The National Register.
London, England, 1808-11-13 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

murderers among an innocent, unoffending people, is in-
alterable, and the tame we have unifOrmly evinced. We
will now proceed to examiue the chances in favour of the
Spaniards; and will do
;iLritli the same impartiality wid-
ens/44Si we treated the oiher 'side of the question.
Paradoxical
•it may appear, the ignorance, incapacity
and shameful negligence of the late government afford now
the principal prospect of salvation to the Spaniards. Ilad
Agriculture and other branches of internal industry received
the necessary encouragement, and the roads being kept in
a state of repair couf-rmuble to this state of amelioration,
Loaaparte nould find as little difficulty of subsisting his
armies, and transporting them from one extremity of the
country to the other, us he experienced in Germany, Italy and
: lint, in consequence of this neglect, the effect* of
hich considerably increased by the present disorders
Ad confusion, he is placed under the absolute necessity of
dran int; his subsistence from France, and keeping iuuncusc
in the rear of his army. This circumstance
alone produces a Mal revolution in the mode the French
have been accustomed to wage war, since the beginning of
the revolutioa ; and ho% ever productive they may reprn-
;nt their flu:slices, deprived as they air: of the resources
tkowing from eNti'rnal commerce, they will find it difficult
to make them ke.:p pace with this augmentation of expen-
diture. flowerer, allowing thrum to be completely tide-
qiiate for the purpose, we still seethe impracticability of
ti,s carrying on offensive operations on a very active and
vigorous scale, if he .be reducei to the necessity of supply-
;Lg his army in that manner. Every league they advance,
considering the extreme irritation and aversion of the in-
habitants, the magazines must be transported after theni.
l'or this service acv eXttitotilinary number of 'horses must
1- put in reipilsition: and if we are not misinformed ht
oar information relative to Spain, it will be neat to au im-
possibility to procure them the necessary forage ; at least
:be cavalry and artillery will suffer a very great diminu-
tion ; had-when it is known how much they, particularly
the latter, contributed to their former success, it is a sub-
ject of considerable consolation to think he will not be
able to employ a third part of what he used in the war
against Austria and on the Vistula. What renders this an
incontrovertible fact, is, 'besides the scarcity of forage, the
circumstance of the deep and almost impassable roads, in
waiter, which render it impossible, even with double the
maul .number of horses, to draw a piece of artillery ten
miles in an entire day. If he has formed the plan of pene-
trating to Madrid this winter, he must either leave his ar-
tillery tehind hint; or his march thither will not be very
rapid.
Hut supposing he has conquered all these difficulties,
which appears to us insurmountable, and that he provides
the necessary forage for a numerous cavalry, for tea thou-
land 1101it'S or more, which are indispensably necessary for
transporting the quantity of artillery used by an army of
150, to 1200,000 men, and for an equal number of horses
to convoy provisions, &c. is it probable he will have the
temerity to penetrate to Madrid, with the Spanish Generals
hovering on his rear, confining their operations to a mere
defensive and harrassing warfare, the necessity of which
the nature of their grunud, the character of the enemy, and
their celebrated precautions imperiously suggest. With
all his audacity, we arc very much, mistaken, if he has the
courage to undertake it. Nobody, we believe, will deny,
that auk; every circumstance, lie is reduced to the neces-

NOV. 13.

city of dividing his army into two, or three grand divisionsl
each consisting of about 40,000; supposing his entire force,
when he commences his march._ to consist of 180,000 ; at
he will he `obliged to leave a very sonsiderable force to awe
the provinces he leaves behind bun. This division of his
strength► and the impossibility of taking with him sufficient
artillery and cavalry, afford the Spaniards and English
calcutable advantages; as it enables them to chide ith
the bayonet, should they find a favourable opporinnity
attacking any of these corps separately.

We arc willing to make another concession ; and to
grant, that, under all these difficulties, he may he Wu to
reach. Madrid, before next January. F.very step he a.l
vances his army decreased front sickness, garrisons,
gugenients, and other incidents; and we have formed
very erroneous opinion of the Spanish character. if ('as
taitos and the other Generals do not imitate the condnet of
Dumourier, at the time of the irruption of the Prussian:
into Champaigne, and plant themselves between him ae,t
the Pyrenees. Their army is already equal in number,
if not in discipline, to any he can employ against them ;
and though a General of his acknowledged abilities may
risk a great deal, and the nature of the contest enforces it,
for delay is fatal, it is certainly a question worthy of some
consideration to know if the most imperious necessity will
urge him to so rash and decisive a step. A single disaster
occurring, and he and his whole army may be placed, at
such a considerable distance from the frontiers, in so pee-
carious a situation, that all the resources of the military
art might not be able to extricate him.
We have made every possible allowance for his great
talents ; we have made concessions in .favoit4 of the prac-
licability of supplying. so numerous an army with the
necessary provisions ; the requisite number of hors; s with
forage, and that in a country where the natives themselves
are able to keep very few; we have granted even the pos-
sibility of employing a large park of artillery, which we
equally disbelieve ; and after all these concessions, favour-
able as the most ardent of his admirers could exact ;
and, supposing him even to arrive at. Madrid, We do
not see a justifiable pretext fur desponding of the u
mate success of the Spaniards. On the contrary, could we
lose sight of the atrocities, to which some of their provinces
may be exposed, we would exult in the determination of
Bonaparte to hazard all his fortunes in a couutry where
every individual, who has an arm to move, is his sworn and
implacable enemy. We exult, because this augmeatatiou of
danger will call forth a flame of liberty, and corresponding
energy, which all the efforts of Europe, combined .with
the tyrant, will be incapable of smothering. 'firm com-
mences the true era of Spanish regeneration ; and it is un-
necessary to tell any man, who knows to estimate that
chielest gift of heaven, that freedom produces effects be-
yond tho range of ordinary calculation. On this ground
we must stand, when we attempt to defend the sacred cause
of the Spanish patriots; and, convinced of the necessity
the councils of that country must he placed under, of giv-
ing a latitude to popular principles, armies will he fOrmcd
in every province, and men suddenly emerge from obscn
city, to direct them, which render the issue of the contl:st
not very problematical.
We have expressly declined adverting to the position and
interests of Austria,. and to any change that may occur in
either states because we wished to take the worst ; slid 14)
•
examine how far Spain is able to resist the undivided