Star. — London, England, 1811-04-11 00:00:00

r .,..._.,,._....._,..._............. ...„.;,. ...,.. ....„.... .I.l.massmo'rasialimsfilasirma,""_o4l!l!_Bl.. , . ..... be enfetted that the Duke of 'Dal:tittle, when he set - off for Estrarnadura did not leave the whole of An • • dalutia and the kingdom of Grenada wider the orders - PARIS, APRIL S. of the Duke of Belluno. The 4th corps was thus left Eztract from the Correspondence of the Army of the South o f independent, also the corps of Generals Godinot and Spain, of the 16th of March. 'Darrican ; and the Duke of Belluno had only the BATTLE DE CHICLANA. troops employed in the siege at his disposal, to guard An army of from 16 to 18,000 meu, of which 6 his immense line, to repulse the real or false attacks or 7000 were English, landed at Algesiras on the made at all points, and to oppose the army in front 28th of February. It consisted of 4000 English of him • so that, whilst the enemy had united al l hi s troops from Cadiz, 3000 from Gibraltar , 6000 S p a- means , 4th corps, and the corps of observation niards from Cadiz, and about 4000 collected from wider General Godinot, that is to say, more than different parts of the coast. The Spaniards who 25,000 men, were of no use in this important affair. sailed from Cadiz were embarked in the Bay on the The 4th corps supposed that the debarkation at 21st of February, but they were not able to put to Algesiras menaced their right, at the same time that sea until the 26th. On the 28th they formed a junc- the Murcian insurgents were attacking its left. Ge tion at Algesiras with the other troops. On the 2d neral Sebastiani only learnt, when too late, that the of March this corps advanced to Cassas Viajas. troops that had disembarked were marching against The plan of the enemy was to raise the siege of the left of the blockading army. If one of his divisions Cadiz, and to take all the French lines in the rear, i had actednpon the rear of the enemy's corps, and if the • while an attack was to be made on the works before Duke of Belluno had had only to oppose its entrance Cadiz by the garrison of that place. At the same into the Isle of Leon, the whole of this corps would time the ships of war and gun-boats were to threaten I have laid down their arms. The Commandant of debarkations on every wino Ballasteros was to marchl Ronda has ,repulsed and dispersed the insurgents in upon Seville, and an insurrection was eo break out in 1 the mountains. As soon as General Sebastiani was the mountains of Ronda, which town was also to be ' informed of the march of the enemy's corps against attacked. This vast project has, however, been to- the first corps, he detached a division towards Cadiz. tally defeated. • General Godinot also detached nine battalions; but After having issued orders respecting his line, the these reinforcements, which might have been useful, Duke of Belluno formed a reserve at Chiclana, cons- ; arrived too late. The enemy, after their defeat, placed posed of the first brigade of the division of Ruffin, and ' thernselverin a state of security within the walls of of the 2d brigade of Leval's division, and reinforced Cadiz. We are assured that this affair is a source of the garrison of Medina Sidonia. 1 , discussion and dissatisfaction between the English and The Spanish scouts appeared on the 4th March, in Spaniards. the direction of Chiclana. On the sth the enemy's APRIL 4.—The Mani:cur contains thefollowingnotes army advanced to take possession of that town, which upon the account of the battle of Bartosa, sent by they knew contained the depots, magazines, and head Lord Liverpool to the Lord Mayor of London : quarters of else French army. Letter—The army of Marshal Victor, composed of the two &vi The Duke of Belluno marched towards them with sions of Ruffin and Laval. Mrniteur—There was only one brigade of each di two brigades, three squadrons of cavalry, two batte ries of artillery, and about 6000 men. All eke vision, and each consisted of less than 2500 men.— Four battalions had been detached to reinforce the showed themselves were driven back. The enemy was forced back upon the sea, and his plan was thereby garrison of Medina and Sidonia. Letter—The enemy was completely repulsed with the loss of already rendered impracticable. an eagle and six pieces of annon. The Duke of Belluno, in prosecuting his success, m„iteur—You mean two pieces of cannon, and arrived close upon the sea-shore, whence he perceived four caissoons, and you say nothing of yourhaving that the important position of Bartosa was occupied lost four pieces of cannon and three stand of colours. by an English brigade, forming the rear-guard of the Letter— he General of division, Ruffin, &c. and 480 rank allied army. He ordered General Ruffin to take pos- and file were made prisoners. session of that height, which was carried at the Aar Meniteur —You took at the most 150 wounded men du charge, and several pieces of cannon and some pro and you lost 720. that the enemy had about 6000 men Ga soners were taken. He then advanced upon the ens- Let , er.—lt appears mg's flank, towards the sea, at the same time that a sageldi": . teur—That is to sav less than 5000 brigade of Villatte's division, which had lik e n p os. Let The British with the Spaniards attached . to them, session of the tete du post of St. Petre, proceeded amounted er 1 to soon. against the head of the column. These three brigades Moniteur—There were 7000 English, Bor 9000 of the French army had thus almost enveloped the Spaniards, and 1000 Portuguese, which makes a total enemy. of between sixteen and eighteen thousand men. In Meanwhile vhe enemy, sensible of the difficulties the return of wounded officers, you mentioned eleven of his position,determined to return, and presented four English regiments, viz. three regiments of Guards ; lines, which appeared to consist of 4 000 men each. the 9 th , 28th, 47th, 67th, 82d, 87th, and 9 5 th of As soon as the Duke of Belluno saweehat the este- the line, and the 2d Hussars, to which is added the' my's force was so considerable, and that the English 20th Portuguese ; in all 12 different corps, making formed a great part of it, he ordered General Vil- 15 English battalions, which at 500 each, gives a latte's brigade to leave the passages to the Isle of total of 7,500 men, and (including the 20th I 3 ortu- Leon opele, and to advance towards his right ; and he guese , of 1000 ) of 8,500 men in your pay, who were 1 Ruffin also diretted General to evacuate the height , actually engaged. and to close upon his left,being no longer in expectation Letter--Lieutenant•Genejal Graham, with the troops uodet of surrounding the enemy, but confining his object hise of command, bad crossed SAPeter's river, and re-entere4th& to the establishment of a line parallel to the s e; , and w Mona • eur--General Graham—you embarked at including within it a Spanish division, which had been Cadiz on the 25th of February, and on the 28th you cut off by a detachment of 1500 men of the main di e embarkedat Algesiras, with your division and the body of the corps d'armee. General Ruffin was al- S r paniard s.T ell us flier. . why you undertook this mi ready engaged with this division. He repulsed , with itary promenade, and incurred so large an expense. great vigour, two attacks of the enemy , in which the y You intended to turn the lines of the - Duke of Bel were always two to one. Being severely wounded, J uno— have y o u done it ? Your design was to raise he remained on the height with about 1 00 soldiers, the siege of Ca d iz—]lave you done it ? If you car who were also wounded, and his brigade joined the ried every thing before you, why did you stop half Duke of Belluno on his left. Successive attacks took way ? It was not in the Isle of Leon, but at Chi place on the centre, but every time the enemy pre - ci , ana which but a very shortdistance from it, that sented themselves they were repulsed. Con s t antl y the fi e ' ld of battle,was, where you expected to take disappointed in the plan of advancing to Chiclana, up your quarters on the night of the sth. You would confined towards the sea, and convinced that all their have taken 100 pieces of cannon, 60 gun-boats, and efforts had proved abortive, and the field of battle i mmense • magazines, baggage, hospitals, &c. &c.— being strewed with their dead, they considered the n]- This was the o bj ect o f your ex p e dition —have you at selves fortunate to have the opportunity of profiting • i tamed t ? You were beaten—you lost half your of the movement which had been made by General troops—and you were very near being taken. Your Villatte, and of throwing themselves into t he Isle of numbers,. and the steadiness of your troops, saved you Leon, which they did without any c o n sideration for from entire ruin . Was it then merely for the purpose one of the Spanish divisions , which wa s thus separa- of returning to Cadi z be that you left it ten days before ? ted from Cadiz, but which , having wandered about ould it not have bee n bet ter that tyou had remained there , all the following day, succeeded in en terin g the Isle ere You would have had under your command of Leon during the night , as the blockade was not 4000 more English or Spaniards. re-established on that point until the 7th. Thies between 5 and 6000 Imperial t roo p s disa p . CONSTANTINOPLE, FEB ave arrived within the last forte 10. pointed the execution of a plan long meditated b y an Several Deputies night from Georgia, to implore , on behalf of their' enemy, drove them up against the sea , and com p elled Prince, some assistance from the Porte against the them to return to Cadiz, whence the greater part of Russians. The Grand Seignior has just issued an their'force hest sailed only a week bef ore. The Duke i , order to the Admiralty, to send several Commissio of Belluno took three standards, four field-pieces, and made 720 prisoners. I ners to the Mores, to inquire into the conduct of the l English in that territory, and to ascertain whethe r The action was extremely obstinate. The French they continue to raise recruits there, contrary to the charged several times with the b a y onet. We had 1300 repeated injunctions of the Porte. The order is dated men killed, wounded, or made prisoners. Among the 30th ult. and directs the Admiralty to expedite the latter were 150 men all wounded, who were taken the departure of the Commissioners, and to make their on the height defended by General Ruf f in, and about , report with the least possible delay. 30 sharpshooters, who were the on l y French made pri soners without being wounded. The first battalion The Admiralty has made a Report to the Govern ment, unfavourable to the demand of the English of the Bth regiment was charged in a wood of olives, Ambassador, for the restitution of several vessels in which it was placed as a corps .of sharp-shooters. taken, whilst engaged in an illicit trade to Malta and The eagle-bearer being killed, his eagle could not be ; with cargoes of Turkish corn. They are of found. This regiment having been employed as • Sicily , course declared good prizes. sharpshooters by the General's order, it ought not to be blamed for the loss of the eagle. BUCHAREST, FEB. 19. General Ruffin is among the prisoners, and his i t General Count St. Priest, on the 31st of January wound is severe. It is believed, however, that it will I (February llth) defeated a Turkish corps of 15,000 have no dangerous consequences. This General men at Lafesat ; carried that place by assault, killed evinced the greatest intrepidity, and his misfortune . 4000 of the enemy, made 3600 prisoners, and took 46 was entirely owing to his being wounded. 1 standards, 16 cannon, and a great quantity of provi- The General of Brigade Chaudron Rousseau, and ' sions and ammunition. Our loss was very inconsi- Colonel Nutier, are killed. These officers were distin- derable. We had scarce 500 killed and wounded. guished for their bravery, and have fallen gloriously. The booty it immense, and the greatest consternation , The number of the enemy counted dead on the field prevails among the Turks. Theconqueror is marching of battle is 900, including 300 English, and we are against Vraya, and other fortified pleces.• The ope assured that a great number were carried oft The rations against Tirnowa and Schumle will commence enemy's loss cannot be estimated at less than 4000 immediately, notwith e tandingtheseason, which is here men, that is to say, the triple o f ours. Onehalf of this still very severe. loss, at least, was sustained by the Engl.th troops. I To the above intelligence Count Von Stakelbergh Oti the 6th the English vessels made an attack along has added what follows :—We have this moment re the ,whole of our line,. They effected several debar- ceived very afflicting newe respecting the health of kations, and were every where rep ulsed at the p oint General Kaminskoi. On the 1 lth, (February 23) of the bayonet. In these different affairs v.e made he was at the point of death. Lieutenant-General about 50 prisoners. Four gun-boats were sunk. Se- Essen has been sent for to take. provisionally, the 'veral pinnaces, which were to serve for the -member- command at Bucharest, but the passage of the Dli liation, came on shore, without any person, on board, nube being interrupted by the ice, that General _ has the whole of their crews having beta lost. It is to not yet beep able to arrive. , PRINCH PAPERS. I I. , PAR.ifiIMINTARr PROCREDINCS. HOUSE OF LORDS. APRIL 10. Sir 'AIM GRAHAM and others hem the Houle of Commons brought up the Printers Bill and several Private Bills; which were laid upon the table, and afterwards read t►e first thee. FOREIGN MINISTERS' SALARIES RILL. The Foreign Ministers' Salaries Bill was read the second time, sad ordered to be committed to-morrow. DISTILLERIES. The Fad of HARDWICKE moved for further Papers rela tive to the quantity of Spirits distilled in England ant Scotland; iwhieh was agreed to. _, _ The Earl of LAUDERDALE moved for an neonatal all Ll cences granted by the Privy Council, and of all Orders by the hate fur the year 3aio.—Ordered. ISANBUItY PEERAOE , The LORD CHANCELLOR said, It had been ordered that the Committee of Privileges on this Peerage do sit again to-mor row, and that the judges be caned In ; hut be could assure the House his time had been so mach occupied, he had not hem able to turn thesniallest attention to these questions which were meant to be proposed; and therefore he moved that the order be dis charged, and that the Judges be called in the first Tuesday after the recess.—Ordered. SPANISH ARMY. Lord BORINGDON said, in consequence of what passed in the discussion regarding thanks to General Graham, and also from other information respecting the conduct of the Spanish Army, every one must feel, on comparing the organization of that force with the Portuguese, that it would be desirable the former should as far as possible be placed is as good a state as the latter. Indeed, it was important to the public and to that House, that their Lordships should be informed what measures had been taken by his Ma jesty's Government to render the Spanish troops equal to those of the Portuguese. The conduct of 10,000 Spaniards who had lately surrendered to a number not exceeding their own, was an additional ground for this information. He therefore had risen for the purpose of giving notice, that he would, on some day subsequent to the recess, move an hum ble Address to his Royal Highness the Prince Re gent, praying he would order copies of all correspon dence between his Majesty's Government and the Government of Spain, relative to the gate and disci pline of the Spanish Army, to be laid upon their Lordships' table. At the same time, it was not his intention to make any motion wkieh might be detri mental to the Government. The Earl of LIVERPOOL could assure the House and the Noble Lord, no individual could feel more than his Majesty's Government themselves on • this subject of the discipline of the Spanish armies.— He wished the Noble Lord had given this notice at the time a Noble Marquis (Wellesley) was present, which was only a few minutes before; but he could' only say, his Majesty's Government had exerted, and' were continuing to exert, every effort irk their power to establish a better organization of the Spanish I army. It was their wish to establish a discipline :V milar, as far as circumstances would permit, to that of the Portuguese troops. There were probably rea sons from habit, prejudices, and feelings, which ten: dered it more difficult to accomplish that in Spain which they had effected in Portugal. Our long alli ance with the latter kingdom, and a more favourable intercourse, arising from circumstances between the Portuguese and the people of this country, had natu rally led to our more easy establishment of a better system. He could only repeat, that Government had felt most.strongly on this subject, and would use every effort to have the military force of Spain put upon a better establishment ; but he did think the motion of the Noble Lord would tend to produce such parts of the correspondence as it would be im prudent at this juncture to expose, and that it would create much inconvenience. Lord BORINGDON was satisfied with the expla nation of the Noble Secretary, and would not promise he would make the motion he intended ; and he was glad that Government were making efforts on the subject, which was desirable information for their Lordships and the country. HOFFMAN V. ULM Mr. ABBOTT was Counsel in this case forthe plain tiff in error, and Mr. Wu.eoN. was Counsel for the defendant. The action in the Court below was brought on a bill of exchange, and the error now assigned was on an averment in the declaration, that 46 presentment was made to Kensington and Co. ac cording to the tenor and effect of the bill of exchange and the acceptance of R." 4.c. It contended that jtshould have been aveeresl;aslitade tei the house of Kensington, and not to the Company. Mr. WILiON, after arguing the case, said this writ i of error and the protraction of the suit, from the first, twas for the purpose of delaying payment. In reply to those observations, Mr. ABBOTT, for his client, retorted on that of his Learned Friend, and remarked, that the most expensive mode hat been pursued, by issuing two originals on this and another bill, where one would have been sufficient. Lord ERSKINE considered the objection taken to the averment, as partaking of that subtlety which was cured by the Statute of Jeofails ; but he was far from approving of the expensive mode of issuing two originals, for both the bill's might have !yen included in the same declaration. He should therefore move that the judgment should be affirmed, but, for the reasons he had stated, without costs. The LORD CHANCELLOR put the question to the House, and it was ordered accordingly. Adjourned till to-morrow. HOUSE OF COMMONS. - - - -- - The Pariah Apprentice Bill was read a second time and com mitted. On the Report being brought up, it was ordered to be taken into further consideration on the 6th of May next, and the Bill to be printed. Mr. TREMAYNE brought in the Pauper Lunatic Bill, which was read a first time. Mr. LUSHINGTON brought up the Report of the DistiUery I Bill, which was agreed to, and the Bid ordered to be read a third }time The Repbrt of the Committee on the Customs was given in, aed a Bill was ordered to be brought in agreeably to the Resolu tions of the Committee. The Deey Stealing Bill was read a third time and passed. Mr. LOCKHART brought in the Bill, authOtising 11w Com missioners of the Royal Naval Asyl•on, to hold lands fur the be nefit of that Institution. The Bill was read a first, and ordered to be read a second time. The Committees of Supply and Ways and Means were or dered to sit again on Monday, the 22d instant. EAST INDIA COMPANY. The SPEAKER acquainted the House, that in consequence 1 of their order of the 4th instant, he had that day signifird to the Honourable Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies, the Resolution o! the douse ndativi tp Esptrotipu Tf their Clia"lf• I MOWN AWL Mr. MIME SUMNER moved, that tho 011d111e11111 of Report of the Committee en Highways should be postpaid eta the 23d to the 30th instant, which, after a few words fats Ste JOHN SINCLAIR, was agreed to. IRISH TYTITICS. Mr. HENRY PARNEI.L gave notice, that on the 19th lost, he should submit a motion to the House relative to thooog o o t i oa of the Tytbes in Ireland. KING'S HeALTII. Mr. WHITBREAD asked the Chawcellor of the Exchequer when he would 14y before the House the Report of the Queen's Council on the state of his Majesty's Health ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said to-morrow' (this day.) mutt COMMERCE. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved for a Committee of the whole House to take into consideration the propriety of repealing an Act of the 19th'of Georiee the Third, prohibiting the re moval of vessels from the middle of the stream, ex cept into the legal quays, in so far as regarded Ire: land—And the Speaker having left the Chair, Sir JOHN NEWPORT bore testimony to the readiness with which the Right Honourable Gentle man (Mr. Percival) had adopted this measure for the relief of Ireland. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, the Government of this country had the sincerest desire to remove every difficulty in the way of a free intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland. He should therefore move for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal the Act already mentioned.✓--Leave given. COIN. Mr. HORNER moved for a Copy of the Corre spondence in 1809, between the Secretary of State and the Governor of Jersey, respecting the advance in the value of the Current Coin, and of the opinion of the Attorney and Solicitor General on that subject. He also Illoyed for a Copy of a Report in 1798, rela. tivtto the Deficiencies of the Current Coin from waste. .Ordered. SOPPLY.-AJIBISTANCZ TO TAB PORTI:OUNSI4. Tke House having formed itself into a Committee of Supply, and the Message from bis Royal Highness the Prince Regent for assistance to the Portuguese, on account of the listresses suffered by them from the French, having been read. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER j spoke in substance as follows rising to call the I attention of the House to the gracious Message which has been now read, and to call upon the House to second the views and intentions of his Royal Highness, views not onlyxongenial to his own nature but to the feelings of the people whom he represents, and whom he governs, I shall have small occasion to trespass long on the attention of the House: There is not, lam persua. ded, one man hi the country, who is not willing to con tribute his share to carry into effect this measure, which is equally recommended byconsiderations of policy and justice. I can scarcely conceive any motiveto exist for the ass istance of any country, which does noes not exist on the present occasion. Whether we allow ourselves to be guided by a narrow policy; whether we judge of rho measure by the rules of a more enlightened policy; or whether we consider it in the light of a moral duty; all these views combine to recommend it to us for our adult'. tion. If lam asked what are the motives which call upon us to adopt this measure, I answer, first, the wants of the Portuguese people, and in the Ed pint. their merits. I should wish that assistance should ba given to a people who have a claim on our affections. and to a people who will be highly gratified by that; assistance ; and more than all I should wish it, be. cause I conceive it to be due to our own character.--. These are motives singly sufficient to influence us, and when combined, ought surely to render the present application successful. I have in my hand an extrac; from a letter from Lord Wellington to Lord Liverpool, dated the 27th of October last year, immediately aftee the battle of Bvsaco, which, with the leave of the House, I shall read, as it throws a particular light on the subject now under our consideration. [lfere read the extract, the substance of which was, that un fortunately at the time of the French invasion, the har vest of Indian corn, on which the inhibitants princi pally relied for subsistence, was not carried off the ground, and was almost totally destroyed ; that when the French should be obliged to withdraw their army from the country, the greatest distress would be expe rienced by those parts of it through which they should pass ; that as Great Britain had on former occasions given assistance to nations in her alliance, and to this nation in particular, there never was an occasion when, from the sufferings and the merits of the people, that assistance was more necessary ; declaring, that he scarcely knew of one instance where even the lowest individual had had communication with the enemy contrary to the duty which he owed to his own Sove reign ; and concluding with recommending the Poo tuguese in a very warm manner to the assistance of Great Britain, when the retreat of the French army should render it necessary.] I will not call the at tention of the House to the modesty with which the Noble Lord expresses himself on the subject of the French retreat, or to the distinctness with which he had in view that event as it has since happened. — Here there is no anticipation of brilliant victories, no boasting of the destruction of the great armies pour ed into Portugal, but the contemplation of d'e evx cuation of that country by the enemy, in the manner in which it has actually happened. , However, it was not with the view:or. illsistrating the merits of the galla*t gi4ral that I read the extract from his ktter, but for the sake of adducing his testimony to the. wants and to the merits of the Portugut , e people. I cannot help, however, remarking that is must be a most gratifying circumstance to those who feel an interest in whatever concerns that Noble Lord, to learn that in the midst of those great endeavours which he was then making, in the midst of all the military arrangements with which Ms time must have been so much occupied, he could spate time to think, and to think deeply, of the necessities and the perso,l.l l accommodation of the inhabitants of the country which he was so gallantly defending, and that he was not alone considering their present distresses, but dos he was looking forward to the day when these dis• tresses would be augmented. But if that distress was a cause and motive of claim at that period, what meg it now be At that time the Noble Lord had ego, rienced the merits and acknowledged the deserts o f the Portuguese. He had then also seen the distresses which they had suffered from the French army, the' country the scene of plunder and devastation; bid bi tiO not then excerieeced, as be has recent; y &TA ' - "Ir l .~ _~ 46 1