The National Register.
London, England, 1812-04-26 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

58

var-ed their chin-s. Might they not enter into a combination not to
vote for any o• e who did not support their establishment ? Suppose,
on the other hand, the Protestants entered into a combination, not
fur the odposit,? I:urpose, what then would be the situation of Ireland
He &tiled that (from the opinions which had been communicated to
himlthr! nojirity o. the Protestants of Ireland were in favour of this mea-
sure ; but he did not deny that a time migle come, when, by prudence
and education, these claims might be conceded ; the time might come
when he hoped a considerable change would take place in the Roman
Cal:101:c mind ; the time might ute when they would Pcnounce the
authority of the Pope. Ile had Ii ,peA that this period was fast approach-
ing, but until the Contint settled, he did no: think it safe to
grant them these concessions. Was this prejudice? Was this supersti-
tion ? Was this bigotry ? He had no motives of hostility against them
—lie would be happy to confer any thing in his power upon them—he
vvas no: actuated by any animosity or hostility against them—he oppo-
sed tin .m only upon pure constitutional and political principles; and
upon th,-se i.rinciplec, and these principles only, he opposed the pre-
sent on.—(This Speech was concluded with loud cheering front
owst
‘i EAD, in an able and animated speech, warmly supported
mcrion.
Lend L. AS I. Vlt EAC:II spoke in reply to Mr. WHITBREAD.
Mr. l'oNsoNr. c iii- answer to some observations from Lord Cas-
TLer EA 011, thit when he was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and
the I)ul.e 01. ortt Lieutenant, they certainly had received
no mere iwilivation, hut conitriinds, to communicate the gracious
intentiors r.l a certain Islustrious Personage towards the Claims of the
• Roman Caiholi,--
Mr. CANNING supported the Motion at great length, and with great

Mr. Gr A.-r-rAN declined any reply, fearing to weaken the luminous
and arc,onentative support which the question had received from the
talents of Mr. Canning.
The Houie then divided.—For Mr. Grattan's motion 215: Against
it, 200.—INLjority 83. Adjourned at Six o'clock.

LONDON G .IZEITIE EXTRAORDINAR Y.

WAR DEPARTMENT.

DOWNING-STREET, FRIDAY, APISH.. 2.4, 1812.
Captain Canning, Aide-de-Camp to General the Earl of Wellington,
arrived last night at this Office, bringing dispatches, addressed by
his L' .-Iship to the l.arl of Liverpool, of which the following are
Extract or Copies.
Extract of a Dispatch front the Earl of Wellington, dated Camp before
Badajoz, April 3, 1812.
We opened our Ere on the 31st of March from 26 pieoes of cannon,
In the se...;nd parallel, to breach the face of the bastion at the south-east
angle cf the fort called La Trinidad ; iin,l the flank of the bastion by
which the face is defended called Santa Maria. The fire upon these
has continued since wr:`l .•. .eat effect.
The enemy made upon the night of the '9th, upon the troops
of General 1-lamilto:;,, ::iviNion, which invest the place on the right of
the Guadiant, .t %et:re immediately driven in with loss. We lost no
men on -ccasicn.
TI 1,10 veinents of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham and of
Lieutenant-General :.311. Rowland Bill have obliged the enemy to retire
by the different roads towards Cordova, with the exception of a small
body of infantry and cavalry, which remained at Zalantea de la Serena,
in front of Lelalcazar.
Marshal Soult broke up in front of Cadiz on the 23d and 241 th, and has
marched upon Smile with all the troops which were there, with the
exception c.f four thousand men.
I understand that he was to march from Seville again on the 30th
or 31st.
1 have not heard from Castile since the 30th ultimo. One division of
the army of Portugal, which had been in the province of Avila, had on
that day arrived at Luadapero, within two leagues of Ciudad Rodrigo ;
and it was supoosecl that Marshal Marmont was on his march with
other troops front the side of Salamanca.
The river Agueda was not fordable for troops on the 30th.
Copy of a Dispatch from the Earl of Wellington, dated Camp before

Badajoz, April 7, 1812.
MS Loan—My dispatch of the 3d instant will have apprised your
Lordship of the state of the operations against Badajoz to that date,
which were drought to acl se on the night of the Gth, by the capture of
`'le place by storm.
The fire co::ttitued during the 4th and sth against the face of the
-.bastion of La Trinidad, and the flank of the bastion of Santa Maria;
and on the 4th. in the morning, we opened another battery of six guns,
in the second parallel, ugainst the shoulder Qf the ravelin of Sc. Roque,
and the wall I- i,

Pr aci:oa,
In the ever
entrenched
rations we

on. as of

APRIL Q 6.

attack for another day, and to turn all the guns in the batteries in the
second parallel on the curtain of La Trinidad, in hopes that by effecting
a third breach, the troops would be enabled to turn the enemy's works
for the defence of the other two, the attack of which would besides be
connected by tl.e troops destined to attack the breach hnehe curtain.
This breach was effected in the evening of the 6th, and the fire of the
face of the bastion of Santa Maria and of the flank of the bastion of La
Trinidad being overcome, I determined to attack the place that night.
I had kept in reserve, in the neighbourhood of this camp, the S.h di-
vision, under Litut.-General Leith, which had left Castile only in the
nii idle of March, and had but lately arrived in this part of the country,
and I brought them up on that eve rang.
The plait for the attack was, that Lieut.-General Picton should at-
tack the castle of Badajoz by escalade with the 3d division; and a de-
tachment front the gua-el in the trenches, furnished that evening by the
4th division, under Major Wilson of the 48th regiment, should attack
the ravelin of St. Roque upon his left; while the 4th divi,ion, tinder
the Hon. Major-General Colville, and the light division, under Lieut.-
Colonel Barnard, should attack the breaches in the bastions of La 'Tri-
nidad and of Santa Maria, and in the curtain by which they are con-
nected. • rhe sth division were to occupy the ground which the 4th and
light divisions had occupied during the siege, and Lieut•-General Leith
was to make a false attack upon the out-work called Pardeleras, and
another on the works of the fort towards the Guadiana, with the left
brigade of the division, under Major-General Walker, which he was to
turn into a real attack, if circumstances should prove favuutaLle; and
Brigadier-General Power, who invested the place with his Portuguese
brigade on the right of the Guadiana, was directed to make false at-
tacks on the tete du-pont, the fort St. Christoval, and the new redoubt
called Mon-cceur.
The attack was accordingly made at ten at night. Lieutenant-Ge-
neral Picton preceding, by a few minutes, the attack by the remainder
of the troops.
Major-General Kcmpt led this attack, which went out from the right
of the first parallel; he was unfortunately wounded in crossing the iivs r
Rivellas below the inundation; but notwithstanding this cireunistance,
and the obstinate resistance of the enemy, the castle was carried by
escalade and the 3sl division established in it at about half-past eleven.
While this was going on, Major Wilson, of the 48th regiment, carried
the ravelin of St. Roque by the gorge, with a.detachment of 200 men
of the guard in the trenches. and with the assistance of Major Squire, of
the engineers, established himself within that work.
The 4th and light divisions moved to the attack from the camp along
the left of the river Rivellas and of the inundation. They were not per-
ceived by the enemy till they reached the covered way, and the ad-
vancedguards of the two divisions descended without difficulty into the
ditch, protected by the fire of the parties stationed on the glacis for that
purpose; and they advanced to the assault of the breaches, ltd by their
gallant officers, with the utmost intrepidity; but such was the nature
of- the obstacles prepared by the enemy at the top and behied the
breaches, and so determined their resistance, that our troops could not
establish themselves within the place. Many brave officers and soldiers
were killed or wounded by explosions at the top of thebreaches; others
who succeeded them were obliged to give way, having found it impos-
sible to penetrate the obstacles which the enemy had prepared to impede
their progress. These attempts were repeated till after twelve at night,
when, finding that success was not to be attained, and that Lieut.-Gen.
Picton was established in the castle, I ordered that the 4th and light divi-
sions might retire to the ground on which they had first assembled for
the attack.
In the mean time Major-General Leith had pushed forward Major-
General Walker's brigade on the left, supported by the 38th regiment
under Lieut.-Colonel Nugent, and the 15th Portuguese regiment under
LieuteCoionel De Regoa; and he had made a false attack upon the
Pardeleras with the Sth Cacadores under Major Hill. Major-General
Walker forced the harrier on the road of Olivenca, and entered tile
covered way on the left of the ation ot St. Vinte, close to the
Guadiana. He there descended into the ditch, andce escaladed the face
of the bastion of St. Vicente.
LieuteGenerel Leith supported this attack by the 38th regiment
the 15th Portuguese regiment; and our troops being thus establislict,
tit
the castle, which commands all the works of the town, and in the town ;
and the 4th and light divisions being formed again for the attack ot the
breaches, all resistance ceased; and at day light in the morning, the Go-
•rernor, General Philipon, who had retired to fort St. Christoval,
sur-
rends red, together with General Veilande, and all the staff and the whole
garrison.
I have not got accurate reports of the strength of the garrison, or of the
number of the prisoners; but General Philipon has informed me, that
it consisted of five thousand men at the commencement of the siege, of
which twelve hundred were killed or wounded daring the operations,
besides those lost in the assault of the place. There were five French
battalions, besides two of -the regiment Hesse D'Arnistadt, and the
artillery, engineers, Ste.; .and I understand there are four thousand pri-
soners.
It is impossible that any expressions of mine can convey to your
Lordship the sense which I entertain o the gallantry f the Officers mei
troops upon this occasion.
The list of killed and wounded will show that the General Officers,
the Staff attached to them, the Commanding, and other Officers of
went*, put themselves at the head of the a.teek which they severe ly

all ili its gorge.
LW'. breaches vy etrecterk,An the bastions above mentioned,
ning of ' _.t_.4, , . 'lliad observed that the enemy bad
d the -4411"3-. A .ack., the most lormideble prepa-
/* ', , • •
ere i-- 'C •". ..' •of the breach hi that bas-
A'"4 '' - - t' - • .
tit ~ i. • .... - . -1., - I determined to delay the
foil ... : c I-- r ;,11,i,)lir-ri . %
40
4 A ,:,4--- .4' • -.'
': • 0:-;
i•\(.. • • ~„. 411 ,•- - A
.. 44c,
hi"
4.) . , ' , CI .1+- v.