The Statesman. — London, England, 1815-02-15 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. DEAL, Frs. 14.—Came down from the River and sailed the Prince of Orange, Silk, for Bermuda ; also sailed the whole of the outward-bound for P o rtsmouth.—Arrived the Perseus, Baines, from Portsmouth. _ _ PORTSMOUTH, Fca. 14.—Arrived the Pacific, Ed monds, Garthland, llorce, Stiller, Armory, and se.; feral other ships, names unknown, from the Downs; n ;co the Liberty, Aldridge, from Ilavre.—Sailed his Nl:josty's ships Ariel and Sabina, with a convoy Lund to the Canaries and coast of Africa; also his :\lljest)'s ships Zephyr and Stoney, for Cork.— 'Die whole of the outward-bound have dropped down to St. Helen's Roads, to join their respective convoys for the West Indies, Spain, Portugal, and the Mediterranean, and will sail early to-morrow morning. The Indiamen and ships bound to the Cape, South Seas, &c. will also sail to-morrow morning, ander convoy of his Majesty's ship Aebar. FALMoUTH, Frs. 12.—A, rived the Prudentia, from the Amelia Islands.—The Windsor Castle 1 )AI:et, from the Brazils, has gone into the Roads. PLYMOUTH, 13.—Came in his Majesty's ship Nee, with lons of bowsprit Cous sloop of war, from the wet ward ; Helicon, Rolla, and Gold finch s:onps of war, from a cruise. SOL TIIWARIL ELSCIPIOL—State of the Poll this day at twelve o'clock:— Mr. Barclay Mr. Burdett • • 1488 358 Mlnrity far Mr. Bartley - 1140 Kura's BENCH. MAMIE, Fea. B.—This day, Sir NEAL O'Dottrt. was brought up for judgment. The sentence of the Court t%3% pronounced by Judge DAY—That Sir NEAL O'Donts. be imprisoned for twelve calendar months in the Gaol of Newgate. That he pay to the King a fine of 5001. That he give security for keeping the peace for seven years himself in 40001. , and two sureties in 10001. each. DRUItY•LANE THEATRE.—Thoi, " Provoked Has. band" last night attracted a numerous and elegant audience. Miss WALSTEIN, as Lady Tory:leg, was snore successful than on her first appearance in this character, and in many parts was deservedly ap plauded. POPE'S Lord Townley is a most happy effort ; it is, indeed, unrivalled, and never fails to produce the most impressive effect. At the dropping of the curtain, this being the last night of Miss Wu-Yrs:Ws appearance this season, she came for ward to take her leave of the audience, and grace fully and respectfully curtecying to all parts of the Theatre, retired amid reiterated bursts of applause. THEAVIE.—The favourite Opera of Gil Card e has been got up to introduce Ma. dame Sass and Madame FutheNDlS, whose personi fication of the Roman youth and his sister constituted the novelty of the evening. Though we recollect Madame CATALANI and G swim's with infinite plea. sere in this Opera, the vocal exertions of oar new singers last night pre us no reason to regret the loss of the absent vrformers ! Madame Sassy personated CATALANI'S part of the heroic Ro man youth, and imparted all the spirit becoming his situation as a conqueror. She enraptured the house by the power of her voice, which is considered sweet, and under the regulation of a good ear and refined judgment. Madame Fall.. LENDIS proved herself an able representative of the disconsolate maiden, under the influence or disap pointed affection, and kept op the interest of the Ope.;• by ahappy exertion of vocal ability. Itrant, LE VAssEun, and the other personages of the Opera, supported their respective parts with every satisfas lion to the house. The Divertisement was repeated as usual, and the Billet of Zephir et Flora, closed the entertainment of the night to a very fashionable and numerous audience. Up to January 20, the Cadiz expedition had not sailed, nor was it expected to sail till the beginning of February. Another gun-boat had been added to the naval armament. On the 18th Gen. Mourns o addressed an Order of the Day to his soldiers, constituting n true special ‘rt of Spanish boasting, and breathing exactly the same sentiments as those which actuated an ALVA in the Netherlands, and a CoaTes and a PleAnao in the same Continent to which these 'oldies-dare now bound. It also shows how well has ORILLO improved by his intercourse with Wer.uno •r).‘, and bow much has he learnt by his residence in the British camp. We have no mention made of re dress ever having been offered to Spanish America— the insulted and aggrieved feelings of its inhabitants have nothing but bayonets to expect, and the bristly whiskers of Monmo's men are to dissipate a wide and extensive revolution, of four years standing. Such appear the sentiments under which the Cadiz expedition is about to land on the plains of La Plata ; tint to embrace brethren—not to give redress—not to listen to complaints—.in short, lint to establish the dominion of FERDINAND on the basis of justice and equity—but to impose chains under a more hvrrid shape. Coax Excumwr, Fax. 15.—We had no fresh arrivals of Wheat this morning, and having but few buyers the trade was not brick, hut Monday's prices are fully supported.—A tolerable large quantity of Barley remained over from Monday's market, the chief part of which has been taken off today at a reduction of Is. per quarter.—ln Peas, Beans, and Oats there is no variation. Coltman's ItioutsT.—On Monday evening an In lt was held at the King's Head Tavern, Fen church-street, before A. SHELTON, Esq. Coroner for London, on the body of Mr. He try Jameson, a younz, man, aged about 21, s ,, n of Mr. Jameson, a re sio•ctable merchant, of Fen.c.nrt, Feachurch-street, %I o unfortunately fell from the •^arspet wall, on I iiday night last, and was killed on the spot. It a peered from the evidence of a witness named Piper, t.. he the general belief that the deceased went for a ft , lie from his father's house on the roof of the ad i^ ring house, to alarm the servant maids, who %ere then going to bed ; and on endeavouring to re turn fell from the parapet of the nest house, on a fan light projecting et the beck. The Jury returned their verdict—Acidcietei Dr t&: THE STATESMAN; COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL. —Nob— Yesterday a special Court of Common Council was held at Guildhall, which was very uumerously attended. BOUTHWitRE ELECTION. THIRD DAY. At four o'clock the poll closed, when the numbers were declared to be-- Before the business of the day commenced, the . LORD hi 11"Olt begged leave to inform the Court, that i it was his intention, upon as early an occasion as Majority for Mr. Barclay .... 1059 p,possible, to rail their attention to a subject of very ! deep impertance,.s—he meant the subject of the Corn while the High Bailiff was making the calculation which gave these numbers— ! Laws, and the prices to which landholders had Mr. MOULDEN , who seconded the nomination of i brought that article.— [ Hear —lt was a matter of vital importance, and he sho uld Mr. B arc l ay,take care to name as addressed the Electors assembled on early a period as he could fo r b r i n gi n g the subj ect the hustings. He observed, that some of the M orn . ender consideration. ing Newspapers had lent themselves to the p ro . option of an assertion, which had its origin NEW POST-OFFTCF. with the friends of Mr. William Jones Burdett, Mr. Alderman Woon then rose to call the atten- namely, that Mr. Barclay was a foreigner.— ; lion of the Court to the notice given on a former oc- He would again have recourse to his family motto, vision, relative to the proposed improvement of St. cc Veritas semper preraliat ;" and that truth would Martin's-le-Grand, and the erection of a new Post- prevail, he had no doubt. lie now, as he had be- Office there. How far that improvement was neces- fore, boldly asserted, that Mr. Barclay was not a nary, it was for the City to determine. For his own foreigner, neither were his forefathers foreigners.— part, as one of . 6 the Committee of Improvement," The fact was t that his grandfather had gone to reside he thought it most desirable. The Chancellor of in America, while that country was under the domi the Ext hequer, on the part of the Government, niori of Great Britain; but the moment the revolu. bad written a letter to the City Remembraticer lien took place, which created America an indepen upon the snliject, in consequence of which a i dent state, he returned to Great Britain lied Mr. deputatiou from " the Committee of Improve- 1 Barclay, their present candidate had actually been ment" had waited upon him. The Post-Masters-Ge- ! born in London, and in a house, which had been nerd, and the Secretary, Mr. Freeing, were also i visited by three of their Kings. His principles, his consulted, and every information and suggestion ne- : blood, and his feelings, are English, and the rights i cessary afforded. The Government had offered their I an d i n d ependence of Englishmen lie would, at all assistance to lend money for seven years, without iws , times, be ready to maintain.—[Applause.]—Having l Merest, towards completing the work. By the re- I made this statement, which he deemed due to the cha t moval of the Post-Office to the proposed quarter, i racter and situation of Mr. Barclay, he would con letters would be received half an hour later each : elude by congratulating the Electors of Southwark evening, and delivered one hour sooner every upon the certainty of the return of their favourite ; morning. It had been supposed by many, and iii- the best proof of which was afforded by the majo rdeed it was stated in a public print, that the Cor- rity which that day's voting had produced..—[ Loud poration were about to expend 4or 500,0001. upon and reiterated cheers.] the meditated improvement; that of course was Mr. B.tRCLAY next came forward. He again ex known to the Court not to be the fact. He con- pressed his thanks for . the flattering state in which • eluded by moving, that " the Report of the Corn- i he appeared on that day's poll—nothing could have 1 mittee of Improvement" be read, which was read more firmly convinced him of the sincerity of those accordingly. He then moved, 46 that this Court do professions of esteem with which his friends on all • agree with the Committee in their said report." sides had honoured him. He knew not how long The motion w.as seconded by Mr. Alderman GOOD- , BEIM& i the Borough was to be detained in a state of confu sion and uproar. It was evident that no good end Mr. BROWN admitted, that the proposed altera- could result from such proceedings, as the friends tion might be a very great improvement to St. Mar- of Mr. Burdett must see they had no chance of sue tin's-le-Grand, but whether the removal of the Post- cess. Indeed, he hoped by this time, the advocates of Office would be a desirable thing, was another the Burdett Principles would see they were not likely question. The interests and concerns of the great to meet with much encouragement in the Borough of body of merchants and traders should not be over- Southwark.—[Cheerr and hisses.] looked, and he would undertake to say, that for 1 Mr. KEM:4I9II, in a speech of some length, of one letter delivered in the western part of the Me- which, from the confusion which prevailed, we could tropolis ten were delivered in the east.—[Cries of hear but little, sited, that although the prospects of No, no! from all quarters.] j Mr. J. Burdett iv.sre not at present very flattering, i Mr. Discos/ lamented that if Government 'were yet he had no doubt perseverance would obtain much. jdetermined to remove the Post-Office, the Orphans' rhey had a strong purse to contend with, and, there- Fund should be infringed upon. He had been one fore, could not exprct to be very successful.—[hisses of those that always came forward most readily in and groans.] support of every necessary expence : but now that , The noise and uproar now became so great ) that we were retrenching after an expensive war; when we could not hear koother sentence. I Charles Barclay, I:.q. .. Wm. Jones Ilurdeit, Esq. all Europe, nay, the world was at peace, were new burthens to be inflicted at such a time, and money to be thus wasted in erecting new buildings?—[Hear!] The Government had called upon the Corporation, in the communication from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to give their concurrence. What was this but a threat ? and if the Corporation complied, the Government would not be to blame. Somerset. house was first-mentioned ; and this not being thought eligible, another place was named. Was this the way the Chancellor of the Exchequer chose to act ? The next thing, no doubt, he would do, would be to order the Royal Exchange to be repaired, and in the event of a refusal, threaten to remove that also.— [Hear ! and laughter.]—The finances of the city, he contended, would not justify such an expense; and if Government, slid he, will do the job, let us, for God's sake, I: , ep our property to ourselves. The business concluded at five o'clock. In the course of the day, one of the agents of • Mr. Burdett's CoMmitte submitted to the H.kh Bailiff that the election, • let it be dedareir 'hew it might, could not be considered legal, inasmuch as a military force had been quartered in the Borough to overawe the electors, which was contrary to every principle of law. Sir WaTittri Ltwac said he had received all order from the Secretor) of State, directing that all mili tary detachments should be ordered out of the Borough during the Election. He had given direc tions to thif effect, and if a military detachment had happened 'to find iti way in, he was satisfied it was merely from accident,, and from the Colonel of the Regiment being ignorant that an election was going on. The Agent said, that accident might be pleaded as an excuse for introducing such a force, find as the Mr. WArrnstatv began by stating that he was ever the friend of improvement, and would ever continue so, where that. improvement was absolutely necessary or desirable, and the expence attending it not of an enormous nature. He did not in the present instance object to the plan, as no doubt he should he one of those who would vote for it ; but he particularly ob jected to the manner in which the subject originated. We were told (said Mr. W.) the thing must be done, or we should lose advantages of the most serious na ture. A worthy friend of his, one of the " Com mittee for Improvement," .had told him, that if the proposed plan first pointed out was not agreed to, several of the houses in Cheapside would be taken • force, however small, had been present, he thought it his duty to protest against the legality of the election. I Sir WATKIN LEWES saw nothing to render the election at all inconsistent with the principles of the Constitution, and should therefore proceed as before. He would, however, give directions, that any mili tary who might be in the Borough should b? removed. We understand that in the course of the day, the Committee in favour of Mr. Jones Burdett received from a disinterested friend, a sum of 5001. to be used i in promoting their patriotic views. down ; for the Government were determined upon having a grand front in that quarter. The opinion Two attempts have been made by the Austrians to get possession of the citadel of Turin; one on the 26th of January, when they attempted to get into the citadel under the pretext of executing a sol dier. The Commandant of the citadel refused, gadding, that they might execute him without the city. On the 27th, Ftiday, they made a second attempt, alleging, that they wished to place their artillery for safety within the citadel, as they were going to march off, and could not carry it with them. The reply returned was, that the citadel was want. ed by the garrison for their own artillery ; but the Commandant would furnish them with horses to remove it with the Austrian troops. The latter answered that the snow was too deep, and that there fore they must remain themselves at Tulin. On Sa turday, the '2Bth, Austrian Officers were seen recon-, uoitring the citadel. 1 The Adjourned Meeting of the Catholic Associa. tion was held in Dublin on 'Thursday last, when the Earl of DONOUGHNOIIE'S letter, declining to present the Catholic Petition, was taken into consideration, but nothing final was resolved upon, and the question was adjourned. Last Friday se'nnigbt, as some labourers were palling down an old stone staircase, at Battle Abbey, the seat of Sir Godfrey Webster, Bart. in Sussex, they found concealed near the postern, under a stone''' which appeared to be.etrongly cemented, sixteen hundred antique silver coins of the reigns of Queen i Mtli-y, Queen Elizabeth and King Charles 11. many of thens in good preservation. They are of various sizes, and said to.ir intrinsically worth four score pounds, but by t antiquary , it is thought, they will be deemed mo valuable. Nothing appeared to warrant a conjecture, by whom, or for what purpose they were thus deposited. They are, at present, in the possession of the Baronet. and letter of the Right Hon. Gentleman was a kind of threat; but he trusted this would he considered a$ good grounds for delibPration. For his own part __ . he did not care where the new Post-Office was erecled t whethei it was in Smithfield or elsewhere ! So hr., notwithstanding, he agreed with the Committee as to the necessity of its removal, and was a frieed to the plan of improvement which wis proposed. Mr. PEARSOLL supported the motion. Mr..JACKS opposed the motion in all its bearings. He moved as an amendment, " that the further con- sideration of this subject be adjourned to another day." The amendment was then put, and negatived. The origvial motion was then put, and carried by a large majority. A snntion for a Petition to Parliament was then carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr. WAITHMAN, it was agreed that a Committee should be appointed to enquire into the evils of the present syhem and administration of the Bankrupt Laws ; and that a Petition should be framed on their report to be presented to Parlia- . . - meta. The Court then adjourned. .1 t • D mixt; ROBBERY.—Two men, well dressed, en gaged a hackney-coach, driven by William Oliver, on Monday evening, from the stand in' the middle of Oxford-street, and desired to be driven to Church. lane, Chelsea. On the arrival of the coach in the King's-road the driver was ordered to stop, and on the two men alighting, one of them presented a pistol at the coachman's head, and together they robbed him of twenty-two shillings and hii watch, with which they got clear off. NEW INSOLVENT BILL. DIROM TUN 7IONTULT KAGAZINM.] The ascendency of reason in the affairs of a pea.: , ple a is the test of their advancement in cisititation : and freedom. It is the Unhappy condition of sta.: tions, still savage or subject to despotic sway, to i t i 1 the dupes of prejudice and passion. On the con. trary, a nation governed by its own free will, and by good intelligence, makes laws which impose no impracticable conditions, and balance tile jtitTt pile; tensions of every CLIS, of the community. The latter, in a qualified degiee, is the condition of the People of England. The House of Coin: moos may not be wholly adequate to all its prO; fessed con,titutional purposes, hee.ause so many* of its Memliers do not represent their due ptoportiosi of the people; yet six hundred and dfly Legislateri fan not deliberate two hundred days in every year, without passing, even by chance, many salutary laws. In points which du not affect their personal interests with the Minister, it must be admitted by the severest patriotism, that they distribute eqval jui. lice between their fellow-citizens ; while, in the 400 public and private Acts of every 'Session, many of the provisions evince a disposition to ameliorate the condition of society, either, closely following, of often (seceding, the progress of public intelligence: It is my present purpose to invite attention to a law which has recently. been passed to stljust the re; lations of debtors and creditors, ccionsottly Called " Lord Redesdale's Act ;" though its ptinciple had , been urged for 20 years, by the pi`es#nt evliglll.ollld ' and benevolent Governor-General of India. It it one of those laws in which the intelligence of file Le. gislat ore preceded that of large and active portions of the public, in regard to some of whom its provi sions interfered with their profits ; while, in relation to others, it took away powers which they had too long been accustomed to exercise. An interested opposition has in consequence been organized against this, law, which will call for all the ugliness of Par liament to resist. Practising attornies have not oc casion to commence the half of their customary num ber of suits ; Sheriff's Officers do not make a half of the usual number of captions; the sponging houses are without company ; the gaolers have fewer inmates on whom to prey ; the barristers get but a tithe of their ordinary fees; Jews and discounters meet with fewer cases of urgent distress; and the officers of the Courts of Law experience a serious (fe falcation in their perquisities. flow then, say aft these people, can so'injurious a law be suffered to re main in the Statute Book ? Such, at least, is the question of the hungry pet tifogger, who calculates his gains by the number of victims he can embarrass or Immure--of the hum- bailiff and his followers, whose subsistence depends on the business of their patron, the attorney—of the gaoler, who calculates his salary on tha gratuities paid 'by debtors for indulgence—of the barrister, who gets a fee for his opinions, his pleadings, his declaratan, and his brief on one side or the other— and of the officers of our tribunals, who, by a nar row policy, are allowed to derive their salaries from misery, instead of being liberally paid by the Pub lic. In the county of Middlesex, I an► told, this haziness of these several classes has fatten riff inThe Oroportiog of 1 to 3; and, through the whole kingdom, in the proportion of I to 4. Can we wonder, then, that every i trill!rig difficulty in the execution of the Bill has been improperly magnified —that cases, in which it may happen to relea..e un worthy c!,jects, have been unduly dwelt upon—and that every means have been excited to alarm the commercial world, and the powerful members of the legal profession, into a belief of alleged dangers from Its operation? ILet us , -hilverrer, dispassionately enquire-W*6a purpose and objects. We shall find, that its prieci. pie is• to render not only the present, but the future property of the debtor, liable for his debts. And *hat more can reason expect or desire ? Can creditors ask more of debtors than their property, present and future ? Ought not the present property to have been sufficient—could justice fairly ask more?—Yet this law commits all future property, and renders the debtor virtually a slave, till the creditor is satisfied With what ground of reason then can creditors corn. plain of this Act ? Do they want more than the pre sent and future possessions of their debtor?—lf they do, their wishes ought not to he gratified—they are Shylorks, seekiiig their pound of human flesh, who ought to be hunted oat of civilized society—and ty rants, who ought not t o enjoy the protection of laws made by free men le the spirit of reason and justice. The terms and provisions of the Bill all tend to that object, the transfer, of the property of the debtor to his creditors.--For this purpose ars assignee, or assignees, usually the chief of the cre ditors, are appointed to take possession of the pro perty and make dividends—the penalty of trans portation is inflicted for making false returns— public advertisements and circular notices are given to creditors, who are heard in person, or by Coun. set—the debtor is subject to public interrogatories— and great rewards are offered for discoveries of con. cealment. These provisions, if pot effectual, were made as much so as coesistent frith the "spirit of the British Constitution ; aid if, on ohy point, they ap. pear to be ir:sufficient, the framers of the law cart have no objection to improve or extend them, so that, as far as human inquisition call extend, a full disclosure of the debkir's property shall be made.— Let the re eerd he increased for the discovery of con. cealments--jat the punishment be the most terrible known to the law, and let it be invariably inflicter(, rather than innocence should suffer for the frauds of killit—or that the jiist principles of this law should be abandoned, because tftey may occasionally be aimed by knaveryl set the guilty be amenable for crimes, but them only. a tine, as accurately as you can. the really culpable nay of debtors; and punish offevders as severely as you please, but do not extend your penalties to the innocent or unfor tunate, or, what would be worse than any definite legal penalty, leave them to be punished in the die. cretion of any enraged, vengefel, and inexorable creditor. Other provisions of the Act deprive a debtor of a second enlargement within five yvars, so that no man can insult public decency by iircurriti , debts, in the expectation of being speedily liberat ed again.—Ass unprincipled career of a year must be atoned for by four years unpitied imprisonment, a penalty so far 1 ni MIL ;eh, earl this it N. , I