The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1809-02-25 00:00:00

in this coots*: was the dispatching of Sir Arthur
Wellesley wielLbislorce. and although it will tip-
per to any fie& who reads superficially the in-
&tractions of 'th Noble Lord opposite, (Lord Cas-
tlereagh) to Orel gallant General upou that occa-
oiort, which ark contained in his letter of the 13th
June, and 13tli July. he was left at liberty to act
according to his own discretion in consequence of
any information he might receive ui on the coast of
Spain ; yet it is obvious that in fact that discretion
was taken away from him, and that the expedition
to the Tagus was fixed oil by the Noble Lord as
that by which hostilities were to begirt. When the
gallant General arrived upon the coast of Spain, he
thought proper to apply to the Juntas of Gellicia
and of the Asturias far iiifortnatioo. Ile was told,
(I speak from his OW4I words, uttered upon a late
debate) that they did not want turn to he sent i.sto
Giallicia ; that they considered the expedition to
Portugal, and the dislodgment of the French 1
. from that quarter, as prekrable to its being
. sent into their urn cipi3try. !le said that
. . Vie most intelligent Members of the. Junta of
, :,;,,,h,, thoo..tht. the he shrill(' go to St. Andero,
fa: ner than land •upuo the coast of Spain, and
..tile gallant General flintier said, that his own
opinion was, ulna the presence of the liiitisli army
in Sorkin was at that time indispensably necessary,
in order to connect the Spoilierds Louring them-
selves, its order to induce a co-operation which
otherwise could not e'ost, to etleet a. jiniction Ire-
t veto the northers SM.; sontlieni forces, and I,e as-
s;gued that as a 1C.L.,,,.1 Isortql:111111Olg the arathi-
tie... When the &olt General went to Por-
tngal, the 1)11111 of the campaign Wrim decided ;
there was no longer any room fur deliberation;
there wailing) longer any room to act upon tiny infor-
mation tll4 might he received with regard to Spain.
When the Noble Lord directed his force to the
Tagus, it became impossible to apply any force iii
favour of Spain until that expedition was in sonic
way or other concluded. 1 do not mom, I um
sore, to revive the debate which leis passed with
r -gaol to Portugal. It is a subject in itself burn-,
',neatly reflecting, and we have 1i...0,1 mi mach
of it that there is norlibig to mime Inc to re-
new it.—/hear.' War .' near .I)—A...ter that Con-
vention in Portugal ups coucluiled, the British
force, cousisting o;* th;rty thousand in-o. was 111
rbspomble fove. to lir ap iied as ills Majesty's
Ministers tliongrit proper. (Too the 3.1t11- A cost
the Converitiou wit s'gnerl. the eompoittri or Por-
tugal was at 14 coil. I desire then to know why it
was that ',Mill it 14.401 of time ebipssil betocen
' t'er conclusion of the Convention of Coma, and
tire ifith dav of October, when Sir Joloi Nlisore wit
nut from Portagnl for Baal; (lira,. ! h.-at.') The
gallant General (Sir Artlior 11;e11,..Lo 1, althou4h
ha obeyed the Noble Ltd, dill It 11:1:1,t the eon..
virrion of the aboolute neceosity of 4 lliilish iteiny
enteritis Spats, ; the Spaniards theillsrll,4:6 4.,-
elared that necessity ; he agreed with them, as he
saw they wanted it, so as to form a connection
between the different armies as a great botid of
union, orineut„uad co-operation. I desire then to
know why, between those two periods, no steps
were taken to remove the force of Sir John Moore
from Spain. Upon the 13th of Octobor, Sir David
Baird arrived et 01111111311, with a force inferior to
that of Sir John Moore—a force intended for son-
junction and co-operation with them; but as
appears from the pave,' before the House,
not for the purpose of separate action. It
was not until the it 7111 of October that , his
army wee disembarked sit Comma, Up to the
17th of September, I have heard it said, that
none of the Juntas could be called the Supreme
Junta, but upon that day the Central Supreme
Junta was installed at Madrid, and yet it was said
to he necessary to have waited from the 13th of
October to tise.37th of that mouth, until that army
could obtain permission from the Supreme Junta
to go to the North of Spain. 1 desire to know, if
pone of the agents of the Ministers in Spaie in-
rosined our General of what was going on in that
country, curl of the time wheo it was necessary
that the army should assume its situation and exer-
- . else its functions. It does not appenr that they
had any person called an acteedited minister
or ambiissolor in that country, until Mr. Frere
was sent, awl he tea does not appear to have been
appointed until the 7th of November. Ought not
such a communication at least to have been kept iip
with that body, as that the general arriving with
the force could know whether the Spaniards would
receive theta or nut, and yet all that time elapsed
before any itiformation could be obtained by Sir
Mehl Baird, when he landed at Coming, as to
whether lie would be received us a friend by
those whom he went to assist. Ido not mean
to insinuate ally disparagement of Mr. Frere,
I do not wish to &enlist. lair merits, they may he
as great as those of any man whatever in Ills Ma- .
jeaty's tweeter, in his eilicial ditty, but in my hum-
ble opinion Mr. Frere was rust the proper person to
he sent to Spoin.—( Mar. Ilea:, hear !! A mili-
tary man was the proper person to be stilt to that
eoontry. It was eitlirlitiallV a military appoint-
ment. or it was nothing. lithe whole entintry ant
not ready to Were!) •rins iii its defence, amd ready to
be organixed by the th•ol exii.O rig Government', and
ant with us liguitist Vrance. 1 say there was no
ohnnee orsuccess in Spain, for it would oat he safe
for us to employ a railitare force in their &floe—
I say, therefore, that the proper person to be sent
noon that occasion was a unlit:icy, and not a bell
oifieor. On the 16th of October, as I before stated,
stir John Moore moved fur Spain, and, on the ail,
of November, he reached Sala:manta : on the lath
he was followed and joined by most part of his army,
and, indeed, upou that day, it may be considered
as eseembled at that place. It may be for the
'lroise to consider bow he was empleyed all this
ti ne. The force, which the Emperor of the Fry-nett
bad originally sent to Spain and Portugal, had ap-
wired to him inadequate for his purpose*: the
sorrender of Dupont had weakened it, and
broken the connection between its different parts,
and in short. all the French force retiring towards
the extremities of Spain, was found concentrated
is; Navarre. The Emperor of the French himself
bed not, at that time, a suffieieut force to enable
pint to accomplish his purpose, and he found it
incumbent upon him to withdraw hir troops from
the Danube and the Vistula, which had been CO..
gaged in the Polish campaign. The distnnee they
ball to march was prodigious, and they had go
nameitlnse means, fuck to this countrY had, to enable

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