The National Register.
London, England, 1809-03-26 00:00:00

MARC!! 26.

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

•
routine and miserable combinations of official systematists.
To their anxious and diffident policy, and to that exclu- I
sively, should be attributed the disappointment and mor- , 1
tification which attended our arms since the ill-fated at-
tack on Duulsirk. Net one of our expeditious, since that
time, has been planned, or executed, with heart, spirit,
or promptitude,
These weak and heartless men obstinately adhered to
their pusillanimous half-measures, after the victories at
'llaida and at Vimiera, the prodigies performed at Acre
anti at Rosze, had raised an immortal monument of the
tiperiority of British courage. Sluggishness and excessive
...antion are so deeply ingrafted in our councils, that even
in this tremendous crisis, when the last battle for the inde-
pendence of the world is on the eve of being fought, not a
single demonstration evinces, on the part of our Govern-
Ment, an intention, or even a wish, to take an effective
part in this great and decisive struggle. When our whole
army should line our coasts, where an adequate number
of transports, for their cenveyance, should he in coestaet
readiness, we do not hear el a single movement pre-
paratory to an invasion of the enemy's shores. Would
to Heaven f the intelligent and the patriotic among
'our countrymen would reuse themselves, in this alarm-
ing juncture, to a stronger sense of the danger and
disgrace of our inr,ctivity. The delay of a month may be I.
fatal. We sleep and lull ourselves ia security, when the
forked lightening menaces the 'mansions and lives of our
nearest .neighhours. The storm which threatens them with
destruction, if we do not contribute to avert it, will, after
having ravaged their fields, collect, with more frightful
symptoms, round our own shores. The same warning has
been frequently given to other governments on occasions
less terrific ; anti they rejected it with the same overweening
ioufidence, as we seen! to do in this moment;--they gave
likewise a preference to the weak policy of reserving
their armies for the eventual dangers that might occur.
not reflecting that, when they arrived, hew incompetent
their single efforts were to meet them.
' The Prussian army, had it been stationed in Anspach and
Bayreuth, at the commencement of the last campaiit
Austria, the disasters of the latter might have been pre-
vented; and FREDERiCii WILLIAM
would reign
as Sovereign over the great tract of country extend-
ing from the NieMen to the Rhine. But the despicable
Automata in office rejected this vigorous and self-evtdeut
policy, soldiers experience. ff we will avoid the dis-
asters which have overwhelmed a Monarchy founded,
as we'may say, on military honour, we must also adopt
aline of conduct the very reverse of that which subverted,
in the course of .six weeks, an Empire which ficl been
erectingduring fifty years of genius and the most unpre-
cedented exploits,
' Our army, if promptly and efficaciously employed, may
save Austria, Europe, and ourselves. it is nauseous, it is
insulting to repeat what ()Very man knows, and what the
French have felt—that our soldiers, in every thing which
distinguishes the profession, are superior to those of the
enemy. 'if we have a deficiency of men qualified to con-
duct large armies, a few battles will create and call them
into notice. BACON says, that the exercise best eualified,
to preserve the 'health and vigour of a state, is a just war.,
the present is, unquestionably, the justest and ost
honourable that. a country was ever involved in. We. are', li
going to 'fight for. every thing which is binding on men,
*rushee, honour, permanent security, or permanent miP.ery,.
appeal,- with equal' force, to the feelings and interests o 1 the
British nation and government. Th'e apathy and. lukewarm-
ness of the Ministers 'appal us, we mast confess. They have
.
done, and do nothing; worthy of the resources -of thecoua-.
try. We:see in their measures, conduct and policy, alithe
alarming- signs which preceded the downfall -of the
Prussian Monarchy. They evince the same levity and
oscillation on the very brink of the precipice. They issue
orders, and withdraw 'them in the same breath, ..They!
plan expeditious, awl whew they are road, for Win,
.. • .

order the troops to disembark. They begin to arm when
the contest is half over; and every act of their foreign po-
licy is stamped with want of fixed object and will,

A New-York Mail arrived yesterday and brought New-York
Papers to the 19th of February inclusive, with sotue letters from
New-York of the lath. A Non-Intercourse Bill is in its pro-
gress through Congress, by which the importation of British and
French goods is to cease after the '2oth of May, and the Embargo,
as it respects all other Countries but Great Britain and France,
was to be repealed on the 4th of this month. 'ki►e following are
the important contents of these Papers :
HOOSn OP 22.VPRBSATAT4TIEAS, .7.1 N. 50.

A message was received from the President, it embraced a
letter from Mr. CANNING to Mr. PINKNEY, dated the 22d of
November, in reply to Mr. ffirtu.Ncv's of the 10th of that
month.

Mr. NICHOLAS moved to strike, out the whole of his resolu.
tion for removing the Embargo and preparing for War, except
the word Resolved," for the purpo:•e of introducing a propo-
sition, following nip the repeal of the Embargo, at a certain
day, by letters of marque and reprisal. The tnation to striks
out was carried by a great majority.

Fee. I.—The Ilousedecided 53 to 41, to ;Triune the con side:
ration of Nicholas's Resolutions.
The question was taken, to strike out that part of the Rom-
lution which proposes issuing Letters of Marque and Reprisa4
and carried in the affirmative—Ayes 57, /fives 39.
It was decided by 61 votes to 2, to repeal the Embargo on
the 4th of March.

FEU. 11.-.. The Approbation Bill was read a third time and
passed.
The following is a summary of the provision of the Bill :
All armed ships or vessels of Brett Britain and France are inter-
dicted from entering our ports, from the passing of the act. Un-
armed vessels are to he interdicted, from and after the day
of nest. Importations of British and French goods, wares,
aud inereharniize, are to cease after the 20th of Atay next. If
either Britain or France shall revoke the Orders or Decrees
violating our neutral rights, the operation of the law as it re.
spects the power revoking. should forthwith cease. As it re-
spects all other countries, the Linhargo is to he repealed ou the
4th of March. Vessels sailing after the removal of the Em-
!.argo, are to give bonds in dotehle the amount of the vessel and
cargo, not to violate the provisions of the Non-Intercourse Law.
The Bill was made the Order of the Day for Tueslas . This
Bill has been reported much earlier than wits expected. The
!tli Of March is coil: 010 the day vs hick bas been finally fixed oa-
. for the repeal of the Embargo.
Esoa Y, Fr.a. 14.—The Bill for laying an additional duty
upon importations was considered in Committee of the whole.
. The blank in the first section, for the advance per cent=
upon the permanent duties now imposed by laW, was filled on
the motion of Mr. Alston, with the word fifty (per cent.) Of
course the duties are nut doubled, as was originally contemplat,
ed.

The Non-Intercourse Bill has qot heen taken L.
The Senate have passed' Mr. Giles's Resolution, No. 1, of
the Repeal of the Enibargo, and substituting NOn-lnie‘yourse—,
Ayes 23--Noes

The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave notice on Fr;day,
as will be seen by our Parbatheritary Report, of a niotiint
to • bring in a Bal:for preventing the disposal of places by
hrok,ers. Whatever good this Bill may do, therefore, iii ►t
dud any, of which we have some doubt), will have resulted
from the labours and discoveries of Mr. Wardle, But why
is it only now that such a measure has been first thought
of? The evil to be remedied—the traffic in public offices,-
has been as notorious 44 public advertisements could render
them; and as the customs and manners of a people are said
to be-best learned by their novels and newspapers, foreign-
ens must have had a strange idea of the British Govern-
ment, who saw in the same column advertised a sale of
horses, and of « Seats in a certain Assembly." •.
The Emoluments lost by the Duke of York, in conse-
quence of his resignation as Commander in Chief, are esti-
mated by military men at about 60001. per anti. Th?, ap-
pointments are 'l,O/.' a‘clay; besides an allowance for be
hones, his travelling expouces defrayed, stationary, &c.

;

Wednesday, about twelve o'clock, his Majesty arrived at
the Queen's 'Palace, from Windsor, where be was received
by the Dukes of York, Cumberland, Sussex, and Cambridge.
At two o'clock his Majesty held a private Levee.
The following had the honour of being presented to his
:Majesty :---
Ceneral Sir David Dundas, upon his being appointed Com-
mander in Chief; the Earl of Orford, upon succeeding to hi,
title; Major Leith, upon his promotion. and upon hi; return
from Spain; Capt. Blake, upon his promotion; Lieut.-Colonel
Scott, of the 9Cth regiment, upon his promotion; Alajor N ()mot,
of the 85th rifle regiment, -upon his promotion, and return from
Spain; the Archhi,lipp of Dublin, upon his arrival in England.
His Majesty held a Privy Council, at which Sir David
Plinths was introduced, and sworn in a Member, and took
his seat at the Honourable Board accordingly.
' His Majesty gave private audiences to the Cabinet Minis-
ters present, and .Sir David Dundas, the Commander in
Chief. About six o'clock set off, on his return to Windsor.
We understand that Sir D. Dundas is not to hold the
same appointment as that of the Duke of York. Ile is
only to be Commander in Chief, but. not Captain-Genera!
of the King's Land Forces.
- Both Houses of Parliament are expected to adjourn on
Wednesday next, till Thursday sennight, on account of
the Easter Holidays.
We have given in another part detailed accounts under
their respective dates, of the causes and progress of the
late disturbances at Cadiz. They will he found to corres-
pond with the principal communications we have already
Made. They are, we understand, transmitted by a per-
ion of great respectability, who was a witness of the tran-
sactions he describes.
We believe the report of an insurrection in Sweden
originated in a circumstance sufficiently serious in its con-
sequences, but nut so fatal to the repose of the realm as has
been apprehended. It seems that two regiments (of Militia
as they are called, but we understand the whole Swedish
army is of that description) not having been able to obtain
their pay, expressed their resentment in a mutinous man-
lier; and subordination, by the utmost exertions of the
officers, could not be restored, until their demands were .
fully satisfied. Their arrears being discharged, it was
hoped they would return to obedience.
The Dutch Papers, as well as the Private Letters, coin-
cide in stating the capture of his Majesty's frigate Proser-
pine. She was taken in the Mediterranean by the French
frigates La Penelope and La Paulincare. From the French
official accounts, it appears, that she sustained :an engage-
ment of three quarters of an hour against so superior a
force, in which she had eleven men killed ; and the French
frigates came oft without the loss of a single man killed or
'wounded. French modesty
A letter has been received from an Officer on board the
Lively, •!aled March 7, then off Mamia, a small place on
the TC.•;:t:,roast of Spain, where they were employed in
nifordia -g assistance to the Spanish Patriots. This is con-
clusive of the safety of the Lively.
The Treaty between Great Britain and Spain, we under-
stand, was signed Widnesday ; but some articles, not
yet precisely adjusted, are left for future arrangement.
It is stated, that ‘`.o and some other harbours of Gal-
liria are now open to English ships. The communication
with th Ports of Asturias has not bef7ai obstructed by the
enemy, since his appearance on the Northern shores of the
Douro.
P. Don Joze Herida who was lately massacred at Cadiz,
was a cousin of the Prince of the Peace, and was by him
promoted to the office of Collector of Public. rents and Cus-
toms. He was a man held in general detestat;on; and until
he was raised by his cousin to a trust both lucrative and
respectable, was only known as a smuggler.
Tuesday the Lord ;Mayor ordered the price of bread to
'be reduced half an assize, or Id. in Ihe peck loaf, to take
pijec. 'ti's day. The quartern loaf of wheaten, is thou
to be sold for Is. 21d. and household Is. 10.

MARCH 26.

lit the House of Commons on Friday, the Serjeant at
Arrnsreported, that Brig.-Gen. CLAVER !NG was in his custo-
dy, and on the Motion of Mr. WYNN it was ordered, with-
out any debate, " that General Ct.avEnien be committed
!o Nesvgate," The House has thus shewn the purest im-
partiality by extending to two men, offending in the same
degree, and different only in rank, the same measure of
punishment. This proceeding cannot but excite the highest
sentiments of approbation.
It is a fact no less singular than true, that as his Royal
Highness the ,)like of York was coining up on Friday, in
his chaise and four, from Windsor to town, one of the
leaders fell, and was drigged by the other horses for a con-
s:derable distance. The carriage was soon stopped, and
:10 accident of a serious nature ensued. .But it took place
almost exactly opposite to Mrs. Clarke's house, in the
King's-road, Westbourn-place,
The receipts of the Drury-lane company, in three
at the Opera House, amounted to tit( s,im of 2,:00t.
Since the memorable year 1659. after the deposition of
Richard Cromwell, when a Council of (ieneral Officers,
which met at Wallingford House, arrogated to themselves
a right to interfere with, and to over-rule the civil power
of the State, no attempt of that nature has been made, at
once so indecorous, and so. unconstitutional, as the late
Address intended to have been presented to the Commaader
in, Chief, by a club of General Officers met fur that pur.,
pose.
REMARK ABLE FUNERAL.—On Sunday last was interred
in the burial ground of St. Martin- in-the-Fields, the re-,
mains of Hugh Hewson, who died at the advanced a:se of
85. The deceased was a man of no mean celebrity, though
no funeral escutcheons adorned his hearse, or heir expeet•
ant graced his obsequies, He was no less a personage than
the identical Hugh Strap, whom Dr, Smollet has rendered
so conspicuously interesting in his Life and Adventures of
Roderick Random, and for upwards of forty years hat 4
kept a hair-dresser's shop in the above parish. The de-
ceased was a very intelligent man, and took delight iu
recounting the adventures of his early life. He spoke with
pleasure of the time he passed in the service of the Doctor,
and it was his pride, as well as boast, to say that he had
been educated in the same seminary with so learned and
distinguished a character. His shop was hung round with
Latin quotations, and he would frequently point out to hia
customers and acquaintances the several scenes in Roderick
Random, pertaining to himself, which had their foundation,
not in the Doctor's inventive fancy, but in truth and reality.
The meeting in a barber's shop at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
the subsequent mistake at the inn, their arrival together
in London, and the assistance they experienced from Strap's
friend, were all of that description. We understand the
deceased has left behind him an interlined copy of Rode-
rick Random, pointing ocit these facts, shelving how far
they were indebted to the genius of the Doctor, and to what
extent they were bottomed in reality. The deceased could
never succeed in gaining more than a respectable subsist-
ence by his trade, but he possessed an independence of
mind superior to his humble condition. Of late years he
was emi:loyed as Keeper of the Promenade in Vitliers Walk,
Adelphi, and was much noticed and respected by the inha-
bitants who frequented that place.
The difficulty of pronunciation, considering the provin-
cialisms and perversions attached to our mother-tongue, is
incontestible : but this difficulty may be ameliorated, per-
haps removed, by vigilantly perusing the columns of ' A
General Pronouncing Dictionary of the Engaish Language,'
&c. By William • Enfield, M.A. Among the approvers of
this meritorious compilation, besides various Critical Jour-
nals, are to be found the saffrages of Dr. Burney and the
Rev. John Evans.

It may gratify the Whip-Club to hear, that Francis
later, a noted farrier, has rrcently published 46 Every
Man his own Farrier," or, " The Whole Art 'aid Orn.3'
I'll's work, we are assured, has already preserved the lives
of nearly half a million of valuable animals.