The Sun.
London, England, 1808-09-29 00:00:00

74' l'li IlliTfi.U..iii.,,.:l:k ii,'.Cri: Ea 4 E I?;
..

• •
As theOPPositlotiyilouitials.ei7err t y resume theji
' Acrimonious jattacks upon Sir
an Officer till the I, veentn Convention fth
tPortugalv, was the,admirminty and. the hope of the
scoutitfr,i,aud.who.is, so unjustly. censured while his
•tileferie::.:iS unheard). ,tsre,think it proper to submit to
tir:Revitert:Ltho;following Extract from.. Mr. Rah.
ciSEAD YCTIIKE'S ;Political Register. But though_ we
admire the teat and taknts of this,,shrewd, intelli-
gent, and spirited writer, we wish he.had displayed
more forbearance towards the other. Coln-minders
who are implicated to the transaction alluded to, as
they ought not to be condemnedunhearti; and as
the whole transaction will in due time be§ubmitted
to the tribunal of the Nation, when.an,impartial
decision must be the inevitable result. 0,•:

" Imrnadiately after` the battle of Vimiera, it Wai
CA: wish of Sir Arthur Wellesley to have pursued
the flying enemy, but he was over-ruled by Sir
Harry Burrard ; in consequence of which the French
army was saved from total destruction. For the sun
periority of oor • forces was so great, that there did
not exist among the French a glimpse of hope that
they could be able to effed their escape. They were
prepared forabseltile surrender, in the event of the
advance of the British army -It is also a very curie
ous fatq, that, it was Sir A. Wellesley's intention to
have attacked the enemy at Vimiera instead of wait.
ing to be attacked himself; but in this, strange to
say, he was also over-ruled. Here then was the
foundation laid of all the following disgraceful pro.
ceedings ; for if the' wind had kept-Sir H. Burrard
back twenty-fourhoura only from landing, from the
plan of operations which General Wellesley would
have executed, and which he most strenuously urged
to Sir Harry to execute, the Miele French -army
must have been made prisoners of war, or have been
utterly extirpated. Not ashadow of doubt was en-
tertained by any one in the British -army of one or
the ()thereof these results ; for, independently of the
high spirits of our troops after the achievement of
so great a victory, the disheartened enemy, had lost
nearly 4000 men, and we had another force equal
to that which had beaten the French, ready to join
and to engage them. el am therefore justified in
ascribing all the subsequent transactions to this ex-
traordinary want of rigour on the part of Sir Harry
Burrard; for, I presume, the writers who insist upon
Sir Arthur Wellesley's taking a share in the repon-
sibility of the Convention, will not extend their zeal
quite so far as to censure him for not having arrest-
d Burrard, or for not acting in defiance to his ora
ders, when he found hith unwilling to stir an inch
forward against a beaten enemy, of whose ruin there
was no question after the battle of Vimiera. The
Morning Chronicle of the cad, it must be acknow-
ledged, avows this doctrine by a reference to the re-
cent case of Governor Bligh, arrested by the Lieu-
tenant-Governor, Colonel Johnson, his inferior. offi-
cer. But there is no analogy between the two cases.
The discretion of a commander in chief at the head
'of an army cannot be called in question during actual
service; 'if it could, a door would be opened to a
scene of jealous contention, which would wholly de-
stroy every principle of military subordination.----
Hence, the irresistible and uncontroulable authority
vested in a commander in chief, is given with a view
to unity of thought and action, which is indispen-
sably necessary to the success, and indeed to the
prosecution of any military undertaking. We may
regret, from the result, that an inferior had not the
power to abide by his own better judgment in de-
spight of the will of his superior ; but we cannot
pretend to assert, that he ought to have exercised
this' power, without at once exploding all the maxims
of military jurisprudence. If Sir Arthur Wellesley
had risked his life by so violent an ad, I believe
there would not have been :wanting persons among
the number of his present calumniators, who would
have loudly and-'fiercely called for vengeance upon
his head for such an 'infringement of duty, such an
outrage on his superior-dfficer. The case of Gover-
nor Beigh is totally distind from this : it is in his
civil. capacity that he is said to have misconducted
himself, and to have provoked the strong measure
which has been taken against him by 1113 subordi-
nate officer. There is a law which prescribes the
limits of his power, atal if. he 'abused it, there exist
precedents upon. record; which may be found at the
commencementaafThe'f atic century in the Island of
Antigua, andeeinCe upon_ aeveral other occasions,
by winch the stepat4eriaby Colonel Johnson may
be justified. But there is 'no limit whatever to
the pOwer of a commanding General in the .pro-
secution of the orders given to him by his Go-
vernment, and he is responsible to none but
that Government for the nieasure3 he may pur-
sue. Idu not even know that an inferior officer, as
such, would be warranted in arresting his superior
at the head of his army, if he committed murder it-
self. But to return. Sir Harry Burrard being the
proxiinate cause of the preservation of the French
army, is amenable to his country upon that account;
and he ought to be required to assign the motives
which influenced his mind in abstaining from further
hostilities when the prosecution of them' was sure
to have terminated successfu:iy. On the day after
the battle of Vimiera, when S:r Hew D drymple
had taken the command of the army, Sir Arthur
Wellesley's plan of operations was again over-ruled.
it Was warmly recommended to Dalryniple by Sir
Arthur, to station Sir John Moore's division at San-
tarem, which would have cut offinnot's retreat, and
then to advance upon him in front with the remain-
der of the army. This likewise was over-ruled ; .per-
haps the Commander in Chiefs dinner weJuid have
been spoilt by such an operation. Ie Short, Sir fieW
Dalrymple and Sir Harry- Burrard took Sir Arthur
Wellesley's opinion upon every clues:jou, and then
acted directly contrary to it in spite of of all his
re-
monstrances.

"After such repeated and striking proofs of disre.
gard to every measure propos,d by Sir Arthur Wel-
lesley ; after such marked indifference to the opini-ons he had given at their request, we cannot be at
all surprised that they should insist upon his signing
a convention wbicti was the necessary result of the
policy' they had adopted in d;reet:opposiiion to his
advice. The Batton, took fire when they saw Sir
Arthur Wellesley's name affixed to so degrading an
instrutneut-; and all the stores of party antinusiiv
were opened, to teed. the general indignation. But
the people, after the first motneuts .ot passion had
passed away, ought to have weighed the respective
charaders of the CoznmandQrs, and to hare wcollect-

ed-, that Vihifera eau&
Sir rther WelleAerraTTlT finger a will of his
foevri. Thi ineriffeiVoiel3urrard;eand Dal tin plv\li a d
,f,t;rfe7 ed Ace §RA.Viad &Milt had faiiimzgained by -Sir
IW, lleley; and uteswd the!iprize•fmtn our coon-
*try whetilt' 4aita4really.itti Tiappp,,tith- of
-itn riglif-ltiegnOve on an y iadtheiustart
the i ust4
Art ht.*, W.a`Criepriveit of Atvet!oowerl df giving -life
Ibl tit &IA tft ny Notlti tig t nereterV. trediaivittb fon t hose
kith6l-tad ,rejeßed his-ad Vice, perceif-d, ido
:14W:utile tataltdnidquences df thdir folly, but to
make hire -stitsibly share in the responsibility Of 4
•vtonyentiori which his courage and prudence would
- have obviated ;had they been allowtgd to operate.—
iActordingly he was commanded and made to sign the
tarinistice, whic4l was neither written, negotiated,
finer' wproved.of .him. •Itis a fact, which will be
fully proved when the chiy of rigid inquiry shall ar-.
iive, that the armistice:we:is negotiated by Sir Hew.
;Palrymel.e ip.person,‘ or rather that it was di&ated
to him by
.KellQrmann, in the presence of Gen'
-,llurrard and "Wellesley. . (ellerrnann then insisted
;on its being, signed by Sir A. Wellesley,, to give it
.a4tnetiticity, . which .barbarous, cruel, treacherous
ordered him instantly to do, although
-§,jr Arthur ex pressed his most-decided disapproba-
Jion of the lattgollge as well as the terms of, the at-,
rmotiee and by the-, first opportunity, which was
Auguiit, the-day after its signattare, and
tsvven dal s-before the final convention, he s.nt home
aceoonts of that .disapprobation. It ought also to
I:tet particularly remaiked, that Sir Arthur ohje'aed in
the slrceigesttertus, to
.allow the French to carry off
their pluitder,:,aod even now thinks we ought to
adopt meaiuresio co-a,pel them to disgorge it. Why
These accounts written by Sir Arthur were not sub-
mitted t.. the public at the time the aspersions against
him became general, remains to, be explained by
those who took upon themselves. the suppression of
/hem He is correct in his advice, that rne4tis.,hould-
he forthwith taken to compel the robbers to dis,:orge'.
their booty. However the good faith of thel3 . tits')
nation may ,be bound to comply with Conditi. us
disgraceful to,itself, and odious in their very nature,
neither the laws of nations, nor. the construdion of
the Conventien itselti warrant.oe.ebservance of that
article which guJrantet.)l2the-robbOes of the French.
It is a perversion or language Co- assert that, what a
man has violently take,'n fretn,,i-mether, can be-
come the property of the rolii4er,' The possession
may be:in the hands of the thief, hut the right
to the property resides its theverson robbed, upon
the same principle that. stolen -goods are restored
to the owner, whenever -they are detected upon
the thief. Dalrymple had no authority by the
military code, by military usages, or ,by the general
inaximl of equity, to pkeMeTh.illalth of his 'country
as a security for theti: No stipulation, however
formal, and assented td.by kerditt.ll agents, can lae
-binding if contrary to the la*S.:-.of God and the
-tuodamental principles of -.mor.ality ; and the same
-right of refusal which I should be juStified in' exer-
esing, if the king were to order me to pick my
neighbour's fob .of his watch, devolves upon the
State in the, present case, more especially as the
.thErd party who is the sutferer„ has not bmn, in the
I ..ct, consulted upon the occasion.

A Morning Paper. which has taken the lead in
tli,2 attack upon Sir Arthur Wellesley, observed on
Wedne,day last, that it could not conclude its re-
marlti without pointing the public detestation at
the intamous arts of a. pack ,of retainers to a great
family, who do not shrink from paving a tray for
Sir Artlinr Wellesley's safety, over the bodies of his
two sup,2rior's in co:limand.; and are not aware, from.
the b!indtiess of zeal, or the sottisliness of stupidity,
that :h v are stri►ing to preserve his,. per,on at the
expence o htmour? Who the component mem-
bers of that pack of retainers are, atta what have
111;i: ous -arts, I .am, utterly ignorant:—
rut, I feel no hesitation in declaring, that Sir Ar-
thur WeileSley's honour can -be no otherwise de-
fended than at the expellee crf tha charaeters of
Dalrymple and Burrard,liis supeAors in command.
it i, a distressing predicament i hot it has been -oc-
casioned by the rash, enVetionted, raid undisguised
acerbity with which the hotionr of Sir Arthur Wel-
lesley wa,first assailed by such public writers. Had
they. obsei wed, toward that Officer any --degree of
fno,leration, until the truth had been fully di,closed,
or until a competent tribnual had decided upon the
-it:tents or demerits of the respe6tive Generals, the
admirers and fti::,Jcls of .Sir Arthur 'Wellesley, who
are denominated ►:east unjustly, a pack of retainers,'
would have been silent, and unquestionably the cast

to urge an immature and partial discussion. The
part which' I have taken in this cuotr,versy., has
been purely voluntary from
.motives which I have ,
already assigned ; .and the fa&s herein stated relative
to Sir. Arthur Wellesley's share in the infa AOUS con-
iteution, the public may rely upon are indisputable.
.Surely it is possible in a free country for a political
writer to take up the cause of an injured public
liara6ler, without being in the least dependent
71pQn him or his family. The character of a dis,
...t',.iggistied public officer, is the property of the
ziatierii, and every honest man is bound in honuereo
defend it when 'l.tujii.it)y assailed. I may be blind,
zealous, sottish, and' stupid ; but let my reasonings
be answered, and the fats Which I have adduced be
disproved ; if not, let our opponents open their
own eyes, betray less -intem,,erance, evince their
own sobriety, id prove their good sense. No
Iran living is more desiroits than myself to have Sir
Arthur Wellesley brought ,to trLi, because no one
is better convinced of his innocet,ce. It is the wish
of all his friends that his canduttsbould be rigorously'
investigated, and, if possible, mere rigorously in,
vestigated than ever before tell to the lot of any
General, They already anticipate 'the proud reSult,"

On .I.l,7eetiesday evening last, William Nash; a
celeb:•ated dealer in black pucNings,leturning -horse
fr,ra Chelsea to Westminster, through the darkness
of the night fell into aditeli in the Willow Walk,
and would inevita'oly have been snitocatecl in the
mud !iad he not borne himself up by his basket ; a
faithful deg, after watching him for some time; ran
iiome, and by his lipi,vlkg. and moaning, attra&ed
the attentiOn of two p.,r3ot):: :c4idiog irr the house,
v'lio followed the sag,,!:...,y..7s.aniityl to the spot, acid
7py,their .iertions rczeird the unfortunate pudding
r, e.'12,334t; whp clici nut tlF.ta'.7l crlier injury than,
4611 e: 4, kis puddikJg,J .?n1 hisclothes.

K ~~~.

3,1_41)h M.

fTifindisfrarn ir-rtresting Work, lately publithect,intitled,
- • "`A•Jrc-rurCE, iirAuatp."

. .
HOSPII' LS.
Anicing (lie many: hospitals at Madrid, sire ooght
tt:k meotioli as the''first the general'hospital for men,
6i9;ifiehospit.al of the Passion for women. Each
fOondationS haS a number of monks or
outs o the Order of Charity' to.attend the patients,
and, both are under the direction of a special corn-
uniSsion.. •
The hospital of the men, formerly called the ge-
neral' hospital, because both sexes I..tsed to be re-
ceived there, lies at the gate of Mocha,, in a free,
airy distria, and so does that of the women. •In

• boih the wards are high, roomy, airy; and divided
according to the different diseases the patients are
-afflieted with ; bearing, for instance, the names of
the wounded ward, the venereal ward, &c. All
the sick have separate beds, iind every bedstead is
made of in], to prevent the encroachments of
vermin.

The order which prey-ails throughout every de-
partment of, those asy 14 of , misery is admirable :
floors, beds, and every article of furniture, indicate
extreme cleanlinesg.

The same may be saki, of the kitchens, and other
parts, which are generaAy found very dirty in other
hospitals.

The nursing of. the Frick by the. brothers and sis-
ters of the Order of Charity, who make a vow to at-
tend the diseased and infirm, on taking the habit, is
likewise exemplary. If there be any religious order
worthy of approbation arid esteem ;. if there be .any
one proper to reconcile hu.manity, outraged, by t bou-
Sands -f Popish atrocities,. it must be this trtily-Chris-
tian Order of Charity.
nest) hospitals are liLewise attended by the first
tnedical practitioners of Madrid. -
There is no new discovery that can prove bene;
ficial to the stiti;,- iti w.-Dstch that is not applied htre :
eledricity, mrcgnetistn, even Beddoes' gasses were
tried here, Three hundred young prgtitioners.are
employed here as assit.t.ints to the regular physicians;
but their mediCal court; is only made under the_sii
per.ntendance‘of the 13,1 ter, and theytare not allowed
to give presiripG.ns.

_ .
The econ mical treatment of the sick.is not less
laudable Thy receiive the best vitauala .their state
requires;: the ratiOns .of the convalescents are gra-
dually increased ; and in cases of great debility,. even
the most sumptuous twines are nut. spared., in the
general hospital them is a fine court, with a foun-
tain in the middle, and a portico to walk under.—
Something similar is in the hospital of the Passion.
The striaest regulations are here made for the
benefit of the sick. No one is allowed to visit, them
without being previously searched, to prevent their
receiving any thing from without the house, which
may impede or dekty their cure.—,No patient, in a
convalescent state, durst leave his ward, without an
express pQrmission from the physicians.
The spiritual welfare of the sick is equally well
consulted here. A reetor,. and thirty-two priests
under him, attend to the religious necessities of the
hospital. Every sick foreigner is sure ,of finding
among them some countrymen of his, with whom.
he may converse in his native tongue. •
How sweet to the dying stranger, to hear• once
again the favourite harmony of his native language,
and to confide to a consoling friend the last secrets
harboured in his bosoml-011 1 he that has been
poor, wretched, and forsaken in a foreign land;
he alone can feel the whole value of such a bles-
sing!,

The brotherhood of the Royal St. Hermandad,
and That of our Lady of good refuge, contribute not
a little towards the excellent organization of this
hospital. The chief members of it are Joint inspec-
tors of the establishment, and bestow the most ten-
der care 90
.the unfortunate skit. They are pro-
vided Orr' v9ry ,festival and Sunday with good din-
ners, at the expence of the brotherboodNi-and every
dish is served by, wipe member, under whose imme-
diate ins?eaion every dish 'is dressed.
At four o'elOck in the afternoon of these treats,
the whole.brotherhood come,to.the hospital. The
brothel-S.o4de, and go 'two by two to the bed-side
of every patient, enquiring about the 'state, of his
health and wants; they present to him all sorts of
refreshments, inspiie him with courage to endure'
his sufferings, and even perform °dices which
would elsewhere prove disgusting to nineteen in
twenty. Yet there are said to be among these
brotherhoods, people of the first rank, and some .of
immense fortune. The same kind attention is ;paid
to the sick in the hospitals for females, where many
ladies of quality, especially old dowagers, give them
the kindest attendance.

To Obtain admission into these mansions of cha-
rity, itneeds_no formalities, nO inquiries, no parti-
cular receommendatien to be ill is sufficient.
He Who is yet ale to wallz goes there; he who
cannot walk sends word, and he is fetched .awaY.7"."
Be he a Spaniard or a foreigner, a Catholic or Pro-:
testaut, known or unknown, it matters ,not ; his
disease is the only question,. and thus lie. 'stays, aria
is taken care of, not only till he is cured, but;'as we
must not omit to mention, till he has completely re-
gained his former strength. _ _

All the poor inhabitants of Mairid, and a great
number of such as are not in low cirtumstances,
avail themselves of the benefit of this noble founda=.
(ton: it is np disgrace here .to go to the hospital,
as people well know they are better attended thete.
A patient who 'pays six reals a day, receives a se-
parate room, and better. vi&uals.

The expenses of these hospitals are very great ;
but they enjoy funds more than sufficient to answer
every exigency. To. these may be added a number
of eittrg:rdinary revenues., for instance, a fifth of
the receipt at every-playhouse; the whole profits
arising from the bulk-fights at Madrid,- which often
amount to a million of reals, besides other sources
of income.

But irregularities and deceptiotr are likewise -apt
to take pact here p and it is obvious, that they win
happen in every human institution. Besides these
tvvo large hospitals, there is a multitude of others,

.which it would be tedious to enumerate:- Among
these are the hospitals. of San Juan De Dios, Anton
Martin', and the Flemish, Italian, Portuguese, and
Irish hospitals. To be received into the latter is at-

tended ts:ith most troqhlelaed the reception' depends-
Mostly on the•Priets of the Parish. •