Star. — London, England, 1810-04-19 00:00:00

1....‘•' ; or CUMBERLAND—.THI 15T/1 111101 MINT OP i LIGHT DRAGOONS. I -TTLETON rose to present a petition from I. e,•.:';-•t, a Captain ht the 15th Regiment of ;ravine* relief from the pressure of severe ; oed grievances. suffered by him in cc r r that redress having been deferred and Jeried to him, to which, by the articles tilt himself entitled. The person by ! ,••• Petitioner alledged himself to be in the first • •:,. and principally aggrieved, was the Co ,t the Regiment, his Royal Highness the , , f Cemberland ; and a further allegation was, : h e Pait , olor had been obstructed in his due .7 C f seekir.g f .r his remedy against such alledged and that such obstruction was in direct ; tazion of an article of war, which article left no 1 discretion in the Commander in Chief, but to forward .1... complaint and lay it before his Majesty, taking s,: c Majesty's pleasure thereupon, and acting accor- Now, with respect to the statement of facts cnn..lited in that petition, he (Mr. Lyttleton) would t .;ssine that statement to be true. He would not tr z ? , it the Commander in Chief had actually , given 7 ,.ii5a1 c omplained of. He had, however, felt it , is i! ,, r y to present the petition, and if the House proper to receive it (and he was not any opposition to be made to it) he should i,llO-: tip that motion with such ulterior proceeding 3, 11: : '' ' .;t suit the general wishes of the House.— t.• 2 be glad to be enabled to ascertain those ' ."? to:ict according to them ; or if the mode f rm - ( I,i;i; ling the redre!,s sought for, adopted snbse- eiicntlr by him. should not be approved:of, he would vail;ng to acquiesce in any other that might be riff lily thought less exceptionable. He then moved t the petition be brought tip. Gcneral CRAUFURD said, that he must posi tively protest against such a Petition being received by that House. He thought it v. ould be establishing a daneerous precedent ; they could not be too can-' bats in interfering with the Military Government, titich was exclusively vested in the Crown. With rl ect to the allegations in the Petition, he believed them to be imaginary; one ground of complaint con tained in the Petition, was, that the Commander-in f had rehised— Mr. WHITBREAD rose to order, and objected to the Gallant Officer commenting upon the contents cf a paper not before the House. General CRAUFURD resumed. He could not comment upon the Petition, but he would contend that the Article of War in question, did not deprive Commander-in-Chief of a discretionary power.— He then argued generally against the dangerous con- - nuences resulting from insubordination in the army. it that House was to be thrown open to such can ; it one officer might petition, why not a re- If this petition was received, they would :arty more before the end of the Sessions; and wi'at a ferment, what irregular convulsions, what .ctious divisions attaching themselves to the different ; , aaties in that House would rise and spread through tie army ; they would have a petitioning army, a liailiamentary army, and who could foretel the con 1/41uences ? He repeated his conviction, that the Com- Leadyr-in-Chief had done nothing more than exercise a discretion vested in him, and that that House should be cautious in submitting the military government to tlecesaoul of the many headed monster. Mr. WHITBREAD said, that he and many of those shting near the Gallant Officer could ease his apprehensions of any alarming consequences resulting from a discussion of this sort. He (Mr. Whitbread) had in 1806, presented a petition from Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and yet 40 more had not been presented tat Sessions, nos one more. A motion had been made, in the course of last Session, respecting what was thought the improper promotion of a certain Officer, Lord Burgherst, and that motion was not naly acceded to, but had such effect, that that pro motion was revoked; and yet there were not forty ether motions in the same Sessions, mar one other mo tion of a similar tendency. So much for the imagi nary fears of the Gallant Officer. He knew well the necessity of due Subordination to the preservation of discipline ; but he thought that discipline was in no ilconsiderable degree maintained by the power of re-' rlmstrance vested in every junior Officer against dip injustice of his superior. He knew also, that no thing could be more foolish in principle, or mis ' tisicvous in practice, than the taking the army out of the bids of the Crown ; but how had the motion litiere them any such tendency ? It was to receive a petition that complained of the course of remon strance between the Officer and the Crown having been obstructed (hear.) It had been stated that the Commander in Chiefhint had a discretion vested in hi 1 1 law, which discretion he had only exercised in :he case before them • but the fact was, that the article war gave no suc h discretion. [Here he read it to tioth? (Hear ) lie thought that an opposite con clusion was to be inferred from that offer. As to put ting the army under the controul of the many-headed monster—that that House was .a many-headed mon ster could no doubt be easily proved, but that it as sumed any share in the military government by in quiring into abuses whether military or other, was not so clear. He should vote for bringing up the petition, not thinking that it would tend to those irre gular convulsions (though, by the way, he had not beard of regular convulsions) of which the gallant Officer was so apprehensive. • Mr. MANNERS SUTTON was for the petition being received, and trusted that his Gallant Friend would be prevailed upon to withdraw his opposition —at the same time he thought that the petitioner might have taken an opportunity of personally pre senting his remonstrance to the King ; it was also to be considered that the Commander in Chief might have taken his Majesty's pleasure upon the propriety of presenting to him that remonstrance. General LOFT, and a Member under the Gallery, whose name we could not learn, said a few words against receiving the petition. Mr. LOCKHART thought that it appeared that the petitioner did not take all the steps he might have taken in pursuit of his redress, before he applied to that House, and he should therefore vote against the motion. Mr. LYTTLETON observed, that in the answer of the Military Secretary to the Letter of the Petitioner no ground was stated why the remonstrance was not duly followed up. He should not advert to the orna mental parts of a Gallant Officer's speech, they had been already so adequately answered. It had been said that the petitioner should have gone and made his bow at the Levee, and presented his remonstrance; that he thought would have been an irregular and dis r tful proceeding. Thepe,titioner had taken a better and e more regular course. He could not adopt the ex planation that had been given by the Judge Advocate, nor if be could, did he think that it solved the•diffi malty. -He had not the smallest notion that this mo tion would have been opposed. He only asked of the House to hear the petition, and put the case into a proper train. He was not acquainted with Captain Foskett, and when that Gentleman applied to him to present his petition, he frankly told him his reluctance, and said that it was not his disposition to institute any accusatory measures against a Prince of the Blood, and more particularly so, on account of the inquiry proceeded in during last Sessions, respecting the Duke of York ; and also from having observed, that the House were by no means disposed to entertain ques tions tending to an interference with the military go vernment. (Hear.) This. however, was mete matter of feeling, and ought not to be allowed to interfere with a principle of public duty. If that House was to be deterred from the steady performance of its duty, either by the influence of the Crown upon the one hand, or popular tumult on fhe other, it signified very little whether they sat or not—what they did or what they omitted to do. Mr. RYDER observed, that when he was Jude Advocate it was always considered discretionary with the Commander in Chief to lay the Memorial of any Officer before the King or not. The petition was then brought up and read. It stated, 46 That Henry Foskett had been 30 years in the army, and four years senior Captain of the 15th Light Drains; and that since his appointment to . his troop, he bad suffered certain grievous acts o f injustice. In 1806, a junior officer was attempted to be put over his head as Maj or; Captain Foskett re quested a week's leave of absence from the Duke of Cumberland, to state the circumstance to the Commander in Chief, but leave was refused, and for five months he was forced to remain at quar ters, contrary to the general usage and right of the officers of the regiment. When the regiment went to Spain, Captain Foskett, though anxious as a sol.iier to accompany his regiment, was peremptorily com manded by the Duke of Cumberland to remain at home. Captain Foskett, feeling; himself deeply hurt, applied to theConimander in Chief, the Duke of York, once more ; and his statement was considered so for cible, that an immediate order was sent to the re giment in Spain for the return of a Captain. and Cap tain Foskett was appointed to his proper place in the regiment. The petition went on to state that the Duke of Cumberland, to impede this measure, threw out a number of aspersions on Captain Fos.' kett's character, but they were instantly proved to be without any foundation. The regiment happened to be at that time coming home, and thus Capt. Foskett lost the opportunity of doing his duty, as was intended by the jubtice of the Commander in Chief. On a vacancy's occurring, the Duke of Cumberland de clared that be would not recommen, him for promo tion, and two Majors from other rrnents Were in succession put above him. Captain Foskett procured ...,--, ii.e House—lt stated in substance, that the Officer ;tggrieved should prefer his remonstrance to the Co lozel of the Regiment, to be by him forwarded to the recommenchttions frontall the Colonels who had corn. mangled the regiment on actual service, and who of th; - hi . XL Is. 'lll 'I la , y no.. '.2cnauander in Chief, who was thereupon to examine course knew ziaireaaf the merits of an officer lan . •" , u .. 1 ,4 report upon the merits a the case to his Ma- RoyalHighneascouldhavedoneCapt.Foskettconceiv. :„ . '-'!*•;--1 - lere t h e wor d s were o to examine into and ing himself cruelly treated, wrote to Colonel Gordon :.e q . 0 :1 upon - '—report upon ; not to determine, but to ,on the 2.5 th of September, 1809,requesting as inquiry rrt—according to thrse,words, and none could be into his case, under the 12th Section of the Articles of i:,..i11e,r, there was no option ; whatever. Sir David War. His request was denied, but he was offered a . '-',nja-s did not report—he determined. But the , Majority of Infantry, which he thought proper to de `l;,;.:L`l:. Oilicer said that he knew the contents of the ' cline. He nave appealed to the justice of the House , 100. n, and that he believed the grievances alledged to rescue him from the innumerable wrongs heaped i,itercia to he imaginary. Why, really, .he thought upon him, and mallow him that fair and open en ..t.sufferer the best q ui ry which was the right of the . Britisb subject. udge whether they were so or ~., It was he who wore the shoe who could tell Mr. LYTTLETON then moved , that the petition li . ei . - c it pinched. A should be laid ' upon the table. gainst t'aat opinion of the Gallant ~1 al- there was opposedhis (Mr. Whitbread's) who General PHIPPS vindicated the conduct of the '''Ll read _the statement of them, and thought 'them Commander in Chief. itart-bre: ki 1 n i f- He doubted if .he himself . could ; Sir HENRY MONTGOMERY observed, that the I,ore sp „.• L e or "v we them. But k was said that they could • reason why the petitioner was not sent to Spain was, _ . ered to dr be im a gin ar y—it WAS to that Proof they that histroop was the most ineffective in the regiment. allenged them. ' • •If also operated against his claims, that be had been C''•eral CR t;;I , . AU FURD here interposed, and said, a set and in a differ where six shots were fired by the . _tlie epithet he had used was nugatory. principals. ,1 11- if ,-WHIT BREAD , in continuation, .said, that . Mr. WHITBREAD stated, that the observation the were indeed nugatory, that would be the best of the last speaker merely rested upon assertion, and P'" v ed by rece' • warrant d wing the petition ; they could not be that there was assertion also in contradiction to it. lie 4r d the in presuming them to be so hefore they i The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, . bi t them. But did the gallant Of fi cer know that although be conceived that the petitioner could obtain ceDavid Dundas had o ff ered to Captain Foskett no beneficial result, was 4611 of opinion that the pe :an he othel:ad presented his remonstrance , a Majority titian should be received, subject to ulterior conside. the c 0 ,„ re rlent i (Thar.) Did' this, look as if ration. He wished to impress upon the House, that a M r i. nan4e r in Chief: had conceived the complaint the promotion of that Officer was not impeded, as a . oskett to have teen either frivolous or vexa- Majority had btan offered to hint in another regiment neither was he supplanted by any junior ofllter in the same regiment with him. Mr. WILLIAM SMITH expressed his opinion that the Petition should be received. Mr. LYTTLETON observed, that with respect to the alledged duel, the Petitioner had, in his me morial to the Commander in Chief, alluded to that, as one of the aspersions of which he complained. He, as the subject was mentioned, would say, that though the Petitioner acted as a friend upon that occasion to one of the parties, he had exerted himself actively to promote a reconciliation—(Hear, hear.)—lt was not his wish to have alluded to the circumstance at all ; but, as it was mentioned, he was determined to repel with indignity any attempt to whisper away the cha racter of the Officer whose Petition be had the honour to present. The Petition was then ordered to lie on the Table. Mr. FOSTER brought up the Bill for the Preven tion of Frauds in the Irish Flax and Hemp Bills.-- It was read a first time, and ordered for a second reading on Tuesday se'nnight. Mr. DAVIES GIDDY brought up certain Reso lutions respecting the proper notices to be given upon the Petitions for Private Bills ; which were agreed to, and ordered to be considered as Standing Orders.-'-- Adjourned at twelve o'clock till Monday se'nnight. EVENING STAR. LOSDON. THURSDAY, APRIL 19. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ON'. O'CLOCK : 3 per Cent Cons. for money 631 70—acc. 701. Reduced C 4-4 per C. 831 84-5 per C. Navy 99a. PRICE OF STOCKS YUJI:WAY. Bank Stock 270 Long Annuities 1811 3 per Cent. Red. Ann. 69, 1 ,169 India Bonds, $ per Cent. Cons. 691/ Exch. Bills, 7s. 14s. pre. 4 per Cent. 831,84 Lottery Tickets £24 Et. per Cent. Navy 99ii Cons. for Acc. 7011 We have received Dutch Papers to the 14th in. dant, but their contents are almost co upletely devoid of interest. . neparations are making at Antwerp for the 'veep. tion of the French EMPEROR and his new EAIPRESs. They are to be present at the launching of several ships of war. The KING of HOLLAND has arrived at Amsterdam from Paris. Letters from Holland state, that the new territory annexed to France from Holland, is to be known by the name of the Mouths of the Rhine. The latest accounts from Holland, in these Papers, are to the 15th inst. For many years the public have not en joyed suck perfect tranquillity, as at the present mo ment. Besides the Cadiz Papers received yesterday, Go vernment also received dispatches from that place of the Ist instant. General GRAHAM has taken the com mand of the British troops at Cadiz, and the Duke of ALBUQUIALQUZ has resigned his command of the Spanish Army to General 13cacs, the former Gene ral having, as it is said, been appointed Ambassador to this country. The accounts from the South of Spain describe the spirit of insurrection as continually breaking out, and distracting the attention of the French, so as to prevent them from pursuing any steady plan of operations against Cadiz. Letters from Gibraltar confirm the intelligence of a victory having been gained by the Spaniards in Es tramadura : 3000 of the enemy are said to have been killed, and 1500 taken prisoners. Spanish military titles have been bestowed by the Junta at Cadiz, on General STEWART and several other British Officers now under his command. The CROCUS has arrived at Plymouth with dis patches, after a passage of 14 days. Of course she brings nothing of a later date than the accounts be fore received. Some New York Papers have reached town, but none of a later date than those already in our pos session. An article of the 15th February, from that city, says, " Congress have refused an appropriation for a Minister to Madrid. The PRESIDENT assured the Chevalier Oms, that no Ambassador should be received from 30111P11 BONAPARTE, while the contest continued in Spain." Yesterday, about twelve o'clock, the KING arrived at the Queen's Palace, from Windsor, where he was received by the Dukes of YORK, CUMBERLAND, KENT, and CAMBRIDGE. Soon after two o'clock his MA JESTY held a Private Levee. The following had the honour of being presented to his MAJESTY : Mr. W. W. H. Ou ARDEN, on his appointment as a Lord of the "1 reasury of Ireland, and on being sworn of his Majesty's Privy Council. Brigadier General HOUGHTON, on his return from Nova. Scotia, and on being appointed to the Staff at Cadiz. 'I he Hon. Capt. DOUGLAS, K. N. on his promotion. Mr. NzwaoLT, on his Appointment to the office of Judge at Madras, on which occasion he received the honour of Knighthood The Earl of Comurowo, on coming to his title. His MAJESTY gave audience to the Lono CHAN aci.Lo!t, the Marquis WELLESLEY, Earls CAMDF.N, Limit/mot. and . CourrrowN ,• Messrs. PERCEVAL, RY DRR, ' add Mr. M. Strrrox. The latter laid before his MA.ticiir the proceedings of some Courts Martial. The West-Essex Militia,inaTched. on Friday morn ing from Mill Bay barracks, Plymouth, to da duty at Dartmoor prison, in the morn of the North Devon Militia, who are returned to their former quarters in the Citadel. • Last week s about 190 of the Royal Cheshire Mi litia, in garrison, at ,Plymouth, volunteered into the Guards, the 22d, as Cheshire, and other regiments of the line. The 18th, or Royal Irish, under the command of Captain Gone°Qum, marched from Gloucester on the 9th and 10th instant, and took possession of the pleasant and healthy barracks at Ottery, in Devon shire, on the 16th and 17th, where they are expected to remain for a considerable period,--they at present consist of about 500 men. • NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. • . PLYMOUTH, APRIL 17. Arrived the CROCUS, In fourteen days from Lisbon, wi;11 ills-- ruches: left all well in Lisbon—the Taos fall of nv•rchart ships and transports; she has brought home an officer of 3.1 Buff., on promotion. Also arrived a French merchant and a bill, prizes to our cruizers.—The Asces sloop of ~var was put t ra it commission last evening, on account of the ciarti:tge she stistaifed in running down the Union galliot, of Poole, a short time sine*. —Two hundred supernumerary seamen were ¶his afternoon seat from the SAVVADOR DEL MeNno, and Qmlr.rked en board the \ PEACOCT. 3100 p, for Portsmouth :.-he is expected to sail this afternoon.—T:•.:. Mr:forams, a fine new frigate of !;:i guns, was launched this afterno'tn, soon after four o'clock, ir on a slip in his Majesty's Dock-yard, at this port.--Wind S. W. PORTSMOUTH, APRII. la. Arrived the PEACOCK gun brig, (rum Plymouth; and the Tortoise store•ship, from (;ibraltar.—Ssiled the Rwrin, ea a cruize.—The OIVEN GL:':\ )w r a with a Beet for Nora Scotia, New BRUNSWICK, /4e.c. is expected to sail in the woe nlng,—Wind S.E. DEAL, APRIL. Is. Arrived this morning and sailed for tlr! River the French fri gate l'Esperance (late his Majesty's sloop I.auxtaj, captured on the 12th instant off Bourdeaux, from the Isle of France, bound to Nantes with a cargo of cotton, sugar, indigo, nmkeen, tee, pepper, and other valcablfi.—Came down fr :Trl the River the Royal George East Indiaman.—Arrived a larle fLet of home ward bound.—Wind N. E. YARMOUTH, APRIL I R. This morning arrived the outwatbou od Gottenburgh convoy, escorted by the W'RANIIL:EIt and Cr uiz FR sloopq of war. After being joined by the untie from this port, they sailed, and were all out of sight by twelve o'clock at noon, with a fine breeze at S. W.—Artived the Rosa sloop of war from a entire, and a large American bark, laden with colonial produce, sent in by the Quebec frigate. Remain the ships as per last. CHATHAM, APRIL 17. The Ardent, of 64 guns, Captain HO NESMAN, sailed from Chatham to Longreach, to take in her guns, and proceed to sea. The Blake, of 74 guns, Captain CODRINGTON, and Resolution, 74 guns, Capt. HARDY, sailed from Longreach to the Nore ; also the Ruby, 64, Capt. WILLIAMS, from Chatham to Longreech.—• The Diadem, 64, and Melpomene, SS, in ordinary at this port, are ordered to be fitted for troop ships. The Cressy and Vigo new ships, of 74 guns each, lately launched at Rochester, are ors dered to be sent to Sheerness to lie in ordinary. GREENOCK, APRIL 13. F.:tract of a letter from Captain Jamas MiDowr Li., of the brig Hibernia, from Jamaica, of and for Belfast, to his owners there, dated Cork, April 3, 1810:—" 1 am sorry to inform you of my being captured on the 92d March, in lat. 49. 47. long 24.6. by the Frenei privateer le Deiste, of fourteen 24-pound tarns nades, and two long nines, and 150 men. In siz days after she captured the ship Wanstead, of London, mounting 16 guns, also a brig for this port, loaded with lumber and staves, which the master of the privateer did not think worth keeping, but sent the Captain of the Wanstead and me, with a part of both our crews in bet, and we arrived here yesterday. The crew of the priva- .eer took from us all our clothes, ice. they even took my watch, and did not leave me a second shirt." FROM LLOYD'S LIST. GRAVISETID, APRIL 18.—Arrived the Boyne, Nicholls, from Bengal ; and the St. Raplia. Santon, from Malaga.—Sailed the Bombay, Hamilton, for India. The Hector, GRIFFITH, from Cardiff to London, was run down off Beachy-head on Monday night. A requisition has been sent to the Mayor of Hull, requesting him to call a meeting, to consider the con duct of Ministers in planning and executing the Wal cheren Expedition. _ It will be secn, on reference to our Report of the business in the House of Commons last Tuesday night. that Lord CHATHAM is, and is likely to continue for some time, at the head of the Ordnance, and in full receipt of the emoluments attached to that office. An inquiry of Mr. WHITBREAD'S led to this discovery. The second notice of action served by Sir FRANCIS BURDETT upon the SPEAKER of the House of Com mons, and entered upon the Journals on Tuesday night, differs from the former one only in correcting the error, by which Sir FRANCIS'S house in Piccadilly was described as being in„the parish of Saint James, 'whereas it is, in fact, in the parish of St. George. A new writ was moved for the Borough of St. Ger main's, in the room of Sir JOSEPH YORKE, who is to be succeeded by his brother, the ex-member for Cam bridgeshire—the new Teller to the Exchequer. A report has just reached us, that the Commander in Chief, Sir DAVID DUNDAS, has tendered his resig nation. The report adds, that for a con:iderable time there has been no cordiality between Sir DAVID and the Ministry, and that he obstinately retained his own opinions on military subjects. Lord WELLING* TON is mentioned as the new Commander in Chief ; and Sir JOHN HOPE, Marshal BERESEORD, General GRAHAM, and Sir JOHN SHERBROOKE, are variously mentioned as the successors of Lord WELLINGTON in Spain. We believe his Lordship to be a very able as well as an active officer, and we believe also that he has the voice of the Army with him, but after , the noble and firm stand, which Sir DAVID DUNDAS ' 1 has made, we confess we will regret the hour he ceases to be Commander in Chief at home. Few men wculd have dared to act the noble part which Sir DAVID DUNDAS did, when Sir WILLIAM PITT died. Friday se'nnight was committed to the county of Waterford gaol, by E. LEE, Esq. M. Barr9n, charged with being a Captain of Caravats, and setting fire to a house on the lands of Knockeen, near that city. A murder attended with rape and other circum stances of a most atrocious nature was commited on Sunday se'nnight, in the palish of Speymouth, during divine service, on the body of a gill of the name of LAMB, only ten years of age. The girl had gone out in the forenoon with her father's cat tle, to a moor in the vicinity of his firm, where she was followed by a lad of the name of Gilv,ean, a neigh bouring farm servant, who carried with him an oaken bludgeon taken from a plantation near the place, with which he felled her to the ground, and after wards, shocking to relate ! beat out her brains with two stones that were found, together with the blud geon, beside the mangled body. After the commis , mon of this horrid deed he hastened to church to avoid suspicion. For several days he denied the crime laid to his charge, but we are since informed that he ad mits having committed the murder, but persists in denying she rape. The unhappy wretch pleads men tal derangement at the time of committing the act in extenuation of his horrid barbarity. A I