The National Register. — London, England, 1812-01-26 00:00:00

JAN. 26. BILL has already been attended with one of the conse cluences which it must have been intended to produce : General FOY, who had been detached towards Valencia to reinforce SUCHET, has beenrecalled, before he advanced many leagues from Toledo. • It is obvious, from the route followed by General HILL, that his immediAe object •cannot•be Badajoz. At Merida be is equally convenient for the attack of that city, if it should be deemed desirable, as for co-operation with Lord Wri.LINGToN against MAIIVONT, if that be the purpose for which he broke up from Portalegre. Things then be gin at leligih to wear a portentous aspect—as our troops advance, the interest thickens—if the enemy should feel cc,nfident enough to withstand the attack. a decisive action will be the consequence—and when .we consider the con valescence of the troops, and the gradual and successive accession of reinforcements which have been regularly ai riving in the Tagus, we can have no fears of the result. One great defeat would, under the present circumstances, lest i to the final overthrow of the French power in Spain ; and at no period can they be assailed with such prospect of eventual discomfiture as when they appear every where bard pressed, and in no place possessing an undisputed superiority. At the date of the last accounts from the North, the head-quarters of Lord WELLINGTON continued at Freneda ; but a party of the Allies had been thrown forward to support a division of the Spanish troops in an affair which they had had with the enemy. CADIZ PAPERS. Some Cadiz Papers were received on Thursday, extracts from which will be found in our previous columns. The enemy appear to be prosecuting with vigour, their opera tions against Tatiffa, which the Spanish General CAPONS, and Colonel SKERRET, appear as obstinately determined to defend. The Spanish General has published a spirited Proclamation to the inhabitants, declaring his determina tion to hold out to the last extremity, and recommending to them to retire with their property and families to Alge ciras or .Gibraltar. The El Conciso of the 31st ult. contains a report of the proceedings of the Cortes on the 29th and 30th of Decem ber. Senor VERA, a Member, presented a long Memorial, which reflected s..verely on the conduct of the Cortes, and founded upon it four propositions, Which he submitted for the approbation of the Cortes. 1. That a Regency should be appointed, at the head of which should be placed a Royal personage, with the full power of a King.-2. That he should have power to treat with neutral or friendly Powers for the maintenance of the armies.— 3. That at the end of a month the Constitution sh o u ld be discussed, the Regency appointed, and the.Congres dissolved ; and ' 4. That the Cortes should not be convoked till the year 1813.—This memorial and these propositions gave rise to a discussion pointed and personal, in the course of which the conduct of the mover was roughly handled, and at the close of which Senor ARGUELLES proposed counter-propo sitions that no Royal person should be placed at the head of the Regency, during the absence of FERDINAN n VII.— that the plan proposed should be discussed before any ether business—that the ordinary Cortes should be con vened—that at the dissolution of the Cortes a deputation of sixty individuals shouldhave power to watch over the Constitution—and that a Committee should be appointed to consider the means of organizing the Government. 'I hese propositions were admitted, and -appointed for dis cussion the following day. It is thus that, whilst the ene rny is at their very gates, the precious time for organizing 5? the national means, is wasted in the discussion • 1 abstract principles of Constitution and Golfe! nmeut. The Darlington packet, on Wednesday se'nnight, in her passage from Cadiz, in lat. 44. 10. long. 15. SO. fell in with two frigates and a corvette ; one of the frigates chased the Darlington twelve hours. Two days - after the Darlington fell in with'his Majesty's ships Surveillante„ Sybille, and Spitfire, and was informed by Sir Gtoncs COLLIER, that a French squadron were at sea, and that having fallen in with his Majesty's ships then in company, he was going in pursuit of the enemy. ANOTHER AccouNT.—The Surveillante frigate Was chased on the 15th inst. off Cape Finisterre, by three French frigates and a brig, supposed from the Loire. On the 17th the Surveillante fell in with the Sybille frigate and Spitfire sloop. It is supposed the enemy was cruis ing with a view of falling in with the supplies for Por tugal. The letters brought by the Conqueror, dated December 13, from the Mediterranean, we learn that Vice-Admiral Sir EDWARD PELLEW, after reconnoitring and er.ticing out the enemy's fleet from Toulon, on the llth of De cember, (British, twelve sail of the line"---French, sixteen sail of the line), had returned to Mahon harbour, as ihe enemy /mend their own shores so closely, and it being very fine weather, it was impossible to bring them to action. Two sail of the line of the Mediterranean fleet are coming home. The Pearlen had dashed into Toulon prior to the 11th, and severely handled two of the enemy's frigates ; but, on coming out, a French 74 encountered her, and it was only by cutting away some of the French rigging that the Pearlen got dr. There were reports in very general circulation on Fri day evening, of a brilliant and decisive success having been obtained, by the Spanish General LAPENA, over.a corps of French troops, the result of which was, the capture of 1800 prisoners. Where the action took' place, was now particularly stated ; but if LAI'ENA was the General, it is likely that it must have been in the vicinity of Cadiz, where that General is. This infetence is corroborated by the circumstance, that the intelligence has been derived from a vessel recently from Cadiz. The Gibraltar Chronicle of the 21st of December con. tains a paragraph, the statements in which we cannot per suade ourselves to believe. There is something so abhor rent from every principle of human nature, in the atro. cious act imputed to the French, in this instance, that we can consider the whole only as a fabrication, intended to keep alive amongst the Spaniards the detestation of their invaders. The following is the paragraph, with the head under which it appears : e A FRESH INST'AN'CE OF FRENCH BARBARITY. " Upon retiring from Iguakula, in Catalonia, the French, on the 10th October, m order to save themselves the trouble of removing the sick and wounded, dug up ditches, into which they thrust, and buried alive , all those whose cure would , in the opinion of the doctors, have re q uired a long time! There was among them a Lieutenant-Colonel, whose in treaties could nut, spy more than the lainentations and supplications of so many poor wretches, soften the hearts of his barbarous companions." Letters were received, by the Gibraltar Mail, in town from Smyrna of the 27th 110vember, one of which con tains the following extract, dated Constantinople, Nov. 15 I have now to inform you that there is every pre bability of peace between Turkey and Russia ; the prelimi. naries have been signed at the Turkish camp, but it is said the GRAND SEIGNMR refuses to ratify: political motives are the causes of his withholding his consent, which is con trary to the advice of his Ministers. The GRAND SEIGNIOR is fearful he may offend the people by subscril,ing to con- THE NATIONAL REGISTER.