SWEDEN. ABSTRACT OF THE NEW SWEDISH CON

STITUTION.

§ 1. to 9. The government of Swedeu shall be monarchical and hereditary, with limitation to the issue male. The king must be of the true evangélical religion, and must govern conformably to this constitution, and with and by the advice of a council of state (Stats Rad,) the members of which are to be appointed by the king, who is wholly exempt from responsibility, but the members are responsible for their advice. The members must be natives of Sweden, and of the true evangelical faith. The council shall consist of nine members, viz. the minister of state for foreign af fairs, the counsellors, of whom three af least must be civil officers, and the chancellor of the court. The secretaries of state shall have a seat in the council, whenever any case belonging to their respective departments shall be under deliberation. A father and a son, or two brothers, cannot be members of the council at the same time. All the affairs of government (except the diplomatic or foreign relations, and the immediate command of the navy and army) shall be submitted to the consider ation and decision of the king, assisted by at least three members, exclusive of the acting secretary, which number is required to constitute a council of state for the transaction of business. A minute shall be made of all the proceed ings of the council; every member present shall be unconditionally bound to give his advice; but the privilege of deciding is vested in the king, who, by virtue of his prerogative, may assent of dissent from any measure, in opposition to the votes or opinions of all the members. But, in the possible event of the decision of his majesty being repugnant to the constitution and laws, the members are required by the most solemn obligation to remonstrate; and in case any member's opinion shall not be duly recorded, such member shall be deemed guilty of counselling and abetting the king in his unconstitutional decision.

§ 9. to 13.-Before any appeal can be made to the king in council, it must be submitted to the secretary of state, and a council specially appointed for bearing it. Ministerial or political affairs December 1809.

are to be considered and decided by the king, who, in the exercise of his prerogative, must take the advice of his minister of state for foreign affairs, and the chancellor of the council, who are responsible for their advice.

§13 to 15.-The supreme command of the navy and army is vested in the king.

§ 16. The king cannot deprive or cause any subject to be deprived of his life, liberty, honour, or property, with, out trial and judgment, nor can he ha rass or persecute any person for his religious opinions, provided the promulgation of them, or the exercise of his religion, be not injurious to the community.

§ 40 to 48-Declare that the prince or king shall be of age at 21, and on his not having heirs male, the Diet shall be assembled and choose a successor. No prince of the blood can marry with out the king's consent; neither the crown prince, nor the other princes, can' hold any hereditary office. The king appoints all his officers of the court and household.

§ 49-The states of the kingdom are to be assembled every fifth year at Stock. holm.

$40 to 90-Regulate the mode of electing members of the Diet.—The king cannot impose any taxes without the consent of the Diet, and the bank is under the immediate controul of the states of the kingdom-The king cannot negociate loans within the kingdom, nor in foreign countries; nor can he sell, dispose of, or alienate any province belonging to the kingdom, nor alter the value of the current coin.

§ 90 to 94-Provide, that if the king continúe absent more than a twelvemonth, the Diet must be assembled, and the king informed thereof. That when the successor is not of age, the Diet must be assembled, and appoint a regency to govern during his minority. When the king is 18 years of age, he is to attend the several courts of justice, without, however, taking any part in the decisions.

§ 94 to 107-Explain what is to be done, should the members of the council neglect assembling the Diet, or act contrary to their duty; and enjoins, that at each Diet a committee shall be appointed, for enquiring into the con

duct

duct of the ministers, council, and se. cretaries of state.

§108-Regards a committee for superintending the liberty of the press.

108 to 114-State, that no Diet can be of longer duration than three months, except business shall require it. No man, while a member of the Diet, can be accused or deprived of his liberty, for his actions or expressions in his respective state, unless the particular state to which he belongs shall demand it. No officer of the crown must influence, by his authority, the election of a member of the Diet, &c.

WAR IN GERMANY.

We have hitherto only had room for the details of the great battles which have been fought between the main armies of the two grand contending powers, Austria and France, during the war which has just been concluded. But several bold and da ring exploits having been performed in different quarters of Germany, in support of the Austrian cause, of these we are now to notice the most prominent.

EXPEDITION OF COLONEL SCHILL. In the month of April, when hostilities were apparently determined on, a Colonel Von Schill, in the Prussian service, held a private concert with about 30 of his brother officers, who resolved to support him in a brave attempt to oppose the inroad of the common tyrant in the north of Germany. Having, by their joint influence, won over about 7000 of the Prussian soldiers, and having by great exertions, provided themselves with arms and ammunition, artillery and provisions, they entered Mecklenburgh, where they hoisted the standard of the German Eagle. Here Schill was joined by considerable numbers of Mecklenburghers, Brunswickers, Hessians, Pomeranians, &c. so that when he reached Wismar on the 21st of May, he had a well armed body of 16,000 men, (of whom 1500 were cavalry) under his command. His object, however, was undefined, and being far distant from any support, his movements became perplexed. A part of his corps surprized the small fortress of Dommitz on the Elbe; when the next day, these were again surprized by a small body of Dutch and French, and the greatest part of them either killed or made prison ers. Here likewise, a great number of his boats were taken by the enemy, laden with ammunition and provisions. He next threatened to enter Lubeck; but learning that a considerable body of the Danish for ces, under General Ewald, had joined the Dutch and French for the protection of

that city, he marched for Stralsund, which he reached on the 25th of May, (with only about one half of his force,) and whence, it is said, he intended to pass over to the isle of Rugen. Before, however, he had got the necessary preparations completed, French, under General Gratien, appeared the enemy, consisting of Danes, Dutch, and

before the town, in considerable force :and having forced the gates with cannon, entered the place. Schill collected his force, and attacked the enemy with great bravery. A desperate battle took place, with great carnage on both sides. But the gallant Schill, while heading his soldiers in the great square, receiving a mortal wound, his men began to give way; and a reinforcement coming up to the enemy, the remainder of this brave little corps found it necessary to surrender prisoners of war.

The following is the French General Gratien's account (and we have no o ther) of the fate of the unfortunate Schill, and his brave followers:

Stralsund, June 5.

"On the 23d I proceeded from Lunenburg, and crossed the Elbe at Solfpreker, in order to cover the Hanse Towns, drive Schill from Mecklenburg, and gain possession of Dommitz.

It being pro

bable that the enemy had made himself master of 100,000 pounds of powder, and that he would repair to Stralsund, in order to defend himself there, I requested the Danish General Ewald to strengthen my left wing by a column of 1.500 men, with which he complied.

"Schill was master of all Mecklenburg; he had levied immense contributions, and raised a number of recruits. He possessed the country from Wismar to Rostock, from whence he had dri ken a number of arms and pieces of canven the Mecklenburg garrison, and tanon, from 12 to six pounders. In the harbours of those two towns he had embarked his sick and wounded in 32 vessels, each of which contained 15 men on board, though they would have held 200 a-piece; a proof that he wanted the vessels for other purposes. When Schill abandoned this post to me, he of necessity threw himself behind the Regnitz, Mecklenburg troops. He formed a which was in two places defended by bridge at Daschaw, and attacked and took prisoners some troops stationed at Damgarten. He then proceeded to Stralsund, which he entered on the 25th of May. He took the French and Mecklenburghers, who were there, pri

soner

soners of war, committed the greatest cruelties in the town, and murdered several Frenchmen with his own hand.

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Having delivered the whole of Mecklenburgh, he crossed the Regnitz at Damgarten, and at ten o'clock on the morning of the 31st, I, together with the Danish troops under General Ewald, came before Stralsund. Though the fortifications of this place had been razed, yet there remained a broad and deep ditch, full of water; and Schill with incredible ardour availed himself of the situation, by cutting trenches across the roads, building drawbridges, planting heavy artillery, &c. The town was defended by 5000 or 6000 men. They consisted of 1000 cavalry, of which 600 were Schill's regiment; all the old Swedish deserters, who served the artillery; some foresters, and countrymen of the different counties he had crossed through, and whom he had compelled to go with him; nearly 1500 of the Pomeranian militia who had joined him; Prussian and Austrian deserters, and people of all kinds collected together; and, lastly, a part of the Mecklenburg troops he had taken prisoners, and who afterwards turned their arms against us. Schill had armed all his men with firelocks.

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Having, to cover my design, made a false attack upon the Trepsee gate, I ordered the principal attack to be made on the Kneiper gate, the hornwork of which was defended by 18 cannon of large calibre. and nine other pieces, which maintained a hot fire. I ordered a sudden assault to be made. The Sth regiment, led by Col. Behr, advanced first, and was followed by the 9th, under Col. Vezier. He penetrated into the town, notwithstanding the most obstinate resistance. The enemy, bow ever, formed in the town. They fired from the houses, and the corner of every street was the scene of a new engagement. Every where they fought man to man, foot to foot, with great fury. A part of the Dutch, and the whole of the Danish cavalry, fought with Schill's cavalry. In the mean while the batte ries between the Trepsee and the Kneiper gates continued to fire upon those of our troops which were still out of the town. Further engagements took place, till the enemy was driven from all his guns. At length, after a severe bat

tle of two hours, the enemy was every where in flight, and our victory was complete.

"The loss of the enemy is inexpressible. Schill and 20 of his officers are killed. Eight hundred were made pri soners. Every day discovers more of them, who were concealed in the hou ses.

They are almost all wounded. The streets were filled with dead bodies. 492 of Schill's followers have escaped.. Of these there were 13 hussar officers, of whom seven had been lately appointed by Schill, 158 hussars, and 13 fusileers. These begged permission to return to Prussia, which I allowed, and caused them to be conducted by two Staff officers. When they come to the frontiers, they bound themselves by writing to submit to any punishment the King of Prussia might inflict.

"It is to be observed, that of the 26 officers who left Berlin with Schill, 12 have since been killed, and seven are wounded or prisoners,

(Here follow eulogiums on the different officers, companies, &c.)

We have set at liberty some Mecklenburghers and French cannoneers. The sixth regiment has taken, in the is land of Rugen, a flag and six pieces of cannon, belonging to the Duke of Mecklenburg; and at Stralsund, 60,coo pounds powder were taken,, which had been sent from Denmark.

"We have lost Lieut.-General Car teret, two lieutenant-colonels, besides 12 commissioned officers, killed and wounded. The Danes have lost two officers and three soldiers killed, seven officers and 47 soldiers wounded.'

When the French tyrant first heard of Schill's insurrection, he wrote a sharp letter to the King of Prussia respecting him. The unfortunate monarch disavowed all knowledge of the proceeding; on which Bonaparte issued a proclamation, offering a reward of 10,000 francs to any person who should take Schill, dead or alive. After the fatal issue of the battle of Stralsund, his head was sent to Cassel, in order that the soldier who was supposed to have slain him, might receive the reward.

An article, dated Wesel, September 16, states, that on that day, eleven of the companions and adherents of the late unfortunate Schill, all of the rank of lieutenants, were tried by a military special commission

in the hall of the citadel, when the court nanimously pronounced the prisoners guiltý, and adjudged them to suffer death.The sentence of the court was then read in presence of the guard, drawn up under arms, which sentence was ordered to be carried into full execution within twenty-four hours. Among the unfortunate sufferers' were many Prussian noblemen, including two Counts, Keller and ——. These unforta rate young men had surrendered by capitulation, trusting to French faith, but they were executed as robbers.

&c.

DUKE OF BRUNSWICK, When Col, Schill entered the Meck lenburgh territory, the Duke of Brunswick Oels resolved to join him, and for this purpose collected about 2000 of his most faithful subjects, and got them arms of different kinds, muskets, pikes, But his junction with Schill being prevented by the advance of some Danish and Dutch troops, he was forced to retire to Carlstadt, on the Weser. From thence he dispatched a trusty officer in a small boat to Heligoland, to communicate his situation. Fortunately, the Aimable frigate, Lord George Stuart, was met near the island. His Lordship, resolving to give him every assistance, collected some small craft, and proceeding instantly to the Weser, got the Duke and his whole patriotic band safely embarked. They proceeded first to Heligoland for some provisions, and on the 10th of August they were all landed at the Isle of Wight. On the 15th his Highness came to London, where he had an affecting interview with his royal sister, the Princess of Wales. His corps have been since taken into the pay of Great Britain, and have been sent to Guernsey, where they arrived on the 22d of November.

TYROLESE.

This brave, hardy, and simple people have made during the late campaign the most extraordinary exertions to oppose the progress of the common tyrant of Europe, and to preserve their antient independence. When the Austrian army had taken the field, and hostilities became evidently inevitable, the Typolese flew to arms, and sent a deputation to the Emperor Francis requesting the assistance of a regular Austrian force. The Marquis of Chastellar was dispatch ed with 20,000 men, in April, to their support. They were attacked on dif.

ferent sides by corps of French, Bavarians, and Saxons ;-but the mountainous nature of the country, and their knowledge of the passes, were favourable to the patriots, and their mode of fighting. In the course of a few weeks they had made considerable slaughter among their invaders, particularly of the Bavarians, who were most in advance, and who lost upwards of 5000 men, and many officers. The defeat of the Archduke John's army in Italy, and his subsequent retreat to Hungary, leaving the French army in that quarter disengaged, Bonaparte ordered it to advance against the Tyrolese. This force was too great for Chastellar, and his brave but undisciplined comrades, to make head against, with any chance of success. They, however, made a gallant stand, and in a variety of petty skirmishes with the advanced guard of the enemy, gained some partial advantages. Chastellar's force having been much reduced, and the difficulty of obtaining provi. sions in such a barren country increa sing, he was obliged to quit the Tyrol, and effected his retreat to Hungary with some loss. Bonaparte, enraged at the trouble and loss he had sustained by this interference in behalf of the Tyrolese, proclaimed Chastellar an cutlaw, and declared it lawful for any person to put him to death. He has, however, escaped the fangs of the tyrant.

After the battle of Aspern, on the 22d of May, the French troops were withdrawn to reinforce the main army at Vienna, which left the Tyrolese time to recover themselves, to collect arms and provisions, and to concert-their fusential service to this oppressed people, ture operations. This pause was of es for they had soon a more arduous cotest to engage in. After the armistice had been concluded betwixt the Austrians and the French in July, Bonaparte took this opportunity to detach a considerable force, near 40,000 men, under General Lefebvre, early in August, in order to complete effectually the subjugation of the poor Tyrolese. The latter had, in the mean time, mustered in pretty strong bodies, and headed by one Andrew Hofer, an innkeeper at a bold, enterprizing, intelligent, hardy fellow, disposed themselves in different quarters to oppose a desperate resistance to the attacks of the enemy.

They