characteristics of nations generous and brave, it recurs to dark artifices of fiction and seduction, to dazzle and corrupt the unwary, who are weak enough to trust and con fide in its perfidious promises. Such is the object of the three proclamations which I have mentioned; to lull to sleep the understanding of the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres, with hopes of an imaginary happiness; to blindfold them, that they may not perceive the abyss of evil which surrounds them; to cover as with a garland of flowers, the iron chairs which their oppressors have prepared for them; to stupify the native energy of those active Spaniards; to alienate from their hearts, if it is possible, the love, the fidelity, and gratitude they owe to the most benevolent and just of all monarchs; to prevail upon them for ever to lay down their arms, nor think of avenging themselves and retrieving their lost honour, but solely to aspire to the felicity of being numbered among the vilest slaves of the tyrant of the seas. From these motives, they speak of the great advantages which they pretend would result from an alliance with Great Britain: under that government, they say, oppression is unknown; they promise immediately to free their commerce from the heavy duties and imposts to which it has been subjected, to respect the catholic religion and its holy ministers, and that the local laws and national customs shall remain untouched; and they conclude with stating, that their only object is to protect the eastern coasts of South America, and render it a country the most prosperous in the universe. But where is the man, of sense and judgment, who does not immediately discover, under such affected expressions, the vile language of hypocrisy and fiction, so foreign to the intrepid soldier, and natural only to the cowardly legions of those sordid islanders? Where is the man whose blood does not boil, on hearing the sacred names of protection, humanity, and benevolence, pronounced by a government, stained with recent robberies, perfidies, and murders ?-by a government which does not cease sowing the seeds of discord and rebellion every where ?-by a government which has so lately, before our eyes, kindled a fire in the fairest part of the globe, (alluding to Europe,) whose provinces we have so recently seen inundated with streams of the blood of its inhabitants? -by a government which has so basely forsaken its allies, by hastily withdrawing its troops, from all those parts where any of the invincible battalions of Buonaparte made. their appearance by a government whose friendship has proved so baneful and ruinous to so many powerful princes, and covered with mourning and desolation the immense countries situated between the fertile banks of the Adige, and the frozen lakes of Bohemia ?-by a government, lastly, which has so long endeavoured to erect the throne of its tyranny upon the spoils and tombs of all other nations, and which, of late years, has not even shrunk, in the face of the whole world, to adopt as a basis of its machiavelian system of politics, the plan of perpetual war; a plan at which humanity shudders; a plan which posterity will record and hand down to our remotest descendants as a memorable monument of the ferocity and barbarity to which egotism, and a thirst for monopoly, can precipitate a nation which lent its ear to no voice, but that of its arrogant and unnatural avarice? Generous men of Lima! Let us fling far from us, with that contempt which they so well deserve, those infamous proclamations, with which the English general pretends to surprise the innate fidelity of our countrymen, who inhabit the banks of the river. Plata. Let us look upon them as an insult to our honour, as an attempt against our happiness, and a plan directed to the destruction of our native land! Merchants! the same men, who now pretend to have possessed themselves of Buenos Ayres, solely with a view of protecting your commerce, are the same who have precipitated it into a state of ruin, so prejudicial to your useful speculations, and to which you see it reduced. They are the same who commenced the present hostilities, by capturing three of the king's frigates, and blowing up another. They are the same who seized upon your defenceless ships, peaceably navigating the seas, under a confidence that the Spanish flag, which they displayed in the air, would protect them against all injuries from a nation with which we were not then at war. A general indignation was manifested by all the cabinets of Europe; but even this was insufficient to induce those avaricious and cruel islanders to restore the treasures which they had so unjustly taken, with the blood of so many innocent victims. Spaniards! that perfidious nation, which now pretends to appear to the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres as, of all others, the most humane, is the same which, not six years since, sent a squadron and an army before Cadiz, at a time when the plague reigned within its walls, spreading

horror and destruction. The English admiral, who, from his cabin windows, could feast his eyes with the spectacle of mountains of corpses yet uuburied, and the gloomy sight of the funeral piles, yet had the courage to challenge our valiant chief to surrender, or to prepare himself to suffer all the rigears of war. The commander of a Moorish corsair, having fallen in with a con voy, carrying victuals and medicines, at the expense of the pope, to the city of Marseilles, then infested by a destructive plague, not only refrained from capturing those ships, but spontaneously convoyed them to the port of their destination; and the English admiral, on a similar occasion, threw balls and shells into Cadiz, with an intent of reducing it to a heap of ruins. Spaniards! those who now publish a law at Buenos Ayres, enjoining slaves to obey their masters, are the same who fomented, and still continue to encourage, in the island of St. Domingo, the most atrocious re« bellion recorded in the annals of nations. We have all witnessed that, while the sanguinary Dessalines, at the head of innumerable bands of assassins, marched along the coasts, with the murdering steel in one hand, and the incendiary torch in the other, with fire and sword, spreading desolation, destruction, and death, whereso. ever he went, an English squadron vigorously blockaded the capital, in order that no one solitary victim might escape the African fury. Indians! You who are such interesting objects of the tender care of our most amiable monarch! that nation, which has taken possession of Buenos Ayres, has ever treated the Aborigines of America and Asia with the most inhuman cruelty. When, in the course of the last century, they found it impracticable, by force of arms, to subjugate the brave inhabitants of the Floridas, they concluded a specious peace, and during that peace, regaled them with poisoned liquors and clothes, which caused deaths without number. Their East India company has already extirpated the greater number of the mild inhabitants of Malabar, Bengal, and Coromandel, and would extirpate them all by one single blow, if they required not their labour in the manufactories of their richest and finest stuffs. That terrible famine is still recent in our memory, when millions of Indians perished, and which being foreseen by the English factories, they timely stored all the rice and other provisions, which the scanty harvest of that year had yielded. Indians! wheresover the English nation has gained a footing, your's has been enslaved, reduced, and destroyed, without mercy. All you people, inhabitants of Peru! let us, on this important occasion, display all our loyalty and courage. Let us speedily wash away the foul stain, cast upon the arms of Spain by the surrender of Buenos Ayres. Let us instantly fly to arms, in the defence of our holy faith, and of our beloved sovereign; and let us plunge into the deep currents of the river La Plata, those outcasts of strugglers and pirates, who having by surprise possessed themselves of one of the most interesting parts of America, diffident of the power of their arms, and in dread of our just vengeance, now attempt, by means of the detestable artifices of seduction, to induce us to forego the performance of our most sacred and inviolable duties, and to turn deaf ears to the pathetic and penetrating voice with which our country now calls upon us for assistance."

LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13.

Downing Street, Sept. 13.---Lieutenant-colonel Bourke, deputy quarter-mastergeneral to his majesty's troops serving in South America, arrived this morning at the office of the viscount Castlereagh, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, from the Rio de la Plata, with a dispatch from lieutenant-general Whitelocke, addressed to the right honourable William Windham, of which the following is a Copy:

Buenos Ayres, July 10, 1807.-SIR, I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of his majesty, that upon being joined at Monte Video, on the 15th of June, by the corps under brigadier-general Crauford, not one moment was lost by rear-admiral Murray and myself, in making every necessary arrangement for the attack of Buenos Ayres. After many delays, occasioned by foul winds, a landing was effected, without opposition, on the 28th of the same month, at the Ensinada de Barragon, a small bay, about thirty miles to the eastward of the town. The corps

employed on this expedition were, three brigades of light artillery, under captain Fraser; the 5th, 38th, and 87th regiments of foot, under brigadier-general sir S. Auchmuty; the 17th light dragoons, 36th and 88th regiments, under brigadiergeneral the honourable William Lumley; eight companies of the 95th regiment, and nine light infantry companies, under brigadier-general Craufurd; four troops of the 6th dragoon guards, the 9th light dragoons, 40th and 45th regiments of foot, under colonel the honourable T. Mahon; all the dragoons being dismounted, except four troops of the 17th, under lieutenant-colonel Lloyd. After some fatiguing marches, through a country much intersected by swamps, and deep muddy rivulets, the army reached Reduction, a village about nine miles from the bridge over the Rio Chuelo; on the opposite bank of which the enemy had constructed batteries, and established a formidable line of defence. I resolved, therefore, to turn this position, by marching in two columns from my left, and crossing the river higher up, where it was represented fordable, to unite my force in the suburbs of Buenos Ayres. I sent directions, at the same time, to colonel Mahon, who was bringing up the greater part of the artillery under the protection of the 17th light dragoons, and 40th regiment, to wait for further orders at Reduction. Major-general Leveson Gower, having the command of the right column, crossed the river at a pass called the Passo Chico, and falling in with a corps of the enemy, gallantly attacked and defeated it, for the particulars of which action I beg to refer you to the annexed report. Owing to the ignorance of my guide, it was not until the next day that I joined with the main body of the army, when I formed my line, by placing brigadier-general sir Samuel Auchmuty's brigade upon the left, extending it towards the convent of the Recoletta, from which it was distant two miles; the 36th and 88th regiments being on its right; brigadier general Craufurd's brigade occupying the central and principal avenues of the town, being distant about three miles from the great square and fort; and the 6th dragoon guards, 9th light dragoons, and 45th regiment being upon his right, and extending towards the Residencia. The town was thus nearly invested; and this disposition of the army, and the circumstances of the town and suburbs being divided into squares of one hundred and forty yards each side, together with the knowledge that the enemy meant to occupy the flat roofs of the houses, gave rise to the following plan of attack :--- Brigadier-general sir S. Auchmuty was directed to detach the 38th regiment to possess itself of the Plaza de Toros, and the adjacent strong ground, and there take post; the 87th, 5th, 36th, and 88th regiments were each divided into wings; and each wing ordered to penetrate into the street directly in its front. The light battalion divided into wings, and each followed by a wing of the 95th regiment, and a three-pounder, was ordered to proceed down the two streets on the right of the central one, and the 45th regiment down the two adjoining; and after clearing the streets of the enemy, this latter regiment was to take post at the Residencia. Two six-pounders were ordered along the central street, covered by the carabineers, and three troops of the 9th light dragoons, the remainder of which was posted as a reserve in the centre. Each division was ordered to proceed along the street directly in its front, till it arrived at the last square of houses next the river Plata, of which it was to possess itself, forming on the flat roofs, and there wait for further orders. The 95th regiment was to occupy two of the most commanding situations, from which it could annoy the enemy. Two corporals, with tools, were ordered to march at the head of each column, for the purpose of breaking open the doors; the whole were unloaded, and no firing was to be permitted until the columne had reached their final points and formed; a cannonade in the central streets was the signal for the whole to come forward. In conformity to this arrangement, at half-past six in the morning of the 5th instant, the 38th regiment moving towards its left, and the 87th straight to its front, approached the strong post of the Retiro and Plaza de Toros, and after a most vigorous and spirited attack, in which these regiments suffered much from grape-shot and musketry, their gallant commander, brigadier-general sir S. Auchmuty, possessed himself of the post, taking thirty-two pieces of cannon, an immense quantity of ammunition, and six hundred prisoners. The 5th regiment, meeting with but little opposition, proceeded to the river, and took possession of the church and convent of St. Catalina. The 36th and 88th regiments, under brigadier-general Lumley, moving in the appointed order, were soon opposed Supplement to No. XII.—VOL. III.

by a heavy and continued fire of musquetry from the tops and windows of the houses; the doors of which were barricaded in so strong a manner as to render them almost impossible to force. The streets were intersected by deep ditches, in the inside of which were planted cannon, pouring showers of grape on the advanced columns. In defiance, however, of this opposition, the 36th regiment, headed by the gallant general, reached its final destination; but the 88th, being nearer to the fort, and principal defences of the enemy, were so weakened by his fire as to be totally overpowered and taken. The flank of the 36th being thus exposed, this regiment, together with the 5th, retired upon sir Samuel Auchnuty's post at the Plaza de Toros; not, however, before lieutenant-colonel Burne, and the grenadier company of the 36th regiment, had an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, by charging about 800 of the enemy, and taking and spiking two guns. The two sixpounders moving up the central streets meeting with a very superior fire, the four troops of the carabineers, led on by lieutenant-colonel Kingston, advanced to take the battery opposed to him; but this gallant officer being unfortunately wounded, as well as captain Burrell, next in command, and the fire both from the battery and houses proving very destructive, they retreated to a short distance, but continued to Occupy a position in front of the enemy's principal defences, and considerably in advance of that which they had taken in the morning. The left division of brigadiergeneral Craufurd's brigade, under lieutenant-colonel Fack, passed on nearly to the river, and turning to the left, approached the great square, with the intention of possessing itself of the Jesuits' College, a situation which commanded the enemy's principal line of defence. But from the very destructive nature of his fire, this was found impracticable; and after sustaining a heavy loss, one part of the division throwing itself into a house which was afterwards not found tenable, was shortly obliged to surrender, whilst the remaining part, after enduring a dreadful fire with the greatest intrepidity, lieutenant-colonel Pack, its commander, being wounded, retired upon the right division commanded by brigadier-general Craufurd himself. This division, having passed quite through the river Plata, turned also to the left, to approach the great square and fort from the north-east bastion, of which it was distant about 400 yards, when brigadier-general Craufurd learning the fate of his left division, thought it most adviseable to take possession of the convent of St. Domingo, near which he then was, intending to proceed onwards to the Franciscan church, which lay still nearer the fort, if the attack or success of any other of our columns should free him, in some measure, from the host of enemies which surrounded him. The 45th regiment being further from the enemy's centre, had gained the Residencia without much opposition, and lieutenant colonel Guard, leaving it in pos session of his battalion companies, moved down with the grenadier company towards the centre of the town, and joined brigadier-general Craufurd. The enemy, whe now surrounded the convent on all sides, attempting to take a three-pounder which lay in the street, the lieut.-colonel, with his company, and a few light infantry, under major Trotter, charged them with great spirit; in an instant the greater part of his com pany, and major Trotter, (an officer of great merit) were killed, but the gun was saved. The brigadier-gen. was now obliged to confine himself to the defence of the convent, from which the riflemen kept up a well-directed fire upon such of the enemy as approached the post; but the quantity of round-shot, grape, and musquetry, to which they were exposed, at last obliged them to quit the top of the building; and the enemy, to the number of six thousand, bringing up cannon to force the wooden gates which fronted the fort, the brigadier-general having no communication with any of the other columns, and judging from the cessation of firing that those next him had not been successful, surrendered at four o'clock in the afternoon. The result of this day's action had left me in possession of the Plaza de Toros, a strong post on the enemy's right, and the Recidencia, another strong post on his left, whilst I occupied an advanced position opposite his centre; but these advantages had cost about 2500 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The nature of the fire to which the troops were exposed was violent in the extreme. Grape-shot, at the corners of all the streets, musquetry, hand-grenades, bricks, and stones, from the tops of all the houses, every householder, with his negroes, defended his dwelling, each of which was in itself a fortress; and it is not, perhaps, too much to say, that the whole male population of

Buenos Ayres was employed in its defence. This was the situation of the army on the morning of the 6th instant, when general Liniers addressed a letter to me, offering to give up all his prisoners taken in the late affair, together with the 71st regiment, and others, taken with brigadier-general Beresford, if I desisted from any further attack on the town, and withdrew his majesty's forces from the river Plata, intimating, at the same time, from the exasperated state of the populace, he could not answer for the safety of the prisoners, if I persisted in offensive measures. Influenced by this consideration, (which I knew from better authority to be founded in fact) and reflecting of how little advantage would be the possession of a country, the inhabitants of which were so absolutely hostile, I resolved to forego the advantages which the bravery of the troops had obtained, and acceded to the annexed treaty, which I trust will meet the approbation of his majesty. I have nothing further to add, except to mention, in terms of the highest praise, the conduct of rear-admiral Murray, whose cordial co-operation has never been wanting, whenever the army could be benefited by his exertions. Captain Rowley (of the royal navy) commanding the seamen on shore, captain Bayntun, of his majesty's ship Africa, who superintended the disembarkation, and captain Thompson, of the Fly, who had the direc tion of the gun-boats, and had previously rendered me much service, by reconnoitering the river, are all entitled to my best thanks. As his character already stands so high, it is almost unnecessary to state, that from my second in command, majorgeneral Leveson Gower, I have experienced every zealous and useful assistance; my thanks are likewise due to brigadiers-general sir S. Auchmuty and Lumley, and to colonel Mahon, and brigadier-general Craufurd, commanding brigades. I cannot sufficiently bring to notice the uncommon exertions of captain Fraser, commanding the royal artillery, the fertility of whose mind, zeal, and animation in all cases, left difficulties behind. Captain Squires, of the royal engineers, is also entitled to my best thanks; nor should I omit the gallant conduct of major Nicholls, of the 45th regiment, who, on the morning of the 6th instant, being pressed by the enemy near the Residencia, charged them with great spirit, and took two howitzers and many prisoners. Lieutenant-colonel Bradford, deputy adjutant-general, has likewise a great claim to my approbation as a gallant and promising officer. The officers of my personal staff, lieutenant-colonel Torrens, (military secretary) captains Brown, Foster, Douglas, and Whittingham, (aides-de-camp) must also be mentioned by me in terms of just regard; the knowledge which the latter possesses of the Spanish language has been eminently useful to me. This dispatch will be delivered to you by lieutenant-colonel Bourke, deputy quarter-master-general, who has afforded me that assistance which might be looked for from an officer of his military talents and attachment to the service; to whom I beg to refer you for any further particulars respecting the military operations in this part of the world. I have the honour to be, &c J. WHITELOCKE, Lieutenant-general.

The Right Hon. William Windham. Return of the killed, wounded, and missing, of the troops under the command of Lieutenant-General Whitelocke, between the 28th of June, the day of the landing at Ensinada, to the 4th of July, 1807, inclusive.

Light battalion-1 lieutenant, wounded.-87th regiment-5 rank and file, killed.S8th regiment-8 rank and file, killed; 1 lieutenant, 8 rank and file, wounded.95th regiment-1 serjeant, 1 rank and file, killed; 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 ensign, 2 serjeants, 10 rank and file, wounded. Total-1 serjeant, 14 rank and file, killed; captain, 3 lieutenants, 1 ensign, 2 serjeants, 18 rank and file, wounded. Officers of the light battalion severely wounded.---87th regiment-lieutenant Crowe; 8th ditto, lieutenant Thompson-95th ditto, captain Elder; lieutenants Noble and

Coane.

Return of killed, wounded, and missing, on the attack of the city of Buenos Ayres, July 5, 1807.

Royal navy-1 lieutenant, wounded; 2 seamen, missing.-Royal horse artilleryrank and file, killed; 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, 6 rank and file, wounded; ank ad file, missing.-Royal foot artillery-1 lieutenant, 2 rank and file, wounded.--