CANTILLON'S ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND THE BOULOGNE EXPEDITION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 605, 21 August 1858, Page 3

CANTILLON'S ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND THE BOULOGNE EXPEDITION.

•(FromtKe'Morning Ghironicle/) i '_

As the, Dukebf Wellington was riding in his carnage, through the. streets of, Pains, a .French:: officer, named Cantillon, "fired a pistol point ■■ blankj at hini, ■ but happily missed- his aim. Cantillon was arrested, tried, and' acquitted by a French jury jbecausethe ; ball could not be found.; - \

The attempt at assassination, and the assassin himself^ would,. probably, both have been forgotten but for the appearance of the Emperor's will^ which was executed b} r, him at St. Helena,; and !deposited in Doctors' Commons. To ithe astonishment and disgust of any man possessed of the slightest sense, of decency Napoleon not only ; left Cantillon a legacy, but bequeathed it on the ■. ground of ! his attempt to murder, and; formally- justiiied assassination. This immoral bequest and more infamous doctrine were contained in the fifth legacy of. the fourth codicil of ithe testanient, which was verbatim as follows:

"5. Idem.'(lo,oqo) ten thousand francs to the sub-officer Cantillon, who was tried on the charge of having.Wished to'assassinate Lord Wellington, ■ of. which: he >vas declared innocent. Cantillon had as much right to assassinate this oligarch as he jiad to send me to perisli on the rock of j St. Helena. Wellington, who proposed f;his attentat, soug-ht to justify it in the interest of. Great. Britain. !.,Cantillon,.. if. ; he jiad really assassinated the ; Lord, would have been; covered-and justified by the sanie Hiotive, the interest of France, in ridding himself of a General whphad violated i the capitulation of, Paris, and who, by tjiat, had rendered himself responsible 'for jthe blood of the inartyrsy Ney, Labedoyiere, etc;, and for the crime of having, stripped the museums, .contrary to the text of treaties.^. . ■.. „.-.., .;.'.'•. : ■■■ :i ;.; ; .'•

' " The present codicil is entirely written with pur hand, signed and sealed with my arms^ ■'■'„ .. ," ' ■'.■'.'■:,- [

"Napoleon."

There does not exist in the historical records, of any civilized nation so dai'ing^ a defiance ofj every moral; law, and .so deliberate a justification of the right of private murder. -The audacity of the doctrine is piily, equalled, hj the;flimsiness of the pretexts for it. vGantiliion had the same right; to i assassinate Lord" Wellington as Lord Wellington to propose the banishment of, the common pest of Europe! (Jantillioh was justified in uun'dering " the

lord" because Ney was-tried and shot for treason by,the French Chamber of Peers and because Europe reclaimed from Frenjch museums a portion of what;it had been plundered pf! This sanguinary sophistry wjas not.born of misery and prompted jry the fury of despair, but was the last apd solemn act of a despot's. life, bequeathing-. a, code of. assassination to the world, and four hundred pounds to an assassin ! j The assassin remained in inglorious obscurity till after the cotip d'etat. He pined unhonored and unrewarded whilst Louis Napoleon continued responsible to real legislative control. But wheii he " saved society," established " order and religion," and .was Emperor of the French, he made them pay his Uncle's debts, and execute his Uncle's will. Cantillion was soughjt itr his modest retreat in a grocer's shop, in Brussels, and this'virtuous and long1 negjected -patriot got, his four hundred pounds v with interest. „.'.".'"' .. . , /The .charge of making this payment to Cantillon has been openly preferred again and again, and it has never been rebutted. If he made that payment, Napoleon the Third paid blood-money to an assassin by virtue of a deed which justified an assassi-, nation.. Qui capit faeit, he who carries out an act becomes the accomplice of an actor. If Napoleon the Third chose to make himself executor to the will of Napoleon the First, he was bound to repudiate any provision which involved immorality or crime. If he does not, he makes himself "amenable to its logical or legal consequences, and if he paid Oantillon for attempting to assassinate the greatest of English Generals, he is the last man who should dare to. charge England with abetting assassination. . ' Leaving Cantiilon to enjoy his legacy, and his Majesty his reflections, let us turn to the expedition to Boulogne. .' It was on the 4th or sth August, 1840, Napoleon having- hired in London the City of Edinburgh ; steamer, embarked in per with Count Montholon, General Viosin, fifty-three men, and an eagle. He also put on board of her swords, pistols, muskets, eagles (not live ones), but imperial proclamations. The conspiracy was hati ched, the men were levied, the arms were provided, the live eagle was trained, the colours and coppergilt eagles were made,: and the proclamations were all drawn; up and duly printed-in. London., When on ; deck, the, men were dramatically dressed in the;imperial uniform, and Louis Napoleon came out en grwtide tenue as the Com-mander-in Chief. The proclamations were addressed to the French nation, declared that the Bourbons had ceased to reign, and nominated the Council of state of nephew of the uncle. . • At 5 a.m., of the 6th of August, the invading* army landed at Wimereux, in spite of two Custom-house officers. They marched victoriously into Boulogne, when everybody was in bed, bellowing* Vive TEmpereurJ Coming to a post of four men and a "sergeant, they made a daring attempt, first to seduce, and next to overpower them. Repulsed in both assaults, the grand army made off, and arrived at the barracks, where they found two companies of the 42nd Regiment of the line. These companies, seemed to have joined them with shouts of Vive Napoleon II! At this triumphant crisis there appeared a Captain Col-Puygellier, the officer in command. Louis Napoleon cried to him, "Be one of us, and you shall have whatever you wish." Captain Col-Puygellier, , who had been disarmed, politely declined to be a traitor. M. de Persigny then rushed up to " kill him," but was prevented by a Lieutenant Aladenize, who had previously deserted to the Emperor. The rappel of the National Guard was now heard, and Captain Col-Puygellier cried , Vive le Roi! and told the Emperor to retire. He was about to address ithe men of the 42nd, when, his back being turned, the Emperor fired a pistol at him! The precision of the aim was not quite equal to the gallantry of the intention, for though the Emperor shot at Captain ColPuygellier, he shot a' grenadier in ithe very mouth which^ had bawled Vive Napoleon 11, ! : . . : I Having thus proved himself his uncle's nephew, and done more than enough, for glory, the Emperor retreated to his uncle's column, on which the live eagle was to have perched, and where he ' planted'; his copper One. But though < planted,' it! did hot take root, for however valiant, the Emperor was aware that the better part of valor is discretion ; and so he discreetly retreated to the'beach, where he valiantly took to the water. He was hauled into a boat, clapped into limbo, and thus ended the expedition to Boulogne,

In due time the Chamber of Peers proceeded to try the invaders. Their proclamations, colours, arms, and accoutre-' merits, as well as themselves, were produced. Defence was difficult, denial was impossible, and Louis Napoleon, who had been pardoned for his first invasion, was lightly and mercifully punished for this second one by condemnation at Ham.

It is an historical fact, then, proved by the archives of the highest French court of justice, that. Louis Napoleon, with his friend Persigny, actually levied, while a refugee in England, an army of 53 men ! He chartered , an. English steamer, which he turned ,to. a vessel of war. He printed in England, proclamations, declaring that the Bourbons had ceased to reign, and thereby compassed the dethronement arid perhaps the death, of Louis Phillipe, our ally! Nor were these guilty acts, which constitute a misdemeanor by our laws, the whole of his offences against those laws, and the laws q£a friendly government; for he invaded its coast, proclaimed himself Emperor, tampered with its soldiers, and would have shot its officer in the execution of his duty. After doing all this, he escaped from the prison in which he was so leniently confined, lied again to England, and was again .protected by her, and' now, by his mouthpiece^ denounces the laws which both of them violated with impunity ! It is hard to say which is most revolting—their gratitude or insolence !

Tlie most, disgraceful incident in -the expedition of Boulogne was the attempt on the life of Captain Coi-Puygellier, "by botli Louis Napoleon and Persigny. Capt. Col-Puygellier, was disarmed, and his men had joined the Bonapartists. Louis Napoleon offered him whatever he wished if he would only declare for him, and Capt. Col-Puygellier having nobly refused to desert his flag and King, Persigny endeavoured to bayonet him! The following extract from the trial shows how this intention was viewed by the Chamber of Peers :—

" M. Persig-ny, having- been next interrogated, admitted that he'landed at Wimereux, being informed of the Prince's object, but not in detail. He was, he said, at the barracks near the, Prince, and when Captain Col-Puygeilier came, would have killed ■ him, had he' riot 'been r prevented by M. Aladenzie ! ;i

."President,—Killled him? It would have been murder! • ;

"M. Persigny—l would have killed him, but it would have been face to face.

" President—You went up with a musket and fixed bayonet! You would have murdered him!

"M. Persigny—l have made my declaration; I have nothing- to add. 1 have brought my head here, let them take it."

So this ambassador, who reads-us lectures on assassination, and demands repressive laws against the press, clubs, private and public meetings, was ready to bayonet an unarmed man because lie would not be a traitor and was only prevented by a manly traitor from being a cowardly assassin! ' He was told this twice to his face by the President of the Court of Peers, and he shamelessly repeated that, if he could, " he would have been" a " a murderer!"

What Persigny or Fialin (for his real name is Fialin) was not permitted to do, Louis Napoleon attempted. He fired at at Puygellier when his back was turned, and only missed him, it seems, by his own account, because his courage failed him ! The trial supplies us with the authentic version of this great Napoleonian feat. The following is the question put to.the "Emperor," and. the said "Emperor's" reply : — Question —" Did you not, finding that you could not win Captain Col-Puygellier to* your cause, fire a pistol at that officer?"

Answer —" There are moments when we do that of which we are unconscious. The pistol went off against my will."

Such are the men who insult Eng-land as a "den of wild beasts" and "assassins" and such is their right to arraign her laws, and to demand the abrogation of them. Napoleon the First, on his death-bed, deliberately justified assassination, and paid his legacy to the" assassin. His ambassador in England at this moment was accused from the highest judgment seat in France with being" willing to " murder j" and, being so accused, he had the cynical audacity to tell the court that he "was! Napoleon the Third was within an ace of doing what Persigny "would 1' have done ; and his defence against.-the charge of murder was the plea of cowardice, that " the pistol wont off against his* will."