The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1832-12-28 00:00:00

L,.. LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

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an irresponsible power over them, and that they cannot
look to the English minister for redress. It is full time
that this disgraceful affair were terminated, or that we
should withdraw our ships altogether, and leave. Oporto
and its British residents to their fate, which-would be
scarcely more culpable than the tacit encouragement we
are daily giving to so many wrongs against our own
honour.—Atlas•.

•
o G N INTELLIGENCE.
SIEGE OF THE CITADEL OF ANTWERP.
ANTWERP, DEC. 21, Friday Noon.—The last act of the siege
has begun. The breach battery, armed and fully prepared, be-
gan at half past 11 o'clock the work of destruction on the left
Lace of the bastion Toledo. This battery consists of six 24-
pounders, the balls of which strike the wail at the water level,
and shattering the old bricks of which it is composed into pieces,
raise clouds of dust. The firing is vehement on both sides, for
the besieged, whose only defence has hitherto been not art, but
the strength of their guns, "are now compelled to make nest,
and, as ail allow, a fruitless effort to repel the attack." The bat-
tery plays horizontally upon a width of about 15 yards, and from
a distance of about 80. The sounds are, therefore, such as
have not yet beeen heard during the siege, from their frequent
and forcible detonation. The counter-batteries also direct their
fire on the flanks of the Fernando and Pacietto bastions. It is
feared that some balls may fly over the esplanade to the next
street of the town, called Rue de la Cuilliere, which has pro-
duced the departing of the persons resident therein. Sentinels
are placed to prevent all passage through that street.—Rumour
speaks of a final summons having been sent by Marshal Gerard
this morning, to demand the surrender, before the breach bat-
teries opened. It is not easy at this moment to learn the truth
on the subject.
FOUR O'CLOCK, AFTERNOON.—The great liege, or as it is
now called, monster mortar, has been tried to-day, and has suc-
ceeded. It is placed on the counter-guard, between the Mech-
lingate and the fort Montebello. fhe first enormous shell
thrown by this mortar during its approach to the citadel, fell
upon and sunk into the rampart of the citadel, near the gate of
the esplanade. After a delay of about three minutes it burst,
and scattered an immense quantity of earth on all sides. The
second shell, from some fault in the fuze, broke in the mortar,
and bursting at 100 yards, threw the fragments forward. A de-
lay of two or three hours then followed, during which the shells
were examined. At four o'clock four or five more were thrown
with precision into the citadel, a distance of more than 1,000
yards.
The appearance of the citadel is hourly growing snore hideous.
The little turret of the chapel, long one of the distinguishing
features of the place, has fallen, as well as the great part of the
building itself. A fire broke out this morning among the ruins,
as if to leave no vestige of the works of olden time. A shell also
fell among some Dutch shells ready charged near the masked
mortar battery, in the interior of which it caused, at least, a
dozen of them to burst, and of course to do even more mischief
than those-thrown by the French.
Five o'CLoce.—There has been considerable firing on the
river. The French have guns of heavy calibre, stationed, one
at Burcht, and the, other on the opposite side, which have dis-
charged a considerable number of shot against the Dutch gun-
boats in the Seheldt, near the citadel, to cut off, as it is said,
the communication with the Tete de Flandres. The distance
was too great to produce" any effect. It is also asserted that
there has been a heavy- cannonade down the river towards
Lillo, but the haziness, of this rainy weather prevents all chance
of distinguishing the places. It is asserted that the arrange-
ments of the k reach corps under Generals Sebastiani and
Achard are such as to interrupt effectually all communication
down the lower part of the Scheldt.
I saw the King, Leopold, attended by a brilliant staff, ride on
horseback along the road to Berchem about two hours ago, on
his return to Brussels. The rain nor the dangers of the road
did not cause him to-hasten his usual pace, although all the
Belgians now pass along that chausseefear that some of
Chasse's balls, which have already riddled the houses on- the
road side, should do them injury. The royal carriage followed,
into which the King, after having paid a visit to the head-
quarters of Marshal Gerard, entered, and drove off. During
his stay in Antwerp, his majesty has visited all the hospitals,.
and made inquiries into the cases of all the wounded, even of
the Dutch prisoners. 'He also rode through every part of the
city, which his presence contributes to console at this critical
period. His return here is stated to take place early next week.
The number of killed and wounded of the French now
amounts to about 600; the latter are treated with great kind-
ness and attention; those who are not seriously wounded are
removed to the neighbouring towns, such as Mechlin Louvain,
&c., while such as are incapable of being transported so far, are
received in the hospitals &c. of this city.
DEC. 22, SATURDAY MORNING, EIGHT O'CLOCK.—'There was
during the night a cessation of the battering cannon, although
the fusilade continued brisk. The cause of the former is con-
jectured by some to arise from the flow of the tide into the
ditch of the citadel, which prevented the continuance of the
horizontal cut; some think it arose from the darkness. The
ditch of the citadel being six feet deeper than that of the town,
water must necessarily remain in it, and at high water there
are consequently several feet more. Others suppose that Gene-
ral Haxo has been at work mining some part of the bastion.
The firing has re-commenced at a brisk rate.
At three o'clock yesterday there were four distinct vertical
cuts in the brick work of. the scarp of the bastion ; at four
o'-clock these -cuts-were-said-to have reached the-earth-foteniirg
the rampart. After which there was to be a horizontal cut
formed at the lower part, just above the level of the water.
When this is completed, there are to be salvoes fired into the
masonry to shake it down, and a few shells into the earth, to
make tile breach there practicable. The ditch is to be filled
up. The counterscarp is mined, in order to be thrown into it.
TEN cfCLOCK.—The French appear to have given up the in-
tention of attacking the demi-lune near the bastion Pacietto,
which, as the Passage leading from it into the citadel is de-
stroyed, can be now of no avail to the besieged, and can be
taken when useful by the besiegers.
ELEVEN O'CLOCK.—On the river this morning nothing new.
The gun-boats opposite to the citadel have not suffereu from
yesterday's fire, which is described as too distant from them.
The fleet at Lillo cannot be distinguished from the quay, on
account of the weather. Some of the balls fired from the coun-
ter battery at the flank battery of the bastion Fernando have
fallen into the river between the Tete de Flandres and the fort
Austruweel.—Christmas continues to be stated as the nearest
possible time for the assault of the citadel
TWELVE O'CLOCK.—The breach is considered now as nearly
completed, mid probably by to-morrow morning the passage
into the ditch will commence. The number of killed and
wounded during the night has been very great. The weather
is cloudy.

THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF THE SIEGE.
ANTWERP, DEC.. 21.—The fire of the batteries Nos: 1 and 2 of
the second parallel was warmly,kept up during the night of the
20th. The 13eiieged replied to it by their mortars, their flank
pieces, and their rampart fusils. The batteries in breach and
.the counter-batteries opened their fire at 11 this morning. The
first fired by salvoes, which greatly damaged the scarp of the
left front of bastion No. 2. The fire will lie continued- until a
breach is made in that side of the bastion near the salient. The'
first bomb from the great mortar fell in the centre of bastion
No. 1, against which it was pointed. It exploded in its passage,
owing to the fuse. Every preparation for the descent to the
fosse is now ready, and every means have been adopted to open
immediately a communication between the covered way and the
breach, when the latter becomes practicable. The solidity of
the walls is not as great as was expected; the bricks are large,
and•in some places joined with a cement of so soft a nature,
that the balls pierce it. On the average it may be said that
every shot displaces two bricks. We may therefore now cat-
culate that in 48 hours the fatigues of the army will be brought
to a close. It is now some mouths since Marshal Soult required
from the engineer department a plan of the attack projected
against Antwerp. That document, which is still extant, point-
ed Out' the 28th or 29th day from the opening of the trenches,
all the preparations for the assault would be ready. The event
has Collie within 24 hours of the calculation of the engineer.
• The commandant of the battery in breach, M. Brunet, has
been wounded by the bursting of it howitzer shell. He cannot
remain at his post, but his wound is not of a serious nature.
64 BE.RCHEM, DEC'. 22, HALF-PASY 12.—The fire, which had
rather slackened a few hours preceding the'break of day, com-
menced with redoubled force a little before 9, and still continues
very loud. I have been just examining With' a teleScope the
effect of the breach in batteries, and I find that they have just
traced the line against which they are to act, and have cut very
deep at the foot of the bastion. It is impossible to form any
idea, without being actually on the spot; of the immense extent
of the works of attack against the citadel. They extend to 11,000
metres, and cover about 2 leagues.
" As soon as the breach is practicable; they will spring that
portion of the counterscarp which comes down to the ditch, and
the passage will then be commenced."
ANTWERP, DEC• 22, SATURDAY NIGHT.:---The firing during
the day has been murderous. The French have lost a consider-
able number of men, and four or five excellent officers.—The
" monster" mortar has limed off eight shells, the effect of
which, as described by a deserter who arrived this morning, is