The National Register. — London, England, 1816-08-26 00:00:00

1. P f 26 Russian Party in the lonia; Isles, in the shape of an Ode, in which the Finperor Aler.ander is invokes! as the sole -rusnwer of their indepeurlyace. This, it is said, gave much itineasiness to the Govtgnment ; and on the part of the English Comtnissione!: endeavours were mode to suppress "the Ode; whit-h ho ever, the people took a pleasure in chanting tvhenevvr they had an opportunitv.—This dr eurnstance, how vcr trifling in itself, is evidently part of tlaot 9 , 44 N1V1K ilia, as we some time since observed, has forits object to render paramount the influence of Russia in 'ale - lifaiutt Isles, and which appears to be in constant said increasing operation. A Flatalers 4Glail has brought the following article, Viuieh lu. , trays a spirit of hostility to England more viru lent and - otiensive than any thing experienced in the reign of Buonaparte, because uggraeated by ingrati tude Ut+Onr, AEG I.l.—An Englbilt Journal complains of the whi ,- 11 are connuittet in this city agaiir4 the English CoBllllllPree ; and alleges, in proof of its•charge, the little scene •tif bun souti.lothil,kerchiers, and our article upon the shoes 'made 'lie a machine, %%Well are sold at Antwerp for IS sous hostility, says the journal, resembles the mud sys- Arm offThionaparte. 11.ettis . he allowed to answer it w words : . ___ • . . . . 'The English boast of - having alone dared to resist when the VW - cis of Napoleon seemed not to be shaken. Their motives iteratiy diminish the merit - of their resistance : more interest od less danger. More interest than any other people to de- Way the From% preponderance ; because the question was 're duced nearly to this—which of the two powers, France or Eng land, she,/.1 stile in Europe: less danger, because its position :aerircd it from it. We do not mean to contest here the claims NI bid, the English have to the ;:ratituile of the world, but to tinder people front going in their favour beyond the truth, and attributing to their zeal for the good of all, what is merely the Tesnit of their regard for themselves. Egotism is the true characteristic (rerhetl of this nation, winch is admirable in so ma n y other respects; this vice is that of the age, and It is the result of the extreme. civilization of which we are so vain. Unhappily all reasoning fails against a passion so vile, and egotism cannot be combated except by egotism. The example is given us by the nation which now bolds the sceptre of the world ; and it is this domination which destroys all the genet osity of its policy, which obliges Its to re. prises that are 4tecome sacred and obligatory ripon all 'mations. The mercantile patriotism of the English is e:ichisive and in ilifirrant4 it is passionate, because it is deeply interested. It vois die rigour of their prohibitory laws that caused the inde pendence of the United States. It was (which must he re peated without ceasing) the evident opposition of its interests 4o time of Europe which created that mad continental system, which would have sneeeeded and delivered all uations, bad its author made it the sole objeCt of his policy. It is this same Mad system which all nations will one day resnine it they are reasonable. ,'.The Emperor of Russia is very attentive to his Navy. A new 74 gun-ship was launcht:ll mi the 27th of June. This is the - second new ship of the line launched within S•few months. _ The ;lama Gavite ?elates a ewe instance of longevity:— ' Died on the 3d of July 6,3, in Kapottas-tivsnie, iu linugury, a person named Michael 4.rattss, at the esti? of He nits horn in tirgt, and has consiviently seen three centuries. Ho was niair.ed three times—the last at the Pee of 114. The nnni beref his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, up In the fourth aener , atitsu, wi; serenig' ." - A 'private letter from bbnerica states, that an intended 'insurrection of the Negroes has been discovered in South Carolina. At a place called Mackey's Saline, sacs an American letter, the Indians took away two valuable negroes, the ,property'of an American, and committed other robberies in the neighbourhood. They then escaped towards the M ississippi, and passing through the Fl urricane Settlemen ir e committed fresh depredations. Major Cooper, with a fatty of 50 or 60 men, pursued saa4 routed them near the head of tlik Charetteau, 60 or- 70. miles distant. This affair has excited considerable alann in Ainetica; becaUse the Indians, when decided on woo, generally commerce hos tilitiesin this manner. Mr. 11 Heath has lately invented in America a ma chine which entirely prevents Ovidosion.vin steani-boats. Letters to the 24.1 of June crave reached town frOm Buenos Ayres; by which it appears, that en official ac count had been received by the Govr,rnment, of Admiral Brown having been made prisoner by the Royalists of Liana. On the 9th of February, Brown appeared off .Guayaquil with a squadron of ships, and commenced an taut upon the place. hi order that his guns might act with greater effect, he ran his vessel close in shore; when the wind failing him he could not get her oft The Royalists, perceiving his dilemma, sent down troops to board her ; and, after a smart contest, the vessel was car ried, and Commodore Brown, with many others, made prisoners. Twenty men escaped in the Commodore's boat, .tad nearly as many Avert! killed and wounded. — The second in command made application to the Spanish tovernor to give up Brown in exchange for the several prisoners he had on board the squadron : the propomil was however rejected, unless Brown's successor would give tin, besides all the prisoners taken on their cruise, the whole of the squadron, except one vessel to return home in, and pay a large sum in dollars. To this the new commander would not agree, and next day fired on the town. Ultimately, Brown was sent on board, on condi tion of giving up the prisoners, and also four vessels which Brown had captured from the Royalists. The Buenos Ayres Admiral was, besides, obliged to pay a 'handsome sum in dollars. Monday the Dute of hunt wirl suite left his house , at Castlebar-hill, for Brussels, where his Royal Highuess has takes house La ihx c Tsars. THE NATIONAL IEGISTER. hISTRESS OF TILE NATIOIN, COMMON HALL, AUG. 21. The Lord eveonatiended to the 3leetiog to treat with iiilirtialie" all w ho should utFcr te vesak au the utiestiou about t.o Le brought into diseussion--ou the Distressed State of the Natiott. The requisition was then tend, Mr. Flower said, the (hot ess which pervaded the nation was so generally known. that he did nut thick it necessary for hint to eularee on the subject. The distress which reflected the Agricultural Masses had been acknowledged by every Member in the House of Commons. This was so great, it appeared, that landlords were unable to get any rent ; that tenants were constantly throwing up their leases and tly Mg their country; and, that in Many plaits there were few, if any, left to pay the poor rates. Every Gazette served but to prove the.exteut of the calamity which had fallen ott the country ; and those he ad dressed, who, like hint, were among the middling classes, must feel, that if the prese ut system wet e persisted iu, they, front being independent of any great stile, must Pink lower even than they were already, till they were at last compelled to do that, than which they would rather die—ask alms. ellw distress which now pervaded the country was so great, that it was tilt by all classes—cv placetnen felt it. It' the distress was meat here, he should wish to ask wind was the state of things in Ireland ? He had to isitOrm the Meeting, that teem a letter in his possession fium the Sister Country, it appeared, " that, hoe ever great the calamity which iv a had to deplore, it fell infinitely short of that which was at present endurA by Ireland. 'There the distress was so great, that in the city of Cork alone, s,OOO of the people were, of necessity, relieved from the soup•shops. In Ireland, however, the uressiire the times had been borne with such patience, that even the out rages wilier' had been committed, it had been thought right to treat with lenity, and Ministers had singled out but a few to suffer for them ; thus proving, not that any thing could excuse what had taken place, but admitting that the unfortunate men coucenved in them heel almost been arisen by uecessity int, those course's which had ultimately exposed them to the ven geance of their country's lows. it had been said by that dis tirignished statesman and sinecurist, Mr. Hose, (laughter) that it was most desirable to give to the poor the blessed comforts of religion; he (Mr. Flower) was, however, of opinion, that those who had any sense of religion, would not want the opinion of a statesman and sinecurist like. Mr Hose on the subject. lint how, he would ask, were the blessed comthrta of religion af forded to many of our fellow-creatures at the present moment ? He would assert, that they acre debarred even from them through the want of a gown and decent garments to cover themselves with, to attend a place of worship. It was neces sary to look to the cause- of this distress ; as when the nation laboured nuder such a disorder, mere palliatives were useless, and in fact worse than uuthieg. The cause Of them was the war which we had waged for twenty years, bi which we hod spout a thoosaud millions of mimey (he did not say that we had added so much to the national debt, but this it had cost in tVar Taxes and In various ways), being.a, larger sum than had beep spent by the nation in all the Wars of the two preceding cen turies. Within dip period lie had mentioned, the debts and the public burdeasbort been increased at least fourfold. The remit of-thee expenditnre of one thottsand millions was now seen laud hr blessed God that it was), and the itoosequences of war were becoming known to the nation. He hoped he should not lie supposed to he fanatical, when he "Minded the meet ing that if had been said, " Righteousness was the support of a notion; but sin, and war, if persevered in, would bring down ruin on any..country." One item of our expenditure .was so enormous, that he could *tot but advert to it ; the sums paid as subsidies to foreign nations. He spoke within compass, when he asserted these to amount to tar,000,6001. Reflecting on this, he could hardly think the language of Mr. Serjeant Hill too violent, though he had formerly thought it was ; when he (Mr. Sergeant Hill), its speaking against foreign subsidies and wars, said, he earnestly, wished that . two loaded pistols were regularly oil the table of the House of Conimons; and that it should be a standing - under of the House, that when any Member dared to propatte a subsidy to any foreign power, he- should only be answered by the Speaker's blowing out his brains.—(Laughtor fond applause.l—For the glory which we were said to has e gain ed the late War, he won'd contend, that it consisted but in our-having stffivertad in other countries those principles which had ever Cowen Adored by Englishmen. In France, it was seen, we had imposed a Govermuent (notwithstanding the most so. holm promises had been made on our part to the contrary) on the nation, in opposition to the wishes of its iohahitants. P had done thiS, though we had repeatedly assured the French we wanted hot -to impose on them a Goveriatneot—that we wanted nut to take from them any part of their territory—that we %sauted only the removal of one man; and even this de mand was not made till tile very close of the contest. Prance fiat been told to choose her own Government by the Allies ; but when abaft to do so, she had been informed by the Duke of Wellington, that the Confederates were resolved to restore Louis X‘lll. Tido, he couteuded, was at once subverting the rights of '45,0011;000 of men ; aud what, he would ask, would our ancestors have said If such a course of proceeding had f. gen imposed upon them, after they had thought proper to cashier the Stuart Family In considering the remedies to he applied to the existing, evils, he thought there was one resource to which they might all look with confidence ; that furnished by the Sinecure-holders and Pensioners. He' begged to read a paragraph or two from a book which he held in his hand, to chew what had transpired on the examination of some of these "Nothing-to-do Men" (us they were called in the bock he was about to read), by a Com mittee of the House of Commons. From this, it appeared, that Mr. Rose had stated himself to kohl the office of Clerk of Par liament, by .t resersion granted before the death of his prede cessor in the Office, the ditties of which were now executed by the Assistant Clerk in the House of Lords, under his (Mr. Rose's) appointment. When asked, Welty inconvenience would result from the abolition of his office, the Right Hon. Gentle man was stated to have said, '• he had some difficolty in an swering that qoestion," though he receir cal 9,0001, per ammo for performing the duties of it. The examination of Mr. Steel. he said, had proved that certain sinecures with which he was connected might be abolished without inconvenience to the Public; and the evidence given by the Clerks to wiintn the Committee had been referred by " that Prince of Sineenvists that great Pauper," Lord Arden, had beeti to the same effect ; and it appeared, that the Noble Lord, doing nothing himself, bid generally money in his hands to the amount of 2011,0M11.. (Applause and hisses.)—Such places ought to be done away and the most rigid economy iutroduced. He referred to thet.m guage formerly held by Sir Fletcher Norton to the King; and, pointing to the Statutes of Lord Chatham and Mr. Pitt, con. melded on the priurirles which they oad severally maintained; and reminded the Meetiug.that the warning voice of the forme r had long since declared, " toot if the !louse of Outline/11a did nut reform it4elf Au time withiu, it would Mate day be reformed -~ AUGUST .6. ith a vengeance- from without." ( Hire the Speaker was int , r•- rupird by his, , amt eller merky of disapprohulion.. In 4'1,1W.- u cove of NV hirls, he abruptly terminated his Opeech, at. temp t. to read ehr Resolutienis, but email not he heard.! Mr. Thompson ilea read the first Res.)hition,which described the Agricultural and Comm( reiol dislrc sa of the Country to he unparalleled in its extent. '1 his Residut len lie begged to second. He lamented the absence of Mr..Waiihnorn 7wbom lie h o p e d they would set again see in that Hall, dragging corruption from its lurking-hole, and hurling the lintiolerbolt of initialise at its supporters. He rejoiced ticst the present meeting had been railed, the proceedings of it Melt wentd resell the Prince Regent voile they would make it known throughout the emir:ray to the poor, that it was not their ura.sters who oppressed them ; but that the : , were as 1111101 oppressed as their ibteriors, it not mine ; and that it was to the Govei mr.mt only that they cooldlbok up fin relief. f is considel eil tit:: late rueetitet at the London Tavern, and the efforts made by land Cochratie and those who sup ported hint, as of the greatest importance ; as they went to guard the Hatton against debision. If his home• were on fire, arid a neighbour should go to him with a bucket of water, and pee n-inlet' be vague as it friend to estinr,guish the flames with it, he should look upon him with suspicion, and believe he had terbet to purloin some of his property. lu the same way, he conted lied, the subset iption ought fo be lees eel, w holly matlentinte as it was and must he to the object which its pruntotens atferted to base iu view. If the Dukes and Archbishops who attended the meeting had been sincere in their professions their subscrip tions would have 110111 t. sonic 1111411011i1311 to their incomes.- f Here lie made sane observations en the principal Subscribers to the Fund fir the Relief Of t h e Distressed, and abused altnoat the whole of the distinguished benefactors, etanipating (incor rectly- in many instances) their incomes with their donations He recommended union, and ceaseless exertion, till a Refuriu in Parliament was obtained; and •• raark,"said he, in conehrsion,. "I venture to foretel it, if this In nut gained, we shall have— either a bloody revolution, which we must all deplore—or a mi.. litany despotism. Mr. Hunt spoke to 'he same effect. He read. over a list al sinectirists, censored the existing system, and lamented the de gradation into which the nation had Wen ; since it had been so humbled as to accept of relief from a lloorbou-i-a Pienehmare —and such a Frenchman as the Duke of Berri, after expend ing 200,000,0001. of our ovate) in the war for the restoration or his tamily. lie thought the downfall of the system might be dated from the passing of the Resoltitimis now aboat to be sub mitted to the Hall ; and lie hoped that the hirelings of corrops Lion would take wat niug, as. i restore to the people their just rights before it was too late. A string of Resolutions was then read and agreed to as fol lows : Resolved Unanimously-I'lle the Distress, whisk weighs* down the Agriculture, the Conimerce foreign and domestic, A nd the Manufactures of Great Britain, is unparalleled iii the his tory of our country, and deeply alarming to all who have at heart its true greatness, real freedom, and lasting prospe. rite. Resolved Unanimously--That this distress is the natural re sult of a corrupt sy stem Auministration, and of a long and profligate waste o f the public treasure, daring a period of up wards of twenty years warfare, which hua occasioned an ex penditure or 1000 Millions, and increased our Debt, Taxes, and Poor Rates, to an insupportable and frightful extent, brought oor liberties into int tttt i t Pent perH, and proved destructi veto nor nation's! prosperity; whilst, also, it har terminated disas trously to the best interests of a conridc rabic portion of civilized Europe. Resolved Unanimously—That the oppressiveweight of Taxa tion, under which the people groan, is 'producing rapid depopu lation, increasing and widely-extended pauperism--threatening consequences the most ruinous to all classes and rooks of the community. . Reselved Unanimously—That all attempts to redress, or at. rest the progress of, these overwhelming ek its by tinbscriptioes t , however landaLle the motives of the Subscribers, must prove inefficient, and afferd but a trifling and temporary Relief even to the need depressed class of the people; and that we there fore deplore, not ouly the magnitude of the National Distress,. but the very inadequate means of Relief hitherto proposed ; and arc deeply impressed with the painful apprehension that the sta.:rings of mans - thousands of onr countrymen will, in the eveut, be aggravated, rather then alleviated, by holding out expectations which can never he realized. Resolved Unanimously—That it is as insulting to the under standings, as it is injurious to the independence of the people. to receive a miserable pittaure in the shape of alums from those Placeinen and Pensioners who deris c their unmerited and el.- orbitant incomes from the very taxes which constitute thy. grand emote of the people's sufferings. Resolved Unanimonsly--That we have seen, with shame and indignation, that the poverty of Great Britain has been pro claimed to the whole world; and that this once prosperous and independent people are reduced to the necessity of accepting charity from a Prince of the House of Bourb on; and that while lamenting this degradation of our national character, w e catinot refrain from urging his Majesty's Minister to dema payment from fureign powers of the many millions borrowed n t this country, under the solemn faith of treaties, in addition ( 'T the still larger subsidies lavished on those powers, to enabt" them to raise their UV•R armies. tight their own battles. unit' promote their own ambitious projects, to the manifest prejud dice of the dearest interests of this emintry. Resolved Unanimously—That the standing army, lit all times an object of jealousy to the British People, is of magnitude in the time of peace unparalleled; and the more alarming to Its, as a considerable portion of it has been employ - ed, in union with the armies of Continental Despots, in violation of pro mises, solemn and repeated, to impose on the people of France a Goverimu lit in opposition to the declared rimiee of her Re pi esentatives, and to present 23 million, of people from exer cising the right, without which a nation cannot be bee—a light repeatedly exercised by the people of this comary—a right, the assertion of which placed the House of Brous% it k on the Throne' of these Realms, VIZ.-- 'DIA of tbrming and reforming a Government for themselves; the into s expense of this unconstitotienal force beiug one of the causes of our national poverty ; its immediate anil effectual reduction is indispeusa• 61y accessary to the freedom and prosperity of Britons, and of the people of Europe in general, with whose true welfare our own is vitally connected. Resolved Unanimously--That our national distress imperi ously demands the must prompt abolition of all useless places, and sinecure pensions, which constitute AU grievous an to our insupportable burthens, and the immediate adoption of the most rigid economy in every branch of the public ex pentlilnrc. Resolved Unanimously—That long experience has but too fully proved, that the only efficient hope of the people is in 'thenr•els es united, to exercise their constitetioual powers, in order to secure a free, full, and frequent RepresentAtion of the people in the Commons House of Parliament; flue wailt of which Represe:itation having been the primary Source of oar