The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-05 00:00:00

INSURGENT CHIEFS IN CATALONIA.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
Jep des Estayns, whose real name is Joseph
Bossompos, was born near Valsebra, a village in
the district of Verga, a small town in the moun-
tains of Catalonia. His father was a plough-

man, and so poor a one, that he abandoned his
offspring to beggary. In this school young Jep
continued to acquire the qualities which he has
since displayed in the various stages of his event-
ful life until his 12th year, when a respectable

amier admitted him into his.service as a shep-

herd-boy. Jep's mind, however, could not sub-
mit to controul ; and as soon as he felt his
strength, and thought himself capable of entering
on an independent career, he eagerly pursued his
own inclination. Several of his companions

were smugglers ; he joined their bands, and did

honour to the profession ; but his successes
might then be reduced to escaping the vigilance
ofthe custom-house guards, gaining the advan-
tage in some skirmishes against small bodies of
troops, to acquire money, and to mike his name
known amongst the mountaineers.' In 1792,
when Spain was at war against the French Re-
public, he was not only pardoned, but, having
raised a certain number of men, he received, by
Royal ordinance, a commission as captain of
Miguelites—a kind of militia raised to serve in
time of war in Catalonia. After the peace of

the Pyrennees they were disbanded ; but Jep,
assembling some of his late comrades, by his
own act, and without any other authority, un-
dertook to persecute his former associates. His
outrages and crimes soon came to the knowledge
of the authorities, as, while calling himself a sup-
presser of smugglers, he was a most notorious
smuggler. , The order for his imprisonment
threw him into despair : he fled from justice,
and, without shelter or friends, appeared in his
true character of a highwayman. The moun-
tains which are now the scene of this hero's ex-

ploits have witnessed his robberies. Persons are
still-living whom he has plundered on the public
roads, and his name may be seen in the annual
register of the Court of Justice of Barcelona,
with the sentence of transportation pronounced
against him. If the absolute party will inquire
of the friars, they will not fail to assure them
that Providence has only tried the man who was
to become the pillar of the throne and the altar,
for he soon found means to escape from the Ba-
learic Islands, where he had been confined. The
war in the Peninsula in 1808 changed his for-
tune ; he was again pardoned, and the friars of
Verga, (who had been and still were his pa-
trons), exerting the boundless influence which
a tumultuous mob, and the nature of that revo-
lution procured them, induced the Town Coun-
cil to re-appoint Jep captain of Miguelites.
In this situation, availing himself of the preju-
dices of the country, he formed a conspiracy
against the General Count de Caldagues,
denouncing him to his accomplices as a traitor,
and with 200 men deserted from the army in face

of the enemy. This crime was followed by every
kind of depredation. The hero proceeded to
Verga, arrested several of the members of the
.Junta, laid his benefactors under contribution,
and robbed his patrons. • Such a glorious expe-
dition was stopped by the seizure of its leader,
who was carried to the army, tried by a court-
martial, and sentenced to be shot. The friars,
however, prevailed with General Wittingham.
Jep was pardoned, and hie commission restored
to him. In 1811, another conspiracy was form-
ed by this restless spirit, but having been dis-
covered, he fled to the mountains, and lived by
the practice of his old profession, until Captain
Carrasquet, of Bulquera, surprised him in Val-
sebre, and took him to the army. The court-
martial, of which Colonel Colomina, was Presi-
dent, tried and condemned him to death. The
Auditor (the assessor in the military courts) did
not approve of this sentence, on pretence of some
irregularity in the proceedings. Jep, however,
remained in prison, in the citadel of Barcelona.
There he offered his services to the friends of
General Lacy, and having imposed upon them,
received 1001., to prepare for the flight of that
illustrious victim ; he then denounced the pro-
ject to the Governor. The respectable officers
who had intrusted this felon with their project,
were thrown into the dungeons of the fortress :
thep wete, however, afterwards discharged for
want of sufficient evidence, and Jep, accused
of slandering them, was placed in stricter ' con-
finement. In 1819, he was released, and retired
to his native village, from whence the Apos-
tolic rebellion of 91821 called him to participate in I
the assassinations, robberies, and outrages which
marked its progress, and were so congenial to
his habits, principles, and inclinations. He was
soon after taken prisoner by the Constitu-
tionalists ; but, delivered by his companions from
the gaol of Cardona. He determined, after this
event,. not to give up his command to any one,
and General Baron de Eroles, whose orders he
often disobeyed, has for that reason always op-
posed his promotion, leaving him far behind
many officers of superior rank. He may, there-
fore, be considered one of the Agraliiados,
although the King has confirmed his appoint-
ment of Lieutenant-Colonel. Jep des Estayns
has recently created himself Duke of Verga, and
at the head of a ferocious and_ bigotted faction,
he can, without controul, indulge his private
Animosities anti resentments.. He is a man of
middle stature, stout, and of the most rude
address. His mental powers are of the lowest
order, yet the various chances of his life have
given him some knowledge oT the world, and a
sort of cunning which shows itself in a distrust
of all mankind, Such is the faithful portrait of
Jep
.des Estayns, self-styled Duke of Verga.—
The life of this hero. not only affords matter
enough for blame to the Spanish Government,
but enables us to see the true designs of the
Agraviwios, and foretel the issue of the present
struggle in Catalona,

MR. CANNING.—It was lately deduced from
the fact of Mr. Canning having given twenty-five pounds
in charity to a Roman Catholic Priest, that, therefore, he
was in a Popish conspiracy.—,Dublin Frepnan's Journal.
If the circumstance of a gentleman's giving away 25/. in
charity' to a Roman Catholic be a proOf of his being engaged
in a Popish conspiracy, the good folks of England have little
cause for apprehension.

IMPORTANT PUBLIC INTELLIGENCE.—
We are happy in the opportunity of copying from the
Morning' _Herald, the Plowing singularly important in-
formation :—" Thonia's Macklin, gsq.and Lady, hare left
town for Weymouth, to spend the honeymoon."

CHEIATENHAII CHURCH MISSIONARY c 00.•
CIETY.—The third Anniversary Meeting of the Chelten-
ham Branch of the Chinch Missionary Society was held at
the Montpellier Rotunda, on Friday last. The Rev.
Francis Close, A.M. having been called to the Chair,
opened the business of the Meeting in a speech, in the
course of Which he 4ppeWed to the gOod feejings of those
present, to support the Institution in a manner adequate
to its merits.
Rev. ROREItT DENNY, the Secretary,
then read the Report of the Association, which exhibited a
most flattering proof of the rapid progress which is making
in the funds of the Society.

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

FRENCH PAPERS.
From the Gazette de France, dated Oct. S.)

(PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE.)
VIENNA, SEPT. 23.—Letters from Odessa of the
10th say, that there was no news from Constanti-
nople, because no ships had arrived. It is inferred
that the families of the English, French, and Russian
Ambassadors, who embarked on the 31st of August,
had not sailed', otherwise they might easily have
reached Odessa.

Couriers have brought, Jy way of Bucharest,
news from Constantinople to the 4th of September.
They state that the Divan persisted in its intensions,
but it does not seem that the familiep of the Ambas-
sadors have departed, for no mention is made of
them. It was thought that no crisis would ensue of
a nature to disturb the peace of the Continent.
Colonel Count Dandolo,' Commander of the
Austrian squadron in the Levant, has been appointed
Rear-Admiral. It is said that the Imperial squadron
will be reinforced by a ship of the line, two frigates,
and some small vessels.

MADRID, SEPT. 20.—1 t is generally believed that
the King had communicated beforehand, to the
Count d'Espagne, his resolution to repair in person
to Catalonia, so that his Excellency, by spreading
the news, will have prepared the minds of the people
to second the wishes of the Monarch, whose inten-
tions are to re-establish tranquillity by listening to
the respectful solicitations of his subjects, and by
yielding to those demands which are in unison with
the interest and the wants of the kingdom. It even
seem§ that M. Romagosa, in the few hours that he
passed in the Royal Palace, received very precise
instructions, which authorised him to correspondiwith
the chiefs of the insurrection ; so there is every
reason to hope that the arrival of the King in Cata-
lonia will be succeeded in a few days by a general
pacification.
The army of observation of the Tagus, which will
be called the army of the centre, is going to march
to Catalonia.; the troops that were at Talavera la
Reyna have already set out; General Sarstield will
retain the command, but act under Count d'Espagne.
General Rodil will be at the head of the light troops
of the Royal Guard ; the regiment of Chasseurs of
which has been sent to Medina del Campo, because
its bad organization and defective equipment would
not permit it to be employed.
A battalion of the 6th light infantry, in garrison
at. Seville, and the 3d regiment of the line, which
occupied St. Sebastian, are going to Catalonia.
The latter makes marches of -ten or twelve leagues
,per day. A battalion which left Tortosa to proceed
to Tarragona, was met by a strong body of rebels,
which forced it to turn back.

M. Longa, after assembling the prelates, clergy,
and municipality of Valencia, and declaring to them
that they should be responsible for all that passed in
his absence, set out with a battalion and some of the
faithfullonrodsetrßot oN
rrEe aßrs O CATALONIA,
Rt ye iosutsn,t
rfyo auM te
si drEerpo:
Fa.
snadf2e
5.Vp iausas
Traeghese,
where some rebels have lately shown themselves, in
for the King, who will go by that road.
chances of war are going to decide the fate of the
finest of the Spanish provinces. We hope that the
combat
of
wi
the
le
not be
men
whoml he
long doubtful,
t t r oaops of the King
and that the infa-
tuation
have to contend with, will be dispelled .at the mere
sight of the great force employed by the Spanish
Government.

It is announced as certain, that a courier passed
the frontier yesterday, with news that General
Monet, at the head of a strong column of the Royal
Spanish troops, has taken Vich, from which he has
driven the Agraviados, who were completely beaten,
though at first they stood firm.
It is certain that the rebels have made another at-
tempt on Gerona, from which they had retired.
There was an engagement close to the ramparts,
between them and the King's troops, who sallied
from the place. They lost 15 or 16 men, and seven
wounded ; the King's troops lost two men, and
took some prisoners, among whom are several de-
serters from the regiment of Almanza. The
Royalist volunteers of Figueiras, animated by a good
spirit, have gone to secure the communication, and
to second the King's troops.
We learn that the garrison of Lerida has just been
reinforced by two regiments, and that several batta-
lions of the line have arrived at Tarragona.

It seems that the greatest fermentation prevails
in the district of Urgel. Eight brigades of Custom-
house officers have been ordered to unite at the Seu.
Above half of them have joined the insurgents : the
others will form a cordon to protect the country,
which is in the greatest alarm, as we learn.
We hear from Llers that 600 men have left that

place to second the Agraviados at Gerona, and that
a strong column which accupied Bagnols has joined
those from Llers. It would seem that another at-

tempt would be made on Gerona : 500 or GOO men
occupy the passage between Figueiras and Gerona,
but molest nobody, and leave the communications
free. Many of them are well mounted and equipped,
and this band appears to be a kind of corps de re-
serve.

BARCELONA, SEPT; 23.—King's troops have ar-
rived at Tortosa ; some to reinforce the garrison,
some to take the field. It is to be hoped that this
rebellion will soon be put down, for the movement
of 900 men towards Hostalrich has sufficed to raise
the blockade of Gerona without 'firing a shot. All
that will remain of this mad revolt will be the con-
tributions levied on some unfortunate places, and
the excesses committed.
Two companies of artillery, to replace those left
us on the 11th, have arrived here without obstacle;
they passed the blockade of Gerona, which no longer
exists. The drivers of cattle from Frei-ice arrive re-
gularly at Barcelona, though they pass through the
whole of Upper Catalonia, which is occupied by the
rebels. Lastly, the post yesterday met nobody on
the road, and, for days past, the diligences met with
no interruption. We know that the Count d'Es-
pagne succeeds the Marquis de Campo Sagrado;
and it is affirmed, the Lieutenant-General Viscount
Reisset has orders to send out two regiments, if
necessary, and to keep the insurgents at a respect-
ful distance.

(From the Constitutionnel.)

BARCELONA, SEPT. 22.—General Monet has just
published the following Proclamation :
" Don Juan Anton►o Monet, Marechal-de-Camp,
General commanding the troops in active service in
the principality of Catalonia.
" Catalonians,—The third article of the Royal
Ordinance of the 31st of August, published on the
Bth of this month by his Excellency the Captain-
General of this principality, must 'have made you
acquainted with the delicate commission which the
King our Lord confided to me verbally, and which
has since been confirmed to me by the competent
authority. It contains the most formal instructions
for the pacification of the horrible revolution which
•has so unhappily manifested itself.= in this country,
and which has been fomented by a portion of its
unnatural children, who have thus failed, in the
most criminal manner, in the true obedience due to
our beloved Sovereign and his laws. They have re-
opened the most fatal wound that was ever inflicted
on the industry of Catalonia, at a time when good
men were endeavouring by incessant exertiqn to con-
sign to oblivion the evils of another bloody epoch.
" This Royal decree gives you the most certain
proofs of the atrocious object of this insurrection.
This sacred document, and, as his Excellency the
Captain-General told you, the Supreme Tribunal
and the Criminal Chamber of this principality, in
circumstances so deplorable, ought to convince you
to demonstration of its high treason. The very
chiefs who direct it cannot help acknowledging it in
their own hearts, thOtO by their outward actions
they affect the contrary,
But what need have I to seek to convince the
malevolent of their crime ? I ought to confine
myself to informing them in a precise manner of
what I shall do to fulfil exactly the service of the