The Sun. — London, England, 1812-01-11 00:00:00

gatien to be pursued, as greatly forwarded the objea in view. From the ordinary course of navigation in those seas, considerable obstru6tions- were to be tested. Th,-se were so very great, that tlatePfiieer to whom the naval part et the expedition to be , . trusted, expressed considerable apprelienskomoi , u• that head. These, hos.veier, were comploe.bt,4is lipsted when the plan which Lord Minto had formed was explained. Admiral Drery died in .Match, and the command in consequence devolved upon Commodore Broughton. The whole force sailed cu the 31st of July, under the direetions'of Rear- , Adatiral .Stopford, accompanied by Lord Minto. The far:cling was effeaed at a place Called Chilichd ling, situate about twelve miles east of the city, on the 4th of August. Some difficulties, it was appre hended, would be thrown in the way of the army's progress, by the city of Batavia. This, howeeee, was not done, as' the FrenCh evacuated-i+ltripl- 7 proach of the . English Army, and it waslaketi 4 o6%3 4 -;= session of by the invaders on the gib The enemy had retired to a strong position, wliidh they had previously prepared, about two miles in advance of their Works,. 'at Fort Cornelis. Their positial. was defended by an .abattis, occupied by three thousand of their best troops, and tour guns of horse-artillery. There they were attacked by Co lonel Gillespie, who had .so greatly distinguished himself throughout the,operations, with the great est gallantry, and compelled to retire, leaving be hind them five hundred dead. It was here stated by_the gallant - General who commanded, that though thus far successful beyond expectation, the difficul ties of the enterprize were not yet surmounted the enemy, greatly superior in numbers, .was strongly entrenched in a position between the Great River Jacatra and the Sloken, an artificial water-course, neither of which were fordable. This pcisitinn was' shut up by a deep trench, strongly pallisaded. Seven redoubts and many batteries,monnted with heavy can. non, occupied the most commanding grounds within the lines. The fort of Cornelis was in the centre, and the whole of the works was defended by a nu merous and well organized artillery. The season was too far advanced, the, heat too violent, and our numbers insufficient, to admit of regular approaches. To carry the works by assault was the alternative, and on that he decided. The situation in which the enemy presented itself was such, that to different , Otficers, and to different men, it would hate fur nished an obstacle sufficiently formidable to prevent arty farther advance. The General knew, the Offi cers and s: the men he had totoy command, and deter mined on an assault. On this occasion Col. Gilles pie led the attack with such spirit that the enemy. flew before him as if they had no meana.of:refitt.. , ance. The whole of the business was:condtatterb; in the ablest manner, and while the los4;of-vhe' enemy was very severe, .our'fi was remarkably slight, as . the greatest loss experienced was caused by the -explosion of a- battery, which. our -vic torious troops had taken possession of. A variety of different attacks Were necessarily made ; each was Cr() wh.eil with success, and it was difficult to say which had 'been condu6ted the best. The very able exertions of Colonel Gillespie could , not he praised - too much. It was due to that gallant Officer to state, that at the time he thus distinguished him self he was not in good health. He was very unwell, yet, tiiitettlitterig-in his - exertions, he forgot his weak neroein his eseelS atad was only solicitous well- tddis charge his duty.- One instance of this he Wished particularly to notice. When the enemy fledi and he save the horse pursuing him, Colonel Gillespie was heard to lament that he had no horse to join in the pursuit. A horse was then brought to him, w..ich he ..was just about io mount, vt hen, exhausted by indisposition, and the overstrained exertions he had made, he fainted on the spot. Colonel M'Leod also, who unfortunately lost his life in this opera tion, ought not to be forgotten. Than hint, a braver Officer had never drawn his sword in the set vice of his country. He tell, while nobly takinghis part in the cite' 'loos of this' glorious day. The destranaion of the enemy had been immense, as an artny 2 of ten thousand men had been kitten, made prisoners, or dispersed, with the exception of a small body which had retired with the French General up the country. The conduct of Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who COM.. 11131;ded on this occasion, was entitled to the highest praise. In speaking of hint, he had only to use the words of Lord Minto. The Right Hon. Gentleman here quoted that part of the Noble Lord'attter, where he observes, that his Sovereign will not forget the share, he (Sir S. Auchmuty) had in the -opera tions, not his countrymen tail to appreciate the man who had so eminently distinguished himself. It was almost unnecessary to state, that wherever the Navy could take a part in the operations, all that could be, done was effected by their zeal and valour. The manner in which the subordination of the Army bad been spoken of was a subject of much congratu lation. There never was an instance of an army being in a country which afforded such temptations to plunder, deporting itself in a manner more regu lar and coerect. On the importance of Java, as an acquisiti& cl territory, he would not speak at present, as he wished to avoid touching on any sub jea on which a difference of opinion might exist to disturb that unanimity which he hoped would\ac company the vote. He would, however, say that the conquest of Java was of infinite importance. If it was not important as a colony gained to England, it was of great importance ;hat it had been snatched hoot France. That the enemy had been dispossess ed of it was of great importance to our East India possessions, as in the bandssof France there was every reason to tear, front the a&ivity of the enemy, that it would soon be made the means of great an noyance to us. 'This had been perceived by the Governor General, and to him in particular .wes;e: the Thanks of the House due for the mauperJ4, which he had taken upon himself to prepare an ex, pedition for the wisdom and skill with which.all arrangements had been made. He would therefwp move, Oar the Thanks of the House be given taGil bertLord Minto, Governor General ot. India, for the wisdom-and ability with which he had applied the English military turce in India to destrov- the, power ot. Frarice in that quarter, by the reduciion of the islands of Bourbon, the Mauritius, and Java ; arid that,it should be expressed as the opinion of the House, that he was entitled to their gratitude-for the success of the vigorous and well c0ney...T . 4,0 operations .which had been performed under rections. sr;seet -.sed Mr. SEERIDAN said, that with respetit ArPlirdt: Fat Qt the transatlions which bad been brouEtit be: fore the House, in which Sir S. Auchmuty, Col. Gillespie, the other gallant Officers mertioned, and the whole army were concerned, but one sentiment could exist, and not a moment's hesitation in pro"- nouncing them entitled to their warmest, sineetest, and most 'cordial thanks; but he could nor see that the same merit belonged to Lord Minto, or that he was entitled to the vote proposed. In the first place; it was necessary, before he could join in the vote, that it should be proved, that if not necessary, it. was at least very essential that Lord Minto should ac company the expedition, to justify his leaving his Government to go a voyage of six weeks or two months. His opinion was, that there was nothing that could render his presence so desirable, as to justify his leaving his high situation vacant for such a length of time. Much had bean said of his great merit in preparing, for the'expedition, before insane tigns froni Government to undertake it' had arrived, but to him it appeared, that for that exped on there Would have been no chance of success, if Commo dore Rowley's extraordinary and meritorious exer tions had not secovered the naval superiority in those seas before it arrived at the place of its destination. The wisdom; therefore, which had been ascribed to the original plan by - the Right Honourable Gen tleman, he could not give the Noble Lord credit for. Next they were told that the difficulties of the na- Vigation in those parts was so great, that Admiral Drury had at first despaired of the success of the enterprize, till- Lord Minto disclosed to him his plan, when all his apprehensions were t an end.—• He (Mr. S.) was.glad to hear the Governor General of India wis a great Admiral as well as a great Ge neral, and he wondered he had not taken upon him self to command at sea, as he had thought rroper to look after the General on land.—But was it to be credited .that Admiral Drury was so ignorant of the navigation from Calcutta or from India to • the place to. which the expedition was going, that he old despair of the success of the expediton, till he was possessed of the information which Lord Minto had'pi4ed up from naval men, as he (Mr. S.) must suppose.; - as he could not imagine thareLord Minto . had this knowledge naturally, and he did not knoat.t hat he had devoted ail considerable portion of his time to the study of that science. But the Rights - Hon. Gentleman had said, the only thing 'that could oncasion a 'differenceof opinion was the value of the acquisition, and therefore as they must be unanimous en every thing else, he would not disturb the liarmonv.he anticipated, by touching'tii that subjed at present. He would admit that the value of the acquisition was of no consequence to the Heuse when called upon to do honour to Sir Samuel Auchnauty, and the Officers and men under his command. Their conduct was equal ly entitled to praise, whether the instructions they had received were wise or not, but it was very different with respect toe" Lord Minto. When they were called upon to thank him for planning the expedition, the" value Of the acqui , ition ought not to be left otit of their consideration. When an enterprise of great peril was undertaken, they ought to consider -whether or not it was worth the sacrifice of brave men's lives, They ought to know also what were the Means in our power to 'presets e the advantage gained. They were to consider Wit thvr by leaving it we should not expose the inhabi tants of Batavia to certain destruaion, and whether, by attempting to retain the Island, we should not devote our troops to death The Right Honour able Gentleman here expressed some surprise that no Director of the East India Company appeared in his place togive his tribute of applause to Lord Mintet, and complained of the absence of the Direetors as being a negleet of duty. With respeol to the expe dition itself, it was one of such peril, that he under stood Sir S. Auchmaty, in whose praise too much could nor be said, would have been under the neces sity of making a disgraceful retreat,. it he had not resolved on the bold step of Storming Fort Cornelis, thus risking his whole army and the population of Batavia. Before this was done, he had understood that it had been in contemplation to reilebark the troops and give up the enterprise altogether. He disliked the presence of a civil authority where a military operation was to be performed. • It appear ed to him to be too much like the practice that had obtained in France shortly after the Revolution, of sending a deputy from the Convention to the army, to watch the motions of the General. When he re colletted what had been the.condutt of Lord Minto on . a former occasion, he could nut approve Of his being placed in such a situation, as, it Sir John Moore had taken the Noble Loid's advice, when he was in Corsica, he (Sir John) would have been a proscribed man. He must have proof that his leaving his government was of great use to the expe dition, before lie could join in the pompous pane gyric proposed ; but at the saute time, to Sir Samuel Auchtuuty and the army he thought they could not do too much honour. Mr. YORKE stated the dispossessing the French. of Java to be a very important service, as the French Government were very much interested in it, as affording them the means of annoying our com merce in the China sea. He defended and praised the conduct of Lord Mina), who had the merit of forming the original plan for the capture of the, enemy's Islands. He fully concurred in the eu:o , ' glum bestowed on Commoc..l44e Rowley, and con gratulated the country on having in its service an Officer of such extraordinary promise; but still be contended that his great services did not detraCl from the merit of Lord Minter. He contended that the Noble Lord was perfectly justified in leaving his Government, to accompany the expedition. No possible inconvenience could arise from his absence at that period, and it was very desirable that he should see the situation of the island when taken to form an idea of the civil arrangements r necessary to be made, and of the regulations imme jdiately calleot for, and he would not have displayed that sound discretion and judgment which mark his conduct at all times, had he tbrborne to do as he did. The Right Hon. Gentleman paid a tribute of praise to the memory of Admiral Drury, and ex plained the course of navigation recommended by Lord Minto, which had had the effect of doing awaythe aprehensions• previously entertained, 'On - account of the difficulty of the ordinary course pur.;- sued. On account of the lateness of the season it had been proposed to proceed on the expedition with those troops which had been collected at Ma ,-dras, without waiting for those which were at Cal '-.Cotta. Had this been done, as the force actually sent. was not more than was necessary, it ap-H L 0 IV D 0 N. SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 181'2. Ile last Ltfitris from Petersburg!), speak confi dently of the speedy renewal of an amicable inter course with this country. It is not concealed, that the restoration of Peace between Great 'BC)lain and pussia, will be the signal .of war between the latter power and France, and great exertions are making in Russia to meet the conflict. It i . s said that a treaty of alliance offensive and defensive has been signed between Russia and Sweden. We know not what degree of credit to give to this statement, but it certainly is• not aO improbable as it tilay4ppear at the first view. Although BETtNADOTTE has been raised to his pre .sent etninence by the intrigues and power of Elio, Tilit'AßTE, he knows that the latter has not the mums of protea'ing him against the resentment of the Swedes if it should once be exerted against him, nor the power of punishing him if he slcould prefer the in terests of Sweden to those of France, or rather those of her Tyrant. Whatever, therefore,' BERNA.. .DOIFE'S feelings may be towards BUONAPARTE, his imerest, and even his personal safety, re quire that he should conciliate by every means in his power, that nation, the sovereign power 'of which he has obtained in •so extrathdi 'nary a manner. There have been considerable movements among the French troops in the North of Germany; great numbers of them have marched !tom the coat to the interior. The Morning Chronicle, in adverting to the ex pected discussions on the subject of Ircldnd, that Ministers having expressed their intentions With regard to the Catholic Question, " it becarnv. an imperious duty in the leaders of the Opposition, to whom the Roman Catholic body look with confidence, to come forward and avow the sys . tens upon which they are determined to ad, ire place or out of place."' We wish very much that the leaders of Opposition would perform this im perious duty, and tell the public whether they retain, or have abandoned the principles they for merly professed respelling the Roman Catholics? Do they, or do they not, think that the Veto is an •indispensable concession on the part of the Catho lics, before their Claims are granted ? If they have not given up their former opinions upon this subject, it is most indecent and most unjust in them, to ac cuse Ministers of intolerance or bigotry, because they the:uselves must, upon their own principles, resist the claims of the Catholics, who have declared that they will not concede the 'Veto. We hope that the Chronicle will perform this " imperious duty" for its friends, and that it will tell us a Lttle about 'this " system" upon which the Leaders of Opposi- Jion are determined to aa, whether in place or not'. We wish to know whether they are determined, if they were in office, to propose an ab,olute, uncondi tional, total removal of those guards which the COu stitution has placed for the security of the Estab lished Church ? mould they make cond:tions with the Catholics, or would they not ? Would they, if the Catholics should refuse to assent to any of the conditions (if any were proposed) consider them pelves justified in withholding what they- call Catholic Emancipation ? These are questions which should be unequivocally answered, because the Party now found their claim to power entirely upon their opinions with regard to the Catholic Question. They have made 'themselves so ridiculous by their • prophecies and lamentations about the Peninsula, that they seem determined to drop that subject alto gether, and to confine themselves to one on •which it is easy to declaim, and with respect to which it is difficult to obtain proofs. The Duke of CUMBERLAND arrived at Windsor on Thursday, and, after dining with the QUEEN and PRINCESSES, set off for London; as did the Duke of YORK. Yesterday morning, Dr. R. WILLIS returned to -Windsor. At one o'clock the E:►T I of AYLESFORD arrived at the Castle, and was expealed to remain there all night. Her Royal Highness the PRINCESS of WALES, arrived yesterday at four o'clock, at the seat of her mother, the DUCHESS of BRUNSWICK, at Black heath, from a visit in Essex. Early next week her Royal Highness will visit.the QUEEN and PRINCES- Sri at Windsor. Lord CASTLEREAGH entertained a select party with an elegant dinner, in St. James's-square, on, Wednesday last. Lord GEORGE GRENVILLE gave an elegant dinner, on Wednesday last, to a select party, at the Mat quis of BUCKINGHAM'S residence, in Pall-Mall. Mr. and Mrs. Bocntly gave a grand ball at Ot tersham last week. The Earl and ( - 3, untess of CHARLEMONT arrived on Thursday, at the Pulteney Hote! in Piccadili), flow Brighton. Sir VICAHN GIBBS 13 making preparations. to en tertain the faillionable world, at his seat near Brum lry, in Kent. On Friday segnnight a vet y magnificent Subserip. C.on Bail took place at NlArlow, at which all the biiity and Gentry in the neighbourhood were pre sent. Letters from Dintzig, of a late date, state, that an outward•bound convoy had passed the Belt, after which 22 of them had been captured by song, Dantzig privateers. We understand that a Cabinet Council is sum. mooed, for the purpose of taking into consideration the present defettive state of the Police. Tue Opera House wt.s .to have commenced its season this evening vt ith Serniramicie, of which CATALANI was, of course, to have been the Heroine, but the opening has, it seems, been postponed on account of the necessary preprations for an into. cate and magnificent ballet. We are sorry to learn, that young Nr.BLE has net with an accident in the rehearsal of this Wet, which will probably prevent him from cont►ibuting his efforts on the occasion. It should be mentioned, to the honour of Messrs; Boldero aid Co. that, about a week before their stopping, they returned to their customers all their short bills, by which they somewhat lesseoed the evil of their failure, neared mere than probable that the enterprize would have failed: The proposition of Lord Militia did away the necessity of sailing out the troops frOM Calcutta. His propositimi was that the expedition should sail on the west side. of the tome°, which had never been attempted' by, such a number of ships before. He had emPloyed' a Mr. Gregg to survey and examine this Paramatta street, as it was called, and this Gentleman, when examined in the presence of the Naval Officers ‘c ho were to sail in the expedition, gave such informa tion on the subjeft, as removed the apprehensions previously entertained. If there was any merit in the conquest Lord Minto was entitled to the thanks of the House. Before he sat down, lie thought 'it necessary to notice what the Right Honourable Gentleman had said of its having been at one time ; in contemplation to give up the enterprise.. Via' knew not on what authority the Right Flondbf , able Gentleman had said this, but he had heard noshing of the kind, and he did not believe: Honourable Friend near him had, any wore than himself. Sir H. MONTGOMERY had information respecting the arrangements made by Lord Minto for tr:e ex pedition which were not very creditable to his wis -dom and foresight. He understood Lord Minto had given the Dutch slaves their liberty, and thus letting loose a set of the most ferocious blood-thirty ruf fians in existence, was an act of rashness, in his opi nion, which did not entitle him to the Thanks of Parliament. He concurred in the proposed vote of Thanks to Sir Samuel Auchtnuty, Colonel Gil lespie, &c. General TARLETON disapproved of the conduct of Lord ;Mint° in leaving his Government, He was as much against giving him the Thanks of the House, 33 he was in favour of voting then. to the Officers who had so greatly distinguished them selves. Mr. P. MOORE thought they ought not to decide on the first resolution, till other documents than those they had could be laid before them. He thought Lord Minto w►ong in accompanyinvhe expedition, and should therefore oppose the Vote , of Thanks to him. Mr. ROSE defended the condu6l of Lord Minto. Mr. FREEMANTLE thought those who opposed giving the Thanks of the House to Lord Minto, ought first to make out that he had risked his Go vernment in leaving it for a time. He could not scontent himself with giving a silent vote in favour of one who deserved so highly of his country. He, however, thought, that if it was intendeJ to keep Java ; and to garrison it with troops from this coun try, in gaining it, we had gained a \ loss. - Mr. GRANT replied to the observations made-by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Sheri dan), on the absence of the East India DireaorK , He contended that it was a part of the system of Government established in India, that the Governor- General should go from one place to another as ()C -ession might require. The expedition derived great advantages from his presence, and he could not im plicitly believe the fats which the Hon. Baronet had communicated, till some confirmation of their truth was received. Mr. WnrratiF.AD opposed the proposed Vote of Thanks to Lord Minto. He disapproved of his ac companying the expedition. Even if the plan were good, be was not entitled to the Vote, as it was not usual to give Thanks to those who planned a success ful enterprise. The Thanks of Parliament had, it was true, been given to the Marquis of Wellesley, for planning the destru&ion of French interest in India, but not for planning the capture of a single settlement. Mr. RYDER and Mr. ELLIOT contended that the thanks of the House were due to Lord Minto, and spoke in praise of his Lordship's services.—Theques lion was then put and carried. The Thanks of the House were then voted to General Abercrombie, Admiral Bertie, Rear-Admi ral Stopford, General Sir S, .Auelimuty, Major- General Ward, Major-General Wethetall, Commo. dore Bioughion, Commodore Rowley, the Non commissioned Officers and Soldiers, both Europeans and Natives, and to the seamen and Marines en gaged in the reduaion of the Islands of Bourbon, the Mauritius, and Java, nem. con. Sir H. MONTGOMERY thought the thanks of Par liament ought to be given to those concerned con cerned in the battles of Busaco and Fuentes d'Ho- Dore. He thought, though no notice had been taken of them, they deserved that honour as much as it was deserved by those who fought in the battle of . Barrosa. The SpEAKER called the Hon. Member to order. If he glieased, , he might give a notice of a motion for thanks 1 0 those of whom he had spoken. On the motion of Mr. FREEMANTLE, Accounts of the Charges of the Consolidated Fund, for the years 1810, 1811, and 1812, as also Accounts of the Taxes applicable to the service of the Public, after defraying the charges of the Consolidated Fund, to gether with certain Acounts of Loans for Ireland, were ordered to be laid before the House. Adjourned. MAI LS. ARR IV in - I Surinam, r Dublin. Durr—r Cadiz, i Lis- bon, t Malta, iGuernsey, z jersey, I Brazils. PRICIE OF STOCK!:.. THIS DAY A rYaLVI O'CLOCK. Consols. - -621 i I Red. Ann. . 63i 63 THE SUN. lALSUM AUDEAT ?