The National Register. — London, England, 1809-11-26 00:00:00

7.50 We have received a letter fr►►m a Subscriber, who resides . at Stone nonce. * Ile has signed hi: name ;:o unintelligibly, that we inn►,t be t : to !nye his mune erarectly written, and sent by letter post paid—we will then forward hi►n the Index, &c. Commlnicatio, scientific, classical, or tniscellancous infor mation, will be thankfully recelved. TUE NATIONAL REGISTER. Lontmit, SUNDAY. NOVEMBETt 26, 1809.. POLITICAL EVENT; OF THE WEEK. • No official confirmation of the naval victory gained ia the Mediterranean has been received. But every account transmitted from the opposite shores tends to corroborate the first reports we received on that • subject. That a battle has been fought, cannot be doubted. That it has been followed by a brilliant and decisive victory, is ex tremely probable ; and that it will produce the twofold effect of annihilating the French navy, and hastening the surrender of the important fortress of Barcelona, we con fideutly hope. The accounts differ, as may be expect ed, upon the circumstances and event of the engage ment. Some state that only a part of the French fleet, which escorted a numerous convoy.destined for Bar celona, were engaged, and that they were totally captured and destroyed, together with the whole of the con voy. Another report states, that fifteen sail of the line sailed in two divisions, with a number of transports, hav ing on board 20,000 troops; and that only one division was destined for the coast of Spain; whilst the other, which was more numerous, made sail for Sicily, in order to invade that kingdom. 'ibis report we disbelieve, par ticularly that part which mentions that only the lesser di vision was met by our fleet. The last is the more proba ble, which says, that the whole of the Toulon fleet sailed from that harbour, in order to reinforce and provision Barcelona, where the greatest scarcity prevailed ; and that they were disappointed in the execution of this project, by the vigilance mid masterly dispositions of. the gallant Lord comdsrowoon. It has been said, with some degree of confidence, that the enemy lost ten sail of the line in this attempt. May we soon be able to communicate the par ticulars of an engagement, which, if true to the extent r ported, proves that the shade of the Immortal NELSON still hovers round the theatre of his immortality ; and in itres his former comrades, with the genius and courage which distinguished him above the rest of mankind ! The latest accounts from Spain are not particularly ommunicative upon the head of Military occurrences ; whilst they contain some allusions to the stale report of the Dissolution of the Supreme Junta. 'A cessition of hostilities seems to have been tacitly agreed to in La Man cha, Estremadura, and Leon; for the hostile armies in those proyinces seem to make no movement indicative of pffensi* e, uperations. The enemy appear to wait for reinforcements, before they resume h?itilities ; and, in NOV. 26. conformity to this plan, have strengthened their position s by a concentration of their force. The weather, at this season of the year, is particularly unfavourable in the Pe ninsula, for military operations; and this may account for the inaction of our troops, as well as for that of the Spani ards. However, the brave Catalans preserve their long established reputation for bravery and love of freedom, and maintain an incessant and harrassing warfare with the in vaders. The gallant and indefatigable exertions of that distinguished rovince, has cost the French an immense loss of men; and we arc happy to be able to contradict the re ported defeat of BLAKE, and the fall of Gerona, which were mentioned some days ago. Time Spaniards in the other provinces do not appear to be i nactive. In those nearest to France, the greatest enthusi asm seems to prevail. Exclusive of Catalonia; Arragon, Navarre, Old Castile, and Biscay, begin to recover from their late stupor, and carry on, in small parties, an unre mitting and terrific war against the enemy. These desul tory attacks compel the latter to draw closer together, and to retire into fortified towns, by which means the circle of Spanish independence increases considerably ; and, in fact, comprises the whole extent of country, with the exception of the fortresses occupied by the enemy, or the immediate spots allotted for the encampment of their troops. It is extremely dubious, whether BiJONAPARTE, with all his re sources, moral and physical, will be able to suppress this spirit of resistance. At least, before he is able to effect it, . it will cost him one half of his present army, and convert the Peninsula into an immense slaughter-house. We per ceive symptoms of an invincible resolution in the inhabi tants, not to submit to his nefarious pretcasions. He must adopt a dreadful system of coercion, and maintain an immense army to support it, to form even a reasonable expectation of suppressing the opposition he has now, and shall have for a considerable time, to encounter. A stronger, more comprehensive, and intense resistance to his views exists there, than in all the rest of the Continent; and he will be obliged to shed more blood, to encounter greater difficulties, to make more painful sacrifices, tin overcoming it, than he would, in overturning the remaining vestige,' of independence in Europe. We are greatly mistaken also, if this contest has not involved hire in greater embarras ments, and occasions him far greater anxiety than is ge nerally imagined. He may return to that country with a new force of 100,000 men ;—he may succeed in leading it to the walls of Cadiz and Lisbon; but before he is able to, do either, he will have lost more than half his army, whilst .the eastern, northern, and western provinces will continue to brave. his menaces, and spurn at sub jection. A.march to the foot of the ramparts of Gib raltar does .not imply the conquest of a people, every one of whom detests hint intensely, and will abhor him with greater inveteracy in proportion to his success. In the present exhausted state of the country, it is difficult to carry on offensive operations, on a large and active scale ; and if lie defer the opening. of the campaign to the ap proach of a milder season, the mildness of the weather will be as favourable to the Spaniards as him ; as their mountains will offer them an independence they may not find iu that THE NATiOSTAI; REGISTER.