Star. — London, England, 1830-10-06 00:00:00

FRENCH POLITICAL CLUBS. TRIBUNAL OF CORRECTIONAL POLICE OF PARIS.- AFFAIR OF THE SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE. This trial, as we mentioned yesterday, came on at four o'clock last Saturday. The defendants were AL Hubert, President of the Society of the Friends of the People; Al. Thierry, their treasurer; M. Caffin, pro prietor of the riding-house where the meetings are held ; and amid, the printer of their placards. The President put the usual questions to the defendants, respecting the numbers of the society, their public discussions upon politics, and their hand-bills and registers, which they all answered frankly, and in full avowal of their acts. The King's Advocate opened the case against them. He said, that public liberty was the result of a certain sacrifice by a society of a part of the liberty of each individual for the good of the whole; and he proceeded to contend that the inevitable tendency of clubs of this kind was to compromise the independence of the legislature, and to disturb the public tranquillity. M. Hubert defended himself, upon the principle that the people had created a new order of things by their late revolution, and that he was not amenable to the tyrannical authority of the old code. He said, while arraigning the conduct of his judges, " For a sufficiently long time you have not allowed a week to pass without sending to prison some friend of liberty. The times are now changed : judges of Charles X. we reject you ; the people have stripped you of your robes in giving liberty to your victims. You have yourselves evea sanctioned this sen tence byfiying while they fought. Behold these tricoloured ribands inwhich l we appear. Two months have not elapsed since you branded them as insig nia of sedition. Dare you nowaffront from your seats,fromwhich theflea rs de lig have been torn, those who have chased away the idol before whom so many victims were sacrificed ? If, in default of justice, a sentiment of convenient shame does nut induce you to abstain from these proceedings, then condemn me ; but at least you shall not judge me, for I respect myself too much to recognize in you a legal tribunal. I may be sent to prison by your order—but l will not degrade myself by submitting to you a justification which your antezedent acts put you out of a condition to understand." There followed from the audience long and loud applause. AI. Boinvilliers, as counsel for M. Thierry, vindicated the Society of the Friends of the People. And N. Pages Gamier, for the other de fendants, Caffin and David, pursued a similar course. The King's Advocate replied, and in speaking of the press said, " This instrument, which, with a great orator, I call the word all powerful,' is like all such instruments, moat useful in one sense, and in the other, when abused, productive of the greatest evils. Thus the cannon was a good and useful instrument when it served against the Hotel de Ville, and played upon the Swiss, but was it not a sad instru ment when used to immolate the Parisian people ?" M. Catlin.—Ay : when we employed the cannon before the Hotel de Ville, and against the Swiss, we not only sought to demolish the power of Charles X. and of some of the Peers of France, but we also combatted to destroy the 19 Ist, 292 d, and 293 d articles of the penal code, as will as those who were hostile to our liberties. The whole, in fact, of the institutions and nominations of that King. At, 6 o'clock the Court withdrew to deliberate. During; its ab sence, the members of the Society of the Friends of the People held a kind of sitting, In which they ordered the discourse of M. Hubert to be printed. A member even went so far as to propose that this discourse should be cried through the streets under the title of that of the Pre sident of the Society of the Friends of the People. The members pre sent also decided, upon the proposition of their President, that no mark of approbation or disapprobation should accompany the delivery of the judgment of the Court. After two hour' deliberation, the Court pronounced the following judgment : " It is proved that Hubert is president, and Thierry treasurer of an Association called the Friends of the People. " That this association, which has re.united upon certain given days, k composed of more than 20 persons; that it is formed without the authority or consent of the Government. " That Caffin acknowledges to have lent the Riding-house, of which he is proprietor, to the said society to hold its sittings ; that Caffin has not obtained for this purpose any permission from the municipal author ritiel. " That the acts arc forbidden by the articles 291, 292, and 294, of the Penal Code. " That, in principle, the abrogation of a law cannot take place ex cept in two ways--either expressly or tacitly, by new legislative dispo sitions, contrary to the preceding ones. " That the charter of 1830 does not contain any abrogation, either expressed or implied, of the above recited articles. " That the charter, in declaring by the 7th article, that Frenchmen have a right to print and publish their opinions conformably with th e laws, and that the censorhip could not be re-established , had only re ferred to publications through the periodical press. " That besides even admitting the application of these articles to any other mode of publication, the charter consecrated the maintenance of the laws, with which it was expressly declared they were not to clash. "That the published project of the proceedings of this society has this remarkable passage—‘ Let us re-unite to overthrow this Chamber, the duration of which can only perpetuate the discords excited by it,' which contains an appeal to material and physical force to overthrow the Chamber of Deputies. " That Hubert, as president, and Thierry, as secretary of this society, are punishable by the art. 293 of the Penal Code. " That Hubert, as president, did submit this project foe public dis cussion. " That this is a crime by the laws of 1819 and 1822. " In what concerns Cairn), that be is guilty by the 294th article of the Penal Code. " The Court condemns Hubert to three months' imprisonment, and to pay a fine of 300 franca ; Thierry to three months' imprisonment, and a fine of 100 francs ; and Caffin to 16 francs fine. " Ordered, that this society shall be dissolved." (Murmurs, and roars of laughter in the Court.) The Court rose, and the audience separated in silence. PRIVATE LETTER. PARIS, Ocr. 3. You must not be surprised or alarmed at the discussion about Buona. parte's remains. My own impression is, that it was expressly intro duced to show with what indifference the friends of constitutional liberty regard the memory of a tyrannical conqueror. Even General Istmarque, while paying a proper tribute of respect to his old commander, who, if he had lived, would have given him a Marshal's baton, took great pains to distinguish the hero of Austerlitz from the despot of the Tuileries. The subject was got rid of by an almost unanimous vote for the order of the day. The Chamber, as I observed in a former letter, is evidently anxious to support the Ministers : they have the good sense to see that order at home and abroad will be best secured by the cordial co-operation of t he Legislature and the Government.— They are also actuated by selfish motives t the fear of a dissolution hangs over them,—a dissolution ;which would consign many of them to comparative obscurity, for there is no doubt that a general election would produce a very different chamber. A host of ardent and am bitious young men would probably be returned, whose vehemence and inexperience would embarrass the Government,;and might precipitate it into measures to which it has at present no disposition. The rumour of a change in the ministry is fast subsiding, and yet it is certain that the Ministry is less, instead of being more popular. The appointments made by the Ministers, both of home and foreign affairs, give great dissatisfaction. Importunate presumption carries off the prise, which ought to be awarded to modest merit, and family pretensions are preferred to the claims of long and active service. The King is said to be no less dissatisfied than the better part of the people; but he has little power in the Council, where a majority carries every thing for its own objects. It is thought that his Majesty, who now constantly presides, will in a short time withdraw his presence from meetings where he is almost always over-ruled. M. Lafitte lupins to be President of the Ministers : and if firmness, decision, and practical skill were sufficient qualifications, a fitter man certainly could not be found, at least among the members of the present CounciL But surely a statesman should have some knowledge of state affain, and at a crisis like the present should have more than an ordinary acquaintance with the political condition of Europe. Now, even the warmest friends of Lafitte do not pretend that he possesses any such knowledge, and at an age approaching sixty, it is rather late to begin to learn. Lafitte, however, is supposed to have no misgiving on this head. " Neckar, the great banker, was the Mi nister of one revolution; why should not he (Lafitte,) a much greater banker, be the Minister of the second revolution r I should add, that it is by no means impossible that be may attain the object of his aspira tions. If other changes take place, it is thought that it will be merely an interchange of place between there who are already Members of the Council, so that those without portfolios may occupy the posts of those who have; in short, a mere shifting of seats. The Peers, it is understood, will to-morrow fix the day for the trial of the late ministers. There seems to be no doubt of the Inuit, and, except the King, it is said there is not one member of the Govan. ment, and scarcely is there one member In the Chamber, who does not see the necessity of the law taking its course on those great delinquents--at least on one or two of the most guilty. Dread. tul as such a catastrophe is, it is not so dreadful as that re-action which might again involve the capital, and perhaps the kingdom, in all the horrors of an arc h y an d b loo d s h e d . Th e royal i sts, who an inaccessible to reason, would r i se aga i nst a G overnment w h ose mercy would be ascribed to want of power and cowardice; and the great Wily of the nation would utter one shout of indignation against that :tiistaken philanthropy which would shelter those who Miberate.o caused the blood of their countrymen to flow like water, and who wne 'fly stopped in their career of massacre by the whole capital rising` .Aatnst them like one man. Some particulars have lately transpired respecting !garment, which Nakc it tortunate for that weak and unprincipled man that he is oat 41' the reach of the national resentment. He certainly would not have been allowed to escape, had the whole truth been known at the time of the abdication of Charles X. P. S. I am glad to see that there is in England as well as France a s'nely determination to act on the wise pnnciple of non-interference with Belgian affairs.— Times. NARRATIVE OF THE LATE STRUGOLE IN BRUSSELS. On the evening of Wednesday, the Itzd, it was understood that the Prince commanding the King's forces had published a proclamation, stating his intention of entering the city of Brussels, and promising an amnesty, excepting to the ringleaders of the disaffection end to strangers. The vague terms of the exception excited no small consternation. Every man engaged in the affair of course imagined himself of sufficient im portance to come within the vengeance denounced by the cont. mender of the King's forces. Strangers, in particular, were in censed, and determined not to be the tame victims of the Prince's unresisted success. In consequence, they did not re gard that part of the proclamation which ordered them to retire unarmed within their dwellings. Much of the ultimate success of the revolutionists is due to the gallantry of the foreigners who, from various causes, arrived in Brussels. English, Scotch, Irish, Americans, French (in considerable numbers), and Spaniards, all fought well; sonic ac tuated by attachment to the popular cause, others by the natural pug nacity of their characters, and many front the conviction that, implicated or not in the practices of the revolutionists, they would be equal endurers of the sufferings which it was not doubted that the Dutch, if successful, would inflict. Had the Prince proclaimed a general amnesty, and marched in at the head of his Belgian forces, and not attempted to force the Dutch Pol -1 dices into the city, I am confident he would not have been resisted.— ' AI any of the most opulent inhabitants were attached to the cause of the Crown. They felt and appreciated the commercial advantages resulting from the Royal residence at Brussels ; they had experienced the evils re sulting from several weeks' stagnation of business; were wearied of sod. dieting, and desirous to compromise, on any reasonable terms. A party certainly was determined to attempt to achieve a revolution at all hazards; but their efforts would have been rendered abortive (had the Prince acted more consistently) by the men of property, who had much to lose and little to gain by a revolution, and by the disinclination of the lower class of inhabitants to continue the longer endurance of the great privations they had undergone, for several of the bourgeois soldiers were almost starving. To prove this, I shall just mention one fact : Two gentlemen who had been walking about the city on this evening (Wednesday. the 22d) were taken up by the Garde Bourgeoise, and con ducted to their hotel to ascertain if they were the persons they described themselves. These gentlemen requested the guard to partake of some refreshment, and the poor fellows ate like famished men and stated that for several days they had scarcely tasted bread — that their present supply had given them new vigour, and requested to be allowed to carry with them a loaf or two of bread for their comrades. Though thus evidently lenduring starvation, the Garde Bourgeoise committed no excess ; and I can speak from personal experience of the admirable conduct of most of the privates of that corps : not so of most of their officers. Thus stood the matter on Wednesday evening; the Prince had an* army under his command ; he enjoyed popularity in the city ; he was aided by famine and disorganization prevailing amongst his op ponents, who were deserted by the priecipal part of their chiefs,— the foul cravees who blenched from the helm when the wind blew the hihest , but who returned when success became probable, to guide t he efforts of those few who still struggled on when all was dark, gloomy, and hopeless. Despite all his advantages, in opposition to all human foresight, the Prince has been the defeated piety. His Highness was aided by many circumstances, but he forgot he had a formidable opponent in the cx. cited, the ineleAsibably excited hatred of the Belgians to the Dutch, ' and which could only be rendered tractable by a conqueror's success, or ' by the conciliation of a beloved Prince. His Highness had the choice of two courses—to enter Brussels in triumph, as the vanquisher of the Belgian nation, or as the friend of the people, relying on their love, and unaided by a mercenary foreign army, as the Dutch are con. sidered by his Belgic subjects. The Prince was indecisive: he adopted neither course, but traversed front one to the other. To pursue the first course, and to enter as a conquering Prince, he oniTbutsday, the . 23d, required but a f ew re s o l ute troops for the disunion of his enemies and the flight of their chiefs would have left but little for disciplined men to effect. To have adopted successfully the other alternative, and to have commanded in Brussels as a Prince beloved by the people, he needed only to have granted a more precise amnesty, and have promised to enter the city with those troops alone who were Belgians by birth, and who, as events have proved, were not inclined to desert his cause till its success became more than dubious, and that of his opponents was absorbingly popular. When in possession of Brussels, he might have conciliated all parties, for the people were weary of anarchy, and the possession of the capital ' by the King's forces would have crushed the hopes of the revolutionists in other places. It is difficult to say what the Prince designed : his attack on the town was just sufficient to excite hatred and inspire con tempt his soldiers must be most atrocious cowards—their leaders the vilest of traitors, or the most unspeakable idiots. On Thursday morning, the 23d, the Prince entered in the direction of Scaerbeck: his troops marched down the rue Royale, and entered the park. At seven in the morning, he had encountered but little resist. ante, and at this period I first saw the conflict. The Place de Louvain (which lies between the gate of Scaerbeck and the Park) wax at this time ddended by not more than f3O or 70 undisciplined Bourgeois, with only one officer that I could distinguish. They complained bitterly that they were betrayed, and I did not imagine that above an hour would elapse before the Prince would have had full possession of the town, of which he already occupied the higher part, with the con sequent means of early subduing the remainder. At this time (about seven in the morning) the Prince's army exhibited them selves in considerable force (of cavalry and infantry), taking up po. sitions in front of the the streets, which, however, they speedily retired from, sheltering themselves behind the corners of the houses, though they were resisted only by a handful of the Bourgeois and a few stran gers, who fought behind the barricades, which had been thrown up eery carelessly, and which were not of sufficient height or breadth to have offered any malarial obstacle to either foot or horses a very indif ferent hunnter would have thought little of leaping these barriers. At this time there was no firing from the houses. 1 saw the in. habitants close their doors, and refuse to allow their houses to be used as forts for the defence of the city against the Prince's forces. The Prince, however, instead of advancing, commenced to re. treat ;:his troops yielded up several of the barticades they possessed, and retired behind the trees of the Boulevards. Their cowardice is inconceivable to men who have not witnessed it. I saw six persons drive a company of Dutch from a barricade. Amongst these six were, a gallant French youth, apparently about 16 years of age, one of the bravest of the brace ; a Belgian, who displayed the most ad. , venturous valour the whole day ; and two brothers, the eldest of whom, in 1825. obtained the double first honours of Oxford, and the other a member of the Jamaica Assembly. Both these brothers were wounded, the latter slightly, but she former very 'evenly in several' places, partieularly by a shot, which, at a later period of the day, he re ceived through the leg at the Place Royal, whilst leading on the Bour geois at the Café de I'Ansitie, in front of the Park. He was carried from the field by his brother and an Irish gentleman to the next hospital ; some of the vagabonds who were in the rear endea. vowing to rob him. He was afterwards removed from the hospital to his hotel by the Bourgeois, and almost stifled with caresses. Several ladies of Brussels have continued to visit him during the procrastinated cure of his wounds, expressing their gratitude to him for having come express frogs Paris to defend them when many of the leaders of the pe-ople had deserted them. Gen. Van Helen called on him to express h approval of his conduct and that of his brother, which last had been his companion in his nocturnal expeditions to surprise the enemy in the Park, and who was introduced by the General to the Provision. ary Government as one of two brothers who had eminently served the cause of the people, and well deserved that medals should be awarded them. But these acts of bravery were at this period of the fitst day almost solitary, and a general depression lowered over the city. About nine o'clock an side-de-camp of the Priuce,and as I understood a Count, but whore precise title I do not remember, appeared on horseback at a cor ner of a street near the Place Louvain. He waved a white handkerchief, and called on the Bourgeois to advance to him. They did so, princi pally the six individuals before-mentioned, who were in advance. Whilst the aide de-camp was stating the message he had received, a rabble broke in and dragged him off his horse. At first I considered they were showing their gratification at his arrival, but I discovered they intended to treat him as a prisoner, and to insult him. The gentlemen before men tioned (Messrs. Beautnonts) and several of the Bourgeois, defended him at their own imminent bawd; they dragged off his epau lets, and tore away his cockade ; still the gallant man,; as he was car ried through the streets, manifested no particle of fear, his cheek was unbleached and no sign of dread came over him; occasionally his fine aristocratic face was lightened by a smile of scorn he cast on his base assailants. All that the really brave men could do to defend him was done at their own imminent peril. Ile was guarded to a barracks, and it was stated he would be considered as a prisoner, in retaliation of a similar detention of one of the delegates from Brussels. It is due to the bourgeois soldiers to say, that they in no way partici pated in the infliction of the insults this brave man received ; it was the sculking cowards who assailed him, and one of them attempted to assail him with a dagger, which was wrenched out of his hand by one of the Messrs. Beaum ont and a bourgeois. A most intolerable coward boasted he had made the aide.de-camp • prisoner. As well might Isaac of York have boasted of making Ivanhoe a captive to his spear, or Woraba, Ike witless, that he had vanquished King Richard with a shield of brawn. The Courier des Pays. Bas contains a dispute between two other persons,who both claim to have made an officer of rank . If they allude to the aide-de-camp I am referring to, they prisonera both an equal right to the honour of his capture. The truth is, he came with a flag of truce, and was detained in reprisal ; and, as far as I know, justly Mained, for I have seen the Princes troops more than • once fire on the white leg of the Bourgeois. The detention of the aided!-amp gave vigour to the Prince's op- pandits, for a report was speedily propagated that the Dutch bad been beaten, and she aids-do-map of the Prince, " and several ofii cers," made prisoners. Then forth came the coward and the dubious man. The revolutionary party understood well the value of such ru mours. Immediately after the event of the Prince's aidc-de.canip coming in, a considerable number of volunteers came forweid, and proceeded with them to the Place Royale, which lies on the oppo spite side of the Park to the Place de Louvain, from which last the Dutch lad L. .1. beam', or rather 1.. d most shamefully run away from allsolut, fright. Indeed, the face of a Dutchman was scarcely discernible duHig the whole period of tyre extraordinary conflicts. At the Place Royale two young Irishmen, resident in Brussels. (whole names I do not mention for obvious reasons,) distinguished themselves tight valiantly, and made repeated attempts to induce the Bourgeois to resort to the bayonet ; but I never saw this course adopted. fine first day of the conflict many of the townsmen were killed and wounded, because there was no discipline, and no small portion of the rabble was intoxicated. The succeeding day there was some confidence, and the Provisionary Government published a proclamation without any signatures. In the night an expedition was or;anized to surprise the soldiers in the pat k. 1 saw the Bourgeois at midnight assembled in the Hotel de Ville; hut they had no stomach for the tight, and many declared they would not go to the butchery. The expedition did not succeed—whether rendered abortive by treason or cowardice 1 know rot- On Saturday all was gloom. It was understood that the city was to be surrendered. The lower class of citizens were in great distress from hunger, and I saw many instances of armed bourgeois asking bread from the inhabitants, but they demanded nothing else. On Sunday, the 26th, there was a contin ue d fi r i ng f rom t h e Bour geois into the Park, but the Dutch being sheltered by a deep hollow, in which they wer e lyi ng hid, cou ld not h ave susta i ned much loss : the trees were the greatest surerem Had many of the Dutch fallen, num bers would have remained on the field, or large graves must have appeared, or numerous waggons would have been seen convey ing oft' the slain. None of these circumstances took place, therefore hut fe w must have been killed. On Monday, the 17th, when the Park was evacuated, I did not see so much as twelve botl;es : there mig ht have been more, but I speak of what I raw, a nd I wa lk e d through the old Park, but there was an immense assemblage of empty bottles, from which the spirit had departed, but certainly not entered the heads of the Dutch. men, for even their proverbial Dutch courage did not avail them. How the Dutch came to quit the Park I do not know, as I did not see them decamp, but my opinion is that they " summoned up a coward mind, and ran away." The cowardice of the Dutch is, I fear ' unbelievable, excepting by eye-witnesses. I who s a w th e won d er , can hardly imagine it possible. During all the period of the four days the Dutch threw occasional bombs,rockets,and red.hot shot into the city; theydeatroycd I or 2 houstas, and excited the hatred and contempt of all classes. These soldiers of Holland kept themselves mit of the way of all danger, but made a most vigorous attack upon the dram-bottles, as the untenanted bodes of the numerous slain I found at their quarters amply evinced. The , homely apophthegm says, that Dutchmen require their courage to be excited; but nought excited that of the Dutch at Brussels. Oxen and wain-ropes may drag them to the combat, but native courage never : they resist even the charm of their bottles. " A plague of all cowards I" P.S. I made every inquiry relative to the charge of rape made against the Dutrh, and I have no reason to believe it founded on fact. An English gentleman whom they had visited stated to me that they only ravished a few silver spoons, &c.—Times. SPIRIT OF THE JOURN.ILS. Tutzs—.The de Potters, and their republican partisans, are now at the head of affairs in Belgium, and their " High Mightinesses" of die States-General are only the subjects of the new Government which tie Potter directs. Their invitation, therefore, to the Prince of Orarge to proceed to Brussels, may be of little value. Had his Royal Highness been as popular as he once was in Belgium, and had his merits as the advocate of the project of separation, not been counterbalanced by other conduct to which we need not more particularly advert, he would na turally have occurred to the insurgents as the proper person to be placed at their head. But we defer to a future oppor tunity any farther remarks or speculations on this subject.— The Brussels and English papers seem, since the repulse of the Dutch troops, to have taken a particular pleasure in dwelling on the atrocities which they are alleged to have committed during their fruitless attacks. The accounts which they give are either entire fictions or gross exagt e. rations, and we feel DOC a little mortified th a t any r es p ec t a bl e E ng li s h journal should have allowed itself to become the vehicle of such incredible crlumnies. We shall not go over the catalogue of alleged excesses one by one, and point out their gross improbability in the circumstances of the parties, but shall content ourselves with one sample, which ought to have opened the eyes of our cootem to the character of his authority. After ascribing to th e ma lignity of the Dutch against the English, some misfortunes (such as the death of Lord Blantyre) which are known to have been purely mei dental, and some acts of cruelty which, either never occurred or were perpetrated by the Brussels rabble, this inventory of crime has the fol. lowing most appalling article of intelligence :—" An English servant, living in the faubourg of Schaerheck, was crucified at the door, burnt by a slow fire, and his body pierced with balls and bayonets." We shall not allow ourselves to make a scene of real calamity the sub ject of profane merriment; but if we could be tempted to such an act, what a rich treat we should find in the bill of fare here presented by our contemporary 1 We are aware that he might have been misled at first by the reverend character of his correspondent, from whom the üblic may afterwards learn further details, under the captivating title of Dutch Atrocities " Illustrated," but he should have inquired whether that correspondent might not have the little judgment which he possesses so perverted by partisanship, as to make him the dupe of any impostor who personates tthe character of a Belgic patriot. If he had so inquired, he would have found that his letter-writer not only has adopted the side of the Belgians against the Dutch Government—not only has worn the tricolour of independence—but has actually shoul dered the musket with the Burgher Guard. Far be it from us to sus pect him of exposing his life during the battle, when perhaps he was only thicking of exposing the character of his enemies, but the very eir. cumatance of his joining the insurgents invalidates his testimony on those points in which his Belgic friends had the greatest interest to de. ceive him. Let him say that he himself saw this crucifixion and confla gration of an English servant, and we will believe the story, but not till then. In a former age, when our jealousy of the Dutch was to be wrought upon in order to exasperate us to a declaration of war, Dry den accuses them of a disposition to " pickle" John Bull—but never to crucify him. " The Straits, the Guinea-trade, the Herrings too, Nay—to keep friendship, they will pickle you." It would not have entered into the imagination of the satirist, who has recorded the massacreof Amboyna, and who always allows his eilemies a sufficient portion of revolting cruelty, that a Dutchman would " cru cify, and roast and riddle with balls," the subject of his English ally out of mere pastime, when he nitght have been so much better em ployed in killing his Belgic foes. But it would appear note, that with every motive to treat our ancient Allies with kindness, and with none of the ancient reasons for jealousy, we arc to heap upon th em ever y mea sure of calumny, exclaiming with the satirist whom we have above al luded to 4, Think on their rapines, falsehood, cruelty ; And that which once they were, they still would be.' Cnaosticts.—We would fain persuade ourselves that there is exag geration in the accounts of the outrages to which the English at Brus sels have been subjected, but we fear that there is but too much founda tion for them. The letter which we inserted yesterday is from a gen tleman who gave us his name, and we have seen no contradictions which were not anonymous. The following letter, on the subject of the death of Lord Blantyre, sufficiently disproves the state. meet in The Courier of last night, that it was accidental. Our Correspondent is a respectable gentleman of this metro polis, and his authority is an officer just returned from Brussels, whom we know to be of unquestionable character:— " To TitE EDITOR OF THE MORNING CHRONICLE. "Sift,—la reference to the statement of the lb/trier in reply to your Correspondent, ' that Lord Blantyre was killed by a random shot whilst in the act of closing a window,' and the inference that the dca:h of this excellent Nobleman is not to be attributed to the fury of ;he Dutch troops ; 1 beg to inform you, that I have just learned from an officer of unquestionable character, who was at Brussels at the time, that Lord Blantyre's house was tired into by the ferocious Dutch troops, and that his Lordship received the fatal shot en the staircase, as he was descending to the ground floor. So much for the Courier's veracity in this particular.--I am, Sir, your humble servant, " FROTH." e insert also the following letter, on another point on which we may have been misinformed. The writer has not given his name to us, so that the letter is but anonymous:— To THE EDITOR OF THE 31ORNIN6 CHRoNICLE.-81r, Having resided for many years in the Netherlands, I can positively deny the statement contained in your respectable Paper of this morning, via. —" That in' Brussels it was understood if any English family visited in a Belgian family, they were exciuded from English society." On the contrary, many of the most respectable English were on terms of the closest intimacy and friendship with some of the principal families in Belgium. and received the Oust marked hospitality at their seats in the country, whereas in Brussels they were not In the habit of enter taining. So far from the English despising their acquaintance, they were but too anxious to be permitted to become members of the " noble balls," exclusively Belgian, and were generally admitted with the greatest politeness. As a sincere friend to the Belgians, as well as to the House of Orange, from whom the English experienced the greatest kindness and favour, I request you will contradict a paragraph so utterly devoid of truth. The conduct of the Belgians during their late strugle has been most kind and considerate towards foreigners, and more especially to the English. I remain, Sir, your most obedient servant, 11. N. W. Prince Paul of Wurtemberg is represented to have nc cepted the vacant throne of Greece, but only on condition of an additional grant of territory. The Turk, it is true, will have to give his consent, and some of the great powers of Europe have a few urgent calls upon their attention just now, se that the Prince may continue some time longer, a gentleman of great expectations.—Haniburgh Reporter. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. The Mary and Peggy, Williams. from Milford to Wt'sford, was stranded near Wexford 2tl inst. The crew saved. Bear, Ocr. S.—Wind N.N.W. Poarsmourn, Ocr. S.—Wind N —Sailed bis Majesty'. I. hip Mus. quito. for Plymouth. PLYMOUTH. Ocr. 4.—Wind N —.ltriv. d the Ocean. Minbatu.'fi nos Bilbao; Earl of Mar, Peters, and Fel:city, --, from St. Petersburgh. &mourn. OCT. 4.—Wind W. to N.—Arrived the Goldfinch packet, from Bermuda—sailed 29th August, and front 11..lifax tinh ult. Also, the Duke of Marlborough packet, from Lisbon—fiai!eil the 19th ult. Tommy, OCT. 5 —Arrived off the port, the J.,s( T h. Langley. from Riga. Sailed the Thomas Laurie, Lanadon, for V. 41. DIMISfi * Ln►aeoan,, OCT. 4.—Arrived the Robert James I!: ynes, GrJhasn, from Nassau ; Clio, Dawson, from Miramichi; Mown. fro. Newfoundland; William and Mary, Pearson, front Havre; &sten, Donaldson, and Horta, Wood, from St. Petershurgla. ST.I 1 E OF THE PPELIC PRESS. Yesterday, at Freemasons' Hall, a Meeting, called by Mr ( teen, was held for the purpose of taking into consideration the prestnt state of the Public Press. At about one o'clock, the hour at which business commenced, there were not fewer titan :100 persens in the Hall, and that number was speedily augmented to between s• .yen and tight hundred, or perhaps above that amount. Though there were no pub. lie characters present, nor any person of known rank or respectability, yet very few of those who composed the M eting appeared to bed ti g to the working class. Tiete were several ladies present. Mr. OwEer.—The present state of the Preu is a subject of the deepest interest to all parties. Before the population of the world can be trained to become rational ; before it can be emancipated from the most degrading poverty, ignorance, and bad feelings, anti front doe misery which these evils ever produce, the Press must be ernancipwed from the superstition by which it is enslaved, and by which its ueeful- mils is so much restricted, that some doubt whethet its benefits are nit exceeded by the errors which it is made daily to promulgate. The Pre.. of no country has ever yet been free ; and the Press of Great Britain is at this moment in a state of pecuniary slavery, to the superstition of the day, very little imagined by the British public. Those who sup port the Press, follow it solely for pecuniary gain . • and as the party who supports superstition is the most wealthy, and consequently the most influential with commercial men, those who must make their living by printing and publishing, will raturally be dependant upait them. The party supporting superstition has always exerted a com plete tyranny over the Press; they are its censors—they carefully ',env , . every work that is published; and exactly in preptetion as it ineuleates the nto.t important truths, in opposition to their deeradingstip.irstitioti, the author is denounced as " a dangerous man, who promulgates the most abominable dectrince ;" and every bookseller is prohibited frm; selling his works, under the reralty of losing the custom and patronage of the Cleve and their adherents; and their influence, throu,th their numbers, and organization among tea, hook-buyers and sellers, has iii_ therto been such, that no individual has been enabled a (trivet them successfully. The Press . f Great Britain is thus op pressed, and int:ee.d completely overpowered, by the despotism of superstition ; and, in ci nsequtrice ' the only publications whi c h are profitable to writers, publisher., or book.ellets, are works which directly destroy the rational faculties of mankind ; which amuse within': 1: attuning ; or which contain a small amount of the least useful know - lege. Of the first, under the head of religion, goverment, law, and ethics, there is the largest propertitie ; of the second, under the he , works of the imagination, there is a considerable prorortiott ; and a less amount of those publications which contain some, but cm.- paratively little, useful knowledge, under tie litads of history and the sciences. The works which contain the most useful knowledge to man --those which are calculated to ' elevate his nature to a state of sound and permanent rationality ; to change his condition from the wretched state of superstition which keeps him ignorant, poor, and irrational, and which would till him with real knowledge, and surround him with all things calculated to insure his happiness, are those derived from obvious facts; and so plainly true, that the priesthood, with all their sophistry, cannot reply to them; and therefore they denounce all such works as dangerous, and the de:- trines which they teach to be abominable. The past system of the go. vernments of the world, has been to keep the multitude in ignorance, that it might be the more easily governed, and the greatest amount of labour abstracted from it, for the use of the governing few. And su pentition has always been found the most powerful instrument I:y which to effect both these objects, and superstition has therefore he.lt always united to the secular power. It is full time, my friends, that the oppressions of superstition should be brought to a terminally!), that its true character should be publicly known, and is the world should be relieved from the mental degratiatimi and slavery, which it inflicts upon it. The amount, altl very small, of useful knowledge, which men have been per. witted to acquire, from the random conjectures of historians, and from the fixed sciences, has enabled them, at length, to discover some of the deep injuries with which the despotism of superstition has afflicted the human race ; but the present rapid march of mind over the world, will probably, ere long, altogether put an end to its influence on earth. To assist in this most desirable of all objects, this meeting has been called. It is at this period most necessary, that the public should know the real facts relative to the Press of Great Britain ; that it may conshlt r the best practical mode of obtaining relief from the evils which it in flicts upon the whole population. The Preu of Great Britain is essentially influenced by the Pres. of London • and in most cases the wisest conduct is, to meet every dif ficulty fairly, and to go at once to the root of the evil. 'the root of this evil, then, is in London, and chiefly in the Daily Press ; which, directly and indirectly, has a considerable influence in forming the Pub lic Opinion of Great Britain. The Weekly Press of London has also some share in forming the opinion of the multitude. But the gnat en gine for good or evil, in this country, is the continued impression made, day by day, by the London Press, on the minds of all tanks, and to a considerable extent over the civilized world. It is capable of being made either a blessing of the highest magnitude, or the very bane of society. As it is now directed, it is neither the one nor the other. Its power is neutralized by the mixture of truth and error, which It daily disseminates. It is therefore of the great. at importance, that measures should be devised to improve the charac ter of the London Press ; and to emancipate it front the influence and oppression of superstition, that it may become a vehicle of truth; and valuable knowledge to the public. Were it relieved !root the trammels of superstition, the London Press might he made to diffuse more useful and valuable knowledge over tile British dominions, and the civilized world, in one year, them it has done for the last hundred ears, and at a very small part of the expense which is now daily incurred, to keep the population in ignorance of its true infernos, The Times The Herald, The Morni ng Ch ron i c l e , Th e P od, 7 At. Morning Adverliarr, The Ledger, The Courier, Tie Globe, The Star, The Standard, The Sun, and The British Traveller, are now the chief instruments by which the public opinion of this country is formed ; and few know to what extent the public opinion of Great Bri. tain influences the public opinion of Europe, America, and other more distant parts of the world. It is therefore of the last importance to the improvement and well-being of society, that these vehicles of public instruction, making their daily impressions upon thousands, should be conducted by editors of sterling ability, under the influence of inte grity, who have moral courage sufficient to permit the subjects of most interest to mankind to be fairly discuoved in their papers ; and that in this course they should be supported by the public, to render them in dependent of all party influence. Now, it is well known, that under existing circumstances, not one of th ese d a il y papers can afford to he independent. They are all under the controul of one or other of the leading parties in the state, or under the direct fear of the preveding public prejudices. They have been established, and are carried on, either to support a party or to gain profit to the 'proprietors. Neither of these motives permits an honest course to be pursued. They dare not admit into trek columns the most evident truths, deeply affecting the well-doing and wellebeing ttf witty—tenths of the tint interest tee the whole population of the British &minions, Und e r such a .tale of degradation and oppres dm, on the pan of the most important Immo': tore of the public, what can he expected but the ignorance, the crime, and the wretched inequality of condition which ate hourly nen an end us? Before the population of this country can be improved, West their characters can be well •ormed—before they can be advantageously employed—before they can Dave virtuous and superior circumstances created around thrill, this lamentable dependence upon party and pejo dice, upon the Pros of this country, of the Press of Eumpe, and Ay r. tics, must cease. The London Press must be made to assume a resew character; it must be made honest; and must acquire moral courage to instruct the people in those great leading truths, through the knowledge of which alone u is practicable to improve the population, er &mantele its condition. i thus express myself from having had much experietee with the proceedings of the daily Press in this country, which, volatile allowance for the party and private interest of the papers, has leen, w ilt some exceptions, very liberal in publishing communications froth me. Belonging to no p.ny, having no private interest, but solely the good. of the public in view, my ton:municatiors were often, appartn 4, op. posed to their pecuniary interests, and their insertion of them is another proof among thousands that I have experienced of the natural good' feeling of human nature, desirous of accorniffieliog public benefits at the expense of its own private advantages. liberal aoudad I have frequ-ntly experienced trom the late proprietiMiligte Herald, from the Tears, the Morning Post, the Morning Advertiser, and the Mae and occasionally from the Sun, the Standard, the tolls, and the lei. tish Tniveller. Now, as it is well kn own t h at I ans;•ffibm ' the most eon. sciendows conviction, opposed to all the error,' of all the religions in the world, and that I Mil obliged to believe that these mom pervade the whole of each religion, and as by, far the greater part of dos Snatchers of each paper Supports one or other of these religions, I twomt avoid acknowledging the greater natural desire is Mao to do righttbas to act wrong. The Chronicle, however, and the Ghee, both, organs of the modern political economi s t s , h ate bees :silent wpm all my pre- i 1 r M • •1