The National Register. — London, England, 1809-01-01 00:00:00

JAN. 1. o giyc them credit for their good intentions; and if they only perform s what they intend, we witl be the most ardent p 1 their advocates. We are now ou the great eve pf our destinies ; and when we retied that a few days May Frown this Empire with permanent honour and se curity, or plunge it into an abyss of irretrievable cala mity, there is not a Briton that will not stake his last shilling, or wield every arm to insure an honourable re , sult. 1 slight stimulus is only necessary to make this country perform prodigies; and what can he a more powerful incitement to the display of all her powers, than the situation in winch our army is now placed. We should entertain no apprehension • were 60,000 of the enemy opposed to them, but when they have it in their power to double tha't number, we shall not be ,guilty of the madness or inhumanity of leaving them to contend against such fearful odds. We expect Much from the Spaniards ; ice repo s e the most unlimitted confidence in their courage and fidelity ; but let us now act, as if our force was left solely to its own exertions. We feel the . rpost genuine satin- faction that our wishes have been anticipated by Govern ment, and that several regiments have embarked, and ethers have received orders for embarkation, to join our army in Spain. We wish that every regiment, the moment it em barked, sailed immediately for its destination; which,we suppose to be Vigo, to order to prevent any unnecessa ry delay. On landing they can immediately proceed to join the main body of their countrymen, as no impe 'diment to theiri junction can take place in that direction. By these means complaints of scarcity of provisions will be obviated ; and we shall not have the mortification of seeing a considerable part of our troops, as was the case with Sir DAVID Batan's force, wasting their time at the place of landing, However thp last dispatches have realised the fondest of our wishes ; and the country is now placed in a situation, in which it should have long since appeared. Nature Sir education never qualified her inhabitants to remain it} drowsy inactivity confined to their owii shores ; a neighbouring, and a hostile country is filling • • the world With the sound of her exploits. The British ,•.; character is particularly formed for great and darinr enterprise; an 'it betrays the must revolting ignorance of it, and a most unwarrantable diffidence in its resources, to confine it to puny 'exertions, It is this conviction, which excites this triumphant extiltation on our part, that we are 0 • now placed in a situation, trom which the low dictates of false policy, or the miserable 'combinations of selfishness cannot prevail on us to draw ba ti k. We see once more in idea the days of the EDWARDS,' of 11.ENRY I and of MARL ricition revived; and whatever pietis,ts may say, warfare. vn the principles, we carry it on, so far from injuring the moral character of the community, mast tend to exalt it. It is only necessary to converse with th'C soldier, who has seen years of active service, to he convinced there is not a more estimable character, or a worthier man. It is activity alone which corrupts States, as veil as individuals ; ' and as soon as 100,000 British soldiers 'appear on the t7outinent, experience will prove, that the imOlitse given by • Such an event to the popular feelings, will have a grea t and • Salutary influence oil oar national character. • . . The enemy has at last sent us three additional Bulletins, the 14th, 15th, and 16th, The first of these is dated Ma drid the sth ; and the last on the Bth, from the same place. They principally refer to the particulars of the surrender of the Capital, and to some military demonstrations previous to that event. The accounts we received at ditierent inter vals, of the determination of the inhabitants to defend the city, were perfectly true ; and if the prudence of the Ge nerals had not restrained their resolution, they appeared determined to oppose themselves to the horrors of an as sault, rather than voluntarily submit to an enemy they so cordially abhor. Madrid is as completely untenable as London ; and from that circumstance we are able to fonn some ettianate of the sentiments with which the Spaniards are in pired against the invaders. Their armies, in every direction have been dgfeAted ; and thPir minds, so far from sinking into pusillanimity and despondency, display more energy and determination,in'proportion as the progress of the enemy becomes more alarming, and their success more decisive. This single eirepustanceproves, beyond contra dictiOn, what we frequently advanced, that the tyrant can preteud to nq greater part of that country, than what is oc cupied by his soldiery the remainder is as completely un subdued, and as ho4tile, as it was three months ago. Every impartial account from the Peninsula continr4 this opinion, and the reverse of it originated solely in the affected alarms and the misrepresentations of some party-writers here at home. From these Bulletins, partial and distorted as they are, there is sufficient to convince us, that the opposition made to the enemy was much greater than they are willing to acknowledge. This glorious spirit of resistance, and the ungovernable animosity of the inhabitants of the capital, will compell the Tyrant to employ a considerable part of his force in keeping the capital in awe, In every other great town he occupies, he will be placed under a similar necessity ; anti the farther he advances, the more cities he takes posSession of, the more his force whill be divided. This we always anticipated, and considered as an inevitable consequence of his first success. Under such restrictions, it is totally out of his power to overawe, at the same time, the inhabitants of the country, and, paradoxical as it may appear; in proportion as he is successful, his means of sub jugating the country become weaker adirmore precarious. ' He has had an opportunity of convincing himself of this truth ; and his miserable expedient of sending over his Bolictins to this country, in the intention, as he has the in solence to expect, of intimidating our, government, and damping the exertions of the British public, is an unequi vocal proof of the terror he entertains from a vi4-orous co operation on our part. We are from entertaining that despicable opinion of the understandings and hearts of the present Ministry, as to think they could be duped by so mean an artifice. It is• only necessary to place before their eyes that artiele of the French Bulletin, which coldly men tions the massacre of sixteen stragglers belonging to the British Army, to make them adopt the solemn and irre vocable determination to employ every nano and resource of this country to revenge so inhuman an outrage. Not a moment should be 'deferred for the execution of this just retaliation.. Every thing which, honour, love of their country and an 'abhorrence of injustice can suggest, must now call on them to redouble their exertions. 'The fate of Europe depends on the use they malte of the ua4i,y&;al THE NATIONAL REGISTER.