The National Register. — London, England, 1820-02-28 00:00:00

• fprice of Sono. Rank Stock I 0 O. 3 per Cent. Red. 68 1 Imp. 3 per Cent. 3 per Ceut. Om, 68} India Rinds 13.. di.. 3} per Cent. ludic Stuck 4 per tent. 81} Exchequer Rills 24. di:. 8 per Cent. Navy 1031 Cons. fur Ae. 68i Lung Aim. Lottery Tickets 423 21. TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28. .-........-- Ix the midst of so much official and ceremonious mourning for the death of our late Sovereign, we cannot help feeling real affliction, when we contem plate the rapid decline of freedom in this country The removal of our late Sovereign from this sublu nary scene, we consider as a gracious dispensation of Providence, as he had long outlived all hope of recovery from a state of mental darkness : his pri vate virtues were many, but, to the false policy pursued during his reign, we have to trace the principal calamities of this country. Witness the loss of America, the Rebellion in Ireland, the fruit of disappointed hopes, and of just claims denied. Witness, above all, the war• with France ; so unjust in its origin, so glorious and expensive in its career, and so ruinous in its termination and consequences to the finances of the Empire.—During the con test our sailors and soldiers atchieved unparalleled deeds of heroism and of conquest, and furnished matter for a splendid record of valour in the annals of history. In the outset Burke displayed almost super-human eloquence, as the advocate of an un hallowed warfare ; and Pitt, backed by over whelming majorities, got money without stint from those venal Parliaments, whose wisdom he panegy rized as little short of omniscience itself. We, however, who have lived throughout the piece, who have witnessed its origin, progress, and termina tion, may be allowed to pronounce the late war as partaking of the most pernicious character. What Solon said to Craesus, that he whom heaven blesses with success to the last, is in our estimation the happy man, dieique beatits, Ante obituns nemo, supremaque funera, debet, may with justice be appliedom to the sentence of hap piness or of misery which we must pronounce, from a survey of the ►ituation in which the termination of the late contest has left us— " The wine of life is drawn, And nought is left the vault But lees and dregs to brag of." The n..tional debt is intolerable, the taxes are intolerable, commerce stagnates, agriculture lan guishes.—Trade is nearly paralized ; and, above all; such breaches have been made in the freedom of the country, that to some men constitutional resis tance appears as inefficacious, as to roll up hill the stone of Sisyphus; and they are content to sit down in tame. acquiescence, and exercise rather the patience of philosophy, than the zeal of patrioti im. To us, however, vigilance and alacrity, indispen sible at all times, appear particularly requisite at the present moment ; and however mutilated the fair form of freedom has been by the barbarous hands of our Goths and Vandals, we will still cling with affection to the defaced fragments of so much excellence ; and, as the statuary gazes with enthusiastic, but imitative admiration on the Torso, we will never cease to attempt the restoration of the original form, from the emulation kindled in us by a view of the disfigured relics, The approaching dissolution of Parliament invites the country at large to make a great stand alai Ist corruption and despotism•--It calls upon every freeman of the empire to weigh accurately, and scrutinize strictly the political conduct of their representatives, and to make it the criterion or senaturi..l integrity in every man, to ascertain whether the trust reposed in him has been exercised to improve and protect, or to diminish and degrade the liberties of the people. This simple test, it applied at the present moment, will be of essential service in regulating the choice of the Freeholders of this country at the nest election, and will THE NAFIGNAL REGISTER. enable them to aistinguish accurately the friend of the people, from the supporter of arbitrary power. Upon a review of the late measures in Parlia ment, what strikes us with the greatest surprise is, the cry raised against blasphemy in this very religious country, which deserves to be termed ut the present day, par excellence, I nsula .S'aactorton. " As well, to use a comparison of Dr. Johnson's, might they have raised a cry of fire in the time of the flood"—but the success with which the cry was received in the country, while it proved the deep religious sensibilities of the people, proved at the same time the injustice of the imputation to any serious extent—the alarm was sounticd—the forti. fieations were manned, and instead of a besieging army, only u few contemptible stragglers were des cried. That very sensible men could conscientiously put faith in the cry of blasphemy is to us incredible, and it is accordingly with great satisfaction that we find many of our Whig representatives man fully and strenuously resisting and exposing the absurd cries of blasphemy and sedition, and uni formly voting aginst all those harsh and severe restrictive measures, which have been erected on so flimsy a foundation. In conformity with the principles of Mr. Fox, and of the Revolution of 1688, the Whigs in Par!iament pursued a singularly consistent career, invariably detimding the liberties of the people against the encroachments of power, and acting upon those broad principles of equity, which are not the segments of a circle, but the circle itself. The feelings and the sentiments of the indepen dent Freeholders in general are quite alive on the point; and we arc fully persuaded that they require no exhortations from us to stimulate them in their exertions to resist the dogmatical edicts, and defeat the presumptuous attempts of an aristocratical junto. Those who contend for freedom against arbitrary power, ought always to recelluct that " Tinier is lie aren't), who bath his quarrel joint " Our anxiety for the success of the Patriot cause in Spain, and the horror excited by the assassination of the Duke de Berri, have both been superseded by the discovery of a most extensive plan of massacre in our own metropolis,—the particulars we have given at length in another part of our Paper, yet pressed as we are for time and room, we cannot leave the subject without again recording our detestation of the crime of assassination under any circumstances, and in any situation whatever; in so doing we only echo we are sure the opinion of every Whig in the Empire. Politically, the present Ministers are of necessity abhorred by the Whigs, and yet, we are convinced, that there could not be found one among them who would hesitate to oppose his sword, at the risk of his life, to the uplifted dagg,er of the assassin, if aimed at any of the Administration. The French Papers of Saturday arrived on Tues day. The Quolidkaue and the Journal des Debtsis mention as a report, that Count Deems has given in his resignation. The state of politics in France seems critical. The new measures proposed will meet with much opposition, particularly if the Ministers do not establish strong and substantial grounds to show their necessity. The ministerial papers are anxious to have it believed that Louvel hod accomplices, and that the assassination of the Duke de Berri was planned by the assassin and • other emispirators. If so, it will be urged us an argument in favour of the suspension of the French Habeas Corpus .w, and we shall hear of the arrest probably of several suspected persons. The Minis ters gal to be very much alarmed. With respect to Spanish affairs, it appears, that MI the 3d inst. the gates of Cadiz had not been thrown open to the Constitutional Army. The riptnt of :he capitulation of that city to the troops, is in a good measure accounted fin by the Bishop having visited the Staff of Patriots, to hopes of haranguing them into compliance with the terms of 64 ' sibmiision which had been devised by the authori ties of Cadiz. It is said, in news from Madrid, (but intelligence .rom thence is least to be depen ded upon), that a provisioning party, going out from the Isla, on the side of Vexer and Gonel, was cut off by the troops under the command of Gen. Jos. O'Donnel, and obliged to separate and take to flight in the direction of the Gibraltar camp.— Cadixis represented as very tranquil, which may be the case ; but it is unquestionable, that several persons of consequence are every day arrested, and who have herefore filled high offices. Melchoir, it seems, has been executed. Volta. --•-- BOW-STREET. DARING OUTRAGE AND ROBRERY.—On Monday Henry Dasvkilis and Matthew Cooper were brought to the °dice, and underwent an vacation:llMo, charged with a must daring robbery at the house of Mr. William Drew, a stationer, of No. IT, Portugal -street, Lincoln's inn-fields. It appeared loin the shrement of Mr. Drew, before the sitting in igistrate, J. E Conant, E-41., that tin Saturday evening, at half-past eight o'clock he left his house to go to his brother-in-law's in Mullins n. o pay hint some motley ; be had been there but a very sltort line when he rce:.ivett a message that he inti•t return home insts•utly, as his house had been attack eif and robbed, and his wile extremely ill treated. lie lout no time in returning home, when lie found his haute S•irromitleil by 31) or io persons, and his wile in bed, consequence of the wounds and bruises which she hail received during his absence, which hail not been hail au hour. Toe particulars of the attack upon I.er per son, and of the roldaery, he learnt to be as follows hat soon after he left home a man came into the shop atol purchased a sheet of paper ; another followed hint :LA poreoased sonic wafers ; she thought their appearance suspicions; but, after they were gone, considered Per suspicions grotto:lles% and sent her apprentice-boy rut to purchase some rthand. A. soon as he had gone me, heard a permit entering the shop, %limn she vett sidcred to he the boy returnity, ; but she soon perceit ed the person to be much taller. She felt the parlour, attil the man, instead of appearing like a customer, rip proaehed towards her, am l presented someilung in his hand which she believed to be a pistol, noel swore if slid spoke a word, or made any tinise or resistan,:e, he would blow I•er brains out. Notwitlwanchitg this horrit.te threat, site could struck her violently on her face, forehead and temple., with Me lost tttttt tot which she considered to ben pistol, which knocked her down. and as site was falling he struck her on the head, and afterwards beat her on her back, anti other parts of her body, in a moo-t shocking and ini ttttt tan manner, especially under the circum stances of her being pre 4 nallt. While the chitin Was wounding, and ill-1 rea tint; Mrs. Drew, two of his com panions entered the shop, and stole the till aid its con tents; also a tin cash box, containing six 51. and three 11. Batik of England notes, besides the lease of the house, and many valuable papers. Mr. Drew hastened in pursuit of the robbers, being persuaded he saw the three villains. as he left his own house, loiteiing about t h e shop of Mr. Clarke, the law-bookseller, which is lint a few yards from his house; but, kilowing that Air, Clarke was then publishing sonic works, he consitkred the men to be journeymen printers who were cc aiming to lie ptid ; but he happe:KA to look at their persons so much, that he had no doubt Inn that he sitritill know them again; he went therehne to the above /Ace, and J. fferys, on • of die patrols, accompanied hilts in pursuit of the robbers. They proceed:A to the C oac h a t d Horses ttttt se its Charles strict, Drury lane, whore J.fferys took Mr. Drew into a room - where there were thirty or forty men plating at cards and dice ; he pointed out the 'iris/suer Cooper as one of the persons who was loitering about Mr. Clarke's shop-window when he left his hone, and in conse quence Jefferys called to hint to come out, but several of the men near hint said Iva should not come gni, cool told Jefferys to go and fetch sonic more of his b—y pang hetore he should surrender. Fouling it in vain to take Cooper by force against such an assene- Wage of desperate characters, they withdrew from time Paull with a view to procure more assts - mice, when they were followed by several of the gat ; ( into the Street, where they were attacked by them, but es caped on account of Jeffery's drawing his cutlass and defendirig them. After procuring office's to assist them. they re tttttt ed to the hoose, cc hen they hound that the primmer Cooper and most of the Mull had departed. It was ,Men :shoot hall-past ten rielock, and they weitt from the Coach and Horses to the Son pidthe house, tit lirowailow-street, Drury-lane, where they found about twenty men aswitabled iii art o, w, amid autium rt theist Mr. Drew recognised the 'iris tier p.m kins as one of the men who was near los i • on ills leastog it, and loitering about Mr. Clio ke's slrop-w mama. They sue ceerled in securing him, and, im taking 1 to Nlr. Yew ' s 111111S4 JllO into Mrs. Drew's bed-npow, sac Identified 111111 :Is 111 1111111 cc no I reseito d the instrisineht I to tier head, and swore lie cc in let blow h. r lamps out. and ill mated her. Two other suspects-41 itt, it were t Ikea' to her, but she declared that she nail ii .rcullec bou ill their !WI VMS. Ott 11111 , t(j) 'norm F. IMw met time p risone r Cooper,, wince persons he alio hall loot secured. Mrs. Drew was 1111.111 k, Irons the wounds anti bruises wool, she received, to attend use • .iimat rut tttttt iday, lit it cc , s hoped Sue w 'd riviekr, and he able to attend at the next examination. ' They were louth remanded fin a future day.