Bonaparte having thus succeeded in all his plans of aggrandizement, except what regarded Spain, and being doubtless convinced that that country also would soon be reduced; having fixed all his brothers (except Lucien) on thrones, began to reflect on the probable fate of his own vast empire, on the event of his death. There was no pro bability of his having issue by Josephine ; besides, even if there were, his power would be much more firmly con solidated, if he were united with some of the ancient sovereign families of Europe. Considerations of political ambition always weighed most in his mind ; but by such a marriage, not only would his empire be strengthened, and, if there were issue from it, rendered secure after his death, but his personal vanity would be gratified. The divorce of the Empress Josephine, to whom he appears to have been much attached, was therefore agreed upon ; and she, though equally attached to him, seems to have consented to this measure without reluctance. It took place in December 1809 ; but it was not till the 27th of February 1810, that it was publicly and certainly known whom he intended to marry. On that day, he announced, by a message to the Senate, that Berthier had been sent by him to Vienna, to demand for him the hand of the Arch duchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor Francis. The ceremony of marriage was performed on the Ilth of March at Vienna, the Archduke Charles representing Bonaparte on this occasion ! Early in 1810, Bonaparte began to unfold his designs upon Holland. A French army of 40,000 men occupied it ; but at first he seemed disposed to be content with the annexation of only part of it,—the left bank of the Waal. As this, however, did not serve his purpose of totally ex cluding British goods, about the middle of June 20,000 • French troops assembled in the neighbourhood of Utrecht, and on the 29th of that month the King of Holland receiv ed official information, that his majesty the Emperor in sisted on the occupation of Amsterdam, and the establish ment of French head quarters in that capital. Louis there fore resigned his throne, but at first only in favour of his son. Soon afterwards, however, Holland was annexed to France. As a justification of this measure, Bonaparte, in his message to the Conservative Senate, stated, that, in con sequence of the English orders in council having destroy ed the public law of Europe, new securities had become necessary, which could only be obtained by the annexation of the mouths of the Scheldt, the Meuse, the Rhine, the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe, to France, and the esta blishment of an internal navigation between France and the Baltic. About the same time, the Hans Towns and the Valais were annexed to France ; and the Count of Semonville, who brought up the report of the Senatus Consultum respecting these annexations, expressly point ed out the gratification and accomplishment of the views of Bonaparte, which were thus attained. " At length, after a struggle glorious for France, for ten years, the most genius that ever nature in her muni ficence produced, had reunited, and held in his trium phant hands, the scattered wrecks of the empire of Char lemagne." According to the plan of the annexation of Holland, Amsterdam was to rank as the third city in the French em pire, Rome being the second. The whole population of Bonaparte's dominion, before the annexation of Rome, Holland, the Valais, and the Hans Towns, amounted to 33,080,443 persons, not including the military actually bearing arms. After these annexations, it was computed at 43,000,000. Hanover was annexed to the kingdom of Westphalia.
To recruit the French armies, the conscription was again anticipated, 120,000 of the conscripts of 1811 being placed at the disposal of the minister of war for the service of 1810. During these measures, which plainly intimated that Bonaparte was resolved not to be content with the em pire of Charlemagne, the most vexatious and despotic de crees were passed at Paris. By one of them, all servants
of both sexes were obliged to register their names in a book kept by the • Prefect of the Police. By another de cree, the liberty of the press was utterly destroyed ; the num ber of printers in Paris being reduced to sixty, and those in the departments in the same proportion ; and the num ber of printing presses in the capital was to be only four, in each department only two. Another decree, respecting prisons, expressly declared, that there were many persons charged with crimes against the state, whom it was not safe either to liberate or bring to trial. But his most se vere and frequent decrees were issued against the intro duction of British nterchandize into the continent. Not only were military governors appointed at the ports of Germany annexed to France, but at Dantzic, Colberg, See. for preventing its introduction. General Rapp, who com manded the army employed on this singular service, had his head quarters at the former place. All English mer chandize, whether taken by land or sea, was ordered to be burnt.
As, however, the prohibition of colonial produce created great dissatisfaction in his dominions, a decree was passed on the 25th of March, 1811, enjoining the culture of the beet root and the plant woad, to supply the place of the sugar cane and indigo ; and so confident was Bonaparte of success in this scheme, that the prohibition of the sugar and indigo of the Indies, as English commodities, was an nounced for the 1st of January 1813.
On the 20th of April, the Empress was delivered of a non, for whom was revived the title of King of Rome. On the 17th of June, the French national ecclesiastical council was opened at Paris ; the proceedings and result of which were kept a profound secret ; but it is generally supposed that they were not agreeable to the wishes of Bonaparte. On the 29th of June the minister of the interior presented the usual annual exposé of the state of France. On these state papers no implicit confidence can be placed, as they evidently contain much of what is false, and much that is exaggerated ; yet, by a careful comparison of them with one another, with what the other official papers furnish us lvith, and with what we know must have taken place, we may be able to glean some interesting and important facts from them. The exposé of this year states, that," since the last session, the empire had received an addition of 16 departments, five millions of people, a territory yielding a revenue of 100 millions of livres, 300 leagues of coast, with all their maritime means. The mouths of the Rhine, the Alcuse, and the Scheldt, were not then French ; the circu lation of the interior of the empire was circumscribed ; the productions of its central departments could not reach the sea without being subjected to the inspection of foreign custom-houses. These inconveniences have for ever dis appeared. The maritime arsenal of the Scheldt, whereon so many hopes are founded, has thereby received all the developement which it needed. The mouths of the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe, place in our hands all the timber that Germany furnishes. The frontiers of the empire lean on the Baltic ; and thus, having a direct communication with the north, it will be easy for us to draw thence, masts, hemp, iron, and such other naval stores as we may want. We at this moment unite all that France, Germany, and Italy produce, as materials for the construction of ships." This statement of the exposé deserves particular atten tion, as it at once points out the extent and resources of the empire of Bonaparte, at the period when it was at is greatest height ; and demonstrates the extreme folly and madness of that ambition, which, not satisfied with such an empire, brought it to ruin by aiming at enlarging it.