Star. — London, England, 1823-04-11 00:00:00

i 1 _ r ), . • .0% . *a ; .~. . , .' L.: , to depart from the • customary usage, by not pm*: posing to found any proceeding upon the documents which would be laid before the House: that, how ever, would not preclude any Member from adopting what course he might think expedient with respect to the papers. In most cases in which documents rela tive to negociations hailbeen laid before Parliament, the negotiations had terminated in a declaration of war fvul on all such occasions Government had pos sessedln opportunity of stating to Parliament, the country, and the world, what had been the course of action and policy which had led to the issuing of the declaration of war. The late negotiations; however,' had not terminated in the manner to which he had alluded; and the statement which he intended to make was merely meant to supply the place of a declara tion of the Government. In what he should state next Monday he would not anticipate any contested question, or call for any premature approbation of the conduct of Ministers : he would deliver a plain unvarnished tale, which would leave it open for any Member either to contest the fidelity of his statement, or to combat the policy of Government. In conclu sion, he would tepeat, that in the course which he proposed to pursue there was a great convenience to the house, and particularly to the Hon. Members opposite, if they should desire to express their disap. probation on the conduct of the Government. THE FIRST FRUITS IN IRELAND. Sir JOHN NEWPORT rose to bring forward his motion on the subject of First Fruits in Ireland, and in doing so the Honourable Gentleman entered into a history of the origin'and intended appropriation of this branch of•chutch revenue. The First 'Fruits, he observed, were the first year's income of all church benefices, and were originally paid to the Pope, but at the Reformation became the property of the King, as Head of the Church ; so they remained until 1716, at which time the First Fruits were given by Queen Anne to the use and benefit of Ireland, to be paid into the hands of Commissioners, and by them applied to the building of new churches, the purchase of glebe lands, and other church pur poses. The Honourable Gentleman then, at consi derable length, proceeded to contend, that this in come had been almost entirely misapplied. In many cases no First Fruits had been paid, and in other cases, when paid, had been appropriated to purposes of private emolument, entirely different from those for which they were granted by the Crown. He stated that the sums received for First Fruits in the ten years preceding 1821, did not amount to more than £2750 a year on the average, whilst. in the same period, the Public had been charged with upwards of £45,000 for building new Churches. He contended that this was a subject which called imperiously for the inter ference of Parliament, and for the adoption of some measures to prevent the Public from being taxed to such an amount to defray a charge, for which a fund already existed, provided by the munificence of the Crown. The Hon. Baronet concluded by moving the following Resolutions: " That the first &tumor annates, being the first year's Income of every ecclesiastical dignity and benefice in Ireland, became at the time of the Reformation a part of the revenue of the Crown, as head of the church, and was rendered payable by instalments, and otherwise, regulated by the Irish statute of the 28th Henry V I 11. and continued annexed to the royal revenues until the year 1710. " That her Majesty Queen Anne, as an act of grace and fa vour to the Established Church of Ireland, by letters patent, con firmed by subsequent Acts of Parliament, did then vest in certain Trustees and Commissioners the produce of this branch of royal revenue, for the purposes of building and repairing churches, for the purchase of glebes, where wanting, and of impropriations wherever the benefice was not sufficient for the liberal mainte nance of the Clergy having cure of souls. " That her said Majesty Queen Anne did at the same time absolutely exonerate and release the Clergy of Ireland from the payment of the twentieth parts, or twelvepence in the pound, theretofore payable annually to the Crown out of the income of all ecclesiastical benefices. _ __• _ _ " That it appears from returns laid before this House, that the gross amount of the first fruit revenue thus vested in trust, as paid in to the Treasurer of the Board of Commissioners during ten years, ending in January, 1821, amounted only to £3,752, leaving the net amount of produce, applicable to the valuable purposes of the grant, no more than £2,925, averaging annually £292, after the deduction for salaries and incidental expenses of the Board, of £827. - " That the grants of Parliament for building SeW churches and glebe houses, and the purchase of glebes in Ireland, during eleven years, ending in 1838, amounted to £498,000, being an annual average of £48,000; and that provision still continues to he made by annual grants for these salutary purposes from the public revenues. " That four hundred and sixty-seven of the dignities and be nefices of Ireland, being nearly one-third part of the whole, have never been rated or valued to the payment of the first fruits, as directed by the statute of Henry VI I I. and that three hundred and thirty-six benefices more, although rated, do not contribute thereto, in consequence of the very early period and the low rates on which the valuation was effected; and that the whoa of the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other ecclesiastical dignities of Ire land, are estimated as amounting to only £4,247 yearly value. " That the receipt and management of this revenue has been always reserved to and continued in Officers appointed by the Crown, and that the duties thereof were by letters patent, in the year 1812, entrusted to certain Commissioners, with Rower, as therein specified, from time to time, to collect, levy, and re ceive, and to examine and search for the just and true value of all and singular the dignities and benefices of Ireland, but that no Valuation appears to have been made under authority of this patent. " That these Resolutions be laid before his Majesty, together with our bumble representation, that it appears just and equita ble that this branch of Royal Revenue, liberally bestowed on the Church of Ireland for vise and salutary purposes, should be rendered efficacious for the attainment of the objects of Royal bounty, without the necessity of increasing annually the public burdens by parliamentary grants ; and that we humbly pray his Majesty may be pleased to authorise and direct the patentees of the Crown to proceed forthwith in the execution of such mea sures as may be deemed necessary fur examining and searching for the just and true value of all and singular the dignities and benefices of Ireland, and for rendering all such as shall be found to exceed the annual value of .eitso, rateable contributors to the first fruit fund, as vacancies in such dignities and benefices may hereafter take place." Mr. (JOULBURN said, that he should not be backward to giie this motion his support, if he thought that it would he beneficial to Ireland. The real question which was contained in it was this— would the House inflict on the Clergy of Ireland a tax to the amount of 30,0001. or 40,0001. which was not infliLted on the rest of their countrymen ? (Ikar.) The Hon. Baronet went further in his claims than the l'ope had done in Catholic times in this country. who had been contented with taking the half of the first-fruits of bench es. Nevertheless, in Sta tutes as early as the reign of Edward repeated complaints were made that the demands on the part of the Pope were exorbitant. An early Statute of I 1 my VIII. set out with restraining the claim to were called excessive first-fruits. In the ti.Stli of Henry VIII. the King assumed to himself the an rotes previously claimed by the Pope, but requiring r.utlriog mote than had been previously paid to et foreign authority. By the 3cl of Elizabeth particular liiings in Ireland were exempted in the strongest terms from this charge; six.—all Vicarages above the yearly yalue of el. Bs. and all Rectories above Si. In the patent in the time of Queen Anne, the amount of first-fruits in Ireland was formally stated not to ex ceed from 4001. to 5001. a-year, and this valuation was borne out by every subsequent Statute making any allusion to the subject. He contended, therefore, that when the amount of first-fruits was once fixed, tliat amount must ever afterwards be continued to be paid, and no more. The 2d of George I. esta blished this point in the most distinct terms, and the 9th .George 11. also expressly declared, that the payment shall he the original payment and no more. Valuations of livings had been made at various periods, in the reigns of Edward 111. Henry VIII. James I. and Charles H. but there was not a single instance where the value of a benefice having been once fixed, an attempt had been made to ascertain it a second time: the first proceeding, under all circumstances, was final and irrevocable. One leading error ran through the argument of the I-lon. Baronet, and that was—that first-fruits, in the eye of the law, meant one year's value of the benefice on any change of in cumbency. Disapproving of the whole of the Reso. lutions, he moved the previous question. Sir JOHN NEWPORT shortly replied, observing particularly upon the reluctance of the Church, not only to contribute their share to the support of the general burdens, but even to the maintenance of their own poorer Clergy.—The House then divided, and the numbers were the following : For the Resolutioos - 39 For the previous question - - - 4 8 Majority - . —9 On the re-admission of strangers to the gallery, the SPZAKER was putting the question on the other Re solutions of Sir Joan NIWPORT, and they were nega tived seriatim. CROWN DRBTORS. Mr. HUME moved for an account of the number of Crown Debtors, and of persons confined for con tempt of Court since 1819. He stated, that he knew of persons who - had suffered a long confinement for the small sum of twenty pounds. The remission of the debt generally depended on the favour of the Crown. In 1820, 31 persons had been confined for contempt, one of whom, of the name of Hannah Bar ber, had been confined for 31 years while many had suffered an imprisonment of ten and fifteen years.— He thought it a cruel case that such a power should be vested in the hands of a Lord Chancellor, or of any one. Such 4 state of the law ought not to be tole rated in a Christian country. - The SOLICITOR-GENERAL stated, that by the Insolvent Act, persons charged with contempt, for not paying money, were entitled to the same relief as any other debtor. As to other contempts, the party had only to submit to the order of the Court, and then he would be entitled to his release. The great mass of Crown debtors were confined for penalties on account of breaches of the Revenue Laws. If such debtors should be entitled to the same relief as other debtors, it would be impossible to collect the Revenue. But even in the case of such debtors an indulgent ear was always lent to applications by the Lords of the Treasury, when the debtor appeared to have suffered a sufficient punishment. Mr. PEEL begged to disclaim any idea, like that attributed to him b 1 the . Hon. Member for Aberdeen, of apportioning certain quantities of imprisonment to the liquidation of certain penalties. The, lenity of the Crown would always be freely dispensed, but it could be dispensed only with a due regard to the circumstances of particular cases. Some portion' of imprisonment, where a fine was not paid, became absolutely necessary; because, if fines were not ex acted, of course they would cease to be paid altogether. Dr. LUSHINGTON thought that the law as it at present stood called loudly for amendment. Mr. RICARDO thought that the Judge, and not the Minister of the Crown, should decide upon the nature and the extent of the punishment. The mo tion was agreed to. After a few words from Mr. Hums, the returns were ordered to be produced. Sir J. BOUGHRY asked leave to bring in a Bill for enlarging the powers of Justices of the Peace, as to the determination of questions between Masters and Servants. Dr. LUSHINGTON obtained lime to bring in a Bill for consolidating the laws relative to the Slave Trade. At the suggestion of Mr. BTIIII, the second reading of the Registry of Vessels Bill was postponed until the 18th inst. Mr. HUME (to complete certain documents before the House) moved for a Return of the Annual Revenue and Expels diture of Great Britain, from the Sth of January, 1792, to the sth of January, 1798.—Agreed to. The House then adjourned at Half-past Seven o'Clock. I owmen? Der:oath—From a Return made to Parliament, it appears that in the last four years there have been discharged, of Insolvent Debtors, from the Debtors' Prison far London and Middlesex, 1,960.—0 f these, 828 were confined between one and two montbs-426 between two and three-304 between three and four-227 between four and five-915 between five and six-53 between six and seven--37 between seven and eiglit -14 between eight and nine-8 between nine and ten-4 between ten a nd eleven-5 between eleven and twelve-4 between twelve and thirteen-2 between thirteen and fourteen.—Tee were con. fined for periods considerably more than one year; and of these one had been siz years and eleven months 1u prison, and one ten years and three months. From a curious document just published by order of Parlia ment it appears, that front July, 1820, to December, 11122, 15,698 debtors have applied to be discharged under the In solvent Acts ; and that of these NS have been finally remanded. The total amount of the sees for which the whole number of 15,5911 were arrested is .C 1,077,587 40.9 d. of the sums owing by them .010,579,149 12s. ad. of assets received and divided amongst the creditors, £15,454 Bs. ad. or only one seven hundred and seventy one part of the whole sum indebted, the dividend not being one halfpenny in the pound. W ESTM I N STFR MEETING TO OPPOSE THE INSOLVENT Dawrons'AcT.— Yesterday, pursuant to public notice, a General Meeting of the Merchants, Traders, and others, of Westminster, was held in Willis's Rooths, King-street, St. James's, but was not very numerously attended. At half-past one o'clock Mr. Hosnouss took the Chair, supported by Sir FRANCIS BLIEDSTT, and several other distinguished Electors of Westmin ster. A Petition of considerable length was then read, intended to be presented to the House of Commons, praying the matter to be taken into their consideration. A desultory discussion arose, and it appeared to be the opinion of the majority of the Meeting, that the Petition should be' more inquired into, and for that purpose a motion was made, seconded, and carried unanimously—that it should be printed and circulated.—Seve ral Gentkmen were proposed to form a Committee, with power to add to their number; and after some further conversation, it was agreed upon tbat a Meeting should be again held that ay fortnight.—Thanks being voted to Mr. Holum:se, who briefly expressed his acknowledgmenu, the Assembly broke up. ... .. Tii E K,..N1 ETA' k 1 - !; LONDON. . • FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 1525. THE FUNDS. STOCK EXCHANGE, ONE O'CLOCK. There has been a considerable quantity of business done to day. Consols opened at 741, and 75, and have gradually risen up to this hour, when they are 753 buyers. This is the day of paynient, and , there is nut even a rumour of any defaulters.- - - I Spanish Bonds are also on the rise. They opened at 28, and I have got up to 29, with more doing in thew thanthere bas been for some time. Colontiiian has varied a little. being .583, it Is now at 59. A Morning Paper quoted the French rentes at 82f. 75c. but it appears that this is not correct. Later accounts mention the price as 80f. 20c. Either the antes ou the day in question did not get up to 82f. 75c. and the whole thing leaf a hoax, or , they suddenly rose to that height and afterwards as suddenly fell, without any adequate discoverable cause. FOREIGN DS. - Current Prices: Chilian 66), New Spanish 28) I 4 29) 29), Old Spanish 36, New Prussian 79), Old Prussian 80), Russian 711) 73, Danish 82, Colombian 59. PRICE OF STOCKS AT ONE O'CLOCK. Bank Stock 206 1-3 per Cent. Reduced, 71% Ya 3 per Cent. Consols 75 71 % 75 % 3 1 ,E per Cents. 86 3 / 4 Y 8 • 4 per Cents. Old, 92 1 4 A 4 per Cents. New, 92 1 ,E 7 / 8 Bank Long Annuities, 18 15-16, 19 1.16 Imperial 3 per Cents. 74 3 /. 75% India Stock 239 239 1 4—India Bonds 30s. 31s. Exchequer Bill's of £l,OOO, 145. 16s. - Ditto Small 17s. premium Consols for Account 71% % 7 5 % % 3/4 We have received, this forenoon, Bayonne Papers to the Sd instant. It will be seen from the snbjoined extracts that the preparations for passing the Bidassoa were then on the eve of completion. The Paris Papers of Tuesday, which came to hand last night. state that intelligence had been received there, by telegraph, of the passage having been actually ef fected on the 7th. Marshal VICTOR still remained at Bayonne, and evidently in a very awkward situa tion. He went to the Army gazetted as Major-Ge neral; but it does not appear that the Duke of As- GoyLame even admitted him to his presence; and at a grand review of the troops on the 2d, be " did not go out." All the Orders of the Day continued to be countersigned by Gutu.autsor, as Major-Ge neral ; and his Royal Highness took every opportu nity of evincing the undiminished favour wkicb the, General enjoys. BAYONNE; APRIL 3. We have no news from Spain to-day. The Mail has,• probably, been stopped by the Royalists who are posted at Bergara, and have had an engagement with the Constitutionalists, the result of which is not known; but it was probably of small importance, as there are but few troops of either parts in that quar ter. Zabala has made a movement, the object of which appears to be •to join his little corps to the Army of the Faith, as soon as it shall appear on the Spanish territory. General O'Donnell arrived here the day before yesterday, doubtless to take the orders of the Duke of Angouleme. It remains to be seen whether, on his return to the troops' under his command, they will execute them, for it is certain that they do not seem well disposed to obedience. We learn from Irun that the Political Chiefs of the Spanish frontiers have had a meeting at Mon dragon to concert the final arrangements for re moving all provisions, forage, cattle, carriages, &c. and withdrawing the inhabitants into the interior in order to leave the country bare. This measure, in fact, has already been executed in •part, for private individuals have sent away all 'their ?Arable effects, particularly provisions, at a'distance from the pro bable scenes of military operations. It seems that this want of resources is foreseen by our Commander-in-Chief, for measures are taken to send to the front provisions and other necessaries for the army ; 200 waggons loaded with such articles are to leave the city to-morrow, and at least an equal number every succeeding day. The want of horses is much felt, and those which have brought the pon toons here have been purchased at a high price. The poatooneers have arrived here, and passed through without stopping, as well as the battalion of the 7th of artillery. The park of artillery at Pau has orders proceed to the Bidassoa, to cover the erection of the bridge. The division of Autichamp, which it is said will be one of the first to enter Spain, will occupy all the coast, including Bilboa. The line of tele graphs is completed, and was to be tried to-day, but the fuggy weathet has prevented it. Two English ships have entered our port; they hare on board 506,000 piastres, and they are con signed to M. Berlin, agent of the house of Rothschild. The destination of this money is not known, but it is supposed to be for, the disbursements of the Army of 1 the Faith. We have had, almost at the same time, three Orders of the Day. which . are not public, but are neverthe- Jess official. The first announces to the soldiers the arrital of the Prince, and his satisfaction at the good discipline of the army. The Prince says, also, that he shall always be at the head of the troops. and that he will lead them to the field of honour. The tecond, of the Ist of April, says, the head-quarters of the first corps, under Marshal Oudinot, are going to be removed to Sorogne, and that the Prince will riiove his in a few days to St. Jean de Luz. Lastly, the third, that a column of Spanish prisoners, taken by ' • . . . • .2 . . - - • • the is going to ente r F rance by Sts, Jean • . trPor7,ll and to be sent to T ou l ouse. 11 ! Th Orders of the Day are count ' ..' 11 peseied threede Royalist eri llasti, lay;Guilleminot, Major-General, which shews on ." one hand that hostilitieshaw e commenced,: and o•th„ '''' other, that the Prince recognisesialil.4l4l 4o . V minot as Major-General ; anotht e proo f o f the higk• d favour with which he honours 'this General, is-tip t ,. 111 . ' : flattering reception he gave him yesterday at the.re. " L .! view ; after speaking to him two different time t . h e i shook hands with him as if he had been his s t This review took place ye ster d a y at two o'clock. R io . mu neral Molitor commanded ; Generals Dambruge oes sli Bordesant, &c. and also Quesada, accompanied th e „__ lll Prince. The Marshal Duke o f B e ll uno d i d not • "qa Cg e i! out ; the Prince of Hohenlohe was not in uniform. They write from St. Jean Pied-de-Port, that the , 11114 number of prisoners will be more thantotriapcltedeibri {pp ou people of the Faith, who hare consen ted part in order to'give % great idea of th e first success I * 134 'obtained ; and that they will immediately return to '' (n another point to act the same farce over again. Thoy ' f P os ° may deceive for a time the French of the interior, but to those on the frontiers have eyes too ship to be to an grossly imposed upon. afli It is said that the Spanish Consul will no longer an i i be recognized, and that hi s p ass p ort w ill be givers 13,1-: him. This seems to be a consequence of' the meal of •. our Consuls, which has been ordered. , , ou ea Although - the French army appe ars now to have . passed the Rubicon, there appears no likeli'aMod of • a " an immediate conflict. The f our pr i nc i pal Sj uaig 01 MU Commanders are making diverging movements from aid the line of advance to Madrid, while the inhabitsar e are laying waste the count r y b e f ore t h e invaders, OA bst BALLASTEROS is bearing upon Saragossa, in order le • , orm a junction with M INA , an d T ORRIJOS is pi* Cuc , ceeding to join Moan.to in G a lli c i a . UI The French Ultra Journals describe the forms no. der each of these Gener a l s as mere .. handfuls." 111. OUI bor this be true, they must have greatly dwindled, with- f out any apparent cause, withi n t h e l ast f ew week. It rim was stated, both in the F r e nc h an d S pan i s h papers, kit ser even in official document s b e f ore t h e C ort i es, that r- .` tla , MINA alonehad under him 30,000 men , i n f our d i. -oh visions, commanded by him se lf an d three Lieutenants. ! i The truth is, that but little re li ance i s to b e placed os - as f the representations whi c h e i t h er p atty ma k e of t h e of r -adverse party or of itself, u n l ess i n some aut h ent i cated The form. The progress of the cam p a i gn a l one w ill prove -, and sad the truth. General fAarsaar., it is said, is ado!. risk wonting to cover Madrid with only 2000 men. It It • pos , would be an' idle attempt t o d e f en d t h e cap i ta l wit s mai such a force against the F renc h, an d i t _f orms elm ' l. ' mei crusty no part of the plan of t h e S p a n i s h Govern • - • 'r choi His object may be to def en d t h e i n h a bi tants f r . ICo being pillaged by RESS IERES , w h o has reappearanot ' at Guadalaxara, and who, accor di ng to a di spatch a here ABISBAL, has had a main division of his band defeated of ii , -. • An Oporto Journal of the 24th instant states, . a brilliant victory has bee n o b ta i ne d b y t h e • in eh , tutu tutionalists, near Amarante ; t h e act i on lasted '.. extra nine in the morning to four in the evening. The - - tam were finally routed, leaving 230 prisoners in the •• - tsar of the conqueror, and 56 dead on the field of ,•,•c. ' C The same Journal adds, that a battalion of Ca- • • fact was particularly distinguished in this affair. • - .also having been for a long ti me un d er fire, the .• - into would neither rest nor take their rations when - part arrived at Amatante, but r us h e d on t h e enemy, But ..' cries of " Live the Constituti on r After the :, in g when General Raw returned to Amarante '. the the prisoners, he was borne on th e shoulders of ~ taw Eel soldiers to his quarters, amid s t t h e most embusses : t acclamations. This decla r ed c h amp i on oflibetcy on she glared to his comrades, that he would lose his '. the field of honour, or w ou ld avenge t h e , • AU - 1 outraged by its unworthy son s . diet coat--. Tfie support, though feeble, which we hawkers ' frail ' able to give to the Warehousing Bill, in its . - .41 11 ( 1 .through Parliament, has not been, we are happy 91r1 I learn, without effect.. But as there are still re' - • : big 'to the measure, and several stages through whirl: tali Bill must pass before it be comes a l aw , oven tore 1 duced once mote to resume the subject. Our , - oar I are undoubtedly aware that the great object d ' FM I Bill is to permit every kind of commodityr L- the i grown or produced, to be imported into Greet ; : ' fuse ' for re-exportation, and to be deposited in .- --4 d r warehouses without the payment of any duty ' ' tea • tides intended for home consumption contisfie ••, flip t ject to the same duties as at present. From the . - ter ti ral operation of this Bill there are some articles • • wag r cepted, such as corn, the Corn Laws remaking awy ' full force—East India goods, the Company . - . ' Ut • their monopoly—linen, silk, and watches, the • 'law, s manufacture of these articles' bei ng s till tbeehjeo tObl f ' insuperable jealousy on the part of our manoft - - lisr a r. r • PM This measure is certainly oppo r ei to thert .. - • 5 on which our commercial laws ha ve been framed 11 her ' the reign of ELIZABETH; these having in mei ..., ii . C made with the view of prohibiting altegetliti ill ; i po rtatibn of many commodities, not only fit . s i, a t sumption but for exportation, the Legislarove haP t desirous to encourage the production ot 40 tbei home, or only to allow them to be isapoosi Nrstai Pk] e payment of heavy duties. But the in .. • e of this prohibitory system have long beats , - m , a 1 e complained of by various clasies. Thek . k! .. aim e the Legislature, mLegtdisamloatuy than Dictated re,supportedb are ysoundpreLivLwso s,. f l aw ' Tip