success that was to be expected: the two divisions of the enemy were forced to retreat, and were completely routed. The field of battle remained covered with the dead, and with arms thrown away-each troop saved itself as it could in all directions. In the pursuit we killed numbers, and made 400 prisoners. At night, General Godinot took up a position in front of Zugar, in the road of Baza.-On the 10th, in the morning, General Godinot's column, and that of the centre, which had followed the high road, united in front of Baza. General Latour-Maubourg had orders to take the command of all the cavalry, and to pursue the enemy. At noon, the rear-guard was joined beyond Cullar. General Soult had the advanced guard, with the 10th Chasseurs, the 1st of the Lancers of the Vistula, and the 27th Dragoons. On arriving at Los Vertientes, he found 2,000 of the enemy's cavalry in position, who covered the retreat of the rest of the troops. His dispositions were immediately made to attack them, and a general charge took place. The Spaniards were overthrown, and so completely routed, that 200 cavaliers, among whom were several Officers, remained dead on the field, and 300 were taken prisoners, with all their horses. The fall of night, and the extreme fatigue of the horses, who had travelled that day twelve Spanish leagues, prevented our deriving all the advantage we should have done from this success; but a panic had seized the Spaniards, the troops that remained, dispersed in the night, and tried in all directions to gain the province of Murcia.-General Freire, who commanded the army, was wounded in the charge, and saved himself by flight. The other Generals did the same. On the 11th, at daybreak, Gen. Latour-Maubourg arrived with the cavalry at Velez el Rubio, from whence he sent off parties to the different debouchés that lead to Murcia, particularly to that of Lumbreras, three leagues from Lorca. The loss which the enemy sustained in these different affairs, is very considerable-several thousands of men have been killed; a great number wounded, are wandering in the mountains, where the greater part will perish. Seven or eight thousand men have disbanded themselves, and crowd back to their homes, cursing the chiefs of the insurrection, and those who, by deceitful hopes, led them to their ruin-hitherto we have collected but 6 or 700 prisoners, among whom are 30 Officers. We have also received 500 deserters, the greater part French or foreigners, who, being prisoners of war, had been forced to serve. The regiment of Walloon Guards has been entirely destroyed and its colours taken. It is thought that of this army, which, since the arrival of Blake's division, was in a condition to make a fine defence, not seven thousand men will enter Murcia-all the rest are dispersed. I hope that the different columns which I have sent in pursuit of them to the debouchés of Vera and Almeria, where they wish to embark, will bring in a good number.-Our loss in these affairs is 30 men killed, and 150 wounded.-General Leval informs me this instant of large captures made of ammunition, arms, equipage, and provisions. He hopes to make further captures, and he tells me that pri soners and deserters are coming in every instant. General Soult's advanced guard is at Lobreras, from whence he sends out strong parties to Torre de Aguillas, where the enemy's troops must pass, who have thrown themselves on the right to enter Murcia. It is probable that a part of these troops will be cut off, as other columus are in pursuit of them.-I am, &c. Marshal DUKE OF DALMATIA." ARMY OF THe North. Report of the Count D'Orsenne, General-inChief of the Army of the North, to the Prince of Neufchatel and Wagram.Camp of Astorga, Aug. 28. Monseigneur,-By my dispatches of the 22d and 23rd, I informed you of the motives that determined me not to delay acting against the army of Galicia. On the 24th, the troops I had collected for this expedition, were in a line of operation on the Elsa, the right leaning upon Leon, and the left at Castro Gonzalo.-The enemy had his advanced guard at St. Martin des Torres, and occupied the bridge of Cebrones; 6000 men were at Baneza, 15,000 at Puente d'Orbigo, and their reserve of 3 or 4,000 men at Astorga. (To be continued.) Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges-Street, Covent Garden :-Sold also by J. BUDD, Pall-Mall, LONDON :-Printed by T: C. Hansard, Peterborough-Court, Fleet-Street, VOL. XX. No. 14.] LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1811. 417] SUMMARY OF POLITICS. SICILY.While I was, in my last, making a few cursory remarks upon the language, which our venal prints were beginning to hold with regard to our dear allies in the Anti-jacobin war, the Court of Sicily; at that time, when I was, with as much freedom as it was prudent to attempt to exercise, endeavouring to prepare the minds of my readers for what I expected soon to see take place; at that very time, as it now appears, Lord William Bentinck (a son of the late Duke of Portland and a brother of the present Duke) was actually arrived in England from Sicily, whither he had, but a few weeks before, been sent, as Commander in Chief of our army there and as our minister plenipotentiary, and where, as was seen in my last, he was expected to be the bearer of « strong and po"sitive instructions." The cause of his speedy return has not yet been publicly stated in plain terms; but, our venal prints have given us the supposed cause; and, upon their suppositions, taking into view the probability of the sources whence the suppositions really proceed, and the motives from which they have been promulgated amongst "this most thinking people," some observations present themselves, and to these I beg leave to solicit the reader's attention.As a preparation, however, for these observations, it may not be amiss for us to refresh our memories as to matters, which the length of the war and the multitude and magnitude of its events, may well be supposed to have almost obliterated from our minds; and which are, nevertheless, necessary to be remembered, in order to give us clear notions, and to enable us to judge correctly, of what is now going on, and, which is of more importance, of the events, which every one must now anticipate.- -Our connection with the Court of Sicily, I shall not, at present, attempt to trace farther back than the year 1805; but, the time will come and must come, when the previous part of that connection, when the events of 1799, when the deeds of the Bay of Naples and the part which Lord Nelson took therein, when the truly noble conduct of Sir [Price 18. [418 In Thomas Troubridge and Captain Foote, when the fate of the Neapolitan Patriòts, when, in short, all the acts of that time, in their unvarnished colours, will be consigned to the volume of history, and handed down to the impartial judgment of future times. In waiting, with all the patience that we can command, for the day when this sacred duty may be safely performed in a manner responsive to the demands of truth and justice; in waiting for that day, which, let us hope, is at no great distance, we will, because we must, content ourselves with tracing back our connection with the Court of Sicily to the year 1805.In the month of September of this last mentioned year, the Emperor Napoleon being then at war with Austria and Russia, which war was terminated at Austerlitz, the Court of Sicily (then of the Two Sicilies) entered into a treaty of neutrality with the Emperor of France. The former stipulated to observe a strict neutrality doring the war; and, especially, not to suffer any Russian or English troops to land in Naples, and not to commit its own troops to the command of any foreign power or officer. consequence of the conclusion of which treaty, which was ratified on the 8th of October, 1805, the Emperor of France, withdrew his troops from the territory of Naples, part of which he had, by way of precaution, occupied from the commencement of the present war with England. But, on the 20th of November, only about six weeks after the ratification of the treaty, an English and Russian squadron came into the Bay of Naples (the memorable theatre of the deeds of 1799!) and there landed a body of troops, amounting to about 24,000 men, 14,000 Russians under General Lasey, and 10,000 English under Sir James Craig. These troops, the landing of whom was not opposed, marched into the interior, in order, as was alledged by Russia, to make a diversion in favour of Austria; but, their landing was a signal for warlike preparations on the part of the Court of Naples, who thus, once more, seemed resolved to enter the field against Napoleon. Scarcely, however, were these preparations begun, when Napoleon, having subdued his two great enemies at P Austerlitz, dispatched an army, with his brother Joseph at its head, to drive the Neapolitan Court and its allies" into the sea. The effect of this was the flight of the Court of Naples to Sicily, preceded by the English army, who were utterly unequal to the task of resisting the mighty force of France for a single week. It was now, and probably for the last time, that the Court of the Two Sicilies crossed the Bay of Naples, that Bay which had been the scene of their triumph, in 1799, the never-to-be-forgotten 1799.- -Since that time, the kingdom of Naples has owned the sway, first of Joseph Buonaparté, and afterwards of Prince Murat, now the king of Naples, and contending for the sway over Sicily also.- -Our army went, as we have seen, to the island of Sicily, where it has been, with its augmentations, from the early part of the year 1806 to the present time. The reader need hardly be reminded of the several attempts, which have been made by thaarmy to recover the Neapolitan territory or to annoy the conqueror, but all which are well known to have wholly failed in their object, though upon one occasion, the battle of Maida, much skill as well as courage appear to have been displayed by sir John Stuart (who succeeded sir James Craig at Sicily) and by the officers and troops under his command.. -From the time of the abandonment of Naples, our connection with the Court of Sicily became, of course, more close. That court was, in a measure, ruined. They had indeed a part of their dominions left; but, they had lost their palaces, their goods, all the absolute possessions of a Court, and, what is of more consequence, the far greater part of their revenues. Having, in this beggared situation, a war to carry on for the preservation of the remaining part of their domiBions, they naturally looked to England for the greater part of the means necessary for that purpose; and, as the men who then ruled, like those who still rule this country, regarded, apparently, the preservation of Sicily as being of importance to us, the Court of Sicily obtained, and has ever since received from England a large an-gined, however, that I wish to be the denual subsidy for the purpose of enabling that Court to keep on foot an army of a certain strength for the purpose of assisting us in the defence of the island.We shall see, in the publications, upon which I am about to remark, that this subsidy is regarded as the effect of the most pure disinterestedness, of the most sublime gene rosity, and, therefore, without entering here into the question of how far our government would be justified in expending the resources of England in the way of gift to the Court of Sicily, without any view to the interest of England; without entering prematurely upon that important question, we ought here to look back a little to the cause of the Court of Sicily being driven out of Naples and being reduced to the necessity of fighting for their last stake in Sicily, and to see what part we bore in the producing of that cause.— The Emperor Napoleon, in his order to his army, dated at Schoenbrun, said, that the Court of Naples had been treacherous, that they had broken their treaty of neutrality, and that, therefore, they should cease to reign. Now, did the Russians and English land with the approbation of the then Court of Naples, or did they not? If they did, the charge of the Emperor Napoleon was just; and, if they did not, that Court lost their continental dominions on our account ; they lost those dominions because we violated the neutrality of their territory; and which territory, be it well observed, we abandoned without a battle in its defence. A battle, with our trifling force, would have been useless; but, at any rate, we fought no battle in defence of the kingdom of Naples; and, be it also observed, that we gave up the contest against the remonstrances of the Court, whom, in fact, we left to follow our army to the island of Sicily. We wanted not the will to defend Naples against the French; but we wanted the power. The effect was the same to the Court of Sicily; and, whether we landed with the approbation of that Court, or against their will, the ruin that ensued was, it is clear to me, equally attributable to that landing. Therefore, when our writers are talking so loudly of our generosity, of the great favours which we have conferred on the Court of Sicily, and of their ingratitude, those writers must, surely, have wholly forgotten all the facts that I have now, with too much prolixity, perhaps, endeavoured to recall to the mind of the reader. Let it not be ima fender or the apologist of the Court of Sicily. No, reader, I pray you not to imagine that; not to suppose, for one single moment, that I have any feeling of friendship for that Court. But, truch ought to be spoken of every one, be he who or what he may: the devil, according to the old saying, ought to have his due. " its blood. If any errors were commit"ted, they were magnified: while ser"vices, however signal, were under-rated, "or received with reluctant acknowledg"ment. At first, it is said, we remonstrat"ed gently, more "in pity than in anger" "but remonstrances were unattended to, "and it was remarked that such of the "Sicilian Nobility as had been the strong"est in their attachment to us were coldly "received, and their visits gradually dis"pensed with. Of these noblemen some "have been banished. It was in this state of "affairs that Lord W. Bentinck arrived at Palermo; and as may well be conceiv"ed, was instructed to speak a decisive language" "We have afforded you, we "" are still affording you the most power""ful and DISINTERESTED assistance ""Co-operate with us heartily in a ""work of which you are to receive the 66 "" EXCLUSIVE benefit." It may be After this preface we may enter upon our remarks on the venal publications that are now putting forth.- We have long heard, in a sort of half-whisper, of certain misunderstandings in Sicily. These hireling vehicles have hinted at jealousies and want of cordiality; but, until now, we have not had it openly avowed, that the Court of Sicily, our old dear friends and Antijacobin associates, were at enmity with us; nay, that they were actually our enemies even in a warlike sense. This, however, we are now told, and we are also told of the proper remedy to be applied, which remedy is neither more nor less than a seizure of the Sicilian Dominions for our own use, lest they should fall into the hands of the French. We are told, by the same venal writers, who talk so much of our disinterestedness and generosity, that we ought to seize upon the country, of which we have so disinterestedly and generously come to the defence. But, it is now supposed that we accompanied this open time to hear the venal writers in their own language with the demand of CERwords. I could quote several of them, "TAÏN PLEDGES of the good faith of but I shall, in the first instance, take "the Sicilian Government; that we rethe Courier of the 28th of September.- 'quired the removal of those Counsellors After adverting to the fact of Lord W. "who were known to be hostile to our inte- . Bentinck's return, the writer proceeds "rests, and who would paralyse any efforts thus: "The PEOPLE of Sicily are "that might be made for the safety of the "known to be well.disposed to this country, "kingdom. The manner in which this was " and to be grateful for the assistance we "received, and the language held in reply "have afforded them, without which they "to our remonstrances, might, we speak "would long since have been invaded by only from conjecture, have been deemed "the enemy. The KING of Naples may "by Lord W. Bentinck so offensive and "have, and we believe has, good intentions," affronting as to convince him that his im"but the cares of Government are too bur- "mediate departure was the only step he "thensome for him, and he commits them "could take consistently with the duty he "to other hands. In the QUARTER to "owed to the Government of which he which we allude there has always been "was the representative. -What course "a strange jealousy of the English. Upon "will be adopted by his Majesty's Minis"some minds obligations produce a feeling "ters, we cannot of course be acquainted "of hate instead of gratitude; and the "with-but there is one clear principle: presence of the objects conferring them is "If our Ally, by treachery, or negligence, or "goading and painful. Such minds eager- supineness, will not use the means he has ly receive impressions unfavourable to "in his power to prevent his territories "those objects-an observation, the truth "from falling into the hands of our enemy, "of which has been sensibly experienced" and thereby increasing that enemy's " in our alliance with Sicily. The PARTY "to whom we allude seems to have felt "as the Tyrant of old did, when in speak"ing of a person who had done him great "service, he exclaimed-" He has con""ferred upon me too great obligations for ""me to love him." -Our commerce "has been subject to vexatious regulations "our military and naval force neither "welcomed with the cordiality it deserved, "nor furnished with the facilities which "it had purchased with its treasures and " " "means of annoying US, he can have no "just cause of complaint against us if we "no longer consider and treat him as a "friendly power.”. Are there no thunderbolts! No, not for fellows like this; but there surely are stones, horseponds, pumps, blankets and broomsticks! What! and are our senses to be insulted in this manner! Will the public tolerate this gross, this abominable, insult! Will they bear to be told, first, that we have placed an army in Sicily from motives of the most pure "DISINTERESTEDNESS;" | against our dear Antijacobin ally. Havthat we have done all that we have done, ing painted the conduct of the Court of and are doing in Sicily, purely for the Sicily in as black colours as he is well purpose of serving the Sicilians; that they able, he comes to the remedy. He deare to have the "EXCLUSIVE benefit scribes the state of the army of Sicily; he of all our exertions; will the public bear tells us what we are able to do, and what to be told this, and then, in the very next we ought to do; and the Courier of the breath, be told, that the defence of the 1st instant approves of his recommendaisland is necessary to prevent its falling tion. It says: "In a preceding page we into the hands of the enemy, and "thereby "have inserted a long extract from Cap"increasing THAT ENEMY'S MEANS "tain Pasley's work on our military policy " OF ANNOYING US!" Will the pub- " and institutions. He enters very largely lic bear this? If it will; if it will patiently "into the subject of our relations with hear this; why, then, all that I can say, "Sicily and it may be wise to adopt the is, that it matters very little what befalls policy he recommends." -This being the such a public. And, indeed, nothing but case, let us see what this, his recomsevere suffering; nothing but rods of scor- mendation, is, and what are the grounds, pions, can bring such a public to its senses, upon which he endeavours to justify it, and make it distinguish between truth and whether in point of equity or policy. He falshood. Before we proceed any fur- speaks with great, and, I dare say, dether with our remarks, it is necessary to served, contempt of the Sicilian Troops; observe, that, in all the hireling prints, says that we should derive no assistance there has been, within these few days, from them in case of an actual attack upon published a long extract from a work the Island; that our alliance with Sicily of CAPTAIN PASLEY, on the state of is upon the worst possible footing; that, things in Sicily and on the policy proper to remedy this, we ought to request the for us to pursue with regard to that coun- court of Sicily "to appoint the British try and its Court. This extract, which I "General, in Sicily, the Commander in Chief have inserted in another part of this Num- "of their army, and also to place its Comber, recommends the seizure of the island, "missariat and Paymaster's offices in the unless the Court, for the preservation of "hands of our Commissaries and Paythe INDEPENDENCE of the country, "masters; that the Sicilian Troops will give up the command of the whole of their" now look upon the British Troops with own army to us! I beg the reader's atten tion to this extract; for he may be quite sure, that the Court of Sicily has read it long ago, and that it has not failed to produce a suitable effect upon their minds. CAPT. PASLEY seems to have been the leader of those, who have now found out, that the Court of Sicily are not our friends. He has forgotten, if he ever knew, the history of our former connection with the Sicilian Court, when they reigned in Naples as well as in Sicily; he does not advert to, nor does he seem to have the least recollection or knowledge of, the events, which finally drove the Court of Sicily from their continental dominions, and that gave an English army a footing in Sicily; he appears to consider the island as having been attacked, or likely to be attacked, by the French, and that, under such circumstances, without our having had any hand in producing the embarrassments and dangers of the Court, we flew to their assistance; he talks of our disinterestedness and of the gratitude due to us, in precisely the same style as all the venal writers, and he surpasses them all, I think, in bitterness "envy, and, perhaps, with hatred;" that even this " modification" of the terms of the alliance would be very disadvantageous for Great Britain, "for that no thing can be more unfair and unjust, "than that the whole of the resources of "the great and rich island of Sicily should "be solely applied to the pomp and plea"sures of its court, and to the charges of "the civil administration, without leaving, "at least, some surplus of revenue FOR "US; that, by such an arrangement, "however, we should find ourselves much "more secure in Sicily as a MILITARY "STATION." He then says, that by way of objection to these alterations, it may possibly be urged by the court of Sicily, that there is a treaty, that we cannot, with justice, infringe this treaty, and that, the proper time to have made the arrangements now proposed was when we entered into the treaty in question. Anticipating this objection, he says, that the court of Sicily, to set up this treaty with effect, must be able to show that they have not violated, or departed from, their part of the contract. But, he says, that |