The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-07-13 00:00:00

LONDON:
MONDAY, .ILLY 13, 1812.

A Ileligoland Mail arrived this morning. The fol-
lowing is the only article it brings :
HELIGOLAND. JuLY 9.
This week we have had an arrival from the coast,
but received no news worth mentioning, except that
hostilities were immediately expected to take place
in the North, and that a peace between Russia and
Turkey was considered as certain.

Another Auk°lt Mail urived in town on Satur-
day evening. An article, dated " Banks of the Vis-
tula, Jane 10," repeats the Report of Peace having
bees euucloadd betwixt ?Asia and Turkey, on. the
-28th of May. It will be recollected, however, that
aecouats from Vienna to the I7th of June, (Bs.
countenance this statement. Nothing is said in the

German Papers as to the commencement of hostili-
ties in the North; but it was confidently reported
yesterday, on the authority of letters from Paris, li
dated the 9th instant, that a battle had been (Ought
by the French and Russians, in which the latter,had
been defeated with the loss of from 25 to 30,000
men. _ That such an event is not improbable, ay..
pears frontihe circumstance of BONAPAIITE having
lately collected his armies together, and reviewed no
lass•thao 100,000 of his troops at once, in the plains
Friedlansl, where, as appears from the following ar-
ticle, he Toes such dispositions as indicated a d 4.
tortalsation to advance immediately to the combat:
- 66 Stautri•Jcsa 20.—0 n the 14th of June the
Slartot ibtottion. whined to army of ipvioo
aratir: 141.7 - - -

of TARENTO (Macdonald)* and the Duke of TOE.
vino (Mortier). MACDONALD has taken the corn.
mend over that corps, which was under the com.
mend of Lieutenant-Ceneral Vut Cft svErtv, and
has removed his head-quarters to Tiplau. The
cavalry belonging to this corps is under the
command of his Majesty the King of NAer.Es.”.....
Private accounts state, that the Russians had begun
ro act on the defensive, and the Ministerial Journalists
commend this as a wire policy. We do not know
by what standard these hirelings regulate their views
of policy ; but certaissare we of this, that it does not
show great strength on the part of ALax.matit what
he is obliged, in the very outset of the campaign, to
resort to defensive measures, instead of marching out
to meet the foe. Can any one entertain a deubt as
' to the result of a contest begun in such eatraerdiaari
circumstances ?

The Gazette of Saturday night contains the last
dispatches from Fad WELLINGTON, with enclosures 11
from Major• General SLADS, and General Ilicr.;
and from Mr. STUART, at Lisbon. Ship letters, since
received from Oporto, of the 25th ult. state, that
Marshal MAIMONT had ordered General BoNNET te
join him at Toro, with the troops under his corn.
mand ; and that he had likewise strengthened hk
army by drafts from the different garrisons, From
these circumstances it was conjectured, that it was

the intention of the French Commander again to ad.
'mice to Salamanca. We already know that the
enemy have collected their forces together in the
South, and were in full march to attack General
HILL, at Albuera. We may, therefore, expect soot
to hear of some warm work going on in the Penis.
aula.

.The allusions made by Mr. WartimeAn, on Fri.
day evening, in the debate concerning the Report ni
the Secret Committee, open a new and most in.
teresting view of the state of affairs in what are
called the disturbed districts. It would appear from
his statement, that the greatest of the nocturnal
meetings we have any authentic account of, namely,
that of Dean Moor, near Bolton, in Lancashire,
consisted of only forty individuals. Of these, if
we understood Mr.Wurreezke aright, it was proved
on oath that, at least one-fourth were hired spits;
and it was more than hinted, that these miscreants
►►ere the aduat instigators of the meeting—the very
men who called the meeting together; and that some
of them were the actual ,proposers of the destructioa
•f property similar to what afterwards took place at
West Horton, which is somewhere in the same
neighbourhood. Such always is the progress of the
loathsome system of espionage. Needy and unprin-
cipled men, for suclethey must be who will consent
to get money in this way, are hired to listen for se.
didon, and report to their'employers. The wages
for this work must be greater, and the work itself
probably less tedious, than what they are accustomed
to. 41' matter worthy of being reported does not offer
itself, they fear being turned out .of employment—
they fear that their "occupation will be gone ;" and
Ithey set about fabricating matter, which it was their
business only to discover. But it is said, that
though all thismay be true respecting the active spies,
who must, in cases of this sort, consist of the lowest
classes, their employers ought not to be suspected of
lending themselves to a system of this sort. What
then ? Are we ignorant what a warm temper, a
heated imagination on political . subjects, and still
more 'a disposition to show that his suspicions were
well founded, will lead a man to do) Are we
nerant, too, that there is such a thing as secret-
service money ? and that the distribution of this it
and must be, for obvious reasons, entirely without
a check ? May not a man who has 10001. of this
money at his disposal, keep half of it in his own
pocket, without a possibility of detection? and if
he once tastes the sweets ; if lie once learns to " lick
i his fingers" in this way, it is not likely that he will
wish this secret influence to continue ? Do we not
'knew, too, as we were tvisel; told by !r. Whittle
roaca, that fear is'thie most cruel of all passions,
and that when once a man is embarked in the system
of espionage, he must be conscious that he has
thereby incurred the hatred of many of his
neighbours. Mr. CANNING eloquently described
the uneasy nights and days bribe royal inhabitants
of the disturbed districts, owing to their fears of
-personal violence. Will not these fears exist most
strongly in the breast§ of those, who, by the em-
ployment of spies, have entrapped their neighbours
into the commission of crimes for which some are
i banged, and others transported ; and is it not pos-
sible, that this cruel passion of fear may lead other
men, as it did the tyrant ROBESPIERRE, to_ attempt
to lessen their danger one-half, by destroying ont-
half of their neighbours ? If a man then be prorec,
as Mr. Wenrrsaxao said, to have been in the habit et
hiring spies for years past, we say—Let no such
treated. It is lamentable to think, that such'
man should succeed in imposing on the Legislature,
as; from present appearances, we fear it is the case

Letters have been ie• e;veii from the Caracas, to
the 24th of May. MIRANDA'S head-quarters hs4
been removed to Maracay. On the 21st he issued s
which we have lranslaspd, antiounch4
invested with dictatorial power,
pledges himself to employ for Os
establishing the liberty and in&po.
With this view he in&til'
_ he wilt negro-fate with foreir
particularly the frre'States of America,
'4 troops, IWO mid military stores.

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