The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-03-28 00:00:00

t.OOO
- SADO "

530

" Total - WOO
And thus we had it in evidence that the enemy's
force at that time appeared front concurring intel..
ligence to amount to 35,500nten. lie (Mr. Pon.
sonby) would nut here ask whether this account
was or was nut exaggerated. General Brownrigg
had since reduced it to 30,000 ; but had there been
but twenty thousand, they would, in suoh cerium.
statues, he as formidable as fifty. Thu success
upon Antwerp depended upon ederity of move.
meat —that celerity upon effective co:operation on
the part of the Navy, and thkt eo.operation on '
the reduction of the forts of Lille and Leifken.
sluveik. Upon the Ist of August, the enemy's-
fleet was above the boom at Lilloi and the general
opinion was, that that boom could not be forced:
But the statement went on to say that
:4 Our Iota! numbers, including artillery, cavalry, and in-.
rotary, amount to about 30,000 etfective ; of which 6000 are
left in Wakhereo, and '4,000 must necessarily be left in South
Bevel:it'd, giving a disposable force of only 22,000 men forth.
siege of Antwerp, and the other operation:connected with it."
Srt that 2e.,000, to say nothing of the casualties
of sickness, were to advance to the siege of Ant.,
were, and to. contend with 35,500 men. The
House will observe, however, the mode of the
siege as recommended in the following pas.mge
" In proceeding to the siege of Antwerp, it would no doubt
be a leading object in, the plan of operations, to ;venom*.
date it as far as possible to obtain the co-operation of our sm.
val nr.z.uts, withmt whica the enterprise would be clogged
with the difficulty of transporting by land from the poise of
dettarloation, through aweeenty's conntry, all the ordnance,
sores, and entrenchinh tools, 'owns:ley to undertake the siege
of a con- iderable place, and to provide the means of subsist-
ence for which we Could not well command the resources of
the country beyond the reach of one arms; and it would be a
cmisiderahle increase of these difficulties to collect Willey can
be had, or try trasport, if they be prepared, the vast quanti-
ties of platform., fascines, and gabions required for such a
siege.
" plan 14 which only the cm-operation of our naval
force can he ot•tincd, would be .by the reduction of Lillo
and Lief keivillocik, and the complete investment of Antwerp
botii hanks of the River." . •
From this it appeared that nothing less than the
complete investment of Antwerp could jle leffec.
that. Such was the laugnage of the General who
had talked of taking Antwerp by bombardment.
One would almost be led to doubt, upon referking
to this paper, if ibe writer of it was the sable Gee.
Catlett' who had given his evidence at theft Bar.
The Noble Lord had said, the expedition had not
been fairly tried. In what ruipect Did lie NNW
to say, that the egeeution had defeated the plan'?
.Were the Generals wrong in retreating?Genefil
Woutak
..tbe Notate Lord have had them, eta after
iletaltenrigg's piper of the 26th of August, Nisi'.
rt one forward; or if he admitted that: nothing(
Could, have been done sifter that period, ke!talled
•
upon. Ike. ANliable Lord to,..stillet what—erreir
the execution
.*as the cause of nothing having
been done before it? Why not openly state
to his Majesty—to that flouar whore and lie*