furniture and moveables, of which the stores should be under his care. Tradesmen are the fittest persons for attending to all these details. I have the honor to be, Governor, Your very humble and obedient servant, (Signed) F. Letter from the Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, to Count Montholon. Plantation House, August 17th, 1816. SIR, In pursuance of the conversations I have already had with you on the subject of the expenses of the establishment at Longwood, I do myself the honor to acquaint you, that having used all efforts to effect a reduction in them without diminishing in any very sensible manner from the convenience or comforts of General Bonaparte, or any of the families or individuals that form his suite, (in which operation I am happy to acknowledge the spirit of concert with which you have assisted,) I am now enabled to transmit to you, for General Bonaparte's information, two statements, furnishing sufficiently precise data whereon to found a calculation of the probable annual expense, should matters continue on the same footing as at present established. The statement No. I. has been furnished me by Mr. Ibbetson, head of the Commissariat department in this Island; the latter has been framed by my military secretary. The instructions I have received from the British Government direct me to limit the expenditure of General Bonaparte's establishment to 80001. per annum; they give me liberty at the same time to admit of any further expense being incurred, which he may require as to table and so forth, beyond what this sum would cover, provided he furnishes the funds whereby the surplus charges may be defrayed. 1 I am now therefore under the necessity of requesting you would make known to him the impossibility I am under of bringing the expenses of his household on its present establishment in point of numbers, within the limits prescribed, unless I make such a reduction under several heads as might naturally abridge from the conveniences which the persons around him now enjoy; and having been already very frankly informed by him as well as by yourself, that he has at his disposal, in various parts of Europe, means whereby the extra or even the whole expense may be defrayed, I beg leave to request being informed previous to attempting any further considerable reduction, and which might prove inconvenient to him or the persons of his suite, if he is content such an attempt should be made, or if he is willing to place at my command sufficient funds to meet the extra charges which must otherwise be unavoidably incurred. I I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) H. LowE, Lieut. General. Explanatory Note.-It was answered by the postscript of the letter of the 23d August, to this part of Sir Hudson Lowe's letter, and had been told to him, that if there were a free correspondence, and if the wants here experienced were known in Europe, there was no doubt that millions would be offered from the different countries of Europe. SHOWING THE PROBABLE ANNUAL EXPENDITURE, ON ACCOUNT OF GENERAL BONAPARTE AND SUITE, ON THE ISLAND OF ST. HELENA. Of public mechanics employed, vices are likely to be wanted for at Longwood House, whose sera considerable time. Supplied. By Mr. Defountain in charge of Forage for 13 horses daily Transport forage for one mule conveying the same Pay of 2 Muleteers in charge of tlie same Rations of ditto Pay of 2 soldiers ditto ditto 939 17 6 2 overseers, 6 carpenters, 4 sawyers, 9 masons, 3 plasterers, and 1 painter India Company. the stores belonging to the East Table stores and other necessaries for the house Ditto. From Government stores sent from England. Wines: Claret, Grave, Champagne, Madeira Do. by Mr. Balcomb, purveyor. House and table expenses Proposed. Allowance to be granted to Mr. Balcomb, purveyor, at 5 per cent. on the account of the sup->To be added plies, &c. furnished by hire, on the sum as above-mentioned. Proposed. Salary to Surgeon O'Meara, at tached to General Bonaparte and suite, not yet defined." To be added Nota Bene. In the sum of 11,700l. is comprised a fixed expense of 6721. for the table of the English Officers on guard at Longwood. The Statement No. 2. is in every respect similar to this, with the single difference that it enters less into detail, and is made in round numbers; it amounts to 19,450/. including the emoluments attached as a-memorandum to the present Statement. G. Extract of a Letter from the Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, to Count Bertrand. Plantation House, July 1st, 1816. SIR, A sealed letter, &c. I should not omit to mention, that as all communications and correspondence with the persons who reside at Longwood, except with my knowledge and sanction, are positively interdicted by the instructions I have received, and published, the employment of any individual to carry communications, either written or verbal, except such as are addressed to, or made known to me, through the orderly officer at Longwood, may tend to involve in the most serious consequences, those who shall become the instrument of this conveyance; and I should hope this consideration, with those I have before presented, will have its effect in preventing your recurrence, in future, to any other channel than the very safe and simple one which I have pointed out, and from which I cannot take upon myself to suffer any deviation. N. B. An extract is here given of Count Bertrand's answer, which relates to the above passage in Sir Hudson Lowe's letter. "GOVERNOR, "I have received, &c. Longwood, July 2d, 1816. "In your letter "you speak of verbal communications: this is not intelligible, if it applies to persons of the island, to whom we ought to be able to speak, since we see them, and meet with them. But the soul and the mind are beyond the power of injustice. |