Chapter XXVIII: {george III. 1809—1812} (2)

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.