Star.
London, England, 1814-10-21 00:00:00

ANO

The measures which the iniellizawer informed the
public a few days ago were put in a train ofexe-
cution, the eff.tct .1- µhick would soon be seen," have
proved a ounplcte abortion. After Arms tong dis-
graced himself, and was in part dismissed from ser-
vice, we were told that Col. Monroe would retrieve
our character—that he was all that an American
could wish, and in :lion nobody was Ike Colonel
Mourne. He was accordingly appointed " Comman-
der in Chief of the troops in the vicinity ot the di-'
strict"—he was invested with the supreme directi
of the war department so far as Armstrong did wit
still bold on ; he called to his aid our naval heroes,
Perry, Porter, and Rodgers, who were supported by
a picked band of gallant seamen, and clouds ot mi-
and not a man dare doubt for three days past,
that Colonel Monroe had put in a train of execu-
tion measures" that would ensure the capture of
Commodore G.:r.lon's squadron, or at.any rate pre.
vent his passage down the Potomac, unless he was
strongly reinforce!.. Every thing favoured Colonel
Monroe's entuplize. The British were becalmed
four days, and all hearts had been united in one com-
mon desire and effort to punish the British Common-
idor for the cruel terms he had imposed upon Alex•
suidria,. in 6, taking advantage of the blowing up of
Fort Washington. But the untcrprize his failed,
totally failed, for the want of guns, gun•carriages,
and ammunition."
The people of America will not believe it, Europe
will not believe it, that a battery planted 16 miles
from the seat of Government; after two years' wary
'could not be supplied with one dozen cannon l There
!were men enough, ten, twenty times over, but there
was a deficiency in the munitions of sat-.
Rumour is conveying to the extreme parts of the
United States, the most exaggerated and distorted
accounts of the disastrous incidents which preceded
and followed the capture of the American capital.—
When all the circumstances shall be known which
have marked the fate of Washington, the sentiments
of execration against our infatuated rulers, which al-
ready find utterance in all quarters, will grow into a
fixed determination to provide more competent guar-
dians of the honour and safety ot the nation.
The means of redress possessed by the people are
not immediate, but their ability to.save the country
in this time of extreme peril is certain. Every man
who feels as he.ought the pressure of that disgrace
which has been brought upon us, will arouse from
apathy and prepare to breast the storm which lowers
upon his country. All is not lost, although every
sing seems to have been abandoned by those who
werb stationed as sentinels on our national ramparts,

ooyalu4l4Etrr FA.x.sEtioups.
Georptuvra,
,oeptatuber s,
Tie' raitof intruder and destruction, copied it= 4
At
v3e• arlitps paint of *Ow, into several leder:4
pipits; ' ii.Aiaas 11'4d abominable faibricataan, knpv• y
40 tii b/eskii iiihanitant. 'Most of die,
,plunder,
ilea e;ltif treOliipteet theilitte, f.'esidailioni
the tech:eds.; tenth WA *Ms villainy Ito place is free

in times of peril and relnaeon of the law. 'Fie Bri-
tish army, it is not more than justice to say, preserved
a moderation and discipline with respect to private
person and property. unexampled in the annals of
war. Several soldiers were punished, som • capitally,

fur their attempts.
Little Jemmy, or poor Maims, is so much afraid of
Armstrong's wrath, that he answers his invective ap-
peal to the public, by writing in Gales' paper of yes-
terday, 44 that he greatly regrets the occasion of his re-
si7nation, and can only wish that a successor may be
found equally well qualified for the dice." It this be
not kissing the rod, it at least proves that he has some-
what recovered from the terror Armstrong describes
him to have avowed on account of his own person,
Irom the suspicion of the people, that they had con-
sorted together in the ruin and betrayal of the capital.
Yet this is the President, who procured respectable
citizens of Virginia to lie down like dogs upon straw,
as his guards, before brother and pensioner Cutts'
door, whilst, according to Dr. Thornton, lie spurned
any thing but resistance 46 to the very last"
" mean, 'ti; pitiful:*
Gales's loss, by the injury done to his printing
establishment, is about 500 dollars, not more. He
cannot therefore feel what the mob of Baltimore
dieted upon us, and which he and his brother pen-
siouers instigated and approved.
Patrick the clerk to the House of Re.
presentatives, Magruder,
-has saved none of the papers belonging
to that body. A'most faithful, diligent officer ! but,
it is now said he has lost vouchers for 50,000 dollars,
advanced for Government account, This coniagra-
lion at Washington will furnish the cover for a thou-
sand frauds and swindling practices.

FROM THE ALEXANDRIA DAILY GAZETTE
The war is becoming generally and avowedly
odious in many parts of Virginia. The intolerable
burdens which it has already imposed upon the far-
mers, are themes of compla;et and exuration, even
with some of Mx- nadison's warmest friends. Of
these burdcas, none have been moue oi•pressive, than
the frequent military requisitions, which have been
made, and are still making, in the several counties.—
The inconveniences attending the interruption of the
farmer's labours, at particular times and seasons of
the year, are so great, that he must make any sacri-
lice, rather than leave his home. He must obtain a
sulistitut? ; and this substitute must have his own
pi ice. It he is unable to raise the money from the
sale of his produce, (which, from the want of a mar-
lo.r, is generally the case) he must borrow it from
sonic of his more wealthy neighbours. If he can
neither furnish it himself, nor borrow it from others,
he has no alternative. He must leave his plongh, to
follow the drum. He must abandon his family and
his fields for the society of strangers and a sickly,
clime—Le must remain for months exposed to the
fatigues and sufferings of a soldier, aggravated to
him by the reflection, that his fields have become a
wilderness, and hit wife and children pensioner's upon
the charity of their neighbours. Many, we are
assured, are the instances, where families, who lived
happily and comfortably, have been suddenly re-
duced to this miserable state of poverty and depen-1
dence, by the conscription of those by whose labour
they were maintained. As the war progresses, this
evil will increase. The price of a substitute is ily
advancing. In Shenandoah County, up wards ut 500
dollars have been paid for a substitute, to perform
one tour of duty ! What farmer is able to support
this enormous tax, in addition to the many others
which this ruinous war imposes upon him ? What far-
mer can De so mad as to support the men, who have
blasted the fruits of his labours, and reduced him to
the last extremity'ot poverty and despair ?
PLATTSbURGH, SEPTEMBER t.

The enemy's forces ha;e aivanced into our criun-
try—they last night encamped in Champlain. Their
force is represented at .5000 men-15 or 20 pieces of
artillery : of this force, 400 are said to be Indians,
and 100 or 200 dragoons. It is believed they design
to attack this place. Major Appling with his corps
are at Ch tzy. We hear nothing of the British fleet ;
it is believed to lie ready. Our fleet remains at Chaay.
LET !'ER OF THE SECRETARY AT WAR,
TO TYE EDITORS el THE BALTIMORE PATRIOT.

It may be du:- to myself, and is certainly doe to
others,. that the reasons under which I retired from
the direction of me War Department, at a juncture
so critical as the present, should he hilly and promptly
known to the public. These reasons will be found
in the following brief exposition of facts:
Ott the evening of the 29th ult. the President called
at my lodgings, and stated, that a case of much de.
licacy had occurred ; that a high degree of excite.
ment had been raised among to militia of the dis.
trict ; that he was himself an object of their suspicions
and menaces ; that an officer of that corps hadgiven
him notice, that they would no longer obey any order
coming through me as Secretary of War; and that,
in the urgency of the case, it might be prudent so
far to yield to the impulse, as to permit some other
person to exercise my functions in relation to the de.
fence of the district.
To this statement and proposition, I answered sub-
stantially as follows—shat I was aware of the excite-
ment to which he alluded ; that I knew its source,
and had marked its progress; that the present Was
not a moment to examine its more occult causes, ob.
jects, and agents k that it ostensibly rested on charges
known to himself to be false; that it was not for me
to determine how far the supposed urgency of the
case made it proper for him to yield to an impulse
so vile and profligate—se injurious to truth, and so
destructive of i rder ; that I could never soiron,ler, a
part of my legitimate authority, for the prescrvAion
of the rest; that I must exercise it wholly or ii.,r ate
all • that I came into the office with object; cede
siVely public ; and that, to accomm,d.ite my prin-
ciples or my conduct to the humours of a village
mob, stimulated by faction, and led by folly, was
not the way to promote these ; and that if his deci-
sion was in cmiicemity to the suggestions he had
made, I. entreated him to accept my resignation.—
This he declined cluing. It was an extent, he was
pieased to sad, to which he meant not to go ; that
lie knew the excitement was limited, as well with re►
gird to time as to place; that he was, and always
add been, fully sensime of the geneesd zeal, diligence,
and talents, which I had pin into the discharge of my
duty; and that it would give him pleasure were I
t:o take time to consider Isis proposition.
.1 renewed the assurance of my great personal re-
4lect, and my readiness to contorm to his wishes on
ill proper occasions. I remarked, that whatever

zeal, diligence, and talent I possessed, had been emt
ployed heel)' but firmly, aad. iteeneaiag 4.-017—bast• --
views to the public good ; and that as long as they
were left to be so exerted, they were at the service of
my country ; but that the moment they were made
to bow to military usurpation or political faction,
there should be an end of their public exercise.
We now parted, with an understanding that I,
should leave Washington the following morning.
It has since been stated to me as a fact (to which.
I give the most reluctant belief), that en the morn-
ing of the 29th, and before my arrival in this city',
a Committee of the inhabitants of Georgetown, of
whom Alexander C. Hanson, Editor of the Federal
' Retsublion was one (false), had wasted on the Pre:
sident, by deputation, and had obtained from him a
promise, that I should no longer direct the military
defence of the district. Oa this fact, all comma-

tarp' is unnecessary.
It but remains to exhibit and to answer the several
charges raised a t me, and which form the
ground-work of trai:lsexcitement, to which the Pre-
sident has deemed it prudent to sacrifice his aurbo.
nit), in declining to support mine. They are as
follow, via.:
ist. That (from to the district of Columbia, and a de•
siva to remove the seat of Government), I gave orders for the
retreat of the army, ia the of the Mk alt. soder urcuta•

stances, Dot making mutat necessary or proper.

This charge has not for its support the shadow of
truth. The Commanding General will do me the
justice to say, that I gave him no such order; an&
that he was, and is under the impression, that the re.
treat was made earlier than I believed it to be proper.
I'o the President I appeal, whetl.er I did not point
out the disorder and retreat of a part of the first line,
soon after the action began, and stigmatise it as base
and infamous.
ad. 'roar, in despite of the remonstrances of General Winder,
and by the interposition of my authority, I bad prevented Lint
from dektiding the Capital.
This charge contains in it a total perversion of the
truth. When the head of the retiring column reach-
ed the Capitol, it was halted for a moment. General
Winder here took occasion to state to Mr. Monroe
and myself, that he was not in condition to maintain '
another conflict, and that his force was broken dowa
by fatigue and dispersion. Under this representation.
we united in opinion, that be should proceed to oc.
copy the heights of Georgetown.
lel. that I had witlidrawn die owning Party frenttlwreartil
Fort Washington (Warburton), and bed ordered Captain Dysm
to blew up the fort without firing a gin.
This charge is utterly devoid of truth. The cover•
ing party was withdrawn by an order from Ge.
Milder, and Captain Dyson's official report shews.
that the orders under which he acted were derived
from the same source, though, no doubt, mistaken"
or misrepresented.
4th. That by my orders, the navy yard had been burned.
This, like its predecessors, is a positive falsehood.
Perceiving that no•order was taken for apprising
CommodoreTingey of the retreat of the army, I sent
Major Bell to communicate the fact, and to say, that
the navy yard could no longer be covered. rho
Commodore was of course lett to hallow the sugges.
tions of his own mind, or to obey the orders, if orderi
aad beep given, of the Navy Department.
Sib. And lastly, that means had not been when to collect a
force sufficient for the occasion.
As the subject of this charge may very tootrtat.'
come one of c Angressiosal inquiry. I shall at resent'
make but a few remarks:
Ist. That no means withitt Oftlteirtr
Department has been omitted dfr'itithheld ; Om a
separate military district, embrating the seat of Gc.
vernment, had been created; that an officer of hielf
rank and character had beta plated in charge rd it ;
that to him was given MI authority to -call for Int,.
plies and for a militia 1014:11 -Of 14.000 UM that to
this force was added the 96th repeat of the line,
battalion of the Mb, detachments of the 12th, of the
artillery, and of the dragoons, the marine corps, and
the crews of t' c flotilla, under the special command
of -Commodore Barney ; making a total of 16,900
men.
, General Winder's official report of the engagement
of the 24tb ultimo chews how much of this force had
been assembled, and the causes why a greater portion
of it had not been got together. These will be found
to have been altogether extraneous from the Govera.
meat; and
2d. That from what is now known of the enemy's
force, of the loss he sustained in the enterprise, of the
masks of panic under which he retreated, 4c. it is
obvious, that if all the troops assembled at BtaJens•
burgh had been faithful to themselses and to their
country, the enemy would have been beaten, and the
capital saved. (Signed)
13a!timore, Sept. 3, 1814. JOHN ARMiTRONG.
The last cruize of the American flotilla on Lake
Ontario, is detailed in the following extract from
commodore Chauncey's dispatch, dated August 10,
elf Kingston:
M In the afternoon of the seat July, I was taken on board; bat
it Was a calm, and I did not sail before the neat morning. 'fa
satisfy at once whatever espectadons the public but been led to
mater.ain of the sufficiency of this squadron to take andmaiatais
the ascendancy on this Jake and at the same time to egpose the
*day of promises, the fulfilment of which had been rested on
ear ce at the head of theta*, I got under way at four
o' In the morning of the Ist instant, and steered for the
month of the Niagara.
" Owing to light winds. I did not anise of tient before the
Mi. There we intercepted one of the enemy's brigs, introtg
over from York to Niagara; with treopt, and ran her on ,nor',
about sis miles to the westwud of Fort &kluge. I 'ordered the
Syiph is, to anchor as user to the enemy as -he could with sate•
ty, and to destroy her. Captain Elliot ran in, in a very gallant
manner, to within front three hundred tally, hundred Yu' a et
tier, and was about anchoring, when she en my set fire to aer,
ma she soon after Mew up. Ildeveseil is a 'choosier Os ta:t
-ar, and called the Bentsturd: sines they at vied Is sr re a 1015
they changed her name, and I have not been able to ascertain It.
aim surto:nod ft:tartest guns, twelves sl4-poutid esarrdnadirt. and two
long to-pounders.
‘• r:nding toe enemy had two ether brigs and a schooner it.
the Niagara River I detennleakeeleive a Mete to`wateh theme
and scleasd the Jefferson, SyWa. 'sod Oneida for that patroller
and placed the whores under the Orders of Captain RI get!. -
ing sailed Into York without discovering any tessera thellicniTo
I left Niagara with the remainder ash. squadron on use evein4
of the 7th, and arrived here rife etb. We .quad of she ene-
my's ships in the offing, s td chased het mist Mugabe.
My anaiety to return *tidos end el vibe trilb4 Wag kite eh"
by the knowledge I had of shematinees of .zekett's _
and the apprehedhioo that the enemy might remise taw rear-
foramens at Kingston, and, anbarkingeomv It she u`"P' ao
boar* his fleet, male a dash at the 14aroour, and burn , 01..
all my stoats, during our absence. Mien' Oat t I.4lPourr
ditty were but about ~ern hundred mum troy* at to
It is our, a few militia had bee.i cai.cd i.t, oar lit le c •uki be'
petted of them ohen lan att.= *Asada. My Apptcart...r
ems, Was groundless the enemy having contented pitmen ova
annoying in some trifling degree the coasters between Gewete
and the harbour in his boats.'

'HE

S l'Ait.

LO N DON.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1814.
PRICE roma TRIA DAY A l TWELVE O'CLOCK
Reductd 64.4 per Cent. 8t —5 per Cent. Nan 651 96
Consols 65} for account, 65M—Omn. Siii di,.
Bank Long Anna 15ii—Bonda 131.145. pr.
Lido:quer Bills par, to sc. pram.

By the arrival of a vessel at Greenock from Quebec,
we have received the General Orders issued by the
British Commander, detailiag the late failure of our

operations o Lake Champlain, which we subjoin.

Our Readers will see that the Americans, as u-su,ll,

greatly exaggerated this affair. No disaster whatever

has befallen Sir GEORGE PREVOST'S army-, as we al•

ready ventured to...tate as our opinion, and the only
loss sustained has been on Lake Champlain. The

cause of this loss is distinctly pointed out in the Ge-
neral Orders. The private letters from Quebec star,

that our largest ship, the CONFIANCE, mounted 61
guns, and that five men only were alive when she
struck. The retreat of our forces from Plattsburgh
was not in consequence of any defeat in that quarter,
but merely a measure of prudence to keep within the
reach of supplies :