The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-07-21 00:00:00

I GENERAL BERNARDIN FREIRE DE ANDRADE. pssow, APRIL 24, 1809. We have lost our lamented General Bernardin Freire de Andrade. On the 17th of last month, this exalted character, who was one of our best officers, fell a sacrifice to the infuriated violence of a faction devoted to the interests of our ene mies. The excellence of disposition of this worthy man—his honourable principles—his cou rage—his great military experience, and above all his strong attachment to the cause of his country, seeder his kiss doubly severe. The Prince Regent, who highly respected this valuable Officer, previous to the departure of the Court of Portugal to South America, appointed him to the high station of Military Governor of the City and Disttict of Oporto—of which com mand the sudden invasion of the French pre vented him from taking the possession at this im portant crisis; the French. well aware of the talents and influence of the General, solicited his acceptance of a high military command, which, greatly to his honour, he alone of a considerable ,i.enber of Officers, had the manliness and courage tc refuse—disdaining to hold a Military Com. mission under the oppressors of his country.— Ne sooner were our efforts crowned by the happy ieue of the emancipatiun of Oporto from the merciless tyrants under which it had so long groaned—thee the General was recalled from his retirement by the Junta of that city, who felt proud in confiding to him not only the military command of Oporto, but also the important of fice of Commander in Chief of the Army destined to co-operate with our brave Allies for the deli. yerance of Lisbon, the capital of the kingdom of Portugal. In that important expedition he even sacrificed at Leiria his own popularity for the safety of the provinces, preferring the exposure of himself to imminent risk, in order to support the established Government, by which he preserved those provinces from invasion. The campaign being at length terminated by the Conveution of Cintra, greatly attached as he was from principle to England ; and highly as he thought of the ho liour and integrity of her Commanders, he did nut hesitate to express in terms the most unquali. bed, his total approbation of that disgraceful transaction, and loudly remonstrated, though in vain, with Sir Hugh Dalrymple, on the imminent consequences of that unfortunate Convention. On this important occasion his conduct, as well political as military, enderwent a rigid investiga tion at Oporto, ishich terminated in the expres sion, of an entire approbation of his conduct by the Janis of that city. The arrival at Oporto of the French garrison from Almeida, having excited fresh disturbances in that city, from whence they were to embark for France, the presence of the General was instantly reqiirred by the Junta : he promptly obeyed, and hail not only the satisfaction to restore tranquil. lity to Ow city of Oporto, but also of protecting many of the British from assassination by the Ja cobins) who, under the mask of patriotism, curt. ceded the most ungovernable bigotry and fury against the British. These men, by their insidious Dili, had exasperated the mob (from which origi nated the " turbulent faction") against their de liverers ; and, but fur the interposition of the Geeeral, many of the British had been sacrificed to the ungovernable zeal and fury of this faction. the individual exertion, and to the sacrifice of the General's personal property, ti.e Portu guese nation was indebted for the preservation of the arsenal of Oporto. Of his military skill, and of his valour, the actions on the banks of the Minho, and on the frontiets of that province, furnish ample testimony. Such was the man, of whom we have been deprived by the base machina tions of a Jacobin faction. At a very early period of the Revolution which happened at Oporto, the General had nearly fallen a victim to a conspiracy of the anarchists ; of whom many were on trial condemned to death—yet such vas the generosity 9f this inestimable man, that he personally solicited their pardon from the Prince of Brasil, to whom, as the price of that cooces. sion, he tendered his military services. To the well.known incorruptibility of the character of the General is attributable the inveterate hatred of the anarchists, who, at length feeling his opposi tiun to their plans to be insurmountable, from that tnotnt utdoomed him to destruct ion, and instantly di. rected all their cffirts to gaining over to themselves the " turbulent faction"—ia which, unhappily, they hut too well succeeded. To effect this object, the Jacobins employed every engine of policy and lilimais ingenuity—the capital and provinces they insulted, the people of England and of the Brazils they studiously endeavoured to deceive, though happily with only doubtful success ; but the " turbulent faction" they finally seduced, by flattering them with the idea of separating and erecting the Northern Provinces into a Go vernment, independent of Lisbon, Such was the patriotism of the Jacobins, into whose snare, so craftily prepared, the 46 turbulent faction" fell headlong, and having once embraced that party, now deem those very Jacobins, who in their hearts they despise, worthy of their confidence and even friendship! ! ! In this fatal pro ject of Separation is to be found the real Cause of the calamities which have befallen the Northern Provinces of Portugal, and their proud capital. From that moment the General, to prevent falling a sacrifice to their revenge, found himself iiiider the necessity of adhering to that party which notwithstanding his acquiescence in their proceed ing% disputed the military authority which he at 'hat very moment exercised. The condescension with hich the General treated this party--the express doll of his approbation of their projects, his present. ing the head s o f th e f ac ti on t o th e Governors of th e kingdom, to whom he represented their mea miris as the necessary result of existing army -4tanrel/4, were brilliant proofs of the sclf.denial and forbearance to which he could submit, when the interests of his country demanded so painful a sacrifice. In short, the condescension which be displayed to these mea l in order to preserve the ittrnal peace of his country, was absolute in user' instance, which did - pot require the cons. L. THE STAI promise of his own honour and integrity, or die independence of his country. At length, to carry into effect their favourite project, the party sent a formal deputation to the Regency, and, fully con. fident of success, did nut hesitate to publish a proclamation of the General, but not until they had' first taken care materially to alter and interpo late that document. These absurd proposals the Regeucy, as was consistent with their duty to the nation, instantly rejected ; and that unexpected repulse, added to the proclamation written by the General himself, which he published on that occa. sion, at once discovered to the faction the aversion of the General to the project which they had so warmly prosecuted. His removal ) therefore, be. came from that moment absolutely indispensible to the accomplishment of their designs. Seditious placards were now secretly posted up in various places, and under the specious, but false pretence of patriotism, this faction diligently exerted them. selves to promote and strengthen the union of the nation with their party. The unfortunate entrance of the enemy into the provinces, was the signal for the destruction of a man whose faithful adherence w the interests of his country, was the only barrier to the exe cution of the projects of an infuriated and bi. goted faction. Their plans had now attained ma. turity ; and the General, with all the Officers who accompanied him, were instantly massacred by these remorseless monsters. To the wicked—great was the triumph—but to all men of probity, and to all real patriots, this day of assassination was a day of mourning, sor. row, and deep regret. _ _ To these cruel murders succeeded the insurrec. tion of the people—and, alas! to what excesses have not those so falsely termed " Restorers of their Country" carried themselves, under the blind infatuation which led them to the commission of these crimes!!! Armed in the sacred names of their Country and their Laws-1 have myself seen these criminals—brigands—assassins—share amongst themselves the spoils of their still breath ing victims, whose mangled corpses for days were left naked, exposed, and without sepulture. Thus nearly anted arc the extremes of weakness and ambition—the cruel effects of which posterity will hesitate in believing ! ! !—To all true patriots, the members of this faction now appear in their true light of revolutionary instruments, who, if not themselves capable of all the crimes to which boundless ambition and false patriotism led, must be considered, at the least, as having been acces. sary to these horrors. By their ambition•Oporto has been lost---our provinces overrun---and but for the happy arrival of some tbousands of the brave English—the nation itself had been finally sulijugaied and for ever lost. The sentiments, the projects, and the actions 1 of the " turbulent faction" with which our un happy country has been so cruelly agitated, re semble so precisely those of the well-known ja. cobins, as, in truth, to be almost utidistingitish. able ; and should, unhappily, the " turbulent factions" ever obtain any serious influence on the Government of the kingdom, the true jacobins will not fail to play them off against each other until the nation is finally involved in irretrievable ruin. Such indeed, has been already proved by facts indisputable, to be the real plan of the anar chists ; but the day will yet arrive, when these OM will be exhibited in their true colours ; when the innocence of those unfortunate persons, who fell beneath assassination, will become manifest; and &grateful and lamenting nation will do justice ' to the memories of those true Patriots who thus perished in the defence of their country. Hitherto the Government of this country has not made public its opinion on the subject of these disastrous events ; but the lovers of the ir country indulge a hope, that the English General Beres. ford, who is reported to be commissioned to in. quire into these sanguinary and disgraceful tran. sections, will display that penetration and firmness of character which he is well known to possess, by cxpo'ing to the view of the whole nation, the dark machinations of an intriguing faction. The Jacobins, by flattering the ambition of one party, sought the destruction of all, hoping them. selves to found an authority on the wide-wasting ruin thus produced. But after having, by the hands of assassination, and by those of cruel milers, immolated many thousand innocent vic tims—after having desolated our finest provinces, their machinations have been blasted, and they are yet at a vast immeasurable distance from the' accomplishment of their nefariods projects.—, Under the old and stale pretext of treason, they not only endeavoured to excite the troops and country people to revolt against Generals Mi.' randa, Nano, Freire, Bacella, Silviera, and other I true patriots, but even had the audacity to level their daring accusations against the higher 1 authorities of the kingdom—but the moment of delusion is past, and these wicked efforts of the' " turbulent Faction" have been happily frustrated. Amongst the various stratagems to which this faction had recourse, was that of the pretended escape from the enemy of great numbers of I these men after the capture of Oporto.— Under this pretext they obtained admission into Lisbon, where they exerted every effort of insi. dious policy to accomplish their horrible projects against the Government of their country ; and to complete the infamy of their conduct, had the audacity to cause the most infamous calumnies to be inserted in the various periodical Gazettes of Europe. Happily the vigorous measures of our Govern. meet, supported by the timely assistance of our brave and magnanimous allies, have utterly defeat. ed all their plans by their wisdom and firmness. We confidently look forward to the removal of aft apprehension of future danger from the ANAR• CET- of FACTIONS, and the oreatissioe of TY RANTS. To the GUILTY, eternal CONTUSION and agnomen At the Cambridge Commencement last week, the Rev. CLADDIVS BUCHANAN, late Vice.Presi. dent of the College of Fort William, in Renpl, was admitted to the degree of Doctor in Divinity, by the Royal *insists, on recommendation of the University. IMAN. .- ... . CHEVALIER The noble oonduct of thy Chevalier DI ARANJO, who so effectually exerted himself to prevent the Prince Regent of PORTUGAL from falling a tic. tim tb the Tyrant of Europe, as was the fate of the unfortunate Royal Family of Spain, becomes daily more conspicuous. It is well known in Por tugal, that this Minister conducted himself during that trying period, with the greatest firmness, and on principles of the strictest honour, in opposition to the solicitations of the Agents of France and Spain, who incessantly urged the imprisonment of the English and the confiscation of their property. The order which changed this determination, was, at last, extorted by Mr. DC Lusa, but happily not till the moment was passed when it could oc casion any material prejudice to the British sub jects. It bad became absolutely necessary for the Prince Regent to dissemble, in order to defeat the perfidy of certain suspicions characters near his person ) and to conceal his intended retirement to Brazil. The Chevalier na ARANJO, notwith. standing his being no longer employed in the Ad ministration, still contiuues to enjoy the esteem of his SOVEREIGN, and the highest consideration of the Court of Rio de Janeiro, of which his ta lents, so well known and universally acknow ledged throughout Europe, render him so:eminently deserving. DUBLIN, Jvi.r 17. A general embargo was laid yesterday morning on all the shipping in this harbour, and every other throughout the kingdom, in cousequence of the sailing of the Grand Expedition. So strictly was it enforced, that the sailing of the packets for England was at first prohibited, but after wards countermanded, as to the Holyhead packets; but all thc'Chestcr and Liverpool ones were de. tained. Our Theatricals close for the season to. morrow. Muinetv had a bumper benefit last night to the Beaux Stratagem. At the annual IVool Sale by Auction, under the direction of the Farming Society, held this day in Dublin, the following high prices were ob tained for South Down Wool, viz. Mr.O.Wynne's prime fleeces, 81. 6d. per lb. his seconds, 51. 11d. Rev. J. Symes's prime fleeces, 7s. per lb. his se conds, 45. 6d. ditto. BOXING. A match was made a fortnight since betwixt Smith, the contemporary of O'Duntiel, and George Green, a rising fighter of the present day. The combatants had each beaten Dicon, the most celebrated on the list of his weight, which is two stone less than Green or Smith. The present combatants stood high on the list of second raters, and at one o'clock on Wednesday they met on the spot where Richman and Wood fought, near King eon. with their seconds, Young Belcher and Blake for Green, and Jones and Clarke for Smith. Betting was 5 and 6t04 on Green. The contest was a disappointment to the amateurs, who mus tered strongly iu expectation of a milling match worth seeing. The combatants fought shy of each other, but Green put in a stomacher in the second round, which doubled up his adversary, and rose the odds in his favour. This was the only hit of consequence Green placed during the combat; and Smith, whose greatest requisite is rujianing his man, seemed at much lost. He fought careful and hit but 'seldom, but he won the match, which was for 20 guineas, in three quarters of an hoer, without much harm to either party. Another battle, much better contested than the former, was fought between Lennox, a playful little fighter of the old school, and a novice, which was won by Lennox. ANOTHER Hato Go"( !—On Tuesday evening, the once celebrated Crab, who for some sears shone a bright luminary of the pugilistic school, paid the debt of nature, after a very short no. tice, on board a Gravesend boat, on his return to London. This hero was an elder of the science; and after the revival of scientific pugi lism by the contests of Ryan and Johnson, Hum phries and Mendoza, and many other champions of note, was one of the most dazzling brilliant: in the gymnastic ring, long before the Game Chicken was hatched into notice, or the Belcher:, the Gullies, the Cribs, or the Gregsons, were so much as heard of. Wormwood Scrubs, and all the favourite boxing grounds, were often the scenes of his prowess; and the Duke of Hamm -ton, and all the noble amateurs of the manly art in his day, were frequent witnesses of his achievements. Tough as the tree whose name he bore, and sour as its fruit to the feel. ings of his antagonists, he was allowed to be one of the most troublesome customers to his rivals in the contest fur victory, and to serve out his blows with a rapidity, dexterity, and effect, rarely equalled, and seldomer excelled, by men of his weight and inches. After years devoted in the pursuit of pugilistic glory, he resigned the pro. fession of knuckle:, and from a man of war, be. tame an officer of peace under the Chief Marshal of London, in which situation be conducted him self for some time with much propriety, never commencing hostilities, but, like a wise com mander, fur the attainment of tranquillity ; never wielding the weapons of mar bit for the mainte nance of peace. His quick eye beamed terror to the light-fingered corps, who daily ply about the Bank and Exchange, on the lark for booty ; and his keen scent shrewdly nosed the secret haunts of scamps, divers, and housebreakers. But, like many a hero before him, 44 his race was run ;" and Death, the universal victor, who, sooner or later, levels all heroism with the dust---after spar. ring a few short rounds with poor -Crab, in a slight illness, at last put in a finishing blow. Thetford Wool Fair, on Saturday last, was most numerously and respectably attended, but very lit tle business was done ; Mr. COKE offered his Southdown Wool at four guineas per tod, which did not, however, sell at that price ; but it is said that he had previously been offered 41. We are also informed that Si. 17s. was given for a flock at the fair. ~.. • • - *' • LAW l iNpatIGENCE. ' COURT OrtriANCERY. • Thursday, July 20. iIIENEFIT SOCIETIES. PEAR= AND OTHERS v. PIPER AND OTHERS. This is unit which most materially concerns the numerous Benefit Societies that abound in this me. tropolis sod its vicinity. It was an appeal from a decree of his Honour the Master of the Rolls. The bill was originally filed under the following circumstances. In the year 1798, an annuity society was founded by a number of respectable bakers, whose object was to secure annuities to those who should become members thereof, under regulations unanimously agreed upon. In the year 1805, it being found that the funds of the society were inadequate to continue the annuities hitherto paid to some of the claimants, and those who might hereafter become: entitled, a general meeting was held, when it was resolved to dksulre the society altogether, and distribute the funds among the subscribers. A.. gainst this resolution the annuitants then entitled, and to whom their annuities had been antecedently paid, resorted to the protection which, by tho rules of the society, a court of equity might af, ford them, calling on the t ustees of the society to continue the payment of their annuities. The case was argued at considerable length in the Rolls Court, and a decree was pronounced by his Ho nour in favour of the Plaintiffs. The case was now again argued, with great feel. lug, on behalf of the appellants, by Sir S. Ro l/ILLY, who pointed out the extreme injnstice which would be done to his clients if the decree of his Honour the Master of the Rolls was nut con firmed by the Lnrd Chancellor ; for these unfor. tunate persons who had in the course of the vigor. ous part of their life abridged themselves of those comforts which could render existence desirable, for the sake of providing a source of maintenance in the decline of their dAys, would now behold, that the specious and seductive plan of the society originally promulged was a complete delusion, and that they had now no other consolation than to find that they were the dupes of ether people's ig. norance. If, however, it should be his Lordship's opinion that the decree of his Honour was wrong, he trusted that some plan would be adopted, ou the dissolution of the society, for affording to then persons the most liberal share of the funds aecu. mulated that could be devised. This he thought they werelustly entitled to, by the greater risks they had run than any other subscribers, before they attained the age at which they could claim the annuities. Mr. RICHARDS, for the Respondents, contend ed that the Appellants were nut entitled to be ex_ elusively favoured with the discharge of their an nuities, at the expenco of the other members of the sochty, who must hereafter labour under the same disadvantages of which they now complained, in consequence of the iusufficlency of their funds to meet the claims. This society was originally founded on the most shortaighted ignorance and error. Their means were entirely inadequate to accomplish the great suds they believed they could effect. On the slightest examination of its princi ples and regulations, such a conclusion must be at once drawn by the most ordinary observer. It was impossible, where the subscriptions were so small, that such liberal advantages could be derived to the subscribers as was at first proposed. Ia a word, he thought it was a complete bubble. Under these circumstances, he was of opinion that it was not competent in the Court, according to principles of equity, to compel the D-fendants to psy the Plaintifii at the ex pence of other mem. bers of the Society. Nor could the C.,urt extend its authority so wide as to reach the individuals of so numerous a society as this was composed of. Re expressed a difficulty also with respect to the individual Defendants on this record, wbo only held their situation of trustees by the regulation of the society fur three years. The cause bad now been nearly three years on the record, and it would be difficult to appoint new trustees, whin it was not in the ppwer of those already in exist. ence to compel the society to elect others. The same observation would hold good with respect to the dissolution of the society, for it was impossi ble to compel them to that measure by an order of this Court. ifhe LORD CHANCELLOR said he would not pro. nounce his judgment until Monday, for the sake of examining a case which Sir Samuel Romilly hinted at, which bore some analogy to the pre. sent. At the same time he observed, that the great difficulty he felt in confirming the decree was, that if the funds of the society were to be appropriated to the payment of the present ennui_ tents, there would be nothing left for future claim. acts. He feared the original constitution the society was so defective as sot to afford him enffi. cient ground upon which he could grant relief.— His Lordship, with the greatest anxiety for ex. tending encouragement to such beneficial societies, had often from that seat cautioned such societies that they should be more circumspect in their for mation towards the attainment of their proposed object. COURT OF KIYG'S BIiXCII. Thursday, July 20. SITTINGS It LORD aLLlNSollouCills, LIP SPLC/111. JVRINS IN GOILDRILL. THE DING V. WILLIAM HOLDEN, ESQ. AND THEIS OTUZRO. The Arroft rt . -GENERA t. stated, that this was an indictment against the Defendants. Mr. Golden and three other gentlemen, for having acted eon. trars , to the provisions of an Act of Parliament ; but he had little to say. to the Jury in this case ) because, although it rasa criminal prosecitti is, it would really resolve itself altogether into • point of law, there being but little, in point of fact, to w Jet to their consideration ; he had only drily to state what he should as clearly ► rove, what the conduct of these Defendants had been on the subject now in question, and then to leave it to his Lorsiship to say whether they hail n•it, indeed they clearly haft, tended against the Act i. l'. l .1 4 1 iK ~~