Star. — London, England, 1809-05-24 00:00:00

THE ;',VENIi4IG STAR. LON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 24. PRICE OF STOC!tS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Redue-d 671—Con‘olA, for money, 4£4 . k—Ditto, for acc. 68H. Omnium prem.—Exebequer bIL 12a to 14s. prem. This morning we received Lisbon Papers to the 13th instant. They do not bring the Military events in the neighbourhood of Oporto later down than the 2d. Marshal SOULT had forced General da Sitvw to abaft don the Bridge of Amarante. This affair is of little importance. Marshal SOULT seems however to have been evacuating Oporto. OPORTO. We announced yesterday the Capture of Oporto by Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY• The follotting letter contains some farther particulars : " FALMOUTH, MAY 21. 4 , His Majesty's schooner NONPAREIL, with dis. patches from Cadiz and Oporto, ten days from the former and only ninety hours from the latter, brings the pleasing intelligence of Oporto being evacuated by the French troops, under Souvr, and which have retreated towards Spain. Previous thereto, a partial action had taken place between the troops under Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY and those of .Som.T ; in which some prisoners were made, and a few killed on the part of the French. The Portuguese flag was flying on the forts of Oporto when !...2 left. The NONPA REIL fell in with his Majesty's ship Smattus, off Oporto, and received from her dispatches relative to this event. Lieutenant DICKENSON is of opinion that, 'ere this, the whole of Souvr's army are made pri soners. The NONPAREIL also fell in with a Spanish brig, with dispatches for the Junta at Seville, giving the pleasing intelligence of 4Ferrol and Corunna being in the hands of the Spaniards ; the Marquis of Ro- N.ts:a having entered the latter place, and made all the French prisoners. The brig had on board forty French Officers from Corunna." From another quarter we learn, that Sir ARTHUR : WELLESLEY, by one of those rapid movements which are peculiar to the French, came upon the enemy at Oporto, before they were aware of him. Terms of . capitulation were immediately proposed, and imme diately rejected, An engagement, pell-mell, was the consequence; we have lost an inconsiderable number of men. The whole dour force Was not engaged—Sir ARTHUR having left a considerable proportion of his force behind him, from his eagerness to surprize the miry, before they had calculated upon his approach. Victory and possession of Oporto was the reward of his intrepidity.—SouLT, with almost all his force, had previously made off, intending, as was supposed, to proceed to Gallicia to join NEv. Another Bulletin of the French Arty iris incloSed in the packet alluded to, announcing that a Hi the Bth instant the Austrian Aritly in Idly; on the " Piave, was defeated with great loss—and alsci that 4 1 the advanced-guard of the French Arm? in Gel , - gg many entered Vienna on the 11th instant!" The following is the method that has been adop ted to communicate this intelligence to the pub lic, through a Morning Paper of this day-intelli gence which ought not to have been withheld for a single hour : " Another French Bulletin is said to have been re ceived, announcing a partial defeat of the Austrians in Italy on the Piave on the Bth instant. It is added, that the Advanced Guard of the French army had entered Vienna ; but this event can k of very little int 14ortatue in respect to the result of the campaign, so long as the Austrian army remains unbroken, and is in such formidable force in the rear of the enemy 11" THE ARMY. The secret expedition will sail on Sunday; we will soon present a correct list of the Staff of this little army, the command of which is intrusted to Brigadier General CRAWFURD. The large expeditioh of 10,000 is likewise preparing with all dispatch. The small Expedition, that consisting of 3000 men, will sail immediately—the coast of France or of Hol land are mentioned as the most probable destination : at either a diversion might at the present moment be made with the greatest advantage. The 43d Regiment, tvhich embarked on Monday at Harwich, have proceeded for the Downs: The men are in excellent spirits. One of the men who was on a baggage-waggon, fell from the top, about three miles from Harwich, and was killed on the spot. In consequence of the expected arrival of the 43d Regiment in the Downs, the 594 is to embark this afternoon at Dover, and the 95th will follow to-mor row.—The above regiments will be brigaded together. —Besides these regiments, the first battalion of the 50th, at present at Ramsgate, and which has been perfected by drafts from the 2d battalion, is also tin der orders for imme,liate embarkation; and other in. Pantry regiments from this district, are to be imme diately inspected by Lieutenant-General Sir JOHN HOPE, in order to ascertain their state Per foreign service. Saturday the Transport Board gave notice, that they are ready to engage transports for three months certain, at 255: per ton ; er month, sheathed or not ; the vessels to be at Deptford, in readiness for service, on or before Saturday next. A division of Marines, it is said, will be established at Ncrthfleet, and that an addition of 25 companies will be made to the Marines. The Ist Somerset Militia is about to leave the gar rison of Bristol, and to be relieved by the Ist Lan- GBRALTA " APRIL 27.—Yesterday the LUCIFER bomb 4ressel arrived here in twelve days from Cagliari, with dis patches for England. " The Malta convoy, of 80 sail, for England, is now in sight of the Rock. " We have intelligence from Catalonia, of the 1 Sth, which is highly favourable. ST: CYR'S army has been so harrassed and reduced by a series of bloody skirmishes, that he is preparing either to evacuate that country, or to take sheltef in Barcelona. " MAY 1.--the accounts from Catalonia continue . to be extremely favourable. " Every day the Spanish affairs improve, and I am more and more convinced that the French will ultimately fail in their designs upon that country. Many of the higher classes, it is true, are attached to the French interest ; the Junta Government is, per haps, the weakest that can be imagined, and our Am bassador, Mr. FRERE, is certainly not the fittest in the world for the situation— yet in spite . of all these dis- By some acconnts that have reached us we are en advantages, the spirit and inveterate animosity of the couraged to hope, ix opposition to prevailing rumours, lower classes, and of the women of 411 ranks, to the that the French carried no troops to Barcelona. French, will in the end triumph, or lam much de- A rumour had got into circulation just as this PA { eeived. The atrocities committed by the French per was going to press, that new slv.l been received of daily increase this deadly hatted. Madrid they a naval victory ; but we could collect no particulars whatever, nor lean , . where it was supposed to have spared from policy, but every where else they abuse all the women who have the misfortime to fall in their been achieved. Someletters from Holland, received yesterday, state way. They plunder every thing that they can carry that the Archduke FERDINAND had entered Danteic,' off. Most of the villages are, however, deserted as and that the Austrians experienced little or no resis they approach, The men take up arms, and the tance in Poland. It is also stated, that the insurrec women drive off the cattle to the mountains. I tions in the North of Germany are becoming every 1 more foniciable ; that the . gallant and enterpri " The Supreme Central Junta has at length re- ! daisy sing Colonel Seiner. has organized an immense force, solved on a measure which can hardly fail eventually and that he has possessed himself of Bremen, and se. to call forth all the energies of which• Spain is sus- veral other places in that direction. ceptihle—that of assembling the Cortez. This consti- Friday, the bidding for the Irish Loan of One Mil tutional assemblage, which for more-than a century Fon, Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pounds, took! has existed but in name, having had no other functions place, in Dublin ; the only competitors for it were, Messrs. J. C. BERESFORD and Co. who proposed to to perform but that of registering Royal Edicts, Will , take a bonus of 91. 2s. 6d. in 5 per cent. Treasury now, it is to be hoped, assert its powers, and exercise Bills, and 1201. 31 per cent. Stocb for every £lOO ; them for the benefit of their country." and Messrs. GIEBONS and WILLIAMS, who required. a bonus of 91.85. 9d. Messrs. BEREsFORD and Co. were FRENCH BULLETINS. of course declared the purchasers. On M on day. we announced that a cask, thrown His Majesty's ship LONDON has arrived at Ply mouth from Rio Janeiro with the Jane, Ringall, and from a boat on the French coast, had been picked up by a boat belorging to the TRCIttFECE, and brought Clarkson, under convoy. Every liberal mind must rejoice to see merit meet into Dover, which en being opened was found to with due reward. It is with this feeling that we ob contain a packet direced to the Admiralty. serve the increasin g r , popularity and patronage acquired We had no reason to believe that any thin g sent by A CRERMANN's epository of Arts,Literature,Fashions, in this manner could be considered as bringing good &c. which, unlike. most of its cotemporaries, displays in each succeeding Number augmented spirit and ex intelligence. We were, however, so much surprized cellence. So extensive is the demand for this inte by finclieg the contents withheld from the public, resting Work, that, although the first volume is not that we began to suspect that our correspondent had , yet completed, three editions of some of the numbers 'Derr incorrect in his at - Item:mt. have already been taken off.—For the Aker:lime/it, rtie fact, howevt r, is as we stated on Monday.— see Me Fiore -,of this Paper. cashire. The Royal West Middlesex and the Oxford Militia are ab ,, ut to leave Portsmouth. That fine regiment, the 75th Highlanders, which for so many years distinguished themselves in India, have greatly recruited their numbers, and now have their head-quarters at Perth, hi Scotland. The Ayrsh;ro Militia, comnsanded by Sir DAVID HUNTER BLAIR, which has for some time been in England, are soon to return to their own country. General DUNDAS'4 regiment, thi 94th, or Scotch brigade, which lately tame home a skeleton, has re cruited a great many men, and is now stationed at Aberdeen. The Qneen's and .Oth Regiments will be two of the first corps w go on service. The Forfarshire Militia have marched from Edin burgh to Berwick. ~„.- t estiN Fl ler .er • ! PALitOtTIV, MAY 2I ." Arrived this day the ship Brurisivicici Captain , ADMILALTY OFFICE; j.ttif Copt of a Letter from Rear Admiral the Honourable Sir Aler under Cochrane. K. B. Commander in Chief of his I , ' - ; t v hipti and yesseis at the Leewiril lslaritis, to the Honourable GEORGE SIMPSON, from Londim e bound to Quebec 4 Mairilt)k Pas the brig Betsy, Captain &nettl e from London for .. Pole, dated on beard the Neptune, off the Mona _Sir—Having in my letter ( No. North America, in ballast; to loud tienbets-s-put in by sage the I - ,111 of April. 7th instant , infm•meal the Lords Commissioners of the contrary wind—the former ship is leaky ; and the brig 637); dated the Admiralty of the arrangements that had been made Clerement, from Gibraltar to 6uernsey e in 22 days. beiween Lieutenant General Beckwith and me for PLYMOUTH, MAY 22. the reduction of the Saints, and, if possible, to secure Came in the Eiperiment, Captein SWAIN, from the French squadron of three Lisbon, with salt ; . Speculant, (Dane) ANDERSON,ships of the line and two f. igates, then at anchor there, which it is ascer t.ained wer e sent to this country expressly for the re from Lisbon, detained there by Admiral BERKELEY ; lief of Martinique ; I have now the honour to ac- Expedition, ANDERSON, from Lisbon, with salt : the quaint you, for their Lordships' information, with above vessels sailed under convoy of the Frecierickstien our subsequent proceedlngs, which have been atten frigate, in company about 50 sail, the 2d instant.— ded with the capture of le d'•Hautpoult, a fine new Also came in the Success, of Jersey, Captain Leletl- ship, of 74 guns, of the largest class. U The of Major a l j s o th r Ge in ral at. DEY, from t. Michael's, for Jersey, with fruit; she Maitland , troops, under nd,aTrived.at d e te o iecm 'Saints o n the was captured the 23d ult. by the Mouche French pri- and were landed the following day with little loss ; • vateer, of 18 guns and 114 men, in Lit 40. 50. N. the direction of all naval operations connected with long. 17. 17. W. and sent into Vigo, supposing it to the army having been left entirely with Captain Beaver of the Acasta, who conducted that service be in possession of the French, and was there taken with ' all the correctness 'and Celerity which 1 expec pe.siession of the 11th inst. by the Venus and Lively tel of him. frigates, and sailed from thence the 12th instant ; On the afternoon of the same day two howitzers Martha, Captain CAD:, from Gibraltar, for Plymouth, and mortars began to play upon the enemy's ships ; andl received information that one of the line had with wine ; London, of 98 guns, Captain WESTROPP, we i g hed one of her anchors, but that the others did from Rio Janeiro, with the following vessels convoy from thence, viz. Fingal, Captain DUNNING; ' I must here call their Lordships' attention to the Clarkson, Captain STEPIIENSoN ; and Jane, Captain situation of the Saints, which have three passages the Score ; all laden with coffee, bides, tallow, &c. for enemy could escape through, and these being situated in different directions made it particularly difficult to 4ondon ; they sailed the sth of March last. It is guard by five ships of the line, so as to bring an equal reported that Sir SIDNEY Smiles is now en his way force to meet the enemy et either points home. Also came in the Active French lugger, from , At halfpast nine in the evening the concerted sig- Guadeloupe, hound to Bourdeaux, with coffee, cots nal was made for the enemy's ships having put to ton, and sugar, captured off Rochefort by the Shan. • sea ; but the signals were for their having gone both to windward and to leeward of the islands, which was non, el 36 guns, last Tuesday ; she s tiled 36 days literally i • the case, as I am informed the two frigates sirtce.This morning arrived the Goldfinch, 18 guns,l proceeded oneandthe three line of battle ships way, from a cruize, with damages ; last Thursday, on the the other. coast of Spain, she discovered, and after a chace ofi The Neptune being at the time off the south west 15 honrsi came up with a large French corvette, with pass age, made sail to join the Pompee, stationed un • der the west end, which ship I found had closed with, i which she had an action of five hours , during which 1 in '' three ships, and chace of apparently standing to the Goldfinch had three men killed, and the Second ! the west-south-west, but from their appearance in the Lieutenant and eight of the crew wounded, and her dark, I did not suppose them to he of the line. sails and rigging very much cut np ;it is said that the At this time I was particOlarly at ,e loss how to • act,for if those ships should be the enemy's small men French ship escaped by superior sailing.--Came in a : of war, and the line of battle ships reported to be French ketch, name unknown, laden with timber 1 preparing for sea, should remain behind , the with captured by the Aigle, of 36 guns.—By the Active '. drawing of the squadron . from the Saints would have lugger, it appears that the French squadron, consist- been fatal to the troops landecrthe preceding day. ing of three sail of the line and four frigates, hadlThe night w hethe ry dark, and it was not possible to • determine the whole of the making off sailed from the Saintes two days before she left Gua. I were of the line or not, although we crossed so near daloupe, and that Admiral CocimaNes squa d ron was ' the sternmost, that her shot struck the Neptune, and in chace, and within a very short distance of them. - killed one man and wounded four. When daylight A large French privateer came in this afternoon, i approached they were clearly discovered, and every endeavour used to come up with them, the Pompee prizetotheßLACKJOKE lugger, which cut her out from ' being the only line of battle ship in company, and the under the battery, in a small port on the French coast.lfrigates not joining until the following day. Some Also came in a French gailiot, laden with timber, ships were seen from the mast head, to whom I sent prize to l'Ateeß, Capt. Woere. A Spanish logger to signify, by a sloop of war, the course we were . likewise came in this afternoon, but there has yet stee Thering. • .. • supetiority of the enemy's sailing left little been no communication from her. . chance for the Neptune getting up, unless some of PORTSMOUTH, MAY 23. the ships were disabled, and Wally accident had hap- The Court Martial on Admiral Ile:lvey having pened to the Ponipee's masts, they must inevitably closed this day at iwoletlic Admiral, who is dismissed have all escaped ; I therefore directed Capt. Fahie the service, left this place about three o'clock. The to enc'eavour to cripple the sternmost ship, without . bringing on the collected fi re of the three, then in line DaomEnAfte and HINDOsTAN Sa ile d yesterday for New . abreast. In this attempt he was most gallantly sup- South Wales. Arrived his Majesty's ship MERMAID ported by Captain Napier, of his Majesty's sloop Re from the Downs. A large fleet of transports is lirtney cruit, who kept close up, although fired at from all expected from Lis!eon ; several of them are come in. their tern chase guns, and did every thing that was Wind S. E. possible to be done to cut away the enemy's masts DEAL., MAY ea. and rig ging, and continued on this service during the whole chace, which lasted until this morning at half. with the .- - past three, when le d'Hautpoult was brought to ac end Plernix non by the Pompee and Castor, as will more fully 'yip tin- appear by Captain Fahie's letter,. here inclosed: 'he I should not render justice to that excellent officer was Ito withhold the praise due to him for his unre mined attention during so long and arduous a pur suit, and his taking such advantages of the enemy's situation as they occasionally occurred. I have much to regret in the loss of those that have fallen and suffered on the occasion, a list of whom is inclosed. As the other two ships of the enemy separated on• the morning of the 17th, at two o'clock, their route cannot be well ascertained, I suppose they made sail • to the southward., and will pass through the Som brero Passage. They had outsailed this ship so much as to be at too great a distance to be observed when they parted, we, of course, followed the Pompee's lights. I am now waiting until the Pompee and the prize ar- refitted, to proceed to the windward; and I have detached the York and Captain, with two frigates and a sloop of war, to the northward, to try to intercept the enemy's two ships t hat have escaped. e Until their Lordships' pleasure is known, I have commissioned the prize, and appointed Captain Na pier to the command of her, as a reward for his spi rited conduct during the c hase. Ilan the honour ned) ALEX. COCHRANE. to be, &c. (Sig His Majesty's ship Pontine, April 17, 1509, Cape Rozo, Porto Rico, N. E. by N. seven or eight leagues. 1 Sir—Having, in obedience to your orders commu- • nicaeed to me by telegraph at five P. M. on the 14th instant, proceeded under the Lower Saint for, the pur pose of watching the enemy's motions should they attempt to escape from thence to the Northward, I observed soon after nine o'clock the signal from the small ships and brigs more in shore, under the orders of Captain Cameron, of his Majesty's sloop the Ha zard, that the enemy had put to sea, those signals were repeated to you ; and at 40 minutes after nine o'clock, the Lower Sainebearing East, about a mile and a half, I distinctly saw three large ships coming down under all-sail,and followed closly by the Hazard and severalothersof the inshore squadron,with a signal for their being the enemy. At ten o'clock I closed up with the sternmost ship, and endeavoured to stop her, by the discharge of two broadsides ; .but being under a press of sail, and a strong breeze, steering away W.S.W. she succeeded in crossing us, without returning our fire. At this moment the Neptune was seen in the S. W. standing towards us with all sail ; Vora ever. Arrived the G;;AMPUS, of 50 guns, with the Surat Castle, Wexford, Preston, Ann, Diana, and Phoenix East India ships, from India, and a retaken ship un der French colours ; also the Rose whaler, from the South Seas—the squadron under the command of of Slr J. S. YORK was, all well 9th May, in lat. 45, 10, N. 17, W. ; arrived the VierOrttous, 74 guns, from a cruize off Flushing,—Sailed the KANGAROO sloop, on ,a cruize off Ostend ; FOLKSTONE lugger, with convoy for Portsmouth ; CRACKER gun-brig, on a cruise; DESPERATE gun-brig for the Nore ; INFLEx tBLE, 64 guns, for Portsmouth.—Wind N.E. 4 FROM LLOYD'S LIST. GRAVtSEND, MAY 23.—Arrived the Britannia, Murry; and Jelly Bachelor, from Lisbon ; Tigris, M•Dougal, from Ben gal ; Malvina, Smith, from Teneriffe ; Llan Rumney, Dawson ; General Miranda, Orr ; and Pitt, Foster, front Jamaica ; Forti tude, Holman, from Demerara ; Gallant Schemer, Davis, from Rio Janeiro ; and Collingwood, front the Brazils. Sailed the Eurydice, Compton, for Surinam ; Cathvrine, Fenn, for Ba hia ; Caper Fey, Fullarten, for Barbadoes ; and the Vine, Mont gomery, for Dublin. T wo Maltese privateers, both called the St. George, were cap tured early in March, off Zante, by two French frigates, from Toulon, bound to Corfu. The Dick, Arthy, from Liverpool, is lost on the coast ofAfrica. The Neptdnus, —, from Alicant, has been taken, retaken, and arrived at Port*mouth. The Brothers, -, from Gibraltar to Malta, has bee= taken, retaken, and arrived at Gibraltar. The Juno, —, from Prince's Island, was taken on the Sd inst. and carried into Cherbourg. The Mary, Allison, of Sunderland, is taken and carried into France. The Ann, Delbas, is seized at Senegal. The Mercator, Freese, put into Marstrand on the sth inst. and must unload. The luffer, Fykes, has been taken, retaken, and arrived at Gottenburgh. Seven American vessels, laden with cotton,tobaccn, &c. bound to Gottenburgh, are taken and carried into Christiansand. CORN MARKET, MARK -LANE, MAY 24.—Wheat, this day, is in tolerable supplies ; from the late ad vices, and expected supplies from America, causes extreme heavy sales, at lower prices—Barley in large supply, and again cheaper—Malt likewise-, Peas and Beans, of the two kinds, also—there are large sup plies of Oats, with many new arrivals from Holland, and sales thereof .are cheaper—Flour, this week, is Ilower ss. per sack,and is expected at further reduction.