The National Register.
London, England, 1809-08-20 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER,.

best blood of the country. It is a consolation, however
gratifyiag to our fselings as individuals, and which belongs
to us as a great and powerful nation, that if the bigotry,
the weakness, or even the cowardice of the Spaniards make
them inseneill,: to the value of liberty, or render them in-
competent to the task of con:4tiering it, we have shewn
" shat Britons can do for others in such a cause, and we
have exhibited to Europe avid to the ssorld, what may be
expected, when satiated with the plunder of the Continent,
the unsatisfied tp-ant shall ohiig.e us to defend the lust spot
On which Liberty can make a stand.
The tedious interval which elapsed betveen the defeat of
the French in Portugal and the e.rrival of Sir A. WELLES-
:A-A- in the heart of Spain, seemed not only to carry dm-
appointment to our hopes, but actually to have excited in
this country fears for the safety 9f our brave army, and
our Journalists were even contending about the propriety
of our evacuating the Peninsula altogether, nay more,
were even disputing the practicability of our succeeding in
the a!tempt, when the dispatches of Sir A. WELLESLEY an-
nounced one of the most important and brilliant victories
1-shich has ever been achieved by British valour. A victory
whi-cle carries us back to those heroic days when on the
Mains of Cressy, or of Agincourt, the strength of our ar-
;Lies, not wont to he measured by vumerical calculation,
or if it were, one Englishman was considered as a match
for at least three Frenchmen. It does not appear that our
oftilors have degenerated, and the battle of Talavera has
told the Ts rant a tale which his vanity will lint ill brook,
that twenty-three thousind English con even now thrash'
more than twice that number of his veterans troops, only
giving them elbow room and fair play.
.an whatever point of view we consider this glorious'
victory, its consegnences, both immediate and remote, af-
ford us tile most satisfactory prespccts. We may consi-
sksr it as a decisive proof of what may be effected by Bri-
tish courage, under proper direction., and unencumbered
with the efforts of allies. For certaWy we cannot observe.,
without surprise and vexation,, the situation of the Spanish
-army, of 35 ,00 0 men, almost wholly occupied with looking
on, whilst their owe dearest interests were at stake. It
would be folly to affect to disguise "'awn ourselves, that if
Sir A. Vlieeersecy could have depended upon their valour
An discipline, he would certainly have employed sonic of
that large body in a situation which threatened the exist-
.ence of his whole army. If we were even in doubt of
this, dots not the circumstance of the Preach being allow-
f.:d to retreat in good order, confirm and establish the
damning fact beyond all controversy ? What ! is it pos-
sible to believe that 35 or 36,000 men, unbroken by the
fatigues of an engagement, would have suffered a routed
army, harrassed by the labour of a bloody engagement,
and dispirited by defeat, to retreat in goof: order, if they
were neither cowards nor traitors ? The thing is im-
possible, we can neither credit it, or impose upon
ourselves any thing in time shape of a belief of it.
It is true Sir ARTHUR 'WELLESLEY says « the Spanish Com-
mander in Chief, his Officers, and troops, manifested
every disposition to render us assistance, and those or
them which were engaged did their duty, but the ground
which they occupied was so important, and its front at the
same time so difficult, that I did not think it proper to
urge them to make any movement on the 4efi of the ene-
my, whilst be was engaged with us."