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Northern Star (1837-1852), 18th September 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 5, ^ MBE !! 8 ^_ THE STAE OF FREEDOM. 85

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      ^ Mbe !! 8 ^_ The Stae Of Freedom. 85

      ^ !! 8 ^_ THE STAE OF FREEDOM . 85

      Death Of Ttj E Dtjke 0f Well Ington. The...

      DEATH OF TTj E DTJKE 0 F WELL INGTON . The Duke of Wellington was seized wMl il ] ness ^ Tuegd morning last , and expir ed at a quarter-past three in the afternoon of the same day , after a succession of fits . Arthur Welles ^ ey , Duke of Wellington , third son of Garrett second Earl oi Mornmgton , and of Anne , eldest daughter of Arthur Hill , / iscount Dungannon , was bom at Duncan Castle county Meath , Ireland , on the 1 st of May . 1769 . ° His education commenced at Eton , and he afterwards studied at the Military College of Anglers , in the department of the Maine loire . Atthe early age of 18 he was appointed to an enshmcy in the 73 d Foot , and was shortly afterwards made lieutenant When barely of age he was returned to the Irish parliament

      for the borough of Trim , which was in the interest of the 3 iornington family , and it was doubtless , owing to the same influence that his military promotion was so rapid , as we find him in 1793 appointed to a lieutenant colonelcy in the 33 d Yoot In the following year he was first ordered upon active sendee , and with his regiment joined the Duke of York ' s army in the Netherlands . Colonel Wellesley was intrusted with the perilous task ofhringingup the rear guard during the retreat , and gave striking evidence of activity and intelligence in the manner in which he accomplished his duty . On his

      return to England he was ordered to the West Indies , but the fleet was repeatedly driven hack hy unfavourable weather , and Anally returned to port . Before it could put to sea again a change of orders sent Colonel Wellesley and the 33 d to India , where he landed in February , 1797 . At that period symptoms of disaffection , artfully fomented hy Tippoo Sultuan , and the intrigues of the French , had begun to show themselves in Mj-sore—many of the native princes meditated revolt—the deplorable state of our finances , the quarrels of our allies among themselves , the weakness of our Indian army , and the successes of the French at home , had all tended to shake the

      stability of our Indian empire ; and the appointment of the Earl of Momington ( brother of Colonel Wellesley ) to the Governor Generalship of India was hailed with satisfaction , as indicating the adoption of a holder and at the fame time wore judicious riolicy for the recovery of our supremacy in the East . Sufficient proof having heen obtained that the Sultan

      was carrying on a secret and treasonable correspondence with the French , war was declared , and was followed up immediately afterwards hy the storming of Seringapatam , in which Colonel Wellesley commanded the reserve in the trenches , and was subsequently appointed commandant of that fortress . In July , 1799 , he received the command of the i ^ rovinces of Mysore and Seringapatam , and here he first gave evidence of that energy and decision which distinguished him in after life ,

      m the repression of military disorder , and the promptness and rapidity of his movements , which enabled him to surprise and cut off the formidable robber chieftain Doondiah . In May , 1800 , he was oflered hy his brother the command of the Batavian expedition ; hut , at the urgent request of Lord Glide , who could ill spare him , he gave up what would have proved a lucrative and honourable post , and sacrificed his private interests to the exigencies of the public service . He

      was prevented from joining another expedition against the French by an attack of intermittent fever , and soon after , as Alajor General Wellesley , we find him intrusted with very extensive civil and military powers in the district of Poonah , where his local knowledge , and the personal influence he had acquired over the Mahratta chiefs , were found to be extremely valuable . His first exploit was the seige and capture of the fortress of Ahmednuggur ; and on the 23 d of September following was fought the memorable hattle of Assyre , in

      which the determined courage and discipline of between 4000 and 5000 men aided hy the advantageous position selected for them by their general , effected the signal defeat of between 40 , 000 and 50 , 000 men . General Wellesley arrived in England on the 10 th September , 1805 . In January following he was appointed to the colonelcy of the 33 rd Foot , and on the 10 th of April married Catherine , third daughter of the Earl of Longford , by whom he had issue Arthur , born 3 rd of February , 1807 ( now Duke of Wellington ) , and Charles ,

      bora 16 th January , 1808 . On the appointment of the Duke of Richmond as Lord Lieutenant of Wand , Sir Arthur Wellesley accepted the office of chief secretary , and was presented by the corporation of Dublin , with an address and the freedom of the citv . In the same year he accompanied Lord Cathcaifs expeditionto Copenhagen . In 1808 he was ordered to co-operate with the Spanish and Portuguese against their common enemy , Napoleon . The landing of Sir Arthur Welicsly ' s troops was effected at Mondego Bay , to the north of Lisbon , on the 1 st of August , and being joined immediately

      a fterwards hy General Spencer ' s division ; he found himself at the head of between 12 , 000 and 13 , 00 men ; a small force , c ertainty , to cope with the vast armies arrayed against him . His very first movements were embarrassed , and he was deserted by his Portuguese ally , Freire , who obstinately refused to support him on the advance of the French under Laborde . At Ptoleia the British troops first crossed bayonets with those veteran legions , till then deemed invincible , and on the 17 th of August was fought the first of the many glorious and wellcontested fields , which terminated in an almost unbroken scries of victories at Waterloo . Sir Arthur wished to follow up his

      hist success , but Sir Harry Burrard , who had in the meantime arrived and taken the command , objected ; and had not the adv ance of Junot compelled an engagement , four days later , <* t Vimera , the campaign so auspiciously opened might have terminated in disaster and disgrace . In March , 1809 , in cons equence of an appeal made to Sir Arthur Wellesley by Lord Casrlercagh . he wrote a masterly review of the position of

      affairs in the Peninsula , showing how Portugal might be defended , and shortly afterwards lie again landed in Lisbon * ° the enthusiastic joy of the inhabitants . Crossing the Douro with the Anglo-Portuguese army , in the face of a Numerous French force , he compelled Soult to retreat from o porto , and followed up the pursuit with such vigour that the French general was compelled to abandon his baggage , artiljer and military chest , with the loss of 5000 or 6000 men .

      Death Of Ttj E Dtjke 0f Well Ington. The...

      His next important military operation was the battle of Talavera , in which his redoubted allies looked quietly on while he fought and defeated 50 , 000 of the picked troops of Victor and bebastiani with little more than 20 , 000 men . He left the care ot his wounded to the care of the Spanish general , who , the moment he turned his back , retreated from Talavora , and abandoned them to the compassion of Victor , hy whom they were most humanely treated . The concentration of the yench troops immediately afterwards obliged Sir Arthur to retire , but he had the satisfaction of seeing the imbecile Cucsta

      compelled to resign the command of the Spanish army . His retirement upon the line of Guadiana , brought down upon him a storm of obloquy , which called forth the masterly vindication contained in his dispatch to Lord Castlereagh , of the 25 th of August . He pointed out that his troops were suffering severely from sickness—that his Spanish allies were utterly inefficient , and that it was impossible to procure supplies of any description—that while the French had 125 , 000 in the field , exclusive of garrisons , his whole strength was 25 , 000 British and 10 , 000 , Portuguese ; and such was the

      convincing and triumphant character of his explanation that he was rewarded with a peerage and a pension of £ 2 , 000 per annum . At this period his position was so disheartening , and his troops so reduced by sickness , that as the only means of saving Lisbon he resolved upon retiring behind the lines of . Forres Vedras , which he had given private orders to fortify ; and the result showed his extraordinary judgment and foresight , for Napoleon , stung by the recent ' defeats of his generals , was nowpouring his victorious armies , drafted from the Rhine , into Spain , and the French force in the Peninsula was speedily increased to the enormous number of 365 , 000

      men , who spread themselves with the impetuosity of a torrent across the country , and in a very short time every stronghold , with the exception of Cadiz , was in their hands Unable to relieve Ciudad Rodrigo , which was invested on the 1 st of June , 1810 , and surrendered on the 11 th of July , Lord Wellington commenced his retreat—fought the bloody battle of Busaco , in which Massena was repulsed with immense loss , and affected a retreat of nearly 200 miles upon the lines of Torres Vedras , without loss , although closely pressed by the French . Here he kept his opponents at bay for about 6 weeks .

      In January , 1812 , Ciudad Rodrigo was taken by storm , and the government again marked their sense of Lord Wellington ' s services by an additional pension of £ 2000 per annum . In July was fought the memorable battle of Salamanca , one of the most decisive in its results that had yet been gained by the British troops in the Peninsula , which opened Madrid to the conqueror , and for which he was raised to the dignity ot a marquisate , with a Parliamentary grant of £ 100 , 000 . We must pass briefly over the remainder of his Peninsular career , his skilfully-conducted retreat upon the Douro , when pressed

      by the combined French armies , the campaign of 1813 , in which the battle of Vittoria annihilated the power of Napoleon in Spain , and transferred the theatre of Avar , after a scries of sanguinary struggles , to the other side of the Pyrenees , closing with the battles of Othes and Toulouse , when the abdication of the Emperor put a period to hostilities . The return of the French Emperor , after his abdication , was the signal for a combined and determined movement on the part

      of the leading powers of Europe to crush him . On the 18 th of June , 1815 , after some preliminary contests , in which the Prussians were compelled to fall back , the allied forces , under the command of the Duke of Wellington , met the advancing French army on the plains of Waterloo , and after a sanguinary struggle , which lasted till sunset , the simultaneous advance of the allied troops and the Prussians , who had just arrived on the field of battle , effected the total rout and disorganisation of the French . This famous battle is called the French Mont

      St . Jean ; and was originally intended by the allies to be designated La Belle Alliance ; but it eventually received the name of Waterloo , from the fact of the Duke ' s having his head-quarters there after the hattle . It is an historical fact that the British forces have been twice signally successful over those of Franco on this spot ; and that , by . the side of the chapel of Waterloo , which , it may be remarked , was uninjured hy shot or shell on the memorable 18 th of June , 1815 , did Marlbro out off a large division of the French forces opposed to him on the 17 th of August , 1705 . It is no less a fact , that the conquerors of each of those days on the same field , are the only commanders in the British service whose

      military career brought them to the summit of the peerageto dukedoms . Here his military career may be said to have ended . He figured as a diplomatist as the representative of Great Britain at the French Court for a short period , in 1814 . —at the Congress of Aix la Chapelle , in 1818—accompanied George IV . on a visit to the field of Waterloo , in 1821—assisted at the Congress of Verona , in 1823 , when the affairs of Spain were on Hie tapis , and again as British Ambassador on a special mission to St . Petersburg !! , in 1826 ; but there is nothing in this portion of his public life to call for any lengththened notice . On the death of the Duke of York he was

      appointed Commander in Chief of the Forces , having in 1818 filled the post of Master General of the Ordnance . The ^ King having sent for Mr . Canning to form an administration in the room of that broken up by the death of the Earl of Liverpool , the Duke resigned his military command and his scat in the Cabinet , in which he was followed by five other _ leading members of the late ministry . Under the brief administration of Lord Goderich the Duke again resumed the post of Commander in Chief , and in the following year he was himself called upon by the King to construct another ministry . During the Session of 1830 , the government was defeated upon a motion of Sir Henry Pamell's , for a committee to inquire into

      the civil list , and on the following day the Duke and his colleagues resigned . After the passing of the Reform Bill , which he had determinedly opposed , the Duke continued to lead the opposition in the House of Lords , was installed Chancellor of the University of Oxford in June , 1834 , and the death of Earl Spencer , having been again sent for by the King , he for some weeks occupied the extraordinary and unconstitutional position of being at the same time First Lord of the Treasury , and retaining in his own hands the seals of the Home , Foreign , and Colonial Departments . The new ministry was , however , scarcely formed when , in consequence of repeated defeats in the House of Commons , it was com-

      Death Of Ttj E Dtjke 0f Well Ington. The...

      pelled to resi gn , and the Duke remained in opposition the six following years , taking an active part in all the leading questions that were discussed in parliament during that period . The year 1839 is memorable in the life of the Duke of Wellington by the grand banquet which was given to him at Dover as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports , at which 2 , 000 persons were present .

      In 1841 ministers having been defeated on the address in answer to the speech from the Throne , Sir Robert Peel assumed the reins of government , and the administration for the last time , taking the lead in the House of Lords , but without any ostensible office in the ministry . During the last few years of his life the Duke of Wellington was a constant attendant in the House of Lords , and there were few political questions of importance in which he did not take part . In 1848 , at hissuggestion , an amendment was introduced into the Diplomatic Relations with Rome Eiil , securing the supremacy of the Crown in all ecclesiastical and civil matters . He recommended decisive

      measures tor putting down the Chartists assemblages then being held in the neighbourhood of the metropolis , and for repressing the disturbances in Ireland , and gave his support to Lord John Russell ' s Crown and Government Security Bill , and other ministerial coercive and unconstitutional measures . The last speech which the Duke delivered in the House was on the 15 th of June last , in the debate on the Militia Bill , to which he gave his hearty support .

      ror the last few years of his life the duke still continued to be consulted by ministers , aud indeed by the Queen herself , who is understood to have liked to take his opinion on all matters of importance . He had always very regularly conformed to social observances , and mingled largely with the society to which he belonged . His last appearance in state was on the occasion of the dissolution of parliament , when it became his duty to be bearer of the Sword of State . The venerable duke , feeble with age , was accordingly seen in his due place carrying the heavy and venerable weapon ; nay , even playfully pointing

      it at Lord Derby , who was jesting with him about his difficulty in carrying it . His latest remarkable speech was in the House of Lords , when he emphatically came forward to signify his approbation of Sir Harry Smith ' s conduct in the Kaffir war . This speech was remarkable for its clearness , and a certain air of demonstration—as if he wished , as was natural enough , to give all the weight to his authority to aid a brave soldier who had been treated by government in a way equally unjust and ungenerous . Generally , he continued to perform the customary routine of his life with his notable punctuality .

      He had gone to Warmer Castle—and that his general health was still good we may learn from the fact that on last Saturday afternoon he rode over on horseback to Dover , and , in his capacity of Lord Warden , inspected the works in progress in the Harbour of Refuge , and other departments . He then seemed in excellent health and spirits * . His death may be said to have been sudden . He died after

      a " succession of fits . " It is known that for some years he had been subject to brain attacks , and had undergone the inconvenience of using counter irritants" to repel them . The cause of his death was natural dec ^ y , but the immediate agency described in the word " fits" was doubtless an effusion of water upon his brain . Gradual stupefaction would be the result , and also * convulsions , but it is probable that his death was without

      pam . In judging the character of the late Duke of Wellington , we cannot but regard him as a relict of bye-gone times . jtfetween himself and the present age there was no feeling in common . He belonged entirely to the age of despotism—despotism still unquestioning and unquestioned . He never had any sympathy with the people , whom he hez lieved to have been created expressly to toil for and serve kings ' and aristocracies : for any other forms of government than

      absolutism , he had a thorough hatred mingled with contempt . He desired to have all agitations put down by force ; what right had the rabble" to reason and discuss ? the only argu ment he would deign to use with them was the sword . Public meetings he denominated " a despicable farce , " and he was very desirous to have the Chartist assemblages dispersed by the armed force . In fact , pure and unmitigated despotism was his beau ideal of government ; even the circumscribed freedom guaranteed by our existing political institutions were but little to his taste .

      As coldly calculating and selfish as was his rival Napoleon Bonaparte , he altogether ignored the passions of men , and never , like Bonaparte , attempted to gain his ends by awakening enthusiasm or personal attachments in his soldiers ; but there is this similitude in the two great hostile captains : both were intellectual , and both were without a spark of love or synipatky with the rest of humanity . To them mankind was no universal brotherhood , but merely tools try "which they might work out the particular aims they had in view .

      In nothing was Wellington ' s heartlessness more apparent than in the affair of the execution of Ney . No one denies that by a word he could have saved his life . And when impelled by his enemies he has heen driven to make a defence , that defence was one which pictured his whole character , and the principles , or rather absence of principle , which governed his whole life , namely , the want of any belief in a duty towards others . He said it was no concern of his ; he was guided only by the terms

      of the Convention of Paris ; and there being no reference in that document to such aconiingency , he declined to interfere . He has passed away , but the nation will lose nothing in him , for , backward though we be , the iiarion has long ou * . grown him , and the state of society in which he would not have seemed strange and unnatural . We cannot regret him , for he never had any desire to be of , or for the people ; he belonged alone to the past , and it has claimed him .

      Returned To Quabters.—A Somewhat Strange...

      Returned to Quabters . —A somewhat strange incident occurred at Sing Sing prison not long since . Late in the evening the warden was aroused by somebody knocking at his door . Inquiring who was there , he was astonished to liaer in reply , " It ' s me— Schermerhorn . " One of the convicts had been over * looked , and the prison been locked up with him on the outside . The poor fellow had been 22 years in the prison , and didn't know where to go , and so he knocked until he awoke the wa den and obtained admission to his old quarters . — " N . Y . Times , '

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 18, 1852, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_18091852/page/5/