The National Register.
London, England, 1808-10-02 00:00:00

TUE NATIONAL REGISTER.

such sentiments every community is invincible ; and had
Sir Hew Dalrymple and Sir Arthur Wellesley lost the whole
of the English army in Portugal, half the horror would
not have been felt, nor the co;e;equences been so disastrous
as we have cause to appre`lend from this unpardonable
Convention.
These arc the motives, Sir, which induce us to continue
these distressing reflections. It is not the present moment,
portentous as it is, which terrifies us; but it is for the fu-
ture we tremble. Examples may accumulate ; and the
traitor and eoward will find hereafter a justification for his
conduct, in the example of a distinguished officer. When
Nve reflect on the immense stake we have at present on the
Continent, which the slightest mistake, or want of honour,
might deprive us of for ever;—when we consider at the
same time the abilities and vigilance of the enemy, we can-
not avoid recommending measures of precaution propor-
tionate to the exigency. Who stood so high in the esteem
of the army and public, as Sir Arthur Wellesley ? and ne-
vertheless he allowed himself to be imposed on, to use even
the language of his defenders, in the most notorious and
scandalous manner we have ever read of in modern times.
We will not here go through the nauseous recapitulation of
proofs ; they are unfortunately too flagrant; and whether
he acted in obedience to the orders of another, or from
self-suggestion, his Convention of Cititra will be long cited
as one of the most unaccountable and indefensible acts in
our history.

Let us now, Sir, direct your attention to the i►t►pression
it will produce on the Continent, to the dissatisfaction, we
are afraid, contempt, it may excite in the breasts of the
Spaniards, and to the misrepresentations and invectives it
will furnish the enemy. The more we reflect on it, the
more we feel abashed and dejected. The efforts of the pa-
triotic and enlightened all over Europe, who would have
held out to their countrymen the support they might ex-
pect from us, will be counteracted by this disastrous event,
They will have no longer to combat the hacknied reproach
or our involving. the Continent in confusion and misery, for
our exclusive advantage ; they will be assailed with cries
about the imbecility of our Generals, and the inutility of
our assistance. Good heavens, Sir, when we take into
consideration the favourable aspect of European politics,
prior to this event, and the advantages that might have
followed the battle of Viiniera, had the unconditional sur-
render of Junot and his army been insisted on ; we are
then full) aware of the disgrace we have suffered, and the
favourable opportunity we have lost, perhaps, fur ever..

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FROM THE DUTCH PAPERS.

FRANCE.

PARTS, SEPT. 13.—Yesterday the Emperor and King re-
ceived the Senate at the Palace of St. (loud, when the following
Address, voted in the Sitting of the sth, was presented to his
Isirtjesty :
Simx,—The Senate have listened with the liveliest emotions
to the Message of your Imperial and Ito►yal Alajesty.
They have also received with a profound and respectful gra-
titude the communication which nor !Maje,ty has been pleased
to make respecting the attain. of Spain, the Constitution accept-
ed by the Junta, and the Report presented to your Majesty on
the state of your armies in the several quarters of the globe.
They have unanimously adopted the Stroutus Consultum which
your Imperial and Royal Majesty has proposed, and One Linn-

OCT. Q.

deed and Sixty Thousand brave men shall participate in the im-
mortal fame of your numerous and formidable legions.
You believe in the Peace of the Continent, Sire, but you will
not suffer yourself to depend upon the errors and perverse calcu-
lations of Foreign Courts. Your Majesty desires to defend so.
lemn and voluntarily concluded treaties—to maintain a Consti-
tution freely discussed, adopted, and sworn to, by ti Natirbval
Junta—to suppress a barbarous anarchy, which now covers
Spain with blood and mourning, and threatens our frontier;—tea
rescue the true Spaniards from a shameful yoke by which they
are oppressed—to assure to them the happiness of being govern-
ed by a brother of your Majesty—to annihilate the English
troops, who unite their ora►aB with the dagt;ers of the banditti—
to avenge the French blood, so basely shed—to put out of all
doubt the security of France, and the peace of our po.teritv--
to restore and complete the work of Louis X 1 V.—to accornpli;h
the wish of the most illustrious of your predecessors, and parti-
cularly of him who was by France most beloved—to extend
your p,reat power, in order to diminish the miseries of war, and
to compel the Enemy of the Continent to a general Peace, which
is the sole object of all sour measures, and the only epoch for
the repose and prosperity of our country.
The will of the French people is, therefore, Sire, the same a,
that of v our Majesty.
The War with Spain is politic, just, and necessary.
The French, who are penetrated with affection for the Here
whom they admire—who display so much enthusiasm whenever
they have the good fortune to behold you, will answer the call of
your Majesty with zeal, and nothing shall shake the determina-
tion Of the Senate and the People to support your Majesty in
every undertaking which you may judge necessary for the great
interests of the Empire.
May it therefore please your Majesty to accept this new tri-
bute of our respect, our attachment, and our fidelity.

srvvrus coxstri.Tu!kre

The SCltalUS riIIISMUUM referred to in the above Addrecc, and
which is in conformity with the Minister of War's Report, is of
the following tenor:— _ . _

Art. I. There are placed at the disposal of the Government
80,000 Comicripts, who are insuribed in the classes for 1806,
1801, 1808, 1809 ; 20,00(1 for each year.
IL These 80,000 Conscripts may be immediately placed in
active service.

111. The Conscripts of the year ISM, 1807, and MS, who
were married before the publication of this decree, shall not he
drawn for the above SO.OOO.

1 V. The Conscripts of the years Si, 9, 10, 11, 11, 13, and I-I,
who have answered to their Conscription, and are not under
orders for distribution in the arm), t•ball he now treed from ser-
vice ; and from these classes no new levy shall be made.
V. Eighty thousand Conscripts from the classes of the year
1810, are afro placed at the disposal of the Government.
VI. These Conscripts shall he allotted to the formation of
corps for the defence of the coast, but shall not be called out be-
fore the Ist of January next, unless before that period some
other Power shall be in a state of war with France. In this
ease they may he immediately called into actual service.
Vll. The present Scruaus Conxidlum shall be transmitted by a
Message to the Emperor and Kiug.

In the Sitting of the Senate on the 10th of this month, the
Senator Count Lacepede, in the name of the Committee ap-
pointed to report on the object of the SenaNs Cons!'!turn, ts.e.
made it report, which he introduced by a long speech, in flu•
conclusion he thus expressed himself :
" The 50,000 brave men, to ho march to fulfil the voice of
their country, have already reached those years, in n hick it
k unnecessary for them to prepare themselves for the fatigue;
of %% a r.

" N hat, when compared with the means of France, are 'how
of such Otyernments, ns, spending in one year the revenue• a
several sears, and wasting their most precious capitals, scarcely
pay those soldiers raised with difficulty by the country, eeiih
an imaginary coinage, the ideal value of which decreases every
day, while the welfare of the State, the riches of private iudi•
viduals, and, what is still worse, the good faith of all, are
dragged into an abyss."
All the great roads lending from Meata to the interior of
France ate at present covered with troops, from the ;;rand
army, on their march towards Spain. As these troops follow
each other so rapidly that they would ittemntnode each other,
it
they all took the same road, their march is directed in various
columns, The first goes by Triers and Luseinherg, across the

OCT. 2.

Hundsrack ; the second marches by Keyserslautern to Metz and
Verdun ; the third goes by Tuckheim, Newstadt, Saarhurg,
Luneville, Nancy, &c. These columns go direct to Bourdeaux
and Bayonne. The fourth follows the course of the Rhine, and
passes through Worms, Spiers, Strashnrg, Colmar, Besancon,
and will pass through Lijon to Perpignan. The columns which
come through Wesel take the route of Belgium.
A letter from Vittoria, of the Ist of September, contains the
following :—" The 59th regiment of the line entered St. Se-
bastian on the 28th of August. It is also understood that 3000
men have come to Bayonne, and that the passage of troops out
of all parts of France is incessant. Never were seen greater
preparations than have now been collected of military store 3,
provisions, clothing, &e. The Emperor has ordered to be in
readiness 10,000 waggons, a la Marlborough, fur the conveyance
of a sufficient quantity of provisions for the support of an army
of 200,000 men during three months. Marshal Ney is at
Bay nose.
The latest intelligence from Bayonne is of the 10th of Sep-
tember. According to accounts which have been received there
from Spain, the corps of the army are in the same positions.
The division of the left wing, under Marshal Moncey, has its
head-quarters at Logrono and Viaoa; its advanced posts have
had several skirmishes with the Spaniards, who, as much as
possible avoided fighting, and dispersed as soon as attacked.
Marshal Bessieres, who has the command of the right wing,
continues in the same positions, which extend as far as Burgos.
Bayonne assumes more and more a military aspect. A camp
for 3000 men has been pitched on the Clacis, and it may be so
enlarged as to contain 8000 troops; the inhabitants are to he
relieved from providing quarters. In the mean time the Mayor
of Bayonne has required the inhabitants, by Proclamation, to
receive with kindness the brave men, who have never ceased to
conquer. The Mayor will be obliged for some time to increase
the lodgings ; the proprietors of great houses shall accommodate
the Chiefs of the army, and the absent must take care that their
houses are not shut up. " Let us," says the Mayor " with all
our means, contribute to the accomplishment of the great de-
signs of our illustrious Emperor, who has declared to his pen-
ple, that before the end of the present year not a village in Spain
*hall he in a state of insurrection. We shall be the first,. he
adds, " to enjoy the advantages arising from the restoration of
order in that extensive country."
On the 10th instant, a numerous corps of troops arrived at
Metz, on their route for Spain. At the entrance of the city a
costly triumphal arch was erected. The troops were enter-
tained; in the evening the city was illuminated, and the theatre
was opened gratis.
The King of Naples arrived at Rome on the 3d inst. at five in
the morning. General Miollis, with his staff, went to receive
his Majesty, and the whole garrison was under arms.
SEPT. 16.—The Journal dc l'Emp;re of this day gives the
present position of the French army in Spain, in an article
from Vittoria, dated the 6th September. The principal corps
of the army, where his Majesty is, holds the two banks of Om
Ebro, and all the defiles of the mountains of Biscay, the head-
quarters at Miranda. The corps of Marshal Bessicres extends
from Pancorho to Burgos, which la,t city is held by the light
cavalry of General Lasalle. The head-quarters of Bessieres
are placed at Santa Maria. Defiles in the mountains have been
explored, which were hitherto unknown, and which will very
much promote the farther operations of the army. All the
troops await with impatience the signal for the combat, and
burn with desire to meet the English.
A great number of troops come here daily, who go to
strengthen the Army of Spain. Marshal Jourdan is arrived at
his head-quarters, and Marshal Ney is expected to-morrow or
the day after. The Ministers and Members of the Junta of
Bayonne are at Miranda with the King, as well as at Vittoria.
Seer. 18.—The Monileur of yesterday has notified, that the
Meeting of the Legislative Body is to take place on the 25th of
October, and not on the 28th, as formerly directed.
On the pith a Council of State w as holden at St. Cloud, at
which the Emperor was present. On the day before his Ma-
.ii•sly was at Versailles, where he reviewed the 3d Regiment of
Dragoons, on their march to Spain.
Letters from Tours slate, that a column of the grand army is
`p!i:dily to pass through that department, and that its passage
will occupy twelve days, in the proportion of about 2000 men a
4
1"Y• In the like manner, 17,000 men of the same army are
expected to pass through Nancy between the 14th and the 22d.
—Preparations are also made for the passage of a vast number
of troops, both infantry and cavalry, at Doyn. A Portuguese
•eipment of cavalry, about a we ago, marched through •

Lyons towards Grai. A part of the French troops in the king•
dom of Italy have received orders to break, up, and to prose d
through France to Spain. Two divisions of Italian troops are
also expected in France; but these, it is said, are not to serve
against the Spaniards. Most of the Polish troops which have
been taken into French pay, and which amount to about
8000 men, have already passed through Nlentz.
It is said that early next month the Emperor will leave this
capital for Saxony. The Dutch Papers already report, that
the Emperor of Russia is to be accompanied on his journey by
the Hereditary Prince of Saxe- W4..iotar, iu w hose capital he it
soon expected to arrive.
The jouenal tle r Empire has publish a particular account
of the joyful manner in which the Kiog of the two Sicilitas was
received on his entrance into Naples, on the 6th instant. Tie
same Paper gives the following intenigence front Spain, in ft
letter dated Vittoria, September 8:—•' The Duke de Frias is
appointed Envoy from his Catholic Nlajesty to the Emperor of
the French. The appointment for the Embassy to Vienna is
completed, but is not yet made public. Don Bonito Pardo de
Fignera, who was appointed Envoy to Petershorgli by Fer-
dinand VII. is continued in that character by his I:tjesty, and
new credentials have been transmitted to him."

His Catholic Majesty arrived on the 31st at Calahorra, where,
as is stated in the Gazette de Prance, he was received with the
most lively demonstrations of joy. The enemy, who have left
Tudela, are pureed in their flight.
SEPT. 19.—The .)Jonitcur of this day says. that yesterday,
being Sunday, during the mass which was celebrated at tuts
Palace of St. Cloud, the oath was administered to M. Fontaues,
in his capacity of (;rand Master of the Imperial University, by
the I'rince Arch Chancellor of the Empire. in presence of the
Emperor, and upon the Holy Gospels. The formula of the
oath is as follows :

" swear in the presence of God, and of your Majesty,
to fulfil all the duties which are imposed upon me ; and, in
virtue of the office which your Majesty has entrusted to me, to
devote myself to nothing else but to promote the attachment of
the citizens to their Religion, to their Prince, to their Country,
and to their Ance•tors,hy all the means which are in my power ;
to cherish the progress of the sciences, of useful studies, and of
good morals ; arul, as testimonies to the glory of your dynasty,
to perpetuate the happiness of children, and the repose of
fathers of families."

It is thought that the departure of his Majesty the Emperor
and King for Germany is very near at hand, for Ilk Excellency
the Minister for Foreign Affairs will set out this evening, while
his highness the Prince of Benevento a ill take his departure to•
morrow.
General Ondinot, Commander of the Grenadiers of the Grand
Army, has already passed through Metz in the greatest haste for
Germany. We are assttred that this General is appointed Go-
vernor of the City of Erfurth.
Gen. Sebastiani goes to take the command of a division of the
Army of Spain. A regiment of the troops of the Duke of Nas-
sau, 1700 strong, reached Orleans the Ilth inst. where it was re-
viewed the same day by Field-Marshal the Duke of Dautzic.
On the 17th, this regiment set out on its march to Chateauroux.
Other troops of the Princes of the Confederation of the Rhine
are very shortly expected in that city.
1311.e° %, Sr:pr. I.—On the 26th. 27th, and 2Sth of August,
was held here a general and extraordinary Junta of the Province
of Biscay., amid under the Presidency (by appointment of his
Catholic Majesty) of his Excellency Don Joseph Domingo de
Massaredo, Captain-General of the Navy, Minister fur Maritime
Affairs, &c.
At the opening of the first Sitting, and after their full powers
had been delivered in by the. Deputies from 113 Communities,
which have the right of deputation to the General Atsembly, its
which to the numtwr of 108 were present, the following speech
was delivered by the President :
`► Biscavans I—The unfortunate occurrences which have in-
duced the King to give orders for assembling the Deputies of
these provinces, must, doubtless, be disagreeable to you, chiefly
on account of the evils suffered by many of your countrymeo.
But you have the testimony of your own consciences, and the
happiness of seeing that this province has had no share in thp
insurrection, s hich has keen excited only in the City of Pilboo,
by worthless persons of ti weight, enemies, as well of your
province, as of the public tranquillity, and who led astray the
common people, as is generally the case for the purpose of t,:t-
tering the General Congress, and substituting a cruel anarchy iu
its place.
"It no‘ an4nown to you, Inhattiti.sts of Biscay, that th;tts

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