Star. — London, England, 1808-11-18 00:00:00

-ympu. Ig, at before the Court a narra- of a ll the tr.n _.. which took place in the r s ; f ro m the day of his taking the command of it • the day of his return ; and he hoped that at the e t hey should be ready to consider the circum- C sl ates of the onvention of Cintra Naval Officers s ight be read inform the Board , of the state of the-weather any td of the transports, at the time that ke Convention was concluded. In the second letter, H ew r equested the Court to apply to Lord Cas. eereagh to lay before them copies of the correspond ence which took place with the Commanders of the with the Junta of Gallicia, and with French army , t he Bi s hop of Oporto. The a nswer of Lord Castlereagh was next read ; je stated that these papers should be laid before the Court, as they had been called for, and that it had been his intention to lay them all before the Court, ex cept what related to the correspondence with the Bishop of Oporto, which did not appear to him to Aare been necessary to the Inquiry. The JUDGE ADVOCATE also stated, that Sir Arthur Wellesley wished to lay a narrative of his proceed legs likewise before the Court. A variety of official documents were then read. A copy of a letter was then read from Lord Castle. r eagh to Sir A. Wellesley, dated the 25th of June, c o n taining some directions previous to his sailing, and so me obervations respecting the victualling of the tre nspotts. The next letter which was read was dated the 21st of June, and directed Lieutenant-Colonel Browne to take various measures to obtain information of the enemy's situation and strength in Portugal, and to repeat the result, without delay, to Sir A. Wellesley. Another letter, from Lord Castlereagh to Rear- Admiral Purvis, directed certain naval preparations necessary after we arrival of the troops in the Tagus, and requested his opinion if the corps of Sir A. Wel lesley, consisting of 9000 men, might be employed usefully in that quarter. The next letter was from Lord Castlereagh to Ma jor-General Spencer, informing him that Sir A. Wel lesley, with his corps, was on his way from Cork to the Tagus, and directi.ng, him, to proceed thither with his corps from effSit . fliz. it likewise requested General'Skacer's .epinion as to the benefit to be ex pected from the employment of Sir Arthur Welles ley's force in the Tagus. The Judge Advocate then read the Address from the Principality of Asturiato . his Majesty; and the Ring's Answer, as already published in all the pub . lie prints. He then read a letter, dated 13th of June, frotn Lord Castlereagh to Major-General Spencer, ordering him to proceed from Ceuliz to join the corps of Sir Arthur Wellesley. The next letter was of the same date, from Lord Cattlereagh to Sir A: Wellesley, and contained.orders to proceed to the Tagus, and enutherated the different regiments that tvenit6compose his army. It inclosed also the Address from the Pr - eince of Asturias, and his Majesty's answer to it. It stated that he was first to proceed with his army off Cape Finisterre ; but that if he should find that ins force was not sufficient, he was to communicate that fact to the Portuguese Govern rent, and at the same-time to write home, in order to obtain fresh supplies. It left much to the discretion and judgment of Sir Arthur Wellesley on this point : and he was to reconcile, as much as possible, any diffe rences which might arise betweeen the provinces. It strictly enjoined him not to take any part in the dis cussions-among the Provinces of Spain, without par titular orders. It also stated, that this Government could not at present recognize the Prince of Asturias posseseng any Royal authority, he being actually a prisoner in France. 121 i N. A letter of the same date from Lord Castlereagh to 11 Sir A. Wellesley, contained copies of dispatches from Sir C. Cotton, but did not vary the instructions before 'received. It also contained adv ices of £200,000 hay. ing been sent to facilitate the proceedings of the Spaniards. A dispatch was read from Sir Charles Cotton, dated 12th of June, wherein that Admiral states, that, ac cording to the best information he could obtain, the French had not more than 4000 troops at Lisbon ; and that he thought that about .5000 British troops t ight venture a landing, and effect the necessary speradons. It a l so conta i ne d some remae..s up on the ' critical state of the French force in Portuga .# A letter, dated I.sth of July, from Lord Casle reagh to Sir A. Wellesley, inclosed con , vitinications from General Spencer as to the state of the enemy, and intimated that the troops under Lieutenant-Gene ral Sir John Moore, then in the Baltic, after due re freshment, should proceed without delay to join Sir Arthur Wellesley in the Tagus. The attack ,npon the Tagus was to be the first object of the expedition. From the intelligence which his Majesty had received, ie was induced to trust, in a great degree, to the re- SOurces of the country, for the supply of provisions for the troops. A dispatch from General Spencer, from on board 11 e Hibernia, oft Lisbon, gave a statement of the French force in that neighbourhood. A letter of the 6th of July, from Lord Castlereagh to Sir Hew Dalrymple, recommended to him to en courage the spirit, and to assist the patriotic efforts of the Spanish nation by every means in his power. Another letter from the same to the same, dated the Isth ofJuly, stated, that his Majesty, highly ap- Tofu% of Si.: Hew Dalrymple's conduct, had been graciously pleased to entrust to him the chief coin- Mad of the forces in Portugal, and that Sir Harry /canard was to be the second - in command ; and ano ther letter, of the 21st of July, formally appointed him to that command. A letter of the same date, to Sir John Moore, di rected him to proceed without delay, to join Sir Hew Dalrymple and Sir Harry Burrard. • A letter from Colonel P aget to M a j or -G enera l Stuart, dated 30th of Inly, conveyed stmt-necessary intelligence respecting the movements of the Britis toftes, anct likewise a statement of the troops died assemblel at Coimbra. • A letter from Colonel Browne, of the 2d or inclosed a dispatch respecting various movements of Cm French army in the neighbourhood of Lisboa, and stated that the Portuguese,torce at Coimbra did not exceed 5000 men, onl? half of whom were armed, and the rest chiefly peasantry. A letter of the .sth of July, from Colonel Browne to Sir Arthur Wellesley, contained a report of an in terview with the Bishop of Oporto, a statement of the Portuguese force, and the disposition of the country towards the English. An intercepted letter from General Junot was also read, and likewise another from the same person to General Laborde, expressing his confidence in that Officer. A letter from Lord Castlereagh to Sir Harry Bur r.,.rd, of the 4.th of September, acknowledged the re ceipt of the dispatches respecting the victory of Vi miera, and stated, that the skill and valour of Sir Arthur Wellesley had afforded his Majesty the highest satisfaction, and that such conduct was highly cre ditable to himself, and honourable to the Crown : the steady bravery of the British troops proved them to possess those qualifications, discipline, and perseve rance, without which success could never be obtained. A letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley, dated the 24th of July, on board the Crocodile, off Corunna, was then read. It contained an account of some communica tions which that General had had with the Junta of Gallicia. It also gave an account of the aciion which had taken place between the French and the Spaniards at Rio Seco. The whole of the French troops in Por tugal, according to the infortnation he had received, amounted to 15,000 men, 12,000 of whom were sta tioned at Lisbon. Sir Arthur Wellesley proposed sailing from Corunna the same night that the letter was written. Another letter from the same to Lord Castlereagh, dated July 26, contained an estimate of the Portu guese troops stationed at Coimbra and elsewhere, the whole of whom were badly armed, and principally peasants.. It mentioned art application which Sir Arthur had made to the Bishop of Oporto for the sup- ply of 150 horse!: and 500 mules, there being none attached to the army for the transport of the ammu-: nition and entrenching tools, which the Bishop pro mised to provide as soon as the troops should have disembarked. • A letter from Sir Charles Cotton to Sir A. Wel lesley, dated on board the Hibernia, off the Tagus, gave some information respecting the facilities of dis embarking the troops, and the disposition of the pco ple of Portugal towards the English. A letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley to Lord Cas tlereagh, dated August 1, on board the Don, Aal, off Mondego River, stated the position ef the enemy in the neighbourhood of Lisbon ; and that it appeared to Sir Arthur to be too strong for them to attack at present. The vicinity of the enemy, and the want of the necessary assistance, would intro ise the difficulty' of disembarkation near Lisbon, and zhetefore he had been induced to decide upon landing to the north ward at Mondego Bay ; that he had commenced his disembarkation in that river on the day of writing that letter ; but that the landing was attended with some difficulty, and would have been quite impossi ble, had it not been for the zeal of the pe pie of the country, and the activity of the Officers ~ f the Navy and Army. He stated, that he had- issued 5000 stand of arms; to equip the people of the country to I co-operate with the British forces. A letter from General Spencer to Sir Arthur Wel lesley, dated the 15th of July, gave some informa tion respecting the position of the French army, andl the most advantageous points of attack for the British' forces. forces. It referred to an absolute want of money in Portugal, and the necessity of supplying them in this respect, and also mentioned the difficulty of obtain ing mules to draw the ammunition waggons, &c. A letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley, of the 24th of July, adverted to the reduced state of the pecuni ary concerns of Portugal, and to the necessity of mak ing an advance in specie to that Government. A dispatch from Sir Arthur Wellesley to Lord Castlereagh, dated August 16th, relates the particu lars of his march, and the junction of the Portuguese troops. It had been the wish of that Government that the British stores should be employed for the maintenance of the Portuguese troops ; and the dis patch stated the refusal of compliance on the part of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who intimated to the Portu guese General that the British forces would not be under the necessity of obtaining bread from them, but should require that nation to supply the British with beef, wine, and forage. It also contained an ac count of the British Army saving from the French a magazine of provisions, and of some extraordi nary messages sent respecting the supplies, in . which General Friere expressed his anxiety on that subject. Sir A. Wellesley received a proposition from General Friere, respecting a new plan of ope rations, which went to separate the Portuguese from the British troops ; and the pretext for this proceed ing was the probable want of supplies, notwithstand ing Sir A. Wellesley had expressly stated to him the contrary. Sir Arthur Wellesley attributed this wish of General Friere to his apprehensions that the Bri tish were not sufficiently strong for the enemy. 11e could not account for this proceeding, because the two Generals had always been on good terms, and General Friere had voluntarily, at a former period, placed himself and his troops under the command of the English. If Sir Arthur had been furnished with the supplies, he would have acceded to the request, but he found that the British Commissariat had not sufficient stores to enable him to do so. Besides, he did not believe that the motives stated by General Friere were what led to his determination. A letter from Sir Arthur Wellesley to Sir Harry Burrard, of the 11th of August, stated, that Portu gal, in time of peace, never supported itself more than seven months out of the twelve, and therefore that the British must depend upon the transports for bread and other provisions. It advised General Burrard also to take with him five days provisions in advance, and to keep up that stock in case of any interruption. When a letter was about to be read from Sir A. Wellesley to Sir H. Burrard, Sir ARTHUR addressed the Court in a very low tone of voice ; whereupon Lord MOIRA observed, that it was evident that the communications contained in it had been made confi fidentially, and it did not appear to his Lordship that any thing contained in it bore materially upon the question, especially when the letter contained only private obse*ations upon in dividuais. fe ease these letters should be printed with the Report of the Board, this letter Must also be made public, and he left it to the Court therefore to judge what must be the con sequence : it could have no other effect than that of Injurious au offence, Which might prove exceedingly Injurious to the public cause, and could not possibly forward any one point under discussion. He there fore moved that it Should be withdrawn. The letter was accordingly withdrawn. The JUDOS ADVOCATE then read a letter from Sir A. Wellesley, containing the official dispatch respect ing the battle of Vimiers ; d letter front Sit H. Bur rard to Lord Casdereagh • and a letter from Sir A. Wellesley to Sir H. Burra rd. He also read a state-I ment made by Captain Bowen, of the best means of disembarking the troops at Lisbon, communicated to the Secretai y of State. Sir Hew DALRYMPLE then read a paper to the Court. It stated that before he proceeded to put the Court in possession of a detail of proceedings which would place his conduct in that point of view in which alone it ought to be considered, he had to claim their indulgence in the statement of some cir cumstances by which his feelings and reputation had been most deeply wounded. He had always looked for ward with joy to this moment, when he should have an opportunity to repel a calumny which he had every reason to know had the most injurious effect upon his character. He alluded to a paragraph which ap peared in one of the public newspapers, and which had been transmitted to the army in Poi tugal, calcu lated not only to destroy the respect of :he soldiers placed under his command, but to rob him cf that' , confidence which his Majesty had been pleased to re- ' pose in him. The object of this paragraph was to defame his character, and to rescue that of a more favoured Officer ; but in what he was about to say on the subject, he was fiir from wishing to shrink from the responsibility, and still less to disclaim the shale he had in making an armistice, which, in the event, the more it was considered, the more it would be ap proved. [Sir Hew Dalrymple here read the paragraph to which he alluded—insinuating that he (Sir Hew) had torn the laurels front the brows of an Officer (Sir Arthur Wellesley) who had deserved the admi ration of his country for a splendid victory : and that he had compelled that same Officer to sign an armis tice which would foreverremain on record as a disgrace to his Majesty's arms.) Sir HEW DALRYSIELE begged leave most solemnly to affirm, on the word and honour of an Officer, that the conference with General Kellerman, which lasted from two o'clock in the day till nine at night, on the 22d of,Augusr, was carried on by Sir Arthur Wel lesley, Sir Harry Burrard, and llimself, during the whole of which Sir Arthur Wellesley made what ob servations he thought proper upon the Treaty, and took that prominent part in the discussion which the victory he had recently gained, and the local know ledge he possessed of the country, seemed to justify. The conference was held in the French language • and when he (Sir Hew Dalrymple) advanced to th e table, in order to place his signature to the armistice, he was informed by Gen. Kellerman, that he, as a Ge neral of Division, was unable to treat with the Com mander in Chief of the British Forces ; and, therefore, it was proposed that Sir A. Wellesley should place his name to the Armistice, and Sir H. Dalrymple did not recollect that a single objection was at that time made by Sir Arthur to the provisions of the treaty, excepting so far as related to the duration of the armistice. Sir 11. Dalrymple did not mean, upon any account, to avail himself of any other means of retrieving his character than what the established laws of thecountry allowed ; his interest and the interest of truth were so nearly connected that they could not be separated, nor should he enter into details which could not regu larly come before this tribunal. He was extremely happy that he was placed in the situation in which he now stood ; but if any individual had chosen to prefer specific charges against him, he had no doubt but he could have justified his conduct with regard to the transactions in Portugal ; and there' was not a single Officer of whore services his Majesty had been deprived on his account with a view to the pre sent investigation. Sir AItI'IIUR WELLESLEY hoped, that in delivering in his narrative to the Board, he should be justified in making a few observations upon what had just fallen from Sir Hew Dalrymple. Certain para graphs had appeared in the newspapers, which had ventured to speak upon his conduct in the late trans actions in Portugal, as if the writers of them had re ceived some authority or information from him or from his friends, as to the truth of the facts there sta ted. He had never authorized any person connected with him in the service, or any of his friends, to give authorityl to the publishers of newspapers to state that he was coin-' pellet!, or even ordered, to sign the armistice in question. It, was trite, that lie was present when the treaty was in agi tation by the Commander-in-Chief, and he assisted in draw ing it vp, and subscribed it by the desire of his superior °j eer, but ke never had said, and never would say, that that desire "ions i n the shape of an order, much less of compulsion, but a desire with which he had complied, from the wish of supporting the measnres of those under whose com mand he was placed. However he might differ upon particular points, HE HAD MOST CORDIALLY CONCURRED IN THE OPINION THAT THE FRENCH SHOULD BY PER MITTED TO EVACUATE PORTUGAL ; and when the Ar mistice was signed, he slid not think it proper to re fuse his concurrence. He thought it necessary to say thus much, and begged leave to deliver in a narrative from the time of his taking the command of the army, to the period when he resigned it on the evening of the 21st. Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY then delivered in his state ment, ikid the Court adjourned at a quarter before four o'clock, till Saturday. General Wrymple sat at the side of the Court. He was accompanied by General Sir C. Green, and three Officers of his Staff. Sir Arthur Wellesley sat behind the President. He was accompanied by Major Tucker, and another Officer of his Staff. The Duke of Cumberland sat within the bar.— A great many ladies were present.—Among the spec tators were also Generals Sir ThomasTrigge, Phipps, and Sir John Cradock ; the Hon. Captain Legg ; Mr. Wellesley Pole ; Captain Malcolm, of the Navy; and many other Navy and Military Officers. • The following is the order in which the business is to be conducted :—All the official papers are first to be read, from the time Sir A. 'Wellesley was ap- pointed, tfll the recall of Sir Hew tialrytn ple.-m Quest Questions will fi rst be put to Sir Arthur Wellesley, ions his landing in Portugal, till he was succeeded by Sir H. Burrard, who, if he arrive in time, will be the next examined, till the command was taken from him, on the arrival of Sir ll,•xv Dalrymple, who will give an account of the busines, irom that time. Sir Hew Dalryniple is a very soldier-like man, in the prime of life, and is in extremely good spirits. The Court adjourned at a quarter past four, till wn o'clock on Saturday morning. PRIVATE LETTER, FROM A iRITISII OFFICER, SERVING UNDER GENERAL. BLAKE, D ITV) " Saroasa, October 26. gi On the morning of the 21th inst. General Blake proceeded from Bilboa to attack the enemy, who were strongly posted at Sarnosa, three leagues from Bilboa and two leagues from Durango. The Spanish army destined for this service broke into three colunins and a reserve. The centre column, 5000 men, proceeded to oc cupy the heights of Arrisuriaga, to the front of the enemy's centre, distant from the town of Samosa About a mile. This column pined its post about two o'clock, P. M. on the 21:11, without meeting with any opposition. _ _ The right column• composed of the vanguard and part of the third division of the army, proceeded to ;et tossesslon of the heights of Landaldey, with a view of attack:Ts the left cf the enemy's position.— On approaching the heights of Landaldey, the right column were vigorously opposed to a body of about GOO of the enemy's light troops (voltigeurs) who were most advantageously posted in some woods on the ascent of those hills. The Spanish light troops kept up a very smart and continued tire on the enemy without however being able to make any impression on them, they being almost entirely covered by the woods. 4 . The Ist battalion of the Spanish grenadiers came up to support the light troops, and on arriving in a parallel line with them, the entire charged the enemy with the bayonet through the woods, and obliged them to retreat in a most precipitate manner through three different woods into the town. This act of the grenadiers, which appeared al most rash, was performed in a most gallant and sol dierlil,e manner. “ The right and centre columns of the army gain ed their posts, advanced their respective light infan try troops and drove in all the enemy's outposts. The enemy kept up a brisk fire from the town on their right column, which approached close to the bridge ; but being defended by a howitzer, it was deemed im prudent to make any general attack until the third column should have gained its position on the heights of Guernica, and from thence attack the right of the enemy's position. • On the night of the 24th the troops lay on their arms ; during the night of the 24th, the reserve arri ved at its post, about a quarter of a mile in rear of the centre column, and exactly to the Tight of the town of Samosa. a On the morning of the 25th, the extreme heavy rains and thick fog prevented the different columns Hof the Spanish army from distinguishing their respec tive movements. About two o'clock, P.M. the weather cleared up, when the right and centre column moved closer td the town with an apparent intention of at tacking the enemy ; however, as the third column, which now appeared on the heights of Guernica, could not possibly obtain their object of outflanking the ene my's right before dark, the general attack was defer red until daylight on the 28th, thus affording an op portunity to the third column to turn the right flank of the enemy during the night, and thereby cut off their retreat by the valley leading from Sarnosa to Durango. " From two until six o'clock on the evening of the .26th, a brisk fire was kept up between the vangu trd of the Spanish army and the left of the enemy, who were strongly posted in the town of Sarnosa. During the night of the 25th, the enemy[ having perceived the movements of our third division, made a precipitate retreat towards Durango, about two o'clock on the morning of the 26th. 44 I cannot close this letter without mentioning most interesting and gratifying sight, wh:ch I wit nessed on the afternoon of the 25th inst. A batta lion of the regiment of Catalonia, belonging to the Marquis of Romana's army, having joined this army on the night of the 24th inst. were ordered by Gene ral Blake to join their countrymdn in the vanguard, who were then engaged with the enemy ; upon the arrival of the Catalonians at the vanguard, there was a momentary cessation of firing, and those brave pa triots from the north were received by their old friends and companions with loud and enthusiastic huzzas ; the Catalonians returned the cheer with-4. " Viva la Espana y la Gran Britania !" and " Long live George 111. and Ferdinand VIL" The feelings excited in the bosoms of the Spaniards can easier be conceived than described ; nor is it difficult to ima gine what were the sentiments excited in the hearts of the enemy, in front of whom this joyful meeting took place. The salutation over, the regiment of Catalonia joined most cordially in the fire against the enemy. " As yet no authentic returns of the killed and wounded have been received ; from every informa tion, it appears that the loss of the enemy in killed and wounded is not less than 130, amongst whom are three officers. The loss of the Spanish army in killed and wounded is supposed to be about fifty, of whom two are officers." • Five thousand men vanguard, commanded by Brigadier- General Mandizabal, the coin= commanded by M. Ede Cam po Requilmice. t General Merlin commanded the enemy's force. The Hon. J. C. Vim.Eits will leave town in the course, of adew days, on his mission to Portugal. Monday afternoon, as two Gentlemen of respect. able appearance were riding full speed in the Kent road, the leading horse taking fright at some rubbish, made a sudden halt, when his . rider went r i g h t ov r his head, and lighted on his feet at the distaac of several yards, without receiving the smallest injury. The horse immediately stood still, and the Gentle man soon mounted again, and pursued his journey at a little more moderate pace. rROtELtiNOS OF di'lliisitiTHAllOATAßD°F7llos IPNQUIRr. CHELSEA COLLEGE, sEtnND DAY, NOV. 17. k o n after the Court assembled, the JUDGE ADVO- • addressed the Beard, and said, that, in pursu- of his directions, he had written to Lord Castle- h for copies of the dispatches and correspondence Sir Hew Dalrymple, Sir Arthur Wellesley, and other officers connected with the expedition, and b a d received an answer from his Lordship, accom- w ith the necessary documents. He also read t o letters froze Sir Hew Dalrymple, stating, that ',should be happy to lay before the Court a narra- ,ll the transactions which took place in the , ,