Star. — London, England, 1817-04-19 00:00:00

SECOND REPORT Frew de SELECT COMMITTEE ex IVANCL The Sitt.vcr COMMITTEE ippointed to inquire into, and state, the Income anal Expenditure. of 'We United Kingdom, for the Year ended the Silt of January, 1017, and also to consider and state the probatia income and Expenditure, (so far as the same eon now be estimated,) for the Years ending the soh of Janu ary, HSI*, and the .sth of January, Int ta, respectively, and to' report the saute, together with their Observation, thereupon, from time to note, to the House, and also to consider what further measure, may be adopted fur the relief of the Country from any part of the said Expenditure, without detriment to the Public interest, have proceeded to investigate the principal Establishments of the Country, beginning with THE ARMY. Tn this department, the first object that presents itself is the numerical amount of force. Your Committee are deeply sensible of the ex reme difficulty of asc?rtaining the precise point at which our Military Establishments should be fixed, on ac count n 1 politicti considerations, and others of a still more de:icare nature, which must necessarily involve themselves in the question. In taking into conside rati,m the Peace Establishments of tne country, it most he remembered, that it on the one hand they are proposed to be kept in a state of complete prepa. ration, with a view of affording entire security to the nation both at home and abroad, the coutiitued ex- , pogo must bear so heavily upon the resources of the dentry, as to preclude all hope of relief from the burdens of taxation and the load of debt incurred during a Intig series of protracted hostilities : on :he other hand, it they should be reduced too low, the temporary gain in point of economy might be more than counterbalanced by the hazardous situation in which this kingd-.m, together with its num, rolls and distant dependencies, might eventually be placed upon the breaking out of au unforeseen or sudden war; for which such a state of deficient military prepara tion miVit possibly offer no small temptation. It is rather therefore for the Executive Government, acting un their responsibility, to propose ; and for the wi.dism td. the House to judge, of a matter of this high importance, than for your Committee to of fer an u ; ,in.n ; out they observe in the mean time, with satisfaction, that upon a comparison between the Estimates of the two last years, and those for the present year, much will appear to have been effected in the way of reduction, both as to rumbers and as to expense; and they entertain a confident hope that such further reductions will continue to be mad.-, as may be found consistent with all tbe.true interests of tie country, neither erring on the side of absolute confidence on the long duration of peace, nor giving way to unwarrantable apprehensions of danger and aggression. And your Committee further submit, that 'as the duralion and magnitude of the astonishing exertions made by this kingdom during the late war, must mainly be e at 'bated to the pecuniary resources then brought into operation, which could never be more justly deemed the sinews of war than during the whole Course of that events ul contest ; so these can b: renovated and strengthened in no other way than by retrenchment an 3 economy during the Oppottu nity afforded by a return of peace. At the same time, this most important considera tion mast always be kept iti.view, that if our Military ' Establishments should once be suffered to tall b.low the standard of efficiency and discipline, to which they are now raised by great exertions founded on experience, it wil y not be possible to restore them again to the same height without great waste of time, however urgently their best services may be requ•red. Lean Foness.—The reduction of that great esta blishment which the war had occasioned; was begun. hi 1816, and has been carried considerably further in the present Estimates; the difference amounts to no less a sum than 5t?1,738,496, upon the net balance, although several charges, such as Half-pay, the Corn passionate List, and other allowances of a similar kind, aie necessarily augmented by the termination of the war, and a diminution of the numbers main tained on active service. Besides the niere numer:ciil reduction, a principle .of economy has been applied to the Cavalry, by a diminution of the number cf horses keot for the ser vice of each regiment, to the extent of twenty in each troop. •lis the last year there were'only ten men dis mounted in each troop, and that number is now doubled, by which a considerable charge is saved, without too far breaking down the efficiency of the regiments.—The particulars of the charge of a Teg i. ment' of Infantry, in the years 1792 and ,1817, con,- pared with the present, and the relativi charge'of maintaining the same numerical force in the two pe. hods, bears the proportion of very nearly two to dine; being dt245,094 in 1792, and a 113.11,974 in 1817, for 8000 infantry. A comparison is also given of the expense of regi menting a force of 8,000 Inlautry into battalions of 4IX) tank and file each (the establishment existing in 1792); and into battalions of 800 rank' and file each;' by which judicious arrangement an annual saving of 474,926, as well as a mote efficient Staff, by the present mode of forming this amount of force upon the same number, ,is, secured to the Public.- • The l'ay of the ArMy, with regard tn. rank and fik, has been exactly doubled since 1792, with addi. allowanCes after sevin years of seinervi but the augmentation of pay and - daily allowance has l*en made upon a•mnch lower scale to'the Offices a; and the Colcgiel still stands upon the Same looting as in 1792. In the tavaliy no addition has been made to,the pay of any rank superior to that of Lieutenant, which IiAS beep increased horn Bs. 51. to 9s. per day ; the Dragoon Soldiers, whose daily pay was 81 in 1792, now teceive Is. Stl. with the addition of Id. after 10 years, and 2d. alter 17 years of service. The rate of agency semains precisely the same as in 1792 for Corps of Intantry for corps of cavaliy, the rate of agency appears to have been reduced sae-fourth hom the 25th of July, 1809. It ii.te idarkable, that no augmentation has ever been made to the allowances for clothing and appointments of ei.her Cavalry or Infantry. The rates of off•reckon-, logs were first fixed 'in the reign of Queen dune, and ibey 'Vitamin the same at the present tray ;but in con t,eratietice 0.1 • the great increase in the price of leather shish . % die early part of the late war, an allowance est 'l5 per cent. upon the ofi-reckonings was granted eta Womb of Cavalry Regiments front July 1799, • _~ after deducting therefrom rel. Ma. per annum for every man wanting to complete the full eitablish ment. This allowance has been limed every two years upon a Memorial from the respective Colonels, :hewing that no diminution had taken place in the - price 4,f appointments, with the exception of two years, from 25th December 1803, to 24th December 1805, fir which the Colonels did not claim it. The difference which appears in the present and in former Estimates, between the expense of clothing some regiments f equal numbers, is occasioned by some of them being upon the British and some upon the Irish establishment, which for a Cavalry regi ment of 4&} rank and file amounts, upon the British establishment, to £2,845, and upon the Irish (in Irish currency) to £3,500, or £3,230 British. This is stated to be a very old regulation, in which no al teration has been made of late years. ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE. In the Royal Military College every thing seems to be conducted in a manner honourable to those who are in authority, and on a plan conducive to the good education of all classes resorting to it for instruction. Your Committee can not , however, but question the expediency of continuing this establishment on its present extensive scale. They most heartily join in the feelings which would induce Parliament to pro vide for the orphan children of those gallant men alio have sacrificed their lives in the service of their coon - try ; and also for the children of mt ritori"us officers now actually starving : but if the whole number At present on the establishment are to be provided with comniissions, it must unavoidably operate nearly to the exclnsion of all other classes.from the Army r— and your Committee submit, whether such a system would net be in direct variance from what has liithet. to been practised in. this k ngch m ; and whether it might not justly be considered as inconsistent with the spirit of our Constitution. But it aerie young men cannot be promoted, it is almost superfluous to remark on the inexpediency and eventual cruelty of educating them for stations which they are not likely to 611, and of encouraging hopes that must be dis appointed. Some reductions of expense have already taken place ; among which your Committee cannot but notice, the voluntary relinquishment of his table al lowance by the d;stinguished efficer at the head of the establishment, accompanied at the same time by a statement, that althou i gh an accession of property modeled it unnecessary tor him to receive any longer this allowai ce, he wished it to be understood as by no means considering it improper to be continued to any officer cid o might be his successor. Sqme other reductions may probably still be made, , independently of lowering the number cal young per ! sons who receive eleemosynary education ; and it well deserves consideration, whether with regard to the senior branch, tor which an entirely separate es tablishment is maintained at Farnham, some addi- Court' contribution might not be reasonably demanded from the officers, wh r desire to receive the benefits of the mode of instruction themzifordel The whole sum now paid is no more than tMfAuineas per an num fur each officer admitted, and it- s stated that the present applications for admission are Much more numerous than it is possible to comply with. * It,may further met it consideration, whether in time of peace it would not be advantageous to increase the rate ot payment to be required from the third class of junior students, who now contribute £lOO each, while the numbers of the other two classes are reduced; and perhaps to give somewhat more of a civil cha. racier to the education of the place. By these means great numbers of ;ming persons, best adapted by their station in the country to lead tf.e armies of a free people, may be drawn to the College, in conse quence of a mode of education uniting the advan tages of our public schools with the quali fi cations that are considered necessary for the military pro!es. sion. In this manner the College may be made to pay the greater part at le .st of its own expenses, and become during peace a much lighter burden upon the resources of the country. Whenever war shall un happily return, temporary alterations may easily be effected suited to the existing state of things. (1. k conlinvtat) • THE LITERARY GAO/ITV{ AND JOURNAL Or VIZ Bawls LITTRES, Sec.—The Thirteenth Number of this interesting new Weekly Paper, contains, among other articles— Portraits in High Ilk No. T.• ' the Chief of the Rymri ; Mo. Jena Poets; Thomas Campb e ll, interesting Account of Den Giovanni; Discoveries in the Anibrosian Library at Milan ; Discovery of Ancient Roman Letters; De Pm& on the Spanish Colonies • French Translation of Lunn ; Milli° Voyage dens le Milan:is; New Theory of the World; Crocodiles and Tor toises of the Mississippi; Dr. M•Lean, respecting his Experi ments on the Plague at C.oustantittople; Sketches of Society; Fashionable Dialatities, &c.; Manes Francalses.—Britias Drama t Mr. Booth, Riphi Rey, Conquest of Taranto.—French Opera indien.—Observations on the Mode of rewarding high and efillaient Political Services ; numerous Articles of Literary and Fashionable Intelilgeuce, Ste. &c. &ea Mare Man two Prizes ie one Blast' ! Sixteenths Tamer e1:6416114p each I nide 85 cheaper I Fear Pilaw .ff 820,000 each, Money and Consolsi—Manizu and CO. 8, Cornhill, and its;ostorti-strest, respectfully beg leave to acquaint their Friends and the Public, that in a few Der the Wheel gees round, and the Scheme undoubtedly possesses greater advantagestbsn were eveC contatned in any former Lottery.— in a previous tottery, when there were ONLY Two Prizes 6f .C 20,000, MARTIN sod CO. sold them both.—Tickets and Shares in greet variety, are on sale as abotro—Orden from the Country punctually attended to. • This day is the Anniversary of Bren's great success inthe year 1815, see had almost said his extraordinary success, but ahy good fortune on his part will not bear that interpretation. as be invariably takes the lead on that point. Though for one Office keeper ;o sell all the Grand Capitals in the Sdisme would, if it was not fresh in our recollecti4k, appear rather mar venous; what we allude to is the Numbers 9882 and 4544. both drawn Prizes'of Thirty Thousand Pounds on the 19th of April, 1815, and No. 1406, drawn alto a £30,000 Prize on the 15th of that month, all three of which were sold.and - shared by Btsn. Previ ous to that period his fame for selling Capitals was well known ; and rams it must be remembered lie has dis ked of 2 Prizes of £50,000, 2 Prizes of £40,00u, 1 Pr4e of 490,000, besides an immense number of £2o,oooVand minor Capitals; and we should not be surprized if he sold all the Ft ua £20,000 Prizes in the Lottery which begins the 90th of this month ; for be sold the 2 Grand Capitals in then last Lottery, and $0 Capital% in that Contract, being (as usual) greater in iludsbernad antouat thin those sold by al the other Offices. THE EVEN ING STAR. I.ONDON. SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1817. PRICE OF STACKS THIS DAY AT TWELVE n.cr.ocK Co. 7241—D0. for Account, 7241—Reduced 71if 5 per Cent. Navy, 10q1-4 per Cent. 884 k Exchequer B.lla 11.. 2113. pr.—lndia Ronda dill 68 pre. The Select Committee of the House of Commons on Finance, have this day issued their Second Re port. It is entirely occupied with the Military De partment of the Public Service, in which it points ont a great variety of very important improvements that may be made, both in point of regulation and expense. In our preceding columns we have given some Considerable extracts from it, and shall endea vour to add the rest in our publication. Government, without noise or bustle, have per formed a most acceptable service for Ireland. Indeed ny thing like parade on the occasion, by setting the monopolists to work, would have retarded, it not defeated the object. There was a known deficiency of seed-corn—and even of potatoes. Of the forma Article, abundant supplies were obtained from the Baltic, and from various ports of Germany. Wheat and potatoes have likewise been shipped from Eng land for the same quarter. A Boston Paper received this morning, one day later than those which reachecl us on Wednesday contains another letter from St. Thomas, which states, that the vessel belonging to BRION% squadron seized by a Danish brig of war, having been condemned.) bad caused great alarm in that island, as it was feared that the Independents might, in revenge, actually seize on the island, and there was no - force there that could prevent them. Admiral BuroN, with the main squadron, and Ge neral BOLIVAR had gone up to Margaretta, whence they expected to attack the Caraccas ; and when these accounts left St. Thomas' (16th February), Some Spanish men of war were expected from Bar- celona, a French corvette froirs Guadaloupe, and an English frigate from Barbadoes ; a Danish brig was lying there, and they expected a visit from the Inde pendents, ao that they were apprehensive of some dis turbances. In Another column we have given some interestiog detals from hlezico ; with some official intelligence respecting the Royal flotilla on the coast of Vene zuela. Every arrival of intelligence from South America convinces us more and more that the cause of Old Spain is now entirely hepele4. We have this morning received the Paris Papers from the 16th to the IGth inhant inclusive. The fol lowing are the only notices of any interest : PARIS, APRIL IS. .The Prince de Broglio, Bishop of Gand, intends proceeding to Rome after passing same time in Bur gundy. He is not in Paris; it is at St. Denis that he has been stopping some days. The Emperor of Russia has advanced M. Pon° di Borgo to the rank of Lieutenant• General. The rescript in' which this mark Of distinction has been announced, h conceived in the mod flattering and honourable t: rms. The Duke of Orleans, with his family, arrived this evening at the Palais Royal. _ The King having rematked it his Levee yesterday Lieutenant-General Oudenarde, Lieutenant of the Company of Noailles, called him to him, and testified publicly his satisfaction at his late conduct. We are assured that Prince Talleyrand will de part ler Valenyty in the course of this week. FRANKFORT, APRIL 9. The ci•devant King of Sweden continues to reside here, but lives very retired. HAMBURG% APRIL Q. It now appears certain that a plot was formed against the Prince Royal of Sweden, which was to have been putin execution on the 13th of last month. A masked ball had been announced for that day, at which the Prince Royal and his son were expected to be present, and the conspirators had resolved to em brace that opportunity of attempting their assassina tion. The Prince Royal was informed by an anony mous letter of the traiterous design, and immediately called a Council of State, which s a t till m orn i ng . The n ight passed tranquilly—the ball took place— but the Princes did not attend. Nothing has since occurred to disturb the public peace, nor as it certain that any arrests have taken place. The report that. a Treaty, unknown to and unan. thorized by the Spanish Government, in Europe, has been concluded between the Government of the ' Brazils and the Independents of B ue n os A yres , h as suddenly acquired some additional countenance from an article in a PariaJournal, under the head of Madrid. By tl e original Report, it was given out that the Buenos Ayres Congress bad ceded to the Portuguese an extensive territory, in return for some great ad. vantages promised to the latter, but whether of ac. tive assistants in their struggle for independence, or of mete neutrality, we are nut informed. The article in the French Papers, which, for augh t we know, may be of Parisi manufacture, says, 64 l'he equivocal ex pedition of the Portuguese against Buenos Ayres and 'Monte Video has caused less dread to the Insurgents than it has perhaps excited distrust in the Spanish Cabinet. It Would be strange if the only result of the invasion projected by the Court of Rio Janeiro, on the frontiers of South America, should be to kindle war in the Peninsula between us and Portugal. -How ever, Though they have talked of some military preparations at Lisbon, • nothing hitherto announces on our part the least - doubt of the preservation . of a good understanding with our ntighbeurs.! The Madrid letters and Gazettes complain bi!ttt:y octet receiving any acoountstrom tht Infexican c T..- tal,Pfor the list ten months, .and ,inured with great reason, if they dared to state the real causes oi i! ; ; s silence. Though welialie not been mach more fo, tunate ourielves, as far as relates t.. the iti.,aior, we are nevertheless enabled to lay before i.tar Read. is translation of an authentic letter wt ith.n by a n 7., 1 , pean Spaniard, of the highest &ciection dolid, Mechoacan, one of the pr./minces of Nl:::aca most contiguous to the South Seas. It is itd..!teb%,,e to his friend, high in office in the Pen.nstila ; and h.. sides containing the latest inft.rni.tion Iron. the in. rior of that secluded country, it describes the s. and object of the revolution in the most candid at. undisguised m inner, and conveys a perfet.t as we.. as impartial idea of the Royal cause. After recommending it to the periital of the par zans for mediation, we have onlyone remat k n. 4. onitscontents, and t h a: is, that the ss liter seen.. •I , no conception of the imn:iinse supplies of all. • iltj stores the insurgents of Merle , ' have been able tain Within the last year, as well the naval Anna. ment they have organized since :he possessiol, Matagorda, w hich no doubt would !Mit! A pu.c i ii i vi i t feature in the writer's nest cornmenica.ioit to friend at home, nor should we be sorry it a event placed it witoin out reach: tirrltit IVlttrriol iv A Stilk , PeAti sfANlAntlit. SOUTH AMERICA. TO LIS fItIENO IN l'He. I'IOAINSUL•A• • Valladolid (Mexico) Lo.e 5, ter DRAII Ft:mu—l:um the very cwitnieneeo of the insurrection in this kingdona it has' iiti.gtee. sirely increased,• and we are now deioid of ail !ores of being Aske to suppress it. The remedies might h a ve beets res., te.l to for the ptirp..:e of sto k - ping this - glee( evil to Spain; art raw sled, AIL' at • the present day none of them can be us.d. I King's treasury daily beconies mire enti:.y. Mint ot Mexico, which certainly ,i,ay be s Le. ovs i t „, best criterion, last year only cooled s, vets ntillin,., . &dart, but this year it will nit c , i.t six, and b e n., e the !evolution the coinage annually was 'A. interior taxes, called alcaiala:, at.d which as: ;. on the produce o 1 tf,e country and other things b. id, do not now produce one-filth of their lorntet amount. 01 the tributes exacted from the Intaians mithait collected, for scarcely an eighth pail of their teriirae ries is under the . King's Government ; snd it the in digenes were ceimpeited to pay tribute, they would immediately go over to the insurgents. The roma detived from the tobacco monopoly is scarcely any thing, because the greatest part of this a, tick cilia sumed is contraband, and the insurgetis have sides made large plantations of it. 'l') t: es .ire in a miserable state, since out of the fifty eti,u le is tie. _ ._ longing to this Bishopric of Vall el I .id a.iic., pa id this impost, thirty-seven are in possession c f ~ he tit. Isorgents; and out of the remainder in %hid Royal tronpiare stationed, some produce very small tythes, and others none, because the gerrisAls do crt dare to quit the towns, and all the country is at C.: will of the insurgents. The same is the case in tiis Bishoprics of La Puebla, Mexico, and Hoe:act; ti.ose of Guadalaxars, Durango, and Monterey. have n•it .suffered so much,,but beyond all doubt t..ey h ive , ex. perienced a reduction of at-least one halo' at their 1..- mer revenue. • ".Not to be too tedious, I do not enumerate a ca. riety of cases relating to the Royal treasury, tri . ra which it would result that its annual recuipts are rct equal to one fourth of what they used to be, and in this province of Valladolid they do not reach cite. tenth. The other resources which at first were seized upon, such as the church plate, as writ as that cf private persons, donations, voluntary a n d fweed loans, &c. are now completely at an end. No plate is to be seen any where ; no body is found willing to give, lend—nor indeed has any one any thing to give or lend, even if they were disposed. As ail the persons belonging to the Royalist party see their exertions and sacrifices have been useless, no cne is inclined to persist in them, hence does it happen, that the ardour by which many were before animated in the King's cause, has been completely extinguished, and each Royalist now concentrates himself within his own affairs. " The King's troops, according to the statements I have seen, are not less that thirty thousand under pay, besides twenty thousand vuluctecrs, but wlio in reality are no other thart forced conscripts. Of the first nut more than one-third are native born S2l - the rest are Creoles, acid consequently cannet be trusted out of sight. But of what avail is the parade on paper ? The expeditions performed With these forces to Various points, produce no effect : rt general they are no other than military parade:. .1 division goes forth, marshes about for a nv. , nth, a few insurgents, loses some odd soldiers, ex,ent'l twenty thousand dollars, and then comes back to 0;`.: capital to seek for more money ; whilst the proyi;:c: which had been the theatre of these maiiceuvres 3 left in a worse condition thuvrbefore, owing to the robberies and outrages of the King's troops; whence it results, that similar expeditions every day trAc less impression among the people. From the time the insurrection first commenced, the Kir,g's frogs have entered twenty-seven times into Pasquare ; a:.l Pasquaro is at the present moramt equally as hair gent as it was at the beginning. The opi!iion Waned) actuated many is favour of the King, is now greatly diminished emigrants have beet cu mesons, and indeed they would be more so if there were not so many obstacles. At the present day ao mass of the population gravitates towards indrece dente, and at length we Spaniards must be cre-!*.tql by its weight, which daily becomes greater. T?:5 infallibly must happen if a force does not arrive from the Peninsula, not of 5 or of 10,000, but of 2.0 or 30,000 men. If not, nothing will be obtained, fer one action is gained and another lost—one point IS gatrisoued whilst another is ungarrisoned—ard thusshall we remain under continual alte'natives and re dactions, and the final result of this must be the de struction of the King's troops, and the iii,;erendeoee and emancipation of this kingdom from his Itopi dominion. " The seizure and death of some of tht: Inturgeol Chiefs is of no consequence, nor discs it in ..ay . v l4 l diminish the ardour at those who aspire to die ende pendente of their country. The Spanish Conn . .' nicat must not feed thanselves on vain but.'' ur 1