The National Register. — London, England, 1812-09-06 00:00:00

J 354 tably, that the progress of his right had not kept pace with that of his centre and of his left for whilst his centre had occupied all I irhuania, and reached the confines of Russia Proper, and his left Samogitia and Courland, and entered Livonia, his tight was reduced to the defensive in ‘rolhynia, where it had met with some severe checks and partial de feats, and 1 waere it was now reported the Russian troops from 'Wallachia had arrived. To advance with such a collected force in front, and such a powerful army driving in his right and threatening his rear, would have only served to increase the dangers of his situation. A victory might relieve him, but the late sanguinary engagements 11;:d taught him to doubt of success, and the least repulse in a geocral battle 'night occasion his ruin. In his present position, his left ..vas secure, and his centre, in some measure, checked the ther advance of the Russians in Volhynia against the Duchy of WarFaw, as by inclining to the right he might cut them off limn the main army posted at Smolensko, and fall upon them wi:h sopetior numbers. Ile therefore halted. not to refiesh his troops, but through mere incapacity of tafely proceeding farther, except with his left, which might undertake the siege of and if it obtained pos , e , sion of that town, might move forwaid along the shores of the Bal tic. Ile had probably also another object in view. Whilst it -would have been too dangerous to march upon Smolensk° and engage the Russians there, he might deem it safer to entice them back upon 'V itespk, and. receive their attack -on a field of battle selected beforehand by himself; where he might have concentrated a sufficient power to prevent defeat, if not to ensure victory. This opinion is corroborated by the following report given in a contemporary publication of BUON APART ES speech to time EgP LRO R of AUSTRIA, wben they met last at Di esden, " I know all the plans of the Emaanottof 'Russ, A, he wants me to go to Moscow, and to get in my rspr, but I know better, I shall do no such thing : I will give them battle first; but if I cannot bring them to an engagement, I will not proceed." De fancies, perhaps, that this show of indecision and timidity will de lude his antagonists and enable him to repeat the fatal blow of . Austerlitz ; but the Russians are now armed with expe rience and on their guard against his manoeuvres, as well as able to encounter his armies, and notwithstanding the un accountable procrastination of Sweden, which leaves the Baltic coastauninvaded, BUON AP A RTE may be now consi dered in the most perilous situation in which he has ever been placed. Seated on the giddy pinnacle of fortune, a single breath may now blow him down, and as he has to con tend with severer storms than have ever vet assailed his power, hope may at last venture to assume the language o' confi4ence. FRENCH PAPERS. Trench Papers to the Ist inst. have been received, They contain no Bulletin. The intelligence from Witespk, how ever, comes down to the.l6th ult. at which time no general engagement had taken place, and the only news from, head quarters was, that " the Emperor and King continued well." From W ilea, August 19, it is stated, that Gene: al To RIVI A SOW, after defeating and capturing the Saxon advanced division, had had a very serious engagement with General REG N lER and the Austrians uuder Prince SCHWA RTZENBERG, in which he had been completely beaten, and suffered an enor• mous loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners." This report is repeated in letters from Paris, of the 30th ult. but if it had any foundation, it would have been officially announced in a Bulletin, and not left to be noticed only in private letters. A regiment of Lithuanians is raising at Grodno, for the Imperial Guard. Have the latter suffered ao much already that they must be reinforced by new levies ? • TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER._ SEPT. 6. lt apt,cars that Bu ONAP A ItT e, notwithstanding hi s silence respectipr., Sweden, is apprehensive of an attack f rom that ("tt titer, as AUGEREAU has left Stralsund, for the purr pose f c dlecting and organizing a corps of 60,000 inen,who are to b! stationed on the shores of the Baltic. A n a s t i c k, d tted Warsaw, mentions a supposition, that the rusciau;were determined to make a stand at Smolensk° ; and tl at tiv.t object of the junction of the Russian forces was to ( over the two capitals of St. Petersburgh and Most )w; tenth of which cities ate iepresented to be threatelied by a Vieuch army. In the journal of the operations of the Au , ttian auxiliary corps, given in the Court Gazette, we have the details. of several skirmishes and atfairs of posts ; in one of which, the. hussars of Besse Homburg too'; a convoy of 198 waggme, and 398 horses. (ht the 25th ofittly the Russians advanced upon Pinsk, in order to recover the magazines which had been previously taken Burn them ; but they were obliged t(i retire, as it is said, with great loss, and without achievii.g what they wished to accompli.b. REPORTED DEFEAT OF THE FRLYCIT IN RUS;;TA. The Gottenburgh Mail, which arrived esterdav, has 'nought the following article, which states, that " Official intelligence just received from Stockholm, that a Rns , ian Courier arrived there as the vost was coming awly, with an account or a great battle having been fought near Smolensk°, in which the Russians wet e victorious; the patticulais not known. - The Russian army from 'Wallachia, 50,000 strong, has joined General Tole m A sow in Volhvnia, who lately defeated and took the Saxon Commander Kt, Gr: t. prisoner, with his his whole division. c.\l'l U RE OF COM \MOORE 'RODGERS. There are hopes that two Amet lean frigates, one of them the President, Commodore HODGE its, have been taken.—Ai letter from Oporto communicates the following intelli- gencc ()eonTo, Aro. 15 —There is a report here that two American frigates (one of thew the President) Wise hen takcii and carried into Halifax. This twelligenee cwiies tia Ne‘%foundhinil dap." A definitive treaty of alliance has been concluded be tween this country and Persia ; an event of no small im pottance, and which may be attended with very beneficial results to this country. All the endeavours of the French to form a similar treaty have been in vain. A poll-tax has been ordained in Germany, at the rate of a florin per head. When the intelligence of the battle of Salamanca was received at Vienna, the French Ambassador issued hand-bills to contradict the false report, which was, nevertheless, firmly believed. A report has been circulated, that several American pri vateers had entered the port of Liverpool, in New Bruns wick (Nova Scotia) ; and that their crews had landed, and, after plundering the inhabitants, had set fire to the town, which was completely destroyed. No account of such an event has reached the Administration. The Court of Denmark is said to have discovered a cor respondei cc, proving that a plan had been formed between Great Britain, Russia, and Sweden, to wrest from the Danish Govermnent the .Island of Zealand. It is reported, but we hope without truth, that it is the intention of Government, next Session, to propose to in crease the Income Tax to Twelve and one-half per cent. We should be better pleased to bear of retenchments, by which a saving might be made to afford a reduction of the tax. The French Eagles, captured at Salamanca, are to be deposited, with military and appropriate ceremony, in the Royal Chapel, at W bitehall. EN !IF .