The National Register. — London, England, 1811-04-07 00:00:00

I THE NATIO them upon it witnessing General L 1-111ataileInd vi time • push Its it Innis Whitbresq ' their ey bad been described by his Hon.' Friend—cold-bloi cnitors of the battle ! Wu this doing their duty to ti selves er to their brave allies ?It was not-easy to speak up without giving way to indignation.; and alter coldly , witne a band of heroes fisting and dying for their wee, General Penas tells our small arm , exhausted with its rnparaileled tory over numbers, that, noviwas the tiMe to pus! success.—What did this General Inflia ? Was it or treachery, or cowardice, each, or all 1 He (Mr. Whitbi did not mean to complain of. the Spanish. people, but of officers. He should be sorry to say any - thing - so severe 01 army, as that every soldier . dare felt aa _their Oeneral did. only wished that the Spanish soldiers were put under the inand of Biitish officers, as the Portuguese were, and, ht an doubt, that they would behave as the Portuguese hat _ _ of test He only wished , com mand of Biitish , and, he had so doubt that they ._ Portuguese had be haved. He placed himself upon the silence of Gent ral,Grthamand let the Right Hon. Gentleman dislodge him from that •ground if he could ; while that silence remained as it did, he should ever think of Barrage as a day memorable for the glory of the Britains, and not less memorable for the infamy of the Spaniards ! Was it to be endured, that our brave . fellows should be so basely deserted, after an excessive itightmniirch, the nso ment they entered the field, against a foe always formidable from discipline, and-then doubly so from numbers ? Why wee the two battalions concerning which the R4k Hoc. Gentle man vapoured so much, why were they Withdraw n from the heights of Barrow ? Whymas their position abandoned precipi. lately to the French? Who save order but a Spani sh Offi cer? -blooded What ! should not this 'tithe s usy; let his Abe first time -a Spanish army have been co -blooded spectators of British heroism ? Did they want this to remind them of the stately in ference she bY Cuesta in the battle of Talavera ? Was all sound in Cadiz ? Was there no French party there ? Were • British Lrmies before be i t i r o a r m l i si til e l a the hattleof Barrosa? He - said bettayed , for it Was 1 - si c the tsvelkatta li oos never came up tilt our army had rep • the Fr . Ctiela; 'belt them- off, and was in hot pursuit of tnestt es fast as bur a:tiny-could pur sue as fast as their eattausted:linths could carry their nolVe hails ! then what bats been out ollierat Talaver.k;uothing.-- • at Barret* nothing—orrather atheith; .o:gaps - Worse than no thing ; the Wiley of Samoa warnot pet Md.:et, iitYstery hung about it. Thetalliedforce sailed hens CildiS—the 'British fought —the Spaniards looped on. The British coikaered.t and rt the siege was net raised.—Agaiu k e Siked, , was all sound at i-va die ? Was it true that General Graham had bees -obstructed andfoliedin all his plans—that In the midst orthe Wit; *bile the -British troops were doing feats which, perhaps, British imps alone touted do, their allies were doing *heti he hoped, sect men alone were capable of—plundering - the British bag gage I—was this true t-ltwae not the Spy people he ccrO plained of, be gave them everreredit; but he gave their leaders • none. • If all this was so, or nearly so, were the British armies to be risked so worthlessly ? Wire they, to be abandoned to trea chery it cowardice ? For either or both must have originated - the unnatural, ungrateful, and infamous treatment they have filet with. - Mr. PZICVIAL explained. General Ti ILI4TON went into considerable detail, and in. fered that there must hoe been treachery un the part of the Spanish Commanders. Mr. R. Wet.testzv °bursted, that the Honourable Gentle man (Mr. Whitbread) had spoken much of the corruption of the 6panish Government, but it ought not ro be forgotten that they had espoused the principles of I.berty and fostered the ge neral ardour of the country. Mr. WARD explained, and a conversation of some length fol lowed between Mr. Perceval and Mr. Whitbread as to the in fluence of the Regency in the Cortes. Mr. BAN 5L5 commended the correctness and accuracy et the ordnance estimates, but would reserve ids remarks fur the , - Report. Mr. WHAITON then moved the sums contained in the esti mates of the Commissariat Departirent, which, after some o b se rvations from Mr. Whitbread, Mr. ' Hushisso.i , and Mr. W. Smith were votr.d. ll The sum of 1,0u0,0001. was granted to pay the interest - of Ex chequer Bills. The Colonial Estimates were postponed to Wednesday...- Adjourned. • Oil* TUESDAY, ♦PRIL g. LUNACY IN MEMBERS. Mr. W. non c (Member for Wicklow) nip that he held in his hand a Petition of an afflicting mace, but ovens to which the House would be called upon to interpose. !This Petition was entrusted to him by the Freeholders of the County of Wex ford, and stated, in effect, that Abel Ram, F.s.aW Wm. Con greve Wilcock, Esq. had been by them returdes Knights of the Shire, to serve in the press* • Parliamatt 3 tut that. once)! ..-.1... i ~/ that all the recent practice of Parliament made direct against the superseding of Members .merely on , account of sickness. He should not, nevertheless,oppose the reception of the Petition from Wexford, thophit he thought it proper to star thus much, and should reserve himself, as to opinion, till a further stage of the luquiry.—lt was referred to the Committee of privileges. - MAIL COACHES.. • Lord BIN*III4O, pursuant . to notice, rose to move for a Com mittee to be appointed, to inquire into the expediency of exempt ing MaileCoaches from paying Toll en the Turnpike Ito-ads. His Lordship declared, that the hardships of the present sys • tem of exemption had been felt from one e•ol of Greattritain to the other. These; coaches, which added $80,0001• annually to the reveatie tai.-1 free of toll, throwing all the burt ) cn of repai r " - in; the public roads upon the trustee's tor them. Was tbis eqe;te able, when it- was considered that their weight tore sip the roads ? All this, too,. was,for the comilatience of the merean tile interest, and yet the weight of the expense was ptaced en tirel on the ,shpulders •of the landholders—(Hear I ) As to , she suffered, at, present, a loss of 6,850). per year : Roxburgh and Dnn:fi - ies were particularly age,tievud, and the Whole of North Britain wai threatened with serious evils, if Mill-Coaches were not made to pay toll. With not lets than 2O of those Coa:bes, constantly travelling, the loss to the lalleed • interests of England could not be less than tr. 1,0001. annuafiy. Gentlimen opposite might think that : - .0,0031. was a trifle eg sum in this case, and not worthy of ram ice. lie was still p,reNred to Contend, however, that th's 50,0c01., paltry as it shou ld a pp ear, was taken ftaudutently from the proprietors and conservators of the to a loads.—(//ear, hear I )--He knew these to be facts; and, be might not immediately produce documents in support". them, he adianced them in the confidence of truth. He thOtight the delay of the Trustees of the turnpike roads in coming for Ward, ought to weigh with the House rather _in their fay.our than otherwise. If the measure were to be considered in any other light than as it affected the public. interest, that interest, he was satisfied, Must be necessarily much injured by the reluctance which the exemption from toll begot to engage in the remote and barren parts of the country, in making new roads, by which fresh sources of revenue to the_ State would' ie opened.! Sir P. IVIVIMAT observed, that mail-coacbes bilretand hid no exemptiou from toll, and - he could tint conceive why Pria prietors in this part of the £tnpire should not be p.acect'on the same footing. The CRAN6ICLLOR of the EXCILIVirtt VtOlthi not con tend, that the delay of complaint - , oti the part of the.Ttus tees, should preclude them from redress, the - t he were entitleil _. . - - - • • n , . II NE •;..~ IM !NAL REGISTER. 213 these Wm. C. Alcoa, Eggp bad since become subject to a mental inkl4dy; whist; ' completely litaupsugrAted him ialt ' his representative duties; that Ns own (Ninny Mt' awl found themselves ender Abe painful retsina)? of suing out a statute of agingt him. The Pethioners aceordiney prayed for relaF.lvir.,Alcock had no* been far some time 4vunged nor was there (Mr. Tighe said) the slightest hope of his recovery. %va.., not -evert coavos mentis in his own Whirs; and there- fore he could not be otherwise than non comps as to the affairs of other persons. The 9th of Elizabeth, indeed, formed the only precedent in point. There were, however, precedent: of a stronger cast; as where (1505-154 .9) Members Of thit HOME had been removed on account of sickness. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHF-QUIR observed, that tees, snouta preciuue - to. it; but such delay did go to prove that the evil now cosh- phdned of had not been felt. •The fact was, that the additional business. to which the mail-coacheogave lino to .upen the rends, mare'than compensated for their exemption from toll. The persons, concerned is• Trustees Were hilly indemnified, they had 11 pa pro yes, and that .beitv; be case, be tltoasght ti.e House most unwarrantably called, att'for a sacrifice of die r!a4 • tisnal revenue, to the amount of StiOikil. . Mr. W. WY Nita Stated, that gisk harliktrivit to be re.: moved was not confined to. Sott i nst,' diri r erittlbn to Wales was exceedingly viscous. Fire to die roseniption as a • meet unekampl , 4 robbery of iudiCiditalh if.dirpriplatinn which was every day extending. „When tnall-clialbee r ikleti first pro- jected, it was given to btAintilierstood that *Ley Were not • to exceed a certain weight. 11.wirlt* regulation had been made it had not been adhered to. A mail-coach now pissed through the county in which he lived, carrying six in passengers 1 ,94 four outside , together with a great nninber of parcels. • If the exemptions were done away, the Proprietors would replaie the money so drawn from tbetrimckets, by in increase of charge t 9 passenger s , and thus whatever convenience m ig ht be derived frourthe Mode of conveyance, would be 'paid fur by those who ought to pay for it, those who enjoyed it. Mr. Rosa spoke a few words agai n st the motion, and was loilbsveckby Mr. MINIMS and Mr. W. SMITS who supported it. • • .A . divisitai then toldcplacts, when three appeared. For the mo- • lido 39.; - Against it 34 ; Majority & • • _ • •P: , 1,„ * Pe ' . • •A : .111111111111.1111.11111111111111.1111111111111111'