Star. — London, England, 1820-12-26 00:00:00

• I E .14; V k'N ING STA K. lON DON. TUESDAY, DECENIBER 26, 15'20. Sr. Srirruitteslialay at the Batik. A Commercial Treaty is, it is said, now negoci ming between this country and France,. upon liberal principles—namely, the principles of reciprocity. The import duties on-certain enumerated articles are• to' e reduced from 75 to 15 per cent. ad valorem; a diminution of duty which will increase the con ?umption, in both connteies,Of the articles rchich they respectively w.mt from each other, and which, con !!e,prently, will operate to add to the wealth of both— the only effectual method of inc rea.ing the public rovenue of each ; for the produce al indirect taxes arises, and can only arise, from the expenditure of the consumer; and the amount of this .!epends on the extent of the markets they can find for their own !arplits products. Should Ministers eventually suc ceed in effecting this object, they will do much to wards restoring the decayed prosperity of our nu merous manufactures ; and, through thii medium, that of our agriculturists ; for the c.elfa:e of the latter deiends on the of the artizans to cat full meals, instead of going half started The eyes of Statesmen are opening more and more daily to the impolicy of the " Rest:ictive ss Pro tooting System"—names which fools give to the both - of foolish laws which have for so long a period s hackled and wasted the ind ustr y of mankind ; and should this Treaty once be effected on the fair bases of reciprocity, we shall not despair of seeing the new system become, before many years, as gener.b as has been the one which has operated so long to depress the efforts of human industry, and abridge unnecessarily the comforts of mankind. We beg to refer our Readers to the ample Report given in our columns this day, of the Proceedings of the Meeting of the County of Edinburgh, on Friday last. Although the 6' Loyal" Address, as it is called, was carried by a numerical majority, the arguments by which it Was supported—the. studied evasion of all the great points on which Ministers and the Public are at issue---. hew, in a striking light, the desperate plight to which the Ministerial partizans are reduced. Mr. JEFFREY, the ingenious Editor of the Edinburgh R.,iew, was again conspicuous in the declaration of his sentiments, and we recommend his speech to the particular attention of our Readers, as presenting, in very animated terms, a pretty exact picture of the crisis to which we seem fast hastening. We have received a copy of the Proclamation issued by President Bovaa, on his entry into the Cape, and regret to learn from it, that the consummation of the Revolution has 'not been so bloodless as the first ac counts represented : 6 4 I regret (he says) that blood, -which I have been so solicitous to spare, should have been spilt. On the 18th of this month, my order of the 17th, sent express to the Cape, did not arrive in time to save the lives of CHRISTOPHE'S son, and some Officers who were conspicuous in executing his bar barous orders." Ile-concludes with entreating that past events may be forgotten, and that the Ilaytians will hasten to act, in concert with Government, in consolidating the independence of the country. NAVAL INIELLIGENCE. A vessel, supposed to be the Thctis packet, of MiVord, was wrecked near llallyrnacotton Tower, on the Irish coast, on the lab instant, and the crew perished. The queen Charlltte, Captain It. Evavz, trading vessel, was wrecked on the 15th instant, near Dungarvon—all the crew perished. The sloop Friend Liverpool s, Captain Osionxt, bound from Liverp to Cork, was wrecked on Friday se'nuight at the Bar, near Het wick, when all on board perished. In the course of the nett dq, a considerable part of the cargo being washed out, the ves tal was got off, and towed into Dungarvon. I.toslir, Dec. 25.—Wind E.S. E.— Arrived the Trelawney, I'd'Lvi e, from Demerara for Lordoo ; and Elizabeth, SMARTLY, front St. _Michael's.—Sailed the Fox packet, for the Leeward Islands; and Duke of Marlborough packet, for Lisbon, each with a Mail; al*o the John, WELLS, for Genoa and Leghorn. : litirstucTit, Dye. E.N.E.—Arrived the Spring, &ALTON, from Quebec ; Torn Cod, Davis, from the Canaries; Smern, from the Cape of Gent! Horns; and the Marquis of Anglesea, EDWARDS, from Leghorn. Palma:ol)m Dec. 25.—Wind E.—Arrived the Guardian, AvDERSON from Pictou ; and Ann, Stout-as, from Ilavannah. Dear., ' Da.% 25.—Wind N.E.—Arrived and remain, the Savnge, Klatt ; and Robert, Dsxav, from Belfast. Arrived off :Dungeness, the 23d inst. the Europe, TALBOT, from Jamaica; and ilanrah, Wanes, from Quebec. Nonni Satenns, Dec. 24.—Yesterday the sloop Lively, CA"- ou.s, friam Inverness, got upon the Herd-sand. but was got off aeain with assistance. The Lord Wellington, Cuter:it, front flamburgh, is seized by the Customs, for having spirits con cealA on board. Gt..troew, Dec. 2 , 2.—Triday, the Comet steam-boat. on her way home from Fcrt-William to Glasgow, at half-past four in th? afternoon, while passing through Dorishmore, • at the point of ;Craignish Bock, was struck with a heavy squall, whkis 1! her on her beam-ends, and in ten minutes, owing to the. grtr.tt c..nrent of tide and high seas and wind, was tail broadside cm the reeks. Every exertion was made for the landing of the passentters and men, which was safely accomplished. On Satur day morning :dte was a complete wreck. pj u iJ , 14. r. 22.—Captain RA/SPECE, of the Thetis, of this part, v•ritt:e to his owners as follows: A Memel, Nov. 22.—1 am la l ay to inform YOU of my safe arrival in the Bay this afternoon, otter a most unpleasant voyage. Three days after passing the .Sound I had tie misfortune to lose my carpenter, Joseph An derson :we were reefing .he maintop-sail; and as he was step ping front the topsail-yard into the rigging, be missed his bold, and fell with his head on the quarter rail, and thence overboard. All he said was, Oh, Lord! oh, Lord l! and instantly oak." Hi s MAJESTY has given a donation of £5O towaids the erection of a School for the Education of the Poor of Featherstone, and the extra parochial district of Pontefract Park, in I'm kshire. Lord and Lady Coitzox have, with the kindest r e g ard for the comforts of the poor at this period of the ) ear, made a most acceptable present of blankets and clothing to the indigeut families in tUe ntiehbour hood of Gopsall. COUNTY OF EDINBURGH MEETING. Fri d ay, .at tweiye o'clock, a "sfeeting of the .Noble men, Freeholders, Justices o . f. the Peace, and Oom missioners of Supply of the County 'of Edinburgh, was held in the. County Hail here, pursuant to a Re quisition, for the purpose of noting a Loyal Address to his MAJESTY, on the present state. of the Country. the Marquis of LOTHIAN was called to the Chair. Sir JouN HOPE then rose to propose an Address to his Majesty. He said, he would not trouble the Meet ing,,With any remarks of his own, but would only ob serve, that there never was a time when public duty more imperiously called upon them to , vote an Ad dress to the Throne than the present. Sfi% JA 7.IES WALKere, of Dalry, in rising to second the Address, observed, that all must allow; of what ever party they were, that the most flagittous at tempts had lately been made to excite disaffection, and these 'attempts were still pursued witlk such au dacity, perseverance, and success, as to excite serious alarm in the mind of every lover of his country. It was true that the clamour for Radical Reform was not at present so loud as formerly—the itinerant field preachers of treason were not now traversing the conntry---drilling and training had been put down, and the assemblies of armed rebels had proved abor-. ive. The - blood-thirsty gang of Thistletvood had ex piate' their crimes with:their blood. But the cham pions of rebellion were still active. The spirit'of dis affecii.n, though banished, was not ; And the object of the discontent was still the same:. During the late inquiry, s, !ilk a regard for decorum and ju-rice had re.t: ai,led the reasonable part •of the community from evoressing their sentiments, the agents of disatfec:ioa, - engaging a certain portion .t the Press, had, the most wanton and unprin cipled manner, exerted themselves in biassing and prejudicing the public. mind ; and in whatever issued from them, whether in the, shape of newspapers, pamphlets, or caricatures, whether in the ceaseless . A Idre,ses to the Queen, or the ceaseless Answers to those Al iresses—the two Houses of Parliament— .ltid_tes of the Land—the Dignitaries - of the Church “vaina: y Ministers olour Holy Religion .. and Religion itself—have all been made the objects of their ridicule and invective. Nor was it to the lower orders aim - Le that those feelings were con fined. Examples of ; a similar spirit had been seen those from whom better might ha ve been among expected. In the House of Peers, the second Counsel for the defence had asserted, in the most open and barefaced manner, that the conduct of Nero, the Roman Emperor, afforded the only parallel to that which had been pursued towards the Queen. — In defiance of his duty and allegiance to his Majesty, and forgetting the respect be owed to that august assembly, that radical Gentleman did not scruple to borrow from the political manufactory of Hone, that most foul, unjust, and scandalous libel. And to what, he would ask, were they to ascribe this unprece dented, this unjust persecution of his Majesty and, his Ministers ?—Why, because they would not con; sent to place at the head' of female society in this country one whose conduct had been the corn mon scandal of Europe, whom a majority .of her Judges had voted guilty—(Hear; hear ! ).—Was it for this that the Government was to be . abused— because his Majesty had assumed the tried • and faithful servants - who had enjoyed his father's confi dence, and who, during the glorious period of the Regency, had pet severed in the struggle for Enro . - ' pear independence till they had achieved a. triumph 'unexampled in the annals of the country? This was a time when the voice of loyalty should be heard ,from one end of the country to the other; and though a few restless demagogues continued to alude the ignorant_ and mislead the unwary, and wished to overturn all that was sacred and valuable in the Con stitution, yet he was confi'dent the great body of the people would rally round the Throne, and defend it and the Constitution with their fortunes and their lives. He particularly concurred in that part of the Address w hich spoke the language of hope and con solation; and concluded by seconding the Address. General FRANCIS ausnas supported the Address. Mr. Fermusorr, Of Raith, would have apologized for intruding himself upon the notice of the Meeting, were it not that an imperious sense of public duty rendered any apology unnecessary. For some 'time past attempts had been made to get up Addresses, which, under the sanction of loyalty, were in fact no thing better than libels•upon the community at large, more especially considering the commentaries and speeches by which they were accompanied. As to the Address moved by the Honourable Baronet,. it would have given him most unfeigned satisfaction to have concurred in it ; but, he was sorry to say, there were some expressions in it from which he must dissent, more particularly considering the speech of the Gentleman by whom it had been se conded. Taking that speech as a commentary on the spirit of the Address, he must•enter his deter mined protest against it. Such an Addresi, at such a time, ought not to be sent to his Majesty, without tendering an advice to Ministers, relative to what should be their future conduct, and entering a pro test against their late measures;. and particularly it ought to contain some allusion to the late proceed ings in Parliament, which were so much to be de precated, and the impolicy and impropriety of which was so manifest and undeniable, that even the Minis rters themselves regretted having 'engaged in theni; nor was there an adherent of Government with whom he was acquainted, who did not sincerely deprecate and lament this improdent step of the Administration. And he could not but express his regret, that, though these were the feelings of individuals in regard to those measures, they could still meet collectively to give them their support. What was the reason of this ?—Why, there was art order from the Ministers to their partisans at this time, to force Addresses of this description. He was convinced that such Meet ings, and such Addresses as the present, were, in many cases, inconsistent with their feelings; bin , there was an order for them from the higher Powers, and it must be obeyed !—(Hear,hear,and a laugh).— The legitimate inference to be drawn from the'terms of this Address, was not only that they approved of the past conduct of the Administration, biit.th'at they would support them, whatever their future conduct might be—whatever measores they might aftervorcls adopt. There was an allusion to a certain subject in the . speech of the Gentleman who seeeinciall the Ad dress, at which he was very much astonished; neither, the Requisition calling this Meeting, nor the Address whiCh had been proposed, involved at all the case of the Queen ; and he submitted, that the discussion of that question was not at ptesent called ior.-•-- That question was now at an end, and just and legal steps ought now to p be taken in regard to her alajegy, and to give quiet to the country. The People re quired this, and this they must get. It bad been in sinaated that it was only the lower-Orders—that it was only the rabble who spoke that language. This was a most malicious and rnischievotts,mtsrepresen cation. It was the middle and respectable el:Ages of the community who now raised their voice, 'and it was a voice which must, sooner or later, be attended to. - One of the many causes of the present unsatis factory state of the country, were the attempts made . to alienate the Aristocracy from t he lower orders o f the Peopli—to separate the interests of the higher and lower classes of society ; and he would say, that if such a system were persisted in—if the chasm was unfortunately widened—the higher orders would at last be compelled to shrink for shelter behind the shield of force—a protection which would prove ut terly unavailing, when the great body of the Peopt: were. roused to make a united and simultaneous movement of resistance!—(froaciue clic:•ria.a).— The hypocritical cant of a few Aristocrats and minions of Administration would never overpower or over balance the general voice of the community--(Hear). Mr. Ferguson. concluded with proposing on amend ment to the Address which had been read by the Ho nourable Baronet (Sir John Hope), which, while it breathed the same spirit of moderation, contained also sound advice, and which he trusted . the Meeting would view as one of such a description, that every loVer of his country and friend to his Sovereign could adopt.--(Hearr). • • Sir A. M. GIBSON seconded the amendment. Mr. 14. VERE spoke in favour of the amendment Mr. JAMES STUART said, that he could not help observing, that although threw Gentlemen had now spoken hi fas our of the Address proposed by the lio nourahle Baronet, he bad pot heard anything but as sertions from them, and-least of all, any statement - of facts, or any argument on svhich:they were founded. They had contented themselVes with making one re mark, that if ever there was a-period when the Meet ing should vote a Loyal Address to the Throne; the preseut was the time. They had not said why, and he therefore proceeded to notice the speech of the Learned GentlemaP who had seconded the Address, and who bad fliunded its necessity on assertions for which no authority had been adduced, of flagitious attempts now made in the country to excite 'dis affection, And of the necessity of. the interference of such Meetings to protect the religion orthe etiun try—(hear!).—He should not repeat these asser tions, because they appeared to him to be a cruel, ca lumnious, and false libel, on the people of England. But he inn eated to observe that the Learned Gentle man, so far from shewing any ground for his state ments on account of dangerous or secret Meetings having taken place, had admitted that such Meetings were now discontinued: He-had not brought forward even one solitary tact in support of his statement, so that he really appeared to him to fancy himself the very individual alluded to by the Roman satirist -4' Marcus &tit, et est." Did Marcus say 'twas fact, . Then fact it is, No proof so valid as a word of his ! Lord Rossnm—lf this had been merely a question of men and measures he would have been the last to have intruded upon their notice, but it was impos sible for any individual to be silent on the present ' occasion who had a due regard to the rights of the country. He readily concurred in many parts of the Address, and thought it was worded with great tem perance and moderation. There was one part of it, however, in which we were told that an attack had been made on the Constituted Authorities of the land. He knew of no such attack, except it was made within these walls—( Hear, hear!).—An at tack had been made on the just rights and independ ence of the Bar; every Advocate was entitled to de fend his client by every lawful means in his power; and if a just and manly exercise of this right was to be considered as a dereliction of his duty to the State, farewel to all the most valuable rights of citizens, and even to those rights which affected life and property—(Hear, hear!)—But this is not all, such an attack upon the sacred rights of an Advocate implicated the_ tribunal before which such language complained of was used. The Gen tleman should have. remembered, that if any li bellous language was used by the Counsel at the bar, the Judges present should have interrupted him ; But that his language was not libellous, in their.opi nion, was evident from this, that no such interruption was made. This just defence he considered due to an absent and calumniated individual, and to the inde pendence of the English and Scottish Bar-:-(Cheers). —They were not here assembled to judge .of .the in nocence or guilt of the Queen, a matter which had been so lately discussed in Parliament ; but he could not with propriety; after what had been said by an Honourable Baronet, pass by it altogether. In the opinion which had been expressed of the measures adopted against the Queen, all ranks of the commu nity had joined, an' particularly the great; commer cial body of England, and the sedonclaty class cf traders, who were the depositories and sinews of our strength, and from whom we had derived all cur glory, Independence, and wealth—(hear, hear) —all that class, in short, who acted as Jurymen, and to whom we had to trust for the administration of our civil rights. He was confident that the put e and 1 1 uncorrupted administration of justice was the glory of this more than any other nation ; and we owed it', `to the great over-ruling power of the enlightened, body of the People. It was this that kept all right and straight. The Judges of the land were like other men ; they had their passions and their preju dices, and were worked upon by their interests ; but the voice of the public, and the independence of the tar, were the great securities .for the exercise of justice, in matters tegarding life, honour, and pro perty—(Applause),—No man could take it upon him to say, that the House of Peers, in their proceedings agnitist the Queen, were not acted upon by the Pubic opinion. They knew well that the People suspected the justice and policy of the treasure, and appa. rently there was some cause for such a suspicion.— The Noble Earl ; after levies% 'lna 4 !Ain:tele:wit and. with greet ability, the ceases of the prevailing content, concluded by submitting a cwition tc thlse whose sentiments might be opposite to his, and tLat. was, that there was nothing more 11'<e'y to nitjoin the frame of society than to hold out the cicA trine that all who do not support the Administi atio:i ore disloyal, and that none are friends to the Constitulk.r4 but such as subscribe the creed of their political party. Sir GEORGE Ctank; - for. the CouLty, sup ported the original Address. ' Mr. MICII A EL . FlissirNo followed on the same siay. Mr..Lssres Orniloas spoke for the An:end ment. The Limp ADVOCATE, though an <titlicial servant of the Crown, thought that he would be deserting his dirty if he did not explain the grotirras on which he conceived it right that the Meeting should agree to the original Address. He concluded his speech amid loud cries of " Vote, Vote—Question, Question." Mr. JEPP REY did not think that any clear cr tinct view had yet been given of the groan& r ol which he conceived ahe question to rest, ar.'. would shortly state the reaa , ons which wnt'ld duce him to press the Amendment to a With regard to expressions of loyalty, he trts,e.i that there could not be any difference. or a shade of difference, between any of the Gentlemen prose: -. He would object to the original Address, for two reasons; first, Lecause it contained expiessions refere.,ce to the state'of the country which were supported by facts, and led to false and etrone7l - s conclusions; secondly, because it omitted to exi , re:Y those feelings which it was higlily proper aid suit able 'to' express to the Sovereign—(Hear, He did not object to the expressions of loyalty con tained in the Address, nor did he. deny that there existed discontent in the cour.try. They might differ, however, in their opinions a, to the mode of potting it down—by what process of treatment the distemper might be bet allayed. - Now, the Address concludes not only w i.it expressing attachment to the Throne, but.espressing also perfect confidence in the mea sures which his Majesty's Ministers may adopt in the • present circumstances. He did not say that it con tained in so many words an express approbation of his Majesty's Government ; but who could deny, that, .coming from them at such a time as the present, it virtually implied an admission to this extent? Onthece grounds, he must say, that he would coml letely belie his opinion were he to give his assent to such an Ad ' dress: He doubted whether it was at all necessary for perssins c,f,::nowu and urique.tioued loyalty to express any vague attachment to his Majesty at such a time as the. present. Was that. the only Ohtigation ' quired of them ''by the terms of 'the Requisition ? tfould it exhaust the whole of their duty, merely to lay at the - foot of .the Throne,. empty, hollow, and general professions of lcryalty=to declare that they were not rcvalutionists - and dennto o ores ? Thee were r arely nor needed to satisfy his A ric.stylof their loyalty ? they were not in the least called for at pre sent; and did not at all meet the exigency cf the times. He would admit, that there existed in the country great. and growing discontent, very widely spread, and daily extending itself among the great body of the People. He would also admit, that ou this gene ral and progressive discontent, ignorant and wicked agitators had ; engrafted a dangerout and disaffected 'spirit, which afforded ground for serious alarm. This he allowed was true, but, he humbly conceived that this Address, containing as it dad a statement clt these evils, should fully, fairly, and honestly, ei press an opinion as to the causes which had pro duced them, and the remedies which ought to he applied. He therefore maintained, that to the Ad• dress an amendment should be attached supplying this defect. What could be the bad effect of ad.:r ing this to their general professions of loyalty ?-- , He did not doubt that if that part of the amend ment which differed from the original Address was embodied in it, his Learned Friend who proposed it would have no objection that the professions of at tachment in the original one should be retained, if the expressions were considered to be more loyal or warm, more choice in phrase, more emphatic, or more pathetic—(A laugh).—What were the circum stances of the present case? Unanimity in a loyal Address to the Sovereign at such a Meeting should naturally be expected ; but because they could not all agree in minor points, would it be inferred that they were not unanimous in their loyalty ? All, unfortunately, agreed that great agitation and great discontent prevailed. It was not necessary to enter into any detail, or specification of circumstances, to prove this. It was unfortunately too apparent, and, in his opinion, it might .he fairly ascribed, in a great degree ? ' to that tendency on the part of the Government to repression, intimidation, and coercion—that tendency to , vilify and abuse those who were pnly deluded; and in this manner to suppress and drive back the external symptoms of the disorder, in place of counteracting it, at its 'source, by a milder policy. Could it be said, that all the dis contents whioli have existed and do exist, proceed from causes of *which no adequate explanation can be given? Some thought that the pnly way to remedy these outbreakings of popular disaffection, was to punish seserely the least indication of this spirit; but surely the more rational method was to inquire into the cause—to apply a radical remedy to the scat of the disorder ; and, in place of lopping off the sprout ings and excrescences, to destroy the root and loan dation of the - evil? • An imputation had been fixed, upon his party by the Honourable Member for the County, whose general temperance and candour he was -ready to acknowledge, that in point of fact, and also in principle, they had of late too closely allied themselves with the disaffected—(llcar) ,-- . He was prepared tp give this assertion a flat and thorough denial. He denied that any of his party in Scotland had ever joined in the clarhours of the des' affected, or had ever written on the subject, without expressing positive disapprobation of the schemes and attempts of the seditious. Nay, he would go further: h#would assert, that not even in the heat of cbliate had a single expression ever escaped there which indicated the least sympathy with the view dr opinions of that party. Had his friends on any occasion refrained from expressing a marked 3bla , rence at the attacks made on the religion of the country? Wear, hear)--and in that literary work 0 which he was-attached, had-not he himself constaniff asserted the absurdityof the doctrine of Annual l'ae liaments an Universal Suffrage? The fact was, that for the last three years the Whigs had been mute more the objects of calumny than the Administrwao FutwitkAaralioz that tifey had ever shown theinselvd round d all read? —Anoth Whigs, 1 party of Radicals only t t f bill guilty.uo i ; n s m e al he-' from tasions it not b the Wee , He wool went co and win glad to ever tin; as many P l v l v t e wvd rhytasaltsf:i Not sur of dam' argurne to recut true Ch as an o devotet those al be atai4 which to disat trines b He did wiainta that it desper; to the (Laud that w, despair are to memb• must f (Gene, rade esti en Fines' and v Tories Whig , tory s state he hal ever fia ,ly to I n discoui erely here wel •ould wi , .0.i . 5e , 1 as tiginatet ent, thro e w tol I ther call ear), to ble wha ?rill as I +once to the I at such F 4 tn at al tT