Star. — London, England, 1812-03-14 00:00:00

o f bottom-. The excess, hoSieYer, vas t e hat he chiefly reP r obated. It was said by some, that, if not suf. food to continue, the punishment of death must be, asst i t uted ; but, in many instances, flogging amounted hment of death, and that with 'torture.. tote punishment J/4 no ! from several Members.) He would ( ata ll te er , Y in 7 ans:aer to what seemed to be the opinion of ws Gentlemen, the foundation of his assertion. It ;rose f ro m a communication made by Gentlemen of d e Missionary Society. A Clergyman, who at tended, at their last moments, two deserters at the Cape of Good Hope, one sentenced to by shot, and t he other to receive one thousand lashes, relates, that the L a u e r was so much exhausted when he had re ;old no more than two hundred and twenty-four, that, by the advice of Ahe surgeon, the remainder of she the h punishme where nt was he d susp ied ended, Here and h was? was :arrit d to osp i ta l, . an instance he a man s entenced to four times the degree of suf fering wo re than (Top had enabled him to endure. Yle was sor ry to be under the necessity of saying any eini , g f ro m which any mischief could possibly arise, b ut it w 49 impossible to avoid discussion. Two hun dred lashes he thought a punishment of excessive se /city. would not say that it might be altoge ther removeil; perhaps on a march it might be ne t ary, but still he wondered that any man would asse rt, that shame, disgrace, self-dissatisfaction, and olf.contempt, did not mile in the mind of the wretched sufferer. He was desirous not to give a aient vote on the question, and to protest against the sloctrines advanced in support of the punishment. The manner of introducing the clause, at the third re2 digg, he thought inconvenient, but still, rather d i al& the benefit of the clause, he would submit to some inconvenience, and vote for the motion. Lord C. SOMERSET was adverse to the clause. Every other punishment had been tried without ef fect: and it was not possible to send soldiers to wait rill the Assizes fur I: tying made free with their cons odes' neussarjes, and for other minor off,nces for wlrch this was cued. H e should be glad if it could be dispen.ed with, hut it was impossible to preserve discipline without it. As to excess of this made if Pishment it w.c., never resorted to but in cases (I: actual ilecessu y. Mr. NV ILLERFORCE said, when he considered what a huge and multifarious b dy an army was, he should be afraid of adopting suaLlenl3 so m aerial a charge in what was deemed to be so essential to its discione, on which depended entirely the rnmige- ' merit and government of it. He could wish, how ever, that it should sot be enfo: ced but by the sen tence of a General Court-m irtial. He upderstoo.l it 'vets n iw thought to be less necessary than it was for merly; and it would, in his opinion, be safer and bet ter it it were hereafter inflicted only on an average opinion of the officers, Which he thOught would have the effect of ienderihg this punishment less frequent. General•PHIPPS said, there would be a great cif- Acuity in most cases of obtaining officers enough to term a General Court-martial, so that the mishe, of the. Honourable Gentleman who bad just down could sof, in that respect be complied with. , With respect is the case mentioned by Sir Samuel Romilly, 111 • nalld not conceive a man 'could die from receiving 224 lashes.. He had nbdonbt of the man having Alien, but not in consequence . of the stripes. The Sur -von was always present, and would joterfere.belout. ?Jibe tights, ell so fatal an effect. General PORTER said, he had never known this punishment aditioistered but with the greatest leni ency. As to its having a degrading effect on the minds of those men who had suffered it ; so far was that from being the case, that he. had known a man - litho had oftenheen punished, who died a Captain. Mr. WHITBREAD said, he hoped be should not be induced to express himself warmly in consequence of what had fallen from the two last speakers. The Honourable General who had just sat down had in formed the House, thathe had never seen this pu nishment inflicted but with the greatest leniency.o— On the contrary, he (Mr. Whitbread) had heard Ge neral Officers of the very first character ind respecta bility, and of as lung stondintin the army as the last speaker s say otherwise. That Honourable General, .as well as the Noble Lord opposite, (Lord C. Somer. set) bid very much under-rated the statements he had heard from various other quarters, for which he was very sorry, as, when they came to be made pub lic, they might have a bad - effect, and produce con siderable indignation in the minds of those who had expressed their opinions on the subject in terms so widely cliff:rent. 'When the Honourable General on the opposite side of the House (General Phipps) asserted, that it was impossible a man should die from receiving 22 , 1• lashes, he must differ with him in () Pillion; .he had heard from very good audio' ity Many instances in which this had b:eit the case. he did not mean to impeach the character of those Offi cers who inflicted it : as long as it remained as the punishment for certain degrees of offence, they must do their duty in administering it. Notwithstanding the letter which had been read by the gallant Gene ral reit. ltim (Tarleton) General Money_ had cer tanly published his pointed disapprobation of this Punishment, and had said that desertion was the only crime for which it teusht to be inflicted. 'He (Mr. Whitbread) did not near to say that the situatiois 4 the British soldier was in itself degrading, but he was cle ar l y of opinion this punishment was very de- Eadiiig to the character of a British soldier.— was it known, that inevery regiment there-is a thief's !at, and that according to the manner in which the I ncts ate tied, and their number,.'the severity of the %aging is greatly increased ? Was there not also a awe of prolonging punishment?' These were the • instances' which constituted the degradation, as tit&red the soldiers liable to suffer by the caprice efficeis, who had the power to increase these mins and to prolong thopunishment. Some yearsago, ' gifts this subject was teroughtinto discussion, it was let denied, that the ponishment - did exist, and that very generally, but now it was deckted to be the Pride of several regiments, not to have such punish ents att,tched to their dLciplinz. He must again declare, he could not agree with the Hon. General that a man could not die from receiving 2i.l4a.shes. Ile would, on the contrary, undertake to prove at the lar, that • such had been the case. He declared he • 'sass() great an enemy to this punishment, that he would giie it -a deans blow, if lie could, without thanking it at all necessary to find any substitute for 10 - the case of minute, if he were asked what he would substitute for it he would directly answer 11%ilieg• Tortnre ouipst not f3o be any whet e allowed; froni . gg ed ' ace, wai itami led 10 yet ha injti. r /)--t taat a sup• imseg f ts codse* . - - _. • but if it had been so in this country, and there yeas a question as to abolishing it, he would disdain to pOint out a subititute foe that which ought never to have for a moment been endured. On the grounds, there fore, which he h:►d often before expressed, he would vote for the clause.. Mr. FRANKLAND and Mr. HERBERT (of Kerry) spoke against the clause. The q nesition beingloudly called for, Sir FRANCIS BURDETT rose. The SPEAKER said—Sir FRANCIS BURDETT tO explain. Sir FRANCIS BUg.IIETT said, he rose to reply to the arguments brought forward against his clause. The.S'PEKKER said, a reply was only allowable lon an original question. Lord COCHRANE said he hoped that by degiees this punishment might in time be abolished, but it was impracticable to govern' any large body of men without having recourse to punishment. He believed, however, ►hat.much of the mischief as to this punish ment of flogging, especially in the navy, had been caused by the influence of that House. Great Par liamentary interest had enabled the first families in the kingdom to force their children into the service, who were too young to underst Ind tl4e authority en trusted to them. Many of them insist on their decks being as clean and as shining as the floor of a draw. lug-room in the summer season, and that their kitchen utensils should he scoured as bright as silver, other wise they flog severely those who have these articles in charge. The discipline of the navy depended on the Commanding Officer of each ship ; and if they continued to flog for such offences, the navy must soon go to ruin. It was going, he said, as fast as possible.— [A hind of murmur.]—Gentlemen, his, Lordship said, might think otherwise, but he knew it to be true, and he was afraid they would all be convinced of it too soon. The family interest he had alluded to prevailed also to such a dizree, that even the Lords of the Admiralty had lists made out ; and when an officer went to offer his services, or to solicit promotion for services performed, he was asked—are you recommended by my Lad! this ? or Miss that ? or Madam eother ? and if he wits not, he might as well have.staid at home. He could not, however, i vote for the motion. Mr. YORKE ridiculed the idea of the Admiralty being guided by the recommendation of this or that lady, and denied altogether the statement of the Noble Lord. How behad employed himself since he thought pre p=r to wit! draw from the service, he (Mr. Yorke) co.ild not-tell. His assertion of officers getting into lie service too young, and on such recommendations, might perhaps refer to the time when he entered the Navy himself ; but it was now very dilf - zrent. The Noble Lord mfgt:t certainly have employed himself better since he quitted one of the finest frigates in the service, for whit reason he (Mr. Yorke) could not tell. He wound join him in voting against the Mo tion, for it would be positive madness and political stickle to give up that discipline in our Army and Navy which hid raised diem both to the highest pin nacle of glory. The Bill was read a third time, and passed. Sir FRANCIS BURDETT rose to propose, his clause, in doing which he mado general observations on_dmargurnenti adduced against it. With ais:seet the effects of corporal punishment, the Hon. Baronet desired the House tb bear in mind thateight men died ofi it at Gibraltar, and that officers were actually dismis sed for refusing to inflict it. It was impossible to say what its consequences were in the West Indies anti other hot 'climates. Whether the House would say that it ought to be done away altogether cr not, he was sure that Many would agree that the crimes for which it was inflicted should be specified, and the ex tent to which it should be carried, and the instru ments used for that purpose defined.. However, he should certainly take tile sense of the House. Mr. ABERCROMBY, though he did not think it desirable to vote the abolition of the punishment altogether, thought it very proper to know the num ber of such punishments by Courts-martial. It had been properly said by an Hon. Member (Wilberforce) I that the House should have the means of judging what modifications might be enacted. He should, I therefore, ask the Judge Advocate whether any seri ous inconvenience would occur, by giving a return of the number of punishments by Regimental Courts martial, limiting it to the home sea vice ? Mr. MANNERS SUTTON said, his objection was merely because the accounts of Regimental Courts-Martial did not come officially befOie him.— All he could say, was, that he understood that cor poral punishments had decreased in Regimental Courts Martial. The House then divided, when the numbers were— Noes 79—Ayes 6—Maj Tity. 73. NAVY. • When the Gallery was re-opened, some observa tions were passing between Mr. YORKE and Mr.Wmr- DR CAD, relative to the Committee" of Supply which Mr. YORK E was about to propose, and in which he WAS to m , Are !or certain sums for the Naval Depart ment, particuLtrly at Plymouth. h was at length agreed that the house should go into the Committee tia Monday next. VENITESTIARY HOUSE& Mr. Secretary RYDER then moved the commit- I ment of the Penitentiary Bill ; to which Sir Samuel. ROMLLY objected, as many Members not present, wished to attend. Mr. Hinson) said, that copies of the Bill had - been sent to the Judges previous to the circuit, and there could be no good reaspn for delay. Mr. Anuticaosnwe, thought the commitment ought to be deferred, as it was desirable to have Gentlemen who had gene to the Assizes present. Mr. H. Sum ! NER considered the enactment of the Bill as entering upon expellees blindfold, unless they had a proper plan and estimate of the cost before them. Mr. N. I.CALve.n.r spoke much to the same effect. Mr. C. ILONG said, that, the question before the House was' merely for going into the Committee to fill up the blanks. Mr. WHITBREAD wisned for farther time, as j the new clauses were important. He thought it bet. ter to postpone farther proceeding till after the Easter holidays. Mr. Secretary RYDEIt said, there was no I need for the delay, which, if incurred, would render impractieftble any chance of acting upon the measure, during the ensuing summer. The HOuse then went through the Committee on tins Bill, in which some amendments were proposed, and agreed to ; and the report was ordered w be re ceived on Monday.—Adjouruel EVENIKG grA LON1)0N. SATURDAY, MARC}t 14, PIMP. 01 S THI'MAY A,r ottE o'ol .00K s per Ct. Cons. for mosey 80n-.41n, for dec.lllo .141 • 5 per Ct. 91f-5 per Ct. Scrip is. prit.-41ands Ids. 1.1. use. Exch. lilts is. to .341.z - re—Ditto (.11.41.).....- pre. This morning we received a letter from an Officer serving in the army under the Earl of WILLINGTON, dated Freynada, the 2Sth ult. It is extremely brief, being written in haste, and only mentons that the bombardment of Badajos was expected to take place two days after the date of the letter, viz. on the lst instant; and that this important operation is to be conducted under the command of the gallant General HILL. Another letter written a few days before the above states, that the Ist and Gth Divisions of the Army were on their march to Batlajoq, and that Cenral GRAHAM was to have heed at Abrantes, on his way thither, about the end of last month. There seems to be no symptom of Lord WELLING• TON'S moving from Froynada. The difficulty of ob taining the means of land conveyance, subjects the army to great hardships from the want of clothing and other supplies. THE PRINCE REGENT AND THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. We have already stated that the Dike of Ban roan had an audience of the PRINCE REGENT, at Carlton House, a few days since, when the former took she liberty of stating his opinion on the subject of the Catholic Claims. The following is reported in the higher circles to have been the substance of the Duke of BEDFORD'S communication to his Royal Highness: His Grace stated respectfully, but firmly, that in any future discussions on the Catholic claims, he con sidered himself bound to support them; not only from his own conviction of the expediency of the measure of Catholic Emancipation, but from a sense of duty and respect towards the PRINCE REGENT personally, his Royal Highness having, it a letter written to his Grace while Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, held out, as his Grace conceived, an idea that the sentiments en ' tertained by his Royal Highness were favourable to the claims of the Catholics. Acting under the im pressions made upon his mind by this communication, his Grace, as Lord Lieutenant, had then given such assurances to the Catholics, as he thought were war sainted by the sentiments expressed in his Royal High ness's letter. •His Grace concluded, by requesting permission to leave a copy of this letter with his Royal Highness, lest•there should be any misappre hension on the part of his Royal Highness or his [friends as to its contents. .• . We understand, iLat before the Duke of Unrorip left the room, the Ponca kindly .took him,by the hand, and expressed an earnest wish that they should con tinue good friends. We learn from respectable authority, that when Lord BORINGDOII 2 II-11)06011 comes before the House of Lords on Thursday nest, it is die intention of the Marquis WELLESLEY to take that opportunity of sat ing fully to the liouse the motives which induced his Lordship to relinquish the .high and responsible situation which•he lately held in the Government. This day we received Letters and Newspapers from Boston to the 15th ultimo, containing intelligence from Washington to the 6th. The Federal party, ac most of our Readers must be aware, is powerful in the Northern States, and of course the Federal spirit pervades the Journals printed in that guar er. They ridicule, and with some success, the vauntings of the war party.—The following are extracts : _ _ FROM TIIE BOSTON GAZETTE OF FEBRUARY 13. WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY e. " The Bill reported by the Committee of Com merce to allow the importation of certain goods, still lies on the Table. I am confident a majority of Congress consider such a Bill just and due to their Constituents, who have property in England and the Islands; but they are deterred from the discharge of their duty ip passing it, by the numerous scandalous and threatening letters which the Members daily re ceive, from interested and hot-headed partizans, in opposition to the reported Bill." s , Mr. PORTER, the Congressional Aeronaut, has experienced the ftte of most of his predecessors who have attempted balloon navigation. He rose, it is true, with a gas so rarified, that his ascent wag sin gularly rapid, and soon conveyed him beyond the reach of common optics. But the keen-eyed &ere tar) of the Treasury maliciously elevated his thirty two-pounder, stuffed with Taxes and Loans to the muzzle—aimed it directly at Pbrter's balloon, float ing as it was in the region of storms and tempests ; and no sooner did the explosion take place, than the balloon was seen to have burst—and poor Porter tumbling headlong from his prodigiotrs height. It is suspected he fell into the sea of oblivion, and will be heard of no more.—Those who had anticipated great utility from this buoyant machine, are'not a little mortified at the ridiculous result, and not a little angry at the Secretary for having broke the wig */ bubble, and exposed the vanity of its inventory.' " Accounts from Gottenburgh are to the 18th of December. No change. had taken place favourable to the American Commerce to the &Atte. It is be lieved the influence of Bonaparte over the Court cf, Denmark, Till prevent Mr. Erving from accom plishing any satisfactory arrangement. No account ' had Been recei►ed of the loss of any American •es eel in the Baltic by the storms, - although several had •suffered greatly. a , BOSTON, FEBRUARY to. ". The Cartes of Spain have sent an army of 8000 loci to South• America, for the purpose of restoring . • • 4 - • ,4 - • " 11 '4= the anCient order of Magi in ttil country ; but the fervour of revolution mud the spirit of independence rage too high In that quarter to be subdued by a force so small: a part of this force has arrived at the Havannah, for the purpose of victualling and water ing ; after which it has been conjectured that 'the force will be divided--a part destined for the Car. rarcas, and the remainder to.reinlorce ,he ga. risotto in the Fiotidas against any hostile aitenopts <idle American Government." INTERESTING LITTER FROM WASIJINGTON OF rut 6rat IFEBRIMair. (From the C.lombian C.ntinal of die iStsh of February.) _ _ " The Bill reported by the Committre of C m mcrce to allow the importation of certain goods,. still lies on the table,. lam coi.fi lent a m icir.t) of Congress conaider such a bill just and doi• to const.tuents who hive property in Engtand u.d the Islands, but they are deterred from the die haige their duty in passing it by the numerous and scandal lons and threatening letters which die mernb.rs daily receive from interesting and hotleaded partizans, in opposition to the reported hill. 66 These letters have a mint aconishingtolluence even on lair minds; and are not counterbalanced by scarcely a solitary lira from the m •reantile ring interests, or the ends of peace; be assurel that all political party distinctions Are here de plum, and are nearly defunct; and I am confiden, a.snajo. rity of Congress sire true Aaer.cans, who h ire no undue predeliction for France or Etiglani, A'l.l who only desire to know • what can be best done f r the good of their country, to do it. A m.krity, I know, arts opposed to war, if it can possibly be AV 4ut there is an interest in Congress dead y commerce, and to the tomm.vcial part t. t the con. particularly to New England. It :e.ses partly from ignorance, partly from u.aisie pl.. 1-e, and partly because they are lea to beieve that t:.e restrictive anti -comment al ,ystent has the tanetif.n. of the great body of the New England petiplii. and -the remark that there has not been a single menu,- rial or remonstrance on the stoject. laid on (Iv ta•ale during the. Session. This is nearly.true. What tire cause of this apathy and remissness can be.] am.:tot competent to tell—but am convinced, frontlrequ.-14 conversation* on the subject with influential Members of the majority, that if the people of New England would respectfully mernorialize Cmgress vn the•Atb•i ject of the embarrassments on this commerce, and re monstrate against a war, while their property could be drawn out of England, that they would be gra tified. Let every town origin to and-send one. or more—let them be signed by the friends of commerce, the mechanics and agricultural inte rests connected with commerce, regardless of any p4ltry distinctions of party politics sir more paltry' electioneering considerztions, and am satisfied the rr air cave system will be abandoned, the alarm of war will subside, and the merchants and Marinirs !hc United States be allowed to manage Welt 'awn concerns in their own way." • DUILTN, Matte, I!.—The Irish Catholic Board have id journed their Sittings for a fortnight. An'Aet of Charles 11. in torce in England, torbids that more than ten persons shad pre aent a Petition. If Mr. Renits . tealies s point on dais Act, the Deputation will choose ten to wait on the Ractamt. PALMUUI a , MARCIIed the MiryAne racket, for New-York.—Arrrived several coasters.—Wind S. PLYMOUTH, MARCH 12.—Sailetl the HELICON, 10 guns, In chase of a French privateer, which was seen to capture a Met- chain brig off the Start, this morning. Last evening, passed by the HAZARD, of 18 guns, for Newfoundland, with a fine breeze at E.N.E. She is no doubt, long 'ere this, clear of the land. PORTSMOUTIii MARCH IS. Arrived lot Majesty's ship, PHIPPS, Pat.oaus, and MERMAID, front a cruise; the hitter, with his Majesty's ship KITE, have iailed for the Downs. Sai!ec the BRISTOL and the CORMORANT, with a convoy for Portugal; and the Poaristanots, on a mite —Wind N.E. . . DEAL, MARcu 13.—Put back by adverse winds his Majestyll ship -Destats, and, with several transports, ikc. remain. Came down from Sheerness his Mines y's ship ZEALOUS, and front Gravesend the Sovereign ' An ` , and Sir William Bentley East- Indiamen, and the Mary Ann, Coast, for Jame ca.—WindN. A shcrt time ago we hinted that the release 61 Colonel VEItVEER, in consideration of his Brotuer's kindness to the crew of the MAN/LLA, wou d be an act of national magnanimity. We have great p a sure in giving the information, that Government have liberatid him from a stain of captivity, and that he has leave to return home. The French tieneral Simon, arrived at Gias i rw on Tuesdays under charge of Vickery and Lavender, two Bow-street Ofiket.,- on his way to Dumbarton Castle, where he is in future to confined, he having, some time ao, broken his Parole in Eng land.—HC is attended by one Servant. Yesterday a Court of Directors was held at the Past India. House.. when Captain NEWELL was sworn it. the cothmand of the ship Alexander, sonsigned to Madeira, Bengal, and Bets coolen. k Is said to be In the contemplation of Government, on the &preaching renewal of the East India Company's Charter, in reduce the number of Directors from 48 to 13. This reduced number will, it is conosived, be more tionapeturrt to the dn= of business than the greater number, whose bands the a of the Compatly are now vested. It is stated, moreover, that a regulation is to be adopted in the Shipping Department, which will materially reduce the business of the tibitpiog '..:onnittee ; , a branch that at present occapies the Directors very much. The object of this regulation is to reduce the number of the Company's ships, by retrenching the tonnage tww allowed for private trade, together with such farther reduction as The (netted extension of that trade may render expedient by its interference with the Company's monoyuly. The merchants engaged fu the private trade will henceforth be permitted to freight their ow.a ships to an amount of tonnage to be limited, and to take out all rods which the Company Itself is permitted to export ; instead of befeig obliged, as now, to take up tonnage front the Company, which is done upon petitions being sent into the Court, and commas made upon those petition* fur shipments so low as two tons. This arrangement may, to a certain extent, be considered an open‘ng of the trade; but care must be taken it shalt be min nib tanee antelfect, and not merely in form and wears/see; for, as lota regulauons may defeat the object, it will be Deceit-my to reside and.establish beforehand such a. still Sec it! and proanu,e The "Frustees in whose mines Fall invested Navy S per cent:. to the amount of dors n thousand pounds, were to ineet-feleaus.J fury' N and Co. the Bankers cat I is:ol, yetterday, for the pun pose of transferring to them theses:sac in totals% upon receiving proper indemnification against any future olltma Fatlf batlett helund him a wife sad six cliikireu he took with him two sons. Mrs. rail immediately gave up to Messrs. To lint and Co. the £5OOO India B:st repteetimaticin ben.' made to her of the I-nproper manner in which her husband had obtained thorny of winch she detkred her iznerance. bhe deb preiposed to grey up the whole nit her iurniture. Besides the "Navy 5 per cents and she luaus lionQi recovered by the likutherr, sfitXti in cash have been tracedao tke Liverpool Batik. The account wad opened in the nano: of James near, which ate Eye Cirrisnan . parnes of FelL Thisi sum win alio be transfertedto Messrs. 'fermi and CO. on the same terms .en which they obtained the Navy a per cesspit. Ndiv bad recently re:caved very ,prittstag kitten .from Ofinetal MIRANDA, with the stoat Battering. promises to serve Mini Old ''friends, should they settle he North Arnerka, where he repot ,ataitad his power to be alma* obsolete. It was oss thaw isrekatleu r we wolisaised, that She basoluysiticci Fog onus *yaps • ... . •