year, might have a precarious result. This determination of Sir Hew Dalrymple, however, was not acceptable to the British nation after the brilliant victories of Roliça and Vimiera, and the Portuguese, who had anticipated the capture and destruction of the whole French army, were thrown into a state of the greatest dejection by this most unwelcome and unlooked-for measure. Of this convention, which was concluded at Cintra on the 30th of August, it may be only necessary to observe the main point, which provided for the French army being conveyed to the nearest port in France, with their artillery, arms, 800 horses, and *baggage, in British transports.

On the 3d of September a convention was made by Sir Charles Cotton, commanding the British fleet in the Tagus, and the Russian Admiral Siniavin, by which the Russian ships were to proceed to England as a deposit, and remain until six months after peace was concluded between the two countries: the officers and men to be sent home by the British government.

Under the head of Baggage the enemy included the spoils of our allies, as will be seen from the following document.

Copy of a Letter from Viscount Castlereagh to Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Dalrymple, dated Downing-Street, 17th September, 1808.

Sir, Downing-Street, 17th September, 1808. With whatever disappointment His Majesty must be understood at the present moment to view the convention concluded on the 30th ultimo, so far as the immediate interests of Great Britain and the pretensions of his army are concerned, His Majesty will nevertheless suspend his final judgment upon the whole of this part of the case, until he shall be in possession of fuller information.

His Majesty cannot but advert with peculiar pain and mortification to those articles in which stipulations are made deeply affecting the feelings and interests of his allies, and of which His Majesty cannot but strongly disapprove. Amongst these articles, the fifth of the definitive convention, which, at the present moment, may be supposed to be more immediately in progress of execution, has been an object of peculiar anxiety to His Majesty, so far as the latter part of it can possibly bear the construction of protecting the French army in withdrawing, under the mask of private property, the plunder which they have so shamefully acquired in Portugal.

His Majesty would be most unwilling to suppose that, in your contemplation at the time you ratified the convention, such an abuse was intended to be tolerated, or that you considered that such a construction could in fairness be given to the word "Property."

In this explanation of the article, Captain Dalrymple, to whom you have referred me for explanation, appears to concur.

Upon the supposition that such is the true meaning of this article, His Majesty commands me to express his anxious solicitude, whatever may be the difficulty of

Immediately after the ratification the Spanish troops which had been marched to Lisbon by General Junôt, and subsequently confined on board ships in the Tagus, were given up to the British Commander-in-Chief, and the French army retired from their lines near Torres Vedras to Lisbon, and were encamped in the streets and squares until the shipping was in readiness for their reception. Detachments of British troops also marched into Lisbon, to take charge of the magazines, and commissioners were appointed to prevent the French from carrying off any of the plundered property amongst their baggage, in which, however, they were but too successful. The total number of the enemy embarked, including some Portuguese, was computed at 27,000.

Soon after this period, Sir Arthur Wellesley returned to England, and was followed by Sir Hew Dalrymple and Sir Harry Burrard, to attend the Board of General Officers at Chelsea, instituted to enquire into the merits of the late convention. Previous to their departure, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, who had arrived from England during the pending of the convention, with the force which had gone up the Baltic, and Lord Paget's brigade of cavalry, was nominated to the chief command of the army, destined to advance into Spain in aid of the patriots.

Sir Hew Dalrymple, whose situation as Lieutenant-Governor of Gibraltar, at this important crisis, afforded him an opportunity of acquiring the most authentic intelligence respecting the movements of the French in Spain, recommended that a British army should act in the north of Spain, in one body, and in the most direct communication with England; the Spaniards to carry on defensive operations in the province of Catalonia alone; and in a communication to Lord Castlereagh of the 14th September, 1808, he expresses his opinion, "that the principal army of Spain should be placed near the western Pyrenees, and that the British force should have the

effectual discrimination, that every possible precaution should be adopted to guard against an abuse so revolting to the feelings of the Prince Regent of Portugal and bis subjects. And you will impress upon the mind of your successor the solicitude felt by His Majesty, that an ally, for the protection and liberation of whose territory and people His Majesty has been eager to make the utmost exertions, should not be exposed to an injury so offensive, under the countenance of a British army, I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed)

To Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Dalrymple, &c. &c. &c.

CASTLEREAGH.

same direction, forming as it were the left wing of the Spanish army, and acting in intimate co-operation with it. Should these ideas accord at all with the plans of the Spanish General, and of the government under which he acts, it will be necessary to obtain the earliest and most accurate information on the following points: first, as to the nature of the country which may become the seat of war, with a view to the operations of the British; this should include the provinces of Old Castile, Leon, the Asturias, and Gallicia;secondly, the description of the military features of those countries, the roads, supply of water, &c. should be accompanied by an account of their resources in cattle, grain, forage and fuel, in the means of conveyance, and of what description it is, also some general statements as to the population of different districts, the towns, villages, and other cover for troops which they afford;thirdly, accurate information should be obtained in regard to the communications leading to the posts of the Asturias, and those of Gallicia, and the possibility of transporting troops and supplies along them from the coast to the army;-fourthly, some information should be obtained respecting the places of strength that exist in the provinces above mentioned, and it should be ascertained how far the Spaniards may be inclined to place any of them at our disposal, either upon the coast for the sake of our disembarkations, or to favour a retreat in the last extremity; or in the interior, with a view to the security of our depôts and of our line of communication; some proposition on our part, on that head ought not to be deemed unreasonable, even in a mere military point of view, as connected with the facilitating the objects of the campaign."

In conformity with this opinion of Sir Hew Dalrymple, the measure of sending an army to Spain had been agitated in the British cabinet in August, but was delayed, from the obligation by the convention of Cintra, of conveying Junôt's army to France, for which purpose all the transports in the Tagus were required.

The views of the British ministry at this precise period cannot be better explained than by reference to Lord Castlereagh's letter of the 30th September, 1808, to Major-General Lord William Bentinck, who had proceeded to Madrid for the purpose of consulting with Count Florida Blanca and the Central Assembly, upon the operations to be undertaken by the British army after its arrival in Spain, and upon other subjects connected with the deliverance of

the Peninsula. His Lordship therein states," the amount of the British force, which it is proposed to employ in Spain, will fall very little short of 40,000 men; it is to consist of 30,000 infantry, rank and file, 5000 cavalry, and the necessary proportion of foot and horse artillery, waggon train, &c. the whole to be assembled under the orders of Sir John Moore, on the borders of Gallicia and Leon, from whence they may operate in the open country, as soon as the necessary proportion of horses and mules can be procured to render them moveable; leaving it to the Spanish armies not having a due proportion of cavalry, to act on their flanks in the mountains. Sir David Baird, with 12,000 men, is ordered immediately to sail for Corunna. Sir John Moore is to move the remainder of the force required to complete the 30,000 infantry, from Portugal, either by land or sea, as he may find most convenient, sending the two regiments of cavalry under Brigadier-General Stewart, through the interior; the rest of the cavalry will be sent from hence as speedily as circumstances will permit. It would have been more satisfactory, had one army been equipped for service, to have disembarked at St. Andero, or some other point nearer the enemy; but as it is of equal importance to the Spaniards as it is to us, that the army should not be partially committed or brought into contact with the enemy, till the means of moving and following up an advantage are secured; and, as the navigation on the coast of the Asturias becomes extremely precarious towards the close of the year, it was the decided opinion of all military men, and of none more than the Marquis de la Romana, to make Corunna the principal depôt, and to operate from thence. To render the northern provinces the more secure, while our army is assembling, and to co-operate with the other Spanish corps in circumscribing the enemy's positions on the Ebro, the Marquis of Romana has determined to proceed with his own corps, amounting to nearly 10,000 men, to St. Andero; and he proposes, on his arrival there, by the incorporation of the armed peasantry of the Asturias and the Montagna, 'to augment their numbers to at least 20,000 men, which, with the Asturian army and Blake's, will carry the force in that quarter to 60 or 70,000 men, exclusive of the armies operating towards the front and left of the enemy's line. I am not enabled to send you any precise calculation of the number of horses and mules we shall want; the cavalry, artillery, and waggon train will be provided from hence; the stores and baggage of

the army, the commissariat, &c. must be equipped in Spain. I have sent a commissary into the northern provinces to collect what can be had. Sir David Baird is directed, on his arrival at Corunna, to equip his corps, if possible, from the resources of Gallicia and the north of Portugal. Sir John Moore, when he has arranged the movement of his army from Portugal, will probably superintend the equipment on the spot. I have only, in the mean time, to request you will communicate with those in authority on the best means of rendering this important force serviceable as early as possible, and that you will cause orders to be sent into the provinces of Gallicia, &c. to facilitate the equipment of the army, and ensure them a good reception. The Marquis of Romana has written to make his government perfectly understand the principles upon which our decision has been taken, and why they must not expect the British troops to take the field in detached corps." (To be continued.)

REVIEWS OF MILITARY WORKS.

Anew and enlarged MILITARY DICTIONARY, in FRENCH and ENGLISH; in which are explained the principal Terms, with appropriate Illustrations, of all the Sciences, that are more or less necessary for an Officer and Engineer. By Charles James, Major to the corps of Royal Artillery Drivers. 2 vols. 8vo. Egerton.

THE fame which Major James's Military Dictionary has long acquired, does not surpass its merits, and we conceive it to be a work deserving the attention of all officers. After a very careful examination of this new edition, we have had the satisfaction of finding that great exertions have been made to render it complete in every branch of Military Tactics and the Art of War; and we are much gratified in observing that the object of the author has been generally attended with ample success.

The various points of real Information and Military Instruction, contained in this work, has constituted it a necessary companion to Officers employed either on home or foreign service, and we are not acquainted with any military publication whence a general