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

his heart, but had he thoughtlhe Thanks .voted for
the.valour displayeLly Sir A. 'Wellesley in that
'battle would have causod the battle of •Talavera
(from a thirst for persOnal glory), he would have
'paused beforelte gaVe his vote. 'Lord 'Wellington
appeared to him to have fOught merely for his peer-
age. Did the Right Hon, Gentleman opposite wish
them toleave out of the question that the result of
the battle had caused_ Lord _Wellington -to Tetreat,.
leaving 3500 sick behind, 1500 of whom fell into
the hands of the enemy ?-'Did he wish theM not to
rememtkr that that army had never since re-
sumed active operations ? Not one dispatch from
Lord Wellington had been published since that of
the 21st of August, dated Truxillo. Did that cir-
cumstance arise from•htS having sent note, or were
the dispatches he sent of such a nature that it was
thought proper not to communicate them to•the
public) An air of mystery hung over the whole
campaign. Lord • Wellington was not an inadive
man, and how his having lain dormant so long could
be satisfa6oFily accounted for he was at a losS to
imagine. After a few further remarks the Noble
Lord concluded, moving an amendment to the fol-
lowing etfeat--
" That the whole of the original motion be taken away
after the word " That," for the purpose_ of adding " the
Thanks of this House be given to the officers and soldiers un.
der Lord Wellington, for the undaunted courage they dis—
played in repulsing the attack of the enemy at Talavera, on
the 27th and zBth of July 1809 ; bttt .while they acknow.
ledge their discipline and valour, they,,have to regret that
Lord Wellington could derive no advantages from their
prowess, being compelled a few days afterwards to rtkioss
the Tagus, at the bridge of Arzobispo, leaving 3,i00 sick
and wounded behi:ul, lioo of whom tell into the fundsof
the enemy, and finally to retteat upon Portugal."

Mr. VERNON thought if the question had been
meiely as to valour and skill, little difference of
opinion would have been expreised.. But it was
not sufficient to' entitle Lord Wellington tq the
Thanks of that House, to say he had displayed
great skill abd valour at Talavera, as be might be
asked what business had he at Talavera ? When
Cuesta declined taking his part in the proposed
operation, Lord Wellington should hate said, "- I
have done my duty, the moment is lost, through
your thiling to co-operai.e with me in a proper man-
ner, and I illiVellOW only to, provide for the- safety
of my own army." He had never those sanguine
hopesof the Spzin;sh cause that many, seemed to
indulge, and which he thought must have proceed-
ed rather from desire than from sober reason. When
we considered the resources of Spain opposed to
those of France, we had no reason to. believe
their Religion, King, or Constitution, would, ani-
mate the Spaniards 'so, far as to oppose the vie...t.s
of Buonaparte with success.' He did not wish
Ministers to abandon Spain in the extremity.. of her
distress ; he would have them Send arms, cloaths;„
Money, nay, even troops, provided they could. at
on the coast, or maintain a constant communication
with the fleet, but they ought not be sent into- the
country to depend for hu bsisse nee ,on a Government
without carntroul, and at with au, army that could
boast no soldiers.

Mr. M. MONTAGUE defended Ministers, and yin.-
dicated Lord WellingtOn from the charges pre-.
ferred against him., It would be unjust to refuse
to Lord Wellington those Thanks which had .otter
been given on occasions greatly inferior,, to the
brilliatA affair at Talavera. The effeas of the
Expedition, he.contended, would be beneficial to
Englimd. lt would have been well had no party
fee,ina opposed the present motion. Such conduct
would not be grateful to the country, and Gentlemen,
he firmly believed, would find themselves deceived
if*tbey expedted thus, to ingratiate themselves with
the people.
Mr. LEMON. supported the amendment.
General TA.aLnToti opposed the motion of .the
Right Hon. Gentleman,
.and trusted he should be
allowed to offer a few words in his own defence,
for every day's. experience
.skewed the necessity
of public trial. The Hon. General then proceeded
to lament the 'state of inaelion to, which. he :was
condemned, which he decllred was not his own
fault, but was to be attribute 4 to Ministers, who,
were not disposed to employ him. Though his. '
tottering limbs and trembling frame would not
carry him to foreign service, yet he was prepared
to defend the soil of Great Britain. with the rait.drop
of his blood-. Whatever opinions he might offer,
they were die-tater:l solely by the love of his country;
and therefore,' as a mililary.man, he was bound, ott
military topies, to declare, his sentiments. With
respect to the march of Lord Wellington from the
confines of Portugal, to the South of ',Spain, he
went Over all his former observations, condemning
his Lordship for having quitted- the position he had
occupied, to encounter, without the necessary sup-.
plie,, such a manmuvering army as the French, and
contended that though the enemy were repulsed, no.
victory held been obtained. fleAlescribA the dis-
patch of Lord Wellington as vain-glorious, partial,„
and incorrect.—[Here he was called to order, by
Mr. Montague.)—He could not ',admit that the
battle of Talavera was to be compared, as some.
writers had stated, with the battles of Agincourt,
Cressy,. and Poictiers. By the battle of Agincourt
a Crown was gained; by that of Talavera a Crown.
was lost. After the former, did the King leave his
wounded to be made prisoners, or extricate himself
from peril by flight? He then proceeded to make
a comparibon between the actions of the Duke'. of
Marlborough, and those of Lord Wellington ; and
concluded ray' saying, that though he could not.
consent to thank the Noble Lord, he was willing
to'do every justice to the bravery and valour of
the officers and army under hii command, whose
courage had never been exceeded in the military
.history of the country.
'Lord CASTLEREAGH observed, thatif the Hon.
General really felt he was discharging his public
dpty, it-was not, in his opinion, to be effected by
giving
_'countenance to the course of proceeding
which was attempted to be fastened on the House,
by-an endeavour to convert the Vote of Thanks into
a direct and marked censure upon the Noble Lord..
Though he protested against the-principle which
Was now sought to be established, he should do
great injustice to the Noble Lord if he did not state
the grounds- upon which his conduct was entitled to.
the Thanks of the House. -In looking back to the
progress of the campaign, he should pass over those
subjects which would, more properly come under
diseussion'at some future period. He 'should , only
detail what would do honour to his character. Lord
IWellineou, in the middle of April, with an army
'of 25.,000 Man, was sent to defend Portugal.
_At
that time the Northern Provinces of Spain mere iu