The Sun.
London, England, 1809-04-22 00:00:00

../11 VW Ulf 1.411.1

01/!,4IJU

have discograged Ministers, and- discuaded them
from etribarkutg in airy hazardous enterprize, The
Nob ta Lord thee proceeded to shear, that from the
tenor at Sir DaOid Baird's and Pen. Moore's letters,
it was evident that they considered the spirit and

enthusiasm of the Spaniards
.tO be eti rely
extina.. 'Where then was he to took forgrounds to
justify those ideas that were set ifloarof the enthu-
siastic ardour _of,the..universal Spanish .nation, to
drive the invader and the usurper from their native
soil ?. There was an abundance of the military c0t....
respondence 'before tho'House,.but little or nothing

of the political correspondence respecting the state of '
Spain, from which alone a correa idea could be
gathered of the real spirit_that actuated the Govern-
ment; as well as ,the people 'of that. country 4 Of
. the want of this information he had beforeicorn-
plained ; but' he complained in vain. The Secre.
tary of State lot-Foreign Atfairs seemed rely taut to
produce any. The War Secretary was prodigal of
his documents, a. contrariety of disposition winch
leave room to .stispea the existence of some-
thing like disunion lonia where. SDLDC froginents
of the: political correspondence .were wrtmg,reluti.
tautly however, hum Mr. Secretary Canning, and.-
among iliiiSe were two • or three. letters from Mr.
Frere, to which their Lordships. •cduld not too

riouily attend.: These letter'sShowed:some:distrust
of the tirmoess,and perseveraoce ot the ?Spaniards
even in Mr. Frete's mind. Prorn Whom then were
we to collect the grounds Which warranted. such .
stitremetne us the country has been id long accustom=
id te; of the strir, the husiasto, the perseverance,
which so Widely animated the Spanish people ?
They were not to be found even in the Decrees. of
.Inti 439, or ift the Proclamations of the Marquis
e Itornana, who complained not only of the want
.spirit and perseverance in ,his soldiers, but even
in his °dicers, and whO openly arraigns them not
only of indifference, but of deledion !rum the cause;
b et/Aso:appears that when the. French armies had •
been reiminced to trom to nearly 1
.50 thousaud
Men', there were only to oppose 'them' 80,000
Spartiards'of all deseriptions;.- and those ill equipped'
in every resped, and labouring under the did-
Vantages of raw recruits. ,If such was the teal state
of the spirit of the Spanish nation, and the real
amount' of their armed foice, were not-Miuisters •
to. be called to a severe account' for allowing the pro. 4
pagation of. such opposite reprettenWionsof thitigo
Let them not talk of the defence of Saragossa', Of the
activity and energy with `whi'clt they expelled' the
usurper Joseph Bnonaparte,, Sze., these were only
transient ehullttious-of resentment, in which pro-
deuce and caution should have forbidden Ministers
to canticle. Surely such were 'not die grounds that
'Could justify theta in having tisked so large a portion
of the military: means of the country.; Even alter.
the defeat of Dupont, and the retreat of Joseph
Bnonaparte, it was now asCertained'that.the French'
had tin tobretban 45;000 ten in Spain, and there'
they remained for a . considerable time Tiipt and
unmolested, waiting for reinforcements. Where
was, during that time, theliprit, the en'ergy, the
perseverance of the •Spiniarde? Littler they were
animated by .such a spis.; or • they; were not. With
either disposition Ministers should have been ae-
o;.taiiited. if the Spaniards were so animated, they
shouldhave taken advantage of that disposition y if
they, were not, then they ahoeld have sent no army,
.to Spain. We might havoi.assisted the Spaniards
with arms, stores, provisions, money, and with our
rrittval fdiee ;. hut until thlo'real Spirittliat actedted both
,the' Gol....trnArent aird the .'people of Spsin was as-
certaioezi, ,should not have hazarded British
army. Various were the op nions entertained re.-
.specl ing the fittest spot in which a Britiblt force might
fiat e most advantageettsly.- 'Sortie .were, for ,
sending them to Gti4tt and,;Sr. Ander° ; hut' much
ot the success of such a.step oepend on the'
setv4titi ot•th.. year; Otner% 'were tor sending them !ci
Pot t.,w;:41 mot the South iof Spain ; but it ',vita Sir' J.
Meore!s o,iiiiton, than the British troops should have
been sent to Cadiz, instead of Cott:Mini ; to Seville,,
inveatt of Salamarict—lt have can ()I ad-
vant,t4e to strike a blow against the French in Por-
tugal, ants next endeavoer toessist Spans; huctiten.,
all ;Rich attempts were only. parts ut . plan, thseo,scl.,
and insitlate4l, without any comprehensive combina-
tion. Such was Out the of 0,0 on which
Buonaparta acted. So well tras4ie told us. in. one
of his,;,ilolletins, that there can be no youcceso itt;
war, 'without a well matured and, well' digested
plan. •Was our plait 'of Abet 'description '? or tiad'
we formed any settled • plan at all ? Yet, without
some woi combined pies, should we have ventured
any movement in the face of such an enemy ? Upon
the Sarni kind of principle did Ministers seem to ad
when they sent Gen. Moore to Sweden with f ',non
men. Sweden was then attacked from Norway and
Finland J)y the Danes and the Ituss;ato, and at other
points by the Fretich. Under such circumstarices,
we sent limits the assistance Of eleven thousand men;
under a General who knew not how or With whom
ho. was to act. No plan of 'operations had been
ecincerted with Sweden; and. what did this inter-
ference of ours produce ?—the degrading spetbicle
Of..a British General compelled to eatrape from the
Court ;of an Ally in disguise, and since, the down.
fall and ruin of that Ally Was not a severe
account to be here also exaded of the conduit of
Ise istera ? Next, Geti.SOeticer,is sent on one her-
. yice.erGeneral Wellesley , is intended tor anotheroti-
Frero, various circumstatices it appears, that Sir A.
Wellesley's first destinatten 'was South Anierite.----.
,Thie object is, lanwever, abandoned toe
,-ft)e,itio.
4ritint. But tore. Qt. PAQQ it en having beet), aoitte
how collected, it was 'necessary to employ it sonic-
*beret and it *as determined to scud then' tii"Por-
:ittgal or Spain. Abeitt 'that' dine the nevus arrived
of the insurrection in Spain, of the resolution: of the
Spitharda a expel tho envoy,. and then, a force:
which was destined to;take advantage of their trou-
bles; and seize upon. SCruttrAmerica, is converted
into a .turee :to, co-operate with the Portuguese or
Spaniards in eltpeihttg the cointrion foe, kis sent,
to sett, without chart or compass, and without arty
certain infOrMation to guide • its 'Course. Diftereut
offices were sent indeed, to coiled information ; but
when ii arrived it was contradiCtery and imperfect;
and hence no arrangement or plan in the objeth of
the eipedirioo: It was finally, however, detettnioed
the troops should. proceed .to,-the, Tagns, acrd, what '
wars: to progress, the -nature, and the final result of
their' operations in
.Portugal, that House- attd the
country must recoiled but too well. Here the Noble