Star. — London, England, 1810-06-16 00:00:00

ME THE EV: ING STAR LONDON. SATURDAY, JUNE 16. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK 3 w Cent cons. for money shut—opg. '7li. 'Reduced 3 470-4 per Cent. SM-5 per Cent. Navy diet. Exch. par to 4s. pre.—Bonds 19s. SOL pre. Some interesting intelligence is shortly expected from our fleet off the Scheldt. Eight ships of the line, one frigate, and four brigs, are watching the move ments of the enemy's ships in Flushing. Sir RICHARD STRACH4N had ten sail of the line, bin two of them have been sent off the Texel to examine the state of the enemy in that quarter. The enemy's force con sists of five sail of the line, one store-ship, and a fri gate, with 14 brigs, lying under the pretection of two !wavy well-constructed batteries of 20 guns each. It i; the opinion of the fleet that Sir RICHARD will cer tainly make an attempt upon the enemy's ships.— The Masters of the fleet, almost as soon as they al.- r ived, were sent to sound the channel of the outer roads. This day two Mails arrived from Gottenburgh, and one from Lisbon. The accounts by the former give an official con tradiction to the report that the island of Aland and the town of Tornea were to be restored to Sweden.— They also speak of an intended interview between two Monarchs (probably the Emperors of FRANCE and AUSTRIA) in a town belonging to the Confedera tion of the Rhine. The Lisbon Mail brings reports of some trifling skirmishes near Badajos, in Spain, in which the Pa triots succeeded in seizing some small convoys of pro visions. Letters of the 18th ultimo, from that place, state, that the enemy retired, on the 16th, from Me r I to Almendralego, on a report that General Hill's Army was in motion. BALLESTEROS occupied Tregenal ; IM es and Colonel MURILLO had joined in Xeres de los Cavalleros, where was likewise General VENDIZAIMIL, with a part of his division. O'Dommitt. had left Albuquerque for Truxillo, directing his march upon Caceres. The following are the principal accounts received from Lisbon: GUARDA, MAY 23. Letters received to-day from tin head-quarters of Lord WELLINGTON, say, that the English army is in perfect health, and well provisioned in every respect ; and thePortngnese army is now in such a state of per fection, that we have nothing to fear. The French continue to retreat. General Massena, after reviewing the whole of the army on our frontiers, has reported, it is impossible to attack the Portuguese with a chance of success till he receives considerable reinforcements. LISBON, MAY 24. Mr. Casamajor, the late secretary of legation, sail ed from hence a few days ago for Algiers ; it is ge nerally believed that he takes with him a considerable sum of money to purchase a peace between that coun. try and Portugal. The report of the Algerine squa dron, which appeared off this coast a few weeks since, having been taken and destroyed, seems to be doubt. ed ; and there is not at present a sufficient Portu guese force to send against them, serious apprehen sions are still entertained for the Brazil ships, which are expected home. (PRIVATE LETTER.)—LISBON, MAY 26. This city, contrary to numerous predictions, is still in safety, enjoying the utmost tranquillity ; and, the enemy having withdrawn considerably beyond the frontiers, a confidence, perhaps too strong, now pre vails, that it will be long before he will again make his appearance in this neighbourhood. The conduct of tlib Trete, in declining to give battle to our army, and withdrawing from a force so much inferior in point of otimber to their own, has created much fsur prise, and given rise to various "njectures. It is to be hoped that neither Lord WE NGTON nor Marshal BERES/I'ORD will suffer themselv to be drawn farther from our frontiers than what prudence dictates ; for among those who pretend to divine the enemy's motives in his recent retrograde movements, there are not a few who consider it as mere French finesse, to draw our army as far from the frontier as possible, and into a situation the Most favourable for them selves to attack us. From the experience Lord WEL tiNGroir has had of the little reliance to'be paced on any exertions but those of his own army ; and the proof he has had of the skill with which the retrograde movements of the enemy are generally undertaken, his Lordship will not be easily drawn into any new snare. Of one fact I can give you the most po sitive assurance. We here keep prepared for the worst. —We have a large fleet of transports in the Tagus, which are detained to be used as circumstances may' require. The heavy baggage, and such of the stores as are not immediately wanted, are kept on board the tr ,nsports, that there may be nothing to . impede the retreat and embarkation of the army, should any un foreseen disastrous occurrence :ender those measures unavoidable. Provisions are tolerably plentiful and reasonable ; and trade here, on the whole, rather brisk. There are very few of the Portuguese that ie;ish for the return of the Prince Regent ; the best iorortned among them, that I have conversed with, bad much rather that the country should remain , under the, protection of, and be governed by the British, for *loth they pato to feel the greatest peeper& - - ------- 7 7 . 4 v 49 k irt NAVAL 17VTALLI6ENCL ' FALM -7-1 01TTH -411- , JUNE 1 S. _ _ Arrived his Majesty's ship thrssas, with a Beet of transports, from Lisbon; several of them Ire come in here to embark troops for that country, and the remainder are gone up Channel with the ULYSSIS for Portsmouth. PLYMOUTH, JUNE 14. Sailed an English cartel, with French prisoners, for Mork!: ; the FAVOORITZ sloop for Portsmouth, with the two transports, full of French prisoners, which arrived here yesterday from the West-Indies; the CHEHRLY gun-brig, on • a cruise ; and the SHANNON frigate, to resume her station off the Black Rocks.— A fleet of merchantmen passed up Channel this morning, from the Westward.-.-Arrived the ROYALIST gun-brig from a cruise. PORTSMOUTH, rusz is. Arrived his Majesty's ship FAVOURITH, from the Westward. The Oakall and Nestor transports, with French prisoners from Guadaleope, are put under quarantine. Sailed his Majesty's ship Most, for off Ham; SOPHIA, Of a cruise; HAZARD, for Newfoundland. The LITtLY, and her convoy fin the Medi terranean, made preparations for sailing, but stal remain. DEAL, JUNE IS. Sailed his Mijesty's ships Humana and Penasons, with the outward-bound under convoy, for Portsmouth; and the Isart.4- cast.z, for Plymouth.—Wind S. E. SHEERNESS, JUNE IS. Sailed this morning, his Majesty's ship GLOCKSTADT, with a convoy, for Heligoland. The next will sail about the 12d last. FROM LLOYD'S LIST. GRAVPSIND, June IS.—Arrived, the Alexander, Turnball, from Tobago, Augusta, Bathea, from the Brazils ; Hannah, Kings ston, from Philadelphia; Four Sisters, Williams, from Amelia Islands; John, Dempton ; and }Linter, AnseU, from Guadeloupe; Little George, Scott; and the Generous Friends, Baldny, from Oporto.—Sailed the John and Betsey, Every, for Surin.un ; and Carmelite, Arnold, for Cadiz. • , .11‘ 1 1 !DI • . (‘.. "••'- Ter • * • • r •;. % k • .1•01 Pi THE ARMY. We understand that a new Commission has been sent out to the Commander in Chief of the Army in India, empowering and directing him to grant Brevet Commissions in his Majesty's army to the Officers in the service of the East-India Company, correspond ing to those which they held in the Company's army, whenever they may be employed together. This ar rangement will go a great length to do away the dis contents which have so long existed in the military establishment of that country; and we hail it as the forerunner of a general military arrangement, which promises to secure unanimity and concord in that valuable part of the British Empire. Detachments of the 7th and Bth Regiments of Foot hare embarked at Portsmouth to join their Regiments in Portugal, and about one hundred men of the 79th have also embarked for the same purpose. The wind being to the eastward, the different con voys for the Mediterranean, Spain, Portugal, and North America, made some appearance of getting under weigh from Portsmouth, yesterday ; but it is supposed they will not sail until Sunday. General FERGUSON, and the regiments for General GRAHAM'S army, as well as those for Lord WEL LINGTON'S are still detained by contrary winds at Portsmouth. General FERGUSON lives with Lord KEITH. The Dorset Militia, commanded by Colonel Mon- TON PITT, is on the march to Weymouth. The Cornwall Militia is on the march to Plymouth. The West Kent Militia, now at Sunderland, are under orders for Hull. Last week the Royal Wect Middlesei marched into Ashford barracks, from Silverhill. Yesterday the Ist East Kent regiment of Local Mili tia, commanded by Col. FINCH RATTAN, was review• ed in the Artillery Exercise Ground, near Canter bury, by Earl CAMDEN, the Lord Lieutenant of the County, preparatory to its being disembodied to morrow. Atter which his Lordship inspected the Canterbury Rifle Corps and Volunteer Infantry, in Mr. Hougham's Paddock. The Royal South Lincoln Militia marched into Canterbury, in two divisions, on Tuesday and Wed nesday last, from Hythe, on their route to Chelms ford ; they are to be succeeded at Hythe by the East Devon Militia, now on its march from Plymouth. We art very happy to hear that recruiting for both the Line and Militia Regiments has been attended with a success which was quite onlooked for. In many of the popular Militia Regiments, there will be no tccasion to have recourse to ballot. * We have received a letter from a military friend in Jersey, who describes with what cordiality the return of their worthy Commander in Chief has been greeted by the inhabitants of the island, as much as by the army there. No man was ever more popular in his Government than Generhl Dort is—the inhabitants almost adore him. Soon after his arrival he reviewed the troops at their different stations, attended by Ge neral RoniNsoN arid, large staff. His Royal Highness the Duke of CUMBERLAND is so far recovered, as to have been able to walk a short time yesterday in Carlton House Gardens. The Princess AMELIA had a very good night on Thursday, and was considered a little better yesterday morning. The Royal Family visited her Royal High ness in the course of the day. Lord HAWKE was better yesterday. His Lordship has not yet been removed to his own house. There has been a political contest in the South Shields Theatre, in consequence of the greater part of the audience calling out " Long live the King and Burdett." This gave offence to Sir CUT/MEET HenoN, and some of his friends, but, after a short uproar the performance was suffered to proceed. The negociation for t'ie exchange of prisoners still continues. Within the eight days preceding Thursday last, 49,180 quarters of wheat have been entered into the port of London. The premises of the Rev. Mr. WARE, at Shepperd's Green, Bucks, near Ailcham, were destroyed by fire on Sunday last. The tire was occasioned by a man setting fire to a mow in the barn whilst pursuing a rat. Thursday se'nnight the wife of a labouring man in St. Martin's-lane was brought to bed of a boy ; on Sunday last she was delivered of a girl ; and Thurs. day morning of other two children. The firs; twp 'children are doing well ; the mother and the other Iwo, we are sorry to state, now lie dead. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COORT OF KING'S BENCH, JUNE 19. • TRIAL Or MR. WILLIAM OOUITT. This important case came on to be tried before the Right Honourable Lord ELLENROROLIGII, at West minster Hall, precisely at nine o'clock yesterday. The pannel being called over, the following were sworn of the Jury : Thomas Rhodes, Hampstead-road. John Davis, Southampton-place, ditto. James Ellis, Tortenharn-court.road. J. Richards, Bayswater. Thomas Marshasn, Baker-street. Robert Heatbcote, High-street, Mary-la-bonne. John Maude, York-place, ditto. Peons Baxter, Church Terrace, Pancras. Themes Taylor, Red-lion.square. David Dean, 110, St. John's-street. William Palmer, Upper-street, lslingteh. West (Talesman), was about to be sworn; but, Joseph 1), was about to Mr. COSIIETT objected to him, and he was with drawn without assigning any challenge; on the con sent of the Attorney-General. Henry Faver, a Taluisan, was then sworn, and made up the twelve. Mr. CourrT objected to him as being a Foreigner, but declaring himself to be a British born subject, Mr. Cobbett apologized for having been misinformed. The opening Counsel having shortly stated the sub stance of the information, The ATTORNEY-GENZRAL then opened the case on the behalf of the Crown. He stated, that the libel having been. published so long ago as July 1809, some reason would be expected for the cause having been so long delayed. Mr. Cobbett living at such a dis tance, and taking advantage of his just right of de. ferring his pleadings, the cause was brought forward at the earliest period that the forms of the Court would admit. Threatened with invasion, it was thought proper that a certain portion of the popula tion of England should be trained to arms. In 1808, Lord Castlereagh brought in his Bill by which the Local Militia might be called out for 28 days, though they had only been called out 20 days. When the Cambridgeshire militia was called out, some disaf fected persons in the Isle of Ely caused them to mu tiny, and it was found necessary to call in the military in the neighbourhood, and five of the ringleaders were sentenced to receive 500 lashes, part only of which they received. The German Legion who were thus called in, is composed of a body of brave men, who, when Hanover was over-run, quitted their country, and entering into his Majesty's service, have con ducted themselves with bravery, and it was no dis paragement to the British army to say, that the Ger man Legion have shared the glory with them. At the battle of Talavera the German Legion took three standards. No troops had ever conducted themselves in a more quiet, orderly, and sober manner, and he could not find that any complaint had been made against them. Mr. Wardle in a motion in the House of Commons, had proposed to disband the German Legion, against which Mr. Huskisson offered suffi cient reasons. A paragraph soon after appeared in the Courier, June 21., 1809, which he would read : " The Mininy amongst the Local Militia which broke out " at Ely, wasferfeeakly suppressed on Wednesday, by the arri " val of four squadrons of the German Legion Cavalry, from " Bury, under the commando( General Auckland. Five of the " ringleaders were tried by a Court-Marshal, aod settloweil A re " ceive 500 lashes each; part of which punishment they receive' iea WeAesday, and a part was remitted. A 'templet their 'nap " Jade was the ground of complaint that exatrsi this awsowo " spirit, which occasioned the men to surround their officers, " and demanded what they deemed their arrears. The belt division " of the German Legion halted yesterday at Newmarket, on " their return to Bury." With this paragraph, as a text to a Sermon, had Mr. Cobbett headed his paper. 'rile A TTO RN EY G ENERAL t hen read the alledgedlibet LOCAL MILITIA AND GERMAN LEGION. See the motto, English reader ! See the motto, and then do pray recollect all that has been said about the way in which Bo naparte raises his soldiers.—Well done, I.ord Castlereagh! This' is just what it was thought your plan would produce. Well said, Mr. Huskisson ! It really was not without reason that you dwelt, with so much earnestness, upon the great utility of the Foreign Troops, whom Mr. Wardle appeared to think of no utility at all. Poor Gentleman! he little imagined how a great genius might find useful employment for such troops. He little imagined that they might be made the means of compelling Englishmen to sub mit to that sort of diocitlixt ' which is so conducive to the produc ing in them a disposition to defend the country, at the risk of their lives. Let Mr. Wardle look at my motto, and then say, whether the German soldiers are of as ace.—Five hundred Mika each I Aye, that is right ! Flog them ; flog them; Bog them !—They deserve it, and a great deal more. They deserve a fl.seging at every meal-time. " Lash them daily, lash them duly." What, shall the rascals dart to Nudity, and that too when the German Legion Is so near at hand! Lash them, lash them, lash them. !hey deserve it. 0, yes ; they merit a double-tailed cat. BUS dogs! What, mutiny for the sake of the tries V . & laatecui Lash them ! Flog them ! Base rascals! Mutiny for the price of a goat's skin; and then, upon the appearance of the &MPS Sei- dias, they take a flogging as quietly as so many trunks of trees ! I do not know what sort of a place Ely is; but I really should like to know how the inhabitants looked one another in the face, while this scene was exhibiting in their town. I should like to have been able to see their faces, and to hear their obsee. vations to each other at the time. This occurrence at home will, one would hope, teach the loyal a little caution in speaking of the means which Napbleon employs (or, rather, which they say be employs) in order to get together and to discipline his Conscripts. There Is scarcely any one of these loyal persons, wl.o has not, et various times, cited the hand-el:nit, and other means of force, said to be used in drawing out the young men of France; there • is scarcely one of the loyal, who has not cited these means as a proof, a complete proof, that the people of France hare Napoksa . aid Ail Gruaransrat, assist with reductive: in his et ars, and would f ia see another revolution. I hope, I say, that the loyal will, hereafter, be more cautious in drawing such conclusions now that they see, • that our" gallant defenders," not only require physical restraint in certain cases, hut even a little blood drawn from their backs, and that too, with the aid and assistance of Gertaan troops. Yes, I hope the loyal will be a little more upon their guard in drawing I conclusions against Napoleon's popularky. At any rate, every ' time they do, in future,burst out in execrations against the Fren. for suffering themselves to be" chained together and forced, al the point of the bayonet, to do military duty," I shall just repub• lish die passage, which I have taken for a motto to the present sheet. I have heard of some other pretty little things of the sort; but, I rather choose to take my instance (and a very complete one it is) from a public p int, notoriously under the sway of the Min.stry. The Jury would observe, with how much reproach Mr. Cobbett mentioned the word , 4 loyal." He would not suffer it to be believed. that Napoleon would use such means to raise an army. He not only rendered it a vehicle of attack on this country, but as a de fence of the Emperor of France, he would not per mit the country to b?lieve the tyranny of Bonaparte. So that the author meant to represent that the treatment of Ministers, was as tyrannical as the chaining together the Conscripts of France. The attorney-General charged against him, that he im. puted tyranny, cruelty, and injustice against the Government of the Country ; that he held out to them that the punishment was undeserved, end held them up to public scorn, for having been base-minded enough to submit to punidumat He had compared this treatment to that of the conscripts by Napotr as. They bad mutinied, which rendered it necessary to call in assistance; aad they were punished by a re , gear court-martial, and this be c ompared to t h e ranny of Bonaparte. Against the Gen a a tt L et Z this was as cruel and unjust, as unmerited. HeVa up those who wee punished, to ridicule, as men who, if they had spirit, would not have submitted, and the German Legion as fit for ao other service.-- It would not have been the part of a loyal subje ct to animadvert on these foreigners, against whom node. merit could be imputed, except it were that they h a l preferred the service of their legitimate monarch to ' that of Bonaparte. The aka of the libel was to give to all men a distaste to that service, into which some must enter, and to persuade people that the ty ranny of the measure of the local rnilicia was gre atrr than that of Bonaparte. For these reasons he fik himself called upon to bring the publication before 11 Jury. Whatever the author had W alledge, he would be patiently heard. He had considered the papa attentively, and could give it no character but that which he had described it to be. I Mr. Thomas Harvey called to prove the libel. Mr. Cobbett declared himself to be the sole prop:. etor and author of the paper. H e adrkitt4 alto, that the paper was purchased at Mr. Budd's. Mr. Lukin called to prove, that there were trorop: ! in service called the Germa n L eg i on . Mr. Cobbett admitted that fact. The libel was then again read. Mr. COSIIICTT then addressing the Court, *aid, he should take up as little time as possible, doing so himself as much justice as lie thought he deserved.— ' But the hard wordcaccumulated, sad thundering ac. cusations that had been used, would not mislead the Jury. Sir William Hall, Attorney General in the time of William 111. bad said, u In Spain the Inqui sition clothed persons in lan knito:, that they Duet be rendered hideous by being thus dressed up." He I wished the Jury to put on his words no meaning but that which he had, and he trusted that they would acquit him. That the Attorney General was not in. fallible, was sufficiently proved by the charge that lately had been made against a person of the same . profession, who was even accused of wishing the King dead—but the Jury did not, by their verdict, shew that they believed the Attorney General. In the whole world there was not a man who had beta more calumniated than himself ( Mr. Cobbett), and, in the propagation of that calumny, he certai n ly believe his Majesty's Ministers to be implicated.— This was a question of intention, and, if they could believe him guilty of what was imputed to him, they must think him capable of any thing. Even in the very streets he was calumniated by placards. By ene person, who had a pension of 4100 per annum, an d which Lord SiJmouth had struck off, a calumny was asserted at the foot of a caricature, of a most °nut geous nature. [Here Mr. Cobbett read it.] Oa seeing this, in which it was asserted, that be had, in 1793, received £4OOO tor circulating a pamphlet against Reform--feeling himself thus c h arged, he had written to Lord Sidmouth, from whom he bad mem- . led a most candid answer. - [Here Mr. Cobbett read a letter from Lord Sidmooth, contradicting the as. persion.] Mr. Cobbett then adverted to a former prosecution in the Court of King's Bench, in which he had been prosecuted for the publication of a libel written by a Judge, who, however, sow enjoyed a pension, and which, by the liaerallty of Mr. Perceval, was increased £BOO per annum. He then adverted to a prosecution against him for a libel in America, on the trial for which it appeared, that th e Spanish Minister had contrived a plot to poison his Majesty's troops in America. Having suffered in his fortune in that cause so severely fur his King and country, that very case had been ripped np, and brought against him on a former occasion by the Attorney. General. Mr. Cobbett then continued to read the calumny published against him in the caricature history of his life, and continued, by observing that, in his private life, he had folfilled every duty within his power. It had happened that Lord Craven, wanting to make a road tor the conveyance of can. non in Hampshire, on inquiry into the means of !making it, every one said, go to Mr. Cobbett. Thus he was not suspected of disloyalty, and had been ! engaged last Session in carrying the Bill for that pm , pose through both Houses of Parliament. lie would now endeavour to refute the charge that had been specifically brought against him. The charge was, that he maliciously intended to excite disaffec , tion, &c. The information stated him to do that, !being an ill-disposed seditious person, and in hatred of his Majesty and his Government—that is, that he meant to do an injury to his country. But if they found him guilty, it must be on the principle that such were his intentions. He begged their particular am ; tion to this ; for, in the intention, consisted the whole of this case. Mr. Cobbett then adverted to what the Attorney General said at the openiwk in which be was in error; for that he had long been ready to come before the Court. He therefore denied, distinctly, that he had availed himself of any advantage to delay the trial for one hour. So far from it, his interest rendered it desirable that it should not be deferred, for a person with a family of children just old enough to be alarmed, and with a wife in a situation that in• creased his embarrassment and distress, could not be supposed to have any motive for evading justice.-- The Attorney General had dwelt on the word loyal ; it might have been supposed, that he had too much discretion to make use of that word as a term of re proach. The Jury, if they had read his paper, must know it. The Attorney-General must know it. — There were persons who had set up prCensions to exclusive loyalty--such men, for irevance, 25 Mr. Bowles, Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Villiers, elm, the moment that any measure cf retrenchment was proposed, immediately open with a cry of disaffec tion. Every one must know his meaning to be by that word an ironical application to those hypocrites+ who affecting loyalty are any thing else. Another set of people :ailed themselves King's friends, who every body must know it to be his opinion that they are not the King's friends. The Attrraey Genera knew the whole paragraph to be satirical—a criticism on Lord Castlereagh's Bill, the mischid from which he had been very forward in anticipating. But, Oh ! says Lord Castlereagh, you cannot mean me, you must mean the King—" speaking of iloggiegi it cannot mean me." Why, by and by, if a Mi nister were pelted in the street with mutt, w! should be told the mud was thrown at the King , Ord not s the Minister. Sir William nay".