The National Register.
London, England, 1809-02-12 00:00:00

'9B

TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER.

suppose, that, after the most spirited resistance, the inhabitants
of this island were forced to submit to a foreign usurper, after
baying been deprived of their present Sovereign by an unparal-
leled act of outrage and perfidy, is any man base or extravagant
enough as to imagine they could be prevailed on, by force or
persuasion, to submit to the usurpation. The supposition is so
moostrousoo revolting, that we feel a glow of indignation in
making it. The same repugnance is common to all nations ;
and however great the defl.cts of their government may be, their
antipathy to the yoke of a foreigner, imposed at the point of
the bayonet, is inextinguishable.

As soon as we assent to the foregoing facts, our futiqw policy
is obvious. If it be adhered to, the subjugation oidipailh is im-
possible. Should the tyrant even plant his Eagles WR the towers:
of Lisbon, and on the walls of Cadiz, Saragossa, Seville, and
Valencia, his sovereignty over the country is as precarious as it
had been six months ago. Ilowe‘er, if our Government has a
tparticle of energy left, this calamity may he averted.
.But the
misconduct and weakness of Ministers have been so very glaring,
.that we are afraid of recommending measures more consonant to
our wishes and the resources of the empire. As we despair of
-great or edicacious exertions on their part, we will confine
ourselves to a line of policy more conformable to their capacity
and the conduct they have hitherto pursued. A Bun Let OH or
a CHATH Am, we know full well, would manage our affairs in a
different manner; and under the guidance of their genius, eighty
thousand British soldier;, at the foot of the Sierra Morena,
would give BONAPA RTC some occupation, and force him to
fitht many a hard blttle, before he should be able to plant his
Eagles on a village steeple to the south of those mountains. But
our modern statesmen arc not of that fighting disposition; and
with an army of two hundred and twenty thousand of the hest
soldiers in the universe, and the immen,e sum of seventy millions
sterling at their disposal, they vaunt their services and energy,
for having sent a sixth part of our force, when the battle of
Spain was almost over, to contend against the undivided str.ngth
of the enemy. We will not touch longer on that grating string;
and as their exertions appear to be confined to that unanspicions
trial of their energy, we ill now consider what ought to be
done, should Bo NA PA ttzu succeed iu overrunning the Southern
departments

Though Ministers may feel a disinclination to give us another
specimen of their energy and foresight, by sending another army
directly to Spain, we trust their efforts win not be confined to
the late ill-fated expedition. They may not be very splendid
tacticians, nor possess much topographical knowledge, either
in a military, or any other view ; but they will not have the
courage to appear before the bar of their country, and say, we
have made a proper use of its resources and confidence, and
have performed every thing which could he done to assist the
Spaniards effectually. They promise and bluster much, it is
true; and formidable expeditions are every day orderc,l to sail
for Cadiz, or some other port in the South. There are few
instances of braggarts; who perform much ; and if serious
wishes were entertained to make a diversion in favour of the
`:paniards of the South, we really fear that our expedition may
arrive, at the very montent Bo N.IPA KT had succeeded in dis
persing the last army of the l'atri,it s. We arc, therefore, afraid
rif their activity,* and tremble at the consequences of their inter-
ference. But something must he done to save the honour of
the country, and if they are incapable of rendering positive,
Jet them give a kind of negative assistance. They cannot
complain of scarcity of shipping. Flying squadrons should
therefore be immediately detached to the coat-ts of the
Atlantic aryl MelPterrancan, with stores, arms, soldiers, and
xnoney. Through the medium of active agents, it vt ill be easy to
Keep up on inees,ant connon&cation With the maritime pro-
Ninces under the controul of the enemy : and every facility
granted to the di*coutented, who arc the great majority of the

FEB 12.

male population, to abandon ihe country. Thee men should
be immediately sent to the Balearic Islam's, and organised and
equipped as expeditiously as possible. By means of partial de-
scents, and overpowering small posts of the enemy the confidence
of the inhabitants, and their opinion of our energy, may be still
kept alive. If this simple systeM of warfare and alarm be ad-
hered to, we may pour in, when the invaders are least aware of
it, an,:ther force of an hundred and fifty thousand Spanish
exiles, in the highest state of discipline, and burning with
vengeance against the usurpers of their property and soil.—
All we apprehend, is some South American bubble; and
that Ministers may have formed the ill-fated project of trans-
porting the Patriots beyond the Atlantic. For Heaven's sake,
let the fatal idea be immediately abandoned ; and let the
whole mass of the Spanish and Portuguese exiles be collected
in convenient places of arms, as contiguous as possible to the
Spauish coast. Every day will a-ncrease their numbers, ai d
their horror of the enemy. If we are active and persevering,
and know how to make a proper use of the rooted antipathy of
the natives, and neglect no opportunity of fomenting their
aversion, we may, admitting even the possibility of the Ty-
rant's overwhelming the present spirit of resistance in the South,
still tear from his grasp, by means of a formidable Spanish
army, tho possession of a country he can never reconcile to his
usurpation.

NOTICES OF ALTY.

When the bright future ST AR or EN 01, A N D'S TIIRONE,
magic smile, hath o'er the banquet
Winning respect, nor claiming hat he won,
But tempering goodness; like an evening sun,
Whose light the eye eau tranquilly admire,
Gloriums but mild, all Ailtness )et ail fire
.Mourc's Epistle to the Lady Charlotte Ramlon.