The National Register. — London, England, 1817-08-18 00:00:00

AITUG ST 18. length stopped by the Chairman assuring the ineetina, that whenever they thought Mr. I litnawass wrong he would make him sit down. Mr. limit then proceeded, but on his men tioning the abolition of Sineciirea as a remedy for the evil, he was interrupted by shouts of " Off, MT' " No politics" " No public disturbers." During this uproar, lie stood perfectly calm, and as soon as order was restored, he moved the follow ing resolutions. Resolved—That pauperism has increased in an equal and progres sive proportion wits the increase of taxation. Its-olsed—l'hat extraordinary taxation is the cause of the present • untsouoded pressure upon all classes. Resalecila—That to remove this distress it is only necessary to re duce taxation. Mr. Woolf r rose to second the amendment.—He began by expressing his regret that on such an occavinu as the present there should be any asperity of political feeling : but it Was almost impossible to introduce the mention of public distress vv ithout glancing at its cause. He then tools a review of the statements of Mr. Owen, to whom he was anxious -to give every praise for his intentiuus, and contended that the plan which he had proposed was one wholly impracticable from the statute of the means to which it would be necessary to have recourse ; it would destroy those notions of indeptaid. ( mac which were so essential for lb- support of a (*see con -atitution, and anuiffilate those speculative views to which we owed our greatness as a commercial nation. It would be impossible to snake hansan nature as perfect as Mr. Owe') proposed. It would be in buy situation liable to the influence of the paisions, and no wise Legislature would ever attempt to subdue thesis, though they Might atteceril its controlling them to a certain extent. The success of the present plan would, in this view of it, be a uatiorml evil. The inu 1111 l • able links :,y which society was held together in this country would be severed by it, and them would nut be, however san guinely it might lie anticipated, that union and harmony be tween man and limit which now subsisted. The natural ettect of that state where subsistence could be procured with little labour would be—lndolence, and that would be productive of all those vice, which it was now sought to avoid. For these reasons he should. oppose the plan, and support the amend ment'. Dr. Walker, and Sir Robert Steele severally opposed the plan, but would not support the amendments. Mr. %faith:min at peso t length ceuteuded that the proposed plan was founded in error. The three Resolutions of Mr. Hunt were then .put, and negatived by a large majority amidst loud cheers. 'The tour first of of Mr. Owen's Resolutions were then put and carried ituanintuusly, and the fifth being put, Mr. ()wee again addressed the meeting. He contended that by his no possible injury could be dnue to Society: that if lt succeeded it would be desirable--if it failed it could not snake the condition of the people worse. Here Mr. Waitlinian rose to move au amendment. 'There seemed, he observed, such a difference in the opinions of the aneeting from those of the Worthy Proposer of the Plait, that it did nut seem as it his object could be at present attained. He should theretioe move as all amendment That these atHicting facts call loudly upon the Legislature for a seduction of all tutnecessary public expenditure, and such other salu tary measures as are best ealiailated to remedy those evils. All the disoi der which hail previously occurred seemed harmony, compared with the contnsiun which ensued upon putting this amendment. 'flue conflicting cries of "Down, down!" " No Politics, this is a 'nesting for a charitable pur pose," " No demagogues," " No puddle disturbers,"—fur several minutes rung through the room. The fair ladies who hail not been &lama away by the previous disorder, now made their escape from a meeting, w here all decorum seemed to he lost on one side. Alisios Tureens endeavoured to gain a hearing for the pur pose sit opposing the amendment, but finding so much con fusion he very properly withdrew. About twenty persons then started up to be heard. One of them, an elderly Mall, whose name we could not learn, wished that thirteen millions of acres ufwaste land should lie given to the soldiers and sai lors who had fought in the late war. 'rids malt having re fused to get up on the table, and some of the mectiug being anxious to learn what he said, The Chairman began to repeat it in substance, when lie was interrupted by Mr. Hunt, who charged him with having made a grand mis-statement. The Chairman (addroesing himself to Hunt).—" Take care, Sir, what you insinuate against me." air. Sir, I say, that in what you have just now addressed to the meeting you have made a misstatement; mud that, as Chairman, you have tio right to snake any observa tions upon what has been said by any Gentleman." The Chairman.—" Sir, I tell you, that out of this room such an observation would uot escape trout you to me with impu nity, and that.l would make you swallow back your false hoods." Mr. Hunt was silent t but that scarcely lessened the con fusion, for several voices called to have the Chairman moved out of the chair, while as many more cued uut, that he should and others called lon the question. The Chairman then WAS about to pet the question, which he was prefacing with some oh,ervations, often he was called to order by Mr. Watchman who told him it was irregular tbr to Otter any observatiun cur wikat passed iu dis cussion. The Chairman stood corrected—and then put the question on Alt. Waithinaies motion. On the shew of hands he de clared the majority was against it, which called up all the tbry of Al r. W. finnan, aho asserted the decision was partial. sud demanded a division. Loud cries were now raised to turn out the Chairman, and a scene of anarchy ensued which lasted nearly hull' an hour 'lilting a Inch time it was almost impossible to tell what was doing. An attempt was made by' Bunt to tile off at the head of the Aycs, but it did not succeed. At lust a parity was sounded, and both parties, the Ayes and Noes basing assembled in time centre ut' the WWII, Mi. Owen again addressed th em, and, after rt•gi etting the disorder which vrevailed, he moved, that the meet 5110111t1 atijiiiirit to that day week. This, after some difficulty, was carried, and the -Chairman lull the chair, but not before Some gentlemen intimated a WWI to take him out ri a gratis. Thanks were then unived to him, and cat tied, after a slight oppositiou.— The meeting dam separated. The Assizes for the city and county of Coventry proved inaiden; there not being a tingle criminal ; or .or action at law for trial. About 300 persons, of both sexes, have been em ployed for several months, at the depot, Perth, in cleaning and re-packing the military stores which it contains. A seasonoblo employment has thus been af forded to a large proacltiou of the labouring classes in that :ONAL REGISTER . TI REVIEW 41 Historical T LITERATURE. of the Battle of Waterloo, by .Itarci, Accmott 11 . ...111;d1 , 6r" .L.ted I portani Mr. Mudford has Und'Jrtaken a most difficult task, and he has acquitted himself with honour. • To nar rate all the importani events, which occurred .frum the commencement of Iluonaparte's extraordinary expedi tion from Elba, to the dose of the glorious day of ‘Va terloo required temper as well as talent, both of these Mr. Mudford po4se,sta ; and in addition to the general details of the important events of that important pe riod, he has brought a fund of original intinmation be fore the public, and a mass of interesting anecdotes founded upon the must unquestionable authorities; sa a specimen of which we extract the fullawing account, of the suffi:rings of Colonel Ponsonby—a narrative full of the must touching incidents told with the greatest modesty. " Among the examples of intense suffering, and mint colons escape, which the eventful history of this day disclosed, there is not une more calculated to excite our sympathy, than the case of the lion. Colonel Ponsonhy of the lah dragoons. I have been. favoured with an account drawn up•by a friend of that gallant officer, to satisfy the painful curiosity of 'he family, taken al most literally from his own words; an account Vitially remarkable for its affecting simplicity and moral re flection. If the reader peruse it with the same emo tions I have experienced, he will be thankful for its introduction, and rejoice with me, that notwithstand ing his many perils, Colonel Ponsonby still survives fur his country and friends." Dear Lady B , you have often wished fur some wilt ten account of the adventures and sufferings of your sun, Cul. Ponsonby, in the field of Waterloo; the modesty of his nature is, however no small obstacle in the way. Will the follow , Mg imperfect sketch supply its place till it comes? The bat tle WV alluded to one enotniug in the library at A , and his answers to many questions which were put to him are here thrown together, as Bead) as I could remember in his own words;— "The weather cleared up at noon, and the sun shone out a littfe, just as the battle began. The armies were within 800 yards of each other, the videttes, before they were withdrawn , being so near as to be able to converse. At one moment imagined that I saw Buonaparte, a considerable stet inuring rapidly along the front of our line. " was stationed with any regiment (about 300 strong) at the extreme of theleft wing, and directed to act discretion ally ; each of the armies was drawn up on a gentle declevity, a small valley lying between them. " At one o'clock, observing, as I thought, unsteadiness in a column of French infantry (50 by 20, [l,ooo] or thereabouts) which were advancing with an irregular tire I resolved to charge them. As we were descending in a gallop, we receiv ed from our own troops on the right a tire much more destruc tive than theirs, they having began long before it could take effect, and slackening as we drew nearer: when we were within t,O paces of them, they turned, and much execution was done among them, us we werefullowed by some Belgians, who hail remarked our success. But we had no sooner missed through them, than we were attacked in our turn, before we could form, by about 300 Polish lancers, who had conic down to their relief: the French artillery pouring in amongst us a heavy fire of grape shot, which, however, for one of our men, killed three of their own: in the melee, 1 was disabled almost instantly in both of my arms, and followed by a few of my men, who were cut down (no quarter being asked or given), I was carried on by my horse, till receiving a blow on my head from a sabre, I was thrown senseless on my face to the ground. Recover ing, I raised myself a little to look round, (being, 1 believe, at that time in a condition to get up and run away,) when a hinter passing byes:claimed,' I'u n'es pasmortcoquin; and struck his lance through my hack ; my head dropped, the blood gushed into my mouth, a difficulty of breathing came on, and I thought all was over. " Not long afterwards (it was thettimpossible to measure time, but I mast have fallen in less than ten minutes after the charge), a tirailleur, came up to plunder me, threatening to take my life. I told him he might search me, directing him to a small side-pocket, in which he found three dollars, being all :I bad ; lie unloosed my atoc k, and tore open my waist coat, then leaving me in a very uneasy posture, and was no sooner gone, when another came up fur the same purpose, but asstuing hint I had been plundered already, lie left me is lien au Officer bringing up sonic troops ( to which probably the tirulleurs belonged;) and halting where I lay, stooped down and addressed me, saying. lie feared '1 was badly wounded : I replied that I was, and expressed a wish, to be removed into the rear: he said, it was against the order to remove even their own Men ; but if they gained the day, as they probably would (fur he males tood that the Duke of Weliingion was killed, and that six of our battallions had siirrendered,).every possible attention in his power should be shown me. 1 complained of thirst, and he held his brandy bottle so my lips directing one of them to lay uie straight on my side, and place a knapsack tinder my head: be then passed on into the attitin, and I shall never know to whose generosity I was indebted, as 1 conceive for any life; of what rank he was I cannot say, he wore a blue great coat. By-and bye another thailleur came .amt knelt and fired over me, loading and tiring over me several times, and conversing with great gaiety ail the while ; at last he tall off saying Votti sire; bus disc dendendre ruse 41110145 retire ; bun Ain., mull Gila.' %I bile the battle continued in that part, several of the, wounded loci) and dead bodies near me were hit wipt the balls, which came very thick in that place. Towards evuing, when the Prussians came, the eoutinued roar of the cannon along theirs and the liiihols line, louder-and louder us they drew near, was the tine t thing 1 ever heard. It was dusk when two squadrons of Prossian cavalry, both of them two deep, passed over me in full trot, lifting ate from the ground, and tumbling me about cruelly ; the clatter of their approach, and the apprehensions it excited, may easily be conceived. Had a gun come that way it would have done for me. The battle was then nearly over, or removed to a distance—the cries and groans ten' the wounded allj around me became every instant more and more audible, succeeding to the shoutor imprecations, outcries of Fire Emyeaur 1' the discharges of musketry and cannon : now and then thein tervals of perfect silence, which were worse than the noise —I thought the night would never end. Much about this time, I found a soldier of the Royals lying across my legs, who had probably crawled thither in his agony ; his weight, convulsive motions, his noises, and the air issuing through wound in his side distressed me greatly, the latter circumstance most of all, as the case was my own. It was not a dark night, and the Prussians were wandering about to plunder, and the scene in Ferdinand Count Fathom came into my mind, though no women, I believe, were there : several of them came and looked at use, and passed on; at length one stopped to ex amine me. I told him, as well as I could, (for I could say but little in German) that I was a British Officer, and had been plundered already; he did not desist, bower, er, and pulled me about roughly before he left me. About an hour before midnight I saw a soldier in a British uniform coining towards me ; he was I suspect, on the same errand. tle came and looked in my face ; I spoke instantly, telling him who I was, and assuring him of a reward if he would remain by ire. He said he belonged to the Wits regiment, but had missed it. He released me from the dying man ; being Huai:mai. he took up a sword from the ground, and stood over we, g backwards and forwards.—At eight o'clock iu the mot iiieg, some English were seen at a distance lie ran to them, and a messenger was sent off to Hervey. A cart came for me. I was placed in it, and carried to a farm-house, about a mile and a half distance, and laid in the bed from Whiell porn Gar don, as I understood afterwards, had been just carried out; the jolting of the cart, and the difficulty of breat h ing, were very painful. I had received seven wounds ; a surgeon slept in my room, and I was saved by continual bleeding, lad ounces in two days, besides the great loss of blood sou the, field. ....... "The lances, from their great length and weight would have struck down my sword long before I lost it, it it had not been bound to my hand. What became of my horse 1 know• not ; it was the best 1 ever had. "Thee map from the Royals was still breathing when I was removed in the morning, and was soon atter taken to the hospital. " Sir Denis Pack said, the greatest risk he run the whole day, was in stopping his men, who were tiling on me and my regiment, when we began to charge. The French make a great clamour in the action, the English only shout. " Much confusion arose, and many mistakes, from simi larity of dress. The Belgians, io particular, suffered greatly front their resemblance to the French, being still in the very write clothes they had served in under Buonapatte. .—....aw. ICELAND FISHERIES. There has been so much said and written upon the extension of British fisheries, so many plans proposed, and all attempted with so little success, that we almost despair, at least under the existing operation of the dillies on salt, of England ever being greatly benefited by Fisheries. We think, however, from the statements made in a pamphlet which has recently appeared from the peu of Mr. S. Phelps, under the title of " Obser. vations on the Importance of extending the British Fisheries, and of forming an Iceland fishing Society," See_ that an opportunity now offers for an experiment likely to be crowned with success. It should seem, as well from what Mr. Phelps says, as from the testimony of others, that the supply of cod, and other fish in the deep waters, and the bays around Iceland, is inexhausti. ble ; that its rivers also swarm with fish of various kinds, salmon particularly, which may be caught to al. most any extent. The trade with this islyad• is now - free, and Government allows a bounty of 314ei.r ton on the produce of the Iceland fishery : Mr. Phlips there fore proposes the establishing of an Iceland fishing Coin pany under these and the following peculiar advan tages 'I he supply of fish is inexhanstible! The fishing grounds round Iceland are at no greater dig. taIICC from the shores of Scotland and Ireland than the s6utli banks of NewfoundLiad are frian-St. John's, whine the fish is cured. _ _ _ _ "The plan of this Society should-therefore be to.catch th• fish on the coasts of Iceland, and bring it to the Orkeneys, or other stations, to be cured ; which could easily be elected with infaliable success, by salting the fish on board in bulk as fast as it is caught and cleaned, and when a full cargo is oh. tained, by proceeding to the Os keucys, or other places, as th• wind may best serve, where the fish would he found in.aa excellent state, fit for curing dry, or for barrelling. " Cargoes of seimon, forrellers, ewe. could also be krotighi fresh in ice, or io pickle, to the Loudon, Liverpool, Scotch. or Irish markets. " lu order to make the most of the seasona,. on number of vessels, with tishei met), should winter in Iceland, to take advantage of the early fulling season in February, and to pre. pare cargoes for the spring ;—or the trade may be carried on precisely the same us with Newroundtand, which would em ployA colony of people to an immense extent, and relieve thousands of families, particularly ifs the north of Scotland and Ireland. " This fishery would be the finest nurser• in the %solid for seamen, ;IS was proved by the Dutch, u11(1 formerly carried on a very extensive and lucrative fishing trade with the coasts. of Iceland. " In the year 180.;, eleven hundred and thirty three Duteis vessels were fishing at one time off the bays of Fear-fiord and Bradetiord ;—each vessel had front twelve to sis teen hands uD board. Their fish was salted on board in barrels, the Mem,_ vertiency and expense of which most be evident, compared with the mode now proposed. Batt els take up a g reat deal of room in the vessels, and lessen the cargoes, besdes beim , expensive and cumbersome; neither will The fish be so guZi. as if first salted in bulk, whereat* it remained at lea.st Oren weeks, it would be of benefit rather than injury to its quality. Besides it by chance some tish ere nut pi °perky cleaned, and thd-back bone not windy taken ant, a single fish of this kind will spoil the flavour and quality of a whole barrel, which. cannot :iappeitA.y the to&oputied method, as they may be separated or Mil...rived in C.e second curing. It is aisu necessary in the process of curing bill, that it should undergo a certain degree 44 fermentation and pressure. " The advantage of rimming to the Orkneys, or other con. tiguous plates, to discharge the cargoes as fast as they ark procured, will enable the vessels to make several voyages igt. a WOOD ) ‘llletcaa UmDutili eau only wake oat, a sd CQUip. THr NA