with all the wounded that had not been previously moved, embarked before one this morning. Circumstances forbid us to indulge the hope, that the victory with which it has pleased Providence to crown the efforts of the army, can be attended with any very brilliant consequences to Great Britain. It is clouded by the loss of one of her best soldiers. It has been achieved at the termination of a long and harassing service. The superior numbers, and advantageous position of the enemy, not less than the actual situation of this army, did not admit of any advantage being reaped from success. It must be however to you, to the army, and to our country, the sweetest reflection, that the lustre of the British arms has been maintained, amidst many disadvantageous circumstances. The army which had entered Spain, amidst the fairest prospects, had no sooner completed its junction, than owing to the multiplied disasters that dispersed the native armies around us, it was left to its own resources. The advance of the British corps from the Duero, afforded the best hope that the south of Spain might be relieved, but this generous effort to save the unfortunate people, also afforded the enemy the opportunity of directing every effort of his numerous troops, and concentrating all his principal resources for the destruction of the only regular force in the north of Spain. You are well aware with what diligence this system has been pursued.-These circumstances produced the necessity of rapid and harassing marches, which had diminished the numbers, exhausted the strength, and impaired the equipment of the army. Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, and those more immediately attached to a defensive position, which the imperious necessity of covering the harbour of Corunna for a time had rendered indispensable to assume, the native and undaunted valour of British troops was never more conspicuous, and must have exceeded what even your own experience of that invaluable quality, so inherent in them, may have taught you to expect. When every one that had an opportunity seemed to vie in improving it, it is difficult for me, in making this report, to select particular instances for your approbation. The corps chiefly engaged were the brigades under major-generals lord Wm. Bentinck, and Manningham, and Leith; and the brigade of guards under major-gen. Warde. To these officers, and the troops under their immediate orders, the greatest praise is due. Major-gen.

Hill and col. Catlin Crawford, with their brigades on the left of the position, ably supported their advanced posts. The brunt of the action fell upon the 4th, 42d, 50th, and 81st regiments, with parts of the brigade of guards, and the 26th regiment. From lieut. col. Murray, quartermaster-general, and the officers of the general staff, I received the most marked assistance. I had reason to regret, that the illness of brigadier-general Clinton, adjutant-general, deprived me of his aid. I was indebted to brigadier-general Slade during the action, for a zealous offer of his personal services, although the cavalry were embarked.-The greater part of the fleet having gone to sea, yesterday evening, the whole being under weigh, and the corps in the embarkation necessarily much mixed on board, it is impossible, at present, to lay before you a return of our casualties. I hope the loss in numbers is not so considerable as might have been expected. If I was obliged to form an estimate, I should say, that I believe it did not exceed in killed and wounded from seven to eight hundred; that of the enemy must remain unknown, but many circumstances induce me to rate it at nearly double the above number. We have some prisoners, but I have not been able to obtain an account of the number; it is not, however, considerable. Several officers of rank have fallen, or been wounded, among whom I am only at present enabled to state the names of lieut.-col. Napier, 92d reg., majors Napier and Stanhope, 50th reg., killed; lieut.-col. Winch, 4th reg., lieut.-col. Maxwell, 26th reg., lieut-col. Fane, 59th reg., lieut.-col. Griffith, guards, majors Miller and Williams, 81st reg., wounded.-To you, who are well acquainted with the excellent qualities of lieut.-gen. sir John Moore, I need not expatiate on the loss the army and his country have sustained by his death. His fall has deprived me of a valuable friend, to whom long experience of his worth had sincerely attached me. But it is chiefly on public grounds that I must lament the blow. It will be the conversation of every one who loved or respected his manly character, that, after conducting the army through an arduous retreat with consummate firmness, he has terminated a career of distinguished honour by a death that has given the enemy additional reason to respect the name of a British soldier. Like the immortal Wolfe, he is snatched from his country at an early period of a life spent in her service; like

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SUMMARY OF POLITICS. DUKE OF YORK.Much as I wish to communicate to the public some information, some really authentic information, which I possess, respecting the disposition of the people of Spain, their behaviour towards our army, the manner in which the retreat was conducted, the superior bodily strength and the superior bravery of our troops; anxious as I am to communicate this information to the public, I must defer it till my next, the parliamentary discussion relative to our illustrious Commander in Chief imperiously demanding a preference to every thing else.---On | last Friday, the 27th ult. Mr. WARDLE, a member of the House of Commons, who came into the honourable house for the first time, I believe, in consequence of the dissolution in 1807, when his majesty was last most graciously pleased to ap"peal to the sense of his people," and for which gracious act the public will do me the justice to say, that I, a' the time, expressed my profound gratitude, though I could not then possibly foresee a thousandth part of the good which has resulted from the dissolution. Mr. WARDLE, having before given due notice of his intention, did, on the day above-mentioned, after a speech of considerable length, make a motion "for the appointment of a Committee "to inquire into the conduct of the Commander "in Chief, with regard to Promotions and "Exchanges in the Army, &c. &c." This is truly high matter; and, as it is also matter of great delicacy," as will be seen in the sequel, it will demand, from reader as well as writer, more than an ordinary degree of attention, to say nothing about the reverence, which, upon such an occasion, will naturally take and keep possession of our minds. The honourable persons, who spoke on the side of the Duke, and who, from what appears in the report, seem to have known his wish upon the subject, declared, that that wish was decidedly for publicity; that every part of the inquiry, from the beginning to the end, should be made as public as possible. In this respect, the public do, I am cer

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tain, perfectly coincide in wishes with the royal chief; and, therefore, though, in general, it is not desirable that reports of debates should be inserted in this work, I shall insert here the whole of this most interesting debate, or, rather conversation, of the honourable House. Upon comparing the reports in the different newspapers, I find the best, that is to say, the fullest, to be in the Morning Chronicle, as is, indeed, usually the case. I find very little difference as to the substance, the accuracy with which the debates are, in general, taken and published, being really wonderful, and a circumstance eminently creditable to the talents of the gentlemen, by whom those debates are given to the public. But, upon this important occasion, I will, as I proceed with the insertion of the debate from the Morning Chronicle, subjoin, in notes, parts of the report as given in the Courier, wherever it appears that there has been any material omission in the report of the Morning Chronicle; and thus we shall have the best possible chance of letting nothing of consequence escape us. Mr. WARDLE'S speech, I find divided into distinct paragraphs. These I shall distinguish by numerical figures, which will facilitate the work of reference, a work which, in all human probability, we shall frequently have to perform, it being quite evident to me, that this is a matter, which is not only, at present, extremely interesting in itself, to the country in general, to all the payers of taxes, as well as to every man in the army; but, also a matter, the inquiries into which must, at a day more or less remote, produce important national conse quences.quences. It may be thought, perhaps, by some, that it would be better for me to wait; to reserve my observations upon this debate, until it be seen whether Mr. WARDLE be able to substantiate his charges; especially as that may, perhaps, be known before this sheet can possibly reach the press. I am of a different opinion; because, whatever the result may be, there is much in the report, which appears to me loudly to call for that observation, with

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Mr. WARDLE rose, pursuant to his notice, and spoke to the following effect: -I.-Fully aware, Sir, of the great importance of the subject I am about to submit to the consideration of the House, I most sincerely lament that my abilities are unequal to do it complete justice. But yet I trust that an ardent zeal for the welfare of my country, supported by facts strong and incontrovertible, will enable me to surmount every difficulty, and eventually to rescue the state from the baneful influence of a power which has long been exercised for the worst of purposes, and which, in fact, tends to endanger our ultimate security. To stand forward the public accuser of a man so high in rank and so strong in influence as the Commander in Chief, may very naturally be deemed no less a bold than an arduous undertaking. But, however bold, however arduous it may be, being determined that no consideration of that nature shall ever induce any hesitation or wavering in the performance of my duty either upon this or upon any other occasion, my mind is fully made up for perseverance. In the resolution I have formed, it is but reasonable for me to calculate upon the concurrence and co-operation of this House and the country. For, at a crisis of peculiar peril, when the great, if not the only means of our safety may depend upon the judicious organization and able direction of our military force, every man in the community must feel a lively interest in the object which my motion has in view. I trust, therefore,

his r. h. the duke of York will this night find, that however exalted his rank, however powerful his influence, the voice of the people, through their representatives, will prevail over corruption, and justice will be done to the calls of a long-suffering and meritorious body, to the best, to the vital interests of the people. In the course which I am pursuing, I feel conscious of no motive but that of a desire to serve my country, and I am confident that none other can be fairly ascribed to me. The conviction of my mind is, and for

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in the case which I have to state, relates to the Half-pay Fund, which is an establishment under the direction of the Commander in Chief. This fund arises out of the sale of commissions vacant by death; by the promotion of officers not allowed to sell; or by dismissions from the service. The power of the Commander in Chief over this fund was constituted, and intended, for the reward of merit, either by the appointment of meritorious officers to the commissions which so became vacant, or by selling them and applying the produce of such sales to the redemption of half-pay commissions, or to the Compassionate Fund. Here the power of the Commander in Chief over such produce ceases. If the commissions I have described are otherwise disposed of, the authority vested in the Commander in Chief is abused, and the objects of the Half-pay Fund are abandoned. Now, if I can shew that those commissions are appropriated to very different purposes, it will of course appear that such abuse and abandonment does take place-that merit is not rewardedthat the Half-pay List is not reduced-that the Compassionate Fund is not assisted. For the purpose of shewing this, it is absolutely necessary to call the attention of the House to another establishment of the Commander in Chief's, which is quite of a different complexion to that I have just mentioned. This establishment, which consisted of a splendid house in Gloucesterplace, a variety of carriages, and a long retinue of servants, commenced in the year 1803, and at the head of it was placed a lady of the name of Clarke. As this lady forms a principal party in several of the facts which I have to cite, I am under the necessity, however reluctantly, to mention her name, as well as that of others, in order to make out a fair parliamentary basis for my motion, and to satisfy the House that I have not brought it forward

upon light grounds. In producing this satisfaction, I have no doubt of succeeding, and I assure the House, that I shall endeavour to avoid trespassing upon their time by the statement of more cases than appear to me necessary to the particular points which my motion embraces.III.-The first case to which I have to call your attention is that of capt. Tonyn, whom I understand to be an officer of merit, and in alluding to him upon this occasion, I beg it to be understood that I mean no reflection whatever upon his character. This officer, who held his captaincy in the 48th regt. of foot, was promoted to a majority in the 31st regt. according to the Gazette, on the 28 Aug. 1804. For such promotion, to which, no doubt, capt. Tonyn's professional merit entitled him to aspire, he was indebted to the influence of Mrs. Clarke; without which he might have long looked for promotion in vain. To Mrs. Clarke, capt. Tonyn was introduced by capt. Iluxley Sandon, of the Royal Waggon Train; and the terms of agreement were, that Mrs. Clarke should be paid 500l. upon capt. Tonyn's majority being gazetted. In order to secure this payment it was arranged, that the amount should be lodged in the hands of a third person, as agent to the parties, and this agent was a Mr. J. Donovan, a surgeon, of Charles-street, St. James's-square. As I shall have frequent occasion to introduce this gentleman's name to-night, and may be obliged to resort to him hereafter, it seems right that I should present the House with some information about him. It appears that Mr. Donovan was appointed a lieutenant in the 4th Royal Garrison Battalion in the year 1802, and that he was afterwards promoted to the 11th Battalion. What the cause of this appointment and promotion was I have endeavoured to ascertain, but without success. I have however found, that the services of Mr. Donovan could not have been of a military nature. In fact since the day of his appointment in 1802, he has never joined his regiment. But there seems to be some reason for granting him a perpetual leave of absence, as he has been on constant duty in London. This gentleman was a member of the medical department of our army in the American war. If he deserved promotion, surely our medical staff is large enough to provide for him. What then could have taken him into the army? But to return to his pursuits in London.-The 500l. lodged with this gentleman was paid to Mrs. Clarke, by capt. Huxley Sandon, as soon as major

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Tonyn was gazetted. Here it becomes necessary to observe to the House, that the regulated difference between a Company and a Majority is 1100l. which should have been appropriated as I before mentioned. But how does the affair stand? Mrs. Clarke gains 500l. and 11007. are lost to the Half-pay Fund. This sum, however, of 500l. was paid by Mrs. Clarke to a Mr. Birket, a silversmith, in part payment for a service of plate for the establishment in Gloucester-place; the balance for which plate was afterwards paid by h. r. h. the Com mander in Chief. The positions which I hold to be clearly deducible from this case • are these-First, that Mrs. Clarke possessed the power of military promotion. condly, That she received pecuniary consideration for such promotion. And thirdly That the Commander in Chief was a partaker in the benefit arising from such pecuniary consideration. To establish the truth of this case, I have the following witnesses;-Major Tonyn, Mrs. Clarke, Mr. Donovan, capt. Huxley Sandon, and Mr. Birket's Executors. -IV.-The second case I have to adduce relates to the subject of exchanges. Upon the 25th of July 1805, an exchange was concluded between lieut.-col. Brooke, of the 56th regt. of Infantry, and lieut. col. Knight, of the 5th dragoon guards, through the influence of Mrs. Clarke. The agent for negociating this transaction was a Mr. Thynne, a medical gentleman. The circumstances of the application to the duke of York were shortly these; Mrs. Clarke wanted some money to defray the expences of an excursion in the country; she therefore urged the Commander in Chief to expedite the exchange, as she was to receive 2001. for it. This urgent request was made upon a Thursday, and its influence was such that the exchange was actually gazetted upon the Saturday following. Mrs. Clarke in consequence received 2007. from the agent. This case then serves to shew-first, that, in addition to promotions, exchanges also were at the disposal of Mrs. Clarke; and secondly, that the purse of the Commander in Chief was saved by the supply which his mistress derived from such sources. The witnesses to this case are, lieut. col. Brooke, lieut. col. Knight, Mrs. Clarke, and Mr. Thynne.

V.-As a contrast to the preceding exchange, I shall take leave to state a case of peculiar hardship which occurred with in the last year: two meritorious officers, major Macdonald and major Sinclair, both of the first reg. of infantry, and both in