The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-08-18 00:00:00

been received this morning. All the intelligence that has arrived respecting the bombardment is through private channels. 'This appears absolutely unaccountable. Do Ministers disregard that in. tense anxiety which is daily manifested by the pub. lic on this occasion ? —lt must be so ; for it is impossible to conceive that, with the extensive, we might say unlimited, means which they possess, it is impracticable to anticipate t he communications re ceived by private individuals.—From Spain, from Portugal l and from Germany, the same tardiness has been esbibited—in fact, almost time immemorial. How often were Mr. Pitt and his Coadjutors in the last War informed, for the first time, of important e►eats on the Continent of Europe, by the public prints of this metropolis? And how often was intelligence received by the late Marquis of LANS DOWNE, and other individuals, of which Govern insot were In utter ignorance ? Intelligence, in fact, is the very foundation of every movement of a state in a period of warfare—and although it may be said to be of little consequence, whether the surrender of Flushing be known a day sooner, or a day later—it is certainly disgraceful, with the means we possess,, to remain so lung in ignorance as we frequently do of what is passing out of England. Therei are upwards of 1 vessels, including every description, with the Nisedition —and although the ocean cannot be tra+trsed with the same certainty as the road over which a mail coach rolls, we have many species of craft which wiH make the passage in almost any weather.— What, for instance, would deter boats constructed like those at Deal, from rutting to sea, and parti- Warty if they were fitted up with cork as the lifc-boats are?—The smuggling cutters and tug gers never deem the weather favourable for a trip till it a blows a gale, when the men of war and Termite cotters run for a roadstead, strike topmasts, and ride at anchor with all snug. —The same wind that wafts the private vessel to out shores, would bring over the diur nal account of the proceedings of our brave countrymen, in whose fate individually, per. hap; a majority of the nation (to say nothing of the deep interest which the nation, at large, must feel in what is passing at the different points ut the great Theatre of War) Ft intereated. It has long been the practice to be silent, except wheu some important eveut is to be announced, and in the intervals that may elapse,,the public abaiety to know .what is doing, is wholly disre garded. The 'Attic may surely be viewed for the anxiety they feel, and which siirelfr ought to be as much, , and u frequently, relieved as is possible. How many weeks did we remain in ignorance of Sir A turnun ‘VeLLEst.Ey's mere. meats after Souvr's retreat ? We had private letters in abundance, and many contradictory rt. p or t s i s impossible to assign any adequate reason why the public, instead of being almost daily agitated and harassed by vague and contra. dictory rumours respecting the movements of the Britisharmy, should nut have been correctly inform. ed by authentic official statements...we do not mean laboured, highly-polished "Authentic Official Statements," like that of the battle of Aspern, nor official statements,without dale, like that of the bat tle of Wagram, which appeared in a Government Paper of yesterday evening. With respect to this last official statement, we know not precisely what operation it is th..iigned to have upon the public mind. That such a document should have beets published by the Government of Austria, or re ceived in this country rcithout date—tie appre. heed will not be believed, even by those who so Wig disbelieved the " Armistice." Nur is it %within probability, that this official account of the battle of Wagram, which was fought on the 6th of July, should have been unaccompanied by the official account of the battle of %maim, which happened on the I Ith of the same mouth. If it be intended to gull the readers of this ac coont, by leading them to suppose that the Aus trians were.finully victorious—the attempt, inge. nious as it is, will nut be successful. Nothing more certainly indicites weakness and apprehen sion, than the attempt to mislead by the slisin &custom suppression of the tenth. It is impossible that any individual in England can view the Ltal termination of the contest on the Danube, without ben thwu of deep sorrow and regret--but deceiv ing, hoodwinking the rowels: of fboatand tfitl not that calamity. Arriwo. Plans. Doe. O Deblis ... 0 O O O Iscor PRICK OF STOCKS PM Ili PA •og. •• v. 3 paCtet.Cora. SR ex. die., . ....._ .. . S per Cost. Red. 64 i • - . ...^ 1 ' . , .. 4.4 . 4 per Colt .•• Pi i rt . 1..., .. .., y r ?lam! 9Ol lk, - (Niguel& far Ace - : aC - NI. THE S i 7 --- 17 . 17- g - lot ritoro,l ..... -.... bra . , 4 LONDON: FRIDAY, AUGUST 1.. Tut surrender of Flushing may be considered as certain, although no ad►ice of that event had BY the Mail which arrived yesterday from Malta and Gibraltar, pirate information has bees received of General STUART having sailed from Sicily with a force of 25,000 men, which is sup posed to be directed against Naples.—Public in. digoation is reported to be generally excited against the tyranny of King JOACHIM. These reports are general—but it will be seen that they rest un a very vague foundation. Unless the French force in Naples and the neighbourhood has been greatly reduced, we confess we do not anticipate a succuaul result of this enterpize. Tue intelligence from America is certainly un. favourable. The public indignation is very pow. erfully excited, and much bitter altercation may be expected to precede a final adjustment of W.. ferences. Wu cannot, however, but think that the interest of the two Governments will ultimately lead them to this point. France will now cease to pay that deference which the commerce of America once commanded—for NAPOLEON is every day approaching more nearly to that absolute, pa ramount ascendancy, which will enable him at no very distant period to interdict the Continent of Europe from all external communication. — When we arc told of the impossibility of the Continent existing without commerce, it is natu. rat to inquire by what means it existed before the discovery of America? The experience of the last 20 years might surely restrain the folly of an. nouncing that to be impossible which is only so because it is untried. Was it deemed possible 14 year. ago to produce wool in England that should ever afford a hope of substituting the British Reece for that produced in Spain ? Indisputably it was not—And yet no longer since than yesterday, 153 sheets of British wool, from the Merino breed, vu sold by public auction at Garraway's Cotfac.house, a largo pro. portion of which went off at or above ss. One lot from the flock of CUARLES JENILINSON, Esq. as high as 6s. 2d. per lb. and one pocket from the MI& of his Grace the Duke of BEDNORD, at 65. 3J.!---Was it believed practicable thirty years ago to manufacture bar-iron by the use of pit coal ?—ls nut that manufacture rapidly in. creasing and advancing towards perfection ? Wu it deemed possible, at the commencement of the French Revolution, that the Republicans could obtain saltpetre to make gnn-powder ? Did they Rot find it in the cellars and stables of Paris ? Is not the collective genius of the French che mists at this moment intently occupied in the at. tempt to produce from grapes a saccharine sub stance which shall supersede the uecessity of sugar? Is there any one so hardy as to say that it is im possible ?—We have, in our own time, seen the use of the ususlies of India, the porcelain of China, and the iron of Russia, if nut annihilated, reduced to insignificance by the ingenuity and industry of England—and however great may be the difficul ties, of which we are fully aware, we do not see any reason to doubt the possibility of producing Merino eon!. As little reason do we see to doubt the possibility of two currently believed impossibili ties, the complete exclusion of our commerce from the Continent of Europe, and the metre- Lion of an European army by land to India. No thing would give us greater pleasure than to be convinced of the possibility of proving these im posaibilities. A Cabinet Council was held yesterday at the Foreign Office. There was a Cabinet Dinner on Wednesday, at the Earl of ‘VLsimutti.A No's, in Grosvenor. square. Letters and Papers have arrived from Jamaica to the 9th ult. No intelligence of the surrender of St. Mmitign had at that time been received. The General Assembly was prorogued in the usual form to the Ist of August. Some further parti. ciders will be seen in our extracts from the It. males Papers. Dispatches, we understand, have been received at the Admiralty, respecting the disposition of the French naval force in the Scheldt. It is said that the French Admiral has sent a message to Sir R. Sru tctt.+K, declaring that he, and the crews under his command, will shed the lut drop of their blood opposing our fleet, if the passage of the Scheldt be attempted. The Irish Legion serving under BowArARTE is commanded by a person of the name of O'MEARA, and not by ARTHUR O'CONNOR, as generally supposed. 0 1 11e.tna had distinguished himself in several actions, and, on the particular recornnsen. dation of General CI.ARRE, was appointed by BONAPARTS to the command of hilt countrymen. Tho caprices of fashion are boundless ; and while our " puppies" in England are daily con.. tending for the " Prize of Folly," the Empress JOSEPHINE is said to have.whimsically furnished a room with chairs differing from each other in shape and colour.—Our great Moralist, JoHnsoN, once exclaimed., 66 As the votaries of fashion affect 64 singularity only to attract notice, I wonder " that uo Fool of Fashion, of either sex, has " taken it into their precious noddles to run a set " of hums all spavined on the same leg, or all " blind of one eye, as there would be novelty iu 44 this," *c. The seiz era of guineas is particularly acceptable to the Otbcers of the Beveiuse, u they have very little trouble afterwards iu disposiv of their shire, and no oceasiOu to clippie,' pergola to paha the property I COLONEL WARDLE. That the Proprietors of Vauxhall should have been so imprudent as to introduce a Song which, it must hate been obvious to the most dense capacity, was calculated to excite dissection amongst the company, is a proof of their zeal ...honourable neither to their judgment nor their independence. On Wednesday evening a Quartet was intro duced, in which the repetition of the " Duke and the Army" excited the disapprobation of the Company.---Much hissing ensued, and " The Duke and the Darling" was loudly vocife rated.—The singers were at length hissed off ; but Mr. Dionua, likd a lion retreating before his pursuersouthibited certain gesticulations of defiance to the audience, from which it may perhaps be made apparent at some future period, that the zeal of Mr. DiaNum very greatly exceeded his prudence. 7to THE EDITOR OF THE STATESMAN. SIR— America is said to be, and doubtless with justice, a "rising country;" but I should greatly rejoice to see the American character rise in humanity and morals, as well as in wealth.-- Of the moral state of society in the Southern States, the following paragraph, which I have this day read in an American newspaper, is a forcible illustration : " At a Court of Sessions held at Charleston (America), an " the 25th May last, George Burrows and Robert Welch, " convicted of negro-stealing, were ordered to be hanged. " James Hutton, convicted of having killed a negro, was " .fimd fifty Pounds." And this too in the Trans-Atlantic seat of Free. dom!—The Legislature of America would have been more honourably employed in delivering the unhappy African from a condition, in which the destruction of human existence is valued at the sum of 501.—than in delivering Mr. TuostAs JEFFERSON, the late President, from the oppres sive evil of postage—a resolution which, it ap pears by the following paragraph, was lately adopted. Congress btu enacted that Two's AS Jc►rcasnn, their late President, shall send and receive litters, free of postage. Did ever Nation act with inconsistency so gross? The Planters in Georgia and Carolina allege, that the Cotton Shrub cannot be cultivated but by Ne groes. This is the old argument used by the West India Planters with respect to sugar. A celebrated author observed, that be never looked at a lump of sugar, but his imagination pictured it to be stained with drops of human blood. The some sentiment may very naturally arise with reference to a piece of cotton cloth. Fur when we reflect on the condi tion of the negro who cultivates the plant, and that of the miserable, lost, class of beings who spin the thread—our boasted manufacturing vs tem will perhaps not find many advocates amongst the real friends of humanity. REFLECTOR. New York Coffee-11mm, Aug. 17, 1809. NAVAL INTRL&IGENCE. Dovrn, Ave. 17.—Arrived and passed by for the Downs. followin; ship of the West India fleet, viz. Hopewell, Corry; and the Merry, Wagon, from Harbadaes ; Harvev. Redman, from Trinidad; Baltic Merchint, Smith, from Ca nada; Dove, ; and King George, Cotten, from St. Vincent; London, Duncan, from Tob:Lgo; Ealing Grove, Nc IN free Dominica; and the Charles Carter. Drysdale, from New York. In the 'Loads—the Nereus, Rolla, and Peruvian, sloops of war. YARMOUTH, At:G. 17.—Arrived L'Espiegle, With trans ports, marks and No. 132, VIC, and G, with troops, said to be destined for Heligoland; and this morning sailed fur He ligoland ; and Constant pun-brig, on a cruise. Remaining in the Roads the Roebuck, Mosquito, and Ac tive gun-brigs; and Ramada sloop. DE IL. Arc. 17.—Last night several sail of tronspirts der convoy of his Nt.ticst)'s sloop Osprey, willed for Flush ing; the Unicorn frigate also sailed on a cruise. This morning his Nl.tie•tty's ships Acosta and Dolphin ar rived iu the Downs, with convoy Irmo Tortola, in 43 days. The Dolphin has 40J French prisoners on board. and two transports have also French prisoners ou board, which were taken at the Saints. This morning, the wind being Easterly. the outward-bound ships got under weigh, and sailed to the Westward. We can not bear that any convoy was appointed to accompany them. In the Downs, his Majesty's ship Lively, Vice-Admiral Campbell ; York, Diana, Angst*. Dolphin, and Resolution. Four P. M.—The outward-bound are now corning back to the Dewas.—Wind S. W. Yesterday his Royal llighni•ss the Duke of CAMBRIDGL entertained a select party of military and other Gentlemen with an elegant dinner, at his house in Berkeley square. Lord and Lady liot.t.Ano had a select party of friends at dinner yesterday at liollind The anniversary of the birth of his Royal High. nest the Prince of WALES was celebrated at Edin burgh, in the Assembly Rooms, George-street. There were present on this occasion, swung many other respectable individuals, The Earl of Lauderdale. Lord Kiwisled, Lord William Hassell, the lion. Newry Erskine, Lord Bamostyne, Sir John Lowther John-tooe, &c. t and the Lord Provost and Magistrates, the Lord De w s of Guild. and the Convener of the Trades, attended is visitors of the Stewards. The Earl of Lauderdale presided. Yesterday afternoon a Cabinet Council was held at the Foreign Office, at which were present, The Lord Chancellor ; Earls Bathurst, Westmotlaad, and Harroarby ; Lords Castlereagh, Lemon (lower ; and Mal pave ; Kr e . Seesetesi Came*, ang, $M Chia** et the Eschetre. SPANISH PAPERS. ADDRESS FROM 'ME SUPREME CEVTRAL JUNTA To rul PEOPLE or GALLIC( 1. a ProrLE OP GALLICIA: 66 Ou seeing you fall into the power of the ene my without any resistance ; on contemplatin; your naval emporiutn, the pride of our coast , , occupied by the French; and this leading and powerful province train sea to um subject to a foreign yoke—indignation and grief wrung front your native country the groans of malediction and anger, as from a mother who complains to hea. run and earth of the degradation of a daughter. in whose purity and virtue the was wont to glory. 66 Sinistreus events then followed in a rapid successsion, as fortunate occurrences did before the battles of Espinosa, Burgos and 'f trdela wer e followed by the action of Somisierra, the capture of the capital, and the defeat near Ucles. The ruins of Saragossa, the affair of Vella, and the battle of Medellin succeeded ; but if in these me. movable actions fortune forsook us, at icaq the public opinion was not lost. The wonderful resistance of the capital of Arragon ; the persewk. ranee and gallantry with which our Cateloni: , n army, notwithstanding its inferiority in numbet, maintained an action fur eleven hours, broke the enemy's centre, and thus fought its trey into Tat. ragutta ; the sanguinary conflict of bleddim, in which the French soldiers were struck with asto nishment, on witnessing the intrepidity and buhl ness of our troops, whom they despised at the bottom of their heart, demonstrated that Spain, although deeply affected by those disasters, did nut lose her confidence. Her warriors pursued the path of glory, and were every day acquiring additional rights, and additional means to obtain victory. But, Gallicians! Gallicia, entered without re sistance, domineered without opposition, and sink , ing into slavery without a groan—Gallicia discon certed all the calculations of prudence, an 4 gave the death-blow to the state by destroying all its hopes. Who could have supposed, on that unfortunate night, that the first dawn of happiutiss would burst forth upon our country from Gallicia ? Gal. liciaas, weak as you appeared is your fall, a huts. drud times more great and glorious were you in your insurrection. Despair itself, magnanimous Gallicians, braced your arms, to a degree of strength of which you were at first unconscious, and the enemy was soon able to perceive that loyalty and patriotism were rekindling the flame of war in a province, which, appa. rently, was perfectly tranquil. The shouts of rode. pendence and revenge began to be heard on every 'road, in every village and town ; rage supplied arms, and with him who had nut a sabre to bran. dish, or a firelock to charge, the peaceful scythe and sickle became implements of war and death. Individuals, in a state of extreme agitation, were searching for each other, companies were collecting, corps forming ; the conqueroris fearful in their turn of the vanquished, retired to their strong holds ; thither they were pursued ; there they were as ' sailed and routed. Vigo surrendered with its op pressors, and Gallia.' sending them in chains to the opposite sea-coast, chose them to bear wit ness to the glorious truth, that the Spanish have not yet entirely forgotten the art of conquering and enchaining the French. " This was the first day which shone propitious o Spin, after five months of disasters. It was followed by others; and the •ery men who, at the first moment of surprise, appeared so dejected, were the first who prepared the return of victory, which was afterwards gathered jointly with them by the warriors who flew to their assistance, in ttp streets of Santiago, in the fields of Estella and Lugo, and at thu Bridge of St. Payo. It was in vain that Soult, who, with considerable trouble, escaped from our allies in Oporto, hastened to join and reinforce with his defeated division the weak. and Ncy. Obstructed in their marches, inter rupted in their communisations, and disappointed in their hopes of lighting decisive banks, these arrogant Generals despair of conquering, and curse and detest a war which wastes them without glory. Where are now that assurance, that con, fidence, with which they told yon that all was tranquil in the Peninsula except Corunna and Ferrol ? Where that vain glory with which, in their ambitious views, the coasts of the Cartabrian and Atlantic Sea resounded ? They might devastate and ravage your country, but could not subject. and maintain themselves is it. Wearied with contending with physical forces, which encreased every day, and with a mo ral resistance which had rendered itself in vincible, they at length fly from your soil, ex hausted, wretched, dispersed, without arms, and without clothes ; and in Castile give a fresh and striking proof of the impossibility of imposing a yoke upon a people when they are unanimous in their resistance. " The Spaniards do not pt know what war is," said the infmuous traitors to their country—. those who disguised under the mask of foresight their criminal egotism. With these impressions of discouruesomit they wished to repress the gene. Ow " • .