sooner was the Holy Father restored to his See, than he perceived the pernicious effects which had already resulted, and must continue to result, from that destruction, which God, in his impenetrable designs, has permitted impiety to consummate in the capital of the Christian world, and in the Pontifical States. His Holiness, penetrated with the sentiments which, as head of the Church, he must feel for all these sacred institutions; guided by the particular affection which he bears them, as a member of one of the oldest orders, which he has ever gloried in belonging to, deems it worthy of his paternal solicitude to devote all his cares to their restoration from ruin. Many obstacles oppose the accomplishment of his Holiness's wishes; in addition to its being far from easy to collect the religious dispersed in all quarters, their houses and convents are despoiled of every necessary for their accommodation, and the greater part are without revenue. The Holy Father is occupied with the means of overcoming these difficulties. His views are principally directed to the great object of giving these communities a new lustre by repairing past disorders, and bringing them back to the observance of rules suitable to the holiness and excellence of their profession. To attain this object his Holiness appointed a commission to investigate every thing that relates to the re-establishment of the regular orders. It has now formed and presented a plan to his Holiness, tending to procure for them the requisite means, and to settle regulations which should be observed in those religious communities. But as circumstances for the moment do not permit the re-establishment of these regular societies in all the pontifical states, it has been proposed to make a commencement at Rome, where all the disposable convents shall be given them, iu which the superiors may be lodged, and the greatest possible number of monks assembled. It is hoped, from the religion of the Governments, and the zeal of the Bishops of the Catholic world, that they will patronize the establishment of these asylums of Christian piety and evangelical perfection. His Holiness has approved the plan of the congregation, and has ordered its publication, that all concerned may know it, and may apply to the Secretary of the congregation, who will inform them of the house or convent where they are to assemble. It is true we were aware of the dangers which threatened your hopes and our's in such an unequal contest, but we could not possibly conceive that the most powerful states of Europe would combine to oppose a noble and innocent people, whose reasonable wish was liberty, and whose only desire was independence. Meanwhile Sweden's powerful allies informed us by their envoys, that the union of Norway with Sweden was irrevocably determined on. It is known to you that we were willing to sacrifice our personal happy situation, if the great assembly of the nation should find it conducive to the happiness of the country; but you likewise know that the conditions upon which an armistice was at that time offered, were such that we could not accede to them, till the fortune of war had been tried, because they were contrary to the fundamental laws. We saw with regret that our sincere endeavours to avoid a war in the north were fruitless. The extensive frontiers and seacoast of Norway made it necessary to divide the troops. Sweden made great exertions to arm at different points, and in the uncertainty on what part of the king dom the attack might be expected, from which we could cover the interior provinces of the kingdoin, and at the same time hasten to the assistance of such points as were threatened or attacked, in all these respects Glommen seemed to present the most advantages. On being informed of the enemy's invasion by Ide, Sletten, and Swinesund, we hastened to colJect a corps at Rackestadt, in order by an attack from that side to stop the further progress of the enemy; but the unexpected surrender of Frederickstadt obliged us to take a position on the Glommen, the enemy having obtained a secure passage, so that the road to Christiana might be forced. The enemy being superior at sea, had it in his power, by frequent landings, to turn our right flank. A long blockade by the English and Swedish naval forces had hindered us from furnishing our magazines in a sufficient manner: they were nearly exhausted, and want of the first necessaries threatened to break that courage which the superior force of the enemy could not bend. The Deputies from the Diet were not received by the English ministry, and therefore returned without any hope of assistance or a relaxation of the inimical measures of that kingdom. Under these circumstances Sweden proposed an armistice. Of the two fortresses, the occupation of which by Swedish troops had been refused by the negociations that were broken off, one was already in their hands, and the other cut off from all relief and bombarded. The fortune of war had declared against us, and the continuation of the contest would in such circumstances have led only to the total ruin of our country. To prevent this, and to give the nation an opportunity of learning the condition of the kingdom by a meeting of the Diet, we repeated our offer of voluntarily retiring from that happy situation to which fidence had called us. your con The armistice and convention of the 14th inst. were signed and in consequence thereof, we have by our rescript of this day, directed to the chief magistrates, caused our Extraordinary Diet to be summoned to meet at Christiana, on Friday, the 7th of October, this year. - Beloved people of Norway, only imperious necessity-this you cannot doubt-could have induced us to take a step which your attachment to us renders doubly painful. Our desire was to deserve your love our comfort is the conviction of your sentiments and the consciousness that your welfare was the object of all our actions. Given at Moss, Aug. 16, 1814, under our hand and the seal of the kingdom. CHRISTIAN FREDERICK. (L. S.) VON HOLTEN. The principles according to which our ancestors, for centuries, governed their States, are a sufficient guarantee to our subjects, that it has never been our intention to take advantage of the overthrow of the Germanic Constitution by the restriction of their rights. Since the deliverance of the Electorate, the military circumstances in which Germany found herself placed, and the continual presence of foreign troops, prevented us from forming regular deliberations with our faithful States, as the measures which it was necessary to take would not allow of the least delay, and as most of the arrangements which they dictated were necessary to be executed ac cording to the resolutions agreed upon between the Allied Sovereigns. Nevertheless, we have deliberated separately with the States of the different provinces on the affairs of the country, as often as was possible. Although the State may not have a complete Constitution before the issue of the Congress of Vienna, which we hope will be fortunate, and although the resolutions which may be adopted at it may have a decisive influence over the internal relatious of the German Provinces of his Majesty, yet we have wished not to defer any longer the entering upon discussions with all the United States of our provinces relative to the different objects which concern each in particular. It is natural, as has been proved by experience, that the separation of the different provinces should render extremely difficult the concurrence of the States, on questions which relate to the general affairs of the country, and that this separation must necessarily cause a considerable loss of time, But besides, the difference of opinions has hitherto rendered it impossible to have an unanimous resolution on the part of those States, either because the representatives of each province in particular did not possess the right of deliberating on the relations of the other provinces of the country, or because it was impossible to have an absolute majority of voices, on account of the distance of the different countries from each other. This separation has produced as many different systems for taxation, and the modes of liquidating the debts of the country, as there were different states. It was necessary to consider as separate countries particular provinces of the same country, and this has interrupted, here and there, a free communication between our subjects. The change of circumstances, and the injury done to the country by its occupation by the enemy, require ameliorations in the forming of the administration. We do not propose in any manner to change the constitution, as to matters which guarantee the rights and reciprocal relations between the Sovereign and the subjects. We shall in this respect retain the Constitution of the States in the different provinces, with such reservations and modifications as may be deemed necessary or useful. But as the rights of the States are confined to their respective provinces, and as the authority of the Sovereign extends to all the country, which ought to be governed according to uniform principles, we are convinced that our faithful subjects will regard as a benefit, and as a proof of confidence on our part, that we should decree, as we do by these presents, that henceforth all the general affairs of the country which may be brought under the discussion with the states, conformably to the constitution which has subsisted to the present time, shall be submitted to an Assembly of the States of all the Provinces, which shall adopt on such subjects a general resolution. As the circumstances above mentioned, and even the uncertainty as to the extent of the frontiers of the country, do not permit, at the present time, a final determination as to the manner in which the different provinces are to concur in forming a General Assembly,, we decree, for the present, that the States of all the Provinces which GEORGE, Prince Regent. Treaty between Denmark and In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity. His Majesty the King of Denmark and his Majesty the King of Prussia, equally animated with the desire of re-establishing between their respective States, peace, union, and the good understanding which have been unfortunately interrupted, have for this purpose named and authorized Plenipotentiaries; namely, his Majesty the King of Denmark, the Sieur Christian Henry Augustus Count of Hardenberg Reventlau; and his Majesty the King of Prussia, the Prince of Hardenberg; who, after having exchanged their respective full powers, have agreed upon the following articles: I. There shall be in future peace, friendship, and good understanding between his Majesty the King of Denmark, and his Majesty the King of Prussia. The two high contracting parties shall employ the utmost attention to maintain a perfect harmony between their respective states and subjects, and shall carefully avoid every thing which may disturb the union so happily re-established. II. All the relations which existed between Denmark and Prussia, and their respective subjects, shall be re-established from the day of the date of the present treaty on the same footing as before the last war. III. In order to extend the commercial relations between the two countries, their Majesties shall immediately conclude a treaty of commerce, founded on bases reciprocally advantageous. IV. The high contracting parties confirm all the articles of the provisional convention, signed at Paris on the 2nd of June, and parti cularly those which declare, that the claims which their respective subjects may have, either against the Danish Government, or against the Prussian Government, shall be examined and settled by a mixed commission, which shall assemble for that purpose at Copenhagen, immediately after the ratification of the present treaty. V. His Majesty the King of Denmark having ceded Norway to Sweden, his Majesty the King of Prussia shall employ conjointly with Sweden, Russia, and England, his good offices to procure to his Majesty the King of Denmark a suitable indemnity, in addition to Pomerania, which has been ceded to him by Sweden. VI. The present treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged in the space of six weeks from the day of its date, or sooner if possible. In testimony whereof, we the undersigned, in virtue of our full powers, have signed the present treaty, and have affixed to it the seal of our arms, Done at Berlin, this 25th of August, 1814. (Signed) CHARLES AUGUSTUS, Prince of HARDENBERG. C. H. A. Count of HARDenBERG-REVENTLAU. |