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The bridge-equipage, on which I reckoned in order to cross the Tagus, not having yet arrived from Madrid, my march was delayed; in the mean time, its arrival was a matter of urgency, for all the reports announced that Badajoz was attacked with great vigour; that three breaches had been made; that two assaults had been already given, and that the enemy wished, cost what it would, to make themselves masters of that important city. Whatever were the obstacles which arose from circumstances, we used so much diligence, that my advanced guard arrived at Merida on the evening of the 17th, where it joined the posts of the army of the south. On the morning of the 18th, the duke of Dalmatia and myself concerted the necessary measures for driving the enemy from his entrenched positions at Albuera, and relieving Badajoz; but the enemy retired in all haste, re-crossed the Guadiana, and reentered Portugal, without its being in our power to come up with him. It is vexatious that he did not dare to await us, for a signal victory would have infallibly marked our arrival in these regions. We entered Badajoz yesterday, where, we were able to perceive with our own eyes, what vigour General Philippon the Governor, and his brave garrison, had exerted in the defence of that fortress, and how much their conduct was worthy of praise. -I cannot refrain from praising the excellent spirit which has animated the army during a long and painful march, under a burning sun and amidst inany privations: but it would be difficult to expect too many proofs of zeal for the service of his Majesty, from the brave regiments which compose the army of Portugal.-I have the honour, &c.

The Marshal Duke of RAGUSA.

Badajoz, June 21.

To his Highness the Prince of Neufchatel,

Major-General, &c.

Monseigneur,I hasten to inform your Highness, that the fortress of Badajoz is relieved, and that the troops which besieged it have retired into the interior of Portugal, to join the rest of the AngloPortuguese and Spanish army, commanded by Lord Wellington, who has taken the same direction-On the 12th inst. I set out from Llerena with the troops of the army of the South, which I had caused to be united; General Count D'Erlon, who, knew, must join me two days after, followed the movement; the head of his

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column arrived on the 13th at Usagre, where was the 5th corps; I advanced upon Los Santos, where I found myself in the midst of the establishments of the enemy's army. On the 15th I took a position at Fuente del Maestre; on the 17th at Almendralejo, from whence on the 18th I communicated with the imperial army of Portugal, of which the advanced guard had arrived at Merida; and the same day I concerted with Marshal the Duke of Ragusa the ulterior movements of the two armies. On the 19th we were informed that the siege of Badajoz was raised, and that the enemy had abandoned his position at Albuera, evacuated Olivenza, and was withdrawing his troops to the right bank of the Guadiana, on the side of Elvas. In the afternoon of the same day the army made a movement in advance, and I received a letter from General Philippon, Governor of Badajoz, which confirmed the retreat of the enemy; ou the 20th our troops arrived on the Guadiana, before Olivenza, and at Badajoz; the army of Portugal manoeuvred by the right bank, and took the road of Talavera; the army of the South defiled by Santa Martha and the Albuera, while a column advanced along the mountains upon the left. The cavalry of the two armies is to day in reconnaissance upon Villaviciosa, Elvas, and in front of Campo Mayor, in order to ascertain the movements and dispositions of the enemy. Upon the report which they shall give, I shall decide, with the Duke of Ragusa, as to the ulterior operations which the army of Portugal and that of the South will attempt.-The junction of the two armies on the banks of the Guadianą is one of the most marked events of the war of Spain; it will be in its consequences of the greatest effect for the benefit of the service of the Emperor; its first result has been the preservation of Badajoz; the southern provinces of Spain are also entirely relieved on the side of Portugal, and tranquillity, which was for a moment disturbed on several points, is re-establishing. The Duke of Ragusa and myself meant to give battle to the enemy; but Lord Wellington has prudently retired before we could come up with him: yet his forces amounted to 60,000 men; of whom 30,000 were English, comprehending the two divisions of General Spencer, which he had withdrawn from the north, 14,000 Portuguese, and 16,000 Spaniards: he had in this number 5,000 cavalry.— It is vexatious that a general affair has not

taken place; the event would not have been uncertain; but it is to be hoped, that an opportunity will offer itself.—I must now give your Highness an account of the situation in which we found Badajoz, and of the glorious defence of its brave garrison. The General of Brigade, Philippon, who commanded as Governor, has had the rare merit of creating for himself means, and of rendering serviceable for its defence all that there were of Frenchmen in Badajoz; while with a vigorous hand he kept down the inhabitants, and employed them even on the works of the fortifications, which were incessantly improving. I shall soon have the honour of sending your Highness a copy of the journal of the siege; at present I can only notice the principal transactions, and by you to represent to the Emperor, General Philippon as deserving the fruits of his good opinion. I have the honour to ask for him the title of Count, and a suitable endowment; I shall also solicit rewards for other military men of all ranks, who have distinguished themselves by brilliant exploits.-On the 16th of May, the day of the battle which I fought with the allied army, at Albuera, nine days had already expired since the trenches were opened by the enemy before Badajoz, and six days since the fire against the place had commenced.-On the evening of the 15th the besiegers withdrew all their troops, and united them to their other force at Albuera; they did not re-appear till the 19th. During their absence, General Philippon rased the whole of the works which they had constructed, and brought within the fortress the platforms and fascines which he found there; he even took some convoys from the enemy, who were arranging matters for restoring the works of the siege; but they did not, the second time, open the trenches till the night of the 30th of May. The fire against the place recommenced on the 3d of June, and continued without interruption till the raising of the siege. On the 6th, three breaches were already made, one in the body of the place, and two in Fort San Christoval; the first in front of the Castle, between Trinity bastion and the Guadiana, to the left of the half-moon San Roque; but General Philippon immediately set to work to escarp it, and ordered an entrenchment to be made in the solid ground of the Castle; this last

measure was perfectly understood, the enemy made only a false attack on this point.-At Fort San Christoval there was only one practicable breach in the night of the 7th: 1,500 English threw themselves into the ditch of the fort, applied their ladders, and attempted the assault; thrice they returned to the charge; 75 brave fellows, commanded by Captain Chauvin, of the 88th, steadily repulsed them, and inflicted on them very great loss; we had some soldiers wounded with thrusts of the bayonet on the height of the breach; the success was complete; the dead, the wounded, and the ladders, remained in the ditch.-On the following days, the enemy continued his fire on the fort, and endeavoured to enlarge the breach. In the night of the 10th, 2,000 English presented themselves anew, to give the assault. Capt. Jondiou, of the 21st regiment of light-infantry, commanded at San Christoval: his garrison con. sisted of 140 men, every soldier had four loaded muskets by his side; General Philippon had ordered to be placed a great quantity of charged bombs on the parapets, of which Serjeant Brette, of the 5th regiment of artillery, had the direction; (this soldier had before distinguished himself at the first assault of San Christoval.) Already the enemy had applied 40 ladders, the head of their column had reached the height of the breach; Serjeant Brette calls out "Captain, shall we blow up the first mine?" The bombs and grenades descend, exploding they break the ladders, and spread death and dismay among the enemy; while, with the bayonet, the garrison drive them down to the bottom of the breach; in an instant the ditches were filled with dead and wounded, among whom were several English officers; in this confusion some English officers demanded succour; the brave Jondiou ordered them to refit a ladder, and ascend into the fort, where they should surrender as prisoners. This was accordingly done. At day-breaking the enemy's General wrote to General Philippon, demanding a truce of three hours, in order to carry off the wounded, who remained in the ditch or under the fire of the fort. The demand was acceded to. The loss of the English in this affair exceeded 600 men; we had not 10 men rendered unfit for service. (To be continued.)

Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges-Street, Covent Garden :-Sold also by J. BUDD, Pall-Mali,

LONDON :-Printed by T: C. Hansard, Peterborough-Court, Fleet-Street,

VOL. XX. No. 5.]

LONDON, SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1811.

[Price is.

"The true way of convincing your enemy, that his war upon your finances will be us:less, is, to "state explicitly to the world, that you are not at all afraid of the consequences of a national bank“ruptcy; for, while you endeavour to make people believe, that such an event cannot possibly happen, "they will certainly think, that, you regard it, if it should happen, as irretrievable ruin and destruction; "and, therefore, as you never can quite overcome their apprehensions, the best way is to be silent upon the subject, or to set the terrific bugbear at defiance."- -POLITICAL REGISTER, 18th June, 1803. 129]

PAPER AGAINST GOLD:

BEING AN EXAMINATION

OF THE

Report of the Bullion Committee:

IN A SERIES OF LETTERS

TO THE

TRADESMEN AND FARMERS IN AND NEAR SALISBURY,

LETTER XXIX.

What is to be the end of all this ?-PaperMoney is not the cause of Sunshine and Showers-We may exist without PaperMoney-England did very well before Paper-Money was heard of-What is to become of the Fundholders-The Sale of the Royal Plate and of the Church Property in Austria-Let what will happen in England the Jacobins and Levellers will not merit any Share of the Blame-Conclusion.

GENTLEMEN,

WHAT, then, is to be the end of all this? What are to be the ultimate effects produced upon the nation by this depreciation of the paper money? The PITTITE party tell us, that there is not gold to be had; that the Bank cannot pay in gold; and that the matter must be left to better times and to better fortune. The other party tell us, that, if they had the power of adopting what measures they pleased, they would cause the Bank to pay again in gold; that they would restore the paper to its former estimation; and, in short, retrieve the whole system. I have, I think, shown you very clearly, that, to cause the Bank to pay again in gold is impossible; and that, let what will happen, let what will take place as to commerce, or as to war, the Bank Paper will never regain any part of what it has lost, as long as the national debt shall exist; or, rather, as long as

[130 the dividends shall be paid upon the interest of that Debt.

Now, if I have shown this to your satisfaction, the question, and the only question, that remains to be discussed, is, what would be the CONSEQUENCES of a cessation in the payment of the dividends; that is to say, the total destruction of the national Debt; the total breaking up of the Funds and the Bank Note system. This is the only question that now remains to be discussed; but a very important question it is, and one which, I hope, will receive your patient attention.

To hear the greater part of people talk upon this subject, one would imagine, that the Bank Notes were the meat, drink, and clothing of the inhabitants of this island; and, indeed, that they gave us sun-shine and showers and every thing necessary to our existence. One would really suppose, that the general creed was, that the Bank Directors were the Gods of the country, that they were our Sustainers if not actually our Makers, that from them we derived the breath in our nostrils, that in and through them we lived, moved, and had our being. No wonder, then, that there should be an apprehension and even a horror inspired by the idea of a total destruction of the paper-money; no wonder, that, when I began, about eight years and a half ago, to write against the Funding System, I should have been regarded as guilty of blasphemy, and should have been accused thereof by that devout man, MR. SHERIDAN; no wonder that some men's knees should knock together and their teeth chatter in their head upon being told, that the day is, probably, not far distant, when a guinea, a real golden guinea, will buy a hundred pound's worth of three per cents.

But, Gentlemen, is there any ground for these apprehensions? Are such apprehen

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sions to be entertained by rational men ? No: the corn and the grass and the trees will grow without paper-money; the Banks may all break in a day, and the sun will rise the next day, and the lambs will gambol, and the birds will sing and the carters and country girls will grin at each other and all will go on just as if nothing had happened.

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"Yes," says some besotted Pittite, "we do not suppose, that the destruction "of the paper-system would put out the "light of the sun, prevent vegetation, or "disable men and women to propagate "their species: we are not fools enough "to suppose that." Pray, then, what are you fools enough to suppose? What are you fools enough to be afraid of? For, if the destruction of the paper produces, and is calculated to produce, none of these effects, how can it be a thing to excite any very general apprehension? Who would it hurt? "Oh! it would create universal uproar and confusion: it would destroy "all property; it would introduce anarchy and bloodshed, and would annihilate regular government, social order, and our "holy religion." These are the words that JOHN BOWLES, the Dutch Commissioner, used to make use of. This is the declamatory cant, by the means of which the people of this country have been deceived and deluded along from one stage of ruin to another, till, at last, they have arrived at what they now taste of. If, when JOHNNY BOWLES, or any of his tribe, had been writing in this way, a plain trades-. man, who gets his living by fair dealing and who has no desire to share in the plunder of the public, had gone to the writer, and, taking him fast by the button, had said to him: "Come, come! tell me, "in definite terms, what you mean, and "show me how I should be a loser by this "thing that you appear so much to dread. "None of your rant; none of your horrifying descriptions; but, come, JOHN, tell "me HOW I should be made worse off in "this world, and HOW I should be more "exposed to go to hell, if that which you appear to dread were actually to "take place:" if any such man had so addressed this Treasury scribe, the scribe would have been puzzled much more than he was by his per cents about the Dutch Commission.

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Why, Gentlemen, should the total destruction of the paper-money produce any

of these effects? Why should it destroy all property; why produce bloodshed; why destroy our holy religion? I have before told you, that the paper-money was unknown in England, till within about 107 years. England did very well before that time. The people of England were brave and free, happy at home and dreaded abroad, long before paper-money was heard of. Why, then, should they now believe, that, without paper-money, they would be reduced to a state of barbarism and slavery? The Church, as it is now established, existed long before papermoney was thought of, and so did all those laws, which we yet boast of as the great bulwarks of our freedom; and, what is more, I defy any man to shew me one single law, in favour of the liberties of the people, which has been passed since the establishment of the Paper-Money System, while numerous laws have been passed hostile to those liberties. Before the existence of the National Debt and the Bank, the House of Commons used frequently to refuse to grant the money called for by the Crown; since they have existed, no grant of the kind has ever been refused by that House. Before the Paper System existed, there was no standing army in England; before the Paper System existed, there were not more than two hundred thousand paupers in England and Wales: there are now twelve hundred thousand.

Why, then, should we alarm ourselves at what appears to indicate the approaching destruction of this System? "Oh, "but," says the Minister (Perceval), "without the Paper System we could not "have had the victories recently won in

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Spain and Portugal:" to which he might have added the achievements at Quiberon, at Dunkirk, at the Helder, at Ferrol, at Buenos Ayres, in Hanover, in Leon and Gallicia, at Corunna, at Walcheren, &c. &c. &c.

The list might be swelled out to three times this length; but this is long enough. If what the Minister calls the "recent victories" are the fruit of the Paper System, so are all the achievements to which I have here called your recol lection. Indeed they were so; for, the wars themselves proceeded from the same

source.

The American war grew out of the Paper System; and so did the Antijacobin war, which began in 1793, and which has finally produced the state of things which we now have before us. So

that, as to the use of the Paper System in this way, there can, I think, be very little doubt.

The Em

'tain a compensation for them.
peror, therefore, like an honest man, has,
as the news-papers tell us, sent all his
plate, all his gold and silver, in whatever
shape, to the mint to be melted down and
turned into coin for the payment of the
people who have lent him and his govern-
ment their money. And, besides this, the
Clergy, animated by a zeal for their sove-
reign truly worthy of example, have given
up their estates to be sold for the same honest
purpose, which, doubtless, they have been
the more disposed to do, when they re-
flected, that the debts of the government
were incurred in carrying on a war for

"Well, but, after all," some one will say, "what is to become of the Fundholder? "How is he to get re-paid?" My answer to this is, that, it does not appear to be a matter in which the people, I mean the mass of the nation, have much to do or to say. For, what is the Fundholder or Stockholder? Why, he is a man, who, choosing a large rather than a small interest for his money, has lent it to some persons in power, under an agreement, that he shall be paid interest upon it out of the taxes raised" regular government, social order, and upon the people. A man, who lends money, knows, of course, or, at least, he ought to know, the sufficiency of the borrower; or, if he does not know that, he, of course, takes the risk into his calculation; and he can have no right to complain if the chances should happen to turn up against him. Upon this principle SIR JOHN MIT FORD (now Lord Redesdale) went in defending the first Bank Restriction Bill, when, in answer to those who contended, that it would be a breach of faith to compel the Fundholder to take payment in paper, he said, that the Fundholder, when he lent his money, knew that a case like this might happen, and that, therefore, he had no reason to But, methinks, I see start forth a Courcomplain. Till I read this, I thought that tier on one side of me and a Parson on the I was the only one who had held the doc-other, and, with claws distended ready to trine, so that my satisfaction at seeing my lay hold of my cheeks, exclaim: "What, opinions corroborated by such high legal "cold-blooded wretch, are these, then, authority was somewhat diminished by the reflection, that I had lost what I had deemed my undivided claim to originality.

" their holy religion," and in the producing and prolonging of which war they themselves had so great a hand, as well as in persecuting all those who were opposed to the system. Accordingly, we see accounts in the public prints of the SALES OF CHURCH LANDS going on in Austria. They are said to sell remarkably well; and, it is stated, that, these sales together with the meltings of the Royal Plate will yield enough to satisfy all the Government Creditors; or, at least, to afford them the means of living beyond the reach of misery.

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your means of compensation for the Give me time to speak. Do not tear my "English Fundholder?" Softly! softly! eyes out before you hear what I have to say. Stop a little, and I will tell you what

I mean.

"those of St. George and Baumgarten, "As there are many competitors, the sums

I do not, however, see any reason why the Fundholders, or, at least, that part of them, who have been compelled to suffer their property to be thus vested, should not, in any case, have a just compensation. * VIENNA, JULY 6." A second sale And how? Whence is this compensation" of ecclesiastical estates will soon take to come? In Austria, our old and faithful place. On the 23d will be sold, the and august ally, the Emperor, is acting the" estate of Keixendorf; and on the 24th, part of a very honest man. The papermoney in Austria has fallen to a fourteenth part of its nominal value, in spite of several produced by these sales has greatly surEdicts prohibiting the passing of it for less "passed what the lands were estimated at. than its nominal value. A hundred florins in "The body of merchants in this city pubsilver was worth fourteen hundred and fifty "lished, some days since, a memoir in three florins in paper when the last advices" their defence, against the charges obcame away; and, perhaps, one florin in "jected to them, of having contributed to silver, is, by this time, worth fifty florins" the depreciation of the paper money. in paper. Of course the government cre- "The memoir has been transmitted to the ditors, or Austrian Fundholders, must be "Minister of Finance, and presented to ruined, unless something be done to ob- his Majesty the Emperor."

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