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

JAN. I. it would be well worth hazarding to this honour. it country It is impossible to proceed much further after the fore going reflections. We will leave to our readers to ant;ci pate the consequences of this energetic policy ; and will only add, that what we advanced, difficult as it may ap pear, is by no means ..practicable. One great effort made, and that formidable army will be able, before three months, to tear from the brow of an insolent conqueror the laurels he now wears, and inflict on him the punishment his crimes and his atrocities so justly merit. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FROX THE FRENCH PAPERS. FOURTEENTH BULLETIN OF THE ARMY OF SPAIN. MADRID, DEC. 5.----The 2d at noon his Majesty arrived in person on the heights w hich impend over Madrid, on which were already placed the divisions of dragoons olGenerals Latour Mau houg, and Lahoussaye, and the imperial horse-guards. The anniversary of the coronation, that epoque which has si g nalised so many days fur ever fortunate for France, awakene d in all hearts the most agreeable recollections, and inspired all the troops with an enthusiasm which manifested itself in a thousand exclamations. The weather was beautiful, and like that enjoyed in France in the month of May. The Marshal. Duke of Istria sent to summon the town, where a Military Junta was formed, .ander the presidency of the Marquis of Castelaur, who had under his orders General Morla, Captain-General of Anda lusia. The town contained a number of 'armed peasants, as sembled from all quarters, 6000 troops of the line, and 100 pieces of cannon. Sixty thousand men were in arms. Their cries were heard on every side : the bells of 200 churches rung altogether; and every thing presented theappearance of disorder and madness. The General of the troops of the line appeared at the advanced posts to answer the summons of the Duke of Istria. .He was accompanied by 30 men of the people, whose dress, looks, and ferocious language, recalled the recollection of the assassins of September. When the Spanish General was asked whether he meant to expose women, children, and old men to the horrors of an assault, he manifested secretly the grief with which he was penetrated; he made known by signs, that he, as well as all the honest men of Madrid, groaned under oppression ! and when he raised his voice, his words were dictated by the wretches who watched over him. No doubt could be enter tained of the excess to which the tyranny of the multitude was carried when they saw him write down all his words, and caused the record to he verified by the assassins who surrounded him. The aid-de-camp of the Duke of Istria, who had been sent into the town, was seized by men of the lowest class of penpie, and was about to be massacred, hen the troops of the line, indignant at the outrage, took him under their protection, and caused him to be restored to his General. 4 butcher's boy from Estremadura, who commanded one of the gates, had the audacity to require that the Duke of Istria should go himself into the town with his e ,ues blindfolded. General Mont bran rdected this presumptuous demand with indignation. He teas immediately surrounded, and effected his escape only by draw ing his sword. He narrowly escaped falling a victim to the im prudence with which he had forgot .that he had not to make war trit* civilized enemies. A little time after, some deserters from the Walloon Guards same to the camp. Their depositions convinced us that the people of property, and honest men, were without influence; and it was to be concluded that conciliation was altogether im po-sible. The Marquis of Perales, a reputable man, who had hitherto appeared to enjoy the confidence of the people, had been, on the day before this, accused of putting sand in the cartridges. He was immediately strang led . It was determined that the car tridges should be re - ma de; 3 or 4000 monks were employed upon this work at the Retiro. All the palaces and houses were or dered to be open to furnish provisions at discretion. Therrench infantry was still three leagues from Madrid. The Emperor raw:rived the evening in reconnoitring the town, and deciding a plati of attack, consistent with the cousidet mita' due to the great saintlier of honest people all N a;s ta be found in a great capital. :Wh:c+ t.r~.. TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER. To take Madrid by assaultagekt - be.a.asilltary operation of little difficulty ; but to eogage that great city to surrender, by employing alternately force aed persuasion. and hr rescuing the people of property - , and real good men, frmn the oppression under which they premed ; this V% a:: t. lidt W :is trails oittiratt.. All the exertions of the Emperor, during these two days, bad en other end. They .have been crowned with the greatest *access. _ At seven o'clock the division Lap;ssi of the corps of the Duke of Belluno arrived. The moon shone with a :cri s otness that seemed to prolong the day. The Emperor ordered the General of Brigade Maison to take possession of the suburbs, and charged the General of Brigade Lauriston to support him in tae enter prize, with four pieces of artillery belougieg to the guards. The slurp shooters of the .16th reginceol took possesion of some houses, and, in particular, of the grand cemetry. At the first fire, the enemy sheaved as much row ardicc as he did of arro gance all the day. The fluke of Benumb employed all the night in placing his artillery in the posts designed for the Road:. At midnight the Prince of Neufchatel sent to Aladtid a Spanish Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery, who had been taken at Sono,- sierra, and who saw with al'right the obstinacy of his fellow citizens. He took charge of the nunexed Letter, : I NN. 1. On 'the Scl, at nine in the morning, the same slag,; of truce returned to the head-quarters with the letter No. '2. 13ut the General of Brigade Lenamont, an Officer . of great merit, had airendy placed 30 pieces of artillery, and had commenced a very smart fire, which made a breach in the walls of the itetiro. The sharp-shooters of the division of Vilatte having passed the breach, their battalion followed them, and in less than a quar ter of an hour 1000 men, oho defended the Retina were knocked on the head.—The palace of the actin), the ha w ," tant posts of the Ohservatory, of the porcelain otantcactors, of the grand barrack, the Hotel of Medina Cell, and all the out lets which had been fortified, were taken by our troops. 041 another side, 20 pieces of cannou of tlieguards, aceompaeied by light troops, ,brew shells, and attracted the attention of the enemy by a false atttvl. " It would have been di ffi cult to form a conception of the di-- order that reigned in Madrid, if a greater number of prisoners. arriving in succession,. had not given an account of the frightful scenes of every description, of which that capital prese:ned the spectacle. They have intersec teat the streets, erected paravis on the houses ; barricades of hales of wool, and of ..atoa, icaj been formed, and the wit:do is had been stoisped with Iti..?- trasses. Those of the inhabitants who despaired ol a successial resistance were flying into the fields; others, who had reser.. ed some share of reason, and who preferred appearing in the aidst of their prorrty before a generoas (witty, to abandoning it to the pillage of their fellow citi:xas, dem:coded that they should not expose themselves to an assault. Those who were strangers to the town, or who had Nothing to lose, were fors defence to the last extremity. accused the troops of the line of treason, attsl obliged them to continue their fire. The enemy had as( than 100 pieces of caution mount- lore . el—a more considerable number had been dug up, taken out of cellars, and fixed upon carts, a grotesque train, and in itself sufficient to prove the madne,s of a people ahandufsed to itself. But all mewls of defence were become useless. The : possessors of Retiro are always masters of Madrid. The Em peror took all possible care to prevent the troops from going from house to house. The. city was ruined if many troop had been employed. Only some. companies of sharp shooters ad vanced, and the Emperor cons atantly refu-ed to send any to sus tain them. At 11 o'clock the Prince of Neufchatel wrote the annexed letter, No. 3.—His Majesty at the saran lute ordered the fire to cease on all points. At five o'clock General Morla, one of the Members of the Military Junta, and Don Bernardo Yriarte, etit from the town, repaired•to the tent of the Major-General. They informed him that the most intelligent rrsous were of opinion that the town was destitute of resources, and that the continuation of the de fence would be the hei4ht of madness, but that the lower orders of the inhabitants and the foreigners at Madrid, were deter mined to persevere in the defence. Believing that they could nit do it with effect, they requested a pause of a few hours it) inform the people of the real state of affairs. The Major-Ge neral presented the Depties to the Emperor and King, who addressed them thus :—" You make use of the name of the peo ple to no purpose; if you cannot restore tranquillity and ap pease their minds, it is because you have excited them to re volt ; you have seduced them by propagating falsehoods. As. [ B.mble the Clergy, the heads of the Convents, the Alcades, the " fuer. • ' property aod inil-Agile.o, Aiiii let the town capiulat2 by k • 1 '1