The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-06-05 00:00:00

I T. a - s 1 1' , ; f AZURE OF 71.1 E MRS. It isilroadt.ll to find inn country like this, which rsseases every 'Wiwi advantage, and which seems a l parently calculates, for the happiness of the-human race, that so much misery should be found ; the more so, when it is considered that that misery, over whelming as it is, falls to the unavoidable lot of the great majority of the people. Tile sudden and most exorbitaht advance its the price of every neces sary of life, may well confound our understanding, and strike us s ith dismay, because, under this cala stlitous state of things, we know not which way to turn, or how to act. it is not only the extremely poor, or the lowest ortleeti of society, on which this evil hears with such dreadful force, but it falls with ac cumulated severity on all the middling ranks of lire. The labouring poor undoubtedly partake deep of this bitter draught, but they are not compelled to drink out the very dregs of it so entirely as the me chanic, tradesmen of 0(41 , kind, the shop-keeper, the little farmer, the inferior clergy, and all those m hose incomes are narrowly circumscribed. These most have a regard to decent appearance, otherwise they will sink still lower, and be compelled to give up even hopt - t, the only support of the wretched in such te ei t J eolons circumstances. They must also contribute to the maintenance of the, extremely poor when they ca a 1:o loner maintain themselves ; sn that the lowest orders of society have a last re. loge, not much below their former habits and ideas, while the middle ranks have none. A necessary re gird to &emit appearance, involves them in number less difficulties, from which thousands are never able to recover. Bat bad as these circumstances are to every individual not possessed of an ample I , rtune, what must he the agonies of those who have not only the to regard, but who are encumbered by numerous other oftlects of their painful anxiety and teir:er care?--hark the worthy father, with a ri;:o'ly of children looking tip to him for bread, • vhcse hem, st industry formerly supported himself, his wife, and a numerous offspring in fell comfort. — What must he do now ? Trade is bad ;—in many branches it is almost annihilated. His profits are less, much less than formerly ; and yet the few pounds (for guineas are out of the question) which he obtains will not go half as far as they would have ! done a few years ago. The little farmers that re main, in like manner find the same insuperable diffi culties.. The great expence of absolute necessaries • obliges them to toil on with, hard work and sclitty living, scarcely one step above thesituation of a day ; labourer. The incitements to industrious exertion are no more. 'Piney may give up, in desperation, when they find that the most economical arrange ments wi:l not protect them from that share of the general misery. it'Apially paii.ful is the state of the Inferior clergy—these who, in general, do the duty of the parishes. have their plump rectors and vicars raised their stipends? %Vilest is the thirty, forty, or :fifty ;iounds a year in these di'tressful times ? When bread is at eighteen-pence halfpenny a loaf, 't will scarcely furnish that arti:le to a family composed of several children. The situation of all those proles sic) tat nion, w hese incomes are narrow'y circom selibed, is the same; and they have generally the ad+iitio;e nook% of tine feeliogs, given them by a cult ivited education, atid other ha'iits of life in bet ter iblys to combat with.—A. condition so over wheliniag is ton to u ch for humanity in general to boar. There are h.it few, very few indeed, who l a:t alai, lent strength of mind to stand firm in such eite-tuotance , :. T.:ere are another% .:ate, situat e A, wield have been honest and respectable; List, pressed by the disasters ()Nile times, in despair of any better situation, or from a forlorn hope of removiug resent anguish, abandon themselves to those practices which render them amenable to the penal laws. Where that is not the case, thousands and tent of thousands are the instances wherein conscience, 1-Inour, strict integrity—the proud trust of the virtuous—lio a blecdingssacrifice. how can it be otherwise with multitudes ? At the sight of a languishing and beloved wife--at the piercing cry of hungry infants, the heart sickens; resolu tion faints ; all firmness dies away ; despair en ters ; and sirtue—honest virtue, t e great con solation of the happy, is insensibly sapped by little unwilling compliances, till it is surrender ed, by de(rees, to • strong and almost irresisti ble temptation, and at last is overthrown. The un- Lr distracted victim is thus often impelled by those generous social feelings, which are the honour of his tiature, even to comply with the contemptible arts of corrupt life, which his soul disdains. W n at he would not do, that he does, though with disgust, de testatioss, remorse, and agony of mind, rather than see the helpless objects of his affection perish around Lim, under, the pressure of those circumstances, which overwhelm thonsaads. This is the present state of Creat Britain. This is the influence of our disastrous circumstances on the happiness and on she morals of society. Dare we lift up our eyes to behold the coming prospect? Then we meet the teight of our calamity. Evils infinitely greater still stare us in the taco, and horribly advance with rapid step.—Fa.ni.te, whose meagre menacing frown pal sies the inmost soul, and extinguishes its powers ; close at his fee's, his sure and constant attendant pestilence, with the uplifted rod in his sable hand, as tide EYath, on his pale horse, with threatening air, tomes gallopping forward, to close the awful scene. Bread, the great support of life, must fail to tsou ss,nds, if the price still advances. To them the scar city must be absolute famine; and should this become general, putrid pastilentiat sickness must ensue.— want of suilicient nourishment gives to all ani o,ai bodies a teudency to putridity; and if, through o4e4;y, a want of cleanlineis is added, especially in the rims pled parts of cities and great towns, the cala mity i 4 not to be avoided. It comes rapidly; it-is scarcely dreaded before it is here, and dismally marks its wiy by the havoc which it makes. It must ulso be ei►peotedl, that, under suck circumstances, the . burdens of the middling class will accumulate beyond all precedent. Tie extremely poor must and will iosort to the parish provision, and the rates must, of consequence, rise to a most distressing height. In Many places the labouringpoor already look forward to this as a probable event; and universally declare, that should bread increase Meek more in price,,they 'hill work no longer, hub crowd into the parish • 'uses. Such is a faithful picture of the present &saws. now to prevent an accumulation of misery, i I 7 - i 1 , . ~. lipe TilE STATESMAN. and the ruin of the nation, is a subject, •above all others, the most important and interesting fur the consideration of a Statesman. Hitherto, however, it has been the fate of Great Britain to be governed by men, who have shown that her interest was with them a seeond:uy consideration ; and who, by the most perverse system that ever was adopted, have plunged the country into her present difficulties. — We are now on the eve of having a new Administra tion ; and we fondly cherish the idea, that the atten tion o f those composing it will he directed to the means calculated to restore peace and prosperity. — But if in this we should be disappointed, futurity presents nothing to our view but a throne overturned by the infatuation of a Prince, and a people over whelmed with calamity by the profligacy of a Mi nistry. ALINSION-HOUSE FETE. One of the grandest entertainments ever witnessed in the City of London, except the Prince's magnifi. cent fete, last year, and Royal banquets, was given on I'Vednesday, at the Mansion (louse. It was the intention of the Lord Mayor to pay the highest compliment in his power to the Royal. Fam ily, who hate kindly condescended to honour him, during his Mayoralty, with the most marked atten tion, respect, and regard. The party therefore in vited to meet their Royal Highnesses the Princes, consisted of all the Ambassadors and Foreign Mi nisters at our Court, the great Officers of State, such of the Nobility and distinguished Members of all poli tical parties as his Lordship was acquainted with, all the Aldermen, and the Heads of the principal Pub lic Bodies and Chartered Companies in the City, and between twenty and thirty Ladies of the first rank and distinction, who soon after six o'clock assem bled at the Mansion House, to witness the sump tuousness of, the table of the Chief Magistrate of the first City in the world, which, to the great cre dit of Mr. Barker, who supplied the whole enter tainment, was covered with every delicacy of the season, and to partake of his Lordship's splendid hospitality, in honour of the great City over which he presides. To describe the decorations of this superb erllfice, in all its parts, would only tire the reader; unwea ried preparations were made for weeks before, and every thing succeeded to the high satisfaction of the illustrious l'arty assembled. The Lady Mayoress, at night, opened the re mainder of this sp'endid Mansion with a ball and sup.. per, at which all the Gentlemen appeared in Court dresses, and the Ladies the same, with the' excep., tion of hoops. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, desirous that nothing should diminish the compliment to their friends, were most reluctantly obliged, to, prevent the , rooms from being over-crowded , to li m it the number of iatritulons. Supper was prepared for about 700 persons, but so numerous were the applications for tickets to the entertainment from their immediate friends within the last week, that nearly 1100 invitations were at last issued ; and so desirous was the whole party of paying every attention to the Lidy Mayoress, that 'warty the whole of that number staid to the Supper. The consOuence was, that many perseos were with. out seats ; all were, however, pieta fully supplied with Champaign, and every other choice wine that could be procured, and every one at least got some retoshment. The splendour of the dresses was beyond all de scription, and only seen at the drawing-room and the houses of the Prince and persons of the first rank and distinction. The Lady Mayoress wore a splen did dress of white crape richly embroidered with real silver; her bead-dress consisted of diamonds and a very large plume of white ostrich feathers.— The whole was truly magnificent, as Were the Lord Mayor's, being a rich embroidered coat, and full suit to correspond. lie did not wear any of the state robes, cluing to the day not being held on any particular festival. The Lady Mayoress went through the fatigues of the day to the astonishment of her friends, and did the honours of the entertain. ment with the most unaffected attention to all pre sent. The following illustrious and diginguished per sops sat down to dinner in the Egyptian Hall, about seven o'clock: Their Royal Illghaesses the Dukes of York, Kent, Cumber land, Cambridge, and Gloucester. Monsieur de Fr ince an I the Duke de Berri. The Sitanie.t, Portuguese. and Turkish Ambassadors. The American Alini•ter, and Connt Munster. Drat-% —Bedford, Montrose, Rutland, Beaufort. and Argyll. I)ocuassKs—Arr,)ll. Leeds, llritlport, Rutland, Dorset. Msso -, tsKs—Waterford, Winchester, Ilendfurt, Lansdowa, and Wellebley. MARCRIONEWS—Waterford,• Winewster, Lantdmvu t sad I:Ada—Dartmouth, Birk ingliam‘hire, %lair', Donley, Chol mondeley, Grosvenor. thoilftird, Harrington, Lansdale, (Hor ton. Radnor, Sandwich. Shaftesbury, Talbot, Yarmouth. West morland, Aylesford, Clanearty, Cowper, Oxford. Paolo, Tyrconnel, IVinch-lsea, Orford, Delaware, Mount , dge ecitn..e, and Athlone. t'orwrescre--Dowager Pembroke. Galloway, Be'lament, Dartmouth, Cardigan, Albemarle, tiatlntrs,. Claneart v, (lon melt. ratiennbrrg, Jersey. Mouuttsorris, Oxford, Limeking liamshire, Citolatundeley, VarnleY, Guilfordjalhot, and Lou don and M ViscooNrs—Castlereagh, Griaistivae. Melville. Sydney. Pal mentott. Craaley. Cranbouroe, Ashbrook, Iliarliabrouke, Ilawarden. ViscotryTassrs —Cast' *resigh and Gringtone. Lonna —Alraol-y, George Rumford, Bruce, Berry, Boston, Braybronke, A psley, Bay nine.. De...Cliford, Elliott. Pones, William Fitzroy, It. Fit7gerald. Henniker, A. Ha ni!tan. Hin ton, Jocelyn. Kinnoull, Kirkwall. G. Taylor, Whitworth, John Somerset, Fkilgony. Fianditla, Riven, C. Ilentinck, Crautham, Lowther, and Erskine. LADlES—Grantham, two Saekvilles, C. Cholmonielry, R.. I iti4crahl, Lake, C. Rawdon, G, Anoeslev, M. arid L. Vane, S. Burgess, Saltoan, F. Wilson, Warburton, I). Herbert, H. and C. Walpole. the ladies.Coote. J. Thynne, C Hood, E: Ilagot. the Imdi-s legges, J. and E. Fitzroy. E. Brnhlenel, Rai:chile, the Ladies Stewart, Ilarringtoodohnsume. metealfe, Mildmay, Murray. Nebel. Pncklington, Preston; Hyde Par ker, Present:, It ussell. Rowley. Bamsden, M. Shepherd, Sid ney Smith, I)ruminontl.Srnith, Turner, Wilson, Hurst, apd very malty more. .A RCS histiors—C..n erbory and York. Bieho,, of liwition. Sirs A. Paget and J. C. Haggentone. Adn:iril Sotheby. Calm :sums—Torten', Talbot. Blisontield,DeshroWes and Cnn greve. The Jadge Advomite. • • )Jr. Speaker. . . I)nctor Wellesley , • The Aldermen, • h Governor and I)epdry-f4nvehrsiert of the Batik... Chaintutti and Deputy Chairman of the ladle C o pith. Governor.of the South Sea enntPanY• • • ChAlttaan tat the London Doektpastparf: • ' - LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, JUNE 4. INRE SWAINS. Mr. Conwoon sheaved cause against a role obtain. ed by Mr. Gazelee, for setting aside a Warrant of Attorney, alleged to be obtained under the folloning circumstances :—that Swaiue, being iu want of mo ney, discounted two bills with Keatiug, a jeweller, in the Strand, who made him take tno gold natches, amounting to MI. in part of the discount, which watches he pawned for 281. and that immediately on the last bill becoming due, he was' arrested at the suit of one Allanson, who lie believed was a mere pretended holder of the Lill, and finding he could obtain no mitigation of the severity of the law, he was obliged to sign the warrant of attorney in ques tion to avoid•a prison. To this, Keating had made an affidavit in reply, that Swaine was the voluntary purchaser of the watches, and that he had objected to take the bills in payment until Swaine induced him, by assuring him he was shortly to receive a large sum of money; and that when the bill became due, lie had paid it to Allanson for a valuable consi deration r—That he had afterwards offered to take his watches and money back again with costs, but that Swaine had written to him, that he never paid 1 costs.—"' That for sixteen years of litigation be had never once paid costs, as every Sherill's Officer in London could vouch."—He offered, nevertheless, to refer the whole to the Master.—This being agreed to, the Court pronounced the Rule accordingly. PREROGATIVE COURT, DOCTORS' COIMOSS. GAKNUAII V. CLUIKE AND KING. ! This was a proceeding relative to the validity of the will of Benjamin. Garuham, a man of rather singular character, who, by selling gingerbread about the streets, had contrived to amass considerable : property. Two testamentary papers, each of them asserted to be the will of the deceased, formed the subject in question ; the one, dated the 6th of Octo ber, 1810, principally in favour of his wife; and the other, dated the 16th of October following, princi pally in favour of Messrs. Chas. Lewan Clarke and Thomas King, two of his acquaintances. In support of the first will, -evidence was adduced to prove the Testator's regard for his wife, and his testamentary intention towards her; that Mr. Clarke i haring, by invssant importunity, persuaded him to ' make a will, on the first of October, 1810, pro ?:!ced to him one ready prepared for the purpose; which, on his represen'ation alone, that it was con. fr maYe to his intentions in favour of his wife, he regrlarly executed, but afterward suspecting he had been imposed upon, he sent for a professional man to read it ever, andsexplain it to him; when his suspi cions being confirmed, he immediately cancelled it, and executed the one, dated the 6th of October, in favour of his wife; that on the 13th of October fol. lowing, he, in a fit of insanity, cut his throat, and mangled himself in'other parts of his body, and was taken to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, whither he was followed by the importunity of Mr. Clarke; who, on the 16th, about three hours before his death, when in great agony, and in a state of utter incapa city, procured his signature to another will, almost wholly in favour of himself and King, the validity of which was now disputed on that ground. A Coro ner's Inquest afterwards sat upon the body, and a verdict of Lunacy was returned ; and it was con tended, that the evidence fully proved these facts; that the case of the adverse parties was one originat ing in fraud, and carried on by ittipOrtunity ; and that their v.itnesses, in their eagerness to speak up to its exigencies, had gone too far, and completely overturned it ; that the second will must therefore be pronounced against, and the first declared valid, with costs. In support of the latter will, Messrs. Clarke and King's evidence had for its object to show, that the testator disliked his wife, and lived unhappily with her, and that he had a great regard fci Clarke and King; that though he was a lunatic when he cut his throat, he bad lucid intervals afterwards, and - that it was in one of them that he made. the latter will, which was.conformable to his expressions of dislike for his wife, and regard for Clarke and King : and it was contended, that the evidence of the medical Gentlemen of the Hospital, as to insanity, was founded on too slight an observation of the deceased, to shake the positive testimony that supported these facts, which were sufficient to establish the latter will. Sir Jonn NrcnoLL recapitulated the evidence, and observed, that the deceased appeared to haven regard for all the parties ; but to be a person of such a fickle, irritable disposition, as to render a dependence cn that regard very precarious. He ols of opinion, that the evidence of the medical Gentlemen was not such as to convince the Court of the testator's utttr incapacity, from the tie►e of his laying violent hands upon himsell to his death ; and the other evidence proved such exvressions of his, as demonstrated that he enjoyed lucid intersals. He then commented upon the evidence of the patients in the Hospital, as to the execution of the latter will, for which , purpose thc•, , deceased was raised up in his bed; and thought it fully sufficient ; and that it was not affect ed by the exceptions taken to it. He therefore pro nounced for the salidity of the latter will, but with out costs. It is a matter of surprise (says a correspondent), Ithat amongst the various suggestions to alleviate the disitress and inconvenience so generally felt by all cases, from the very high price 'of bread, that the best expedient adapted during the scarcity in 1801, !appears to have been entirely overlooked, viz. the regulation of bread being made twenty-four hours bljOre it was sold. It is estimated that this regula tion %mild save (me -fourth of the consumption; and render it a more wholesome aliment. The faculty are entirely of this opinion. So convinced was the late Mr. Pitt, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, of the importance and expediency of this measure, that on its being suggested to him, he immediately adopted it, and with the universal approbation of the public. Surely this hint peculiarly deserves the no tice of the- laudable Association for the Relief of the Distressed Manufacturers and Labourers. Wednesday, at the Roxburgh Sale, a collection of half peany ballads and garlands, pasted in three vole, geld for' 4781. 16s.i This was setting them to to pretty,tine. - 271. e.; Ro.vE A N 111 L A p.l imp IN One da y, old (iEORC nia:, hi a fit of timiturp , saw, 4#r thought that he saw in Iwo The t%%(i gaspin: nations of En;L•md and France, Not worth by their warfare uhror dir.:;,. As he gazed with a Ilinnirgha-n fri.snd on their plight, 'rliev grew dm! of their ruinou- swig; And raisiil their head, von jild;ce of his fright, 'lle. emptied their tut's on his %$ ig. Gronce Pose thus hcArenehed and bedrownekt in the showe% Was by 10 the ItViENT Coils ey . d ; The stream had eandens'd the poinatuni and flour, And weighed down his beautiful 'wad. Ile hastily seied him, unlit as he was, For a Statesman so dripping and drow And su inging hint rude') —too rue.sly, :,M, ! Old ItosE tumbled 114 oa the ground. Then the nEC ENT eValinCii, had I gitilk , "n hiltl lle*d have prosed at the hoi‘rd fur a Mt& But he's doss n, and I'll tly from the dre4ded Address, fur his grumbling will end i.l a su..:le POLICE. • 130 Al-ST EET. Yesterday two men underwent a long private eu. initiation before Mr. 11.;..vn, nho were brought from Gravesend a few days since by Adkins and Pcarlses. The Prisoners had been living at an inn at Ma,..ate for some time, where they paid their bill with what appeared to be a 501. Bank of England Note. After they were gone, it was discovered that the Note was forged. An alarui was given, and the Prisoners traced through Margate, and on to Gravesend, where they were stopped, and on searching them and their luggage, some papers and letters Wefe round, which caused a strong suspicion that they were carrying on an improper correspondence with the. French Minis ter of Police. A communicaion of this circemstance was made to the Secretary of State's Office, and Ad. kins and Pearkes were in consequence sent to bring them to town. Air. Litchfield, the Solicitor to the Treasury, at , tended the examination, as did the Solicitor to the Bank. The Prisoners were committed for further exami. nation. Ti rrON-C; RDEN. f Yesterday William Manning, alias Captain Mat. ring, and a woman with n hom he cohabited, of a n name of Darts, were brought up, and underwent a final examination, standing chilled with having taken lodgings in different parts of the tort, /tad robbing the same of a great quantity of bed-f-riiitere s. d various other articles. The evidence agai..si the i'ri soners being conclusive, they were fully committed to Newgate for trial. Two persons, the keepers of an old iron sh< p, in the neighbourhood of Saffron-hill, were wrought up, being charged with having on their premises a great quantity of nails, quite new, with their original pa pers, new sheet lead, and a leaden pipe, also new ; the whole suspected to have been stolen. The Pri soners, not being able satisfactorily to account for the legal possession of the same, were ordered to be brought up again on a future day, when it is expect ed persons owning the property will attend. Welts and Crofts, with three other lads, were brought up,. el:arged on AUVICIOII of breaking and entering the premises of Mr. Forsyth, coach-master, in this neighbourhood of Clerkenwell, and with steal. ing thereout kve coach axle-trees, and other thino. Some principal witnesses not being present, the eri soners were ordered to be brought up again on alti• ! tare day. At ‘RI.BOROUGH-STREET. A strange occurrence took place at this 011ie(' on Wednesday evening, which excited considerable alarm. Two of the Magistrates were conversing together, iu the absence of business, when a genteel looking man approached the table in an assuming attitude, with his hat on, and carelessly threw a pamphlet on the table, demanding that it should be perused, and the grievances therein complained of redressed. or " ho would do for some of them." On his littering the last expression, he drew from a side pocket a knife, unsheathed, such as is used for slaying rattle, and then left the morn, pointing it at .tire Magistrates. The intruder immediately made his escape. Ile again made his appearance at the Office yesterday, and was immediately taken into custody, and handcuffed. — On searching him, the knife which he presente,l, in his threat to the Magistrates, was found. The Pri soner underwent an examination yesterday before CONA,:T; but he assigned no other reason for his alarming conduct, then that he sought redress for injuries, which were stated in the pamphlet. The Pri soner's name is Le 7'strc, and lie' is a French teacher at an Academy, near, London. The pamphlet is written in a romantic style, complaining of want of redress for injuries, the nature of which are not yen stated. Ile had written several letters to the Go vernment Offices, and complained of neglect in his applications at Bow-street. His whole demeanour implied a degree of insanity. lie was remanded to safe custody until another day. 'rho Prisoner is of French parents, but born in England, has been a French mariner, and an English soldier, and states himself to have rendered services to Government. Mr. Burrows, who was shot near Harrow, pro gressively improves, and it is opinion of Mr. Heavi side, and other Surgeons, that the slug which is lodged in the back cannot do any harm, and it is not meant to attempt to extract it. BIRTHS. On Maudav, the 23d March, at the Government Hone. Fun s-hall, in The Island of Madeira, the Lady of Major-Gen. the Hon. Robert Meade of a son. On Tuesday, in U pperi Guilford-street, the Lady of S. Gaz - - lee, Esq. of a son. MARRIED Yesterday, at St. Mary-lc-bonne Church, 3.11. Bennett, E -el. of Bullymore, in the county of Cork, to Miss Theodosia Smith, eldest daughter of the late J. Smith, Esq. of Sumunr Cantle, Lancashire. On Wednesday last, at St. George's, Hanover-square, the Non. Henry St. John, eldest son of Viscount Bolingbroke , to Miss Mildmay, second daughter of the late Sir Henry St. Jobs Mildmay. DIED - • O Tuesday Inst. at Sidmouth, afters lingering Moms of six meads, John Hunter, Fag. of Cbrges-street. _ WV DON Printed and . PubliOed by D. Loyst.t. at apt STAISONAS 0111PICX, 87, riect-streat,