The Tragedy of St. HelenaRunciman, Walter Runciman, Baron
History
The Tragedy of St. Helena
Runciman, Walter Runciman, Baron
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Captivity, 1815-1821
This precious communication is embodied in the following
document:--"The undersigned, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of the French, has the honour,
conformably to instructions received from His Government, to inform
His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Her Majesty the
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, that the King ardently
desires that the mortal remains of Napoleon may be deposited in a tomb
in France, in the country which he defended and rendered illustrious,
and which proudly preserves the ashes of thousands of his companions
in arms, officers and soldiers, devoted with him to the service of
their country. The undersigned is convinced that Her Britannic
Majesty's Government will only see in this desire of His Majesty the
King of the French a just and pious feeling, and will give the orders
necessary to the removal of any obstacle to the transfer of Napoleon's
remains from St. Helena to France."
This document was sent to the British Embassy in Paris, and the wishes
of M. Thiers and his Government were conveyed in orthodox fashion to
the British Foreign Secretary by the Ambassador, in the following
letter, dated Paris, May 4, 1840:--
"MY LORD,--The French Government have been requested, in several
petitions addressed to the Chambers, to take the necessary steps
with regard to the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of Great
Britain, in order to obtain an authorisation for removing the
ashes of the Emperor Napoleon to Paris. These petitions were
favourably received by the Chambers, who transmitted them to the
President of the Council, and to the other Ministers, his
colleagues. The Ministers having deliberated on this point, and
the King having given his consent to the measures necessary to
meet the object of the petitioners, M. Thiers yesterday
announced to me officially the desire of the French Government
that Her Majesty's Government would grant the necessary
authority to enable them to remove the remains of the Emperor
Napoleon from St. Helena to Paris. M. Thiers also calls my
attention to the fact that the consent of the British Government
to the projected measure would be one of the most efficacious
means of cementing the union of the two countries, and of
producing a friendly feeling between France and
England.--(Signed) GRANVILLE."
So that this King of the French and M. Thiers realise, after a
quarter of a century, that the hero who was driven to abdicate,
and then banished from France, _did_ defend his country and make
it illustrious, and that the removal of his ashes to France was
the "_most_ efficacious means" of cementing the union of the
country that forsook him in his misfortune with the country that
sent him to perish on a rock. His ashes, indeed, were to produce
a friendly feeling between these two countries. What a
burlesque!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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