Major Dickson will communicate with you upon this subject. I shall likewise be much obliged to you, if you will take measures to have taken out of the water, placed upon their carriages, and drawn into Elvas, the five boats now formed into the two flying bridges, with all the materials belonging to them.

There are in Badajoz fifteen pontoons, which the Government has given to me; and I shall be very much obliged to you, if you will make arrangements to have them drawn into Elvas; each pontoon will require six bullocks to draw it, but it will not be necessary to draw the whole at once. Colonel Fletcher will communicate with you these two last subjects. I have the honor to be, &c.

• General Victoria.

WELLINGTON.

'SIR,

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to the Right Hon.
Sir Henry Wellesley, K.B.

'Portalegre, 15th April, 1812. This letter will be delivered to you by Baron Reus, an Austrian officer, who is desirous of entering the Spanish service; and as his character is well known to Sir Thomas Graham, who speaks of him in the highest terms, I beg leave to recommend him to your notice, and I trust that you will be good enough to forward his views as much as may be in your power.

• The Right Hon.
Sir H. Wellesley, K.B.'

'I have the honor to be, &c.

⚫ WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to J. Bissett, Esq.

'MY DEAR SIR,

Commissary General.

'Niza, 15th April, 1812.

I enclose a letter and its enclosures from the Secretary of State, which I beg you to peruse and return to me; and to let me have your opinion on the plan proposed.

I think we shall get some money, or at all events, pay some debts by this scheme.

'J. Bissett, Esq.'

• Believe me, &c.

'WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to Major General

SIR,

Niza, 15th April, 1812.

I received last night your letter of the 13th, and this day that of the 14th.

'I will hereafter reply to that part of the first which refers to your justification of your own conduct, confining myself now to telling you that it is by no means satisfactory; and that you have disobeyed my instructions in three instances, in all of which they were clear. I have also to observe, that if you had obeyed them, the enemy would, probably, never have passed the Coa.

'Major General

'I have the honor to be, &c.

• WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to the Earl of Liverpool, Secretary of State.

'MY LORD,

'Niza, 15th April, 1812.

I have received your Lordship's letter of the 18th March, enclosing the Order in Council of the 4th March, relative to the residence of the partners of British commercial houses in parts of Spain occupied by the enemy.

I am much afraid that the effect of this Order in Council, if the British troops should ever enter into the heart of Spain, will be to afford the protection of the British Government to Spanish and British subjects who have exerted themselves to support the usurpation of the enemy, and have done more to establish the enemy's government in Spain than any other description of persons. I know some who come under this character.

• The Earl of Liverpool.'

I have the honor to be, &c.

'WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to the Earl of Liverpool, Secretary of State.

I have the honor to enclose the copy of a letter from the Prince Regent of Portugal, by which I learn that His Royal Highness has been pleased to create me Marquez de Torres Vedras.

'I shall be much obliged to your Lordship if you will lay this letter before His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and request His Royal Highness's permission for me to accept the honor conferred upon me by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal.

I have the honor to be, &c.

• WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to Lieut. Colonel Torrens, Military Secretary to the Commander in Chief.

• MY DEAR TORRENS,

Niza, 15th April, 1812.

I enclose a letter from General H. Clinton (in which he proposes a levy of men of inferior size and strength, to perform certain duties, for which men are now necessarily taken from the ranks), because I think it proper that every plan of this description should come under the view of the Commander in Chief, particularly when it proceeds from a respectable officer; but I acknowledge that I do not think the plan would have the effect expected from it.

First; I do not think that the men to be formed into these battalions would be very trustworthy. If they should not be so, the medical gentlemen will not like to use them as orderlies in the hospitals, nor the captains of companies, nor others entitled to bâtmen, be induced to trust them in that capacity. It will not be easy to prevent soldiers in the regular regiments from being so employed.

Secondly; I am afraid that, with all our care, we have at this moment, in every regiment, men of the description mentioned by General Clinton. Sometimes they are employed as bâtmen and orderlies, but generally they are too weak even for these duties. Surely if we have men of that description in all the regiments, there is no use in raising entire battalions of them.

Thirdly; we have no escorts with convalescents, nor with commissariat stores, and very rarely with sick going to hospitals. The convalescents coming up to the army are the guards for the treasure sent at the same time. Here, therefore, there would be no saving of men. The cattle guards require at times the strongest and most active men in the regiments. These men are frequently out at night, and their

marches are always more fatiguing than those of the other soldiers.

'SIR,

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to Major General Cooke. 'Niza, 16th April, 1812. 'It is really necessary to attend to the orders from England, which I have transmitted to you, for the relief of the garrison of Tarifa.

་

'I conclude that the Spanish Government will now bring back to Cadiz part of General Ballesteros's corps; but whether they do or not, you must send the troops to Tarifa according to my directions; and I beg to have, as soon as possible, an account of the state of the works there, and of the position which you propose should be taken up and defended.

*Major General Cooke.'

'I have the honor to be, &c.
"WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to Major General Cooke. SIR, · Niza, 16th April, 1812. Since I wrote to you this morning I have received your letter of the 6th instant.

"The Commanding Officer at Tarifa is to continue to receive ten shillings per diem.

I beg that you will apply to Lieut. General Campbell, to leave Captain Vavasour, of the Engineers, at Tarifa. "I have the honor to be, &c.

* Major General Cooke:

• WELLINGTON.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to Lieut. General

MY DEAR SIR,

Sir T. Graham, K.B.

་

Niza, 16th April, 1812. Half past 1 P.M. I enclose intelligence received from the north and from Brito. It appears that Marmont came to Sabugal, and I conclude that the river and our advance will induce the whole to retire again. I have not heard from General - this day.

If Marmont retires, and I can get the convoy into Ciudad Rodrigo, I am still inclined to try my original plan, and in this case I shall halt the army.

'Lieut. General

Believe me, &c.

'WELLINGTON.

Sir T. Graham, K.B.'

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to the Right Hon.
Lord William Bentinck.

'MY DEAR LORD,

'Niza, 16th April, 1812.

I received on the 7th your letter of the 23rd February, which you had sent by your brother; and I refer you to one which I wrote to you on the 24th March, for my opinion on the plan proposed by your Lordship to the Secretary of State in your letter of the 25th January, and agreed to by the Secretary of State in his dispatch to you of the 4th of March.

'Since I wrote to you on the 24th March, I have had further reason to believe that a diversion on the eastern coast will be highly useful during the present campaign, and I hope that you will have it in your power to carry your proposition into execution.

I enclose the copy of a letter which I have written my brother*, in which you will see the state of affairs here, and the measures which I have recommended should be adopted in order to add to the strength of your corps.

I besides propose sending to Gibraltar, to join you eventually, some British and Portuguese artillerymen, some officers of engineers, and artificers, who may be of use to you. I shall likewise send there a battering train on travelling carriages, which has lately come from England for my use, consisting of twelve 24 pounders; six 18 pounders; and twenty 12 pounders; and thirty travelling carriages for 24 pounders, for which I shall request General Campbell to have guns, &c., fitted. You will find these carriages much more manageable in trenches and batteries than those which would be furnished from the ships. I hope also to send some mortars and howitzers.

In respect to time, the period in which your operations would be of most use there, would be in the months of June, July, and August; say from the third week in June, to the second week in September: this is the period during which the harvest is on the ground, and we may be certain that the French will collect their armies in one body. All the preparations, therefore, which depend upon me shall be made, and every thing at its place early in June.

I have recommended to Lord Frederick to return to you!

* See page 56.