The Sun.
London, England, 1809-02-22 00:00:00

however, existed in moving the army efter landing,
diflictilty very much owing to theiwant of horses.
The difficulty was increa;:d, or diminished by cir-
cuinsteetek In aU.,Austrian army!'ot 30,000 men,
the horses necessary' to redder it movable amounted
to 1500. How then could our Government dis-
embark our-army -without looking to the country-for
the means of, enabling it to move. -If the •country
suppese that a large British army can, immediately
on landing on the Continent, be movable, it was
miserably deceived. They niust)taVe time to pre-
pare themselves. :This Many waseqnieped completely
in every respect bit cavalry atidartillery. horses. It
was unfair ilk the Noble-Lord to:shut his eyes to the '
'reinforceMent tint in point of cavalry was-intended,.
• and was actually sent Subsequently from this coutiny,.
in aid _of the expedition that Sailed from Cork.
Unquestionably, had Sir Arthur WelleSley's means
been more adequate, his services would have been
more brilliant and advantageons ; but still his army
was sufficiently equipped. (accord;ng to' the gallant
General's own statement) to enable him to execute
the service en which he was sent—namely, to pos.'
sess himself of Lisbon: On this question Sir A.
Wellesley was as competent to judge as Sir H. Dal-
ryinple and Sir -H. Berrard ; and the judgmenj he
had given was the more impartial, as it was declared
by hint before the commencement of operations. -As
for the ArMistice, it was agreed to, nut on account of
any apprehensions whatever enterteirted for the safe-
ty or ultimate success ofthe British Army, but be-
cause it was advisable to release the British troops
as soon as pesitible, to be ethployed in Spain.—
The defeaive state of the equipment Of the British
army could not- enter into• the motives by which
.our Generals had been actuated, for Sir Harry Bur-
rard knew thet Sir John Moore was at hand with
considerable supplies. The eharaoer of' the. Irish
horses Whit the expedition had been much depreci-.
reed. He must defend the charaa6r of his country-
men '(a laugh); he declared that tits, Irish 'horses had •
been very much admired, and pronounced as tit for
the artillery. service as any horses that ever exist-
ed. If any blame attached en this occasion, it fell,
on himself, and net on the Ordnance Board, , whO
could have supplied any quantity of artillery-horsest
that he required. • The respuesibility• was exclusive-
ly his own. Let the House recollect, that-this was the
first expedi t ion,of the sort accompanied by any
They did not eppe,ir to hint to be eecessary. \Veen
our army:lauded in Egypt,-there were eat t5O horses
with it. When Sir IL Abercrumby
Dial-
land, he Was.precisely in the same-circumstance: It
was not to be supposed that an army without liorges:.
'Was incapable-of service.' Mien-aim eepeditiou was
sent originally without any de6nite set vice„ and 'the
troops.reinaie lohg on board.ship; it was ireeoistble
that any large, numberofhorsea'aruld he attached so'
it with adVantage. 111ereport:by Col. Rhodes ac-
knowledged that the hue es did there work well; and
that the army w;:s tivet° delayed by' their delectioe ;
and Sir Arthur Weilesley's letter coolitined this state-
meet. After the voyage; after a march 4150 Miles,
and after two -battles, thirlyethree horses enly were
lo,t, of whom twelve were killed or
,:w n eatieded i
action. • Had the finest -artillery horses that this
country could 'furnish been' carried thither instead,
they would not have dbne their work so'well'aslhOSe
hardy Irish horses taken from the Cenithissariat.
Though
:they Might net move se rapidly, • it. ,was
well koewn that no. branch of the ffritiSh torce beat
the enemy so completely as the artillery drawn by
these identical berses.. , To sheW that they were net:
so,inditierent es represented,. above on 6 hundred of.
these Itisei horses had been selected tp with the
. British army, And, were arming the most serviceable
horses- io tee Unexampled march which-that army
undertook. • With respea to cavalry, surely it 'could
not be coesidered,inadeqtiate When it Wait recollected
that a force was prepared equal to that of the enemy.
Had the whole been assembied, it viola l4ve 4t-
mounted:to t ,500 cavalry, and it did not ;repeat' that
the (mealy ever brought into.: the . field more than
I,2oo.:.Certainlv this number was not present in the.
ffrSt in4tanee, on, they were :lent as soon as transports,
could be provided tor- them, and he begged leave
to speak io the' highest terms-- of the conduct of
• the Tran Sport Board ta: the whole of 'the bu'iiness,—
eArtioes of the ciovernment woe as' great as
the means of the country could Miura, and they
would base sent the wholii.ef the cavalry at once:
hail they been able. Nor was the delay in' their ar-:
.rival very considerable. Had Sir J. Moore's farce
-not been delayed by ;Averse winds it would have
been' Present -at the -Wile of 'Willem,. as might
also the regiment (the eighteenth Dragoons) under
the LlGNllitland of his gallant relation. 13c claimed
. for the'Goverementahe praise of having done their
dfitY to 'the extent of their power.. Two'cbarges
*had been tuede,with resped 1104 artillery s the
first, that none had been sent at all : the other, that.
none had been sent on triwellittg carriages.' With-.
out much military charity. it was to be easily con-
jectured, that Sir' A.rthur • would not have advanced
as he bad done, unless he possessed' toe weans of
effeeting the: object at which he alined. So much for
the first ebarge. Now, as to -the charge
artillery was not-en travelling ear: iages, no referred
to a report from Sir Charles Stewart, who was in
Portugal in 1 79), iu which -that gailale Gene-
ral observed, that, in 'his opiiiion, that species'
of, ' equipment was miservitetsble in Portugal,
from triaoy caoses, and ezirtienktrly atom' the
bad state of the roads. The, 'Noble Lord opposite
hastl reprehehded the gehertdity Of the terms pre-
scribed to the Genefitls ties Perlog,aese Expedi
thin, as to the ultimate 0t.,:;e0 of their exertions.
Did the Noble Lord meats to say, that no ease Could
exist, in .which it was adviatible no; to push an.ebealy
to the hardest terms ?. • It was not Trom' the absence
of instruttion, but from other groends, that the event
was: such is it liad'heen. I hr, tritiSt were instimit-
ed:to,expel the French,• but lie .expelling them also,
to endeavo.er r 0 iowcept -theriL • The -Noble Lord
was vehement iu: his charge that the epircitios were
so framed. at to expose the, army to a ehatige Of
command. •1 If such a principle --as that -of the'
Noble Lord were universally admitted,' ha com-
bined- operations- .could taka.• „place. In- the last
einnpaign in the Netherlands, the chief command
Was cliattged in foi-ty7eighthonN nu les4' than four
tunes. It coteld,nevethe a charge brOught igainit a
ty.G:r?r,e;nsmi
irlarrntlileiaeff: Eel
teertadot:oi,otkon,apc..rtLoge:,t,Li:nrflos)tri:‘;gori:aiti.ectii:lArlvaie-s
conceived nu
to the, supersession of his Honourable Friend near
him, every :one that keew his gallantry and skill