of Almeida, or is one of decided retreat; but I have every reason to hope, that they will not succeed in the first, and that they will be obliged to have recourse to the last. Their superiority in cavalry is very great, owing to the weak state of our horses from recent fatigue and scarcity of forage; and the reduction of numbers in the Portuguese brigade of cavalry with this part of the army, in exchange for a British brigade sent into Estremadura with Marshal Sir William Beresford, owing to the failure of the measures reported to have been adopted to supply the borses and men with food on the service, The result of a general action brought on by an attack upon the enemy by us might, under these circumstances, have been doubtful; and if the enemy had chosen to avoid it, or if they had met it, they would have taken advantage of the collection of our troops to fight this action, to throw relief into Almeida. From the great superiority of force to which we have been opposed upon this occasion your lordship will judge of the conduct of the officers and troops. The actions were partial, but very severe; and our loss has been great. The enemy's loss has also been great; and they left 400 killed in the village of Fuentes de Honor, and we have many prisoners. I particularly request your lordship's attention to the conduct of Lieutenant-colonel Williams, Lieutenant-colonel Cameron, and the Hos. Lieutenant-colonel Cadogan, and to that of Colonel Mackinnon, and Lieutenantcolonel Kelly of the 24th regiment, and of the several officers commanding battalions of of the line and of light infantry, which supported the troops in Fuentes de Honor. Likewise to that of Major M'Intosh of the 85th regiment; of Lieutenant-colonel Nixon of the 2d Caçadores; of Lieutenant-colonel Eustace of the Chasseurs Britanniques; and of Lord Blantyre. Throughout these operations I have received the greatest assistance from Lieutenant-general Sir Brent Spencer, and all the general officers of the army; and from the adjutant and quarter master-general, and the officers of their several departments, and those of my personal staff. From intelligence from Marshal Sir Wiiliam Beresford, I learn that he has invested Badajoz, on the left of the Guadiana; and is moving their stores for the attack of the place. I have the honour to inform you that the intelligence has been confirmed, that Joseph Bonaparte passed Valladolid, on his way to Paris, on the 27th of April. It is not denied by the French officers that he is gone to Paris, Last nor, in which position the whole army were The second corps retired by the bridge of Barba del Pueno, and the ford of Val d'Espino on the Agueda. Our advanced posts are upon the Azava, and on the Lower Agueda; and the army will be to-morrow in the cantonments on the Duas Casas. (Signed) WELLINGTON. GREAT BRITAIN." At home, the legislature has continued its activity, but without meeting the wishes of a large portion of the public. SIR SAMUEL ROMILLY'S judicious punishment of Death, were rejected in and humane Bills for diminishing the the House of Lords, after passing in the Commons. Lord Sidmouth's attempt to infringe on the Toleration Act, has, however, been rejected, and the debate was distinguished by some liberal opinions of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which do great honour to that amiable churchman. In the Commons the minister required a loan of twelve millions, which he effected in the city on better terms than could have been expected. Taxes to raise about one million were laid chiefly on wash. Various unsuc cessful motions were made for reforms. of abuses by Messrs. Brand, Burdett, Folkestone, Whitbread, and others. During the current month and for many monthis past, the public mind has been deeply occupied by the state of the currency. Guineas, with reference to paper, have risen to 27s. or 285.; and Bank notes, with reference to guineas, in foreign countries are not estimated have consequently fallen below 15s. and higher than 12s. Most commodities, in consequence, are acquiring a paper and a cash price; and even the public funds, the paper price of which is 66, bave at a cash price, fallen to 60! Gold and silver are, however, scarcely to be procured for paper with any concession, and they have, in fact, totally disappeared taking place in copper money, and all from circulation, all small transactions retail trade being at a stand for want of small change. There appearing to be no limit to the depreciation of paper money, if means were not adopted to prevent it, Partia ment took into cousideration on the 6th, 3 P the the famous report of the Bullion Com Mr. Horner was supported by Messrs. H. THORNTON, WILBERFORCE, HUSKISSON, BURDETT, WHITBREAD, G, JOHNSTONE, W. SMITH, TIERNEY, BARING, PARNELL, CANNING, MARRIOTT, and SHARP; and Mr. Vansittart's by Messrs. ROSE, PERCIVAL, Dep. Gov. MANNING, TURTON, LONG, CASTLE REAGII, and FULLER. On a division, the committee were outvoted by 151 against 75; and on Mr. Horner's resolution for the Bank to pay cash in two years by 180 against 45. Of course Mr. Vansittart's resolutions were passed without a division! As the last resolutions are entered on the Journals of the House, and are very long, we feel it necessary to record here only those of Mr. Horner. 1. That the only money which can be legally tendered in Great Britain, for any sum above twelve-pence in the whole, is made either of gold or silver; and that the weight standard, and denomination, at which any such money is authorized to pass current, is fixed, under his Majesty's prerogative, according to law. 2. That since the 43d year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the indentures of his Majes"ty's Mint have uniformly directed that all silver used for coin should consist of 11 oz. 2 dwts. of fine silver and 18 dwts. of alloy in each pound troy, and that the said pound troy should be divided into sixty-two shillings, or into other coins in that proportion. 3. That, since the 15th year of the reign of King Charles the Second, the indentures of his Majesty's Mint have uniformly die rected, that all gold used for coin should consist of 11 oz. of pure gold and 1 oz. of alloy of each pound troy; and that the said pound troy should be divided and coined into forty four guineas and one half guinea, or into other coins in that proportion. 4. That by a proclamation of the 4th year of the reign of King George the First, it was ordered and directed, that guineas and the se veral other gold coins therein named, should be current at the rates and values then set upon them, viz. the guinea at the rate of 21s. and other gold coins in the same proportion; thereby establishing, that the gold and silver coins of the realm should be a legal gender in all money payments, and a standard ure for ascertaining the value of all con tracts for the payment of money, in the relative proportion of 15 lbs. weight of sterling silver to one pound of sterling gold. 5. That by a statute of the 14th year of the reign of his present Majesty, subsequently revived and made perpetual by a statute of the 39th year of his reign, it is enacted, That silver coin of this realm, or any sum exceed. no tender in payment of money made in the ing the sum of 251. at one time, shall be reputed in law, or allowed to be a legal tender, within Great Britain or Ireland, for more than according to its value by weight, after the rate of 58. 2d. for each ounce of silver. 6. That by a proclamation of the 16th year of the reign of his present Majesty, con firmed by several subsequent proclamations, it was ordered and directed, that if the weight of any guinea shall be less than 5 dwts. 8 grs such guinea shall cease to be a legal tender for the payment of any money within Great Britain or Ireland; and so in the same preportion for any other gold coin, tute the established policy of this realm, in 7. That under these laws (which constiregard to money,) no contract or undertaking for the payment of money, stipulated to be paid in pounds sterling, or in good and lawful money of Great Britain, can be legally satis fied and discharged, in gold coin, unless the coin tendered shall weigh in the proportion of 2 parts of 5 dwts, 8 grs. of standard gold for each pound sterling, specified in the said contract; nor in silver coin, for a sum exceeding 251. unless such coin shall weigh in the proportion of 20 of a pound troy of standard silver for each pound sterling specified in the con tract. of England are stipulations to pay, on de8. That the promissory notes of the Bank mand, the sum in pounds sterling, respec tively specified in each of the said notes. rity of Parliament, that the payment of the 9. That when it was enacted by the autho promissory notes of the Bank of England in cash should for a time be suspended, it was not the intention of Parliament that any alteration whatsoever should take place in the value of such promissory notes. 10. That it appears, that the actual value land (measuring such value by weight of of the promissory notes of the Bank of Engstandard gold and silver as a foresaid) has been, for a considerable period of time, and still is, considerably less than what is established by in payment of any money contract or stipu the laws of the realm to be the legal tender lation. 11. That the fall which has thus taken place in the value of promissory notes of the Bank of England, and in that of the country bank paper which is exchangeable for it, has been occasioned by too abundant issue of paper currency, both by the Bank of Eng land and the country banks; and that this check and control on the issues of the Bank excess has originated from the want of that of of England, which existed before the suspension of cash payments. 12. That it appears, that the exchanges with foreign parts have, for a considerable period of time, been unfavourable to this country in an extraordinary degree. 13. That, although the adverse circumstances of our trade, together with the large amount of our military expenditure abroad, may have contributed to render our exchanges with the continent of Europe unfavourable; yet the extraordinary degree in which the exchanges have been depressed for so long a period, has been, in a great measure, occasioned by the depreciation which has taken place in the relative value of the currency of this country, as compared with the money of foreign countries. 14. That, during the continuance of the suspension of cash payments, it is the duty of the directors of the Bank of England to advert to the state of the foreign exchanges, as well as to the price of bullion, with a view to regulate the amount of their issues. 15. That the only certain and adequate security to be provided against an excess of paper currency, and for maintaining the relative value of the circulating medium of the realm, is the legal convertibility, upon demand, of all paper currency into the lawful coin of the realm. 16. That, in order to revert gradually to this security, and to enforce mean-while a due limitation of the paper of the Bank of England, as well as of all the other bank-paper of the country, it is expedient to amend the act, which suspends the cash payments of the Bank, by altering the time till which the suspension shall continue, from six months after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace, to that of two years from the present time. INCIDENTS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS, IN AND NEAR LONDON: IN consequence of the parish of St. Luke having introduced a bill into parliament, during the present Session, requiring the Publication, by the Magistrates of Middlesex, of an amount of the monies expended for the County rate, which is paid by the different parishes out of the poor's rates and has increased to the annual sum of about 30,0001. the Magistrates for that county have made an order that an abstract of the accounts should be annually printed, and a copy of them delivered to the churchwardens and overseers of every parish throughout the At the expiration of the present Crown leases, which will be in about three years, the houses in Pall Mall, from the corner of Market lane, to the Hay-Market, are to be pulled down, and a grand front, under the direction of an eminent architect, is to be formed to the Opera House, upon the site. This will be an improvement long wanted. Between two and three o'clock in the morning of Saturday, April 20th, a dreadful fire broke out in the house occupied by Mr. Goullee, pork-butcher, corner of Half-Moon street, Bishopsgate-street, London, The moment the flames burst forth in the lower apartments, the alarm of fire was given from without by some passengers; but such progress had the fire made, it was too late to save the lives of most of the devoted inhabitants. The family consisted of Mr. Goullee, his wife, three children, the nurse, a maid servant, shop boy, and a waiter of the London Tavern and his wife, who were lodgers on the first floor. The two latter only were awakened by the noise, and they had the good fortune to escape with their bed to the window of the first floor, which they threw on the pavement, for the purpose of throwing themselves upon it. The wife first made a leap, and, falling on the bed, did not receive the slightest injury; her husband inftantly followed. Of the rest of the family nothing was seen, but the populace heard their cries at intervals. This was hut for a short time, for the floor giving way, the whole of this unfortunate family perished in the burning ruins. It is not known how the fire originated. The expenditure The annual Meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society was held on the first of May, and did not fall short in interest of any of the former Meetings. of the Society in diffusing the Scriptures in, various nations, and in every quarter of the globe, amounts for the last year to 30,0001.; and the number of Bibles distri bed, to one half of the whole number dis porced persed in the six preceding years. The sum of 40001. was announced as received from the Liverpool Auxiliary Society; and a large sum from Manchester. May 9th, the foundation-stone of the New Bridge on the Thames, from Milbank to Vauxhall, was laid with great ceremony, in presence of a vast concourse of spectators. The Prince Regent was prevented attending, but was represented by Lord Dundas, who officially christened the new pile, "Regent's Bridge." This Bridge will be built, extermally, of a most durable Scotch granite; the ornaments and finishings of Portland stone. It will be a straight bridge, like those of antiquity, and will consist of seven arches the central one of 110 feet span, the others diminishing in size to 90 feet at the ends. The water-way will be 702 feet, and the whole extent 920 feet. It will take about five years in completion. In addition to the 100,0001. voted by Parliament to the suffering Portuguese, subscriptions, which already amount to a very large sum, have been opened in London, and all the other considerable towns in the kingdom are following the example of the metropolis. The committee under the Act passed in the last session of parliament for rebuilding the late Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, destroyed by fire in the month of February, 1809, having been for a considerable time anxiously employed in the investigation and arrangement of the affairs of the late Theatre, are arrived at that point when they deem themselves authorised to lay before the public the following proposals:It is proposed to raise a fund not exceeding 300,0001. (the sum limited by the said Act) upon the conditions and under the regulations therein mentioned, in shares of 1001. each. Every subscriber of five shares and upwards to be entitled to a personal free admission. It appears to the committee that the fund they are empowered to raise will be fully adequate to the purposes of set tling with the claimants in the first instance, and of rebuilding a theatre of substantial construction and moderate size, and that the probible receipts, calculated on good grounds, will be sufficient to cover the expenses and interest, with a fair prospect of profit upon the shares. The subscribers are by the Act, erected into & joint stock company, so that each subscriber is liable only for the amount of his share, and the shares are transferable by assignment. The Theatre, with its ap purtenances, and all the buildings and ground comprehended in the lease from the Duke of Bedford, together with the patents, will become the property of the said joint stock com pany. It is further provided in the said Act, that at a general meeting of the subscribers, "a full and distinct statement of the arrangement proposed by the committee, and assented to by the claimants and proprietors of the late Drury-lane property, shall be submitted to the said general meeting for their consent and approbation; and any subscriber disagreeing from such statement, shall be at liberty to withdraw his subscription and relinquish all share and interest in the undertaking." In pursuance of the provision of the Act above recited, the committee will appoint a general meeting of the new subscribers on the earliest day possible, whose assent to the plan proposed, until ratified at such meeting, will be conditional only, and subject to their own revision and option of withdrawing their subscriptions, if upon the statements made they shall think fit so to do. Ten per cent. on the amount of the share scribed to be paid at the time of subscribing, to the account of Samuel Whitbread, Peter Moore, and Harvey Christian Com e, esqrs. the trustees named in the Act for that special purpose, and to be by them vested in exchequer bills, bearing interest for the benefit of the subscribers, until the funds under the sanction of the general meeting of the subscribers shall be required by the committee empowered by the said Act, to carry the purposes of the Act into execution; who will then give notice of the periods of payments of the other instalments. The committee under the Act will receive and consider of plans, estimates, and proposals for contracts for building a new Theatre, addressed to the chairman of the commitree, at Peter Moore's, esq. Great George-street, Westminster. The first deposits, with the accruing ins terest, to be returned conformably to the Act, in the event of any thing occurring so as to disappoint the present arrangement, and pre vent the plan being carried into execution according to the provisions of the said Act. Books for subscriptions are open, and the deposits received at the principal banking. houses. The society for the discharge and relief of persons imprisoned for small debts have made their annual report: the number of debtors discharged and relieved within the last year, amount to 769, who had 533 wives, and 1556 children.-The average expence of their li beration is 41. 16s. 1d. each. It has been given in evidence before the committee of the House of Commons, to whom the Bill for a new proposed Southwark bridge was referred, that the average loss of property was from 20 to 30,0001. annually at London bridge, besides about 30 lives a year; that this was occasioned by the bad construction of that bridge, which was in a state of decay, there being two large rents in one of the principal piers, and that it was very probable the whole would shortly come tumbling into the river in which case the And early were the instances which marked The fearless nature and enterprize of his character! Uniting in the loftiest spitit, and the justest title to self-confidence, A strict and humble obedience to Rising by due gradation to command, And while he acquired the love of all, He inspired an universal confidence The monument erected to the memory of Lord Nelson, in Guildhall, being com pleted, is now opened for public inspection. In the back ground is seen a pyramid, supposed to be the tomb of the immortal Nelson, decorated with naval trophies, the fruit of his victories; while the female figure in the centre (personating the city of London), in grateful remembrance of the signal services he rendered to his country, perpetuates. In the never-failing resourses of his capacious the memory of his great actions to posterity, and finishes with admiration the record of his last glorious achievement off Trafalgar. Bri tannia. on the left, supported by a lion (the symbol of unshaken courage), is pensively musing over a portrait of the conqueror, and in silent grief deplores her loss. The recum bent figure in the fore ground, representing the ocean, roused by the fame of his heroic actions, participates in Britannia's sorrow and regret for the hero's fate, The naval mind, It will be for History to relate He became the glory of his profession! But it belongs to this brief record of his illustrious career to say, That he Commanded and Conquered |