Chapter 32

{GEORGE III. 1809—1812}

Meeting of Parliament..... The Supplies, &c. Charges against the Duke of York..... Parliamentary Corruption..... Motion for Reform..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Affairs of Spain..... Further Operations in Spain..... Campaign of Napoleon in Italy..... British Expedition against Naples and Walcheren..... Dissensions in the Cabinet..... Meeting of Parliament..... Debate on the Walcheren Expedition..... Proceedings against Sir Francis Burdett..... The Supplies..... The Slave-Trade Question..... Petition of the Irish Catholics. &c. Prorogation of Parliament &c. . Campaign in Portugal..... Affairs of Spain..... Foreign Conquests, &c. The Marriage of Napoleon, &c. Illness of His Majesty: Opening of Parliament, &c. Opening of Parliament by the Regent..... Debate on the Re-appointment of the Duke of York to the War-office..... The Supplies..... The Bullion Committee, &c. Subject of Military Discipline..... Lord Sidmouth’s Motion respecting Dissenting Preachers..... Affairs of the Irish Catholics..... Amendment of the Criminal law..... . Prorogation of Parliament..... Disputes with America..... Capture of Java..... Affairs of Portugal..... Affairs of Spain; Capture of Badajoz, &c. Naval Affairs..... Affairs of France.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1809}

Parliament was opened by commission on the 19th of January. The royal speech stated his majesty’s reasons for rejecting the proposals made for a negociation with France and Russia, and spoke of the perseverance of the Spaniards in the cause of their legitimate monarchy and national independence, which would induce his majesty to support them so long as they should prove true to themselves. Satisfaction was expressed at the liberation of Portugal; a continuance of aid to the King of Sweden was recommended; and a speedy augmentation of our regular army inculcated. The addresses were voted without a division, but opposition at the same time were not wholly silent. They seem indeed to have hoped that the misfortunes in Spain, and some mistakes which had been made in the Portuguese convention, would lead to the dissolution of the cabinet. A motion, however, moved in the Commons by Lord Petty, for directly censuring the convention in Portugal, and for attributing the whole blame of it to government, was negatived by two hundred and eight against one hundred and fifty-eight. A motion also, made by Mr. Ponsonby, for an inquiry into the conduct of the late campaign in Spain, was rejected by two hundred and twenty against one hundred and twenty-seven. In reviewing the principal incidents connected with this campaign, Mr. Ponsonby drew no very favourable picture of the capacity and judgment of the cabinet. He remarked:—“With so many opportunities and resources at command, they had instituted no proper inquiry into the state of the Peninsula, the bent of the public mind, the inclinations of the higher ranks, the views of the middle classes, and the probability that effective resistance would be made to a vigorous and mighty foe. Extraordinary indecision and unnecessary delays had injured the cause which the king pretended to support. Several Spanish armies were routed before the British troops were prepared to act, and when they became engaged in the contest, they were in danger of total ruin.” The character of Sir John Moore, however, does not seem to have been called into question by any member of opposition. Almost his last words were, “I hope the country will do me justice;” and the general feeling of the public mind from that day to this is, that he exhibited great skill and bravery, although circumstances compelled him to retreat before his enemy.

THE SUPPLIES, ETC.

No time was lost in taking that part of his majesty’s speech into consideration which had reference to the augmentation of our military force. By two acts greater activity was given to enlistment into the militia, and that force was carried to its full number. The vacancies also, left by the bill of last session, for allowing the militia soldiers into the line were filled up, and from 20,000 to 30,000 regular troops were added to the corps disposable for foreign service. Additions were also made to the navy. Above £27,000,000 were voted for the army and ordnance, and about £19,000,000 for the navy: the total amount of supplies for the year for Great Britain and Ireland was £53,802,000. Among the ways and means was a loan of £11,000,000; which loan was contracted for at a lower rate of interest than money had even been borrowed for on the public account. Ministers quoted this as an instance of prosperity; but the opposition contended that money was lent to government at a low rate of interest because capitalists could not employ it in any other way, foreign trade being almost annihilated by the Berlin and Milan decrees, and by our own orders in council.

CHARGES AGAINST THE DUKE OF YORK.

Early in this session a subject was introduced which excited extraordinary interest throughout the whole nation. This subject was, that a paramour of the Duke of York had made military patronage a medium of infamous traffic. On the 27th of January, Mr. Wardle, a Welsh gentleman, and colonel of militia, affirmed in the house of commons that everything was wrong and rotten at the Horse-guards; that the Duke of York, the commander-in-chief, suffered himself to be swayed by a low-born mistress, one Mary Ann Clarke, who had been carrying on a traffic in commissions and promotions. Several cases were instanced in which money had been paid to the said Mary Ann Clarke, and Colonel Wardle insisted that the duke was a partaker in the benefit of her traffic. He concluded with moving for the appointment of a committee to investigate the charges, and it was finally agreed that the inquiry should be carried on by a committee of the whole house. This committee sat for the first time on the 1st of February, and the inquiry occupied the undivided time and attention of parliament for seven weeks. In the course of the investigation Mary Ann Clarke and one or two others of the same class of females were examined; but though it seemed clear from the evidence adduced that Mrs. Clarke was guilty of taking money from expectants, it was not proved that the duke had any knowledge of her practices. Mrs. Clarke herself sought to involve the duke in her guilt; but that he had participated in her gains, or had even any knowledge of her transactions, were circumstances which depended on her veracity alone. And her credibility was somewhat shaken, because the duke quarrelled with her and parted from her, and she was at the time of her examination living under the protection of Wardle, the duke’s accuser. Some there were, however, who believed her testimony, which was made manifest in the several divisions that took place on this subject. Colonel Wardle moved for an address to his majesty, praying that he would be graciously pleased to dismiss the Duke of York from the command of the army, on account of the corrupt practices which had been proved against him: this was rejected by three hundred and sixty-four against one hundred and twenty-three. Mr. Bankes moved an amendment to the effect that abuses had existed, which could scarcely have existed without exciting suspicion in the mind of the commander-in-chief, and suggesting the propriety of his removal from office: this was negatived by a majority of only ninety-five. Afterwards a resolution, proposed by Sir T. Turton, declaring that grounds for charging the duke with a knowledge of the corrupt practices of Mrs. Clarke rested on good evidence, was thrown out by three hundred and thirty-four against one hundred and thirty-five. Subsequently Mr. Percival made a motion declaratory of the duke’s innocence, and this was carried by a majority of only eighty-two. It is evident, therefore, that many members deemed him not wholly innocent of the charges against him; and the duke seems to have felt this, for he soon after took the opportunity of resigning his official situation. The subject seems to have engrossed the attention of the public for a long time, and this too at a period when more important events were taking place daily: events big with importance to all Europe. From the highest to the lowest members of the community, these transactions formed the leading topic of conversation.

It has been well observed that “this affair was not without its beneficial results. A striking proof was given to the world, that under our constitution, no rank, however elevated, could shelter abuses from detection, or screen those concerned in them from the effects of public displeasure. The king’s second and favourite son, a prince so near the throne himself, had been driven from office by a member of the house of commons, who was unheard of before this transaction, and who possessed neither the influence of character nor the influence of talent. It had been proved to the conviction of the country that the Duke of York was so far culpable as to render his resignation proper; that resignation had taken place in consequence, and public opinion had thus obtained a most signal triumph. When the duke had thus incurred punishment and disgrace, individuals of less rank and influence could not expect that their official delinquencies or irregularities should escape: the fate of the prince was an example and an admonition not easily to be forgotten. Until the time when there will be no more war, and when men will no more want commissions in armies, or profitable places under government, it will be in vain to expect perfection in anything, vain to hope that the distributors of patronage will not occasionally yield to favouritism and other influences, besides that great parliamentary influence over appointments, which—fatal as it often is—can hardly be destroyed without destroying the constitution. But notwithstanding the occasional interference of friends, wives, sisters, cousins, and other connexions, which may possibly be as mischievous though less indecorous than that of a mistress, we believe it is admitted by all candid and properly informed persons, that since the investigation in 1809, patronage at the Horse-guards, as well as in the other offices of government, has been distributed with more attention to the public service than any time preceding that inquiry.”

It had been hoped, on the resignation of the Duke of York, that the office of commander-in-chief would be put in commission; but General Sir David Dundas was appointed successor to his royal highness. One of the early consequences of this investigation to the country, was the enactment of a law declaring the brokerage of offices in the army, church, or state to be a crime highly penal. This bill was brought in by the chancellor of the exchequer, who observed that the practices lately disclosed consisted not in the sale of offices by those who had the power to give them, but in the arts of those who had pretended to possess influence over such persons. In the case of Mary Ann Clarke, however, there was no pretension in the matter; for there can be no question that she did possess too much influence over the mind of the duke, and that she obtained promotion for several of whom she took money. On the other hand it was proved that she had successfully exerted herself on behalf of meritorious individuals who did honour to the service, and who, being in distressed circumstances at the time, could not have paid her for the commissions which by her influence she procured them. Guilt, therefore, was attached to the duke in suffering this woman to gain an unbounded influence over his mind: public men should hold themselves free from favour or prejudice.

PARLIAMENTARY CORRUPTION.

“Examine well His milk-white hand; the palm is hardly clean— But here and there an ugly smutch appears. Foh! ’twas a bribe that left it: he has touched Corruption. Whoso seeks an audit here Propitious, pays his tribute, game or fish, Wild fowl or venison; and his errand speeds.” —COWPER.

It had been for some time reported by opposition that government had made, and was making, a regular traffic in East India appointments. A select committee of the house of commons was appointed to inquire into this matter; which committee reported that it appeared many places had been disposed of in an illegal manner. One source of corruption brought another to light. In the course of the examinations it was discovered that Lord Castlereagh, as president of the board of control, had placed a writership at the disposal of Lord Clancarty, which writership Clancarty was to give to one Mr. Reding, as the price of a seat in parliament for himself, the said Mr. Reding meaning to sell the said writership for 3000 guineas. Lord Archibald moved that Lord Castlereagh had been guilty of a violation of his duty, of an abuse of his influence and authority as president of the board of control, and also of an attack upon the purity and constitution of parliament. The noble lord’s defence was that when this transaction took place he had no notion that such a person existed as a trafficking-broker for places; that Reding had represented to him that a member of the house of commons, who intended to vacate his seat, had a nephew whom he wished to send out to India as a writer, and would favour the election of any friend of his. His lordship remarked:—“I perceived no impropriety in the case, considering it perfectly fair for one friend to serve another at an election.” The house acquitted Lord Castlereagh of any intention to do wrong; but this exposure enabled Mr. Curwen to carry a bill for better securing the purity and independence of parliament, by preventing the obtaining of seats through corrupt practices, and also for the more effectual prevention of bribery. While this bill was pending, Mr. Maddocks brought forward a charge against the treasury of corrupt conduct in the purchase of parliamentary seats, which were filled by members attached to the interests of ministers, and bound to support all their measures; but a motion for a committee of inquiry was negatived by three hundred and ten against eighty-five. During this year, also, the commissioners of naval inquiry and revision presented another report, which brought to light many more abuses in that department. Moreover, the commissioners of military inquiry, who still continued their labours, presented several reports, showing that large sums of money, and large powers in money transactions, had often been entrusted to various persons, without the necessary securities, checks, and precautions; that in the West Indies a regular and unchecked system of peculation had been carried on in the most unblushing manner; that the paymasters, the agents of the commissary-general, and others in our West India islands, had been in the habit of committing great frauds, &c., for a series of years. Corruption, in fact, pervaded at this time all orders of public men, and this was the more inexcusable, because the war necessarily imposed heavy burdens on the people. These burdens were made heavier by the extravagance which prevailed in the expenditure of the country, and which had been augmented since last year by the enormous sum of nearly eight million pounds sterling. The extravagance of government was attacked in the month of June by Colonel Wardle, who seems to have set himself up for a reformer of abuses; but, though from his statements many came to the conclusion that great saving might be effected, there were few who thought that he had pointed out a proper mode of retrenchment. Moreover, many of his statements were incorrect or unfounded, so that he failed to sustain the character he had assumed. He who wishes to reform public abuses should prove their existence to all the world, and be able to point out how they may be remedied.

MOTION FOR REFORM.

On the 15th of June Sir Francis Burdett made a motion for a sweeping parliamentary reform. Nearly all the country gentlemen had left town, and those that remained were generally disinclined to enter upon this momentous question. On a division, therefore, Sir Francis was outvoted by seventy-four against fifteen. His scheme of reform divided itself into three parts: by the first article it was proposed that all freeholders, householders, and others, who paid direct taxes to the state, the church, or the poor, should have votes; by the second, that a convenient division of places entitled to send representatives to parliament should be marked out, each division be again subdivided, and each subdivision to return one member, the elections being conducted in the several parishes in one day; and by the third, that the duration of parliaments should be reduced to the period of time most agreeable to the British constitution. The merits of this scheme may have been great; but one thing is certain, that the period at which it was introduced was not the proper one for its consideration. This forms the best excuse which can be made for the defence of manifest abuses made by such men as Perceval and Canning, and who said they saw no reason whatever to enter upon the subject of reform. There was evident reason for taking this subject into consideration; but while the nation was engaged in a contest for its national existence, it would have been unwise to have tampered with the machinery of government; especially as that machinery was acknowledged by all parties to work well for the prosecution of the arduous contests in which we were engaged with Napoleon and his allies.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

The session closed on the 21st of June, when the speech from the throne was again delivered by commission. It dwelt chiefly upon the resistance of Spain against the tyranny of the French government, and upon the successes which had recently crowned the arms of the Emperor of Austria, under the conduct of the Archduke Charles.

AFFAIRS OF SPAIN.

After the battle of Corunna, the cause of Spain seemed wholly lost. The Austrian war, however, which broke out when Napoleon was in pursuit of Sir John Moore, operated as a grand diversion, favourable for the Peninsula, inasmuch as it distracted his attention, and obliged him to withdraw his imperial guards from Spain, and prevented him from sending re-enforcements to that country so quickly as he otherwise would have done. In the meantime King Joseph had, on the 23rd of January, re-entered Madrid. His party was increased by a considerable number of the Spanish people, who thought that a new order of things was necessary to resuscitate the Spanish monarchy. After the departure of Napoleon seven divisions of the French forces remained in Spain; Marshal Jourdan having the chief command, under the auspices of King Joseph. The war was continued with success, although with less vigour; but the Spanish nation only became more exasperated by every defeat, so that it was not subdued. On the other hand, the French, enraged by obstinate resistance, and more yet by the stratagems and assassinations compassed by the Spaniards, became daily more severe and cruel.

The spirit of the Spanish people is well exemplified in the siege of Saragossa. This siege had been formed anew before Napoleon returned to Paris, and it was carried on by the third and fifth corps, under Marshals Moncey and Mortier. The citizens of Saragossa prepared an internal system of defence, far more effectual than that of external fortification; transforming the city itself into one huge fortress, and coalescing with the troops in one energetic garrison. The French made but little progress until Marshal Lasnes took the command, and then the external defences of the city were quickly demolished. Saragossa itself, however, still defied all the efforts of the French. The war-cry was heard in all her streets, and every house became a fortress, and every church and convent a citadel, garrisoned by heroic men, resolved to die for its defence. The French had laboured and fought without intermission fifty days; they had crumbled the walls with their bullets, burst the convents with their mines, and carried the breaches with their bayonets; fighting above and beneath the surface of the earth, they had spared neither fire nor sword; their bravest men were falling in the obscurity of a subterranean warfare; famine pinched them; and Saragossa was still unconquered. Lasnes, however, persevered in his attempts to take the city, and at length he was successful. Discovering that a pestilence raged within the devoted city, that the living were unable to bury the dead, he ordered a general assault; and then, when one quarter of the city was laid waste, Saragossa was captured. The garrison were allowed to “march out with the honours of war,” to be sent prisoners to France, while the possession of their property and the exercise of their religion were guaranteed to the inhabitants.

The first burst of popular enthusiasm in Spain, however, was followed by a withering lethargy. Even with the assistance of Lord Collingwood and his fleet, with arms from Malta and Sicily, and with the regiments that had been released by the convention of Cintra, and which had by this time joined the patriots, the Spaniards were unable to prevent the capture of Rosas. After the fall of this place everything seemed to go wrong. Though in considerable force, the Spaniards dispersed whenever the enemy appeared, and although they were continually making application to the English for money, arms, and ammunition, they made no use of them when they were supplied. Their very navy was left to rot in the harbours of Cadiz and Carthagena, although money was advanced by the British government, and the assistance of its seamen offered to fit them out for sea. But for the co-operation of the British fleet Spain would have been, after the capture of Saragossa, easily conquered, for the Spaniards, though lions in their fortresses, acted like women in the field.

It was not the English fleet alone that defended Spain from the arms of the French. While that nation was thus on the verge of ruin, Sir Arthur Wellesley arrived in Portugal to take the command of the British army, which by re-enforcements amounted to 30,000 men. At this time, in April, the French had obtained possession of Ferrol, Bilboa, and all the most important places on the northern coast of Spain. Soult had even advanced into Portugal, and had taken possession of the city of Oporto. Sir Arthur Wellesley’s first business was to dislodge the French general from this place, and on the 11th of May Oporto fell into his hands. Soult retired by Amarante, with the intention of passing through Tras-os-Montes into Spain. He left behind him all his sick and wounded, with many prisoners, and much artillery and ammunition. Sir Arthur wrote to him, requesting that he would send some French medical officers to take care of his sick and wounded, as he could not spare his own army-surgeons, and as he did not wish to trust to the practitioners of the town of Oporto. It does not appear, however, that Soult was able to respond to his request, for there was murmurings and discontents, arising from defeat, among his troops; and besides this, the Portuguese peasantry mercilessly attacked the French in their retreat, cutting off great numbers of them. He was followed in his retreat by Sir Arthur Wellesley, and on the 16th of May he was overtaken at Salmonde, and a great many of his rear-guard were either killed or taken prisoners. More would have been lost, but night favoured the retreat of the fugitives, and Soult finally gained the frontier of Spain. Sir Arthur Wellesley stopped his pursuit at Montealegre, a few miles from the frontier, and returned by Renairs, Braga, and S. Terso to Oporto. According to his letters, the rout of Soult was complete. He had lost everything, cannon, ammunition, baggage, and military-chest. The mountainous road through which he passed was indeed covered with dead horses and mules, and with the bodies of French soldiers, who were put to death by the peasantry before the British could come up to their rescue. The cruelty of the Portuguese peasantry, however, was provoked by the conduct of the French themselves. Sir Arthur Wellesley writes:—“Their soldiers have plundered and murdered the peasantry at their pleasure; and I have seen many persons hanging in the trees by the sides of the road, executed for no other reason, that I could learn, excepting that they have not been friendly to the French invasion and usurpation of the government of their country; and the route of their column on their retreat could be traced by the smoke of the villages to which they set fire.” These horrible scenes occurred in all the subsequent retrograde movements of the French: before them, the countries through which they passed were lovely as the garden of Eden—behind them they were desolate as the wilderness.

{GEORGE III. 1809—1812}

FURTHER OPERATIONS IN SPAIN.

On the departure of Soult for Oporto the Spaniards again rose in arms, and several places in the Asturias and in the Biscayan provinces had been recaptured. After his return, urged by the importunities of the Spanish government and generals, Sir Arthur Wellesley determined to advance into that country against the French. His projected route was by the way of Plasencia and Almaraz, and his design was to co-operate with the Spanish general Cuesta, who commanded the army of Estramadura. A junction was formed between the two armies at Orepesa on the 20th of July; Sir Arthur’s army amounting to about 23,000, and Cuesta’s to 30,000 men. At this time the French forces were thus disposed:—Marshal Victor was in Estramadura with the first corps, amounting to 35,000 men; General Sebastiani, with the fourth corps, consisting of 20,000 men, was in La Mancha; General Bessolles, with a division of reserve and Joseph’s guards, amounting in the whole to 15,000 men, was in Madrid; Kellermann and Bonnet, with two divisions of 10,000 men, were in Old Castile; Soult had collected the second corps of 20,000 men in the northern provinces; and immediately dependent upon Soult were Marshal Mortier, with the fifth corps of 16,000 strong, and Ney, with the sixth corps of about 10,000 men under arms. Besides all these forces there were 50,000 Frenchmen in Aragon and Catalonia, under Suchet and Augereau; and 35,000 more were scattered over the surface of Spain, to maintain the many posts and fortresses the French had captured in Spain, and to keep open the various lines of communication. It was agreed upon by the British and Spanish commanders to march themselves against the French under Marshal Victor, while at the same time Vinegas advanced against Fuente Duenna on the Upper Tagus, in order to draw Sebastiani thither, that he might not aid Victor; or if that general refused to move, Vineeas was to march on Madrid from the south-east, while Sir Robert Wilson menaced it from the opposite quarter. The combined armies of Sir Arthur Wellesley and Cuesta attacked Marshal Victor’s outposts at Talavera on the 22nd of July, and drove them in. Oh the 23rd, the British again formed for the attack of the French position; but Cuesta “contrived to lose the whole of the day, owing to the whimsical perverseness of his disposition.” Sir Arthur wished to defeat Victor before he could be joined by Sebastiani, and his disappointment was great when, on the 24th, he discovered that the enemy had retreated towards Torrijos, in order to form a junction with that general. After Victor’s departure, Sir Arthur occupied Talavera; and finding that the Spanish general did not cordially co-operate with him, he resolved to return into Portugal. He writes with reference to this, and to the privations his soldiers were enduring,—“His majesty’s troops have been engaged in very active operations, the success of which depended no less upon their bravery and exertions, than upon the example they should hold out, and the countenance they should give to the Spanish troops; and yet they have been in actual want of provisions for the last two days. Even if I should have been willing, under such circumstances, to continue my co-operation with General Ouesta, I am unable to do so with justice to my troops.” Sir Arthur, however, was soon compelled to recommence active operations. While he halted at Talavera, on a sudden, Cuesta was seized with an irrepressible energy and activity. His columns dashed forwards, with him at their head, to Torrijos; but on the 26th he returned with the French in full pursuit of him. The French halted before they came upon Talavera; but it became evident to Sir Arthur that he would not be permitted to enjoy long repose, and therefore he busily employed himself in examining and strengthening his position at Talavera. While thus employed, a great army was collecting in his front, under Victor, while his old enemy, Soult, supported by Marshal Mortier, was unknowingly rapidly advancing from Salamanca against his rear; and Marshal Ney was hurrying from Astorga, with the hope of falling upon his flank. His front was threatened by 50,000 men, and an equal number was ready to fall upon his flank and rear, while he had only 20,000 British to withstand them, save Cuesta’s army, on which he could not place much reliance. It was under these disadvantageous circumstances that the battle of Talavera was fought. But, notwithstanding their superior force, the French were utterly defeated: out of the 50,000 men which Victor headed against the British, 7,000 were either killed or wounded, and among them an immense number of officers and two generals. On the side of the British 857 were killed, 3,913 wounded, and 653 were reported missing: the Spaniards returned about 1,200 killed and wounded; but the correctness of their report was much doubted. This great battle was fought on the 27th and 28th of July; and by the 1st of August Sebastiani’s corps and the reserve retreated to Illescas, on the road between Madrid and Toledo, while Victor entrenched himself behind the Alberche. By this time Soult had entered Plasencia, whence he designed joining the forces of Victor. Sir Arthur Wellesley determined to prevent this junction; and on the 3rd of August he marched forward to Orepesa, leaving Cuesta at Talavera to take care of the hospitals. On that day Sir Arthur learned that Soult’s advanced posts were at Naval Moral, and consequently between him and Portugal, and soon after he received intelligence that the forces which he had defeated were recollecting and again threatening Talavera. General Cuesta was so alarmed at his position that he sent word to Sir Arthur he intended to leave Talavera that evening, and join the British army at Orepesa, in order to assist it in repelling Soult. Cuesta rejoined Sir Arthur on the next morning, leaving 1,500 in the hospitals unprotected. Sir Arthur was now placed between the mountains and the Tagus, with a French army advancing upon each flank, and with his retreat by the bridge at Almaraz completely cut off. As, therefore, he could place no confidence in Cuesta and the Spanish army, and as with 17,000 British forces fatigued and famishing, he could not hope successfully to fight with two French armies each about three times stronger than his own, he resolved to retire to Portugal. One way was happily still left open for him a little below Talavera, where the Tagus was crossed by the bridge of Arzobispo, and by this route he retreated. Cuesta followed in his route, halting his troops at the bridge of Arzobispo, in order that they might be ready to pass the Tagus at any moment. While here Cuesta was attacked by the French, and lost nearly 2,000 men, and the rest only escaped by taking refuge in the mountains. In the meantime the British army was advancing unmolested towards the frontiers of Portugal. Sir Arthur had his head-quarters at Badajoz, close to those frontiers, on the 2nd of September, and in a day or two a part of his army with the sick and wounded re-entered that country. About six days after his arrival at Badajoz, Sir Robert Wilson arrived on the frontier, having successfully eluded the vigour of Marshal Ney, who was in pursuit of him. The other corps, which had advanced upon Madrid under General Vinegas, had been defeated at Alinoracid by General Sebastiani, who drove it back upon the Sierra Morena and the Andalusian frontier, from which it had advanced. On the arrival of Sir Arthur Wellesley at Badajoz, the French armies again separated. Soult with his forces went into cantonments at Estramadura and Leon, near the borders of Portugal; Joseph Buonaparte, who accompanied Marshal Mortier in this campaign, returned with that General to Madrid; while some French moveable columns traversed various parts of Spain in order to subjugate the country. From this time until the month of November no events of importance, however, took place in Spain. A guerilla warfare was carried on in many distant provinces and districts, and some towns on the eastern coast in Catalonia and Valencia were captured by the French, but the French masses remained inactive. The manner in which this campaign had been conducted by the British army received all due applause in England: the thanks of parliament were voted to officers and men, and Sir Arthur Wellesley was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera. By this time Viscount Wellington had placed his army in cantonments on the line of the Guadiana, in order to cover Portugal from Soult, whose cantonments, as before mentioned, were in Estramadura and Leon. While thus stationed, he heard in November of the defeat of the Spanish troops under General Areizga at Ocana, and of the Duque del Parque at Alba de Tonnes. These events caused Lord Wellington much mortification; and feeling convinced that he could no longer afford assistance to Spain, he marched from the lines of Guadiana into Portugal, in order to defend it against the enemy. Here he laid the foundation of those measures which finally carried him triumphant through the Peninsula. The Spanish junta exclaimed loudly against him for deserting their cause; but it was evident that if neither Soult nor any other French forces had threatened the Portuguese frontier, it would have been impossible for him to have tried another advance into Spain. It was only by drawing on his magazines in Portugal, which were chiefly filled by England, that he could preserve his troops from starvation, and it was impossible for him to co-operate with undisciplined Spanish troops, and proud, obstinate, and incapable Spanish generals. It was in vain that his brother, the Marquis Wellesley, who resided with the junta at Seville as British envoy, laboured to convince the Spanish authorities of the fatal consequences which, must arise from their wretched military system: the dons were all wiser than the marquis, and not satisfied with neglecting his advice, they cast reproaches on his brother. There was a want of vigour and capacity in the members of the junta, and in the Spanish military, and this being coupled with an overweening confidence in their own powers, it was clear that no British force could successfully co-operate with them. In the event of another British army acting again in Spain it would be necessary, as Lord Wellington observed in one of his dispatches to his brother, that the chief command of the Spanish forces should be vested in the commander-in-chief of the English.

CAMPAIGN OF NAPOLEON IN ITALY.

In the meantime Napoleon was carrying on war with Austria. The battles of Eckmuhl, Ratisbon, and Ebersberb, opened the gates of Vienna to him, and he entered that city about a month after the Austrians had commenced hostilities. From Vienna he issued a decree revoking the grant of territory made to the pope by Charlemagne, “his illustrious predecessor,” and annexing Rome to the French empire; the pontiff being allowed to remain there as bishop, with a certain revenue. Pius VII. opposed this decree by a bull of excommunication; and it is said that Napoleon received this intelligence with a considerable degree of anxiety. Orders, however, were issued by him, under which the pope was seized in his palace, and transported over Mount Cenis to Savona, where he lived three years, partly on a prison allowance and partly on alms. On the defeat of the Austrians, who were commanded by the Archduke Charles, that commander took a circuitous route through Bohemia, and finally occupied the bank of the Danube opposite Vienna, over against the proud victor Napoleon, who, selecting for the passage of the river the place where two islands divide the Danube into three arms, conducted his battalions to the left bank, occupied Aspern, Engesdorf, and Esslingen, and offered battle. In this position the archduke fell upon him with his army, glowing with anger and exalted by the sight of the imperial city, and gained a great victory. The French army retreated to the island of Lobau, leaving 11,000 dead on the field, while 30,000 were wounded. The world saw now that Napoleon was not invincible: but this victory was not attended with the expected results. An armistice of six weeks followed, during which time Napoleon was making preparations for a second attack; and at the lapse of that time he again passed the river with 150,000 men, and six hundred cannon, fully resolved to crush the house of Austria. The terrible battle of Wagram, which lasted two whole days, followed, and Napoleon was once more victorious: the archduke, after sustaining a fearful loss, retreated into Moravia. He might still have contested the palm of victory, for his army was still formidable, and Napoleon in the battle of Wagram had lost more in dead and wounded than the vanquished. An armistice, however, was concluded about the middle of July, and after negociations which lasted for three months, a treaty called the “peace of Vienna” was concluded. The articles of this treaty were the cession of Saltzburg and other territories of the Rhenish confederation to France; Cracow, and part of the Austrian spoil of Poland, to the duchy of Warsaw; and another small portion of it to Russia, Napoleon did not stop here in his attempts to ally himself with Austria: regardless of his union with the faithful Josephine, he stipulated for the hand of an Austrian princess; and the Austrian emperor sold him his daughter. He was married early in the next year to the Archduchess Maria Louisa.

BRITISH EXPEDITION AGAINST NAPLES AND WALCHEREN.

During this year the British cabinet prepared two expeditions: the first against Naples, under Sir John Stuart; and the second against Antwerp, for the purpose of destroying Napoleon’s maritime preparations in the Scheldt. Each, also, had a secondary object in view: that of creating a diversion in favour of the Austrian emperor. Both, however, failed, from being too long in preparation: Murat had ample notice of the Sicilian expedition, and he defeated every attempt to obtain a footing, or to excite insurrection in his kingdom. As for the armament destined for the Scheldt, the chief command of which was given to Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, it was so long getting ready that news arrived of the Austrian defeat at Wagram, some days before it sailed. It was the largest and most complete armament that ever left the British shores; and consisted of thirty-nine sail of the line, thirty-six frigates, and a proportionable accompaniment of gun-boats, bomb-vessels, and small craft. The troops which it was intended to convey amounted to about 40,000 men, making together with seamen and marines a sum total of 100,000 men. The expedition was intended to be secret; but long before it sailed its destination was disclosed to the enemy, who took all possible means to frustrate its designs. It sailed on the 29th of July, and at first it was successful: Flushing was captured after having sustained a severe bombardment. But here the British successes ended. Antwerp was by this time placed in such a posture of defence that it would have been in vain to have made an attack upon it; while the forts on the Scheldt were well manned, and preparations had been made for carrying the fleet of the enemy still higher up the river, in case the British should succeed in forcing a passage. Immediately after the capture of Flushing, with a view of pursuing ulterior measures, three thousand men were transported to the isle of Walcheren; but while here they were attacked by an enemy more fatal than the sword—disease. The British troops were soon seized with the dreadful endemic fever of the country; nearly one half of them were swept away by it, and the greater part of the remainder carried its effects with them to the grave. At length, about one month after the treaty of Vienna, the few remaining troops that were still left alive were directed to demolish the defences and basin of Flushing; and this done they were ordered to re-embark. This expedition, which had originated with Lord Castlereagh, cost England 10,000 men, with not a little money, and not a little credit. It brought disgrace on his memory, in which Lord Chatham, who had the chief military command, and Admiral Sir Richard Strachan largely partakes. It was conceived in imbecility, and with imbecility carried forward, whence its signal failure. It was soon after the British had evacuated Walcheren that Napoleon returned to Paris; when, in a speech before the submissive and admiring _corps législatif_, he told them that, except Spain and Portugal, the continent of Europe was in a happy peace.

DISSENSIONS IN THE CABINET.

The untoward course of events on the continent, the disastrous issue of the British war, and various other causes, produced violent dissensions in the British cabinet. So violent was the strife between Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning, that it led to a duel on Putney Heath, when the latter was severely wounded Before this duel took place they had resigned office; and the Duke of Portland followed their example, on account of age and infirmity. The ministers that remained in office after these three resignations were reduced almost to despair, scarcely knowing where to look for a new leader, and for two new colleagues. At length, however, after negociations with Earl Grey and others, which failed, Mr. Perceval took the place of the Duke of Portland—who by this time was dead—adding thereby the office of first lord of the treasury to that which he held as chancellor of the exchequer. The Marquess Wellesley was recalled from his Spanish embassy to take charge of the foreign department; while Lord Liverpool was transferred from the home department to that of war and the colonies, Mr. Ryder being appointed his successor. Finally, Lord Palmerston was appointed under-secretary at war, in the room of Sir James Pulteney.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1810}

The session opened on the 23rd of January, when the king’s speech was again delivered by commission. It contained but little except the late disasters and the necessity of granting further assistance to Portugal and Spain. Amendments strongly condemning the ministerial direction of the whole war, and particularly the Walcheren expedition were moved in both houses, but were rejected by considerable majorities.

DEBATE ON THE WALCHEREN EXPEDITION.

On the 26th of January Lord Porchester, in the commons, moved for a committee of the whole house, which might inquire into the conduct of the late expedition to Walcheren, by examining oral evidence as well as written documents. This motion was seconded by Mr. Windham, and opposed by Mr. Croker, who moved the previous question; but the proposition was carried by a majority of one hundred and ninety-five against one hundred and eighty-six. After the examination of evidence on this ill-fated expedition was concluded, Lord Porchester proceeded further in the matter, by moving two sets of resolutions, to the effect that the enterprise was undertaken under circumstances which afforded no rational hope of adequate success, and at the precise season of the year when the disease which had proved so fatal was known to be most prevalent; that its advisers were therefore highly reprehensible; and that their conduct in delaying the expedition called for the severest censure. The first set of these resolutions, after four nights’ debate, was lost by a majority of two hundred and twenty-seven against two hundred and seventy-five; and the second set by two hundred and seventy-five against two hundred and twenty-four. Subsequently a resolution approving their conduct in retaining the island till the time when it was abandoned, was carried by a similar majority; but “the indignant nation plainly perceived that the house felt unwilling to sanction the disgraceful measures of the principals concerned in this expedition; while it was too courtly to visit the commander with any severity of punishment, and too dependent to condemn the acts of a cabinet which did not seem likely to be dissolved.” Lord Chatham, however, quailed before the storm raised against him; for, to avoid the consequences of an address for his removal, he resigned the office of master-general of the ordnance.

{GEORGE III. 1809—1812}

PROCEEDINGS AGAINST SIR FRANCIS BURDETT.

During these proceedings the standing order of the house for the exclusion of strangers was enforced, chiefly by the instrumentality of Mr. Charles Yorke. This exclusion of strangers, however, not only failed in the object, for which it was intended—that of keeping the public ignorant of what passed within the walls of St. Stephens—but led to new troubles and disgraceful scenes. At this time there was a debating society in London, called the “British Forum,” the president and chief orator of which was one Gale Jones, who, though an obscure individual, was suddenly raised into the dignity of a patriot and martyr. Gale Jones proposed the subject of the exclusion of strangers from the house of commons, as a proper subject of discussion in the British Forum; and in this debate the conduct of Mr. Yorke was so freely censured, that he was resolved to punish the delinquent. He complained of a breach of privilege, and Gale Jones was brought to the bar of the commons; and notwithstanding a humble apology made by him, he was committed to Newgate. Sir Francis Burdett was not in the house when a vote for his committal passed; but on the 12th of March he loudly condemned the measure as a violation of the common law, of Magna Charta, and of the trial by jury, in a case where the offence was punishable by the ordinary course of justice; and concluded by moving that Gale Jones be forthwith discharged. Sir Francis was outvoted by a large majority; and in consequence of this decision he printed his speech in an enlarged form, and with stronger language than he had used in the house. It was published in Cobbett’s Register, with his own name appended to it, and accompanied with a letter to his constituents. The paper was a libel from beginning to end; but the question which gave most offence was that in which Sir Francis denied the right of the house to commit for breach of privilege. The house determined to assert their privilege; and they replied to Sir Francis by a vote that he should be committed to the Tower, on the speaker’s warrant, for a libel on the commons. This warrant was issued; but Sir Francis shut himself up in his mansion in Piccadilly, barring his doors and windows, and declaring that he would yield only to force, A letter was sent to the speaker expressive of this resolution, of his contempt for the house, and his conviction that the warrant was illegal, On the receipt of this letter the opinion of the attorney-general was taken; in consequence of which the ser-geant-at-arms, accompanied by a number of police-officers and a detachment of troops, proceeded to his mansion, and, after some altercation, conveyed Sir Francis to the Tower. Before this the mob had collected round the house of the right honourable baronet, in token of their admiration of his patriotism, while they had broken the windows of many of his known opponents in token of their displeasure. They accompanied him to the Tower; and in the way they so grossly insulted his escort, that the soldiers fired in self-defence, and two individuals were killed, while several more were wounded. Petitions were presented by some public bodies, particularly the electors of Westminster and London, praying for the release of Sir Francis; but he continued in confinement to the end of the session, when he was released. Subsequently Sir Francis commenced actions against the speaker of the house of commons, who issued the warrant; against the ser-geant-at-arms, for executing it; and against Earl Moira, governor of the Tower, for illegal imprisonment. His object was to ascertain whether an appeal lay to a court of law against the house, acting as accuser and judge, in proceedings that affected the liberty of the subject. The judges, however, would not admit that any unlawful measure had been adopted in his case, or that the warrant issued by the speaker was an illegal instrument. The privilege, therefore, of the house was confirmed, and its claims solemnly recognised by the courts of law. Since the “No-popery” riots of Lord George Gordon, there had not been a commotion in London equal to that which attended this question of privilege: in the sight of the public at large, he was “a martyr of liberty.” Gale Jones, also, who was liberated with him at the close of the session, shared the popular favour. The mob were waiting at the Tower-gates on the day of his release, in order to escort him with popular applause to his residence; and great was their disappointment when it was discovered, that with one or two friends he had retreated from the Tower by water. Gale Jones, however, gratified them by allowing them not only to surround the hackney coach in which he departed from Newgate, but also to chalk his name upon the panels. As he went along, he stopped from time to time to harangue his admiring attendants: and one of the leading topics of complaint which fell from the patriot’s lips was, that he had been turned out of Newgate at two minutes’ notice! Many left behind within the dreary walls of that prison would have congratulated themselves on their escape, had they been turned out with even less ceremony than Gale Jones.

THE SUPPLIES.

The supplies voted for this year were, for England and Ireland £52,185,000. The ways and means included a loan of £8,000,000, which was negociated on terms even more moderate than those of the preceding year. No new taxes were proposed, and a very favourable picture was drawn of the general prosperity of the country. Of the money voted, £1,380,000 was devoted to foreign subsidies; nearly £20,000.000 was appropriated to naval services; and nearly £25,000,000 to the land forces and ordnance. A vote of credit was passed for £3,000,009. Mr. Perceval contrasted the state of commercial affairs in England to those of France. Our orders in council, he said, had already reduced the receipts of customs in that country from £2,590,000 to that of £500,000. But these orders had not in reality done all this mischief to the enemy; for a large portion of it must be attributed to Napoleon’s war-system, and the working out of his continental system.

THE SLAVE-TRADE QUESTION.

During this session the question of the slave-trade was renewed in the lords by Lord Holland, and in the commons by Mr. Brougham. They moved for addresses requesting the king to persevere in his measures to induce other nations to co-operate in the abolition of slavery, and to take such further steps as might be necessary. By this time it was discovered that persons in this country carried on a clandestine trade in slaves; and the address in the commons prayed that orders for checking such practices might be given to the commanders of his majesty’s ships, and to the officers of the customs. Both addresses were agreed to, and a resolution, moved by Mr. Brougham, for taking-measures early in the next session to prevent evasions of Wilberforce’s slave-trade act, likewise received the sanction of the house.

PETITION OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS, ETC.

During this session, a petition was presented from the Irish Catholics by Mr. Grattan; but after a long and animated debate it was rejected by a large majority. A motion by Mr. Brande on the subject of parliamentary reform was also negatived by a large majority; as was likewise a resolution, moved in the upper house by Lord Grey, “to take into consideration the state of the nation.” Lord Grey prefaced his motion by an eloquent and argumentative speech, in which he dwelt upon the power of Napoleon; the mismanagement of our internal resources; the expediency of conciliating the Roman Catholics; the subjects of parliamentary privileges and reform, &c. On the subject of parliamentary reform he remarked:—“This question has long been one of my most serious contemplation. I took an active part in it at an early age: I pursued my object with all that eager hope and sanguine expectation so natural to the ardour of youth. I will not say that in subsequent times there have not been some differences from my former impressions; but of this I assure your lordships, that on its great grounds it has never been abandoned by me. To the temperate and judicious reformation of abuses I am now a decided friend; and whenever it shall be brought forward, it shall receive from me my most anxious assistance. I never did, nor ever will, rest my views of salutary reform on the ground of theoretic perfection; though I am always ready to correct by the constitution a practical inconvenience when it is practically felt. On this point I was formerly misrepresented by that description of persons who at this day continue the same course. The folly and presumption of the present day have taken up a new doctrine—that every branch and exercise of our constitution was defined by law, and only to be found in the statute-book: but I have understood from the most able men, that the great and fundamental blessing of the British constitution was fixed in the co-operation and harmony of its powers, all leading to free and efficient government.”

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

During this session motions were made by Mr. Parnell on the subject of Irish tithes; by Mr. Grattan and Lord Donoughmore on Catholic emancipation; and by Sir Samuel Romilly on the reform of our sanguinary criminal laws. These subjects will receive attention in a future page. Beyond this there was nothing of importance taken into consideration this session, which terminated on the 21st of June. The royal speech was again delivered by commission: and it affirmed that Portugal was exerting herself with vigour and energy; and that in Spain, though the French were victorious, the spirit of resistance was unsubdued.

CAMPAIGN IN PORTUGAL.

When Lord Wellington moved his troops from the banks of the Guadiana, he placed them in quarters along the valley of the Mondego. His head-quarters in January were at Viseu; General Hill being left with 10,000 men, half British and half Portuguese, at Abrantes, in order to watch Badajoz and protect Lisbon; while Marshal Beresford was stationed at Thomar. In the meantime the French armies had fully established themselves in Spain. Cadiz indeed defied the proud enemy, and the highest junta retired to the island of Leon, while the wild Sierra Morena carried on a guerilla warfare against the French; but there was no real army to oppose them, and the country might therefore be considered for the time being as conquered. Lord Wellington foresaw that the conquest of this country would lead to the invasion of Portugal; and he turned his whole attention to the defence of that country. And what the English general foresaw soon came to pass. The peace with Austria had enabled Napoleon to send large re-enforcements from Germany into Spain, audit was rumoured that he himself was coming. By the beginning of the month of April, Ney, Kellermann, and Loison, with about 60,000 men, were in Old Castile and Leon, threatening the Portuguese frontier in that direction: as a preliminary step they had captured Astorga, and had made preparations for the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo. General Meigner was also at this time on the borders of Spanish Estramadura, menacing the frontier of Portugal on that side. Subsequently, as Napoleon was now engaged with his bride of Austria, he sent Massena to take the command of the forces in Old Castile and Leon, which now assumed the name of “The army of Portugal,” thereby declaring its destination. Massena arrived at Valladolid about the middle of May; and he not only assumed the command over the forces of Ney, Kellermann, and Loison, but also over those of Junot and Drouet, which had recently crossed the Pyrenees from German. In the whole, Massena had a force of 80,000 men under arms for the field; but the corps of Drouet, about 18,000 strong, and the forces of Régnier in Estramadura did not immediately join him in his expedition into Portugal. As it was, however, Massena had a force of about 62,000 men when he first put himself in motion against Lord Wellington. Against these Wellington could only bring about 24,000 British troops, and from 28,000 to 30,000 Portuguese regulars; a part of which he was compelled to leave south of the Tagus, in order to guard against any sudden movement of Soult’s army of Andalusia. Moreover, Lord Wellington could only confidently rely on the British forces, as the Portuguese soldiers, whether regulars or militia men, were as yet untried. On the other hand, Massena’s soldiers were skilled in the dreadful art of war, and flushed with recent success; so that the odds against Wellington were alarmingly great. The campaign commenced in earnest early in June, when Massena invested Ciudad Rodrigo, which was defended by a Spanish garrison, but which was almost within sight of the British advanced posts on the Azava. The Spaniards made a brave defence; but on the 10th of July Massena made himself master of the place by capitulation. Lord Wellington was taunted by the French, by the Spaniards, and by many of his own officers, for suffering the siege to proceed without making an attempt to relieve the place. His lordship, however, knew his business better than to take any false step by a rash movement: his object and paramount duty was to defend Portugal, and above all Lisbon. He had, in fact, pledged himself to do this; and hence, while the French were taking Ciudad Rodrigo, he calmly retained, his position on the Coa, having his light division advanced a little beyond that river. Subsequent events justified Wellington’s line of policy. After the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, Ney went thundering on till he came in contact with the light division, which was commanded by General Crawford; and though he succeeded in causing the English general to retreat, it cost him 1000 men in killed and wounded. Massena now crossed the frontiers of Portugal; but although he had boasted he would drive Lord Wellington out of that country in three months; he passed nearly one month on the line of the Coa in total inactivity. In the meantime General Régnier quitted Estramadura, crossed the Tagus, and established himself at Coria and Plasencia, while General Hill, making a corresponding movement, took post at Atalaya, from whence he could either join Wellington, or could be again thrown in front of Régnier. At length, on the 15th of August, the French broke ground before Almeida, which was captured on the 27th of the same month, Lord Wellington had brought his army nearer, in order to strike a blow if the enemy should afford an opportunity; but Massena let three weeks pass after the reduction of Almeida before he moved forward; and then, as the rainy season had come on, Wellington moved his army to the valley of the Mondego, and fixed his head-quarters at Gouvea. The French army commenced its march down this valley on the 15th of September, taking its route along the right bank of the river, in the direction of Coimbra, through Viseu. This was the very worst road Massena could have taken; and Wellington, perceiving his error, crossed the river and took up a strong position in front of Coimbra. On the 24th, his whole army, including the Portuguese, and the corps of Generals Hill and Leith, which he had called up for the purpose of assisting in the coming struggle, were collected upon the Serra de Busaco, a lofty mountain-ridge extending from the Mondego to the northward. From these heights, on the 26th, the French army was seen advancing. One of the spectators of the imposing sight says:—“Rising grounds were covered with troops, cannon, or equipages: the widely extended country seemed to contain a host moving forward, or gradually condensing into numerous masses, checked in their progress by the grand natural barrier on which we were placed, at the base of which it became necessary to pause. In imposing appearances, as to numerical strength, I have never seen anything comparable to that of the enemy’s army from Busaco: it was not alone an army encamped before us, but a multitude—cavalry, infantry, artillery, cars of the country, horses, tribes of mules with their attendants, suttlers, followers of every description, formed the moving scene upon which Lord Wellington and his army looked down.” By the evening of the 26th this army encamped in the plains below Busaco; and on the next morning, as the mist and the gray clouds rolled away, they made two desperate simultaneous attacks on the English, the one on the right and the other on the left of Wellington’s position. These attacks were vain: the enemy was repulsed, leaving 2000 killed upon the field of battle, and having from 3000 to 4000 wounded, and several hundreds taken prisoners. Both the British and the Portuguese alike fought valorously; the latter, according to Wellington’s own statement, proving themselves on this their first trial to be worthy of contending in the same ranks with the former. Thus checked in his career, on the 28th, the day after the battle, Massena moved a large body of infantry and cavalry from the left of his centre to the rear, and his cavalry was seen marching over the mountains by another road to Oporto Colonel Trant with his Portuguese division was ordered to occupy the pass of Boyalva to the north of Busaco, through which this cavalry must pass; but a Portuguese general had previously ordered this division to inarch elsewhere; and before this could be countermanded, the French descended into the plains that lie open to the sea-coast, and seized on the road leading from Oporto to Coimbra, in the rear of the British. Massena, however, had only made the march which Wellington foresaw he would make, and he now commenced a retreat towards Lisbon. Both the British and the Portuguese effected their retreat with ease and regularity. They were followed by the French, whose van caught sight of the chain of hills behind which lay the city of Lisbon on the 7th of October:

“But in the middle path a lion lay.”

Wellington by this time occupied the lines of Torres Vedras, the formation of which have conferred as much honour on him as any of the great victories which he achieved. A recent writer gives this outline sketch of these lines:—“The peninsula, or promontory, at whose south-eastern extremity Lisbon is situated, is crossed rather obliquely by two serras, or chains of mountains, which extend with various altitudes and various degrees of steepness, but with partial interruptions or openings, from the shore of the Atlantic to the right bank of the Tagus. These two serras run nearly parallel with each other, at a distance of from six to eight miles; the point of the line nearest to Lisbon being close to the Tagus, between Via Longa and Quintilla. Through the passes in these serras and the low ground bordering the Tagus four roads from the interior of the country led to the capital. The hand of nature had marked out these two lines of defence, and British science and engineering had been employed for a whole year in strengthening them, and in blocking up the openings which seemed the most accessible. Here redoubts were erected; here the whole face of a mountain was scarped and hewn into the appearance of the facet of some Titanic fortress; here the threads of mountain-rivulets—which would be something more than rivulets at the end of October and in November—were collected and brought together into one bed; and here rivers, tributaries of the great Tagus, were dammed up, or were provided with dams which could be used, and with flood-gates which could be shut, so as to inundate the country at the foot of the hills, on the approach of the invader. The line of defence was everywhere double, while in some parts there was a treble range of batteries and redoubts. The first line, which was twenty-nine English miles in length, began at Alhendra on the Tagus, crossed the valley of Aruda, and passed along the skirts of Monte Agraca, where there was a large and strong redoubt. It then ran across the valley of Zibreira, skirted the deep ravine of Ruda, to the heights of Torres Vedras, and thence followed the course of the little river Zizandre to its mouth on the Atlantic. The second or inner line, at a distance varying from six to eight, and in some parts to ten miles, extended from Quintilla on the Tagus by Bucellas, Monte Chique, and Mafra, to the mouth of the little river St. Lourenço, on the sea-coast, a distance of about twenty-four miles. This was by far the stronger line of the two, both by nature and by art; and if the first line were forced by an enemy, the retreat of the army upon the second was secure at all times. Both these lines were secured by breast-works, abattis, and stone walls, with banquettes and scarps: not an opening nor interstice through which a mountain goat could pass but was blocked up or guarded. Down the hollows in which the roads ran were pointed the black muzzles of numerous guns, projecting from batteries which could maintain a fire in front, and a crossing fire from the flanks. And, to provide for every occurrence, to make sure of a safe and easy passage to our ships of war in the Tagus, there was in the rear of the second line a shorter, closer line, to protect the embarkation of our troops. This innermost line of all was strong enough to check even a brave enemy, had there been no other lines before it: it rested at one extremity on a tremendous redoubt, and at the other on the broad ditch and lofty walls of the castle of S. Julian. About one hundred redoubts or forts, containing altogether more than six hundred pieces of artillery, were scattered along these lines.”

Lord Wellington and the allied army entered within the foremost of these lines on the 8th of October. On arriving each division took up its assigned quarters, and the defences, which were strong enough before, were made still stronger. In the whole the troops which manned them amounted to about 130,000; of which 70,000 were regulars, and half of them British. Massena arrived in the plains below Torres Vedras on the 11th: he appears to have been taken by surprise at the sight of Wellington’s lines; and he employed several days in examining their nature, and in endeavouring to discover a spot through which he might force a passage. Some demonstrations were made in order to compel the British divisions to exhibit their force; and on the 14th there was some fighting between the town of Sobral and the lines, in which the French were defeated by the English bayonet. The war was now reduced to a species of blockade. The heart of Massena was smitten with despair at the sight of the scarped rocks, and the cannon on the eminences; and the object he had in view now was to support his army till re-enforcements should arrive. In the meantime re-enforceinents had arrived in Wellington’s camp from England and Gibraltar, so that he had a force numerically equal to that of the enemy. Massena’s situation soon, however, became desperate. In order to starve his opponents Lord Wellington brought down the Portuguese militia from the north, and persuaded Carlos d’Espaua to pass the Tagus with a considerable corps of Spaniards, to co-operate in cutting off all communication with the French rear and, as it were, enclosing the blockades. Massena was reduced to such straits for provisions that he was obliged to send movable columns to scour the country; and, on these columns the independent corps of Portuguese Spaniards sought revenge for desolated homes and slaughtered kindred: they were attacked and slain with as little mercy as they had shown to others. Losses by the sword, by sickness, and by privation, amounting to about 15,000 men since the battle of Busaco, at length induced Massena, on the 15th of November, to make a retrograde movement. He withdrew his army from the low wet grounds in front of Torres Vedras, and placed it in cantonments for the winter: the second, or Itegnier’s corps, being placed in and near Santarem; the eighth in Perns; the sixth corps further back, in Thomar; while his head-quarters were at Torres Novas. Before Massena could reach these safe positions, his soldiers were molested by the British light division and cavalry, who took some prisoners. Lord Wellington did not deem it prudent to attack them in these several positions, but leaving part of his army in the lines, he moved forward with the remainder; and having placed Hill’s division on the banks of the Tagus, he fixed his head-quarters at Cartaxo. Such were the positions of the belligerent forces during the winter. By his movements Lord Wellington had saved the capital of Portugal, and reduced the enemy to a state of inactivity. The sequel of Massena’s invasion of that country belongs to the history of the next year.

AFFAIRS OF SPAIN.

These events in Portugal had the effect of counteracting some of the designs of the French in Spain. During their transaction Soult had been devising measures for the capture of Cadiz; but towards the end of December, instructions arrived requiring him to co-operate with Massena. He repaired to Seville, taking with him Latour Maubourg’s cavalry, and 5000 infantry; but such was Lord Wellington’s precaution, and such the activity of the partidas, that he could not effect any communication with Massena, as directed. Under these circumstances, Soult represented that as his force was weakened by the blockade of Cadiz, and the protection of Seville, he dared not penetrate into the Alemtejo. This movement, he said, would oblige him to leave Olivenza and Badajoz in his rear, with two Spanish corps under Ballasteros and Mendizabel; and he requested permission to besiege these two places. Napoleon consented to his request, and Soult prepared for a siege of these cities. At this time General Hill was obliged to return home on account of ill health; and the command of the troops, British, Spanish, and Portuguese, on the Tagus, was given to Marshal Beresford. The Marshal’s instructions were to prevent the passage of the river; to intercept all communication between Massena and Soult; and to join the main army by Vellada if in retreat, and by Abrantes if in advance. His head-quarters were fixed at Chamusea, and his troops dispersed along the Tagus, from Almey-rim to the mouth of the Zezere. During the winter several attacks were made by the irregular forces and Portuguese militia on the French detachments; but each commander waited for re-enforcements before they assumed offensive operations.

FOREIGN CONQUESTS, ETC.

In other quarters of the world our operations this year were of considerable importance. In the lists of our conquests was that of Santa Maura, added to the other Ionian Islands rescued from the French dominion; the Dutch settlement of Amboyna, with its dependent islands; the Dutch settlement of Banda, the principal of the Spice Islands; and the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius. In the latter island a large quantity-of stores and valuable merchandise, five large frigates, some smaller ships of war, twenty-eight merchantmen, and two British captured East Indiamen were taken by the conquerors. In the West Indies a combined naval and military force, under Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and Lieutenant-General Beckwith, made the important conquest of the island of Guadaloupe, the last colonial possession of France. Nearer home the arms of the British were also successful. In the month of July Murat collected a large armament on the coast of Calabria, for the invasion of Sicily; but 900 of his troops were taken prisoners by General Campbell, and the rest were driven for shelter to their vessels. With similar success the island of Anholt, in the Baltic, was defended by Captain Maurice with 380 men, against a Danish force of eight times the number.

THE MARRIAGE OF NAPOLEON, ETC.

In Paris this year “all went merry as a marriage bell.” After the treaty of Vienna at the close of 1809, Napoleon caused it to be intimated to Josephine that she must be supplanted by an imperial bride; and she submitted to his will. His divorce with the faithful Josephine was soon followed by his marriage with the daughter of the Emperor of Austria. On the 11th of March Berthier, acting as his proxy, received, in the palace of Schonbrunn, the hand of the Archduchess Maria Louisa, who soon left the home of her fathers for France. The act of divorcement from Josephine and Napoleon’s marriage with the Austrian Princess received the sanction of the senate, who in an address expressed their gratitude for the steps he had taken, and predicted that this “child and champion of democracy” would live to see children and grandchildren, who would perpetuate his empire and the glory of France. Yet it was manifest, even to Napoleon himself, that his marriage was looked upon by the nation at large with dislike. His own clergy, in fact, were ashamed of the scene of the celebration of the marriage at St. Cloud, deeming it neither more nor less than an act of bigamy, while very few of the cardinals or prelates would sanction it by their presence, As for the mass of the people, among them there was a great party that still loathed the name of hereditary monarchy, and that thought it monstrous that a son of the revolution should ally himself with a branch of the “corporation of tyrants.” His marriage, in a word, was universally admitted to be a capital error in his political career. Mignet says:—“Napoleon quitted his position and part as a parvenu and revolutionary monarch, who had been acting in Europe against the ancient courts, as the republic had acted against the ancient governments; he placed himself in a bad situation with respect to Austria, which he ought to have crushed after his victory of Wagram, or to have re-established in her possessions after his marriage with the Archduchess. Solid alliances repose only upon real interests, and Napoleon could deprive the cabinet of Vienna neither of the will nor the power to fight him again. This marriage changed also the character of his empire, and separated it still more from the popular feelings and interests; for he now sought after the old French families to decorate his court, and he did all that he could in order to mix and unite together the ancient noblesse and his new noblesse, even as he had mixed royal dynasties.” Men were not wanting, however, who thought they saw in this union the guarantee of the welfare of the world and the beginning of a golden age; who conceived that this connexion of the favourite of fortune with one of the most illustrious houses of Christendom would reconcile the revolution with its opponents. “But after fortune had done everything for her ungrateful bosom-child; after the Corsican master of war had arrived to such a degree of glory and power as no mortal had attained before him, he wantonly overthrew by his insatiable ambition the colossal edifice of his grandeur.” Some of the acts which tended to his final downfall have been recorded in previous pages: this year added to their number. In the first place, the territory of the Prince Primas was augmented by Hanan and Fulda, and elevated to the grand duchy of Frankfort; but it was declared the hereditary portion of Prince Eugene Beauharnois, because for the future no temporal dominion was to be united with spiritual dignities. At the same time the remnant of the electorate of Hanover was adjoined to the kingdom of Westphalia, reserving a certain revenue for France: and other decrees equally despotic regulated the aggrandizements of Bavaria and Wurtemberg. But one of the most despotic acts which was committed by Napoleon during this year had reference to Holland. To appease his wrath and gratify his revenge, Louis, Napoleon’s brother, and King of Holland, interdicted all commerce with England, and agreed that a French army should be established on the coast of Holland for the purpose of seeing this interdict put into execution. Holland was also to equip a fleet for the service of France, and to cede Dutch Brabant, Zealand, and other territories to this insatiable empire. Yet, after all, Napoleon was not satisfied with his brother’s rule. French troops approached the capital of Holland, and Louis abdicated in favour of his eldest son, and sought refuge in Austria. Immediately after Napoleon proclaimed the union of Holland with France, and the people of that country were compelled to submit to his lordly will. By the union of the two countries the empire of France numbered 130 departments, and a population of 42,000,000, and Napoleon ruled this vast empire with absolute power. All Europe, in fact, submitted to his yoke in silence: England alone continued the war both by sea and land. But Russia was beginning to wake as from a dream, and to arise “against the world-empire, which approached nearer and nearer to her frontier.” The day of retribution was fast approaching, a day when God and man united to punish this haughty ruler of France and his people, for all the desolations they had commited over the fair face of creation. As they had done unto others, so it happened unto them.

{GEORGE III. 1809—1812}

ILLNESS OF HIS MAJESTY—OPENING OF PARLIAMENT, ETC.

By the non-attendance of his majesty at the opening and closing of the session of parliament for some time, it had been suspected that he was suffering under his old distressing malady. This was found to be too true. His illness has been referred to several proximate causes, both of a public and private nature. The cause, however, most commonly assigned for his affliction was the illness and death of his favourite daughter, the Princess Amelia. As her end drew near, she placed a mourning-ring, with the inscription, “Remember me,” on the finger of her doating parent, and it is said that he never recovered the shock thus given to his feelings. His mental distress became immediately great, and in a few days the royal family were alarmed by symptoms of that fearful malady which ever afterwards afflicted him. This was on the 20th or 21st of August; and on the 25th, the anniversary of the king’s accession to the throne, it was publicly announced that his majesty was labouring under his old complaint. Parliament stood prorogued till the 1st of November, on which day both houses assembled. As the king, however, was not present, and as no communication could be sent, there was no power either to prorogue or to open parliament. Under these circumstances an adjournment for fifteen days was proposed in both houses, and agreed to, and successive adjournments took place until the 13th of December, when they finally met for the transaction of business. In the meantime committees had been appointed to examine the attendant physicians respecting his majesty’s health. From them it appeared that there were very slight hopes of his recovery, at least for a considerable period; and, besides, the chancellor of the exchequer had by this time took measures for the appointment of a regency. He brought forward three propositions: one, declaring the king’s incapacity for the performance of the functions of royalty; a second, asserting the right of the two houses to supply this defect in the executive power; and a third, that means should be devised for giving the royal assent to a bill on the exercise of the regal authority during his majesty’s indisposition. The two former of these propositions were assented to without a division, though not without some opposition from Sir Francis Burdett, who declared his solemn protest against the whole proceedings, as aiming a mortal blow against the constitution. Against the third proposition several exceptions were taken. Mr. Ponsonby, indeed, denied that the houses had a right to command the chancellor to apply the king’s seal to an act which was thence to be considered as having the royal sanction, and he moved for an address to the Prince of Wales, praying him to take the regal functions on him during his majesty’s illness. Sir Samuel Romilly thought the resolutions inconsistent with each other. He remarked:—“In one, the right of the lords and commons to fill up the vacancy is asserted; and yet that vacancy being acknowledged, the royal assent to a bill is to be procured, to which his majesty can give no assent: the will of the lords and common: can in nowise be construed into the king’s will; nor can they by any means legislate for the nation. As well might a set of men in common life make a contract for an insane person, and then employ an individual as his solicitor to affix his seal and signature to the deed: in fact, the personal presence of the king, or of a commission signed by him, was essential to every act of legislation; and if the house could dispense with this in one case, they might in others; they might make war or peace, and say such was the king’s pleasure.” Mr. Ponsonby’s motion for an address to the prince was rejected by two hundred and sixty-nine against one hundred and fifty-seven. All the original resolutions were therefore carried, and the same three resolutions were likewise agreed to by the lords. Mr. Perceval, now, on the 3rd of December, proposed the same limitations and restrictions on the powers of the regent as were passed in 1788. These limitations and restrictions were contained in five resolutions. The first four of these resolutions were agreed to on the same day; but the fifth, relating to the care of his majesty’s person was postponed till the next day.

{A.D. 1811}

The fifth resolution of the regency bill was not settled for some days. On the 1st of January an amendment to it, tending to diminish the expenses of the king’s household, and to curtail the authority of the queen over that household, was carried against ministers by a majority of thirteen; and this decision was confirmed the next day by the rejection of an amendment moved by Mr. Perceval, which went to restore the fifth resolution to its original state. All the resolutions were then sent up to the lords, who, after some discussion, agreed to them; inserting an amendment in the second for allowing the regent to bestow the peerage upon deserving civilians, lawyers, etc. The commons readily agreed to this alteration in the second clause; and, by an act founded upon the whole, it was provided that the restrictions upon the royal authority, as exercised by the regent, should continue till the 1st of February, 1812, if parliament should be then assembled, and should have been sitting six weeks previously; otherwise, till the expiration of six weeks from the assembling of parliament after that day. A deputation now waited on the prince regent and the queen, to acquaint them with the resolutions which had been passed, and both accepted the office proposed to them, though the prince complained that his powers were to be exercised under so many restrictions and limitations. Their replies were reported to parliament on the 11th of January, when Lord Liverpool moved in the lords a resolution for putting the great seal to a commission for opening the parliament under the regency. This resolution passed the lords, after some opposition from Earl Grey, by a majority of fifty-one against thirty-three, and it was afterwards agreed to by the commons; and then both houses adjourned until the 15th of January, when the session was to be opened for the despatch of business under the regency by the commission thus appointed.

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT BY THE REGENT

Parliament was not opened till the 12th of February, on which day the prince regent, having been previously installed at Carlton-house, opened it by commission. The speech delivered upon this occasion by the commissioners in the regent’s name dwelt upon the success of our armies in the Indian seas, and the repulse of the French and Neapolitans in their attack on Sicily; upon the failures of the French in Portugal and at Cadiz; and it expressed a hope that parliament would enable the regent to continue the most effectual assistance to the brave nations of the Peninsula. The whole speech breathed a warlike spirit; and though some deprecated war in the debate which followed on the addresses, they were carried in both houses without a division.

DEBATE ON THE RE-APPOINTMENT OF THE DUKE OF YORK TO THE WAR-OFFICE.

Soon after the installation of the prince regent it was reported that he intended to restore the Duke of York to the office of commander-in-chief of the forces. During the investigation the duke had been warmly defended by the Perceval administration, so that the report was not likely to be ill-founded. On the 25th of May, indeed, the duke’s reappointment was gazetted; and, although the nation seems generally to have acquiesced in the measure, it did not pass without some animadversion in parliament. Lord Milton moved in the commons, that it had been highly improper and indecorous in the advisers of the regent to recommend the reappointment; but he found few supporters, the motion being lost by a majority of two hundred and ninety-six against forty-seven. The duke signalized his return to office by re-establishing regimental schools on Bell’s system.

THE SUPPLIES.

Mr. Perceval brought forward his budget on the 20th of May. The supplies demanded and voted for the year amounted to £58,021,869; out of which sum £20,276,144 were appropriated to the navy; £23,269,940 to the army; £5,012,378 to the ordnance; £2,100,000 to subsidies, etc., for Portugal; and £400,000 as a subsidy to Sicily.

THE BULLION COMMITTEE, ETC.

At this period, from our differences with America, which were not yet settled, as well as from Napoleon’s continental system, a considerable commercial depression was felt, together with a derangement in the money-market, arising in a great measure from the necessity that existed of constantly sending specie to the continent. During the preceding year Mr. Horner had obtained the appointment of a committee to inquire into the reason of the high price of gold bullion, and the state of the circulating medium, and of the exchanges between Great Britain and foreign parts. The report of this bullion committee was presented by Mr. Horner on the 6th of May, on which occasion he addressed the house in an elaborate speech, advocating a speedy return to cash-payments, as the only means of saving the credit of the country. The report itself, indeed, tended to recommend this measure to parliament. It stated, that there was an excess in the paper circulation, of which the most unequivocal symptom was the very high price of bullion, and, next to that, the low state of the continental exchanges; that the cause of this excess of bank-notes was to be found in the suspension of cash-payments; there being no adequate provision against such an excess, except in the convertibility of paper into specie; and that the unfavourable state of the exchanges originated in the same cause, and was further increased by the anti-commercial measures of the enemy. The report added, that the committee could see no remedy for the present or security for the future, except the repeal of the Suspension Act; that they thought this could not safely be done at an earlier period than two years from the time of their report; but that they recommended parliament to make early provision for this purpose. This subject occupied the house four long nights, but Mr. Horner’s resolutions were all rejected. Subsequently, however, a bill was carried in the lords, which declared that bank-notes should be taken only at their professed value, and deprived the landlord of a summary remedy by distress whenever tender had been made in bank-notes. This bill was strongly opposed in the commons; but it was eventually carried by majorities of about four to one. In the lords, the bill was chiefly opposed by Lord King, who argued that it would create additional mischiefs and inconveniences; that landlords would refuse to grant leases; and that the bill could not effect the object which it professed to have in view, or retard depreciation of bank-notes. Lord King had recently issued a circular-letter to his tenants, that he would no longer receive bank-notes at par, but that his rents must for the future be paid either in English guineas, or in equivalent weight of Portuguese gold coin, or in bank notes amounting to a sum sufficient to purchase such an equivalent weight of gold. In his reply to Lord King’s objections, made in the lords, the chancellor, Eldon, insisted that the claim set forth in this circular to his tenants was oppressive and unjust, and that the bill was necessary to prevent such a grievous oppression. He remarked:—“The restriction act of 1797 interfered so far with individual contracts as to say that a debtor should not be arrested, if he tendered his debt in bank-notes: the justice of that enactment has never been, disputed; and is it now to be said, that a tenant shall have his goods or stock seized, because he cannot pay in gold, which is not to be procured? Let us suppose a young professional man, struggling with the world, who has a rent to pay of £90 per annum, and who has £3,000 in the bank, in the three per cents. His lordship demands his rent in gold, but the bank refuses to pay the tenant his dividend in gold. Would not the tenant have a right to say—’ As a public creditor, I am refused any other payment than in bank-notes; but here is a legislator—one of those by whose act of parliament I am thus refused to be paid except in bank-notes, insisting up on my paying him his rent in gold, which I cannot procure; and because I cannot procure it, my goods are to be distrained?’ Would not this be a grievous oppression? Surely, so long as it should be expedient to continue the cash-suspension act of 1797, this present bill must become a part of it; for otherwise there would be no equality in the situation of different contracting parties, nor would equal justice be dealt out to those who had an equal claim to it; as there could be no justice in leaving the tenant who had tendered bank-notes exposed to be distrained upon by his landlord, whilst the debtor, in other cases, who had tendered bank-notes was exempted from arrest.”

SUBJECT OF MILITARY DISCIPLINE.

During this session, the subject of military punishment was discussed in the commons. On this subject Sir Francis Burdett particularly distinguished himself. He moved an address on the subject to the prince regent, in doing which he remarked:—“There are but few persons who know what is the dreadful manner in which this torture is inflicted. The instrument, formed of pieces of whipcord, each as thick as a quill, and knotted, is applied by the main strength of fresh men, relieving each other, until human nature can bear no more; and then, if pains are taken to recover the unhappy sufferer, it is only that he may undergo fresh agony. The most disgusting part of the whole transaction is the attendance of a surgeon—whose business seems to be a profanation of the healing art—to detect any lingering principle of life, which can enable the wretched man to undergo more suffering. I do not believe that in the description which the poets give of hell there are any tortures equal to what is called a military punishment.” Sir Francis was ably seconded by Mr. Brougham, who contrasted the conduct of the Duke of Cumberland with the more noble conduct of the Duke of Gloucester, whose regiment was in the highest state of discipline, although there had not been a single flogging in it for more than two years. But though the house had been prepared to ameliorate the condition of the slaves of India, the members were not yet in a temper to soften that of their brethren at home: and the address was rejected by a large majority. Subsequently they showed still less sympathy with the sufferings of their fellow-subjects. A corporal in a militia regiment had been sentenced to one thousand lashes. He received two hundred of these; but it was found that he could not endure anymore, and he was placed in the hospital for three months; when, having recovered, he had the option of undergoing the rest of his sentence, or of serving in a condemned regiment for life in the West Indies, which latter alternative he chose rather than expire under the lash. Colonel Wardle moved for inquiry into this case, and only one was found to vote with him. This apathy manifested in the commons tended to increase the desire of parliamentary reform among the people.

LOUD SIDMOUTH’S MOTION RESPECTING DISSENTING PREACHERS.

In the course of this session Lord Sidmouth introduced a bill, as an amendment of the toleration act; prohibiting any person from obtaining a license to preach, unless he obtained the recommendation of at least six respectable householders of the congregation to which he belonged, such congregation being willing to listen to his instructions. The bill also required that those who intended to be itinerants should bring testimonials, stating that they were men of sober life and character, and qualified to perform the functions to which they aspired. This bill raised a great sensation among dissenters, it being considered liable to be perverted to purposes of intolerance. It encountered, indeed, such a storm of opposition, and the house was so inundated with petitions, that when it came to be read a second time it was rejected without a division.

AFFAIRS OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS.

It was generally understood among the Irish Catholics that the prince regent was favourable to their claims, and his investment with power contributed to increase their activity and zeal. Among other measures, they proposed to establish a committee in Dublin, composed of delegates from each country, for the management of their affairs. But this was deemed unlawful by government; and Mr. Wellesley Pole, the Irish secretary, sent a circular-letter to all the sheriffs and county magistrates, requiring them to arrest all persons engaged in such elections. This letter being brought before parliament excited much discussion; and on the 3rd of March Mr. Pole, having returned from Ireland, stated in explanation that the Catholic committee of 1809, had confined their deliberations to petitioning, whereas the delegates of 1810 were empowered to manage the affairs of the Catholics generally; and that a committee of grievances, which met weekly, imitated all the forms of the house of commons. The opinion of the great law-officers, he said, had been taken by the lord-lieutenant, and the attorney-general had drawn up the circular. This explanation had a due effect noon the house; for when the petition which had been prepared by the committee was presented, although it was supported by the eloquence of Grattan, it was rejected by a majority of one hundred and forty-six against eighty-three. It shared the same fate in the lords, it being thought dangerous to grant any power to men who would be likely to abuse it. The rejection of this petition caused great disturbances in Ireland.

AMENDMENT OF THE CRIMINAL LAW

Among the various statutes of this session there were two which tended to diminish, in the instances of stealing linen and cotton from fields and out-buildings, that long list of offences to which our law assigned the punishment of death. Three other bills, having a similar tendency were passed in the commons, but were rejected by the lords. All these bills were brought in by that enlightened legislator, Sir Samuel Romilly.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 24th of July by commission. The speech expressed the regent’s approbation of the wisdom and firmness which the two houses had manifested, in enabling him to continue the exertions of the country in the case of our allies, and to prosecute the war with increased activity and vigour. At this time there was an end of all hopes of his majesty’s ability to resume the functions of royalty. In the early part of the year his health underwent some variations, with lucid intervals; but the report of the queen’s council on the 8th of July stated that his majesty was totally unable to resume his kingly duties.

DISPUTES WITH AMERICA.

The orders in council not being repealed on the 2nd of February, Mr. Pinkney, the American minister in London, was recalled. He had his audience of leave on the 1st of March, from which time the American ports were closed against English ships, and open to those of our enemy. Attempts were made, in the course of the summer, to effect an adjustment of the subjects in dispute; but these failed, and on the meeting of congress in November, the president recommended vigorous measures of preparation both by sea and land. The finances of the American government, however, were little suited to meet the expense of a war; and the friends of peace, though outvoted in the legislative assemblies, yet felt confident that the prospect of loans and taxes would cool the military ardour of a people unaccustomed to such burthens.

CAPTURE OF JAVA.

A formidable expedition was this year fitted out by Lord Minto, Governor-General of India, and placed under the command of Sir Samuel Auchmuty, against the Dutch settlements in the island of Java. A landing was effected without opposition on the 5th of August, and by the 8th the city of Batavia was captured without resistance. Its garrison retreated to a fortified position within two miles of Cornells, where General Jansens was stationed with the principal Dutch force. These works were now assailed, and they were carried by assault on the 26th; and the whole of the Dutch army was either killed, captured, or dispersed. Jansens fled to Samarang, and prepared for defence; but he was soon compelled to capitulate, and then the whole island of Java surrendered to the British arms.

AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL.

During the months of January and February the English and French armies in Portugal remained in their respective positions. The French marshal, Massena, was re-enforced by the ninth corps, under General Drouet; and about the same time Soult received orders from Napoleon to act in concert with him by attacking Portugal south of the Tagus; and a new French army was formed in the north of Spain, consisting of about 70,000 men, and placed under Marshal Bessières, who was ordered to give all the assistance he could to the army of Portugal. Soult, as before seen, moved towards the frontiers of Portugal; but deemed it indispensable to reduce Olivenza and Badajoz, before he crossed them, lest he should leave a Spanish garrison in his rear. Napoleon had given his generals directions to keep the English in check, and to cause them loss of men every day by engagements of advanced guards, until the season became favourable for main operations. Wellington, however, was too cautious to waste his army in affairs of advanced guards, or in any useless skirmishes or operations, so that he kept his forces entire; and at the beginning of March he was re-enforced by about 7000 men. By this time Massena’s army had so eaten up the country that he found it necessary to move his quarters. He retreated to the frontiers of Spain, followed by the English, who in the course of the pursuit cut off many of the fugitives, and took much baggage and ammunition. When, indeed, Massena, recrossed the frontiers of Spain, his loss, including the sick and wounded, amounted to no less than 45,000 men. But Massena still counted 40,000 men, besides the garrison left in Almeida; and having placed his army in cantonments between the Coa and Agueda, and given instructions for the blockade of Almeida, Lord Wellington departed for the south, to see the state of affairs on the Guadiana and the country near Badajoz. Thus terminated the third French invasion of Portugal.

AFFAIRS OF SPAIN, CAPTURE OF BADAJOZ, ETC.

During his pursuit of the French army, Lord Wellington was mortified by the intelligence that Soult had captured Badajoz. He had besought the governor, General Menacho, to make a good stand, and promised him speedy assistance; but, unfortunately, the Governor was killed by a cannon-ball, and the command of the garrison devolved upon General Imaz, who proved unworthy of his trust. Although General Imaz knew that Massena was retreating, and that Wellington would soon send him succours, before any practicable breach was made in the walls; and although he was able to hold out for one month, he held up the white flag and suspended hostilities. Badajoz was surrendered on the 11th of March, the garrisons becoming prisoners of war: 9000 Spaniards surrendered to a besieging army which did not exceed 9600 infantry, and 2000 cavalry.

After the fall of Badajoz Soult put his troops in motion to cross the Guadiana and the southern frontier of Portugal; but intelligence from Andalusia induced him to give up the command to Mortier, and to repair to Seville. General Graham, who commanded at Cadiz, when Soult departed from thence, concerted a plan with the Spaniards to drive Marshal Victor out of his lines. For this purpose 10,000 infantry, and 600 cavalry of the allies, being embarked at Cadiz, were landed in February at Algesiras, from which place they marched to Tarifa. At Tarifa they were joined by a considerable British, German, and Portuguese force, and the whole was placed under the command of the Spanish General La Peha. The combined forces marched in the direction of Medina Sidonia, and when within four leagues of the enemy’s posts, they were re-organized: the vanguard being given to General Lardizabal; the centre to the Prince of Anglona; the reserve, composed of the British and two Spanish regiments, to Graham; and the cavalry to Colonel Whittingham, an English officer in the Spanish service. On the morning of the 5th of March the allies arrived on the low ridge of Barossa, about four miles from the mouth of the river Santi Petri. A successful attack on the rear of the enemy’s lines opened the communication with the Isle of Leon; after which General Graham moved down to the Torre de Bermesa, about halfway to the Santi Petri, to secure the communication across that river, over which a bridge had been recently thrown. He moved on through the wood in front, but when he had advanced into the middle of the wood, he received notice that the enemy was advancing towards the heights of Barossa; and considering that position as the key to Santi Petri, he instantly made a counter-march to support the troops left for its defence. Before the troops of Graham, however, could reach the ridge of Barossa, the troops left for its defence were obliged to retire, and the left wing of the enemy was rapidly ascending those heights. To retreat in the face of a superior enemy would have exposed the allies to great danger; and, relying on the courage of his troops, General Graham determined on an immediate attack. He was successful: in an hour and a half the French were in full retreat, leaving behind them 3000 killed and prisoners, and some of their cannon. The English, however, lost 1,243 in killed and wounded, among whom were several officers high in estimation; and General Graham finding it impossible to procure supplies, withdrew the next day across the Santi Petri, and afterwards returned to the Isle of Leon. La Peira, whose co-operation in this movement did him no honour, returned with his forces to Cadiz, and the French resumed the blockade.

In the meantime Marshal Beresford, acting under the directions of Lord Wellington, had directed his efforts against Badajoz. He invested that city on the 8th of May; but he had scarcely commenced the siege when intelligence arrived that Soult was returning thither with 15,000 men for its relief. Beresford immediately suspended his operations, removed the battering cannon and stores to Elvas, and being joined on the 14th by the Spanish Generals Castanos and Blake prepared to meet the enemy. Soult appeared in front of the allies, with a force of about 20,000 men; 5000 having joined him in his route. They were attacked by him on the next day; but after a fearful slaughter on both sides, the enemy was driven back across the river. Soult retired to the ground he had previously occupied; and on the night of the 17th he commenced his retreat towards Seville, leaving Badajoz to its own defence. The British sustained a greater loss in this battle than in any that had been fought in the Peninsula; but the steadiness and gallantry of the troops obtained the highest commendations not only from their commander, but from both houses of parliament.

Shortly after this battle Lord Wellington joined General Beresford, and the siege of Badajoz was recommenced. He had left his army opposed to Massena in the north of Portugal under General Spencer, and about this time Massena was recalled to France, and Marmont became Spencer’s opponent. Marmont was resolved to succour Badajoz, if possible; and for this purpose he sent 15,000 men, under Drouet, to re-enforce Sonlt if he should be again able to advance to its relief. This had the effect of quickening Lord Wellington’s operations upon Badajoz: two different attacks were made upon it; but though his troops behaved with their accustomed valour, both attempts failed, and the siege was soon after raised.

In other parts of Spain during this year, the patriots were equally unfortunate. Thus the French marshal Suchet took Tarragona by assault; General Blake was repulsed by the enemy in an attack on Niebla; Soult defeated the army of Marcia, in the vicinity of Baza; Figueras was retaken by the French general, Macdonald; the Spanish general, Abudia, was defeated by Dorsenne in the vicinity of Astorga; Suchet captured the town and castle of Murviedro; and General Blake was attacked by Suchet in December, and compelled to retire within the walls of Valencia. On the 4th of September Lord Wellington formed the blockade of Ciudad Rodrigo; but on the 25th he retired, and his rear was attacked by Marmont. The infantry, however, forming a square, and presenting a firm front, retreated without being broken. General Hill, with a division of the allied army, surprised and completely routed a French column on the 28th of October, taking 1400 prisoners and all Girard’s artillery, baggage, &c., together with the money which he had levied at Merida. About the same time also the Baron d’Eroles defeated the French near Perigeorda. After Marmont had relieved Ciudad Rodrigo he retraced his steps to the valley of the Tagus; and the allied army went into cantonments, Lord Wellington resolving in the course of the winter to collect such materials as would enable him to carry Ciudad Rodrigo by a more effectual and rapid method than that of blockade.

{GEORGE III. 1809—1812}

NAVAL AFFAIRS

The navy of England had not at this period any adequate antagonist to encounter, so that it was only by occasional surprises that it could perform any achievements. During this year, however, there were several severe frigate fights and in-shore operations. In the Adriatic Sea, Captain William Hoste obtained, on the 13th of March, with four English frigates, a complete victory over five French frigates and six smaller vessels, with five hundred men on board. Another victory was gained near Foul Point, Madagascar, by Captain Schomberg, who with three frigates and a sloop recovered Tamatava, which had been recently recaptured by the French, and captured all the vessels in the port, including the commodore’s frigate. A gallant exploit was also performed at Sagone-bay in the island of Corsica by Captain Barrie, who with three frigates burned three armed vessels laden with timber for the dock-yards at Toulon, although they were protected by strong batteries and a martello-tower, and defended by two hundred soldiers. On the 24th of August, likewise, Captain Ferris, hoisting French colours, sailed up the Garonne, and captured five French vessels without losing a single man in the enterprise. The actions of this year, indeed, are too numerous to recount. Our fleets and squadrons were engaged in all the four quarters of the globe, and the vessels of the enemy could nowhere move in safety while his coast was kept in continual alarm.

AFFAIRS OF FRANCE.

Fortune still seemed to smile on Napoleon. According to outward appearance everything was still in his favour. On the 20th of March his cup of prosperity seemed to be full; for his empress, Maria Louisa, was safely delivered of a son, to whom was given the titles of Napoleon Francis Charles Joseph, Prince of the French Empire, and King of Rome! Congratulatory addresses were poured in from all the departments and all the principal cities of France, as well as from Belgium, Holland, the Hanse Towns, the confederated states of the Rhine, and from Italy. Soon after this Napoleon opened the session of the _Corps Législatif_. In his speech he told the members that his son would answer the expectations of France, and bear to their children the sentiments which his father now bore to them; that they must never forget that their happiness and glory were dependent on the prosperity of the throne which he had raised, consolidated, and aggrandized by them and for them, and that the love of France was their first duty. This must have sounded oddly in the ears of some of the members; for at this time Dutchmen from Holland, &c., Germans from the Hanse Towns, Swiss from the Valais, which was now incorporated with France, and Italians from the confiscated states of the church had taken their seats in the _Corps Législatif_. With conscious pride Napoleon also declared to these “complaisant tools of tyranny,” that French dominion during the last year had been extended over sixteen departments, containing five millions of people; the mouths of the Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt, together with the whole course of the latter river, were now French; that improvements on a gigantic scale had taken place throughout the empire; and that its finances were in such a state that France could go on for ten years without borrowing money. It is possible, however, that Napoleon in making this last assertion had an eye to the plunder of some rich kingdoms, for it was well known that France was not in a prosperous condition. At this very time, indeed, the French, having lost their colonies, were substituting roasted horse-beans for coffee, and extracting sugar from beetroot. The boast of Napoleon, however, was pleasing to a vain-glorious people, and none dared dispute his word. Subsequently to making it, accompanied by his young empress, he visited Ostend, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, where he announced the division of the departments of Holland, and their proportion of the annual expenses. On his return to Paris, however, the course of events bid fair to run more roughly with Napoleon than they had hitherto done. All the cabinets of Europe were at this time anxious to break their fetters, and a rupture with Russia had become inevitable. The czar was offended by Napoleon’s seizure of Oldenburg, the extension of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and the continued occupation of Dantzic, and prepared for a contest; and Napoleon replied to his menaces by angry complaints, and by calling out fresh conscripts in order to meet him in the field. At the close of the year 1811 the preparations for war were on such a gigantic scale, that most men in France saw they would be followed by an unprecedented campaign.