CHAP. 1839. 29. on each side. The examples of this species of attack are almost XXXIV. equally divided. Two instances occurred during the war, three after it, but none of them can be considered as altoInstances gether decisive. Nelson's attack on Copenhagen was an assault on a strong naval line of defence, supported by heavy batteries; but the principal contest was with the ships, and the Trekroner battery was unsubdued at the close. The bombardment of Flushing in 1809 was a joint land and sea operation, which was headed on the latter side by Sir R. Strachan with seven sail of the line; and it was to the effect of the fire of the ships, which was kept up, as the French governor expressed it, "with uncommon vigour," for four hours, that the necessity of capitulating was by him mainly ascribed. The attack on Algiers, in 1816, by Lord Exmouth, was entirely successful, though with very heavy loss; but the besieged there were Turks, not Europeans; and their allowing the English to come in and take up their stations within pistol-shot of the batteries without firing a shot, proved that, however individually brave, the Mussulmans at that period were little skilled in the art of defence. The capture of Acre by Admiral Stopford and Sir Charles Napier was a lucky accident, owing to the casual blowing-up of the Egyptian magazine; and that of St Juan d'Ulloa by Admiral Baudin can hardly be considered as an instance in point, as the defenders of the fortress were Mexican revolutionists, not European soldiers. 30. Instances from the present war. During the war in after times with Russia, the instances of this species of warfare present an equally indecisive result. The capture of Bomersund cannot be ascribed to the navy, for it was effected, not by the ships, but by six guns on shore, planted within 600 yards. The successful bombardment of Sweaborg was effected, with scarcely any loss, by the gun-boats and mortar-vessels having artillery on board, which threw shells at 4500 yards into the town when almost beyond the reach of the Russian guns; and as it was, though great damage was done in the inside of the town, not a defence was injured, and hardly a gun dismounted in the place. The failure of the allied fleets with an immense force before Sebastopol on the 17th October 1854, despite the signal gallantry of Sir Edmund Lyons and the ships under his command, seems a weighty precedent against the possibility of successful naval attack; but it cannot be considered decisive, because the shallowness of the water before Fort Constantine compels the vessels to anchor at nine hundred yards' distance, the most advantageous range for land batteries, and the least for naval fire, which is most powerful at short distances. The fort of Kinburn was crushed in an hour by the concentric fire of the allied floating-batteries and mortar-vessels; but the attacking force was there overwhelming, and the Russians had only sixty-six guns on the bastions of the besieged fortress. CHAP. XXXIV. 1839. 31. conclusion on the sub ject. Where considerations and precedents are so equally divided, it seems difficult for any one, especially not one Probable professionally versed in such matters, to form a decided opinion on the subject. Possibly experience may ere long resolve it one way or other. So far as conclusions can be safely drawn from what has already occurred, it would rather appear that powerful ships of the line, if they can approach near enough, are more than a match. for the ordinary fortresses hitherto constructed in war; but that, if either they cannot get near, or the fortress is defended in the new Russian fashion-that is, with the guns entirely covered save at the mouth, and three guns of the same calibre lying under cover beside each to replace such as may be disabled, and an ample supply of men to supply the gaps of the killed and wounded-the chances are very great that the vessels will be sunk or burnt before the batteries are silenced. With regard to bombardment from a distance with mortars and bombs, the case seems to be different. If a number of such vessels, propelled by steam, and firing as they move, XXXIV. 1839. CHAP. commence a bombardment at four thousand yards, the mark presented to the land-batteries is so small compared with that to which the fire of the ships is directed, that fifty shots will take effect on the one side for one on the other. This mode of attack, however, leaves the real defences uninjured, however fatal to the magazines or buildings within range; and even that danger may be avoided, in a military point of view, by having the magazines under bomb-proof cover, or so far off as to be beyond the range of the ships' guns. 32. against, and of the Chambers. Dec. 19, 1838. The session of 1838 was closed without any further Coalition incident, for the state of parties was such as to render dissolution any measure of importance impossible. A coalition had been formed between the Gauche and the Centre Gauche, which rendered the majority for Government on any material question doubtful, if not hopeless. When the Chambers met, the coalition presented a very formidable aspect, and the Government received convincing proof of its strength from the divisions on the president's chair. M. Dupin, the Opposition candidate, had 183 votes; M. Passy, the Ministerialist, only 178. A long and animated debate ensued on the Address, and it was carried by a majority only of 13, the numbers being 221 to 208. This majority, however, was so small that it revealed the approaching downfall of the Government, and they resolved accordingly to have recourse to the last resource 1 Ann. Hist. of a dissolution, which was done by ordonnance of 31st 103; Cap. x. January. But their condition, so far from being imMoniteur, proved, was rendered much worse by this step, for the 31, 1839. calculations made on the result of the elections showed a majority of 50 for the Opposition.1 In these circum Jan. 21, 1839. Jan. 31. Mar. 13. xxii. 6, 102, 25, 26; Jan. 22 and XXXIV. stances the Ministry felt it was all over, and they ac- CHAP. cordingly threw up their situations, and their resignations 1839. were finally accepted. 33. crisis, and form a Libe A long and painful interregnum ensued upon this change, which was only at last terminated by another Ministerial of those insurrections which had so often reunited attempt to parties and strengthened the hands of Government. fal Admin The avowed object of the coalition which had now ob- istration. tained the command of the Chamber, was to force their. own policy upon the King, to terminate the individual direction which the capacity of Louis Philippe had for years enabled him to assume, and to realise their favourite maxim, "Le Roi règne, et ne gouverne pas." Unwilling as the King was to adopt such a system, he had no alternative, for by no other Ministry than that which embraced it could a majority in the Chamber be obtained, and he accordingly, by the advice of Marshal Soult, whom he Mar. 17. consulted on the occasion, sent for M. Thiers. This aspiring leader of the Centre Gauche, however, was too ambitious, and felt too strongly the advantage of his present position, not to turn it to the best advantage, and the negotiation with M. Guizot and the Doctrinaires broke off from his declining to give that very eminent man the position to which he was entitled in the Ministry. He submitted to the King a series of propositions as the conditions of his adhesion, which went to change in a fundamental manner the existing system of government. The first was that the King was henceforward to abstain from any direct or personal interference with his Government, and to act only through his responsible Ministers; the second, that a certain qualified interposition in favour of the Liberal Goverument in Spain was to be permitted; the third, that * "Si M. Odillon Barrot," dit M. Guizot, "veut le Ministère de l'Intérieur, je le lui cède, à condition qu'on me donnera la Présidence de la Chambre. Est-ce trop exiger? La coalition a trois chefs, et j'en suis un: il y a trois grandes positions à occuper, et je ne demande que celle dont MM. Barrot et Thiers ne voudront pas ; rien de plus légitime.”—LOUIS BLANC, v. 396. VOL. VI. C XXXIV. 1839. * CHAP. M. Odillon Barrot was to be selected as President of the Chamber, and M. Dupont de l'Eure obtain a seat in the Court of Cassation. The King, yielding to. necessity, was inclined to have accepted these conditions ; but, on the other hand, this concession disconcerted Marshal Soult and M. Guizot, who were by no means. inclined to go such lengths in favour of the Gauche, and still clung to the idea that, by means of a skilful selection of Ministers, it might be possible to form a combination of the Centre and Centre Droit, which should command a majority in the Chamber. The result was March 31, that the negotiation with M. Thiers and the Centre March 31. Gauche went off; and on the recommendation of M. Moniteur, Guizot and the chiefs of the Doctrinaires, who insisted 1839; Ann. that a provisional cabinet should be nominated to try 102, 103; the temper of the Chamber on this point, which could not be done without a cabinet, a Ministry avowedly temporary only was appointed.1 † Hist. xxii. Cap. x. 32, 33. 34. Vain attempts to form a The position of the interim cabinet, when the Chamber met again, was not such as to inspire any well-founded hope that a government formed of the Centre and Droit Ministry. could command a majority. On the 16th April a division took place on the question of the presidency of the Chamber, and on that occasion the Conservatives voted for M. Passy, in the hope of detaching him from the Gauche; and the manoeuvre proved so far successful that he obtained 225 votes, while M. Odillon Barrot had only 193. In consequence of this division, a fresh attempt was made to form a ministry, from which both M. Guizot "Mon cher M. Thiers,-J'ai été appelé ce matin par le Roi, au moment où vous m'adressiez votre lettre le Roi accepte toutes les conditions du programme, qui lui a été remis. J'ai même été étonné, d'après ce qui s'était passé hier, de trouver sa Majesté dans une disposition semblable."-Maréchal SOULT à M. THIERS, March 20, 1839. CAPEFIGUE, x. 30. + Ministère du 31 Mars, 1839:-M. Gasparin, Pair de France, Ministre de l'Intérieur; Girod de l'Ain, Pair de France, Justice et Cultes; Le Duc de Montebello, Affaires Etrangères; General Dupans Cubières, Guerre ; M. Parant, Instruction Publique; M. Gautier, Finance.-Moniteur, 31st March |