The National Register. — London, England, 1809-08-13 00:00:00

AUG, 13, POIOIIOIIS pressure of despotism. The nati of the prei.ent relative situation of Francc and Austria has doubtless reached them ere this, and it is not to be expected that any portion of the Dutch or Germans will now expose it self to the fury of a Conqueror, who has probably fought his last Hattie for the Continent. The affairs of Spain offer but little that is new, and that little carries disappointment to our ,hopes, and accu mulates our fears. The appearance of disunion, not to say disaffection in the Conucils of the Junta, almost in ane us to despair of the " ri,g - hicous cause." One chance of victory has been snatched by superstition, and more than one has been lost by delay. The British, Spanish, and Portuguese have formed a Sort of disjunctive unlov, which threatens Madrid, with a force altogether of about 100,000 men, CUESTA commands about fifty thousand in tle centre, ttnd VEIJEGAS and Sir A. WELLESLEY each with about twenty-five thousand, compose the right 4nd left wings; the grand army occupies an unnecessarily extended front, front the right bank of the Tagus to the teft bank of the Guadiana. We very unwillingly infer from this circuthstance a jealously among the Commanders. We have already noticed the wlint of energy and uniou in the Spanish Councils-Levery day confirms our opinion of tree vices attached to the present order of things in that coiritry. CUCSTA allows V;e'roa to gain a day's march because he would not attac'• him on a Sunday.—?l similar Vf eakuess on the part of 1;:e Jews enabled the Humans to take Jerusalem, and reduce their country to a province. But, what we dislike eten inure than their bigotry or 11U; per stition, is the want of energy, and we had almost said of 'common sense, There exists a Committee of Pa!ilk Safety—a name omi nous to freedom, and more than once fatal to Liberty. its construction is more destructive of social order than even the infamous tribunals of Revolutionary France. It ap. pears to be framed upon the model of the Council of Ten of the Venetian ltepublic—a tribunal which bore a charac ter in politics similar to that of the Inquisition in matters of religion: the prisoner is arrested arbitrarily, tried pri vately, and, if executed, the public is alike unacquainted (with his crime and accuser. ROMAN.% publishes a Procla mation breathing vengeance and death against those who speak ill of the Government, and promises secrecy and re wards to the informer, who will denounce this species of Cale crime. A Government that, under any circumstances, requires to be upheld by such means, is not worth a struggle to preserve, and the sooner it is altered for one erected upon principles more enlightened and liberal, the more consonant will it certainly be to the wish of every reflect. ing Englishmin. We arc happy to.observe one brilliant exception to the insipid character of the Spanish campaign. —The Town of Gerona, under the auspice' of BLAKE, is malsiug a most gallant defence, in which even the women co operate with zealous enthusiasm. We earnestly wish 0 do justice to our Allies, when either their patriotism or their bravery demand our praise, but it would be an in justice not to mention, that in Gerona, as formerly in Saragossa, sonic Officers of the Irish Brigade, who are in the garrison, are said to have influenced and excited the intrepidity of the defence. Mitch we know is impacted from th• dacisivo character of 519 our Anitoassador to that country., but we fear that it is be . yond,the powers of any individual miud to impart energy and vi;our to the Juuta of Spanish Nobles. They have hung heavy upon the patriotism of the natien. The power of France MINt have beet+ ineffectual agaiust Spain. Ten millions of men cannot be overpowered by force; Spain could only have been conquered by the Junta, and we fear it has been something inure than folly to identify ourselves with a bud, proud without - dignity, rash without courage, and punctilious without honour. %%e are really unwilling to depress the phlic mind with re spec' to Spain, b u t it s f a t e i n our apprehension is al most decided. That fate cannot be contemplated out sorrow and regret. The Noble CM.`FLOO of th e people, their honourable resistance to oppression, their herwc resolution, that was unaised by :the t:,ower or the success of France, , came forth arin'ed in the cause o f Religion and independence, which opposed the best disci plined troops in Europe, fought, and conquered them, all these things raised tee nation to.a4roud pre-eminence, and interested the whole civillied world in :is success. The day of triumph, we fear ; has bet.4l suffered to escape. The cause has been taken out 4 the hands et' the people, and the fate of this unfortunate country, we fear, IS de cided. There may be a struggle, but it will be feeble and ineffectual; a faint convulsion of that spirit which once gave *life and motion to the frame, an irri tation of the extremities, the sure and certain sign of approaching and inevitable dissolution. Yet short as the triumph of .!..panish patriotism has been, and total as its overthrow appears likely to be, events of this gicut nature cannot pass before the eyes of s mankind without, impressinir conclusions of the deepest 'interest and the inost important wis:loni. The rising of the Spaniac.!s against their invaders appears to hav'e been the %yolk of mdividaal feeling rather than of extensive combinations. There was no general arrangement, no irlalt of operations, no emu mullion of objects.—llut even these rude, undisciph;:cd, and desultory efforts were iitttnuled with the F.:CC(*SS sncd bravery deserved. But this sprit could not big uphold , itself.— And h e re th e insullie:eary of CA., Junta beiame a, pamt. The indivi...l4 it irritation should hive be e n, enlarged, and ennobled into national resistance. '!'::c sworl which their injurie: had wisheathed, s o iltl have employed• to maintain :heir rikk.'s and itivir and no force that BUON A PARTE coital have brought against them would have been suilicient.-- . 4n a cause el this nal urk , mankind by the bounty of Fleasen are accus'or,-d to conquer. In such a cause the simplest wearies 4.. 011 11 have been effectual. This staff of the ihepherl," and the "st nc from the brook," would hale been ennunied into means of tr.umph—into weapons of s ietory. :e power of the press in its freest and widest range gittuli have been permitted to go forth, enlightening, dir,r;iv, end applauding.—The great name of country, and the greater name of Freedom should have been inscribed on their banners, and such a nation, just ceasing to be slaves, must have been invincible.—They might have suffered . in the beginning, like MILTON'S warring angels they in ,lit have been partially overthrown, by the •.; devilish evincry" • of their adversary, but like them they would have thrown. Air the temporary incumh.ince, the formal and heavy at moor which compressed their powers, " pent and hi - nixed" they would have risen on the wing with nisre then mortal TUE NATIONAL REGISTER.