The National Register. — London, England, 1817-01-06 00:00:00

.TANUARY G. greater the distress is upon the Continent than in this country. " VIENNA, DEr. 18. 'e Alarming accounts are received from various pares of the Austrian monarchy respeaing the daily incmasing dearness of provisions. In some parts of Tyrol, the Salzburg. Mountains, Upper Carinthia, mid the greatest part of there is such a scarcity that the people Lave recourse to bread made of bran and powdered bark of trees. In the environs of Agruni the vountrY people farmed the woods in order that they may catch the rats in them, which are smoked, and considered a delicacy. The accounts from Bohemia are als.) far from consolatory, and it is feared that the mountainous parts may be distressed by &mine in Spring, which would have the must fatal consequences for the nume rous manuflictories in those parts." The Speech of the President of the United States of America to both Houses of Congress, flqins a State Pawr which must excite considerable interest in this country. That part which particularly relates to Great Britain is couched in the following terms. " Previous to the late Convention at London, be tween the United States and Gi-eat Britain, the relative rtate of the Navigation Laws of the two countries, growing out of the Treaty of 1794, luul given to the British navigation a material advantage over the Ame rscan, in the intercourse between the American ports and British ports in Europe. The Convention of ton don equalized the laws of the two countries, relating to those ports: leaving the intercourse between our ports and the ports of the British Colonies, subject, as betiire, to the respective regulations of the parties. The British Government, enforcing, now, regulations which bit a trade between its Colonies and the United States, in American vessels, whilst they permit a trade iu Bri tish vessels, the American navigation loses accordingly ; and the loss is augmented by the advantage which is given to the BritisTi competition over the American, in the navigation between our ports and Bridal ports in Europe, by the circuitous voyages, enjoyed by the one and not enjo7ed by the Other. " The reasonableness of tie rule of reeiprocity, ap plied to the one branch of the commercial intercourse, has been pressed on our part, as equally applicable to both branches ; but it is ascertained, that the British Cabinet declines all ne,gociation on the subject; with a disavowal, however of any disposition to view, in an unfriendly light, whatever countervailing regulations the United States may oppose to the regulations of which they complain. The wisdom of the Legislature will decide on the course which, under these circumstances, is prescribed by a jcint regard to the amiable rel.ttions between the two nations, and to the just interests of the United States." We are decidedly of opinion, that the British Go vernment will decline all negviciatiod crn this subj..yct. The Navigation Act of I 7g4 determines the question. We are coin-erne:l to state, that her Majesty is in.lis posed, and will not perhaps be able to go again to fir, p ;o•liton, at least so 400 n as she intended. The Duke a York announced the intelligence to the Prince Re gent. But her Majesty's indisposition, we are glad to hear ; is by no means serious. . _ . The complaint of the Queen is an inflammation of the howds ; but we are glad to hear, that the latest accounts last night state, that Her Majesty is better, having had &um; tranquil sleep on Saturday night. The Duchess of Gloucester went yesterday to see her mother; and mes sengers are s: nt daily to ilrighton to the Regent. The members of the e Queen's Council assembled at Windsor on Saturday, notwithstanding the inaiTosition of the Queen. They assembled at the Upper Lodge at 1 o'clock. _ _ _ Ile:re is A report mentioned in one Or two cf the pa pers, thet at a Cabinet Connell held at Brighton, Mi nisters proposea to delay the Meeting of Parliam:nt, but that fie Prince Regent refus:::l to assent. There is not a word of truth in this. Parliament will cu.- taiiily meet on the .'2Bth instant. It is reportefl at the Treasury, that there is to be neither a Public Luau nor any new Taxes ; but Mi nisters will have recourse to Exchequer Bills, and a loan from the Bank. The French funds have fallen : their depression may be fairly ::serib,tl to the failure of all attempts to nego tiate a loan in Great Britain, ad:led to the great un certainty respecting the result of the Duke of Welling ton's visit. Since our last has arrived a mail from Flanders. The mnst important part of the contents of the Papers brought by t'.is Mail relates to the Law respecting the Egpr‘ tation of Grain, which has been so witch the subject of discus•ion a.td conversation both here and in the Nether landi. The Chamber of Belgium Representatives have t!tr,eva cut the Bill ! They ground their 01)1)4:kiwi to the measure on mere informality, but it is evident that there are s•nne reasons in the back ground : on the the _lll _ clause for prohibiting exportation b land frontier, an Amendment was proposed, with a view to include Antwerp, ;ma other' pow., in this prohibition. This - "PQISTEIt. mit !IA ar rem it. Amendment was not taken up with any thing like a spirit of approval. The intelligen c e communicating the important fact of the rejection, by tie: Upper Chamber, of the Corn Exportation Bill, is dated Brussels, December 21. It • therefore dues away the authenticity of the letters from Holism(' of the t 4th, which stated that the Law had passed, and was already acted upon. Brussels, it will be recollected, is the plus: where the Belgian Legisla ture bola its Sittings. As considerable obscurity hangs over the real import of the Law just alluded to, we think it right to state, that by the intended en:laments, the e.yortation to England of Corn glvnat it the Netherlands was strictly prohibited. Foreign corn, however, of which there is an immense quantity already warehoused iu the Nether lands, might be freely exported. The cargoes of Lids description arc mulersttxxl to be all bargained fur by English merchants. By the same law all emairtation of corn of any kind to France, by Me land frontier, was strictly prohibited. A letter from Brighton states, that " the birth-day of the Princess Charlotte of Wales will be celebrated at the Pavilion with a gran3 entertainment on Tuesday next, awl in the evening a splendid ball will be given to the Nobility. Her Majesty, the Princess Charlotte f Wales, Prince Leopoli of Saxe Cobourg, and the Princesses, are expected to be present. We under.itand that, daring the late short visit of the Duke of Wellington to London, the bargain for tl , e purchase of Sir Gerard Noel's superb estate was finally ratified. His Grace will thus be placed nearly in the centre of England. The will of the late Sir Roger Curtis was regis tonal in the Perogative Court, Doctors' Commons, on the 24th ult. The executors are, his son, Sir Lucius Curtis, Bart. William Ely Cook, Esq. of the .Adelphi, and Donnas Andrews Nlinehin, of the Grove, Alver stone, Hants, Esq. It is dated oa the 21st of February, I 8 I (i. The effects are sworn under 60,0001. In a codi cil, in his own hand-writing, and wherein he describes himself as near seventy years of age, the testator ex presses a conviction that he shall (:e sialanly ; he de sires to be buried as privately al possible, under the chancel of Catherington Church, in -a vault there pre pared for the purpose : a small mural monument is to be erected, for which he has transcribed the form of a brief inscription. Mr. PLATT.—We have inquired after the state of this Geatlcinan's health, and learnt that his recovery was very slow. He has not yet been able to be removed from his bed, except ti,r the purpose of having it made. His recovery is, however, not doubted, although the ball is not extracted. The cases, lately produced by the demand of the Bank to retain forged notes, after the value of them had been paid by respectable individuals, will give occasion, to some discussion in Parliament, and probably to an alteration of the Act upon the subject. At Shields, 300 to 400 sail of ships, value nearly one million sterling, are laid up mid unrigged, owing to the badness of trade ; and it is supposed, that those which are now on their voyage must adopt the same measure on their return to port, the capital of the clubs being so reduced, that they will in future be subjected to the regular premium, which the present low freights will not enable them to pay. It is hoped, that this state of thin g s will induce some competent person to inquire into the cause, so as to ward ,off the alarming consequences which may naturally be expected to result from the continuance of such a stagnation in the staple trade of the port. Of 191 ships and upwards on Wednesday at the Coal Market, not one was s.old. One cause of this may be the open state of the weather, which has allowed a regular supply, without obstruction. The highest price quoted at Monday's market, was 395. per chaldron, or 51s. delivered to the consumer ; only three ships and a half were sold at this price. TILE NAVE The Prince Iligeut has directed, by an Order in Council, that all the vessels in the Navy shall in fu ture be distinguished by the number of guns and car naiades they actually mount, and not accordin; to the crzotteous denominations which had long since grown into use. A new hloop of war, to can IS guns, is ordered to be built in tl..c dock-yard ..t \Voolwieh, of the fir %Olio]] grows on tie Lstat: of :lie link,: of Atliol, anti, out of comylinient to his Grare, is to bear his mane. The following vet - scl3 have been tleFeered over to e.}e River police, for the purpose of forming depots the Ticimi.* !tree dravern of 12 guns, Port Mahon of lit guns, and the Tower tender, all at lleptford. A ship, to arry 54 guns, is onlensl to be built at Woolwich dock yard, to i c e.died the Winelo•Vr. A maritime survey n. socral parts of the roast is about to take place. and the foll.nving vessels are prep:oily:for this service. vl4. the Ail brie:. Kt Slerrne3s; the l'rotector brig, at Woolwich; aid the R::,:b andoll6nreck bri-s, at Plymouth. The Hardy pm-vessel' is fittity out as n store...hip, and will be employed in the conveyance of litre stock, i.e. betwe,..... dm. Cape of Good Holtr, st. Helena, and Asewsion. c a p ta in N. po:tlock, who sailid nimul the world with Capin Cook, i 3 appointed one of the resident Captains is Greenivklt Hos -1.,. •1, :•- r•• , .-)1 4 r 1 ; ,• t• • .'• ANECDOTES OF THE LAT 4 191 W 'Wl'i ". This ahle but unfortunate Statesman, was distin guished by what Mr. Gibbon terms the incomparable felicity of his temper, an I by the meat complete 631f possession in the most vehement and acrimonious debate*. In early life he was not in general regarded as a young man of promising talents. Mr. George Grenville (grand• bather of the present Marquis of Buckingham) and Mr. F. Townshend, while walking together one day in the Park, observed Lord North, then a very young man, repeating something to himself,' accompanied with a good deal of action. " There goes blubbering North (mid Mr. Townsend); what can that stupid felloW possibly be about ?"—" Ys.o are completely mistaken in North, (replied Mr. Grenville); he is a young man of great talents, and bids fair, in a few years, to be Prime Minister of the country;" a prediction which, in the course of 12 years, was realized. • In a debate in the House of Lords, towards the close of Lord North's Administration, a nobleman is the Opposition, after indulging in some very pointed animadversions against the Premier, concluded by call ing him that thing of a Minigter. This was reported to his Lordship by some officious friend, who at the same time, expressed him opinion that it was incum bent upon him to resent it. That I shall most et!r tainly do, said his Lordship, by keeping my place ; as I know the Noble Lord only wants to be the thing I For the last years of his life, Lord North was totally blind. He had always been near-sighted, and was in the habit, after throwing sand upon his dispatches, to hold them close to his eyes, which the small particles of sand are snppc-NI to have entered, and thus to lia‘e caused irremediable blindness. Soon after the marriage-of his brother with a Lady of the name of BaniAter, a Gentleman conversing with Lord North upon the aalijett, took occasion to remark, that he understood she was Rut a of fitaily.—. Why, as to that, Isiat his Lordship, I understand, she is nearly related to the Stairs. Soon after his fall from power, Lord North was di ning with one of his friends who to the last had adhered to his fortunes ; and previously to dinner being served, amused himself with his f iend's son, a sprightly boy of 1;2 years of age, to whom he gave a quantity of sweet meats. After dinner, his Lordship was desirous of re newing his amusement with his young friend, which however the Liter declined, observing that he had r,) more swcetnit :its to give him. Ah, said hi. Lordship, you are not the only one who paid court to Inc when I bad swectimats to give them, and neglect tic now when I have none. His Imperial Highness and suite, after inspecting thee Lakes in AVestmorclaiiii, proceeded on their way to 1.4Vi1• peed, where they arrived on the 31st ult. at three o'clock in the afternoon, and put tip at the Liverpool Arms Hotel. Next morning, the Alai or, accompanied by Mr. Lee, late She riff of London, waited upon his Highness. and conducted him to the Town Hall, where he was presented with the fre , dom of the City, accompanied by aa appropriate address front the Mayor. Afi er this the May or and Mr. Lee accompanied his Highness with the Gentlemen belonging to his shine to view the I)ocks, Public Manufactories, cs.c.—They first s kited the Patent Hope Marinfactoiv, where his tlighuess and suite were highly gratifiA with the ingenuity displayed hi the completion of that surprising machinery, all sorts of ropes from the sinalli-at, to the largest cables, being mantilae tin ed at one and the same time —They afierwa►ds inspected the elegant basone belonging to the manufactory, which abound with a quantity ol• gold and silver fish, tic. They visited the dock yards and the tobacco W4fthell.4%. They m.xt proceeded to i•tspect the Institution fur the Blind, nailer the patronage of His Royal Highness the l'iiasee Rr ge nt. His imperial Highness as highly gratified oil his in troduction among the inmates of flirt institution, finding tile whoie of them useliilly and ingenioiisty employed in. various works of utility., sieve inakivig carpets, hearth rugs, whips, baskets, some knitting stocking', staking ot• shoes., :draw• hats, and small ropes, and whets weaving sack cloth..&c. : their attire is equally neat and clean. Alter his Highness had in spected t very class, a bell was row!, which summoned the whole of them to the nu tic room, where they petrol ined -*- vend pieces of sated masle, as well ua met 0:641 airs, with. great Judgment and effect. ii.I!SIC was lath %nen! ..n t instrumental. On his Imperial Highness being about to re tire, they pet formed ' God save the kin;,' in such 4 51y..., and with such a grand etiect, that after they finished the a r, his HiOness was so elated, he r2tple.tell leave to encore it, hest. was immediately granted. fit s Hisiniess, iu the mutt glowing language, paid a high trdoite to that praise worthy and lendable fancitution, and sonde►led by obsessing nat gild' an institution was worthy the imitation of all States in the veor.d. tlis Highness I left Li% erpocl on tldit 2d instant, fill their way to Bath is to have a Public Meeting this dity.—A. requisition to call a Mc ting. was presete,cd to the- Mayor, replied that it did not Inca with his probation. In consequence the reqoisitionists appointed a gene-.l .Nleeting on- Alonday, to be hekl in Mr. Hunt's large yard adjoining the new Market, Wale:at streef..—The Mayor and-Mugistr,:tes have ILA C then.- fore invited the iphahitant housek...ep,:rs to atten I :it tile Guildhall, yeatcraity, to be sworn in as spacial co::- stables. '.thc trovps that Were sent to Bristol previous to the late•Nlceting there, ate anat.: orders to proccei to. Bath. - - The ihike of Wellington mbarked at twelve on Monthly night cn board the Ant packet, with 11'.e.5& . , for Calais, where he lentlea ra.!ri.ing. itnut;:tliatr.•ly :40 frr - i