The National Register. — London, England, 1809-02-19 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. FEB. I FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. TIIE THIRTY-FIRST BULLETIN OF THE ARMY OF SPAIN. The English regiments bearing the numbers 42, 50, and 52, have been entirely destroyed in the battle of the 16th, near Co imam. Not 60 men of each of these corps embarked. The Ge acrid in Chief, Moore, has been killed in attempting to charge at the head of this brigade, with the view of restoring the fortune of the day. Fruitless efforts. This troop was dispersed, and its General slain in the midst of it. General 3aaird had been already Wounded. lie passed through Corunna to get on hoard his ;:hip, and did not get his wound dressed till he got on hoard ; it is re ported that he died on the 19th. After the battle of the 16th, a dreadful night passed at Corunna.—The English entered in confu sion and consternation. The English army had landed more than BO pieces of cannon ; only 12 were re-embarked : the remainder has been taken or lost ; and by a return made, we find ourselves in possession of 60 pieces of English cannon. Independent or two millions of treasure the army has taken from the English, it appears that a treasure inure considerable has been cast away among the rocks and precipices which border the road from A•i torga to Corunna. The peasants and the soldiers have ccallected a great quantity of silver among the rocks. In the engagements 'which took place during the retreat, and prior to the battle of Corunna, two English Generals were killed, and three wounded. General Crawford is named among the last. The English have lost every thing that constitutes an army—Generals, artillery, horses, baggage, ammunition, magazines. On the 17th, at day break, we were masters of the heights that command the road to Corunna, and the batteries were playing upon the English con voy. The result was, that many of the ships were unable to get out, and were taken at the capitulation of Corunna. Five hun dred English horses were also taken still alive, 16,000 muskets, and a great deal of battering cannon, abandoned by the enemy. A great number of magazines are full of preserved provisions (munition confectiones), which the English wished to carry oil, but were obliged to leave behind. A powder magazine, contain ing 200,0001b5. weight of powder, has also fallen into our hands. The English, surprised by the issue of the battle of the 16th, have not even had time to destroy their magazines. There were 300 English sick in the Hospital. We found in the port seven English ships—three loaded with horses, and four with troops. They could not get out. The fortress of Corunna is of an e xtent which secures it from a coup de main. It was therefore impossible to enter it before the 20th, in virtue of the annexed capitulation. In Corunna we found above 200 pieces of Spanish cannon. The French Consul Fourcroy, the General Ouesnel, and his Staff; M. Bougars, Officer of Ordnance; M. Taboureau, Auditor; and 3.50 French soldiers or seamen, who had been made prisoners either in Portugal or on board the ship Atlas, have been delivered up. They express great Satisfaction at the conduct of the Officers of the Spanish Navy. The English will have gained by their expedition the hatred of the Spaniards, shame, and dishonour. The flower of their army, composed of Scotchmen, has been either wounded, killed, or taken. General Franceschi has entered St. Jago de Compostella, where he found some magazines and an English guard, which he took. He marched immediately upon Vigo, Romana appeared to Nave taken this route with 2500 men, all that he could rally. The divkion of Mermet marched on Verrol. The air about Corunna is infected by the carcases of 1200 horses, whom the English killed in the streets. The first care of the Duke of Dalmatia has been to provide for the restoration of salubrity, equally important to the soldiers- and the inhabitants. General Alzedo, Governor of Corunna, appears to have taken part for the insurgents only from the constraint of force. lle took the oath of fidelity to King.loseph Napoleon with enthusiasm. The people manifest the joy they feel at being delivered from the English. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. IIOUSE OF LORDS. 'Monday, Feb. 13. Sir George Brograve's Divorce Bill was read for the firs time. Thursday, Feb. 16. The Duke of GLOUCESTER, presented a Petition from the Debtors confined in the King's Bench isou, praying relief. CAVALRY SENT TO SP4IN, &C. Earl DARN LEY moved fur Returns of the Cavalry sent to Spain and Portugal. His Lordship said the object of t.is motion was, to discover whether Ministers had sent a proper proportion of cavalry on the late service in Spain and Portugal. Nolue Earl concluded by moving, first, Inc Returns of Cavalry in England, Ireland, and Scotland ; secondly, for iteturns of the Cavalry sent to Sir A. Welle-dey at Vimiera, and Sir J. Moore, previous to the junction of the two armies; thirdly, for Copies of the communications from the Juntas of• Spain. The Earl of Ltv ER POO t, conceived that the motion ought to be more evtensive, therefore moved amendment, to include returns of all cavalry sent to Portugal Spain, to the end of I titH. The motion, with the amendment, was carried. The Noble Earl then stated, that the instructions transmitted to the Otlicers employed in the Expedition to Spain, &c. should be laid before tile Iluuse.—Adjourned. Frir;try, ORDERS IS COUNCIL. Lord GRENVILLE rose to make his promised motion. It would, be said, be in their Lordships recollection, that in con sequence of the sentiments felt and expressed by every clas of merchants and manufacturers in this kilidaMl, he had, on a former occasion, distinctly ..,o1 fully stated his opinions and his argu ments upon the question, which this night his duty galled up o n him again to bring before their Lordships-1 question involvi n g not merely the commercial and fiaancial interests, but the politi cal and moral justice, nay, in its ultimate effects, the safety, per haps the existence of the Empire. From the authentic and printed documents upon their' Lordships' table, he would make it manifest to every Noble Lord who heard him, that, so far from unfairness, or partiality, exhibited on the part of America against this country, and in favour of France, nothing could pos sibly be more fair or impartial, excep:, imleed, w hat his Lord ship maintained was truly the case, a partiality, and a very im portant one, in favour of this country. Here his Lordship read the instructions sent by the American Government to Mr. Armstrong in Paris, :LA to Mr. Pinckney in London, whereby it appeared that the proposal to this Govern ment was that, on the part of America, the Embargo should he suspended, provided we would reseiud the Orders in Council; and this being agreed upon, it was added, that she) mid France refuse to cancel her decrees, she must necessarily draw upon herself the hostility of America. The same proposition, and in the same terms, was made to the Government of France; so that here was a fair opportunity of not only conciliating the American States, and restoring the good understanding, and the solid advantages from it resulting to both countries, but a strong probability was afforded of a cordial and ;:etive co-operation, by a powerful Ally, in prosecuting war agaitist the common enemy. flis Lordship reprobated, in very strong terms, the conduct of Ministers, which appeared to have been suggested by no motive of wisdom, justice, or policy, but to grow oat of a principle of petty and despicable pride. From the Papers on the table, he deduced a deplorable falling oil' in the anuoint of Imports and Exports from and to the American States last year. With re spect to that most important article corn, it was well known to their Lordships and to the world, that this country did not pro duce a quantity of it at all adequate to its own consumption; and now that we were deprived of all our former sources of supply from the Northern ports of Europe, it became peculiarly ne cessary to obtain it through America. But. if Minis:ers, as seemed to he their object, were determined to force that country into war with us, what might be the consequence, in this point of view, it would well becoole their Lordships seriously to consider. Lord BA rnuRST expressed a readiness to begin A negotiation with America, as soon as that country would oder ti:rms which it was consonant r.ith the dignity of Great Britain to accept. It had been stated by the Noble Mover, that the intention of the duties imposed by the Orders in C.:ancil on foreign trade, was to increase the public 1....-satie of the S: .:e. But he (l.; tared, that their chief end was to distress th.s, foe, .to deprive him, and the nations that groaoi'd 1),..•.,'ath his despot ism,vnidttsbmy tbe iriv , of t s lins ) e iiis commo dities which they had so 1..:!g eil s iO eel; a which must be intolerahle, to force them to cry ai otid for peace. The Noble Lord was much in the a'l'ong, if he fancied that our manufactures had suffered so much ; he Avonld find, on the con trary, that in ISOtr there was an iecrease, in t'•-. exports of our ma i nufaetmed . pods, of five hundred thousand pounds. Lord Bathurst then pointe r ' out several large tracts of uncultivated ground in Ireland, where it would he easy to wow flax, as soon as the seed - could be obtained from Lower Canada; which, on account of = 1 • •=-1 t, • • .• .• • 1 I 115