the army. The retreat was made in the direction of Djikniboda, this being the only place where I could draw up the army with any advantage. On my arrival in that position, I received certain intelligence that the enemy was advancing in considerable force to both my right and left wing, which was undoubt edly possible, and had it been done, I should have found it a very arduous task to extricate myself without a very great loss. In consideration of these circumstances, I resolved not to expose the army to the dangers with which it was threatened, and therefore directed the troops to continue the ordered retreat as far as Ratan. The number of the Russians taken prisoners amounted to 120 men, two of whom were officers. Our loss amounted to about 1200 in killed and wounded. COUNT WACHMEISTER. By a report made by General Wrede, commander in chief of the northern ar my, and dated head-quarters, Hocksis, near Unea, the 24th of this month, it appears that although the exertions of the army of the coast have not been crowned with success, yet they have induced the Russian army, under the orders of Count Kaminski, to evacuate the strong post of Unea and its environs, which are now occupied by our northern army. The new Swedish constitution forms a small quarto volume, and has been made publie at Stockholm. It appears the rights of the peasantry, on the faith of the restoration of which the present King received the vote of this body for his appointment to the throne, have not been fitly noticed. The particulars we have received mention, only, that the King is to be assisted by a council of state, to consist of nine members, by whose advice he is to declare peace or war, retaining, however, in his own person, the supreme command of the forces by land and sea. The same council is to assist his Majesty in all important affairs, and it is stipulated that the public offices are to be filled only by natives. The rest relates merely to the ntial connections of the reigning lamily, and to the descent of the Rio Janeiro, July 26. "I am sorry to inform you that a serious misunderstanding took place here on the 24th of June, in conse quence of an order issued by the government to draft 10 men from every 100 of the militia to he put into the regulars; but in those provinces the militia is thrice as nume rous as the troops of the line. The colonel and superior officers of the different regiments of militia formed in a body, and went to the palace, remonstrating to the governor; but on receiving no redress, they imme diately resigned their commissions. The next morning an order was issued by the governor for the militia to appear in the grand square before the palace (disarmed); but the offi cers suspecting the intention of the governor to seize the men by force, the officers went with a considerable body of the militia to the palace, and expressed their determination not to comply with the governor's orders. The government dreading the consequences, immediately issued orders countermanding all their previous resolutions.-The necessaries of life are become immoderately dear in consequence of the monopoly of the Prince Regent to support his household. The dinners daily in the palace cost not less than 300, sterling, and the number of female attendants are not less than 400," nagement of the expedition, and of the dreadful state of our force there: the two following are taken from the principal ministerial print, the Morning l'ost. South Beveland, Aug, 26. "I understand you are all perfectly satisfied in England with our success. I am glad of it, for it is more than we are here, In fact, I do not believe there ever was any army more dissatisfied than this; we are absolutely ashamed of ourselves, and half of us are thinking of ways and means to get back unperceived, and to pass ourselves off as quite unconcerned in the expedition. Forty thousand men to take a place of about 10 miles in circumference, in a fortnight, or about that! Alas! alas! Besides, when we arrived on the coast, the plac s were defenceless; but we were too generous to attack an unprepared enemy, and therefore we laid formal siege to Flushing, with one half of our army, while the other was kept on board ship, or landed here in South Beveland, and sent into cantonments, to pass the time in shooting and other a musements, until all necessary preparations had been made for the defence of Antwerp, the capture or destruction of the fleet at which place, was the prinpcial object of sending us out; for Walcheren, was merely occupied to secure our retreat. Far different was the conduct of the French, After thus recovering from their first panic, they were indefatigable in constructing works and collecting reinforcements. Every day fresh generals and troops and guns arrive upon the coast. When at last it was thought fit to begin to think of proceeding, it was, I believe, found, after immense fuss, that the thing was impossible. The opportunity had been suffered to slip through our fingers; and the enemy with whom we have to deal is too active to allow us to regain it. The cst thing we can now do is, there fore, to go back again. At least Extract of a letter from an officer belonging to one of our squadron off Flushing, dated Sept. 18. "You will lament to hear that the total return of the sick amounts to upwards of 14,000. The deaths, on an average, are at this moment at the rate of fifty or sixty a day: they are now so frequent, that it has been given out in orders, to discontinue the usual military honours at the funeral of sol diers. It cannot be thought extraordinary that the army should not like the service they are engaged in. The navy are silent on the business,and are ready to perform whatever may be requir ed of them. The French have threa tened to throw a bridge across the Slough Passage, from South Beveland to Walcheren, We have sixty gun-boats and brigs stationed there for the purpose of destroying it, should they accomplish their inten tion. Our troops are busily em ployed in putting the works in the best possible state of defence; and from the activity of the work, it is con jectured that we shall winter here,” Flushing, Sept. 8.-"We yesterday received the information, that the French, in considerable force, had entered South Beveland. They were observed by some of our ships to move in the most vapouring manner, their advanced party of tirailleurs not suffering any covering, ditch, or hedge, to pass them without firing, under the affected conceit, that some British troops were concealed, although they never put a foot upon that is land until they were fully convinced that the whole of our force had either passed over into Walcheren, or were disembarked at Bathz, They, however, made prisoners of a midshipman's boat's crew of the Blood Hound gun-brig, who had incautiously gone on shore to procure some vegetables. This intelligence made no change in the disposition of the troops which were destined for home, as this morning the 63d regiment and Col. Cochrane's corps, embark ed on board transports. From the number of sick belonging to both battalions, an hospital ship was provided for each. Colonel Cochrane's corps, which on its being embodied at the Isle of Wight, in August last, consisted of 800 effective, cannot at this moment muster four hundred effective men. The detachment of the 78th Highlanders which formed the constituent part of Colonel Co. chrane's battalion, has suffered considerably from disease. It is extraor dinary that during the whole period when the army were subject to the greatest privations, there were scarce any sick, but when ordered into comparatively comfortable quarters, disease advanced with the most alarming rapidity. We have at length received a supply of medicines from England. You will not perhaps at first view credit it, but I assure you, most faithfully, that I, myself, have seen the diseased and sick lying in the streets here, and on the stairs and passages, without beds or any other overing than their regimental cloth ing, and that so offensive from the inability of those unhappy sufferers, that nothing but mortality could be expected. Indeed our streets for these last weeks, daily present to the cye no o ther view but the removal of the dying and the dead. The greatest medicinal want was in the article of bark, so necessary to impede the progress of fever, and alleviate the paroxysms of ague, the two prevalent disorders here, The chemists of Middleburgh, the great medicinal depot of South Holland, said, when applied to for this medicine, that it was owing to our own act of parliament that they could not supply us! "The disease here affects the liver and the brain; I was informed by the surgeon of the 36th, who had opened one of the bodies, that he found the part violently inflamed, and a great excess of water about the lat ter. But I must stop, as I fancy myself ill, from thinking on this de plorable subject.” From the Argus, a paper printed in English at Paris. [This was written before the intelligence of the surrender of Flushing had reached the French capital.] The news of the armistice, which ar rived at London on the 26th of July, has spread a consternation over the ministerial party, which the hope of the success of the Flushing expedition could the issue of this expedition may now be not efface. At London, as at Paris foreseen. The letters which are every moment received from the North of France, the zeal which is manifested every where against the English, who fancied its coast without any means of their defence, have already caused speedy flight to be presaged. The delay alone of their first attacks was a defeat, They could only hope to succeed by a surprise, or by treason. They have lost the first by their timid procrastination; (des lenteurs timides.) They have seduced but one traitor, and soon found thousands of heroes, Flushing, and the taken, by an unexpected coup-de-main ; French fleet might possibly have been but all the vessels are now in safety in the Scheldt. Flushing is vigorously de fended; succours have been sent in under the cannon of the British ships; and, if this fortress had yielded to an unforeseen attack, it would have been a short conquest, and produced only useless disasters. The glorious epoch at which we live, is far distant from the days when the enemy held a garrison at Calais. If they have now the power to destroy, they have not to occupy. Their whole marine could not prevent Flushing from soon falling again into the power of France. It is notorious, that the British government witnessed, with profound regret, the opening of the Scheldt, and the cession of Flushing to France. Mr. Pitt said, in the house of Commons," that if France were permitted to retain that maritime and commercial position, they might even abandon to her also the mouth of the Thames, to which a favourable wind might in 24 hours transport a French expedition, prepared with security, in a vast bason, so well protected by art and nature." But victory has, nevertheless, secured this fine conquest to France; which the political faults of Mr. Pitt contributed to, and with all the genius of his successors will never take away. Thus the expence of their immense expedition will be lost. The island of Walcheren will be one of the bulwarks of France; the Scheldt will be free for the felicity of her rich northern provinces, and to the perpetual terror of the mistress of the seas. Already national honour calls Frenchmen to the defence of their insulted coasts. Those of the neighbouring departments have not waited the summons of the Prince and senate to fly thither. The tempest thickens round the English: they will stay on the shore with their sails unfurled, if they do not wish to pay dearly for the temptation to which they have yielded, of setting their feet on the French territory. We do not wait for events in order to judge concerning this expedition. It has been ill-conceived and ill-executed. As an ally of Austria, it is not possible that England should not have flattered her with this diversion. Why then has it been so tardy? But if Flushing has been always the object of this enterprise, we may infer from it, that the greatest disasters will never cure the British go vernment of its incurable selfishness and jealous cupidity, since the desire of catching a few ships has been more powerful than the possibility of effecting a diversion more useful to her ally, either in Spain or the North of Germany, in aid of the robbers whom it has in pay there. On the other hand, if it be true that the knowledge of the armistice has deranged the first plan of the English ministers, the precipitation was impru dent, and the change may be fatal. Certainly it is an affront to the British arms, that an expedition, prepared at so enormous an expence, composed of numerous and select troops, trumpeted forth as one that was to effect a revolution in European affairs, should terminate in the bombardment of a town, leaving the field of battle to a few garrison troops and national guards, without experience in war. Is it not matter of scandal, that in opposition to so mighty and costly an effort, France should not (in spite of the assertions of the English papers) be under the necessity of detaching a single man from her own armies, and that the conquerors of the Danube should, at the same time, hear of the insolent attempt of the English and their defeat! It is thus we may judge of the relative power of the nations, and see at what price England purchases that maritime superiority, which is raised on the calamities and divisions of Europe! DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. FROM THE LONDON GAZETTES, Whitehall, Aug. 26. The King has been pleased to grant the dignities of Baron and Viscount of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland unto the Right Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley, Knight of the Most Honourable Or der of the Bath, and Lieut.-General of his Majesty's forces, and to the heirs male of his body lawfully be gotten, by the names, stiles, and ti tles of Baron Douro of Wellesley in the county of Somerset, and Viscount Wellington of Talavera, and Wellington, in the said county. Horse Guards, Aug. 8. GENERAL ORDERS. I. The commander in chief has received THE KING'S COMMANDS to notify to the army the splendid victory obtained by his troops in Spain, under the command of Lieutenant General the Right Honourable Sir Arthur Wellesley, on the 27th and 28th of last month, at the battle of Talavera de la Reyna. II. His Majesty is confident that his army will learn with becoming exultation, that the enemy, after escaping by a precipitate retreat, from the well-concerted attack with which Sir Arthur Wellesley, in conjunction with the Spanish army, had threatened him on the 24th of July, concentrated his force, by calling to his aid the corps under the French General Sebastiani, and the garrison of Madrid; and thus reinforced, again approached the allied army on the 27th of July; and, on this occasion, owing to the local circumstances of its position, and to the deliberate purpose of the enemy to direct his whole efforts against the troops of his Majesty, the British army sustained nearly the whole weight of this great contest, and has acquired the glory of having vanquished a French army double their numbers, not in a short and partiastruggle, but in a battle obstinately contested on two successive days (not wholly discontinued even throughout the intervening night) and fought under circumstances which brought both armies into close and repeated combat. III. The King, in contemplating so glorious a display of the valour and prowess of his troops, has been graciously pleased to command that his royal approbation of the conduct of the army serving under the command of Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley shall be thus publicly de clad in general orders." IV. The commander in chief has received the King's commands to signify, in the most marked and special manner, the sense his Majesty entertains of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Arthur, Wellesley's personal services on this memorable occasion, not less displayed in the result of the battle itself, than in the consummate ability, valour, and military resource, with which the many difficulties of this arduous and protracted contest were met, and provided for, by his experience and judgment. V. The conduct of Lieut.-General Sherbrooke, second in command, has entitled him to the King's marked approbation. His Majesty has observed with satisfaction the manner in which he led on the troops to the charge with the bayonet, a species of combat, which on all occasions so well accords with the dauntless character of British soldiers. VI. His Majesty has noticed with the same gracious approbation, the conduct of the several generals and other officers.-All have done their duty; most of them have had occasions of eminently distinguishing themselves, the instances of which have not escaped his Majesty's attention. VII. It is his Majesty's command, that his royal approbation and thanks shall be given in the most distinct and most particular manner, to the non-commissioned officers and private men. In no instance have they displayed with greater lustre their native valour and characterestic energy, nor have they on any former occasion more decidedly proved their superiority over the inveterate enemy of their country. VIII. Brilliant, however, as is the victory obtained at Talavera, it is not solely on that occasion that Lieut.-Gen. Sir Arthur Wellesley, and the troops under his command, are entitled to his Majesty's applause. |