400 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S09. 



self admitted, and notwithstanding 

 there appeared a smaller majority 

 in his favour, than appeared in fa- 

 vour of the duke of York, in ma- 

 nifest injustice to his royal high- 

 ness, and gross insult to the nation, 

 the said lord Castlereagh still re- 

 tains his official situation. 



" That these attacks upon the vi- 

 tal principles of the constitution 

 have been made without punish- 

 ment or censure ; and motions for 

 inquiry into such practices have 

 been rejected upon the alleged 

 frequency and notoriety of them ; 

 and parliament has thereby, as 

 well as by passing a bill to prevent 

 the sale of seats in that house, re- 

 cognized and acknowledged the 

 corrupt influence under which it 

 has been called together, and exer- 

 cised its functions. 



" That it was stated by Mr. 

 Wardle, that there was an office 

 publicly kept open for the sale of 

 places under government, and al- 

 though such statement, when made, 

 only excited the derision of minis- 

 ters and the house, it has since 

 appeared that the above statement 

 was correct ; and his majesty's mi- 

 nisters have indicted and convicted 

 several persons concerned therein, 

 and such practices were declared in 

 the said indictment, to have a ten- 

 dency to degrade, vilify, and tra- 

 duce and bring into contempt, the 

 administration of the country. 



" That by various statements 

 which Mr. Wardle has lately sub- 

 mitted to parliament, it appears, 

 that, by a correction of the frauds, 

 abuses, corruption und peculation, 

 which have been found to exist in 

 every branch of the public expen- 

 diture, to which inquiry has ex- 

 tended, and a wise and honest ap- 

 plication of our resources, the peo- 



ple might be relieved from heavy 

 and oppressive burthens, if not 

 wholly from that inquisitorial, and 

 most grievous of all imposts, the 

 tax upon income. That his con- 

 duct on this occasion seems to have 

 drawn upon him, in a high degree, 

 the malice and rancour of those 

 who are interested in the continu- 

 ance of these abuses. 



•' That in the opinion of this 

 court, individuals who devote their 

 exertions towards exposing and 

 correcting public abuses, are at all 

 times entitled to the support and 

 protection of the country, particu- 

 larly at the present moment, when 

 there appears an unabating effort on 

 the part of those notoriously under 

 the influence of governmentjor who 

 participate in the existing frauds, 

 corruptions, and peculations, to cry 

 down, vilify, and traduce every man 

 who has courage and integrity to ex- 

 pose such practices, in order to mis- 

 lead the public, and divert their at- 

 tention from these great evils." 



Official account, by General Cuesta, 

 of the Battle of Talavera, to the 

 Secretary at War, dated Seville, 

 Sept. 7. 



Most excellent Sir— I removed 

 my head-quarters on the 21st cur- 

 rent, to Velada, according to what 

 1 mentioned in my former dispatch 

 of the same night. This communi- 

 cation was made after I liad seen at 

 Oropesa, in the evening of that day, 

 the gallant and illustrious army of 

 the English. 



These forces having all reunited 

 in that town, I ordered my van- 

 guard to be placed before Velada, 

 concluding that the firing I then 

 discovered, was a skirmishing of our 

 parties with an advanced body of 



the 



