The Statesman. — London, England, 1810-10-05 00:00:00

Pop TUC:UESE PAPERS. ' [ARRIVLD THIS DAY.] copy OF AN OFFICIAL CoMSIUNICATION FROM Lugo vlscouNT wELL; NGTON TO HIS EXCELLENCY 41.)3 MIGULL YEltEilti lOW AZ. " most LXCELLI;NT SIR, " Theenemy upel.ed his fire against Almeida in the night between Saturday and Sondny, the 2tith of this month ; and it s;ives Pile pain to be obliged to add, that the enemy got posses sion of the place iu the night of the 27th of this present month. " I night not to conceal from your Excellency that the said unfortunate event has proved to me very painful, because I kod no reasonto expect it, considering how well the garrison was furolsked with an the objects necessary for its defence, the ri-spectahle state of its fortifications, and the high opinion I had re.aion to entertain of the high spirit and courage of the Governiti•and the good disposition of the garrison. " O. an.these. grounds, I entertained hopes that the place would hold out to the last extremity, as I hail no opportunity to succnur it ; or that, at all events, it %%amid have detained the enemy till a very remote period or the season. " I am not in possession of any intelligence which can enable me to firm a correct opinion of the cause of the surrender. — Some prisouers, who nett. )esterday taken, state, that the powder magazine in the castle (which no., however, bomb proof) blew up on Sunday night ; that in the curse of Monday, the Governor desired to capitulate,on condition, that the place ft: • urrendered to the enemy, but that the garrison and inhabitants of the place should be permitted In join this arm ; which pro• posal having been rejected, and the fire recostimeeced, the Go vernor heti out as lung as he had ally ammunition, and oily surrendered when his stores were completely exhausted. They add, that the enemy afterwards off!reil to the soldiers of the garrison, either to ewer the Emperor's service, or he sent to France as prisoners of war, which last oiler WIIS accepted by the garrison. " This account deserves credit, as coating from an enemy, and is confirmed by the eircuin•aanre, that hostilities were sus pendedfrom one o'clock in the morning till nine nt night, when the lire re-commenced, but entirely ceased about two o'clock the next morning. " A strong explosion was heard at our advanced posts, and I observed on Monday, that the belfry of the church of At m.:id:a was destroyed, and many houses were unroofed. I hope that the above account will prove correct in all its material parts; and it will give me the greatest satisfaction to find that the lose of Alineida, and the acquisition of the .nilitary stores and provisions which the place contained, by the enemy, has not been occasioned by any misconduct of the Governor, or Garrison. " I had some telegraphic communication with the Governor, but unfortunately the state of the weather did not perinit us to use that expedient on Sunday, or during the greatest part of Monday ; and when the weather cleared up in the course of toe latter day, the Governor was perceived to have opened a communication with the enemy. Cousidering I had advanced the army so near to the place, it i 3 much to be regretted that I hail not any opportunity of ascertaining its real state, after the powder magazine blew up. The enemy attacked our picket twice this day, yet in a very feeble manner, he was both times repulsed ; hi the evening, however, they forced Gen. Stapleton to fall back. The second corps, commanded by General lit at., not made any considerable movement since my last. No op-rati n of any importance has occurred in Estremadura since RV last communication. '" to the North of Spain the enemy marched, on the 2Jth 'instant, a smell corps of infantry and horse to Alcanizar, but kieneral Silveiras having put himself iu motion, in the direction of the ;shove place, the enemy's corps immediately retired. " WELLINGTON. ( Lisbon Gazette, Sept. 5.) " Alverca, Aug. 29, 1310. LIiSON, SLPT. 6.--The Government has publish.. cd a notice relative to the disaster at Almeida, w though much to bu lamented, is not to be considered -as of esseatti.sl importance to the great cause of the safety of the country. The sanec notice promises to the families of those -who fell in the siege of Almeida, the same pay which their husbands, fathers, and brothers re ceived when alive, and engaged in the service of the country. In consequence of the part acted by the Marquis Alorn4, at the surrender of A:tneida, in endeavour. l i jug to seduce the Portuguese soldiers luta the service of France, and distributing among them disloyal proclamations, the Governor has declared the said Marquis a traitor, deprived of all his titles, ho nours, and dignities. Ile is to be considered as ba. Wished, any person may kill him with impunity, and a reward of 1000 moidores is offered to who. ever may take him dead or alive. Banaauz, Auc. 31.—They write from Zafra, off' the date of thu 29th inst. that the vanguard of our army has just set out for Lerina. It appears that 'the headquarters, and the Portuguese cavalry, arc expected there. -s Cantz, AUG. 30.—The Marquis Romani, Ge. naal in Chief of the army of the left, under date from the head-quarters at Salvatiena, of the 15:h of this manth, acquaints the Minister of War, thst on the sth he marched from Badajoz, in the direction of Olivenza, and surcessively to Ba , ancha, Sakalion, atot.S.tivatierra, where he found the divisions of .Gells and La Carriers ) under the orders of General On the 9:h, knowing in Stivatierra that on the preceding day the enemy evacuated Zlfra, he immediately marched to Zafra, ordering Generals Licattcra and Ballisterus, with the whole of the ca. •N4lry and some infantry, to reconnoitre Lerina. our troops were executing these movements on the 11 tit, they met the enemy on the heights of Itgarua, who also occupied those of Cant.►ilgallo, kparatcd from the first by a valLy in which their artillery was placed. The Guerrillas kept up their bic till the enemy had for►raed his attack on our left, whet►, having executed the reconnoitring or. tiered by the General, they effected their retrea covered by the cavalry. The Marquis ILoutana is tint able to give the dc• tail. of this action, not having rcecived the parti culars front the Generals ; but many acts of victual valour were performed. Our flying battery, compustil of ts,o cannons i and a hawitz..r, was opposed by tlouvie their num. ber, awl dismounted one of our gulls, which it was requisite to abauduu, after spiking it. The same v • I day, General Bistro'', with the cavalry under Ms command, joined ; and the Portuguese brigade of the same description, under General Mathieu, who Lord Wellington has sent, at the Marquis of Ro. matra's request, ;re expected.—( Regency Gazette, Aug. 31. TO Colt lt ES PON DEN TS. We are sorry it is not iu our power to give any further infor , matiuu to our Correspondent at Salisbury, respecting Or tad of the Herb Stramouium for smoking, In the cure of the Asthma, but we apprehend it is intended to be used as the Briiish herb is, by drying the leaves and cutting them mill. A druggist's, or herb-shop, however, will prubably• give the required lot-urination. A .i•ort. Nihtlb. Dor. 1 I 0 Cadiz 1 I ishon I'ItICE 01 , S Y AT ON K O'CLOCK. 3 pc' Cent. Jtt J. (shut.) 13 per Cent. Con. 661 5 66 • Omnium 1 (114. THE STATESMAN. LC) A IR : YRIDAY ) OCTOBER 5, 1810• This morning WO received Portuguese Papers to the 3i ult. from which we have given considerable extracts. Lord WI:1AI NGTON'S dispatch to the Portuguese Government is curious, inasmuch as it shews a surprize, and something like anger also, in his Lordship's mind, ou learning the surrender of Almeida. It seems, that his Lordship had expect. ed that place to hare held the French a long time in check. How he could form any such expects. tion, is a matter of surprise to every well.informed military man here, of quite as much magnitude as his Lordship's wonder at the fall of Almeida- Bat if Almeida had occupied the French troops, so as even to have enabled Lord WELLINGTON to hold Portugal for the whole campaign, his Lord ship could not eventually keep the French out .of Portugal, upon that system. Ile might weary the French out, for one campaign, and even for a second, compelling them to retire for want of provisions, or to fall back, waiting for reinforcements; but he could not, from our mill. tary resources, carry on this system of warfare for a length of years, much less succeed in the end. It is the interest of Naeottost to keep the war linger. lug in Spain and Portugal (unless he can entrap and annihilate one of your large armies), because he wears down your resources in men and money— Men always scarce with you, and money now itself scarce also. No doubt he would be glad to destroy or capture, by one blow, the large force you have in Portugal ; but it is nu less true, that he plays a double game, and that he feels sure of winning iu the end, if you, by your ill-judged policy, permit him to play that game. It, therefore, always •ap. peared to us, that Lord NVELLINGTON'S plan, or the Marquis WELLESLEY'S plan (fur there is no knowing . who is the father of it), was equally devoid of foresight and vigour, and lewd,' nut be successfully opposed to the French system. A. campaign of posts, with an army inferior to the enemy's, is almost sure to be a losing one ; and with a force superior to an enemy you want to drive out of the country, is a ridiculous campaign. We have reasoned on this notion all along, and we see no reason yet, to abandon the argument. My Lord W ELLINGTON was a long way in advance to meet the enemy—he lost a town, and fell back— another town was invested by the enemy, and he fell back again, with great loss in one of hii divisions the to:Vn surrendered, and he fell further back. HMI this time, we arc told, that he is beating the ' enemy, or that he will beat them, or will hold sonic strong position or other to keep the country. But we never find any truth in these tales, w hick are lowered down by the arrival of every real dispvelt, and kept up only by absurd rumours. OO Wed. nesday evening, at the time of our going to press, we had that rumour before us, of which The Cou rier made a second edition ; namely, that Lord WELLINGTON had totally defeated Masszsa. We did not even insert it in our usual edition, although lying on our table, because we saw nu previous symptoms of this victory, and because the rumour came through a suspicious channel. We may be wrong iu our speculations ; but we specnlate upon reasons, which we show to our !Leaders as we go along together. Now, let us see how this last ru. moor has turned out—take it, as told this morning in one of the Ministerial Ptints:-- Yestevd.ty counting Colonel Bovvxate arrived at Lord Ltv En Poo L's office, with Dispatches from Lord WELLING TON, which are dated the 2lth ult. No battle had then taken place; so that, as we suspected, the statement of the American Captain from Havre, which we yesterday published, proves, like all others semis ; , from similar quarters, to have been un founded. No action having commenced an the 2lth, it is ut terly impossihle that the result of any fought subsequently to that date could have been known at Paris on the 28th, the day on which the pretended intelligence is stated to have been cir culated there. Lord WELLINGTON, at the date of his dispatch, wagon the North of the Nloadego River, near C.dotbra, with his army to: high spirits, waiting the approach of M Ass ca s, who had ad vanced from .Pirthel to ViieN. A battle was certainly e tweeted . to take place hi a few days, of the result of which no apple• hensions nere entertained in the British lines; and is hatevee the intentions of the enemy .may he, the British Commander felt conlidei.t of being able to maintain himself for the preset; season, at least, in Portugal. Our ram had been reinforced by seven more Regiments (iiz. the 7th, 530, 71st, 921, 91th the Delmar IlauNswicK MlA's corps, together with a coin: pony of the 95th rifle regiment); and the whole wore in the most excellent spirits, hurtling with desire to meet in combat she enemies of their country. - . liere are promises still, and high spirits, but the facts are dispiriting, notwithstanding. The enemy has, some way, forced you out of several of your strong positions ; ho is rapidly advancing after you ; you are in constant contact with each other, and you are always retreating, that is . to say, if you make an advance at any time, it is only subsequently to fall farther back. At length, you have got to nearly the last of your strong positions, and the enemy it on every side of you. You must retreat even from this, or fight ; for it is not to be supposed an enemy superior in tures will let you rest. The army arc in high spirits. We have no doubt of that ; and we are sure if there be an engagement, ' it will terminate gloriously to the army. But is glory the thing we are seeking in Portugal, if it be not the glory of driving the enemy out of the country? Tho glory of a. well.contcsted i which yon afterwards lose, could not he the object of sending a large force, which you have not to spare, into Portngal. It could not, for you have had enough of that; and we have been all along told, by the Ministerial Papeis, Chit Lord WELLINGTON was to preserve Portugal. We contend that this , object must be finally obtained, or the policy of sending troops to Portugal was bad ; and. we cone I tend further, that the Generalship when they were there, has not been such as to sanction those hopes which were, and still arc, held out to the.nation... A. private letter, dated Lisbon, dated Sept. 26, has the fulltm ing :- 4 , An engagement was corisidercd as inevitable, as both armies were within sight of each other. The French were collecting all their forces and calling in their detached parties. The posit' of the French is strum, and should they be com pelled to retreat for want of provision., the put suit is very difficult. Should a battle take place, the carnage will be dreadful. Our accounts from Oporto come to the 23d. The Militia have their head-quarters near Lantego, at St. Joas de Pes4ueira." The dispatches from Lord WettarroTotr, of which .we have just spoken, were deemed of such importance, that the 'Messengers BASSETT and DA NI Er.s were shortly after sent off with dispatches, the former for Coriatina, the latter for Mondego Bay; on the banks of which his Lordship has taken a strong position. No further particulars have been obtained re garding the insurrection, excepting that it appears that there was no direct evidence against the persons charged with the conspiracy. The French brig 1, 9 dventurier, which was sent into Plymouth on Tuesdsy last, is stated to have escaped from the Island of Bourbon, in the night, with 12 others, at which time the British had made a landing and got possession of the greatest part of the Island. She is said to have been 80days on her passage borne, and so great was the hurry with which she put to sea, that she has but half a cargo on board. The reports respecting the affairs of GOLDSMID'S house fluctuate extremely.. It is now said, that a list has been sent into the Treasury, of names of proper persons to investigate those affairs, from which the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER has selected the folloning; —A LETA NDER BARING, THOMAS BA I NBRIDGE, G. WAttn, and JOSEPH DENNISON, Esqrs. We do not know how far this. is true ; but if true, it is a singular proceeding,. and we recommend Mr. PERCETAL to attend the Meetings of the above Gentlemen, as principal 'Creditor, in behalf of the public Purse ! MAJESTY, the Dukes of Vous and CAM.. 081 DGB, Princesses AUGUSTA and So PRI A, took an airing in Wiisilsor Great Park, fill 12 o'clock. The Itnyal Party was accompanied by Lords RoLLE and WaLsiscit vat, Gen. Frrzaoy, Colonels TAYLOR and DEssuow, and Lady ELY. At one o'clock yesterday,• the Prince of WALE!: left their MAJ ESTI Ei for Augusta Lodge, where he remained an hour with Princess An Er.t.t, and at two o'clock set utf for London . . Princess.thiatmorrt of Wa us arrived at her house in Warwick r street, from Bognoc, on Saturday. • Arrived yesterday morning at Windsor, the Prince of WALES, and the Dukes of YOUR and CAMBRIDGE. We regret telny, that, for several days past, Princess AMELIA has been so eytteuvely ill, that her life has been despaired of. The Dukes of YORK and CmaattlDGE, who were with a shooting party in Norfolk, were sent for on• Tuesday, and they ar. rived itv town on Wednesday night. Yesterday morning, about eleven o'clock, their Royal High. uesses left town for Windsor. The . Duke of KENT left Castlebar.Hill about the same time, for Wind. sor. The Prince of WALES set off froin Carlton llonse about nine o'clock. A letter was brought to town for the Duke of CUMBERLAND, by the Messenger who had been to IViiidsor early in the morning with dispatches from Ministers to the KING, about one o'slock, in conse quence of which his Royal Highness ordered his carriage, and set off fur Windsor. lle called at Kew in his way. Arrived at Windsor, on Wednesday, Sir H. llAL roil 0, where he remains with the Pihicess, AMELIA, who sti:l remains in a very alarming state. The Dukes of Yout/ and Camanicsor., visited Princess Am ELI .a as soon as they arrived in Windsor. The respectable houses of CLEMENTS() N, BOBRO. DAILE, and JACKSON, engaged in the woollen trade, yesterday suspended their payments, in consequmice of their exceasive engagements for two houses in the North. We have no doubt but that their assets will be found Mort than typal to all the demands on them. __ Mr. ADA,It has reported to Guverouieni f setnagteu:!balroaatisrshiandSilieleYntodttshelr2oyB'ehd (Ijui.ll: v t F il iftli e r) : -bs a el l e i v d the enemy had been obliged In 4 aba d- Li one of hii (tints on the Calabrian coast. The CouQiel and AttOrnies wh o are concern-3 i t the litigation beteeen Sir Faa Nos Nan arr and 0, 1 sraaKER, arc preparing to lintel the question 41 alt imaginable zeal. Each Aide aliticipanug 6„ ee ,., and each side sanguine in their respective expec — ' l , li o ns. It will be an investigation of th e n „,, t lenin kind, being the Gist of th e description edi '' T r i a l at Bar," where a question relEtni; 40. I public at large has evci been agit a t e d . The d.) present fixed is the 20th. of next m on th . ii Those who have (lie interests of their Sur„, and Country most strongly at h ear t, are leastl to become favourites. Those who study out permatitent interests, but the temporary the Sovereign—who take care to present but the agreeable side of the picture, g eher ,l l) . et ! joy that distinction. If their unfortanate llasirt should ever be undeceived, it is commonly hy which place them beyond the reach of his po wer . and their trade has this advantage, that it u su e; answers the purpose of one Court as well as ih „. ther. The POUNCE OF THE PEACE rube b y vouritism, and in return lie was prepared to u p his Sovereign and his Country to the en emy moment he found it fur his interest to do so. Letters from Riga of the Bth; and Cr u m s f. Petersburg!) to the sth, state, that a Mir rill France formed the general subject of contendi,4 in uhese places. The exchange in consequence u m L ou d en was as low as one peony halfpenny, We have received Barbadoes Mercuries Na l 15th of Au gust. , At noon, on the precodixo l Governor' Sir GEORGE BECKWITH, K. B. went in state from the King's House, on Constitution Hill, to the Town Hall, where his Excellency 0 1 , e , r 4 the first Session of the Colonial Parliament wide? his Administration. The Toßnant carried out the 50th Riisu st which landed at Lisbon on the 24th, in eirelle; health. The Fiorenzo and Melpamene arrircd 04 the 25th, and landed the troops on the 26th. We arc happy to announce the safe arrival of tlu following regiments at Lisbon, amounting to 6,3u0 effective men:--the 50th, 7lst, and gid, from England; the puke of BRUNSWICK' Orts' cons, from Ireland; the 9ith, and a company of the9sil (rifle), from Cadiz ; and the 7th, from 11, 1 1,f ; where the Bth was under orders to embark fur xi same destination when the 7th sailed. Letters from New Orlean state, that the Fre* corsairs, Le Due de Montebello and L'lntrep* have been condemned in • tic District Court at err place, for violating the, Nun-Intercourse Lev. 11 was believed, also, that La Petite Chance soSi share a similar fate. Yesterday afternoon, the new Sheriffq, Sir Irs. Plomer and Mr. Gootibehere, visited the prison tl Nevrgate, and inspected the interior of the pot, approving of the regulations attipted fur therms. modation of the unfortunate persons confined. On Wetl'ift%day last, THOWAs• Donu t was elected Mayor of Thetkird. Thursday last, the. East - IW4 aid lege' Istaitla, ema manded by Colonel WOOD, M P. was renetadt Portsmouth by the Lteustenant.Gorerior, Gourd WitETHAm. The regiment mustereg 1500 rneno went through the evolutions in a fine style. licsi.t.AmD and Eastct•na, and a long list of (ash' ables were on the ground. CROYDON Fait.—This genteel fair, which In minated yesterday, displayed, as usual, ala quantity of walnuts. The E. 0. tables were nu rotas, and every other description of gaming practised in high perfection. Many reduced bl legs from town recruited their finances among rustics. The famous Mr. Roberts, who has been just moved from hip summer apartments at Vaal complains of his having trustei too much telr .cherous friends. Pity it is ) in this wicked s r that a gentleman, so bright a pattern of ingea and opsia dealing, should experience that sorts! all evils, a breach of confidence ! MEWL NCHOLT CATASTIMPIIE.—The hero, Celt Newman, having lately arrived at Portsmouth lot her station in the Baltic, brings with her the iota , genre of the following distressing event, wh bond ichlitr ly happened to a part of her crew :—Two the above ship were ordered to cruize sgaid the Moist' privateers and row-boats, on the Oa II . Aug. One, w hich was commanded bytieut. Jenks, upset in a violent squat, but, by the great etatios of Mr. Henry Wittenoum, the Officer inth other, Lieut. Jeuks, and seven of his men, cr• saved, and nice drowned. In this deplorable ate with a boat too deeply laden in consequence eft increase, they resolved to attempt to save (Leif S by running their boat on shore at Rostock, if+ they succeeded, though nearly exhausted, landed in safety. At that awful period, the ' coining on, and the storm increasing, they g (horrible to relate, and scarcely w ill it tie Or in civilized Europe !) again forced to sea by I hlecklenbor,sh soldiers, and . abandoned fury of the elements, which their boat being ble tw contend with, was soon after struck 1 1 wave, which filled her, and she instantly went the bottom, three only of her cm* being *a' ashore by clinging to some spars, and th Officers and fifteen men were dro wned f Th e 61 e viving three declare, every appeal was mad' to Officers' humanity to let theta May till the abated, and they offered to surrender knurl' prisoners of war ; but all to no purpose, fur , actually drove them to their fate with the poi°, the bayonet! Such an act of intiusnanedite"'q, civilized country, is scarcely t o be cr Captain N. upon hearing this , instantly 101.., 111 , 1 flag of truce, with a letter to the Duke uf M 1". d . WI LENSURGII, to demand justice on the Pea ado unfeeling brutes, and to reques t that if she were found they might be decently interred! to ITTENOOI3 was just entering into his Rlit I and was on the eve of promotion, for brafell.:l! taring, with an inferior force, a feW day s ik Dauish privateer and her prize.