The National Register.
London, England, 1808-11-27 00:00:00

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4:141Igan1M1111.111.1111"1"....
and theft it was stated, that the articles agreed upon weettsignetl
by Sir Arthur Wellesley.
The Judge Advocate asked the Ern
whe'thet they *Dula
wish to have the narrative of Sir Arthur Wellesley read again..
• The Court having expressed filch desire that it Should, it
was read accordingly .
The Judge Advocate next rend ti dumber Of quittibtis on the
subject of the narrative, which had been sent in writing to -er
A. Wellesley. by the President, Sir D. Minilas; and which had
been returned by Sir A. ikith his antwets a!!ixed to them. To ñ
question, What were his orders, and w '..he objects of hiA ex.:*
pedition—lie autereredi the prisiclpat ohjeCt this id,ittiaSk th
enemy in their poiltionS on the tagus ; hut h 0 thid, discre4
tidnary potter to apply his force to other oßjects, in ease he
should consider them to he most Material for the public service.
Lord Moira then observed, that he hoped that Vritatey4r tines:
tiotts tab Court might feel it their duty to pdt; they would he re-
ceived in that spirit in which
.tlaiy trere dictated•;—that of mi.;
feigned respect ftir every (Meet connected With tfi6 service
id
question:
0. Had Sir Arthur. Wellesley any chnirntinictititiri at St.
Anderb, hr any part of Biscay, as to any advantage which the
cottorton cause Night have derived froM his landing in Spaift
At When at etiruntia I received a letter from Sir Thomas Dyer.
in which he informed in.., that he had held out a prospect to this;
Junta that the troops under my Cettimand ndniti be landed t"
Aiturias; and he also mentioned that thit cotinnunicetinn ha
been reteived by the 3 tuna Kith f•aliAfiietion--and he intim
urged me to disembark at St. AA:tern,. that we might attack th
French corps which at that time tract in possessiou of that citye
I h..d no comittunicati:i whatever *lilt any constituted autho
rity of Biscay, which I,•,*vltne was not, as 1 understood, a{
that time, in insitrrectlon egainst the I reach;
Q. Whether the inference is accurate, that yOU thotight your
own army sufficiently strong to drilre the 1~ real) from I,ishon
and the forts of the Tapp, wit'en you jail-Ai-Al it advisable that
Sir Harry Bucrard thould proceed to
cut retreatOf the
enemy i—A. I did.
Q. You hate staled that you could have supplied the ortn-
guese troops with provisions; 11.1.3 it. not been for the tiefectiv
arrangement of the Commissariat ! did you think that the coilip:
try (-told have atforthel sudicieut provisions; proviclel due
means had. been csed to tender the resources available I—A. The
country atiortleil tot provisioos, except beef and wine; and 1
believe from the time when • I landed ill Pottegal, to the time
when . 1 left the army, on tic '4oth of i‘eptc.ir.:•cr; the troops
only received biscuit from toe Oar:
I,•ird ..‘tioirtt:-.--to what extent could Tl'int and beef have been
forel•hed by the country ?—A. Wit, and beef might hare been
f:,ruisited alnunt at every villas., occupied by thit tinny, sei-
elln for one or two days cooLiamplioti.
Q, Was the J unta of Gal i;ola s cr,e to the landing of the British
forces in Spain ; —A. Tre ce:o was not ile,-irous of having the
en-operation of the z.iany with ti.eir min troops, under
Central Blake. i also understood that the .lunitt of Sr
desire
ille and
the persons in :authority iti A:A:bill:1 had no very gre:
that Ceneral Spencer's corps shot Oil co-hocrate with Castanos,
althdugh they were desiroes that (icacral "Speticer's corps should
land at Port St. Mary's; and eventeally cover titheral Castanos'i
retreat, incioe he should have been defeated by Dupont.
Q. Did you receive cutnivunic,ttioiii of w from the
epanish Generals, and from perseni in authority it. ether part,t
of Spain ?-;-A. None.
Q. Was the e.ltpulsitin of. the offbeatfrom Vortegal essential
to the interests of Spain ?—A. I considered the eSpulsiiiv of the
Ftenth from rOrtil4ll,l as of the greatest consequence to the
Spanish nation ? mid if the dispoS4leforCe of bleat Btithin
iii
Portttgal had been removed, the rreoth °eyeful might hav6
moved a large proportion, of his army into Spatn.
Here the examinatinit of Arthur closed.
. . .
Captain Malcolm, of hit', Majeity't ship Llonnegat, teas thcd
called:
Q., State in general it there weic tins iliitculties in landiatt
the tros, h:•rtrs, aelte...:nition, R.C. and in what those
ties con,imedl—A. Daring the time I was on the twist,
there were only four or five days on which a landing Could
be reade without great difficulty. in coninion boats, but bn
our coining to 3loodego, we got a lirge supply of titiata of the
country; which facilitated the landing very much:
!ir Dalrymple then proceeded toiread the,.api
cline of
giveh
to tht Court as the narrative of his pititkedn from the
io
hie being appointed to the chief commutid ethe British army Id
Portugal.
The tostruCtlonS thith he iteeteel wait before the Court;