Virginia Argus — Richmond, Va., 1810-11-30 00:00:00, page 2

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‘Ikd'that the two armies were within
; three leagues of each other on the 14th {
* *nd also stated, on die authority ol*
accounts from Oporto, that colonel
Trant had taken possession of Coiro
tra, and 'made 5,000 prisoners, con*
sitting chiefly of the sick and'woiind
td. at the battle of Buzaco.
• With * respect to the dispatches re^
calved ou Saturday, their substance
has been tirculfcted through the go
vernment offices, in a bulletin, of vfbitfa
the lolloping is a copy :-^—
44 Dispatches have been receWed
fr^m lord Wellington and-Mr. Stuart,
ot the date of the 14th Inst. by which
i appears that the allied armies had
reatirf tvi:h'm their lines, their right
being at Castanherp, and Villa Frau
ca, and their left atTorres Vedras, on
tilt. 7:hand 8«h inst. They hi*d noi
bei-n mole tied in their retreat, bul
some affairs had taken place between
the cavalry of the two armies, in which
the British ?tnd purhiguese Cavalry
* had distinguished themselves.
44 The rains had begun bn the Bth.
The Brhish army ar* represented aa
being protected from them in the vil
lages and under huts ; the French ar
«" is severely exposed to them.
44 Colonel W ilson had occupied the
position of Buzaco, with a Portuguese
brigudt*, On the 6th; and it was re.
ported that colonel Trant had entered
. Coimbra on the -7th, and had. taken a
French garrison, with their wounded
prisoners.
Such wits the state and positions ol
the allies c« the 14-*h, l^rd Williogton
had reached the point'of his destina
tion, *1 'Vrcs Vedias, before the rains
set in, ail’d with his tfrmy unimpaired
io Vvery respect. At the departure
of the messenger, his head quattefs
were at Aruda a town about three
miles south of A’lettquer. ‘Our left
w as a< Tcrres Vedras, and our right
ar Castanbero upoo the Tagus. 1 he
British lint s extend 20 miles. The
French were in a line nearly oppo ite.
’I'freir advanced guard was at Ville
Verde, neailv opposite to Torres Ve
c’ras ; rheir head (miners at Rio‘Major,
a tono about miles west ert San
tan in.
The ground occupied by the allied ar
try is a hold mcuntaii.oos country,
at d wjls the position selected by Junot
•' in Aug. 1808. Torres Vedras is 7
leagues nObward of Lisbon, and two
from Vimtera, which is rearer to the
coast. This place was marked out rs
the lme ’of ncuuvlitv between the Bri„
tish and French armies whilst the ne
gotiations were pending at 'Gintra.
The town is situated in a valley, and
is commanded by a bill in the form ol
a sugar loaf, cn which are the ruiiis ol
pn old ivioorish castle. Ford Welling.
.-on has been often heard to say, that il
he had a choice of an advantageous po
siti; n in Portugal, in which to fight the
French it would be Tcrres Vedras_
in this posi ion h:g lordship intends to
make a stand, ft has been s'rongly
fertiiyiog, with this intent.on, from the
beginning of he campaign ; and it has
teen ore pnrt of I is lordship’s policy
o draw Massena -through the country
to this post.
1 he l*»t er, on he p'her hand, is re
pre»i need, in the tnioiste-i-ial circles, in
a state of (l« apair, without provisions,
without medical stores, and witboit a
ccnsidetable portion of his heavy artiR
ler>, the rains having set in on the 8;h.
during hrr. advance to Rio Major, and
rendering the roads. Whi' h Art. nntn.
rally difficult, almost impracticable-.
If v.a% \ind*r these circumstances,
cor.fidte 1) expcc ed that he must at
temp* to bring on a general action im
nfcdiately, or cOtwmtnce li"'*(retr#a?.—
In tl clatter case he hub only two lines
by which he can retr^gafte. One by
Ssnterein toward* Caatello Branco,
which at til times is a most difficult
route j hut in tbc rainy ae.-.snn almost
irr«]a<»i«ab)e fov artillery. The other bv
Coimbra, and the route by which hr fed
vi.nced, which is occupied by the Por.
Cugoear militia and peasantry' The
shortest distance is at least 3(X) miles.
1/e cannot cress the'Tagus below A
I rant*-*— be will hardly venture c© pass
tflove tbs* place.
F,.i m rhe.character of Massena, we
thmlc it, however, almost Certain that
hr wdi prefer a tattle under every dis.
at!vantage, to a retreat; and, according
to the report of the French d/ficers ar
lived in Fngiaud as prisoners, he had
re o’yed »o make an attack on Tuesday
or Wednesday last. In this case we
Cf nhdently anticipate a glorious victo
ry—(bough, from the strength fc des
peration of the enemy, we cannot ex
pert to purchase it cheaply. Lord
Wellington has an extended line of'
posts to defend, while ib« enemy has!
ti»c option of attacking anyone point'
» e may clxo-e. It is also now stated
»«•»*»• n.inisterial circles, that his whole
*tiny oes not exceed b0,0«0, inefud.
tpH •'^ ■0 British troops, while Mas
t«u.*’s are fated, on the same authori
'■'/* Rt seventy thousand. Other ac
a rt f\j
counts, however, are more favorable.
His lordship’s force augmented by
fresh supplies, is estimated at 33,000
British and German troop^hesides the
Portuguese ; and Humana, with 19,0*00
men, had arrived on the borders of the
Tagus, which he was crossing to join
them* The French infantry, it has
lately been dheOveteJ, do not exceed
SO GO0 men, and the cavalry 15,000.
The sick and wounded of the Bri
tish army amount to four thousand
eight hundred men. The faedical stall
is on a large establishment at Lisbon,
and hjcldf in high estimation by the ar
my. *Ever.y proper precaution and
preparation are makidg at Lisbon to
embank the droops, should it be found
necessary. This is ftr from being* ap,
prehended ; but if such should be the
Unfortunate result, we believe the ag|
Ibarkation would take place, notVU JOT*
! bon, but at Cascaes, which is ten miles
westward of it. .There is a tolerable
good road from Mafra to*Cmtra arid
from thence direct toCascaer; and, by
embarking at this place, all the disad
vantages would be avoided; both' to the
British army and to the’natives,‘*w Rich
would attdhd a retreat into the city o|
Lisbon, anti" an embarkation directly
from that city. At the'departure oi
the Apollo, -^Lisbon Vas in a stale oi
inconceivable bustle ; every man capa>
ble of carrying a musket"wac sent of
to the army. The gun boats and ships’
launches, under the hon/Turut. Berke
lev, moved up the Tagu*, and were eri
ibled from their position, both^ to'an
noy the enemy at Villa Nudva, Tnd
support the right wing of the Britisii
array. '(CloDe.
Newark, Nov. 2>1^b
VERY LATE £kbM FRAN*
Yesterday
I fine fast saili
{Capt. Mi I
'passage
{which I
the 29ih
By the verbally, that
I a letter v _ _ t L’Orient on
■ the morning of the 29lh October, from
{St. Maloes, stating that a telegraphic
dispatch announced that one v. ing of
the British Army in Portugal had be.eh
cutoff on their retreat to Portugal by
the French. No intelligence of a gen
eral battle having been lought in Oct.
in Portugal, had reached France.
No change had taken place in the
sequestered property at Bayonne.
Capt. Minugh has favoured the e
dit ro cf the Mercantile Advertiser
with French papers ro the 28th of Oc
tober, which arc barren of news.
Capt. M, has brought dispatches for
the Secretary of State.
Translated frotn Pari* Paper* to the 20th ult.
received bjr the ichr. Fls*h from L'Orient.
Paris, Oct. 20.
Gen. Drouet, commanding the 9th
corps of the army of Spain, writes on
the TOth, that a courier who had just
| arrived fiom Valladolid, brings him
I the following intelligence :
On the 30th Sept, the Prince of
Esting, (Massena) arrived at Coim
bra, or e of the greatest cities of Por
tugal, situate about half way between
Almeitb and Li bon ; the French ; r
my had already marched upv/atdsof 40
leagues since its departure from Ai
nu ida ; its van and flank had several
affairs with the militia and Portuguese
regiments ; tt had taken more than
O £S W \ _ _1 .It _ l «
nine uioai meu several
Portuguese rtgiiren>s. On the 27th
.of Sei.tember it had ah engagement
With the English army, which believed
j itself impregnable in a strong position,
j about a day** march from^oimbra.
J 1 he English were Attacked^ turned,
and !jri9k1y pursued ; they abandoned
a part of their *ick and pi their msga
zioes. The result of the affair of the
27th, was 700 prisoners of whom 400
are English, and two pieces of English
artillery. But what was more impor
tant, the French had gained by that
aff.«ir the ruperb positions oi iViomiegoi,
and tlie City of Coin., ra, which offets
great resources*
The army was in good health and
abundantly^ supplied with provisions.
They had sent the woun ded to the hos
pital of Vi<eu, the greatest part of
whom received their wounds in the
affair of the 2fth • they amounted to
scarce £00 men, sick included.
Ev* Post.
Extract of a letter from a most re«p?ctal4c char.
ac«er, dat«4 Paris, 20th Sept. 131^ to hit
friend.
14 As far as I cart js Ige, there is
some change in the temper of this Go
vernment towards the U. States. This
may aiise in part fron new views
«»;h regard to South America. They
oow rieHpair here of bring able to cum*
pel the Colonies to follow the fortunes j
of Old Spain—and are desirous to
promote their independence, as the
inly means of diminishing English in
fluence in that quarter. To protect
and encourage the neutral intercourse'
of the United States, I am in hopes,
will be considered the best "means oi
attaining this object.
lf*iT*ct of another lierer, dated Paris, 2tth Sept
“ This Government Will restore to
the owners the balance, fafter deduct
ing duties and charges] of die Ameri
can’Jfcartsnhr'Which had been seques
tered, yn'Coogreas - passiirg a law, di
recting u$ie refunding to French sub
ject! arty property of theirs condemned
under the n<te‘int£rcoarsc laW.”
* TKe lofs to’ the shrippitfg'in the har
bor of Havanna by the late hurricane,
is computed at a loW rale at S200,00pi
But the plantations have suffered ^till
more. The cane has been levelled
with the ground, and will yield1 hut
half a crop. The coffee beginnij|tg tb
ripen had been blown from the. trees,
and will occasion a loss in the same
propbrtidn—The plantain trees were
prostriled—The sea broke ‘40‘Feet a
bovc tf»c flan staff on the' Moro. Flour
8 20,‘duHr—I.ard SO—Coffeel6—Su
gar 12 a 16’rs.—Mmcov. 14 rW—Mo.
iisles i t ;-s.( Sugar and Coffee scarce
and 'expected to rise.
Piicei Current JU Aux.Cayes 17th October.
Flour, 18 to S 20 ; pork 26 to 28 ;
• beef Is to 20,,herring lOto 12, mack
erel 14 to 16, blitter 26 to 28, lard 20 to
; ^*5* hates 18 to 26,‘red wirie 72 to 80),
shingles 12 to 14 per lOOO, tiails 25 to
|26 per cwt. Coffee 15 to 16 sous.
:Jeremie and Aux-Cayes ait the above
date were in a state of tranquility.
i — . ■ _
IILADELPlliA, NoV. 2i'.
“ IN PORTUGAL,
unversed with an intelli
tan who arrived here last
he Otho, from Cadiz,
:a1. He states, that at
_ :e7where the vessel touched,
he a officer, who was
going to Cadiz Wth dispatches. The
officer informed him that he left the
head-quarters of t.ord Wellington on
the ll*h of October, and at that time
there had been no -fighting since the
28 h of September. He saidthe com.
bined forces were in high spirits, and
that -Lord Wellington was prepared
to meet the enemy.
The gentleman'with whom we con
versed has been in Spain and Portu.
gal for six or seven years past, speaks
the Spanish language fluently, and
appears to be perfectly acquainted
with the affairs of those ‘countries.
He gives, it as his opinion, that the
French can never Conquer the Spanish
and Portuguese until the people are
entirely extirpated. He aays there is
suqh an enmity against the French,
that they can never be safe in the
Peninsula, as long as there is a Portu.
guese or Spaniard in the country.
The Spanish soldiers in the pay of
France take every opportunity to as
sassinate the French. As an instance
of their deadly eumit>.-, he statrathat
a French general had left a garrison in
a small town cfabout 800 men, near
ly half of whom Were Frenchmen, the
rest Spaniards. As soon as the main
army had marched off, the Spaniards
rose upon the. French, and put every
one of them to death. Cadiz, he
nays, can never be taken, and though
the French kept up the bombardment
of that city, they can do very little
damage, and the people are under no
anptvHenainn.
a •
The French treat the Americans
with the greatest indignity and seve
rity possible. At Ayamonte our in
formant faw the captain and 8upercar„
goof the »chr. Mary, which had been
taken by the French. The captain
and crew were notched across the
country almostbare-footed to Seville,^
where they were imprisoned in an ass
stable, and were soon to be marched
to Bordeaux as prisoners of war. But
I by the assistance of the Spaniards,
the captain and supercargo had made
; their escape, and travelled disguised
jas muUteer* to Ayamonte * where
fb y were generously supplied by the
Spaniards with money and clothes.
Our informant was at Cadifc on the
1st of October, and saw seveul regi
ments embark lor Portugal to rein-,
, force Lord Wellington. He says,
' th'i ■ young English officers w.ere so
anxious to meet the French, that ma
ny bad petitioned their superior offi
cers to be sent to Portugal. The rea
dir will perceive that the lfth of Oc
tober is the latest date from dpe seat
of wag^And as our \nx.e.\\icj$n£e >comes
direct, if convyrfr every one
that the tales wnT^^mve been circu*
| lattd nf^ba«fs**j of lord Wellington
are unfounded. If there has been a
oat tie, it could not have been known
in Dublin, at the date of our last ac
counts from thence. There has un
doubtedly, however been an action
before this ti ne which has been deci
sive, I’he next arrivals from Spain
or Portugal will probablv bring us the
account of a battle more Woody than
any which has' been fought Jo thosf
countries dotingtlie present War. H
The* gentleman above mentioned,
has furnished us wjth thp following
ship nesrs t Left, at Vi^a Real, ship
Rally, of Providence, Rodman, mas
ter, from' GtfjratUr, under quarantine j
brig ‘Little Cherub, Wm. ft. Smith,
mister, got under way to sail with the
Oiho, but anchored again, ' bound to
Philadelphia ; brig "£pres, captain
F air child, of New-Haven, from Cadiz,
wa» out in a Heavy >gale, and lost ca
bles and anchor^’and was supplied by
an English lloOp of war-^*hrig God
frey and Maryycapt. G. Retard, of
New London, Tronj Qgd'ir, had been
"dUl all the gale and had suffered s^%p
—arrived white the other waa getting,
undeh weigh. Spoke in hit 40, 7, N.
long. 10^ W. brig Logan, of Boston,
six daj>fkoat-4#i the 7ib>spoke ship
G4orge ofMffn, bqunrl to Liverpool,
L: days ojjp-l 2th, kpokeVbrig Mary,
capt. MrRpbby^-, ‘fW|p Point Petre,
Guadlroupe, id distress, Captain, mate
and all hands sick. a mad and
two hands onboard, bound to Port*
land—same day spoke brig F ime 6f
Newport, from Koniagsburg, bound to
Newport. i
Free. Journal.
FftoM SOUTH AMERICA.
, [Communicated fbr RelPi Gazet e.]
The latest intelligence from the Ril
VCf ®ate» received at Rio Janeiro vvafe
Raim\ to the 11th September, browght
by the British schr. Misletoc, ‘dis
patched with advice* of recent events,
information of the existing state of af
fairs, and For fresh instructions to the
British commanding naval officer
there, for his government under cir
cumstances equally unpleasant and fcri*
1 he junta of the province of Para
guay, pursued a bold and vigorous
policy, untempered by lenity. Lini
ers and two of his principal adherents,
were condemned and executed on the
26th of August; they were accused
of designs subversive of pfeaefc, And
treasonable.—Liniera was extremely
popular, and the jnnta had too much
reason to anaretynd that the discon
tented wouW sfflze any opportunity
which might offer* ofpljjing under hfs
command, and opposing under his di
rection, the patriotic views of the new
government. •
One of the first steps of this Govern
ment had been the organization of a
small army, said to amount to about
40C0 men, and which they immedi
ately matched into the interior of the
Province ; the city of Cordova, (large
and populous) which had at first de
dared against the Junta, surrendered
Without Opposition—the inhabitants
Waiting only for the favorable oppor
tunity of evincing their patriotism and
love of freedom. Ltniers and his ad
herents had made this their strong hold
but were obliged to abandon it with
precipitancy; they were pursued by a
party of cavalry, seized and carried to
Uuenos Ayres. From Cordova this
army pursued its march westward, and
by the latest accounts, it had been as
yet completely successful in effecting
the views of the government, causing
its authority to be acknowledged, sei
zing and dispersing its opponents.
The provinces of Peru and Chili, it
was said, hid declared themselves in
dependent. f
Ou the other hand, tht/government
of Monteviedo. and ih 4Wn#»nrsl A rvn iUa I
northern banks of thejfiver PIite, op
posed the Junta of Buenos Ayres, nnd
its measures, dedpring then, to be
in rebellion, to tjw legal authorities
of Spain. TheyjRsd gone so far as
to send their wflole naval force to
blockade Buendl Ayres.
1 his armsmAit consisting of one fri
gate and 6 or» smaller vessels, arriv
ed in the outtfr roads of Buenos Ayres, |
on the 3d S^>temher; they had not as
yet proceeded to any hostilities'; but
declared theirdesign of blockading the
port, for which purpose they solicited
the aid and concurrence r»f Capt. Elli
ot, commanding a small British frigate, |
(the Porcupine,) who declined giving |
a positive answer, wishing no dobbt
to receive instruction from higher fru
dtority. %
The Misletoe was remanded to Bue
nos Ayres, with dispatches, and sailed
on he 3d October, admiral de Courey,
with the Fdudroyant, of 84 guns, was
to sail with the same destination on the
4th. 1 he design of the British admi
ral (gain-d from the b-st authorities) 1
was to preserve neutrality, to avert if1
possible, the calamities of civil war, but
especially to support the British com
mercial flafr, and to insure for it free
egress and ingress into those ports
whose government was willing to ad
mit them. 1 his last view would pre
vent the blockade of any port by either'
party.
At the commencement of the revo- 1
lutUn ol Paraguay in Miy, the new
government had turned its views to
>varcl Great Britain for countenance
1
and support, and had entered into as
correspondence with the British am
bassador at the court of Brazil. From
the latter they had received a reply,
cautiously evasive in its terms, at the
same time containing wishes for their
success in all legitimate proceedings:
The designs' of the Brazilian go
vernment were perfectly secret, some
movements of troops to the southern
frontier had been made, but whatever
be their views, they must sub nit to
the guidance of the British cabinet, 3c
on the measures of the British govern
ment depends whether or not, South.
America is to obuiiu a free govern
ment without qwarduous and sanguin
ary struggle. f )
V——
Philadelphia, Nov. 33.
EXTRACT OT iAt TER DATED,
“ Carracas, 5th Oct. 1810.*
I embrace, the opportunity of a gen*
tie man going to Philadelphia, to send
you some news from here: I know, as
a Mend of freedom you will be eager
to hear frhat we are doing, and what
prospect there is of finally accomplish*
iog liberty * and besides, I wish that
your friend —- might have some gfJ
nuine information from the fountain
head. I hear the ^highest respect for
his patriotism and^eat talents, and It
is in the same proportion that I regret
his having caressed opinions, despair
ing of the success of liberty in that
quarter Of the globe. In my last letr
ter, which I expect you have received
oefdre now, I had only the opportuni
ty to aav that things looked well, and
the public spirit was good j I can now
assure you that the revolution is pro
ceeding, thoucAViictly, successfully j
and, I trust sc\as', will establish free
dom, not only htere but aH over south
era AmertcM#teel warranted in this'
opinion Irom the steps already pursu
ed, and the interests which the body
of the people begin to feel in the new
order of things. A man may now
clothe his family with European or
India manufactures, at less than half
what it cost himTbefote } and from the
opening of the ports for a general ex
portation ; he his produce for a
higher price tlfen lormerly; besides he
is released from some most oppressive
taxes, which, tether with the shar4
he is now calledto take in the man.
agemcnt of the affairs of his country,
places him at once in more honorable,
and better tircumstancesi This meli
oration id the condition of the mast
of the people, is what excites the en*
duty of those interested against the re- •
volution ; only a day Or two ago a plot
was discovered having for its object a
counter-revolution ; the chief paft were
natives of old Spain, who cannot bear
to see the peopl# whom thev have so
long ruled and kept under* at length
assume the exercisd of their rights ;
besides it grieves them to part with
the commercial monopoly which they
before enjoyed at the expense of all
nations; hence under the spacious
name of Ferdinand the 7th, these over
bearing, mercenary gentlemen, would
crush the germ of liberty here if they
could, and continue the oppressions
and misery ot the former government
thanks to ^||e good disposition
of the mass of tjip teople and the wis
dom and vigilaJicEjf the government,
"all their machinations will only have
the effect ofrAaCting against them
selves, and trrbrftfcioo: the old Soanidi
name into suspicion and discredit
throughout the continent. On the lst»
of the ensuing month, will commence
the election of the depute* who are
to represent the whole of this province
—to assume the sovereign power for
the time; and, I trust, to give Vene
zuela a constitution worthy of her and
of freemen. What a new and grand
sight—to behold in South America—
the long oppressed South America, the
representatives of the people at length
assembled, to kitttbe foundation of
their own and /c^fcv’s right. Let
emperors and knajj^pret and triumph
in Kurope amid, t^^glory of courts
and fawning of «I*vea, one view of the
delegates o§ this nation, met toge
ther to ensure ihc liberty and happi
ness of millions yet unborn, will be
worth an age of such mockery. The
elections have been going on for some
time ; soon after the appointment of
the present government by the people,
it issued an order f »r preparing a new
government by representation : al’ clas.
sesof freemen w» r* entitled to vote
for parochial electors, of whom there
IS one for every 500 souls of the whole •;
populations ihese parochial electors
are the persons who are, by vote also
to elect the deputies, in the proportion
of one deputy for every 20,000 souls
of all chsses—10 that the number of
deputies will probably be about bo,
ne^ly the numbers of the memorable
^yotionary congress of your states.
I *is you are the revolution is placed
upon the right grounds of operation,
t.ir representation of the people. {
w,8h your presses in N. America,
would interest themselves more thaa