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the 12th June the enemy's army passed the same time the enemy's attacks and the fire Agueda: on the 14th, in the morning, I which destroyed their defences, magazines, was informed of it, and the order for as- and provisions, and placed the soldiers sembling was given to the troops. On the themselves in the most dreadful situation. 16th the English army arrived before Sa- It was then obliged to surrender at discrelamanca.In the night between the 16th tion, after having had the honour of reand 17th I evacuated that town, leaving, pulsing two assaults, and causing the enenevertheless, a garrison in the forts I had my a loss of more 1,300 men, viz. double constructed, and which, by the extreme their own force. This event happened on activity used in their construction, were in the 28th at noon. -The enemy having a state of defence. I marched six leagues no further object by this operation, past from Salamanca, and then having collected the Tormes, and on the contrary, every five divisions, I approached that town; I thing indicating that it would be prudent drove before me the English advanced to await the reinforcements announced in posts, and obliged the enemy's army to a formal manner by the army of the North, shew what attitude it reckoned upon tak- I decided on re-approaching the Douro, and ing; it appeared determined to fight upon passing that river in case the enemy should the fine rising ground and strong position march towards us, and there to take up a of San Christoval. The remainder of the good line of defence until such time as the army joined me; I manoeuvred round that moment for acting on the offensive should position, but I acquired the certainty that appear. On the 28th, the army departed it every where presented obstacles difficult and took a position on the Guarena, on the to be conquered, and that it was better to 29th, on the Trabanjos, where it sojournforce the enemy to come upon another field ed.The enemy having followed the of battle, than enter into action with them movement with the whole of his forces, upon ground which gave them too many the army took a position on the Zopardiel, advantages; besides, different reasons made and on the 2d it passed the Douro, at me desire to prolong the operations-for I Tordesillas, a place which I chose for the had just received a letter from General pivot of my motions. The line of the Caffarelli, which announced to me that he Douro is excellent. I made with detail had collected his troops, and was going to every disposition which might render sure march to succour me, whilst my presence a good defence of this river, and I had no would have suspended the siege of the fort cause to doubt my being able to defeat of Salamanca. Things remained in this every enterprise of the enemy, in case they state for some days, and the armies in pre- should attempt the passage. The 3d, besence of each other, when the siege of the ing the day after that we had passed the fort of Salamanca vigorously recommenced. Douro, he made several assemblages of his On account of the trifling distance which forces, and some slight attempts to effect there was between the French army and this passage to Pollos, a point which, for the place, and by means of the signals him, would be very advantageous. The agreed upon, I was every day informed of troops which I had disposed, and a few the situation of the place. Those on the cannon shot, were sufficient to make him 26th and 27th, informed me that the fort immediately give up his enterprise. In could hold out five days; then I decided continual expectation of receiving succours to execute the passage of the Tormes, and from the army of the North, which had act upon the left bank. The fort of Alba, been promised in so solemn and reiterated which I had carefully preserved, gave me a manner, I endeavoured to add, by my a passage over that river, a new line of own industry, to the means of the army. operations, and an important point of sup- My cavalry was much inferior to that of port. I made dispositions for executing the enemy. The English had nearly 5,000 this passage on the night between the 28th horse, English or German, without countand 29th. During the night of the 27th, ing the Spaniards formed into regular the fire redoubled, and the enemy, fa- troops. I had no more than 2,000. With tigued with a resistance which to them this disproportion, in what manner could appeared exaggerated, fired red-hot balls one manoeuvre his enemy? How avail upon the fort. Unfortunately its maga- one's self of any advantage that might be zines contained a large quantity of wood, obtained? I had but one means of augit took fire, and in an instant the fort was menting my cavalry, and that was by takin flames. It was impossible for the brave ing the useless horses for the service of the garrison who defended it to support, at the (To be continued.)

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As illustrated in the Prosecution and Punishment of

WILLIAM COBBETT.

In order that my countrymen and that the world may not be deceived, duped, and cheated upon this subject, I, WILLIAM COBBETT, of Botley, in Hampshire, put upon record the following facts; to wit: That, on the 24th June, 1809, the following article was published in a London news-paper, called the COURIER: The Mutiny amongst the LO“CAL MILITIA, which broke out at Ely, was "fortunately suppressed on Wednesday by the "arrival of four squadrons of the GERMAN "LEGION CAVALRY from Bury, under the "command of General Auckland. Five of the ❝ ringleaders were tried by a Court-Martial, and "sentenced to receive 500 lashes each, part of which "punishment they received on Wednesday, and a part was remitted. A stoppage for their knup"sacks was the ground of the complaint that ex"cited this mutinous spirit, which occasioned ❝ the men to surround their officers, and demand "what they deemed their arrears. The first "division of the German Legion halted yesterday "at Newmarket on their return to Bury."That, on the 1st July, 1809, I published, in the Political Register, an article censuring, in the strongest terms, these proceedings; that, for so doing, the Attorney General prosecuted, as seditious libellers, and by Ex-Officio Information, me, and also my printer, my publisher, and one of the principal retailers of the Political Register; that I was brought to trial on the 15th June, 1810, and was, by a Special Jury, that is to say, by 12 men out of 48 appointed by the Master of the Crown Office, found guilty; that, on the 20th of the same month, I was compelled to give bail for my appearance to receive judgment; and that, as I came up from Botley (to which place I had returned to my family and my farm on the evening of the 15th), a Tipstaff went down from London in order to seize me, personally; that, on the 9th of July, 1810, I, toge ther with my printer, publisher, and the news man, were brought into the Court of King's Bench to receive judgment; that the three former were sentenced to be imprisoned for some months in the King's Bench prison; that I was sentenced to be imprisoned for two years in Newgate, the great receptacle for malefactors, and the front of which is the scene of numerous hangings in the course of every year; that the part of the prison in which I was sentenced to be confined is sometimes inhabited by felons, that felons were actually in it at the time I entered it; that one man was taken out of it to be transported in about 48 hours after I was put into the same yard with him; and that it is the place of confinement for men guilty of unnatural crimes, of whom there are four in it at this time; that, besides this imprisonment, I was sentenced to pay a thousand pounds TO THE KING, and to give security for my good behaviour for seven years, myself in the sum of 3,000 pounds, and

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two sureties in the sum of 1,000 pounds each; that the whole of this sentence has been executed upon me, that I have been imprisoned the two years, have paid the thousand pounds TO THE KING, and have given the bail, Timothy Brown and Peter Walker, Esqrs. being my sureties; that the Attorney General was Sir Vicary Gibbs, the Judge who sat at the trial Lord Ellenborough, the four Judges who sat at passing sentence Ellenborough, Grose, Le Blanc, and Bailey; and that the jurors were, Thomas Rhodes of Hampstead Road, John Davis of Southampton Place, James Ellis of Tottenham Court Road, John Richards of Bayswater, Thomas Marsham of Baker Street, Robert Heathcote of High Street Marylebone, John Mand of York Place Marylebone, George Bagster of Church Terrace Pancras, Thomas Taylor of Red Lion Square, David Deane of St. John Street, William Palmer of Upper Street Islington, Henry Favre of Pall Mall; that the Prime Ministers during the time were Spencer Perceval, until he was shot by John Bellingham, and after that Robert B. Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool; that the prosecution and sentence took place in the reign of King George the Third, and that, he having become insane during my imprisonment, the 1,000 pounds was paid to his son, the Prince Regent, in his behalf; that, during my imprisonment, I wrote and published 364 Essays and Letters upon political subjects; that, during the same time, I was visited by persons from 197 cities and towns, many of them as a sort of deputies from Societies or Clubs; that, at the expiration of my imprisonment, on the 9th of July, 1812, a great dinner was given in London for the purpose of receiving me, at which dinner upwards of 600 persons were present, and at which Sir Francis Burdett presided; that dinners and other parties were held on the same occasion in many other places in England; that, on my way home, I was received at Alton, the first town in Hamp shire, with the ringing of the Church bells; that a respectable company met me and gave me a dinner at Winchester; that I was drawn from more than the distance of a mile into Botley by the people; that, upon my arrival in the village, I found all the people assembled to receive me; that I concluded the day by explaining to them the cause of my imprisonment, and by giving them clear notions respecting the flogging of the Local Militia-men at Ely, and respecting the employment of German Troops; and, finally, which is more than a compensation for my losses and all my sufferings, I am in perfect health and strength, and, though I must, for the sake of six children, feel the diminution that has been made in my property (thinking it right in me to decline the offer of a subscription), I have the consolation to see growing up three sons, upon whose hearts, I trust, all these facts will be engraven.

Botley, July 23, 1812.

WM. COBBETT.

Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges-Street, Covent-Garden.
LONDON: Printed by J. M'Creery, Black Horse-Court, Flect-street.

VOL. XXII. No. 15.] LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1812. [Price 1s.

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Winchester, 7th Oct. 1812. My readers, when they have read the following Address, will, I am sure, think it natural and right, that I should devote the whole of the time between this and next Tuesday (the day of Nomination) to the important duty which I am about to perform. It has always been my opinion, that the people cannot reasonably be blamed for making a bad choice, if no other is presented to them. It has also always been my opinion, that every man should labour for the public weal in that way which he thinks most likely to prove efficacious, whether it may comport with his taste, or interest, or not. And, it being my firm conviction, that an earnest endeavour to supplant the late Members for the county in which I live is the way in which I can employ a week or two with the greatest probability of doing service to the public, I have resolved in that way to employ them, and to devote my whole time and attention to that object.

To the Freeholders of the County of
Southampton.

Gentlemen,

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sion of assuring you, that, I will never,
either by myself, or by any dependent on
me, receive in any shape, or under any
name, a single farthing of the people's
money. I am actuated by no motive of
vanity or ambition. I think it my duty to
endeavour to assist in saving my native
country from that total ruin which hangs
over it; and, the tender of my services to
you is made in the performance of that sa-
cred duty.

I am, Gentlemen, your faithful friend,
WILLIAM COBBETT.

Botley, October 1, 1812.

WESTMINSTER ELECTION. Westminster, "Friends of Purity of ElecA numerous meeting of the Electors of tion," was on Monday held, pursuant to public advertisement, at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, for the purpose of considering of proper persons to be returned to Parliament as Representatives of the City of Westminster.

Mr. STURCH having been called to the chair, addressed the assembly as follows:

That House of Commons, who voted" Gentlemen Electors, the advertisement that they would not inquire into a direct which I now hold in my hand, and which charge against some of their own Members has been published in several of the newsfor trafficking in Seats in their own Assem- papers, sufficiently expresses the intention bly; that House of Commons, who voted with which this meeting has been called, their approbation of the Walcheren Expe- by a few of those persons who advocated dition; that House of Commons, who voted the cause of Parliamentary Reform at the that Bank Notes are still equal in value to last election.-(Mr. Sturch here read the Guineas in the estimation of the people; advertisement).—Gentlemen, it will be seen that House of Commons, who have added by the terms of this notice, that this was upwards of Seventy Millions to the National not intended to be a meeting of the Electors Debt, and who have added nearly one-in general, but only of that description of fourth to the amount of our Taxes; that House of Commons being, thank God, now no more, and an opportunity being afforded you of choosing as your Representatives men who have not concurred in such votes, I offer myself to you in that capacity. On the day of Nomination, at Winchester, I propose to do myself the honour of stating to you more fully my opinions and my views; but, I shall not omit even this occa

Electors who are friends to the Purity of Election-the friends of corruption and undue influence are not to be understood as having been invited; and if, therefore, there be any person present who is not friendly to reform-if there be any person within hearing who wishes that corruption inay be able to keep its ground-who prefers the wide-wasting desolation of war, the government of incapable Ministers, and the

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consequent decay of trade and prosperity, | all elections, like other things, are necessa-
It is true,
to liberty, security, and peace-it may be rily attended with expense.
proper to remind such person, that he
comes without being invited.-(Applause.)
-Gentlemen, I persuade myself, that all
those who are now assembled, are of a very
different description indeed. I persuade
myself, that, while you are all zealously
attached to the Constitution, every heart
beats high with the love of freedom and in-
dependence (applause)-which constitutes
the very life and soul of purity of election.
I am convinced, that all who are now as-
sembled, are clearly of opinion, that, if
this country, in its present deplorable state
of distress, is to be saved at all, it must be
by the adoption of those principles which
were manfully supported by the Electors
during the last struggle.-(Applause.)
Gentlemen, it is the pleasure of His Ma-
jesty's Ministers, at this time, to indulge
us with an opportunity of electing our Re-
prescutatives for the ensuing Parliament,
which they might, if they pleased, have
put off for a year longer, and which they
would have put off, if they thought it would
have answered certain purposes, which it is
not now necessary for me to state. We do
not exercise this invaluable right so often as
we are entitled to do. By the words of
ancient statutes, and from the very reason
of the thing, we should exercise the right
of election" once in the year, and oftener,
if need be."-(Applause.) These are the
express words of the statute. But by an
Act of modern times, which cannot be too
much reprobated-which is, in fact, little
short of treason against the liberties and
constitution of the country, we are restrain-
ed in the exercise of that right, which is
granted but once in seven years, unless, as
in the present instance, we are permitted
to make use of it, by the special grace and
favour of His Majesty's Ministers.-(Laugh-
ter). This, however, is no reason at all
why we should neglect a duty, when it de-
volves on us. The duty we have to per-
form on the present occasion, is to select
two gentlemen to represent us in Parlia-
ment, whom we shall have every reason to
believe will be the firm supporters of that
portion of liberty which we now enjoy,
and the pledged advocates of those rights
and privileges of which we have been
forcibly and unjustly deprived. It is not
for me to dictate what you are to do. I
have only to state what I apprehend to be
the general principle on which we are to
proceed. There is one thing to which I
must not omit calling your attention, that

that the expense has lately been very much
reduced. At the last election, no disburse-
ments were made, except those which were
absolutely necessary. By a late Act of
Parliament, the expenses to the candidates
are clearly defined, and what cannot be de-
manded is also pointed out. According to
that Act it appears, that even when there is
no contest whatever, we cannot walk over
the course, without incurring an expense of
8001. This we consider as a great hard-
ship and one, small as the sum may seem,
that ought to be remedied; and I hope to
see the day when this obnoxious act will be
repealed. The debt thus incurred must
fall either on the electors or the elected.
Now, our principle has been to send our
Representatives to Parliament free of ex-
pense-which is the true principle of the
constitution; because no man should have
the pretence to say, that, having purchased
his interest in Parliament, he was obliged
to reimburse himself by selling his vote to
the Minister. And, if we were to abandon
that principle for one moment, we should
have undone all our work-obliterated, and,
he might add, annihilated, the great and
glorious example which, five years ago, we
set to the electors of Great Britain and Ire-
land-and which is doing so much good in
various parts of the United Kingdom.-
I hold it, therefore, necessary, that this
principle should be steadily adhered to,
and that the sum of 8001. should be sub-
scribed. When I consider the smallness of
the sum, contrasted with the great number
of electors, I conceive it very easy to de-
fray the expense, by each elector advancing
a trifle towards that object; and I hope
that no man, who prides himself on being
an elector, who feels the dignity of his si
tuation, and desires to be fairly represented
in Parliament, will refuse to put down his
mite towards the creation of a proper fund.
As most of you are, like myself, men of
business, I will not detain you much lon
ger. I will not relate what you yourselves
did five years ago-it is fresh in your re-
collection. You then demanded and ob-
tained the service of a man, exactly of the
description I noticed in the beginning of
this address-the firm defender and sup
porter of those rights and liberties which
we still possess, and the strenuous advocate
for a restoration of those which we have
lost. Perhaps it may be said, that being
placed by you in the situation of chairman,
I ought to speak impartially; but I should

himself to the satisfaction of the assembly, whom he could assure, that he had undertaken the task for the benefit of his country, and not from any private aim or gratification of his own. They would, in a very few days, be called on to elect two persons to represent them in the ensuing Parliament, which was at all times a very important duty, but particularly so at the present period, when we were threatened by an overwhelming taxation at home, and by an implacable enemy abroad. At such a time they were imperatively called on to examine scrupulously those persons whom they sent to Parliament-for there, and there only, the evil can be cured. It was stated by their worthy Chairman, with great force and propriety, that the persons elected ought not to be loaded with expense. This position was perfectly correct; for if Members of Parliament im

be unworthy of the honour you have done me, if I affected to conceal the first wish of my heart. I sincerely hope, that of all the Electors, who, five years ago, gave their vote in favour of the Honourable Baronet, there is not one now living who will not be ready, if it should be again necessary, to come forward on this occasion, and do the same. And to them, I trust, I may be able to add thousands of others, who, since that time, have had an opportunity of examining and scrutinizing the parliamentary conduct of Sir Francis Burdett-(applause) and must have seen in it all that could render a Representative respectable, or endear him to the hearts of his Constituents. He has displayed extraordinary talents, incorruptible integrity, undaunted courage, and the most sound constitutional principles (Applause).—I understand, that, with regard to your last Representative, Sir Francis Burdett, he does not come forward, solicit-paired their fortunes in expensive contests, ing your votes, as a candidate. I am told, for I have had no communication with Sir Francis, that he considers it the duty of the Electors to look out for, and support, such persons as they think best calculated to represent them, and not the business of Candidates to push themselves personally forward. I will not take upon me to say whether this is or is not a correct principle; but, if Sir Francis Burdett conceives it to be right, he, as an honest man, must act upon it. The same feeling does not appear to sway the Noble Lord (Cochrane), who, for the purpose of proving his political principles, has written two letters, which have come into the hands of Mr. Brooks, the gentleman so well known as the treasurer of the former election. Those letters were addressed "To the Gentlemen composing the Committee for promoting the Purity of Election," and contained an explanation of his Lordship's political opinions and sentiments, which, I suppose, the meeting would wish to have read. Having stated the object in view, if any gentleman has a proposition to make, I shall be very happy to hear him."

Mr. HARRIS then rose and said, having undertaken to submit certain Resolutions to the Meeting, he was under the necessity of throwing himself on their indulgence, and trusted that they would not impute to presumption, his thus coming forward on so important an occasion. He felt himself placed in a most awkward situation, in addressing them, when there were so many older, wiser, and better men in the room. He would, however, endeavour to acquit

what could their Constituents expect, but that they would endeavour to pay themselves out of the pockets of the people, by selling themselves to Ministers ? They should not, therefore, send their representatives in on such conditions, but perfectly free, to prevent the smallest excuse for a dereliction of their duty. They certainly possessed the ability, and they had exercised it, of sending their Representatives into Parliament without putting them to any expense. He doubted not that the Electors of Westminster would, on this occasion, set a good example to the country in general.-Books were then open in the room, and some money had already been subscribed; and he trusted every man, according to his means, would endeavour to further the great object they had in view. Mr. Harris then proceeded to read the Resolutions.

1st, That the Election of Members of Parliament ought to be conducted according to the principles of old English Freedom, which declare that Elections should be free and without corruption.

2d, That the City of Wesminster will not disappoint the expectation of the Country, but, following up the great example it has set, return its Represent: ives to Parliament free of expense.

3d, That Subscriptions be entered into to defray the expense of the ensuing Election, and that Samuel Brooks, Esq. be Treasurer of the Fund; to the support of which it is the bounden duty of every Elector and friend to purity of Election to contribute.

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