The Sun.
London, England, 1812-04-04 00:00:00

IMDAJ.OZ.

Badajoz, fire capital of The province of Estrerha-
dura, in Spain, stands on an eminence on the south
side of the liver, Guadiana, over which it has a
stone bridge seven hundred paces long and.fourteen
built by the Romans. It is 1/5 miles S. by W.
oflladrid, lalittide 38:32. north, !orig. 6. 50, west,
170 N. of Cadiz, 120 N. by W. of Seville and 140
E, of Lisbon.
Hadajoz contains six. monasteries, the same rtin-
ber of nunneries, and a population of./ or 8000per-
tons. The fortificatious are partly ancient and partly
modern : the fine Roman bridge over the Guadiara.
is dcf-nded .by a lisle de-pont, On which a few gins ,
were mounted: On the right bank of the river stands
the tort of St. Christoval, which commands the city.
Badajoz was :twice. besteged-by the Portuguese, but
never, taken. .
At the close of the first revolutionary war, Rada-
joz
.became- remarkable for being the seat of the,
negociations bet %veer) Spain and Portugal,. previously
to tlie. peace of Amiens which- terminated' in -a
treaty, obliging Spain to withdraw the troops senf
to invade Portugal,. on condition of the cess'on of
the province of J.)!ivenza by the Crown of Portu-
gal: This treaty is commonly called the treaty' of
Badaj ,z.
• -

In the present war, Bad ijuz became the quarters
of a considerable part of the -British army in Odober,
1809, after the retreat
,from Talavera. Some ladies
of d:stindion opened their houSes every evening to
the British officers. The eniertaiuments on these
occasions, called thelertullia, were similar to the fa-
shionable routs of London, with a mixture of music
and singing.
Itt the month of January, 1811, in pursuance of
a combine.' plan of operation's between the French
Commanders, pre ibusly to the commencement of
Massena'S retreat, from Santarem, Marshals Mortier
and Soult advanced troth the south of Spain to Me-
rida, and:nailer laid siege to Bad4oz, having pre-
Viously obtained possession of Oltvenza. A Spanish
corps of from 12 to 20,000 met:,.- under General
Mendizabel, sent to Ow relief of Badajoz, was sur-
prised and- totally defeated by the French, 'who had

. _
to cross two great rivers, the Gebora and Guadiana,
to come to .t hem. • The French Commander being.
now at•lit:erty to proseCtne the siege without liver-
naution, effected a breach by the I oth of February,
when the Lieutenant-Grirernor,lmaz, who had suc-
ceeded as the Governor, Menachb being killed, 'sur-
rendered the place. - • •

Marshal Bc-resfbrd, who was advancing to' the re-
lief of Badajoz, having .had the mortification to ar-
rive too late to save it, retook 'Campo Mayor airy
Olivenza, which the enemy abandoned ; and on the
7th
.of May invested Badajoz in' turn, in conjunelF-
on with a Spanish corps under that,gallant and able
patriot. General Don Carlos icrE3Tiana ; taut intelli-
gence having been received of the id. mice' of Soult,
with all his force from Seville, to raise the siege, it
Was. though_t. Kudent to send back the besieging tr-
tillery to Elvas, and .leavini; a corps. •to keep the
garrison of Badajoz in cheek, _to c:.:;,ch to give the
enemy battle. The result was the g:.:ious but dear-
bought victory of Aibuera,' gained 'ay the British
arms on the 17th of May, 1811. S- 91tly after this
victory, the siege of Badajoz was ...:sumed., Lard
Wellington having previously joire:. sod taken the
command of the army in person;
On the 2d of June, the batteries were again
opened against Fort- St. ChristoVal, t
fence of Badajoz ; and on' the 6th, a -reach being
effetled which was reported praelicable, an assault
was made, and the assailants were repulsed with
loss. • A simitar,attempt was made in the night of
the gth, but with-no better success, the enemy hav-.
ing Cleared the ditch of the rubbish., and thus ren-
dered the breach inaccessible;

The combined French army, - under Marmont,
(Who had succeeded to Massena,,Soult, 8:c.) having
now advanced to the relief of the place, • the siege
was'finally raised, and Soult entered the place on the
20th. General' Philippon, the Governor, was highly
commended Lay Soult, who is the Commander in
Chief in Spain, since the retreat of Nassena. Souk
went so far as to say in.his report, "1 demand for
him!) (Philippoo) the title of Count, with a suitable
appanage;" but Buonaparte has never complied
with his demand, nor conferred any reward or mark
'of favour on Philippon. Since that period Badajoz
has continued.untnolested, down to the commence
meat of the present siege.

FORGED NOTES.—The following is an account of
the total value of the Forged Notes presented at the
Bank of England for payment, and refused, from
being forged, for the eleven years, from Ist Jan.
I'Bol, to 31st Dec. 1811:

•
The Nominal Value of the 'Forged Notes, presented for
payment, and refused, within the above•mentioned period,
is 101,6611.

Link of England,'/6th March, 1812:'

11. HASE, Chief Cashier.

•, N. B. The above_Return includes a Il' Forged Notes, sup.
p?sed to have been fabricated on the Continent, and pre-sented
within the aforesaid per:od.

Although the mysteries of Lill work are pretty
well understood in this country, the following ap-
pears to be.a refinement :—By a law in Virgiuiai if
any Bill of exchange is drawn for any sum of mo-
ney, and such bill is protested for non-acceptance or
non-payment, it carries interest from its _date alter
the rate of ten per cent. per annum,-until the money
be fully satisfied and paid. A very curious instance.
occurred stime time ago at Williarnsburgh
usurer, not satisfied with 5 per cent. legal interest,
refused to advance a suit) of Money to aGentleman,
unless, by 'way of security, he'would:give him a bill_
of Exchange, that should be returned protested, by
which 'he Would be entitled to ten pounds--par cent. •
The Gentleman, who had •immediate occasion fiir
the money, drew a bill upon a capital merchant in
London, with whom he had never had any7transac-
Lion, or carried on the least correspondence. The
merchant, on the receipt of the bill, observing the
name.of the drawer, very readily honoured it, know-
ing theGentleinan to be a person of great property,
and concluding that he meant to enter into a corres-
pondence with him. The usurer upon this, became
entitled to 'only five pounds per cent.- He-was ex-
ceedingly enraged, therefore, at being; as he called
it, thus [ricked, an complained very heavily to, the .
Gentleman of his having given bun a good bill in-
stead of a bad one !