The National Register. — London, England, 1809-02-12 00:00:00

'9B TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER. suppose, that, after the most spirited resistance, the inhabitants of this island w ere forced to submit to a foreign usurper, after baying been deprived of their present Sovereign by an unparal leled act of outrage and perfidy, is any man base or extravagant enough as to imagine they could be prevailed on, by force or persuasion, to submit to the usurpation. The supposition is so moostrousoo revolting, that we feel a glow of indignation in making it. The same repugnance is common to all nations ; and however great the defl.cts of their government may be, their antipathy to the yoke of a foreigner, imposed at the point of the bayonet, is inextinguishable. As soon as we assent to the foregoing facts, our futiqw policy is obvious. If it be adhered to, the subjugation oidipailh is im possible. Should the tyrant even plant his Eagles WR the towers: of Lisbon, and on the walls of Cadiz, Saragossa, Seville, and Valencia, his sovereignty over the country is as precarious as it had been six months ago. Ilowe‘er, if our Government has a tparticle of energy left, this calamity may he averted. .But the misconduct and weakness of Ministers have been so very glaring, .that we are afraid of recommending measures more consonant to our wishes and the resources of the empire. As we despair of - great or edicacious exertions on their part, we will confine ourselves to a line of policy more conformable to their capacity and the conduct they have hitherto pursued. A Bun Let OH or a CHATH Am, we know full well, would manage our affairs in a different manner; and under the guidance of their genius, eighty thousand British soldier;, at the foot of the Sierra Morena, would give BONAPA RTC some occupation, and force him to fitht many a hard blttle, before he should be able to plant his Eagles on a village steeple to the south of those mountains. But our modern statesmen arc not of that fighting disposition; and with an army of two hundred and twenty thousand of the hest soldiers in the universe, and the immen , e sum of seventy millions sterling at their disposal, they vaunt their services and energy, for having sent a sixth part of our force, when the battle of Spain was almost over, to contend against the undivided str.ngth of the enemy. We will not touch longer on that grating string; and as their exertions appear to be confined to that unanspicions trial of their energy, we ill now consider what ought to be done, should Bo NA PA ttzu succeed iu overrunning the Southern departments Though Ministers may feel a disinclination to give us another specimen of their energy and foresight, by sending another army directly to Spain, we trust their efforts win not be confined to the late ill-fated expedition. They may not be very splendid tacticians, nor possess much topographical knowledge, either in a military, or any other view ; but they will not have the courage to appear before the bar of their country, and say, we have made a proper use of its resources and confidence, and have performed every thing which could he done to assist the Spaniards effectually. They promise and bluster much, it is true; and formidable expeditions are every day orderc,l to sail for Cadiz, or some other port in the South. There are few instances of braggarts; who perform much ; and if serious wishes were entertained to make a diversion in favour of the `:paniards of the South, we really fear that our expedition may arrive, at the very montent Bo N.IPA KT had succeeded in dis persing the last army of the l'atri , it s. We arc, therefore, afraid rif their activity,* and tremble at the consequences of their inter ference. But something must he done to save the honour of the country, and if they are incapable of rendering positive, Jet them give a kind of negative assistance. They cannot complain of scarcity of shipping. Flying squadrons should therefore be immediately detached to the coat-ts of the Atlantic aryl MelPterrancan, with stores, arms, soldiers, and xnoney. Through the medium of active agents, it vt ill be easy to Keep up on inees,ant connon&cation With the maritime pro- Ninces under the controul of the enemy : and every facility granted to the di*coutented, who arc the great majority of the FEB 12. male population, to abandon ihe country. Thee men should be immediately sent to the Balearic Islam's, and organised and equipped as expeditiously as possible. By means of partial de scents, and overpowering small posts of the enemy the confidence of the inhabitants, and their opinion of our energy, may be still kept alive. If this simple systeM of warfare and alarm be ad hered to, we may pour in, when the invaders are least aware of it, an , :ther force of an hundred and fifty thousand Spanish exiles, in the highest state of discipline, and burning with vengeance against the usurpers of their property and soil. — All we apprehend, is some South American bubble; and that Ministers may have formed the ill-fated project of trans porting the Patriots beyond the Atlantic. For Heaven's sake, let the fatal idea be immediately abandoned ; and let the whole mass of the Spanish and Portuguese exiles be collected in convenient places of arms, as contiguous as possible to the Spauish coast. Every day will a-ncrease their numbers, ai d their horror of the enemy. If we are active and persevering, and know how to make a proper use of the rooted antipathy of the natives, and neglect no opportunity of fomenting their aversion, we may, admitting even the possibility of the Ty rant's overwhelming the present spirit of resistance in the South, still tear from his grasp, by means of a formidable Spanish army, tho possession of a country he can never reconcile to his usurpation. NOTICES OF ALTY. When the bright future ST AR or EN 01, A N D'S TIIRONE, magic smile, hath o'er the banquet Winning respect, nor claiming hat he won, But tempering goodness; like an evening sun, Whose light the eye eau tranquilly admire, Gloriums but mild, all Ailtness )et ail fire .Mourc's Epistle to the Lady Charlotte Ramlon. PRINCE OF WALES. IT is pretty generally known, that his Royal Highness George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales, was born on the twelfth of August 1762; a memorable and, perhaps, remarkable day— as the anniversary of the Accession of the House of Brunswick to the British Throne. lle is now, therefore, in his forty seventh year. Many difficulties attend the delineation of the characters of exalted personages. Such characters are variously estimated, because, conspicuously as they seem to be exhibited,. they are often very imperfectly understood. It is in this predicament that we arc still compelled to contemplate the heir-apparent to the throne of our country. What he might have proved, had it been permitted him, about the year 1788, to take an efficient part in the ;2;overnment of this tuition, it were useless now to imagine; but it must be confessed, as it ought to be remem bered, that the present Prince of Wales has not, since the me- Laichol y period just noticed, met v its any opportunity for acting, up to those public principles which lie is believed to have cherished, or for displaying those abilities of which he is known to be possessed. His laudable spirit of emulation has been checked, and repressed ; his hopes have bees excited, only to he disappointed ; and his patriotic endeavours, to assume the station becoming his rank in society, have only subjected him to mortifying repulses, and an absolute veto upon his most digni fied proposal. The second person in the kingdom, hint to whom the expectations of the people were directed, and who panted for nothing so much as to justify the fund opinion en tertained of him by his countrymen, he, and be only, seems to have been necessitated to make his amusements his occupation, and to shrowd himself under an obscurity with which he is gusted. His noble demand, during the year ISO 3, to be cm powered to head some portiog of the forces of his country, his I