from the irome:ti that aiaricc am!
injustice became oar guides, we
worked our own dcftru<stion, and
oar enemies profit by our (aults.
Yon are flattered and deceived, 1
will endeavor to tear the veil si oni
before your eyes. 'be Belgians
have been made to fnfFer vrxanous
of everv kind ; the (acred rights of
liberty "hi<»e Uen violated as they
relate to them ; their religious opi
nions have been mfulted ; the Itir
niture of their churches has been
taken without neeeltity, bai with
indecency. Thc-ir charade; and
intentions have been fflifreprefeut
ed ; rlrr re-union *»l fii'iliault has
beep effect c»l by uiawi violence, by
the sword and lire arms ; that of
fefuflels by a knot of men vvho could
cxiit bur in the tnidft of t*ouble,and ,
by a few blood th tfty individuals
uliembled to intimidate the citizens.
Look over the liiflory of the low
countries, you will find t hat the peo
pie are good, open hearted, coura
geous, and wuithy of treedoiSi.
The Duke of Alva, the moil ci uel
of the satellites of Philip 11. bad
18,000 executed by the band ot the
■hangman. The Belgians took ven
geance by a war of thirty yea_is,and
their attachment to the religion ot
their fathers, only could have bro't
them ag'iin under the Spanish yoke.
Your finances were exhausted
when we entered Belgia ; your coin
had difjppeared. C ambon, who
m&y be an honest citizen, but who
is far beneath the confidence you re
posed in him in financial matteis,
law no remedv but in the pofleliion
of the riches of that fertile country.
—He proposed to you the fatal de
cree of the 15th December ; you
unanimously accepted it, and yet
every one of those among yon, with
whom I have conversed on tiie fub
jetft, told me he did not approve of
it, and that the decree is unjust.
One of my memorials was again ft
that decrree ; ic was not read in the
allembly. The fame Cambon en
deavored to render my remonftran
' ces hateful and criminal, by faying
from the tribune that I was placing
a veto upon the decree of the Aflein
bly : You confirmed this decree by
that of December 30th ; you di
rected your commillioners to fee it
executed ; by your orders the exe
cutive fem at leali 30 commission
ers ; the choice of them was bad,
excepting a very few honest men,
who are perhaps considered as of
doubtful principles, because they
endeavor to mitigate the odium at
tached to their functions. The ma
jOiiiyare madmen or tyrai ts, or
men without reflection,whom a bru
tal zeal always has led beyond their
duty. The agents of tyranny have
been scattered over the whole face
of Btlgia ; the military comman
dants in obedience to the decree,
have been obliged to employ, upon
their requifttion, the forces entrust
ed to them.—These extortioners fi
nally exasperated the spirit of the
Belgians. Thence forward, fear,
perhaps hatred, have replaced that
'Ardial fraternity which accompa
nied our fii'ft fleps in Belgia ; and
at the moment of our change of for
tune our agents exercised their
functions with the jnoft excessive
injustice ami violence.
You have been mi (taken asm the
re-union to France of feyeral porti
ons of Belgia You thought that
union voluntary, becanfe you were
deceived by lies. From that moment
you thought it in your power to
take the fnperfluous plate from the
churches, to defray the exppnee of
the war. You then looked upon
the Belgians as frenchmen : but
even if they had been,you yet Iliould
have waited the voluntary giving
up of this plate ; y'onr taking it by
open violence hecame sacrilegious :
This is exa<Sly what has happened.
The prierts and monks' have taken,
ad vantage of. that imprudent a«ftj
and then pfeached us up as pillag
ers io be avoided, and every whfire
the inhabitants armed agaiaft us.
Our's is not a war of ariftocr»cy,foc
our rev.oluti<)n favors the inhabi
tants of the country, and yet that
description of people arm a
gainst us, and the alarm is founded
in all Quarters. It with them a war
of religion ; and with us a criminal
war. YVe are at this moment fur
rounded by enemies ; you will fee
it by the reports which i lend to
the miniiier of war, you will fee at
the fame time the firlt ineal'ufes 1
have been obliged to take to save
the French army, the national ho
nor, and indeed the republic.
Reprelen.atives of the nation, 1
call on your probity and the recol
lection of the importance of your
duties ; 1 call 011 the sacred princi
ples explained in the declaration of
the rights of man, and I wait with
hu patience your decision. At this
moment you hold in your hands the
faie of the empire, and I am per
fuaded that troth and virtue will
guide your decisions, and that you
will not fuffer your armies to be
flained by crimes and then become
the victims of those crimes."
Oitmoutier, informed that this
letter had been referred to the com
mittee of defence, requests the con
vention to come to no determinati
on upon it, until be has again con
ferred with the coramiiiioners to
Belgia.
[ i he above letter appears in the
Monjteur Uuiiierjeilt, a Paris paper
of the 25th of March, which menti
ons in a note, " That the letter had
not been read before the National
Convention, but printed and pub
lilhed in the Belgic provinces."]
March 23.
Letters were read from the admi
nilVration of the lower Loire. By
these letters of tjie 19th it appeai-s
that the rebels are masters of the
whole country round Nantes, which
city is in a manner besieged ; the
communications are interrupted —
they call for immediate aififtance—
they announce that the chief of the
rebels, the number of whom they
state at about 40,000, is one de la
Perriere, that he has Cent various
propolals to the city of Nantes ; for
he has declared not to acknowledge
the authority of the department
and of the dilhitft : he has much
threatened, if he is not assisted in
supporting a kind cf constitution
which he presented, in which he
calls for the difmilfion of the consti
tutional clergy and a diminution of
ta<es. The administrators promise
and Fwear to remain firm at their
post. They have resolved, as the
only answer to the rebels, that court
martials flvdl attend each body of
troops that should match against
them to judge those taken and im
mediately cause the sentence to be
executed.
March 24.
Tallier informed that the depart
ment of Dordogne had sent 1200
men againit them. Honorable men
tion of the zeal of this department
and the city of Bourdeaux was de
creed.
b'errand dated, that the frontier
of Spain was in a formidable itate
of defence ; but that it was other
wise with ours. The executive
council was directed to give an ac
count ot the situation of that im
portant frontier.
Maltinet communicated a letter
he received from Nantes, by which
it appears, that the communication
between that city and Antwerp is
reffored. The adminiltrative bodies
have disposed of detachments at:
different diltances ; they diretfed
the gullies and ditcher made in the
roads uy the rebels to be filled up.
Upwards of 1200 rebels have alrea
dy fuffered death, about the fame
number are in prison, and will not
delay experiencing the fame fate.
This info rmation gave the greatest
fatisfadiion.
Two letters were received from
the minrller at war. In the firft he
announces, that he is communicat
ing to the committee of general de
fence the dispatches which he re
ceived yelterday and this night from
gen. Dumourier, as well as the plans
concerted between the executive
council and the generals—they can
not be rendered public for the ge
neral good— it will fuffice te fay,
that Dumourier is making a retro
grade movement to get nearer to
the frontiers ; this measure has ap 7
peared to him iieceflary to reorga
nise the army which is in disorder.
By the second letter it appears
that Ciiftine has had a considerable
advantage over the PrufTians. He
beat thein in an attack they made
-406
on one of his posts ; ~1<! Frencl >
troops displayed adonithing intre
pidity every where they took from
ilie enemy forage and provifious.
LONDON, March 24
Medals are now distributing in
Paris, having on one fide the effigy
of Louis XVi. and on tlie other,
the words, 11 eft mort martyr.
The effects of 1 lie rMy declaration
publiflied by Louis Stanislaus Xa
vier, have begun to inanifeft them
selves in France precisely in the
manner that might have been ex
pected. No sooner was the absurd
inltrument made public, but ad
drefles were presented from various
quarters, demanding the trial and
punifhmeui of the unfortunate An
toinette. These miserable deluded
refugees fall into the purposes of
igalite, as fully as if they were his
pro felled and hired instruments.
April 3! The communication with
Ollend being once more open, in
telligence will be more frequently
received from the immediate feac
of war
The mails from Holland and Flan
ders arrived yellerday. The Ley
den Gazette mentions, that the in
tercourse being re-opened, they
have obtained French papers to the
18th, the day on which they ceased
to be forwarded to London. The
Bruflels Gazette is totally barren of
intelligence.
The late failures in the city which
by some persons have been attribut
ed, very falfely, to be the effects of
the war, are found to arise, on close
infpetftion, from connections with
the country banks—a growing mif
chief, which has long called for the
interference of the legislature to
check its progress.
Friday evening intelligence came
to Lloyd's, of eight Englifli mer
chantmen trading to the Levant
having been taken by French pri
vateers, in the Mediterranean, and
fix of them carried into Marseilles.
They are insured at 80, cool.
La Halle, where Dumourier was
encamped, according to the last ac
count, is a strong post a few miles
to the south of Brullels. It was the
fame place that Duke Albert made
a stand in the last campaign, to co
ver the retreat of the Court of Brul-
i'els.
Apa.ll. 6.
Yesterday afternoon capt. Hawes,
of the fecund Nancy cutter, belong
ing to Deal, arrived in St. Marga
ret's bay, with dispatches from O
itend for admiral M'Bride. The
cutter left Oftend at 11 o'clock on
Thursday night, and brings niofb
important intelligence. We under
lain! that Dumourier is arrived at
Lille with his forces, and that he
had scarce made his appearance,
before M. Bournonville and five
commissioners from the convention,
had come down with orders to bring
him up a prisoner to Paris. Dumcti
jier did not follow the example of
la Fayette ; he refilled the order of
the convention, and having felt the
pulse of his army, arretted the com
iniliioners, and sent them to the
prince of Cobourg, as liortages for
the fafety of the Queen and royal
family. He then proclaimed the
young Louis king, at the head of
the army, and sent a dispatch to
Paris, intimating his determination
to proceed immediately thither, &
support the claim of the Dauphin
to the throne of his ancestors, as
from the conduct of the convention,
he saw that France could only be
saved by a general refinance to their
horrid tyranny. Such is the report
that has come to our ears of this
important dispatch ; and which we
give literally as we have reteived
it. It is added, that in consequence
of the news of Dumoui ier's defeat,
and of the violent measures taken
by the convention, the tumult 111
Paris has risen to the molt extrava
gant heighth. Theparcies had atftu
afly come to blows, the barriers
were (hut, the white flag, with a
mourning crape over it, was flying
in the llreets, and numbers of peo
ple had mounted the white cockade.
Besides the above particulars, in
telligence has been received, that
the merchants and principal inha
bitants of Dunkirk, are ready to
deliver up that place to the royal
party, and |, av( . f .
H"ral M'Bride, |° *'
fend over two sri- ap< , :i h
I'cffion of the tow,, °' ake p^
an L-xprels whicb
this morning f r „„, , be „
are enabled ro e i VE ,h e
counts of a *
ing on il,e ev e „f , a ki, " J '
Pans. at
The ctrcwinftance* that h,„ i
to this are of a m,,lt extra,,a
nature. The Moppage „(
nttinicatmn with France h a ,t
in the dark campletclv wi.i,
to the proceedings of the
on. It now appear] that ,fc. n!|
important traufadienj j lMf . '
piace. Ui ®i
After Dumourier had been r ortfl |
to retreat within the Frr„. 1.7
•fcr,
vention, ftatiug, " That ii
it imjinSible to make head ,£
the Allied Powers.andthat I,
the only means of f av i„ g ¥t J
from being over-run by those
ers, would be to have a King" "
In conference of this ]« etr ,
Decree■ of Accusation was paH ,.J a
gainst Dumourier, in the fitting
the 50th of March, who had been
denounced in the Municipality 0 f
■n" 5 1 \I-*T : a " d Buur "on
v.lle the Minister at War,
and five others were deputed to the
army, to put the Decree into execu
tion, by arresting Dumourier and
fending him a prisoner to Pj r;s
Dutnourier himfelf fays, he finnlv
believes ir was their intention to
have had him maflacred on the road.
They reached the army, and m '
formed the General of their mil.
on. He saw the time was tome id
llrike a decisive blow. He aflem
bled his troops ; informed tiem of
the Decree of the Convention, ami
hinted his own wiftesand deligtis.
They exclaimed, that they would
ft and by him. He immediately be
gan to ad. He arretted Beornoti
ville and the other Coiinrtilßoneri,
and sent them with a letter to Ge
neral Clairfayt, Hating that hew
about to march to Paris next morn
ing, the 2d inft. at the head of hit
army, for the purpose of feltorinj
the French Monarchy.- —
General Clairfayt forwarded (lit
prifooers committed to his chirp
by Dumourier,to the Prince of ban
Cobourg, and immediately wroti
with his own hand, an account ol
these extraordinary tranlaiSions tt
Count Metternich, the Imperial Mi
nilter at Bruflels, who forwards
this account to the Hague. Tit
express that brought this news left
the Hague on the 4th, a few hotr
after General Clairfayt's account
arrived there, and reached Londo!
this morning at seven o'clock.
The fame accounts have been re
ceived from Broflels and Oftend,
Extract of a letter from Mechlin,
March 24.
" This day the French retired in
good order about eJeveu o'clock if
the morning, after havingdeftrny
ed or blown up the bridges in trc
neighbourhood of the city. Ttt
people immediately proceeded t<
the square, where they deftroyt
the monument erected by the] ic:r
bin club to the memory of ! ' t i '
tier,and tranfportingthe fraspit™
of it to the foot of the treeolli'J"
ty„ set the whole ort fire.
" The people then repaired ><
the club-room, from which tw)
carried away the tribune and t»
ches, to add them to the tiff
whole was conduced wiiheotMJ
tumult. ..
" At two o'clock the .mag l '
and the grand council, P' ocef '
to the town-house, on >»«>'"»<
presented to them by the p»o»
a | representatives of < J.
who had managed att.nrs
the residence of the rrenc •
representatives then refig"
functions in the P r .® j r , r i
magistrates, who
titude and fatisfaction a<Jm j
they had fliown during , ra „
11 ill rat ion, in P r ' ,b
tranquillity, and P™. jf; Jt ns
rights and proOT°f' he £U
'• At five o'clock the m
troops took pofie. ion c
amid the ringing f
the acclamations of the pe ■