The National Register. — London, England, 1820-07-16 00:00:00

BILL OF PAINS AND PENALTIRS. As the public mind appears to be exclusively occupied by it, we shall once more resume the sub ject of the Queen, and having pointed out still more particularly than in our last the nature and tendency of " the Bill of Divorce" proposed by Ministers, we shall submit to the country at large our opinion as to that line of conduct which ought now to be pursued, and which, if it be not pur sued, the Queen may be made a sacrifice to the convenience of Ministers and to the perjuries of foreigners, who may lend themselves to the secret enemies of the Queen. Although we have not the least doubt that the charges against her Majesty are charges at least as unfounded, as history declares those against Anna Boleyn to have been. The Bill of Divorce then, or, in other words, the Bill of Pains and Penalties, whereby the Queen, upon the passing thereof, is to forfeit her rank and subsistence, as well as lose all her honours, is intro duced as a measure recommended by a Committee stominated, in the House of Lords, by Ministers. The consequence of this Bill, considered as a process of a judicial kind, is, to deprive the defendant of every possible advantage which, by any other mode of trial, she would have had ; for had she been tried by impeachment of the Commons, for high treason, or prosecuted by his Majesty's Attorney-General, then would she have had lists of the witnesses brought against her, and full means of obtaining evidence as to their conduct and character; whereas the present pro ceeding, which the amiable and sincere man who was once her noble and learned advocate, pretends to be all out of tenderness to the Queen, deprives her Majesty of those advantages to which the lowest subject of the realm would, in case of high treason, be entitled, while that amiable man and his friends in power all acknowledge that it is not their fault that she is not tried for high treason, but in consequence of a defect in the statute with regard to the law in this case. In an open and con stitutional Court, before the Lords in their regular capacity as judges : in such a Court, as also in a common civil, or ecclesiastical Court, had the matter been tried as a case of adultery between man and wife, all those pleas, which are po powerful, of destitution and extreme provocation, might have been alleged in behalf of the defendant, which the tender mercies of these kind-hearted gentlemen now exclude--these tender-Aearted creatures, who could prejudge a woman and a stranger, being at once a wife and widow—these good Chriatiatu, who learn from their Bible that true religion, and unde filed before God, is to visit the widow and the fatherless in affliction—who could prejudge the cause of the fatherless and the widow by striking her out of the Liturgy, where, if she were really a sinner, her name would with so much the more propriety have been uttered in the prayer to the throne of mercy—who could then bring out of a jury chamber, selected by themselves, charges against this same person, without one of those means of judging, from personal examination and perception of those inter nal evidences arising from the voice and manner of evidence on the part of the prosecution—these men, against whom we raise a voice which, we trust, will be echoed through the nation and the whole civilised world, shaking the throne of that Monarch abroad, if such a base wretch there be, who would pander to the destruction of a kinswoman and female, to re pay the debt of gratitude he owes to Britain ! These men, wo say, have made the attempt to crush this Stranger by weight of political power; they have tried the House of Commons, as well as the Lords, if they would institute also a Green Bag Committee to prejudge the question there, as they have suc ceeded elsewhere ; and though the Green Bag in the Commons has been rejected with contempt, yet the attempt remains to posterity to prove the inten tion ; and with what face the House of Commons can for a moment entertain the Bill of Divorce, THE NATIONAL REGISTER. when it comes down to them, we are at a loss to imagine, when this extra judicial proceeding is avowedly on the ground of public necessity, and when, they have already declared, by recommending adjustment upon professed principles of mutual respect at least, (how muchsoever we may disap prove the absurdity of asking the Queen to give up the point of the Liturgy), that the affair was not of public moment, but simply a domestic difference. We cannot imagine with what face the House of Com mons can for a moment entertain a Bill violating the ordinary principles of law so clearly, and breaking in upon the ordinary provisions of civil or criminal justice; yet we must own that we have serious apprehensions on behalf of the Queen's safety, when we see that the political influence of suck an ad ministration is likely to be wielded against her in in a Parliament where Members, alas ! have ahewn themselves in so many points utterly at variance with public opinion. Where the influence arising from place, from vanity of titles given or expected, and even from the natural disposition of man to acquiesce in the conclusions of authority, rather than to exercise laboriously his own understanding, must operate so sensibly, we see no adequate coun terpoise to this influence, except in the expression of public opinion throughout the nation distinctly and decidedly upon " the modes of proceeding" adopted. This will not be prejudging innocence or guilt, but putting the accused in a just and ba lanced attitude, and may at least operate consi derably with the House of Commons, who stand es yet not committed, to any extraordinary mode of pro ceeding, and may induce them to decline taking any part in a measure which tends to, and in fact must actually confound the legislative, judicial, and exe cutive parts of the Government. We therefore ear nestly recommend an Address to the QUEEN from every county, town, borough, corporate and incor porate body, whereby the general compassion for the Queen's situation may be expressed, and a coun try's Protest, at the same time, entered against a mode of proceeding which threatens the very sub version of the principles of the constitution, which, however badly administered, arc theoretically good, and might, under a virtuous and manly administra tion, be expanded into the best arranged system of society ever contemplated in the imagination of man. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. PARIS, JULY 6.—The Sieurs Gossuin, Boyer, and Chevalier, editor of the Bibliotheque Historique, accused of violating the law of censorship, having appealed against the jadgwent of the correctional tribunal, their cause was called on yesterday in the Chamber of Appeal for the correctional police. The appellants, however, did not appear, and the judgment given against them was confirmed. An Englishman, a native of Rochester, was taken into custody, amongst others who were found in the tumultuous assemblage which recently took place at Nantes. He was released at the intervention of the British Consul and a mercantile house to which he had letters of recommendation. When questioned by the Juge d'lnstruction, he stated in his defence, that, not understanding French, and being accus tomed to'scenes of far more hostile character in his own country, he remained in the crowd, as he had no suspicion that a tumult had commenced. Intelligence received at Perpignan from Majorca states, that the contagious n..ilady which afflicts that island is confined to two villages, in which the deaths are four or five daily. A letter from Venice '.:ated June 25, describes the situation of Ali Pa.-.nu as by no means free from danger. Growing less active and vigilant in his old age, he has within two years given up quietly, to governors appointed by the Porte, several strong places, in the hope that he would find uu oportunity tier recovering his ascendency at the Court of Con stantinople. He has only between 18,000 and 20,000 men on whom he can rely. He has, it is said, 200,000,000 of treasure, but it does not con sist altogether in specie, and he has besides become very parsimonious. The most dangerous antagonist of Ali is the l'aslut of Scutari, who has an army of 23,000 men. Accounts in German papers, on the contrary, re present Ali Pasha's army as 120,000 strong, com manded by several ibreign officers. According to another report he has been assu.:sittated. Trade is stated to be very brisk at Bordeaux. A letter dated the 22d ult. states, that numerous arrivals from the East and West Indies enliven commerce, and give employment to the labouring classes. French Funds.—July 4, 5 per Cents , 78£ 35c. ; Bank Stock, 1,565f.—Ju1y 5, 5 per Cents, 78f. 70c. ; Bank Stock, 1,567 f, 50c. The following is an extract of a letter from Gibraltar, dated 12th June You will no doubt have received the important intelligence of the plague having broken out in the island of Majorca before this reaches you. Accounts have arrived here, the last dated the Ist instant. No restrictions have as yet been made on our coin munication with Spain. in consequence; but we are informed at the Patrique Department, that a considerable alteration in the Quarantine on vessels coming from the coast of Spain will be made immediately. We do not know if our communication with Spain by land will be suspended. No people have a greater dread of the plague than the Spaniard., and they will spare no measures to prevent its introductiou into their country. Some with whom we have conversed appear to view the busmen in a very gloomy light. ti P. s.—Vi re think it right to state for your Government, that the long Quarantine which must inevitably be petformed by all vessels from the Eastward, will, we fear, have the effect of put ting an entire stop to our trade with the Valenciaas and Catalo• nions ; sad as the plague has no doubt been introduced by some vessel from Tetuan admitted into the Lazaretto at Port Mahon. it is apprehended that this, the only channel of our intercourse with Barbary, will be likewise obstructed." THE REVENUE. Abstract of the net produce of the Revenue of Great Britain, exclusive of the arrears of war duty on malt and property, in the quarters ended the sth of July 1819 and 1820, showing the increase or decrease on each head thereof. Decrees c- 5G1,791 *SADO 4,009 We are informed that one of the principal wit nesses against the Queen, now in this country, died on Thursday last. An allusion has been made to this person in some of the papers. She was well known twenty-five or thirty years ago under the name of Plomer, and appeared as a singer on the Opera stage. She went abroad and performed in several theatres in Italy. About two months ago she returned under the name of the Marchioness de Salvini, or Solani, and stated that she had been in -. troduced to the lueen t and was prssent at some of her parties in Venice. She put forth the prospectus of a work to prove that the Duke of Wellington was the greatest Captain that ever appeared in the world, and solicited subscriptions to publish the book. She was by birth a Jewess. We do not think the cause of the prosecution will suffer by the want of this lady's testimony. On Saturday the Queen sent off three persons to the Continent to bring witnesses of the highest rank and respectability to depose to her Majesty's mode of life. Upwards of 100 persons of this character are expected to rebut the testimony which is to be brought against her Majesty by the filth and dregs of Italian inns and post-houses. The Queen went to Barnes yesterday afternoon, but returned before nightfall. She was greeted by thousands on the road. Great numbers of well-dressed females seem ed anxious to pay the most respectful attention to her wherever she passed ; and the assemblage of respectable people in Portman-street was so great, that the road from Oxford-street to Portman-square was completely blocked up. The attachment of the respectable part of the community was more warm and more general yesterday than it has been on any former occasion since her Majesty has come to face her enemies. On the 2d inst. a horse, without a driver, brought about nine o'clock in the morning, a Woody carriage into the village of Chanclruy, in the arrondissment of Arcis, in France. It was recognized / that the vehicle belonged to J. B. Menuel, a farmer in a neighbouring hamlet. A short time after, his dead body was found by a woman lying in a meadow, a little distance from the village, on the banks of the Aube i but no trace was found of his murderers. _ BOXERS. The pending great battle between Oliver and Painter, on which heivy sums are pend ing, will take place on Monday next, fifteen miles from Norwich, towards the coast, fur a subscrip tion purse of one hundred guineas, given by the amateurs at Norwich, and 201. to bear Oliver's expellees down, as Painter keeps a public house there. These men finight a hard battle on Shep perton Range some time ago, when possessed of half-science, and they are now considered as good as any on the list. Betting, at Norwich, is 6to 4 on Painter. Martin and Sampson fight in the same ring fur a purse, and the former is a favourite at odds. Quarters uly 5. Increase. 1819. 1820. ---- - Customs £ 2,214,659 X 1,882,846 Excise. 5,692,276 6,620.6 48 928,330 Stamps 1,534,723 1,381,443 Post-office—. 367.4 i 352, 46,7 Assess. Tax 2,257,960 2,313.3 Land Taxes. 444.753 440,744 85,4 Miscellanea 62,785 126,341 63,3 12,604,13 1 15,347,365 1,124,037 Deduct Decrease...... 380,802 Increase in Quarter......... 743,235 !P