Star. — London, England, 1812-06-20 00:00:00

r ry) should be able to ascribe the present motion to tothing else but a desire to express disapprobation of the conduct of Lords Grey and Grenville. Did his Right Honourable Friend think so lightly of his own character as to suppose that he(Mr.sherid an ) cou ld bold his so cheap as not to vindicate it against the aspersions of a Publication under the influence and controul of those with whom he had been accustom ed to act; when so far from meriting the charges thrown out against him, he had used every exertion in his power to have the two Noble L or d s a ll u d e d to included in an Administration which should present a firm and united front against the arch enemy of the country. Mr. TIERNEY explained, when Mr. SHERIDAN observed, that he did not be fieve the tact of the'resignation of the Officers of the Household, because the contingency on which alone It was understood their resignation would be neces sary was then more distant than it had been. Mr. TIE RNEY--" Then my Right Hon. Friend admits he did say, that there was n o cogccption of their resigning." Lord CAST LE REA GH hoped the motion would not be pressed, as it was unbecoming that such dis cussions should receive the approbation of Parliament. Mr. SHERIDAN had no intention of pressing the motion, which conveyed the strongest censure on the practice, by calling; for official documents on the sub ject, of which there could be none. Sir FRANCIS BLTRDETT said, he could net omit that opportunity of expressing the high satis faction he felt on the conduct of the Prince Regent. (Hear, hear ) It was not his intention to express any opinion upon the conduct of those who were parties to the late hegociation ; but his sincerest belief was, that no change of men, but a change of manners, could give satisfaction to the country. Were he at present to propose any thing, it would be a motion for an Address to the Prince Regent, expressive of the sense the He use must entertain of the conduct of his Royal Highness on the late trying occasion. Mr. HUTCHINSON thought the wishes and ex pectations, and still more, the wants of the country, had not been attended to in the formation of the pre sent Administration. He should not say in what quarter the blame Liy—but if he had only one day to live, lie should say, that lie was certain there had been bad faith in the negociation somewhere; and he had no hesitation in saying, that he believed in his conscience that Lords trey and Grenville had not been fairly dealt by. The motion was then negatived. ADNI(RALTY IiF.GIsTRAR-OFFICE BILL. Mr. HENRY MARTIN rose to bring in his promised Bill for the purpose of regulating the Of fice of Registrar of the High Court of Admiralty. The Honourable and Learned Gentleman, in a speech of considerable length and ability, stated the grounds on which he rested the introduction of this Bill, and recommended it to the adoption of the House. The professed object of it was to secure to the suitors in the Courts of Admiralty that property Which, on then behalf, was eon usted to the custody of the Registrai. A Bill of a very similar charac ter had passed int, a Law, in the reign of Geo. 1. to tegulate the funds in the Court of Chancery. It was jn ihe recollection of the House, that he had recently submitted various motions, the end of which had been to lay before the H use all possible information as to the nature of the office in question, and the eme luments, of whatever kind, accruing to the present hslder—a N&.ble Lord, a Mt mber of the other House. The production of some of these documents had been assented, while others had been refused. From what was actually before the House, it appeared that the fees payable to Lord Arden amount to twelve thousand pounds per 'annum, end that it sum of £200,0(0), belonging to suitors, vas the average su m i n hi s h a nd s , wh i ch he employed to his own private advantage, and from which it also appeared that he had been it the practice of deriving no less a sum than X7OOO per annum. In addition to all this he bad to state what had not been allowed to be authentic thy laid before them, that there was a sum vested in Exchequer bills producing an interest of £44,000, the distributiop and destination of which be had not been able to ascertain. The Honourable Gentleman then entered into a minute detail of the provisions of his Bill, and concluded by moving that it be read a first time. Sit W. SCOTT objected to the principle of the Bill as unnecessary, no grounds having been laid on any examples of fraud in the adminis.ration of the property, which it was the pretended purpose of the Bill to secure. The persons referred to in the cha racter of sureties were chiefly foreigners, who might be injured by having , their property vested in the fonds and subjected to all their fluctuations. With respect to the evaded provisions of the Bill he could see no other result likely to be produced except that of inc, nvenience to the Court. He should move, there fore, as ,in Amendment that the Bill be read that day six months. - Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY rose to defend the prii:ciple of the Bill, not to enter into those details which %%fluid be better reserved for the consideration of that.Ct.rtimittee, which he had beard no argument frcm the Right Hon. and Lamed Gentleman, to in duce him to think that it was nut their solemn duty to go into. It was mast important that a just deci skin should be had on the question, whether a Public Officer, appointed to guard the property of Suitors in a Ci urt of Justice, was justified in applying that pro- Perty to his own private advantage (hear, hear). — Ile had Ali !old indeed that these Suitors were fo reigners, but he considered this as only forming an additional argument, an argument founded on the &pity and character of the country, for giving to the property of those individuals all the protection slid seem ity which it was in their power to bestow (ivi;r t hear). In his judgment it certainly was an Illegal use of the money, and in his opinion a suit Might be maintained for the recovery of all the pro fits derived from that use. Sir Samuel Romilly quoted a decision in Chancery, on a Bill filed by Lord lonsdale against a person who held a lucrative office, that of Receiver at the harbour of Whitehaven, in which it had been expresslLlaid. down, that such use of monies was contrary to 17tw. He then re/erred to the case of Lord Macclesfield, who had been im peached for practices not very dissimilar ; and asked the House if they would now sanction what they had once declared to be a high crime and misdemeanor ? The SOLICITOR GENERAL conten d e d. th a t ~ ' question of illegality ought to be decided in a Court of Laws as his Honourable and .Learned Friend had admitted it might be, when he gave it as his opinion, that a suit might be maintained for the recovety of the interest out of the hands of the officers of the Admiralty Court. Supposing it necessary, however, for the House to. decide the question, this Bill did not effect that object. Upon this point too he well remembered that a question had been put to the Twelve Judges—the case of Lord Melville— whether the making use of public money was even, after an Act passed regulating the appropriation of that money, was or was not a high crime and misde meanour ? who all answered unanimously in the ne gative. He conceived the Bill to be perfectly unne cessary. Sir SAMUEL ROMILLY - explained that he had not sa;d the making use of money in the way descri bed, v, as a criminal offence, but merely that it was illegal, and that a civil suit might be maintained for the recrwPry of all the profits derived therefrom. Mr. WHII'BREAI) maintained that no greater difficulty could exist in sending money to, and draw ing it from the Bank, than in depositing it in any other place. He _reminded the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Plumer) that if Lord Melville had been proceeded against for restitution, by a civil process— no defence could have availed, but that this proceed ing merged in the criminal prosecution. Sir JOHN NICHOL opposed the Bill. Mr. WILBERFORCE observed, that in a return made a few years ago by the Registrar of the Admi ralty of the profits of his office, nothing was stated as arising from the interests of the property of suitors, which looked like an admission that he did not consider this a source of legal profit. He moved the adjournment of this debate to this day se'nnight. Mr. MARTIN said, the object of the Bill was to assimilate the practicelll the Court of Admiralty as much as possible to that of the Court of Chancery. The Bill was copied from another brought in in 1810, by the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, which never passed, ani what was singular enough, it seemed then quite unexceptionable in principle to the three Learned Gentlemen wbo had expressed them selves so differently to night—(Hear, he•ar). Lord COCHRANE supported the Bill, and com plained of the abuses in the Admiralty Courts. After which the House divided—First on the ques tion that the debate be adjourned to this day se'nnight —For 28—. Against 64—Majority 36. ' And afterwards, on the question, that the words proposed to be left out, stand part of the Bill—For the question 65—Against it 27—Majority 38. The Bill was accordingly lost. The Riot Bill went through a Committee. The Report was received and ordered to be taken into further consideration on Tuesday next. Mr W. POLE, in a Committee of the whole House, moved several Resolutions for the Regula'ion of the Irish Stamp Duties. The Report was ordered to be received to-morrow (this day.) The House adjourned at past One o'Cluck. THE EVENING STAR. LONDON. SATURDAY, JUNE 20. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. S per Ct. Rrd. 561i-4 per Ct. 72 3 ii s per Ct. Cons. for money shut—Ditto for opg. 5$ Bonds 36. 4.. die.-I.g. Anne. 1 5-omnium 21111 pre. The length and importanceof the matters contained in our columns of Thursday prevented us from congra tulating our readers on the suspension, for the pre sent, of the odious and expensive system of erecting additional Barracks throughout the Country. 'The arguments generally advanced by the advocates for I laying fresh burdens on this account on an impove-, rished people have been the preservation of the morals of the soldier, and indeed of the public peace, by preventing that intercourse with their fancy citizens which might lead to profligate and dis sipated h tbits. But is this great and praise-worthy ob ject to be attained in no oth,er way than by confining the soldier within the four walls of a Barrack-room; and at the expence of several millions of the public treasure in a crisis like the present ? Is it not notorious that the very restraint which the soldier labours under in Barracks, con fines his intercourse with the neighbouring inha bitants to the nocturnal and clandestine assem blies, in which vice and immorality, in all their gradation, are exhibited and practised, ar..l which ir.crease, in a lamentable degree, the frequency of the odious punishment of flogging ? But to mention an evil without suggesting a remedy, is the office of a gloomy and desponding moralist--We would, there fore, recommend, as a substitute. for the Barrack Sys tem, that the quarters of our gallant soldiers, should be changed so frequently as to prevent them from either communicating or acquiring those vices which may be prejudicial to the morals of the state. This frequency of removal will have other great and be neficial effects.—lt will prevent the soldier from for ming those local attachments, which, in the event-of disturbances, would make him forget his duty as a soldier, or, when ordered upon service, would embit ter his reflections as a man. We du not mean that his education or habits should be such as to render him callous to the softer feelings of humanity ;—but we would remove him as much as possible from those ties which unfit him for the display of the allegiance which he has sworn to his King and tit his country. Let our regiments therefore be frequently and un ‘xpectedly (but not hastily) marched from village to village ; the health of the men will thus be preserved, they will be admirably initiated into the duties of a campaign, and hardened into soldiers by the practice of real military exercises. Above all, let them be punctual in their attendance upon religious worship, wherever they are quartered—they will thus furnish examples to the other classes of Society. Their morals will be best preserved by banishing every thing resembling idleness from their ranks, and the inhabi tants where they reside will be improved and not vitiated by their intercourse. LISBON MAIL: A Lisbon Mail arrived this morning, bringing letters and Papers to the 9th insto being the day on which the packet failed. Nothing important has occurred in Portugal since the affair of Almaraz..— Thd intelligence from Spain daily increases in inte rest. General LACY has re-occupied Tarragona, w ith a Spanish army, to the great joy of the . inhabitants. The indefatigable MINA has sent to General MusD'- , yam., a detailed account of one of the most gallant and well executed enterprizes which was ever con ceived. • This affair, which took place on the I ith April, has been already partly before the Public. It ;consisted in the total defeat of a convoy of between ;two and 3000 Polish and other troops, in the service of France, who were escorting a large body of Spa nish prisoners to France. They were attacked by MINA and his invincibles in the neighbourhood of V:ttoria, and were put to the bayonet, w kb a steadi ness and impetuosity which would have done honour to British troops. Nearly the whole of the escort were killed or wounded, and the prisoners were res cued. MINA and his brave followers retired again to the mountains of Biscay, after generously present. ing the whole of their booty to their fellow country men, whom they had delivered from captivity. Some interesting particulars respecting the gallant Army in the Peninsula will be found in the last page. The following are extracts from the Lisbon Papers : " LISBON, JUNE 8. " Nothing has occurred since the Almarez affair. lOn General Hill's withdrawing so considerable a force nom the South fur that purpose, the enemy seized the opportunity of driving in the piquetsof our cavalry, (General Slade's brigade) at Llera, keeping them on the alert for some days ; at last a corps of 690 ca valry, with the rebel Molana, and his followers, made a surprizing march to surprize a squadron of the Royals, but they kept too good a look out ; we, how ever, lost a patrole of five men and horses, which Lit ter being in good order attracted the attention pf the French Colonels of the 27th and 17th regiments, who qiiarrelled about them,fought, and the latter was killed. General Hill has returned to Almendrelijo ; our troops in general proceed Northwards towards Head quarters, Fuente de Guinaldo. The main breach at Badajoz is completely repaired, and General Doyle's I Spanish regiment, 900 strong, has entered it, and are to f Tin a part of its future garrison ; they are well clothed and armed." Dispatches were this morning received from Lord WELLINGTON, dated Puente Guinaldo, on the 3d inst. but they contain no account of any movement of im portance. The following Letters were very lately intercepted in Spain. They are written by the Baron de LERY, General of Division, commanding the Corps of En. gineers in that kingdom s_ _ _ " Seville, April 20, 1312. " MY DEAR DUKE DE VALMY— General Morger has deli vered your letters and those of Cecilia. 'I hey have given me pain and pleasure at the same time. I am uneasy about the health of both of you. However, I am nuw a little easier. If the Empe ror had consented to my return to France, my wishes would have been fulfilled. Id• not think lam so necessary in Spain. I shall soon remain the only one of my army, for every day the number of my officers diminishes. I lost eight by the fall of Bad:,joz— fa•al loss, of which we know not the details. Never was any place in a better state, better provisioned, with as many troops as necessary. It ought, in my opinion, to have held out longer. There is a marked fatality in this event ! To return to my situa tion : I remain with one General under my orders, one Major, two Chiefs of Battalion, and seven Captains of the General Etat Major of Engineers—a very insufficient number for so extensive , a service as mine. " I have presented your compliments to the Duke of Dalmatia —he had already had your letter of recommendation for General Morger. I dare say he will employ it in a suitable Manner. He dined with me to-day. We talktd a good deal of every thing re lating to you and Cecilia—hut what gave me the greatest plea sure was your health, which he says is excellent. " Receive, my dear Duke, with your usual goodness, the as-. surances of my tender anti sincere a:tachment, and my real grati tude for all your kindness to me and any son. Your affectionate relation. (Signed) " Baron Do LERY, Gen. of Division. " I'. S.—M. Le Brune, Aid de•Camp to the Duke of Dalmatia, will deliver you this letter. We must make use of there oppor tunities, for the post goes but seldom." " SeVILLE , APRIL 20.—The Newspapers, my dear Decauz, will have apprised you of the unhappy fate of Badajoz, which has been taken in a very short time. I confess I cannot account for this bad defence, as the garrison was amply sufficient, and was supplied with provisions abundantly—extensive works had been erected, and there was every reason to hope that the army would have bad time to assemble and march to its relief. AU calculations, however, have been disappointed—the Army of Portugal moved to a greater distance from us, when it ought to have approached us. Thus Wellington, and his English and Pot tuguese united, took the place, almost in the presence of two armies, amounting together to nearly 80,000 men. 1 his is the consequence of not having a supreme Chief on the spot, to direct the movements. We lost in Badajoz three companies of Engi neers, and ten Officers, among whom was Adjutant Storrberg• It appears that I revellier was killed—it was his own fault—he threw himself into the place, with the Dutch Captain Mcrnaid, Lieutenant Cones, and 50 men of the Elite, nine of them be longed to the garrison, but were actuated by an impulse of zeal and courage. Annexed is a copy of a letter which I have rec.ived from Captain Gualiard, respecting the capture of Badajoz. We have no other details. " It is said, in some of the private letters, that the soldiers fought very badly ; but this wants confirmation : it would be a second representation of the affair at Tatiffa. Upon the whole, the taking of Badajoz appears to me very extraordinary, and I should find it difficult to give a clear and distinct account of it. When I kn w more I will write to the Minister, and give you all the informatton I can procure.—Adieu, my dear Decaux, &c. &c. (signed) " B. Da Laity, Gen. of Division. - - " P. S. I am now without Officers; I do not rely upon those which you announce fro m th e A rmy of Arragon ; I want young men ; I have only one Major, two Chiefs of /Sattalion ' and stven Captains. lam to have SOO mules km the trate, for which a requisition has beau made." NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. DREADFUL HIPWRFCIC: " ST.loits%, NrwroutißLAßD, A/MUM "We are sorry tw state the loss of t.. , . 1 , , :tries, Don DAL, laden with b.ile goods for this port. She left Liverpool on the IF,th of March, iitid on the 26th fell in with ice, acccmpauied by a heavy swell s which forced her with such violence against it, tl . t 1 her planks were started, and s h e began to settle.— The Captain and crow (eight in number) had scar. ey time to quit the vessel when she instantly went d. As e, leaving with them nothing to subsist upon but seals and ice. In this deplorable situat.on the ) cohta ued for 19 days, 14 . of which they were among the ice : during this time the Chief Mate, Second Mate, and three men died. The Captain, one man, and a bey (the only survivors) were picked up by the b•ar.. garet, JOHN BRAKE, Master, from Halifax, and' brought in here this morning in a most pitiable vale. I The greatest praise is due to Captain BRAKE, kr his attention paid to the unfortunate sufferers." FALMOUTH, JUNE 17. By the packet Francis FreeEnv, which arrived yes terday horn Jamaica, after a passage of six %. earl and five days, we learn that Captain YEo, in use SOUTHANIPTON frigate, is ordered by Admiral Snit- LING to take posse ssion of Amelia Island. Sailed the Chichester packet for Surinam i Wind. sor Castle packet for Gibraltar an f! Malta ; Cartett.t packet fir New York and Halitax ; and the Diaohl packet for Cadiz, all with mails and passengers.— Wind N.N.W. fresh gales. PLYMOUTH, JUNE 19. • Arrived last evening. after post, the BOYNF., of 94 guns, Admiral Sir H. B. NtALF, with the Timm of b 0 guns, and Cor.o.t.ses and CONQUEirliDalt, 01 74 guns each, part of the 'Charm' sleet, but forced in by contrary winds. They will sail as soon as the wind proves fait. Arrived also the Airstioc frigate from off Brest ; and JALOISE sloop of war from Cork,s Sailed the INGELLIGENT, of 14 guns, on a ctuize. There are row in all seven sail t.f the line in Caw. -sand Bay.—Wind West. PORTSMOUTH, JUNE 19. Arrived at St. Helen's his Majesty's ship Woot.- VARINE from a cruize. His Majesty's ship Gos unwrcz hives instructions to the trade bound to Por tugal, Spain, and the Islediterranean.—Wind West South-Wrist. DEAL, JUNE 19. Arrived the LOCUST gun brig with a convoy fro Portsmouth, which are sailed for ditferentdestinaLiuns. Wing S.W. blows hard. CORK, JUNE Is. Arrived his Majesty's sloop WANDERER, Cap tain NEWCOMBE, and six sail of transports to t a k e troops.—Wind W. • ARRIVED. In the Clyde, the Hercules, Miller, from St. Vincent's. At Dublin, the Jane, Williatmon ; Zealous, —; and thb Britannia, Gibbon, from Loot! m. At Londondary, the Brothers, Richards, from London. 1 At Swan'. a, the Jade, Savage, from London. At Neath, the Severn, Lyon', fruin Corunna. At Brion!, the Maly, Donaldson, from the coast of Spain. At Demerara, the Admiral Colpo)s, Venable', from London ; aud the Belmont, Kobley, from Liverpool. Yesterd.ty the QUEEN and the PRINCESSES dined with the PRINCE REGENT, and a select party, at Carlton House. About a fortnight ago the boats of the MEDUSA en.' tered the Bay ofAcachon, and cut out a French arme ship, having on board the frame of a 74 , gun ship, in bringing her out, she unfortunately grounded. N hopes being entertained of getting her off, she wa completely destroyed. The MEDUSA had one Midshi man, and three men wounded ; the French Captal was killed during the conflict, and four Frenchme killed, and nine wounded. Letters m ere yesterday received in town from Ba badoes, giving an account of a most extraordinar phenomenon which occurred in that island, abut on in the afternoon of the Ist ult. On that day, an from that hour, the whole island of Barbadoes wa obscured in darkness, which continued for six hour During that period a sort of sand fell from the cl ud which destroyed the roofs of the houses, and the pla tations. It is calculated that not less than 40,0001 weight fell within the space of every acre, and it w so hot that it -was apprehended it would have set t houses on fire. A slight shock, of an earthquake felt on the island at the same time. The LAURF.STINUS frigate, the arrival of whit from Rio Janeiro we noticed yesterday, brougl over Mr. STAPLES, the British Consul, appointed Buenos Ayres, whom the Junta of that place r fused to receive, on the ground of certain pointi Spanish punctilio not having been complied wit On the arrivat of the LAURESTIN US being announce in the city, it was reported that the British Minist had been ordered away from the Court oldie Brdzi, The civil war still continued between Montevilel and Buenos Ayres, the former being- supported bi 7000 Portuguese, and the latter having to oppose te them an army of 13,000 men. A ship had arrived ai Buenos Ayres from the United States, with artillery' arms,. and ammunition of every kind. The English contrary, to the former practfces, were treated wid coldness, and doubts were entertaineef severe con tributions would not be levied on their pro, erty, an even it it would not be exposed to confiscation. The war rages in Mexico with unabated furl The Insurgents, or rather those who declare for it dependence, continue to increase iii numbers—thn army is . how 70,000 strong. The Governmel troops have received sonic paltry reinforcemen from Cadiz, but their opponents ale too formidab: babe kept under by any thing short of a regular as well appointed army of 40, or 50,000 men, whit we know the Mother Country cannot spare. All tt insurgents as they are termed, are shot when take prisoners. The LAVRESTINUa has brought only three or for hundred thousand dollars in specie to the Britii Merchants. Trade is uncommonly dull at Rio Jane": and the English are regarded in an %inf.- - light. • • *.