ed the exertions of the officers and soldiers about 1,600 men, and a formidable train who have been engaged, but I still venture of artillery. The position of the allied to hope that they will appear sufficiently army was extensive. The left was posted meritorious to attract the notice and obtain on a strong range of hills, occupied by the approbation of His Royal Highness the Major-General Whittingham's division of Prince Regent. This dispatch, with its Spanish troops, and the advance of the alenclosure, will be delivered to your Lord- lied army under Col, Adam. This range ship by Capt. D'Aguilar, of the 81st regi-of hills terminates at Castalla, which, and ment, my Military Secretary. I have, with great inconvenience to myself, selected this officer, because he is so well qualified, from the situation he holds, to give your Lordship every information relative to this army and the province. I think I may safely venture to assure your Lordship, that Capt. D'Aguilar eminently possesses every quality which we prize in the character of a soldier; and I take the liberty of earnestly recommending him to your Lordship's favourable notice and protection.

I have the honour to be, &c, (Signed) J. MURRAY, Lieut. Gen. The Earl Bathurst, &c. &c.&c.

Head-quarters, Castalla, April 14, 1813. My Lord, I have the satisfaction to inform your Lordship, that the allied army under my command defeated the enemy on the 13th inst. commanded by Marshal Suchet in person. It appears that the French General had, for the purpose of attacking this army, for some time been employed in collecting his whole disposable force. His arrangements were completed on the 10th, and in the morning of the 11th he attacked and dislodged, with some loss, a Spanish corps, posted by General Elio, at Yecla, which threatened his right, whilst it supported our left flank. In the evening he advanced in considerable force to Villena, and I am sorry to say, that he captured, on the morning of the 12th, a Spanish garrison, which had been thrown into the castle by the Spanish General, for its defence.. On the 12th, about noon, Marshal Suchet began his attack on the advance of this army posted at Biar, under the command of Col. Adam.- -Colonel Adam's orders were to fall back upon Castalla; but to dispute the passage with the enemy; which he did with the utmost gallantry and skill, for five hours, though at tacked by a force infinitely superior to that which he commanded. The enemy's advance occupied the pass that evening, and Col. Adam took up the ground in our position which had been allotted to him.On the 13th, at noon, the enemy's columns of attack were formed, composed of three divisions of infantry, a corps of cavalry of

the ground to the right, was occupied by Major-General Mackenzie's division, and the 58th regiment, from that of LieutenantGeneral Clinton. The remainder of the position was covered by a strong ravine, behind which Lieutenant-General Clinton was stationed, supported by three battalions of General Roche's division, as a column of reserve. A few batteries had been constructed in this part of the line, and in front of the Castle of Castalla. The enemy necessarily advanced on the left of the position. The first movement he made was to pass a strong body of cavalry along the line, threatening our right, which was refused. Of this movement no notice was taken; the ground to which he was pointing, is unfavourable to cavalry, and as this movement was foreseen, the necessary precautions had been taken: when this body of cavalry had passed nearly the half of our line of infantry, Marshal Suchet advanced his columns to the foot of the hills, and certainly his troops, with a degree of gal lantry that entitles them to the highest praise, stormed the whole line, which is not less than two miles and a half in extent. But gallantly as the attack was made, the defence of the heights was no less brilliant; at every point the enemy was repulsed, at many with the bayonet. He suffered a very severe loss; our gallant troops pursued him for some distance, and drove him, after a severe struggle, with precipitation on his battalions of reserve upon the plain. The cavalry, which had slowly advanced along our right, gradually fell back to the infantry. At present his superiority in that art enabled him to venture this movement, which otherwise he should have severely repented. Having united his shattered battalions with those which he kept in reserve, Marshal Suchet took up a position in the valley; but which it would not have been creditable to allow him to retain. I therefore decided on quitting mine; still, however, retaining the heights, and formed the allied army in his front, covering my right flank with the cavalry, whilst the left rested on the hill. The army advanced in two lines to attack him a considerable distance, but unfortunately Marshal Suchet

COBBETT'S WEEKLY POLITICAL REGISTER.

VOL. XXIV. No. 2.] LONDON, SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1813.

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fulfilled?————As to the "loud cheering," SUMMARY OF POLITICS. then, that was heard against my LORD STATE OF THE NAVY. Below will be COCHRANE'S Resolution, we may, I trust, found the report, as copied from the Lon- take the liberty to suppose, that it was don news-papers, of a most interesting de- worth nothing at all in the way of answer bate on this most interesting subject. I, to his Lordship. The motion was, we for my part, know, of myself, nothing at are told, “indignantly and decidedly reall of the matter; but, I must take it for "jected." So was Mr. MADOX's motion granted, that LORD COCHRANE does know a of the 11th May, 1309, though that Gentlegreat deal of the matter; and, as he offered man offered to bring to the bar of the Hoto prove, at the bar of the House, the truth nourable House full proof of the truth of all of all that he stated in his resolution, it that he alleged.The rejection of the seems to me, that news-paper editors ought motion does not, then, amount to proof that to be very cautious how they accuse him of its statements were false, or that its tenbad motives.The COURIER news paper, dency was mischievous. A great many in speaking of the matter, has this passage: motions are rejected; that, for instance, for "Lord COCHRANE, a Captain in the Catholic emancipation; but, are we hence "Royal Navy, brought forward a Naval to conclude, that they were wrong?"Motion in the House of Commons yester- We are told, by this writer, that Mr. day, which we cannot characterize better CROKER replied to, and refuted, every part "than by saying, that it excited the indig- of Lord COCHRANE's statement. This, "nation of every Member present, Sir indeed, is something; and, if Lord CocH"Francis Burdett excepted. Mr. GRORANE'S Resolution had consisted of reason-' KER, in a most spirited speech, frequent-ings, or of abstract propositions, it might "ly interrupted by loud cheering, replied have been possible for Mr. GROKER to re"to and refuted every part of Lord Cocн-fute it by his speech; but, my Lord Cocн"RANE'S statement. We need not add, "that the motion was indignantly and de"cisively rejected."- Yes, it does appear, that Mr. CROKER's speech was "frequently interrupted by loud cheering;" Mr. CROKER. asserted, indeed, as apbut, my good friend, loud cheering is no pears by the report, that all that Lord proof; it is no refulation of a statement. COCHRANE had stated was false and libelMr. TIERNEY was interrupted by loud lous; but, this was only assertion; assercheering, when he made a speech against tion is no proof; it is no refutation; for, Mr. MADOX's motion about seat-selling, on refutation means, disproof of an alleged the 11th of May, 1809; but, that did not fact, or the overselling of an argument. invalidate Mr. Madox's statement. Mr. -In the Resolution of my Lord Cocн YORKE was interrupted by loud cheering, when he talked, on Mr. WARDLE's motion, about " a conspiracy against the House of "Brunswick,' and expressed his joy that the thing had assumed a tangible shape;" but, it turned out, at last, that that cheering was no certain sign of the goodness of the cause of the cheered party. Which of the noisy, nasal, bombastical speeches of Pitt, predicting the overthrow of the French, was not received with "loud "cheering" by the Honourable House? And, was any one of those predictions ever

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RANE's Resolution consists, as will be seen, principally, of a statement of specific facts; and, of course, was not to be refuted but by specific facts, and those facts proved too.

RANE and the speech of Mr. CROKER We have assertion against assertion; and we are at full liberty to believe which of the two we think most worthy of credit, always bearing in mind, however, that the former offered to produce proof, at the bar of the House, of the truth of his assertions, and that the latter objected to the permitting of him to endeavour to produce that proof. My Lord COCHRANE was ready to put his assertion to the test of proof; Mr. CROKER seems to have been satisfied, that his assertion would stand

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and grossly false, what possible mischief could they do? The sailors would, of course, know them to be false, and, though they might do harm to the reputation of the mover, they could do no harm to any body else. They could not tend to cause disaffection in the navy, because the officers and the sailors would know them to be false, and knowing them to be so grossly false they would only treat the mover with the contempt that a dealer in falsehood deserved.- What mischief, then, could they possibly do, if false?—If true, what mischief? Why, by inflaming discontents. But, if that were to be looked upon, in such a case, as a valid objection, what petition would escape censure, if it complained of any abuse? The petitioner, upon this principle, must always be accused of a mischievous act; because his pe

to inflame discontent; and thus would the only poor right which the Whigs left the people, at the Revolution, be totally destroyed; the right of praying for redress!

good without any such test.Now, for my part, I am sorry that the motion was not adopted by the Honourable House; because, we should then have had before us the refutation, or the confirmation, of my Lord GOCHRANE's statement. As the matter now stands, we have, really, no refutation at all, unless we are to look upon the assertions of Mr. CROKER as a great deal better than those of Lord COCHRANE; and, we are to bear in mind, that the assertions of the former were made merely in the way of SPEECH, while those of the latter are recorded in the Votes of the House, in distinct and unsayable propositions.From the report of the debate, Mr. CALCRAFT seems to have taken a very active part against the motion. His words, as reported in the COURIER, are these:"Mr. GALCRAFT bore testimony to the "Regulations according to which the pay-tition, as far as it was known, must tend ment of Wages and Prize-money was "conducted. They were, he could say from his own personal experience in ap"plying for others, carried into effect with "great punctuality and precision. The "Noble Lord's Resolutions, he believed "in his heart, were calculated to do more "mischief than almost any others that "could be framed; and the time which he "chose to bring them forward, at the end "of the Session, made them still more "dangerous. The Honourable Baronet "had admitted, that he knew little of the "subject; and he was confident that if the "Hon. Baronet had but read them, he "would not have given them his support. "The Hon. Member had, indeed, spoke with warmth, but he had spoken with "clearness, with propriety, and with ef"fect. It was impossible to read one of "the Resolutions, which ascribed our late "losses to the decayed and heartless state "of our crews-not to the superiority of "the enemy's ships, and weight of metal "without the strongest emotions of in"dignation: and when he considered that "it came from a Noble Lord, who owed "all his distinction to those decayed and "heartless seamen, he felt himself justified | "in calling it a libel of the very worst kind. "It was an unfounded attack upon the ho"nour and valour of our officers and crews. "The Resolutions were, indeed, a tissue "of groundless assertions, and might be "justly considered as so many gross re"flections and libels upon the character "and glory of the Navy."- Now, really, I do not understand this.- -If the allegations in the Resolution were false,

Mr. CALCRAFT appears to have been filled with indignation at hearing, the capture of our frigates by the Americans ascribed to any other cause than the weight of metal and number of guns.- -Why,' the Americans assert, that they had no superiority in these respects; and, I should, I must confess, like to see their assertions dis-`· proved by something worthy of the nameof proof.There is, in this case too, assertion against assertion, but, we see nothing in the way of proof. In the case of the sloop of war taken by a Yankee sloop of war, I have never seen it even asserted, that ours was the weakest vessel.Had we not better, then, endeavour to make out the proof of the American superiority in point of strength? At least, I think we should do this, before we hasten to conclusions so hostile to the statements of my Lord Cochrane; before, we call those statements libels of the worst kind.-And, how is the statement libellous? Whom does it libel? Whom does it calumniate? Nobody, that I can discover. Its professed object is to obtain good for the seamen of the Royal Navy; and, surely, it says no harm of either officers or men; unless it be to say harm of a man to say, that, owing to long and arduous exertions in his country's service, he is worn out. to Lord COCHRANE's owing all his distinction to the seamen, will not this apply to Lord ST. VINCENT and Lord WELLINGTon? If nothing of this distinction is to

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Mr. Fordham's Letter on the Subject of the Trinity.

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be ascribed to my Lord COCHRANE's genius and courage, why is any thing to be ascribed to those qualities in Lord Wellington ?- SIR, I am glad that your notice of the Mr. CALCRAFT will hardly deny, that Lord Trinity has excited attention, because it has, Cochrane's successes are ascribable to the at least, given rise to sentiments which re-. same cause as the successes of other com-gard the rights of man. I do not, intend. manders.However, let it be so, for to make a long preface about irrelative. the sake of the argument, and then we points. Whether you are a Churchman shall be pleased with that feeling in his or a Pagan; whether your motives are self-, Lordship, which looks so much like grati-ish or benevolent; I will not inquire into, tude, and which has prompted him to en- because they do not, as you observe, affect, deavour to do something for those, who the argument of the case. At the same have, at least, been his companions in time, your reflections upon the Unitarians, success.- But, after all, why accuse when you say, they would join in stoning. my Lord Cochrane of uttering libels? him to death, who should deny the fact of This is so stale an accusation; the resurrection, is equally unfair on your it has so long been applied to the part. I will now proceed to two principal. statements of every one, who has any com- points, which I will treat as concisely as I plaint to make against the government, am able. The first, which is the main that it, now-a-days, passes for little or no- subject, respects the repeal of the law. thing. Let the statements head by head, To this repeal you object as partial. You be disproved, and then call them libels, or say, you can see no reason for this favour what you please; but, until disproved, un- to one particular sect." But I beg leave til the prayer of the maker of the statements to observe, that your statement is, not accuto submit them to proof be granted, we, rate; the favour is not confined to one parsurely, ought not to call them libels, more ticular sect, it extends to every description especially as they speak evil of nobody be- of persons, to Atheists, Deists, and Maholonging to the navy.They do, indeed, metans, as much as to Unitarians, for all speak ill of some persons, who use borough may alike preach against the Trinity upon influence; but, my Lord COCHRANE, if the repeal of this law. As far therefore permitted, pledges to prove the truth of as the repeal of this law is concerned, and what he says in this respect; and, if he be this is the alone subject before us now, the not permitted to endeavour to give such benefit which will result from it is common proof, in the name of candour, let him not to all men without distinction. Now this be called a libeller.-In no part of this is one point; there is another point in resolution is any ill said of any part of the which you contend that this law ought not navy, and, it is curious to see the twist to be repealed, “unless a law is passed that is given to the whole thing. The ac- to remove for ever all penalties for writing cusations of Lord COCHRANE are not against or speaking on the subject of religion." the sailors or their officers, but against In the first place, as far as I myself am divers branches of the government; but, the concerned, I would, if I could, pass a law speeches of his opponents would seem to which should authorize all persons to write imply, that his resolution attacked the and speak whatever they please, either for navy and only the navy-And, the vile or against religion, as being, in my opinion, press, for the far greater part, has sup- the right of every man; at the same time, pressed the resolution, while it has given I would repeal this present law alone, if i currency to the speeches. This has been could not pass the general one. If you the conduct pursued both by the COURIER carry your principle home, it will paralyse and the CHRONICLE; by the leading prints all human efforts. at once. There never of both the political factions.Let us was a man who could do all he wanted to hope, however, that the subject will be do at once; the grandest efforts have been revived as soon as possible; for it is one of accomplished by short and regular steps. the greatest importance. By this all-grasping principle, you ought not, I presume, to repeal any bad law, unless all the bad laws that exist, without the exception of one, were repeated at once and for ever, or unless the whole Constitu tion is at once restored, in perfection. I W, COBBETT. say this appears to me to be the fair extent of your principle. On the contrary,

Want of time compels me to postpone my answer to Mr. FORDHAM, and my remarks on the illuminating news from Spain.