The National Register. — London, England, 1809-01-08 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. arms. Other accounts state, that it has capitulated. Ilar:e• lona is reported to have surrendered to the English and Spaniardg, after a most destructive bombardment. Letters from Gijon, of the 18th instant, state, that the French had po more than 250 troops at Santander; and, as General lilalustinos was advancing with 5000 men, it was expected that the enemy would evacuate the place.— Corunna Diary of the `29th December. TAN. 8. Ng'twat History.--There is 9. heautiful little hawk, generally called a sparrow-hawk, but which, in fact, is of a very different species, being a kestrel or windhover (Falca Tinnuneulus) now living, belonging to Mr. John King, of Buckingham, which fre quently takes its flight, and is absent fur several da i s, a week or two, or longer; when it returns to the house, and goes about as tamely as before. It was taken from its nest, when very young, in Jane 1807, and bred up tame. Mice arc its favourite food. Within the last two months, it has changed its old plumage for a new and much brighter one, being chiefly of a,brick-coloured red, embellished with elegant black tr i angu lar spots. A more affecting case than the following has seldom occurred. The wife of Mr. Middleton, a farmer at Winmour, near Hesler ton, upon the Wolds, in Yorkshire, with her infant child, her sister, and the housekeeper, had been at a farm-house of Mr. Middleton's, at some little• distance, and set out on their return home in the afternoon of Saturday se'•nnight. Two men belong— ing to the farm had been with Mr. Middleton afterwards, and told him of the party having left the farm, hut supposed, as the day was stormy, they must have returned, with an intention of stopping there for the night. Should this not prove to be the case, the men proposed to go bark immediately to Mr. Middle, ton, and inform him of it. Not hearing any thing from them- Mr. Middleton supposed the party 'had returned and were safe. About ten o'clock at night, however, as he was going to look after some sheep near the house, his'foot struck against some thing, which, on examination, proved to be the body of a dead child ; and his astonishment and affliction may be more easily conceived than expressed, when he found it to be his own and only daughter. On making further search immediately, his wife and housekeeper, and his wife's sister, were found at a short distance, nearly lifeless; the two former are recovering, but his sister had lost the use of her limbs, and little hopes are entertain ed of her regaining the use of them. OFFICI kT, ADVICE TO THE PUBLIC. CORUS NA , D nu. `29.—" Since the last advice, the Supreme Junta received various and discordant information relative to the state of the capital, notwithstanding they spared neither trouble nor expence to obtain authentic intelligence, until an express arrived from Catalonia, dated last night, which positively states, that Thursday, Madrid was still defending itself with the utmost vigour—that a division of the army of Castanos was in the neighbourhood of that capital ; and that Don Pena was also directing his mar: to that point, and lastly, that the French are earnestly desiring a capitulation of the inhabitants of Madrid. " As to Sierra Morena, our head-quarters are . established at that point; and our army in that quarter is hourly reinforced by the troops. who were dispersed by the enemy, and armed peasantry :—that the. J u nta of Defence formed there of the Deputies of the four Kingdoms of Andalusia, and of the other two of La Mancha, is almost constantly assembled, making the utmost exertions, in concert with the Commanding General, to secure that important point against any successful attack on the part of the enemy. The Junta has also received orders imme diately to march all' the prisoners who are in this kingdom, to Cadiz by small divisions, escorted by armed peasants, to be put at the disposal of the Governor of that city. The Junta has likewise got a letter from his Excellency the Deputy of the Central Junta, dated Truxillo, the Bth of December, stating, that the Deputies of Catalonia have received intelligence that we have rendered ourselves masters of Barcelona. By com inand of the Junta. " ANTONIO BARTHOLOMEW. " Curdova, Dec. 12, le08. " PRO VIN C IA LS. MONTHLY AGRICULTURAL REPORT. The early sown u heats, which were every where in almost as unexampled state of forwardness and luxuriance, have suffered a seasonable check, by the setting in of the sharp frosts, and will, probably, be much benefited thereby. as the slight fall of snow, which took place at the same time, will protect them from any material injury which might otherwise have been the case ; and those put in at a later period, are by nth means in a -sate of growth to butqa n any inisch;ef in this w:.) . in EtOand and Wales, Wheat averages, per qunrter, 90s. 2d. Barle , ., 455. and Oats, 335. The 'must:a: mildness of the season, till within these few days, has had t.f:' , t in preventing the consumption of the stock of food ; st: tt:at thefitrmer was, perhaps, seldom better pr i :,t thk time for the styport of his live stock : aud, in addition to this, the crops of turnips and other -winter green food, ucre telU um better, or more ftbundant.—The busiuers of stall feeding. has, this y...ar, gone on remarkably well in most places, froal the weather being so mild and open till within these few days.—The same cause has likewise been equally favourable to the performance of all the uitrere►zt opc- Rations of husbandry, which require to he execnted at this sea-on • On threshing out the crops, they, in ►r.ns► situations, t►►rn out better than was supposed at the period of housing the grain. • On Wednesday the inhabitants cf Lancaster were highly amused, aLtout one o'clock, by a numerous asse!ablage Of sports men entering the town in pursuit of a hare that had been hunted for several hours on the Moor, near tile town. Puss entered the town, being nearly exhausted, by Monr-laii.., Arent round the stone well into St. Leonard's Gate, entered a house, the door of which was open, and endeavoared to conceal herself under some furniture, when an old woman appearing, alarmed poor Puss, and she endeavoured to escape by.itimping through the window, in . w hich Harm pt she broke several sluares of glass. One of the huntsmen cline op at the time, took her, and liberated her near the New • ridge, for another day's sport. At the sale •of the late Mr. Woodis's ferniture, at Penzance, a clie.stitif ers was purchased by Mr. ;819‘ le of Ma:a /ion, 111et6194. Upon examining his purchase, this gentletaau dis • 1r et diawer, containing 100 guineas, which he very .14 ! *Owned. The iiroprietors, to testify their sense of ate conduct, have presented that gentleman a t - -4 ; r; * : . yn which a memorial of the circumstance is in. COURT OF INQUIRY, REPORT OF THE BOARD TO HIS MAJESTY. MAT IT PLEASE YOVE MAJESTY. " We, the underwritten General Officers of the Army, ip obedience to your Majesty's warrant, which hears date t:!e Ist day of November 1808, commanding uc strictly to inquire iLto the conditions ofa Suspension of Arms, concluded •n the August, 1808, between your Majesty's arms in Portugal, and the French force in that country—and also into a Definitive Con. vention,concluded with the French General commanding on the S I st A !lust following—also into all the causes and circumstances (whether arising from the previous operations of the British army, or otherwise, which led to them)—and into the conduct, behaviour, and proceedings of Lieut.-General Sir Hew Dalrym ple, and such other Commander or ComManders of your Ma eAy's forces in Portugal—and of any other person or per,ollF, as far as the same were connected ith the said Armistice, Suspen sion of Arms, and Convention—and to report to your !Majesty a state thereof, as it shall appear, together with our opinion there on, and also our opinion, whether any, and what further pro ceedings should be had thereupon. We have, at several meetings, perused and considered your Majesty's orders and instructions as transmitted to us by the Right Hon. Lord Castlereagh, your Majesty's Principal Secretary Of State, together with sundry letters, and other papers, therewith traosmittod. And have heard and examined Lieut.-General Sir 11T..b Dalrymple, Si! Harry llarrard,ancl•Sir Arthur Wellesley. and other principal Officers employed on the said Exl odition, with such witnesses as any of them desired. And also such other persons as seemed to us most likely to give any material informa tion. And in order that your Majesty •may be fully possessed of every circumstance which has appared in the course of this In quiry. " We beg leave to lay before your Majesty the whole of our Examinatimis and Proceeding 3, to this our Report annexed. — And upon the most diligent and careful review of the whole matter, we do, in further obedience to your Itoyal command, most humbly report to your Majesty :"—[Here follows au Ab stractof the Evidence, which has already appeared from time to time in TII C I NQUISJTOR.] The Report then proeeeds as follows : it appears that some of the principal advantages to arise from the Convention were in the contemplation of the Cenerals. That it immediately liberated the kingdom of tngal from the dominion of the French, thereby restorin; to the inhabitants their capital and fortresses, their principal sea-ports, their per sonal liberty, property, religion, and established government. • te.