Star. — London, England, 1814-12-17 00:00:00

ic: A PA JOURNAL of aisliVllßtiON to FRANCE, IN A SERIES OF LEITERS; CONTAINING REMARKS MORAL, • HIsTORICAL. TOPOGRA PHICAL, ETC. (Continued from the STAR of Tuesday, Dec. 13). ' r la • • LETTER !X. • PARIS, ••••••••, 1814. In my last Letter I offered you a few remarks upon the French Clergy, and on the lamentable decline of religion, and of religious worship in France..--Per haps 1 cannot find a more fit occasion than the pre sent ler expressing my belief that all the horrors and bloodshed which this devoted country suffered by the Revolution, were, in great measure, owing to the decay of religion and morality amongst its people. Tir'ugh religion and government appear to be thi.2gs very distinct in their nature, yet, on a closer view, the analogy is more striking, and it will be seen that they are greatly dependent on each other. Laws were framed as a rule of life to the community ; to guide the virtuous, and to restrain and punish the vicious ; and need I mention the strong parallel which exists between the Decalogue and other ordi nances of the Jewish legislators, written under the divine authority ; and the primary laws in the code of our modern European legislation ? Whatever, therefore, should tend to sap the foundations of reli gion and virtue, I think would have an almost equal tendency to shake the fabric of human laws, that is, of all government,. When I speak of religion, I mean, of course, true religion, inseparable as it ever must be from piety. Long before the bursting forth of the French Revolution, the religion and the eccle siastical establishments of France had grown into contempt. The enormous riches and revenues of the Church, and the dangerous ascendancy that the clergy had attained in the State, naturally produced jealousies and suspicions among the other orders. But die cause of Religion had more to tear from the corruptions, intrigue, and immorality of its own professors. If we add to this, the fatal attacks which had been openly made upon the doctrine of Divine Revelation, and upon the Church itself, by the French deistical philosophers, about the middle of the last century, we cannot much wonder at the gradual de cay of the clerical character, and at the revolution which halt oaken place in the religion of the country; nrir.e.att* doubt the pernicious effect thereby pro eluiredin. contributing to overturn those political in stitutions, on the preservation of which the general safety depended. But the Clergy had not attained thiiirtighest pitch of turpitude till Gobet, Bishop of Paris, (and many more of the ecclesiastics, both ca. thiliC.,suad ,protestant, who followed his diabolical example:in November, 1793) publicly came into the hetet the National Convention, resigned his sacred oktkt;ind eiletinly renounced the Christian religion. A *Free Was cnnsequence passed, amidst the acciemations of tbal Assembly, to the effect that the, only .deities thereafter to be worshipped by the FrenCh people•Should be those ofibetty, equality, and reason. I have carried this*odi:farther than I in toiled, in order tumark unifeem -degradation of religion in kta4ce th lot 15 fears. Let us now hope.thattbe phials efl/se sired? of GOD have been'ettratsted= epos this unhappy country, to the full exPiation . of their multiplied mimes ; and that we shall heniefotth see religion triumphantly resume her . . laating,and -peaceful empire over this long , oppressed int iillicted•people! PALMS DIT'CORPS .t..,Ectstany.--The new facade of this palace, fronting the ,bridge, is one of the finest pieces of architecture in Paris, and is the work of Na. poleon. The old building, called the Falai, Bourbon, was founded in 1722 for the residence of a natural - daughter of Louis XIV. ; the Council of 500 held fseresduritig the Revolution ; and, since that pellod p it . haknndergOne many alterations inter nally, according to the several uses to which it has from tulle to time beenarpropriated. The statues, and bas reliefs, as well as the devices its, and about this superb 'fah*, are very fine, and arranged with classical taste. :; • The great hall where the senators meet, is very grand, but has been so well described by others, that I shall not *eery you *lt.ll4l) . accoutit of it. It cer lainlY far exceeded my expectations in richness and beauty, Thepaiutingi *in the different apartments and divisions of this frectuansion, which represent aq of the acLievenients .. ot4onaparte, have been Either removed or the canvas has been covered over with cloth, to prevent the 'subject from being seen. A statue of Bonaparte, which stood in the middle of Sallee des Slants, has been also removed, since the change of affairs: FRENCH TI:OOPS.--I have had repeated opportu nities cf seeing the French soldiery, both on and off parade. The dress of the privates, with the excel).- :ion of the National Guard!, is, in general, not so good as ours ; and the men are dirty and more so. only, part:cularly in their undress suits, when not' du; f —a proof that the French officers attend less to the minutia of dress than the British. Bonaparte,. :sea to parade the troops in the Place du Carrousel.: L:ose to the Millineries ; and it is said, that a British General Officer,' who had been to see one of those reviews by the Emperor, being asked his opinion e the parade, replied, with great contempt, 'it was. vie worst he had ever seen;' .adding, that he had paid' particular attention to them; •and found that no two l. of the soldiers were dressed perfectly alike. This kind of a:14°0314y was the punctilio which, in the opinion of our General, constituted the excellence of a sal ditr. We have note Wendy seen a very different system practically itittap into the British army' on the Peninsula, aricerrik.3ecided advantages. We have seen battles gloriously fought, and the military charaiter of Biltain . iaised to a . degree of proud superiority by a Commander of a different quality, without any assistance having been derived from scrupulous attention to uniformity of the sol diers' dress, or the colour of their great-coats and pantaloons. The uniform of the French Officers is neat, even splendid, and they are, for the most part, well dressed, genteel in their manners, and better looking men than their compatriots, in general. Here and there I meet with officers who have, in appearance, nothing cf the gentleman about them ; and who look as if they only waited for an opportunity to be rude. This is remarkable, because rudeness is certainly not the old characteristic of the French peo ple, in general ; and I can only account for it by sup posing that a large proportion of officers in the French army have been raised from the humblest ranks of the service, and move in a sphere for which they were never intended, nor fitted by nature or art. -I do not recollect the question has yet been well decided, whe ther the preferment of persons of this description, from the very subordinate situations in the army, to the rank of officers, has been, on the whole, productive of advantage or disadvantage to the public service ? If real merit alone were the recommendation to promo tion, the benefits would be evident ; but we well know that, both in civil and military life, acts of subser viency and inglorious obsequiousness, in all countries, are too often recommendations to preferment, and take place of better and more solid qualifications. Thus, I have heard its said, you will meet, in the 46, tish army, even officers, very good kind of men, who cannot speak or write a sentence or two of good Eng ' fish, who have been tecommended by their patrons for commissions, on account of their sobriety and or derly conduct as soldiers, and not on account of real necessary attainments to qualify them. Hence it happens that worthy men, who were cal culated to shine as exemplary serjeants and corporals, are sometimes inconsiderately removed by indiscreet patronage, and placed in a new, strange, and awk ward sphere, wherein, with all their ability, they can scarcely reach mediocrity, in regard to the knowledge of the most important parts of their duty ; and as to appearance and real respectability, they very rarely succeed in the difficult task of acquiring the polish and address of the true Gentleman. The like might be said of their wives. And hence we may account for so few of these Officers rising into any great emi nence. Indeed, I cannot call to mind an instance of it. The influence of these mistaken promotions upon polished society, cannot be always harmless ; and although some meritorious Non-commissioned Offi cers hive been thus rescued from poverty znd obscu rity, and their good behaviour has afterwards justi fied the opinion entertained of them by their patrons and creators. lam very doubtful whether the bene. fits derived from the qualifications of the really de serving, are in any army sufficient to outweigh the faults and defects of the rest. The French cavalry cut a ♦ery good appearance—l think better than the infantry. They are mounted on small active horses, which seem fit to undergo much fatigue, and their furniture loses very little in comparison with that of the British. THE FEVER AT GIBRALTAR. LAUDABLE PRECAUTION. PROCLAMATION'. UT HIS EXCELLENCE, GENERAL GEOKGE DON, LIEUTENANT. GOY KENO& AND CODS/DANDLE IN CUM' 41 , 'IRE TOWN AND CAR►ISO\ Of GIBRALTAR. .......... appears, from the most authentic rccor!s, that since the earliest times, up to the year 1814, Gibraltar has ever been considered one of the most healthy places in Europe ; that in the said year a malignant fever raged with violence, and again broke out In the years 1810, 13, and 14 ; that 11,910 per s9ns were attacked by It, and that 7,070 (up to the 3d instant) have. ni:d. " hat although this fever has hitherto constantly yielded to the ii fiaenue of the cold season, yet its late recurrence for two successive years, gives cause to tear that the rains and cold alunn may not be sufficient for Its total extermination; but that some seeds of the disease may lie dormant in the place, and be brought into activity.by the return of the next Autumn. 'the exertions of every individual both military and civil, in the Garrison, are therefore absolutely necessary, in carrying into CICCU:iOII measures of purification : and it is required that every house-holder, whether proprietor or tenant, shall, on or before the 7th day of next mouth, cause his house and offices to he thoroughly cleansed, and all kinds of filth removed from them. " Livery kind of furniture, bedding, and wearing apparel, must be thoroughly cleansed and aired. " Every house in which the fever has existed, during the pre sent season, must be again white.washed and fumigated. " Licit lime and soap will be allowed, gratis, to such persons as are unable to purchase these articles, and will be issued by the inspectors of districts. "1 he materials for fumigation, and persons to superintend the process, will be provided by burgeon-Major Fraser. ". The Inspacturs of Distriets, who have so zealously exerted themselves during the malady of the present year, are requested to superintend the execution of this important measure; and to report upon It to the Lieutenant-Governor, between the 7th and ;4th of next month. " It must be apparent to every one who has lately resided at Gibraltar, that the exertions on the part of Government, to pre vent a recurrence of the malignant fever, can never be effectual, unless zealously srconded by every individual, military and civil, in the Garrison. _ _ " His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, therefore, in pro nsulgating regulations so obviously directed to the general wel .lkra, deems it unnecoleary to enforce their observance by any ptinal injunction. "• He cal. for, and relies with confidence on, the zealous co lopesittioit of every individual, in a task which involves the in terestaof all; having no view but the preservation of the public 4040 4 and the revival of the commercial prosperity which has nnhatipily been suspended. His Excellency is convinced,that the observance of the fore goiag rules will not only go far towards destroying the lurking seeds of diseases but will tend to remove the impression, unhap pily existing in silvery mercantile town in Europe, of the danger of communication with Gibraltar ; and his Excellency trusts that these steps, combined with meatores he has in comemplatiou, will, while they may ensure the forress from a return of the dreadful malady, permanently obtain for it the advantages of commercial activity, and the comforts of social intercourse. (Signed) " GEOROX Do; Gun. and Lieut. Goy. " Gibraltar, Noyembor 14." lA* ha • ;.*H VOUiti• OF kiNG l a BENCH, i ira, i 5 ~: . STEINMAN V. PAYNE. •• ... This was an action to recover on a bill of exchange for .iCBOO, which had been placed inthe hands of May. a billhroker, who, it will be recollected, was convicted on a clfarge of forgery at the Old Bailey Session 4 in December last. The bill had been placed in the hands of May for the purpose of being discounted for his em- Oloyer, but that unfortunate man discOunted it for himself, and applied its'produce to his own use. The bill afterwards passed through two or three hands, for a valuable consideration, but when presented . for pay ment it was dishonoured, on account of the fraudulent manner in which May had originally 'obtained it. A friend of May, however, afterwards paid the bill, in hopes of protecting him from prosecution. It was from this person that the present plaintiff derived his claim, Lord ELLENacatuuon however held, that the person who had thus taken up the bill, had acted in n) other capacity than that of agent to May, and therefore could derive no claim on the bill independent of May. The plaintiff, therefore, was nonsuited. . DEC. 16.-ROIE/STA V. HARDY AND OTHERS. The plaintiff in ihisaction is now in custody, in the Castle at Yoiti—tiimst -an indictment, setting forth that he being a bierstript, had 'refused to answer the interrogatories of the Commissioners concerning his estate and effects, and that he had in other ways vio lated the provisions of the bankrupt laws. The pre sent was an action of trespass against the Solicitor under the Commission, the Commissioner and the Nlessenger, by whom the plaintiff was taken front the King's Bench prison down into Yorkshire, in order to his examination, under the warrant of the Commis ioriers, and, tinder the same authority, brought back to the King's Bench prison. The action was in rea lity, to try the validity of the commission which had issued against the plaintiff, and the question was of great importance to the parties, having been two or three timt s before the Lord Chancellor, and as ia fact trying the merits of the indictment upt,n which the plaintiff stands fur trial at the York Spring Assizes. The A TrOaNl:ii GENERAL, for the pl tintiff, contest. ed the proceedings under the great seal in every stage of them. It appeared that the plaintiff had been an agent in America to the house of Walker and Coghill, woollen-cloth manufacturers, in Yorkshire, and that he had also traded on his own account. pon a dis solution of the connexion between the plaintiff and Walker and Co. the accounts between them were re ferred to arbitration, and an award was made against the plaintiff for upwards of ,E2OOO. He was arrested and taken to York, whence he removed himself to the i King's Bench prison, and having, by laying in jail two' months, committed an act of bankruptcy,Walker and ll Coghi became petitioning creditors, and sued out a commission of bankrupt against him. It was in the proceedings under this commission that the alleged trespasses were committed. Besides several other points raised by the Attorney-General, and disposed of by the Court, he contended, that the bond to the Lord High Chancellor was not well executed, \Val- , ker having executed it as well for himself as for his partner, Coghill then residing in America, without any power of attorney to that effect ; and further, that at the time of suing out this commission, Coghill was in an enemy's country, adhering to the King's `enemies; and therefore upon the authority of the case of Hector v. Connel, decided by Lord Alvanley, be maintained, that the petitioning creditors had no power to recover, either in law or equity, and hence the commission could not be supported. Lord ELLENIIIROUGH professed great respect for the authority of Lord Alvanley, and while he was of opinion that the main point was, whether Coghill was actually adhering to the King's enemies, or only in an enemy's country against his will? he thought from the nicety and importance of the question, the facts had better be embodied in a special case for the decision of the Court of King's Bench. The Jury, therefore, return':d a nominal verdict for plaintiff—Damages Is. subject to such decision. ANDERSON AND OTHERS V. HEATH AND OTHERS. This was an action upon a bill of exchange for £2,000 crown by a Mr. Asulet, of Malta, upon the house .ot the defendants, in London, payable to the plaintiffs, who presented it for acceptance, which was Id used, with an observation, that it would most likely be paid when due. Upon this refusal to accept, be ing a Maltese bill, and payable after sight, it was pro tested ; and, as is usual, a duplicate protest was had, and charged upon it. It was by mistake presented for payment a Jay before it became due, when the de lendants told the plaintiffs' clerk to bring it the next day. He accordingly took it for payriienr. Mr. Furze, one of the defendants, said, the bill will be paid, but we cannot allow the Rl7, for the dupli cate protest. The Clerk observed, that such charge was regular, but he would run back to his principals in Bow-lane, to ask them if they would give up this chirge ? He went from Great Winchester-street to Bow-lane, and hack, in about hill an hour ; but upon his return, Mr. Furze informed him that since he had been there, they had received their letters, and Mr. Asulet had suspended his payments. They could not, therefore, under those circumstances, pay the bill. After Mr. PARK had been heard for the plaintiffs, and the ATTORNEY GENERAL for the defendants, Lord ELLENBOROUGH said, “ This case runs ex tremely close indeed. I don't recollect any case com ing so near the wind. The telling him it is a day too soon is not an acceptance ; the next day he does not go for acceptance, but for payment; and the words hav ing reference not to acceptance but to payment, I am inclined to think that the defendants are not bound ; but I should recommend a special case." The Jury, therefore, found a Verdict for plaintiff— Damages 82017 17s. 6d. ; subject to the opinion of the Court of King's Bench. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, DEC. is. PATTERSON V. BARKER. This was an action to recover damages for an as sault and false imprisonment. The plaintiff had been a pilot in the India Company's serxice, and, being on his return home as a charter-party passenger in the Company's ship Northampton, of which the defendant was Commander, experienced the imprisonment which was the subject of the present action. The case was stated by Mr. Serjeant BEST as one of.an aggravated nature, and requiring heavy dama ges. The plaintiff had been confined for 90 days in irons, from - the 12th of March, when he lay on the poop six daysexposed to the rain, and afterwards en the 13th, the following day, in the hold SO of these l • • • . . lip his legs and hands: were minded. The cause which led to this assault and imprisonment was a re fusal on the part of the plaintiff to assist, with other persons on the watch, to draw up water fur the sup port of the whole of the ship. Several witnesses were called to support die plain tiff's case, and they proved the main fact of the im p_ukonnsent. Q * , the part of the defendant a plea of justification was entered on the record, which in substance stated, that he being Captain of the Northampton, the plain tiff, a charter-party passenger, sent home at the East- India Company's expense, was bound to obey, and ought to have obeyed, the lawful commands of the de fendant, and also those of John Drayner, the Chief Mate; that on the day the assault was committed, he (the defendant) had ordered him to assist in hoisting a cask of water, which he refused to do; and that there fore, as he would neither obey the orders of hitn (the defendant), nor of Drayner, who, by his instruction), had repeated the order, he was justified, for the sake of preserving the discipline of the ship, to imprison him. It was proved by the Mates and the Boatswain, and several Officersin the ship, that he had so refused ; and also that he escaped hum his confinement on the first 'day, the 12th of March, and, on being enquired for to assist, he was missing ; Alm the defendant ordered on'e of the. Mates to tell him to come on deck, but he re fused to come, statingott the same time holding-a kiiiie in his hand, that he mold stab any one who attempted to compel him. The Mate was intimidated by his man ner and threat,and retires'. Two Quarter-masters were then.sent,.and two of the B-iatsw ain's Mates; but he still refused. At length the defendant himself, accom panied by the Boatswain, went down; and then he slid out of his hammock, endeavouring to stick the knife ih the floor. The Boatswain attempted to wrest it out of his hand, and in the scuffle received a severe wou•id. This resistance he maintained with a view to try the right of the Captain to call upon his services. Captains Thomas and Baker (the former having commanded one of the Company's ships 14 voyages; and the latter seven) were examined, to prove shit charter-party passengers had insatiably assisted oh such occasions ; it was also so considered by East In dia Commanders. They did not receive wages; nor were they ever mustered among the crew, for that would give them the right to demand wages. The CHIEF-JubricE directed the attention Cf . theJurr to the question, which was the chief one for their 4e cision, viz. whether the command cf the defendant in this instance was a lawful command. If so, then the refusal of the plaintiff to obey that command was ille- • gal, and the aggravaticn of punishment, so much in, sisted upon by his Learned Brother, must be laid out - of the case. It must be within the recollection of the Jury,that the service required to be performed was to • draw water for the whole ship. The plaintiff could not, from the peculiarity of the thing, bring up his own water, and consequently it must be lett to the election of some one to delegate those who were to draw it up. The Captain, having the command of the ship, was the proper person to select men, add he had done so ; but the plaintiff chose to dispute his au thority. With respect to his own opinion on the le gal question (and if he was wrong the Court might be moved). he thought the question alone was a.. to the right of command. He thought also, that those who engaged for a voyage as charter-passengers were bound to make themselves aoquaintaci with the usages of the voyage, and oa coming on board must under take to perform those duties which, according to the evidence of the Captains, were invariably performed by this description of passengers; because, in the pre sent case, if all the passengers were bound to be sub ject to his assistance, the plaintiff must also. It would be for the Jury to say whether he was not bound to obey the order ? In this case the resistance was illegal, because the Captain had ordered him to be brought before him, which he had a right to do ; but instead of complying, he threatened to stab any one who should bring him before the Captain. They would judge, therefore, whether the Captain had acted fairly in preserving the discipline of the ship ? The Jury found a verdict for the defendant, thereby establishing the right of service from charter-party passengers. Tuesday, the following unfortunate accident hap pened on the grounds of Messrs. G. and C. PAYNE, at Temple Mills; Stratford, Essex:—As J. Wilson, an industrious deserving man, in their service, was in the act of bringing over in a boat two lads fr An the op posite side of the river, his boat-hook fell into the water, and, in stooping down to recover tile same, he unfortunately slipped over-board and was drowned. A shocking accident happened on Monday last in Great Britain-street, Dublin. An old woman, wlto had been for a long time rather weak in her intellects, was given in charge by her daughter, with whom sh.t. lived, to a servant-maid, who locked the old womait up, and on her return found her burned to death. Saturday night last, a woman of the name of Byrn:, on ha return from Dublin to ltockbrook, after pu.- chasing some necessary .articles, was drow.leti at Rathfarnham river. it is supposed that a sud,len squall of wind precipitated her from the bank ant ► the water. It is a most surprizing coincidence, that on Saturday night four years, the daughter of this un fortunate woman should have been drowned in the very same river. At an early hour on the evening of Sunday last, a party ot armed men went to a person named Hely, ferryman of Dromore, county ot Waterford, and te nant to W. FoLzy, Esq. swore him to secrecy. and compelled him to conduct them across the river.— They then attacked the house of a farmer, and robbed • him of what money he had in his possession. The farmer contrived to detain them till he had an opp..)r tonity of sending intelligence to two neighbours, who armed themselves, and proceeded to the place, joined by the neighbouring peasantry. Two of the assailants were taken, another got into a small boat, which w as upset, and he is supposed to have been drowned. Thursday, a Coroner's Inquest was held at the Coach and Horses, Ealing, on the• body of a man whose Christian name was William ; surname un known. The deceased was in the service of Mr. Hawkins, of Drayton.green, farmer ; and on the day pfeceding the inquest, Charles Crow, as he was going along Drayton-green-lane, found the deceased lying inithe lane, on the side ot the road. He was quite dead, but there did not appear to be any marks of violence abort him. Verdict—Died by the Visitation of God. I