Star. — London, England, 1809-04-20 00:00:00

. ' 4° *7 DUTCH PAPERS. . • or. le . CONSTANTINOPLE,'APkii, tB,` ' The treaty of peace with England has bees pub lished here ; it consists of twelve articles, and con tains no very remarkable provisions. It treats merely of the termination of hostilities, and of the liberty of commerce between the two people. PARIS, APRIL 6. Major La Grange, Aid-de-Camp of the Duke of Sudermania, is arrived here with a Swedish Officer, charged with dispatches from his Court. APRIL 10,—The head-quarters of the Duke of Ri vGli (Massena) are still at Ulm, and those of General Oudinot at Strasburg. The Chief of the Staff of this General assumes the title, Chief of the Staff of the Body of Reserve of the Rhinish. Army.' Concerning the departure of the Emperor, nothing is known with certainty. MADRID, APRIL 9. General Sebastiani announces from Santa Cruz at the foot of the Sierra Morena, under date of the 29th of March, that on the 27th he descried the Spa nish army of Andalusia, to which were joined a vast number of peasants, stationed in order of battle before Ciudad Real ; that he advanced against them, rooted and destroyed them' without any resistance ; that onl the 28th the feeble remains of that army were on the other side of the Sierra Morena; and that the produce of this affair was 4.000 prisoners of war, seven stand- 1 ards, and 18 pieces of cannon. Among the prisoners of war are 197 officers, of whom four are Colonels, and seven Lieutenant-Colonels. A great number of the enemy were slain. More than 3000 were put to the sword by the cavalry. We have lost but 30 kill ed and 60 wounded. Colonel Giraud of the 12th Regiment of Dragoons was severely wounded by a hall. The Colonel of Dutch Hussars was also wound ed. General Sebastiani praises exceedingly the chief of his stag Bouille, who, the day before the battle, crossed the Guadiana in company with General Mil haud, in order to prevent the bridge being broken, in which he succeeded. General Milhaud, his officers, and troops, distinguished themselves. The following day the fugitives were pursued by the cavalry, and two of the enemy's Generals, who were among them, were slain. General Sebastiani was on the 29th at the foot of the Sierra Morena, and found himself on a line with the Duke of Belluno (Victor) who must already have advanced beyond bfe~ida. At the same moment that General Sebastiani cap tured Ciudad Real, and arrived at the foot of the Sierra Morena, the Duke of Belluno won the battle of Merida. The troops of reserve of Seville, BAdajos, and An dalusia, were collected together, and placed in order of battle by General Cuesta, upon an elevated plain, between Doubenite and Medellin, and which was co vered by the Guadiana. This army, formed in three lines, was supported by batteries. As soon as the Duke of Belluno observed this, he commanded the cavalry of Generals Lasalle and La tour Maubourg to place themselves in an oblique line. and he ordered General Laval to place himself with the division of the Princes of the Confederation of the Rhine, in a close column, between the above-men tioned cavalry. He strengthened him with fourteen pieces of artillery, and placed the divisions of Villate and Ruffin in the rear. The Duke of Belluno attacked the left wing of the enemy, and instantly threw it into confusion. The centre and right wing were also routed. Seven thou sand Spaniards remained upon the field of battle ; 3000 were made prisoners ; the remainder are dis persed. Thirty pieces of cannon and nine colours have fallen into our hands. This important engagement has laid open Seville to us. The fugitives are pursued with the utmost activity. On the 29th of March, the advanced guard of the Duke of Belltino was already arrived on the right side of Badajos, and it hoped to unite itself with the Duke of Dalmatia, who, it is thought, has already entered Lisbon.—Moniteur, April 9. VIENNA, MARCH 25. The preparations for defence still continue. From Hungary we learn, that the 52 counties have not only furnished the insurrection with the troops required, but even voluntarily organise still more troops. In Presburg, 'besides the insurrection, 600 cavalry and two battalions of infantry have been supplied. Other counties have set a like example. Also the chief No bility ,ind Magnates have equipped troops at their own expence. • STUTGARD, APRIL 4. The King repaired this morning to Ludwigsburg, whither the Queen will go to-morrow. The General of Division Vandamme went this day to Heidenheim, where the head-quarters of the Wir temberg troops are established, which by virtue of an order from his Majesty the Emperor Napoleon are to be placed under his command. CARLSRUHE, APRIL 4. The Marshal Duke of 1 stria (Bessieres) arrived here yesterday, and pursued his journey to Pforzheim. The Prince of Neufchatel is arrived at Strasburg. FRANKFORT, APRIL 9. PA RLIAMENTARr PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19. The Earl of LIVERPOOL laid on the table the copy of a letter from the Junta of Gallicia to Captain Kennedy. He at the same time observed, that there would be found among the papers on the table, a document that would probably supersede the necessity of a motion, of which a Noble Baron (Lord Carysfort) had given notice. It was a letter from the Secretary of State for the Foreign Department, to Mr. Frere, respecting the conduct which he was to observe to Sir John Moore. It was dated the 6th October, and • contained all the Instructions that had been transmitted to Mr. . Frere on that subject. Lord LIVERPOOL wished to be informed by a Noble Earl (Grey), of the nature of the motion be intended to submit to the House on Friday. Lord GREY could not at present state the particular form of the motion. He could inform the Noble Earl, however, that it would apply to the conduct of his Majesty's Ministers in respect to the late campaign in Spain and Portugal; and that it would express disapprobation of that conduct. Lord AUCKLAND moved for a return of the number of deserters who bad joined the British army during the time they were in Spain and Portugal. He understood it was considerable, and, if brought into account, would chew that our loss was greater in the late campaign, than it appeared from the returns on the table. The Malta Prize Register, and Irish Infirmaries Bills, went through the Committee. A person from the Hanaper Office, in Ireland, presented at the Bar, the Return of the Election of Lord Viscount Mountjoy, one of the Representatives of the Temporal 'Peers of Ireland, in place of the late Marquis of Sligo.—Adjourned. Darmstadt troops have marched towards Dillingen from Mergentheim, by command of the Marshal Duke of Rivoli. On the Bth, the Nassau troops marched towards Franconia, in order to unite with the corps of the Duke of Auerstadt. WARSAW, APRIL I. In Austrian Gallicia ten battalions of fencibles have been formed, of which six have already joined the re gular army in the neighbourhood of Cracau. Each of these battalions consists of 800 men, and the num ber of regular troops in the whole province amounts to 18,000- They expect top to be reinforced from the Hungarian insurrection. On the tidings of the several mGvements, the Polish troops which were on the Russian frontiers, broke up on the 22d, and since the day before yesterday, have been cn the march to wards the borders of Gallicia. One column marches on this side the Vistula, by Radom ; and the other cn the further side by Lublin. The troop s are to be cantoned on t h e f r ontiers till f urt h er orders. The successively i nto S axony ; Saxon troops are marching and on the other hand we expect other national troops from Thorn or Dantzig. The troops assembled on the frontiers of Gallicia, or marching thither amount to 12,000 men. It is asserted that the Russian troops have received orders to repair to the frontiers. • • RATISBON, APRIL .5. r On the Clause for authorizing the Lord Chancel- From day to day it looks more warlike in our neigh- for or the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal for the bourhood. According to a flying report, the Arch- time being to direct fleeces other than personal no duke Charles wis to leave the capital on the (zd of , tices to be served upon creditors in England and Ire- April, in order to proceed to Wels., The principal' land reciprocally, upon appeals by petition on the Austrian force stands on the Ems. The number of part of a Bankrupt, to whom his Creditors should troops which have marched towards the Inn amounts after two years continue to refuse his certificate, a to 3,000. But it is observed, that among the Aus- Member took some trifling objections, which, after trians there is much marching and counter-marching, some observations from Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY and as well from Austria to Bohemia as from those guar- the SOLICITOR-GENERAL, were over-ruled, Sir SAMUEL ters to Carinthia and Carniola : hence it is uncertain ROMILLY having previously stated his intention to on which side the greater number of troops are. I bring in a clause, after the bill should be gone thro', The divisions of Carra St. Ayr,. Legrand, Boudet, providing, that in all such cases, such other notice and Molitor, are still cantoned between the Lech and should, under English Commissions, be given in the the Iller. i Dublin Gazette to Irish creditors, and under Irish Commissions of Bankruptcy to English creditors in the London Gazette. On the clause giving to the Lord Chancellor or the Lord K of the Great Seal the power to grant a certi fic a te eeer on such appeal by the bankrupt, if the certificate should appear to have been with held by the creditors from improper motives, another long discussion took place, the ATTORNEYGENERAL and Mr. JACOS contending, that it was more fit that the power of glinting or withholding the certificate should be vested in the creditors, or in some propor tion of them, than in any other tribunal, because the creditors must be the best judges whether the bank ruptcy was fraudulent, though it might not at all times be in their power to prove the grounds upon which they were of this opinion, on an appeal by the bankrupt to the Chancellor. While, on the other hand, it was most strenuously contended by Mr. ABERCROMET, that this was the most benefie;al clause in the bill, because no certificate would be granted upon an appeal, unless it should appear to the Lord Chancellor that the creditors had no good ground for withholding it ; and it appeared from an account on the table, that out of about 16,000 persons who had been bankrupts within the last twenty years, 6597 were uncertificated, and could never acquire any property for themselves or their families, unless this clause should be enacted to place them within the reach of relief. Mr. STEPHEN contended, that the great pro portion of uncertificated bankrupts being three-eights of the whole number, proved that the interference of Parliament was necessary. This proportion was much the greatest in years of unexampled misfortune, and this circumstance went strongly to prove, that it was not merely the dishonesty of debtors, but their misfortunes, which were punished by stopping their certificates. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, in a speech o, considerable length, contended that it was better that according to the law as it now stands, the bank rupt's certificate should depend on the judgment o the creditors than of the Lord Chancellor. He cited to this effect the opinions of Lord Thurlow, Lord "Rosslyn, and Lord Clare, who had been all of them Chancellors. He thought in this bill humanity ap peared to be confined to the bankrupts, and that the ,sufferings of the creditors had not been sufficiently 4. attended to. If, however, the clause should be re jected, he would move that, instead of four fifths of the creditors, three fourths of the creditors, and of those only who had released the person of the bank rupt, should be sufficient for signing the-certificate. Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY said, that ,the Right Honourable Gentleman'had mistated what Lord El don had said about the opinions of Lords Thurlow, ,Rosslyn, and Clare. What they had said was, that it would be dangerous to leave the determination of the certificate entirely to the Chancellor. The pre sent clause, however, did no such thing : it only em powered the Chancellor to interfere, if lie thought proper, upon a petition presented by a bankrupt who had been two years without his certificate. Now, as to fraudulent bankrupts, all those who had any ex perience in the Court of Chancery knew that they ob tained their certificate easier than the honest bank rupts. Fraudulent bankrupts always contrived to have false debts proved, in order to get themselves cuhitewarlitd, according to the common phrase.— Their bankruptcies were for the purpose of gaining their certificates, whereas honest bankrupts had much oftener to endure the severity of the laws from the obstinacy or caprice of some one creditor. He al lowed the people of England and the merchants of i England were generally humane; but often great cruel ties were practised, which the law should prevent. To say, that from the humanity of the English charac ter these cruelties were not common, was in fact to say nothing. Neither were murders common, but that was no reason that there should not be laws against them. He could state one instance of cruelty' to a; bankrupt which came within his own knowledge. •A bankrupt had been arrested at the suit of a house in the city, and one of the partners of that house was chosen the assignee. This assignee delayed for three: years to make any sort of dividend, in order thata-h4 house might not be obliged to make its election about proving under the commission. At the end of three years, however, he was obliged to make a dividends but he then divided his debt, proving only 14,4 ; half. This creditor hail frequently been heard, _to declare, that the bankrupt should never go out of jail except to his grave, and his threat was accom plished. It having been stated to the Chancellor ; that , thebankrupt could not live more than two orthree'Weeks longer in confinement, he appointed an early day to ihear his petition; but thoughthe decree was in fav o ur of the bankrupt, the assignee contrived to have another , detainer laid upon him, which gave rise to a more pro tracted litigation, and his debtor never did leave the jail I but for his grave ; and there was no doubt but the death of the bankrupt was owing to the obduracy of the cre ditor. He did not say that such cases were common, but that they should not be allowed to exist. The life of an honest man, or his perpetual imprisonment, 1 should not depend upon the caprice of partial judges, after the bankrupt had fairly surrendered his effects. Mr. WILSON said he was rather anxious not to admit this Clause than to dispute it ; but till he could put the bankrupt Law on a footing which should protect the fair trader, he could not agree to adopt the Clause. The Clause was then agreed to. Several new clauses were afterwards brought up by Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY, and the SOLICI TOR GENERAL, and agreed to. The House re sumed ; the report was received.—Ordered to be taken into further consideration this day se'nnight, and the Bill, with the amendments, to be printed. Adjourned at half-past twelve, to this day. Yesterday afternoon LOIRE frigate, arrived lately landed a supp, Cape Finisterre, sent of the Marquis ROMAN , we understand, bring! actions having shortl armies of ROM ANA and tory was in favour oz said to have been in conses the enemy had foun them part of Portugal. country, it should therefi necessity, and not of but prompt and powerful shal VICTOR can rescul to which, under these circumstances, he must necessa rily have been reduced. It is added, that the whole male population of Gallicia were in arms, and that at the date of the last advices the enemy were confined to the fortresses of Ferr of and Corunna. Should these accounts prove correct, we may expect soon to receive important intelligence from that guar. ter ; but we are not without our fears that there is some mistake in this statement. Other accounts, received from the North of Spain, state that in the province of Leon the French have no force north of Astorga. The inhabitants of Asturias, through the interposition of the Marquis de la ROMA. NA, had applied to the Junta resident in the city of Leon for a supply of corn, of which the latter had abundance received from the luxuriant country in the vicinity of Saldana. The answer given was, that ia exchange for arms and ammunition they were ready to concede. what was required ; but the General was not in a situation to conform to such a condition.— There are about 7000 men in Leon and the neigh. bourhood enrolled, but they are destitute of arms. A commercial regulation has been made by the Junta at Seville, highly favourable to the intercourse with thiscountry. Every species of British manufac ture is to be admitted into the ports of Spain ; and for the convenience of the remote dependencies of the Empire in the western world, the article of bacallae, (cod and ling fish) of which there is such a prodi. gious. consumption, is to be received in the ports cf South America in• fo t-eigt vessels. A letter from Gijon, dated the SOth ult. contains the following particulars : " Colonel CAR!tOL left Gijon the day after you for Oviedo and Paramo del Silo, to have an interview with the Marquis de la ROMANA, whose head-quarters were there. He had escaped from Chaves with 12,000 men in good spirits, to avoid a conflict with 18,000 French, that pursued him as far as Chaves, and some say are intended for Oporto. The want of ammuni tion and arms prevented him from increasing his army considerably. We have one regiment of his troops here, who conducted a part of the 570 prisoners made by him at Villafranca del Niastio. They are fine soldiers of the line, but greatly distressed for cloath ing. It is said we are quite secure in this Province since the arrival of this army ; but some vary in opi• nion on this point. An attack was made bythe enemy on the 25th inst. at Columbras and at Leon, but they were driven back." Dutch papers to the 16th inst. were received. • last night. The accounts from Spain, given in these pa• pers, were we obliged to credit them to their full ex ,tent, would be very afflicting. •It is. pretended that .on, the 28th ult: two deciS . ive victories were gained, in one of which the Spanish army of La Mancha avis ddfetited, anchhe road to Seville laid open ; and in the iaie'r, the army Of Andalusia under CUES . TA was beaten, and a passage forced -into Portugal—such - fact" were they correct, would, we think, have been published in a Bulletin. We fear, however, that the enemy will be found to have possessed himself of Ciudad Real and Merida. • • Dispatches were sent last night from the Secretary or State's Office to Portsmouth, to be forwarded by the SUCCESS frigate, to Mr. ADAIR, at Constantinople. The Hon. Captain BOYLE, of the ROYAL WILLIAN Guard-ship, at Spithead, is appointed a Commissioner' of the Transport Board, in the room of Captain Towry, deceased. About 150 French prisoners were landed at Ply mouth, in the course of Friday, from the Altri ilysr frigate, 90 of whom were captured in the Niemen, French frigate, the remainder. were taken out o f French vessels that have been captured and sent into port by the AMETHYST, during her late cruize. By a private letter from Madeira, of the 26th ult. we learn, that the outward-bound India Fleet, which reached that island on the Bth of March, sailed again on the 18th. The enemy's cruizers were frequently in sight during the passage, and on one occasion had the audacity to attempt an attack on some of the ships to leeward, with a view to cutting them ofi . • .On a signal being Oven to clear for action, and the necessary preparations made, the cruizers drupt astern, and kept at a respectful distance. Of these the Sirius captured a small schooner, worth about £lBOO. FNENTNG TliF, LONDON. THURSDAY, APRIL 20. PRICE OF FrocKs 'IBMS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK: Consols, for money, 67ff—for May 67i 68 —Oinniuta I pre. Exchequer Bills, 10s. to 126. prem. PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY. 3 per Cent. Red. 67 6611 India Stock 185 Bonds, India Biss , 1 1 1 0 .. 5. 1 1 2 2 . s . g p re r : S per Cent. Cons. 67E4 4 per Cent. 811 84 5 per Cent. Navy 981 Lottery Tickets £22. Long Ann. 181 5-16 Consols for ACC. 6711 Yesterday afternoon, Captain SCHOMBERG, of the LOIRE frigate, arrived at the Admiralty, having lately landed a supply of arms and amenuLition at Cape Finisterre, sent by Government for the supply of the Marquis RONIANA'S army. Captain SCROM2I:I(G, we understand, brings an account of three several actions having shortly after taken place between th e armies of ROM ANA and SOULT, in all of whie vi:. tory was in favour of the Spanish arms ; and it is said to have been in consequence of these events that the enemy had found it necessary to enter the Not. them part of Portugal. Soui.T's entrance into that country, it should therefore seem, was a matter of necessity, and not of choice ; in which case, nothing but prompt and powerful aid from the army of Mar- shal VICTOR can rescue him from the peril , . .ituacion to which, under these circumstances, he must necessa- rily have been reduced. It is added, that the whole male population of Gallicia were in arms, and that at the date of the last advices the enemy were confined to the fortresses of Ferr of and Corunna. Should these accounts prove correct, we may expect soon to receive important intelligence from that guar. ter ; but we are not without our fears that there is some mistake in this statement. Other accounts, received from the North of Spain, state that in the province of Leon the French have no force north of Astorga. The inhabitants of Asturias, through the interposition of the Marquis de la ROMA- NA, had applied to the Junta resident in the city of Leon for a supply of corn, of which the latter had abundance received from the luxuriant country in the vicinity of Saldana. The answer given was, that . ia exchange for arms and ammunition they were lead) , to concede. what was required ; but the General was not in a situation to conform to such a condition.— There are about 7000 men in Leon and the neigh. bourhood enrolled, but they are destitute of arms. I A commercial regulation has been made by the • Junta at Seville, highly favourable to the intercourse HOUSE OF COMMONS. Mr. GRATTAN and Mr. SHAWE presented Petitions from the Parish of St. Mary, and other Parishes in Dublin, praying fur a repeal of the 47th of the King.—Ordered to lie on the table. _ _ _ Mr. HURST moved the second reading of the Henly Common Road Bill. .. . _ __ _ Mr. YORKE opposed the second reading, as he considered the Bill one which would materially injure the town of Ryegate, and prove of great detriment to the country in case of invasion, by allowing two parallel roads. He moved, as an amendment, that the Bill should be read a second time this day six months. Mr. HURST strenuously recommended the House to allow the Bill to go nun a Committee; it was intended that this road should run through a country where the road at present existing was very bad, and which was stocked with the choicest timber, which, at certain seasons of the year, it was utterly impossible to carry away. The House divided, For the Amendment, 23—Against it, 52—Majority 29. The Bill was then read t second time, and ordered to be com mitted. . . . The commitment of the Irish Constables' Bill was deferred to Friday. 'I he Irish Commissioners Fees Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Wednesday next, after k short con versation between Mr. PARNELL, Mr. FosTER, General ARCM DARR, Colonel BARRY, and Mr. O'HARA. The commitment of the British Ship BM was deferred to to morrow. _ _ _ Mr. TIERNEY moved, that an account of the distribution of X 2,200,000, granted last Session for certain exigencies, should be laid before the House.—Agreed to. Mr. PONSONBY wished to know from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Secretary for Foreign Affairs would be in his place to-morrow, as he wished to ask him a question with respect to that part of the letter of Mr. Frere to Sir John Moore, relative to the future operations of the British Army, where he says the me-senger would give him a fuller explanation, and also to put a question or two relative to the Spanish Treaty. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, we understood to say, was hot certain whether his Right Hon. Friend could at tend, but that in case he could not, he would endeavour to lacer tain the answers to those questions. Mr. H. MARTIN put a 'question to the Secretary at War re specting some extraordinary charges in the extras of the year, which lie hoped he would consider, as it would be made the sub ject of future Parliamentary inquiry. The House then resolved itself into a Committee on the Bank rupts' Bill. BANKRCYTS' BILL. The House having, on the motion of Sir S. RO MILLY, resolved itself into a Committee on the Bankrupts' Laws Amendment bill, Mr.WHARTON lin the Chair, Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY, in order to obviate an objection which he understood was to be made to the Clause for allowing Bankrupts who may have ob tained their certificates to be witnesses, without any release of their allowances, in cases where their As signees were claimants, proposed an amendment, to provide that bankrupts were not to be allowed to be admitted as witnesses under this Act, but in such case wherein they may by law be competent witnesses before the passing of this Act. The effect of this Amendment . was to allow Bank rupts to be witnesses, upon releasing their 'interest in the particular matter in issue, without a general 're lease of their allowances upon the other property as signed under the commission. A long discussion ensued, both on:the clause and the amendment, in which the Attorney and tor-General and Mr. DAVIES GIDDY expressed strong , doubts of the propriety of making any inroad upon the law and rules of evidence, as theretist at pre sent. And Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY, Mr. STEPHEN, fACHBOVIT e MORRIS, and Sir CHARLES PRICE, argued in substance, that it was desirable to adopt the ' clause't.h4 amiTtcleaggn order to do away the practice of giving ik9gaiipal Nchses 'by 'fictitious instruments, which weregierwardet‘ibe concealed, and to prevent, if the relealeinvere rtAI, the bankrupt, from being obli ged to give all 'he wbUld'in that case • possess in the world, for the. purpose 'of becoming a competent witness. -The amendment was, however, in the end agreed to, and the clause so amended ret4ined as a part of the bill, - On the clause for requiring Creditors to release all. right of action on proving their debt under a Com mission of Bankruptcy, The ATTORNEY GENERAL stated, that he had some objections to this clause, but should waive them, as he understood that his Hon. and Learned Friend intended to obviate them,'by a clause which would provide againera 'creditor's,releasing his right of action against a third party, where ,he :had .such right, as well as against the bankrupt, and to pre vent the Creditor from releasiug his right of action against the future effects of a Ban kiup t , whose divi dends under a second Commission of ''Bankruptcy should not amount to 15s. in the pound. •