Star. — London, England, 1831-05-24 00:00:00

=I . t's 4 •‘.. ••••• •. • (4. 41ifIt7 PRICE OF ETheKS AT TWO O'CLOCK. 3 per Ct. Com 83i I 4 pa Ct. 1826, 981 I Coo.. for Are. 831 I I 1 lime Ann. Jan. 18110, 17 3 prr Cent. Red. 8111 Old Annuities—. New, 31 pet Ct. 1818, 41000 Ellett. BUla 7 8 6 31 per Cr. Red. ..=—. 4500 Otto 7 9 3t ptr Cent. New, 91i 24 2100 end MOO Do. 11 8 FOREIGN STOCKS. Brazilian, 6i I ; for Acct, 611. Danish for Acct, 6215. Mexican. : ditto 1825, 591; for Acct, 391 9. Portuguese, 42 ; for Acet, 13. litmian, 94 Spanish for Acct, 151 1. Spanish 122 E, --. French 5 per Cent, 91f 25c. Three per Cent, 65f 50e. Exchange, 25f :50c. French Scrip, 7 prem. /NIPANIgS. Irish Grand Canal, 734 Forth snd Clyde, £O5 Lie. & Man.Railvray,ill6to29o Cromford, £45 Guardian --. Albion Fire, £75 Alliance, £8 5s County, £4O Bolinos Mines, £lBO Steam Navigation, die. £6 15s 4 0Pr' 'riff PUBLIC CI Bank Stott:, 1901 India Stock. 204. Bonds, London Dock-, X 59 10s St. Citherine's. .e7B 109 City G 39. £190: Bank of Scotland, £167 British Linen, £250 Grand Junction. £24.5 (zeds, £395 Repents, £lB 1017. rll E EVENING STAR. LONDON. TUESDAY, MAY 24. The Paris papers begin to speak now of a speedy dissolu tion of the Chambers, and France will, we presume, present a struggle like that in England. We have set the French people an example worthy of their imitation ; and as the French journals have detailed our conflicts with the enemies of Reform, so we may presume they have amused public spirit ; and France will, we bope, enjoy an improved Cham ber, while we are enjoying an improved House of Commons. A worse Chamber than the last could not be imagined. It was elected under the POLIGNAC administration, and it went ith the revolution in form, but not in spirit. It had the views of our late Parliament; and France will not stand erect before the world, till after the election of a new Chain her.—Every Frenchman must do his duty, just as every Englishman has done his ; and the Paris journals, like these of London, must fan the pure flame of patriotism. The result will be a test of French character ; and in Eng land, they will be watched with great anxiety. The Paris journalists seem to be fully aware of the objects of the royal tour ; and as they must be understood by the people themselves, we should not wonder if a revulsion of public opinion is not the effect. We hear, too, for the first time, of dangers in La Vendee; but where, when, and how, does not so exactly appear. Why will not the amiable Louis PHILIPPE trust to the irresistable force of integrity, and singleness of purpose ? The conduct of Austria to DWERNECKI, and his Polish corps, creates animadversion throughout Europe. Why such distinctions between the Russian encroachers by their act, and the Poles, who were forced to become encroachers, by the previous encroachment of the Russians? And, above all, why are DWERNECK I, and his Staff, to be made prisoners of war by Austria ? Why, too, the arms of the Poles to be delivered to the Russians, who had not captured them? But, after the conduct of Austria in Italy, is it worth while to ask such questions ? Ought we not rather to wonder, that METTERNICH has not already sent an army to assist Russia in the capture of Warsaw? Is the double contagion of Cholera and Liberty the cause ? Are the Ita lians transported to Gallicia—not 'precisely the men for such a purpose ? We must, however, wait— Austria has a long account to settle; and another MARIA LouisE may not settle it, at the next reckoning. The affairs of Olmuta and Radstadt are still in European recollection, and revived by the treatment of Dw zRN ECKI and his brave Poles. We give the Imperial Family credit for the Household Virtues; but the Political Policy of the Cabinet of Vienna is an offence to the whole world. The fate of the two men, sentenced to die to-morrow morning, the 25th May, 1831—the one for sheep-stealing, and the other for some species of theft—in the most civilized capital in Europe—in the midst of a people professing to base their legislation on the moral code of Christianity—in the midst of a people who make it their pride, that their le gislation should improve by the aggregating wisdom of expe rience—has called forth some judicious comments, both yes terday and to-day, in the Morning Herald, which we have transferred, with much satisfaction, to our columns. In the front of our paper of this day, will likewise be found, the very cogent speech, on the punishment of Death, of Sir WILLIAM MEREDITH, delivered in the House of Commons, May 13th, 1777. On observing the last date, and the one mentioned at the com mencement of this paragraph, we must be mortified to mark the slow progress of truth, when even in conformity with the benevolent feelings of our nature; but we must not suppose, that the sentiments of that speech have made no progress. We believe, on the contrary, that we are at last arrived, almost at the point of legislative change on this great subject ; and that the new charter of our liberties, which our energies have secured, will show forth its social importance in the correction of all those ancient errors, which render legislation so strangely antagonist to the morality on which it is supposed to be founded. Let us hope, that the victory gained by a Patriot King, enlightened Ministry, and united people, over an oligarchy of ignorance, bigotry, and selfishness, will, to use a favourite French expression, be consecrated, by the abrogation of our antiquated, inex pedient, and disgraceful sanguinary penal code. Of the men who are to suffer to-morrow, or of their crimes, we know little. We are certainly not prepossessed in favour of sheep stealing, or any other stealing ; but we deny the right of man to take away the life of his fellow creatures, on nice distinctions of expediency, governed entirely by the selfish protection of his life's playthings —his property. We deny that deducing his rules of society, from " the will of GOD, either expressed or im plied," he can vindicate a law which hangs for sheep stealing, and imprisons for stealing a pig ! And, we main tain, that such laws lose their efficacy by their injustice. We were cognizant, only a short time ago, of the fol lowing facts :—A girl of the town, had run off from her lodgings, with a bundle of wearing apparel, be longing to her landlady. She was taken, and brought 7=, . • to a police-office, with the clothes. The bundle consisted of a variety of articles ; and after the fact of the robbery being proved. the important question came to be decided—whether she should be committed capitally, or for petty larceny ? which was to depend on the ap preciation of the article stolen. By the beautiful penal scale of expetliency, established in this country, five pounds places the thief on the scaffold with the murderer; and £4 19s. sd. imprisons him only, perhaps, for a few months. In the instance to which we allude, the pawnbroker's assistant was called in, for the classifica tion of the crime ; and, being put on his oath, gave an appreciation, at first, of £5 108 ; but the magistrate hinting at the consequences of his incorrect judg ment, he was induced to retract, and to aver to an amount below £5. The vindictive landlady, however, started forth, and maintained that there was an article which the pawnbroker had entirely overlooked, and which had cost her £l. The man could not deny, that he had formed his appreciation ,w ithout seeing the article in question; and the girl was committed for the capital offence, tried, and received sentence of DEATH !1 ! Of course, she was: not executed, as she had not committed any former crime, for which she could be privately tried and convicted, without judge or jury ; and, therefore, she was, to improve the law, sent to New South Wales. These are facts—Where are we ?—are we in Britain or among the Cherokees ? DEMERARA AND ESSEQUIBO. A growing discontent is arising and spreading in the West India colonies. We have before us a series of the Barbadoes Globe, down to the beginning of April. That of March 28, contains a memorial from Demerara and Ease quebo to the Board of Trade, and its statements are justified by a report of a committee of merchants and planters, which we will certainly give at length on a futuro occasion, and recommend to the attention of the public. The memorial itself contains the following strong passages : That British capital to a very large extent has been invested in the cultivation of this colony, on the faith of the British government to maintain inviolate the security of property acquired and held under the sanction of the laws. That a very largo proportion of the landed property here, u in other parts of our West India possessions, remains under heavy mortgages to British merchants for advances made during the periods of compare trisviErosperity, on the credit of colonial property fostered and moon by various Acts of Parliament. t a considerable amount of capital, either In plantations or mort gages, is necessarily held by Dutch proprietors, forming the subject of existing treaties between the British and Dutch government., which having been acquired by the original colonists. and having been smeared by the capitulation and by treaty, should be, by the laws of nations, equally inviolate with British property. That the colonists are borne down by harassing and. vexatious mea sures, in opposition to their rights, and destructive of their property, by taxation, for the benefit of sinecurists, and by an expensive (pun of judicial proceedings. That the political evils under which your memorialists labour will, upon fair and impartial inquiry, be found to owe their existence to the infringements which have been unduly made upon their constitutional le gislature., as acknowledged by the capitulation; and more especially con solidated by the union of the colonies of Demerara and Essuuebo, in the year 1812, under the government of th e late Major-Gen. o'fmk:heel—l evils which must always exist, to the detriment of the public good, so l long as the proportion of Rx-Offido and sinecure members in the Court of Policy effectually takes the public purse out of the controul of its to-I lonia' member ; by which partial arrangements, as it now exists, the public voice of those who pay the tax has not its due influence in the deliberative council of the United Colony. That in former periods of comparative prosperity, their just com plaints of inordinate taxation and extravagant expenditure, were neu tralised or suspended by the remunerating prices obtained for their staple productions; but, at this period of unexampled distress, your Memorialists, confiding in the pledge given by your Honorable Board, come forward to state their grievances, in the hope that his Majes's Government will institute due inquiry into them, and administ er re lief to this portion of his loyal subjects. The commercial distresses under which your memorialists labour in common with all his Majesty's West India poem:salons, are notorious. They are prepared to prove, to the satisfaction of your Honourable Board, the utter inadequacy of the returns upon colonial produce to defray even the necessary outlay attending its cultivation putting out of the question any return upon invested capital, according to the prices that have prevailed of late years, and are still likely to continue. The hardship of a duty of Twenty-four Shillings per Cwt. upon Sn. gars, which, to the cultivator, yields but Fifteen Shilling and Sixpence per Cwt. gross price, out of which the expenses attending its production must be defrayed, with a due regard to the care and cosnfaet of the Slaves attached to the plantation, cannot but be evident to your Ho. notuable Board. It will be seen from Appendix that the entire surplus remaining over to the Demerara Planter, after deducting the unavoidable expenses of bringing his sugar to market, is three shillings and eleven pence far. thing per cwt; but a very small part of the interest upon his capital or mortgage can be defrayed out of this surplus, leaving nothing for the sup of himself and family, nor for the claims of the widow and mo generally entailed upon landed property. Not only is the duty excessive, but the mode of its exaction is to the Planter costly and vexatious. Duty upon a greater quantity than is actually sold and delivered from the warehouse, is exacted from him —whereas a less onerous mode might easily be devised, without injus tice to the Revenue, and with some relief to the Planter, if the duty were levied in a similar manner to the duty upon Rum, which is paid only on the quantity delivered—thus avoiding the unjust and vexa tious payment of duty upon that which does not exist. The capital necewrily embarked in the agriculture of British Guiana, from the nature of Its alluvial soil below the level of the sea, and naturally exposed to the inroads of the tides, is infinitely greater than what is demanded for the establishment and working of plants dons in any other part of his Majesty's West India Possessions. The expenses of embankments, dikes, dams, sluices, bridges, drains, buildings, machinery, navigation, and drogberage, are so enormous as to require a particular statement thereof, to enable his Majesty's Go vernment duly to appreciate the capital invested by the Demerara pro prietor;; and the annual outlay necessary to maintain a plantation in effective order, as explanatory of the peculiarities and expenses incident to the Demerara planter, is respectfully submitted. Under all these accumulated distresses, it is a notorious fact that the market price of the West India Planters ' staple commodity Sugar,) is still regulated by the production of Foreign Colonies carry on the slave trade to an unprecedented extent. How unable the Bri tsh planter is to compete even banded with the foreign cultivator, cannot be unknown to his Majesty's Government, under the existing heavy duties, which operate in the slime. of • bounty to the Foreign Slave Trade, the Bri tish Colonies must be ruined. These may be evils of difficult correction ; and yet they demand prompt attention, and all the wisdom of Govern ment. The people of England generally are little sensible of the sufferings of our Colonists ; but in these Colonies they have become so loud, that Sir BENJAKI sr DURBAN, the Military Governor, has thought proper to interdict the publication of the GUIANA CHRONICLE, conducted by Mr. STEVENSON, an editor of whose moderation the Bar badoes Globe speaks in terms of respect. The language of this paper on the subject is so much to the purpose, and the circumstances altogether are so interesting, that we subjoin the entire passage : BRIDGE-TOWN MAILCR 28. _ - Our *counts from Demerara, which we yesterday received, prove how futile was the hope, that the public press of that colony, while& tbs Governor could, by a single act of uncontrolled power, Rd& the vice of complaint, whenever it should be raised in oppositi on to his will. would be permitted to exercise the inestimable pri —which only makes it useful to a community. It is not * torus, however unexpected by our oppressed and persec uted Dourer, that Sir Benjamin g 'Urban has again interdicted the cation of the Guiana Chroosiole—it is an event which, pretending to any extraordinary foresight, we have for alms sisus been convinced would occur. At the same time, we Yom ,, selves bound in justice to Mr. Stevenson (the pospiesso is I s a y ' that he is perfectly free from the charge of ilondowswoul In the conduct of the journal. So far as the restilodses to I which he has been unfortunately subject would Ore, be bas discharged his duty as a public journalist in a highly creditable manner, as is twitted by the 'stimulate in which the Chronicle was held throughout the Weak& But by the terms of his late license to print, it is evident, that, aldftwidt a lbw impartial observations might be tolerated, all free dimples was totally lied; sad the moment the fountals of osmopties was with the view of pointing out the mail= oesosters a the small fry in heir vicinity, the mws of doped= woo la fleateey the un welcome intruder. Bseli a @yeast may he demeolomed demodmi 2 , but if it be not a gross peremoisa of the ism, we am Wawa edits import. The inhabitants of Dementra have Dow wimemoffes essay instances of = l, their Governor's latelimoce, that if do ass make every effort to set a limit to his m every act of tyranny that may be Misted ma tllen . It bast appealing to a Secretary of State, or o flma him pormisoloo to resew the licence for print. NI a newspaper, they an obtain effectual redress, for so long as their ruler may suppress their Wiliam , at his pleasure, so long will they continue in a shoo of absolute political bondage, in spite of the assurances of a minister to the contrary. We are ready, as we ever have been, to afford our fellow colonists all the assistance in our power. We naturally sympathise with them in the injustice they are exposed to; and we, therefore, embrace the opportunity our publication this day affords, to present their Me morial to the Lords Committee of his Majesty's Privy Council for Trade and Plantations, to which is affixed an appendix detailing the dif. ficultles under which they labour, and the grievous abuses by which they I are oppressed. It was in order to prevent Mr. Stevenson from pub lishing a statement to the same effect, that his press was stopped on the 16th instant. The animadversions in his paper of the 14th, the last he was permitted to publish, though written with becoming spirit, did not I merit so signal a punishment as the withdrawal of his license, since they were by no means violent or intemperate. But his intimation that he contemplated exposing the lavish expenditure of the colonial revenue, struck tenor to the hearts of the guilty parasites that prey upon the resources of the colony--the vultures that fatten upon the labour of the industrious. No wonder, then, that his Excellency the Governor should be advised to cr ush the hapless wight who would dare meddle with their undoubted privileges—had be not been checked in his career, the mask would have been rudely torn away, and the horrid deformity of the iniquitous exhibited in the confounding glare of broad daylight. His Excellency, of course, yielded to such persuasive advice ; and Mr. Stevenson, without the form of trial, without the shadow ofjus tic', has been deprived of the means of earning his subsistence. By the same equitable proem, too, he may be banished from the colony ; for If the Governor be induced to believe the measure necessary, he could order and enforce it without an appeal to the law. Let it not, however, be supposed, that Mr. Stevenson is destitute of a vehicle for proclaiming bis wrongs. The iron away of Demerara authority does not extend beyond that unfortunate colony, and we are sure every really free press in the West Indies will readily become his disinterested advocate. For our pan, we freely offer him the use of our journal and our once, either to defend himself against the malice of his vindictive persecutors, or to hold up to public scorn those abuses which a despotic chief and evil counsellors would not suffer him to advert to in his own paper. ••• To-morrow we propose to return to the subject. CITY. ONB O'CLOCK. A French paper, received by the mail this morning, states that commercial letters were received at Paris, stating (by an extraordinary courier) that the Poles bad gained a consi derable victory over the Russians. Consols, which left off yesterday at 83A for the Account, opened this morning at the same price, and at present they are 83i to I, with little doing. Not a bargain doing in the Foreign Market. (From the Jamaica Papers.)—Jamaica Courant, April 12.—" We learn by the Hyacinth, from Carthagena, that affairs in that quarter continue to be in a very unsettled state, and such was the cue at Santa Martha, when his Majesty's ship Sparrowhawk sailed; and from the feverish excitement throughout the whole country, business was completely at a stand." Extract of a letter from Santa Martha, March 28 :—" I have just been informed that a courier has arrived from Car thagena, announcing that the Liberals are in possession of all the gun-boats. Two men-of-war were off Carthagena, to afford protection to the British residents in case of neces sity. The Boica Chica is taken by the same party." From the Courant of April 6th :—" We learnt yesterday that war has been proclaimed between Bolivia and Peru.— The grand contention is said to be, that the province of Are gnome, in which the port of Attica is situated, is anxious to obtain it, and the Peruvians refuse to give it up." A mail from Rio Janeiro has arrived ; sailed on the 18th March ; also one from Jamaica, sailed on the 16th April. The Rio Janeiro papers state, that by the last news from the mines, it appears their Imperial Majesties bad arrived a t the city of Ouro Preto : here it is supposed the journey of their Majesties would terminate. On the 22d the Emperor addressed the Miners, and the Brazilians in general, as follows : " Miners !—This is the second time I have had the plea sure of finding myself amongst you—the second time the love which I consecrate to Brazil has conducted me hither. Miners, I do not address myself exclusively to you and your interests in general ; I speak to all Brasilians. There exists a disorderly party, who, taking advantage of circumstances solely appertaining to France, endeavours to deceive you with invectives against my inviolable and sacred person, and against the government, with producing scenes of horror, and covering her with mourning, with the intent of placing themselves in office, and satiating their vengeance and pri vate passions, in despite of the welfare of their country, which is never considered by those who have followed the revolutionary system. They write without disguise, and call the people to a Confederation,—and endeavour to screen their crime by the 174th art. of the Fundamental Law, which, in this article, does not permit any alteration in the essential part of the sail law. Can there be a greater at tack against the Constitution which we have sworn to main tain and defend, than to pretend to alter it in its most own. tial part ? Is this not a manifest violation of the sacred oath which, before GOD, we all voluntarily took ? Ah dear Brazilians, I do not address you now as your Em peror, but as your most cordial friend. Do not suffer yourselves to be deluded. by doctrines, which are as deceitful as they are pernicious : they are only conducive to your destruction, and that of Bra sil ; they never tend to your happiness, or that of your country. Assist me to support the constitution exactly as it stands, as we are sworn to do it. I confide in you, and you may place confidence in me. Constitutional Emperor, and perpetual Defender of Brazil.—Their Imperial Majesties are expected here on the 20th. CITY. TWO O'CLOCK. Consols which were in the early part of the morning at 831 to i for the account, have since improved to 831. This rise is attributed to a scarcity of Stock ; and it being a Bear Account : for we have no political information, to cause an effect in the Funds, either way, at present. Great surprise is manifested by our City politicians, that by the late arrivals from the Continent, we have no news of importance, from the theatre of war; but it is much feared, that a storm is gathering, which will burst suddenly on the unfortunate Poles. May Heaven avert it. The accounts from Colombia, via Jamaica, confirm the letter in our City article of Saturday last, that all was anarchy, and a civil war expected. The accounts from Silesia state that the frontiers on the side of Poland are closed as in the time of the pest. The Proclamation of the Emperor of Brasil to the Miners, appears to be a singular document, as if a revolution had been attempted in that country. It particularly alludes to ithe French party there ; and the Emperor doss not appeari to be on a bed of roses. tg 20 FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO THE BREACH op THE ARMISTICE AT ANTWERP. " TO TEI untrairza AT wait. " BRUSSELS. MAY 18 " We have the honour to enclose you the answer which GcLer4 Chula, Commandant of the Citadel of Antwerp, has retunkti to cur letter of the 16th inst. You will observe all his good intentions for the maintenance of peace, and all that he offers to do, to effect that object. W e are persuaded that similar sentiments animate the Government of Belgium, and that it will give new proofs of it by restoring thirp to the some position tha► they occupied before the occurrences at Antuttp on the lath, in the same manner as General Chassi promises to do his part. " We have the honour to beg that you will accept the assume of our high uhasideration. ( 81 6 00 a) " AVG. BELLIARD, Lieuterant.Gtr.r,l, Cou ra, and Peer of France. " CHARLES WHITE. " Antwerp, May 16, 1831." r•GENIAAL CHAIM GOVUNOII OP Till CITALiSi OF AFTWIIIIP. "The intelligence which reached Brussels yesterday snorting, Ing to the belief that an engagement had taken place between the troop% of the town of Antwerp and those of the citadel, the represemativ e s ct England and of France, knowing all the interest that the Great Poser. feel in the maintenance of peace, hastened to Antwerp to endeavour to prevail on the belligerent troops to suspend hostilities on both Odes. Fortunately, we have found every thing restored to order, and we har, only to express our wishes that they may continue in that state. " The Belgian Government has sent an officer to renew the order to its troops, to avoid commencing hostilities, and not to act unless thty should be attacked. We know that the same orders have been girth by your Government. You are too friendly to peace, General, for us not to be assured that you have done, and will do, every thing that can de. pen on on you for the purpose of having these orders strictly executed. Tbe occupation of the watcit-tower, St. Laurent, by your troops was the cause of the affair which occurred yesterday, and which might again kindle war. It has occasioned the very great consternation which exists among the troops in the garrison,and the Inhabitants of the own. It is for you to consider whether your love of peace will induce you to with. draw your temporarily from it, having it always in your power e i re-occupy i t t r , ol inou should deem it necessary for your defence. " You know that they are on the point of settling at London th e affairs of Holland and Belgium. We have full confidence that this month will notpass over without all being terminated. How anxiously then, ought not we all to desire that peace should be preserved up to that period. "We are convinced, General, that nobody sees the importance of it more than you do, and that you will give on your part the necessary orders, that a peace so precious should not be disturbed. We have the honour to be, gtc. * (Signed) " A UG. BEL LEA RD, " Lieutenant-General and Peer of France. "CHARLES WHITE." " Letter from General Maas* to General Bernard. " Head.quarters, Citadel of Antwerp, May 17, 1831. " General—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of t!,e letter, dated yesterday, addressed to me by your Excellency and Dlr. Charles White; and I hasten to assure your Excellency in the most positive manner, that the occupation of the lunette St. Laurent was effected on my side, only to secure us against an attack, without any hostile intentions. At the same time, I could not give a greater proof of my desire to prevent hostilities being renewed, and to avoid the disasters that would follow than by suffering the active work s .. on the part of the Belgians,—to go on, in spite of my rt. monstrance, and their protestations. Nevertheless, after the reception of your honoured letter, I am willing to continue to afford proofs of my desire to concur in the maintenance of the armistice, and the conventions agre ed upon, of which I send you a copy ; and as soon as the Belgian m ilitary authorities at Antwerp shall cease their works, and withdraw their armaments from before the lunette of St. Lenient, as well as their troops and posts, to the line of demarcation fixed by article 2 of the said convention, I will likewise discontinue all the works for the repair or augmenta tion of the lunette of St. Laurent, leav ing the whole in state y o, with a simple pollee-guard, to continue on the same lunette, in order to prevent depredations on the part of the , which frequently occurred last winter, and gave rise to well. roLd ui rd e remonstrances on my part. With a view to assure both par. ties of the observance of the above measure, it is desirable that the General Commandant of Antwerp should, in conjunction with myself, appoint officers to Sx and mark out the line of demarcation, without the town, by stakes. I shall, in the meanwhile, immediately stop on my side the works of the said lunette, until I see the result of the exertions of your Excellency to maintain the armistice with all its conventions. - being out of my jpower to give you a better proof of the sin. cavity of my principles, I have the honour to be, &:. CHASSE." " Brussels, May 19, Midnight. " General—Having learnt yesterday morning that the Belgians had commenced operations against the citadel which you command, in ie. fraction of the rights of nations and all military rules, we hastened to the house of the Regent. to request him to order their cessation. Orden were immediately given, but the delay in their execution had nearly compromised every thing. We admired your prudence, and will make known your noble conduct in these di/Scutt circumstances. We know that the orders of the Regent this morning reached tieneval du Failly. and that he instantly took measures to have them executed. We hope that the communications which have been opened between you,will hare stopped the rigorous measures which your duty, perhaps, would other. wise have forced you to resort to. " The news received from London to-day is good, and every thing gives season to hope that we are near the time of seeing terminated, by the cares of the great Powers, all the differences which exist between Holland and Belgium. You will feel, General, how important it is to maintain, until that period, the state of peace which exists in the two countries. We are convinced that, on your part, you will use all your efforts to do so. The Regent sends his most positive orders, that every operation for a siege shall cease immediately, and that in futon there should be an abstinence from all hostile dmonstrations the lunette St. Laurent, which, by the capitulations of Antwerp, o ls to the citadel, and forms part of its defence. Should it happen, that the orders of the Regent are not executed as promptly se may be desired, we believe that you will not regard this delay as a continastioc of attack and menace, and that the prudence which characterises you, as well as the love of country with which you are actuated, and of which you have just given such striking proofs, will also %dace you to delay the execution of the measures of defence which you may be forced to adopt. We shall owe it to your prudence, that peace has not been disturbed. " We have the honour, General, to request your Escelkncy to accep► the assurance of our high consideration. (Signed) " AUG. BELLI ARD, Lieut.-General, Count and Peer of France. " CHARLES WHITE." "ORDER OF THE PAY TO THE TROOPS STATIONED IN THE PROVINCE OF ANTWERP. "Soldiers,—The unexpected attack upon the advanced posts of the citadel called for repressive measures. "Now that the Commandant. General undertakes to stop all the works of the lunette St. Laurent, and only to leave there a simple po llee guard, we ought on our part to respect these contracted to. gagementa. " I will not suffer, as you may well believe, the least attempt against national honour by our enemies. I know bat I can rely upon your courage to make it respected. But that honour commands us to make war with good faith, and to respect conventions until the regular resumption of hostilities. In the name of a sentiment which animates you as well as myself,. I order you, in cue of necess, to observe the most severe discipline and obedience to the orders tithe chiefs, who have my confidence. (Signed) " The Regent. SUBLET DE CHOSIEJL " By Ordinance the Minister of Finance, charged id interims with the War Department, (Signed) " DE BROUCKERE." " Article 2 of the Convention agreed to, on the sth of November. between the Commissaries of the visio nal Government and Goad Masai., which fixes the position of the troops, is to the following effect:— -- ;:"ihe advanced posts of the Belgian troops shall be where they Ma been since the 90tb of October ; that is to say, at the Porte des Be pines, the opening of the rues blonnoyeurs and du Pied Nu, the rue tit. Rosh, rue de la Collier, as well m the pan of the arsenal on the side of the entrepot, which contains the inaieriel; at the exterior of the city, at a distance of 300 metres, counting from the glacis, inciodinS ribose of the two lunettes." STATE OF THE WEST INDIES. The arrival of a Leeward Islands' mail yesterday, with letters and papers from St. Thomas's to the 10th ult. from Antigua and Barbadoes to the sth of the same month. and from the other islands of corresponding dates, has put US i 6 possession of intelligence from that quarter,of more than usisi interest. Tranquillity has been almost entirely restored in Antigua. In the afternoon of Saturday, the 26th of March, a notice was posted about the town of St. John's, forbidding all persons to assemble in the market-places, or form pa►ties in any of the streets, on the following day. At the same time the whole of the 2d regiment and artillery were warned for duty at 2 o'clock next morning. Every necessary precaution. in fact, was taken forenforcingobedienee to the law forbidding I IL 4' i+eSiM 1 i •