Star. — London, England, 1809-04-12 00:00:00

- 1:../S1 4A - 131.1 P,,nRoNAGE. We have already given the report of the Commit- te- appointed to enquire into 1:1 , :t-India patronage. The minutes of evidence, amounting to upwards et I '2OO folio pag,.s, have now been printed. The fol lowing are some of the most pri , ininf•nt transactions which have been brought to light by that evidence. The following bt.iel narrative of the particulars of this transaction, will render the evidence more easily intelligible. It appears that Mr. Reding had under , taken to negociate this exchange upon the following cialditions: that 30001. or guineas, was to be paid for the writership by a Mr. Livie, for whose son it was to be obtained ; that this 30001. was to be divided into three parts, whereof one was to go to Reding himself, one to a Mrs. Grove, who lodged in the house of Donovan, and the third to a Mr. Davis, by Nyhom Reding was introduced to Mr. Livie; that Reding actually obtained his share of this money in the shape of a loan, for which he gave Mr. Livie his promissory note, and for the non-payment of which he is now in custody. The narrative is here taken up by REDINGS'S EXAMINATION. Did you expect, at the time the money was lent to you, you should be called upon to repay this sum of money ?—1 slid expect to pay it certainly, if the thing did not go on; if the thing went on, I should not have paid it. Did you expect the transaction to go on ?—1 Then, if you expected the transaction to go on, did you ex pect to be called upon to repay the money ?—No, certainly not, tithe thing was completed. What was the understood condition of this agreement ?—That if the one had not the seat, the other was not to have the wri tership ; this was the way I understood it. Through whose means was the writership to be procured ?—1 beg to ask permission, if it is not too great 4 favour, to wait till I examine my accounts. Answer to the best of your recollection ?—This writership was to be received from one of the Members of the Board of Coutroul originally. It is a thing that I have no wish to displease the House in, in any shape whatever; but it is hard that I should be obliged to disclose the secrets. It is necessary you should disclose every thing you know— through which of the Members of the Board of Controul did you understand this appointment was to be obtained?—The Earl of Clancarty. How did you know it was to be obtained through his means ? —I waited upon his Lordship, and he wrote to me afterwards to come to him. I wrote to another Nobleman, a friend of mine. Who was that other Nobleman ?—That Nobleman is now dead ; it was the Marquis of Sligo. You wrote to him ?—1 hail the honour of being very intimate with him; I told him, if this one thing could be done, I would manage to assist his friend to get the other. Which was to be got for his friend, the writership or the seat ih Parliament ?—The seat in Parliament. Did he give you any letter to Lord Clancarty ?—None ; the Marquis of Sligo called at my house at different times, and we conversed upon this subject, and I received a letter to come to the Board of Controul. Frnin whom was that letter ?—l.nrdClancarty. Before I ohey ed this note, I waited upon the Marquis of Sligo, and told him I had a letter; he said, I know you haw, it ir my man. I did not know Lord Clancarty at the time. In consequence of this letter, I came to the Board of Controul, and several steps of negotiation took place respecting this seat and thi, thing. 1 did not know that I was doing wrong, for it was not selling the seat. • • . • • • • When did you first become acquainted with Lord Castlereagh? —1 never bad hut one interview with Lord Castlereagh in my life. At what time was that ?—That I cannot downright say ; but it was the letter end of the year 1805, or the beginning of 1806. can refer to documents as to that, when I get home, from which I will satisfy the Committee. Why did you suppose that Lord Clancarty's letter desiring to see you should have been written in consequence of an application from LordCastlereagh,whom you had never seen but once in your life ?—Lord Castlereagh being in the same office where Lord Clancarty was; I never saw Lord Clancarty before. Did you know Lord Castlereagh before ?—1 saw him once. Was that before ya.ur interview with Lord Clancarty ?-1 be lieve it was, but I cannot be absolutely positive. What conversation had you with Lord Castlereagh at that in terview ?—I cannot at this moment recollect. Did you make any proposal to him with regard to a writership ? —I do not know that I did ; it is my opinion that I did not. Did you make any proposal to him with regard t• a seat in Parliament ?—1 rather think I have. Recollect, so as to he accurate.—The pursuit I had in view at that time, was that thing ; and I do think I have (if I have not in those words, I have in some degree) intimated it perhaps not in blunt languzge. Did you believe that in your first interview with Lord Castle reagh, you intimated either in blunt or polite language, any thing with regard to procuring a seat in Parliament ?—I believe it was. on something of that kind that I waited upon his Lordship, by a note from Lord Castlereagh, by appointment. Are you sure that you ever received a note from Lord Castle reagh appointing a meeting ?—I am. Have you aRy such note in your possession ?—1 have. What were you ?—A Gentleman ; I never was in any business ; I had always enough to live upon. When Lord Clancarty said, if you can do ene thing can you do another, did he mean the seat and the Writership?—Those words arc no, to be explained ; it is understood these things are nut to be publicly said in downright English langnage. Have you any doubt, that in speaking of this to be done, and that to be received, he understood as well as yourself, that one al io ded to a writcrship and the other to a seat in Parliament ? Not a shadow. Where was the scat ?—The seat was in Ireland. Fur what Borough or County ?--It was on the recommenda tion of Lord Sligo that it was to be done, I do not know exactly the name of the place. A seat that Lord Sligo could influence ?---T do not know that it was downright his own, but he could get such a thing eff..ctcd. • 4 . ♦ • * • • • • • Produce any papers you have brought, in consequence of the orders of the Committee yesterday, relating in any degree to the transactions respecting which you were question , ..d.—As far as re lates to this subject, any thing I should be called here for I am. willing to explain. Having been unfortunately taken away, I thought I could put my hand upon many memorandums, but I find that both Mrs. Reding and my servants luive thrown away let tors and memorandums that I cannot at this moment account for; but I have selected as many as I thought would throw light upon this subject, and have brought them here. [A letter from Lord Castlereagh, dated 24th Nov. 1805, was read.] Is that the only note you had from Lord Castlereagh ?-1 have been examining, and can find no other ; if I can find it among other bundles of papers, I will bring it with jleasure. Do you remember receiving any other note or letter from Lord Castlereagh?-1 believe I did, but it Nvas the same sort of thing, a complimentary note. I recollect that I received a note from Lord Castlereagh, appointing a meeting in Downing-Ntreet ; I went there, and his secretary, Mr. (,D o lt;•, a:,ked me what my business was; I told him I had not coma: to him, I tame to wait upon Lord Castlereagh, and I would not tell him my business, and went away; he was offended I would not tell him. and I was offended he asked me ; and Lord Cailtreagh 11 , rcte to me again. Did you see Lord Castlereagh in consequence of this note, or a second note ?—I did see him, but I cannot say whether it was in consequence of this note, or another. In what month did you see him ?-1 believe it was about that time; I should imagine it was in consequence of that letter, or another, within a week or ten days. About the end of bl,:vrmber, 1805 ?_Yes, I should imagine that was about the time it nin , t have been this, or a letter that passed a few days before or liter this, which I have produced. j What passed in that conversation ?—My Lord Castlereagh, when I was introduced to him, asked me the name of the Prin cipal, and where the seat was ? I told him, as a gentleman, I could not tell him that. I was bound to secrecy to my friend ; if his .Lordship did not wwie that question, I must think no more of it ; on which his Lordship was highly t.ttended, and we parted, and I never spoke to Lord Castlereaph since that I recollect. How did he know that ycu 0.t.1 any proposal to make to him, relative to a seat in Parliament ?—I wrote him to that effect. • • • • ••• • • • 'Were you rot dismissed from the conversation with seeming displeasure on the part of Lord Castlereagh ?—lt appeared so ; I was t.flltr:ded myself. Have yen any letter from Lord Clancarty ?—I have. [Letter read from Lord Clancarty, dated the 29th of Oct. 1805.] Did you see Lord Clancarty in consequence of this letter ? I did. Wh:t passed between you in that conversation ?—1 told Lord Clarcarty, (I am not confident whether it was in that first conver sation or not) if he would assist to get a young gentleman to India Wr would return him to Parliament. Him, Lord Clancarty ?—Yes him, Lord Clancarty. What did he say in answer to that proposal ?—Lord Clancarty, as nearly as I can recollect, told me it would he an object of great moment to Ministers, and to Lord Castlereagh. I believe he was then out of Parliament; I think it was before Lord Castlereagh got in for Boroughhridge. He said it was a great object to Lord Castlereagh, or any other branch of the Administration, to get into Parliament; will you tell me where this is; I said I must be circumspect. Before I embarked in this thing, I was not aware I was doing any thing which would incur the displeasure of the House of Commons. I said, your Lordship is superior to any claim that the House of Commons has, and I shall be left in the lurch ; he said, No, I am not, for I ant only an Irish Peer. I said I was not aware of that. I thought he was one of the returned Members ; i said I had no wish to incur the displeasure of the House of Commons; if I could do any thing to oblige his Lord ship or Lord Castlereagh, I should be very happy, but not being able to do it without running a risk,l think I had better drop it. He said, No, I am as subject as you are to the censure of the House of Commons. Then his Lordship said, if I world come to him again, the business might perhaps go on, on which account I received some other notes from his Lordship. The notes I have written to hint I cannot find, but here are his answers. [Letter from Lord Clancarty, dated Terrace, Spring-Gar dens, Wednesday evening, read.] Mr. RrDlNG.—That was sirce the other; the note that Lord Castlereagh had sent him was the original one; I had not the honour of knowing him before that. I[Letter from Lord Clancarty, dated Tekce, Saturday, read.] [Letter from Lard Clancarty, dated India Board, Thursday, read.] Have you sbewn the Committee all the notes you have of Lord Clancarty ?-1 have shown all I can find. What passed at this meeting which you had with Lord Clan carty ?—I agreed with him, in one voi d, that had he given a friend of mine an appointment to India, he, Lord Clan:arty, should be returned to Parliament. Lord Clancarty was afterwards desirous to know from me where he was to he returned for, and by whom ; I told hint at all times, because I was confident of my friend, that it would not cost him a single guinea ; if he would get the appoint ment for this young gentleman, my friend should return him; and these are the letters on that subject, though they may be writ ten in words which the world are not to understand. • • • • • • We bay to - appo;n . The minus 'OO folio lowing are which hay The foil this transa intelligible taken to n ciinditions the writer: to be obt: into three himself, c house of Nyhoin R( Reding a( the shape promissor L is now up by you e should be ca to pay it eel on, I should Did you Then, if pert to be c if the thing What wa if the one h tership ; Through beg to ask p examine my Answer t to be receiv originally. I in, in any sl to disclose t It is neci through wh understand Clancarty. How did —I waited to come to Who oat dead ; it wa You wro with him ; manage to Which w ih Parliame Did he g Marquis of conversed ti THE EARL OF CLANCARTY. In consequence of the examination of Mr. Reding, in which your Lordship's name was mentioned frequently, I am desirous In the first place to know when you became acquainted with Mr. Reding ?—About the month of October, 1805. On what occasion did you first become acquainted with that person ?—With respect to obtaining a seat in Parliament ; Did you see him frequently upon that occasion ?—Three, four, or five times, more than twice certainly. Did he hold out that he had the power of procuring a seat in Parliament ?—He did ; he represented that a friend of his in Par liament, a very respectable man, was desirous of retiring from Parliament, but wished to make that retirement subservient to the object of obtaining a situation for a young man, a relative of his, either a son or a nephew, to the best of my recollection, and stated that if a writership could be obtained for the party, he would be willing to retire. Having no wish to save any expence upon my part, and having no writership to dispose of, the nego elation at that time closed. Was this negociation renewed with Mr. Reding, and upon what occasion ?—lt was : having mentioned the circumstance to my fricnd, Lord Castlereagh, and expressing great disappointment that the seat could not be obtained, he told me that he had a writership undisposed of, which, as far as he himself was con cerned, he should be very happy to give me the recommendation to ; Eating at the same time the necessity of the most minute in quiry into the character of the party to be recommended ; after various interviews with Mr. Reding, in order to obtain from hint the name of the person who was to retire, as well as of the per son to be recommended, and not being able to obtain either, the negociation altogether closed. Did Mr. Reding, during any part of this negotiation, offer a bond to your Lordship ?—No. Did he at any time offer money for this appointment ? When the negociation had closed as to the Writership, he asked whe ther 3,000 guineas, laid on Lady Clancarty's toilette, would in duce me to give him the Writership ? which 1 very indignantly refuses : after which I never saw hint in my house once, nor any where, except meeting him accidentally at Lord Sligo's. Did any thing pass between your Lordship and Mr. Reding, at Lord Sligo's ? Yes, Lady Clancarty, two or three days after I had thus dismissed Mr. Reding, received a letter, signed I be lieve, Charlotte Johnson, offering her 3,0001. or guineas, for her influence with me to procure a Writership, and appointing a shop in the Strand to meet the party and receive the money; this let ter was, of course, put into the fire, without any notice being taken of it ; but the sum tallying so exactly with that Mr. Reding had offered, and coming so immmediately after Mr. Reding's pro posal of the same nature, when I met him at Lord Sligo's, I de sired hint to take care not to allow his friends to write any more impertinent letters to Lady Clancarty : and when he was gone out of the room, I apologized to Lord Sligo for having made use of such language to a person in his house, and informed him of the reasons for my so doing. Mr. Reding, however, denied having any thing to say to the letter. Did he ever give you to understand at whose disposal this seat in Parliament was, which he offered you ?—No, never; it was upon that that the negociation went off. Did Lord Castlereagh otter you this appointment of a Writer ship for the purpose of facilitating your being returned to Parlia ment, if that could be obtained by this means ?—Certainly ; it being always to be understood that the party was of sufficent re spectability to be eligible for the situation. Did you communicate to Mr. Reding that you had a Writer ship at your disposal, which you were ready to give to his friend, if the person recommended was perfectly eligible, provided the seat in Parliament could be obtained ?—I certainly gave him to under stand that l had ; or that the thing might be procured. Did you ever dispose of any Writership ?—Never in my life. Do you recollect whether the name of Mrs. Grove was men tioned in any part of this transaction by Reding ?—No, never. Did you ever bear from Reding the name of the Marquis tf Sligo mentioned as connected with this transaction ?—Never. Or the Marquis of Bath ?—Never ; I believe no name of auy sort was mentioned to me. Do you know to whom this Writership, offered to yourself, was afterwards given by Lord Castlereagh ?—I have not the least knowledge. LORD VISCOUNT CASTLEREAGII. How did your Lordship become acquainted with Mr. Reding? —I believe it was in the latter end of the year 1805, that I received a letter from Mr. Reding, which some days afterwards I sent to Lord Clancarty ; I saw Mr. Reding between the receipt of that letter and the communication of it to Lord Clancarty. With this exception, I never had any knowledge whatever of, or intercourse with, Mr. Reding. What was the subject of Mr. Reding's letter to your Lordship ? —I had vacated my Seat on the acceptance of the Seals of the Co lonial Department : tke object of Mr. Reding's letter was to say, that be thought had the means of assisting me in coming into Parliament, if I was not already provided with a seat. _ _ . Did any thing pass in your conversation with Mr. Reding re lating to a Writership ?—Nothing whatever : I told Mr. Reding I did not want a seat in Parliament for myself, but that a friend of mine did; I asked him to name the Gentleman who proposed to vacate ; this he declined till the terms were settled; with which, having nothing to do, I inclosed his letter to Lord Clancarty, and never saw Mr. Reding afterwards, or had any communication with him. Had you any conversation with Lord Clancarty, as connected with this transaction 'lt . Mr. Reding, in which a Writership was offered to Lord Clancany'o nomination ?-1 think, some time after I inclosed Mr. Reding's letter to Lord Clancarty, Lord Clancarty told me he had a negotiation with Mr. Reding, with a view to procure a Seat in Parliament, which, he said, had failed; inas much as the proposition he had made to Mr. Reding, which was of a pecuniary nature, had been declined by the person who was supposed to have the influence to procure the Seat in Parliament. What passed between your Lordship and Lord Clancarty in consequence of this ?—I should state, as preliminary to answering that question, tha t not hi ng i n point of fact ever arose out of the communication I had with Lord Clahcarty, by which the disposal of any V met ship was abetted, nor did the nomination to any Writer hip take place in consequence of that communication.— With reference to the question itself having been put to me by the Committee, I feel it my duty to give an explicit answer to it ; that I was induced to place a lVrittrship at Lord Clamarty's dispotal, and Mat certainly the impression under which I did it, •rat, that Lord Clancarty's coming into Parliament might he thereby facilitated. I stated, however, to Lord Clancarty, that I did not feel that I could recommend any person for a Writership in the East-India Company's service, who was not individually, and in point of con nections, a proper object to receive a political favour of such a na ture from a Member •f the Government, and such a person in point of character, as the Court of Directors were entitled to ex pect to be placed in their service, in consequence of any nomina tion they had placed at my disposal, on which point, my decision must be reserved till I knew who the party was that solicited the appointment. Subject to those qualifications, was it your Lordship's intention to have placed this nomination at Lord Clancarty's disposal, to be given in consideration . for his being returned to Parliament ?—I conceived Lord Clancarty, with these qualificationS, entitled to call upon me for the Writership if it could be of use to bins, either for that purpose or any other that he was interested about, and which had no relation to a pecuniary transaction. I must ob serve, however, that my conversation with Lord Clancarty arose out of a particular case stated, and, I believe, was never acted upon by him otherwise than to ascertain whether that case lid any existence in point of fact. I certainly did not conceive, in so placing a Writership at Lord Clancarty's disposal, that it could possibly become the subject either of sale for money, or general barter for a seat in Parliament. Do you recollect to whom this Writership was given ? I think some time afterwards, Lord Clancarty told me that he had no wish to dispose of the Writership, and that in consequence of that intimation from aim, it was disposed of to the young man who was in my contemplation for this appointment, if no communi cation of the nature described had taken place between Lord Clancarty and myself ; and that, in point of fact, the name of the individual appointed to that Writership will be found in the list of the disposal of my patronage; but I cannot specify the name, as there were two or three appointments of mine at that moment not filled up ; and as it never proceeded to the longth of my doing any act in furtherance of such a purpose, or to my giving any di rections to Mr. Meheux, the Assistant Secretary of the India Board, to carry such an appointment into effect, I cannot state the particular Writership that would have been su used if it had led to any result ; but I can state that any Writership I could have so used was, in point of fact, filled up by a friend of my own, per fectly unconnected with the transaction, and that his name stands in the list before the Committee, probably in the appointments of the subsequent year. Was the name of Mrs. Grove ever mentioned to your Lord ship in this transaction ?--Never ; I never heard the name of Mrs. Grove in my life, till it was mentioned to the in the House of Commons, a few nights since, connected with a story which I knew to be false, and which induced me to communicate to the Chairman of the Committee the story itself, and to put him in possession of all the means which occurred to me as best calcu lated to detect the falsehood, and to further the inquiries of the Committee upon that subject. Was the name of Mr. Davis mentioned to your Lordship in this transaction ?—1 think it was on the same night that I heard the above story in the House of Commons that I found a letter on my table, when I returned home, from a man of the name of Davis, stating that he had been summoned to give evidence before this Committee, with respect to a Board of Controul Writership, which was supposed to have been offered or actually sold through Mrs. Grove's agency, and stating his general reluctance to be called upon to give any evidence in which my name was con cerned. I immediately wrote an answer to Mr. Davis, to say, that he could not do any service more grateful to me than atten ding the Committee, and giving them every assistance in his power in executing the purposes of the inquiry, and in detecting the falsehood to which his letter referred ; and I think on the fol lowing day I communicated Mr. Davis's letter to the Chairman of the Committee ; I had no other knowledge of Mr. Davis, nor ever saw him, and never heard of his name, except in that letter. By the means of any other writership has your Lordship ever endeavoured to facilitate any other person's coming into Parlia ment ?—Never in my life ; I never had any communication of such a nature; nor have I ever had any interference, direct or indirect, in the disposal of any writership, other than those a list of which i. now before the Committee, the appointments towhich, I apprehend, will speak for themselves. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, TUESDAY, APRIL 11. Mr. FERGUSON presented a petition from Aberdeen, against the Scotch Records Bill. Ordered to lie on the table. • A new writ was ordered to be made out for the Borough of Ayr, in the room of General John Campbell, deceased. The Blackfriars Bridge Sunday Toll Bill was read a second time and committed. Mr. SHAW brought up a petition from the City of Dublin, against the Bill for Paving and otherwise improving that City. Campbell's Divorce Bill went through a Committee. Counsel and witnesses were heard, and the Report ordered tobe received to morrow. Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY gave notice, that on Friday next he would move that the House do resolve itself into a Committee on the Bill for altering and amending the Bankrupt Laws. Lord -FOLKSTONE gave notice, that he woti'd move to-mor row, that a copy of the information tiled by the Attorney-General against Major Ogle, be laid before the House, and that the At torney-General should then report what proceedings had been instituted against him. After which, he would move that all ap plications, lettera, &c. from Major Ogle, together with the an swers thereto, should be produced. Lord FOLKSTONE gave notice that he would move to-mor row, that the Papers containing the account of the transaction in which his Royal Highness the Duke of York had been concerned with Kennett, the Bankrupt, should be restored to Mr. Duff, the solicitor. Mr. MARTIN gave notice, that he would move to-morrow, that the gross amount of the Fee Fund for 1807 and 1808 should be laid before the House, and the application thereof. Mr. HUSKISSON gave notice that he should move to-morrow for two Bills of Exchange given in during the late investigation, should be restored, they being material with respect to an action now depending. _ _ _ After a conversation between Sir JouN NEWPORT and Mr. FosTER, with respect to the Pension I.ists, which Sir John New port wished brought forward, A new writ was ordered to be made out for the Borough of Rye, in the room of Mr. Henry Wellesley, who had accepted the Chil tern Hundreds. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER then rose, pur suant to a notice he had given, to oppose the printing of certain reports. The public money ought not to be expended in printing voluminous reports, the one hundredth part of which could not possibly be of use. When it was necessary to give any particular information of unusual publicity, it was necessary and proper to print the reports : but to print papers as a matter of course, when short extracts from them would answer every purpose, was incur ring an unnecessary expence. . _ . . . After some altercation, in a desultory conversation, in which the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER ' Sir CHARLES POOLE, Sir JOHN NEWPORT, Mr. FOSTER, and Mr. lITZGERALD partici pated, the Reports were ordered to be printed without the ap pendix. Lord PORCHESTER gave notice of a motion for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the granting of Offices in Reversion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated, with re spect to the printing of the Report of the Commissioners of Na val Revision, that the Honourable Baronet, (Sir C. Pole) had con • tented in the first instance, to confine his motion to the printing of the Reports, without the Appendix to each. Sir C. POLE confirmed this, and moved that the order upon his former motion be discharged. _ _ Sir JOHN NEWPORT adverted to a return on the table to shew that the Grand Juries in Ireland had, on some occasions, made presentments contrary to the Act. This was a very serious subject, as £500,000 were raised by a land tax in this manner.— Among the instances of which he complained were a suns to aug ment the stock purse of the Clare Militia ; sums to the Proprie tors of Newsp:pers in Dublin, for printing certain proceedings at the Assizes ; a sum presented in the County uf Donegal for a bo;c to hold the public money ; and sums beyond the rate allowed by lam/ at the acquittal of prisoners at the Quarter Sessions. Mr. FOSTER stated that the presentments were all certified by the Judges, and it was very unlikely that they should be ille gal. The titles given to the particula: presentments might have misled the Hon. Baronet. Mr. PERCEVAL said a few words, after which the original motion of Sir C. Pole was discharged, and the Reports ordered to be printed without the appendices. Mr. CANVING brought up certain papers relating to a cor gi, respondence with Sir Charles Stuart, which were 0rd,r , .1 to L on the table. On the motion of Mr. C aoa x ER, the further consideration of the Report of the Irish Militia Volunteering Bill, wes postponed til! Thursday, and the second reading of the Irish Militia Recruku; g Bill till Friday. On the motion of the LORD ADVOCATE FOR SCOTLAND, tL e Scotch Records Bill was ordered to be re-committed to-mormw The Inn-keepers Bill was ordeaed to be read a third time un morrow. Sir JOHN NEWPORT gave notice, that he would mov e morrow for the production of certain papers relating to ch.: ap pointment of a Mr. Vickers to he Inspector General of thc Exc.,. in Ireland. The further consideration of the Scotch Records and Irisll M. litia Bills were severally poitponed. . . The Irish Sugar Spirits Dill was read a second time, and cum.. mitted. The third reading of the Innkeepers' Allowance Bill we, p,., poned till to-morrow. _ Mr. CROAKER gave notice, that he would move to-nl'irrow for certain papers relating to the recognizances of Ireland. The Iribh Constable Bill was read a second time, and c.rr.m:.. ted.—Adjourned. SPAIN. SEVILLE, MARCH 9. The Duke of Albuquerque has published the lowing General Orders : 44 Soldiers !—The valour, firmness, and good orde:. which, on the 22d February, covered you with glot in the field of Consuegra, have struck the enemy awe, and I know for certain that they acknowledge to have lost the battle, although theydid not quit the fieli of action. " DIVINE PROVIDENCE has permitted our loss to be inconsiderable, while that of the enemy exceeds 1.500 men, killed and wounded. All this you know, becaus.. you witnessed it, as I did ; but yuu are not aware t the advantages produced by that action, nor the rea son why we marched horn this place to meet the ene. my. Know then, that it was his intention to attack with his whole force the army of Estremadura, and that by the rapid movement we made against him, his attention was drawn to that point in such a manner, that many of the troops who were marching to that province returned, whereby that army was enabled to receive the suppl es and reinforcements it expected. You have the satisfaction to have accomplished that imprudent plan with such an inconsiderable !loss on your part, while that of the enemy who attacked us with 12,000 foot and 5,000 horse, was much greater. Doubt not that availing myself of the advantages which were then held forth to me, between the mood which masked my infantry and the Heights of Rubra, I should have expected the enemy, and provoked 111:n to attack me in that position. But it was there I ie. ec ived the orders of the Commander in Chief not 1, - , engage in any action with the enemy, but to fall back to this point, because the troops under my command were wanted in another quarter, and had attained the object which he had it view. " As subordination is the first quality of a soldier, and the basis of military discipline, of which I shat! always set open the example, I immediately gave or ders to retreat, and this was effected with the order rtt have witnessed, and which operated so forcibly on the enemy, that notwithstanding his superiority in numbers, he did not dare to pursue us. To conclude, Soldiers, y our gallantry and your subordination to your worthy- Commanders, will at all times render you invincible to the armies of the tyrant, your enemy, because if they respect you with double your force, what had you a right to expect when you meet on equal terms ? You are sure to beat him, and your beloved country will be indebted to you for its salvation.—Manzanares, March 1, 1809. " The Duke of ALBUQUERQUE." JAF.N, MARCH 8. Though the intelligence from our head-quarters at Valdepenas does not mention any very important move ment of our armies, it furnishes some idea of th.tit position, and that of the enemy, who has not yet found himself in a situation to attack us, excepting when his forces have been triple in number to our own. On the 26th ult. about noon, a French divi sion entered Toledo. They had before occupied Con suegra and Urda. Some of the enemy remained a! Mascaraque. On the 27th all the infantry and cavalry that were at El Puente del Arzobispo, removed from that po sition, leaving only between two and three hundred men to occupy it. By accounts of the 28th, we know, that on the 25th several wounded passed through Talavera, and among them a General Officer, in a berlin. Three hundred of our troops enterd Valdelacasas, on the same day, with 60 mules. Some artillery was also brought up. Preparations were then making there for the reception of 3AOO. An equal number or French cavalry were expected at Puebla Nueva, trom Toledo. We are endeavouring to cover with more effect the left of our army of La Mancha ; for this purpose, the division of Count de Orgaz has been ordered to Ciudal Real, and its vicinity. This division is cum posed of 4000 men and a squadron of cavalry. The whole of the enemy's force between Toledo and Tembleque is reduced to 17,000, and the garri son of Madrid consists of 23,000 men. In Estrema dura their force is considerably increased. JENNA, MARCH I I. The French make frequent incur sions into La Mancha, towards Trembleque, Mora, Urda, &c. and they have removed their head-quarters from Toledo to Olias, without a doubt, to guard against that surprize which they seem to dread on the part of our troops. While the enemy are drawing our attention towards La Mancha, General Cuesta re ceives fresh reinforcements every day, and his troops are acquiring more order and discipline. The Gene ral has taught the French troops encamped at Oro pesa to respect him, particularly in consequence of his routing a regiment of theirs, that were posted in the vicinity of Almaraz. In the village of Juan de Dios we had the sati,fac tion of defeating and killing several of the enemy% cavalry, by firing upon them from the windows 314 the loop-holes, having first taken the precaution of shutting the gates upon them. The enemy continued a fruitless effort during three quarters of an how, and they at length retired, leaving several dead, and an Officer behind them. The French force near the bridge of Talavera con sists of about 5000 infantry and cavalry. They have planted some cannon, four-pounders, between Las Tones de San Clemente. They have brou ght into Almaraz a number of woun d e d, t h e resu l t o f tho affairs which have occurred between.- them and C neral Cuesta's advanced posts. to L i tf the td tit! 1 g ', the tv• fe t•:.• tttc..- t car... PJ5t. itrJW rde:. ;lot to fieli .o be 1.500 :aus.! re c•t rea- ene. tack and 1, his nnor, that ibled cted. that is on us :titer. tagei Wood übra, I 1117 a Ile. of back mand shall