The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-13 00:00:00

-- • -
GRE A T SCARCITY OF COD FISH.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUIV.
SlR,—Billingsgate market this morning exhibits a
pretty practical proof of the necessity there is, that
some measures should be adopted to prevent those
fluctuations of supplies the market according to the
now existing state of things is subject to. At one
period, not many years ago, when there were upwards' • •
of three hundred and fifty welled smacks constantly
engaged in the deep-sea "Coddirtg trade," London
market was then the boast of the world for its
primest description of cod-fish, and its regularity of
supplies. Like the butcher who keeps his cattle
penned up alive until they are required to be, killed,
so were the cod-fish kept alive in the vessels' wells
until there was a wholesome demand. There having
been such a considerable number of vessels in the
trade, when it happened the weather was boisterous
at sea for a number of de) s, the 'mead was
not very materially affected, as there were always a
number of smacks lying at Gravesend with living cod
to supply the demand. That good old system, like
::any other good old systems, now wears a different
aspect. The great competition offered by the open-
boat along-shore fishermen to the welled smack
owners has caused the greatest number cf the smack
owners to withdraw their vessels from the regular
deep-sea trade. The consequence is, that when the
weather happens to be at all boisterous (as it has been
lately), the open-boat fishers cannot put to sea; and
now, there only being a few cod-smacks engaged in
the trade, when the weather is a little boisterous, the
markets are left almost bare of fresh cod. Some
little time since, when the weather was fine, large
cod were sold at Billingsgate for two shillings or
half-a-crown. This morning the wholesale price of
cod fish was from fifteen shillings to one guinea each.'
I am, Sir, &c.,

Feb. 13, 1850.

11. DE MPSTER.

THE PENINSULAR WAR.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Thiers, in his 9th volume of the Consu-
late and Empire, claims forlhitnself the secret of the
Peninsular war, having found it in certain papers to
which he only has had access. That may be ; but I
ask if he is incapable of drawing false conclusions
from secret materials to support perverse assertions ?
To answer with good warrant let us examine how
he deals with authentic documents, not confined to
his secret repertory.
Thiers—"3,ooo brisk resolute Frenchmen" opposed
15,000 English at Ricorca.
Reply—The Duke of Wellington judged the
French to be 6,000. Laborde, their commander,
denied be bad 6,000, thus tacitly admitting he had
5,000 or more.
Thiers—The English had 400 cavalry.
Reply—The English Adjutant- General's return
gives 250.
Thiers—Laborde wounded or killed 1,200 or 1,500
English at Ricorqa.
Reply—The Adjutant-General's return gives 479
killed, wounded, and missing.
Theirs—"Junot collected 9,000 some hundred
men to fight at Vitneira."
Reply—The French order of battle found on the
field gave 14,000.
Theirs-22,000 French embarked under the Con-
vention.

Reply—The official French embarkation return
gives nearly 26,000 men and officers.
Thiers—" Only 26,000 men followed Junot into
Portugal."
Reply—The Imperial mittl•-rolls cive 29;584
effectlve in Portuzal, 2:Q of 1S:08.
Theirs—The Frt ncli army of -pain under 16.-
poleon :2,;0,000 strong, of v. Lich 200,000 only
were assembled there the end of Oetober, 1808.
Reply—The Imperial muster-rolls show, on the
25th of October, more than 319,000 efftctive ; on the
15th of November, more than 339,000 effective.
Thiers—Sir John Moore's troops arrived at Sala.
manta, exhausted by their long march, and by pri-
vations.
Reply—Aloore's dispatches say his troops were in
better case than when they started from Lisbon ;
they suffered no privations, and their excellent con-
dition up to Sahagun was notorious.
Thiers—" Moore advanced to Sahagun with 29,000
English troops, and about 10,000 Spaniards."
Reply —The Adjutant-General's return of the 19th
of December gives 23,583 of all arms ; Moore had no
Spaniards, and Romans, who did not act in concert,
had only 6,000.
M.Thiers cannot deny the authenticity of my num-
bers, seeing they were taken from the original Impe-
rial muster-rolls in the French War-office; not the
yellow, but the green rolls; the officers of that
(lice will appreciate the distinction of colours.
M. Thiess cannot plead ignorance. All the docu-
ments are printrd in toy history, and he had access
to the French originals.
So much for quantities.
qualities.
Thiers—Wellington hes a "contracted intellect;"
Sir John Moore was " irresolute in council ;" th.
English soldier is " beaten almost to death for the
least fault;" "be is little practised to march ;"
" is inanimate, feeble, when forced to wove to at-
tack ; " "he has no vivacity, no• audacity, so en-
thusiasm, no hardihood, no enterprise ;" "to beat
him he must be forced to take the initiative in at-
tack," &c

Let us examine him as to

ii'ply—Wellington's intellect, measured by M
Thiers' imagination, must appear very contracted.
Yet it is strange that with a few troops having no
enterprise, no hardihood, and fearing to be beaten
to death for trifling ofiencs, he should have main-
tained the war for five years successfully in Spain,
against enormous numbers of soldiars and officers

the best and most skilful in the world, according
to M. Thiers, and, finally, should carry that war
int) France ! Strange that troops unable to march
should have moved, in face of an enemy, from Lis-
bon to the Aguede, from the Agueda to Madrid, from
the Douro to the Adour, from the Adour to the
Upper Garonne. Stranger still, if to beat those
troops it was only necessary to make them attack,
that they should have attacked successfully at Rorica,
where the French hill was five times more steep, rug-
ged, and difficult than the English hill at Vimeira,
which the French unsuccessfully attacked ; that they
forced the passage of the Douro and drove Soult out
of Portugal ; that they attacked Massena at Re-
dinha, at easel Nova, at Fonte d'Aronce, at Sabugal,
and drove him also out of Portugal; that they at-
tacked and retook the key of the position at
A.lbuen, which the Spaniards had lost ; that they
attacked and defeated Marinont at Salamanca—
the King at Vittoria, driving him out of Spain ;
that in the second fight, near Pampelunn, they at-
tacked Souk's mountain position, and drove him out
of Spain ; that they forced the intrenched mountain
position at Vera, and his fortified mountain lines on
the Nivelle, covering B iyonne ; that they passed
the Gave de Pau in face of the French army, and de-
feated that army at Orthes—that they passed the
Garonne and forced the intrenched camp at Toulouse,
thus terminating the war ! M. Thiers is not happy
in his military reveries. Brilliant phrases condemna-
tory of revolutions which he could neither arrest nor
guide are more consonant to his genius.
Thiers—Sir John Moore was " irresolute in coun-
cil"—" he yielded to the imperious admonitions of
Mr. Frere"—" papers published by his family prove
this."

Reply—The papers published by Moore's family
proved that he repelled Mr. Frere's arrogance with
calm dignity, did not follow his plans, and changed
his own because fresh events called for change. His
irresolution in council exists in M. Thiers' imagina-
tion—nowhere else. Those who knew Sir John
Moore will laugh at such a silly assertion. M.
Thiers has not been so remarkable for political reso-
lution himself as to give him a right to censure
others. In what council known to him did Sir John
Moore display irresolution ? Those who have read
that General's journals know of several held with
Mr. Pitt, Lord Melville, and others, wherein his abi-
lity, unhesitating vigour, and readiness to undertake
what he advised, the sure sign of resolution, were
signally manifested. But N. Thiers speaks after-
wards of his " prudent firmness." Prudent firmness
combined with irresolution! Indomitable resolu-
tion, both in council and in the field, waslll ore a
served
a th
more example of unfounded censure.
‘
cchidaerdcharacteristic. Napoleon himself was not more de-
Onesaid
N oln his
advanceeo
to
the north, and
Spanish‘Sir John
aus e
h
giving the south time to rally. This M. Thiers calls
a " presumptuous manner of presenting the affair to
cover a disastrous campaign."
Scause r°lriweing
The best reply to that presumptuous remark is M.
Thiers' history, wherein he distinctly shows that
Napoleon did turn all his forces from the south to the
north in consequence of Moore's advance to Sahagun
—an advance which that General had previously de-
clared he would make to produce such a result I
Verily, M. Thiers must amend his manner of treat-
ing known accessible facts, if he would have his
authority accepted for the unknown and inaccessible.
WILLIANI NAPIER, Majo:. General.

NAVAL CLUII or 1765.—The members of this
anent club dined together at the Thatched House
Tavern o❑ Monday lair. Vice-Admiral Sir Charles
Malcolm, president of the club, took the chair, and was
supported by upwards of forty of his comrades; among
whom were Captains Sir E. Belcher, C. 8., Charles
(;role, E. Chappell. Thomas Dickenson, H. E. Edgell,
C. Edmunds, 11. Gossett. Percy Grace, %V. J. T. Hood,
R. Bridhun, Sir John Boss, C. t 3., P. Yorke, &c. The
secret .ry, Mr. Alen, occupied the vice-chair.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGF, LONDON.—The council, at
their session on Saturday last, awarded the Flaherty
Soliolarship in classics to Mr. Alfred Wills, of Birming-
ham—examiners, Arthur St. Clough, M.A., Professor
Newman, and Professor Malden. At the same
session, on the recommendation of the Faculty of
Medicine, the Longridge Prizi of 40/4for general profi-
ciency was awarded to Mr. Henry Briggs, of Mali*.