Star.
London, England, 1809-05-25 00:00:00

AMERICA.

Upon our re-admission we found Lord HENRY
PETTY on his legs, putting some questions to
nisters relative to our relations with America, which,
from the confusion created by the division, it was hr..
possible for us to hear.

Mr.CANNING answered that the relations betweca
the two countries were in a train of negotiation ; 1114
before he could be able to acquaint the House of their
termination there were some things to be done, and
others to be undone. He also stated that the late
agreement concluded between the British Ambassa-
dor and the American Government was contrary to
his instructions, and that of course it did not receive
the approval of his Majesty. However, it was deter-
mined to indemnify such persons in America, who,
on this supposed agreement might be subjected to in-
conveniences and losses, in the interval between the
conclusion of the non-ratified agreement and the no.
tice of its not being approved by his Majesty.

et
X.
le

Tllll, EVENING STAR.

LONDON.

THURSDAY, MAY 25.
PRICE OF STOCKS "PHi.i DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK:
Cons. for cnoney,6Bii—acc. Gel—Omni= 4 1 pre.
Extheq. 1.3:11s 10s. i 21. preens.
PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY.
Bank Stock 2461 I Omninm 1 preen.
3 per Cent. Red. 671 i India Bonds 16s. 17s. prem.
3 per Cent. Cons. 68i I Excheq. Bills, 113. I:ss. pr.
4 per Cent. 83 • Consols, for ace. tisi;
5 per C.,:nt. Navy 99ii1

OFFICIAL ACCOUNT
()I. TILE

CAPTURE OF OPORTO.

LETTER TO TIIE LOP.D MAYOR.

MAY
DOWNING-STREET', MAY 24, 1809.

country, in the disposal of fines aild places. A sys..!
tern of mismanagement in the Revenue-arose from
taat circumstance, and it could not he prevented'
until either the Treasury Board of Ireland was ren-i
tiered as efficient as that of England, or entirely abo.,
I:shed, and its concerns placed under the superinten-1
dance of the English Treasury. He did not mean to
say that Ireland ought to be put on a system of taxa.
ucn equal to this country ; but if any alteration in
the present disposal of Treasury influence took place
in Ireland, be conceived it would completely relieve
that country from the oppressive system of taxation
under which she now laboured. The Honourable
Gentleman concluded by expressing his doubts as to
the efficacy of those legislative measures which the
Right Hon. Gentleman opposite so sanguinely trusted
to :cr the amelioration of Ireland's interest.
Mr. FOSTER said, that the measure which he
proposed for the advantage of Ireland, was one
which was practically good ; while, on the other
hand, whatever benefits lay in the measure proposed
o that House by the Hon. Gentleman, could only
Le seen in theory.

After a few farther observations from Sir J. NEW.
7.RT and Mr. FOSTER, the resolutions being put, were
carried in the affirmative.
The House then resumed, and the report was or-
dered to be received to-morrow.

'RD II DISTIL LERIEq.
The House having gone into a Committee on the
Irish Distillery Regulation Bill,
Mr. FOSTER remarked on the various clauses of
enactment in the Bill, and submitted to the Commit-
tee an amendment which he wished to introduce.
Sir J. NEWPORT, after commenting on the nature
of the Right Hon. Gentleman's amendment, proposed
another to the effect of discontinuing the bounties hi-
therto granted to large distillers.
Mr. Foster's amendment was put and carried.
A discussion ensued upon that proposed by Sir J.
Newport.—Mr. HUTCHINSON said, he could not
agree with the Right Hon. Baronet on this amend-
ment, as it would, it carried, suspend all inducement
to the g:cat distiller in the purchase of corn, and
consequently be prejudicial to the agricultural interests
of the country.
Colonel Barry, Mr. D. Browne, and Mr. May, spoke
against the amendment of the Right Hon. Baronet.
Mr. French, Mr. J. Latouche, Mr. Barnard,. Mr.
Parnell, and Mr. O'Hara, gave it their support.
A division then took place-.-For the amendment
21—Against it 73—Majority against 57.
The Committee afterwards divided on a clause-,
proposed by Mr. FRENCH, to exempt the parishes from
double penalties.

_
Ayes S2—Nces 50-Majority 18.
Strangers were not again admitted. The Bill passed
the Committee. Repert to be received this day.
Adjourned at Two o'Clock.

Government hare received the Official Details of the
CAPTURE of Oroaro. They were brought by the Hon.
F. STANHOPE, who arrived at Lord CASTLEREAGH'S
Office, in Downing-street, yesterday evening, about
nine o'clock ; but not finding his Lordship at his
Office, he proceeded to the House of Commons,
where they were delivered to him. Lord CASTLE-
REAGH opened the dispatches in the lobby, and imme-
diately retired to prepare and transmit an abstract
of their contents to his MAJESTY. The dispatches
were brought to Plymouth by a Transport, which
arrived there on Monday. T..e intelligence was, at
a late hour last night, communicated in the following

" DOWN?NG•STREET, MAY 24, IEO9.

"My Loth--1 have the satisfaction to acquaint your Lordship
that the Honourable Captain STANHOPE arrived this evening,
Aith dispatches from Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable
Si! ARTHUR WELLESLEY, riving an itce'cunt of his having De-i
:eared Marshal SOULT in three actions, and retaken Oporto on
the 12th inst. In the last action the Lieutenant-Gereral passed
the Douro with his centre colcn n, in frcnt of the French army.
Th• Buffs, under the Flon. Lieutenant-General PAGET, who first
crossed the River, maintained a positicn with the utmost gallantry
against repeated attacks c.. the eramy, till they were supported
by other P.egiments. As coon as the two other columns had
vissed, one at Oporto, the other at Avintas, Marshal Sornr re
!':rated in great vanfusion, with much toss in men and artillery.
" I have the honour to be, my Lord, Sec.
(Ygneci) " CAS-ELLE z•ca,"
" P S. The loss of the Briti4b, in :cilia and wounded, does
sot exceed 250 men."

Between eight and nine o'clock this morning, the
Park and Tower Gum: were fired in honour of the
Victory, and in- the forenoon the dispatches were
made known to the Public in the following

LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY.

A Dispatch, a which the following is a Copy, WiS received this
Evening from Lieutenant-Central the Right Honourable Sir
Arthur Wellesley, by Viscount Castlereagh, one of his Ma-
jesty's Principal Secretaries of State.
Oporto, May 12, 1809.

MY Lon D—l had the honour to apprize your Lord-
ship, on the 7th instant, that I intended that the army
should march on the 9th from Coimbra to dispossess
the enemy of Oporto,
The advanced-guard and the cavalry had marched
en the 7th, and the vihole had halted on the Sth to
Afford time for Marshal Beresford with his corps to
arrive upon the Upper Douro.

The infantry of the army was formed into three di•
visions for this expedition, of which two, the advanced-
guard, consisting of the Hanoverian Legion, and
Brigadier-General R. Stewatt's brigade,with a brigade
of 6-pounders, and a brigade of 3-pounders under Lieu-
tenant-General Paget, and the cavalry under Lieute-
nant-General Payne and the brigade of Guards; Briga•
dier-General Campbell's and Brigadier-General
brigades of infantry, with a brigade of six-pounders,
under Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke, moved by the
high road from Coimbra to Oporto, and one compos-
ed of Major-General Hill's and Brigadier-General
Cameron's brigades of infantry, and a brigade of six-
pounders, under the command of Major-General Hill,
by the road from Coimbra to Aveiro.

On the 10th, in the morning, before daylight,
the cavalry and advanced guard erased the Vouga
with the intention to surprise and cut off four
regiments of French cavalry, and a battalion of
infantry and artillery, cantoned in Albergaria Nova
and the neighbouring villages, about eight miles
from that river, in the last of which we failed ; but
the superiority of the British cavalry was evident
throughout the day ; we took some prisoners and,
their cannon from them ; and the advanced guard
took up the Position of Oliviera.

On the same day Major-General Hill, who had
embarked at Aveiro on the evening of the 9th, ar-
rived a,. Ovar, in the rear of the enemy's right; and'
the head of Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke's division
passed the Vouga on the same evening.
On the 11th, the advanced guard and cavalry con-
tinued to move on the high road towards Oporto,
with Major-General Hill's division in a parallel road,
which leads to Oporto from Ovar.
On the arrival of the advanced guard at Vendas
Novas, between Sonto Redondo and Grijon, they fell
in with the outposts of the enemy's advanced guard,
consisting of about 4000 infantry, and some squadrons
of cavalry, strongly posted on the heights above Gri-
jon, their front being coveted by wools and broken
ground. The enemy's left flank was turned by a move-
ment well executed by Major-General Murray, with
Brigadier-General Langworth's brigade of the Hano-
verian legion ; while the 16th Portuguese regiment of
Brigadier-General Richard Stewart's brigade attack-
ed their right, and the rifle men of the 95th, and the
flank companies of the 29th, 43d, and 52d, of the
same brigade, under Major Way, attacked the infan-
try in the woods and village in their centre.

These attacks soon obliged the enemy to give way;
and the Honourable Brigadier-General Charles Stew-
art led two squadrons of the 16th and 20th dragoons,
under the command of Major Blake, in pursuit of the
enemy, and destroyed many and took many pri-
soners.

On the night of the 11th the enemy crossed the
Douro, and destroyed the bridge over that river.
It was important, with a view to the operations of
Marshal Beresford, that I should cross the Douro im-
mediately : and I had sent Major-General Murray in
the morning with a battalion of the Hanoverian Le•
gion, a squadron of cavalry, and two 6-pounders, to
endeavour to collect boats, and, if possible, to cross
the river at Ovintas, about four miles above Oporto;
and I had as many boats as could be collected brought
to the ferry immediately above the towns of Oporto
and Villa Nova.

The ground on the right bank of the river at this
ferry is protected and commanded by the fire of can-
non, placed on the height of the Sierra Convent, at
Villa Nova, and there appeared to be a good pOsition
for our troops on the opposite side of the river till they
should be collected in sufficient numbers.
The enemy took no notice of our collection of
boats, or of the embarkation of the troops, till after
the first battalion ( the Buffs) were landed, and had
taken up their position under the command of Lieu-
tenant-General Paget on the opposite side of the river.
They then commenced an attack upon them, with
a large body of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, under
the command of Marshal Souk, which that corps
most gallantly sustained, till supported successively
by the 4.Bth and 66th Regiments, belonging to Ma-
jor-General Hill's brigade, and a Portuguese batta-
lion, and afterwards by the first battalion of detach-
ments belonging to Brigadier-General Richard
Stewart's brigade.

Lieutenant-General Paget was unfortunately woun-
ded soon after the attack commenced, when the com-
mand of these gallant troops devolved upon Major-
General Hill.

Although the French made repeated attacks upon
them, they made no impression, and at last Major-
General Murray having appeared on the enemy's left
flank onhis march fromOvintas, where he had crossed,
and Lieutenant• General Sherbrooke, who by this
time had availed himself of the enemy's weakness in ,
the town of Oporto, and had crossed the Douro at the
ferry, between the towns of Villa Nova and Oporto,
having appeared upon the right with the brigade of
Guards, and the ‘29th Regiment, the whole retired
in the utmost confusion towards Amaranthe, leaving
behind them five pieces of cannon, eight ammunition
tumbrils, and many prisoners.

The enemy's loss in killed and wounded in this ac-
tion has been very large, and they have left behind
them in Oporto 700 sick and wounded.
Brigadier-General the Honourable Charles Stewart
then directed a charge by a squadron of the 14th
dragoons, under the command of Major Hervey, who
made a successful attack on the enemy's rear guard.

In the different acticlits with the enemy, of whlelt
I have above given your Lordship an account, we
have lost some, and the immediate services of other
valuable officers and soldiers:

In Lieutenant-General Paget, among the latter,
I have lost the assistance of a friend, who had been
most useful to me in the few days which had elapsed.
since he had joined the army.
He had rendered a most important service at the
moment he received his wound, in taking up the po-
sition which the troops afterwards maintained, and in
bearing th• first brunt of the enemy's attack.
Major narvey also distinguished himself, at the
moment he received his wound in the charge of the
cavalry on this day.
I cannot say too much in favour of the Officers and
Troops.
They have Marched in four days over 'BO miles of
most difficult country, have gained many important
positions, and have engaged and defeated three diffe-
rent bodies of the enemy's troops.
I beg particularly to draw your Lordship's atten-
tion to the coeduct of Lieutenant-General Paget, Ma-
jor-General
Murray, Major-General Hill, Lieutenant-
General Sherbrooke, Brigadier-General the Hon.
Charles Stewart, Lieutenant-Colonel Delancey (De-
puty.Quarter-Master-General), and Captain Mellish
(Assistant Adjutant-General), for the assistance they
respectively rendered General Stewart, in the charge
of the cavalry this day, and on the 11th ; Major Co-
lin Campbell, Assistant Adjutant-General, for the
assistance he rendered Major-General Hill in the de-
fence of his post ; and Brigadier-General Stewart, in
the charge of the cavalry this day ; and Brigade Ma-
jor Fordyce, Captain Corry, and Captain Hill, for the
assistance they rendered General Hill.
I have also to request your Lordship's attention to
the conduct of the Riflemen and of the flank compa-
nies of the 29th, 43d, and 52d regiments, under the
command of Major Way of the 29th, and that of the
16th Portuguese regiment, commanded by Colonel
Machado, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Doyle is
Lieutenant-Colonel, and that of the brigade of the
Hanoverian Legion, under the Command of Briga-
dier-General Langworth, and that of the two squa-
drons of the 16th and 20th Light Dragoons, under
the command of Major Blake of the 20th, in the ac-
tion of the 11 th ; and the conduct of the Buffs com-
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond, the 48th
commanded by Colonel Duckworth, and 66th com-
manded by Major Murray, who was wounded, and
of the squadron of the 14th Dragoons under the com-
mand of Major Hervey, in the action of this day.
I have received the greatest assistance from the
Adjutant-General and Quarter-Master-General Colo-
nel Murray, and from all the Officers belonging to
those departments respectively throughout the ser-
vice, as well as from Lieutenant-Colonel Bathurst
and the Officers of my personal Staff, and I have.
every reason to be satisfied With the artillery and offi-
cers of engin..-.Ts. .

I send this di6patck by Captain Stanhope, whom
I beg to recommend to t our Lordship's protection :
his brother the Honourable Major Stanhope was un-
fortunately wounded by a sabre whilst leading a
charge of the 16th Light Dragoons on the 10th in-
stant. I have the honour to be, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Abstract of the Killed, Wounded, and Missing of the Army
under Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur WAlesley, in Actioni
with the Advanced Posts of the French Army at Albergaria
Nova, May 10, .1809.
None killed; 1 Major, 2 Rank and File, wounded; 1 Rank
and File missing. Total-4.