The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-08-24 00:00:00

r • •tts • aera4sc e • T VOIN. EPSON TUC Ortillt Injar rAittostco.) •",- 44 411.11' WELCog A GLOBAL aND arneto.ll. RE roust. \'':k a. " Little more tlititObree MO have elapsed since Siiain could call hectelf a whole nation, her •arious provinces being only ellen united under .iiie goverumesit and authority. These years would hive suffices) to gather in the fruits which wilOitruulised by the consolidation of so powerful u kingdom, if fortune, which hat pleased to are r 'lige the successive tittermarrieges and inheritances isCled Monarchs, had given to them the will and viewer to cement so megnificent an edifice, in. stml of leeving it to time to undermine what t*..ey had raised. The nation was distracted by the factions of the powerful grandees, who, avediks themselves of the debility of the Kings, emended the independence of the throne. Thu tele" wearied by this species of domestic ty. II inlay, a thousand times more grievous than the remoter tietiputism of a court, knit their arms to an aetive sad artful Mitiister, in order to destroy the petty rival. of Fertleialil the Catholic; and trona t - tfat moment, no vuice was been! in Spain, hut that of the nmarcS. His will was restrained by eic priril-ges (►Olen's) of some provinces; and s.itrafieuutroul, though weak, was forme.l by the precarious and vague influence of the Cortes of Castile. Ferditesail was fur a time checked by the desire to possess that crown, in ease of the lath of his Quern, to whom it. belonged ; and Otis accident placed obstacles in the way of des potism, for a periois, so that tree people did nut ritinark the fate ii hielt threatened them. . Arbitrary p.ssrcr had shot deep and intricate reefs, when one of those capricious family eon. et etities net which the welfere or ruin of whole iettions depends, put the sceptre of Spain into' the henels of a foreigner, andeuatle it the inheritance ..1 . a German house. From thence our firmament was overshadowed liv a cloud of evils which is still discharging itlJelf open our heads. This seas perceived, '6l those generous Spaniards who i•ivulted the)nstour of their nation to avert it ; Inn they , ou learned, by fatal cala mities, that slaver? s Tepidly townies, when it seizes on e divided ea ea, They a ere doomed to suffer this through the grins of their fellow.eenntryinest ; and the scaffold was raised up by the same hands which bad sought tri i theak the chaise. Who could feel rpm passion for an infatuated people who sacrificed their youth..-telki ran to shed their blood in fu.. r-izii lands, ill - i f oriVer tie impose the yoke upon other nations tt spoils they did nut even en. joy. The brilliant reign of Charles V. passed away : in that school was formed a Philip 11. who, adding new pretensions to those of his fa ther, had to supply by intrigue that strength a hich had b .en unprofitably lavished, and who degraded himst•lf before Foropc, % nich had for merly trembled at his r res,iire. At leugth the ut. most debility was uaited to the utmost despotism ; and the Spanish nation descended from King to King, as from abyss to abyss, to the profundity of degradation and oesery. • 4 Spain than bereene the legacy of a weak too. narch to the anieiticats . goert of f renct: ; tied she s, Was torn to pieCES, being the prize set up to be eon tended for :fir - fiver foreigners. Ex Ito uoted by fresh wars, site slumbered its the interval, during which the intrigues of other Cabinets allot' el her to lay slovell the arms the had scarcely strength to *sestaire, did in our clays falling into thee hands of •an atitenturer who cowered her with s heets:, she was 03 the point of bevonlist; the prey of another odventarer still more audacious, who availed him. self of,Sltt i baseness of his predecessor to subdue bee. . 0 , " This !Mete!' comprises the pctiud of our glory. :gut•what influence had this on the happiness of the country ? Was she rendered mote happy, by .the discovery of Win, world, whose riches were the price of the blood shed iii Flakier' and Ger ...litany, for interests which were not her own ? Or could her felicity sprite; from the barrel' triumphs of her arms, joined to these of other steams / Glory was doubtless thee gained! by our ancestors; a glory which showed what tee valour of this • brave people tesisid effect ; but the glory perished with them, and left to their descendants vain re. collections, mingled with incalculable evils. * 4 What then shalt we say or former ageit—ages of everlasting war ; at one time time against the *serial:re of our evil ; at another tints against 'Princes, whose renewed conflicts were CSC!' Spring. . iblg from successive victories? No firm and per. • Malicia bases or goverment were established,. . when the Peninsula formed one kingdom. And • shall we seek for precedents, when every province. was an independt.et state—when war was nuw ear. ried on against the Moors, now waged by Chris tians, who slatightereil each either ? ' " Nu, Spaniards; we will nut deceive our. , v . seles, concerning the present state of our coun try. We )'assess venerable monument.; of gran. . deur and power, and derive them directly from • ow ancestors. We possess laws, m huh at one ppiiod were better (base any Europe then enjoyed; hat we do nut retails the shadow of what our ac tual situation requires, nor any resemblaece of what can feeder us happy, being what we now are. Our ancestors heaped together the fragments de ;l ac / icor e el i t is ; we, ha%c to form the plait of an ediliee; • adapted to our actual exigencies; we .eizht /lot to destroy what we hare inherited from VAI,' hot to till up the emboli in what is re. TO:kitting . 14 ' If we add to all this the embarrassments ig.frum an isorri:llo iny.o.lios, and a deflated un tip:taken when the Art, of Ih:spittoon lead laid us pi'plitrata and almost we may contemplate '• 104Atei: the lolls who ti %maroo' sad men,ice • al 'au .•flizreious remedy. Spain a twitgritts amid preetple,;s, col with th e ' m ut e of nucatam lights for her preset - . ration. She has a Keog wh o :n etc tin leiiy lovt.s, ~,,t whether the day wiii Cler at. Nt 4;1 roljny the delight ctf re.possrs. slut; hint: .sita kilos s 'tot what shu'ije to do, should she lose him ; stoat ahe has to aik of hint, ihoald .t.:tftri;i 'Or what to an .ire aub atatowil low Slit: ruzsysses hi6h tribauali, . ~ ~~ THE STATESMAN. some ancient and ruinous ; others recently formed, and wanting consolidation ; and she itiviws not whc- 4 ther those will ever rise from their ruins, or whether 'these will ever be organized, to become the war. ' thy protearws of the laws. Laws ! yes, Spain has laws, but her citizens arc ignorant of them, and human life scarcely suffiets to understand them : she has laws, but they lie hidden in thou sands of volumes, and are buried as under hops of rubbish : she has laws, but many spring from ancient ignorance; many from modern caprice. Spain has an immense revenue, but scarcely any one can be found who is able to develope Its prin ciples : she has immense resources of Snance, but nn one knows how they arc to be collected or ap— plied ; no one is acquainted with their proportion to our wants. " Finally, this vast monarchy is tottering on a foundation of sand : how then can it sustain the violent shocks which every day threaten it? - Were we insulated, like the happy inhabitants of Eng.. land, it would be necessary to apply an univocal remedy to our internal evils: but how great is this urgency, when we have for a neighbour a rival nation, with whom we can never have peace pr ante, if we are to preserve our independence ? Aru we then so delirious, as to fancy it possible for us to maintain numerous armies for a consider able time, while the State remains in the (Moro, nization in which it is placed by this unbroken series of evil ? Do we imagine, that, because in. dignant at the injustice we have sustained from the common oppressor of Europe, we have roused up among us the energies of despair, that these I alone will preserve us ? Equally mad would that , enfeebled and wounded man be, who should fancy himself enabled to pursue a journey of ' many miles, because he found himself enabled to take a few steps, invigorated by rage, or the ' Fear of an impending danger : wretched would he be, .were the danger to be removed while he re ' mined uncured !" ,ere of the 2d inst.—“ The French are not men, 4f except token they find no resistance"—is an assertion in the seine document. And yet the Frene are abused for gasconade I—Can a man, who, after so sanguinary and bard-ciiintestLd a battle as that of Talavera—promulgates notions so ridi. culous l be fit for the command of*y army ?—itur British and French can correciffillrecreffiiit respeot each other's valour. The detperatcly fss rime: charge of the gallant, immortal 23d Dra port s, and the steady immoveability of tiiiiAolumn ilf French infantry, are alike illustrative of the litravery of the nations. What folly, what in. justice it is te undervalue an enemy, of %hose bravery and skill, proofs so unequivocal have been given ! The absurd spirit of boastfulness displayed by the Spanish General in this document, addressed to an army, which has more than once showed its back to that enemy which he affects to despise, is net calculated to increase our hopes of success.--The Supreme Junta has created Sir ARTHUR W ELLESLEY Generalissimo....whether, in this capacity, he will be vested with a sufficient power to correct the military imperfections of the Spaniards, we know not; but he has found it ne cessary to retreat upwards of 80 miles—and to break down the Bridge. of Altnaraz, to prevent the enc my from following him.-.-Such is certainly the present posture of affairs---and if such it be while NAPOLEON is engaged in Germany, what pbssihle hope could be cherished, should he. ones/ be r:_ leased from the labours of that cingeot,? In our statement yesterday of the forest' . %lain, the French troops are coveted liseillore than 100,000 —from circumstantial' talieve since come to our knowledge, we havb VW*, to believe that the numbers 'or the 'Freed' • Writhe Peninsula treatly exceed that statement. The batik of 'n avy.* induced us to think that Sir AitTU t: it WLI.- LtsLET, so far from advancing, cosh' nut maintain 4 his position..-that opinion is justified by his last movement ; and, as the final event of the contest, Ore anticipate the retreat of the British army. Gerona still makes a gallant defence. Arrived. Malls. _ D . r . . 1 Diiiie o. Watevaint ......... ..... o 1 lAN* 0 O MaAls . 1 . _ --- TIE STATESMAN:, PROPt/SITr TIINAI. LONDON: THURSDAY, AUGUST '24. ST. n A BTIIn LO SI Erl.—HoUritty at the Public Qffices. WitETtiLit any advices have been received from Sir Anviva WELLESGET by the arrival which has brought Spanish and Portuguese Papers, we have not -learnt ; but theso communications, which come down to the lith instant, are by no means Fact* the Expedition we have no intelligence of importance.—Th• time wasted by the cedar. tion of Flushing, in .the first instance, has de feated the grand object—the destruction of th;. French nary at Antwerp. Had Antwerp been the first point of attack, Flushing was still as sailable, and might, with perfect safety, have been left for an ulterior operation. of a favoarable complexion. The consequence of the victory at Talavera, for which the Park and tower pins were fired, is the retreat of the, . a t . . was reporte d yesterday, that our Ministers British Army to Delcytosa. This place is to the had had a proposition Made to then to send a Nli_ South of the Tagus. SOULT, whose corps was said sister to a General Congress, to be held at FL fah, for the negociation of a Gaaeral Peace, -sad abet lob .aonihilated,being joined by NtyandMoserite , they had given a direct negative kr the proposition. by a movement to Placentia, threatened to cut off • By the Spanish Patriot, Dome etiestio• vilic h the retreat of our army, which design was fres., left Cadiz the 2d instant, we have received 410(01. treed by the retrograle movement of the comb'. lowing communication i— • ned armies. In making this retrograde movement, 44 A British Officer of rank, who was in the Province of Gatefold*, sounded the disposition of "' they did not fail to take the precaution of " burnin the bridge of bouts which had been the inhabitants on the subject of the public de g fence. Ile had .scarcely imparted his sentiments gg constructed at Almaruz. Virron insmerliatelY before he raised 700 Ave's, and in a few days 7000 " turned suddenly upon Talavera de la Reyna were collected round the standard of FERDINAND. ' 4 —unfortunate town !" Thus circumstanced, be wrote to Seville, request ing that twelve or fourteen Field Officers should These statetnett!s are contained in letters from be scut to organize this hew levy ; but his letters Bailajiii and Lisbon; and aWiough, from the in- were not:attended to, and for want of leaders the numerable falsehoods and exaggerations of the recruits disbanded." Spanish and Purtuguse Journals, we have long The last letters received fcom Holland refer to ceased to pay the least attention to their contents the rapture of the negotiations fur peace as to a —yet when we find these very Journals announc. known and admitted fact ;and state, that, in con. sequence of that event, colonial produce badman , . in; this gloomy intelligence—we thlok that there siderably risen in value. must be some foundation fur statements, which The same Dutch letters state s that an Americas militate so strongly veinal themselves. vessel, which had arrived off the Teach for t a purpose.of giving information to all America To us, the victory at'Talaeem appeared the pre. vessels, bound to Holland from distant parts, hole to retreat—and if the intelligence in these the present state of political relations between Journals is not utterly false—the combined armies America, and France and England, as affeCting are now absolutely on the defensive—they were the cuwmercc between those countries, was itnine attacked at Talavera--from whence, by the move- diately ordered to sea. Nu official intellig.tice arrived yesterday from ment of the combined corps of Souur and NEY, the coast o f H o ll an d. A D utc h letter was re they have founi_it neceisary to retreat. The beaten ceived, stating, that 200 of the Irish brigade had army of VICTOR has advanced...the - Canny now escaped from Flushing by the way of Cadsand. possessea the town of Talavera, foe which it con - Of this number we are told that the half were Officers. Five of the fugitives had been brought tended. Marshal Beazer() RD was in the neighbo ur. back prisoners to Flushing. We suspect that this hood of Cieatad Rodrigo on the 7th. The corps of is an unfuended rumour. SOULT and Ney having moved in the direction of The inveteracy of the Danish Government has Placenti the communication between the combined recently sheen itself in the rigour observed by the a, commercial police of Norway., The following is armies and that of Marshal Beateroan is therefore an extract from a letter by the Master of a vessel suspended. Of Sir R. Wiesom and his legion wa , just arrived from that country :—" All ships car have no intelligence by this arrival. The lust ac. tied in are condemned, as well in ballast as with count left him at Escalona. If he is yet there, his cargoes-3 English, 3 Pappcnburgh, 1 Prussian, commu nication is also cut off by the advance of 1 Oldenburgh, 33 Americans, have been carried in. Several Oldeolsurgh and Pappenburgh vessels, tNiCTOR to 'Talavera de la Reyna. In fact, if these which were loaded at Mandahl and got oto, were statements are true; the communications between afterwards captured, and taken back again, and Marshal Britecroev, Sir Rotten? Wiesoe, and are expected to balcondernned." 'the combined armies are,actually intercepted--no Two vessels Jarrlted at Grimsby oo Monday two of them can communicate . from Archangel; they arc said to belong to 100 •. sail reoeotly captured off that glare. General YENEGAs,. from his head-quarters at 'rteodkpatching of the 6'6.yr/china packet for In .Ugatba, which is to the South of Aranjuez, an. die Is postponed to the beginding of next neck. amiamee a successful repulse of the enemy on the A fleet of 300 sail is arrived from the Baltic, laden with ti:ober, deals, and naval stores. They bailie of the Tagus at A mlll i llk, 44- w h en being : I are destined r but have ees: " three lini.o attacked by the enemy they repulsed obliged to pet f t o wo Harwich, an► pOrts, d other harb b ours `• them as often." Thels lit every instancy lire ito the northward, by contrary winds. /reach seem sow to be this assailants. By i The Stamps have been uncilahnotsly ptoductive what name then shall cc' designate that spe-1 this year; and the Legacy Tao in particular re. ems of folly which col endeavour to persuade ! tkulies the appointment of 30 or 40 additional ( 'leeks. It produces, the people of Spain ) '• that the French soldiers hod i t is erdenl , atm that, t 107.: refuse to i ' laC r idle. aCOOPS 7"....-Y4 such is the fee.simple of England the a:.s.2stion of Coors. ) io his Order of the Day pass through the hands N.4Y.IL INTELLIGENCE, Auo. I,.—The Dsaterm:* gun-brig arrived in tee Downs last night, with a convoy of transports from Ports 'l4llth, buund ttf Flushing. lEarly this ourairsg, his hlikjesty's ship Argo, Captai DWlty, ratted for Portsmouth, and sow (3 P. M.) the Des. torsos and transports which arrived last night, are getting ( wader a eiAh to pracned to the Eastward. 17 416 hlajesty's ships sad the untward-bound remain as per It. . '. The following Letter from Beach -Head will iroril a striking I)Yo ?Aural superior-o,y of - .Englant her la6cnsiite element—the OCEAN !! I - • • • " usAcinflatAp; AuG. '" This morning jt ua: tti itne‘ to the easy capture of two olf this place by a lugger privateer; carrying gas,• Which itiancliately sailed fur the Freuch.coast altagethrp,': Privateers are cootimally luriiq,; about this, sad the asiaho. biouriag coast a frigate it stationed oft !lasting', but of use; it is a WWI usurtifyitig &Celle to an Englishman to view from hii own shores the audacity of a Freschutait—the Navy we poises; bciag mere that sufficieat to keep them in their own ports fat the see here every day *nate disgrace prac tised upon oar's; it is eapected, and so doubt is eutrisained try the officer at the tythicoO been* that to-marrow mina'. nt tpe $Ae Privateer . )11 appear of the coast. About an Hoer after the caphste.atar :o.* wasters love iu il.ght :part of *Lich would inevitably hive s wired the same fat!. The Admiralty is catre.ucly neglectful, and the Countrylastly calls aloud for explanatioo.—A few cutters would beep email' the caitt--ofor * ant. •of which Oar mays* mad our enstairy is insulted. It is to be oaserved, *at *iv/hare of on use oil this coast. • • " o'Clock, P. W.—Two more priossteersAlim .04 appeAred in view, and about 15 ail of colt:tiers Palo 0 '4 1 4 /LW :" From Newhaven also several !often to Cm) same tune have bgen ree,ived : " NEWHAVEN, Arc:. 24. " Not a day has passed for mote than a week, without ast ♦nemy's erniscr being in sight of this place; and there ar>♦ •flea three or roar large luggen, which Katie taken semi* " w a s . Yesterday evening three privateer were insight ; and as the Oporto Beet passed in the night without cansuy,- there is no doubt that many will be missing, as the privateers might capture as many as they could man. I saw one of the privateers this mona.ag capture a galliot and a whoopin g with which she bore away to leeward. Twenty sail of vessels are now in sight, and we babe not obseised a British cruiser f.ir a considerable time." " CUSTOM HOUSE, NEWHAVEN, .Ave:2l, 4 , We have the pleasure of ioforming )uu tbat Ihe Life. boat traitor infinite service :ast hrinning in the sloop .Illiance, of We)mouth, Jona P..* acs, :.:gear, Lulea wish Portland stone, for th .t place I and very likely saw d her from the tiara; of the enemy, as three priv Iteen were off 111;1 port: and had not t me sloop been brutight in through the es. ertioos of the branch pilots, &c. of this port, she certainly roast have met with great damage, or have been taken. (Signed) "H. HARRISON, Col. " J. B. STONE, Comp." TILE CU WC V. His MAJEITT arrived yesterday from Windsor, at the Queen's Palace, where he was received by the Dukes of YoRIL, KENT, and CC,ABIRLasro. Soon after two, his MAJEsTy lipid a Private Le. see, which was attended by-- The Archbishop of einterbarr; the Duke of Portlmola MWeatmuria..J, Liverpool, arid Ilarrovrbv; Vbco unt etra;•: ' • L irdi Mu;grave, L!veson Goner. and ileAtisi• Bell; Lord Arden (in waitiog); Sir David pandas; Mk Can:l.o4 4 Mr. eereevai i and Dlr. Grcv-111 (Groom to walling.) The following had the poseur of being pre sented to his M AieSTe:— • Rear- Admiral Stopfurd, on his marriage, by the Ifoo- Wellesley Pole. Ilis Maicerr afterwards held a Privy Cuunci and gave audience to the Duke of Poftetetelf, and the rest of the Cabinet Ministers, and at . half-past five hi 4 'MAJESTY left town for Windsor. Egham Races commence on Tuesday neat. — Fifty-seven huises are entered fur the three days spurt. To cement peace between the Courts of France, Bavaria and 'Austria, a marriage has beeo pro jected between the Prince of 13avaitta and the Archduchess LotIISA of AUSTRIA. At a Court of Aldermen, on Monday last, his Grace the Deka: of Norfolk was nomivated Mayor of Gloucester fur the ensuing year. On Monday the Corporation of the City of Hereford dined with Cul. Foley, M.P. for that County, at Stoke. Yesterday a great numiicr of stage wings, and other scenery, vivre conveyed in waggons to Co vent-garden Theatre. Mauy of them were 22 feet in height. The circumstances attending the surrender of Bats, or St. Martin's, mentioned in the last dis. patches from Lord CIIATUAN, are said to have been as follow :—t'le A party of the Guards, con. sisting or about 30, who had strolled from the army at• Goes, the night after the surrender d that place, finding uu obstruction, proceeded 'dung the %Vali on the smith coast of South Bevelaud, and arrived unexpectedly at the Fort, when the Governor, taking them fur a detachment from the main army, spiked the guns, and deserted it wits the garrison. Ott finding themselves iii possession of so important a place, one of them returned to acquaint General Hone with the circumstance, who immediately ordered down several engineers with the means of defence. In the mean time, the Officer comaianding at Achterbrook, knowing the importance of tile situation to the further ope. rations of the British army, and disappointed at its surrender, oithout either tiring a gun, or as. curtaining the number of its assailants, °Mere,' it to be attacked by several gun-boats, with a view to retake ii, five of which were driven on shore and burnt, and the rest were deserted by their crews. Nut calculating on the British army ] ad. vencing so rapidly, the greater part of the,garri. son, and the whole of the ammunition, .hard *era drawn off to Flushing, and was to hay , ' aft re placed on the following day ; so thath not been [rum the abuse circumstance, the vin Wr Id, k a t nu doubt, have been detained a consider' ima (made cokes the appointment of 30 or 40 additional no doubt, have been detained a considearpt tne • t o ,_„ Clerks. It produces, on an average, 5001. a day ;in reducing it, as it is allowed by all nsiliinry wee "iers and it Is calculated that, in 40 years, the value of to be a place of great strength, haves been !id* is the fee..,iniple of England will, by this tai oily ) Wit pery)osely for the protection of the mat five Day pass through the hands of Govortuncat! Of the Scheldt." • - .". ':