The National Register. — London, England, 1808-12-11 00:00:00

r DEC. 11, 401101. ing countermanded orders for the sailing of transports with artillery and other reinforcements fur Spain. Such impu tations of incapacity, want of spirit, and ignorance of the simplest principles Of policy, arc only a trifling consequence of this imprudent reserve. The public, when they hear bnzzed about, that the men why have the best means of ascertaining the extent of the calamity, begin already to despond, will think the state of affairs desperate. Is this, then, the result of all our loud hopes ? Is this the promised dawn of a happier day ? Is tlis the use made of the resources and energies of Great Britain ? arc those the blustering promises of Salvation to Sain, in, dependence to Europe, of 4 check to the inroads of ambi tion, and of permanant proscperity to this country 1 We blush for shame and indignation at the base and dastardly reports circulated at present ; which, if verified, throw an eternal stigma on eur name, ,justify the most violent im plations of 11w enemy, and leave the fortunes of Great Britain a: prev to folly, and fluctuating between fear and despondency. • Nu man, who is a friend to the honour and independence of his country, could have beard these re ports without blushing at the credulity believed them, and execrating the folly and cowardice vs hich sug gested them. They went so far as to advan c e t hat our whole army was to quit Spain, and to abandon that gallant community to the gripe of its remorseless invaders, The Minister, who would have the pusillanimity to sign or con sent to a similar order, deserves to be impeached, and may be certain of not escaping the punishment dive to his cow ardice. It is riot for the purpose of parading an army of ;$5,000 men from the Taens to one of the frontier provinces of Spain, or marching another of 15,000 from Corunna to Astorga, that the public left them , at unrestrained discre tion to wield their energies and employ their resources. But they confided to their prudence and abilities the ho ;iambic task of repelling the French from Spain, and li berating her brave inhabitants. Should they have the weakness, in a moment of surprise, to debate on the expe ,licncy of recalling oar troops ignominiously to our own shores, scouted at their departure by the enemy, for not :taring to face them, and execrated by the Spaniards fur abandoning them to their merciless invaders ; we implore them to renounce the ill-fated resolution, to entertain a ii:ster opinion of their country, and of the bravery of a British army; not to despond so easily and in so nuwarrant 4hie a manner, of the noble cause we have embarked in. We wig exclaim to them as the Spartan Hero did to the jt - !sponding Lacedemonians, who fled from the protection ;f their country Gentlemen, you are mistaken, you nave taken a wrong post." The English shores are not the places assigned our army ; fly and seize the sierra Morena, lour a large additional force into Andalusia ; instead of countermanding the force ready for embarkation, double. treble their numbers ; and, before the expiration of four weeks, let au army of seventy thousand men form 11 the South of Spain an impregnable bulwark to the en croachments of the enemy, and a rallying point to the Pa triots who will crown to our standards from every province 41 the peninsula. Act with the same energy, and employ the same means, as if the enemy had landad at Porhanouth. NU Nr the liberties of Great Lr;t:kin on the plai.us of An- THE NATIONAL REGISTER. ~~r dalusia. Let new levies be raised; let our patriotic army be constantly reinforced. Appeal with confidence to the • arms and purses of Englishmen. Ask them if they are afraid of encountering the enemy, and they will im mediately tell you they are not. Why shonld you then fear, or relax ? This is not the result you promised the country three months ago, and what you ltd the Spa niards and Europe to expect. Or do you despair of retriev ing the state of atraira in Spain? You should have antici pated all this last Summer; because you know the enemy is neither remiss, nor inactive. If you acted imprudently, if you have miscalculated the moans of the invader, re trieve yuur imprudence and miscalculation by your subse quent condo; t. Fly not from the scene of action, which is most unexpected, a most unhoped for occurrence pointed out to us. We thanked [leaven, six months ago, for its happening ; and, since that period, we never ceased con gratulating one another, that this glorious opportunity had occurred fur liberating the Continent. Shall, then, ono unfortunate event blast all our hers, and confound all our projects ! Were we, for a single moment, ignorant or doubtful of the means, activity, and talents of the invader ? We knew them to their full extent ; they were even mag nified ; they arc so in this very moment; and now, after all our promises, all our hopes, after a vast expenditure of money, which was willingly granted, after every man in the country had united hand and heart in *meet of the measures adopted by the Cabinet, we shall resort to the. dastardly, impolitic, and irretrievable resolution of Mm ;toning the Spanish Patriots to themselves; and consign lug cur national character, and the reputation of our army to eternal disgrace and abhorrence. Curses seize the Statesman who is base enough to ad vise it ; and traitor enough to perform so abominable a treachery. But no, an English miustcr cannot be so base, so forgetful of his own reputation, and that-of his country, as to consent by one act to rivet the chaius of Europe for ever, and ulti mately, should that event occur, if our own islands. Let the orders, then, if they have been imprudenly issued, for recalling our troops, and countermanding the embarkation in our ports, be instantaneously recalled ; and let future. energy and the appearance of bO,OOO British soldiers in Andalusia, convince the Spaniards and Europe, that this country is as incapable of violating its engagements as of fearing her enemies. Let military stores, let provisions, let arms be thrown profusely into the Southern Provinces, and the Patriots will rally there in such numbers, that the invaders will soon repent their temerity. Every port in Spain is still open to us : let flying squadrons, along its ex tensive line of coast, contain arms and men sufficient to keep the enemy on the alert ; distract his attention and force. Let us collect the Patriots in every province; area and encourage them in the sacred cause; and there is not a province of the Peninsula, where the eneany will not have the whole male population to encoun ter. But if we depart ; if we ignominiously abandon the cause ;—the idea is distraction, and we shall one day have cause to execrate our pusillanimity., llDutch Papers arrived on Momiay and the day before. They contain four Bullctins. or olicia/ reports of the opera :.tions of the FrenCh armies in Spain. The word ojicial, ail