Star.
London, England, 1812-05-08 00:00:00

SECOND EDITION.

DEFEAT OF THE FRENCH ADVANCED
GUARD-ADVANCE OF LORD WEL-
LINGTON TO CASTILE.

" WAR DEPARTMENT.

" Mira, 181!.
" Despatches have been received from the Earl
10f WELLINGTON, dated Niza, the 16th April.
SOULT had collected his army at Villa Franca
on the Bth of April ; but, hearing there of the fall of
Badajoz, he retired in the night towards Andalusia.
His rear was closely followed by the British Cavalry,
under Sir STAPLETON COTTON, who came up with
2500 of the enemy's horse early in the morning of
the 11th near Villa Garcia.

tt Sir STAPLETON COTTON fell upon them with two
brigades, commanded by Major General Ls MAR-
CHANT and Colonel PowioNsy. The French were
overthrown, and driven in great confusion to Llerena.
They sustained a very considerable loss in killed and
wounded, and we made about 150 prisoners.
a, On the part of the British about 50 were killed or
wounded—among the latter is Major PnEscorr, of
the sth Dragoon Guars* (slightly) ; and Lieute-
nant WALKER, of the same regiment, (severely).
di Great commendation is bestowed upon Sir S.
Corrow, Major General LE MARCHANT, Colonels
PONSONBY, and HERVEY; Major PRESCOTT, and other
Officers.

The enemy's forces retreated after the 1] th from
Llerena, and have evacuated Estreniadura entirely.

Lord WELLING roN had not heard-from General
BALLASTEROS. The Conde PEDLAR VILLAMAR had
approached Seville by the right of the Guadalquiver,
and skirmished w ith the garrison oh the sth, and
obliged them to retire their works.
Lord WELLINGTON had accounts from Ciudad
Rodrigo up to the 9th, when the enemy still kept the
place blockaded, but had made no attack. They
had not repeated their visit to Almeida, where they
suffered some loss in a reconnaissance upon the 3d
of April.
,4 Upon the 7th, most of MARMONT% troops moved
front near Ciudad Rodrigo towards Sabugal, and
their advanced guard entered Castello Branco, on the
12th, but evacuated it before day-light, on the 14th,
when General ALTEN'S Hussars, and Colonel Le
Coa's Brigade of Militia occupied the town."
4, Lord WELLINGTON is moving toward Castile,
and his advanced guard reached Castello Branco on
the 16th of April."

141.1VelL INTELLIGENCE.

Thy ANTELOPE man of war arrived at Portsmouth
on Wednesday; parted from the East hdiamen
which sailed from Portsmouth the 10th March, on
the 4th April, except the Coldstream, which was
missing from the convoy on the 23d March.
The Princess Charlotte of Wales, Thomas Gren-
ville, Diana, Broxbornebury, Sir Geoffrey Webster,
and Juliana East-India ships sailed from St. Helen's
yesterday, under convoy of the MONTAGUE.


The recent division in the House of Commons OIS
the great question respecting Sinecures, cannot fall
to be regarded by every good man as an omen which
promises a long train of benefits to the country. • It
is indeed the natural consequence of those expressions
of public sentiment which have been of late pretty
general, and which, we trust, will contirue to be ut-
tere d with voices" loud and deep" Until the glorious
work of temperate and gradual 'Tram is fairly be-
gun. It is highly absurd to hear Islembers of Par-
liament, in this enlightcr.ed age, talk of preserving
6‘ the pride and integrity of high ch scent" by means
of sinecures and pensions !—What ! is there no wty
of bolstering up the " pride and integrity" of the
Honourable and Right Honourable sons daugh-
ters of idleness but by the disgraceful tenure of a
Pension I I)o they forget that the honest and ;nen:-
trious members of the community are reduced 'to
beggary by the contributions which are daily, and
we may add necessarily, exactod to enable Govern•
ment to miry us through the tremendous warfare in
which we are eng aged ?
Calandra tom carport rein; .'—Let the holders of
rich sinecures therefore, and those of the public pen-
sioners, who have overgrown personal fortunes be-
sides, come forw and and deposit their surplusage of
wealth on the altar of public safety.
And now that the abolition of Reversions and Sine.
cures has triumphantly passed through the House of
Commons, we c an not allow ourselves to anticipate it
rejection in the other House of Parliament. It 4 no-
torious, indeed, that instances are to be found upon
record, of men of high stations so lost to the "pride
and integrity of high descent," as to have left their
younger sons and daughters dependent on a booby,
because he was their first born, only until he could
procure an equivalent for them out of the public purse.
Nay, we have witnessed an instance in which a No-
bleman, with an income from landed estates of fifty
thousand pounds per annum, not contented with pro-
truding his beardless brothers over the hoary heads
of many a gallant veteran in his country's service, has
unblushingly come forward, and wrung from the Mi-
nisters of the day, a pension from the public treasure
to each of his Sisters, rather than support the pride
an integrity of the family by curtailing his own ez.
travagances at the turf or the gaming table !
But these days, like those of Chivalry, have now
passed away, and we have bot the smallest doubt but
that our high spirited Barons, who are " the.kieredi-
tarp guardians cf public virtue," will disdain to
countenance a system, which admits of such flagrant
waste of the resources of the State.

Let those who prefer the bread of others to that
of their own earning, be pensioned out of the weighty
purses of their noble relatives ; but, fet them not be
thrown upon the public at a crisis like the present,
lest their humble benefactors should at last lose their
tempers !