Star. — London, England, 1815-05-20 00:00:00

be had presented from the Roman Catholics of Ire- land, praying for a repeal of the restrictive laws operating against that body, The Noble Earl, after a few general observations, gave notice of a Moticin on the subject matter of the Petition on Thursday se'nnight, and moved, that the Lords be summoned. Ordered. The Marquis of BUCKINGHAM said, as it ap peared this Country was bound by stipulations and iontracts, of which no information was to be given, and as the House was to come to a discussion to sup port war,. without knowing what those stipulations were, he rose to give notice, that on Monday he should move, by Address, for the production of those stipulations and moved, that the House be sum moned for ;ion da y. —Ordered.— Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Account* were presented of the Exports and imports of ire. istul du:l4 th; yes!. isl i, and of the Trade between Great Erlfain and Buenos Ayres during the last three years. Mr. ORA lAN presented a Fetid= from the Roman Ca- Ache= of the County and City of Cork, praying relief from the it present civil and religious disabilittes.—Read and ordered to lie on the table. retitions were presented by Mr. Glavra tr, from the timber nu.rchants, Carpenters, and Bricklayers of Dublin, and by Sir J. Nas PORT, from those of Waterford against the pending . 1 ins lecr Duty all, Mr. P . GIDDY gave notice, that in the Cotntnittee on the pending inqdvent Debtors VIII be ~bould move a clause, to bring persons having the privilege of Parliament under the c•nio bone• rwe rror stun in the Bill. Irish Gaol Contract Bill war read a dint time and palled. pith the addition of some further clauses pivoted by Mr. keg Ls. Ordered, on the !notion of Mr. Gatnrrtt., that the Ao• (snots Teta( iVe to the Bank of Ensiand, ordered on the 26th of April, he-produced forthwith. _ . _ . . . . The Report of the Committee for Improving the Harbour of Puhiin was received, and a Bill ordered to be brought in ac cordingly. Mr. W. FITZGERALD moved,that the House should go Into a Committee .ti the Irish Foreign Duty and Drawbark Acts, which was agierfl to. He then moved a resolution, for a Bill to rei'sl.a ihe duties on lurcign goods imported into Ireland, and e.ice ; tt.gef her with the drawbacks to ►e allowed oo the produce .o.tl manufactures of either country imported into the other. Sir J NEW Pliur expressed a hope, that in framing the Bill ti ere would be no deviation born the Articles of Union. Mr. W. Ifl ZGERAI.I) said, the object of the intended Bill was to give the sanction of Parliament to what was already con skit-it'd the law, with the exception of some few persons who Batt doubts on the construoion of the Act as it stands. Mr. HORNER deprecated any measure that should cast any duuht upon the compact of Union, an act of the utmost deli. cacy and importance to both countries. He wished the Right Hnnotoral4e tientlentan to rate distinctly to the House what his object was. Mt. W. FI.IZGERALD said, that be should leave the mat ter to he decided by the judgment of the House, in that stage of the Bill in which it would be fully aiscussed. Ihe Irish (tired Servants' Bill was committed; Report on .114_soday. _ _ _ On the motion of Sir 11. PARNELL a Select Commi •tce was appointed, to inquire Into the state of the roads in Ireland; and of the state of the mails and paektts from England to ()Wolin. Mr. V. Fl ZGEKALD slid , that considereie smuggling had taken place on hoard lie !rackets, under pretence of its being the baggage of McniLers of Parliament. Sit 1. NEW POlt thought, that the certificate of a Member of Parliament sbat he bad nu contraband articles among bis bag gage woulti Utt suUicien►; and that the starch would be dune away. _ _ 1..0rd A LTHORP2. said, tliat as the discussion on the ex rc:ed message was to came on neat Tuesday, he would post :ions its motion on the subject of the way in which the £lOO,OOO vor,l ru :he Prince of Wiles, on his assuruption of the Regency, had been applied, till Friday nest. Mr. Tik.RNEY wished to know when the promised commu• :deo ion on that subject-would be made, I be CHAN CE1.4.0R of the EXCHEQUER said, probably on Monday. ~~ • • .1• 1 ' • 1 0, • • •• I, I . • ToRCIED PROCLAMATION. Mr. WHITBREAD thought there was no chant(' of seelog the Noble Lord at the head of the Foreign Department in his place that night; he wished to ask the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite, whether e Proclamation, published that day, and purporting to have been issued by the Duke of Wellington, was genuine or not ?—lt was material to have the ques. lion speedily' set at rest; and he expected to hear that this alledged Proclamation had no foundation in truth, as he confessed it bore to him no marks of autheliticity. Mr. W. I'OL said, that Government had not the slightest reAsoa to think the Proclamation in ques tion au,thntic ; or, indeed, that up to that moment, his Grac e had issued any Proclamation whatever.... (Ilear, hear. LITTERS OF BONAPARTE. Mr. HORNER. said,•that notwithstanding the ab sence of the Noble Secretary of Stat e f or Foreign Af fairs, it was impossible to allow the day to pass with out calling the attention of the House to certain letters which that Noble Lord read, some days ago, as part of his speech in that House. Those letters were now declare t t by the Government of France, in the face of all Europe, to be forget ies. At the same time, he had gin doubt that the Noble Lord thought them at that time genuine; and, indeed, it might turn out that the charge of forgery might recoil on those who had made it. They were. however, necessary to be cleared up, before going into the important discussion on Monday; and the two documents he referred to he' thought must be in the Foreign Office. One of them was a letter from the Count de Allacas to .Lord Cas tlereagh, inclosing three ether letters; the other was a letter from the Duke of Wellington to Lord Castle reagh, dated Paris, January 4r. expressing his opinion as to the coriduct of Murat. He then moved an humble Address to the Regent, that he would be pleased to. order the above-mentioned documents to be bid before the House. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER hoped that the Honottrable Gentleman, would not snake his motion now, but allow it to stand as a no tice, and not Kur,s it in the absence of his Noble Friend. This he knew, that finding a publication in the Trench papers, that ;he letters contained in that of the COunt de Elacas were forgeries, it became the intention .4 his Noble Friend to communicate to the 1-those what he knew on the subject. The Duke of WellingtOn's lettet, alluded to in that publication, was a genuine one ; but it was written before it's Grace had seen or heard of the documents to which it was said to alltide t 'rom the way in which he understood the statement ih the French Papers, no act of forgery was attributed to this Government. It Was a charge' brought . t4 the present F re n c h G overn - ment against the Royal GOirnment of that country . His 'Nob Frieriel; be knew, would, give all the infor maticshe. possessed on this subject. Mr. HORNER 'had neither said nor thought the charge 4'oolo b ad been made a gainst the Go, iernment of this. country. Qh the g round of the cif the Noble 4..occr oo objection to, post. trtn for these i)a.pars t Monday,. though he considered ft of the higLest importance the: the business should be speedily cleared up. [Here Lord CASTLIREAGN entered the House.] Mr. HORNER. then repeated his statement; and trusted the Noble Lord would be able to explain the business in such a manner as would be satisfactory to the House. Lord CASTLEREAGH said the letter from the Duke of Wellington was a genuine one, but it applied to totally different papers from those which he (Lord Castlereagh) had read in the House. Yet it surely did not shew any impatience on the part of his Grace to strain any constructions with respect to Murat's conduct ; since his information well warranted him in coming to the conclusion, respecting it, which he had come to. Some of the documents contained in the Count de Blacas's leper were found after his (Lord Castlereagh's) leaving Paris, and they were transmitted to hins,as genuine. There were eight of them in all : but the only question as to the authen ticity, seemed to be respecting three of them, which were draughts or memorandums , of letters by Bona parte. When these letters were found in the archives at Paris, the Count de Blacas took a precaution as to them; for when he was said to have fabricated them, he took a copy of them, which he transmitted to him (Lord Castlereagh), and at the same time delivered over the originals of them to the Prince of Castelci cala, the Sicilian Ambassador, who shewed them to him (Lord Castlereagh) that very morning. These letters plainly shewed that Murat was managing his own interests between the Allies and Bonaparte.— But, setting these three documents out of the ques tion, the five others would put the authenticity of them beyond all doubt. In some of these Bogaparte acknowledged Murat as King, and addressed htm— " Mon frere, et mon cousin." He apprehended that this charge of forgery was only part of that system which had fabricated Proclamations from the Duke of Wellington and from some Prussian Comman ders ; for such a system was, no doubt, necessary to mislead the people of France, in order the better to carry on the ambitious projects of that man. These documents would be laid before the House. as well as the letter of Lord Wellington, to whom they were transmitted, and he laid them before the Sovereigns at Vienna, who entertained no doubt of their authen ticity, and immediately determined to attack Murat for the duplicity displayed by him ; but he, in the spi rit r,f his former treachery, attacked Austria first. Mr. HORNER said, the conduct of Murat was not then the subject of discussion ; but it was, how far the documents read on a former night by the No, ble Lord, were or were not genuine ? His only rea son for moving for that letter of Lord Wellington was, that it might shew that the other Papers De ferred to were not in the possession of the French Government so late as January list. He complained of the delay in laying Papers before the Ht.use that had been moved for 17 days ago. Lewd CASTLEREAGH did not believe that any culpable deity !:ad taken place, as to the production of the papers. if the Honourable Gentleman wishes to see the original documents he had referred to, he (Lord Castlereagh) believed he could obtain him a sight of them ; and then, he had no doubt, he would be convinced that they were not fabricated. But perhaps those who received intelligence from the other side of the water had anxious feelings they might not be genuine. Mr. HORNER was convinced his character was so well known in that House, that he treated the in-' binuation of the Noble Lord, as to his receiving infor mation from the other side of the water, with the nrost perfect indifference. Mr. TIERNEY asked, whether the Noble Lord intended to communicate the Duke of Wellington's letter to the Count de Blacas ? Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that W it could be found in the office, it should be given, but he was ready to admit the copy in the Moniteur as authentic. Mr. TIERNEY asked, did the Noble Lord see the papers upon the subject of which the Duke of Wellington had written this letter ? Lord CASTLEREAGH said he had not; they were papers of no importance to him. Sir J. MACKINTOSH asked whether the Noble Lord Was enabled to assert that Done of the five let ters, the authenticity of which had not been ques tioned, were submitted to the Duke of Wellington when he wrote his letter. Lord CASTLEREAGH said, that three of these letters had been found since his arrival at Paris from Vienna, and that there were then a great number un examined in the offices. Mr. HORN.ER said, that the letter dated from NAngis seemed inconsistent on the face of it, and that he had so stated it in the former debate when the let ters were read. Lord CASTLEREAGH said, this letter did not alter the case, and that the Honourable Member, when the letters were read, seemed to feel the weight of their internal evidence orauthenticity, in common with the rest of the House. Mr. HORNER said, there was much that required elucidation on both sides. The motion was then put and carried. LETTER SILL. On the motion for the second reading of the East- India Ship Letter Bill, Mr. MA RRYATT moved that Counsel should be called in Against the Bill. The SPEAKER said, the proper course was to read the Bill a second lime, and then that Counsel should be heard on the motion for its being committed. After a few words from Sir C. MUNCIE, Mr. WAL. Lace, and Mr. Aldetman ATKINS, Tie CHANCELLOR of the 'EXCHEQUER thought the only stage when any alteration couisi with propriety be made in the Bill, would be in the Com mittee. At the same time, be thought the filling up the ordinary I?lanks would be sufficient. The House then agreed to the second reading. Mr. MA RRYATT then moved that Counsel should be called in against the Bill. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, said, that - Counsel were heard before the Select Corn naiitee on the Bill. He therefuee thought that calling them in now would be only wasting the time of the House. Mr. S. BOURNE said, the speeches of Counsel againit the Bill were in thi hands of all the Members. The House then divided—For calling in Counsel 13, Against it 3--Majority The Bill was then re o ld a lecond time, and ordered to be committed that day ae'spight.--idjourned. • " ' • - • • 1 1 1.4NDARS MAIL. BASLE, MAY 4. Bonaparte addresses circular letters to the princi- ' pal Courts of Europe. The Declaration of the 13th of March had answered them beforehand. Think ing to produce an effect upon a country of small ex tent, bordering upon France, and which he supposed to be disunited and devoid of energy, he has applied to Switzerland s one of his agents demanded a free passage to acquit himself of his mission to the Diet of the Confederation. He was refused. He contented himself with conveying to the Council of the Nation the dispatches of which he was the bearer. The same language of imposture was remarked in it. The indignation was general—the agreement unanimous, —the answer prompt, and worthy of an independent people. The refusal to recognise Bonaparte's wishes for the happiness of France—the noble and frank expression of what Switzerland owes to its honour and its dig nity, and to the powers whe have pacificated and ag grandized it—such are the sentiments contained in this memorable answer, which recalls the most glo rious times of the Confederation. This is, doubtless, a great example ; and the Swiss, henceforth united ampng themselves, and attached to the general system of Europe, will Leap the fruits of a conduct so worthy of praise. rile following is the answer of the President of the Diet to the Duke of Vicenza : " ZURICH, APRIL a._ 44 The communication which his Excellency the Duke of Vicenza addressed to the undersigned, on the 4th of April, which reached Zurich on the 16th, has been laid before the Diet. ‘, When France, at peace within herself, shall have recovered her happiness under a stable Government, generally recognised in Europe, the sincerest wish of Switzerland will be fulfilled. Faithful to their prin ciples, and to honour, of which the conduct of the Swiss soldiers, recalled to their country, furnishes a fresh proof, the Cantons have not been able to divest themselves of a lively uneasiness, on account of the late events, and their probable consequences. To se cure its dearest interests, its independence, and its in ternal tranquillity against every attack, the Confide ration_has felt that it ought to take measures of pre caution and safety. Several changes have taken place in its Constitution—ancient frontiers have been restored to it, with a more favourable-demarcation. From these circunistances, and the new relations in which it is placed, there result obligations of honour, which gratitude, and even the interest of its political existence, command it to fulfil. It cannot, therefore, by recognising the existing Government in France, follow a system opposite to that of all the powers of Europe. That loyalty and fidelity which have dic tated its conduct, will continue to regulate it for the future. ‘• Such are the explanaii ins to which the under signed must confine himself, and which hP concluies by begging his Excellency the Duke of Vicenza to accept the assurances of his high consideration. " The BURCOPRASTRIL Of the Canton of ZURICH, President of the Swiss Diet." The Diet assembled on the Ist of this month to hear the Reports read, which were just received from Finsler, the Quarter Master General, and which arinctineed that a - numerous French army was assem bling near Chambery, under Marshal Grouchy. .1 sre Uiet has resolved to require the evacuation of Carouge by the Piedmontese troops, in order that that town may be occupied by the troops of the Con federation. The military 'commanders have been charged to take care that Switzerland do not run any danger, and likewise to take precautions relative to the navigation of the lake of Geneva. In the night of the 29th, near Melay, at the foot of Doleberg, some musket-shot were fired between a pa ,role of Argovia and some French, probably Na. tional Guards, for these in general shew the most ani mosity towards Switzerland. The patrole passing along the skirts of a wood, heard a noise, and cried, who goes there ?" It was only answered by being. fired upon. It instantly returned the fire, and the two parties continued to fire for an hour and a half in the dark, till at last the French evacuated the wo.,d. At the report of the musketry, all the inha bitants of the neighbourhood assembled and took up arms. This affair, in which we had not one man wounded, does honour to the Argevians and Vaudois. Since the 30th of April, the Swiss head-quarters have been transferred to Morat. It is affirmed that the-General-in-Chief intends to form three camps : at Yverdun, at Arburg, and at Liestal. It was also said that the half of the second contingent would be put in motion ; so that with the regiments returned from France, we should have on foot an army of 48,000 men. As the French continue to augment their fortifica tions on the side of Basle, batteries are to be erected there on the side of St. John's gate. The troops of the Confederation in our neighbour. hood have just been reinforced by three companies of this Canton. Five hundred Thurgovians arrived here on the 2d. The same day eighty Swiss soldiers, in the service of the King, also arrived. Eve vy body was eager to give them a good reception. Many recruits, who had not yet been incorporated, are also come back. We expect fresh detachments of these corps at &isle, and other places on the frontiers. Subscriptions for these brave men are opened in many parts of Swit zerland. We have no news of the depot of the 4th regiment, which was at Arras. GHENT, MAY 12. The Journal Universal of this date contains, under the head of Ghent, May 9, a Report upon the State of France, made to the King in Council, by the Viscount de Chateaubriand, Minister Plenipotentiary from his Most Christian Majesty to the Court of Sweden. This Report fills sixteen columns of the Journal and Supplement. This document is divided into heads—l. Acts and Decrees fur the Interior.- 2. Exterior.—.S. Reproaches made to the Royal Go vernment.-4. Spirit of the Government. The Re port begins thus : d• SkiE—The only misfortunes which still threaten ed :urope, after so many miseries, have come to pass. The Sovereigns, your august Allies, have believed that they could with impunity be magna nimous towards a man, who knows neither the value of generous conduct, nor the religious observance of treaties. These are the errors which proceed from elevation of character; an upright soul judges but ill of meanness and artifice ; and the saviour Paris could not comprehend the destroyer of MOLCOW. 14 Bonaparte, placed by a strange fatality betwee►, the coasts of France and Italy, has come, Ike (`, e. seric, whither the anger of Gon called lion—th e I ;cir ,, of an that had committed, and of all tt►at tm.ditatet, a crime, he came—he succeeded. Men, loaded viti. your gifts, their breasts covered with your crden, kissed in the morning the royal hand WWI, in the evening, they betrayed. Rebellious subjects Frenchmen ! faithless Knights! while tie oath s had taken to you had scarcely exp:red in their lip:., they went. with the lily on their breast, to swear , a , I may say, a perjury to him, who so often declared himself a traitor, a felon, and disloyal." The conclusion is as follows : " One would say that Bonaparte, the sport of that surrounds him, takes counsel only of tl,e rr meat, a slave to chat destiny which he form , •tdy peared to command. Licentionsmss roisilis at V 0,.. anarchy in the provinces; the civil and military 4 11 . thorities combat each other—here the people thr..oi. n to burn the chateaus, and noirder the Priests ; tl:e•r e they hoist the white P. ag, and cry, ?he le Rol in the midst of these disorders time advarr:es, and events hasten to their developemeat. All I:uen l •i is arrived on the frontier s of I:•raucc ; every people LA taken its part in this army of 114;ms—they wait but for the last signal.. " What will the 113t1:nr of so many calam;!;,, d r „ if he quits w:11 remain ttatiquil he does not join his soldici c, will his soldiers fight without him i Snecess may change his f3rtune ? No. a success would hardly retard his toll. Can he, I.e. sides, expect success ? The decree has i \sited from high. Victory has declared itself—Donapane is A. ready vanquished. By Murat, an appeal has bfe; made ro the passions of the people of I taly, t iose people have replied by a cry of loyalty. isl.iy ! ;, e French imitate their example—may they alsandon ; ;e scourge of the earth to the justice of Heaven ! Ah, Sire ! let us hope that, disarmed by 'lie prayers of the son of St. Louis, the Coo of Bettlss may spare the blood of our unhappy country. Y. will preserve to France har her happiness, the remairs of that blood which she has tv,► much lavished ior her glory. The moment approaches when your 3 4 . jesty will reap the fruit of your virtues and your 54. crifices—when, under the snide of the white flog, na. tions will at length enjoy that repose alter which thri sigh, and which they have so dearly !dined." BRUSSELS, MAY I s The citizens of Parrs, eager to give an exarnple the fidelity due to their lawful Sovettign, fused (two only excepted) to take the oath to, ti.e Usurper. The good effect this has had on the pecile may be ima7ined. The Frenth troops about Conde, Mantic -17e, arrt Valenciennes, h.tve made a movement towards i'hi lippeville and Givet. On the frontiers of West Flanders the French seem to be alarmed, 11; , -.-trg broken down the bridges over all the livers the two countries. The insurrections against Murat extend to the gates of Naples. The army is a quiet spectator of thew disorders. FRENCH PAPERS. PARIS, MAY 16. Advices from Vienna of the 29th state, that tlir Congress has disposed of the Kingdom of liapl:s is favour of Prince Ferdinand, second son of the King of the Two Sicilies. He has set nut for Italy. On the 13th, during the review, a Trying Lady . approached the Emperor, and presented him with a rouleau, containing bank-notes to the amount of '25,0(X) francs, for the equipment of the National Guards. Baron Louis, Ex-Minister of Finance, arrived at Ghent on the 10th May. The Brussels papers state that the Duke of Raguss (Marmont) has lett chat city tor Switzerland. General Gerard has still his head-quarters at Met: The first division will shortly advance. The works upon the fortifications of Langres are carried on with great activity. A German Gazette announces that a part of t! Austrian army, directed against the King of Napio• is on its return, and takes the direction of Turin. Marshal Grouchy was expected last night At P lt,s. It is said that the Emperor has given orders to disarm twenty ships of the line, which vial glve an augmentation of 1500 pieces of cannon. It was remarked on the 14th, at Mass, at the chapel of the Thuilleries, that Prince Lucien was the dress of the National uards. On the 7th inst. a new quarrel took place at E deaux. A young man made an attempt to tear we epaulets from an officer of the garrison. He was ar rested on the spot. The regiments of the guards of the new creation being already more than complete, in consequence ut the great number of soldiers anxious to enter them, it is said that two others will be formed. The number of battalions of eliii of the N ttional Guard, which are already moveable, and placed in the cities and posts which they are to occupy. exceed' 100, and the number increases daily. Six battalions of the National Guards, of the De. partment of the Aisne, arrived at Lille on May 12. In the evening of the day betore yesterday. abou eleven o'clock, tour individuais, in the Rue de 13 Lei, threw into the shops a pamphlet, entitled, Crin of Alarm." In this writing, Lull of liorriole prove, cations, there is contained an undisguised proposal to assassinate the Emperor. Two of these intim . duals were seized by a gen d'arme and a wine•nur chant, in whose shop the pamphlets were throm the two others escaped. Those ar tested are the Sm Bocquet, charged by the Sieur Le No: mita. irt. of the Journal de ?Empire, with powers to d: .itv ters and money from the Post Office ; the other is son of the Sieur Le Normant himself. As this cow , will be pursued before the Tribunals, we shall abstail from all reflections. sTRASKIRG, MAY 1 S. Our national guards now man all the fortresses . from which ull the troops of the line !Live in.ocile:; The army of the Rhine has taken a position from t+. lines of the Looter to those ut Wissembinitr, restiv: upon Spire, and along the Rhine to Huningen• is . connected on its right with the corps 01 übbetv flan of the Jura, the head-quArters of which is at 13. fort. Under this last fortress I b teaming A Ae CAM; commanded by Lieutenant-Genet -41 lAcuaine, h iv log under him five Lieutenam-Geuerids, asnuug who