The Sun.
London, England, 1809-01-20 00:00:00

wag impotsible to ascertain whether it expressed the
general Selliitlletlteal the 113tip11. The Honourable
Gentleman deprecated the introcluftion of a regular
army to assig an irregular force. Certainly, early in
the war, tile Spanish troops were lot:lira:1d irregular;
but this' force was boon- found to be inetfeetive.—

Yuen in Andalusia a regular army was established,
and it was not until they got a regular army that the
Spaui4rds were ena!,:led to make an efieetUal strug-
141v, and to- ieduee the'rpuiver of the enemy by the
defeat of Dupont, at the memorable battle.of Bay-.
km. Tlo course of events decided 'the question
between alteular and irlegillar force. . When Ma-
tbil was evacuated, and the ;CrOvineefi pureed of the
h, eveiS, tlovince reit the necessity, of advanc-

in! its troops, and they weae consegticotly advanced
and consolidated in trfe,eutitre(ll the kingdom. Ilk
halt, therefore, no option—tie
oinion had been rnath by Spain. They had .cho,eti
th 9 :nolo of regular:warfare, and it would have M-
b...fitted the Charaeler of Great Britain to have
shrunk hoot the contest, and to have said to aim
Spaniards—“ We will give you money—we will
Ove- you stOrews but we will not hazard .our blood
in rotir defence." The Hohourable Oentlerpan had

r,e-erted, that before see had. committed a British
into Bpain, we ought to have well 'wow!)
wien means of security that army possessed, in the
event of a reverse of fortune, and that it Wotild have
bthr no impeachment of their zeal in the Spanish
cause, ha-d'Ministers demanded from Spain caution.,
ars' terms, for the purpose of affording that assist.
anee. For his part, he knew of but one town in
Spain which answered the description given by the
I lononrable Gentleman, and that was Cadiz. As to
Faint, :it was not a town that any military man •
svirtild say could atlind the assistance required by the
*lloirourable-Gentleinan. Cadiz did certainly corn.
pletely afford the opportunity of .securing the re-
embarkation which the Honourable'Gentleman,con-
tittered scrilesirable. But he put it to the feelings Of
the House and of the Country; if in the opt ser such.
a proposition bad been made by Government .(and
more especially, had they adopted the fantastical
10.:heme of the Hon. Gentleman, of fighting on the
Pyrenees) 'to the great and geherons Spanish
,na-
tion, whether it was. possible to conceive that any,
apple of discord could be thrown among trier'' more
likcly to be .destruCljve in its consequence--the, ra-
ther, as the point or, Cadiz would not bear. the least
tin that in which the j(?.ilit exertions 'of the two.
countries :were to be carried on. What would the
have said, if the expeditjon had been delayed.
because a negociation was pending with Spain to put
Cadiz' into tho, hauds•of the British ? The Honour:
able Gentleman had cud,' and said truly, that the
lionse. was not in possession of regular information
tilt these subjeets, His wish was., that every intiT-
Ma;ion sha'std be afforded that would not be pre-
jad'e's' to the public Service. With.reliett to Por-
toga!, he had the satialgtiou to say; that he was, not
aware that any jelblie incbtweniettee would result:
from •the most unqualified diselesurct, btit the House
.Svould feel, that'while the campaign in Spain bad,
riot terminaied, the, .public inteeest might require
the exercise of discussion in the inforruatio'n to be
itaerdcd. On, the 'question, whether the military
opi;rations of. this: countriAthonla lnive been de-
sc-ribed first to Spain' or to. Portugal, he differed flour
the Hon, )31/4...ntletnan, who thought that theyAboold
hat4l been di6ted first to SO.tio.- Certainly. there
eoold be no fallacy Inure extraordibary., than the
veliiiiisicnt fancy enterhincd by the. Hon. Genii&
num, of posting,an army in the passes of the Py-
renees, to interitipt a communication between two
hostile arrrties', caeh• of them superior to it' in
strength. l'he Hon. Gentleman talked of • landing
an.. army, and putting it-in motion, with as touch
ease as he would of tacking a ship ; but he migla
one day or other, perhapii, find out, that it was not
(phi.: so easy a matter as he imagined. A, ship
had every thing within itself,
,and abaft! move •or
tight without any regard to ef,:ternal circumstanees..
The Honourable Pentreman conceived, that atter,an*
army bad landed, it had nothing to do but to set off
the next morning on its 'operations. If, howeVer,
the military exertion of this country were to stand
still until an army could he lauded, which should. be
ready to move. on the next day, 'they, would stand as
. pull its they had stood under that vigorous Adminis-
tration vt hieh had oe'ver dotte any thing. It' the
army had landed at' St. Andeirol Or even at St. Se.
bastian's; he could assure the Honourable' GlltlEt
'lain (and the, lamentable. experience of Blake Con-,
firmed that assurance); that it 'would have been in',
cl,:tole of operation, and that, .if it could have
sl:rtitiblerl to, a poaition, it would tle.yer have room-
cd from it. Of all'the•fanciftil tanipaigni that ever
existed in the mind of a military tlletaiSt;Alle Calli-
raigo of the ,1-7.rettees appeared to 'him to be the
most whimsical - and alt aird: Among his charges
against his Majesty's Govel meta, the-Honourable
Gentleman had accused t.hcitt of having allowed the
Expedition to WI without a dislinct, object, to seek
its fortune, a 3 he termed it, and that its ultimate de.
• stination was left ro the discretion ante distinguish-
td Officer tt, vairriecornmand it was nitrustod; Had
ibis actually been the case, had this confidence been
reposed in the gallant Qiiiter,dluderd to, lie did net
know irate) whose bends. it ,ottld have
~..4een mere
safely pitieett. but if the lionottiable Gentleman
would inspect the dot...up:tits, which he rot,ol have
on calling for them, he would, find that that expedi.
tirin sailed with the nest distinctly &tined. purpose..
By an enter of-.the 13th of June, Sir Arthur Wel.
I, sley bad been directed to proceed, ithrnediattly.
to the Tagus, and motto lose even.the time which
truulcl require'tO land at Cornnaa. However, he
cry wiscly'did avail himself of a change of Oretllll-
- stances, arid landed pmornally at COrttrma, hi pre-
ference to .otendin4 a mess.enget. Government Lad
received predse idtornation: from Sir C. Cotton,
(cellielk afterwards turned out to be etr4treous), that
the'euerny• sells in such inconSiderable force, that
with Shoo ttoops he could get into the Tagus duct
take full postessien•of ad that was necessary.
flog, therefore,* could he more distinct than the in.
arilio.iciod given to Sir ,A., Wellesley ; but surely it
wrieldhave beea'mosr nowifse; amidit,ineh fleeting
solles, to have' tied rip the of that exml •
lent Offreerrind to lentetold hirn, that if Oita .object
t,l cl,not ste.ced, his corps was to' be prevented from
doing any thing else Oritti ihe •.kreard .frorn home. If
the fon. Gentteinair was nut ok- '4, similar opinion,
(;ft.,!.rect very mulch tiont some ofhisfri:entis,'whq
vcre_ net. then present; One tion.'Oentlernati,„
eitrticulitr,' bad • strongly stared,. on it former oectAr
thlit 14.1 ikaye a 4oatinki fot,ce ;cat/1: lo krocsed to,