The Sun.
London, England, 1810-01-12 00:00:00

• •
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Y ' t

ON A BAPY,"
WHO• 1$ 5A1D;T0..14;% f,EAT 11.1,3 t 11V5,84.

Come hither, Sir john, see, my porkraitit here,
Look at it' my lovet:;•tion't .46ike ypµ?
can't say it does, just at
.presept,, my dearr
But I dare say it will—'tis sq'fikriPou.,

BATTLE OF 4LBLI DE TOIMIJS.

LETTER FROM A BhITISH OFFICER OF RANK, AT
TACHED TO THE DUKE DEL FiEQUE'S.ARMY.

• "El Radon, Dec. 4, on.
[After describing the movements of the several
columns of the Spaoish army from the 13th Novem-
ber till the 23d, and some insignificant skirmishes.
between the light fro ps of the respective armies,
the letter continues :—]
" About one o'clock on the morning of the 23d,
we learned .that the enemy occupied Medina-del
Campo, in force 2000 cavalry and 8000 infantry,
and that their advanced guards were pushed forward
a league in front of that town ; in consequence of
which information we moved forward, and occupied
a position close to the village -of Carpio, situated
upon the onty.nsing, ground on these extensive
plainS, over which the view is uninb erupted and
limited only by the horizon. Our troops were
drawn up in the following order :
" The vanguard, commanded by Gen. Carrera,
was stat:oned for the defence of the village of
- Carpio ; the 3d division, commanded by Gen. Bal-
lasteros, having its lett supported by the town of
Carpio, formed the right of our first line, of which
the cavalry formed the left ; the artillery of the two
divisions, and the flying artillery,• were posted in
the front; and the first and second divisions, in co-
lumn of attack, formed the second line, about 400
paces in rear of the first ; the sth division remained
as d reserve, on a small height to the rear. Our
light troops, being charged by a body of 700 horse,
fell back. • • -
" The enemy continued to move slowly forward
his columns of cavalry (supported by two guns and
a howitzer), apparently with the intention of wait-
ing the arrival of his infantry, or for the purpose of
reconnoitring our force ; to ascertain winch he de-
tached parties of cavalry in all directions on our
flanks. About one o'clock P. M. we received orders
to act on the Offetisive, and attack the enemy, then
halted auoUt three quarters of a league from our
positjon.. The vanguard advanced to the attack
forniedt in-an echellon line of battalions; the third
and first divisions advanced in columns of attack,
the former,on the right, and the latter on the lett
of the vanguard ; the second division was formed
as a reserve in rear of the centre of the line ; the
fifth division remained in Carpio.' • The cavalry
formed ChSse in rear of the battalions in echellon.--=.
The enemy, on the approach of our line, COMM:IIC..
ed his rerreat, which he etieded in the greatest or-
covered by his ilrtillery, occasionally halting
and Charging our advanced light troo,,s, who, being
unsupported by our cavalry, sustamed some loss.—
.. The .Vanguare, first division, aild artillery, upheld
their farmer reoratiOn, by the gallantry with which
they adVanced n and repulse the enemy's cavalry ;
and the ad OlvisiC.l(Astutians) received the univer-
sal and well-merited applause of the army, lor the
intrepidity: Which they displayed,, in receiving at the
point of the bayonet the charge of the enemy's ca.-
valry. Gll. Ballasteros, with his Staff and light
Coops, pushed forward to attack a body of the ene-
my's-cavalry, which immediately charged him; and
not receiving that proteetiOn or co-operation which
be expected from our cavalry, this gallant little band
was obliged to retreat.
•-
" At the close of the day the enemy reached
Medina del Campo. Understanding that the enemy
had 8000 infantry .and 800 cavalry, which had nut
entered into action, and perceiving that they -had
placed upon a rising ground, which commanded our
approach to the town, nine' guns, three of which
were howitzers, which commenced a heavy fire
upon our columns, the General in Chief gave orders
to suspend the attack, and that the
.troops should
return to their position of Carpio, to receive pro-
visions, having. been upwards of thirty hours with-
out foo4l At twelve o'clock the same nOit the
enemy evacuated Medina del Campo, retreating two
leagues..
On the 25th, the enemy pushed forward from
Medina several divisions of cavalry, apparently about '
'4500 ; and• towards evening paced themsclvt-s
wirhin about half a league of our line. No infantry
advanced with the cavalry •
• " About one o'clock on, the morning- of the 26th,
_orders, were issued for immediate retreat towards
Alba deTormes. A party of 270 of our cavalry,
and some infantry, who had crossed the Duero,
-and were in possession of the bridge of Toro, were
also ordered to retfear._ • After a most fatiguing and
harassing• march, during which the already exhaust-
ed troops -suffered extremely from cold .and hunger,
wesreached Alba de,Torrnes on the morning of the
• tWt. - The different divisions were quartered itf
this town and the villages on the left bank of the

ricer.
• " About two o'clock, P. M. on the 9.Bth, a sudden
alarm was spread, that the enemy was. entering the
town. The drums immediately beat to arms, and
the different regiments began to form, proceeding,
with the General in Chief, to the heights in the front
ofthe_town. Great part of the army had, however;
crossed the bridge, previouS .to the General's deter-
mination of occnpying a position on, the right bank
of the river-,-and in front of the town. The van-
guard.; first and -second,diysions, were drawn up on
some-gently 'rising grail ds, about tiuo yards in front
of the. town. The enemy advanced three strong
columns of cavalry, and after repulsing our light
troops; proscessed himself of a. smolly rocky hill,
from whence the right Of his line might, if occupied
by our infantry, have been much annOyed. The
enemy advanced a column close in front of our left,
inenace'd a charge on the second diVision. A
timely and judicious Movement', however, of the
vangbard and first (it% ision; and the firmness with
he left waited his-attack, induced the enemy
to vary his plan, and in consequen,:e retreated to his
and dneaed his attack against the cavalry and

INT LRNA L, 4trA•ir 10 Nor FILLY C

\-11
.11

• The folloWing observations may tend to expose
the illusory system by which the French Government
endeavours to impose on France and FA:rope, and
to prove that no credit is dire to the solemn pledge
which_ Buonaparte has given, of not exacting any
farther sacrifices from his people, as Frenchmen
must now submit 'to be called.

The M inister of Btonaparte asks, it is true, from .
the Legislative body, the. sums said to he necessary
for the service of the current year ; these are al-
ways voted by way of form, and care will no
doubt be taken that the budget of • this year do not
exceed in appearance that of the last year. . But
this vote is only the ground work on which the Mi-
nister has to display his dexterity. Independent of
all other authority but that of his master, he writes
to the different departments, that their portion of
taxes amounts to so much, and this .portion is in-
variably larger than that of the preceding year.
If this surcharge produces remonstrances, the Mi-
nister replies, that other Departments, without
naming them, have got a diminution of taxes on
account of. some disastrous circumstances ; that.
the sum exatied bears a fair proportion to the total;
but that, be it as it may, the Emperor must not be
the loser. This maxim is the fundamental prin-
ciple of French Finance, and embraces all its rami-
fications. If a man, -crushed down by misery,
leaves his land untilled, which frequently happens,_
his neighbours are obliged to pay his contributions,
in addition to their own ; if a parish cannot furnish
its quota, then the distria is obliged to pay. The
facilities which this system furnishes to injustice
are evident, bt.lt the losses it occasions are never

repaired.
There are, still other means of increas.ing the con-
tributions, without appearing to augment the fixed
takes. Thus, an augmentation of near five per
cent. upon this grand total, has been levied through
all France, for a projealed road from Lyons to Bour-
deaux. With the consent of the Mercantile Body,
a tax hag been laid on navigation, to render navi-
gable a river, ot• to improve harbours. The produce
has been seized by Government, and the improve-
mentS have not even been attempted, though abso-
lutely necessary. Sixty •miserable hulls of ships
obstru& the navigation of the Garonne. In a -word,
there is no fund, however sacred its destination,
which can be proteEted from the rapacity of the
rrench Government.

Another means of extorting money is by an Im-
perial Decree, to commute an insignificant tax into
others more produaive, and more onerous. Thus
the barrier. toil dues have been abolished, to give
place to the consolidated duties, which establish a
heavy excise on almost all the necessaries of life.
In such a state of things, to speak of a just and
steady system of taxation, is as supremely ridi-..
culous„ - as to expeEt truth and moderation from the
well known disposition of Buonaparte. He has,
besides, the resource of requisitions, and he is not.
sparing of them, in order to supply the wants of
his armies in Spain. He promises payment, it is,
true,• and in some circumstances does pay; but
then it is in the proportion of about a fourth of
the article put in requisition ; though tlioe must
pay the whole value, who prefer redeeming
their cattle or their produce, by an equivalent in

money.
I The blessings of the Code of Conscripton are at
present so well appreciated in this country, that we
have little to add on that subject ; however, as a
resource of finance, it ought not to be omitted.
I Its oppression is carried so far, that the man who
employs as a workman a conscript, even withont
knowing him to be so, is condemned to a heavy tine,
a circumstance which brings ruin on a number of
persons. In one word, the whole population of
fiFrance is as completely at the disposal of the despot,
by a decree of the Senate, as their whole property,
by a vote of the Legislative Body, and exaUly in the
same way ; for the Minister at War assigns the ne-
cessary number of men, as the Minister of Finance
fixes the proportion of taxes.
These measures, in themselves so oppressive, be-
come still more so by the outrageous zeal of
every sycoro,ant in office, who exercises his au-
thority with all the despotism natural to a slave
in power. Such men, it is true, hate no other
means of gaining promotion, or even of retaining
their offices.
The effeas produced in France by this system,
joined to the absolute want of commerce, are such
as to justify completely the asserticn, that " the bow
is bent to excess :" an enormous depopulation is
already so cruelly felt, that in. the fertile *ins of
the Ajenois metayers t are not to he found for the
' business of agricUlture, though formerly there were
not lands enough to supply the demand for !arms.
We know from the official- reports, that in a large
city, which we do not think it prudent to name,
the 'annual list of Marriages is not one-third what it
was six years ago; to which may be added, that
Buonaparte is aCtually come to those classes of the
population which correspond to those terrible
epochs of the revolution which devoured so great a
proportion of the population of France, and prevent-
ed its. reproduaion. He has already called out the
youth born in 1790; the classes of 1791, and per-
haps of 170, may- still be produaive ; but after
that period, his disposition will not be able to levy,
from an exhausted country, recruits sufficient for his
numerous armies. It is for this reason, that these
last classes, which he preserves as his last resource,
have not been called out to reinforce his armies in
Spain, and that he has told his Senate, that 36,000
men of the preceding classes will be sufficient to
fi-
nish the subjugation of that country.
Landed property, as might be expeaed from the
load of taxation, and the total want of a vent for pro-
duce, has suffered considerably. We are informed
that in corn distrias, the lands are not of one third
the value they were six years ago; while in the vine
distrias, which are numerous in France, the value is
even greatly below this standard.--4n these distri&s, ,
the ruin of the Proprietors is complete, and proba-
* In this country, canals and roads arc ;:Jtined 'and formed
by the Proprietors,- in different districts. In France this• is
done by the (government, and must necessarily be habit: to '-
great abuses.
Metayers are :I kind of tenants at will, and cultivate the
lands for the pruprietor, who furnishes stet, cattle, tic. whi4e •
they have the hilt of the rude produce; hence omit name
metayers. from rmiLl.

DIED.

On the 27th ult. it Forres, Mr. Robert- Wardew, aged 7
On the sth inst. Mr. John Lewis, Whartinger, Uto,ces'
ter'.

On Monday last, in Bell's-buildings. Salisbury square!
'John Barton, jein. Esq. Solicitor, aged 38 years.
On the loth inst. at Brighton, Mrs, Alia:), wife of Grad
Allan, Esq.
The same day, at her house at Lambeth,. Mrs. Northcuter
widow of the late Henry North:2ote,.,B4.
Yesterday; at his house in Newman street, j. D. Engle-
heart, late of Kew-preen.
'On Monday sennutitt, at Long. Stratton, Norfolk, aged 74,
M IY Urban, relict of the late 1),-. D'Utban, of Shoals,
ham;;

On Wednesday ge'nnig!,), at Melton Constable, Norfolk,
in the 47th }'ear of t is :94e, George Wynsthatu, Esq. of
nier, in the saict County.