prisoners, no doubt, on peace being re-established, sent money over to pay off their creditors; but apparently not very many were so honest. Most of the returned captives as a fact looked on the matter as a case of "spoiling the Egyptians"; they rather gloated over disposing of their grievances against France in that way. They salved their consciences by saying it was a matter for the British Government to settle. The Treasury in England, it would seem, however, had no higher a sense of honour in regard to the matter than the individuals particularly concerned. Under the Treaty of Paris, France paid in cash to England, by way of estimated compensation for English property confiscated at the Revolution, sixty millions of francs, an amount which, when all the claims put forward had been met, proved excessive, no fewer than nine millions of francs remaining unappropriated. That surplus was retained by the British Treasury, who shabbily and dishonestly, on the strength of a Crown lawyer's quibble, refused to pay any of it back to France for the benefit of the Verdun creditors, in spite of urgent representations repeatedly made by the French Government. As late as 1839 efforts were made by the Government of Louis Philippe to obtain repayment to the legal representatives of the Verdun creditors, but, putting forward the excuse that the debts were personal liabilities incurred in a private capacity, the British Government of the day refused to pay a penny, or return any of the surplus. The money is in this year-1914-still owing to the descendants of the Verdun townsfolk of 1814. Is it too late now, at this time of our Entente Cordiale with France, on the point of national honour, as an act of bare justice, for a settlement to be made? INDEX ALEXANDER, CAPTAIN, 156 Attempts to make British prisoners Barker, Lieutenant, R.N., prisoner Boothby, Captain, R.E., 12-13 Boyes, Edward, midshipman, 72- Bruges, 275, 276, 280 Cadell, Midshipman, 260, 261, Caulaincourt, Marshal, 82-84 Cherbourg, 61, 173, 174 Clarke, General, Duc de Feltre, Conran, Lieutenant, R.N., killed Conscription, life under the, 17, Coursing in Spain, French Court-martial at Metz on British Cox, murder of Seaman, 142-143, Dacre, George Hall, midshipman, Daly, John, 282, 284, 285 Dillon, Lieutenant, R.N., arrested, | Dresden, parade of prisoners Duels among British prisoners, Elgin, Lord, 57, 191, 192 Epinal, prisoner depôt at, 24, 178, Essel, Lieutenant, R.N., fate of, Executions, scenes at, 133-135, Hulin, General, Governor of Paris, Hunter, Midshipman, escape of, Infernet, Captain, at Trafalgar, Irish Legion, Napoleon's, 10, 27, Jackson, George Vernon, Lieu- narrative of, 96-172 Joan of Arc, statue at Orleans, Johnson, extraordinary behaviour Flayelle, Colonel, at Givet, 77, 78, Jurien, Captain, exchanged for 84, 267 Freemasonry, 41, 208 Gale, brutalities to Midshipman, Gambling hells at Verdun, 43, 44, Gardner, John, seaman, sentence atrocious treatment of a dé- Givet, 24, 60-88, 184-185 Gould, duel of, 154, 155 Hewson, Midshipman, 249, 250 Hudsel, Henry, seaman, sentence on, 249 Captain Brenton, 189 Kellerman, General, 244 King of Rome, birth of the, 224 Lavie, Sir Thomas, Captain, R.N., Lavoisier, General, 204, 205, 207 Le Sage, Colonel, Governor of 147 L'Estrange, Lieutenant, escape Light, John, seaman, 282, 284, 285 Madrid, 12, 205-208, 210, 211 Malaga, 198, 201 Mansell, Midshipman, 257, 267, Masson, Lieutenant of Police at Metz, 24, 138, 162, 188, 249, 289, Meulan, Major de, Governor of Verdun, 53, 54, 237 Molyneux, Captain, prisoner at Mons, 168, 169, 170 Nancy, prisoners at, 24, 132, 134, Nantz, 101, 108, 109 Napoleon and Lieutenant-General and the Mayor of Mars la O'Brien, Midshipman, 26, 29, 30, Owen, Lieutenant, R.N., detained Pay of British prisoners, 12, 32, Penrice, Captain, duel of, 156 Saragossa, from, 13 Spanish prisoners Sarrelouis, 24, 60, 95, 259 Scott, Midshipman, 156 Smith, Lieutenant George Sidney, Soult, Marshal, 4, 11, 198 "Spanish Corner," 15 Spanish prisoners, fate of, 10-16, Stack, Colonel, prisoner at Ver- Strasburg, 181, 241, 242, 252 Thomson, Thomas, midshipman, Toulon, 257, 259, 282 Tour d'Angoulême at Verdun, Tours, 64, 107, 108, 109, 191, 193, Trafalgar, news of, in France, Tuckey, Lieutenant, R.N., 45, Tuthill, Midshipman, escape of, Valenciennes, prisoner depôt at, prisoner depôt at, 24, 25, 27, Wallis, James, Lieutenant, R.N., Whitefield, Midshipman, 171 Wirion, General, Governor of Wright, Wesley, Captain, R.N., Wright, William, midshipman, BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD |