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{GEORGE III. 1807—1809}
EXPEDITION TO EGYPT.
A still more imbecile expedition was sent by the "all talents," ministry against Egypt. In the hope of subduing that country, and thus opposing a barrier to the design which Napoleon meditated against our oriental possessions, a force of 5,000 men, under the command of Major-general Mackenzie Fraser, was ordered to invade it. These troops effected a landing on the coast of Alexandria, and a detachment seized and occupied the fort of Aboukir. Alexander also surrendered to the British arms, and its easy conquest induced General Fraser to attempt the reduction of Rosetta. The inhabitants of that town, however, were more courageous than the Alexandrians: every house therein was used as a fortress, whence a constant fire was directed against the assailants. The attempt to take it was a complete failure: the British were obliged to retreat with loss. A second attempt was made with about half the army; but it was fruitless: a retreat again became necessary, and the troops were obliged to fight their way back to Alexandria. General Fraser remained at Alexandria till September, when, finding that its retention was impracticable, he obtained the release of every British prisoner by consenting to evacuate Egypt.
DISASTERS IN SOUTH AMERICA.
It is an old proverb that "misfortunes never come alone." Thus it was with the expeditions planned by the "all talents" ministry—t was hoped that the reverses in the Mediterranean might be compensated in the South Atlantic Oceans; but this hope was illusive. In October 1806, a re-enforcement had been sent to the Rio de la Plata, under Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who, on arriving at Maldonado, resolved to attack the strong post of Monte Video, the key to the navigation of that river. His efforts were at first successful,—the town and castle with fifty-seven vessels of war and trade were captured. This success, however, was followed by a series of reverses, induced by rashness and misconduct. When intelligence arrived in England of the re-capture of Buenos Ayres by the Spaniards, orders were transmitted to General Crauford, who had been sent against Chili with 4,200 men, accompanied by a naval force, under Admiral Murray, to proceed with his army to the river Plate. He reached Monte Video on the 14th of June, where he found General Whitelocke, with a re-enforcement from England of 1,600 men. The chief command of the British forces was entrusted to General Whitelocke, and he had orders to reduce the whole province of Buenos Ayres. A general attack on the town was ordered to be made on the 5th of July, each corps being directed to enter the streets opposite to it, and all with unloaded muskets. No mode of attack could have been so ill-adapted against a town consisting of flat-roofed houses, disposed in regular streets, intersecting each other at right angles. Volleys of grape-shot were poured on our columns in front and flank as they advanced, and they were equally assailed from the house-tops. The service was executed, but it was with the frightful loss of 2,500 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Sir Samuel Auchmuty succeeded in making himself master of the Plaza de Toros, where he took eighty-two pieces of cannon, and an immense quantity of ammunition; but General Crauford, with his brigade, and Lieutenant Colonel Duff, with a detachment under his command, were obliged to surrender. Surrounded with foes, General Whitelocke, who had arrogantly refused to treat before the attack, now consented to a negociation with the Spanish commandant; and he not only agreed to evacuate the town, on condition of recovering his own prisoners, and those taken from General Beresford, but to give up Monte Video, with every other place on the Rio de la Plata held by British troops, within the space of two months. The result of this expedition brought General Whitelocke before a court-martial, and he was sentenced to be cashiered for lack of zeal, judgment, and personal exertion. Against the ill-success of these expeditions, the solitary capture of the Dutch colony of Curacoa only can be recorded: this island surrendered, on the 1st of January, to a squadron of our frigates under Commodore Brisbane.
WAR WITH RUSSIA.
The Emperor of Russia strongly resented the conduct of England towards Denmark; and as the treaty of Tilsit had tended to relax the bond of union between England and Russia, it was feared that Alexander might soon combine against that power with which he had so long co-operated. These fears were soon realized. A manifesto soon issued from the imperial palace of Petersburgh, in which this country was not only accused of provoking a war by the enterprise against Denmark, but as "cooly contemplating a bloody war, which had been kindled at her will, while she sent troops to attack Buenos Ayres; and as despatching from Sicily another army, which appeared destined to make a diversion in Italy, to the African coast, for the purpose of seizing and appropriating Egypt to herself." This declaration was followed by a spirited reply on the part of the British government, by the British ambassador's leaving Petersburgh, and by a grant of letters of marque and reprisals against Russian vessels. The Emperor of Russia now issued a declaration of war against England, and proclaimed anew the principles of the armed neutrality, and engaged that there should be no peace between Russia and England until satisfaction should have been given to Denmark. Such were his pretexts for declaring war against his late powerful ally; but it is clear from the treaty of Tilsit, that war was in his heart before England had committed the aggressions, if aggressions they were, of which he so loudly complained. Moreover, had English subsidies still been forthcoming, Alexander had yet been the friend of King George.
FRENCH INVASION OF PORTUGAL.
Napoleon was equally clamorous against England as was Alexander for her conduct towards Denmark. While, however, he was making Europe ring with his maledictions against her, for violating the neutrality of Denmark, he was devising schemes and giving positive orders for falling upon Portugal in a time of peace. On the 27th of October it was agreed between France and Spain—That Spain should grant a free passage through her territories, and supply with provisions a French army to invade Portugal; that she should also furnish a body of troops to co-operate with the said French army; and that as soon as the conquest should be completed, the provinces which now composed the kingdom of Portugal should be divided between the King of Etruria, the King of Spain's grandson, and Manuel Godoy, who was the Queen of Spain's infamous favourite. Thus the province of Jutra Douro, and Minho, with the city of Oporto, was to fall to the lot of the King of Etruria, and was to be erected into a kingdom, under the name of Northern Lusitania; and the sovereignty of the Alentejo and Algarves was to be given to Godoy, who was to assume the title of the Sovereign Prince of the Algarves. These two principalities were to own the King of Spain as their protector; but France was to keep the city of Lisbon, and the provinces of Tras-os-Montes, Beira, and Estremadura until the period of a general peace. In consideration of obtaining this new kingdom, the Queen of Etruria, acting as regent for her son, was to abdicate and give to Napoleon those districts in Italy which he had previously annexed to the King of Etruria's kingdom. This treaty was not signed, as before seen, until the 27th of October; but nine days before this a French army had crossed the Bidaso, and had commenced its march through Spain for the Portuguese frontier. This army was commanded by Junot; and on the 26th of November that commander advanced to Abrantes, within three days' march from Lisbon. The Moniteur had already announced that "the house of Braganza had ceased to reign;" and as if to fulfil this imperial edict, the royal family embarked on board a British fleet and set sail for the Brazils, leaving the country in the hands of the enemy. In the whole, about 18,000 Portuguese abandoned their homes and their country with their sovereign. They were accompanied a part of their voyage by a strong British squadron, under the command of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith; and when that commander left them, he returned to blockade the Tagus. Junot's first measure was, on entering Lisbon, to disarm the inhabitants: and this done he commenced the levy of contributions. In every respect he treated the country as a conquest of France, and his Spanish auxiliaries followed the example of his rapacity. The Portuguese, indeed, were so oppressed by the French and Spanish, that they everywhere cherished the intention of rising upon the invaders, and they looked to England, whose flag was never out of sight of their coasts, for aid in their extremity.
MILAN DECREE, ETC.
The British order in council of the 7th of January, prohibiting neutrals from trading to any port in the possession or under the control of the enemy not being efficient, additional orders were issued, on the 11th of November, declaring every port from which England was excluded to be in a state of blockade, and all trade in its produce illegal, and liable therefore to be captured. The Americans were allowed still to trade with the enemy's colonies for articles of their own consumption; but the double restriction was imposed on their intercourse between France and her colonies, of calling at a British port and paying a British duty. To avoid the losses and hostilities apprehended from the measures of the two great belligerent powers, the British council likewise laid a strict embargo on all American vessels, by which they were prohibited from leaving their ports, while the ships of all other nations were ordered to quit the harbours of the United States, with or without cargoes, so soon as they should receive notification of the act. These directions were responded to by Napoleon, by his celebrated Milan decree, which enacted "that all vessels entering a port of France after having touched England should be seized and confiscated, with their cargoes, without exception or distinction." This decree was succeeded by another on the 19th of December, which had more explicit reference to our late orders in council, and which declared "that every neutral which submitted to be searched by an English ship, or which paid any duty to the British Government, should, in consequence, become liable to seizure, as a lawful prize, by French ships of war." Neutral powers, as it has been observed, were thus placed between two fires: if they entered a French port without paying a duty on their cargoes in England, they were subjected to capture by British cruizers; and if they touched at England for that purpose, they became subject to confiscation in the ports of France. The system, however, which Napoleon had adopted towards British commerce, and which gave rise to these perplexities among nations, was the means by which he was hurled from his throne.
DISPUTES WITH AMERICA.
The orders in council described above gave rise to much irritation in the United States. Another unfortunate subject of dispute also rose between the two countries: an American vessel was seized by Captain Humphries, because the commandant refused to admit a search for some deserters which were supposed to be on board. In consequence of this a proclamation was issued by the president, ordering all British ships of war to quit the harbours of the United States. Satisfaction for the outrage was demanded of Great Britain; and although the British ministry expressed their readiness to make reparation for the act of unauthorized aggression which had been committed; disavowed the conduct of Admiral Berkley, under whose orders Captain Humphries had acted; and sent a special envoy to America, with overtures of conciliation, as will be seen in a future page, the breach was not healed.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
{A.D. 1808}
Parliament met on the 31st of January, when the speech, which was delivered by commission, dwelt at great length upon foreign affairs, and mentioned nearly every country in Europe as in a state of hostility to England. Some light was thrown by it upon the system conceived by Napoleon for uniting all the navies of Europe against us: it was shown that he had counted upon obtaining the fleets of Portugal and Denmark; and regret was expressed that, in the latter case, we had been compelled to resort to force. The Hostility of Russia was attributed to the military successes and machinations of France. Allusion was made to the differences existing between England and the United States of America. Greater exertions were inculcated, and the determination was announced of never yielding to pretensions inconsistent with the maritime rights of Great Britain. Commerce, notwithstanding Napoleon's Berlin and Milan decrees, was still in a flourishing state; for the produce of the taxes and duties was considered to demand his majesty's congratulation to parliament. The speech concluded with asserting that the sole object of the war was to attain a lasting and honourable peace; that there never was a more just and national war waged than the present; that the eyes of all Europe and the world were fixed upon the British parliament; that his majesty felt confident that they would display the characteristic spirit of the British nation, and boldly face the combination which had gathered around us; and that his majesty was firmly persuaded that, under the blessings of Providence, Great Britain would ultimately triumph. The addresses were carried in both houses without a division.
The attention of parliament was early called to the expedition to Copenhagen; which was, by a large party, both in parliament and the kingdom at large, considered a disgrace to the administration from whom the plan emanated. The act was chiefly defended on the plea of necessity, arising from the powerful combination of European states formed against us after the treaty of Tilsit. Several motions were made on this subject by opposition; but in every instance they were outvoted by immense majorities. In these debates Mr. Canning was the great champion of the ministry; and his eloquence was such that he bore away the palm from every competitor, and carried conviction to every unprejudiced and candid mind. It has been well remarked, "A capital part of the case reduced itself simply to this:—if we did not make sure of the Danish fleet, Buonaparte was sure to get it, a little sooner or later. The justification adopted by our government may be explained with almost equal brevity: a man knows that his next-door neighbour has in his possession a large barrel of gunpowder; he may believe that his neighbour will not set fire to this powder so as to endanger his house and property, but he knows that there is an evil-disposed person living over the way, who has a design upon the powder, and the intention of blowing up his house with it; and knowing at the same time that the owner of the powder cannot defend it or keep it out of the way of the evil-disposed person, he demands that it should be put into his hands, which are strong enough to keep it, and which can put it beyond the reach of the evil-disposed party; offering to restore it when the danger shall be passed, or to pay the price of it: and when the weak neighbour rejects this proposition, he takes the powder by force, to prevent its being seized and employed against his own house and property." Just so it was in the matter of Denmark. That country had a powerful navy which she would not have used against England herself, but Napoleon wanted it for that purpose; and to prevent his designs, England demanded it for a time till the danger was over; and this being refused, seized it sans ceremonie. It was the law of self-preservation which dictated this act of our government; and Grotius, a great writer on the law of nations, has remarked:—"I may, without considering whether it is merited or not, take possession of that which belongs to another man, if I have any reason to apprehend any evil to myself from his holding it. I cannot make myself master or proprietor of it, the property having nothing to do with the end which I propose; but I can keep possession of the thing seized till my safety be sufficiently provided for." The instinct of duty and self-preservation suggests this course. And thus it was that our government was induced to seize the navy of Denmark. And it was seized without any declaration of war on our part, for the simple reason that dispatch was necessary. If we had delayed, the Danish fleet would soon have been in the hands of the enemy; hence his maledictions against what he termed our "aggressions:" we had anticipated him, and he was mortified with the bitter disappointment he thereby sustained.
DEBATES ON THE ORDERS IN COUNCIL.
On the 5th of February Mr. Perceval, the chancellor of the exchequer, moved that the orders in council should be referred to the committee of ways and means. The opposition took this opportunity of declaring that we ought not to retaliate by such measures; that these orders were unjust, and would do as much mischief as the Berlin and Milan decrees; that they were as contrary to justice as to policy; and that they went to violate both the law of nations and the municipal law of England. On the other hand it was argued, that we had a right to retaliate upon the enemy his own measures; that if he declared we should have no trade, we had equal right to declare he should have none; and that if he proclaimed British manufactures and colonial produce good prize, we were justified in doing the same with respect to France. This was inculcating the old worldy maxim of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth;" and ministers were supported in their line of policy by a large majority. Subsequently, a bill, brought in by the chancellor of the exchequer, for regulating the orders in council, as they affected neutrals, was carried through both houses. This had reference to the differences between England and America; and it was followed by a bill for regulating commercial intercourse with the United States, which was intended to give time for making some amicable arrangements with the Americans; continuing at the same time another act without which trade could not have been carried on with England in American vessels.
FINANCIAL MEASURES.
In opening the budget for this year the chancellor of the exchequer stated the amount of supplies at about L43,000,000 for England, and L5,700,000 for Ireland. The produce of the war-taxes was estimated at L20,000,000, and among the ways and means was a loan of L8,000,000, and more than L300,000 additional taxes. As Portugal was occupied, Sicily threatened, and Sweden brought to the brink of ruin by its alliance with England, an increase of soldiers and sailors was demanded. The number of seamen voted for the year was 130,000; and the total number of soldiers, cavalry and infantry, was 300,000. All the corps were represented as being in a higher state of discipline than heretofore; and although 24,000 men had been drafted from the militia into the regular army, it was stated that it was nearer to its establishment than it had been last year. On the motion of Lord Castlereagh a bill was introduced for establishing a local militia of 200,000 men, to be trained for twenty-eight days every year; and this bill, which passed into a law, extended to Scotland. Lord Castlereagh moved, likewise, for the insertion of a clause in the mutiny bill, to permit soldiers to enlist for life; and this was carried in spite of the stern opposition of Windham, whose system it affected. Early in the session Mr. Bankes re-produced his bill for preventing the grant of offices in reversion, or for joint lives with benefit of survivorship; but though it passed the commons, it was rejected by the lords. Subsequently he brought forward a new bill, limited to one year's duration, which passed into a law.
DEBATE ON IRELAND.
In the course of this session there was a vehement debate on Ireland. The late ministry and their friends attributed the disaffection which still prevailed in that unhappy country to the coercive policy of the present administration. The appointment of Dr. Duigenau, to a seat in the privy-council, which took place about this time, was considered as a wanton insult to the feelings of the Irish people; and as Mr. Canning was mainly instrumental in making that appointment, he was unsparingly condemned for the act. Mr. Tierney asked how ministers could suppose, that in recommending such an appointment, they were cherishing that unity and harmony which it appeared to be his majesty's earnest desire to cultivate. It was the boast of Mr. Canning, he said, to be the representative of Mr. Pitt's opinions; but, he would venture to say, that if Mr. Pitt were living, he would be ashamed of such an appointment; and that he never would have lent himself to the contemptible system of irritation which the present administration seemed to have adopted. This debate took place on the presentation of the Roman Catholic petition, on which occasion ministers were anxious to elude the question. Opposition, however, not only pressed it upon them in this debate, but also in others, when it was wholly out of place; going occasionally to some unjustifiable lengths, in the way of assertion. Thus Lord Hawkesbury affirmed, that ministers and the country had learned from the disaffected in Ireland, that there were secret engagements in the treaty of Tilsit, which secret engagements he declared in his speech. All the powers of Europe, he said, were to be confederated to engage or seize on the fleets of Denmark and Portugal; and then Ireland was to be attacked from two points, i.e. from Lisbon and Copenhagen. This ministers, he added, had learned from the disaffected in Ireland, and they had never yet found the information of these parties false!
MOTION RESPECTING THE DROITS OF ADMIRALTY, ETC.
Sir Francis Burdett, considering that the proceeds from the droits of admiralty were so large as to become dangerous to public liberty, moved, with a view to ulterior inquiry, that an account of the net proceeds paid out of the court of admiralty since the 1st of January, 1793, with the balances now remaining, be laid before the house, which motion was agreed to. This year witnessed a diminution of rigour in our criminal code. Sir Samuel Romilly introduced a bill to repeal so much of an act of Elizabeth as tended to take away the benefit of the clergy from offenders convicted of stealing privately from the person. A clause was introduced by the solicitor-general, providing that the act, instead of being punished by death, should be punished by transportation for life, or for a term of years, according to the discretion of the judge. During this session a bill was also passed for the better administration of justice in Scotland; its object being to divide the court of session into two chambers of seven or eight judges; to give those courts certain powers for making regulations with respect to proceedings, and to executions in pending appeals, and also for issuing commissions to ascertain those cases in which it might be proper to establish a trial by jury. In the course of this session the charges against the Indian administration of the Marquess Wellesley were fully disposed of by his full and entire acquittal. Sir John Anstruther's motion, that the noble marquess had been actuated by an ardent zeal for the service of his country, and by an ardent desire to promote the interests, safety, and prosperity of the British empire, was carried by one hundred and eighty-nine against twenty-nine. Subsequently a vote of thanks was given to the noble marquess for his services in the Copenhagen expedition; and in communicating this, the speaker of the house of commons dilated on his Indian exploits, and pointed him out as the officer best fitted to command in chief a great expedition. While parliament was sitting, a grand movement had begun in Spain against the French nation; and Sheridan called the attention of the house to this subject, and demanded its exertions in favour of the Spanish cause. But ministers seemed to think, that though they fully sympathized with the patriots who had taken up arms in that country, the time had not arrived for the interference of England.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was prorogued by commission on the 4th of July. By this time ministers had become convinced that it was their duty to aid the Spaniards in their struggle against Napoleon; for the commissioners stated, in his majesty's name, that the Spanish nation must now be considered as the ally of Great Britain, and that it was his majesty's intention to make every exertion in his power for the support of their cause.
RISING OF THE SPANISH NATION, ETC.
It has been seen that a compact had been entered into between Napoleon and the Spanish court for a division of Portugal, when the conquest of that country should be made. Napoleon, however, never intended that Spain should share in the spoils of his conquests. Contrary to the treaty, the Spaniards were almost wholly excluded from the occupation of the country; and added to this, French troops suddenly marched by different routes into the very heart of the Spanish kingdom. The Spaniards saw their soil in the hands of a foreigner, and their proud hearts beat high with indignation at the outrage committed. Godoy, the "Prince of Peace," saw that he had been overreached, and that his empire, as well as that of his master, was at an end. He advised the royal family to take refuge in flight; but the people seeing that this was determined upon, resolved upon a desperate resistance. One voice alone was heard throughout the provinces, and that one voice loudly accused Godoy of imbecility or treason. A terrible sedition broke out at Aranguez, in March of the present year. Summoned to arms by Ferdinand, the Prince of Austria, an avowed foe to Godoy, the whole population rose, stormed the palace in which the favourite dwelt, abused him, and would have murdered him, but for the intercession of the queen. Covered with wounds, he was, however, conducted to prison, and then they compelled the king to resign, and placed the sceptre of power in the hands of his son Ferdinand, who had incited the revolt. Ferdinand entered Madrid in the character of King of the two Spains; but the French troops, under Murat, entered that city on the next day, and the newly-created king soon discovered who was to be master. Murat refused to acknowledge the Prince of Austria as king, and announced the near arrival of Napoleon in Madrid. He was advised to go to meet Napoleon, in order to secure his favour; but when he met him at Bayonne, he was informed that the French emperor's determination was to remove the Bourbon house from the Spanish throne. He was compelled to declare the unconditional restoration of the crown to his father, who was called to Bayonne for the purpose of receiving it; and then the old monarch ceded to Napoleon by treaty all his rights to the throne of Spain and India, with the single condition, that the prince whom the emperor intended to place thereon should be independent, and that the Roman Catholic religion should continue to be the only religion in Spain. The king, the queen the royal family, and Godoy received in return an assured abode in France, with certain pensions; and the whole court went immediately to the castle of Compeigne, which the conqueror allotted them. Napoleon now gave the throne of Spain to his brother Joseph, who reigned at Naples, giving the latter throne to Joachim Murat, Grand Duke of Bergand Cleves. The members of the national junta were now convoked to Bayonne from all parts of the kingdom, and anew constitution was formed, after which Joseph set out for his kingdom in Spain. Napoleon thought his work consummated; but events proved that it was only now commenced. The royal house of the Bourbons had vanished, but the nation still lived. The news of what had passed at Bayonne filled all Spain with fury: the national pride revolted against the yoke of the foreigner, and a contest was roused, the flames of which raged over all the provinces of the kingdom. In the very day that Napoleon declared his brother King of Spain, the junta of Seville proclaimed war against the oppressor; and on the day of the entrance of King-Joseph into Madrid, the French were repulsed from Saragossa, and compelled to lay down their arms at Baylen, to the number of 26,000 men. So furious was the storm of war which Napoleon had thus called up throughout the whole country, that his brother Joseph was obliged to quit Madrid one week after his entry therein. In every part the population rose to arms and massacred the French: the very clergy aiding the people and the army to root them from their soil. From this time for six long years Spain fought against the formidable forces of the world's tyrant; and, as will be seen in a future page, she came off victorious. At the very first onset, indeed, by the capitulation at Baylen, the charm of French invincibility was broken, and the star of Napoleon was covered with an opaque cloud. It was this battle, fought in July, which induced England to assist the Spaniards. Money, arms, munitions of every sort, and troops were sent to both Spain and Portugal; and, as regards the latter country, their power was soon rendered effective.
{GEORGE III. 1807—1809}
AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL. CONFEDERATION OF FRANCE AND RUSSIA.
Upon receiving the intelligence of these reverses, Napoleon assembled a far more powerful army, and resolved to crush the insurrection of Spain at least in person. Other dangers, however, awaited him. Alarmed at the treaty of Tilsit, and invigorated by its consequences, Austria had increased her regular force, and organized a militia; and the French reverses in Spain and Portugal gave a new impulse to her evident preparations for war. Napoleon saw this with alarm, and he resolved at once to menace and insult that country, by arranging the co-operation of Russia and the confederated states of the Rhine against the Emperor of Austria, should he attempt to take advantage of the Spanish war. A meeting between Napoleon and Alexander of Russia took place at Erfurt in September and October; and although the sovereigns of the confederation of the Rhine were permitted to pay their court there, Austria was excluded as a secondary power. Thus insulted afresh, the Emperor of Austria resolved in the course of the next year to renew the struggle with France, though he should find himself opposed to Russia likewise. A mysterious veil covered for a time the transactions of Erfurt; but what transpired in relation to them and what ensued justified the conjecture that they confirmed the conventions of the treaty of Tilsit; and that the new dynasty in Spain was acknowledged by Russia for permitting her to aggrandize herself in the north and the east. From Erfurt the two emperors directed a common proposal of peace to the King of England, accompanied by the declaration, that this step was the consequence of the most intimate connexion of the two greatest monarchs of the continent for war as well as for peace; but this proposal was without effect. They were answered that, however desirous both the government and the people might be to put an end to the miseries of war, they were prepared to endure any extremity before they sacrificed the interest of their allies by negociating a separate peace, and leaving Sicily, Sweden, Portugal, and Spain to the tender mercies of Napoleoa. "The hideous presence of the British leopards" was still to prove a terror to Frenchmen.
OPERATIONS IN SPAIN.
Having strengthened his alliance with the Emperor of Russia, Napoleon recalled his legions from the banks of the Niemen, the Spree, the Elbe, and the Danube, in order to reduce Spain. Placing himself at the head of them, he crossed the Pyrenees early in November, and the battles of Burgos, Espinosa, and Tudela, fought under his auspices, once more placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain. Napoleon, accompanied by Joseph, again occupied Madrid; and he now sought to appease the fury of its inhabitants and of the people in the provinces by conciliatory measures. The promises made to the Spanish people were ample; but he spoke to men who had no ears for his offers, On every hand the population flew to arms, and all vowed to drive him from their land. Even conflicting parties agreed to shake off their natural enmity to each other, in order to effect this triumph. A guerilla warfare was now pursued: agile bands of men appeared, and having cut off some of their enemies, retired with equal rapidity. In the meantime a British army, under General Moore, was marching to their aid from Portugal. When this army had arrived at Salamanca, however, the Spaniards had already experienced successive defeats, so that when Napoleon advanced against him, General Moore deemed it prudent to retreat. The French emperor expressed his joy aloud at seeing the "British leopards" fly before him; but while pursuing them he received fresh accounts of the preparation of Austria, and suddenly turning his horse, he returned to Burgos, and from thence hurried to Paris. Soult was left to combat with the English; and that general, overtaking them at Corunna, was defeated by them, though inferior in numbers. The greatest loss on the side of the English was that of their commander, Sir John Moore, who was mortally wounded by a cannon-ball. So great was the bravery displayed by General Moore on this occasion, that his very antagonists erected a monument to his memory. After his death the command of the army devolved on Sir John Hope, who pursued a plan devised by General Moore, that of embarkation during the night, and who carried this plan into effect with complete success. The British quitted Spain in January, 1800, leaving the Spaniards to struggle with the French by their own prowess.
The flame of patriotism enkindled in Spain soon spread to Portugal. The Portuguese arose against Junofc, and they were quickly aided in their struggle by the English. A small army, collected for a distant enterprise, was ordered thither, under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley. This army landed in August at the mouth of the river Mondego, north of Lisbon; and soon after Sir Arthur defeated the French forces, under de la Borde, at Rohia, and the main army, under Junot, at Vimiera. The result of this last victory was the capitulation of Cintra, in virtue of which Junot's army was conveyed to France upon English vessels; and all Portugal was left in the power of the British. From this time the English had a firm, foundation for their campaigns in the Peninsula. Subsequently a Russian fleet of nine ships of the line, which lay in the Tagus, under Admiral Siniavin, surrendered by convention: it was to be held with all its stores by England as a deposit, till six months after the conclusion of a peace; the admiral, officers, and seamen being sent to Russia at the expense of England. After the evacuation of Portugal by the French troops, a regency was established; which, by restoring comparative tranquillity, taught the people to estimate the advantages they had obtained from their British allies. It was not long, indeed, before the Portuguese, laying aside their characteristic pride and vain boasting, clung to their ancient protectors, and submitted to their direction with a docility and patience that produced the happiest result.
NAVAL AFFAIRS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.
Napoleon had not yet abandoned all hopes of assistance from his navy, or relinquished the fond wish he had entertained of diminishing the power of the British on the sea. Nay, he had recently declared that a true Frenchman could not rest till the sea was open and free. This year he had collected a large squadron at Toulon, to co-operate with his troops on the side of Calabria, in an attack on Sicily. Possessed of that island, he would have been able to injure our commerce effectually; and in order, therefore, to counteract his views, measures were taken to fortify that part of the Sicilian coast where a landing could be effected; while Lord Colling-wood blockaded the port of Toulon as closely as he could consistently with his efforts to second the Spanish patriots in their noble cause, which double duty was imposed upon him by the British Government. A considerable French fleet, stationed at Cadiz, surrendered in June to that people who had experienced so many insults and injuries from its flag. Collingwood wished these men-of-war to join his squadron, for the purpose of intercepting any French fleet that might be sent against the Spanish dominions in South America; but the supreme junta of Seville, instead of complying with his request, began to dismantle them. A want of confidence in the British government, and an overweening trust in their own internal resources, notwithstanding the serious reverses they had recently met with; still pervaded the Spanish nation.
STATE OF THE CONTINENT.
During this year the Russian autocrat and the Emperor Napoleon pursued that system of aggrandizement, which they had contemplated in making the treaty of Tilsit. In February a Russian army entered Finland, which province had always been an object of cupidity to the court of St, Petersburgh, and on the accession of Frederic VI. to the crown of Denmark, that monarch declared war against Sweden. After several bloody battles, the fate of Gustavus Adolphus appeared inevitable; when, to avoid falling under the yoke of Russia, he entered into a convention which virtually left the granary of Sweden in the hands of his conqueror.
This year Napoleon affected great changes in the affairs of Italy. Having adopted his son-in-law, Eugene Beauharnois, as his own son, he settled that kingdom upon him in tail male, and incorporated with the legations of Ancona, Urbino, Macerata, and Camerino, which were the pope's dominions; stating in a decree as the sole reason for this act of undisguised despotism, "that the sovereign of Rome had refused to make war against England." Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, were also annexed to the kingdom of Italy, as were Kehl, Wesel, Cassel, and Flushing to France. To complete his domestic policy, Napoleon now instituted an hereditary nobility; princes, dukes, counts, barons, and knights of the empire sprung up like mushrooms on every hand, in order to ennoble his newly created empire. Napoleon likewise instituted an imperial university; but his school was rather calculated to train up agents of imperial despotism, than men of learning and enlightened minds. As the sworn enemy of liberty, he declared himself the head of this university, and decreed that all schools or seminaries should be under its control.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
{GEORGE III. 1809—1812}
Meeting of Parliament..... The Supplies, &c...... Charges against the Duke of York..... Parliamentary Corruption..... Motion for Reform..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Affairs of Spain..... Further Operations in Spain..... Campaign of Napoleon in Italy..... British Expedition against Naples and Walcheren..... Dissensions in the Cabinet..... Meeting of Parliament..... Debate on the Walcheren Expedition..... Proceedings against Sir Francis Burdett..... The Supplies..... The Slave-Trade Question..... Petition of the Irish Catholics. &c...... Prorogation of Parliament &c...... . Campaign in Portugal..... Affairs of Spain..... Foreign Conquests, &c...... The Marriage of Napoleon, &c...... Illness of His Majesty: Opening of Parliament, &c...... Opening of Parliament by the Regent..... Debate on the Re-appointment of the Duke of York to the War-office..... The Supplies..... The Bullion Committee, &c...... Subject of Military Discipline..... Lord Sidmouth's Motion respecting Dissenting Preachers..... Affairs of the Irish Catholics..... Amendment of the Criminal law..... . Prorogation of Parliament..... Disputes with America..... Capture of Java..... Affairs of Portugal..... Affairs of Spain; Capture of Badajoz, &c...... Naval Affairs..... Affairs of France.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
{A.D. 1809}
Parliament was opened by commission on the 19th of January. The royal speech stated his majesty's reasons for rejecting the proposals made for a negociation with France and Russia, and spoke of the perseverance of the Spaniards in the cause of their legitimate monarchy and national independence, which would induce his majesty to support them so long as they should prove true to themselves. Satisfaction was expressed at the liberation of Portugal; a continuance of aid to the King of Sweden was recommended; and a speedy augmentation of our regular army inculcated. The addresses were voted without a division, but opposition at the same time were not wholly silent. They seem indeed to have hoped that the misfortunes in Spain, and some mistakes which had been made in the Portuguese convention, would lead to the dissolution of the cabinet. A motion, however, moved in the Commons by Lord Petty, for directly censuring the convention in Portugal, and for attributing the whole blame of it to government, was negatived by two hundred and eight against one hundred and fifty-eight. A motion also, made by Mr. Ponsonby, for an inquiry into the conduct of the late campaign in Spain, was rejected by two hundred and twenty against one hundred and twenty-seven. In reviewing the principal incidents connected with this campaign, Mr. Ponsonby drew no very favourable picture of the capacity and judgment of the cabinet. He remarked:—"With so many opportunities and resources at command, they had instituted no proper inquiry into the state of the Peninsula, the bent of the public mind, the inclinations of the higher ranks, the views of the middle classes, and the probability that effective resistance would be made to a vigorous and mighty foe. Extraordinary indecision and unnecessary delays had injured the cause which the king pretended to support. Several Spanish armies were routed before the British troops were prepared to act, and when they became engaged in the contest, they were in danger of total ruin." The character of Sir John Moore, however, does not seem to have been called into question by any member of opposition. Almost his last words were, "I hope the country will do me justice;" and the general feeling of the public mind from that day to this is, that he exhibited great skill and bravery, although circumstances compelled him to retreat before his enemy.
THE SUPPLIES, ETC.
No time was lost in taking that part of his majesty's speech into consideration which had reference to the augmentation of our military force. By two acts greater activity was given to enlistment into the militia, and that force was carried to its full number. The vacancies also, left by the bill of last session, for allowing the militia soldiers into the line were filled up, and from 20,000 to 30,000 regular troops were added to the corps disposable for foreign service. Additions were also made to the navy. Above L27,000,000 were voted for the army and ordnance, and about L19,000,000 for the navy: the total amount of supplies for the year for Great Britain and Ireland was L53,802,000. Among the ways and means was a loan of L11,000,000; 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 Clan-carty 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 af 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 rearguard 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 cooperate 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 out-posts 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 re-collecting 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 mon, 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 legislatif, 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. |
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