiled, fr, the hop-,s that *11 Europe repofed
on h's concilia ory ciifpohtion, and the great po*
pularity which followed him on en'tring France,
in vain was his mode ft y in a: mpting to pdfs
in co. n to, in order to trfc pe the hc<famntH ns
and feftivals that were j»’epared for him on his
way te Paris. Never Wafhicgton received
vi;h fuch fluttering teflimonies of edeem and
^ratifu le, But he'c terminates the parallel be
tween the two nations. The fame people, who,
in the month of May, prepared lor Barthel my
triumphal arches, four months alter law h m |
carred, as a vile criminal, from province to.
province, in a fort of cage, without receiving 'he
imallefl mark ot pity or imereti in his fuffrrings
—and the official pnpercf thofe who ufurped
his place now announces, as a proof of their hu
manity, that having fallen ill, he has been tran
fported to the holpital of Cayenne, where he is
pefeElly well taken care of.
However (hiking may be this individual ex
ample of the vicidirudes of a revolution, it is
nothing in companion with tha.cataft.rophe of
Switzerland. Hardly hud the directory rid
jthemielves of Mr. Bartheiemy, and difarmed
Auftria when they judged that ah oppoitunity
had arrived of feizing the trenfure of Berne, and
delivering up to pillage tfiut canton, and thofe
of Fribourg and Soleui'e. A project which they
took great care to conceal until the moment
when one column of the army of Ita’y, dcltiued,
as was faid, againfl England, arrived on the
frontiers ol the Pays de Vaud. Al'hough this
route was the natural march of the troop,, he
illu'ion of the Magillrates ol Switzerland on this
point was d ffipated, in a degree, after the events
diat took place at I’orifon, the 18 h Fiu&i for.
Thcfe of Berne, even began to icplace th« r
con’idence in Mr. Steigner, when new, f.om
Paris anounced to them, that it was no longer!
die time to have reccurfe to their councils, that:
they mnft fly to-arms ; that having waited the!
iiiue of the continental war, they were nowcoa- [
demned to fuflan its whole weight and that
the army if Italy marched againll them a- j
lone.
i he Dirc<ftory, not choofing to truft entirely
to the bravery oi this army, applied thcmfdves
with the greateft care to feperate the aiiftd:rat
ical governments from the people, and to take
from them, if poflGjle, the fupport of their fjb
jads, by endeavouring to perfuade the latter
that they had no other view, than to force the
Patrician f tmilies to divide the adminiilration, j
wi h the other daifes of citizens. This attempt 1
produced no effect upon the German people of j
thefe cantons j but there was in that diftriift of:
Switzerland called the Pays d<i Vaud, a certain
dafs of inhabitants amongft the Town’s people,
who had a long time fmee been tampered with j
by the Direflory who fecretly off. red them its;
fupport. The only thing which retrained them
was the fear of p -ffi ig under the deminion of
France, in accepting her profferred afififtance.
With a view to tranquilize this devoted peo
ple the Directory did nothefitate to dc.lare by,
their Minifler at Bade, “ that far from being
difp. fed to m tke conqueft upon the Helvetic
Body, or entertaining the lmalleft defign againft
its imegr ty, the French republic was determi
ned, to live in peace and perfect harmony with
the Swifs nation, and even to guarrantee, in the
m ft fdemn manner its independence and its
freedom.
To give more weight to this declaration the
direiftory, four days after. fdzed an occTiort to
fupprefs, with much clzmour fome of the Paris
news papers, againft which was charged a very
heavy crime, namely, the intention to ealummte
the directory in imputing to them views of in
vading Switzerland, contrary to good faith.—
Hitherto, iir, you perceive in this ftrokcof arbi
trarypower,only the effeft of extreme delicacy,&
Fnftbility, which had induced the French gov
ernment to refute, with fo much clamour, the
fmalleft infmuation of a breach of public faith ;
but read the laft words of this incendiary Amte,
viz. “ and thereby/tighten the Helvetic people,
upon the cor.fequences of thofe me^ures, whi h
it woul d adopt to re ejlahlifh them in the plenitude |
of their - rights
ih s was only, as you perceive, a new verfion
of the famous decree of the igth November,
1792, which, notwithft mdiog what certain wri
ters have been plea ed to fay, has never been
revoked, but is, at this day, in fail force.
But the Directory was not content with this
war of the pen; for, at the foretime,they ordered
ed their troops to take poffi.llion of that part ct
the Bi(h rprick of Bufle, into which they hau
not yet penetrated. This march placed ihe
troops at the dillance only of fever or eight
leagues from Berne, and then to com pleat an
infurreiftion of the people, and frighten the ad
minifirators, it was notified to the latter cn the
twenty eighth of December, “ that the mem
bers of the government of Berne and Fribourg
(hould anftver perfonally for the la'ctv of the :
perlbns, and properly of ihe inhabitants of the
Fays de Vaud, who had applied, and who might
yet apply, to the French republic to cl-urn by
her mediation, the execution of are'ent treaties
to the end of maintaing them in or reftoring
them to their rights.” ;
I need not inform you, that there never eiift- ]
ed any treaty, cither ancient 1 modern, whiih
authored, in the fm a lie ft degree, ihe ifcfkrfcr
ence of France in the internal aftars f t the
cantons : hut it may not be ufelefs to rccj ITcU
tint a few weeks belorc this menace of zn -armed
mediation, Buonapar’e refuted his inlet fe ence
to the Gr if ms, who folicite 1 it to prevoa* the
CX-!p:ue republic from fei.’iog on one of 'their 1
provinces, and to whom he made this arif.yer,
“ft it c >te of our principles to intermeddle as little
as poffible with t [f affairs of other peoplePerha :$
it irt i.y beneceifiry to .acquaint you, that the
inhabitants of P >ys de^Vaud, to whom Fiance
thus granted her mediation, with an armed
force, yvere certain men who had endeavoured
.0 introduce, into Switzerland, the French revo
lution, nearly about the fame time, that ye ar
government ihpprefie ?, at Pittsburgh, a'fimilar
enterprize. That of the Vaudois was effe&ed
without the efftt(ion of blood ; but the guilty
were judged according to the laws of their coun
try, and the greateff part were exiled, or efcaped
!n.o Fiance, where theyfolicired a long time,
to vain, the proteifHon of the Directory.
The latter waited only for the termination of
the continental war to- grant to theft exilas
thetr public fuppovt. AsToon as thefc received
the £ril iignal they pafle ! it to their partisan*,
who, thereon infeveral of the villages of the
Pays de Vaud ran to arms on the loth of Jan.
1798, pU .red tr^es of liberty, and proclaimed
a Republic Lcmaniqne
This fi: ft f.ene pafisd without refinance,
which is lo much the more furpridng as a great
majority of the people, ef; ccially thofe o( the
country, only waited for or erv to fall upon the
infurgents, and nothing w uld have beer, more
eafy than to hate overawed them before the ar
rival of the Fre ch t orp ; >ut the government
of Berne dept in ltlch p rfe«fl feturity, that not
even one ot the r bai iff* had con >ir* m >1 O', ers
to died, in fuch a cafe» the force of the p op e,
who (h uld remain iai.hful to their government;
and it was by this unpardonable wr t of fore
thought that the loyal people were red ace i t#
inatf ion. Abandon d by their legitimate chiefs,
they preferred the yoke of the revoluti onary*
Vaudois, to that of the French foidury, and
jrema:ned pjflWe, deceived by a proclamation,
winretn v^eneral Menard aliuieJ therrt that Ins
army approached the frontiers only, by ihccffe.T ;
of its prefence, to prevent the enemies of their
freedom fjom fnppreffing that noble eathufialm
which elevated them to liberty.’* Scarcely ha J !
he learned that no one hid en lenvoured tofhp
prefs this cnthuha'm than he p >lhe 1 on wi h ah
bis troops to Lauihnne, where his frit cue was
to levy, by way of loan, a fubady of about forty
five thoufand pounds fterling. This une • peTei
extortion, and the trrupi>oa of the French, be
gan to deprive him nf the greateft part of his
partisans ; but this defection d d not prevent
him from purfuinghis march againft thcGcmm
parcofthe canton. The comman der in chief c.vdf
ed himfelfto be preceded byano.her mar i e.lo, in
which he repeated to the B.rnois precifely what
Buonaparte had declared to the Italians, “ The
French are your b'orhers. Put far away frotn
your minds all diltruft ; they will rcfpect ynuf
property, yourcuftoms, your religion, your in
dependence. Afk the inhabitants of the Pays
de Vaud.”
While he thus invoiced their teftimony, thefe |
unhappy people, in defpiir for having bssil]
duped bv his fir It prom fe, efcaped from all
parts to join the army < f the ikmois, where
they colleTed, to the number of from three to
four thou fan d men. It wt> this column, jtiftly j
called the faithful column, which atchieved fach
prodigies of valour, to efface the blot of their
former inaTion ; and it was, above all, tint,
to which the meifige oi the French DireT >ry
alluded, when, iu annonne tig^hs viTory, they
reprelent it as fo much the move glorious, as it
was difputxl with uncommon bravery, and in
conceivable Jury. O i the lird news of the in
v a lion the two parties ar Berre were reunited
to each other, ami itisev.-n fud, that on this
occafion the trrafurer Frifbiog depl *rtd, with
n> lefs candour than bittemefs. th. fa le policy
which had plunged all bwit/erUnd in lo long
and ib lata! a fecutity. They now thou Jit
on y oi righting, and thermistor of the G rman
country ran to arms wi h an aUcrity and y.eal
very p.oprr to caufe rhofc Sen t rs to b'.ufh,
wh ) find not ce>fei to rai e dou >ts of their
tiJcl tv and th.ir patriot ifm.
They demanded With vehemence to be led
againd the enemy, and fiich was the in enti n
of their General u’Erlach, for he relied lefs on
their difcipline than or. their valour ; he kn w
the danger of fu&ering their en bu atm to c« ol
by marches and coun ermarches. the expediency
and ohje«5t of which they vvou d i o* have been
fen Able of, nor confeqnently oid he accept of
the command, hut when icveiled with fil l, and
the moll unlimted powers. H udly had he re
received them but he Tcfrlved on a gcotr d t
t rek, fixed the day of baitle, and ind cated hie
rdolutton t# his troops ; who, a; ho it f ri jr in
numbers, received the news with Uaafrprtf of
joy. After what palfed in the fequel, the;* i*
every teafun to be ieve, that it d’Erlach had
not been thwarted at Bern”, or if the revocath n
of his lull power? had not arrived til after the
engagement, the chanres wou’d have been at
lead equal. A d it is very cviJert that the
french General entertained thi'* opinion, fine*
he bartered to ptopofe ao armiftice, in order, as
he f..id, to enter upon conferences foy peace-—
Would you believe it, fir? upon this news, tLe
Senate of Berne again fell into its fi*rm r nnde
terminaricn. The party, who Hatter d them
feives that peace was yet poiiible, reuffuand i:s