The National Register.
London, England, 1809-01-01 00:00:00

JAN. I.

it would be well worth hazarding to
this honour.

it country

It is impossible to proceed much further after the fore-
going reflections. We will leave to our readers to ant;ci-
pate the consequences of this energetic policy ; and will
only add, that what we advanced, difficult as it may ap-
pear, is by no means ..practicable. One great effort made,
and that formidable army will be able, before three months,
to tear from the brow of an insolent conqueror the laurels
he now wears, and inflict on him the punishment his crimes
and his atrocities so justly merit.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FROX THE FRENCH PAPERS.

FOURTEENTH BULLETIN OF THE ARMY OF SPAIN.
MADRID, DEC. 5.----The 2d at noon his Majesty arrived in
person on the heights which impend over Madrid, on which were
already placed the divisions of dragoons olGenerals Latour Mau-
houg, and Lahoussaye, and the imperial horse-guards. The
anniversary of the coronation, that epoque which has signalised
so many days fur ever fortunate for France, awakened in all
hearts the most agreeable recollections, and inspired all the
troops with an enthusiasm which manifested itself in a thousand
exclamations. The weather was beautiful, and like that enjoyed
in France in the month of May. The Marshal. Duke of Istria
sent to summon the town, where a Military Junta was formed,
.ander the presidency of the Marquis of Castelaur, who had
under his orders General Morla, Captain-General of Anda-
lusia. The town contained a number of 'armed peasants, as-
sembled from all quarters, 6000 troops of the line, and 100
pieces of cannon. Sixty thousand men were in arms. Their
cries were heard on every side : the bells of 200 churches rung
altogether; and every thing presented theappearance of disorder
and madness. The General of the troops of the line appeared at
the advanced posts to answer the summons of the Duke of Istria.
.He was accompanied by 30 men of the people, whose dress,
looks, and ferocious language, recalled the recollection of the
assassins of September. When the Spanish General was asked
whether he meant to expose women, children, and old men to
the horrors of an assault, he manifested secretly the grief with
which he was penetrated; he made known by signs, that he, as
well as all the honest men of Madrid, groaned under oppression !
and when he raised his voice, his words were dictated by the
wretches who watched over him. No doubt could be enter-
tained of the excess to which the tyranny of the multitude was
carried when they saw him write down all his words, and
caused the record to he verified by the assassins who surrounded
him. The aid-de-camp of the Duke of Istria, who had been
sent into the town, was seized by men of the lowest class of
penpie, and was about to be massacred, hen the troops of the
line, indignant at the outrage, took him under their protection,
and caused him to be restored to his General.
4 butcher's boy from Estremadura, who commanded one of the
gates, had the audacity to require that the Duke of Istria should
go himself into the town with his e
,ues blindfolded. General Mont-
bran rdected this presumptuous demand with indignation. He
teas immediately surrounded, and effected his escape only by draw-
ing his sword. He narrowly escaped falling a victim to the
im-
prudence with which he had forgot .that he had not to make war
trit* civilized enemies.
A little time after, some deserters from the Walloon Guards
same to the camp. Their depositions convinced us that the
people of property, and honest men, were without influence;
and it was to be concluded that conciliation was altogether im-
po-sible.
The Marquis of Perales, a reputable man, who had hitherto
appeared to enjoy the confidence of the people, had been, on the
day before this, accused of putting sand in the cartridges. He
was immediately strangled. It was determined that the car-
tridges should be re-made; 3 or 4000 monks were employed upon
this work at the Retiro. All the palaces and houses were or-
dered to be open to furnish provisions at discretion. Therrench
infantry was still three leagues from Madrid. The Emperor
raw:rived the evening in reconnoitring the town, and deciding a
plati of attack, consistent with the cousidet mita' due to the great
saintlier of honest people all N a;s ta be found in a great capital.

:Wh:c+ t.r~..

TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER.

To take Madrid by assaultagekt - be.a.asilltary operation of
little difficulty ; but to eogage that great city to surrender, by
employing alternately force aed persuasion. and hr rescuing the
people of property-, and real good men, frmn the oppression
under which they premed ; this V% a:: t. lidt W :is trails oittiratt..
All the exertions of the Emperor, during these two days, bad
en other end. They .have been crowned with the greatest
*access. _
At seven o'clock the division Lap;ssi of the corps of the Duke
of Belluno arrived. The moon shone with a :crisotness that
seemed to prolong the day. The Emperor ordered the General
of Brigade Maison to take possession of the suburbs, and charged
the General of Brigade Lauriston to support him in tae enter-
prize, with four pieces of artillery belougieg to the guards.
The slurp shooters of the .16th reginceol took possesion of
some houses, and, in particular, of the grand cemetry. At the
first fire, the enemy sheaved as much row ardicc as he did of arro-
gance all the day. The fluke of Benumb employed all the night
in placing his artillery in the posts designed for the Road:. At
midnight the Prince of Neufchatel sent to Aladtid a Spanish
Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery, who had been taken at Sono,-
sierra, and who saw with al'right the obstinacy of his fellow-
citizens. He took charge of the nunexed Letter, :INN. 1. On
'the Scl, at nine in the morning, the same slag,; of truce returned
to the head-quarters with the letter No. '2. 13ut the General of
Brigade Lenamont, an Officer. of great merit, had airendy
placed 30 pieces of artillery, and had commenced a very smart
fire, which made a breach in the walls of the itetiro. The
sharp-shooters of the division of Vilatte having passed the
breach, their battalion followed them, and in less than a quar-
ter of an hour 1000 men, oho defended the Retina were
knocked on the head.—The palace of the actin), the haw,"
tant posts of the Ohservatory, of the porcelain otantcactors,
of the grand barrack, the Hotel of Medina Cell, and all the out-
lets which had been fortified, were taken by our troops. 041
another side, 20 pieces of cannou of tlieguards, aceompaeied
by light troops, ,brew shells, and attracted the attention of the
enemy by a false atttvl.
" It would have been difficult to form a conception of the di--
order that reigned in Madrid, if a greater number of prisoners.
arriving in succession,. had not given an account of the frightful
scenes of every description, of which that capital prese:ned the
spectacle. They have intersec teat the streets, erected paravis
on the houses ; barricades of hales of wool, and of ..atoa, icaj
been formed, and the wit:do is had been stoisped with Iti..?-
trasses. Those of the inhabitants who despaired ol a successial
resistance were flying into the fields; others, who had reser.. ed
some share of reason, and who preferred appearing in the aidst
of their prorrty before a generoas (witty, to abandoning it to
the pillage of their fellow citi:xas, dem:coded that they should
not expose themselves to an assault. Those who were strangers
to the town, or who had Nothing to lose, were fors defence to
the last extremity. accused the troops of the line of treason, attsl
obliged them to continue their fire.
The enemy had as( than 100 pieces of caution mount-

lore .
el—a more considerable number had been dug up, taken
out of cellars, and fixed upon carts, a grotesque train, and
in itself sufficient to prove the madne,s of a people ahandufsed to
itself. But all mewls of defence were become useless. The
:possessors of Retiro are always masters of Madrid. The Em-
peror took all possible care to prevent the troops from going
from house to house. The. city was ruined if many troop had
been employed. Only some. companies of sharp shooters ad-
vanced, and the Emperor cons atantly refu-ed to send any to sus-
tain them. At 11 o'clock the Prince of Neufchatel wrote the
annexed letter, No. 3.—His Majesty at the saran lute ordered
the fire to cease on all points.
At five o'clock General Morla, one of the Members of the
Military Junta, and Don Bernardo Yriarte, etit from the town,
repaired•to the tent of the Major-General. They informed him
that the most intelligent rrsous were of opinion that the town
was destitute of resources, and that the continuation of the de-
fence would be the hei4ht of madness, but that the lower orders
of the inhabitants and the foreigners at Madrid, were deter-
mined to persevere in the defence. Believing that they could
nit do it with effect, they requested a pause of a few hours it)
inform the people of the real state of affairs. The Major-Ge-
neral presented the Depties to the Emperor and King, who
addressed them thus :—" You make use of the name of the peo-
ple to no purpose; if you cannot restore tranquillity and ap-
pease their minds, it is because you have excited them to re-
volt ; you have seduced them by propagating falsehoods. As.
[ B.mble the Clergy, the heads of the Convents, the Alcades, the
" fuer. • ' property aod inil-Agile.o, Aiiii let the town capiulat2 by