The National Register. — London, England, 1809-01-29 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL RFGISTER. these heroes, who so fondly , indulged themselves in the hopes of reflecting new lustre on their country , and them selves, were dragged reluctantly to their own shores, be fore the battle of Spain was half over. The Parliamentary business of this week comprised a variety of objects, which have been already the subject of much discussion and animadversion out of the House. The Cintra convention, the conduct of his MAJzsTy's Mi nisters relative to Splin and Portugal, 'the Orders in Council, and the Correspondence between our Govern ment and France and Russia, were referred to and canvassed but as these matters are to come under Future discussion, we will defer, until that time, any observations on them. The object of most immediate interest to the public was the motion made by - Lord (. 7 .x5Ti.4:111.-.Aen, for an immediate augmentation of the army. This measure cannot fail to meet the concur rence of every man who is in the habit of reflecting On the awful occurrences of our time. The proposed aug mentation is to consist of 25.000 Volunteers from the Mi litia. if we fml any inclination to qualify our approba tion, it is on the ground that the number is limited to 29,000. We are sorry lie specified any particular number, but had allowed the whole body, if willing, to incorporate themselves with the reE,-ulac army. The extraordinary emergency of the limes woulajustify this un common measure; and as the expellee to the public is the same, whilst the superiority of regular troops is au:know lculwyd, we see no reason why We should not deviate from the cautious spirit of our ancestors, and convert our whole Tnilitary force into a regular army. Considered as a nur sery for the Wier, the militia may have its advantages ; hat when unprecedented exertions can alone save the coun try. its armed force should be rendered as effective as pos bible, either for defensive or offensive warfare. Mr. WAnnEes Motipn was made on Friday relative to the mode of disposing of com Missions : A number of gross abwes were alluded to on the occasion, which if substan tiated, skew to what an alarming extent corruption and mis-nanagetnent are carried in the military department. The public, as well as the Commander-in-Chief, owe the highest acknowledgments to the Moyer for his wanly con duct on the occasion. The hasty rumours which went abroad, have already excited so mu c h disgust, that it is the interest of every party, that their fallacy or malice he clearly ascertained. Men, in high ostensible situations, arc ex posed to hare their conduct, perhaps too rigorously exa mined; hut this inqnisitorial spirit. hoy.e‘er painful it is may he to the Iceliag:4 of the in‘lividnal, hoo . ever tna:iciotis in its tendency, is )n.0111(16.1: of too many ad vantages to the public service, as that we should condwnn it in told, in consequence of the partial evil it may inflict. '!'hr loyalty, the ardent attachment of the country for the Sovereign and Ws family, are too well established, too onilersally 2.4 to appreheud that these rumours oritin:lte in any disafrection to the present establishment. The persons who are guilty of the unpardonable levity to impute them to so unfounded a close, should hays made themselves better acquainted with the sentiments of a Bri tish public, before they havarded so unwarrantable an as iiertion. We thought tb7 cry of Jacobinisin and conspi racy long since extinct. and that those unfortunate fords and recrimination. which have so much dishonoured and disturbed the conclusion of the last century, WOOld not be L.-ought forward to alarm the wition in the present awful incture of its affairs.. The greatesi unanimity, the exertion power we possess, are warcely competent to save and we have the mortification of hearing from men. viao4e wisdom and gravity we suppose from the high rank employments they hold, a repetition of those dreadful r!lar4e;, ‘vhich had filled a considerable part of Europe die);ll'.!r and misery, with infarmers, executioners, :tad "Ir dd 4 . Public characters cannot be too cautious t!wir ~r;ineisirms ; fo: what they may say inadvertently JAN. 29. or in the irritation of party debate, is received by many as fact ; and the rhetoric a l flourish of the Senator, meant only to irritate his opponent, or to glatify a patron, often causes a degree of perturbation among the ?tuba/Lied, and uninformed, which the orator may not imagine, We are happy in beins hle to remove the public anxiety, relative to the safety of that division of our troops, which - separated from the rest at J4ugo, and took the road , (ro They arrived there, and embarked without any im , pediment, Major RAINEy of the 8' .?.:1 Regiment, sailed from the Tagus On the 16th inst..and reached Vigo on the Igth where he found General Ca.o u lt D, and the following corps under command, embar4ed, and intending to sail the next day : the second halt:thous of the 52d and 95th, the first of the Chi and two of thz.! German Regi ments, The following is given as an abstract of a general return of tie troops embarked at Corunna lur England : Cavalry - - - ' Engineers, Artillery, Drivers, &c, Infantry . - - Total, sick included, Raok and File. 2,872 %6Sti 19,534 aL j'~~(11 The corps, which embarked at Vigo, amounted, it is said, to 3100: so that the whole force which has left Spain, may be estimated at upwards of 28,000 men. The united forces under Sir Jon N MOOR E and Sir DA yin Omni). * previous to their junction, were computed at 33,000 etfec, tive men ; which would make our loss, during the retreat and in the different rencountres with the enemy, amount to near 5000 men. Tins estimation Is supported b 3 the authority of General STEWART, who signalised himself so much in the affair near lleneNente, against a detachment of BONAPARTE'S horse-guards. This g allant ()dicer stated last night in the Hou s e, - that our loss did nut amount to 5000. Government is said to have received advice from Mr. Frere, our Minister to the Supreme Junta, stating that the most vigorous preparations are making in the southern provinces of Spain, to resist the progress of the enemy. Private letters also announce, that as soon as intelligence lind'heen received at Seville of the depaiture of Bonaparte from Madrid, where he left a garrison of only SOOO men, orders were immediately sent by the Supreme Junta to the force under Cuesta and the Duke of Intantado, to march to the Capital, in order to disl o dge the enemy, who. had strongly fortified themselves in the Retiro. It is also stated with confidence, that the force, which sailed sonic time ago, under General Sherbrooke, is des tined for Cadiz, and that Ministers have stipulated with the Government of Spain, to admit our troops in the gar rison and ports of that City . . This force is to be followed by the most formidable armament that ever sailed from this country, to consist, it is said, of 60,000 men, who are immediately to be equipped and embarked. His Majesty declared in his Speech at the openin; of Parliament, that as long as the Spaniards remained true to themselves, he will continue to them his most strenuous assistance and support. In conformity to this declaration, immense sup plies of , clothiler ro provisions, tents, arms, and ammunition, are to be forwarded to Gibraltar, Cadiz and the Balearic Islands, which are to be placed in our hands, as depots for our Military Stores. The preparations for the new Arma ment arc made with so much vigour, that the Officers, who landed, a few days ago, from Spain, obtain, with difficulty, a short leave of absence to visit their friends. We understand that a Seville Gazette of a late date has been received in town, which contains a letter from Gen- Muria to the Supreme Junta, in which he strongly advises the Junta not to suffiT the English to get possession of any of the fortified towns in Spain ; on the contrary, he says, they ought to fortify the sea-ports against them. lie also states, that he has seen their new Sovereign, Joseph 80 .. nalrartc, whom be represents as a man of the greatest saga 74 .