The Sun.
London, England, 1810-02-26 00:00:00

THE Isl QUIRY Y.

• kit TgS' •EVID;ENCE.
- • , TENT.I-1 DAY, -TED'. Zr.
Copy of a Littzr froth -Rear..Adnii;al, Sir RICHARD
-S.TRACYIAN Bart.- K. .43.. to Lieut. Gcneral the Right
'Hon. the Earl of i-tATtiAlci, K. G. •
MY . . Nliddleburgh,.Sth August, 18e9.
Theletter which your Lordship did 'me the ho-
nour to write to tine on the doth instant; 'I only re:-
cei wed' ori" the 5-th, and I have ever since been
prssed with' business,- that 1.11:td not an opporto-
nifyl of answering' I hope is the less
ma-
as I have fad .the honour of arconversatiori
with your LOrdship On- the subjea"..of its contents. •
YourThOriLhip muse awit-re how very adverse
the staie of the weather has been to all our 'O'peta-
-tions ; "st4l,..undCr the diiiitulties that • hav'e
;1 vast number. vi v esseis • di reu t
sc:r.,pti(p.s, have been -carried .thvnugit the intricate
1-,•:ssagt.; of the. Slough; atul at.-5 now in the West

'l'he lippprtante-- of the Ishind' of. Cadsand• was
perfealp understood' betbre we lett -Englatid ; sitd I
was- happy to find your :Lordship 'was iinpreSsed
with the same stntlinent r.but it is to bo.regretted
that the -Strength of the enemy and the foulness of
Weather prevented'the diviSion of the' Marquis
cf flontiey' t rein . landing at that
distance between Flushing and Breskins is
Aso short,. that it is impossible entirely-to, cnt -off the
.commtaniCation but it may be so_ impeded, which
I.trust it now is; as to make it very dangerous for
the enemy to -attempt any thing be,ood a single
boat, though 'there are so ii any c.rcurdstances.in
:hiS favour, of wind, weather, shorthf.ss of distance,
with covering batteries on each- side,t . and -dark
nights, that he' may occasionally effe4t •
have ordered all the frigates to pass up the
- Scheldt, and' the line-of-battle ships to follow ; and
having direCted heavy.guns to be mounted on board
twenty light transports, and •the: 'Ong boats of the
fleet armed with theircarronades, I hope I shall be
able by the day atter to-morrow at. furthest, to pro-
• ce,ed up theScheldr with the fiotilia andfire vesselS
of
.every, description, except those just mentioned,
tobe-•followed.by the frigates as -they cOme,in, and
• Abe 'line-of-battle ships',in succession.'
As:South Beveland is in our possession, I am not
aware 'that. it will be necessary' to . trouble your
Lordship ,to alter any of your military arrange-
ments; but if the Elvoetsdyke channel is.closed, of
N'.%;itichfthere_is a report,' and the enemy: has "erected
. any works- above Terneuse, then may_ be *necessary.
to recur to your Lordship's opinion' about a car
• operative force for that point.
hope we shall be able. to Orevent any comma-.
ni:.ation‘with.South-Beveland and the South coast
of the river, because the enemy has pone of those
advdotages there that he has between Breskins and
.Flushing. _ .
. In regard. to -the East Scheldt, I have placed. a
-sir.). rig squadron (here under 'Admit al Keats, except
in
,gan-veSs6ls, of which lie is deficient, in conse-
quence Of the ritnnivr -,required for the operdionS
_ nohe West Scheldt; znad I will again call ihiS at-
tecttit;ti to the:importance of the Zypopassage, and
strengthen him in regard
,to gun-vessels whenever
li.ive sufficient number to spare: -
If
.by the' practical.' effects. of a deteri-ninud -fire
ii,e battery 'now' ready to open -upon-the town
of Flushing, your Lo;dslrip should- be'of opinion,
that by 'still confining your operations principally to
, -Le:land side, the siege, Will be- pfolonged to any
. length of incotivenience, 1 think it right to state to
yoor Lordship, that I shalt have Ito hesitation 'in
going aiungside 'the batteries with six line-ot-batrie
• Sliips, 'under a previous concert fur co-operation with
at my in such a plan -attack.
I: 1[1;i -object of Finding had been the only point
to l,u atte.ided to, I should' ha e. offered this` mode
i::i'yct.tY'LordshiP's:Consideration before now ; .but
as I viewed the destruction of the fleet up the
Schtl,l.t as the main 6b.j..crs, I I ehted in 'a great wea-
_• slo 'my meaiis of an-o_l'k on the c tf-Lc• ive
batte ships; tlion:1), if 1 nit et•ally .Jitaiet.linitnt itt
goiqg up, the river; I.slidi lease those and
pttscced in the frigates, with tsli the snarl armed ves-
to Bat liz, where [can inure; eai;:ly decide, train
It e lafest focal intelligence, on the method hest
sidled-to cart into ex ecution mcith the least pobsible
.
• ' delay, the remaining. objects of she Expedition, as
far as they, relate to the enemy's fleet, which I shall
prev-totisly cointimn,cttte to yodr ; and I
hail be very happy,- v. lieneve'r you hare occasion
• to apply to lilt, to :mark my te,t;iiiiess to meet yodr
;Lot ip's wishes in any co op ration you may think

roper to suggest.
I hate the hollow toile; my Lord,
it. J. STItACHAN.

Tile Cpilifins of the -Lieutenant (/enerals 'of the
. Artily; 7111"eliquat,, 1809.
" Head- Qua'Lets, Fort ...E.aliz., 2.7i1l August, 5819. 1
cc "Fie army' having arrived at the point, from
kviietiet, tor.ker arrangements ale to b made lor car-
ryillg -the" ulterior ofjee,ts of the expedition into
etra 5. ana It' V. '.i' cicutustatics having combined
w iijter-tuateliall) trik: view in which it was under-
eii )
tak .--tne Coii.trnaticler ci. t! e foices Jit4t:S it
_ roi,er to bilt:e rqconi se io th • Lie-wen:int Gebirrals i!
u: tie army,'—how far it appe,irs to them advisable
.th.it the t ege of, •Ant well), ~iiokild. be epgaged in,
wh:cii o;:eraiuni. it is' ticlit%eti, ciiii
(alone el4;-ure
;he deill-tic-lion of the cilt'tnystlavai a:sen'ak" 1-It, that:
voce, and the p0,,,,e.•!5160 of -11.6ir ships of _War,
Wll Ch :ire lioW O4t S rnbied wider. it suns. - •
" B}yconctiriii g luta gi-lice,' the force of the
• :p.,9) is it.pr,_:stlited to L. as fahows:
I 11,,ri,e .-v il . ZOOM' - • - - '' 4,000
L',/...tia ‘.- ' .: -.-- - , - 2,(wo'
Cant9.4.Al bi:LwCeilPsSeiltiti,ht av‘ci Antwdri) zi,ctu
•At Afo.werii,• - - - - - 1 i ,00u
• • 1,1, !itt-lert. bank of the:Schela
li: i it)eu • -

3,00

15.5°a

1:1,3rd-4-inns a-ie-s3id,.'ci efft'aed round LAO,
in th country hetween
,and -Lief kenshoeik-,
d m tr,.;nt of t.e 'ieee Flandre. . The defence
ot. Ant erp-are, stated to be rector. d, the demi re*
eettAl;:nt and sodded par,i,:et is in good repair,. the
deepened •with witer guns
ale moo:act.' J)11 the tiastivlls, and batteries_ are con-
•ArtiOed r n the quays.. As. a:preliminary measure,
I c po'session otjorts Lillo and Lief,kenshoeilds con-
ider -
etisable,. the first Of which being case-
&e,l is capable of sustaining a short siege. The

debarkment for these aerations must necessarily, be
in presence of the enemy, On the sands near Ossen.
dricht, a distance oPsix.leagueg itom Antwerp and
two frarn'Lillo; and 1,4-fkenshoeik, suppaSing the
inundai ion'to be completes, can only be approached
by'the sea-dyke, ,
j." The probable time in which these objects can
be acComplishedy-Cannot be estimated at, less than
froni three to four weeks, daring-which,peritl the
'means the enemy will have 'of augmenting his force,
are incaltalable; '
• '‘e7Our.. total effeaive force in infantry, exclusive
of 6000. men left in Walcheren,..is reduced by a ra,
pidi and it is feared increasing sickness;,'to 24,000
men.; and whiCh it is intended, should further ope-
rations be determined' upon, to appropriate as fol-
lows t-r—r
. - - • ,

-To Zernain in South Beveland 20,00
Covering Army, to observe Breda and Bergen-
, op-Zooin '-.to guard-the place nt Depot of
stores and Provisions; and tor Escorts - -
ROtaitis for the reductions of I.illo, Lief ken-
, shovik, 4111.1 Antvsefp

1,000

14,000

24,000

The matter, therefore, for consideratioii, is,
Whether under. all'the.circiamsta,nces So stated, it is
advisable to undertake operations 'so serious and:
extensive?
,'
We'are of opinion, that; under all the circum-
stances that have been laid before us.. the undertak-
ing the sige of Antwerp is impra4icable.
Signed Eyre Coote,, Rosyln-, Huntley, I'. Grosyenor,
john Hope, Paget, It. Brownrigg, Lieut.-Generals.
" :Having deCided against_ the expediency of un-2
dertaking the siege of Antwerp; the Liehtenant
Generals are further desired to state their opinions;
whether any minor objects can be undertaken with
advantage ; and in-particular, whether it would be`,
advisable to attempt, the rtduCtion of Forts Lillo aqd
Leif kenshoeik ?
“• We are of opinion, that as the siege - of Ant-
werp cannot be. undertaken, the success 'of. which
could alone accorriplish the ultimate objet of the
expedition, no possible advantage can result from
attempting to reduce the Forts of Lill°. and Lief-
kenshoeik ; from undertaking any minor ope-:
rations.
Signed Eyre Coote, Rosslyn,, Huntley; T.'Grosvenor,
. John Hope, Paget, and Robert 13-rownrigg, Lieutenant=:
• Generals.
A true Copy:
Robert
_Brownrigg, Quarter-Master-General. •
(To be continued.)

MAILS.
ARR IV Its-1 Lisbon, -z Dublin. Mug--z Gottenburgh,
i Cadiz, z Waterford. , •

PRICE OF STOCKS
THIS DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK.
Consols

A;pri..ate letterfrom Martinique, dated the -loth
of January; Mentions, that every thing was ready -
.for the E4edition against Guadaloupe, and that an'
•Who . were 'to be :engaged in it were impatiently
waiting for orders. • Brigadier-General HARCOURT,
Governor of St.. Croix, had arrived. at Martinique,
'for the purpose of taking part in the attack. ER-
NOUF, who has, the command at Guadaloupe, had,
it seems intimated his determination to make.a spi_
rued resititance, but as the army which is going
,against him is reinatkably .well appointed*, and wel
officered, and consists oc. sonie of, the finest: troops
in his Majesty's service, every thing may
.be':ex--
. peaect from their . efforts. Among the rest there
are two Black Regiments, which bear -a most for-
niktable aspep. It'was expe.tled that the embark-
.
• alien would take pike within two or three days of-,
ter the date of this letter.
. , -

Fort,Bourhon was completely. demolished on the

day. when the 'above letter %catne 'away. The walls,
which were very thick and very strong,. and which
cost an immense deal of monerin,tbeir cJnstruaion,

ere entirely blown into the ditch, where they lie a
heap
,of rubbish for the snakes to breed in, the
island aboundingin those reptiles, Many of- which
are'of_a‘ very 1-enomous.natufe. •
We fuel the greatest pleasure in stating, that both
in Bat badoes and Martiniquelthe inhabitants and the
troops ate uncommonly healthy, so tuna so, that
although very little less than 20,000 men are, col-
leaed in those Islands, not a Single death had- oc-.
;aired among the otrlicers for some months previous
to the date of our Correspondent's Letter. •

We have received Spanish rapers to the gth, and
P(rrtugtieJe to the 1 -inst. from which we have

made some extracts.-- The intelligence, as may aa-
turally be expeeted in the, present
,state of those.
Countries, is to instances rather contradic-
tory. It doei not appear that 'the..Fiench have
adC•anced to Cadii:- The, only chance they had
of taking that city was, by. a coop-de-main 3, 'but%
the E;ktiful,and rapid ni.treh.ol: the Duke D'ALuu-
•
a.
v. -h - •
ucacau-a% log frustrated that pl'ojeal, it is not
probable that 'they will vent e upon._ regu-
•
lar amick. bzwe no certain ' accounts of
the. a 111:0i111 t of the French force that haspaSsed- the
Sierra Morena ; it is stated, however, to amount to
4.0,000 mtn." With such a force it certainly„,would
;;yossible to 6r4dertake the sie;e"of Cadiz, alld

•
tit 1:e to keep open the;r eornMunica-
t:, I\ro:ena. The Portuguese Pa-
ts four ,Britis.h regiments sailed from
the Taus to aSsist in the ,defence of Cadiz. -A
•
report is mentionedin the Portuguese Papers, that

a French corps bad been completely defeated by an
Engiish division, between Ciudad Roderigo and Es-
calhaon. •

French- Papers to the 18t11 'inst.-, reached town
- yesterday. They contain an account of the occupa-
tion of Seville, which, in fact, made no resistance;
and they speak with some confidence of the speedy
surrender of Cadiz and of the Spanish fleet. These
hopes, however, will not be -realized ; whatever
'may be the fate of Cadiz, the Spanish fleet will not
fall into their hands; and for the reasons we have
stated above, we thitik there is very little chance of
their taking Cadiz. ,

On Thursday last Majesty's 'ship Christian VII.
Capt. Sir J. S YORKE, arrived at Plytnouth from
Basque Roads, where, for six weeks, - she 'had so
closely blockaded the Charante, that not, a single
coaster had -passed : every one that had dared Ito
makethe attempt they burnt under their own bat-
•telies. 'Two days previous to her sailing, ele-
ven French gun-boats came out to defend some
chasse marees, when eight small boats of the aqua-'
dron, armed only with musketry, by a "skilful ma-
nceuvre in feigning a retreat, enticed them out,
and by a 'sudden attack the Christian's barge sti-
ceeded in cutting off one of them, which in a short
time she,-took by boarding. She was armed with
a twelve-pound carronade, six brass swivels, mus-
ketry, and pistols, and was manned with 23 men,
two of whom were killed, and the. Commander and
'three men dangerously wounded. Three of the
Oorivoy• were also taken. The remainder of the
flotilla fled., and were pursued into their own for-
tress of Aix. The Christian's boat had' only In
men in her, who were all unhui The Christian
Seventh brought home 198 prisoners, taken 'out of
different prizes.

Yesterday morning his MAJESTY,' Princesses An-
GUSTA and SOPHIA, accompanied by Lord CHESTER-
FIELD, Ladies CAROLINE WALDEGRAVE, TAYNNE,
and Mrs. DORMER, Generals MANNERS and
.DoN,
rode to St. Georges Chapel, and heard a Sermon
preached by the Hon. and Rev. Dean LEGGE, and
atterwaids returned to Windsor.

.Yesterday, at half past four o'clock, a Cabinet
Council was held at the Foreign Office, which con-
tioued until half past five o'clock. There were pre-
sent., the LORD CHANCELLOR, the Marquis•WEL- -
LESLEY, the Earls.of CAMDEN, CHATHAM,: BATH- .
URST; WESTMOBLAND, LIVERrOOL i ,Lord .MuL-
.GRAVE, Mr. Secretary RlDER,'.the CHANCELLOR Of
the EXCHEQUER, and Mr. DUNDAS. The Cabinet
Council was summoned' to. attend again at nine
o'clock in the evening.
- . Saturday being the Duke of CAMBRIDGE'S Birth-
day-, the safe was celebrated by their MAJESTIES in
the Palace ; the Dukes of KENT, CUMBERLAND,
SUSSEX, and CAMBRIDGE ; Priacesses -,AUGUSTA,
SOPHIA, ELIZABETH,
,and Way, were presebt.—,
They also .paid visits to Princess AMELIA who, we
hope, is not worse.
•
Yesterday his Royal Highness. the Duke of YORK
bad a long interview with the Earl of CHATHAM, at
his house, in Hill-street. • ,
Wednesday being appointed:for a public fast, 'iris ,
MAJESTY. will not come to town to hold a Court,
nor- is he expeCted in town during the week. . • '
We learn froin a Correspondent Of undoubted
authority, in Italy, dated the 25th last month, - that
his Holiness the POPE was at that time confined in
the castle of Savona, the second town in the.teiritory
of Genoa. - • ' . •
Yesterday morning BrigAdier-General ANsoN apa
his Aid-de-Camp,' Captain WEVLAND, of the 16th
Light Dragoons, arrived-in town from Portugal, with
dispatches from Lord WELLINGTON and the Hon.
Mr. VILL.YERS. They left our army about a fort-
night ago, in good health and high spirits„ and land-
ed on Friday afternoon at Dartmouth, from whence
they came express to London. We are happy to
understand that Lord WELLINGTON, at the date of
his dispatches, co,nsidered the situation of his arm}' as
perfectly secure against any attack the enemy might
meditate upon, it. His Lordship bad detached- some
regiments from LisbOn to Cadiz, and it was hoped.
that that place would be effectually defended against
all the efforts of the enemy. , -
- __ . _ _ • .

The Ant and Fortune /cartels saikd from Ports-

mouth, for Morlaix, on Saturday morning, with
140 Fiend] prisoners; invalids. The King George
cartel is returned from that. port 1 she brought over
four soldiers' wives, whose husbands. were_wounded
and taken :prisoners at the battle of Talavera.
The Laura frigate, which was captured ;in the
Indian Seas in the autumn of -1808, by.th&, Can-
noniere ' frigate, is now on her passage .to -France,
with initnense treasure; on beard.- She is a very
Sinall class frigate, and was only rate& as a Stoop in
our service. Tt.e Narcissus frigate has,stiled from
Plymobth, in the hope of falling in with her..
Letters‘from.NeW York, .dated the 22d ult. state,'
Oat, froth the.accounts received froM Washington, a
speedy adjnstaient Of the differences,lisetWeen Great
Britaia,and,the Unitid States was exPe6ted. .
report is in circulation, that a complete change
hasstaken place in the .Rusiian Councils. It is said that
;,the Emperor ALEX, NIPM "Facing assemblied a large
army, aiyarently with the atention,of sending it'
• against the Turks, has oti.a sudden ordered iit to pro-
c,ed'to Poland, and that it has adtually crossed the'
Niemen—that he has'also -sent dhea.ions to his Ge-
neral aa Mg against the Turks, to conclude an
tice, the purpose of negociating a peace with-
Turkey.
)30ONAPARTg haS issued a new decree relative to
the Pt ess, by which the number of printers ant; book-
sellers is to be considerably reduCed ; .those who are
starred to continue the trade being -bound •to. in-

demniiy the persons excluded.. Theprivileged class
of thein'are to be supplied with -a licensdironf the
—4)olice,i upon taking an oath that 'they' will not print
or expose to sale any•work tOnding tp entrench upon
the interests of the State, or upon' the duties which
subjects owe to their Sovereign;. •