The Sun.
London, England, 1808-09-10 00:00:00

NAVAL N EWS.

, PLYMOUTH, SEPT. B.—Arrived the Comet Shx,E,
of War from Sp'..tll,2ad, and is since sailed for:co,
runna, with dollars for the Spanish Patriots.
-.A.rrived La Sylelle Frigate from a Cruize, end
Pilchard Schooner-from off' FerrOli also the Whit-
ing Schooner, with .Diipatches from the Channel
Meet,

Arrived the damburgh Ship Emanuel, Capraia
LI A 11 s ON, from Monte Video, bound to London, laden.
*ith hides, copper, &c.
-The Redwing Schooner wen t. cut of Harbour thin
morning.

PORTSMOVTII,. SEPT. g.—Arrived the La 4 IOQp
of `Vat's Capt.NICIIOi.AS, with DiSpatelies from the
•
West Indies.
Sailed the Goshawk Sloop of War, on a Cruize.
Arrived the liot;ert and Jane,,—, and Rober4,
with masts for the Dock here, from Quebec.

FAL➢IOUTH, SEPT. 7.—Arrived. his Majesty's Ship
Albicore, in six days, from Gijon; and his, Majesty's*.
Ship Forrester, from Portsmouth, with about 10 44i1,
for Spain.

H~RWICI ,SUPT. 9.—,Arrived the Schiopn%. Paz,
Lieut. PRING, from Portsmouth, with the Alarpret
and como Transports., and, remain with the c074-r
cord; Ruby, Aid,. Young. Susan, Mary, Ec4iNCA
Robert, and the Jacob Transports,, ter troops, who
are expeaed to embark. to.-morrowbr'Sunday.

RA MSGATE, SEPT. 8,---'3;1119 the firs.
Battalion of the first Aegimet“ of Guards, cam-.
rnanded by Colonel ANsoN, marched iu here froal
Deal, ,and immediately embarked ou board the res•
sets, repared- for them,
_lying along the pier- wall..
They embarked,as follow : .
400 men on boArclth.e hostock Transport, N0.:44.
255 Ditto - - isabella Ditto, ,N0.,40r.
3c05 Ditto - W'.llian Ditto, , I No. 62.
229 Ditto . Ellen Ditto, No. 'l5.
2-40, Ditto - •• Ditto, *a. 461.
Totalt 465, excl,usive of Officers. •

According' to accounts receivedyesterdav Bra;
tc,kboTTE, with 10;000 French troops, had contrive
c 4
to pass over to the Island of Langeland but a vet)
few days after it-bad been evacuated by the Spanilo
force.
Apentlemao liar just reached town who left Lis"
bon on the 12th of August. He has afforded PS 3.,
great. variety of information relative to the tyrannical
and infamous proceedings of the French in that citY'
which we shall take an early opportunity of L', in.
before our Readers. For the present we must con-
tent ourselves with giving the following anecdotes '
" On the Bth, of June the French Officers gave 3
.most sumptuous entertainment to Gen. JtlNor, to -
the Opera-House. The. stage «gas converted into 311
eating-ioom, the pit was boarded over for tbedancers,
and the boxes were allotted to the spedators
on .this. occasion the Russian 'Officers were invited.
Preyio,us to the entry of the guests, the curtain was
drawn up, and a display of every thing magnificent
was presented:to the gaze of the multitude. ThLt
French flags were placed round the stage, each 01
which bole an inscription of some Victory of Buo.•
NArARTE, including that of. Friedland, over tbs
Russian army. The momeVt the 'Russian Officer;
-discovered the-latter, they, in disgust, withdrew-fill-.
the scene; and ever after declined the invitation an
r
society of the French, and attached themselvesi?,-.1e5 •
than ever to the society of the few British subJec,
who had been compelled to .remain in Lisbon, ao"
who had been releaSed from their imprisonment.
" On the occasion of ,the fete above spot en 0",
a requisition was made of all the plate, .chandelie► ?
and other ornamental requisites in the possession
,•,;the inhabitants of the place. Many refused
pliance, until 'a guard was sent to their houses to
force it. No part of these things were ever of
„ wards returned to their owners.
appeared evident to every person in Lisbol';
that an understanding subsisted bet .‘,.een the .1±.005i
and .Russian Actntiralg. Several tfags of truce L" ,1
been interchanged,; and one went into the lbn
'from Admiral CorroN on the morning of the 121
.orAugust.
carts, laden with plunder, consistA'
ing principally of church-plate, remained unpacicd.u.
at
,Liibon when our 'informant quitted that plat,;
and.aS the French army marched from thence on up
following -day, it is presumed the whole booty w°,13,0
fall into the hands of the British, and be restored
the places from whence it was stolen.
" The superb building, which was il..•letoloi.e the
house in which the business of the I ly isition
transacted, had been ct livened tiyJoN 4110 a of
of Police Office, to \A hich all person; ,uspeAe",,..
being unfriendly to Fiance were seC:eily br"g"
a •d, Lever afterwards 1 card of.",

at;
of
the

ha,
he
cri

PORT '4L:

iiTITICULARS ItEIiECTING TILE C.M.

• PAIGN IN PORTUGAL. ;•
Lieutenant-General-Sir 1-I.attait Brattinri" arrived,
at a mall bay on the coast of Portugal on the. "26th
of Ang..bt, the day which preceded that on which'
the &atle of Vimiera was fought. , ,
In the communication whi:h General BURRARD
had that evening with Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY,
warmly approved of all the measures of that Offi-
cer from the commencement of the campaign, and
made no alteration whatever in the position which
he bad taken up. On the following day, being ap-
prised by the firing that an engagement had com-
menced, Sir HARRY proceeded to the, ground, and
arrived there about half past twelve, nearly an hour
before the termination of the battle. , Sir ARTHUR,
on being informed' of his arrival, immediately gal-
loped up to him for orders, communicating, at the
same time, the .actual state of things, and the dis-
positions he had made. Of the, latter, General
}lc anAtto- highly approved, and, in the most grafi,
'ging inanner to -Sir ARTHUR, declined taking the
Chief Command, Command, for the reasons which he so flatter-
ingly' assigns in his excellent letter of the 21st to
Lord CASTLEREAGH.
it is but justice to add, that, during the remain-
der of the action, the"condua of General B. was
highly to be applauded : he immediately plunged
into the thickest of the fight, Cheering and encou-
raging the men to do their duty ; thus seconding
Sir ARTHUR most efficiently, and exposing his own
person at the same time in the most fearless and gal-
lant manner.
General BURRARD has had an excellent military
education—is highly esteemed in the army as a
good Officer and able Engineer, and increased his
reputation considerably during the Campaign in
Zealand, where he served as Second in Command to
Lord CATHCART.

After the battle, Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY, of
Course, reported to General BURRARD, who then
assumed the command ; but who was himself almost
imriib:liately superseded. by Sir HEW DALRYMPLE,
Who arrived .at Vimiera ou the 22d, from his Go-
vernment of Gibraltar. It May be proper.to add,
that the battle of the 21st lasted about three hours
and a half, and was completely at an end by half-
past one o'clock in the afternoon.
Very honourable mention is made of Major-Ge-
t eral HILL (who left Ireland second in command
Of the Expedition which sailed from Cork), by Sir
ARTHUR WELLESLEY, in the Dispatch of the 17th
of Atigust. Li the arduous contest of that day, Ge-
neral HILL commanded the centre column, which
attadked the French General LABORDE in front---a
service he performed most gallantly, and received
the thanks of the Commander in Chief after the
battle was won..
On the 21st, General HILL commanded the right
'Wing of the British army. Had it been determined
to have attacked the French at Torres Vedras, ki-
tten(' of remaining in the position of Vimiera, Gen.
tLL would necessarily have been engaged in that
Case, the mode of fighting the enemy wuuld have
been in the choice of the British Commander. As
it proved, however, that choice lay with the Duke
43f ABEIANTEs, who brought the whole of his force
10 bear upon the English left and centre. • The only
'Use which could, therefore, be made of this fine
body of men, more than eight thousand strong, was
to withdraw them from the right, and station them
i!1 the rear of the centre and left wings, as a second
line, in case any of the formidable columns of tft
French attacking army should penetrate the first.—
Vie have already slated, that by the superior man-
oeuvres of Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY., in constantly
flanking with a dreadful fire of artillery (SHRAP-
igELL'S principally) and small arms, and the invin-
cible bravery of the troops opposed to the heads of
the French columns, which were as constantly bro-
ken as they approached near enough to taste the
BRITISH BAYONET, that event never took- place;
and thus, at the close of the a&ion, General HILL'S
Wing had never fired a musket ! General BRE-.
NIERE, when a prisoner in the British Canip, after
• the anion, declared " that the French armies had
never been followed up and pressed by an enemy,
during all the revolutionary wars, as they had been
in this short campaign; and that it was a mcxle
of fighting as unusual to them as it was destruc-
tive !"

The reputation of Major-General SPENCER 15 so
thoroughky established, as well by his gallant cola-
clua•in the Egyptian Campaign, as in the whole
tenori
of a long course of active services, that we eau-
not °ope any thing we record can possibly enhance
It will, however, be permitted us to state, that
if this Officer's reputation can be heightened, he,
will owe it to his condud in Portugal. From the
moment of his junction at Mondego with Sir AR-
. THUR WELLEsLay, the most efficient and cordial
co-operation in concluding the movements of the
British army immediately took place between these
excellent, Otticers—perhaps the .very two, in the
•vhole service of the most rising reputation.—
They had never before served together, and their
in :nary charaaera were known to each Other but
by report. Far, however, !ruin feeling the jealousy
inherent to little minds., these illustrious rivals were
now only emulous in their zea) to serve their
Country, and in offices of mutual deference and good-
Will. Whilst the activity, resources, presence of
mind, and personal gallantry of Sir ARTHUR, raised
the highest admiration of him in the mind of Gene-
fal SPP,NCER—the science of the latter—his cool
steadiness—his consummate judgment—his justness
bf decision upon every point connected with the de-
Vtice of positionsand his experience in every
branch of his profession, at the same time that
they rendered him in the highest degree service-
able to the Commander in Chief, insured also his
warmest regard
.and fi iondship.
It is quite unnecessary to go into any detail of the
/particular services of General SPENCER in the Portu-
guese Campaign. Sir ARTHUR'S Second tit Com-
rii:vncl, he was constantly with him, and consequent-
every where where there was any thing to be
done.,;—" During the battle "—(of 'the
Commander in Chief says in his report—" I was
" much indebted to Major-General SPENCER'S
" judgment and experience in the decision which I
" formed with respeCt to the number of troops allot-
" ted to each point of defence, and_ for his advice
" and assistance."
What opinion General Spr..7.zer.it formed of" the
condua of the Coeitmander in Chief that day's