The National Register. — London, England, 1808-09-04 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER: places the Emperor would present hinnelkwithottt any eases, and with greater facility than in the capital of the king-' -dam : but all his hopes were disappointed; for the latter did • not even repair :0 the vicinity of Irun, whither he finally took the fraudulent precaution to invite him, nor did he once move from Bayonne, where he had resolved to seize his person. In fa^t, under the pretext of business, and the superior facility which that city presented for adjusting the interesting subjects that required an interview of the two monarchs, he pressed the king, with the most solemn promises of security, but the most • perfidious and unheard of treachery, to proceeetto Bayonne. With this invitation bis Majesty complied, being actuated by his characteristic honour and good faith, and being desirous of putting an end to so many calamities ; having previously, while at Vittoria, oat of pure condescension to the wishes and profes shuts of the Emperor, given orders for delivering over to the yreach troops the person of Don Manuel de Godoy, the princi pal author of so many misfortunes, whom his Majesty rescued from the fury of the people, who were ready to assassinate him, dimming that he should be punished according to the crimes that might he proved against him at his approaching trial, in order 4 which he was kept in safe custody. Napoleon, being already master of the sacred persons of the King, and his august bro ther, concerted measures, through the medium of Prince Murat, the General In Chief of his troops, by which the parent Sove 'reigns should also repair to Bayonne, under the specious pre t .t of composing and adjusting the supposed differences esisting between them and his Majesty; and finally, he caused all the other Members of the Royal Family to be conducted to the same place, dragging them from the bosom of their country, to ensure the execution of the detestable object which he had in 'view. All being now prisoners, and by means of the most let ameful and unhard of violence, Napoleon made the King D. Ferdinand renounce in favour of his father the Crown which the tatter had freely abdicated, and caused Charles IV. to renounce it in favour of himself, compelling the Prince, and the infants D. Carlos and D. Antonio, to saction this iniquitous usurpation by the absolute cession of. their respective rights. Thinking himself already master, by this detestable artifice, of Spain and the Indies, he ceded them to his brother Joseph, King of Naples, nominating and appointing him Sovereign of this vast Monarchy ; and in the sequel he compelled a multitude of persons, of all dames and estates, to repair to Bayonne, under the pretence of establishing a new Constitution, which he had formed before hand, and with regard to which the only choice left to the per sons assembled was that of signing it. • " Anticipating, these last-mentioned events, and seeing itself on the one hand deprived of its beloved Severeign and the rest of the Royal Family, and on the other, oppressed by the vexa tions and insolence of the French troops who occupied it, this loyal city proclaimed isirtidelity on the 2d of May, and attack. log the French troops, notwithstanding their immense supe riority, engaged them in a bloody battle, in which many ho nourahle and worthy Spaniards fell, but accompanied by an in comparably greater number of their iniquitous French op pressors. The consequence was, that for two days and nights after, this city was a witness to the barbarous inhumanity with which they put to the sword, in cold blood, a multitude of in nocent persons, who, either during the moment of insur rection, or after a solemnly proclaimed pardon, they ap prehended with a pen-knife, a pair of scissars, or any other implement of their respective trades in their possession. —The melancholy intelligence of this act of cruelty flew in a moment through all the provinces of the kingdom, who, unani mously making a commie cause, declared war against France, and prepared with incredible celerity to shake of the yoke which oppressed them. Asturias, Leon, Gatlicia, St. Andero, Arragon, Valencia. Catalonia, the Andalusias, La !Mancha, Murcia, Castile, Estramaderst, and Cartitagena, assembled numerous armies, and adopted such measures and dispositions as in the short space of two months confounded all the plans of our enetnie,:, w ho were completely vanquished and routed at every point where they were attacked. " Notwithstanding so many glorious and successive victories, in which the enemy suffered ad i minut ion of more than two-thirds of his force, and with very slender means/of replacing it, Joseph determined to repair to his capital in the persuasion, undoubted 1y , that his presence would allay the general uneasiness, and re sat:rose his yoke upon the provinces. For this purpose lie caused imself to be proclaimed here, on the '2sth ult. but he musts ill received by its loyal inhasiitants, that. notwithstanding all his aiWitita, 4 44 recalitiollis .b; had Of Portificilting of ming SEPTEMBER 4. himself. almost alone wherever he went, and even in his own Palace the whole of the Grandees, the Officers of State, and a great number of other persons.of all classes, estates, and condi tions, having absented themselvek in expectati on of his arrival. Finally, having received positive intelligence, on the 28th, of General Dupont's surrender in the Andaluslas with 17,000 of the best troops of franee, Joseph determined on retreating, or rather flying from this capital. This purpose he, with all the lest of his army, precipitately executed, directing his march towards the frontier, and committing on their route the most execrable %acts of robbery, sacrilege, assassination, and excesses of every description: To their disgrace, he was followed by Don Mariano Louis de Urquiso. Don Miguel Joseph de A zanza, Don Gonzalo o'Farril, Don Joseph de Macsaredo. Count de .Caharras ; in short, all the Ministers with the exception of Don Pedro de Cevallos. - - All the Supreme Tribunals of the nation resident in the capital have till this moment existed in a state of oppression, without freedom of deliberation or action, and subject to the severest yoke which perfidy and treason could impose upon them; hut the instant they were able to make their voices heard, they hastened to declare null and void whatever was done, under the apprehensions of vinlence, against the lawful rig hts of the House of Bourbon to the throne of Spain. All classes of the State are in consequence re-invested with the full and free ex ercise of their lawful duties, which are those alone that are com prised in the solemn oath taken to our august Sovereign Ferdi nand Vll. when Prince of Asturias, binding us to recognise him as King of Spain and the Indies, in case of the death or formal abdication, which has actually taken place, of his Au gust Father." [The letter then concludes with an order for proclaiming Fer dinand Vii. declaring null and void his abdication, a► Nell as every act done by the authority of the usurped Government." ARANSVEZ, Jot 25.—Castanos, after the battle of Bay len, proceeded without lbss of time towards Aranjuez, and is already at St. Clemente, distant from Madrid 18 leagues. Ge neral Dupont has been conducted to Malaga, as General Reding, who had made him prisoner, declined ceding him to the Com mander in Chief. Gen. Wedel has been conducted to Seville. Jovar fell in battle, by a shot through his temples. Among the articles of capitulation it was stipulated, that the whole of Mancha, as far as the Tagus, was to be evacuated ha the French within six days, for which purpose the nephew of Dupont, who was prisoner on parole, was sent to collect the straggling parties. The surrender and capitulation took place on the 21st. The army of Andalusia consists now of 90,000 men, whereof 50,000 are of the line, and 8000 cavalry. It will he augmented by from 3000 to 4000 horse taken from the French. Cortu!lY 4, Auc. 13.--Ciencrouo act by an individual of the British nation : Letter addressed to Messrs. Don Manuel B. de Canned() and Don F. P. G. Polo and Wephete, merchants, &c. Grxrscserti,—You will have the goodness to pay to the Supreme Junta of this kingdom, in my name, that it may he up. , plied at its pleasure on their account, and that of the other Con stituted Authorities in Spain, who have united together against France, the sum of 45,176 reals, and IT maravedis 4i. c. ZOO!. sterling. Your's, &c. " FREDBRIC Gs:sett:Er, Merchant, of London." The Government and the inhabitants, grateful for the especial favours which they have received from his British Majest, and the generous English nation, know not bow to return them the thanks which are due to them ; and having daily fresh cause to admire the heroic virtues of this wise, great, and generous na tion, t liey assure it of its gratitude and eternal friendship, and in• dude in the catalogue of good Spaniards the generous English man, Don Frederica Grellet. GRANADA, JULY 27.—The Junta of Malaga has officially announced to the Government here, that on the 25th a vessel ar rived at that port from lvica, the Master of which derlare, that on the 14th inst. there arrived a packet g i v in g intelligence of the arrival at Alcudia of an English frigate, which had suf fered severely in a combat which a British squadron had had off tottiati with a French squadron, which had left that port with eleven ships, containing 13,000 troops, who were to he disembarked on the Belaric Islands, or on the coast of Catalonia, which sqnadron was beaten : two vessels bad been taken by the 11.440611 1 two bad SWakt mud tbs rest were pursued. 1 I I 4 , ii • 1 411 !1 4' 41, Ll tk, r 1. 1 , "