Star. — London, England, 1820-04-03 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE I.t . tge quantity of tobacco and stares has been thrown upon beach, at Annan, within these few days, being part of the of the American ship Maria, from Alexandria to Gree- Litely wrecked on the banks opposite Carsethorn. The - ;‘ , cco has been secured by the Custom-house Officers. APoini::, from Bombay, with Sir Evas NEVE:.t4 on board, t from the Cape of Good Hope on the 26th of January, for tv E nroot, Mozeit ;I.—Arrived the Martha, Joy, from Wil r int.ton ; General Washington, LAI-COCK, from Amsterdam; 13yant, LEWts, from Maranham; Union, Ono, from Columbine, THOMPSON, from Pernambuco; Hero, Urtoo , ;o r, front Uahia ; Bridget, Wsitos, from Demerara; . • , NVIN%E.): • 'tnd John, —, from Lisbon ; Robert, Olt:tester, alid Duznfries, CART;R, front St. Michael's. esioron, nut 51.—Wind S.W.—Arrived the Princess Illizbeilt packet, front the Mediterranean—sailed from Gibral. r t he 1,“11 March; and Two Brothert, Buer., [torn Dram, in t -sortion days. Arrived oil - this port the General Stark, Cztd.- sof% front Rotterdam for the Isk of May. Pow:soot - to, Arrol. 4.—Wind S. W.—Arrived yestyday to. 31.:j.,...-Ay's ship Siorattwooza, from Havannah, last from Clark,too, with •pecic; Acteou, STEWAILT, front Cephalonia; ;.!:d P.iilce,s Royal, AS/MAY, front Sierra Leone. Arrived to `v the Cato, MozooN, from London for Antigua; Thames, nen, from ditto for New York ; Buckinghamshire, Anasis, front ditto for China ; and Star transport, front ditto for the •;1e l'f I lope. Passed by the Governor Harcourt, 16 sos, from Demerara. Pi.v.motait. Aron. I.—Arrive-3. :he Goneroas Planter, Hazy, trd .Iri IlzoLow, front Fiume; and the Caroline trans -1:•rt, trout Guernsey, soith troops.---11'ind N. Mai., Aram .2.—Wind S.W.—Arrived yesterday, the For t. ANDERSCN, front Messina. Came darn from the River, .• .11 no, Puocrins, and the Elizabeth and A:in, for Quebec; Cl,s no., for South Carolina ; and the 13r1M3, for the l't!,.lrerroneaa. Arrived tc-day and sailed for the River the Nal!oy, 1/01.1.1rt1 from Dea:erora; Ni•:holsons, Cain ros,•from ; Seneca, from Mogadcre; Rose, WiTirliso tram, f o nt Mat:Ara; and the Uniou, front Sierra Leone. Came marten fr.,:: the River, the Evero:ta, and Zealous, for Mont i:al; Aianglts, far New South Wale,; Resolution, and Ante -1.)p,•, for GibraVar ; the Sir James Kempt, Mary Ann, Triton, Jeney, Isabella, and Garthland, for Quebec ; Waterloo, for Ja trek 3utrlia, for M.:ita; Pomona, for Canary Islands; the I lig;,iond Lid, for NaUtira ; Congress, for St. kil:tt's ; Cemt:t, f• r Ntaf,,l;c, Yoriolh hero, ; Nordin, f.- ; :he Catherine, f , ..r Lisbon. . .„ Arum 2.—.lrrivcd th Plymouth, CIMLASEAR, fIOM weh :ozchiT broken, tinworks and rigging damaged, h. 0g.1..5z t c pier on entering. _ Aran. 2.--itrivcd the Beaufoy and Lord Nelson .etn. and Jor.e. ditto from Gottrnburgh ; all .%! tit Castltraa2ll packet for Holland, and dicta for ei:::haven; each wit.`- .t Mail. 131.tekTord, to the ; Deveton, tethe Rosario ; Lieutenant ilia Liffey ; and Mr. beach, Master, to ea, Pli:kzon. Satu:s.lay rnon.ing arrived ti; SHEARwArtr, sloop of war, D. Cox, from the Jamaica station, 10 be olf— , he left Jamaica the ?9th of January, !farm:nal: the 23d of Febru.iry, aad Charleston the : s:le took 1:;0,000 dollars from Port nut: chants at Chai leston, and brought :.bout 200,300 to Enghtod. The BEAVER, Captain :;aumArti.z, may be daily expected to arrive here: sat is to bring a large freight of specie from Port .1:.o).d. The communications between Jamaica and the Main of South America had not been frequent : does not bring news of the Independent forces.— tro , :ps Jamaica were particularly healthy ;as v. ere the ships generally. The IPIIIGENIA had been very sickly. Sir HomE POPHAM was recovering from a severe paralytic attack. The SYBILLE, Capt. POPIIAM, had3ailed for Vera Cruz ; WAsP, Captain T. W. CARTER, for Campeachy ; SAPPHIRE, Captain BART, for Carthagena ; and the ONTARIO, Captain Gost.rsc, for Port-au-Prince. _ _ The LEANDER, 60 guns, bearing the flag of Rear- I -Admiral Sir HENRY BLACKWOOD, K.C.B. for the East Indies, has been in vet) , imminent danger at Madeira. She had a quick run of only five days to that idand, and was preparing to leave it, when, in getting under weigh, the capstan upset ; two other rarchors were let go, but they did not take hold, - when the cables were instantly cut, in just sufficient time to rirevent her driving on shore. Advices from the Isle of France have been re c.( ived to the 22d of December. Though only a few days later in date, they contain many addi tional particulars concerning the malignant dis c-der prevalent there. The number of blacks who } td fallen victims to its violence within a few Vecks exceeded 2000. The white inhabitants, with very few exceptions, had been free from attack. —The fatal quality of the disease was much ag- Fravated by the ignorance which prevailed con cerning its true nature. By some of the phvsi c;ans it was denominated the cholera morbus, while (Alm described it as a species of the plague. — The effects of the terror produced by this disorder, ia putting a stop to nearly all transactions in business, hwe been before mentioned. The desertion of Port Louis by all men of property had induced the Go -1.,:1n0r to issue a Proclamation, suspending, for one r loin!), the payment of every species of debt or pe cuniary obligation ; a step which, under other cir cJrnstances, would have been deemed extraordinary, but which had been rendered imperative by the pe caiiar sittertion of the island. He had also prohibited the intercourse with the Island of Bourbon, all ships coming from thence being required to perform qua rantine for forty days. the disease was supposed to have been introduced into the Isle of France by the Tueaze frigate, but in what manner is not explained. The Rocnvorer, of SO guns, Captain A. GREEN, N . Lich lately arrived at Portsmouth, from the Medi tert :mean, received pratique on Tuesday, when Lady IREMANTLE, Commissioner WOOLEY, and their fa landed at that port, and the ship sailed the r.e:.t morning for the Little Sore, where she is ordered to be paid off all standing, and then to be recom rni:,sioned for the flag of Vice-Admiral Sir GRAHAM 11cort E. All die Officers are likely to be re-appointed. the is a pet feet man of war, and does much honour to the Captain and the Officers concerned, for having /ler in such high order and discipline. Of a crew of G3V n:en. only two have died since the ship left Eng iatrd, and those from accidents. THE P.r nrc.—Yesterdav, Hyde Park appeared ex tez.llngly gay. Th., Wellington Drive had been atcrJd, for the first time this season, by order of Ole 11 tte,.. ; el, Lord Viscount SYDNEY, and the Fa s:•7otta-b-le, were not obliged to take dust with the air. the distinguished equipages were those of the of Anglesea, Lord Bathurst, Earl and Coignes* of Eltssint, 31archioness of Chelmor.deley ; Lady Castlereagh; aAn tali protege: ,Earl and Countesi of Werroliths rerals and Gwynue, alractit the whole of the &fel Am- Ecc. the course of die afternoon, their Royal High the Duke and Duchess of CLARENCE honoured tac Promenade with their presence. -Colours are be• g , ;'•ning to appear, i. e: grey dre'sFes trimmed with cr"i-e, drab beaver bats, and feathers of the same. SAILING OP THE EXPEDITION TO THE ti C , f 4 ti • 3 t E F 1.24 GULF OF PERSIA. It is our gratifying task to announce the sailing of the Expedition t the Persian Gulf. By the CAMILLA, arrived from Bombay, after a short and favourable passage, we have received this interesting intelligence through a private channel : " BOMBAY. OCT. 29.—0il the '2oth the Expedition sailed for the Gulf of PerSia , —on the 19th the whole force were embarked, but the surf was so great it was impossible for them to get out of har bour ; however, they sailed on the 20th, under the most favourable circumstances: They were em barked in the following order, and as they went off the whole of the different bands played Gob save the King. " TIIE " o:ie Regiment of European Artillery and Lascars,completc• " His Majesty's 47th Regiment. " His Majesty's 6th Regiment. " IA Battalion of the 2d Regiment of Native Infantry. " Ist Battalion of the 3d Regiment of Native Infantry. " Four Companies of Pioneers, and " .1 quantity of Ordnance completz. " The command of the entire Expedition was con ferred on Sir WILLIAM GRANT KEIR. The following Officers ar,.l appointed to the Staff: Major E.G. StatiNus, Assistant Adjutant-General; Captain D. WI L sox, Assistant QUA! ter-Mister .General ; Captain G. F. SAD Let it, of the 47th Regiment, to be Interpre ter. Previous to the sailing of this imposing force, the Governor-General received a communication from the Piratical Generals, offering to give up their chief men as hostages, but it appears no notice was taken of the application, more than leaving at Bombay one Regiment, which, but for that communication, would have, gone. The ships (all sloops of war) were pro visioned for eight months ; and we sincerely hope, that in February or March we shall have it in our power to report the complete success of this brilliant Expedition. If so, no more remains to ba done. If, on the contrary, it fails, we foresee much of disaster in Persia. It was very handome to see the beach on the day of the sailing of the fleet, the people cheering and waving their hats, while a thousand prayers were offered for their safe return." THE ARMY. Detachments of the 20th, Stth, and G3:l► Regi meats aro under orders to embark for Madras. Monday last a detachment of the 4th Veteran Bat talion arrived at Dumfries from Manchester, on their March to Ayr, and next day proceeded on their route. Wednesday morning, a strong detachment of the 13th Regiment marched from Glasgow for Paisley, .to relieve a detachment of the Rifle Brigade, which arrived at Glasgow in the forenoon. MILITARY PROMOTIONS. Sum—Hospital-Assistant James Arthur, from half-pay, to be Hospital-Assistant to the Forces, ,vice Moir, whose appoint ment has not taken place. Commissions in the North Derbyshire Yeomanry Cavalry, signed by the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. Captain Philip Gell to be Major ; Lieutenant Sir Henry Fitz berbert, Bart. to be Captain, vice Gen, promoted ; John Andrew, Gent. to be Cornet, vice Goodwin, promoted. Commissions in the King's Cheshire Volunteer Legion, signed by the Lord lieutenant cf Cheshire. Adlington Troop of Lancers—Richard Townley Crosse, Esq. to be Captain ; Thomas Grimaditch, Gent. to be Lieutenant. 2d Macclesfield Troop—William Bent, Gent. to be Corn..t, vice Lirimsditch, promoted. ASSIZES. WARWICK, MARCH 31. THE KING V. RAGG. This was an indictment against the defendant, pre- 1 (erred by the Magistrates of Birmingham, on the ground that the defendant had published a certain scandalous libel, of and concerning the Church Establishment and part of its service, contained in a publication entitled the twelfth Number of Thc Black Book, or Corruption Unmeshed. Mr. 11 EADER opened the pleadings, and read the publication in question. The nature and language of it were such as to preclude us from wishing to give anv further notoriety to it. Mr..:Serjeant VAINIIAN, who conducted the pro secution, began his address . to the Jury by expressing a hope that he should not be supposed to compro mise his duty to the Crown by abstaining from all comment upon the publication which had just been read to the Jury, and charged as libelous. The very same work, he believed, had already been under the consideration of several Gentlemen among them, and had been most fully and patiently considered. The character of the work was too plain and easily dis tinguishable to require either argument or illustration from him. He apprehended that no doubt could arise in their minds, unless it should be one respect ing the circumstances under l# hich this work had been ushered into the world. Undoubtedly, it was bott painful and disgusting that subjects of this nature should be brought info a Court of Justice.— The public discussion, and the free scope of observa tion which the administration of the laws frequently involved, could hardly fail to produce mischief, and extend its circulation. It was evident, however, that the Government and Magistracy were reduced .to this alternative—either to incur this evil, or run the hazard of incurring a still greater—that of suffering the most pernicict.. doctrines to be taught and propa gated with impunity throughout the country. It was certainly desirable in all cases of libel to bring, if possible, the author or original publisher to account; but, at the same time, he was one of those who thought a subsequent publisher had much to answer for. It was not to be allowed, in a land of civilized order and regulated liberty, that a man should spread abroad noxious compositions, and then affect to justify himself to his neighbours by saying that he was un acquainted with the ingredients of which they were constituted. The charge against the defendant was, that he had manifested an intention to bring the Service of the Church of England into contempt, and especially that part of it which related to the office of Ordination. The Church Catechism was, • however, also included. The libellotis matter might, however, be considered as much more general ; but it was, by the allegations of the indictment, confined to those two branches, and he had no doubt that, upon inquiry, the Jury would be of opinion that the publication in question was calculated to produce the effect imputed to it. Witnesses, were then called, one of . wbcisii proved that he had purchased (having been employed to do so) a copy of the twelfth number of The Black Book, in December last,. at a shop in Birmingham, where he had frequently seen the defendant, and of which be believed the defendant to be the occupier. Ano ther stated, that he had frequently seen the defendant in the same shop, but not during the two or three weeks immediately previous to the time wheel the purchase of the former witness was made. A third merely testified that he was landlord of the house in which the shop was situate, aad that the defendant bad at that time been his tenant. This was the case for the prosecution ; upon which Mr. DENNIA s submitted, that there was here a defi ciency of legal proof, and that the Counsel for the Crow•, in order to sustain this indictment, ought to have offered evidence that the office of Ordination. and the Church Catechism were, in point of fact, parts of the Church establishment, as bylaw appointed. Mr. Justice BEST, after some consideration, thought it better that the. trial should proceed, and that the ob jzction should be reserved for a further stage of these ptcted3ings. Mr. DEN:4 AN then addressed the Jury. He had thought it his duty to submit an objection, waich, as they knew, had been overruled, but which might possibly be of use to him on a future occasion. He had now to present to them, as Jurymen, consider ations somewhat different, though all tending to the same general proposition, that no case had been made out against the defendant. No evidence what ' ever had been brought forward in order to shew that the form of Ordination, by which the Clergy of our Church were admitted to the exercise of their func- tions, constituted, in point of law, a part of the Church service. There could, therefore, be no legal proof of any intention to defame, vilify, or bring into contempt, any service or formula of the Church of England. Ile was the more fortified in thinking this to be necessary, by his knowledge that in Mr. Hone's case all this sort of evidence had been deemed necessary, and had in consequence been presented. The charge embraced two points; and the first re• lated to the Catechism, on which he would make no observations, as being ready to admit, that from early instruction and familiar knowledge, it was not im portant to put a Jury into further acquaintance with its nature and contents ; but when i. 6.2 turned to the ceremony of Ordination, he could not but recollect that in all probability it was not read by many, and, if read by a few, not long can ied in their minds.— He must, therefore, in the discharge of his duty, submit, that it was not competent to them upon their oaths to determine what perhaps might be a point of law, and what, at all events, was a point of am biguity. It might be well to mention here some circumstances relative to what was generally called Holy Ordination. It was well known to many that a person was qualified to officiate as a Minister of our Church who had received no other Ordination than that of a Catholic Bishop. This was one of the remarkable features in theframe and constitution of our Wotestant Church. How could they, as men of character, and acting under the sanction of a solemn oath, which bound them to form a judgment upon a single issue, be brought to say, without know ing what the Church formularies were, that they had been cast into scandal or contempt ? He entreated them, therefore, not to suffer their minds to be pre jUdiced or led away by phrases now embodied into the current language of the day, as to the necessity of putting down publications of a particular kind, and that it was the province of a Jury to exercise a vigilant guard over the moral and religious interests of - the country. He did not stand there to say that such a necessity might not exist, but he did contend, that they, sitting in that box, did not sit there either as the censors of the press, or the guardians of pub lic morals. Their duty was simple and specific ; it was to decide, upon their oaths, whether the evidence was such as to prove the guilt of the defendant upon the precise charge preferred against him. Supposing that he had sent into the world, or been the inno cent instrument of sending into it, a noxious pub lication—supposing him to have done what was both mischievous and dangerous—still, unless a criminal intention could be made out upon satis factory evidence, he was entitled to an acquittal.— The smallest doubt or slightest deficiency, whether in legal or circumstantial evidence, ought to be con strued in his favour. One part of the alleged libel consisted in a description of the forms of ordination, and quoted certain words used with regard to the eertmony of imposition of hands. These words were, " Whose sins thou retainest, they shall be retained, and whose sins thou forgivest to him they shall be Forgiven." Now, as this was literally part of the doctrines involved in ordination, it could hardly be considered libellous thus fairly to state and describe it in any publication or for any purpose. lie could assure them, and the Court at large, that he wished to speak both of the Church and of its members only in language of veneration and respect; but that the dgctrines ascribed to the Church were to be found in its articles and tenets was hardly matter of any doubt, when we found that in one part of the Liturgy " the absolution and remission of sins" was a point specifically mentioned. Mr. Justice BEST here interfered, and suggested to Mr. Denman that the coarse of defence he was pursuing was inadmissible. Mr. DENMA N said, he did not wish to adopt a line of argument disapproved of by the Learned Judge, and he should confine himself to the plain avowal oft his opinion, that the sooner the doctrine of absolving sins by human power was abrogated the better, whe-1 ther it was entertained by our own Church or any' other. Such an effect, however, could only be brought about by discussion ; and, if Luther and Knox were now alive, he doubted not but that they would be inclined to exert themselves most strenuously for that purpose. In this case also there were several cir cumstances of a different kind to be considered. The Learned Counsel then proceeded to comment upon the evidence, as affecting the fact nif publication by the defendant, or the authority given by him to the individual who had sold it. On all these grounds taken together--grounds upon which be, as a man of.honour, would not venture to pronourice a decided . opinion—they, it appeared to him, could not, with= out the risk of committing, perjury, or at least with.: out doing a violence to their caths, declare that this defendant was guilty of the offence imputed to his charge. To the Magistrates of Birmingham he gave full credit for their motives in this frosecution: they might be engaged in an useful and salutary work; but that work might be accomplished more effec tually, in his opinion, by finding out the original publishers than by attacking persons at a distance, gaining a wretched and precarious subsistence by the sale of what they found in demand. • Mr. Justice BEs+,. after stating the particulai charges contained in the indietinent, and recounting the evidence; observed, with reference to the attempt which had been-Made, that the Learned Counsel had urged and maintained doctriues which he himself (Mr. Denman) knew had been over-ruled-1i r half, or *he might say, an entire century. Lord Mansfield, Lord Kenyon, and Lord Elknborough, in Courts composed of some of the most able and virtuous men who Had ever sat in a Court of Justice, had united in rejecting them. It was lamentable to find great ta lents exerted in controverting first principles, or iri bringing into doubt subjects which had been settled by such grave authority. As to the circumstances of the publication, no evidence could be more cleaC or satisfactory. Newspaper publications were un doubtedly useful to the community, so long as they were conducted within the rules of propriety, mode -1 ration, and good sense. Upon that understanding he was graiied to find that their proprietors enjoyed large profits. But if the Learned Ccunsers doctrine were to prevail, those proprietors might live at a distance from their establishments, and after the in sertion of the most wicked and insidious matter, whether as reflecting upon Government or indivi duals, might turn round a..d say, " Bring your ac tion against the author, or one of my printers devils." It was the duty of every bookseller to take care in whose hands he left the conduct of his business when ever his own absence was unavoidable ; and for all that was done during that absence, by the sale of libels, he was legally responsible. The Learned Counsel had gore into observations which appeared to him to be totally inapplicable; he did not believe that Knox or Luther had ever attacked the Church Establishment, in their day, in this manner or lan guage : had they been as scurrilous and as contcmp— tuous of all religion as the author of this infamous publication had been, their glorious efforts at refor mation would not have been crowned with that suc cess which had happily attended them. " rut," si'd the Learned Judge, with much emplia,is aid great animation, " there are booksellers who would sell their Goz►for gai►: ! And if the present nublicaion is, as the defendant's Counsel has himself described it, a foolish and impudent thing about the Church cf England, the impudence alone renders it a libel." The Jury, in less than five minutes,. returned a verdict of Guilty against the defendant. " THE WING V. OSBORNk. This was a similar indictment to the last, and was against the defendant, for the publication of the same libel. A verdict of Guilty was also returned in this case. SATURDAY, APRIL 1. Mr. Justice BEST this day sat in the Crown Court. The list of prisoners, which is very large, is composed chiefly of persons charged with larcenies and other minor offences. The cases of felony refer chiefly to one or two charges of shooting with intent to kill, to various forgeries, and to one indictment for murder. Sixteen persons, who had been arraigned on the minor charge of uttering forged notes of the Bank of England, and had pleaded guilty, received serg tence of transportation for fourteen years. The Court observed, that this mercy had been for some time extended, in the hope of producing a diminution of thesesoffences ; it trusted, however, that no one would be misled by an expectation that this mercy would continue under these circumstances to be extended. William M'Donald and Charles Clarke were found guilty of uttering certain forged notes, purporting to be of the Bank of England, in the town of Birmiugg ham, on the 19th of January. LANCASTER, MARCY! 30. True bills have been 'found against nine of the prig soners charged with offence against the State, in which is included the well-known Mr. Knight. it is expected that the trials for seditious practices will come on to-morrow. Mr. Justice BAYLEY presides now at the .Crown Court. His Lordship arrived at this place on Tuesday night. Yesterday, Joseph Read was convicted of administering an unlawful oath to William Robinson, for the purpose of inducing him to conceal the secrets of an unlawful combination to compel their masters, the proprietors of collieries, to advance the rate of wages. This offence was coin mined in January, 1819, at the town of Sr. Helen's; near Prescot, in this County, at the time when there was a general turn-out, as it is called, for an advanee of wages. His Lordship sentenced the prisoner to be imprisoned one year in the House of Correction. John Knowles was also found Guilty of fabricating pikes, or pike-heads, with intent that the same should be used at armed, unlawful, and seditious meetings. Tower-Hill, during the whole of yesterday, was crowded with people, curious to see the prisoners for High Treason 'taking their usual airing on the tors of the buildings of the TOwer. They are allowed two dalsis a week to see their friends—Wednesdays and Sunday They were all yesterday visited by their teSpectij . e friends ; and in general were cheerful; their S6licitors have constant access to them: NORTHAMPTON SPRING RACES. Fifty Pounds; given by the Gentkmen hauling with the Pytch- leq 11 ounds. heats. Mr. Potterton'sgr. by Trafalgar, 4 yes ell -Ow 1 1 Mr. Griffin's b. fr. l.y DJubtful, 5 yes old 2 2 Drage's gr. g. by Sir Barry, G yrs old 3 3 Sittritrtrua MAR►LT, Aram 3.—Peef, 4s. 6d. to ss. Gd. per tone of Sibs.; Mutton, 45 6d. to is. Sd. -Veal, ss. 6d. to 61. Gd. Pork 3s 6d. to tis. a. ; Lamb 7s. to Bs. 6.l.—Cattle at Market- Beasts 1980; Calves, I. 30; Sheep and Lambs, 12,100; Figs, 230. I lay ver load, W. 10s. to 4!. 10s. Clover, 51. 105. to 6/.los. Straw, 11. its. to 11. 16s. Coax-F.:cum:or, MARIC-LANE, Aram 3. .Although the stip ply of Wheat to-day was much smaller than might be exp.:cted, from nut having had any market since Wednesday. yet the trade was exceedingly heavy, and from Is. to tea. per quarter cheaper, except for a few picked samples of prime quality from Bases t , which with difficulty were got off early in the morning at last Monday's prices. Vine Barley sold en 'full as good terms as in this day week, but the middling quilitks met heavy sale at a 'decline of is. per quarter, haying a tolerable large arrival front Norfolk. Oats are 11. per quarter lower, the supply being very , considerable. In Beans and Yeas there is no alteration, le A lel v kp