Star. — London, England, 1814-12-26 00:00:00

Is Is t, 8 u es ce Prince Regent, by ♦irtue of which the Dale of Cam. bridge had to open the first meeting of the States. On this occasion his Royal Highness made the following speech to the Assembly Gentlemen,—Venerable, noble, firm, honour able, faithful, And dearly beloved—l can with jus- Lice address you by these titles, worthy representa t ives o f the most faithful of people, whose undiminished attachment to the ancient family of its Sovereigns has been Approved in times of hard necessity and amid clouded prospects, as the hereditary and ever. active Inc of my family to its ancient subjects, - has not for a moment been changed during the years that a cruel fate has separated them from you. •g This attachment to their legal Sovereign has in duced a large number of Hanoverian warriors to assemble round the English banners. These valiant men have combated in distant countries through ma ny bloody campaigns for the delivery of the world, and have acquired under the greatest of Commanders immortal glory. Even before the chains which su perior force had imposed on the country were broken by the efforts of the Allies, the people of the country followed the first call that was made to them, and have emulated that army by their .constancy in the dangers of a sanguinary campaign, and by their valour in every action at which they were present. An active army of 30,000 men, formed in a few months, has partly contributed to defend the North of Germany against an enemy equally formidable by his strength and his desperation, and has partly re paired to another destination to fight for the cause of the country. Peace has relieved us from- further shedding of blood and prevented farther desolation. I 6{ Dear and faithful friends, with whom the Re gent, in whose name I address you, is again united by the decrees of PROVIDANCI, the time for certain exertion is now come. You are called upon to heal by wise counsels and public spirit the wounds that ear has inflicted. " The race of Guelphs has been always distin. geisbed for justice and mildness. Among my ances tors I count many fathers of their country ; none who abused the strength of his subjects to further their ambitious views, and subdue others. They have recognized the limits which the Lotto ologr.Avitte aid EARTH, who commands also sovereigns, has as signed even to the most powerfnL They have always pgarded as sacred the relations between the Sove. sign and the States. The greater rights which the Treaty of Westphalia gave to the German Sove. reigns, were used by the Good Duke George and his was to repair the effects of the storm which had de solated all Europe for a longer time even than those which we have seen. 6 9 Since the greatness of my house was founded by tbe vigorous administration of the wise Ernest Au. tastes. she rileotorai Dignity sequivei by him, and Listly since one of the most glorious crowns in the World, adorns the head of my fathers, the increase of poster serves but to maintain inviolate the rights of the subjects. In this manner George I. George 11. and George 111. have acted. " The Prince Regent, who has been induced, 1...,y the dissolution of the ancient German Constittrion, to assume, like other States that are became inde pendent, the Royal title of the House of Hanover, gives to the German Sovereigns who join in a confe iteration •in order to establish in common s security both at home and abroad, the first example of c illing in assembly in which the voice of the people m iy de clare itself with freedom ; but with orders to point out to the Prinarthe means of promoting his object, Much is the good of the country. " It is now the business of the States of the Hano verian domillions, now raised to an independent king dDin, to employ those extended rights that are given faro, so that the State may be powerful and happy. ‘‘ The first step to this is made by the onion of the States of all the different parts of the country in one assembly, to which are given all the rights pos sessed by the former, of granting money, and other parts of legislation. The several provinces have but eau common interest. This cannot be discussed but by deliberation in common, or promoted bat by one commen resolution. if the administration of the :Ingle provinces was ftrtnerly suited to their wants, 41.perious circumstances now require more vigorous, tncre speedy measures. " The necessary agreement of the single bodies could not be legally effected, except by the onion or dried by the Prince. The necessities of the times are meat. A strict examination of the obligations en tered into for the. country, will spew what justice re quires towards these who with confidence in good 1 . - 41 4 km their property to the public to supply the public Wants. These demands are, however, to be :Liked with the care for the welfare of the present and insure generations. The Prince Regent considers ht.; 6(44.: faith which the Sovereigns and States of ; country have never yet violated, as so sacred, 'he. h has decie.ed his disposition to contribute even :=one the revenue of the domains that these claims 'n l 7 be fulfilled. The nature of this contribution roay be fixed when we have before us the whole of o'lr wants and (bur resources. " The independence of a State depends on its Pisan: of defence. Warned by the sad experience ~ ,hich is still fresh in our memory, every friend of his :,,Intry must feel the necessity of providing against future dangers by vigourous reparations. The Bri tish nation, to whose persevering exertions Hanover' ' 44 v 3 man; other countries, swallowed up, or threat ened by tile pftpondeiance of Wild vasions, Is in debted for a newly confirmed independence and security, has by generous support replaced the necessary warlike stores carried off by the enemy, and thus enabled the men, iwho could bring nothing but their good will, to join the list of combatants. — When the external relations of the kingdom shall be fixed, the strength of the army will be communicated to you, which the Regent thinks necessary, as well as its organization and its wants. You will consider of the means to procure what is necessary. The Prince Regent wishes , the country to be spared as much as possible. The burthen, which cannot be diminished, may be eased by being divided ; and the consciousness that in the repartition, justice towards all will be observed, will make inevitable sacrifices less difficult. You will consider also of the changes in the admi nistration of justice, which the present times make necessary or advisable, and will deliberate on useful Institutions for the good of the country. 7i) he contiamed. We have received Paris Papers of Thursday last, from which we have subjoined some estracts. On the business of the Congress the Gcrinan and French Papers stand directly opposed in their statements. — According to the former, every point of importance . has been agreed upon, and the result was to be made public on the 16th instant, and the Monarchs of Russia and Prussia to take their dzparture on the 17th. But according to the French Journals, no one point can be considered as yet finally settled, and the view. and interests of the dif f erent parties stand so eirectly ,opposed to each other, as to hold out but little hope of x speedy a•ljuAment. It is probable that the truth lies between these ex tremes. In the nature of things, where so many in terests are to be consulted, many difficulties must pre sent themselves : nor can it be denied that the leading Powers have numerous temptations to warp them from the line of justice and true policy. But it is not to be believed that they can have already forgot the lessons which they were taught by a long train of mi series inflicted on the family of Europe, and which led them to join for the general deliverance and future protection. The very licence allowed to the press of the Continent to discuss the claims and pretensions of the various parties, is with us held to be a strong evidence that the great work is pursued with ardour and solicitude not to be disturbed by little angry passions. From Ghent we have nothing but vague and contradictory statements, similar to all that have, for' some time, been received from that Tenter. On Sa turday morning, as we staied in our last, all was gloom on the part of the Peace speculatnrs. In the afternoon, however, they contrived to h.tvc it be lieved that a bye-boat had arrived from /it:eland with news that the differences between this country and America had been brought to an amicable concl.u. sion. Some people were deceived by the confidence with which this was statlcl, and, in consequence, spe culations in produce took place to some extent, and a little was done in Peace Policies. Thirty Pounds were given to receive one hundred, it Peace should not be signed by the Ist of January, and fifty to re ceive one hundred, if not signed on or before the 15th cif January. That people should be duped in this manner, after they have been put in possession of Mr. NloNaoes letter to Congress, is very surprising. We have been thus plainly told by the American Government, tha t it will perish rather than concede a single point in dispute. Is not this, in other words, teliing us that our Commissioners are not called upon to negociale the terms of peace, but to accept such terms as America may condescend to dictate to England ? To such a public document, and an American Conscription, this country can offer. no remonstrance. Ministers have no choice left them but to pursue the course they have adopted with manly energy. It is not to be credited that the American Com missioners will succeed in one object which MADISON has had the weakness to avow. One :sins of his agents is to " keep the British Coran.ii.sioners in con versation, that they may take advantage of any thing that drops from them." Do these noodles think that they alone can benefit by conversation ?—After such an avowal, however, we rather suspect that these political conger:azimut are drawing to a close. When it is publicly avowed that, on one side, it is all a farce, it is very probable that the other will soon drop the curtain. Since writing the foregoing paragraphs our messen ger has arrived from Change, and has brought us a statement which we confess surprises us, and almost persuades us to believe that there must be some truth in the pacific rumours from Ghent. Of the truth of the subjoined ,report we can say nothing, but its ef fects we state as being minutely correct. The report is that undoubted intelligence has been received of the signing of a Treaty of Peace between this country and America. In consequence, though this be a holiday at the Stock Exchange, many and extensive bargains were done in the Funds. Consols opened at 66t and sod. denly rose to 671. Omnium opened at 2 discount, and when our messenger left the Change, was at 1,1 discontit ; Reduced comthenced at 6.5 i and had risen 614. The business done has been immense, and policies have been opened at LLOYD'S giving 50 guineas to receive 100, if Peace be signed before the lath dia. ' I. , '• • - I. • r nuaty. This, though it gives itrong proof of the conviotiiin that Peace is at hand, stands opposed to the first rumour of the morning, which stazed the Treaty to have been already signed, and named last Saturday, the 24th inst. as the day on which it re ceived signature. EX FRAUTS FROM THE FRENCH PAPEts. PARIS, DECEMBER Si; M. de la Fare, Bishop of Nancy, is appointed first Almoner to Madame the Duchess of Angoul.tme. The Chamber of Peers yesterday voted the adop tion of the supplementary law of the budget of 1815, as well as that relative to the debts contracted by the King in foreign countries. To-dry there was no meeting of the Chamber of Deputies. We have already stated that the two Chambers would adjourn on the 30th instant. They will not meet again until the Ist of March. DECEMBER 22. The Process commenced by the ci-devant K;ng of Holland against Madame the Ditches: of St. Leu, his wife, has been prematurely brought before the public. The Gazette tie France, which pretends to be always better informed than other Journals, speaks of this affair as if the pleadings were about to commence.— It dictate:, beforehand to the Judges and to the pithlic 'the opinion which they nugtit to entertain respecting Madame St. Len•—they chew that the tribunals can du nothing but pronounce for the husband against the wife, and by insinuations they trust that all r.- conciliation between the parties is at an end. But ao person will he the dupe of this trick. In consequence of the reports circulated that this cause was about to come before the public, ue have endeavoured to collect some antleltic details, which we now present to our re id. rs. The ce-devant King of Holland, who is at present at Rome, but who does not .seem to be definitively settled there, is desirous that the property he pos sesses in France should be instantly sold, and that his children, who are now here with their mother, should be sent to him. Madame the Duchess (al though possessing in right c f her marriage a claim to a community of goods) does not object to the first past of her husband's claims ; but she resists the se cc‘nd, on the ground that the education of the chil dren would not only suffer greatly by their removal, but they would also lose the privileges of French citizens. It is quite natural in the father to wish to have hib children near him, but it is also natural that the mother should not agree to a proposition which not only separates them from her, bat also deprives them of a fired and certain domicile for their future life, with all its advantages. We see no reason for ac. ming either party of improper motives, and let us hope, therefore, that by a speedy reconciliation all largettti will be terminated, and that both will unite co promote the true interests of the minors. VIENNA, DECENIIIER 11. Some persons pretend that the negociaticins of the Congress are perhaps less farther advanced now than at the first meeting of the Allied Sovereigns, because the difficulties are more known, and every day new ones arise. Saxony; Poland, Italy, are the great ob jects which occupy men's minds, and a plan is no sooner proposed than it is attacked and overturned, without being able to meet with any other which agrees better with the various parties whose interests cross each other, and are alternately destroyed. —A general cry is raised. against the occupation of Saxony by Prussia ; the Saxons have manifested their attachment to their King, and their antipathy against every kind of union ; but the re-establishment of Saxony renders the a ff airs of Poland much more dif ficult to arrange ; for in this case Prussia reclaims all the Polish provinces which she would have ceded in favour of Saxony, and Russia wishes to have the whole of Poland. The plan according to which the King of Saxony should give the right bank of the Elbe, does not present a sufficient indemnity to rms. sia, and Saxony will be too much diminished, so that this plan, like ail the former, falls to the ground. All Italy is in state of reclamation. Several Powers have taken a warm interest in behalf of the King of Sicily, and demand expressly that the King dom of Naples shall be restored to King Ferdinand, as the lawful and legitimate Sovereign. The Pope complains bitterly of the domains of the Church being kept back from him. The Cities of Genoa and Ve►:ice are discontented, and we expect the King of Sardinia here to make complaints also. The Powers who occupy themselves respecting the affairs of Germany are not agreed among themselves, and the Swiss furnish ample materials for animated discussions. How, in the midst of this conflict of rights, interests, and contradictory reclamations, can matters be adjusted ? The news of the day, therefore, is, that the affairs of Germany are suspended, on account of the too great diversity of the opinions of the Members of the Commission. It is 'said that Prince Wrede has given in a Note, in which be complains loudly that his Court has been treated with contempt, which is the reason for his not taking part in the discussions. The Wur temburgh Minister is said to have held the same lan guage. Lieutenant-General DIME( is to sit in the Court on Sir JOUR MURRAY, in Sir DAVID BAIRD'S place, the latter being prevented from leaving his seat in Perthshire by indisposition, the result of the severe wounds received in the service of hiscoaa up. . n T •-•••••••." 1. .1.. • r l , , ti •••• .STALOFFICE, TH REE O'CLOCK. A private Letter received tidy morning front Ghent, states, that the American Secretary of Lega tion at Mient hal inf"rmed the writer that Peace was actgally signed, and would be made known in a very few days. At this moment (three o'clock) eighty guineas are given upon 'Change to receive 100 guineas in the event of the signing of Peace on the 15th January. go official or other communication, however, has been made on the above subject, at the Mansion House, or at Lloyd'i.—Consols 67f. EXTRdORDIN.4 Rr DISCLOSURE. (From the Leeds Mercury, December 24). The Magistrates of this Borough have been en gaged during the present week in the inirestigation of a series of criminal transactions, involving not only an extensive fraud on the revenue, but in their ten dency vitiating a vast number of conveyances and other legal instruments. Tuesday last, two Attornies, Mr. burn BLACK BURN, and Mr. THOMAS WAIN; k.O Rit.ti r, both of this place, were apprehended nn the rotor rnAtton of CaOKOE JACQUES, late a clerk in Mr. BLA( KIX Rbi'S tplEce, on a charge of re:novi g stamps from ccnveyanees, pro bates of wills, &c. and affixing them to -other strtiments of a similar kind, with an intention to defraud the. revenue ; and every day since their ap. prehension private examinatiuns have been held before the Magistrates. The particulars of these in. vestig itions •it would not be proper in the present stage of the business to divulge ; bit we learn with 'treat concern• that a number of dies, suitable for the ' fabrication .of stamps, hare been found on Mr. Brasouscares premises, and that several detached , stamps, apparently cut from deeds, were found in the possession of e'ch of the parties, se= of then of considerable value ; and it is also in evidence, that these fraudulent practices have been pursued for seve ral years.—This day the filial examination took place, when the accused parties were both committed to the Castle t York, to await their trials at the ensuing Assizes. NAVAL INI'ALLIGENCE. FALMOUTH. DECFMBER 23. Yesterday strong gales at S.S.E. to S.W. to-day moderate weather.—Arrived yesterday his Majesty's ship HOPE 'with several vessels from Portsmouth, to join the SWIFTSURE and Atlases. Arrived to-clay the Governor Milan, Wit.sos, from Plymouth, for •10 maica. Passed.down Channel twelve sail,.onder con voy of two men of war. At daylight yesterday morning a brig was diSlM'ered at anchor betv . cen Pendennis Castle and Helford Hactrmr, apparently riding hard, wind blowing a streng gale at At eleven a. m. the brig made a signal of distress, when the Pilots for St. Mawes %vent off, to tk out the crew, and brought them safe on shore. She proved to be the Neptune, FELD'S, film London for Liver pool, in billag. At three 15.. E. the Captain return. ed to the ship, taking with him some people from the shore, and succeeded in weighing the anchor and bringing hair safe toSt. Mawes.---Wind E.S.E. _ PLYMOUTH, DECEMBER 24.. • Anivid the Acnatas sloop of war, from a cru3zes Patinas s and Attu° frigates, from the Downs. Sailed the MEANDER frigate, and the AMARANTH* and BXRUUDA sloops of war, with the fleet bound to Spain, Portugal, and the Medkertauean ; and the FOXHOUND sloop of war, with the ships bound to ports in the Bay. Arrived several ships from the North, and a few from France. Sailed several vessels to join the limns frigate at Falmouth, hotind to Africa. HARWICH, DECEM3kIt 24. Arrived the Beadfoy packLt, w.th a mail from Cuxhaven ; also arrived several ships from Harlin-. gen, &c. some with wheat, others with butter and chase; and two or three ships with timber, from the North. All the deals, &c. on deck have been washed overboard. Some ships have lust anchors and cables, and others have split sails.—Wind E. We have already stated the certain loss of the Bei. tish Queen, and with it the whole of her crew and passengers, consisting of fifteen persons. Among these, it is ascertained, besides the C iptaiii (:,ashen r) and his crew, were his son, two seas of the iwn:r (Mrs. Laming), Mr. Jell, Coach maker Of Margate, two of his workmen, and a young Min a native of that place, who accompanied him to 0-it nd, on a visit of curiosity. Mr. Jell had gone to ()Vend with a carriage, which he had made for an officer of the Medical Staff at Brussels, and was on his return with two other carriages. He was seen to go i n board the British Queen some few hours 13..t0re she sailed. A dispute hats taken place between th.f East-India Company, and the crews of five or six outward-I»und Indiamen now loading in the River, in conseynon< e of which, the latter, have to a man, left the snips and come ashore. It appears that the Company in time of war, have been in the habit of giving a t bounty of five pounds to every seaman ;before sailing from Gravesend: on the present occasi, n this 4 fl ow _ ante has been stopped. The seamen in the first pl ice maintain that they were not informed of this resolu. Lion of the Company before embiirk n 1 at Bhick ; arid secondly, that guoad an India vuyaze, we Are still at war, nay that the trouble of ,;efending the Company's property against an American frig ite is likely to be much greater than that which the attack of a Frenchman ever occasioned. Here the matter rests for the present : yesterday the last of the refrac tory crews came ashore at Gravesend, and it is bu justice to the whole to state, that during the conti nuance of the dispute, nothing like a mutinous or in. temperate expression escaped them against their i,tfi. tees s they were in fact all picked men, and renial ka. ble for their orderly conduct and decent habits : qua. lities which cannot be too highly prized either afloat or on shore. SMITHFIELD MARKET, DECEMBER se. Beef hOdto 6s 41 Veal 7 ud to as Od Mutton S. Od to 6. P.rk of . 0 74 8,• Belau 1680—assep hod Lambs 6,74o—Calves 100—Plgs 240 - - CORN EXCHANGE, MARK-LANE, DEC. te. Our market was but mod rattly sui pisssl aV% Lk,' uis morning (except Foreign, of whien description the arr.vai is very considerable) and last Monday's prlcea luny suppor ed. Barry is ss. per quarter cheaper, having had a say large •uppl ) noat Norfolk and Suffolk. Beaus and Oat► are is. per quarter .ewr• In other articles there is no aketation. 1