ford has issued the following GENERAL ORDERS: the Portuguese his character and honour, perfectly satisfied that they will be preserved unimpaired, and returned to him with gain. The Field-Marshal, Commander in Chief, deems it necessary to assure you, that he will at all times consider it as one of his most important duties, to raise and reward merit, whenever he shall meet with it, and that the only recommen.dation he shall notice, will be that derived from zeal, activity, skill, valour, and pa tage of the officers and soldiers who are entrusted to his care.-Dated, Head Quarters, Lisbon, the 13th March 1809." "His Royal Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal having most graciously been pleased to entrust to Field Marshal Beresford the command in chief of his armies, thinks it right, on assuming the said command, to state and declare to his comrades in arms his sentiments on this occasion. The Field Marshal and Commander in Chief, during the time he served in the army which was sent by his Britan-triotism, qualities which shall at all times nic Majesty to support the admirable and find in him a sure and zealous protector. prodigious efforts made by the Portuguese The Field-Marshal, Commander in to recover their liberty and independence, Chief, calls the attention of all the General so unjustly attacked, had an opportunity and Subaltern Officers to the present state of becoming intimately acquainted with and improvement of the army, and being the military character of the nation; and convinced that the best method of introalthough he thinks he has given the most ducing discipline and a strict observance effectual proofs of the favourable idea he of duty into a military corps consists in the had formed of that character, by accepting example set by the Officers, he hopes the above command, yet he wishes and they will never fail to give their men a hopes to prove in a more decisive man- lesson so necessary and important. The ner, that the command in chief of the Por-Field-Marshal Commander-in Chief feels tuguese army could not have possibly been anxious to embrace the earliest opportuconfided to any other Officer so thoroughly nity of inspecting the different corps convinced of the innate military talents and which have already taken the field, as well disposition of the Portuguese, who want as the rest of the army; and he shall avail nothing but some skill and uniformity of himself of all occasions which offer to proplan in the direction of their warlike en-mote the satisfaction, decorum, and advanergies, to prove that they still are what they have always been, if not the best soldiers, at least equal to the most valiant and most intrepid troops of Europe. The Field-Marshal Commander in Chief will therefore exert himself with incessant zeal and application to render those qualities Louis-Napoleon, by the grace of God, as efficient as they are accustomed to be and the Constitution of the kingdom, King when they are assisted by a strict and well- of Holland, and Constable of France, regulated discipline. It is universally ac- taking into consideration that the term knowledged that the Portuguese are loyal prescribed by our Decree of the 27th of to their Sovereign, obedient to their lawful November, 1808, No. 5, expires on the authorities who represent him, and endure, 31st instant. Taking further into conwithout murmurs, the privations and in- sideration that it is necessary, at the preconveniences to which armies must fre- sent period, to take further measures, eiquently submit. The patriotism, energy, ther for the renewal of the aforesaid Decree, and enthusiasm, of which they have but or the previous Decrees respecting the very lately given the most unquestionable means of carrying into execution the proofs; the glory which they acquired inhibition of all commerce with the enemy, Roussillon, and the successes which they or of replacing them, in whole or part, by obtained on the northern frontiers, 'clearly other measures calculated to place all shew their determined intrepidity and va- matters relative to navigation on a footing lour, qualities which cannot but render of complete uniformity with the Decree them worthy of their ancestors, and as fa- of France and of our Brother the Emperor; mous as them.No nation, Portuguese, is and notwithstanding the difficulties arising therefore better qualified than you are to from the maritime war, and those which form the best troops. The Field-Marshal, commerce suffers for its own interest, Commander in Chief, convinced of this being continually anxious to contribute to truth, finds himself, with the utmost plea- that important object, we have decreed sure, identified with the Portuguese nation. and hereby decreeHe is a Portuguese Officer, and confides to HOLLAND.-From the Royal Courant, pub lished at Amsterdam on the 4th Inst. pro Art. 1. All commerce, correspondence, and communication with England, remains [ be imported under any pretence whatever; prohibited according to the purport of all prohibited goods of whatever descripour previous Laws, Decrees, and Regu- tion, and in whatsoever quantity imported, lations, and particularly such of them as and also the vessels on board which they expired on the 21st instant, so far as no may be found, being hereby declared liaalteration is therein made by the present ble to confiscation. decree. 2. From the first day of the succeeding month of April, the following fifty-two articles may be exported to friendly or neutral countries in Dutch vessels, or those sailing under the flag of neutral or allied powers, viz. 7. In case of suspicions arising respecting the origin of the cargo from Informations received by the officers of the Marine Director, the same shall be provisionally sequestrated until proof be given that it has not come from England or her co lonics. Books, beans, butter, brandy, bricks, 8. Our Consuls in giving certificates of white lead, cheese, cambricks, copper ma- origin for goods shipped at their ports of nufactured, clocks, clover and garden residence for Dutch Ports, shall not conseeds, eels, flower roots, fruits, geneva, fine themselves to certifying that the gauzes, glue, hoops, hides dried, iron ma- goods neither come from England nor her nufactured, leather, linen, linseed, mad-colonies, nor belong to English commerce, ders, mill-stones, oak bark, ground oats, oils of seed, pottery, powder blue, peas, paper, perfumery, plants, pipes, playing cards, quills, rushes, silk manufactured, sacch. saturni, starch, tiles, thread and thread-tape, tobacco, tarras, turf, vinegar, watches, wine, wood manufactured. 3. The Importation of the following 32 articles shall be permitted, viz. but they shall further specify the place from whence the goods originally came, the documents produced to them in proof of the respective declarations, and the names of the vessels in which they were conveyed from the place of origin to the port where the Consuls reside. They are required to transmit a copy of the said declarations to our Marine Director. Brandy, ashes (pot), candles, copper, [The remaining eight Articles relate corn, fish-oil, isinglass, hare-skin, hemp merely to the details of the manner in and hemp seed, hides (rough), iron, lea- which the above Articles are to be carther (unmanufactured), lead, linseed, mer-ried into execution, by the Marine Direccury, mats, pitch, Russia skins, rape-seed, stock-fish, soda, tar, tallow, tobacco, timber, wax-wool, wool, bristles, and fruit. 4. The commodities prepared for exportation shall not be put on board until previous notice has been given thereof to the Marine Director of the Ways and Means, with a particular specification of such articles, which cannot be exported but from the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Groningen, Embden, Harlingen, Veere, Zierikzee, Delfzil and Brouwershaven. 5. In order to the admission of any vessels into the harbours of this kingdom, they must enter in ballast or laden with the products of the north, specified in the third Article, with the exception alone of such vessels as are laden with salt, or those which in the years 1806 or 1807 obtained our licence to proceed to China for a cargo of tea, upon shewing our said authority. 6. No other goods than those mentioned in the 4th Article shall be suffered to tor and the three Naval Commanders of the Coast Districts. The Decree is dated at Utrecht, on the 31st of March.] SPANISH REVOLUTION. Decree of the Supreme Junta. His Majesty, considering that the French, in the unjust and barbarous war which they wage against Spain, pay no regard to any principle of the laws of nations that they shamelessly violate the most solemn treaties, as has been verified with respect to the capitulation of Madrid, since, contrary to the stipulations therein made, they imprison, persecute, and banish peaceable Citizens and respectable Magistrates, imposing, at the same time, the most disgraceful punishments on other unfortunate persons on the slightest suspicions and most frivolous pretexts.-Seeing that they continue every where to defile the sanctity of temples, the purity of domestic honour, and to trample on the rights of humanity (To be continued.) LONDON:-Printed by T. C. HANSARD, Peterborough - Court, Fleet - Street; Published by R. BAGSHAW, Frydges -Street, Covent-Garden :-Sold also by J. PUDD, Pall - Mall, " VOL. XV. No. 16.] LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1809. [Price 18. "Lord CASTLEREach supported the opinion, that such a CONSPIRACY did exist, with the determined object of running down the characters of the princes of the blood, and through them to destroy the "monarchical branch of the constitution. Having failed in the attempt to injure it by open force, they now proceeded to sap and undermine it by the diffusion of seditious libels, converting the noble attri"butes of a free press to the most dangerous and detestable purposes. H. r. h. the Commander in Chief was the principal object of their rancorous invective. To his prejudice facts were falsified, and mo"tives attributed to him of which his very nature was incapable. As to the observation of the hon. gent. "that the crown lawyers had not done their duty in not prosecuting libellers, he had only to say, that "it was not always easy to convict upon an obvies libel, as a very small portion of legal knowledge united with some ingenuity, would be sufficient to defeat a prosecution.”- -Speech of 27th Jan. 1809, Then Mr. Wardle made his Charges. 577] SUMMARY OF POLITICS. -[578 India Directors are sworn not to sell Wri LORD CASTLEREAGH." Sufficient un-terships; but, to dispose of those offices to the day is the evil thereof;" and, in for the good of the service, and to such spite of my most anxious wish to put upon persons, of course, as are well qualified, record, in the Register, the remaining from their probity, as well as their talents, Cases of the York Inquiry, other matter, to fill places of great trust and confidence. of the same sort, presses forward continu- These Writers are clerks, sent out to Inally upon me, and, with new and irresis- dia, where they have the management of tible claims, contends for the preference. the Company's business; where they colAmongst all the cases, however, which lect taxes from the people; and where, demand immediate notice, that of this Lord when they arrive at high situations, they Castlereagh, is certainly entitled to the exercise great and fearful authority over first place. But, before I enter upon it the people.- -You will allow, that it is I must explain some circumstances, which very fitting, that persons, who are to fill ay not be generally known.The case such posts, should not be needy and greeis that of a transaction of proffered barter; dy adventurers; that they should be men in which, as the dealers in live-stock term of honour as well as men of sense; and, 1, a swap was intended to be made of an that they should come recommended by Vasthulia Writership for a Scat in the House these qualities, and not by a sum of money, of Commons: Now, reader, you should be in the shape of a bribe.This is what informed, that a Writership is an office un- ought to be; and, the principle, indeed der the East India Company, of which offices the law is, that this shall be, and, to secure there are many, and which are all bestow- the fulfilment of the law, the Directors ed by the East India Directors, who are a are even sworn not to sell any of these offikind of ministers, or rulers, in the affairs ces.How far the practice has corresof the Company. The people of England ponded with the theory, you will soon pay, though in a circuitous way, all the see; and, I beg you not to be surprized, salaries of these Writers and for all that is if you find the affairs of the East India gained by all the persons, who go to India Company to exhibit symptoms very little and get rich there. So that, when you see better, than those exhibited in the affairs what is called a Nabob come and settle in of the army, as connected with the estathis country, you see a man who has got blishment in Gloucester Place -It will all his means out of the taxes raised in Eng- not be forgotten, that, when DONOVAN (our land, the East India establishment being, old friend, Donovan!) came to be examin like many other establishments, nothing ed at the bar of the House of Commons, it more than a round-about channel, through appeared, that he had been concerned in which the fruits of the general labour and in- the Sale of Writerships, as well as of milicomes of the people go into the pockets of tary commissions and promotions. The individuals. This fact it will be necessary East India Directors, many of whom, to for you to bear in mind, in order to be able our great misfortune, are in the House, to form a correct judgment as to how you seened thunderstruck at the fact; well your family and neighbours are affect-knowing that they were sworn not to sell ed by the abuse of which I am about to any such offices, At this I, for my part, peak somewhat in detail.The East was quite surprized, seeing that, for many T and years past, these offices, both Writerslaps and Cadetships (the latter being a military office in the East Indies) have been adeertised for sale, or for purchase, in every news-paper in the kingdom, just in the same way and with as little disguise, as horses or houses are advertised.- -Nevertheless, as the thing was come out, there was no shuffling it off. Inquiry was called for in the East India department as well as in that of the army; and Mrs. Clarke having given the ministers a pretty good sample of the effects of their examinations at the bar of the House, it was resolved to form a distinct Committee, in a separate apartment of the House, for the purpose of prosecuting this Inquiry. The Committee, so appointed, made their Report on the 23rd of March, which Report, together with the Evidence, consisting of 238 folio pages, I have now before me. -From this valuable book, it appears, that, though there be no positive proof of the Directors having actually sold any of the offices, which they had taken an oath not to sell; yet, that they gave them to persons, who did sell them, and to persons, too, whom they must have known to be incapable of filling the offices themselves. For instance, the Director THELLUSSON gave three writerships to MR. WOODFORD, his cousin. Mr. Woodford sold the first for 3,500l. the second for 3,000l. and he disposed of the third to a Mr. TAHOURDIN, upon the latter undertaking to procure, for a friend of Mr. Woodford, the next presentation to a church living of the value of 3001. a year.The public have seen Mr. Woodford's statement, and to that I refer them, for the prescut, it being my object now to fix the attention of the reader to the Case of LORD CASTLEREAGH. -By-and-by, when I come to lay other cases before the public, the Reverend DR. LOCKE of Farnham in Surrey (my native town,) and a Reverend THOMAS LLOYD, will be seen purchasing and selling Cadetships, and, of course, will take their proper place upon the list with the Clergymen, whom Mrs. Clarke's affair introduced to a burthened and insulted nation. I have said that the Directors are not, in these papers, proved to have sold the places themselves; but, that they are proved to have given them to persons who did sell them, or swap them away. We shall, in a future article upon the subject, see some other great names introduced; but, at present we must confine ourselves to LORD CASTLEREAGH; to Lord Castlereagh, who and whose family, have, within the last thirty years, swallowed millions of the public money; to Lord Castlereagh, who is now Secretary of State for the War department, and, of course, one of the chief advisers of the King; to Lord Castlereagh, who is a colleague of that Mr. Perceval, who prosecuted the Plymouth Tinman; to Lord Castlereagh, who made the Speech, an extract of which I have taken for my motto; to Lord Castlereagh, who, upon Mr. Wardle's bringing forward his charges, was the loudest amongst those, who cried out "Jacobin Conspiracy," and who stated" the difficulties of producing con"viction in cases of libel;" to Lord Castlereagh, whom the Irish have such good reason to remember, and with whom I hope to make every man in England acquainted: Others anon; every one in his turn; but, first of all, let us confine ourselves, let us direct our undivided attention, to the Case of Lord Castlereagh.This being a case of such importance; it being a case that so clearly exposes to our view the manner, in which Seats in Parliament are bargained for; it being a case that goes to the very root of all the evils we sutler; all our mi series and all our shame; it being such a case as this, I shall give the whole of the Evidence relating to it. The witnesses are only three; namely, a Mr. REDING, Lord CLANCARTY, and Lord CASTLEREAGH himself.I beg the reader to go patiently through all this Evidence. A great deal of it is not directly to the main point; bet the whole of it is deeply interesting. Ob serve how familiarly REDING and even the two Lords talk of the truck. Observe how in timate Reding was with the Marq. of SLIGo, and how freely he speaks of the amount of the Writership and the Seat. You will see that REDING produces several letters from the Marquis of Sligo to him; and that he talks of the Marquis's sole property in the Seat. You see him negociating with the two Lords about the swap with as much ease as any two of us negociate about the swap for a horse or a cow. From these little incidents we get the true picture, the life, of the thing; aye, the true picture of our unparalleled degradation. MR. REDING'S EVIDENCE. "What was the understood condition of this agreement?That if the one had not the Seat, the other was not to have the Wri tership; that was the way I understood it. Through whose means was the Writership to be procured-I beg to ask per mission, if it is not too great a favour, to wait till I examine my accounts. How did you know it was to be obtained through his means?—I waited upon his lordship, and he wrote to me afterwards to come to him. I wrote to another nobleinan, a friend of mine. Who was that other nobleman ?-That nobleman is now dead; it was the marquis of Sligo. You wrote to him?--I had the honour of being very intimate with him; I told him, if this one thing could be done, I would manage to assist his friend to get the other. Which was to be got for his friend, the Writership, or the Seat in Parliament ?. The Seat in Parliament. Did he give you any letter to lord Clancarty?-None; the marquis of Sligo called at my house at different times, and we conversed upon this subject, and I received a letter to come to the Board of Controul. From whom was that letter?-Lord Clancarty. Before I obeyed this note, I waited upon the marquis of Sligo, and told him I had a letter; he said, I know you have, it is my man. I did not know lord Clançarty at that time. In consequence of this letter, I came to the Board of Controul, and several steps of negotiation took place respecting this Seat and this Thing. I did not know that I was doing wrong, for it was not selling the Seat. What conversation passed between you and lord Clancarty?-We have had so many conversations, that, without reference to my documents, I cannot say; I have many of his notes. Have you notes relating to this transaction now in your possession?-He does not say any thing further in the notes, but only desiring I will call at such a time. more, from different people, when I came home. Did the transaction break off upon this conversation ?-It did. Had you any subsequent conversation on the same subject with lord Clancarty? -I do not think I had, for I understood this man of the name of Davies made a piece of work about it, and I never spoke to Davies; I would not speak in the street, and I desired my servants, if he came, never to let him come into the house. When I met lord Clancarty since, he has said, how do you do, Mr. Reding, nothing more. Is this a true account of the termination of that transaction ?-It is, as far as I can recollect. Did you mention to lord Clancarty the name of the person for whom you wished this appointment to be obtained in India? I really do not know whether I did or did not. Recollect yourself. I have not the power to satisfy myself, whether I did or did not. Who was the person for whom you wished to procure the appointment?-A Mr. Ogg. Who is Mr. Ogg?—He is a young gentleman who lived in Gloucester-street, or Devonshire-street, Queen-square, Blooms bury. How was he known to you?-He is known to me through the interference of Mr. Davies, of Northumberland-street. What sum of money was Mr. Ogg to give you for procuring this appointment? I understood from Mr. Ogg at first it was to be 3,000l. at least, from Mr. Davies, then on going to Lloyd's Coffeehouse, I found it was to be 3,500l. I told them they were all a set of shufflers, for there was a larger sum of money than I knew any thing about, and I would have nothing more to do with it: whether it was pounds or guineas, I do not recollect. Did your transaction with Mr. Ogg break off in consequence of this circumstance?-No, it did not, my transaction with Mr. Ogg broke off in consequence of lord Clancarty being offended, and I being offended; and besides that, I understood that this man of the name of Davies sent some papers to lord Clancarty, on which I concluded, and all parties concluded, it was most prudent to drop further negotiation upon the subject. Then how will looking at those notes enable you to communicate any circumstances to the committee which you cannot now? Because I generally made some remarks and private memorandums, to see Was any money deposited by Mr. Ogg? where I had to answer, where I had to-Never; not to me or any body, that I wait. Perhaps I had a dozen letters or know of. |