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French be protracted after that period, a general massacre may be the consequence.

I set off for Coimbra to-morrow, and shall remain there until further orders from Sir A. Wellesley; and, if I receive none, shall attach myself to the exertions of the force now organizing there.

I have, &c. (Signed)

N. TRANT.

To the Hon. Brigadier-General Stewart.

[Enclosure.] SIR,

Oporto, 9th July, 1508.

I HAVE the honour to lay before you the report of my proccedings in the execution of his Majesty's commands, communicated to me in Lord Castlereagh's letter (1st July) a copy of which is enclosed, No. 1... 1 arrived at Oporto in the Peacock brig, on the 7th instant, and found, from the information given to me by Captain Galway, of his Majesty's ship Antelope, at anchor off the Bar, that the French had been expelled from the town; that the place was in complete possession of the Portuguese, go-verned and commanded by the Bishop; and that his Majesty's brig Eclipse was moored in the river to protect and cover a bridge of boats, which is the only communication from this town to the southern parts of the kingdom. I lost no time in waiting upon his Excellency, accompanied by Captain Galway, in which interview I received from the Bishop the most satisfactory assurances that the people had taken up arms in defence of their coun try and religion, and were determined to expel the common enemy from the country. I made known to the Bishop that the object of my mission could not fail to forward the undertaking of the people, and that I was desirous of obtaining the best information of the enemy's force in Portugal, and the positions which it at present occupies.

As, from the nature of the service upon which I am employed, the infor-, mation communicated to me may daily take a new character, I shall endeavour to lay before you a journal of my proceedings, from which you will be able the more accurately to measure the value of each point of intelligence.

On the morning of the 9th instant Marshal de Campo Bernadin Freire, Governor of Oporto, and Brigadier-General Don Miguel Forgias, waite upon me, by command of his Excellency, to lay before me the whole of

the information in their possession, and from notes taken at the time, and carefully explained by those officers, the information runs thus :—

"That from the latest and best intelligence, the whole of the enemy's force in Portugal may be estimated at 14 or 15,000 men, exclusive of the auxiliary troops, said to have been disbanded by Junot; 5000 have been stationed at Almeida, and the remainder at Lisbon, and in the forts commanding the entrance of the Tagus, and northward to Peniche. On the revolution taking place at Oporto, the force at Almeida made demonstration to occupy this place; but, having been checked by the Patriots at Lamigo, they retired to Almeida. On the 2d July, 4000 men, commanded by General La Borde, marched from Lisbon to Leyria, and 600 men from Penichè to the same place, said to be commanded by Colonel Thomas. On the 5th of July, the force at Almeida, commanded by General Loisson, are said to have marched from that place, leaving behind their heavy baggage, artillery, and 200 men, and to have taken the road to Guarda and Fundao.

At Leyria, the troops from Lisbon are said to have been checked by the Patriots, composed principally of the students of Coimbra, and to have suffered considerable loss. Neither the Bishop or the Generals appeared to have any apprehension that the French force now on foot is destined against Oporto, or that any attempt of that nature would be attended with success. The Generals laid before me returns of the force organized by the Bishop's authority, for the security of the country, from which it appears, that in the province of Minho, north of Oporto, there is at this timeAt Viana

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I have endeavoured to procure, for your information, the various proclamations which have been issued by the Patriots (No. 2), and I also enclose copies of two letters from the Duc D'Abrantes, which have been intercepted by the Patriots.

10th July, early in the morning, I accompanied the Bishop to all the military staff, to reconnoitre the positions taken on the left bank of the river, to cover the approach from Lisbon. The utmost zeal was apparent in every person; the peasants were working cheerfully upon the defences; the troops are encamped at all the commanding points, which are strengthened by ditches, palisadoes, and abbatis, and artillery appears to be judiciously placed. As yet no news whatever has been received from Coimbra or Leyria since the attack of the students, and the Bishop and his military staff, although they are slow to believe that the enemy will attempt any thing upon Oporto, are yet somewhat alarmed at the idea that so many men of the enemy are on foot, while they remain în total ignorance of their intentions. I have enforced, as far as I am able, the great necessity of preparations being made for resistance in case of an attack, and the advice which I offered with humility, was very graciously received by the Bishop and his Generals, and in many instances it was immediately acted upon.

It appeared to me to be their intention to extend their position to an extent that would require at least 10,000 good troops to defend it, and, consequently, from the narrow means within our power, only parts of the line of defence would be occupied, and numerous practicable intervals be left wholly unguarded. Into this error they had been led by the character of the country, and the numerous positions which follow each other, and render it dif ficult to know where to stop. I pointed out these errors to the Generals, and received their thanks. A large proportion of the town lies on the left bank of the river, and the streets through which are the only approaches to

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the river, in that part are narrow, with high stone houses on either side. I suggested that barriers should be prepared of the common carriages of the city, and kept in readiness with bags of sand to form barricadoes, and close the passage through the town, and persons will be immediately appointed to carry this measure into execution, and fix upon the citizens who are to occupy the houses adjacent to each barrier, to be armed with such fire arms as it may be in their power to provide.

A letter was intercepted at Coimbra, dated 17th June, wherein Junot directs General Loisson to evacuate Almeida, and retire upon Lisbon as speedily as possible.

The Bishop is, notwithstanding, in considerable alarm, and has requested me to impress upon the mind of Sir Charles Cotton the advantage to be expected from any threat he may be enabled to make upon Lisbon, which may divert the enemy from Oporto, until the force is better organized; and his Excellency having expressed the strongest wish that should communicate the situation of the country to Sir C. Cotton without delay, I propose sailing this evening for the Tagus, 10th July. In the mean time, I have been assured that the most vigorous exertions shall be made during my absence to narrow the situation and resources of the enemy, by endeavours to force a communication along the coast towards Lisbon, to be kept open with our fleets.

The Bishop has also a gentleman of high consideration, whom he is desirous of sending as Ambassador to England, and his Excellency earnestly solicits that Sir Charles Cotton will be pleased to provide an immediate conveyance for him to England, suited to the importance of the mission.

The Bishop has earnestly entreated my return to Oporto, as the presence of English Officers has given much animation to the spirits of the people, and is very desirous to have some British Artillery and Engineer Officers who speak the language of the country, and will be thankful for any Offcers. The English colours are hoisted with the Portuguese, and the appearance of the uniform is a general passport.

All these communications have taken place with the able assistance of Captain Galway, who has not failed to keep alive the interests of England on all occasions.

10th July.-At the moment that I was going on board the Peacock, I received the enclosed information (No. 5), from Senor Picalugo, Secretary to the Bishop, relating to certain French vessels which are said to be destined to remove the church plate from Lisbon to France. The Bishop informed

me that it had long been known to him that it was the intention of Junot to avail himself of any opportunity to send his plunder to France, and Captain Galway also informed me that his intentions were known to Sir Charles Cotton, who has taken measures to intereept the treasure. Under these circumstances, it is scarcely possible for any vessel to effect her escape from the Tagus. I suggest, for your consideration, the possibility that the movement made by the French troops towards Leyria and Coimbra, may be with a view to obtain a point on the coast north of the Tagus, to which the treasure might be removed and shipped for France.

It may be proper to mention that the Bishop had received intelligence that the inhabitants had been disarmed, and no weapons left them but knives and forks; that Junot was taking great precautions to prevent the patriotic flame, which has broken out at Oporto, from spreading to the southward; and that, on his Excellency's part, every measure was in forceto propagate the feeling throughout the country; and that he had the best ground to know that the people of Lisbon were only intimidated by French coercion from following the example of Oporto.

On the 8th inst. the Bishop dispatched a schooner to England, soliciting the aid of a British force, arms, and money, and by that opportunity I reported my arrival at Oporto to Lord Castlereagh.

In my communication with the Bishop, I had ventured to assure him that the British Government had anticipated his requisition for assistance, whichI expected would be soon at hand on the coast of Portugal; but I have confined myself to that general communication, and carefully avoided every allusion to the destination of the force under your command. The hope of co-operation from a British army has certainly increased the vigour of their measures, and I may confidently assure you, that any line of operation which you may be pleased to point out, will be cheerfully executed under the orders of the Bishop.

I have endeavoured, throughout this report, to confine myself to facts which have come within my own knowledge, and in the statement of the respective forces, have taken the number from the documents upon whichthe orders of the Bishop have been given, and which were most liberally submitted to my perusal. I feel it proper also to report, that my inquiries have been readily and satisfactorily answered by the Generals, throughout which I have received the most zealous assistance from Ensign Wyndham, of the First Guards, who was permitted by the Commander-in-Chief to accompany me; and. I cannot close my report without apologizing for the

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