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

DEC. 11.

wit;
.he Spanish p,ople. Should our armies ity Lam tt‘,-..
scene of action when their issistauce is most necessary I
Should Ministers, in a moment of infatuation, or terror,
stamp this opprobiorn on our national character, and
blast its fair fame in the estimation of Europe/ We would
r.sk them if they have 111i:timely weighed the conse-
queue& if they are aware of the alarming- danger to
which Ireland would be exanposed, should the enem
entreat
y obtain
quiet possession of Spain d Portugal. Let us
than to ree.ect seriously on these circumstances, and then
Ne trust that the orders sent to disembark the troops at
Portsmouth will not only be recalled, but n ew reinforce-
ments sent to our army in Spain. The following extract
of a letter, (bated l)er. 9, from Portsmouth, shows that our
apprehensions were not unfounded;
Such is the vicissitude of human affairs, that the troops which
were yesterday looking most anxiously to every shift of the
ind, in the hope that it may come fair, are now coming on
shore agaio, at the moment, that the wind is come favourable
for them to sail —Orders came to-day for this purpose, and
the hustle to clear the transports of them is even greater
then it was to embark them. The 9d and 4th Regiments of
Dragoon Guards are the only troops embarked. Several skip-
are ordered to Spain, protect our transports, in bringing oil'
our troops: they will sail to-morrow .—Sailed the Coquette, IS,
Capt. Forbes, on a cruise.—All the outward-bound ships will
sow sail, as the conveyances to Spain n ill be as speedy as could
wi:died. The wind is come to the N. L. and likely to stand
tlt that quarter.

•
The long expected trial of Mr. ALB:Armen P A visoN
has been at last decided; and the Defendant has been found •
guilty. The investigation lasted from nine o'clock ii.
Ili! morning till halt past seven in the. evening. The
charges brought against Mr. DAvison, were uuquestion-.
ab!y, of the must heinons kind; and the public must feel
a proportionstosathifactioa at the result of the trial. It is
revolting to think of the alarming abuse in the expenditure
of the l'ublic Money, and 9t the disgraceful practises that
cane out in the investigation of this business. With the
highest degree of integrity- and ditinteresteduess, on the
part of the first ostensible Officers of Government, abuses
of the same flagrant kind, as those proved in the present
trial, must continue to accumulate, unless a watchful eye
he kept over the conduct of the subordinate agents. Every
elm, therefore, who • feels the weight of the Public bur-
dens, and who submits to their pressure, not only without
murmuring, but with alacrity, to -consequence of the
nr:!-ency of the times, must rejoice that measures are
adopted to tiring notorious delapislators to justice.
(Economy in the higt er departments is of no service, as
long as the malversations of secondary agents arc permit-
ttd-to exist. This trial eviaces the imperious necessity of
a severe scrutiny into all the branches of the public expen-
diture; for were the resources of the country four times
greater than they are, as long as contractors and agents
may, with impunity, rommil the malversations proved
against this Mr. DavisoN, it would be impossible to supply
the urgent demands of the State. The conduct of Minis-
ters on this occasion is commendable, and highly to their
credit; and as they have once begun the cleaning of the
‘I 'wan Stable, vve hope they will zealously persevere
in the urgent anti honourable task. But to bring only one
criminal to justice, and to allow fifty others to fatten
and riot on the vitals of the community, would be a
poor compensation for the Public. However, the
operation is commenced ; and we hope the prosecu-
tion of it will be as advantageous to the nation as
honourable fur his Majesty's Ministers. We will fonnw
them with our vows and our wishes in this commendable-
cAreer ; and should their ardour not abate, their labours
be crowned with the approbation and gratitude of their
countrymen. They have much to investigate, and•we fear
much to reform ; but the impediments which selfishness or
rapacity may throw in their tvay; are slight, when com-
pared with the advantages the operation secures to the
b'