Star. — London, England, 1809-03-28 00:00:00

hi,.; g .iotent coucussion of the brain ; that he was they '1 . , : . 11 . d e prived of life by the fall, as would be certified by th e .. . r ,:f, c ate of a respectable Physi cian, annexed to t he Petition; chat 'old accident h as since been productive, at various intersids of a weakness and debility that deprived the Petitioner of the sae zr.d p osse ssion of his judgment ; that that circumstance, combined .: t h t he novelty and perplexity of the situation in which he lately .., os ti at their Bar, had involved bins in unintentional conuzdi v , con s, for having been guilty of wfiich he most humbly apologized to that Honourable House, and ackrowledged the justice of his Powmenthowever he might have felt the severity of his ement, owing to increased ill health, he still had too much deference for the opinion of that Honourable House to obtrude his sufferings upon their consideration at an earlier period ; that, bowever, he hoped that it would not be thought presumptuous in him now to appeal to the compassion of the House, when he bad been five weeks a prisoner in Newgate, and when his impri sonment had already tegun materially to affect his health. He therefore humbly prayed that the House would restore him to 4.i, libert y ; that, as in duty bound, he would ever pray." rt lci' The ce rtificate above alluded to was then read, and Mr. JOHN FANE then moved— That Captain Huxley Sanden be brought up to-morrow to .Se Bar of the House, for the purpose of being discharged." Which was agreed to without any observation. EXPORTS TO AMERICA. Mr. ROSE stated, from an account which had been presented to the House of the General Return of the Exports and Imports f o r the year ending the sth of January 1809, that notwithstand ing the Embargoes and other measures of the American Govern ment, that the exports of British manufactures for the last year exceeded that of the preceding year by nearly a million and a half, and that it had been very nearly equal to the best years which the co untry had ever known. ly e WHITBREAD said, that when the Right Hon. Gentle ran W ag mentioning—notwithstanding the embargo and acts of the American Government—be should have added, and not withstanding the Orders in Council and Acts of the Government oh which he himself was connected. Mr. BARING was astonished that the Right Hon. Gentleman nu ll talk about the prosperity of our manufactures, at a time that the distresses of the manufacturers was so notorious and un prect dented. Mr. ROSE thought it astonishing, that it should be represented as an insult to any body, to state the truth from an official paper on the table of that House. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was surprised, that whenever any statement was made, which was flattering to the Country, there were many Gentlemen who appeared imine datrh• to take the alarm. He could not account for this on any oiler principle than that Gentlemen who had indulged A prophe tic spirit, and found themselves disappointed in the fulfilment of their prophecies, might be on that account supposed to feel no szaallmortifi cation. Lord HENRY PETTY observed, that it was not the mere ratement of the Right Honourable Gentleman, hut the triumph which he expresse.: over the arguments of those who always tholig,ht differently upon the subject, which drew forth these ob. LOCAL MILITIA. Lord CASTLEREAGH rose, in consequence of a notice on a former day, to move for leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Act which passed in the last Session, with respect to the Local Militia. In the few obsefvations he should have to offer, he had great pleasure in taking notice of two very material points, namely, the favourable reception which the measure had met with all over the country, and the great ex ertion of the Country Gentlemen (without any distinc tion of politics or party) to carry it into effect. There were now 250 regiments of local militia, consisting, on an average, of SOO men each battalion. The total number of local niilitia in England and Scotland was 195,161, of which 125,000 had transferred their ser vices from the volunteers. The principal alterations he proposrd was, that the bounty should be reduced from two gui:leas a man to one guinea, and that it should net be levied by local assessment. The other alterations were, that the men should be marched out of the counties into an adjoining county, for the con venience of training, and that Officers' Commissions should not be charged with Stamp Duties. He also took occasion to mention, that it was in the intention of Government to equalize the allowances to the yeo men cavalry. At present the home allowance was five guineas, and the August allowance but two. it was intended to make them both five guineas. He concluded by moving for leave to bring in his Bill. Mr. WHITBREAD expressed much pleasure at finding that so many men had been procured, but feared that the reducing the bounty at present would stop the volunteering. Mr. WINDHAM made an able speech, in which he necessarily repeated the ideas he had often before thrown out respecting regular armies and militia. Mr. CURWEN considered that the martial spirit of the country would be much increased by the esta blisnient of the local militia, and that oar armies would gain recruits by it. Leave was granted to bring in the Bill. Militia The Local Amendment all was brought in and read first time; as was also the Strand Bridge Bill. SALE AND BROKERAGE OF OFFICES. Mr PERCEVAL rose, pursuant to notice, to move for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the Sale and Brokerage of Offices. He stated that the only laws on this subject at present were the Act of 12th Rijiard the Second, la hich went to prevent the Offi cers of Justice appointing improper persons; and the Act of the sth or 6th of Edward the Sixth, which prohibited the sale of these Offices. The practices lately disclosed consisted not in the sale of offices by thc,te who had the power to give them away, but in tl:e arts of those who pretended to have influence o . fer such persons, and issued public advertisements, oecce ion to the notion that these abuses pre vailed to a much greater extent than they actually di , !. Tills was the description of abuse AN - hid' his proposed law had in contemplation. lie had already 711 _ ent:oned, that the persons in a certain office, who `.ad rarricd on this trade, were under prosecution, (Ky:.csic and Co.l As there were several persons in th;tt c - .l!cern, they were prosecuted for a conspiracy, :f there had been only one indivld,!;ll, he did not '' o.o ; the law, as it at present stood, could have d Lim, thout;h, perhaps Ile might be indicted '.a.:ing.,money under false pretences. The '.:e•1 4 .:l point then would be to niaLe it highly penal t.. . • . - money for prc curing offices, or ch : culate any 'c•crt.^r.-. , .-lit with that view. This circumstance Ao farther than any other to check this abuse. • 2 ".as not to trench on the exceptions to the fiiccs that were now expressly admitted of.— u:,.cl.aled by moving for leave to bring in the Bill. I . ( - I,KSTONE would not object to the mu -I.'lt he could not help obserying, that the time by the Right Honourable Gentleman for pro i'H.g this law was very improper. That abuses ra !•‘,i to a very great extent had been proved before House, and he was astonished when the Right krinyll able Gentleman said that, when the matter t.yamined, it would appear that abuses had not l'(::•'.!1 - d to any great extent. If he imagined that to i c the rase, wh v did he resort to a new legislative ( 'as'ire ? Ile ( Lord Folkstone) thought that abuses ( 1 1 'd exist to a very gt eat extent ; but he at the same me thought thAt this was an improper time for in troducitag the Bill • for at present the House must be legislating in the dark. It did not exactly know how far the evil had gone, nor by what means it had at tamed such a magnitude. This could only be ascer tained by examination of facts. It had been the , fashion of late years to m u ltiply l aws beyond the tie- cessity of the case. This was a great evil, and the Right Honourable Gentleman was falling into it on the present occasion. Another reason why the Bill should not have been introduced at present wAs, that there was an order at present on the list for an exaz mination into these abuses, with a view to which he had moved, that the Report of the evidence lately taken at the bar should be farther considered. The Right Honourable Gentleman ought to have waited for the result of this examination, when his mea sure might be brought forward in the most efficient shape. His Lordship then adverted to the prose cution of Kylock and Coleman, and expressed his • disapprobation of the means taken to entrap these persons. It was an improper mode of disposing of the public money, and in a moral point of view it was extremely objectionable, as it was co-ope rating with them in that very crime for which they were to be punished. The Right Honourable Gentleman had said, that this prosecution had corn- menced before the late inquiry. If that were the case, • he might have waited a little, to see whether the law, as it at present stood, might not afford a sufficient check upon these abuses. His Lordship also observed, disclaiming, however, any thing offensive to the Chan- . cellor of the Exchequer, that there was something . very suspicious in this prosecution, and in the man ner in which it had been announced to the House, for if it had been found necessary to call these persons to the bar in the course of the late inquiry, they might have refused to answer, on the ground of not being obliged to say any thing that might criminate them selves. But his main objection was, that the House was legislating in the dark, that it did not clearly see its way—and that an inquiry ought previously to take place. It appeared-to him besides, that this bill would not go to the case of such a person as Mrs. Clarke, who might receive a compliment for her in fluence, which would not amount to such a sale as would bring the , matter within the Act. His Lord ship then thought it proper to state precisely the ob ject he had in view, in moving for the further consi deration of the minutes of evidence, as several Gen tlemen had erroneouly conceived that he meant to prefer soree farther charges against the Duke of York. He had no such intention. His object was that as a vast' scene of abuse had been disclosed, the House ought not to dirt its eyes, but that it ought to go on to probe the matter to the bottom—to search into the abuses of the departments—and then apply a radical 1 and effectual remedy for the evil, with respect to which it was now legislating in the dark. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated, that he had not said that abuses did not exist to a great extent. He had only said that they did not ex ist to so great an extent as had been imagined ; and this he believed to be the case. With respect to the time of bringing forward the bill, the House would recollect that he had given notice of his intention long before the Noble Lord had proposed the fur ther consideration of the report of the evidence. The House, he observed, was already in possession of the mode in which those abuses were carried on ; and the remedy would apply whether the extent was small or great. With regard to the prosecution to which the Noble Lord had alluded, he said that these per sons would have had an equal right to have refused to answer questions that might criminate themselves be fore as after the prosecution—and besides, it was sa tisfactory to know, now that they had not been wan. ted en the late inquiry, and therefore no inconvenience had in fact arisen. As to the co-operation in the offence of these men, he agreed that it would have been most imnroper to have tempted them to com mit a crime which they would not have committed had it not been for the temptation. But they had been before going on with these offences ; and as to the application of the. public money in this way, he saw nothing iniproper' in it. As to the remedy not ap plying to a a case like that of Mrs. Clarke, it was ex actly the sort of case to which it would apply most particularly. Mr. PARNELL said, that the allegation of his Noble Friend was, that, on exam ination,different plans for carrying on these abuses might be discovered to which the bill would not apply, and therefore he had thought this an improper time for proposing the law. After a a few words from the ATTORNEY GE NE RAL. the bill was ordered to be brought in. THE EVENING STAR. LONDON. TUESDAY. MARCH '2B. rRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Consols, for money, 67li—for acc. 67Ii—Omtium i pre. Exchequer Bills, Cs prem. PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY. S per Cent. Co:1st:1s, 67-Lif I lodia Bonds, 7s. ss. 6s. prem. 4 per Crnt. Navy 933,i. I Excheq. Bills, gs. 4s. prem. Imperial 3 per Crnt. 661 Lottery Tickets £22 4s. ()M= ai ` Consols for acc. 671 ii FRENCH FLAG OF TRUCE. When the Mail left Dover last night, a French Flag of Truce was coming into the Bay. It is pos sible her dispatches relate to something else than an exchange of prisoners, as it had been ascertained, by a boat which she sent in, that she had on board a Rus sian Messenger from Calais. Mr. MANTELL, the agent for prisoners of war, went off to bring the Messenger on shore, and was just landing when the Mail c:mie away. PORTUGAL. His Majesty's ship SUCCESS has arrived at Ports mouth with dispatches from Malta, which place she left on the 2d instant. The•GLEANER ketch, Lieutenant GREEN, has ar- rived at Plymouth, with dispatches from Lisbon, which have since reached town ; and the Princess Charlotte Packet, in six days from Lisbon, has ar. rived at Falmouth. General SHERBROOKE'S division, as we have before stated, had arrived at Lisbon, making the British force in that citiattei amount to &iris eighteen to twenty thousand men: On the 6th inst. one of the ttaitvortis tietontint td General SHERBROOKE'S expedition (the Prince George) ran down.an Arab-lean bark in the night ; the Captain, of the name of Mnsos, and his crew, jumped on b.:tard the transport, except one man, who was,asleepbelotV. The transport had just cleared herself of the wrecki when in the confusion, the Prince George ran on board the Isis frigate, and remained some time athwart haw ser, when her mizen-mast was carried away. The soldiers and crew of the transport attempted to jump bn board the Isis : Colonel HULSE, Captain CluttsTlE, and about fifty of the Coldstream Guards, succeeded in getting on board ; but Ensign LONG, and two or three ptitates, fell overboard, and were drowned.— Captain MASON and crew of the American succeeded in getting on board the Isis. Captain MASON states, that lie was boarded by the Wang , ' rE, Of 71 guns, one of Sir JOHN DI:CKWORTII's squadron, off Cape St. Vincent ; and that on the night of the , Ity before, be was hailed by a line of battle ship, in French. The people on board appeared to be in great confusion, and desired him to heave-to; but Captain MASON, seeing that the French man of tvar could not readily take her sail in, pursued his course ; and on the fol. lowing morning he saw two sail of the line steering I for the Gut of Gibraltar. This intelligence Captain MASON communicated to the WARSPITE. We have before stated that the Marquis de Ro /JANA had retreated upon Chaves in good order. The accounts now received are rather confused but so far as we can understand them, he has since retreated from that quarter, which seems now to be occupied with a French force of about 7000 men. It appears, by some letters, that RONIANA has proceeded towards Lisbon, proposing to unite with the British and Por tuguese in that quarter, and to act in conjunction with them against the common enemy. The French were reported to be in the neighbour hood of Oporto, if not in possession of the place, but had not approached Lisbon at the departure of the GLEANER. SPAIN. Important and interesting intelligence was received this morning by Government. The precise particu lars we have not been able to learn, but the news is from the Eastern Provinces of Spain, where the Spa. niards have gained some signal advantages over the enemy. Not only the strong city of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, but Mont Joy, the fort by which it is defended, posited on a rocky mountain about a mile to the west of the City, has surrendered to the Patriots under General REDING. This success was followed by the immediate retreat of the French, not only from the whole of Catalonia, but from all the Eastern Provinces of the Peninsula ; and a solemn thanksgiving had in consequence been observed throughout the Spanish armies. In one of the neighbouring provinces, in which the French had attempted to rally, report says, they were again attacked by the Spanish peasantry, who, after three days hard fighting, had entirely annihilated the . whole body. Such are the accounts said to have been received ; and should they prove correct to half the extent stated, we shall hail the event as a happy omen of future victories. Spanish Papers received yesterday, contain a Pro clamation from the Junta of Seville to the Inhabitants of Cadiz, in which the latter are mildly reproached for the late disturbance, and exhorted to continue in their allegiance to FERDINAND. Another proclama tion to a similar effect has also been published by the Governor. SWEDEN. The following is a copy of the Letters Patent and Proclamation of his Royal Highness the Duke of SUDEnMANLAND, Regent of the Swedish kingdom, to all the Estates of the Realm, concerning a General Diet to be held on the Ist of May, in the present year:-- " We Charles, by the Grace of GOD, assure you, Estates of the Realm, Counts, Barons, Arebbiobop, Bishops, Nobles, Clergy, Burghers of Cities, and Commonalty, of our particular favour, gracious intentions, and kind affection, under the protection of ALMIGHTY GOD. " Since we,according to our gracious Proclamation of the 13th inst. have found ourselves called upon to take the reias of Govern ment as Regent, in order to save our beloved native country Iron) unavoidable destruction, we have considered it of the highest ins porunce to deliberate with the States of the Realm, upod the means which may procure and confirm the future happiness of the Swedish nation. We wish, therefore, and command that all the States of the Real,n may assemble in the Capital of the Kingdom before the Ist of May next, and that not only the Nobility may regulate their conduct by the laws, for the House of Nobles, given the 6th of June, 1626, by the King Gustavus Adolphus, of glorious me mory, &c. and revived and confirmed by King Gustavus 111. on the 9th November, 1778, but that the other States, which, as usual, send Deputies, may observe the following order : From the Clergy are expected to appear the Archbishop, every Bishop from his Diocese, the first Pastor in Stockholm, together with o many from each Diocese as usual, and of the other State..., as many as usual, all provided with necessary letters of deputation, in order that wv may be able to begin the Diet, and after its King foi to nately finished, give you permission to return every one to kis province. Which every one must respectfully obstrve, and we are, &c. &c. " Given at the King's Palace, at Stockholm, March 14, 1809." " STOCKHOLM, MARCH 13.—We are here all asto. nishment. On the 19th there was a report of some movements in the Western army, but no one believed it.—The 11th, the King was informed thereof, and ordered every thing to be prepared for his voyage, as he intended, with the Queen and the Duke and Duchess of Sudermania, to proceed against Adlers parre (who had, with his men, arrived at Orebro), and harangue the insurgents. To-dayevery thing N‘ as r;ady for his departure. A breakfast or luncheon was or dered ready at one o'clock. But judge of our surprise when, at four o'clock this afternoon, the Duke's Proclamation was published. The whole revolu tion happened it the Palace between twelve and four o'clock, The King is arrested in the Palace. The Duke has declared, that being invited in take the Government into his hands, he will convoke Diet, who, it is supposed, will adopt the same 1;n-ra of Government as that on the accession of Gustavus the Third, and when that is done teinstate the King. We have just heard that Adlersparre has returned, ,1 and is marching back to the frontic: s." FRENCH PA PE RS. We have received Afottiteurs to the 20th inst. and have given the only articles bf importance they con tain. Our Readers will observe that the threat of in. vasion is once more echoed through the Fiench Journals. THE ARMY: GENERAI. ORDERS.-HORSE GUARbS, MARCH 18. Field Marshal his Royal Highness the Duke of York havt.,‘ requested, his Majesty's permiston to resign his situation on the Staff, as Commander In Chief of the Artily, and his Majesty I having been graciousiy pleased to accept his Royal Highaess!s situation, his Majesty has commanded It to be announced to th Army, that he has appointed General Sir David Dtmdas, K. B. to be Cornmaader in Chief of his Army, with the same authorit with which his Royal Highness the Duke of York held that corn • mend. By his Majesty's command, HARRY CALVERT, Adj.-Gen. to the FOrces. Horse Guards, March 20: The Commander in Chief has received the King's comma td to make known to the Army, that his Majesty has thought fit to cOrnmand, that the following regulations shall hereafter hi! strictly observed in regard to Promotions in the Army, and ap pointments oa the Staff, viz. " No Officer shall be promoted to the rank of Captain untilhe. has been three years a Subaltern. " No Officer shall be promoted to the rank of Field Officer, until he has been seven years in the service, of which he ths:l have been at least two years a Captain. " No Officer shall be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant lone!, until he has been nine years i i the service, of which he shall have been at least two years a Major. " No Officer shall be allowed to fill any Staff appointment, that of Aid-de•Camp excepted, until he has be r. one par a Captain." By the Commander in Chief's command, HARRY CALVERT, itdjutoGen. Twelve sail of large copper-bottomed transports are now fitting at Sheerness for fire ships. All the troops and cavalry ships in the River are ordered round to Portsmouth, where there will be between five and sir hundred sail of transports, including ordnance and store ships. • A very t onsiderable embarkation of troops will take place almost immediately. There will be four brigades of cavalry, two heavy, twelve light, and a large force of infantry ; among them there will be two brigades of Foot Guards ; and the Queen's Dragoon Guards, and 4th Dragoon Guards are mentioned, in addition to the regiments mentioned in Saturday's STAR. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. EAST-INDIA SHIPPING. The following Ships sailed from Madras the 25h October, 1808, under convoy of his Majesty's sill) ALBION, ViZ. PIIGNII, LORD NELSON, PRESTON, CEYLON, EXPERIMENT, TIGRESS, GLORY, ANN, and DIANA. On the 22d November, in lat. 10. S. long. 89. E. the fleet were separated in a violent gale. On the 12th January the Phoenix, and on the 19th his Majesty's ship Aunort, with the Ceylon, Preston, Tigris anti Ana, arrived at the Cape of Good Hopei His Majesty's ship ALBION had suffered severely, having lost her wizen mast, and thrown overboard 26 of her guns. No apprehensions were entertained at the Cape fcr the safety of the other ships. The SURAT CASTLE arrived at the Cape of Good Hope the 21st January ; sailed from China the 3d of September, and left there the WARLEY, ROYAL GEORGE, and GRENVILLE. The DIANA WAS spoken by his Majesty's ship LEO. PARD, at sea, 27th December. The WEXFORD vas left at the Cape. The PERSE VERANCE whaler sailed from St. Helena for England the 12th, and the EtizA ditto arrived at St. Helena the 30th December. FALMOUTH ; MARCH 25. Arrived the Princess Charlotte packet from Lisbon in six days ; the LIVELY frigate had sent in there two prizes, which she captured off the Western Islands. Also arrived the Friends Regard, HOKKENY ;—and Scepter, DAvlsos, from Lisbon ; and the Hibernia; PEARSON, from Alicant. PLY MOUTH.DCOK, MARCH 26. Yesterday evening arrived, after the departure of the Mail the GLEANER ketch, Lieutenant GREEN, with dispatches from Lisbon, in charge of a Messen ger, who immediately landed, and proceeded for town with them. The TRIUMPH, 74., also arrived last night in Cawsand Bay ; she came last from off Rochefort, but does not bring any later news than what we are already acquainted with ; she came in to victual and refit. Arrived the WEAZEL schooner, from Falmouth ; the PLOVER, 18, from Vigo and coast of Spain—she brings no later news, but has brought in a French ketch-rigged vessel, laden with brandy and provisions, which she took off Vigo. A large French brig, laden with a valuable cargo of wine, brandy, and merchandize, bound from Bour deaux to the Isle of France, is arrived ; she was cap tured, after a short chace, by the EMERALD frigate, Captain MAITLAND. A French schooner, a prize, also arri , red this afternoon.—Sailed the HELENA brig of war, Laptain WORTH, with several vessels under convoy, for Cork ; and the PARTHIAN, on a cruize. PORTSMOUTH, MACH Arrived his Majesty's ship SUCCESS with dispatches from Malta—sailed the 2d inst. ; the Leonidas, HUTCHESON, for Quebec ; CAmr.t. sloop of war from the Cape of Good Hope ; Orion, ; and Transit tor Gibraltar. Sailed the Lilac, RIPLEY, for Gibral ter ; and PORT MAHON on a cruize. Wind S. E. DOVER, MARCH 27. Six o'clock, P. M.—A Flag of Truce, with a Rus sian Messenger from France, is making for the har bour. DEAL, MARCH 27. Arrived and sailed for the River, the Sir Godfrey Webster, from Jamaica ; Favourite, BLACK, from Malta ; Lusitania, CARMAN, from Grenada ' • and the Lydia, RICHMOND, for New York, f r om th e River.-... Wind S.E. GRAVESEND, MARCH 27.—Arrived the Swift, Cumming, and the Sedulous, Ingham, from Oporto • and the Penelope,----, from Curacoa.—Sailed the Maria Elizabeth, Kohne, ;Or Heligo. land. [ll ~i i~ Nte