The National Register. — London, England, 1811-07-21 00:00:00

THE N.! Meanwhile the whole of our, army, collected from the north, under Lord WELLINGTON, occupy the woods upon the Caya, with the 3d and 7th di. visions, and Brigadier-General MADDEN'S cavalry in advance, at Campo Mayor. On the 22d ult. SOULT, with a strong protecting force of about 4,000 infantry and cavalry, crossed the Guadiana, to reconnoitre Lord WELLINGTON'S position. Their stay was net long on the left bank ; but they succeeded in cutting off a picquet of the llth light dragoons, commanded by Capt. LuTYENs, and occasioned some loss to another picquet com posed of German hussars. They were, however, ultimately checked, by the steadiness of the allied cavalry in front of . Campo Mayor, and returned across the Guadiana without completing their re connoissance. The last dispatches from Lord WELLINGTON are of the 3d inst. They mention nothing relative to BLAKE, because the account of his having reached Seville did not ar rive at Elvas till the next day. But, we understand, they speak with great confidence of his being able to defeat any designs of the enemy against him. He does not wish to attack them himself, but if they choose to attack him, he has no wish to avoid a bat tle. But they do not appear to have any intention to briug on an action ; and we think it much more likely that they will break up and retreat, than that they will cross the Guadiana and risk a battle. In another page our readers will find Lord WELLINGTON'S dispatch to the Portuguese Govern ment: He there skews, that the enemy find the greatest difficulties in procuring subsistence ; and that while they have conceetrated their whole force in Estremadura, the guerilla warfare is surrounding them on all sides, and throwing the greatest obsta cles in the way of their getting provisions. We trust the Spaniards will take the advice recom- Mended in the close of Lord WELLINGTON'S dis patch. 1.! f. ' Eleven transports with troops reached the Tagus pn the sth, the day on which the packet sailed. A heavy firing heard on the French coast during the greatest part of last Friday, gave rise to some apprehensions, lest it should be for some advan tages gained in the Peninsulas The following let ter, however, informs us that it was occasioned by a visit from BIJONAPARTE to the coast : Dover, Jour 19.—A very heavy firing has been heard all the day nearly from the French shore ; the weather being very thick, we could not discover from what part i came, but from the sound judge from Boulogne. We learn that the two Dutch ships of the line that were at Goree are escaped and gilt into. Flushing,. where they are blockaded by our ships. his morn ing a very heavy. storm of thunder and lightning took place; the lightning was very vivid, and the thunder quicker than eve: 'AL REGIST remembered : a heavy squall of and rain took place abovx the same time. The brig Sarah, of Stinderland, was struck with it off the South Foreland, and lost main-top and top-gallant masts, and the head of his main-mast : happily no lives were lost. Passed up Channel several vessels from the Westward. P. S. The Cordelia is just returned from off Boulogne: by her we learn that the firing began there this morning before day light, and some fishermen who were spoke to say that BUON*" PAR T e is arrived at Boulogne to view the Tower building there * and that it is ordered to be run up 600 feet high. French Papers to the 17th inst. have been rt. ceived. They contain no news from Spain. The Moniteur of the 14th, after quoting an ar ticle from the English newspapers, stating that some British troops had sailed from Cadiz to assist in the defence of Tarragona, adds the following note: " These troops in reality arrived before Tarragona eight dap previous to its capture. The garrison summoned them to its aid—but in vain. They thought proper to remain in the roads. They had the glory of remaining spectators of two assaults, and of the caz)ture of the plr.-e." The 111onittur of Tuesday last contains the Report of a Council of Inquiry into the causes and circum.. stances of the surrender of the Isle of France. The report is of considerable length, and we must con. fine ourselves to a few extracts from it. L The report begins by stating the population of the island at 14,000 whites and free negroes, and 60,000 slaves. It then proceeds thus:- 4 , General DrechEn had been Captain-General of the Wand, as well as of the adjoining French colonies, 'since September, 1803. They were flourishing under his government. His ar tillery was numerous, and sufficiently supplied against an enemy who could not prolong his attacks. On the Ist of November, 1810, his total force amounted to about 2.300 men. There wen► also about Beo National Guards scattered over the different quarters of the Island; but of these only a third was able to carry arms." The Report then proceeds to detail the different measures adopted by 13/LCAtti after the capture of the Isle of Bourbon. which principally consisted in concentrating his force at Port Napoleon, as the most central and commanditg point. It (Les states the British force employed in the capture at 1.:3,590, of whom 14,850 were Europeans !! After detailing the landing and advance of our troops, together with their preparations fur a gene ral attack, the Report proceeds thus:— " General DICAPN then considering the great inferiority is number of the French troops; the proximity of the enemy, who was only 1,500 toises from a weak line 1,200 toises in let.gth, ill furnished with troops ; the new debarkation, which the enemy probably meant to act upon Grande Riviere, 800 takes from a place where he had only 200 men to oppose to it; the improba bility of sufficiently beating the enemy, to force him to re-em bark; ILA being without provisions and resources; persuaded that he had done all in his power to execute the orders of his Sovereign, and preserve untouched the glory and honour of th• French name; seeing that by a capitulation he might restore to his country 2,000 brave men, soldiers ..nd seamen, he resolved to demand a cessation of hostilities, and negotiated and concluded a capitulation on the 3d of December. • " General DECAEN cou►d not hope to defend the Isle of France, parttcul irly after the capture of the Isle Buonapiirw, having at most only 2,000 men to oppose to an intiniiely gt eater number, and being almost without provisions: this want of