The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1824-01-12 00:00:00

Io severely wounded in the last actions of the armory Catalonia. It appears that the French army has caused the ri gh ts of this prisoner to be respected, and would not allow him to subjected to the t are of Riego, to which the Spanish authorities acemeil wonderfully digitated, if credit is to be attached to the articles published by the Rrefasrador on this occasion. The Droves Blame gives the following from Madrid :—" Snme Swiss soldiers drinking at Chemartin, a amen village of seven or eight houses, half a league from the capital, had an altercation with owe of the inhabitants. From words they tame to blows. The peopPle from • neighbouring hamlet, some of them armed and some on rushed, without knnwiog the cause of the quarrel, Imes the Swint soldiers, three or four of whom were severely wounded, as well as many of the peasantry. Similar s c e nes, which are always the consequence of wine, would not take place, if the measure which has beenat lengthresorted to hail been used at first. No french soldier is allowed to leave the city in which he is stationed, and he is not allowed upon any account to go to Chantartin to drink. The political horizon is enveloped with dark clouds. The royalist party is In a state of exasperation, and every thing announces an immediate explosion, which will be directed against the Minister. It Is even said that, in the alterations which have taken place in the palace, the two Infants have declared openly, that if the Dorm. meat continue to despise and maltreat, sod spurn the most zealous &tinier' of the throne, and if they do not march fairly in the path of die restoration, they will oppose every measure that may be taken, and in case of a new revolutton„ they will place themselves at the head of those who have fought for the Royal cause add for the Spanish monarchy in all its purity. It is also that, after long discussions, the downfall of the Minister has been half resolved on : so that every thing announces a new crisis, which unfortunately ap pears inevitable in the actual state of things' From the Constilmtionvell The Restaurador gives the following from Barcelona, dated Dec. In. " It is Impossible to imagine the disorder which reigns here, the restoration has not as yet penetrated to Catalonia, tor we ate here the same individuals who exercised the greatest authority these two yea= back. 'there is one who represented himself as the intimate friend of Lacy : be is well known for his liberal principles, and bang forced by . the royal decree to retire to Arragno, was brought bat to Catalonia by the revolutionists immediately after the publi. radon of the constitution. This man, who played uoe of the princi pal parts, made his escape, and kept himself concealed for some mentbs, when he saw things were going badly with bits; but to-day wears all royalists." PARIS. The state of the Pope's health gives great uneasiness : the last accounts are of the With; they leave but little hopes. The Newsoriol Bouklais tells us of an unpleasant affair which took place at Bourdesua :—An inferior officer appeared at the Theatre Francais drunk ; sonic boys insulted him ; the officer drew his sword ; the crowd rushed upon him to disarm him ; a 'truck toot place; the officer took shelter in the house of a shoemaker, where a multitude was soon colleted. The officer, who committed snout injury in the house, was arrested, and was on the point of being taken to the Hotel de Ville, when • stiperirw officer arrived, and taking upon himself the responsibility, led him are prisoner. We learn that be has since received exemplary penishment from his commander. The Court of Appeal was occupied with the investigation of the case of Louis Leculfe, and a widow of the saint name, condemned to death for the crimes of robbery . and murder. The grounds of appeal were four; they were all rejected by the Court. [From the Journal des Debate! VIESTWA, DEC. IS. . Sincelds return the Emperor has in a great degree mitigated the punishments decreed against those guilty of political offences in Lombardy. Almost all those against whom there was no grave ar o:nation have bees set at liberty, and his Majesty has limited to a certain time the detention of those who were condemned to per- pstual imprisonment. Upon the night of the 25th the Theatre of Orats and the Hall of the Deputies became the prey of flrit. We know neither the cause or the details of this fatal accident. Pants. We read in the American Papers, that England has proposed to the United States to aid her in repelling all attempts that may be made by the Continental Powers against the independence of the A nterican Colonies. We are not in the secrets of Cabinets, and we know not if this news be true or false ; but this we know, that to constitute a war there must he at least two belligerent parties; and as we now see the Continent perfectly tranquil, eau that nobody dreams of dis turbing it, t:te United States may, if they think proper, indulge themselves in the trifling gratification of manning their fleets, and parading them in triumph on the ocean, where they can meet none but friends. BAYONNE NEWS. We have received the following, via Bayonne:— MADRID, DEC, M. The attention of our politicians is exclusively directed io the Amnesty, and to the Loan of M. Comae. It appears certain that the first is nearly decided, and will appear without delay. It will contain a multitude of exceptions, which will chiefly fall upon per eons in civil and military empkeyments, who declared for the Con stitution before the King swore to observe it, and particularly the tint who brought about the revolution in the Isle of loon, and elsewhere. The amnesty which the King gave to the Afredered due, during the limo of the Cartes, having been revoked, the new degree cootaine wend articles which ansorrn them also. The de case, it is true, is still under discussion, passing from the Camas rills to the Ministers, and from the Ministers to the Councils; hut the chief difficulties seem to be removed, and this time there will be reason to be sutietied with his Majesty, unless some Tarter should baSe the efforts of all those who have laboured to bring this measure to maturity. As for the loan, an application has been made to the chapters of the dignified clergy, and all of them having met, they have sent asenmisuoners to the King, not to guarantee the two hundred mil lion solicited, but to represent to his Majesty the inability of the clergy to make so great a saaifice, after the losses which it has sustained since liltd, and the greet diminution of its resources, which in fact cannot be denied. The Chapters do not refuse to as sist the Crown. but they would wish that the other public bodies, especially the Monks, should bear their part—so that the ministry, being unable to find lenders in foreign countries, for want of secs- ray. will perhaps be obliged to lay an extraordinary contribution on the great nobility, the clergy, the monks, and the merchants, and thus it will be able to meet the most urgent wants, without burdening public credit with the loans of the Cortes and that of Caresse, without distressing the poorer class. a high will be • long time before will accustom itself to pay taxes, and which it will bet difficult to compel to pay, for want of a national force. Our Ministers proceed according to the plan laid down by the Powers of the Hoky Alliance, whose Ministers at Madrid approve of the system of erdinand , though they do not agree with each other, or with the King, on the manner. The latter feels his de pendence, and sometime* expresses his discontent in unreserved terms. Pl. Casa lrujo certainly enjoys his favour as well an Saes, who out of complaisance for the fanatics, remains at 3ladrid. Ca bal and intrigue resume their former sway at the palace; and the Infant Don Carlos, surrounded as usual by the fanatics, contributes to impede various beneficial measures recommended to the King for the general good ; so that for want of union in the councils, for want of able public functionaries, and men who would labour with disinterestedness, confidence, and good faith, this nation must ne cessarily be plunged into a chaos of disasters. People have nut yet been able to mile to themselves; the Abso lutists loudly demand the reward of their excesses, not of their fidelity—but how can they be satisfied ? It will not be by de manding contributions of them, who thought the word absolute ex rioted them, and gave them a licence to do what they pleased. We always ha-e said, that there are in Spain 100,0® persons ready to follow any one who will pay them ; and so long as the Government cannot relieve their distress by offices, by public works, employment in manufactories. or direct assistance, there will al ways be a want of stability. Thus we see the robbers become more numerous in all quarters—not only travellers are plundered, but arin small French worts are exposed. It is to be feared that the organization of the National Militia, intended to keep down the Liberals, and to pursue malefactors, may have pot arms into the hands of men who will make a diffe rent use of them. At present, however, there is no armal body worth mentioning, unless it be in Andalusia, where there always have been such even In the most peaceable times. In the other province., there are wisher., who mat to eat-tits some enterprise, and return home to deep. There is no money in the Treasury, yet every body is demand ing what will the Gnernment de when it shall have an army to support. The expense of the French troops, whatever may be said, must be borne by the French treasury, except, perhaps, the supply of bread, lodging, and some trifling articles. Even this is complained of, and some Communes have refused provisions to dentate:vents that wore on their march through them. The French, we believe, wonld be glad to go home. Justice must be done to dar excellent discipline. Barcelona has rot yet submitted to the sehitvary system. Perfect tranquillity reigns that. In Arragon dun is much dames end numerous robbers. R XT. Our /otter" &eon Madrid are of the 29th uIt. TON The Journals con isle mu in but little. The King has decided, that all those offi ears who have voluntarily entered the Loud National Militia are deprived of their employments. This measure seems rigorous ; it Is well known, that most of the officers not in active service, were tired by circumEasces to enrol themselves in the battalions of the militia, because they were wanted, or because they were afraid of being marked out as servile'. It is still poititively affirmed, that there ha , barn a military movement at Lisbon ; but the result is not cer tainly known. General Silveira is at Madrid, as Charge d'Aflkires from his Moot Faithful Majesty. It is affirmed, that final orders have been given to all the Bishops and Archbishops to quit Madrid, and repair to their respective , th rifts at which they are by no means satisfied. If we might believe come persons, who are impatient to see a Pat arruy on foot, that of spala would be already organised, and !°bidete to the number of 60,000 men : it Is true, that a plan on Thu 'object has been drawn up, but the army does not yet exist. Li mn -General Gruirnamt, Inspector-General the Militia, is itplectd by General st. Roman ; the Ex-Inspector General is ap rmit'ltd (7 aptitin-Geseral of Arragon. This new Captain.lieneral I s devout, confesses every week, and keeps campany with none but L 'mko we shall gee what kind of a Governor he will make. Tbineen of the principal officers in the department of the finances ." I .ltist been (Hamill-med. The absolute Royalists seeni to let tilt :i;eberila breathe a little; they now turn their complaints against K ill and the French. HU Majesty, they say. far from mem- Le7 a g them fur the sacrifices they have made, keens them at a '' a rm, and disposes of the nubile employments in favour of his - "`mica: thisconduct of the Xing, according to their account, must ' 4 fbst the nation against t him, and end in his ruin. People still Of the wa rm a l tercat h )n between the King and the Infant ral 2 s.M L &Ad which Oa King is repotted is have said, that if the French s'..ould wkhdrav he would go with them. Nothing is now paid of the banishment of the Prince. . _ Among the Royalists who bow of bring puee, there are doubt less numbers Who would be capable of forsaking the king at the moment of danger. Men are every where the same. The capital enjoys tranquillity, thanks to the numerous patrols who traverse every quarter night and day. The 24th regiment, which ,is to remain in garrison, arrived yesterday, in most terrible weather; it is not above 1,200 strong; the 39th also arrived yesterday ; the Ith will tome to-day. The Re.idarader of the 30th announces that the change of the Municipalities is suspended t this would be a good sign. Letters from Cadit say, that commerce is reduced to nothing. THE GPEEKS. The following address has been issued by the branch of the Greek Committee, at Manchester. We trust it will be every way effectual im 1.0 just and sacred a cause The contest which has now subsisted for upwards of two years between the Greeks and the Turkish Empire has excited a deep interest in all the nations of Europe who appreciate the rights and duties of civilized life. In the metropolis of this country a number of individuals occupying the first ranks of satiety, whether dig nified by religion or illustrious by learning and talent, have called the attention and loused the sympathy of the nation on behalf of the descendants of the antient Greeks. A committee of individuals in this town ham believed that they also are acting in the fulfilment of the sacred duties of humanity and religion, by laying before theit fellow-tradesmen the claims which may be stated to exist on behalf of the Greeks, and which arise from the following considerations:—The Greek Committee decline entering into en examination of the tames which have led to the ten* of the Greeks from the domination of the Turks. The question of the merits or demerits of that revolt they cheerfully leave to the Octillion of the heart and uneastanding of every individual who is acquainted with the history a his own country, and duly appreciates the laws and constitution which secure to him the liberties of a Briton. The Committee appeal with confidence to the gratitude which is due from every loves of literature and the tine arts to that illustrious people who have not yet been excelled by any modern nation in poetry, sculpture, and architecture; and to whom those delightful arts owe at entre thei r origin and perfection. Shall the lineal descendants I of b poets sad sculptors of the age of Socrates appeal to us is said for serstaace is the hour when life itself and every thing dear and valuable to may are at w cite P The fatal experience of the pm. Milt contest but too clearly Prenonstrates that on the part of the Turks the war is one of absolute extermination ! Let scio, peace aide, unoffending, and guiltless of revolt, if guilt can be ascribed to it, remain an eternal record of the fact ! thousand human beings cruelly massacred, forty-eight tbesNrd womee and chil dren sold to slavery, and condemned is refit all that is meat ab horrent to humanity ; these attest what would be the tender mercies of the Turkish Government, if the sword were once more to place the suFreme power over Greece in their hands. Above all, the Committee appeal on behalf of thrte trillions of Christians to their Fellow-C hristians of this town, by that mired tie of aelnity which unites them as one body under one Divine Master, Jesus Christ ! Our holy religion was planted in Greece by the illustrious Apostle of the Gentiles himself ; it has existed there to this hour, clouded indeed in latter ages by that alloy which Procuring have happily succeeded in detaching from the common faith of Greeks and Romans. Can our Fellow-Christians be unmoved by the deepest sympathy when so many thousands of Christians are de voted to death, or to slavery worse than death, by their late op pressors, should the Greeks be subdued in the struggle P—Let us hope that our countrymen will not refuse their aid, which, however moderate, will he efficacious in proeur:ng for the Greeks those sup. plies of food, clothing, anus, and ammunition, which will secure the independence they have already seized upon, by a courage worthy the descendants of their heroic ancestors. blanche:ter, Dec. 12. Extract of a private letter, dated Madrid, December 25: " Two thousand Frenchmen have been sent to Estrema dura. There has been a report these few days past of a revolt in Portugal, which it may be feared will ettenil to Spain. It has been said that the Queen and Infant Don Miguel were imprisoned, and the King had sought his safety in flight. This is what is going about. I have my self seen a letter from a person on the frontier, to his cor respondent here, saying, ' You are fortunate in Eying in a plate where there is tranquillity. Our neighbours are again in a state of disorder, and I cannot say how long it will be ere we become as bad.'" Letters were on Saturday received from Demerara, dated November 20. The proceedings against Smith, the Mis sionary, had closed, and the Court had adjourned to the 24th November, when the final result would be made known. The general opinion entertained in the colony was, that he would be found guilty, and would be immediately executed. SOUTH AMIERICA.—Some interest has been excited among the mercantile gentlemen connected with South America, by a private letter among the last arrivals from Bogota, of which the following is an extract:—" You will not be atty- , prised to bear, anti all that has transpired respecting the views of France towards South America, that there it an I agent here from Paris, who is endeavouring, every par sible means, to seduce the leading men of thecountry from i their allegiance. This person is a Mr. Molldn, a young man of great talents and gentlemanly demeanour, and every way qualified for the trust reposed in him. He has an un bounded command of money, and is well received in some houses where he ought not to be allowed admittance. He corresponds regularly with M. lie Chateaubriand, and it is believed that some of his letters have been opened by order I of our Authorities, and certain important facts discovered. It rumour may be credited, this Molhin has received a great deal of information as to the best means of distributing Ilia gold, from that fellow M. G—, who is said to have been in France for such a purpose." A very successful experiment has been made in Loui sisna, to raise the tea-plant from seed, with a view to its cultivation in certain parrs of that extended region, where the soil and climate are deemed congenial. REMARKABLE CIICUMSTANCE.—On the ship Alexan- I der, Baldwin, going into the graving dock during the pre sent week, it was discovered that a large kedge anchor,' weighing between five and six cwt. hung suspended from the bottom part of the ship. It appears the vessel grounded in the Delaware, on her last voyage to Philadelphia, when the anchor must have stuck through her timbers, and so remained firmly fixed during her passage across the At lantic. Had it given WRY, the consequences might have been fatal to the ship. The anchor, from its appearance, is supposed to have been in the water about three years.— Adrertiser. C . • owra, JAN. 9.—Seven officers and thirty-five men were embarked here from Albany barracks, on board the ship Edward, and sailed for the island of Barbados. Forty-seven tubs of contraband spirits were brought here, and deposited in the Custom-hous', by the Bembridge preventive• boat, commanded by Mi. Borum. A gentleman in this town has been lately robbed of 1,300 sovereigns. A person, whose name is known, is stroney suspected of having committed the robbery. The police arc on the alert for Wm.—Liverpool Paper. We understand that upwards of six hundred persons were apprehended and brought before the Magistrates (lur ing the last year, for acts of vagrancy in this town.—Li rerpoof Paper. The parish of St. Clement Danes held a vestry on Fri day, pursuant to notice, to consider of the immoral state of Great Shire-lane, Ship-yard, and the neighbourhood. Af , ter the subject had undergone considerable discussion, it WAR resolved that the conduct of some of the inhabitants, and many of the frequenters of their houses, was notori ously infamous, and a Committee of the churchwardens, overseers, and several iohabitanta, was chosen, to consider of the best means to abate the evil. It seems that several 'recent robberies, and the bad character of two or three low disorderly houses, have led to the ineasurts in question. Ties Geow-wosm.—Mr. John Murray, in a communi cation recently made to the Royal Society, on the luminous mattet of the glow-worm, states some curious, facts, as the result of his own observations and experiments. lie shows that the light is not connectell with the respiration, nor derived from the solar light; that it is not affected by cold, nor by magnetism, nor by submersion in water. — Trials of submersion in water, in various temperatures, and in oxygen. are detailed. WIL•n a glow-worm was im mersed in carbonic acid gas, it (lied, shining brilliantly ; in hydrogen it continued to shine, and dill not seem to suffer. Mr. Murray infers, that the luminousness is in dependent, nut only of the respiration, but of the voli tion end vital principle. Some of the luminous matter ob tained in a detached state, was also subjected to various experiments, from which it appears to be a guintno-albutni nous substance. mixed with muriate of seala, and sulphate of alumine and potash, and to be composed of spherules. The light is considered to be permanent, its eclipses being caused by the interposition of an opaque medium. We regret to say, that a respectable professional gentle man of this city has been missing since Saturday sc'nnight. On that evening he dined with a friend in Park -street, and left about twelve o'clock ; he has not since been heard of ; s hat was picked up in the Float next morning, which his friends think is the same that he wore en that day ; hence it has been concluded that he either fell in, or was mur dered, and his body thrown in. Every inquiry has been made, end every exertion used to discover the place of his concealment. This evening the water will be let out of: the Fluat.—Bristal Paper. TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRITISH PRESS. The trial and execution of John Thurtell, and his de portment from his first imprisonment to his final sentence, may be placed on the moat unquestioned register of that fortitude, reaching almost to heroism, which marks the English character. Throughout the whole proceedings, his behaviour betrayed nothing of ostentatious bravery ; it was the innate courage of a mind that could not be shaken, and of a spirit that could not be subdued; it was mingled, moreover, with feelings which did honour to his humanity. His extreme anxiety to save his aged parents as much as possible from time bitter anguish which his un timely fate would bring upon them, marked a natural kindness of disposition which no contagion of vice could plestroy. The simultaneous uncovering that followed his appearance on the platform was an extrao►dinary circum stance, as marking the feelings of regret and sympathy with which the multitude witnessed his unfortunate e►nd. Considering his earnest refusal to permit any cast to be *ken from his face, that he might not, by this means, perpetuate the disgrace which he had brought upon his family, I do not, I confess, see what conld justify the permitting a person in the gaol to take a cast of the back part of his head for the Phrenological Society. The reason urged for the permission is, that the professors of cranio logical science may ascertain whether the ergaa of murder is there developed; and it is said to have been exclusively granted to this Society. But, Sir, the permission appears to me to be quite unauthorised, not only as it was repug nant to the expressed will of the individual himself, but in munch as the Phrestological Society must either pronounce the organ of warder to exist, that they may uphold the credit and estimation of their science; or they must, if they do not declare it to be so developed, throw a doubt on the jdstiee of the verdict which found him grillv. I think it was not wise, Or considerate, oh the pert of the Phrenological Society, to place their science in this di- Before I conclude, Sir, i nutlet abstatt #roas observing on the extreme impropriety of endeavouring, with so much earnestness, to obtain from Thurtell a confession of his guilt. Mr. Wilson, the gaoler, it seems, was employed fur this pu ; the gratitude which this unhappy man had expr for the kindness of his treatment being deem ed the likeliest inducement to lead to it. " You are now alone with me," said Mr. Wilson to him, on retiring to another part of the gaol—" no eye but that of the Al mighty sees what now passes between us; and if you in tend to make a confession, no better opportunity can be afforded you." There is, I sun convinced, no man of re flection but must consider this as highly objectior.able. It leads manifestly to this inference, that the evidence wpm which he war convicted was such as to leave a doubt as to his guilt : since it is quite clear, that if that evidence was sa tisfactory and complete, Isis confession could add nothing to the conviction under which the verdict was pronounced. It may be true that the testimony upon which ho was con victed wanted the confirmation which was so earnestly sought for ; but whether the attempt made to obtain at was either wise or prudent, is another question : it is a question, however, upon which, I think, no considerate mind will be at a loss to decide. I am, Sir, yours, &c. SYPHAX. AORICULTUIIAL TAXATION. It is a fact not generally iiiiilcrs by our best writers iial it , on politind economy, and eirtitlnl . ',efficiently known to the puldie, or nee to the • deist interested, that of all awes oteosiety the ,eirrierweeld be Most benefited by A rri 01:0 Owlak#,AceeM a ilOirec:plkclol3 agricu tnie • and' as prominent qin is iot p 4 e inn i i :pare such itlirtAtittieiVof reenuti; c lhe it `sho iiiWns the flvat petit/beer. to Parlimeekt 31e" it tida l , slaw by way of et modems* and be liquitibis Palliallbhabi Pr by . aGADe gotkr *Om that %Wit)dsviosom tAwilripr doer of. Parliattritt. . ' • Thill abject ittittot be teiiiiiiialittiliatil ithilitt died ad well'ad ieteicultural ieliteitizerfuisitnaiel . y' hobs , ' bleariest., wry verges:like inlaid geed. Ili emsenlialt were cordial union than now ratistibetween the cierzymsi PA his flock, would materially saving the caw if tpe l religion and the 'general happiness of fitainklnd. Itl appears to us an extraordinagr Nulty of intake mai *isle's- that. provosts the frosi ageing *sir Ins Mutest+ on the subject of tectailCbtilaa..abilebtled proprietors and their tenants are not Wore eirect y agricultural taxation, than the meniliers of the Estab lished Church ; therefore the attertiost- Of ttbat 'paler- NI body should be attracted to Ale 'thilreil" under which the fanning interest now isboisrei aid wbichi.aan only be effectually removed by a reduction, or rather an abolition, of those taxes which almost exclusively hear upon agriculture. A late author has well obaetved, that "it is as much, if not more, the interest of the Established Church that the present taxes on the necessaries of life should be superseded by a property tax, as of an . y other class of society affected by their operation." (Ina on Relative Taxation, p. 188.) The first thing that strikes the mind at all conversant *id, this subject, is the situa tion of the greater part of the clergy who have commuted their tithes for land. Their situation is generally worse than that of other landed proprietors, because in most cases their commutation allotments have been made in inprior Land, the difference in quality being compensated for by an incrsased quantity, valued at the time when bad land bore a ri4 five value to good. At the present time this relative ' value does not exist ; for anomalous taxation, depression of prices, and the poor's rates, have reduced the value of pool land much below that relative declension which is alone equitable. The ,ollowing case will prove the fact :—Sup pow two farms, of 400 acres each, in the same pariah, were allotted under an Inclosure Act during the war to two persons, one the rector and the other a landowner, the inferior land being generally assigned to the clergyman, their annual income might have stood thus— 400 seers to the Rector, at 10s. per acre, amounts to £2OO per ann. 400 acres to the Landowner, at 40s. per acre, ditto - 9181 ditto. For the sake of putting the case as much against the proposition as possible, let us suppose, what is not the fact, that the present mode of agricultural taxation and the de clension of prices have pressed equally on all descriptions of soil, and that the bad land is only reduced in value pro portionately with the good, and that the present value of the good land, formerly worth 40s. per acre, is now or may be worth only 10s. per acre: the situation of the respective parties would then be at present thus -400 acres to the lAndowner, at 10s. per sees . . £2OO 409 acres to the Rector, at 2s. Otl. - . ' - 80 In this case the fall in the value of land Is in a relative proportion; that is, good and bad land are respectively re duced to one-fourth of their former value ; but the actual situation of the rector and landowner in society bears no corresponding proportion, for, although the value of the' respective properties have fallen to only one-fourth of their former value, the means of living of the two parties have fallen in other ways very disproportionately. The land owner, it is true, is deprived of three-fourths of his income, being reduced from 800/. to 2001. per annum ; but compare that 2001. with the SOL a-year, to which the Tector is re duced, and the inequality of the cases will be immediately apparent ; for '2OO/. a-year may provide a family with abso lute necessaries, but SOL a-year would- be little better than actual starvation ; and, therefore, inasmuch as the hare necessaries of life arc superio. to starvation, is the present situation of the landowner better than that of the beneficed clergy. We shall, for the present, confine ourselves to a mere invitation to the clergy to consider this subject, to which we shall return on a future occasion. 'Film who would wish to inform themselves particularly on this sub ject would do well to consult the book just alluded to, which contains some very excellent observations on this subject, in the third chapter, where the author treats of re lative taxation u it is affected by tithes. CH•WOZ.NINOING 11:XT1•0111DINANY.—On Wednesday last was rung, at St. George's Church, Middlesex, by the Junior Cumberland Society, the first true and complete peal of Bob Major Boyd, consisting of B,leo musical changes in the short time of three hours and twenty-four minutes, and performed by the following persons :—Sam. Feetcham, treble ; John Merrin, second ; William Wil liams, third ; Samuel Austin, fourth ; James Blacklock, fifth ; Thomas Betts, sixth • i John Har ri s, seventh ; Ste ven Widge, tenor.—This pe al was conducted by William Williams, Esq. FAN rASTIc PoLTOA W v.—Mr. Bowditch informs us, that the King of the Ashantacs is allowed by law 3,333 wives, this being the precise mystical number on which the prosperity of the nation dependi. TO TILE EDITOR Off' THE BRITISH PRESS. • SIR—In noticing a valuable communication from your Correspondent A. B. in your Paper of this day, respecting the trade with Ceylon, I feel it my duty, as an humble in dividual, to point out the inconsistency of the new trading firm of Messrs. Huskisson and Robinson with respect to the novel plan of disposing of the Government cinnamon here, which, according to A. IL's statement, they have bought in very unfairly, and also very unwisely, at their 'sales in Ceylon. It has been usual, during the period of the East India Company's contract with his Majesty's Government, to have four quarterly sales of cinnamon annually at the East India Ilouse, which gave general satisfaction; but it ap pears that Messrs. Iluskisson and Robinson have been in duced by interested persons (for these gentlemen cannot be supposed to be perfectly acquainted with the nature of those sales) to entrust their consignments •,o be sold by private individuals, who, if they were ever so respectable, ' should not unnecessarily be entrusted with such large sum s of the public money. By the plan now adopted of not allowing the proceeds to pass through the hands of the East India Company, the , public incur an additional ex pense and risk; for the Company make the same charge, whether sold at their sales or not, if the goods be ware housed by them. It has also increased the number of sales , from four to eight in the year—a system most injurious to 1 the value of the article, which has already suffered a great depreciation, and there will be some difficulty in selling it, at even a considerably reduced price, unless it returns to the regular channel for disposing of it, viz. the East India Company's sale. It is therefore to be hoped, if any misunderstanding ists between the Government and the East India Company on the subject, that it should be removed, for the benefit of the public. I have been induced to trouble you with thin letter, from the seal which you manifest on all occasions for the public' interest; and I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, 7th January, lOU. C. D. PUBLIC MONl:rlf NT - 7" - O - iiii MEMORY OF THE LATE CHARLES DIBDIN. On Saturday evening a Meeting was held, at the Freemasons' Tierra, to make arrangements foe the public dinner and festival, which was numerously attended by subscribers and friends. At eight o'clock Dr. Kitchiner was unanimously called to the Chair; and, after a number of lztters were read from several dia. tinguished characters, regretticg their absence on the occasion, the buaine.s was proceeded with. We were able to collect the following (rent the report of the ('.em. mittee of Management, which was received with every satisfaction by the meeting : " That the Committee had received the strongest assurances of support from persons of all classes, and that all those to whom they bad applied had evinced the greatest anxiety to promote the object which had given rise to their appointment " That, among those who had been foremost in testifying their zeal, the Committee could not avoid mentioning the names of Messrs. Elliston, Kemble, Young, Kean, Braham, Broadhurst, Bellamy, and upwards of twenty other leading professional gentle. men, who had most kindly a i g nifi e d th e i r desire to promote the measure contemplated, in any way that could be pointed out, and who, with the noblemen and gentlemen who had undertaken the office, comprised a list of near fifty stewards for the public dinner. " That the Committee had the additional satisfaction to COMMA. nicate, that an artist of tint-rate talent had, in an early part of the proceedings, with a laudable desire to benefit the undertaking, in. rated the Committee to view specimens of his ability, and even tually undertaken to complete a monument, front an approved de sir, upon terms which they had no hesitation in saying would con sututo him the most liberal of all the contributor*, and that a mo del, upon • small scale, had been already completed under the direction of the Committee. " an T g c hai n, e i a n requesting arrangements epu b i h e e mee t ing d i n n er. i r l :s e undertaket Com mittee heemitalsdk notof o making m l t t state, that there was now a moral certainty that, however late it may have been protracted, justice would at length be done to the memory of a man, whose songs, breathing morality and religion in everysfwitr, were so many irresistible appeals to the heart, inspir 141er the must illiterate with noble and generous sentiments, an exciting them to those acts of loyalty, bravery, and patriotism, elflike most arduous of her struggles, maintained ands:m *9NT the Oonoun and glory of the British Empire." Azathe friends of the measure who were unavoidably absent, 'the names of the Earl of Harcourt, Lord Thurlow, Ge. „Sir P. C. Silvester, Bart. Sir F.. 11. Ommanney. Ad irli. l : , 01 °eel+ Yorke, and several other distinguished characters. ofeati u e dinner was eventually fixed for Friday, March 6, 11 . 1 . 114peneal Sit Joseph Yorke is n be requested to pen ide on the when several female vocalists are expected to sing from titi!!'eallielyi.' ' Moe wma,flee l e• anenent lose sight of the object, and consider I= Thr eize ei s : e a y pub ears l i c ee d e inner. we sl possessed i s i o al u i ld ehe not hesitate e t:ty i 411 be manta en this occasion. The musical talent at public festivals is, in general, limited in quantity, and shackled by the In ternal arrangements of Stewards, and the singing, therefore, is al annie pe rformed by rule : to this tout we have a " Glorious Apollo ; " to that " Rule Britannia:" to the other " Hail ! Star ofMrtmnick !" all very sweet, scientific, and proper 1 but we be lien that the truly appropriate songs that may be selected from Bibdin's Muse, in the hands of a concentretron oft dent rarely to be met with, will be • novelty : and if, in addition to this, we con side: the oecasieo, and the motives which will actuate those pre sent, we may pr onounce it as likely to be, indeed, * he feast of reason, and the flow of soul" SILK ‘Vraeras. 7 -011 Saturday evening a very nume rous Meeting of Silk Weavers took place at the Red Lion, in Phoenix -street, Spite!fields. The object of the Meeting was to consider of the propriety of placing the Liberty . of the Tower on the same footing as the other Silk-weaving Districts, with regard to the wages of thejourneymen-wea vers. 1795, 1805, and 1810 were the three last periods in which the prices of wages were regulated between the master manufacturers and their journeymen, and the former rear was the last in which there were any masters resid- rug in the Tower District; so that when the prices were fixed in 1803 and 1810, no regulation took place re garding that liberty ; the consequence is that the arrange ment of 1795 contames there, which puts the Master-Ma nufacturers now residing there, on a better footing than those of the other tlistricts connected with the silk weaving. There Were nearly 400 weavers present at thii meeting. Mr. Benson, manufacturer, was called to the chair. After a good deal of discussion several resolutions were parsed unanimously. The meeting, about eleven o'clock, quietly separated. Il~reulso Fisti.—The newspapers during the past week have been describing, as a matter of wonderment, the prams. adopted he a Mr: Barlow, for hatching eggs, but itt:whighotbere is in reality nothing either new or sur prising, the preeess having been long known and practised in the east. The following account of a mode of hatching fish will be s allowed, perhaps, to be a little more extraordi nary:—The Chinese fishermen collect with care, on the margin and surface of water, all those gelatinous matters which contain the spawn of-fish. After they have found a sufficient quantity, the' , fill with it the shell of a fresh hen-egg, which they have previously emptied, stop up the hole, and put it under a sitting fowl. At the expiration of a certain number of days, they break the shell in water, warmed by the sun. The young fish are presently hatched, and are kept in pure fresh water till they are large enough I to be thrown into the pond with the old fish. The sale of spawn for this purpose forms an important hearten of trade in China. In this, as in some other matters, we may per haps take some useful lessons from the Chinese. The de struction of the spawn of fish by troll-nets, threatens, in many parts, the utter extinction of fisheries that were for merly very productive.—Afeekank's Atagatine. Ftowea or Lt er.—lt is a mistaken opinion, that the arms of the Kings of France were flowers de Ince; neither do they bear any resemblance to them ; they appear plainly to be the heads of old fashioned pikes or halberds, as we find them described in the following verse of William the Breton :—" estsridis in radio incest cmittet aceittt. - The shield of France has an iron spike iu the midst of the halberd. EIOISITANT DlGNlT•allll.—About the year 1200, the canons of Bridlingtoi. complained to Pope Innocent that the Archdeacon of Richmond, going to one of their churches, had travelled with 97 horses, 21 dogs, and 3 hawks, whereby he consumed more of their provisions in one hour than would have maintained the house for a long time. In consequence of this, the Pope forbade, for the time to come, that he should travel with any more attend ants than were allowed by the Council of Lateran, viz. .S 0 horses for the retinue of an Archbishop, 30 for a Bishop. a Legate 23, and an Archdeacon only 7. According to the ancient usage of the church, the Incumbents of Ilmefices were obliged to maintain Archdeacons on their visitation,. These venerable functionaries were therefore sometimes tempted to travel with enormous retinues, which ate up, or, as sporting men would say, cleared out the possessors of the smaller livings. To meet this abuse, fixed money payments were given the Archdeacons in lieu of hospitality. and the• value of these money payments having diminished in process of time, is the cause of the emoluments of these Dignitaries being so much smaller than they wen in an cient times. SHIPPING iNTRELIGEIVCE. Lord Viscount Melville strived at Portsmouth on Timmlay, frinn the Admiralty, and immediately proceeded acmes se the lA. of Wight. A rrotsreritarra..—Lieutenant James lif'Doiral, to the Prim. rose ; Lieutenant Edward flandfield, to the Pandora • Mr. Ed ward Nankin, Master, to the Jasper ; Mr. Willi am Willi s , Purser. to the Severn, to be employed in the Coast Blockade. The Coast Blockade, under the entomand and judieloasmaragv. ment of Captain 31•Culloch, of his Majesty's ship 11-- millies, hr been found so far eft:anal in the prevention of stow. gling within the district to Which it has hitherto been moaned, that it has been determined to extend it East and West, so es so Include the whole of the .Isle of Sheppey an one side, and to the westward l as far as Chichester, which additional lint of count will, we are in.. funned, be divided into three distrieta„ and be officered end manned in the same manner as the three dtvtrlets are at present, which will call into that service about forty lieutenants, three surgeons, sic assistantriorgeons, three pursers, and nearly I,see men, Madding. to the number of officers and men already so nap The Primrose, 111. gun sloop, has beta minntrainall M Ply. mouth, to supply the place of the-Arab, on the Irish statioa. The Calliope, Lieutenant Justice, arrived at Perreneestle on Thursday, frosts Citetham, with a party of seamen to Complement of the fluster frigate, Captain G. Hatria,Vl lie shin sidls this day for Barbadoes and Jamaica. • CUSTOM-MOUSE. JAN. IS. ;MIT/ ICNTXBED INWARD/. . _ Commerce. De Vries (Rofman, broker), fr;is Alariroreeba i Albers (Hall, broker), from Rl:codas. Marianne, Kas (Simon. broker), from Antwerp. fieneral Palmer, F. TIVIKOtt, (F. Truieott, beteerh falai Madras. , L§lnigkl. 14eertno (De Rie, broker). from Seville. Happy Return, Monro (Buckland, broker), f)om Lisbon. Williams, Oaks (W. Hammond, broker), from Maori. John. Wilson, (Sehoneld, broker), from Jamey. Fox, Fox (Hall, broker), from Ostend. Perthsbire, (Burnett, broker), from St. MAN& Sing George, (Lamb, broker), from Calais. Tartar. Mame on, broker), from Memel Arm, Barfield ( Die, broker), from Harlingen Ney TWIN', Haviokbr (Foster old Cs., broken), from Crowe. Arta lk Mom (Limigree„ broker), Irani derteeberibl Nesemov. looker), tees Dowels Wei Joese9e, (Ileferea, broker), from abort. Delos, Iboatoen (W idle, broker), fr om Lisbon. FALWOI7IIII, Jo *. ...—&—A meat the Reding and AID", bust London. Pt.wwouTst, Jaw. I.—Arrived the Dina, Spangenburg, from Meting& PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 9.—Arrived the Woodpark, Ede., Alfred, and Underwood, from the Downs. Swipe AT KPITHR•D.—The Hussar, Jasper, and Calliope. In harbour—Queen Charlotte, Albion, Jupiter, phaeton, Tweed. Ranger, Menai. Pandora, Grasshopp e t, Araehne, Sparrowhawk, Arrow, Cygnet, and Ploys% Dam-, JAN. V.—Arrived* ießterday evening and sailed this morning for the River, the Circassian, Wasse, from Madras and Bengal; Lanark, —, from India; Notfulk, Anderson, from Danuic • Minerva, Parkhouee, ham Stockholm ; and Malta, Par. ker, fro; Seville. SIARGAtI, J•lf. 9.—The eitherine, of Aberdeen, Baxter. from Newry Pw London, went on shore this morning on Forams Rock, at high-water. Assistance is employed, in the hope of getting her off without lightening her, next tack, the weather coo. tinning moderate. An anchor, shout 9cwt. taken up in the East of Margate Roads, was landed Acre yesterday.—Ss p. rn. The schooner is or, without damage. Oft ZZZZZ ND JAX.9.—Arrived the Spri g htly, Newton, A MU Seville; Allmon:o°k, Friend, from St. Kut's • Delos, Lorentzen, from Lisbon; Commerie, d'Vrieze, from Brussels; General Palmer, Truscoit, from Madras; Viper, Wildschut, front Wes. cum; Perthshire, Sangster, fr o m St. Michael's; King George, Pay, from Calais; Maria Anne, Dirk, front Antwerp; Juno, Nauming, from Ostend; Fox, Fox, from ditio. Sailed the Bee* wickshire, Shepherd, for China; Swift, Artis ' for St. Micheerst Fortitude, Martin, for Jamaica; Vreei, Devoord, for Antwerp, Tees, White, for Trieste; Preston, Wallis, for Genoa; Liberty, Meow, for Lisbon. Ltviearoot JAIL B,—The Boehm of Bedford, Hawn. ,, frogs Jamaica fee London, wig lost the 29th of November, in dot Porto Bravo, bear Haraonals-.erew saved t and tithe weather was ansdeeate thi nine was expected to b ;avid. Ti. Margaret. Young, from ctuabet to Liverpool, was debut an dun hi Rolla Bny (Prince Rillward's Island); she was abodebed by die crew, and was to be sold by auction. The Crook. Oludidek, Ms* Ha vre for Havaanah, was lost on the Ist December, It OM Cbanusl —vessel and cargo totally lost. The True Briton, frau Ltswepool, mired at Barbados. and sailed for La flops, the Ist December, under convoy of his hlajemy's ship Rint lec dove. Arrival the Her. mina. Petrie , from Chnrlestoi ; Plato, kett, from Savannah; Franklin, Graham, from Baltimore; and Relief, Dodd, from Prince Edward's Island. Sailed the Loyal Sam, Head. fur &a ails; John Wills, Harris, for New York; Lancaster. TM v, err Philadelphia; Hannah, Brotherly, for Bahia; and Rob Roy. Cosaidt. for Rio Janeiro. The Lapwing, foe Crete, odd yea. has put back with damage. Dec. 1111-4 ass *hay as SC aistit, the weather was nosigibik slink, milli has somumma, with an awful thisiaimasr.a. boa gas rasa vivid P lt i signal.house has suffered mitt, btit d yon lives lost. The signal-man. however, who was In bed with two oe his children, was quite stunned, his hair ringed, and deprived at feeling in his arms. One child, a girl, was moat burnt on bee leg, the other not the least hurt. The pillow under his head was ripped open; a watch suspended to the curtain over his head. wsa broken in pieces; a clock in the same room u as split in two; its. deed almost every thing in the house was injured by the eleetris fluid, and the roof and walls, with the windows, were mud das maged. Every medical aid is given to the poor man, who mats much from his arms. BAIILEUR, JAS. 2.—The Deux Freres, Sebize, ftiwn Carta 101 Roues, was wrecked near Gattevifie last night. Crew drums& The Ciressalatt,Wame, arrived from India, left at St.fieleua Henry Wellesley, South Seaman, all well. The Meru, Dunn, from Bourdesux to Philadelphia, put hash the 30th ult. having lost an anchor and cable. Extract of • letter from Abergely, near Liverpool, rerpisedr; the loss of the Hornby, on Great Ormsbead, dated the 6th last. to the owners Havirg got the letter bag and some of the lei. ten, per Hornby, I send them per mail to your address, and wo.M recomniend you to give notice for each person to mine and dais their own. Today I have been towards the Point of Ayr, but met with so little sumer*, that I fear there will not be much more get on this mast, unless it can be recovered from the plunderers, or that some may be grappled up at the place where she struck, for wlgolt purpose I intend going there in the morning. I will appoint aft' early day to sell what is not worth carriage; and will forwent Rim rest as soon as they can be collected together." Ana tvco—At Charleston, the Harriet, Thomas. from Lon. don; Camilla, Crosby. from Havre: Franklin, Delano, hem Bremen ; Hamburgh. Harvey, from Hamburgh ; Susan, Pram, from Gibraltar; and Alfred, Gordon, front the Clyde. At the Havannah, Mexico, from Harnbureh; Lord Rodney, from Je. maim ; and Hamilton, front Monte Video. At Gibraltar, Ouse, Quake ; and Tryphena, Wooden, from Bahia. VESSEL/ SPOILEW voru.--Ilenry Tomes, of Bristol, hem Milford, bound to Malta, out eleven days, ell well, by the LL verpool packet, arrived at Deal. MELANCHOLY SHIPWRECK. (reweave rairieux•ne.) We experienced another violent gale of wind on TDeesdby se'nnight, during which we regret to state, that the Hamby, Capt. Wade, which sailed hence on the 27th ultimo, for Rio de Janeiro. was totally wrecked on the nals of the Great Onnshead, mad on)y one person (John Williams) was saved. The rest, fourtesa 51111 nember, including the Captain (Wade) and two passengers. • Mr. Beindo and Mr. Thomas Guest, of Manchester, met a pave. The melancholy event took place about four o'clock o w n= day morning. No part of the cargo is expected to be saved, as the vessel had gone to pieces. The following is the account of the catastrophe, freak .1.10 Williams. the individual who was so miraculously resorted. lie states that they were at one time so far down as Point Lento, another at Black Comb, and on Thursday morning at Puffin Weed. where, after making a stretch to the northward, with the ward N. N. W. they put back with the wind N. W. or W. N. W. Iflto captain intended to keep an offing, and to run for Liverpool is di& morning. They did not think they were so near the land void about ten minutes before *he struck ; when they perceived it Obey were standing in with a close reefed maintopsail, foresail, and sail. He He (John Williams) was then ordered out •-• loose the jap to wear her, when finding himself over the shelve of a mit, be dropped upon it, and seeing no more of the vessel, ner hewing • , w tape, he supposed she had backed off, and he did not know OM vessel had gone to pieces till the morning. by which time he had managed to reach the top of the cliff, where his store was for some time miebelieved, more front the impossibility they thought these was of his getting up the precipice, than from the wa be men tiooed being thrown upon the rock. The cargo, we u bas valued at from 50 to 60,0001. very little of which has been saved— even the little which has been ea.! on shore has been for the mem part plundered by the country pcople—hundrvds of them teeth g to the coast, and carrying off all that could be found. It is tames slide to find terms strong enough in reprobation of such ceovisot. But we trust. for the sake of justice, that some of the misaverat will be detected and punished. The vessel has bee so broken up that not a single plank appears to have come ashore whole. Nous of the bodies have been found. A tl am ler-storrei of terrific violence, occurred on ra might of the ststh ult., which occasioned great destruction at Kcmble, Wilts, the seat of Robert Gordon, M P.. rwbere the elegant lofty steeple was rent from top to (bottom. sod large :toms wet.c forced to • great distance. Tter electric fluid d. scended into the body of the church,. ad joining Mr. Gordon's mansion, every window of which was destroyed; the spire remains in a tottering embalms.— OrArd Journal. lit N Ili INTELLIOINCE.--Oopper Oren nttb, Jan. 1, ltiQ4,_ 1 $44 tone; average Quantity of tine copper, 93 tons 9 cwt. 6,9791. 4a. tl. Average standa rd, 113 L ' 'foe sale this week at &death. 1065 toys. i ~ ~I ,~. ; i . , Tea sold at liied• . wow a sale, ts. Cappee