this retreat has been occasioned by the | terlitz and Wagram, it is this :-After the want of provisions (2).-The French have returned to Madrid.' has these Notes:

| the English were fortunate! A Dutch General, called Bruce, the shame of the military name, and whose head the nation must have to fall upon the scaffold, evacua

six hours before the English arrived. Here, then, we again behold the English enjoying a good fortune upon which they could not rely; but these fortunate events, purchased with the ever-increasing diminution of their armies, whither could they carry them; to burn the French squadron to effect this, it was necessary to take Antwerp. But in fine, the French squadron being taken and burned, it remains to be known whether such an operation was worth what it has cost, and whether it be very prudent to go to an expence of many men, and of 40 or 50 millions, in order to occasion one's enemy a loss of between 15 and 20 millions.

given to the country; it could give the English nothing but shame; it could be attended with no other result than to make them lose an army, whilst it would procure a new army to the Emperor.ted this fort through an unexamplified panic These prognostics have been perfectly verified.We say that the expedition could not be attended with any result, because it was necessary to begin by making the siege of Flushing. Flushing, provided the island of Walcheren be inundated, must be considered by every sensible officer as a place impregnable, by a regular siege, or at least as presenting difficulties which the labour of four months would be unable to vanquish. In this instance, the wisest calculations were baffled. Flushing, when the besiegers trenches were still three hundred paces from the body of the fortress, when there was no breach, when the body of the fortress was untouched, surrendered by the sole effect of But the ships at Antwerp could not be the terror of a bombardment. Is this taken. They did not depend upon the cowardice? Is it treason? The sequel of occupation of Flushing, upon that of he inquiry will prove which. Thus, then, Walcheren, nor of any island: they dehe sole opposition of Flushing, which depended upon the Continent. It was neained the English expedition only twen-cessary to take Antwerp! The English, y days, ought to have detained it three who for this long time past have not tranonths. Of all the chances of succeed- velled upon the Continent, consulted inng, certainly the one least expected by formation collected six years ago, and he English, must have been such a success imagined that Antwerp was still an open obtained by a bombardment; they re- town, as it was when it was only a trading quired 20 days for that. Now, 20 days port; they did not take into their calcuspent in the island of Walcheren, in the lation the works of these latter years, month of August, must have occasioned a especially those which ihe Emperor has number of sick, which cannot be comput- caused to be raised since his journey to ed at less than one in four soldiers; and to Antwerp. Upon establishing a dockcalculate otherwise would betray a total yard in that town, he ordered its fortificaignorance of the effects of that climate. tions to be again raised; it is now surWhen we say that 20 days spent in the rounded with a bastioned rampart. The island of Walcheren must cost the quarter ditch filled with water which covers this of the troops which land in it, we may rampart has been repaired; the left of add, that the health of the other three the town is covered by an immense inunquarters must be essentially impaired, dation which removes the approaches upand that all the weakened men are on the wards of fifteen hundred fathoms; the point of falling sick. It is therefore a right is supported by the citadel, which most senseless attempt to land brave sol- is a fine piece of fortification; upon this diers in that fatal country, and we must front, several works have been establishconsider the English army as destroyed, ed; among others, a fine half-moon with or at least what remains of it, as unable its counterscarp. Upon the left bank of to do much duty for several months to the Scheldt there are no houses, but the come. But in fine, after the siege of head of Flanders has been re-established, Flushing, we had to expect the siege of and its works are protected by an inundafort Batz, which communicating by wation of 2,000 fathoms in extent. ter with Bergen-op-Zoom and with fort St. English could not, therefore, take AntMartin, which the French have built op- werp without besieging it, without meposite to it, could in like manner not be thodically opening the trenches, without taken, but after works and trenches car- working on through the inundations and ried on in a country the climate of which marshes, in short, without having invested is as fatal as Walcheren. It is true, that the town: and if they must invest it on

The

both sides, they would require to have two armies: 1st, One between the head of Flanders and the town of St. Nichola, opposite to Brussels and to the road of France; indeed, we know no General bold enough to take this position with less than 80,000 infantry, and between 8 and 10,000 cavalry, since he must have to withstand the army which should arrive from France, and the troops should stretch out from the head of Flanders, that is to say, the whole garrison of Antwerp, which is a combine. attack, would sally out on that side. On the side of the town, the investment could not reasonably take place with an army of less than 40,000 men, having in front a corps of observation, to keep in check the army of the Duke of Valmy, assembled at Maestricht, which would draw near Antwerp, and having another corps towards Bergen-opZoom against the Dutch. It would, therefore, have been easier for Lord Chatham to take Brusels, to march against Ghent, and to advance as far as Flanders, leaving Antwerp and the French army behind him, than to undertake to invest Antwerp and besiege it. This much with regard to the same side ;

On the side of the river, the following are the obstacles which must have stop ped the English-Ist. Fort Frederic and Fort Doel, each moun ing fifteen 36pounders; after these, Fort Lillo and the Fort of Lief kenshock; each mounting sixty 36-pounders, and ten mortars; and behind, a line of eighty gun-boats and pinnaces, mounting two hundred 24 pounders. Now, every sensible man who knows that there is only a distance of 600 fathoms between Fort Lillo and the Fort of Liefkenshoek, which is opposite to it, perceives that this passage cannot be forced. With regard to fireships, it is well known that fireships and infernal machines are ineffectual. The infernal machine which was let off at St. Malo had no effect; these sorts of explosion were never able to shake a rampart. Au estacado had been established, which secured our gun-boats from fire-ships. In fine, we had also fireships; sixteen were already in readiness, and we were going to avail ourselves of the first favourable occasion to send them against the English. Besides, to make use of fire-ships, it would have been necessary to approach within 500 fathoms of the town, since from Lillo to Antwerp the

Scheldt makes four elbows, which would have prevented fire-ships from being di rected from any greater distance.-On the sea side in like manner no success could be noped for; but admitting that by the combition of the effects of the land and sea, Lilio and Liefkenshoek had been carried, which supposes two regular sieges, the enemy would directly after have met with three other barriers to be forced ; the Pearl fort, fort St. Philip, and fort St. Mary. All these forts are covered by inundations, and each of them would have required a separate siege. These diflèrent operations could not have taken place without losing 40 days more, and suppos ing that by the 20th of October the land and sea forces had been able to approach within 2,000 fathoms of Antwerp, they still required three months more to take the town. With regard to the squadron, it was entirely shut up within the town, up and down the river, protecting Antwerp, and protected by it. The taking of Antwerp was, therefore, a thing imposs ble for Lord Chatham, an operation much more difficult to be effected than the occupation of a quarter of France.-However, the following was the system of the French army; from the 15th of August three corps were formed. The Prince of Ponte Corvo was at Antwerp with 30.000 men, national guards, regulars and Dutch troops. The Duke of Cornegliano was at Ghent with the corps of the head of Flanders, consisting of 25,000 men; the Duke of Istria was at Lisle with 20,000 men.— We should have let the English, had they seriously presented themselves, cross the channel of Bergen-op-Zoom, stretch out beyond the inundation of Lulo, and march against Antwerp; the Duke of Cornegliano would have proceeded towards the Head of Flanders, and whilst the English would have been making their dispositions to invest Antwerp from fort Lilio, to the citadel, the Prince of Ponte Corvo and the Duke of Cornegliano, protected by the inundations and by the immense works of the town, would have waited for them, and on the day agreed upon, would have stretched out upon the right; and then the English armies would have terminated its destinies: the Duke of Istria would during that time have proceeded to the island of Cadsand.

(To be continued.)

LONDON :-Printed by T. C. HANSARD, Peterborough Court, Fleet - Street; Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges-Street, Covent Garden :-Sold also by J. BUDD, Pall-Mall.

VOL. XVI. No. 16.] LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1809. [Price 1s.

5771

THE JUBILEE.

TO RICHARD GOODLAD, ESQ.

OF THE

Parish of Droxford, in the County of Hants.

SIR,

[57S 25th instant, to the poor parishioners of Droxford, it being the opinion of the parties so proposing, that the king would be peculiarly de lighted with our loyalty's shewing itself in the form of largesses to his poorer subjects.

These, Sir, are the principal propositions contained in your letter; and, before I come to consider them in their relation to what is called the Jubilee; before I Botley, 19 Oct. 1809. come to consider them as relating solely to When I had, on the 17th instant, the the present occasion, give me leave to troupleasure of seeing you at the Justice-meet-ble you with some observations upon all ing at Droxford, you mentioned to me Subscriptions, having such an object in something about a subscription in behalf of view, and being set on foot in such a manthe poor inhabitants of that parish, which ner. has so long experienced the good effects of your activity and benevolence. You informed me, at the same time, that Mr. CHIDELL, the Overseer of the poor, in our Tything, would call upon me with a paper, containing a list of the subscriptions already taken. This paper, with my name in it, has just been presented to me; and, against my name, I have written these words: « Mr. Cobbett thinks it improper to "give any thing at all;" my reasons for which opinion I shall now state to you, and (under an address to you) to the public at large; because I am satisfied, that, in more than one point of view, the statement may, sooner or later, be conducive to the public good; and, as to the mode of address, it will, I think, require no apology, when it is considered, that the aforementioned Subscription-paper came accompanied with a circular-letter under your hand.

Of this letter, Sir, which I kept in my possession until I had read it twice through, he following is the substance: That, on he 25th instant, being the day when the king will enter upon the 50th year of his reign, there will be a GENERAL rejoining through the ingdom; -that it would be a PITY, that, midst this general joy, the parish of Droxford hould APPEAR LESS LOYAL than its wighbours;————that MR. GARNIER the Rector, and MR. NOTT, the Curate, together with ther gentlemen of the parish, assembled after livine service, on Sunday last, proposed the pening of a Subscription for the purpose of aising a sum of money, wherewith to purchase read, meat, and beer, to be delivered, on the

First, then, I decidedly disapprove of this manner of feeding and treating the poor, which, so far from being conformable to the principles of hospitality, it does, in fact, argue, in the donors, a contempt for the persons fed and treated, who are thus as clearly marked out for a degraded cast, as if they had badges put upon their clothes, or, as some of the American ne groes have, a burnt mark in their cheek, When, therefore, I treat a poor man, I treat him under my own roof, or, in case of sickness, send what I have to give him, to his own house, and never expose him to the humiliation of this kind of public and pauper-like relief. Besides, Sir, I hold it to be very injurious to the country, that any attempt like this should be made to keep pauperism in countenance; for such will be the tendency, though certainly not the intention, of the proposed largess. It must, in my opinion, as far as it operates, have the effect of reconciling the minds of the labouring people to a state of dependance and beggary, and to efface the small remains of that spirit, which formerly withheld their names from the list of papers. I heid, Sir, that it is a terrible evil, that a labourer not afflicted with illness of any sort, either in himself or his family, should be under the necessity of applying for parish relief, should be under the necessity of begging any part of his bread, or of receiving any assistance in the character of either beggar or pauper; and, of course, I must disapprove of any project the object of which is to feed and treat any portion of our neighbours in that

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