Star. — London, England, 1809-01-18 00:00:00

m ir , ODE FOR THE NEW YEAR, 1809. By H. I. PYE, Esq. P. L. all-orb'd in equinoctial skies, VTben the pale moon malignant rides, And bids the howling tempest rise, And swells the Ocean's briny tides, Dreadful against the sounding shore The winds and waves tumultuous roar, The torrent -braving mound in vain The stormy inroad would reiti-ain, The surges with redstless sway force o'er the labour'd mole their way, Scorn every weak resource of human toil, o•erwhelm the peopled town, and waste the cultur'd soil. But when,by native fences hared Prom billowy rage, the happier land, And rocky cliffs for ever stand To the wide-wateed coast a guard, Such as on Vecta's southern steep Look down defiance on the raging deep, Such as on Dover's breezy down On Gallia's hostile herders frown, 'rho' billows urging, billows roar And idly beat against the shore, While from the heights sublime the swain Mocks the vain efforts of the foaming main, Till Nature bids the delug'd surge subside, H u sh'd is the tempest's voice, and refluent rolls the tide. So o'er Europa's ravag'd plain We saw the torrent wild of war Resistless spread its iron reign, And scatter ruin wide and far ; The embattled wall, the warlike band, Vainly the Tyrant's coarse withstand; Before the impious sons of Gaul The legions fly, the bulwarks fall; Yet Britain's floating castles sweep Invision from her subject deep,. Yet by ber rocks secure from harm, St,:urer by her patriot arm, Iberia turns the battle's tide, Resists the injurious Tyrant's prid, While, freely floating fn the ambient sky, ~icred to freedom's cause, their mingled ensigns fly. ... . SIR ARTHUR WELLESLErS NARRATIVE. (Concluded from our lad.) NO. IV. OSERVATIONS ON SIR HARRY BURRARD 9 S NARRATIVE. SIR DAVID DUNDAS. AND MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, Two or three points have been adverted to in the Narrative of Sir Harry Burrard, and some circum rrances have been stated in evidence, upon which I wish to trouble the Court with some observations. The first and principal of these is the reason stated by Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burrard for not deeming it expedieht to place Lieutenant-General Sir ;uhn Moore's corps at Santarem, as proposed by me fut my letters of thc Bth, 10th, and 12th of August, which are before the Court, because, as Lieutenant- General Sir Harry Burrard states, it would not, in , his opinion, have been sufficiently strong to oppose the enemy, if he had retreated by that road. .• • I beg to refer the Court to my dispatches of that Fe- Lod, which I consider the fairest slacitmente to which, I can refer ; as ' • when they were written, I had cer tainly no notion that the subjects to which they relat, cd would ever hive become the topic of discussion here : the Court will see, that in these dispatches I, always considered the possession of Lisbon and of the . Tagus to be the great object of the campaign both to us and the French ; that for this object a battle would be fought in the field, in which I thought I had rea son to expect success, and that the enemy would, af ter this battle, endeavour to retire across the Tagus t t o an E ta lva m s, o to r alon d g the r i ght s tn bank of the Tagus by da. If the Court will refer to the paper drawn by the French engineer, laid before them by Lieutenant- General Sir Hew Dalrymple, they will see that these are the lines of retreat recommended by the officers of the engineers to the French Commander in Chief ; now, the occupation of the position .at Santarem by Sir John Moore's corps, was calculated to cut off these lines of retreat, in the first supposed case, by the fa cility and celerity with which the Tagus would have been crossed ; in the second, as it was upon the road which the enemy must have taken. But as I set out with the certainty that the French would not, nay, could not abandon Lisbon and the Tagus, without fighting a battle for these possessions, I may con dude, that after that battle they would have been so much weakened, as that Sir John Moore's corps would Lave been a match for them ; and at all - events, it is cot to be supposed that it this battle had been fought they would not have been followed by a part, if not the whole of the army, which in this .supposition, would have defeated them. • Indeed the Court will have observed, by ns cor respondence with Sir Harry Burrard, that I considered this position at Santarem to be so little dangerous, Ind at the same time to sideantagsous, that if- the trigades of Brigadier-Generals Aland and Anstru ter had been equipped to act independently of any r.ber body of troops, I should have ordered those bri tales to occupy i t: . The next point on which I wish to observe, is the Ll3de in which I proposed, and intended that this ,:pS should be supplied at Santarem. The Court al see this mode, and all the dilficulties'which sled it, discussed in my letters to Sir Harry Bur- 41 d ; and I have no doubt whatever that he would toe been able to procure carts in the country, on the Mondego, to enable him to form at Leyria the pro posed depot, and at that place the'means of Moving %tut should be required to Santarem. I also wish to ' say a few words upost the strength of the corps under my command in comparison with 'at of the enemy. I marched from Lavaos on the 10th of August !ith 1 3,000 men, and I was joined by and expected die co-operation of 6000 Portuguese troops. J VII disappointed in this expectation on the 15th of Au gust, when I was engaged in an operation against a detachment of the unary, which promised the ut m)st success ; from which I could not with propriety withdraw, and which ended in the battle of the 17th of Aug ust . Chl t he 18th, I heard of ibe airivat of General Anstruther's brigade, and on the 20th, in the evening, when Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burrard decided that he would alter the principle on which we had before carried on our operations, General Acland was arrived in Marceira roads with his brigade, and he was landed on that night. The force then consisted of between 16 and 17,000 men, British troops, and 1650 Portuguese troops actually in camp. We had been successful in the action of the 17th, and the army was in the highest order, and the highest spirits, well equipped, supplied with twelve days provision for the original number, and with every thing it required for its future operations. In discussing and considering the propriety of the decision of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burrard, or of my previous operations, it would not be fair to estimate the enemy's force at larger numbers than 20,000 men, of which they were reported to consist by General Spencer, in his report to Government from .the mouth of the Tagus. From this number the garrisons okElvas, Almeida, and Peniche, were to be deducted, which I always reckoned at 2000 men : then there were the forts of St. Julien, Cascaes, the citadel of Lisbon, Bugio, Belem, and the batteries on the, Tagus and the coast, as far as the Rock of Lis bon, which-would have required, at least, 3000 more. This would have left the enemy with only 15,000 men for'operations in the field, while we had above 18,000 men. if it is contended that the estimate of the enemy's strengthsought to be made according to their embark ationleterns instead of according to General Spen cer• return Of their force, a deduction ought to be madeftom the amount of 21 000 of the real number _ _ 'of th# garrisons of Almeida, Elvas, and Peniche, and *4'3000 men for the garrisons upon the Tagus and upon the coast ; and if but a small allowance is made for von-combatants, it will still turn out that the force to be met in the field did not exceed 15 or 16,000 men. •. From. this statement it will appear that the force of S or 4000 men, which it was reported had arrived at Torres Vedras after the action, could not have existed • and, in point of fact, it was a report circulated by Ge neral Junot,. and indeed it was published in the news papers of Lisbon, with other false accounts of the circumstances of the action. In respect to other points, I shall not observe upon them, as the evidence is before the Court, who will judge of it. I consider it proved and admitted, that I recommended, on the evening of the 20th of Au gust, that the army should not halt, and that the pro posed disposition for Sir John Moore's corps should not be altered ; that the enemy were completely de feated in the action of the 21st of August on all; points of attack ; and that I proposed to Sir Harry Burrard the pursuit of them. ' The Court have before them my reasons for advan cing on the 10th of August, and for thinking that I was strong enough for the enemy, and for recommen ding to Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burrard, a perseverance in the plan of operations on which I commenced ; and in my evidence of yesterday, my reason for thinking that most beneficial consequences would have resulted if the enemy had been pursued. Upon all the points of difference of opinion between Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Burrard and me, the Court Will form their judgment upon the evidence. I think it necessary, however, to detain the Court for - a , short time upon another part of the subject which has .ben 'under their consideration. _ _ - - Although I am decidedly of opinion that the most decisive consequences would have resulted from the starch as proposed, and the pursuit of the enemy on the 21st of August after the battle, yet it does not follow that the measure of allowing the French to evacuate Portugal was not right on the evening of the 224 On the 21st of August the enemy were defeated and in confusion ; and I have explained the grounds which I have for thinking that the most advantage. ous consequences would have resulted from a pursuit. On the 22d, in the evening, when the question of the •evaeuetion was considered and decided, the enemy was no longer in confusion ; and they had resumed the position of Cabeca de Montachique between us and Lisbon. The relative situation of the two armies was then to be taken into consideration, as well as in the other case ; but that of the French army had been materi ally improved by our omission to pursue our advan tages; and we were then to look to our relative I means of annoying each other, and our own objects. I have already detailed to the Court, in a former statement, the relative situation and means of the two armies at that period of time, and I conceive that the battle of the 21st of August could be taken into consideration in the discussion of the question, whe ther the French should be allowed to evacuate Por tugal or not, only in this way, viz. that it was a trial '1 of strength between the two contending _armies, and it proved the superiority of that of his Majesty. It was also clear to me, that the French would not . risk another action; that their object was to secure a retreat across the Tagus; and that they would use their positions in front of Lisbon to facilitate and se cure that object. As I have already explained to the Court, we had no means, on the .22d, of preventing them from effec ting that object ; from which I did and do still think it was important to us to preclude them, excepting a Convention for the evacuation of Portugal. No. V* SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY'S STATEMENT RESPECTING HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE BISHOP OF OPORTO. GENERAL Slit DAVID DUNDAS, - MY LORDS, AND GENTLEMEN, At a former meeting of the Court, Lieutenant-Ge. neral Sir Hew Dalrymple expressed a wish that the Court should have before it a copy of the letter which I was supposed to have addressed to the Bishop of Oporto on the 24th of August, and I then told the Court that I would lay betorts them all the letters I had written to the Bishop of Oporto, of which I had' copies among my papers. I fi nd that I have the copies of, only two letters, although I have written . 1 many, which I now lay before the Court ; and I should have taken an earlier opportunity of laying these let ters before the Court, only that one of them relates io transactions in which Sir Harry Burrard was a party ; and I was unwilling to make it public during his absence. In respect to the letter supposed to have been writ ten by me on the 24th August, I repeat that I have no recollection of having . written it ; and I have no copy .of it ; and I think it probable, from aa istsccu. \ _ • ___ racy of the date, from the address, and from some of the expressions, that I did not write it ; but I adopt as my own all the sentiments which it contains. It congratulates the Bishop upon the prospect of the evacuation of Portugal by the French, which the Court will have observed I always considered a sub. ject of congratulation; and it states that the agree. ment for the suspension of hostilities, contains nothing else that is remarkable, excepting a stipulation, that the port of Lisbon should be considered a neutral port in respect to the Russians. It is well known and admitted, that there was ano ther part of that agreement to which I entertained objections; but in respect to the Portuguese, it did contain nothing remarkable, excepting this stipula tion ; and this remark, if I wrote the letter, rather tends to confirm that which I have always stated were my sentiments in respect to this stipulation. This mode of laying a private letter before a Court is not regular, any more than the mode of calling for a letter of this description ; but if the Court should be desirous of seeing this, or any other , letters of mine to the Bishop of Oporto, in an official shape, they may call for them at the office of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, through which channel I doubt not they can be procured. No. Vi. GENERAL SIR DAVID DUNDAS, AND MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I trust that the Court will permit me to address a few words to them upon this occasion. Although I did differ, and do still differ in opinion, with Lieute nant-General Sir Harry Burrard, respecting the mea sures adopted immediately after the battle of the 21st of August, I hope it will not be deemed pre sumptuous in me as an inferior officer, to declare to the Court and to the public, the opinion which I have always entertained, that Sir Harry Burrard decided upon that occasion on fair military grounds, in the manner which appeared to him to be most conducive to the interests of the country ; and that he had no motive for his decision which could be supposed per sonal to me, or which as an officer he could not avow. , APPENDIX. A. LETTER TO COLONEL MURRAY. Head Quarters, Rama'lab, August 27, 1808. Sic-1 have had the honour of receiving your letter of the 26th Inst. and at the same time one from General Junot, which I in close, which differs materially from that which you wrote to me. I should judge from the former, that the execution of any Con vention which may be agreed upon between General Kellermann and yourself, must depend upon the conclusion of an agreement between Sir Charles Cotton and Admiral Siniavin, which is en tirely inconsistent with my intentions. I beg that you will pre ♦ail upon General Kellermann to explain General Junot's inten tions on this point ; and if they should not be conformable to mine, you will break up the negotiations, and come away as soon as possible. I have also to observe upon the expression used by General Ju not, in his letter, respecting the prolongation of the time of the suspension of hostilities, which must convey a different idea from "that which you had given to him. My intention is, and I hereby authorize you, to prolong, for twenty-four hours, the term of the suspension of hostilities, if you should find it necessary, in order to bring the negociation to a conclusion, if General Junot, or General Kellermann for him, should explain, in a satisfactory manner, his sentiments on the point referred to in the first part of this letter ; but if he should not, you are, as above instructed, to break off the negotiation at once, and arrive here before the first term will be concluded. I beg that you will peruse and give the inclosed letter to Gene ral Kellermann, to be delivered to General Junot, and inform his Excellency, that as I have appointed you to conduct and conclude an important negociation with him, it is desirable that he should transmit, through you, any further communications he may Ise desirous of making to me. (Signed) St. w. DA LR YMPLE. E. C. B. • DEFINITIVE CONVENTION FOR THE EVACUATION OF PORTUGAL BY THE FRENCH ARMY. The Generals commanding in chief the British and French armies in Portugal, having determined to negotiate and conclude a treaty for the evacuation of Portugal by tke French troops, on the basis of the agreement entered into on the esd inst. for a sus pension of hostilities, have appointed the undermentioned officers to negociate the same in their names, viz. on the part of the Ge neral in Chief of the British army, Lieutenant Colonel Murray, Quarter-master General ; and on the part of the General in Chief of the French army, Monsieur Kellermann, General of Division; to whom they have given authority to negociate and conclude a Convention to that effect, subject to their ratification respective ly, and to that of the Admiral commanding the British fleet at the entrance of the Tagus. - These two officers, after exchanging their full powers, have agreed upon the articles which follow : Art. I. AU the places and forts in the kingdom of Portugal, oc cupied by the French troops, shall be delivered up to the British army, in the state in which they are at the period of the signature of the present Convention. Art. 11. The French troops shall evacuate Portugal with their arms and baggage ; they shall not be considered as prisoners of war, and on their arrival in France they shall be at liberty to serve. • Art. 111. The English Government shall furnish, at its ex pence, the means of conveyance for the French army, which shall be disembarked in any of the ports of France betweea Rochefort a nd L'Orient inclusively. Art. IV. The French army shall carry with it all its artillery of French calibre, with the horses belonging to it, and the tumbrils supplied with sixty rounds per gun. Art. V. The French army shall Carry with it all its equipments, and all that is comprehended under the name of property of the army ; that is to say, its military chest, and the carriages attach ed to the field commissariat and field hospitals : or shall be al lowed to dispose of such part of the same, on its account, as the Commander in Chief may judge it unnecessary to embark. In like manner all individuals of the army shall be at liberty to dis pose of their private property of every description, with full secu rity hereafter for the purchasers. Art. VI. The cavalry are to embark their horses, and the ge nerals and other officers the number allowed to each by the regu lations of the French service ; it is, however, fully understood that the means of conveyance for the horses at the disposal of the Bri tish commanders are very limited ; some additional conveyance may be procured in the port of Lisbon ; and at all events every facility will be given to dispose of the horses belonging to it, which cannot be embarked. Art. VII. In order to facilitate the embarkation, it shall take place in three divisions, the last of which will be principally com posed of the garrisons of places, of the cavalry, the artillery, the sick, and the equipments of the army. Art. VIII. The garrison of Elvasandits forts, and of renicheand Palmella, will be embarked at Lisbon; that of Almeida at Oporto, or the nearest harbour. • They will be accompanied on their march by British commissaries, charged with providing for their subsistence and accommodation. Art.lX. All sick and wounded, who cannot be embarked with the troops, are entrusted to the British army. They are to bt taken care of whilst they remain in this country, at the expence of the British government, under the condition of the same being reimbursed by France, when the final evacuation is effected. The English government will provide►,for theirritarn to France,which shall take place by detachments of about 150 or 200 men at a time : a sufficient number of French medical officers shall be left behind to attend them. Art. X. As soon as the vessels employed to carry the army to France, shall have disembarked it in the harbours specified, or in any odicr of the ports of France, to which .stress , of weather may f‘sree them, every facility slaU be given thorn to return to Eng- • ..- .• 1 s ;~ _ /and without delay, and seetiiity against-tiptoe, Mid theirs:rigid in a friendly port. Art. XI. The French shall be esneentrateci le Lisbon, and Within r distance of two leagues from la The English ar will approach width; three leagues of the capital, and wilt be so placed as to leave about one league between the two armies. Art. XII. The fortresses of Elvas, Almeida, Penicke, and Pal , mella, shall be given up as soon as the British troops cah arrive to occupy than. In the mean time the General hi Chief of the British army will give notice of the present Convention to the garrisons of those places, as also to the troops before them, in or der to put a stop to all further hostilities. The occupation of Lis , bon, and of the forts of St. Julien anti the %gist, together with • the other defences of the Tagus , shall take place on the embarka tion of the second division of the French army. Immediately on the exchange of the ratification, the British troops shall be put is possession of the forts of Cascees, and the other forts to the right of St. Julien. Art. XIII. The transports destined for the embarkation, and such ships of war as may be necessary towards that service, shall be inimeiliately admitted into the Tagus. Art. XIV. Commissaries shall be named on both sides to tee gulate and accelerate the arrangements agreed upon. Art. XV. Should there arise doubts as to the meaning of any article, it shall be explained favourably to the - French army, Art. XVI. From the date of the ratification of the preseht Convention by the _Commanders in Chief by lard sad sea, all contributions or requisitions shall cease, throughout Portugal, on the Fait of the French army. Art. XVII. All subjects of France, or of powers fit friendship or alliance with France, dotaciliated in Portugal, or accidentally it. this country, shall be protected ; their property of every kind, moveable and immoveable, shall be respected; and they shall be at liberty either to accompany the French army, or to remain in Portugal. In either case their property is guaranteed to them, with the liberty of retaining or of disposing of it, and passing the produce of the sale thereof into France, or any other country where they may ha their residence, the space of one year being allowed them for that purpose. Art. XVIII. No ruitige of Portugal shall be rendered accounta• ble for his political conduct during the period of the occupation of this country by the French army. And all those who have con tinued in th 4 exercise of their employments, or who have accept ed situations ur.der the French government, are placed under the protection of the British commanders ; they shall sustain no in jury in their persons ur property, it not having been at their op tion to be obedient or nut to the French government. They are also at liberty to avail themselves of the stipulations of the seven teenth article. Art. XIX. The Spanish prisoners detained on board ship in the port of Lisbon, shalt be given up to the General in Chief of the British army, who engages to obtain of the Spaniards to re store such #rench subjects, either military or civil, as may have been detained in Spain, without being taken in battle or In con sequence of military operations, but on occasion of the occur rences of the 29th of last May, and the days immediately fol lowing. Art. XX. There shall be an immediate exchange established for all ranks of prisoners made in Portugal since the commence* ment of the present hostilities. Art. XXI. Hostages shall be mutually given for the guarantee . . of the present Convention until its finaicOmpletion. Art. XXII. It shall be allowed to the General in Chief of the French army to send an officer to France with the intelligence of the present Convention. A vonalwill be forwarded, furnished by the British Admiral, to exam him to Boordeaux or Roche fort. Art. XXIII. The British Admiml will be invited to accommo date his Excellency the Commander in Chief, and the other prin cipal officers of the French army, on board of ships of war. Done and concluded et Lisbon, this 25th day of August , MOIL (Signed) GE OILGZ MUIRAT Quarter-Master•GeneraL Le General de Divi sion s KILLEILMANN. • ADDITIONAL ARTICLES TO THE CONVENTION OF THE 28TH AUGUST, 1808. Art. I. The Seventeenth Article having particularly in view the subjects of his Danish Majesty, Lieutenant Colonel Murray admits having been apprized of the same, and that he considers the stipu lations of that Article to be applicable to them in their full extent. Art.ll. The individuals in the civil employment of the army made prisoners, either by the British troops, or by the Portuguese, in %ay part of Portugal, will be restored,, as is customary, with• out a chatge. Art. 111. The neneh'army "shall be subsisted from its own magazines, up to the day of the embarkation ; the garrisons, up to the day of the evacuation of the fortresses : the remaindLr of the magazines shall be delivered over, in the usual form, to the British government, which charges itself with the sub sistence of the men and horses of the army from the above mentioned periods, till their arrival in France, under the condi tion of being reimbursed by the French government, for the ex cess of the ezpence, beyond the estimation to be made by both parties of the value of the magazines delivered up to the British army. - - - - - Art. IV. The General commanding the British troops will take the necessary measures for re-establishing the free circulation of the means of subsistence between the country and the'capital. Art. V. Should it be found necessary to employ Danish vessels, or those of any other nation, in tarrying the French army, in aid of the British transports, they shall, in like manner with these latter, quit the ports of France immediately on the disembarka tion being effected. They are not to be detained in France on any pretext, and they shall enjoy the same advantaf.e stipulated for the English ships, of returning unmolested to a friendly port. Done and concluded at Lisbon this 28th day of August, 1608. (Signed) GeoRGE MURRAY, Quarter-Master-General. Le General de Division, KILLERMANN. ALTERATIONS, DIRECTED TO BE MADE, TO THE TREATY OF THE 28TH AUGUST. Art. 111. The words i ra fraies to be omitted. Art. V. Is understood to apply to the baggage usually possesses by military officers and persons attached to the army, as explained, by General Kellermann, in the negotiation for the agreement for the suspension of hostilities. Property belonging to churches, monasteries, galleries of paintings, Btc. ecc. cannot be carried away. in respect to the security of purchases of property, it is a question of law in which the Commander in Chief cannot interfere. Art. VL Must run thus "La cavallerie ernbarquers ses che. vaux, les officiers gencraux et autres de tout rang embarqueront le nombre de chevaux qui leer soot accordes par les lois Iran caiaes, pourvu que le GenErai en Chef de l'armee Fransaine pent trouver les moyens de transport de ce genre, au terns fixé pour l'embarquement de l'armee Fransaise. 11 sera: accorde, I l'ormie Franiaise, toute facilite pour disposer des ehevaux qui ne seroient poiniemliarqua. Art. VB. The first division must embark, within the period of seven days, and the others as soon as the British Admiral can prepare the transports. • Art. XIL La refnise des forts de Caseaes, St. Sullen, Bugio , Belem, et de tousles forts et batteries sur la rive droit du Tage, et celles au dessous de Cascaes, aura lieu toute de suite spree l'ichange des ratifications, et celle de Lisbonne aura lieu i l'etn barquement de la seconde division de l'armie Fransaise. Art. f &tally inadmissible, and unnecessary in the new form of the Treaty. Art. XVII. AU strangers, of every description, now residing, . . or b eing, in Portugal, shall be protected in th e i r p erson an d pro cyastar as depends upon the Commander its Chief of the Bri tish army, as long as they will conduct themselves in conformity with thelaws of the-country: in case such strangers should be de sirous of withdrawing from the country, they shall be so allowed, and have a reasonable time allowed them todispore of their pro perty; and every other arrangement respecting' them mast de pend upon the civil government of the country. Art. XVIII. Nul Portugal, ne sera recherché de la part de Commandant en Chef de l'armee Anglaise pour la condulte pa litique qu'l aura tenu pendant l'occupation de Portugal par ;arm& .Fransaise ; et tout Portugais qui voidra se retirer du Portugal avec l'armee Francalse, en aura la facilite sous la. sauve garde et protection du Commandant en Chef de l'armie Anglaise. First additional article. If the seventeenth article, even hi its new form, is intended to apply in any manner to Danish property afloat, the Commander in Chief of the army cannot treat upon it. Fifth additional article. The ships, belonging to nations, at war with Great Britain, cannot lie allowed to be used as transports on this occasion. (A true copy.) (Signed) A. DALRYKPLE, M.ljor MB. See. ___ 11 I'~ I