Star. — London, England, 1809-01-06 00:00:00

THE EVENING STAR. LONDON. FRIDAY, JANUARY 6. EPIPHANY.--No business done at the Stock Excbang*. PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY. Bank Stock 23 India Stock 136* 3 per C. Red. Ann. 66 64 66 India Bonds, ss. 7s. pr. s per Cent, Cons. shut Excheq. Bills , ss. 7s. pr. 4 per Cent. 8 11 Consolb, for acc. 671 6? 5 per Cent. Navy, abut French Papers, containing the 17th, 18th, and 19th Bulletins of the French Army in Spain, were re ceived in town this afternoon. They were sent over in the same manner as the former. By a Decree, dated the 4th of December, from the Imperial Camp at Madrid, BONAPARTE has dismissed the Council of Castile as being " eowards, and unworthy of being the Magistrates of a brave and generous Nation." Those Members, however, who did not sign the de liberation of the 11th of August last, are exempted from this Decree. Annexed to the Bulletins are several Imperial de crees and Intercepted Correspondence, which we shall give to-morrow.—One Decree grants a general pardon to all except a few persons.—The Inquisition is abolished—and the number of Convents reduced to one-third—feudal rights are also abolished. The whole concludes with a Proclamation, signed, on the 7th, BONAPARTE. In it he says, ‘, I shall soon drive the English from the Peninsula." And he concludes with the following remarkable expression : " But if all my efforts be useless, and you do not merit my confidence, it will only remain for me to treat you as conquered Provinces, and to place my Brother on another Throne—l will then place the Crown of Spain on my own head, and I pill cause It to be respected by the wicked, for Goa has given me strength and inclination •o surmount all obstacles. •' Given at our Imperial Camp at Madrid, Dec. 7. (Signed) 66 NAPOLEON." From the Comma Diaries which we have received to the 30th ult. it appears that the various rumours respecting Madrid, which had been published in that place, rested on no authority whatever. They now say , 6 respecting Madrid we absolutely know nothing,"..— and we now suspect that the first authentic accounts which they wi►l receive of the fate of the Capital, will be from the English Newspapers.—They now men tion as a rumour, but only as such, that Madrid has surrendered.. Barcelona is reported in these papers to have sue rendered to the Spaniards and English, after a most destructive bombardment. This intelligence being far from improbable, will, we hope, be soon confirm. ed —This is almost the only novelty presented in these papers, but several private letters have been re ceived from our troops in Spain, which contain parti culars deserving to be made generally known. One of these letters from an officer of high rank, dated from the Plains of Leon, between Benevente and Astorga, Dec. 18, states that the armies of Generals Manz and BAIRD had that day effected a junction, and formed such an arrangement with the corps of the Marquis DE LA ROMANA, that the three armies might be considered as forming one united body, con siisting of 66,000 men, the British being 40,000, and the Spanish 26,000. The whole of this formidable foree, we are rejoiced to add, were in excellent health and high spirits, burning with ardour in the glorious cause, and impatient to meet in combat the common enemy. The motive of Sir T . Ol IN MOORE for effecting this concentration of the allied forces, was doubdeas for the two-fold purpose of protecting the Marquis ROMANA, and of being prepared to repel any attack that BONAPARTE may meditate against him from Madrid in the quarter of Zamora. He considered well the probability of an additional force being sent in aid of the projected opera ti on s of Marshal SOULT against Gallicia and Leon ; and in the event of his being too powerfully menaced, he has, by the present dispo sition of his force, provided the means of a safe re treat into the chain of mountains which divides Leon from Gallicia. By taking possession of Senabria, he may, with a part of his force, bid deF.ance to the ut most efforts of the enemy in that direction, whilst Sir DAVID BAIRD and the Marquis ROMANA will be fully adequate to the defence of the other Passes. We know that the instructions of Sir JOHN MOORE are to give all possible aid to the cause of our Ally, and to miss no opportunity of attacking the enemy, when ever it can be done without risking the destruction of the brave army confided to his abledirection. Should an action therefore take place, every thing that pru dence and courage can warrant us in expecting, may reasonably be expected from so happy an union of all the best qualities of a Commander, and the known gallantry and intrepidity of a British army. The imprimatur on the Press has been one of the chief causes of the torpor which prevails. Nothing is. perm;tted to be published without being previously submitted to a Censor ; and the consequence is, that nobody gives credit to what is inserted in the Jour. nals. The Clergy too, from whose influence so much was expected, have not exerted themselves. Wary and balancing, they have shaunk from the con flict, and have thought that by abstaining from showing themselves in the cause, they shall avoid the perceentik a of BONAPARTE, if he should prevail. —The consequence of this has been, that the Peasants not being spoken to by their Priests, ;tor their minds instructed by the Press, have hitherto regarded the 4 • whole as a Matter in which they are little ihSerested. . N.dOI7C4L INTELLIGZNIE. One of the most disastrous effects of the apatby which ' •., --..—. has prevailed in Gallieia, and the neighbourhood,l /FALMOUTH, JANUARY 3. • has been the want of information to our armies.-* Arrived the Ann, Capt. COOKE, from London for No correct information has been obtained of the Cork..-Wind S. E. movements of the enemy, while they learn every I PLYMOUTH, JANUARY 3. thing that is passing in our quarters. They are much I Came in the Beaver, Captain PEA RSON, from Ma more on the alert in this respect than we are. Our laga, with fruit for London ; she is one of the EAGLE'S informant says, that while an English agent chaffers convoy.—Sailed the SHANNON, of 36 guns, for the with a spy for a dollar, a French agent pays him an Squadron off L'Orient ; BRISK, of 19 guns, to the ounce of gold. They spare no expenee for infonna- Westward ; and SATURN, of 74 guns, for Portsmouth. tion ; and they constar-ly obtain it. JANUARY 4.—Came in the Charles, Captain MAR LUGO, DECEMBER 24. SHALL, from Malaga.—Wind N. E. The latest accclnts from head-quarters state it to PORTSMOUTH, JANUARY S. be the intention of Sir JOHN MOORE to advance with Came in his Majesty's brig BRAZEN, from Ply all possible expedition to Burgos, with a view of get- mouth.—Wind N. E. ting into the rear of the enemy ; b ut we are h ere DEAL, JANUARY S. completely ignorant, as well of the strength of the latter as of the force destined to attac k hi m; i n f act , it Remain in the Downs his Majesty's ships as per is impossible to decide o n t h e p ropr i ety o f t hi s move- last. —W ind E. blows strong. LEITH, JANUARY 2. ment : every confidence i s , h owever , j ust l y p l ace d i n the acknowledged tal ents o f t h e G enera l. Of M adr i d , Great apprehensions are entertained for the safety we have no certain information, though there is of the Johns of Leith, Captain HUTTON. She sailed much reason to supp ose i t i n possessionfrom Leith to Gottenburgh, in the middle of Nov of the Fren c h. bey last, with a convoy, all the other vessels of which Our cavalry have h a d some b r illi ant a ff a i rs near Be have reached their destination. The hull of a vessel nevcnte, where 400 of our brave fellows have de has been seen wrecked on the Scaw, which is sup feated double their number of the enemy, and made i posed to be the unfortunate Johns. near 300 prisoners ; in all not less that 700 have , been taken. The snow h as f a ll en i n i mmense LEEWARD ISLAND FLEET. By the Mail from the Leeward Islands s the arrival quantities which has rendered the roads nearly im- of which we announced yesterday, we have received passable, notwith:t mdiag which and other difficulties the following articles of shipping intelligence : the troops have borne the fatigues of a long march His Majesty's ship Pompee, has captured and car. with their usual perseverance, and have behaved tied into Batbadoes the French Imperial brig of war well. Pylades, of 12 guns and 105 men. CORUNNA, DECEMBER 29. We!look with much anxiety to the next accounts from the army, as from its approaching vicinity to the enemy, a battle may soon be expected to take place. The whole force under Sir J. Moore consists of 46,000 men : 10,000 are Spaniards detached from the army of the Marquis de la Romana, at least such is the report of the day. Our troops are represented as being in the highest spirits, and desirous of meeting the enemy. The 7th dragoons has had much skirmishing with the French cavalry, and in one affair defeated a body of 900, of which they made 300 prisoners. Our loss was trifling ; we absolutely know nothing positive respecting Madrid, or of the enemy's force in that quarter. Various letters announce that the French were in possession of El Retiro, and had placed guards in different parts of the city, but that they could not compel the inhabitants to give up their arms. Other accounts state, that it has capitulated. Barcelna is reported to have surrendered to Me English and Spaniards, after a most destructive bombardment. Letters from Gijon, of the 18th instant, state, that the French had no more than 250 troops at Santan der ; and, as General Balustinos was advancing with 5000 men, it was expected that the enemy would evacuate the place.-. From the Comma Diary of the 29th December. EENEVENTO, DECEMBER 24. The brave corps of English cavalry, which disem barked at Corunna, and which, from its splendid and military appearance, was the admiration of all who beheld it, has, under the orders of Lord Paget, co. vered itself with glory. On the 20th inst. 400 British attacked at Sahagan, 900 French cavalry, part of a corps of from 12 to') 3,000 men, which is in the valley 'of Saldanas. The English fought With such valour that they put the enemy to flight, making 260 pri sOners, besides 30 killed, and several wounded, CORUNNA, DECEMIIER 29. OvFICI AL ADVICE TO THE rubric. " Since the last advice, the Supreme Junta received various and discordant inforrnationrelative to the state of the capital, notwithstanding they spared neither trouble nor expnce to obtain authentic intelligence, until an express arrived from Catalonia, dated last night, which positively states, that last Thursday, Madrid was still defending itself with the utmost vigour---that a division of the army of Castanos was in the neighbourhood of that Capital ; and that Don Pena was also directing his march to that point, and lastly, that the French are earnestly desiring a capi tulation of the inhabitants of Madrid. His Majesty's ship Superieur has captured and sent into Barbadoes the French schooner Polly, from Mar tinique to Bourdeaux, with a •aluable cargo of pro duce. As to Sierra Morena, our head quarters are esta blished at that point ; and our army in that quarter is hourly reinforced by the troops who were dispersed by the enemy, and the armed . peasantry :—that the Junta of Defence formed there of the Deputies of the four kingdoms of Andalusia, and of the other two of La Mancha, is almost constantly assembled, mak ing the utmost exertions, in concert with the Com manding General,' to secure that important point against any successful attack on the part of the enemy. —The Junta has also received orders immediately to march all the prisoners who are in this kingdom, to Cadiz by small divisions, escorted by armed pea sants, to be put at the disposal of the Governor of that city. The Junta-has likewise get a letter from his Eriellency the Deputy of the• Central Junta, dated Truxillo, the Bth December, stating, that the Depu ties of Catalonia have received intelligence that we have rendered ourselves masters of Barcelona. By command of the Junta. (Signed) His Majesty's ship Belette has captured and carri ed into St. Vincent the French ship le Deucalion, from Rochelle, with a valuable cargo of brandy, dry goods, &c. The notorious three-masted schooner le Mouche, of one gun on a traverse , and sixty men, was captur ed on the 25th ult. by his Majesty's ship Grenada, off Trinidad. The Majestic transport has been burnt down to the water edge in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, three men perished. The Ainsley, Brown, sailed from Torlola 27th Oc tober for Hayti, tinder licence, was seized after leav ing port by his Majesty's ships Safety and Elizabeth, and preceeded against in Admiralty for extorting codfish entered from Liverpool. The brig Carnation, 18 guns, was lost after a severe action, in which she accidentally ran ashore under the guns of some batteries at Martinique, when she was taken possession of by her enemy le Polineure, of 18 guns, which also has since been taken by his Ma jesty's ship Circe, and carried into Antigua. Every 'officer on board the Carnation was killed. His Majesty's brig Maria has been captured by a French ship of 22 guns and 450 men, by whpm she was decoyed alongside, when he poured a broadside into her, and at once killed 47 men and every officer on board, only seven of her whole crew surviving on her arrival at Guadaloupe. His Majesty's ship GALATEA sailed from St. Tho mas's, on the 15th of November, with a fleet for Gre;'t Britain, &c. consisting of the following ves sels, viz.— The Atlas , Hill ; Surry, Potts ; Flora, Hardy ; Berbice packet, M'lver ; Harvey ; William, Sinclair ; Pelican, Ball ; David, Lambert ; Speculation, Le Cocq ; Hope, Shields ; Lennon ; Two Sisters, Ingate ; Industry, Ponson ; Hercules, Duncan ; Draxall, Allen • Eden, Aylward ; George, Mills ; Neptune, Smith ; William , Feunings ; Venus, Self; Bear, Bryan ; and the Malta, —, for London—Rosetta, Marshal,; of Bristol ; Ariatine, Stephenson ; Alexander, Scott ; Pilgrim, Frazer ; M. 1.• riner, Durham ; George, M'Farlane ; Elizabeth, Field ; and the Stag, Lurie, of Glasgow ; Claude Scott, Tryon ; Jane, Windor ; Royal Edward, Burrows ; Bess, Carleton ; Mary Ann, Little ; and Falntouth,'Cottewough, for Liverpool—lndiana, Walker, of Greenock.; Minerva, Steinson, of Aberdeen ; Faith, Feathers tone; and Douro, Stephenson, of Hull—Martha, Elvish, of North Yarmouth ; Mount's Bay, regother, of Penzance; Three Bro thers, Mason, of Dysart ; William, Campbell; and the Success, Rome, of Halifax—Jane, Wilding; Queen, Willis ; and the Speedy, Healy, of New Brunswick; Martin, Derbyshire, of St. Kitt's ; Quaker, Thomas, of Nova Scotia ; Lord Collingwood, Martin, of Antigua ; and the Admiral Nelson, Percival, of Bar badi:es. ARRIVED—At Plymouth, the Beaver, Pearson, from Ma laga—At Leith, the Juno, Hay, from Oporto—At Hull, the Fox, Brown, from Faro ; and the Adeona, Rambler, from Sweden— At Cork, the Tarleton, from London—At Rothsay, the Anglin, Butcher, from New Brunswick—Off Scilly, the Tonnant, —, from Sicily—At Wexford, the Fanny, Graham, from Lon don—At Lisbon, the Marquis Cornwallis —, from Cork ; Ferdinand VII. —, from Plymouth ; Lady Montgomery,—, from Glasgow ; Arab, Poindi strie, from Canada ; histier, from Buenos Ayres ; Louisa Constance, —; and the Somerset, from Newfoundland—At St. Cro ix, the Alexander, Watts, from London—At St. Kitt's, the Good Intent, Fitzgerald, from London—At St. Vincent's, the Morgan Rattler, Forster, from Lohdon—Off Cape Nichols Male, the Queen, Farmer, from Lon don—At Barbadoes, the Rucker, Soper; Fatima, A/P Grath ; and the Mary from London—At Africa, the Argus, Fra zer ; Favourite, Freeman ; William Pitt, Saunders ; 10, Suther. land; and the Juno, Taylor, from London-s-At Grenada, the Pomona, —, from Glasgow—At the Cape of Good Hope, the Eliza, Alexander, from the South Seas. Extract of a letter, dated Gnadaloupe, the 29th of October, taken on board the French Crig l'Espoir, and carried into Antigua :-4 , The prices of all kinds of provisions have fallen very much, owing to the arrival of a great number of Americans, who have escaped from the United States, and also to the arri val of vessels from the English-Islands, which come here uhder the Danish flag • and as they carry away all our specie, ( the Englis h at least) sales become every day more difficult, and our produce remains at the lowest ebb." The Espoit brig, of 8 guns and 25 men, from Guadaloupe to Bourdeaux, laden with coffee and sugar, was carried into Antigua 30th October, by the John Burke schooner. The Imperatrice, of 14 guns and 50 men, and Jeune Adelie, of 6 guns and 20 men, were in company with the Espoir, but es caped. It is not a little extraordinary that the Frenchmen should reach their destination, as Admiral Cbcuamis was informed of their intended depar ture. " ANTONIO BARTHOLOMEW. " Cordon, December 12, 1 Boa." Yesterday a Cabinet Council was held at the fo reign Office. The Duke of PORTLAND, Mr, CANNING, Lord CASTLEREAGH, Mr. PERCEVAI, and all the Members in town were present. The Council sat from nso till near five o'clock., 1 PLYMOUTH DOCK. JANUARY 4. Came down the harbour, and anchored in t h, Sound, the Bust and ELvit; sloops of war ; the far. mer sailed this afternoon to the westward. Arrive; the brig Telemachus, of Poole, FrrzaEam.ri master, from Newfoundland, bound to Falmouth; laden will , fish ; she was captured by a French privateer, ar : : recaptured by the ENCOUNI ER gun brig. Also arrived the brig Beaver, PEARSGSI znaste!, from Malaga and Gibraltar, laden with fruit; put 4ere in distress, having received material damage late gale : she was one of the EAGLE'S convoy, L. 'as dispersed in the gale. Commerce, Fooi, f rom London ; Honour, HILL, from Looe ; and Flyirg Fish, Fitmcs, from Biddeford, and a light transpert from Quiberon Bay. BATH, JANUAR? . 4. Last night Mrs. Dtccoss commenced her engage ment (which is only for three nights) at the Thea.-- hero, in the part of Rosetta, in Low in a 'tillage, which she introduced a celebrated Bravura song, bi- GIORDANI. Mr. Brstirr, as Young Meadows, sap. ported her well ; and Mr. LOVAMOVE showed muci comic humour in the part of Justice Woodcock ; as did also Mrs. Gitova, as D e b ora h Woodcock. The favou:::e musical drama, cdlled The Hunter of the Bliss, followed, and went off with excellent effect. _ . Among the Fashlonables present, none attracted sa much attention for beauty and elegance of deportmen• as the Honourable Mrs. DASHWOOD, the Lady GI Captain DASUWOOD, who has so frequently signalized himself by his naval heroism. She was accompanied by Mrs. General MACLEAN and Sir GAHIGL RAMSAY. The celebrated beauty Miss WROUGiITON, well known here, also honoured the Theatre with her presence, and, notwithstanding the state of the weather, the house was more crowded, and more fully filled than for some time past. ARRIVED MEI E—Earl of Peterborough, .East of Liverpool, Lady C. and two Miss Deuiss, Lady Myers,,Lady Napier, Hoe, General Taylor, Hon. Mrs. Dashwood, Hon. Mr. Bouwrie Thomas Ramsay, Sir William and Lady Leighton, Sir Wiha s , Cockburn, Vice-Admiral Phillips, Colonel Elliott, Colonel an d Miss Cunningham, Colonel Vhayleur, Major Brown, Major Aubrey, M tjur Doveton, &e. &e. • A vessel yesterday' ar ivied from Holland, which she contrived to leave on the Slit ult. but being char by a privateer, she threw all her papers over board. The Captain , says tbat no further accounts had been received from Spain. The rigour ivia - rE . spect to vessels was most severe. Advices were also received yesterday by Minister , from Heligoland, but nothing has transpired. The intelligence communicated by us yesterday, cf the refusal of the Emperor of PERSIA to receive a British Minister, General MALCOLM, at his Court, was brought to the Cape of Good Hope by the Mi. nerva brig, which sailed from Ceylon on the 6th c: September. Government, we understand, have it in contcm plation to send an Embassy to Abyssinia ; and Mr. SALTE, a Gentleman who accompanied Lord VA. LEN TIA in his travels, is said to have been appointed 'to this singular mission. The object in view is to establish commercial relations with this African kingdom ; and, if we are to judge of the expecta tions formed on the subject, from the number and value of the presents, which are destined to prc.• pare the way for the new commercial alliance, very important and extensive advantages seem to be anticipated from the Embassy . . ' Where Mr. SALTE. is to establish his residence, is at present unknown to us ; but we trust it is not to be so far in the interior as Gondar, the capital of Abyssinia. At Masuah, a very considerable town on the coast, where every thing relating to commerce must he conducted on a largertacale, and with much more activity than in the interior of the country, something may possibly be done towards accomplish ing the object of the Mission : but in the inland parts of Abyssinia, every thing must be unfavourable to all commercial facilities. An establishment on the coast Might certainly be useful, especially (which is much to be doubted) if its secur4y, under prosperous circumstances, could be effectually provided ter.— With the towns on the Arabian coast, a good deal of trade might be carrieg on ; and, though the naviga tion of the Arabian Gulph is more than usually dan gerous, such is the avidity of the commercial spirit, that this circumstance would present no material ob. stacle to the pursuit of its advantages. Biit, ever. the commercial advantages expected from this embassy should be very remote, there are some collateral belie. fits u hich may result from it, and which may possibly remunerate the public for the expences it has incurred, and reward the labours of the individuals engaged on this particular service. The introduction of such materials of commerce as are likely to promote the comforts of life, may lead to some improvement in the civilization of these barbarous countries. Our knowledge of the interior of Africa may he extensicl, and should any share of territorial power be utr mately acquired, by diffusing the blessings of a mild. benevolent, and stable dominion, we may essentially contribute to the removal and suppression of the ma nifold evils, which generally accompany a lea:baro: 3 and s savage state of society. On Friday last, as three keelmen, of the names of Thompson, Pickering, and Ovington, were proceed ing in a foy boat to some ships off Sunderland Bar bour, the boat was upset by the violence of the surf and, we are sorry to add, that the whole were drown, ed. The bodies were all found, and interred on Sun day. Thompson has left a wife and numerous family. CORN EXCHANGE, MARK-LANE,JAN. 6.—The supplY of Wheat to-day is again very short ; tine sample* fully maintain their price, and other qualities are very dull of sale. Barley and Malt are likewise very heavy in sale. White Peas are cheaper. Beans of the two kinds vary but little ; new ticks 535. to 575. per quar ter ; old as per currency. Of Okts there are few at hand, but waiting arrivals this article is not dearer. Flour at last prices. MINIMAL CUILIILNCT AS ONDIM: Wheat, 58s. 70s. 86s. Beans (old) 70s. 755. Od. Fine ditto, (New) 86s. 901. Tick ditto (old) 645. 70$. od. Rye, 545. 60$. Oats, 343. 38s. 425. Barley, 425. 475. od. Malt 765. 83s. p P ota ola t n oe d d a i i t t t t o o , t 4 0 35 4 . 5 4 5 45 0d. . od. .White Peas (boilers), 1415,s Rape Seed, 501. to 541. Grey (Vito. Sas. GO& ►1 ri 4'