The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1810-01-27 00:00:00

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General ever .
What would the Noble Lords opposite have mid,
if he had remained inactive in Portugal, and had
mot marched into the interior of Spain ?. What'
woulcfhave been their outcry, if such had been his
conduct? Why, then it would hare been said,
there was no necessity for his remaining in Poi.
tugal; we were in possession cf Poringal. Whit
benefit could result to the Spanish cause, if he had
remained inactive on the frontiers of Spain ?
But Lord Wellington had done all which pru-
dence could suggest arid valour carry Tutu exc. u-
tion.--ble took a r‘ition at Talavera which re.
ffected lustre on his talents; and. though his
army was harassed, fatigued, and tad uneer.
gone the utmost privations. it was in t' at state
they were opposed to the Fiench minty, luxut -
Gusty supplied with every comfort which French
commissariats could furnish, and one of the most
splendid victories which was ever recritded, vas
gained by the skill and valmr of the British army.
almost alone. For this they were entitled to toe
affection sr their coustry, and the unarm-otos
thanks of the House. It was a v'ctriry s,r
edun-
dant with glory, that if any errors were in tfe way.
they ought to be overshadowed with laurel.—
He wished to say a few words oli the ietreat
of Lord Wellington, which was mile for the par.
pose of refre•hipv hi. trom s. Tire sick and wound•
ed, about whom so much had hi n nitegssl. were
kft ; but how were they It ft ? Why with General
Comte, who occupied a position sufficiently ,trong
to afford the British army soother Opostisopy, of
signalitio:: their valour. end eseisting the
in the redemption of their liberty. Wilde t' e
wounds rif our soldiers were still bleeding iu
clime of SON. after the gliniolis striir;;le thee
bad made aßaittat the enemy. tins coi.diset of Ge-
neral ettesta prevented the N oble Lord from taking
the sidwantrw. No General was Littler skilled
iii
war. swot more es,ltghttme,i. max mom valiant than

riplitc 1. ofi
. ...„ t .
. .
!SACS SIXPINCE-FIALFPSNNY•
--..-...."----6...--'----,
Ile, and only so small a portion acting at
a, there was ground for reprehension ; and
onformable to the manner whereby the same
I 'Nought only ballot' his forces to act sgainst
ny at the 'rattle of Vitneila. He had listen-d
tention to the observations of the Noble
erecting the situation of the•country, and
d only ask, how came it that we were su iii-
' Why, the chief cause was the same with
sieh produced the the-ash-sas coneequences •
expeditions to Spain. It might he recul-
that
he had given his opinion, in * former
, that the most judicious disposal of our
y force, in aid of Spain, would he to send
iy ten or twenty thousand together, on board
tts, for the purpose of being landed at any
where they might best conduce to the assist-
f Spain and our Allies. In adibessing him-
e had explained his reasons for not empties.
a the motion as to the Noble General; hut,
he army, it met with his approbation.
I Garisvastou was induced, from the consicle- t
of his duty, to rise on this occasion, and state
reasons which led him to oppose this routioir
Inks to Lord Viscount Wellington. In the : I
lace, he was apprehensive that if the House .
o be called upon to vote thanks for every in-
s of the display of valour, the proceediug
I draw after it injunous results. The cones,
:e would be, that if a single division exhibited
ry, their Lordships would be called upon to
sway thanks. which was the highest bailout.
could bestow. Nay, the principle might be
iced, and then the bravery of a Bugle detach-
, or au individual act of velour. would expect
high tribote of commendation. Wheoever
tquences no way beneficial resulted to the .
try, whatever admiration might attach itself .
ie. conduct of an army. he did not perceive the
aiety of their being publicly thetiked by Vie . •
ismrut. The bate eof entwine had frees •
tied as ;omitting a similar proceeding resin•ei. .
Talavera; but, in his opinion, the former was
on account of its consequences, entnled en "..,
d:stinction, hut certainly preferable to the
under consideration. He felt disposed to hike
opportunity of commenting upon the other
Our., which, In so 4 mispictious a manner, had
ii conferred iipou the Noble General. He sop -
ed this vote of thanks would be followed by
Thor, grautinga pecuniary reteunerettoo. Their t
rdships would reflect upon the import of grant- • ;
.
titles of nobility to men whose fortune' were
. adequate to support the &gritty. It was of •
rrtance to the cowary, while the titled intim- . ,
' i
al bred, and we, I:kety to fernier his sumessors
liendetits on thu Crowe. Perhaps it would, pro. / •
•te the ends of militirc fame and reputation, if 1.,
institution was 1116O1•ltti, Irons whence might be
fated different orders of notlitory merit. Itwou'd
cite the same spirit of valour, without producing
tooventeeres to the Constantine, by the Conte+.
ig of titles of nebility. Paints; *rivet ted to this
'vet, as connected with the constitution, he was
ady to allow that such heroes as the-great Marlbu- ..
Itgh and Nelson were entitled to the highest b •
itirs and-HlitretelwesitesolwribAsens-strooted thet •
id their successors. Thi battle of T. 41 w —..,_
.
A one. in all its eircumptances. entitled to such
!wards; mind therefore he considered it proper to
fires& these sentiments to the House. as ars exit's.
I
ation why he could net enecur in the motion now I
obinitted to their consideration.
Viscount MOUNTJOIf expres.ed his desire to of-
rr a few remarks upon the question proposed fur
heir Lordship's decision. He 11311 not possessed
f those talents, and that experience, which be-
onged to the Noble Lord opposite (we presutne,
F.arl Gime), who appeared to be attending to every
14..
hing he might urge, and was preparing to answer
!very argument. Still, however inferior hr miglit •il
onsider himself to the Noble Hurl, in other ie. ;li,l
ipects, he was disposed to communicate his senti-
neuts to the House. Looking at the conduct of -,• •
[he Noble General, in his march from Portugal to 'l,l
the battle of Talavera, and to the decided victory ,
obtained there, and afterwards to his retrrst, no
.1
i
General ever deserved more honour or reword.--
-- - - - •

Lord Viscount Wellington. The victory of Tale.
.'era was of all others conspicuous, and he trusted
•t would meet their unanimous approbation.
Earl GREY said, he rose to state to their Lord-
ships the grounds upon which he objected to the
present motion. If, as had been represented by a
able Lord, it was true, that the victory of Tala-
vera was of that brilliant and decisive nature, and
attended with all the advaidages which were the re-
sult of the most distinguished and successful battles
fought by our ancestors—if it was true, that its im-
mediate cousrquences were not o 1 a dubious, but
positive henefit ; to withhold an acknowledgment,
would, is his opinion, be an act of inexcusable in-
justice. He did noteolue forward to deny the pro-
nriety of rewarding !military service ; far from it ;
the soldier should always have the applause his .er-
vicesentitled him to--the approbation of his country,
s vying its consciousness of his exertions by the ex-
pression of its gratitude. The conduct of France,
rewarding the. efforts of the warrior, nerd
not have been instanced ; it would have been
much more material to the purposes of the
Noble Lord. if he had shewii that the event of the
victory was such as to stamp it with particular
tiection. He did not pretend to deny, that when •
signal victory was obtained, it was impolitic to in-
quire minutely into the previons circumstances at-
tending the conduct of the commanders. .Many of
those whose characters for military fame were highly
exalted, had acquired those characters rather by
rashness and intemperate intrepidity, than by the
exertion of any other q isalincations. It was easy to
give instances of such valour. Whew an army was
.ed into those difficulties. from which, without an ef-
fort of desperatioii, it cannot free itself; such au ef-
fort would be au act of onitioczt. as well es of reason.
. .

combining personal defence with patriotic affectinn.
The battle of Aginconec was an iustance of such va-
lour; but the immediate rerult of that victory was
by no means disputable. The enemy was repulsed,
the security of England was established. His Lord-
ship again stated his repugnance to cuter into a mi-
nute examination of the contlurt which preceded a
brilliant victory; hut that of Talavera was exempt
from snch a consideration. Me begged leave to ask
the meaning of a decisive victory ? Was it itot that
in which were added to the repulse of the enemy,
the glory and great advantage of the victorious;
and were these consequences arisiug from the battle
of Talavera? Nei—Was then Lord Wellington to
reeeive the aektiowledgment. of that House—the
testimony of its approbation—for services which he
aever had rendered, fur silirmitages which never
had been received ? The Nettle Earl said, it was
not his intention to enter into the pulitics of the ex-
pedition. He would only touch briefly upon the
nature of it, and .he expel:gat' from it. A Noble
Earl had said, that Lord %VI-11441mi'. prat move-
ments were made for the purpose of diverting the
enemy ; that this obj•fet failed, but the attempt was
not without its good effects. It certainly did I'M!,
and the attempt was certainly umorolitable. It was
stated, that, by the battle of Talavera, the ;regrets
of the comity was stopped. • That, previous to that
battle, the enemy had possession of those situations,
from which, for the security of our allies. it was tie-
emery to drive them away. This was the time for
the efforts of the British, for the security of the
Spanish ; bat here was the intrusion of failure and
calamity—tato such hope was realized. But were the
French such mighty sufferers after the battle t were
they destitute of all the necessaries fur a campaign,
end all the resources, from which oar army nas ex-
empted J This 10•06 reuty•dieted by the teetimsony
of Lord Vlrellington himself ; who owned, that the
enemy retired with die utmost order and reguierity.
The Noble Lord had said, that another most deci-
sive victory would have heen gained, had it not been
for the advance of another army to the ateistant a of
the vanquished. This was rather improbable, as
might appear from the eircumadasteei that the
enemy had taken several prisoners, and that we
had none. Upon the whole, after examination, it
was evident, that judging, whither from the ob-
jects of the campaign, or from the results of the
conduct of it, this was not a brilliant and decisive
victory. It was the duty of Government, when-
ever disasters were crowded upon au arms, to in.
quire into the oreasions of those disasters, and to
ascertain whether the charge was Untamable to in-
evitable calamity, or to the mistakes of ill-judging
and hot-headed Corot/minders. But what was the
consequence of the battle of Talavera ? the vic-
torious army. after having routed the enemy, was
• - obliged to retreat with such precipitation, that the
sick and wounded were abandoned to the foe.—.
Was this no disaster I With respect to the skill
exhibited in the battle by Lord Wellington, he
had very great doubts of it. A Noble Lord had
said, that a position on the left :was secured, and
the heights recovered by our troops but this was
no proof of that military skill represented as so
transcendent ; another criterion. by which the ex-
tent of this skill ass to be estimated. was the su-
perior numbers of the enemy, which were stated
to he doubly greater than our army ; it would have
been much more caudid to say. that the combined
army of the Spanish and their allies, was of vastly
greater extent than that of the amity. Was it
meant. that the Span ands were so isnoevile as to
render their co-operation of no value, or so base as
to refuse assistance in a cause ma !weguent with
their own destiny? It was an aggravation of the dis-
asters which had befallen the country. that justice
was not done to that people; if the returns were
looked into, it would be found that twelve hundred

i

of the Spanish were killed sod wouuded. at that
battle; they, therefore, must have been unfairly
treated; they had fought with valour and resolu-
tion. Had Lord Wellington advanced to Madrid,
with strength and success, he would have been ex-
empt from any charge. The Noble Earl then
stated the refusal of Lord Wellington to make a
junction with Sir Robert Wilson's troops, when re-
quired by the Spaniards. After having spoken to
considerable length, he said it was impossible for
him to undervalue that reward, *which, if thus
aiswied, would be attended with the worst con-
sequences, and therefore he would not concur with
the present motion.
Lord Mouirrsov rose to correct a tnistake
which had been made with respect to what he said
relative to the security of Portugal.
The Marquis Wlttast.te said, that his situa-
tion was peculiarly trying ; lie stood forward to de-
fend the character of a dent and honoured brother,
f he wet unsucces,ful, could Out have jii.tly

forfeited -his claims to universal admiration. His
talents had been touter-rated, and his conduct in
Portugal. where he was adored, misrepresented.
A Noble Tail, who had spken, did not seem to
have u just idea of the object of Lord Wellington's
operations. I:s object was to effect the deliver-
auce of Portugal. and the operations were, in the
opiuion of the country in general, ably and rapidly
conducted. He conceived, that, to attack Victor's
army ou the frontiers, would be the most effectual
step to accomplish its defence, and accordingly
adopted it. Much had been said of delay, but there
was no unnecessary delay ; and he contended, that, as
a military officer, he had exhibited wisdom and dis-
cretion. fps case had been compared with that of
Sir John Moore, to which it bore no resemblance ;
it was unjust to compare them. The situation of
Spain was differently circumstanced, when they
both led their armies into it. territory. During
Lord Wellington's march, the country was inca-
pable of affording supplies to his army; and ano-
ther subject of complaint was, that he could nei-
ther find a Spanish army, nor Spanish Generals to
co-operate with bum. Ile was under the necessity
of attacking with his own forces the united forces
of Victor and Setnstiani. He had advanced into
Spain in pursuit of Victor, who fled before him,
until he was joined by the army of him who called
himself the King of Spain. Ilia object was not to
march to Madrid, 'but to co-operate with Cuesta
for the purpose of expelling the eneiny,.and by
that means accomplishing the protectirio of the
country. and defeating the views of the enemy.
—Was there any way, he would risk, of defend-
ing Poi tugs!, without opposing Victor ? After the
battle of Totowa, his Lordship applied to Ge-
neral Cuesta for assistance, to follow 'op the
victory; but his proposal was unhappily refined, in
consequence of the directions of the Junta to their
Officer; by this means the enemy effected their
escape. If then he did meet with such refusal,wiiirlil
it be possible that, if he appeared at that bar with
such a fact, the Hussite could refuse him their
thanks and gratitude I The country to whose as-
sistance he was sent Lad suffered moth, nor was it
in the power of one sintle effort to re-establish it,
broken as it was into different provanees, and sur-
rounded with numerous disadvantages.
Lord GRI114•1 Lte considered that the Ministers
were principally to blame fur 'eliding Lord Wel-
lington iota a hostile country, without the neces-
sary force or equipment. He had no inclination to
object to his Lordships character for valour. but
he could not conceive that the qualification of ca.
lour was all that was necessary in a General. As he
did not consider the battle of Talavera a decisive
victory, nor entitled to the appellation of a victory
at all, he should certainly oppose the thanks to
Lord WelliugWn ; at the seine time, (rein the
bravery displayed by the troops, he would vote for
any txpression of ■pprobatiou to all the other 0r-
1i...v.6 commanding in that action.
The motion was then carried ; after which the
House adjourned.