Chapter XXVIII: {george III. 1809—1812} (1)

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.