The National Register.
London, England, 1808-12-11 00:00:00

789

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'aithc►nt foot ; and General Baird is at Aveiro. with his horse,
in a condition total!, unfit for service. The/ are king daily in
numbers, and the hignways are strewed with their earcns-r4.—
Nothing can equal the disu►a! which prevails here. Cuti knows
how out armies Klli get Certainly oar nrtillery must be
left behind. for the poor beasts of horses that retnaitt alive are
untit to drag the gum ihrough the 'sat-m.l4e roads."

A oTIiT.R lI:TTTR.

Conte A, nrc. I.—The neglect and inattention among
persons of irilluence in this province hw been highly criminal
One hundred thousand men might have been found with eunve•
Menet! in Gallic-la alone, but the efficacious means fur such an
important purpose have been disregarded. A decree of the
Central Junta has passed,_ by which 550,000 men are to be
raised, under w hick dignitaries of the Church, Religious Order:,
Bachelors, Doctors, and I'rofe►sor• of Divinity, are ant to be
excused. The nobility are alio included, and by such resolute
means, the end will ultimately be attained. Some pecuniary
contributions will nisi) be necessary until mailers are ar-
ranged, and until the precious metal canbe received from Ame-

rice.
" There a variety of opinions as to the ptility of the Provin-
cial Juntas, and as to the policy of dissolving them. it is
thought that the gentleness and sae►; pub! of 111aLv's di-position
has been in some degree prejudicial to us. The general opinion
is, that as soon as he had led his troops to the mountains, and
had obtained some advantages over the French, he should not
have admitted the latter to rally and obtain re-inforcements, but
should have complied mith the wishes of his army, to follow
them up to the point of the bayonet. Ile also too': many spies,
and, contrary to the practice in mar, he did not hang any of
them. Besides this it is thought he kept Ilk line too much ev..
tended, by which means., the division, could not operate., aod
•they were to:► weak to act alone.
In (lee affair of ileyousa, it is not true that we lost a great
number ; fur those that are put to flight, have generally notch
ninthl...r het+ than their pat,uers. Neutral Romano, vv ho
on that occa-ion four league- nearer to Leon, succeeded to the
command ot. the array; and is now eneleavourieg to rostore it,
From this Officer much is expected. They say that he has de.
priced several of commissions they did not know how to employ,
which he ha• conferred on sc.rjeants and others much inferior in
rank, but much superior in merit."
After touching on the expedients which had been adopted to
obtain reinforcements in Corunna, Ferrol, and the letter
proceeds :
The 10,000 English infantry, and 1700 cavalry, which dis-
embarked here, are already at Astorga, and no doubt it ill unite
with the army of ltomana. Those m hich are come to Sala-
:nano', it is said, have obtained an advantage over a hotly of
French, composed of 8000 men, which were endeavouring to
penetrate into Portugal ; but this wants conliiinatiOn. In Yon►
fugal there is much roguery; but my friend %%rites me, undea
date of the Ifah ult. that matters were likely to be placed on -a
better footing, and that con.ider:►tile reinfort moat- %%ere pre-
pared. They write from Madrid, that in Catalonia we go on
well ; and that brave Province, no doubt, will give afficient,
employment to the French rascal• who infest it. Report. says,
that we have taken itna►s; I wi,h me had got posses-ion of the
capital of Catalonia, and they prodiii,ies would be performed in
that neighbourhood
No &subt the French will tilake a pompous ilisplay of their
successes, and will tell the world that their victorious troops are
next to crush Castanos and Palati►x, is bon► may God pro:est
from their perfidy and violence.