The National Register. — London, England, 1812-04-26 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 58 var-ed their chin-s. Might they not enter into a combination not to vote for any o• e who did not support their establishment ? Suppose, on the other hand, the Protestants entered into a combination, not fur the odposit , ? I:urpose, what then would be the situation of Ireland He &tiled that (from the opinions which had been communicated to himlthr! nojirity o. the Protestants of Ireland were in favour of this mea sure ; but he did not deny that a time migle come, when, by prudence and education, these claims might be conceded ; the time might come when he hoped a considerable change would take place in the Roman Cal:101:c mind ; the time might ute when they would Pcnounce the authority of the Pope. Ile had Ii ,peA that this period was fast approach ing, but until the Contint settled, he did no: think it safe to grant them these concessions. Was this prejudice? Was this supersti tion ? Was this bigotry ? He had no motives of hostility against them —l ie would be happy to confer any thing in his power upon them—he vvas no: actuated by any animosity or hostility against them—he oppo sed tin .m only upon pure constitutional and political principles; and upon th,-se i.rinciplec, and these principles only, he opposed the pre sent o n.—(This Speech was concluded with loud cheering front owst ‘i EAD, in an able and animated speech, warmly supported mcrion. Lend L. AS I. Vlt EAC:II spoke in reply to Mr. WHITBREAD. Mr. l'oNsoNr. c iii- answer to some observations from Lord Cas- TLer EA 011, thit when he was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and the I)ul.e 01 . ortt Lieutenant, they certainly had received no mere iwilivation, hut conitriinds, to communicate the gracious intentiors r.l a certain Islustrious Personage towards the Claims of the • Roman Caiholi , -- Mr. CANNING supported the Motion at great length, and with great Mr. Gr A. - r - rAN declined any reply, fearing to weaken the luminous and arc,onentative support which the question had received from the talents of Mr. Canning. The Houie then divided.—For Mr. Grattan's motion 215: Against it, 200.—INLjority 83. Adjourned at Six o'clock. LONDON G .IZEITIE EXTRAORDINAR Y. WAR DEPARTMENT. DOWNING-STREET, FRIDAY, APISH.. 2.4, 1812. Captain Canning, Aide-de-Camp to General the Earl of Wellington, arrived last night at this Office, bringing dispatches, addressed by his L' .-Iship to the l.arl of Liverpool, of which the following are Extract or Copies. Extract of a Dispatch front the Earl of Wellington, dated Camp before Badajoz, April 3, 1812. We opened our Ere on the 31st of March from 26 pieoes of cannon, In the se...;nd parallel, to breach the face of the bastion at the south-east angle cf the fort called La Trinidad ; iin,l the flank of the bastion by which the face is defended called Santa Maria. The fire upon these has continued since wr:`l .•. .eat effect. The enemy made upon the night of the '9th, upon the troops of General 1 - lamilto:; ,, ::iviNion, which invest the place on the right of the Guadiant, .t %et:re immediately driven in with loss. We lost no men on -ccasicn. TI 1,10 veinents of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham and of Lieutenant-General :.311 . Rowland Bill have obliged the enemy to retire by the different roads towards Cordova, with the exception of a small body of infantry and cavalry, which remained at Zalantea de la Serena, in front of Lelalcazar. Marshal Soult broke up in front of Cadiz on the 23d and 241 th, and has marched upon Smile with all the troops which were there, with the exception c.f four thousand men. I understand that he was to march from Seville again on the 30th or 31st. 1 have not heard from Castile since the 30th ultimo. One division of the army of Portugal, which had been in the province of Avila, had on that day arrived at Luadapero, within two leagues of Ciudad Rodrigo ; and it was supoosecl that Marshal Marmont was on his march with other troops front the side of Salamanca. The river Agueda was not fordable for troops on the 30th. Copy of a Dispatch from the Earl of Wellington, dated Camp before Badajoz, April 7, 1812. MS Loan—My dispatch of the 3d instant will have apprised your Lordship of the state of the operations against Badajoz to that date, which were drought to acl se on the night of the Gth, by the capture of `'le place by storm. The fire co::ttitued during the 4th and sth against the face of the -.bastion of La Trinidad, and the flank of the bastion of Santa Maria; and on the 4th. in the morning, we opened another battery of six guns, in the second parallel, ugainst the shoulder Qf the ravelin of Sc. Roque, and the wall I- i, Pr aci:oa, In the ever entrenched rations we on. as of APRIL Q 6. attack for another day, and to turn all the guns in the batteries in the second parallel on the curtain of La Trinidad, in hopes that by effecting a third breach, the troops would be enabled to turn the enemy's works for the defence of the other two, the attack of which would besides be connected by tl.e troops destined to attack the breach hnehe curtain. This breach was effected in the evening of the 6th, and the fire of the face of the bastion of Santa Maria and of the flank of the bastion of La Trinidad being overcome, I determined to attack the place that night. I had kept in reserve, in the neighbourhood of this camp, the S.h di vision, under Litut.-General Leith, which had left Castile only in the nii idle of March, and had but lately arrived in this part of the country, and I brought them up on that eve rang. The plait for the attack was, that Lieut.-General Picton should at tack the castle of Badajoz by escalade with the 3d division; and a de tachment front the gua-el in the trenches, furnished that evening by the 4th division, under Major Wilson of the 48th regiment, should attack the ravelin of St. Roque upon his left; while the 4th divi,ion, tinder the Hon. Major-General Colville, and the light division, under Lieut.- Colonel Barnard, should attack the breaches in the bastions of La 'Tri nidad and of Santa Maria, and in the curtain by which they are con nected. • rhe sth division were to occupy the ground which the 4th and light divisions had occupied during the siege, and Lieut•-General Leith was to make a false attack upon the out-work called Pardeleras, and another on the works of the fort towards the Guadiana, with the left brigade of the division, under Major-General Walker, which he was to turn into a real attack, if circumstances should prove favuutaLle; and Brigadier-General Power, who invested the place with his Portuguese brigade on the right of the Guadiana, was directed to make false at tacks on the tete du-pont, the fort St. Christoval, and the new redoubt called Mon-cceur. The attack was accordingly made at ten at night. Lieutenant-Ge neral Picton preceding, by a few minutes, the attack by the remainder of the troops. Major-General Kcmpt led this attack, which went out from the right of the first parallel; he was unfortunately wounded in crossing the iivs r Rivellas below the inundation; but notwithstanding this cireunistance, and the obstinate resistance of the enemy, the castle was carried by escalade and the 3sl division established in it at about half-past eleven. While this was going on, Major Wilson, of the 48th regiment, carried the ravelin of St. Roque by the gorge, with a.detachment of 200 men of the guard in the trenches. and with the assistance of Major Squire, of the engineers, established himself within that work. The 4th and light divisions moved to the attack from the camp along the left of the river Rivellas and of the inundation. They were not per ceived by the enemy till they reached the covered way, and the ad vancedguards of the two divisions descended without difficulty into the ditch, protected by the fire of the parties stationed on the glacis for that purpose; and they advanced to the assault of the breaches, ltd by their gallant officers, with the utmost intrepidity; but such was the nature of- the obstacles prepared by the enemy at the top and behied the breaches, and so determined their resistance, that our troops could not establish themselves within the place. Many brave officers and soldiers were killed or wounded by explosions at the top of thebreaches; others who succeeded them were obliged to give way, having found it impos sible to penetrate the obstacles which the enemy had prepared to impede their progress. These attempts were repeated till after twelve at night, when, finding that success was not to be attained, and that Lieut.-Gen. Picton was established in the castle, I ordered that the 4th and light divi sions might retire to the ground on which they had first assembled for the attack. In the mean time Major-General Leith had pushed forward Major- General Walker's brigade on the left, supported by the 38th regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Nugent, and the 15th Portuguese regiment under LieuteCoionel De Regoa; and he had made a false attack upon the Pardeleras with the Sth Cacadores under Major Hill. Major-General Walker forced the harrier on the road of Olivenca, and entered tile covered way on the left of the ation ot St. Vinte, close to the Guadiana. He there descended into the ditch, and ce escaladed the face of the bastion of St. Vicente. LieuteGenerel Leith supported this attack by the 38th regiment the 15th Portuguese regiment; and our troops being thus establislict , tit the castle, which commands all the works of the town, and in the town ; and the 4th and light divisions being formed a g ain for the attack ot the breaches, all resistance ceased ; and at day light i n the morning, the Go •rernor, General Philipon, who had retired to fort St. Christoval , sur rends red, together with General Veilande, and all the staff and the whole garrison. I have not got accurate reports of the strength of the garrison, or of the number of the prisoners; but General Philipon has informed me, that it consisted of five thousand men at the commencement of the siege, of which twelve hundred were killed or wounded daring the operations, besides those lost in the assault of the place. There were five French battalions, besides two of -the regiment Hesse D'Arnistadt, and the artillery, engineers, Ste.; .and I understand there are four thousand pri soners. It is impossible that any expressions of mine can convey to your Lordship the sense which I entertain o the gallantry f the Officers mei troops upon this occasion. The list of killed and wounded will show that the General Officers, the Staff attached to them, the Commanding, and other Officers of went*, put themselves at the head of the a.teek which they severe ly all ili its gorge. LW'. breaches vy etrecterk,An the bastions above mentioned, ning of ' _.t_. 4 , , . 'lliad observed that the enemy bad d the - 4 411 " 3 - . A .ack. , the most lormideble prepa- /* ', , • • ere i-- 'C •". ..' •of the breach hi that bas - A'" 4 '' - - t ' - • . tit ~ i. • .... - . - 1., - I determined to delay the foil ... : c I -- r ; ,11 ,i,) l i r -ri . % 40 4 A ,:,4- - - .4' • -.' 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