The Sun.
London, England, 1813-06-08 00:00:00

111 E WAR ON THE PENINSULA.

The combined Army is to be divided into
three 'columns, of which the right; supposing the
front; at the ontsct; to extend from North to
South along the confines, of Portugal •and Spain,
will advance along the line of the• Tagus to To-
ledo, tylicre it is proposed that it should form a
junction with the Army of Alicant, ender Sir John
Murray. fills column will coesist of the 2d di-
vision of the Grand Army under Sir Rowland Hill.
Th6HSecond, or eentrecolmenn, consisting of
the 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, and light divisions, under'
the immediate command of the Marquis Welling-
ton is to advance by way of Salainanca. The itu-.
mediate object Of this corps, which comprises
the Main strength of time Army; will be to drive
the enemy from his.positions on the right bank of
the Douro, if he should attempt to maintain them.
The third column forming the left, consist-
ing of the lst, 3d, and sth divisioos, milder the
command of Sir Thomas Graham, was to march
at first directly northward within the Portuguese
frontier, through the province Of Tr a los Moutes
to Braganza, whence it would enter Spain, torn-
ing the Pretich curls on the Douro, and hastemmieg
their,retreat, if they shonld not have retired pre-
viously. Sir Thomas Graham would then take the
line of Benevente to Burgos. The siege of that
fur tress will be formed in further prosecution of
the plan, when Lord Wellington, with such fur-
ther part of the army as it may be found necessary
to carry so far northward, shall have arrived on
the Ebro, ()tithe course of which river, and in the
strong places behind it, the principal resistance of
the enemy is expected.
With respect to the enemy's f#irce and positions,
we have no additional information. About
20,000 prime veterans have been selected from
the several regiments, in certain proportions, and
withdra vu into France, to discipline the new
raised conscripts ; but. these have Been replaced
by an equal number of m oung men at the con-
scription, who, having now been some months
with -the, army, must be, considered as fully
effective.
. .
The army of Sachet having been recently in a
conditiOn to' attack the Alicant army under Sir 3'.
Murray, although repulsed with loss, yet not hay-.
ing been attacked in its turn, 'mist still be con-
sidered as equal, if not superior, to that part of
our force.
The movement of Sir R. Hill upon the Tagus,
and the advance of. Lord Wellington in front of
the Douro, will, however, in all probability, de-
termine Sucher to retire along the course of the
Ebro as expeditiously as he can, in order to com-
bine and concentrate with the grand- army under
Joseph, for he could not certainly ran so great a
hazard as to make din ininiated ealmithmign by him-
self iu the timuthern province of Spain, with nn ,
atini in numbers, (not exceeding 22,000
men), and requiring to be• divided and sub-di-
vided, in order to occupy the extent of the court-
try, .even if it could he over-run without resist-
ance'.
Tflet(r)ditrt likely to be pursued by the French
in Catalonia is uncertain, but, in all probibility,
they. will hold their several fun tresses and not re-
tire,leaving their fate to be derided by the. fortune
of the oempaign between the grand armies under
Joseph' Bnonaearte and Lord Wellington, on the
Upper Ebro.
Joseph Buonaparte having long since left Ma•
drid, and arrived at Burgos with his Court and
train, has sufficiently developed the insufficiency
of his general Means to nelke,a stand in the
centre of his assumed kingdoin, and tilt neces-
sit y. of his retiring towards the French ..fron-
tiers,„ to secure alWays time means of escape into
Freecc, placing time hopes of his army in time
resistance of fortresses„and in time strongpositions
on the banks of those great rivers time Douro and
the Ebro. From the strength and composition of
the foree'whieh marches in front attic Douro, un-
der „the immediate command of Lord Wellington,
and front the flanking movement of the corps un-
der. Sir Graham by Braganza, it is calculated
that the defence of the Douro must be abandoned ;
consequently the grand tug of the war is expected
tube before Burgos and upon theMbro.
From this outline our readers will be able to
fa ran a gencral idea of the plan and prospects
of time campaign now opened in the Peninsula-7
a campaign in which, we are confident, Lord
Welliugtoo, and his Able and gallant co-adju-
tors, Sir Thomas Graham and .Sir Rowland Hilly
aided by so many illustrjous Generals of sabor-
diorite rank, .cannot fail to lead the brave armies
co hided to them to new victories, adding fresh
la n'ek to the ivreatlts,with which they have already
bound the brows of Victory and Britannia. We
ca.imot quit this' subject without expressing the
exultation which. we feel at finding the British
banner once more. unfolded ;'.time British army in
erivement, - and Wellington again putting forth
tme power of his commanding genius in opposi-
t .mm to the common enemy. •

i curioto Orcunistunce took place at the Church
.15-)stou a few days ago. A couple who had ob-
tati.3o4alieetisil to enter into the holy state of Ma.,
haring togethel: With their friends, re
paire.4 to the attar, and the ceremony being about
to be performed, a ticene of no 'small confu,ion
enst.-d, consequence of the friends of the bride-
n ;,tcpping forward, and declaring him to
a wife and three children now living. This
the fond swain ,stoutly denied, hut acknowledged
that he had been acquaihted with a Woman for
some years this woman, however, was not his
lawful wedded wife. Although nearly two hOttrB
Nt;arill discussion took
,phice amongst the parties,
no direct evidence:being proditeedlipon the subject,
the clergyman (the Reverelid Ir. Gob) went
through the ceremony of uniting this precious pair.
OR the afternoon of Friday the 13th ult. there
OMS' it .tireadtai tarrn of thunder and lightning,
03(Itit 30 IYrilc,. nok‘th of itherdeen and a timid
serv“"t "" lIIC Cu"' •Nfr.Thain Dumbiain
" outrtill 1)1.1 7e "illituczrulierl9li k She
waS''
louse, lying: On her .1..)1"1 thIC 41711111 -
V ere quite bLtek, "1:('
ourhood felt the efftet,, ofirl 111(gAlli-e
Ave been seriouly hurt.

I.oNtia. ii i
4t the avt. ()FE

tANCASTM 01.. EDUCATION,

-

The following cxttact is •from a letter on Mr.
Lancaster's -system of education, written two
years ago, by Mr. W.Fell,lanthor of h pamphlet
cn that subject) and is copied from the Chester
Chronicle, on account of a few remarks, which
relate to the liberty of choice, which, it is said,
the children educated under the new system, have
in religious matters,'Und which its adyocates boast
ofy as a great recommendation in its favour.

Mr. Lancaster's system of education is evident-
ly'defective in' that kind of instrtiction which
is ttf the greatest importance to the children
of the labouring poor, and that is, a know-
ledge of
,their religious duties. We arc told,
that, '" he exercises no influence over their minds,
in favour of any-religious sect, or of any particu-
lar place of worship; that he teaches them to
read the bible without either note or comment--
nod that they are left at liberty to chase their own
religion, or, to be subject, in this.respect, to the
choice of their parents."—To superticialshinkers,
all this may have the appearance of liberality-, and
seem perfectly agreeable to their ideas Of juiticts ;
but on examination, it will, I am persuaded, be.
found to fall tar short of thegt eat objectin view.
In the education of youth a liberty of .choice, on
the part of the pupil, allows a latitude for licen-•
tionsoess; and might lead toi consequences of the
most dangerous nature. An education which al-
lows then' the option of not embracing any specific
doctrines of religion, •or of not frequenting any
place.of online worship, is not a religious ednea,
tion.if public worship is an act of duty—if it
is expedient and neeessary—if the assembling of
dirstians, either at the church or the chapel, has
the effect of disposing their minds to acts of piety
and hove, of uniting them in peace and fellowship,
and of enlarging their generous alfections—it
public worship has this cifects'or this tendency,
Mr. Lancaster's system partieipates none of its
advantages, for his pupils 'are riot repined to
attend any place of public 4vorship. They are
left at liberty, on the sabbath-day, to run wild
over the common, or to -enter into those scenes of
lewdness and dissipation, which may be witnessed
at the corner of every hack street. As to the re-
ligion of the children being left to the choice •of
their parents, it certainly would he violating the
most sacred rights of nature, to deprive the pa-
rents of this choice where they have the inclina-
tion to exercise it : bat it must be tementbered,
that it is the idleness and the vice of parents, that
it is, in fact, their ignorance and sealant' religion,
which have Made an educatiOn for their children,
at the expense of others, necessary therefore,
to pretend to instruct their children, in the
rudiments of learning, and to leave their relis
gion, and their attendance at some place of wor-
ship, to the option of their parents, who are ac-
knowledged to be, themselves, ignorant of -their
religious duties, and to have no choice at a reli-
gion, is an inconsistency at variance with common
sense. It svotild be like appealing to ignorance
for, the decision of trial], or expecting 'from vice
the display of virtue ; or it would he resorting to
the cause of the ,evil for
.the cure of the evil.—The
igoorance of the labouring poor is, it is asserted,
theseause of their vice ; and their neglecting. or'
their inability to instruct their children in their
moral duties, is ;he principle on which the oeces-
sity of a system of education for them is .vindi-
caterl, but when the children have been taught to.
read, when their minds are prepared for the remo-
tion of knowledge, and, are ready to receive int
pressions, as a foundation on which to make them
religious members of the community, they arc then
left to the complete direction (sitheir ignorant and
vicious parents, who are to chose a religion for
them, end to see that they attend regularly at di-
vine worship on the sabitath day !!—That a boy
receives correct ideas of morality and virtue, or .
forms 'proper notions of his religious ditties, front
being taught merely to read the bible, " without
either note or comment," is certainly the most ah-
surd idea that ever entered the mind of a rational
being. The bible is confessedly a book of mys-
teries, to explain which nninerous books have been
written : we Intve huge folios, itititied, " Com-
mentaries on the Scriptures'," and " Explanation
' of the Scriptures," written by learned men,- all
of which are considered- its essentially necessssm,
to enable us to understand the scriptures ; when
notes and comments are acknowledged as neces-
sary to enable men to understand the scriptures,
how can it be thought that boys, who can merely
read the words, can form a proper Understanding
~of the scriptures, without such notes • and com-
ments? Should it be said, as it sometimes has
been said, that, being taught to., reall the bible
when they are children, they will continue to read
it after they leave the school, and ,get to under-
stand it us they grow up would ask, what
ground is there for such a belief ? sir,'may not
this opinion he asserted anti. maintained to the
same extent, in favour of those children who are
ecnated wait t. the old'systt.Sui? Bat, in the ednr.
catidn of youth, the. ability merely to read the
bible will not operate very powerfully to make
them virtitous members of the community, toles
it be acenthpanied with an.inclination,:lto lead ;it,
amt. unless thsit iaclination be also tallowed
anirproperly directed, by. a regular system ofreli-
gious instrnetionaby catechisms, by commentaries,
by essplanation, and above all, by regular attend-
mice' either at the church or at the chapel, where
the example 'of their superiors will confirm the
opinians which theysKeeived front their precep-
tors. But these, the new systein professes to ex-
clude, because it is safd,thafit is not intended the
children should receive impressions 'favourable to
any particular sect ! however, it mast beobserved,
that, unless they adhere to sonic seer, they will be
wanting in that most important defy which,
sects recommeml,and, enforce—that is, attendance
at public worship.
•

We lately mentloned that Dinah Maxey, and
Elizabeth Smith, her daughter; had died in t on-
sequence of poison "being mixed with the water
used at tea. We have now to :state, that James
illosep, the husband, has been committed to Nor-
wich gaol, on suspicion of perpetratiug this atro-
cious crime.

'",(1 1,)-$F4.14011-AS WOOD, of No. 112, Strand; and Pul)
,CE, No. 112, Strand, wbere Adv‘riisenientf, Orders