Star. — London, England, 1809-05-26 00:00:00

gesolution, it was bound to do—that the Attorney- General should not be allowed to avail himself of a l e gal plea in bar of an equitable claim. 'Vie Amendment being put, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER again rose, and recommended that some time should be afforded for the consideration of this subject, in order that the House of Commons should not commit itself by any irregular or ill digested proceeding. Mr STEPHEN spoke upon the same side. Sir THOMAS TURTON defended the claim of Mr. Palmer, which he"Oonceived it would be disho. p o urable to the character of the House not to assent to , and forward by every means in its power. The al eple question was, whether an individual who had r endered an important service to the public should be rewarded for that service, particularly where a special agre ement was entered into to secure that reward ? This question the House had already decided in the affirmative ; and it would he preposterous to talk of dignity if it did not take adequate means to enforce is decision. If the means proposed by the Motion or amendment were inadequate, why did not the Gen tlemen connected with Administration, if so solicitous Pr justice, or for the dignity and character of the H o use, as they professed, suggest some adequate and more effectual measure. No obstacles of form should he allowed to stand in the way of such an object ; and where justice and liberality were so much interested, to dwell upon mere forms was, he could not help eying, an unworthy subterfuge. . Mr. ROSE professed himself friendly to the merit of Mr. Palmer, but vindicated the conduct of Mr. Pitt towards him.' Mr. Pitt was in reality well dis posed to serve Mr. Palmer; but the misconduct of that Gentleman in the Post Office rendered it impos sible for him to act diferently from what he had done. To shew the nature of that misconduct, the Right Hon. Gentleman referred to - the Report of a Com mittee of the House upon' this subject, from which Roort it appeared that the Honourable Gentleman bad n ot only misconducted himself, but advised other persons to do 30 5 by which behaviour the business of the Office had been impeded, and the Public de. frauded, _ _ _ Mr. FULLER was a strong advocate for the mo tion. Nothing appeared to him more just, than that a claim, in favour of which the House had so often decided, should be carried into execution ; and as a reference of the case to a jury of honest men seemed the hest means, he would support the proposition. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL. argued at consi derable length against the itnpropriety of hastily esta blishing a precedent upon any circumstances that might at a future period involve that House in great difficulty. Mr. WINDHAM said, that it was his wish that substantial justice should be done ; it did not appear that that object could be obtained by merely going into Courts of Law for a remedy, unless certain tech nical difficulties were in the first instance done away. This was all Mr. Palmer wanted, and he could not be brought to think that it would be at all a violation of the dignity of the House to agree in an address to his Ma;esty to that effect. The House had already estab lished the justice of Mr. Palmer's claims, and it would be wrong to suffer that justice to be defeated by any technical forms. Sir SAMUEL ROMILI.Y said, that the question before the Howe was, whether they would allow Mr. Palmer to take such legal proceedings as he thought fit, to make good a claim already acknowledged to be a just one ? Mr. Palmer was anxious to go into a Court of Justice, and only wished that the Receiver- General might be considered as the Defendant. All he asked of the House was, to put him into the same situation in which he would have been had he con tracted with an individual instead of the Lords Com missioners. Mr. PALMER spoke in reply. He entered into an account of the whole history of his father's engage ments with the Post Office, and concluded by de fending his father . from the imputation of having ever had a pension. Mr. ROSE hoped that the strong personal allusions which had been made to him would sufficiently apo logise for his again rising. He denied that he had been influenced by any other motive in the part he took in this business, than a wish to defend him who could not now defend himself, and who (Mr. Pitt) had been charged with gross injustice in this transac tion towards Mr. Palmer. Mr. Pitt had an high opi nion of Mr. Palmer's talents and services ; but no thing. he was concerned to state, but Mr. Palmer's own misconduct was the cause of his removal. At the same time he admitted, that certainly Mr. Palmer had in the beginning many difficulties to encounter, and had to contend against a teazing opposition on the part of those who did not think as highly, nor (as the event proved) as justly of the plan as Mr. Palmer did. As to the origins of Mr. Palmer and himself; he asked, if he ever had made any allusion to Mr. Palmer's origin ? Never. . He was incapable of such indflicacy. Mr. LONG defended the evidence he had given before the Committees' of the House, and affirmed that he had never varied from any evidence or opinion deliv;:red by him on this subject. There never was an agreement . with Mr. Palmer which did not . include the discharge of his official duties. Mr. Palmer had misconducted himself in his office, and had therefore violated the agreement. At the same time he ac knowledged the merits of Mr. Palmer. Mr. PONSONBY suggested, that the Officers of the Crown should not take advantage of the Statute of Limitations, nor of the non.liability of the public officer. This was the purport of the Address—to place Mr. Palmer in a situation to try the merits of his case. He stated that he meant to propose an Amendment pursuant to this su iots. • The Gallery was then cleared, but an interval of an hour an d a h a lf e l apse d before the divisiod took place. When the House ihvided, there appeared-a-- For the Resolution • 127 Against it - Majority for Mr. Palmer White strangers were excluded,.we understood that the Meow ion on Mr. Curwen's Bill was postpooqd,.. Mr. MARTIN moved that the Deism* on the Third Report Ni the Finance Committee be adjourned till Wedn es d a y next.— Ordered. The House then resolved keelf Ito a Committee on the Irish !Chia Families Bill. . Several Amendments were agreed to, and the Report was or trd to bt received to-day. Fe other orders were disposed of, and the House adjourned One O ' CitiCk. • LONDON. • FRIDAY, MAY 26. - - PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ON! O'CLOCK: Consols, for money, 6811—Ditto for July opg. 681-- ,Omnium 1 preen. —Exchequer Bills. 12.. to 14$. pre. PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY. 3 per Cent. Red. 6711 A India Bonds 17s. prem. g per Cent. Cons. 68 Old S. S. Ann. 671 4 per Cent. 831 83 Omnium 11 prem. 5 per Cent. Navy 99111 Excheq. Bills, 12s. 15s. pr. India Stock 187 Consols, for uc. 691651 We have received several letters from our army in Portugal, but of dates anterior to the capture of Oporto. Some particulars may, however, prove ac ceptable to those who have relatives in the army. The arrival of Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY, on the 2d inst. diffused universal joy and a degree of confidence which has been justified by subsequent events. The remains of the grenadiers of that distinguished corps, the 29tb;iias selected for the guard ofhonour. There were illtiminations, dtc. ice. On the 29th ult. an express arrived at the army, then at Leyra, and in less than an hour the whole was in motion, with the exception of General MAC. xitsztea brigade, consistihg of three battalions which had gone to take possession of Abrantes, where there is a bridge over the Tagus. The 16th Dragoons joined the army, at Coimbra, on the sth. Our soldiers found both the country and the people much improved as they advanced from Lisbon. The people were extremely hospitable to our troops, hail ing them as their deliverers. General BERESFOR lI'S troops ( the armed Portuguese ) are spoken of in the most respectable terms. The General had been very active in their organization, and had suspended, without any ceremony, every offi ver whose conduit:he disliked. This morning we received some letters of the 13th inst. frOm the army under Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY. They repeat many of the details given in the Gazette, and which, therefore, need not now be given. We cannot, however, refrain from noticing one point of general eulogy in all the letters. The only part of the 14th light Dragoons engaged was the right squa dron. This small party actually charged 3000 of the enemy's infantry, and took, killed and wounded about 400 of them. In this charge, as our Readers have been informed by the Gazette, Major HERVEY had the misfortune to lose his right arm, Captain HAwria, who had a horse shot under him, had his lip grazed by a ball, Lieutenant KNIPE was slightly wounded in the neck—Lieutenant DORMER escaped unhurt. The squadron consisted of Captain CHAP, : wan'a and Captain HAWKER'S troops. The former lost only two men, the latter had 11 killed, 17 wound ed, and several missing. The following is a copy of the GenerAl Order issued by Sir Avernus WELLESLEY, immediately after the brilliant victory of the 12th : GENERAL ORDER. " Oporto, May 12, 1809. " The Commander of the Forces congratulates the troops upon the success that has attended their operations for the last four days, in which they have traversed above 80 miles of most difficult country, and carried some formidable positions, have beaten the enemy repeatedly, and have ended by forcing the pas sage of the Douro, and defending the position which they had so boldly take& up, with numbers far inferior to those by which they were attacked. In the course of this short expedition, the Commander of the Forces has had repeated opportunities of wit nessing and applauding the gallantry of the Officers and troops.— The activity and conduct of the 95th, and of the light infantry of the 29th, 43d, and 52d Regiments, the bravery of the 16th Portu guese Regiment, the able movements made by Major-General Murray with the Ist and second battalion Hanoverian Legion, under Brigadier-General Langworth, and the gallant attack made by Brigadier-Gen. Charles Stewart, with the squadron of the 16th and the squadron of the 20th Light Dragoons, under the com mand of Major Blake, of the 20th, contributed essentially to the , success of the attack of the enemy's advanced guards on the 11th, and the steady gallantry of the Buffs, 48th, and 66th Regiments, under the command of Major-General Hill; the timely passage of the Douro, and the subsequent movement made by Lieute nant-General Sherbrooke, upon the enemy's sank, with the brigade of Guards and the 29th Regiment, and the bravery of two squa drons of the 14th Dragoons under the command of Major Har vey, and led by the Hon. Brigadier-General Charles Stewart, ob ,tained thevictory which has contributed so much to the honour of the troops on this day. " The Commander of the Forces has to express his acknow ledgements to the Hon. lieutenant-General Paget, in the man ner in which he conducted the advanced guard on the 14th, 11th, and 12th, and In which be took up the position beyond the Douro ; and he regrets the misfortune which has deprived him (he hopes only fcira time) of his assistance. To Lieutenant-Ge neral Sherbrooke, Major-General Murray, Major-General Hill, to the Him. Brigadier-General Charles Stewart, to Lieutenant. Colonel Delaney, Quarter-Master-General's department, Captain Mellish, Adjutant-General's departMent, in the assistance they rendered General Stewart in the.charges of the enemy's defeated infantry on the 11th and 12th; and to Major C. Campbell, of the Acljutant-Gc;neral's department, for the assistance he rendered General Hill in the defence of his post, and Brigidier-General the Hononrakle Charles Stewart In his charge of the enemy's in fantry o 4 the 12th. " The Commander of the Forces also acknowledges the assist ance he has received p orn the Adjutant and Quarter-Master- General, and the Officers of these departments respectively, and to Lieutenant-Colonel Bathurst, and the Officers of his personal Stag • 4 ' Officers commanding Brigades will send out such patroles in the course of the night as will preserve due order in the town. " The Brigade of Guards will furnish the usual Guards this evening. An Orderly Serjeant per brigade to attend at the Ad jutant-General's Office at eight o'clock to-morrow morning, and bring with them the return of killed, wounded, and missing." In addition to the statements in the Gazette, we learn that on the evening of the 13th some of our parties were sent forward to harass the enemy, and to . ascertain the direction they were taking, whet' it THE EVENINQ STAR. ' . was found that they were still in the greatest confu sion, destroying every thing that could impede their flight. During the course of the night they blew up several ammunition waggons and tumbrils, and spiked and buried several pieces of cannon. General BERESFORD had taken the road to Chaves, and Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY tO Braga, in order to cut off the ' enemy's retreat. THE ARMY. The Ist battalion 52d Regiment, about 1100 strong marched into Dover on Wednesday, from Deal 8,,r -racks, and embarked onboard the transports in the roads which arrived the night before from the Downs. The Ist battalion 95th Rifle Regiment, upwards of 1200 strong, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel BECKWITH, arrived at Dover yesterday morning at seven o'clock from Hythe, and embarked on board the transports lying in the roads, in high spirits. The transports immediaiely got under weigh, with his Majesty's sloop Kangaroo, which is to convoy therm to the Downs—their destination is not known. The Lancashire Militia, which were to have march ed from Plymouth this week, in four divisions, for Bristol, have received counter orders. The transports having on board the 43d Regiment sailed from Harwich yesterday morning, at six o'clock, for the Downs, under convoy of the RINALDO sloop of war. Saturday morning a detachment of the Fi r st W es t York Militia, consisting of 200 men, marched from Plymouth-Dock, to take the duty at Dartmoor bar racks ; and on Monday another detachment of 300 men from the same regiment proceeded to escort 500 French prisoners, the first who are to take their con finement at that extensive depot. The 94th regiment are now on their march from Dunbar, on their route for Aberdeen. The Edinburgh regiment of militia marched from Musselburgh on Saturday. They have been stationed there for 18-months. SWEDISH PAPERS. This day we received Swedish Papers to the 19th instant. &rocKnoLm, MAY 15 —ln the sitting of the Diet of the 14th inst. thanks were unanimously voted by the Statestoield-Marshal Klingspor, Gen. Adlercrantz, and Lieut.-Colonel Adlersparre, for the distinguished parts they have taken in saving Sweden from the utter destruction with which she was threatened, and it was also resolved that the proceedings of the Diet should be printed. The States also determined that a deputation of the Nobility, Clergy and Citizens, and Peasantry, should wait on his Royal Highness to express the high sense they entertained of his readi ness to step forth at his advanced age, to undertake the reins of Government, in order to save the country from impending ruin. These papers contain a copy of the speech with which his Royal Highness the Duke of SUDERMANIA opened the Diet on the 9th instant, but it possesses no interest whatever. The principal topic is the dan ger with which Sweden was threatened by continuing the war; and that the revolution is a blessing, is main tained on this ground—the enemy has already sus pended all hostile operations: Thursday the Galloway militia marched into quar ters at Leith. A Message from his MAJESTY was delivered last night to both Houses of Parliament, announcing a Treaty with Austria, and requesting that Parliament would enable his MAJESTY to subsidize that Power, as also Spain and Portugal. Mr. PERCEVAL, in the Commons, hesitated to declare the sum that might he necessary ; but the Earl of LIVERPOOL, in the Lords, stated it at three millions. Yesterday, a Deputation from the American Mer chants had another interview with the Board of Trade, to receive information respecting the protection which his Majesty's Ministers propose to afford to those commercial speculations which the appearance of an adjustment of the differences with the United States had encouraged. It was stated to be the intention of his Majesty's Ministers, to permit the vessels coming from America, under the arrangement made by Mr. ERSKINE, to proceed to Dutch ports, and that, in pur suance of this intention, the blockade of the coast of Holland would be suspended from the 9th of June to the 9th of August next ; thus protracting, during two months, for the accommodation of the American trade, the execution of that general system of block ade which was announced in the late Orders in Coun eil.—This suspension of the blockade of Holland was also notified yesterday to the Dutch Merchants, to whom the measure, we understand, has given consi derable dissatisfaction. The ground of their objec tion is, that the Americans will immediately glut the Dutch market with the great quantity of foreign pro duce they will pour into it, and completely preclude the sale of English cargoes. The Dutch merchants, and the merchants trading to the Continent in. gene ral, it is reported, mean, therefore, to remonstrate against this measure. ' PORTSMOUTH, MAY es. On account of the length of the Extraordinary Ga- Sailed the Dapper gun-brig, on a eruize.—Wind S. E. zette, our account of the Levee on Wednesday was YARMOUTH, MAY 24. not inserted yesterday. The following were the pre- Arrived from'the Downs, the Saturn, 74 guns, Capt. Cumbei• sentations on the occasion : land ; the Redbreast gun-brig, and has brought in three Danis h the ' sloops laden with barley, whic h she captured off Jutland, an d Captain Vacteawczttos, of the Portuguese Marines, by Portuguese Ambassador. Sealark, from the Dutch coast. Sail e d t h e C hant icleer gun-bri g a n d Lord Ma a SLAM, upon his being appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Cheerful cutter, on a cruize. MAT 25.---Arrived from the Nore the Drake sloop of war, Commandant of the Btistead and Mailin g re g iment of Local Mi wßraithredacongavoryen, g b u o n u_n b d rig to A T r b c a ha bua nge ta l. bei Sa un i g h. i d ug f t o u r t H be ell g o litia. Princess land C th a e - The Earl , of DARNLEY, upon his bein g appointed Colonel-corn have cut out of VI . ige, a Dutc h schooner privateer called mandant of the Chatham and Dartford regiment of Local Militia. the Piet Hein , Charles Dedley Pater commander, of seven guns, The Bishopof Bawcoa, upon his being translated to the See of London. four short 12-pounders and three lon g ditto , and 20 men • intended to emu' ein the North Sea.—Wind N.E. • ' Earl CasitUew upon his being appointed Colonel of the Cran brook and Woodgate regiment of Local Militia. Captain We Lair, of the 90th regiment, Aid-de-Camp to Lieu- DEAL, MAY 25. tenant-General Sir George Beckwith, K. B. on his recent arrival Sailed the Eurydice, Cost rTON, for Surinam.—Wind N. E. from Martinique, with the French Ea g les. Mr. MERRY, his Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary, and Minis- FROM LLOYD'S LIST. . ter Plenipotentiary to the Court of Swed en , upon his return from ' GRAVESEND, MAY 25.—Arrived the Alligator, Morton, from thence on leave of absence. St. Domingo ; Preston, Sturroek, and Ann, Masson, from Cal. Sir MANASSiIR Loran, upon his being appointed Lieutenant- cutta ; Diana, Marshal, from Bengal; Phenix, Ramsders, from Colonel Commandant of a Regiment of Local Militia. Madras; and Surat Castle, Robertson, from Canton.—Sailed Mr. FINCiI HAT roN, upon his being appointed Lieutenant- the Edward, Baker, for Gottenburgh. Colonel Commandant of the East Kent Local Militia. The Nancy, Welsted, from Liverpool, to Charleston, was Lieutenant JEAN DE SOUSA CouTrixo, in the Portuguese lost on the 28th of March. service, by the Portuguese Ambassador. The Sydney, from Bristol, to Lisbon, put into Oporto, on the i His MAJESTY gave audience to the Duke of PORT- 25th of March, being leaky, and was taken on the 29th. Price, arrived off Falmouth, parted with the LAND, the rest of the Cabinet Ministers present, Sir ,offrAoparilDeinnietartara3,6anacla N. long. DAVID DUN DAS, and Mr. RYDER, who laid before his e l fro m s m t c St r . oix Cro o i n x 'th l er ia i n st a MAJESTY the proceedings of several Courts Martial. 50. 0 at W. ; and the' David, on the A p ril , from Trinidad, in let. About seven o'clock his MAJESTY set off on his return 40. 56 N. long. 40.80 W. all well. to Windsor. The Harriet, Clark, front St. Domingo, to London , was cap- Don PEDRO CEVALLOS, Le Chevalier D'ANDUAGA, tured on the 15th of April, by the Rodeur , priva f teer, f 16 guns and Mr. LAURENTZ, had audiences-of his MAJE,,TY, ahroidursl2oinmweikicfhrocmsapßotaiunrcdelaeruisL,wante ran woun ac d t e i l n o T u h P e wards 'e ° t f two was to take leave previous to their leaving this count; y. taken into Bourdcaux. Saturday evening, as a party of Officers belong - DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE-MONEY. ing to the 13th Light Dragoons, with two Ladies, The Basilisk, Orestes, and Volcano, for the Enoch, capture& were returning from Sidmouth to Exeter, in a lan- 1 the 14th of June, 1805, will be paid al' Thursday next at No. 13, and there recalled on Mondays and Th'ursdays. gaoler, the Gentleman who drove, was, by a sudden The Pluto, for the Jonge Pieter, Snellheid, Eintract Minerva jerk, thrown off the dickey, when the reins fell, and . (Element's Inn, and Netamdler, captured April 19, 1805, will be paid i on Thur ' ' d.iy, at No. 28, High-street, Portsmouth , and there recalled o f the horses taking head, ran with full speed till they d a i d al oe there t r h e e c a d s t t o n n e t w a n e t ,d Wednesdays i t da N y o s . came on Bishop's Clift Bridge, where coming in con- IMondays and Thursdays. - tact with a horse rode by a tarsier's boy, the pole of I The Nile, for the Susannah Margaretta, and Maria Elizabeth, , l u ttO ra 6 y , , t a v i i ntl ll b , e au p the carriage was driven with such violence against July () I t; ; tore, ,Amathea, captured 3 i iuib o .l rn ui the animal, as to force him over the bridge, and the poor lad was unfortunately killed on the spat : by and Thursdays. The Aurora, for sundry property sold at Malta, on the 6th and this accident the carriage was stopped, and the party . 7th of April, 1807, will Le paid on Tuesday, at No. 22, Essex• . Agnes, August 15, tsos, will be paid on board the Ocean at 1 weer, Strand, and there recalled on Tuesdays and Fridays. relieved from their perilous situation. i The Anson, for the Guadaloupe, captured Dec. 1804, and the ! inrcoen , a t n of d aro rtrecalleddht ehrecalled Furst, elll a a a t E IC I is cz o aaa . t i lot captured av r l e a . dm taredre t s James - street, .t D r B e e c, e t l. , 89 A 0;8 d : e 8w l o p isd h ,l i . be i Ipl a ib4 le ,G to ß o A k Dy pli a ic n e d n m e; r tr . ! at T he Portsmouth, Dublin, W e d n h e e s t d w a e y e between l 'n r . . n i g h i. A t N a m st l O e l HARRISON, of n ; d t a h y e ,s former ivelh Cat,trekn-; I l'he C clod by p o ta f in M H ° the latter by Lieutenant R. of the 82d regiment- 7 paid at No. 1, Fish-street, Doctors• Commons, and recalled every After an exchange of shots, and the interference of Monday and Friday. friends, the matter was amicably settled. The Arethusa and Anson, for the destruction of sundry Sp a• • nish Gun-bo ats , August 23 , 1806, will be paidthe , 30tI instant, We understand that in consequence of the various I a t N o . , Philpot lane and recalled fuesday. and Ist a 9 Fridays. nt, calumnies which have appeared in several papers, ' The Indefati g able, 'for the Pamelia, D ec . 5 , 1807, la Diane, concerning the conduct of Mr. JONFS, whilst C0m. 2 1 July 31, l'Adelle, Au g ust 19, and Bonne Louise, Nov. 1, 1608, missary General in the West Indies, prosecutions will will N be paid .i on board at Plymouth t o - morro w, an d reca ll e d at be commenced- in the ensuing rho End Term against the au- ?iii' C e ci l - ,tutor. - treet. aveur, for the Hope, recaptured Nov. 22, lons, wilt thors of such vile and false aspersions. be paid La board at Plymouth to-morrow, and recalled as above. The routes for the summer quarters of the army in North Britain, are as follow : QUARTERS. accimtNvs. Edinburgh ....... Berwick and Ab e rde e n Mili t i a/ . Musselburgh Haddington Dunbar' Edinburgh Militia. Berwick Forfar Militia. Dalkeith Kirkcudbright Militia. N. B. To remain until Queensberry Barracks, its the Canongatt i are lined up. Glasgow REGULARS. Perth Aberdeen NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. FALMOUTH, MAY is. Sailed this day with a fine breeze at East, the outward-bound Brazil Fleet, about twenty sail, under convoy of the Magicienne„ 86 guns, Capt. Curtis; also, the ship Royal Edward, Evans, for Liverpool; the Betsey, Buskill, for Halifax; and the Princess Elizabeth packet, Capt. Forrisale; for Lisbon, with mails.—Arri ved this day the Nautilus sloop of war, Capt. Don, from Oporto, four days-passage, with dispatches from Sir Arthur Wellesley. PLYMOUTH, MAY 24. • The Encounter gun-brig arrived last sight from Falmouth, and sailed again this afternoon on a cruize. Came in the Swedish ship Gobeter, Capt. Forgnian, from St. Übe's, with salt, for Got tenburgh. Arrived the Dextrous gun-brig, last from Portsmouth, with five transports, full of French prisoners, part of those taken at Martinique, which the French Government refused to ex change ; the Protector, 14 guns, from a cruize; and a Dock-yard Transport from the Eastward. Sailed the Weazle schooner on a cruize; the Amethyst, Capt. Sir M. Seymour, to the Eastward; the Elvin, 18 guns, to the Mediterranean; the Eyderen on a cruize; and the Duchess of Bedford transport, for Lisbon, with provisions. . I