The National Register. — London, England, 1812-12-06 00:00:00

DEC. 6. eeenseensis . France the causes of the loss of Badajos, that Lord Wellington had taken Badajos in the face of two arelies, each of which, instreneth, was equal to his own. I t was stated by Soult, that the army miler terd Wellington was not superior to that uniler his command, nor to that commanded by Marmont ; but he stated the (lacunae of a e.e rn . bling troops to he so great, and the rapidity of Lord Welliiigt, 11 - s iyements to be so extraordinary (an admission most honourable to th e pliant Marquis, more particularly as it came froth the enemy), his oetretions carried on with such celehrity, the si,ge incased yy it h set h vigour, awl the assault in ide with such rallantry, as to exceed all his c a, : so that he had only reached Album with his'arinv. his wry to relieve the fortrese, when be received - intelligence that it had fallen. After this; it was for him to direct his force so as to OF et as hat he might he capable of doing tier the interest of Spain, with a view to repel the Invadieg army. The French armies were so strong that the gallant Marquis did not expect to be enables to Mitre them out of Spain; and he stated in his communications with his Government, " If I can reduce the two fortresses (Ciudad Rodrigo and B an P d place ortuga' under their protection, my next operation shall be directed to the South of Spain, to deprive the enemy of the resource s they possess in Seville ; or if It hlige them to collect an army to de nial them, I shall then co:npel them to raise the siege of Cadiz. I I fram Bialajoa I can aa!yance into Andalusia, this will be myeiteject." When Lord WelEngton Badajos, in consequence, cer tai ly, of the tietey to revictual Ciudad Rodrigo, Ire nett nbliged to march to protect that fortress, to secure that interestinz frontier of Portugal. The Noble Lord afterwards stated, that he did not alto gether regret, that c'it comstances had caused him to direct an opera tion in the Nort instead of the South, as he had intended ; and he loped, as he nemil himself at the head of an army to which he could. lock with confidence for success in an action with. Marmots, he might • in that quarter, more particularly it Castile were thrown open, be able to do that which would deliver Andalusia more completely, than if, ra he had first intended after the capture of Badajos, he had advanced against the French in Avdalusia. He (I.Ord C.) begged the House to bear this in mind. Lord Wellington did make an irruption into Cas tile. He drove the French from Salamanca, and advanced upon the line of the Douro. Though at the commencement of these opera tions, his army was such, that he could court a general action with Marmont, when he arrived upon the line of the Douro, tins was no longer the case. The French, as was their practice, there snrifieed all the hold they had of the country, by withdrawing their troops from stv:ial fortresses they had pr. viously occupied, to make head :gains, Lord Wellington. Banc the battle of Salamanca, Marmont was reinforced from Leon and Est remadura, from the army of CAM nib, and from the army of Madrid. From that moment, Lord Wel lington , aid, " I am not prepared to risk a general battle, sinless I fiat, that upon military grounds 11 can engage you with a prospect of success." The battle of Salamanca was fought in consequence of this dinereoieatioe.— Wit bout going into the derail, which he thouvht un necessary, as ev-ry Englishman. was familiar with it, he would say this was a victory gained after manceuvres the most complicated, where two armies were long in sight of each other, each observing what the other did, and trying, by every ell ort of militara skill, to take ad yentage of any errors that might occur. The loss of the French 'rn' in the fieht, and through the consequences which naturally re sulte4 from it, could not be estimated at less than 20,000 men.• What was the situation of Spain at present? Lord Wellington lied taid, that but for one unfortunate circumstance the success oft he cam mien would have been certain. Success would have been certain, bad not the French collected the whole of their disposable force, amountieg to not less than 70 or 80,000 men, upon the Tonnes, and compelled Lord Wellington prudentially to make a retreat, a retreat which was more lilw the prelude to a victory than a proof of disaster. The enemy had only been enabled to compel him to retreat by an ab dication of every military principle which had regulated their conduct before. It Madrid hied neen a position of military importance,. which it was not, the case would have been materially different from what it at present appeared. Lord W. 11;41 not taken possession of it as a mi. ori position. nor had he adiranced upon it for tae vain glory of hiking the enein)'s capital—he went there on this principle ; he knew, that unless advancing he threw-a large force on the flank of he con Id not make that General do what was really the object ol Lord Wairgton's operations—raise the :lege of Cadiz, while An dalusia and the southern provinces of Spain.were delivered from the e e"emy. It was now seen that the French Could not retain Madrid. They were obliged to evacuate it in their tune; as well as sic, and acre now euly in possession oldie ground on which elegy toed, and sa far as ever from effecting the military or moral subjonition of the country. But if they were to measure the influeoce of the victory of 13 lamatica only by what it had produced in Spain, he would say, their estimate ant: value would be most unfair, most unwise, most untrue, in the circumstances in whicfi Ettrope was at present placed. Did the. House know, that -the character of the battle of Borodino, le'as partly caused by Lord Wellington ? In that great Kittle, in which 80XXX) men laid down their lives, it was consoling to know that. Prince Kutusoff had it in his power, on the morning of that day, to animate his troops, by telling them of the glory gained by the Eng. I:sit at Salamanca.—(hear, hear !) Did not the Howe feel that it trent be most animating to the Russian army to know that the Mar- St 4 of Wellington- had at Salamanca completely r. utcd the French TITF, NArtIONAL RECIsTER: 761 army ?—(Mear, • eir !)—To be told, that it they stood to the enemy like feglistuocrt, - hey would achieve as peat a triumph, awl a:: treat a triumph they die: achieve.—(Heat, hear !)--For, though front ea rents c rcurnstencti it was timnd iinpovible to follow up that vic icry, still it was a victory, than which, a prouder trim:lllh never was obtaired by the forces of anY country.— (Hear, hear !) lii t h.q. aCti n, that eistingnished Gene? .1 Niece liagratiun, whose loss we hid since to deplore, with 30,00 men, repelled the t•: hole military pewee of France directed in one point.— tilear, hear !)---1 lie prim i d le on which Bessie hat ected on the opening of the eaneetiv, eels that whit It was recommended by the Marquis sat Wellington. lie had said, if Russia adented that system she ‘N as silk. It was on that principle that he had f emerly &feuded Pert ueal, so that Russia rmght be supposed to have derived eqn.il benefit from his ci•uncils And examples. One extrarrdinars and most important restilt was seen precceeing from the battle of Salamanca, in the conquest it gave feed Wellington over Spain herself ; for he. woul:t put it to the House, with their knowledge of the pride of the Spaniards, their dis tinguished pride, th it honourable pride, and, in many instances, their tr,efu I pride, fir he did not know but that their pride opposed a more effectual bar to foreign conquest than almost any other nation could oppose to it—he put it, then, .to the House, what must he the effect of Lord Wellington's exploits on the Spanish mind, what the ascend ancy of character which he had gain. d,- when the tudted voice of the. whole nation gave him the command of their whole military means If a proof were wanting of the universality of this feeling in the Spa. dish people ; if a proof were wanting that the honour was not cen ferred on hint merely by the majority of the Spanish Councils, the Cortes, or tl!e Regency, te cy could bring it to a better test, that was `furnished by the conduct of that unfortunate Officec, General BaHas tents, to whose neglect and disobedience of the orders he received, the advance of the enemy was hi no small degree attributable. Whet, however, was the result of this test ?-11 appeared in his case, that so far from finding • ty support in the po etlation of the country, or in the arms' whicit he commanded, which was warmly attached to him, anti which he had efren lett to victory, he found no one to stand by him. All the claim that he meant to prefer this night was this, that the services of Lord Welling on. and the battle of Salamanca, were not to he censidrred merely em important in themselves, but as productive of great militars consequences in Spain, and great moral consequences throughout Europe. Our credit and our hopes were never higher in Spaie thin at the present time; and if we couli not rot now drive the enemy over the Pyrenees, it was evident the enemy could riot conquer Spain, mei might be said to have little more hold of the country than they would have, if, having been f rue-i to recross the Pyreneee, they woe accumulating strength, and waiting an oppor tunity to return. He moved— " That the Thanks of this House be given to General the Marquis of Wellington, for the many and great services which he has rendered to this Country, and to his Majesty's Allies, during the last cam. paign, and more particularly for the glorious an i decisive Victory oh. mined at .Salamanca by the Allied Army on the (22d of July last. whereby . the French power was sensibly diminished, the beige - of Cadiz ra ised, and the southern provinces of Spain delivered from the hands of the enemy . " Sir F. Bu ft neer assured the House that he would be one of the last men in the world to deny a rectimpence to those who did honour to their country, but he could not hear with patience the victory of Sala manca compared to that of Blenheim, and he expresatel Ida abhorrence of the object for which he said such comparisons were made. '1 fiesta motions of thanks, and these lofty phrases, which were never neces sary but to mislead and to misinform, had been, in the opinion of Sir Francis, used upon the present occasion, as upto all others, to delude the people with the fond story of success es that' had not been, and to plunge the nation deeper into the horrors of war. It was then argued by him, that the recent failure must have been the consequence either of the incapability of the Commander, or the ill cenduct on the part 1111 of Ministers in not furnishing hi ii with the means. It was evident, he said, that blame must lie at somebody's door, and he confessed that he did not comprehend that Leiguage welch asserted that Mar quis Wellington was gloriously victoriou; over the many, and that he was obliged to retire from them ; that Ministers had furnished Itiiii with all supplies, aid that notwithstanding those advantages, 1.1 should have had time tables turned upon him. " These are to; proofs," slid Sir Fre cis, " that the leen it weuld melt Lke butter " He expressed his tin williugness to itissent from the geretal opieien opou the subject of Salamanca, hut he tholeiht that it had been to. troeuctel too eat IV. amt that an cuquiry into tee circumstances tit IliC campaign wattle have been adviseele he fore they determioed to give the f harks (tithe Herne. The Hon baronet concluded les speech by •declaring his hearty disaeprobation sat the cause in which our maim are empire el in the Peninsula. The fest Reseluteo was then put and carried nern. con. as were also the Votes to Sir S. Cettete and the other Getterei Offitera, mid 0 Ilieere of the Allied Army ; to rime Non-cernmissioned Officers and Men ; and to the Po•tueuese Officers and Soloierb. MAJOIMILNERAL LE MARCHANT. 1 ord CAsTLEtirAGH, moven an Address to tiie Prince Regent, that his Rop s l Highness would order a Monument to he eta, ttd in - the Cathedral of st Paul t - the Hi- in..ry of this g4liant Officer, who fell on the InCatorable day diSalameece. The molten Gauped teen. 4,1711. !a llie her s() 11 h ;1 1t