The National Register.
London, England, 1809-09-10 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

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If they are to blame upon any one point, it was perhaps
in the selection of au untried liarade Genera; for a business
of so much importance. We have safe and prudent Gen-
erals enough, and we have very religiots and cautious Ad
mirals, but upon such occasions we should certainly em-
ploy fighting Generals.
We don't like dr 71NT-room Generals, nor eating nor
drinking Generals up ,n any occasion, in common with the
rest of our countrymen, we like those who have a stomach
for fighting.
. It is a painful subject, and we would dismiss it with
inure pleasure than we dwell upon it, but the thing is im-
possible in the present state of men's minds.

The dispatches from Lord WE'LLINGT-ON, which appeared
in last ;light's Gazette, arc dated from Truaillo, the 21st
ult. This place is about 25 miles to the southward of De-
iylosa' from whence the furnier dispatches of his Lordship
were dated.

Thu attention which his Lordship has paid to the situa-
tion of the sick and wounded, so abominably deserted by
CUESTA, is honourable to his feelings, and must be grate-
ful to the objecls of his solicitude. It appears from these
dispatches that the conduct of Sir R. WILSON has been
spirited and masterly, and the account which Sir ROBERT
has given of the behaviour of the Spaniards and Portu-
guese, who form part of his detachment, would give us a
a more favourable opinion of the cause, if it were pos-
sible to forget that CUESTA, and 40,000 Spaniards kept the
ground
for the British army, Whilst it contended against
twice their number.

Corimna Gazettes to the c 2 4t h ult. have been received.

Their coutents are of no great importance or interest. The
Marquis of W ELLESLEY had reached Seville in poor health,
111 but was fast recoverinyr. The news of the battle of Tala-
wera had been succeed:A by the information of the subse-
quent retreat of the Combined Armies, and the Central
Junta are said to be exerting every means in their power
• to retrieve the mis!ertunes and disgrace which attached to
the Spanish army. If something be not immediately done
to excite and (Meet the energies and enthusiasm of the
Spanish Nation, for the cause of Spanish freedom, the
reuiusula cannot he saved. We doubt if any thing can
sate it. Procrastination has so crept in from day to
day, that all our yesterdays have hitherto only light-
ed fools the may to death. We fear the same scenes
will be performed again and again, and that a people who
ell.. fighting for a Constitution that was never worth pre-
. ;crying, and for a King who is not only beyond the reach
of their hopes, hut per:iaps insensible of their exertions,
cannot be saved without so:le stimulus that shall come
bonne more effectually to " their business and br,:•onis."
ir, lining the absence of the Sovereign, and whilst the
pecessity of the case
,justifies the strength of the measure,
4 Meeting of the ancient Cortes were called, or if deputies
from every part of the kingdom were to assemble, so as
to identify the people with the Government, so as to in-
pee a belief, that sueh men, wielding the power of govern-
onent,.were acting for the good of the people, as well as
!or the preservation of the priviledges of particular orders,
•ve should in thai case have some hopes; at present, we
;re alienated froip Ose,cause of Spain, by every considera•
lion that' is dear in ranglislinien, Employing the best
blood of the nation. ravish4t.g• its treasures, fight-
ing almost single handed its battles, our armies are
iieweft with suspicion and distrust, and next to the
French 'le are 9bjeets of aversion. We are fighting,
too, not for a portion of that Liberty which is the
Mirth-right of Englishmen, and which (whatever Dema-
gogues may vainly urge) every Britou feels to be his own;
ibof we are fighting to perpetuate a state of things. or a
feturn at kast to a 'flute of things, which every thinking
imp must diprecate, and every liberal man must deplore.
We expect every thing from the great and comprehensive
wioda and frill; the vipur and talent, of Marquis Wm,- 1

SEPT. 10

• LESLEY, but we fear the period of his arrival in Nam is
too late. He may create a momentary struggle ; he mty
renew the strong convulsions of an expiring cause, but we
much fear, it will only accelerate its dissolution. No
persons in the Empire will with greatei sincerity, ur
with more alacrity, hail the dawn of a more propitious
morn, but we cannot shut our eyes upon scenes in
which we are such principal actors, the reluctant con-
viction is wrung from us, in spite of our hopes and
wishes, and ivitliont attaching blame or misconduct upon
those who have- conducted the war in Spain, or upon
those with whom the measures have originated, we can-
not but see that the cause is in a very bad way. Lord
WELtaxeTos7 should have been sent out, with sir Joust
Moose's letters, in the margin of every dispatch, they
should have, been repeated to him in every page he received
from this country, and that advice which he sealed with
his blood should have been credited and acted upon as
sacred. He has told us that no dpperidenee whatever is to
be placed upon the Spaniards ; if we were imahle to drive
the French out of the Peninsula without their assistance,
we should not have attempted it; if we were able, we should
have shown our ability by sending an adequate force. What
would have been the situation of Spain if Austria I a.l not
afforded occupation for EtION A PARTE and his best troops ?
And what must be her situation when peace with Austria
releases him ? There e•aanot be two opimous upon tl,is sub-
ject. Send no more reinforcements to Spain than wilt unable
ux to bring; home Lord WLciaNeToAr and his brave army with
safety and with honour. Let us concentrate our forces and
husband our rear Against the day of trial upon our own
shores; or if we have a taste and a stomach too for fight...
ing upon other soils, let us look to our own distant pos
sessions. lndostan is not ivaccessible, as upon some fu-
ture occasion we shall endeavonr to shew. In Ireland we
are vulnerable, and we may at. least be attacked upuu the
very spot we are now writing.

Of the news from the Continent, that which iat
most important is what relates to the pe;:ce now said
io be concluded between the French and the Aus-
trians. There is no official account of this circumstance,
but it becomes every day more and more probable.
The terms are stated in letters fioin Unhand of the
Ist inst. to be very humiliating. The Emperor ERANC:4
14 to relinquish the territories from which he derives his
title of Emperor, and is in future to be styled King of
Hungary and Bohemia. Private letters from Cadiz of the
17th ult. state, that popular commotions have taken place t
Seville, on account of the want of energy displayed by the
Junta, and the neglect of the armies which is attributed to
them.

! Government have at length received dispatches from Sir
Joav STUART. They state, that he had undertaken ail
expedition against the coast or Naples. Ile had taken the
Islands of Ivhia and Procida, made 1300 French prisoners,
and secured a large quantity of corn and ammunition. The
French have been obliged to abandon Scylla, destroyinc, the
works, and leaving behind them their ordnance and stores.
By a Mail from Gottenburgh, we learn that disturbances
have taken place in Norway.—Prince AUGUSTEN nunGn has
been arrested, and his partizans have taken up arms to sup-
port his cause, but we arena informed of the prticulars.
Letters from Flushing, dated the 2d September, we are
sorry to say, confirm the .former accounts of the sickly
state of the troops in Walcheren. The average f elcaths
at Middleburgh alone, was three officers and from twenty
to thirty men daily. It is hoped, that as -this mortality
arises from the nature of the soil and climate, the medical
men Will devise a regimen that may tend in sonce degree
to secure the men from it. At the time when the let-
ters we allude to were written, every regiment had from
100 to 150 men sick, and some had so many as 3ao. The
force expected to be left on the island was
There is scarcely a house in Flushing that is not damag4
by the shot from the British hues iu the late OW.