[674.] 0 NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, Dec. 15, 1810. My Cousin,-Let me know if it be true that merinos are exported from San Sebastian for America. Order General Thouvenot to forbid this, and to send them to France. Order the commandant of Burgos to allow the Bishop of Calahorra to pass and to receive him as bishop. [675.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, Dec. 15, 1810. My Cousin,-How is it that the gendarmes in Santander, Biscay, and Aragon are not paid? Write to General Caffarelli respecting Biscay and Santander, and to General Suchet respecting Aragon, to take measures for paying them immediately. Gendarmes must be paid before any others. [ 676.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, Dec. 26, 1810. My Cousin,-Send off to-night an express to Bayonne, and let General Foy know that we have news from London of the 22nd, from which it appears that up to the 3rd of December the Prince of Essling continued to occupy Santarem; that there have been some skirmishes with the advanced guard, in which the English were repulsed; that Lord Wellington has resumed his position near Lisbon; that Silveyra boasts of having succeeded in an attack upon General Gardanne's advanced guard; that it seems from the details given by Silveyra that his force was inconsiderable; and that, if General Gardanne had continued to march upon him, large magazines of corn and biscuit would have been exposed to us. Send three copies of the 'Moniteur' of to-day to General Foy; it contains the news received from London yesterday: and tell him that the 'Moniteur' of to-morrow will be sent to him, with some articles in it bearing reference to these details, and also to the Regency in London, which is not without some influence on the affairs of our army. . CHAPTER XVII. THE letters contained in this chapter extend from the 16th of January to the 31st of December, 1811. Napoleon passed this year, as he had passed the previous one, within the French empire. The annexation of the Hanse Towns and of Oldenburg to France, and the increasing disputes with Russia, were the principal events connected with the North of Europe. In Spain, Napoleon was preparing to annex to France the provinces to the north of the Ebro, and was striving to seize and to apply to the use of his own army the whole resources of the remainder of the country. the The sufferings and the terror inspired by these measures, constantly increasing influence of Lord Wellington and his army, and the jealousies and insubordination of the French generals, convinced Joseph that his cause was hopeless. He spent the year in fruitless attempts to escape from his uneasy throne. [677.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER, Paris, Jan. 16, 1811. My Cousin, I approve of your draft of the instructions for the Duke of Istria. Send them on to him, as well as my decree, which you are to consider as having been signed, and which you are to transmit to the Minister of War. Let General Lecamus join the Duke of Istria without delay. The Duke of Istria may act exactly as he thinks best; he may concentrate his hospitals and magazines; in short, whatever the good of my service requires. You will authorise him to correspond with the King of Spain, the Duke of Dalmatia, Generals Suchet and Drouet, and the Prince of Essling, that he may know what they are about. Tell him that, if General Drouet's corps returns to Spain, he is to command it, and that in unforeseen events he is to support the army of Portugal. [678.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, Jan. 17, 1811. My Cousin,-Let the King of Spain know that, having given the government of Madrid to General Belliard, who has continued to serve me well, I do not choose that it should be taken from him, nor, above all, that it should be given to an officer who is not in the service of France; that, if it be true that the King has deprived General Belliard of the government of Madrid, he must restore it to him without delay; that this is my formal order; that generally speaking I do not intend any French troops to be under the command of officers in the Spanish service. [679.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, Feb. 6, 1811. My Cousin, I think that you ought to send the 'Moniteur' of to-day to the Duke of Dalmatia, to the Duke of Treviso, to General Belliard, to the Duke of Istria, and to the commandant of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida. When you send the 'Moniteur' to the Duke of Istria, tell him that he will find in it the latest news from Portugal, apparently of the 13th; that things seem to be turning out well; that, if Badajoz was taken in the course of the month of January, the Duke of Dalmatia may have marched upon the Tagus, and assisted the Prince of Essling in establishing a bridge; that it is therefore of great consequence to make all the arrangements which I ordered, so that General *Napoleon had appointed General Belliard chief of the staff of the army of the centre. Joseph thereupon deprived him of the government of Madrid and gave it to General Blaniac.-TR. Drouet with his two divisions may be at the disposal of the Prince of Essling. Write at the same time to inform the Duke of Dalmatia of the position of the Duke of Istria, and to reiterate to him the order to assist the Prince of Essling in crossing the Tagus; tell him that I hope that Badajoz was taken in the course of the month of January, and that he joined the Prince of Essling on the Tagus towards the 20th of January; that, if necessary, he may withdraw troops from the 4th corps; that, in short, everything turns upon the Tagus. [680.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, March 8, 1811. My Cousin,-There are three millions at Burgos and two millions at Valladolid; the two millions which are at Valladolid are intended for the army of Portugal, as well as one of the three millions which are at Burgos. Order the Duke of Istria to collect the three millions intended for the army of Portugal, and to send them as soon as that army appears to have decided either to proceed towards the Alentejo or to return upon Coimbra. Everything inclines me to think that by this time the decision has been made. One of the other two millions at Burgos is intended for the army of Madrid; order the Duke of Istria to send it thither. The other million was intended for the army of the South, but it is less needed there. I authorise the Duke of Istria to dispose of 500,000 fr. in paying the detachments from the army of Portugal which are in the provinces of Salamanca, and to send the other 500,000 to Madrid for the use of the army of the Centre. [681.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, March 8, 1811. My Cousin,-Order three millions to be sent from Bayonne to Burgos. 500,000 fr. are to be distributed among the regiments in the province of Santander, and the other districts belonging to the army of the North which are most in want of money, particularly paying in full the gendarmes. You will set apart 1,500,000 fr. for the army of Portugal, which, with the 3.500,000 fr. which I have already ordered you to send thither, will make in the whole five millions. Send one million to the army of the Centre, and take this money from the funds of the armies of Spain and Portugal of 1810. Let me know what is owing by the Treasury for the year 1810 and for the present year. [682.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, March 9, 1811. My Cousin, I beg of you to write a private letter to General Suchet to express to him my satisfaction at his good conduct in the last campaign; tell him that I expect great things from his zeal in pushing forward the siege of Tarragona. This town taken, he will have conquered Catalonia. The officer whom you send must tell him verbally that in Tarragona he will find his marshal's baton. Write to him that he will have 40,000 men under his command; that with so large an army he may leave behind him troops enough to hold Aragon and threaten Valencia, while he lays siege to Tarragona. I agree with him that Valencia will fall of itself. It is there that the armies of Aragon and of Catalonia will find the rewards of their labours. [683.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, March 9, 1811. My Cousin,-Write to the King of Spain that his aide-decamp, Clermont Tonnerre, brought me favourable news as to Valencia, but that unhappily it is not confirmed; that it seems however from the last reports, that there is much disturbance in the town; that General Suchet asks for 30,000 men and 40 pieces of artillery to subdue it; but that at present Tarragona is the chief object, and must be taken first of all. [684.] NAPOLEON TO BERTHIER. Paris, March 9, 1811. My Cousin,-Write to the King of Spain that General Lahoussaye was very wrong to put himself into communication with |