designed and directed by white officers of engineers. All the admirals and generals commanding troops or squadrons, whether of Brest, L'Orient, Rochefort, Cadiz, or Toulon, had orders from the minister of marine. For the execution of these orders it was necessary that the general of the land-forces and the admiral should concert their measures together; besides, Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse commanding all the squadrons in chief, had general orders for the sea-service, as the Captain-general Le Clerc had for the land-service. These orders were not intended to be published; but nevertheless they were not what are called secret orders. The squadron and division intended to take possession of Port-au-Prince were next in importance to those of the Cape. Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse and Captain-general Le Clerc were instructed to land at the Cape. Latouche Tréville, commander of the Rochefort squadron, and the General of division Boudet. were intended to land at Port-au-Prince. Admiral Latouche Tréville was the ablest officer of our navy, and, except the admiral of the fleet, the eldest. General Boudet had served in the war of the colonies; he was esteemed by the men of colour, who are numerous in the southern part of the island. The Rochefort

squadron destined for Port-au-Prince was to take on board the men and stores requisite for this operation. From these orders no deviation could be made, except pursuant to an agreement between the Captain-general and the Admiral. It appears that the Captain-general entertained a momentary intention of landing Boudet's division to take possession of the Cape, and mentioned it to the Admiral, who convinced him of the disadvantages of this plan. "Admiral Latouche and General Boudet," said he, "having understood, when they left France, that they were going to Port-au-Prince, have made their arrangements accordingly. If we alter these dispositions of government arbitrarily, and the expedition to Port-au-Prince should happen to fail, you and I shall be responsible for it." Captain-general Le Clerc immediately yielded to these prudent considerations, not being able to allege any necessity or urgent occasion for changing the original destination of the troops of General Boudet. Had the Admiral complied with the first wishes of the Captain-general, General Boudet would not have reached the Cape an hour sooner; Cape-town would still have been burnt, and it is probable that the expedition to Port-au-Prince would have failed, and that this town would have shared the fate Miscellanies.-VOL. 1.

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of the capital. It was the want of pilots which caused the delay in the occupation of the Cape; and it was an unpardonable piece of negligence in the marine department, not to provide them before leaving Brest. But, even had Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse been provided with pilots, he would on his arrival have instantly entered the Cape Roads under a press of sail; and had he immediately landed his troops, Cape-town would nevertheless have been burnt, because five or six hours were sufficient for the blacks to accomplish its destruction, as they had long before irrevocably determined on this measure, and made all their preparations accordingly.

The First Consul hesitated for a moment whether he ought to order the Captain-general not to effect his landing or commence hostilities, until his letter to Toussaint-Louverture, which the children of that General carried with them, should be sent back to him; but this would have been productive of great inconveniencesToussaint would have kept the children and the letter following him from place to place as long as it suited him to do so. There had been many instances of this species of cunning. This, then, would have exposed the army to the loss of a most precious opportunity, and

would have given the blacks time to recover from their first surprise. It was unlucky that Toussaint's children were for several days prevented from landing; but this circumstance was ultimately of no importance. In reflecting on the conduct of Toussaint-Louverture with General Hédouville during the whole reign of the Directory, and that which he pursued in 1800 and 1801, it is evident that he had resolved to perish or attain independence; that is to say, not to permit the presence of any white force of more than 2000 men in the colony. Toussaint well knew that in proclaiming his constitution he had unmasked himself, drawn the sword, and thrown away the scabbard.

NOTE IV.

VOL. II. CHAP. XVII. PAGE 177, and ChaP. XVIIL

These two chapters contain the seizure of Toussaint-Louverture, his transportation to France, the insurrection of the blacks, and the death of Captain-general Le Clerc.

Captain-general Le Clerc was an officer of the first merit, equally skilful in the labours of the cabinet and in the manœuvres of the field of battle he had served in the campaigns of

1796 and 1797 as adjutant-general to Napoleon; and in that of 1799 as a general of division under Moreau. He commanded at the battle of Freisingen, where he defeated the Archduke Ferdinand; he led into Spain an army of observation of 20,000 men intended to act against Portugal; finally, in this expedition of Saint-Domingo, he displayed great talent and activity. In less than three months he vanquished and reduced to submission that black army which had signalized itself by the defeat of an English force.

At the time of his departure from France, Captain-general Le Clerc had, in fact, received from Napoleon's own hands, secret instructions with respect to the political line of conduct he was to pursue in the government of the colony. These instructions remained unknown until the death of General Le Clerc : they were delivered, sealed up, to his successor. The general officer who wrote the History of the Revolutions of Saint-Domingo, knew of their existence, but was never able to discover their contents. Captain-general Le Clerc would have prevented many disasters, and spared himself much vexation, had he scrupulously adhered to the spirit of his secret instructions. By these he was ordered to place the greatest