The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1812-05-01

when possible, withdraw them, in order bv
| previous preparation TO insure their useful
ness when tncir services may be required.
For this last purpose of preparation, they
nave sanctioned the establishment OF depots
| las IN PortugaD under British guidance.
They have constituted Ba,lasteros, captain
general OF Andalusia, with :, force gradually
Increasing from drafts of the peasantry, who
are placed III the depcts before mentioned,
nor allowed to join their corps until they are
disciplined and pronounced etfcctive-The
former prevailing propensity for large ar
nnes, has been repulscd by renewed counte
nance given to the gueri.as, such as Nina,
Empecinado and others, who at slight ex
penSe to their own country, hang about the
enemy, and as, if invncble, are known only
| by the fatal consequences of their approach.
ne military, in fact, in every direction have
imbibed new life from the vigor of the hand
that governs them. The spirit OF the nation
is Kept alive, by gallant occasional Efforts of
Nina, Empecinado and others, and more
than all, and in a larger scale, by Ra,laste-
res. who lately by u vigorous descent on
Grenada obliged an enemy of superior force
to take refuge within the walls of Malaga,
and who is daily adding to bhe hopes of his
Gountrymen, that he may he the Palagio of
their age.
The British are Withdrawing from that
negative warfare they have hitherto conduct
ed, and appear to be forming most splen-
| did project, which if it arrives at maturity,
will compel the French to evacuate the
larger portions of Andalusia and Estrenla-
dura, and leave free the whole north western
part OF the Peninsula. BIZ the capture of
Cludad Rodrigo, and the investment of Ba-
daJos, (Which military men say must soon
tau, tits presumed and not denied, that lord
Wellington's policy is to push his force in
| lr;o
and Badajos, as you will see by the map in-
Guiding Xeres and Seville, until it's eXtremi-
| ty reaches Gibraltar, or some district in the
rear OF CadiZ, the Siege of which will neces-
sarily be raised should such an operation
take effect.
To oppose this the French marsh ais have
! only their own talents and the famish ed
force at present under their command, no
new conscripts having been sent into the
country, and their excessive eXtortions pre-
venting them from enrolling the Spaniards.
On the taking of Ciudad Rodrigo, lord
Wellington, gave the keys of the city to Cas-
tanos the former governor from whom it was
taken. telling him emphatically that what
he had lost, the British at the expense of a
lprofusion of blood restored to him with one
request, that Ciudad Rodrigo, should pay it's
allegiance to Ferdinand, or its governor be
buried under its ruins.
N2rshal Soult, has lately come from Sc
vile, to the camp before this city, to review
his haiE-staryed followers The city and
garrison of CadiZ, are under the guidance OF
the British, and their safety may be deemed
equal to that of Gibraltar. Rehertoru.
| THE EARTHQUAKE AT
EItracf If letter from merchant in La
! Smra TO ms correshonGent in .We7v- York,
! dated -HhyH 18t.
=" You will perceive by this that am still
alive, although the danger and misery we
nave been III since nay last are beyond con-
ception. On the 26th ult at 4 P. NJ. we had
an earthquake here, which has completely
ruined this part of the province. Not a
house is standing thatany person would ven
;ture to remain in for a single hour, and
nine-tenths OF the town are level with the
ground. From twenty-five hundred to three
thousand persons, it is calculated, have lost
their lives: Caracas has shared the same
fate.--l was there at the time the dreadful
catastrophe happened, and escaped by run
nIng from the house into large Court Yard
IN which nothing could fall upon me, and
where L remained until it was over. We
have had one or more shocks every day
since.
| There is not house in Lagura nol
more than fifty in the whole CITY of Carac.
Icas, but will have to be pulled down, or the
lplaces completely abandoned, which latte,
THINK will be the case, and cities and towns
ouilt IN places adjacent and of wood Ter
Thousand lives are said to be lost in Carac.
cas-; but it is impossible to tell to a certaint,
they have been digging out the bodies eve,
SINCE, and burning them. II is shocking {,
see, at the close of the day, heads, arm
and legs, that have been left unburnt, IS tn,
fire dies awat ard the stencil is terrible
Every person is ordered out of Caracas
, EXCEPT laborers, to avoid Il pcstilence
Three-fourths of the wealth of Caracca,
are lost; and, as no day has passed wishout
shock, we are waiting with fear and tIem.
bling to know when it will be entirely owe,
or what the effect of the next shock will be
| p" All toreigiicrs, and every person havinc
) the means, are leaving the place for the
island and lsewhere. There is a repor
j that Porto Cavello is safe. IF so. numbers will
hock to 1t but long time will be required
to make it place Of extensive BUSINESS.
should have left this with others, had not
} Thought 1t my duty to stay end attend TO YOU,
interests What is your loss, it is impossible
: tor me 10 say. Two American vessels have
arrived since, and the government has seized
them, but they viii be allowed to so to Por-
to Cavello; they are addressed to Mr.. Low
reg, and he goes with them.
- Lumber and pro visions will sell well
here; the former will be in great demand
for some time to build with, as the people
now live in an open common. l write this
OF my lap"
i Er.ract qfalctter, dated