The National Register. — London, England, 1811-04-28 00:00:00

...v. - , .., . .II • 1 "IX ~'P REGISTER. . THE NATION ®in n gonattutron, anb LAW, - % PRICE 9d. IVO• le bt IPfil N ° • • POLITICAL DISQUISITION. . • No. 162. THANKS TO LORD WELLINGTON. Lord WELLINGTON has at length triumphed, not only over the hosts of France, but over the opposi tion of his own countrymen. Entrusted with the command of one of the largest armies that ever quitted our shores, and with the fate of Portugal, his post was too elevated not to create envy, too difficult not to require the constant undivided at tention of his mind. Patriotically regardless of his own injuries, his eyes were incessantly fixed on the duties he had to perform, never on the unfounded attacks with which the press daily teemed on his military character and abilities. He saw the ene mies of his country, and was blind to his own. He beard the cannon of the invaders thundering in vain". round the impregnable lines which his foresight and activity had forrned,and vas deaf to the reproaches and calumnies hurled forth against him by the jealousy of disappointed parties at hom e. Conscious of the excel lence of the plan which mature reflection, and an inti mate acquaintance with the sources and local advan tages of the country which he defended, had led him to adopt, her pursued it with unremitting con stancy, until it had brought forth the glorious result on which be had calculated, the evacuation of Por tugal by a powerful and inflated enemy. When rushing from the Portuguese frontiers he conquered in the bosom of Spain, he had been charged' with imprudent rashness and a careless disregard for the lives o': his soldiers. When,. secure with in the fastnesses of Lisbon, he saw the vain impetuosity of the invaders hurled back from his lines and their numbers perishin hi g at a distance through d isease and want, s pru dence was, called timidity, and his defeat or speedy expulsion anticipated with expressions of confidence and almost of exultation by every patriotic writer of the day, as well as almost every impartial man whom adverse fortune had seated on the benches of the opposition. He had lost the glorious opportunity of freeing Portugal from the oppression of France! On the banks of every stream, on the summit of every hill, he ought to to have battle to her advancing legions, and' could, after such a display of ill ina.iiagement and Vol. IV. CLXXIV. - SUNDAY, AP 4 16; • L 2811811. military incapacity, only secure the safety of his army by its instant re-ernbarkacion ! Such were .he eicouragements which his Lordship received from his countrymen, during the arduous campaign, and laborious duties in which he was engaged. — Alt his movements were watched at home with as much anxiety and as little satisfaction, though through a different cause,. as they were no doubt by • MASS ENA himself. All his dispatches were read, not •- . with eyes glowingwith gratitude and admiration, but kindled with the hope of finding in them, some plausible grounds for perversion and blame. To resist the mighty shock of such an oppition, to persevere in a line of conduct which was equally abused by the enemy , wh ose p lans and 14ty hopes it totally defeated, as by the political wizzard whose predictions it caused to fail, and at the same time ;to contend with a watchful and active opponent who would have availed himself of the least neglect '!-on our part, required a mind as far above the sel fishness of human passions as above the common capacity of man. Such a mind Lord WELLINGTON possessed. Exerted in the cause of humanity, as well as in that of his country and her allies, its towering abilities have at last burst from the cloud which envy and misrepresentation ,had cast over them. In him the true patriot, the deep tacti cian, and the hero have blazed forth at once Eqpt eyes of the whole cation . Long darkened urope must view, and distant ages will reflect, his glory. The one will derive hope and spirit, the other emu lation, frOm its light. His unwise plans, have baf fled the skill,, perseverance, feints, and might of the - His ,t e roism. OA- peu Lit%:. DTW r -___ most . experienced Miashals of France. His iniapa. city has constantlyAefeited t heir superior talents. from Portu His. inaction - has . dniTten then 2. .g 4 . wrenched a whoW graffr...„ ; -•••• • db o . fro / Wilier made conquest- the infest • ttiefuli aOccon. • - AP" . the most glorious, an j0eu04.4.4tp. - . 1 - • • ~- . - on our part. -1-lis• r cr eated an ersty;and'S 'roved or lurted: before and iiittnditihr . t • stragglers froinfhpstne c. • they could not face, well disciPli4d.tlegions ' .:,.now marching b ene ath the banners of their .cuunt . ry, driving the invaders from their fields, and in regularity of MO.. tion, steadiness in actiontwit eethusiastic ardor, al- most rivalling British science, gallantry, and he.