68 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S09. 



upper classes, who, from their rank 

 and property, possess a natural in- 

 fluence in any country, ought to 

 have been known. But above all, 

 inquiry should have been carefully 

 made as to the inclination of the 

 middle class, which is the great 

 bond and cement of connection 

 between the higher and the lower 

 orders in every country ; whether 

 we should be likely to meet in 

 that class a cordial spirit of co- 

 operation, and what the force 

 of that co-operation would be- — 

 Mr. Ponsonby was far from think- 

 ing that ministers ought to have 

 dictated any thing like improve- 

 ment to the Spaniards, or that any 

 dictatorial tone should have been 

 assumed. But if the Spaniards 

 were insensible to the cause of 

 their degradation, and indifferent 

 as to its removal, it was in vain for 

 England to calculate upon mate- 

 rially exciting the spirit or aid- 

 ing the exertion of such a people. 

 What would be the situation of 

 England itself at the present hour, 

 if the domineering establishment 

 of the priesthood had not been re- 

 moved, if the baneful effects of 

 the feudal system had not ceased 

 to exist, and if a liberal system of 

 equal laws had not been establish- 

 ed ? — Mr. Ponsonby having expa- 

 tiated on the folly, ignorance, and 

 misinformation of ministers res- 

 pecting the real state of Spain, 

 which were certainly the great 

 source of disaster, proceeded to 

 arraign their dilatoriness in mov- 

 ing, and weakness in the direction 

 of the auxiliary force they sent to 

 the Spaniards. From Lord Castle- 

 reagh's letter of the 30th of June, 

 to Sir Arthur Wellesley, it might 

 appear, that the gallant general 

 was left at liberty to act according 



to his own discretion, in conse- 

 quence of any information he 

 might receive on the coast of 

 Spain, But in fact that discretion 

 was taken away from him by the in- 

 structions of the 15th of July, and 

 the expedition to the Tagus was 

 fixed on by the noble lord as that 

 by which hostilities were to begin. 

 When the gallant general went to 

 Portugal, the plan of the cam- 

 paign was decided. There was 

 no longer room to act upon any 

 information that might be received 

 with regard to Spain. It was im- 

 possible to employ any force in fa- 

 vour of Spain until the expedition 

 to the Tagus was in some way or 

 oth^r concluded. After the con- 

 vention of Cintra, in Portugal, was 

 concluded, the British force, con- 

 sisting of 30,000 men, was a dis- 

 posable force to be applied as his 

 majesty's ministers thought pro- 

 per. Mr. P. then desired to know 

 why it was that such a length of 

 time had elapsed between the con- 

 clusion of the convention of Cin- 

 tra, and the 27th day of October, 

 when Sir John Moore proceeded 

 on his march from Portugal to 

 Spain ? Up to the 27th of Sep- 

 tember, he had heard that none of 

 the Juntas could be called the Su- 

 preme Junta.but that,upon that day, 

 such a Junta was installed at Ma- 

 drid. And yet it wassaidtohavebeen 

 necessary for Sir D. Baird to wait 

 from the 13th to the 27th of Oc- 

 tober, until he could obtain per- 

 mission from the Supreme Junta 

 to land his army in the north of 

 Spain. It did not appear that 

 our government had any person 

 called an accredited minister or 

 ambassador in Spain, until Mr. 

 Frere was sent ; nor did it appear 

 that he had arrived at Madrid, 



until 



