The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-01-16 00:00:00

VOGRAPHY OF M.4RSNAL SIORTIER.

Three years ago, the North of Germany behelt%
Marshal Mortier in the charafter of Commander of
a French army, which took possession of the left
bank of the Elbe. At the conclusion of the year
1806, lie likewise appeared on the right bank of that
river, his troops having occupied not only Hesse
and Hanover, but also the Haase towns, find the
provinces of northern Germany.
Edward Adolph Casimir Joseph Moitier was
bon at Cambray, in the department of the North.
In the year 1791, he was placed as Lieutenant in a
regiment of Carabineers, which corps he quitted for
a company in the first battalion of Volunteers of
the department of the North, formed in September,
1791. In this situation, he was present at the first
a&ion of the war of the French Revolution, which
took place at Quivrain, on t'se 30th of April, 179.1,
and in which be had a horse killed under him. At
the battles of Jetnappe, Nerwinden, Pellemberg,
and Louvain, at the siege and taking of the citadel
of Namur, as well as at the siege of Maestricht, he
displayed courage and talents which attrated the
notice of his Commanders.
During the blockade of 'Valenciennes, being de-
tached with 150 men to the river Persiau, he there
maintained himself for six hours after the evacua-
tioa of the camp of Famars. At four the next
morning, he rejoined the army at Bouchain. On
the memorable day of Hondschooten, he obtained
the rank of Adjutant-General. The first battalion
of the North, to which he belonged, covered itse:f
with glory at Eskelbeck, and took that important
post, which the English and Hanlverians had forti-
fied with strong works. At the relief of Maubeuge,
on the 16th of OCteber, 1793. Mortier was wounded
by a mu ket ball, during the storming et the vil-
lage, which was thrice taken and retaken on the
same day.

Morter was also present at the battle of Fleurus.
and the allions which preceded it ; at the taking of
Mons, Brussels, Louvain, and at the passage of the

Roer. He followed General Kleber from the Rhine
to Maestticbt, and took an aftive part in the siege of
that place, attacking in particular the Fort of St.
Pierre, which was obliged to capitulate. He after-
wards served again on the Rhine under Marceau,
when that General crossed the river at Neuwied.

The tollow:ng year, Adjutant-General Mortier
commanded the advanced posts of the vanguard of
the army of the Sambre and Meuse, under General
Lefebvre. He turned the position of the Austrians
at Altenkirchen, while I.efebvre attacked them

with great success in front, and took from the Prince
of Wurtemberg 6000 prisoners and I 1 pieces of
cannon. At the head of the advanced posts Monier
effeeted the passage of the Niada, defended by the
Austrians ; with the centre column of the •anguard

be stormed the heights of Wilasdorf, and still acing

as commander of the advanced posts of General
Lefebvre, took Giessen. frankfort was surrounded.
After a bombardment of some hours, :lortier was

sent to the head-quarters of the Austrian Com-
mander-in-Chief, General Wartensleben, to submit
to him General Kleber's proposals relative to the
surrender of that city. The capitulation was signed
the same day.
After this, Alorticr took Schweinfurt, after an
attion of two hours, drove the Austrians across the
Maine, and, by-the orders of his Commander, took
a position in the rear of General Wartenslcben,
who was thus compelled to abandon that which he

occupied behind Wurzburg, and to retreat to Bam-
berg. A fortnight afterwards, in the midst of an
aelion, he took the place of the wounded Adjistant-
General Rickepaase, and displayed in the conflidl
such extraordinary coolness and intrepidity, that
General Kleber, in his official account, thus ex-
pressed himself:—" With such leaders, we have
no occasion to count the number of the enemy."
When that General had formed the design of at-
tacking the Austrians, on both shores of the Red-
nitx, between Ebermannstadt and Hochstett, Le-

febvre's division pushed forward beyond Trugen-
dorlL Ebermsnustadt was occupied by an Austrian

corps of 1,200 infantry and 600 cavalry. It was
compelled in an hoar to retreat, when Adjutant-
General Moi tier was advancing with one battalion,
four squadrons. and two field-pieces. to attack this
post.

At the end of the same year. Mortier made two
journies to Aschaffenburg, and mociated direftly
with the Eledor, for the surrender of Mentz. In
consequence of this negociation, that inestimahly
important fortress was quietly delivered into the
hands of the French.

After the peace of Campo Forraio, Adjutant.
Geaeral Mortier refused the rank of a General of
Brigade, for the command of the 23d regiment of
cavalry. On the rcrewal of the war, he was again
appointed General of Brigade ; at the opening of
the campaign of 179), he accepted that rank, and
quitted his regiment to command the advanced
posts of the van of the army of the Danube. This
arms• wa. obliged to retteat. With a asall

tached corps of only !! or 5,000 men, General Mc,r-
tier remained before Offenbarg. Here he maintained
himself a considerable time, till he received orders
to join the army of Helvetia.
The division under his command distinguished
itself in the engagement of Wollisbofen, and in the
various actions previous and subsequent to the
taking of Zurich. It was he who, in conjunction
with General Klein, conduced the attack of that
city, undertaken on the left bank of the Rhine.
General Mortier, with his division, afterwards with-
stood, at Mutten, the efforts of half the Ruuian
army, under General Rosenberg. This contest
gained him extraordinary honour.

After the defeat of Korsakow, and the fall of
the Austrian General Hotze, Massena, the Com-
mander-in-Chief himself, marched with the 4th di-
vision under General ?stonier, with the intention
of meeting Suwarrow in the valley of Mutten.
This march led him to the whole corps of Ge-
neral Rosenberg, composed of one half of the
Russian army. He resolved to attack it on the
following day, though he had with him only the
division of General Mortier, and a demi-brigade
of the division of Lecourbe. His obje& was not
so much to obtain any decisive advantage, as to
check Suwarrow's progress, and to give time to
the reinforcements, advancing against him from all
quarters, to :each their different destinations.
On the right and left of this narrow valley, corps
were posted on the heights, to support the general
movements, and to observe the enemy. Natwith-
standing their obstinate resistance, their positions
were successively taken, and the Russians were
driven back to Mut.en, where their matt b•.ody
Moruer's division, which had advanced to their oat,
made such havoc with the fire of their musketry and
artillery among Ote Russians, that the latter, unable
to enduie it auy longer, loomed into several strong
columns, and made a farioua attack on Mortier's
division, which was interior ut nurnuer. The 108th
demo-hrigade long sustained the saiock of several of
these columns, with unparalleled obstinacy. It was
drawn up in order of battle; the Rus-taus, in close Co-
lumn, charged with fixed bayonets. Phis mode of at-
tack, served only to increase their energy. During
this conflict, the General observed a Jub-Lieu te nan t
bearing away from the midst of the Russian column
the colours which were leading it to battle. He
promoted him to a Lieutenantcy on tile field of
battle.

Meanwhile, the Russians were continually receiv-
ing reinforcements ; redoubling their efforts, they
obtained some essential advantages, and had nearly
made themselves masters of the Fr.rich position,
when the van of the tiith deint-brigade, which
should have arrived four hours before, but had been
delayed by a mistake, appeared on the field of bat-
tle. With this assistance, the Russians were again
attacked at all points, and repulsed wi li loss. The
French recovered the position they had last, as well
as the artillery and the wounded that had fallen into
the hands of the Russians, whom they compelled to
remain in the pass behind Mutten. In this atlion
fell the General of Cossacks, an officer highly es-
teemed, and deeply regretted.

General Monier, who had been courageously
supported by the Generals Brunet -and Drouet, was
now direded to pursue the Russians, with two
brigades given him by Mamma. His operations
tended to one common object with those of General
Loison's division. At Feldsberg, a jun&ion was
effeded between Generals Mortier and Loisen.
The result of their movements, when united, was
the total expulsion of the Russian troops from the
left bank of the Rhine and the Grisons. These
two Generals, afterwards drove the Austrians out
of the Grisons, Vorarlberg, and various di►tri.ls of
the Tyrol.
After so active a participation in the successes of
the Helvetian army, General Mortis was removed
to the command of the second army of the Danube,
which he .quitted in a few months, to enterer the
command of the lsth and kith divisions at Paris,
to which he was appointed by a Consular Decree of
the 25th Germinal, year 8.
General Mortier proved himself worthy of his
station, is die discharge of the new funtions in-
trusted to bias. The glory acquired in the geld.
receives additional lustre when combined with civil
virtues. When the people and the army were con-
sulted on the propriety of conferring on Bonaparte
the Cesulship for life, he ailed as the organ of the
corps, composed of the divisions which lie corn-
mended, and communicated to the Minister at War
their votes and their wishes.

When the renewal of hostilities, in 1803, again
called the French to arms, General Mortier was s:c-
lefled by Bonaparte to command the French army,
destined, by the seizure of &leftover, to wound Eng-
land in a very tender part. General Mortier took
every possible precaution to insure the success of
this expedition, and, in case of resistance, t•a secure
vi Tory to the arms of France. The army, after
very fatiguing marches over heaths mid sandy


LONDON,
FRIDAY, JuivARY 16.

Sir Joust NEWPORT, last night, in the House of
Commons, obtained leave to bring in a Bill for
abolishing certain offices in the Department of the
Customs in Ireland; and for abolishing and regu-
lating others. The number of offices within the
scope of the Bill, is stated at 62 ; consisting of places
become superfluous, or which, from being originally
places of aaual duty, had been converted into sine-
cures. The spirit which difiated this measure in the
Customs, will no doubt extend the same retrench-
ment as far as the principle may apply. Looking
then to the pains which the worthy Baronet
has taken to ameliorate the condition of the lower
classes in Ireland, by exempting the cottage of the
poor from the oppressive burthen of the hearth-
tax ; looking to the real which he has shown to c,,r-
reel the many flagrant misapplications of royal
munificence and public grants, and the many other
instances which his administration has afforded, of a
determination to correft abuses, we may presume,
that he will not stop until the country be
purged of the very last dreg of public corruption.
This is a mode of reform, founded in virtue and
justice, and must be desirable at all times, and in
all countries. It is, however, rendered not only
peculiarly desirable but necessary at the present
moment, when the people, already loaded heavily
with taxes, are told that they must prepare for fresh
sacrifices and privations. That a system of economy,
thus recommended to Ireland, :hould be brought
into praElice in England, the public had a right to
expert ; and, indeed, the present Minkters, in the
means adnpted to check public accounts and
regulate the public expenditure, have already in
part redeemed the pledge which they gave, that
such was their intention, aid the principle that
should Aka their conduet- Under these circum-
stances, we find, that Mr. BIDOULPH, last night, in
the House of Commons, gave notice of a Motion,
on Tuesday next, to the following tenor :
That it is the opinion and Resolution of the House, that
Or karma at We Was Willi east-A such a roe el the bur.

_ ._ ~.~...~. _. ~~_..r y,.
_.~ ...

,

expedient
that all SUIre.PiUGUS ()lire+, tivitecurtty. and,
fary reniOne, be ab,sl,lle4 An' discontinued.'

dens of the people, that It itc:mmti

A motion more ed, apt/edam cannot
ceived. It will, of cours, receis e
port of the Opfosition, affil is well calcnlated
play them to the greatest advantage,
greatest strength. If it be right to al
ous offices and sinecures in Ireland, it .
that they should exist in England. The
bears fifteen-seventeenths of the public
surely a right to complain of its prow,
reli,f that can be fairly afforded

held. In the abstrad proposition,
heartily concur. The whole argument
side. Any objedons which we entertain
manner. If the Minister ha; hen
of taro luny, or tardy :n their ezccut
that the task should be transierrej to
if, on the contrary, he has evinci..l not
sition fti,.ndly to usconomy, but used
it is net seemly to trrest him in his
tempt to take the business out of hi
ilt in this manner is to embarrass, nor
cannot s the country, nor gratify
ambition in an individual. It can
childish vanity that would strut about
plumes. The estimate of the public exf
means of meeting them,for the ensuing ,
called the budget, will be produced witi
a month, wheel the anent of site
will b.: known, and any measure of pi
will probably be unfolded. We c;
to say, whether thc Motion of Mr.
have the support of Govern:aeat
coming in such a way, it has the appear;
opposition measure, an dwe think •
been deferrec', until he saw that no ,
was in their immediate contetnplatasti.
It is a curious coincidence, that a .
invasion should have recently prevailed
North of Scotland and the South
at the same mom nt. On Christmas-dal
collier, which was stranded, and &wield
crew, in the harbour of Baltimore,

the county of Cork. was metamorphosed.
moor, into a French frigate, with
arms. Of the French ♦essel which
about the same time on one of the Orkney
the Scotch Papers, received yestere
some further particulars. but nothing
fate of the ship an! crew. They are
last page.

We have received some Dutch Papers of
date. The following is the only
contents of any interest. 1t furrushec
cf BoN %PARTS% Alnitininatinn to
system of proccrirkm against British

Imperial Band-Quartet at Pocen.
NAPOLEON, EMPEROR OP ENE PAL.

OF ItALY—
We have decreed ant 4Lta decree as
Article I. AU the English merchandise,
the English CliOrtirf, which have been placed
tion at Ilambulh, Cubec. and Bremen, shall
removed to France.
2. The Glover toe General of the Flange towns,
at liarnburgh, and our Intends t fir the sailto.,
a Council for the accouivahility and reanne il r
dice. They shall correspond w;th our Mini
with revel to the magazines to he estahlished.
the frontiers of France where the Eingl.sh merchandise
deposited.
S. Our Minister of War and Finances are
execution of this Decree.
L. B. MARET, Minister, S •cretaty
M. BERTHIER, Minis's, of
A true C..•py, DARE. Intendant•G•aeral.

Government have, within these
orders far the remittance of about half
specie to our Allies, being the baler
sidy due to them by OUT last Treat,
frigate is ordered to convey the .
tenburg, and a policy was on Wednesday
at Ltovik's to insure the money, winch
at the rate of two guineas per cent.
A number of the new-invented rockets,
improved principle, have been sent
on board a ship in the Downs, to '
Gibraltar.

Some weeks have elapsed, since Government
orders les the fittirg out of an additional •
ut light veisels, for the proteCtion
in t!ie Channel against the numerous
vatocers that infest it.

The Eagle, Bsoorte, from Pillan
reported to be captuted, and carried ._
Public Papers, says a German Journal.
the King of EMIL •mrs had the first "
Grand French Army repeatedly read
his Physicians are careful to prevent
from being engaged with subjeifts
biro, on account of tab disorder in
the first readings, it has bee*
keep all the other French Bulletins .
ledge of the Monarch. He often asks
new ones have arrived? hut the ans..-
the nckuive. G rota a 111. got no
seventh Bulletin.

An improvement to the metropolis,
milizy, will occupy the attention cf '
Session ; as applicwions wi:l bQ
to build a bridge over the Thames
artt to form a new road direa from
Myatt to tbe Obelisk, St. Genrge•'

Cent !.4 solooloat
! or looormo,,
lot be eergy arm.
the entire sto.
Alcalrted to
sr and is ;Clair
al.:o1)41) =pests.
it must be serzelt
Phe curtnery that
aiie border,, kin
presets, s, if any
to it is with.
an, then,
meat i nr•se its
ertain Aft: I i :he
averse to plan'
ition, it is rig!',
o another; by
tat only a J4;pa.
•d Jae dilipeur.e,
caTeer, and at.
his hands. To
'or to assist. It
.
ev en a manly
only Ratter the
rut in borrowed
tpences, and the
ig year, vulgarly
within ter, (Hari
pu';lic burtits
public cam:way
:annot pre-ours
Btanui re will
t or not ; Our,
rpearance ol as
c it might line
) such messris
:n.
a false alarm of
evailed in the
nth of Ireland
tristmas-dty. a
I,setted by her
nn the coast of
•photed, by ra-
-17,000 stand of
Leh went as`.: ere
Orkney Islands,
terday, con:rin
of the ultimate
re girls is 11. e
Papers of slue
article of their
ies a teeth roof
persevere in ;is
sh commerce.
mc. tr, 1,46.
.bIC a AND EVie
,s follows:
or prudiattioso af
aced under malaria-
hall Int ito.uedialtit
Await, our Mioroloe
t., ens, shalt for*
r al otitis owners.).
riaiker of Faaarea
MA at the terists,4
terclioadtao shall ),
e chaired with rate
N %MAC IN.
,eretatr of State.
of war.
real.
two days, ewe
half a Mink* is
ince of the Sate.
ry. The Qlittile
y
e
:ritl:ir:::biteenfetircWeg:maluvtoeep°oliyag7G:adn,•:llo3.
;uvernnnent
ditional slum
ion of the tr. •
rous French,
for London. .4
into Ostend.
'gruel, state. that
t Bulletins of we
id to him. tholig."
roc his atteatios
s that may *Eta
i ISIS ejr. After
thought fir
; from the teor-
asks wliccher ac!
'swar is always it
o farther than the
line of the greats,:
it Parliament t. i•
made for an ft:.=
from the Strand.
m Covent-garde
'e-fial.ls, Sane,