to raise the price of all commodities throughout the country, to more than the amount of the profit which these purchasers would choose to make by this traffic.

I request you to communicate this letter to the Consul General for the information of Messrs. Alcock and Bulkeley, and that of the British merchants at Lisbon in general.

At the same time, I beg that these gentlemen may be informed, that as it appears that a considerable time has now elapsed since these demands have been due to them, I have desired the Commissary General to take an early opportunity of paying them.

"His Excellency Charles Stuart.'

'I have the honor to be, &c.

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

'MY LORD,

Lieut. General the Marques de Monsalud, who commands in Estremadura, in the absence of Captain General Castaños, has requested me to apply to Government for 8000 suits of clothing, including shoes, shirts, caps, and gaiters, for the Spanish troops destined to be the garrison of Badajoz, of the same description with that recently sent to Oporto for Don Carlos de España, with the exception of the caps, which are to be of black felt; and 400 suits of the same description for artillerymen, and 200 suits of grey for pioneers.

'I request that if your Lordship should grant this clothing it may be sent to the Tagus at an early period. I have the honor to be, &c.

• The Earl of Liverpool.'

'WELLINGTON.

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

• Marmont has retired, and I shall immediately get provisions into Ciudad Rodrigo. I propose, while this operation shall be going on, to send some of the troops back across the Tagus, and to distribute the whole in such a manner as that they can be easily subsisted.

'I think that you might avail yourself of this opportunity to strike your blow at Almaraz. I think that one of your British brigades, and two Portuguese brigades, or one and a half British, and one strong Portuguese brigade, would do your business as to the French in that neighbourhood.

All the iron howitzers are now in Elvas, and you might employ to draw six of them, the mules attached to one of General Hamilton's brigades of Portuguese artillery. If Dickson has not got the ammunition carriages prepared for the brigade of howitzers, which I proposed should be in the reserve of the artillery, you might then get mule carts to carry the quantity of shot, and of howitzer and spherical shells which you might think it expedient to take. See Dickson in regard to this equipment, and settle the whole with him. You had better take him on the expedition with you. The equipment might be prepared at Elvas, and might join you at Truxillo or Jaraicejo by Caceres. Besides the gun equipment, you should take with you six of our small pontoons, to enable you to make a flying bridge if you should require it. The pontoons and bullocks are at St. Vincente, near Elvas; Lieut. Piper, of the Engineers, is in charge of them, and will do whatever you order him; each of them should march with a double proportion of bullocks.

• Make all your preparations in secret for this expedition. I shall watch from hence the course of the enemy's retreat, and will let you know if it should appear to me that you have any thing to fear from any of the divisions of the army of Portugal going near Almaraz. Of course you will not march till you shall hear further from me.

Believe me, &c.

'Lieut. General Sir R. Hill, K.B.

'WELLINGTON.

'You should take a regiment of British and one of Portuguese cavalry on this service."

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to Dom Miguel Pereira

de Forjaz.

'SIR, Alfayates, 24th April, 1812. 'I have had the honor of receiving your letter of the 6th April, enclosing one from the Conde de Linhares, in regard to the reward of Major Das Neves, as having first formed the

plan of the positions which are fortified in front of Lisbon, and first conceived the idea of the system of defence which was adopted. It has never been my practice to refrain from giving applause to those officers under my command to whom applause is due, or to omit to recommend them to the notice and generosity of their superiors and their sovereign; but I solemnly protest against its being understood that Major Das Neves, or Colonel Caula, either formed the plan, or conceived the idea of the system which was carried into execution for the safety of Lisbon under my direction. I never saw Major Das Neves in my life, nor Colonel Caula, till I saw him at Almeida. Your Excellency gave me in 1809 a plan of the country in question, and a memoir by Major Das Neves; I am now obliged to declare that when I came to examine the ground, I found both so inaccurate, that I could place no reliance upon them; and it is a fact that having trusted in one instance to the plan and memoir, without reconnaitring the ground, I was obliged to make a second journey to Lisbon, in February, 1810, and to destroy the works which had been commenced.

'I have the honor to be, &c.

'Dom Miguel Pereira de Forjaz.'

SIR,

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to His Excellency

Charles Stuart.

Alfayates, 24th April, 1812.

I have had the honor of receiving your letter of the 28th March, regarding the importation of articles duty free for the British Commissariat.

It appears to me that there can be no difficulty in the business, by applying to these articles the first article, as proposed in my letter to you of the 4th November, 1810.

The Commissary General will apply to me that these articles may be imported duty free, giving me a list of them, which I will sign, and send the application to you. These articles will then be admitted duty free, and carried to the Commissariat stores, under the responsibility of the officers of the Commissariat.

General the Earl of Wellington, K.B., to His Excellency

MY DEAR SIR,

Charles Stuart.

Alfayates, 24th April, 1812. My brother-in-law has sent me a carriage from England in one of the transports, of which the wheels must be put on, and the carriage hung upon springs in Lisbon. If you have an English coachman I shall be very much obliged to you if you will allow him to put the carriage together for me; if not, I shall be obliged to you if you will employ to do it the most intelligent coachmaker in Lisbon.

I have here one of the Prince's carriages, which I propose to send down as soon as my own shall come up; and I shall be very much obliged to you if you will ask Joaquim de Costa to lend me a pair of the Prince's mules and a careful driver, to bring the carriage up. I shall send the mules and driver back by the Prince's carriage. One of the police dragoons might as well come up with the carriage. Excuse this trouble. Believe me, &c. • WELLINGTON.

• His Excellency

Charles Stuart.

· Marmont has retired. I hope to be able yet to undertake an expedition to the south.'

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

· MY LORD,

Secretary of State.

Alfayates, 24th April, 1812. 'The army continued its march towards this quarter since I last addressed you, and the enemy retired before them. The last of the enemy crossed the Agueda yesterday morning, and they are in full retreat towards the Tormes. The rains which had fallen between the 13th and 19th instant, had carried away the bridge which they had constructed on the Agueda, immediately above Ciudad Rodrigo, but they have repaired it within these last three days, and the leading divisions of the army crossed by the Puente del Villar, and the fords of the Upper Agueda; the rear only by the bridge near Ciudad Rodrigo.

When Marshal Marmont marched his troops upon Sabugal, Lieut. General Bacellar ordered that the Portuguese militia under Brig. Generals Trant and Wilson should be concen

trated upon Guarda, with a view to protect our magazines at Celorico, and to prevent the enemy's incursions into the Serra d'Estrella.

• Marshal Marmont moved upon this militia on the 14th instant, with a considerable force of cavalry, infantry, and artillery; and Brig. General Trant, who commanded, conceiving the enemy to be too strong for him, determined to retire across the Mondego. I am by no means satisfied with the conduct of the militia upon this occasion. They had made great progress in their retreat, which, if they had been steady, would have been effected without loss. But a battalion which was covering the retreat having been ordered to fire upon the enemy's cavalry, and the rain having prevented their pieces from going off, broke, and threw the retreating troops into disorder, and the enemy took about 150 prisoners.

The troops were formed again, however, on the left of the Mondego, and retired upon Celorico, General Bacellar keeping the advanced posts, under Brig. General Wilson, at Lagiosa. On the following morning, the 15th, the enemy advanced again in considerable force, and drove in Brig. General Wilson's outposts at Lagiosa, which induced General Wilson to give directions that our magazines at Celorico might be destroyed, according to directions which I had left in case the magazines were likely to fall into the hands of the enemy. But the enemy having halted at Lagiosa, Brig. General Wilson countermanded the order for the destruction of the magazines, and nearly the whole have been saved.

The enemy retired from Lagiosa in the course of the night of the 15th, and from Guarda on the 16th, which town was occupied on the 17th by the troops under the command of Brig. General Wilson.

I enclose a letter from General Bacellar of the 15th, containing Brig. General Trant's report of the affair of the 14th, and your Lordship will be happy to learn that the officers of the militia behaved remarkably well. It appears to me that Brig General Trant and Brig. General Wilson, being at Guarda, did every thing they ought to have done. But when Marshal Marmont was in strength at Sabugal, they ought to have kept only an advanced guard at Guarda; and as soon as I heard that they were collected at Guarda, I apprized them of my opinion; but it was too late.