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The Overpowering Event Of The Week, Is T...
and having formed various idle projects for escaping , in spite of the English cruisers , he surrendered to Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon . Blucher would have assassinated Napoleon , but the Duke refused to be a party to the transaction , and saved the life of his great rival . To appease the Prussians , he procured the appointment of Baron Muffling to be Governor of Paris _^—of which Blucher immediately availed himself to lay the capital under a contribution
of a hundred million francs , to quarter troops upon the inhabitants , and to demand various sums from Versailles and other towns . What to the French was more galling than this , he commenced the destruction of two bridges which Napoleon hael built and called after his victories of Jena and Austerlitz . Wellington also put a stop to these gratuitous acts of oppression ; the contributions were not levied , and the bridges had only their names changed by the King to Le Pont des Invalids and Le Pont de Jardin du Roi .
On the 8 th of July , a ministry , at the head of which was Prince Talleyrand , was appointed at the suggestion of the Duke ; and on the 15 th , his Grace , with the grand staff of the British army , composed of 300 generals , and other distinguished officers , paid their respects to Louis , at the Tuileries . His Majesty on that occasion told the British Commander-in-Chief that he owed him " a personal obligation for his humanity and the good conduct of . his army . "
The news of Waterloo was brought on the 20 th by Mr . Sutton , the proprietor of a number of vessels plying between Colchester and Ostcnd , who made the voyage at his private cost for that special purpose . The Duke ' s despatches arrived two days later , and were immediately conveyed to the two houses of parliament . They produced the most rapturous expressions of joy . A vote of thanks to the Duke and his army was carried by acclamation in the Lords , on the motion of the Earl Bathurst ; and in the Commons , the minister ( Lord Castlereagh ) brought a message from the Prince
Regent , in consequence of which an additional grant of 200 , 000 / ., accompanied by the most flattering encomiums , was made , to purchase a mansion and estate for his Grace . Illuminations were general throughout the country , and almost every steeple rang out its merriest peals . A form of thanksgiving was said in tbe churches em Sunday , the 9 th of July , and a subscription , amounting to upwarels of 100 , 000 / ., was made for the widows and orphans eif the slain . The Duke also generously relinquished , for the « amc purpose , half the parliamentary compensation due to him for the Peninsular
prize property . All thc regiments which hael been in the battle were permitted to inscribe " Waterloo" on their banners , and every surviving _sendier wus presented with a silver medal , anel was allowed to reckon that day as two years' service . The Bev . . lohn _Neircross wre > te to the Duke , requesting that he would name a private or non-commissioned officer as most eleserving of a handsome donation which he offered . His Grace nominateel Serge > ant Graham , e ) f the _Ceihlstreams , whose gallant _cemdue-t at Hemgeimont is already kiuiwn to our readers , anel warmly eulogised Mr . Noremss ' s patriotism . IV ) tho Mayeir of _Brussels , whose kindness tei the woundoel was past all praise , he al . se . wrote a grateful
h ; tte > r eif _ae-kiKnvh > elgme > nt . This was signeel " Wellington , Prine . _eeif Wate > rhio , " whioh he hael _be-en ercateel in duly by the King- eif the ! _Netherlands , who also _cemfeinvd on him the estate ; of La _Be . _Be Alliance . The ; vie'tory was nientieineel in filling terms in the Prince _Ivcgont ' s _spee'eh at the _e-. _leise ! of the session , em the 12 th of July- —tbe _e-orporutiem of Le . nelon having , a few elays be-fore , pre ! scnte > el an aehlress of congrutuhdie . u to the threine . The City also _predentin ! splendid sworels to his Grae-e ! anel the chief _allie-el _eiffie'ers . The _distributee m was matte , at , the l . ovtl Muyeir ' _s _request ,, by the Duke himself—a _eire-iunstaiie-ei that must have- , greatly enhanced the ! value- of the elonation in the ! _e-ye-s of all by _wheim it was _re'ceiivoel .
On the 30 l , h e . f 'Neivennber , his Grae-e _publishe-d a general e > _rele-r , in whie . h he _teieik le ! iive of the ! army , ed which he ! spoke iu very Uatferhig terms . He , c . nnfinut-d _, he . _woveT , fo _re-sieh- in the palace e > f Klysei ! Bourhem for _se . ine ! months _leinger . On the 29 th of . _June-, 1810 , his Grae-e' _se-t out for _Leinelon ; not , _heiwe've-r , without _e-xpe ! _iie-ne : ing anofht ! i ' narreiw _esciqie . A few elays before ! he hael given nt bis _pnlae-e u grand _fare-we-U fete , to which the ! yeiungei Bourbon prince's , many distinguished _ineuiihcrs of the
_geivernmeint anel court , and all the Knglish of rank in tbo capita ) , we ! re invited . The ! servant eif Mr . _Aslein happening tei be waiting in the street , _pon'oivt _^ l a smoke coming freim erne eif fhe cellars . He instantl y gave ! tho alarm , mid a lighted rug wan founel near a barred of _gunpeiwdcr _, anel two barrels of oil . Tbe . danger was quietly remeived , anel nei interruption oeeurml to the entertainment . It was , however , quite clear that a Guy Fawkes _tixpleisiein hael be ! t ; n _pleittcd . On the J 8 th eif June , 1817 , the magnificent new
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Strand-bridge , designed by Mr . Rennie , and called after the glorious victory of that day , was opened by the Prince Regent , who crossed it in state , with the Duke of York on his right hand and the Duke of Wellington on his left—the gorgeous ceremonial being heralded by a discharge of 202 guns , in commemoration of the number of pieces captured . During his Grace ' s short stay in London , on the motion Of Lord Castlereagh , carried by acclamation , a committee of the House was appointed to wait on him to offer their congratulations . On the 16 th of August he again returned to Paris as ambassador-plenipotentiary ; and in the
course of the next month he was employed in prosecuting the publisher of the Flanders Journal for a libel ; and though he failed , he received at the hands of the court ample amends for the slander he complained ofnamely , that he had been guilty of misconduct in his diplomatic functions . In the meantime Apsley House , in Hyde Park , had been purchased by the British government and rebuilt by Mr . Wyatt , for the Duke , who has since given in it an annual dinner on Waterloo day , to his brother officers present at the battle . Amongst the objects of interest in it , is the magnificent colossal statue of Napoleon , by Canova , which Louis sent over to him as soon as it arrived from the artist
at Rome . On the 19 th of November the parliamentary commissioners purchased of Lord Rivers the estate of Strathfieldsaye , in Hampshire , for 263 , 000 / ., the timber on it alone being valued at 150 , 000 ? . On the 11 th of February , 1818 , as the Duke ' s carriage was entering tbe gate of his hotel in Paris , a scoundrel , named Cantillon , fired a pistol at his Grace , but happily missed his aim . The Ministers of the allied Sovereigns , as well as the King of France , warmly
congratulated him on his escape , and the Prince Regent sent him an autograph letter on the occasion . Lord Castlereagh , in consequence of this atrocious attempt , procured an extension of the Alien Act for two years longer . Cantillon , and another man , named Marinot , were tried during the next year , but were acquitted . Napoleon , who died on the 5 th of May , 1821 , left Cantillon a legacy of 10 , 000 francs—a fact that speaks volumes for the " generosity" of his disposition .
On the 2 oth April , 1818 , the negotiations with France were finally concluded ; and on the 9 th of the following October , a treaty by the allied sovereigns was agreed to at Aix-la-Cbapclle , for the immediate withdrawal of the army of occupation . On the 22 nd there was a grand review and sham fight near Valenciennes ; after which the Duke gave a splendid entertainment to the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia , and the troe _> ps embarked for this country forthwith . His Grace was made a Field-Marshal in the Austrian , Russian , and Prussian service immediately after the Congress of Aix ; and , on the 26 th of December , he was appointed Master-General of the Orelnance at home .
In June , 1819 , the Waterloo prize-meiney was _elistributed , the Duke of Wellington's share being 60 , 000 / . ; a general's , 1250 / . ; a field-officer ' s , 420 / . ; a captain's , 90 / . ; a subaltern ' s , 3 . 1 / . ; a sergeant ' s , 9 / . ; a private ' s , 21 . 10 s . Abenit this time a magnificent dessert service was prcscntetl tei thc Duke by the King of Saxony . A still more magnificent present was made the Duke by the King e > f Portugal . It consisted of a silver plateau , thirty feet long and three fee ! t anel a half _breiad , of beautiful design anel workmanship , anel lighted by 106 wax tapers . In 1822 , the ladies of England having
_contiibute-el 10 , 000 / . towards the erectiem of a _lnemunient te > the Duke , ' anel his companions in arms , a mugnifice . nt cast by Wostmacott eif the ! Achilles em the Quiiinal Hill was _eree-te ! el in Hyde-park , near Apsloybeiuse _> . Tbe statue ' , which is twenty feet high , anel upwarels eif thirty-six teuis in _we-igbt , was mode ( as the inscriptiein states ) of the canuein taken in the battles < d" . _Salauiane-. i , _Vitteiria , Temle . _use ; , anel _Waterloei . In this year , _feiei _, lie _rce-eivcel freim Uie- merchants eif _Lemelon a , silvt . r-gilt shield , weighing 300 lbs ., splendidly elesigneel by Sfofharel .
In 1 H 25 , when a mania for _joint-steick ceinipunies , similar tei the ! railway _ballue-inafiein of 1847 , seized the pnblie ! ininel , his Grace exerted himself greatly to restrain the infatuation eif the ! Knglish e ; upitalists ; anel , as an _uckneiwleHlgincnt e > f his public services in tbis _icspi'td , alone , lie ! was invite-el to a _spleneliel banepie ! t , and _prcstmted with a magnificent nilver vase ' , worth 1000 / .
In IK'Ja . tbe _redaction attendant upon this commercial infatuulitin burst upem tbe _e-eiuntry . The di . strc . SH was of the severest , _dcKcripUou . On the 4 th of _Martrh _tbei _ihizette contained ninety-three bankrupts . At the Duke ' s _sugge'stiem , small _neites wero re-iHHiied at ( lie ) Bank of Kngland , anel this , _jeiine-el tei the large amount e _» f new e : eiin minted , at last put an end tt > tho emlmrriiMHuient . His Grace was also appointed , with Sir Robert Peel
The Overpowering Event Of The Week, Is T...
and other leading members of Parlia ment , one of « _, commissioners for Indian affairs . The Duke of York dying on the 5 th of January , the Duke of _WelUntt was appointed , on the 24 th , bis successor as fv _/ mander-in-Chief and colonel of the 1 st _Grena _™~ Guards . On the 10 th of March his Grace was _foSS in the office of High Constable of the Tower , with salary of 1 , 000 / . per annum , to commence from thi date of his appointment . At the same time he
w appointed Custos Rotulorum of the Tower Hamlet with a much greater salary . The Prime Minister ' Lord Liverpool , having died of apoplexy , on the 17 + h of February , after holding office since the 9 th of June 1812 , the King , on the 10 th of April , nominated Mr Canning as his successor . Upon this the Duke of Wei lington , and six other of the principal members of the old Cabinet , retired , his Grace resigning the command of the army on the 30 th .
This secession , which has been severel y criticised caused the failure of Canning ' s ministry , and was ac ' ceeded by Lord Goderich , whose government was very short lived . When he resigned , the Duke of Welling _, ton was instructed / to frame a Cabinet . This he accordingly did , resigning the command on the 15 th of February in favour of Lord Hill . Mr . Huskisson _, showing some insubordination , was soon dismissed from the Cabinet ; from which his friend Lord Dudley as well as Mr . Charles Grant , and Lord Palmerston also seceded . His late Majesty ( William IV . ) taking offence at a remonstrance made by the Duke of Wellington upon the expensiveness of bis habits , also resi gned his office as Lord High Admiral . His Grace ' s mode of
life as Prime Minister was such as might have been expected from his previous career . He slept on a mattrass spread on an iron camp bedstead ; rose regularly at seven ; breakfasted at eight , and immediatel y commenced his official duties . He was the terror of the idlers at Dowming-street . On one occasion , when the Treasury clerks told him that some mode of making up the accbunts was impracticable , they were met with the curt reply , " Never mind ; if you can't do it , I'll send you half-a-dozen pay-sergeants that will "—a hint they did not fail to take .
One of the reforms with which the Duke of Wellineton ' s name is indissolubly connected , is the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts , which he triumphantly carried during the * session of 1828 , in spite of the fierce opposition of Lord Eldon and other tories of the old school . Another measure of a similar nature was the Romancatholic Relief Bill . His lordship had shown himself , when Chief Secretary for Ireland , leniently disposed towards this large branch of his Majesty ' s subjects . The question hael been agitated for many years ; and his )
Grace ' s Cabinet , after resisting the popular demands for some time , at length determined to yield , and to perform this act of justice . Mr . Peel ( the late Sir Robert ) then sat for the University of Oxford , and the first intimation of the Ministry ' s determination was his resignation . This step caused a prodigious sensation in the political world ; and the University m arked its displeasure by electing Sir Robert Inglis in the room of the the
" apostate . " It would be a long task to describe struggle which took place in both houses ; but during the session of 1829 , Mr . Peel carried the hill through the Commons by a majority of 160 on tho second reading , and 178 on the third ; and the Duke himself passed it through the Lords by a majority of 105 on thc see-one reading , and 104 on the third . It received tbe royal assent on the 13 th of April . On the 19 th of March tho Karl e > f Winchelsca and Nottingham , a determined
opposer of the bill , offered the Duke what his Graco considered an insult , A new scholastic institution , calico King ' s College , having been opened in the Strand , _e-ountcraot the tendencies eif that in Gower- street , _lufl Grace had been selected as patron . Lord Winc «« J « wrote tei Mr . Coleridge ! , the secretary , in the fol , ( [ w" _* 1 ermn : " I was erne eif those who at first thoug ht . i _^ plan might be prae ! ticable , and prove ! an untielote to _^ principles eif tbe London University . B * lt « V ° u " events have _e-onvinced ine that the wheile _transi tion w _^ intended as a blind to the Preitestant and high
dimparty ; anel that the neible Duke , who had for « wmo c _^ previems to that period eletermincd upon _breakup upem tbe cemstitution eif 1688 , might tho woree _"' ' _^ ally , under the ! clonk of somo outward show ot _* j * the * i Preitestant religion , carry em his insidious fl ' - h for the infringement of ohr liberties , and the m r j ( tiem of Peipery into every department of the - ' . _^ The Duke eif Wellington demanded a retractation , his lordship declined to give , and the prohmmaru . _^ ing boe ! ii nettled by Sir Henry Hardmge on x _^ hand , and tho Karl of Fulmemth on tho other . _> f V cet » had a hostile meeting , on Saturday , . fhollfc March , in . _Battereca Fields . His _Grnxtf Urea - _^ effect , tho Earl discharged his pistol into _^ _' _^ _j' ft , . parties then left tho ground . Lord WmolK **»
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 18, 1852, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18091852/page/4/
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