The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-02-03 00:00:00

advancing, and, at all events, they could pass in the
night--the bodylof the armvwhere he was was not at-
tacked at all—General Mackenz;e, ho commanded
the advance would better describe Suchet's move-
ment—he never saw the enemy W hile he was with the
body of the army--he thought an officer stationed
between Abbas and Villatranca most have atdici-
paled the enemy--but on so good a road, and in such
a distance, a mounted officer could not have gained
more opun the enemy than two or three bouts—in-
telligence might be received by relnvs, and the whole
di-tance being nine hours, the possible time to he
gai.led was perhaps half—hourly intelligence might
have been received its this manner.

By th►e Court.
Ile supposed, from the intelligence he received,
brit to which he did not give perfect confidence, that
Sachet's advanced guard entered Tortosa on the 9th,
and the Marshal himself on the 10th ; the force was
said to consist of 9000, to have united at Reus, so
as to have attacked the Allied Army on the 13th.—
(en. Decaen would have had to march 36 miles, and
Suchet 32, that was six from the junction at Reus;
he took Villafranca to be 30 miles from Tarragona,
a long day's mnrch—Perrillo nas 36 miles, a day
and a half's march ; he did not mean to say an army
could march from Villafranca to Tarragona, bat that
nine hours was the computed distance, as the mea-
surement of flue country was by hours. It was 36 miles
to march horn Villafranca to Reus by St. Christina,
and from Tortosa to the same place by liandillos, it
s.as •11 miles ; (Letts nas six from Tarragona. After
a non ch of -12 miles, from the night of the 11th, or
min nieg of the 12th, he did not think it would have
hemu necessary for Marshal Sachet to have attacked
our troops at Tarragona, his army being in the pre-
sence of the Allied Army, would have prevented ours
from embarkation, and we should have been obliged
to attack. To march from Tortosa to Reus an army
of 9000 men, without baggage or artillery, might
require 42 hours, and by St. Christina from Villa-
franca to Reus is about 31 hours, the road is so much
better.

The witness withdrew.
General Smith sworn and examined.

lie was in command of a brigade under the orders
of General Clinton ; he had since commanded a
brigade, and had his head-quarters in Tarragona. In
the event of the army marching to attack the enemy,
it would have required four thousand troops to
blockade. Whilst the army was before Tarragona,
there were times when the state of the surf and wea-
ther were such as to make the embarkation of guns
and animals, if not impracticable, certainly difficult
and slow. Au army, though under the protection of
ships and gun-boats, could not have effected their em-
barkation in the face of au enemy without great loss.
The embarkation was regular. Some parts of tha
road from Villafranca to Tarragona are within the
reach of tire of gar-beats ; but e'he should apprehend
very little mischief from such a fire even in the day,
and none wnatever at night. Ile did not think Copons
capable of resisting Derien's army—he thought it
would have been unadvisable to have left a column of
4000 on shore on the night of the 12th—even in case
Decaen had not arrived at daybreak, the garrison of
Tarragona might ve-y much have embarrassed and
annoyed a rear guard of -1000, though he did not
know that they could have held it in check—if he had
known thnt the enemy's columns were at Villafranca
and Perrino on the 12th, he should have conceived
some sacrifice must be made, and he should have
thought the heavy guns in the batteries of the least
consequence—with his view of the situation of the
army, he would not have advised a delay of the em-
barkation from the 12th to the 13th.