Star. — London, England, 1813-01-21 00:00:00

TI4I Aimt .. w. . PERTHSHIRE MfariA. (Copy.) Whitehall, Jan. 14, 181 St IR-I am commanded by ibe prince Regent to acquaint your ,oval Highness, that having received f memorial' front Certain ibstitutec of the Pert White regimtmt of militia , elaimlisg n re • from their Military service at the end of ten years from the of their enrolment, and grounding their cairn .on certain clauses of the 42d of the King, cap. DI, hi: Royal Highness has pleased, notwithstanding the irregular Conduct on the part the petitioners in failing to make their representations iu the instance, through their comtnanding Officer to the Com• ider in Chief, to direct that the tase &holed be teferred to the , Servants of the Crown, whose opinion, in obedience td the commands of his Royal Highness, 1 hate the htitsoUr to enelbse. have it ales in command to recommend to your Royal High that immediate steps be taken to infornt the petitioners, tbroogh their Commanding Officer, of this opinion Upon their and thsl your Royal Highness will be pleated at the same to eirpress, in the strongest manner, the Confident expecta , of the Princeßegent of the entire and complete acquiescence the petitiotfers in thS clear and conthisite exposition of the and his Royal Highness's persuasion, Unit the discharge di military duties, until the term of their serOice shah tegally regularly expires will be marked by the same zeal, loyalty, obedience, by which it hat been hitherto dHtinguished: His Royal Highness the Commander in Chicf, &c. am likewise commanded to acquaint 'oar Royal Highness, t since the receipt of the Memorial frtim the Perthshire Sub- ires, the Prince Regent has received others from the Berwick and Lanarkshire Regiments of Militia; but as they ate precisely similar, his Royal Highness has not thought it necessary order them to be referred to his Majestys Law Servants% for • opinion tipon them.—l am, &c. (Signed) sivitontu. Copy of a Circular Letter addressed by the Adju• it-General to the General Officers commanding ;tricts in Great Britain t Horse Guards, 14th :unary, 161 3e have receiSed the Commander In Chief's commands to tad: to yoff the enclosed copy of a letter, Which he has re zci from the Secretary of State, conveying the opinion of his tjesty's Prineipal Law Servants on the claim preferred by cer. Soldiers, Serving as Substitutes in Regitttents of Militia of irtb Britain. le Commander in Chief had hoped that the very clear and decided opinion which was given on the claims of the soldiers of this description in the Circular Letter, which by his Royal Highness's direction I had the honour of addressing to you on the 12th of November last, could not have failed of convincing them o! the error under which they were acting, and he cansot but observe on the irregularity of their conduct on the present ratcasion, in having passed by their Commanding Officer, and having addres ed themselves immediately to the Prince Regent. His Royal Highness, however, derives this satisfaction from the Irregularity of their proceeding, that, in the first place, they will perceive that no consideration is allowed to intervene, or Impede, the examination Into any claim of a soldier, however era torthotisly founded, Whenever it is stated in terms cohsistent with discipline, and them are grounds to trust it is urged with a per• suasion on the part of the claimant that it is a legal and fair one; and in the second, that this question, which has Aar some lime agitated the minds of the persons eoncerntd, will now he finally decided by the highest authority. In transmitting to you this document, I am directed to signify to yols the Comtnander in Chief's commands, that you Immedi ately communicate the same to the Offisers in the conimand of teginsents of North British Militia in the District under your Command, and that you at the same time signify to them his Royal Highhess's explictation that they will personally captain to their turn the result of the reference which has been made to the Crown Lawyers, and impress en the mind of each individual the ennfidence which the CoMmander its Chief entertains tha t they will contihue, to the legal period of their military service, to perform their duty as faithful and obedient soldiers; and it Will at thv same time be highly necessary to explain to them, that if, after the far and indulgent investigation Which has been given to this buttress, any soldier should allow himself to be so far ridded act to make this erroneous and unfounded claim the cause of any proceeding contrary to his military duty and en gagements, he may be assured that the same will be considered as a most grave offence against diselpline, and will be met with all the rigout atisi severity which an offence of that nature, under Stich aggravated Circumstances, would demand. I have the honour to be, your very obedient bumble servant, t Signed) HARRY CALVERT, Adj. Gen. •TINLON OF THE ATTORNEY AND SOLICITOR-GENERAL. (Copy) " Lincoln's Inn, 19th Jan. 1813. " MY Lotto—We had the honour to receive your Lordship's Letter, dated 12th January, 1819, transmitting to us a Petition addreised to hit Royal Highness the Prince Regent, by several verso: s 3.trving as substitutes in the Royal Perthshire Militia s claiming a right to their discharge at the expiration of five, or at thr most ten years service, and desiring that we would take the same into; immediate consideration, and report to your Lordship, for his Royal Highness's information, our opinion thereon. " We have accordingly attentively considered the contents of this Petition, and the Statute , of 42. Gee. 111. chap. 91, therein referred to, and particularly the several sections which the I'e• thioners appear to rely upon in support of their claim of a limita tion of their service to a period of five years, or at most of ten years i and we are very clearly of opinion that the claim of these Petitioners is totally groundless, and cannot be complied with, without a direct breach of the positive provisions of the Act of Parliament. " The nesapprthenslon on this subject seem to have arisen from rot adverting to the clear line of distinction drawn by Ihe Act, betwcco the Wetted man who serves by compulsion, and the st.bstitute who serves by his own engagement, avid receives a considerable bounty, the period of service for the ballotted man bring etpressly fixed by the 35th Section of the Act, and the tvrtas of the Oath which be is required to take, to the space of i:Vc •eaves; whereas, by the Section immediately following 'the 36th), the period of service prescribed for the substitute is, " space of five years, and also for, such farther time as the shall remain embodied, if, within the space of five years, his Maje►ty shall order and direct (as it is notorious he has done) Vl= Militia for which such man is enrolled, to be drawn out and bodied," agreeable to which a Ponn of Oath is given to be by the Substitute, dCFerent from that of the ballotted Man, by which he engages to serve in the Militia during the term of 4 ": years, or for such farther time as the Militia shall remain tiebodied, if within the space of five years his Majesty shall order the Militia to be drawn out and embodied, unless he should be sooner discharged. " To construe this Section as limiting the service Of the Sub !State, when the Militia is embodied, to the same period as the service of the ballotted man, would be to reject all the words in the 36th Section, and of the Oath which follows it, extending t.e service condlttnnally to a farther period, and to ax the same • •ha Inati the IStis s iNa." . 44 Are that Atli bad. lie to ' • meek objets. the other construttion of the 36th Section, aimed at by the Pe tionere,by Which the lithltation of ten years is i stipposed to be given to the SubstkuitN period of Service, is an attempt to Intro dute n new term into the clause, fot which there is not toy part of it the least authority. The truth it, that the durtelbh of the service of the Subititute is neither Confined to any defullte period of years beyond live, nor a it absolutely unlimited, but it is made to depend wholif on a contingency, untidy; the mintinuarice of the embodying of the Militia by his Majesty's Command. " If the Militia had not been ordered to be embodied within the prescribed period of five years, the Substitute's service Would have ceased, as *ell as that of the Baliotted Man, at the end of lye years from the date of his enrolment ; but such Order having Issued, the Substitute is now bound by the express words of the Act of Parliament, and of his Oath, to serve as long as the Mi litia for Which he is enrolled shall remain embodied, and no longer. The meaning of the Act un thiS subject is so dearly and plainly expressed, that it admits of not the least doubt, nor is there in any part of the Act any clause which 4 rightly eon sidered, in the smallest degree militates or interferes with this construction. " ' The Sektions relied upon in the petition (all of which we have attentively read) are perfectly consistent with it., Some of them have oo reference whatever to the duration of a Substi tute's Service, such as Sections 15, Sit Tr, SS, 45, 61, and 14s. The 59th, 96th, and lltd thtuses, hi which the discharge of the Substitute is mentioned, and a power given to inflict, by way of punishment, an extension of his service, which the petition states to render the limitations Contended for indisputable, afford no such inference ; on the contrary, these clauses WM be found per. fectly consistent with the construction above given of the Act, as to the true nature of the limitation of a Substitute's service. " The fallacy of the argurdent used in the petition arises from not considering that the Act Whith passed in 1902, necessarily provided for every case which might arise as well in a time of peace as of War, when the Militia should not be, as well as When it should be, embodied, " In many events which Might hive takelt plate (u has been already shewn) the Substitute's service might have terminated at the end of five yeau, and it will still terminate, as to all who haye served their five years, whenever the Militia ceases to be embodied, except as to any Substitute who may, for any offence, have been sentenced to serve for a mote extended period. " There is therefore no inconsistency In any of the prolisions of the Act; nor does it follow that because the service of the Substitute is not limited to any definite period, that kis therefore Wholly unlimited, and admiting of no possible extension, unless extended as a punishment for transgression. The service of the Substitute, though not litnited by titne, is limited by events, and, till those events take place, the service cannot be discontinued without the peril of incurring a direct Violation of the law. We have written odr opinion thus at large on this subject, not from any difficulty or doubt really belonging to it, but from the great importance of obviating any possible misunderstanding respect ing it.—We have, Sic. (Signed) " THOMAS PLUMIII. " WILLIAM OAIIMIII. " Right Hon. Lord Viscount Sldmottth, Jct." (CIRCULAR) WA it-orrict. It being of importance to the sedulity of Public Money en trusted to Regimental Paymasters, that the persons who become sureties fur them, should be clearly shown to be competent to the amount for which they ate respectively bound, I hate the honour to acquaint you, that, in future, in order the more readily to ascertain the competency of a proposed surety for a Paynuster, one of the lelerees is to be a reputable housekeeper in London, unieu the surety shall be resident in Scotland, or Ireland, in which case, if the parties cannot give a reference in London, it will be sufficient that one of the referees should be a persob of the above description resident in Edinburgh, or Dublin. • I have the honour to be, &c. Colonel of the Regiment. fALMEILSITON. Tuesday the Duke of YORK held a Military Levee at his Office in the Horse Guards. To the great joy of the army in Portugal, General COLVILLff has again joined them. It is expected that Generals WALKER, KEMPT, and Picrox will also join before the campaign opens.=-These Officers are in the highest esteem with the army, and being three of our best Gerterals, will be a gre a t access i on to t h e Marquis of WELLINGTON. The first two, we are glad toliear, are recovered from their severe wounds, and General PicroN's health is much improved, General M.Lgon is mentioned as going out to command the Artillery, which is now a large body in the Peninsula. Mr. Bvanovrs is appointed Inspector-General of the Portuguese Army under the command of Mar shal BERESFORD6 Mr. Bufutows was the Officer at the head of the Medical Devilment in the Island of Waicheren, and was there during the whole of that unfortunate expedition, Lieutenant-General Sir J. MURRAY ) and the two fine Hussar Regiments, with numerous detachments for the armies in Portugal and the Mediterranean, sailed from Portsmouth on Saturday, Major-General ANDREW HAY has joined the sth division at Lamago, which he now commands in the absence of Lieutenant-General LElTity who, thottgh recovered from his wounds, is still in delicate health at Lisbon. Major. General kOMISSON is amongst the Officers on their return to England ) from the army in Por tugal. A detachment from the 81st Regiment, under sit Office's, is ordered froth Jersey to reintorce the Ist battalion in Portugal. The under-mentioned detachthents are ordered to be held- in immediate readiness, to embark from Portsmouth, via. c 9th, 26th, add 37th regiments for Gibraltar • 67th and 81st, for Alicant ; 11th and 14th, for Malta; 10th, 21st, 27th, 86th, 411 h, and 75th, for Sicily. Forty Germans, deserters from the French, were sent last week from Plymouth to Bexhill, to join the Legion's depot. Six eorupanieS, With the Stag, of the Mith Regis. 'tent (the Earl of CAVAN'S), are on their way home from the Peninsula. The Stith always having been a favourite regiment with the militia, little doubt is entertained of their success the next volunteering ; after which, it is expected, they will be made Light Infantry, What is denominated a Sufirente Perm/ af General Officers assembled last week in the Adjutant-Gene ral's Department, at the Horse Guards, amongst whom were the Dukes of YORK, KENT * and CAM limos, on subjects relative to the establishment of the Royal Military College ) and Military Asylum. Ithsl,l,o Ittr.MtbOthishuirit. • bßait brTHE bit • or 12TH (414 m) bemuse, 1810. 6 it is htreby Commanded to All the Gentkals of Corps, all the Chief: of Cossack Regirbents, and also all the Partiians who act round the rernailis of the French Grand Army under the orders of the Empe ror Napoleon in person, to redouble their activity and attention in the execution of their duty, that nothing may escape of the ruins of that artily. After the im mense losses which it has sustained for mord than six weeks, during which our light troops have taken from one to 6000 men a-day; after having seen a great part ' of their cavalry destroyed; and above all, after the Glorious day of the 6th (18 t h) o f t hi s m on th, w h en eneral Bennigsett completely defeated the King of Naples with the loss of a part of his artillery, and such ruin to hit cavalry, that it has since never dared to spew itself before us ; it would be a shame to our army and our light-troops, if a single man of the enemy was vier to return to France ; and not pay , with his life, or his captivity, the guilty insolence of having dared to follow, Into the heart of the Russian provinees, that Black Aggressor who makek a sport of the blood of his people. The reinforceMents of cavalry, that have lately come up, amount to 20,000 men, among which are 26 regiments of Cossacks of the Don, who every day take a number of pieces of cannon from the rear of the enemy, which, weakened, harassed, and worn down, is now reduced to the most deplorable situation, and employs all its efforts to evade otir Vigilance, and escape our attacks. With these decided advantages, we repeat that no Frenchman should ever see his country again ; but we lay it more than all upon the responsibility of the Commandants and Chiefs of the Cossack regi ments, and on all our detached parties, so to watch round the French army, that the Emperor Napo- LEON may not personally escape, For this purpose, we add his description to this Order of the Day. This delcription is equally to be acted upon by all the Chiefs of districts, all Authorities, civil or military, all Post -masters, &c. If this order is strictly exe cuted, artillery, ammunition, equipage, every thing must fall into our bands . W e sh a ll a lso recover, as we have already done in part, the consecrated spoils, which this sacrilegious Profaner, renewing the van dalism of the Revolution, has plundered from our temples. DESCRIPTION OF HIS MAJESTIC THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. " The figure short thd doinpaci—nhe hair black, fiat, and short —the beard black and strong, shaved up towards the ear— the eyebrows strongly arched, but contacted toWards the nose the nose aquiline, with perpetual marks of snuff—the counte nance gloomy and violent—the chin extremely projecting—al ways in a little uniform without ornament—generally wrapped in a little grey sourtout, to avoid being remarked—and conti nually attended by a Mameluke." PROCLAMATION. SUBSTANCE OP THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER S PROCLAMA TION, DATED DECEMBER 112, 1812, N. S. ig The Proclamation states the necessity of keeping up a military force adequate to the circumstances of the times. Russia having been invaded by an enemy, leading armies from almost every - European nation, has been obliged to make enormous sacrifices; and though, by the aid of the Divine Providence, those armies have been entirely dissipated, An.; their poor remains are seeking safety in a precipitate flight, yet it becomes necessary to maintain the glory of the Em pire, by such a military establishment as shall insure permanent security. The arm of the Giant is broken, but his destructive strength must be prevented from reviving ; and his power over the nation', who serve him out of terror, must be taken away. Russia, ex tensive, rich, and pacific, seeks no conquests,—wishes not to dispose of thrones s she desires tranquillity for herself, and for all. She will not, however, suffer the wicked so to abuse her moderation, as to endanger the wellbeing of herself, or of other nations. Painful as it is to call upon a loyal and affectionate people for new exertions, yet it would be still more painful to see them exposed to calamities for the want of an ade- 1 quate defences and that the most grievous calamities would result from the success of her late invaders, is evident froth the enormities they haye already com mitted. The Emperor trusts in GOD and his brave armies, which shall be raised to that imposing num ber, which is absolutely necessary for the preserva tion of what has been purchased by so many labours, and sacrifices, and so much blood. In consequence, it is ordered s 1. That there shall be a general levy throughout the empire of eight men in every 500. " 2. That the Governments of Pultowa, Cherni poff, Courland, Wilna, Grodno, Minsk ) Bialystock, Tarnapol, and Georgia, be exempted. " 3. That Siberia shall have a separate regulation. #6 4. That the land-owners and citizens, who have furnished men to the Militia, shall be exempted from this levy. " 5. That the levy shall be commenced iii each Government within two weeks, and ended within four, from the publication of this order." LAW !INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, JANUARY int. THE CORPORATION OF COLCHESTER v. LOWTEH. _ _ The Loan CHANCELLOR this day delivered his judg-• tnenr in this long depending cause. His Lordship took a succinct review of all the circumstances which had given rise to the claims of Mr. Lowten, and the securities granted by the Corporation for the due dis charge of those claims. The question principally con sidered in the course of the cause had been, whether the charges of Mr. Lowten for business done, and tnoney expended( bad been for purposes which could be deemed corporate purposes? His Lordship thought that question sufficiently doubtful to justify the select body of the Corporation in submitting the whole mat ter to reference. The charter had authorised the se lect body to act for the beneEt of the Corpuration. With regard to the costs of the issues tried at law, his Lordship considered Mr. Lowten entitled to have them paid by the Corporation ; and his Lordship was further of opinion, that a Bill which imputed fraud to Mr. Lowten, was of a character which called upon him to mark his sense of it, by dismissing it with costs. The Bill was accordingly dismissed with costs. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JANUARY 20. CHAPMAN V. LORRADAILE. This was an action on a policy of insurance on the ship Providence, from Cadiz to Gibraltar, with a warrantry free from seizure by the French in the port of Cadiz. Whilst this vessel was lying in the :•••- t . • harbour of ( acitt, bring the night, and she wat d,iven from her anchor's) g 3 wete several other vessels alto lying in the harbour, 'several of which ran foul of the Providence., And she becaine unmanageable-, and drifted slink way, When she ran ashore on a part or the beach between the ricer St. Mary's and Fort Pedro, and in the morning a party of French came down to the beach, took puilession of her, and a total loss ensued. The SOLICITOk-GENgRAL, for the assured, con: tended, that this was not a seizure by the enemy within tte meaning of the wartanty, free from in the port of Cadiz; since she was chiveri but, and had become unmanageable, in consequence oi the damage she had sustained in the gale. Mr. TOPPING, for the underwriters, resisted pay ment, on the ground that the vessel was not out of the harbour, arid therefbre they were protected by the wattanty. The Mate of the vessel was called by the SOLICiTOR Gintsam., and stated, that the vessel had floated a considerable way, and at length got aground on a patt of the beach Where there were trees and bushes is it was between the river St. Mary's and Fort Peck*. It was not like the haibottr. Lord ELLENBOROUOII—" Had you ever been out in the main sea ? You were eithet in the harbour or out of it." Witness—n We had not been out to sea." Lord ELLENitottouca—"Then you were in the harbour, and within-the Meaning of the warranty." Verdict for the Defendants. WARNER ANDER:ON. This was an action on a policy of insurance On goods, froth the Downs to Guernsey t the risk to at tach from the loading thereof in the Downs. Mr: Nair opened the Case sot the plaintiff s and cnntencied b that although, in general, the Coins have held that when words are Written, as in this ease, they must strictly be complied with t yet when k appears front the circumstances of the case, that it could not lie the intention of the parties that the written words slintild be literally complied with, the Court , will tonsil-tie it according to the intention of the parties. Lotd ELLENBOROUGH— e i The Couft Will look the document, and will be entirely guided by it : itt the case alluded to, the document before the Court referred to another, which every prudent man would look at, before he underwrote the policy, and there& fore the Court took cognizance. • Mr.Pattk then insisted that it was itripossible sot ant than, not to be eonvhiced that it Was not the intention of the parties that the written terms should be eoro plied with, as it was impossible to comply with thews Lord ELLENBOROUGH" If you make a policy thit does not fit your case, you are in the ease of irEaan who gets a garment that does not fit his persons 1 should be very glad to construe the policy as you contend, but I am bound by decisions to ll* con trary." J sMiTti 4. swoon. • This Was an action brought by the plaint*, ififie was a Surgeon and Apothecary, against the defen dant, a Boot and Bhoe:maker, both of the parish of St. Luke's, for pUblishing a caricature rellecdog on the . iolaintiff's moral character. Mr. Setjeant Bast, fur plaintiff, stated, that this Wag an action for a most malignant and scandalous libels He was sorry to say, that libels of all sorts were much too comtnon ; but of all libels, those of the desctiptidn under eonsideration were the worst. If *rim ti lib 1 were false, you might prove there so ; if fuunded on false reasoning. you might convince the world that such was the case; but to a false caricature the Ml rest character, the greatest innocence, afforded ito defence. The plaintiff did not go for damages be had always been Willing to accept of an apiary' but that being declined, he was compelled to appeal to his Lordship and the Jury: he had sustained mag tetial injury, both in his character and professions—. The Learned 3erJeant then stated, there had been great abuses in the conduct of the affairs of St. Luke's parish, which plaintiff had been instrumental in te medying, and several of the old officers were retno ved ; the plaintiff was appointed one of the guardiatti of the poor. To these circumstances was attribttted the hatred shewn towards plaintiff, which it "vas , thought might most safely be gratified by the false and malicious caricature. The libel arose from the following circumstance :-.-ten quarters of Malt Were ordered for the Poor-house, and at the same time plaintiff ordered two quarters of the same kind for' himself and defendant, but by mistake, the 12 clat ters were all sent to the Poor-house, an d plaintiff watds get the two quarters, and sent them as at first in- tended. In consequence of this, it wasteported that plaintiff had embettled some of the malt belonging to the poor ; on this Plaintiff had his conduct, in this Ina stance, examined into, in the vestry, .and the conduct of both Plaintiff and Defendant, was fully cleaeed from any imputation of fraud. The Learned SO jeant stated, that the title of the caricature was 64 A* Inside of a newly-reformed Workhouse, with all the Abuses Reformed," and then commented at softie, length on the different figures in it, particularly on that of a tat with a human face, nibbling a sack of malt, under which "Doctor" was written, and which he could prove, by defendant himself, was intended for the plaintiff; there was also a figure, entitled l " Doctor Malt," with a pillory behind him, which defendant bad also stated to beintended . for plaintiff That this was a libel of a very dangerous nature, at+ tt ibuting misconduct of the grossest kind to plaintiff the Learned Serjeant said, could not be doubted but most particularly at those times when the pibus were labouring under very great distress; and that as the punishment of the plaintiff, were he guilty oil such offence, ought to be mist exempl ar y ; so , if Ini nocent, no damages could be sufficient fax such ma+ lignity. It was not in his power, he stated, to prove that defendant had actually paid for the publi)hing but he could prove that he had been active in ea, plaining, and circulating; and this, he conttsulci. wal sufficient. Seeeral whnesses Were called, but they all a7reed in stating, that defendant only explained the cat ray lure, in which he held a prominent situation hititsele l and that he did not appear to h tee any mallt.ioal motive. Lord ELLEsaoP.orott, on the Counsel for plainti stating, that they could not carry it farther, said, tha though it was a ntost cruel injury, they must carry i farther, and thew malice, as tt would be too mu c h t visit defncliint in d.im igcs, uho did "tot appear have up malicious rnctive.—Nonsult. (C Sta--I Royal Hl su bstitute kale lion kite of tL clauses of been plea of the pet int meta wander Law Sell comm and I have nes., tba tbruogh t caw, and time to e: tion zf tb of the pet law, and their null and regal and obed His I am li that sine vitiates, t shire and precisely to order t their opin Copy trot-Ge District # have transmit ccivcd frt tlajesty's taro Soldi North Br The Cc decided oi of this de Highness' the 12th them o! tl but obser becasion, having aLt His Roys Irregultri will pert( S' fa a , st 1 PI cl ti et tt Tt tl ti rI P P s; ci tt •