The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1826-08-24 00:00:00

eits," g _ two commissioners of circuit with gross ignorance of their jediciaicluties, and with corruption, partiality, and injustice. Mouth , after the proceedings had been cencluded, the sale of -Ilureetes property took place, and produced the aunt of I,arlo via uolianr, wrath was given for the grant of land that was conferred coon him by the acting Governor; a great part of the personal properly had been disposed of by Burnett himself. between the pehod pa which ;be first inventory was mode, and the conclusion or the proceeding* by the commission of circuit. In the same in. serval. also, very heavy stoma of rain had occurred, by which the ' ,l lProvemeuts that he had effected upon the farm, and in the tear er:l of MT. Hart, had suffered great injury ; and one of the houses that had beeninjudicioubly placed near the course of the river was ant . aced. "Si e have been induced to enter thus minutely in o the circum stancip nt . these proceedings, as Mr. Burnett has made them the rtneipal ground of his complaint, both in this colony and in imgland, and the pretext for a very violent representation to the Glamor, for which he wall called upon to answer criminally Wren the Court of Justice. In his first complaint, he adverted to the vindictive spirit by which Ale. Hart was actuated in coin sieliing payment of his claim for 900 six dollars, and his attempt to appropriate to himself the improvements he had made, and was making upon his farm. If it were necessary to seek a justi fication of this proceeding on the part of Hart, it Wright, we think, be naturally found in the very questionable transaction that has in fact, na well as in law, been the cause of all Mr. Buroett's elifficulties. After his drafts upon England had been publicly ale ei'nerl at Cape Town, and after he had incurred debts to two indi v.duals fot the means of cultivating his land, he made an arraign ment of all his property. for the purpose of securing a particular. creditor, and avowedly for that of defeating the just claims of others. Ile further state'', that an attempt was made by Mr. Hart to obtain possession of the land contiguous to his farm that had been granted to him by the Government, and has complained of the in. justice of making it liable to execution, when the grants of other settlers were not liable until the expiration of line yea.s, at which taste they were to receive their titles. Mr. Bunco forgets, however, to state, that he received the title to his grant the expiration of the that year, at the solicitation of the creditor to whom he very aeon after •,,irsned it, for the twofold purpose of emailiug him to give security for the advances that had been made to him, and to protect the property from the claims of others; ie justified this proceeding, we observe, by a reference to the preferential nature of the debt, in which we can by no means concur. The debts for which lie was pressed by Mr. Hart and another creditor, arose front the supplies of cattle and stock by which he was enabled to cultivate his farm ; while the debt of the commercial firm consisted partly of a pecuriary advance made to Mr. Burnett on his arrival in the co. tory, of furniture for his house, and of a certain quantity of tea, which was evidently intended for the purpose of retail or commer cial profit in the district. Mr. Burnett alleges that he has expended the very considerable sum of twenty thousand six dollars upon the farm of Mr. Hart, and that it was an actor great injustice in him to attempt to appropriate such a aim to himself. But it is necessary to observe that the im provements that were made by Mr. Burnett were not such as to in crease the value of the farm in the opinion of a practical settler— nor were they made with the knowledge and consent of Mr. Hart, the fardlord. The rustic lodge ti;at he built MA% a fanciful struc ture, and the garden was hid out more with a view to embellish ment than to profitable cultivation. The number of fruit trees, however, was greatly augmented, and some pains were taken to select the best kinds. Much stress is 14.1 by Mr. Burnett upon the incompetence of the persons who were appointed by the landdrost of the district to appraise the improvements ; one of them we find was a builder, ard the other was the veld cornet of the district, and persons who, from their habits, might be considered competent to appraise the value of the ordinary buildings and agricultural improvements in the district. . . _ _ ..... ----- Upon a review of the evidence that was given respecting the value of these imprnvemcnta, before the Court of Citcuit, and allowing for the novelty of sonic of them, we do not conceive tine the auto of 1,315 rix dollars, fixed by the appraisers, was too low an estimate. . . . . - ..... -. We hewn had occasion to advert to the declaratioa that was made upon cash by 31r. Burnett, before the agent of the sequestraux, of his posvmsing no property, and of having assiened It to a MeICIIII• tile house In Cape Town for their benefit. it appears to us that is eels of his embarrassment is attributable to these acts. They in the fine place furnished a jest ground. in the abstmee of any eve lar.atiott by which they could be palliated or justified towards char creditors, fora deciara•ion of insolvency ; and we do not find that either in the first trial that took place during the circuit of die year 11.:2• 7 or daring these that °relined in 1823, any evidence was liffered cy Mr. Burnett to negative or disprove that fact. On the first occasion the trio( was postponed to give him time to pram:re evidence respecting it: but on the second lie never offered a. r that tended to show diet the property that he had hem' allowed rat hold was sufficient to discharge the debts that were brought against him, cc that his creditors were willing to accept terma, or tr enter into atrangements for future .) mea. willing loudly complained t.! the infraction by Mr. Hart of the terms of the lease, in demand- Log payment of the rent before it was due; but upon this point he Ist routing to oppose to the arcing facts of having paid the rent tar the fleet year, and having made a delusive tender of it for the szcord; nor so the equitable construction of the lease, in which the farm is described to " be let for the space of 3 yens certain, at the rate of 800 Mx dollars per annum nor yet If. the certificate of the otary who drew up the deed, that the parties had fully agreed, and understood that the paymeut of the rent should be annual. . . . . It any doubt haeremaiited upon our minds respecting that fact, it would have been removed by perusing the contents of a letter, addressed 'by Mr. Burnett to his commercial friend in Cape Town, dated the 2d of March, 11121. in which he expresses his hope that remittances from England, or his *Klee of green forage. will enable him to discharge Mr. Hsrt's demands Air nine hundred nix collars, "as well as his rent, due the end of 3lay." With this evidence before them, it cannot be matter of sucpritie that the Com missioners of the Court of Circuit should have hi 1d that the notice out the ejectment was legally given'; that the lease was cancelled for the non-payment of rent, and that Mr. Halt was entitled to be put into immediate possession. Mr. Burnett lies also complained of the conduct of the seques trator, both in publishing his insolvency, and in suspending the proceedings after it had been declared; and he has imputed the last et these acts fo some sinister influence of a person whom he does not name. From the hest view we have been able to take of the order u' suspension that was issued by the sequestrator, we are led to be lieve that it arose out of his mistake of the intentions of Messrs. *Arden and Eaton wi:h regard to Mr. Burnett, and his imperfect krowledge of the language in which they were conveyed, and further from not having given dear iestructions to his agents at Graham's Town. It is attributable also to certain defects in the toestitution of the sequeatrator's office, and the mode In which the {easiness of it was conducted. :t remains for us to consider the veh. ment accusations that M Burnett has brought forward against the Commissioners of the Court of Circuit in the year 1823. We have already had occasion to notice the arrangement that was made by these gentlemen, re repecting the priority in which the several causes should be taken, sad ;he reduction that was proposed in the rumber of them, and acquiesced in by the parties They gave precedence to the action that had been postponed at the circuit of the former year, both on account of its importance to the parties themselves, as well as of that ,tomcii it derived front halving been made the subject of special re- tereace to them by the Court of Justice, before whom it had been brought In the month of May preceding. Mr. Burnett alleges, thit it was the duty of the Commis. I s'oaers to have decided at once upon the question of his insolve.ney. This point was certainly at issue in the year 1822, when the ac. l ton of ejectment was brought by 3lr. Hart, and when time was' given to Mr. Burnett to disprove it ; but during the interval that Dad elapsed between the Circuit of 1822 and 1823, more than two eesra* rent had become due; Mr. Hart was allowed to add this iiaim to his former grounds of action. The Court was of opinion that the payment of rent was annual and not triennial, and the ae ton and sentence of ejectment was maintained upon this ground, although no declaration to that effect appoint in the sentence. We slansld not, indeed, have ventursd to assert the grounds of this decteion, if we had not been able to eullect them front a subsequent explanation afforded us by one of the Commissioners, who has de clared, that It was the opinion of the Court of Circuit that the question of insolvency could not fairly be tried unless the mopes teator was made a party. By a colonial law of rather recent date, this officer combints the executive duties that in England are per formed by the Sheriff, with those of consetvator and judge of Mu - kit:et and insolvent estates. An indefinite kind of appeal is a"owesi against his decisions to the Court of Jmliee, where they do not appear to receive the prompt consideration which the nature of a..ch references require. In this case, however. instead of address -1,-.4,-.4 himself to the Court of Justice against the declaration of in. bpi veskey of which he so much complained, Mr. Burnett transmit ted a memorial to the Governor, by whom it was referred to the linderost and agent of the sequestrator in the .11bauy district, as wedi as to the sequestrator himself, for explanation. The Court of :waits., therefore, was never in possession of the question of in soiventy, until the action above mentioned had been referred to tneir cognizance by the Connnisaion of Circuit. It is necessary to observe, that as no professional assis.ance is to be obtained in the several districts of the Colony, the proceedings a the Court of Circuit are not conducted with the regularity that desirable, and that parties frequently suffer front their ignorance lei the forms, which, however, are in themselves execediritly simple sad lutelligilde. On the present occasion the parties conducted the+r own causes, and Mr. Burnett delivered a written defence., in the course of which he indulged in a strain of virulent souse of Mr. llart. which-the Court found it difficult to check. The inter rogation of .he witnesses appears to have been irregular ; and al though every opportunity seems to have been given by the f`ornmis sioners of Circuit for the investigation of the grounds of action, sod of defence, a sentient% silence and reserve of their opinion is, however, observable upon the question of insolvency, which was tiodoubteelly mixed up with the oihn,4, notwithstazeteg th e w e . rmces that they subsequently made of it to the full Court. Appeals wore entered by Mr. Burnett to the Court of the Governor, against as tite decisions, at the same time that the agent of the sequestretor ..s instructed by the President of die Court of Justice, end after cammanictition with the Court of Appeals, to proceed to the exe eation of the sentence of ejectment, and the sale of slr. Bishop Bornett's property, in musfaction of the other sentences that had been obtained agumst him, and which had been long delayed. It ass found that the personal property had been much dimi muted, and certain articles of merchandise that had been sent by Mr. Burnett to Cape Town for sale, were arrested by the sequestra. tor in the hands of the consignee, anti the proceeds were added to ttsb estate, for the benclitof the creditors. Erato the aceaunt that has been rendered by the %elaefttratde, It *pears that the assets, after the deduction of the cost and illUtei payable to government, amount to 4,4314 viz dtilats; nod that i after the payments of the preferent debts there will be a deficiency of rix We have already had the honour to state, that the decision upon the action brought by Mr. Burnett against the sequestrator and Mr. Ilart, G r conspiring unlawfully to eject hint from the farm, was referred, by the Comodeeioners of Circuit, in the year 11t23, to the consideradon of the toll Court. The tenor of a very re cent communication from the President and Members does not enable us to state in direct terms the nature of their decision ; but from the evidence that has been submitted to them, and that is to be found in the proceedings, we have no reason to doubt that the charge of conspiracy either will be or has been dismissed. The in. vestigation that wits ordered to beneath: into the charge against 31r. Burnett, of fraud against his creditors, was returned to the Court of Justice some time ago, but the consideration of it has been or dered to be postponed until the liquidation of the estate by the se. questrator has been effected. We think that this ?latent of perpetual reference and delay is much to he regretted, although the decision of the question of fraud will nut materially affect the scheme of distribution of the proceeds of the estate, that has been submitted by the sequestrator to the creditors, and is now waiting the result of another tedious reference to the Court of J ustice. With reference to the pecuniary resources that Mr. Burnett might have possessed, or to his ultimate hope of being able to ex tricate himself from embarrassment, we think it is clear, that his sole dependence, either for the means of reimbursing the advances that had been made, or for payment of the debts that he had in curred, was the annual produce of his farm. To the failure of the harvest in 11120 he imputes his incapacity to discharge the debt of 3lr. Ilart, and his disappointment in the amount of the produce that he had estimated at seven thousand rix dollars. He speculated, at the same time, on the purchase of 31r. hart's farm, when lie had no means of effecting it, and was making preparations for establishing a distillery of spirits from the fruit of trees which he had planted, without any reasonable assurance of becoming the future owner of the land upon which they grew. Respecting the question of insolvency, which Mr. Burnett has a lways made a prominent one (and there can he little doubt that the publication of it, as well as the notoriety of the action brought against him by Mr. Hart, had a fatal iiithience upon his credit in the district), we are unable to discover the grounds upon which it could be impeached or set aside. The speculative value of his own grant, or the contingent interest that he claimed in Mr. Hart's farm, could not be taken into calculation by the sequeetrator as effording a satisfactory means of adjusting the praising claims of creditors. If the farm had been given up by Burnett when possession was demanded, in the year 1322, his creditors would have had the bene fit of the improvements that had been made upon it; but he per sisted in holding is until the end of the year Ilia whiten their value had been entirely destroyed, and much of what bad been con structed in wood had been removed by himself. From the impression that we have received from the evidence and statements laid before us, we have been led to consider that ilie in. jury and lees of which lie complains were imputable to his too san. guise reliance upon sources of credit that proved to be precarious, to the bad calculations he had made of the pirodut e of agricultural labour in the district in which he settled, and to a want of economy in conduct Ingdt. The judicial proceedings of which be complains have certainly furnished us with grounds for proposing future improvements iii the several branches of the judicial administration; and although we find that they are marked with the same defects of uncertainty and delay that we had occasion to observe in other cases that have been brought befoie us, yet we are not prepared to say that, under a more perfect administration of the laws, the t exult to 51r. Burnett would have been different ; while, on the wher hand, we see firmly convinced that the proceedings furnish no grounds whatever for the charges that he has made of ilium ice, partiality, or corruption. 51r. Burnett has endeavoured to connect with these proceedings the refusal of leeutenant-Colonel Somerset to allow him a certifi cate of the receipt of a certain quantity of grass that he alleged to have been cut from his estate for the use of the Cape cavalry ; we do not find that this circumstance has any direct connexion a ith the judicial proceedings; for, although we observe that Mr. Burnett has alleged to your hurtle:lip that he mentioned his claim upon the Commissariat Department, for payment of this grass, iodic land drost and agent of the aequestratore, as a means of discharging his debt to Mr. Hart, and that he protested against the landdrost's refusal to receive it. yet we find that his assertion is positively con tradicted by the landdrost; and we think it extraordinary, that when Mr. Burnett was required to declare upon oath whet pro. perry he possessed that was applieeble to the payment of the debts that were judicially demential, he should not at the saint time have made an exception of this claim upon the Conitoiemarint De pendent, which, if admitted and certified to be just, would have enabled him to relieve himself in some degree from his embarrass ments. Burnett has contended that the foraging parties of the Cape Cavalry cut from hisi estate, at different times, quantities of grass, amounting in value to the sum of 1.2134/ rid dollen; and that al tl 'nigh lie has frequently applied to the proper authorities, he has never been able to obtain au authentic receipt or certifirate,by which alone he could obtain payment from the Commissariat Department. In the year 1821 he brought an action for the put. pose of compelling the officer then in command of the cavalry to deliver to him a certificate for two hundred and fifty-six loads of grass. Upon previous application the officer declared, that although he found that grass had been taken from 31r. Burnett's land. contrary to his strict injunctions, yet, after the strictest inquiry, he could only find that forty.four loads had been taken, and fur theme Mr Burnett received the sum of 220 mix dollars in Payment. It appears that this grass had been taken at a period in which the land-marks of his grant had not been fixed, and the foraging panics had not observed the boundaries that divided it from a tract of Government land, to which they were accustomed to re-' sort for gram. The Court not deeming the officer responsible fir any quantity that had been taken subsequent to the period of his command, relieved him from the claim, but reserved to the plaintiff Burnett the right of instituting his action against such other persons as in law were liable. Mr. Burnett then made application to Lieut. Col. Somerset for a certificate of the quantity of grass that had been taken during his command. It is admitted by Lieut. Cul. Somerset that be gave a promise to Mr. Burnett that he should obtain a re. ceipt for such quantity of grass as appeared by the regimental books to have been received. On Lieut. Col. Somerset's departure, this inquiry was left to the care of the officer who • succeeded him—and who, when called upon, excused himself from responsibility for any quantity of grass that was cut atter he ceased to be in com mand. 3lr. Burnett was thus left to his remedy against Lieutenant Colonel Somerset, to whom he more than once made application, both personally and through another person, who overtook hint on his road (ruin Graham's Town to Uitenhage. We observe that Cid. Somerset has not alluded to this interview, nor has be pointedly contradicted the assertion that he promised to gire the certificate. We think it most probable that any promise that he did give was conditional; but, on the other hard, it is much to be regretted that a claim of this nature had not been immediately brought to decision by some more formal and satisfactory mode of investigation than that which he had assigned to it. The complaint was pee. (treed to the acting Governor, Sir Butane Dunkin, who declined to interfere in it, or order payment of any military account without a proper certificate ; and it was ',Tele, red, at a later period, to his Fa cellency, laird Charles Somerset, who. in an interview that is cor rectly described by Mr. Burnett, promised to use his best excreta's in his behalf. The result of this interview was a proposal to sub mit the investigation of the claim to a Regimental Board of Offi cers. which Mr. Burnett declined, and the question still remains subject to dispute. The discussion of it has given occasion to 31r. Burnett to notice in strong terms the mode in which the green forage was supplied to the Cape Cavalry, and the unjust and par tial exclusion of himself and others from a share in the supply. The quantity of green barley and oats grown by persons who, from their contiguity to Graham's Town, could advantageously dispose of it, was very small, and in the year 1820, much below the regimental demand. Until a late period it had not been usual to give notice of the quantity required, but those per. sons who Lad any to offer tendered it to the officer of the Commis. swim Department, who kept in his office a li,t of the names of the suppliers, and the days upon which the grass would be really for I elating. The quarter-master of the regiment received his instrue- tions from the office of the Commissariat Department to take his forage from the supplies according to the rotation in which they I stood in the list; and if it happened that the oats or barley of any individual grower were not sufficiently, or too much matured, the crop of the person next in rotation was taken. ith the exec p upa of Mr. Burnett, no complaint was made to us during our stay at Graham's Town of ands.) preference shown by the Counnissariat Department ; and it appears upon the explanation furnished by Lieut.-Col. Somerset, as well as by a letter of Mr. Burnett, ad dressed to his correspondents in Cape Town, that his disappoint ment in furnishing the expecte.l supply, although caused by Lieut.- Cul. Somerset, was not intentional on his part, and that it princi pally arose from the badness and scattered state of his crop, and the difficulty that was experienced in cutting and gathering it. For the quantity that 1:e proved to have been delivered, he received from the Commissariat Department the sum of 435.7. 4. rix-dollars. To a per son who had rated his annual profits upon the production of this article alone at 10.000 'ix-dollar:, and had expended a considerable degree of labour in cultivation, the competition of several individuals, who were enabled to avail themselves of the momentary demands which the failure of their neighbours had created, was a serious impediment; we believe that nearly two-thirds of the quantity of green forage consumed by the Cape Cavalry were furnished by the officers of the regiment, to whom it had been custoniary, in consi deration of the very insufficient accommodation that the barracks afforded, to allot tonall pieces of ground in the immediate vicinity, for the purpose of enabling them to build cottages and houses ac cording to their means, and which they have been allowed on their retirement to transfer to other officers who succeeded to them. This Indulgence ors extended to °Czars of other corps who were stationed at Graham's Town at different times, and had received local ap pointments. It is to be remembered. that Graham's Town bad originally been selected as a military station in the year 11114. for the force appointed to defend the frontier; and that the accommodation of the troops had therefore been a primary object : but it must be admitted to have considerably impaired the quantity of disposable land that might have been appropriated gratuitously by the Government to the settlern or to mechanics who were desirous of establishing thentseives in the town, after it had been fixed upon at the mat of Magistracy of the new district. (To be continued.) ACCIDENT AT PECIIIIAM FAlR.—Yesterday a man named Tuck, while inceutinu.ly playing with a leopard at one of the shows, had his wrist seized by the animal, and, but for the tx crtions of the• keeper, would doubtlessly have lost his hand. It was much lacerated, and It is feared bia arm must be amputated. THE BRITISH PRESS PRICES OF BRITISH Bank Stock 293 2024 Ditto Acct 2314 3 per Cent Red. 791 a 1 per Cent. Cons. 7% II Erato Acct. 714 h 31 per Cent. 87 It per Cent. Red. COI New 4 per Ceot. 944 1 PRICES OP POREION Colombian Rondo Vino Rondo ; 1 2241928 Ditto Acct. 32, 3 21 French Heide, per Cent. NW. Exthange 2:tr. 60c. Greek R6nd► Ditto Bond* r Ift2h) IS Guntimala Rondo 2.1 STOCKS YESTERDAY. 4 per Cent. (1!1881 961 Long Ann. 19 b• 16 .5-16 India Stock Z 124„.. indi■ Bonds 25 24 pro Ex. Bill. UWO. 17 19 pm Ditto LOW. 17 19 pm Ditto Sintill IN 19 pm Lottery Tickets 241 7s. STOCKS YESTERDAY. Mexican Bondi. Ditto Bond. (1826) 4RJ d 6 Ditto Acct. 46 4 1646 Sj 64 Portitruese Bonds Ditto Acct. 72 If Spant4 Bond% 9 Ditto Bonds (1623) Ditto Acct. It s E . ll 6 0 11 0 0 -Mexican ... 7:. .. . nratilian .......... 100 15 lh pm Owen° and Espirito Santo Brasil lOO 6 IA Ms Colombian . ....... . ...... ..• • (tenets, alining Association Potosi, La Pal, and Peruvian Association 60 b 4 dig ' PRICES ow SHAI MIN General Steam Navigation tot lOO 10 4i dig •Ite. yg - 4 - , • ~ /•• ' the 13rttigift are c. ENGLISH OPERA HOUSE. Thu Evening, THURSDAY, August 24, will be performed the new Grand Serlo.Cumle Opera of THE ORACLE ; or, THE INTERRUPTED SACRIFICE. The principal Characters by Messrs. J. Eland, Perkins, .1. O. Atkins, H. Philtips, Sapio, and Thorne; Misses Paton, Ilenslton and (inward. After which, the popular Alelo.drama, called TWO WORDS; Or, SILENT" NOT " DUMB." Sir Hildebrand de Guy, Mr. Hartley; Valbeile. Mr. Pearman ; Tonnere, Sir. W. Chapman; La Fleur, Mr. Keeley. Rosabelle, Who Kelly. ROYAL GARDENS, VAUXHALL. Under the especial Patronage of Me Host Gracious majesty. ONLY FOUR NIGHTS HOKE. The Proprietors respectfully acquaint the Public that the Royal Gardens will CLOSE on Friday, the Ist of September. To-morrow Evening, FRIDAY, Augw.t 23, a constant sueevision of Amusements will be given during the whole of the Evening, commencing with A SPLENDID CONCERT. Principal Vocal Perf,winers.—Miss Tracts, bliss Ifelme, and bliss Love. Mr. Braham, Mr. Sinclair. and Signor de liegniv. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Ifornealtle, Mr. Rubinson, Mr. Tinney, and blamer Harker. Leader of the Band, Signor Spagnoletti ; Conductor, Mr. Bishop. The beautiful Moonlight Scene of THE RUINS OF AN ITALIAN ABBEY, Produced by Mr. Stanfield, of the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane, will be again exhibited. The celebrated Mr. ‘Vilvon will again exhibit his elegant performances on the TIGHT ROPF.. Oa this Evening, for the seventh time, will be performed a new Ballet, entitled Ir. CORONAMENTE DELLA ROZIERE, Composed by Moor. R. Vestrls; the Music by Mr. G. H. Rodwell ; the Scenery by Mr. Thorne. The tiro Ridgway* will dance an entirely new drtdesque Pas de Dens. Intriti4 the Evening, Mr. RLACKMORE will go through his surprising Evolutions on the SLACK ROPE.,, To conclude with a grand DISPLAY of FIRE WORKS, In Itto Isla Grand Piece of which the YOUNG AMERICAN will make his TERRIFIC ASCENT to the Muoriab Tower, and Descend =idyl Volume.' of Fire. Private Box, to be hnd of Mr. Andrew'', Rontl,treet. linor• 'pen at Seven o'Cluck.—Concert begins at Half-put Eight Admission 40. TO CORILIMPONOENTS. The Letter of " Inca" ttoWiWWWw. The Communication of': ka fibierver" will Woo appear to•ttaorrow. The BRITISH P n avg . commenced Ttublishing yesterday mortimt at daltleelock. LONDON, THUM kY, AUGUST 2s, 1826. Among the different quarters in which distress has for some time prevailed, there is one to which the attention of Newspaper Writers ought to be more particularly directed, as the distress, in that case, exists among a body of men, without whom neither newspapers nor literature could be disseminated—a class of men who are so inseparably con nected with the diffusion of knowledge, that the prosperity of literature may be more justly estimated by observing their situation than by any other criterion whatever. It bodes little good to the cause of know:edge that the imme diate instruments who serve to propagate it are now suf fering under a more than proportionate share of the cala mity which has overwhelmed so many occupations, not at all connected with the march of intellect. We are dis posed to give all due consideration to the case of manufac turers in silk and cotton—to those whose business it is to assist in clothing the hotly; but we confess the lauours of the printer appear to us of far more importance in society. The printer is superior in dignity to the manufacturer of stuffs, inasmuch as the mind is superior to the body. It is true his employment is mechanical—hut, without the me chanical operation which he performs, the influence of mind and genius would be ♦ery circumscribed; and it is seldom that a compositor does not catch something of that intelligence which is continually passing through his hands. If such a class of men are without employment, it affords a bad prospect for science and literature—it shows either that the mind of man is blighted and unfruitful, or that there is no market for its productions. If printers are without employment, authors cannot be in a very flourish ing condition; and it becomes:the British public to come forward to the assistance of both. It would be impossible, it is said, to give even a faint outline of the distress which at present prevails in the Printing Business. Every week brings a fresh number of claimants on the charitable funds at the disposal of the Committee. It is supposed that about 800 are at present receiving relief in the Metropolis. We call the attention of our readers particularly to the Advertisement in this day's paper, trusting that the ap peal which it contains will not be made in vain. We have received the French Papers of the 21st, and the Etoile dated the ?2d. The accounts from Greece, extracted from the Osserratore Triestino, are not by any means favourable, and we cannot see on what plan Lord COCHRANE proceeds, if it be true that he has suffered so considerable a disembarkation as that which is there said to have taken place. We subjoin a few extracts. The Journals of the South are full of exaggerated news on both sides of the question with respect to Portugal. The Indicateur announces troubles in Estremadura, and that Royalist guerillas shoot the Spanish Officers who attempt to enter Portugal. The Memorial says that Dan Nhaust. has been proclaimed at Braganza and Miranda. None of these accounts is true. In general there is great reason to distrust all these letters from the frontiers, which are filled with unauthenticated facts; and we must recollect that during the Spanish war they constantly propagated the most absurd reports, and the most ill.founded statements. The English General, Syt: sus, in the Portuguese service, is appointed Governor of Oporto. Since the arrival of the new Minister of IVar, the Officers who were erased from the list are again employed. In the War Department, and that of Foreign Aff.th-s, an activity prevails which was never before known in Portugal. (From the Comfit tili;nnel of August 21.) EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER, DATED LISBON, AUO. C. " The brilliant fetes which for several days have Fignalind our new poli+icul regeneration are tertninated. It is worthy of remark, that the great solemnities which put in motion the whole popula. tion have slot given occasion to the slightest di,order : and this precisely because the populace were left to thetn-elvess and that all display of authority was avoided. Of all thr agents of the Diplomatic Body, the Austrian Minister has appeared the most emtarrassed during the late occurrences. M. Borel, Baron Palencia, Russian Charge d'Affaires, has put on a better face to things. All Europe will now recognise the ab surdity of the hypotheses with which some French Ministerial Jour nals till lately amused the public, on a pretended analogy of influ• ence between Mr. Canning and Prince Metternich. In tie, con. stitutional liberty N proclaimed in Portugal at a time that the in fluence of the first Minister of Austria continues to be signalized at Turin, Milan, Rome, and Naples, by proscriptions, dungeons , and execution•. The news from the provinces are satisfactory. The slight mill. tray movements which took place at our Northern frontiers have never given us serious uneasiness. Tranquillity is restored In that part of the kingdom, and it reigns in all the others. The volun tary departure of some turbulent officers is indeed looked upon as a dispensation of Providence ; they will take away from among us their foolish hopes and culpable projects. The constitutional sys tem is deeply rooted in Portugal, and Its perfect consolidation will soon be proof against storms and foreign intrigues. .1 decree has been published, in virtue of which such of the under officers and soldiers as had revolted are pardoned, provided they present themselves within three days after the date thereof; this delay once expired, those taken up with arms in their hands are to be shot. The Queen has not only refused to take the oath to the (:onsti tution, but moreover she does not wish to lust the subject men tioned. In die interval of the nrrival of Mr. Mello Breyer, who is at this moment our Minister at Paris, but who has just been appointed Minister of the Ecclesiastical Affairs and of Justice, his depart. ment is confided to the Counsellor of State Pereira de Sousa Barradtis. The Colonel Delom, Mayor of Vic.Frezensac, a distinguished officer of the old army, enjoying universal esteem, died on the 11th June last, of the effects of an old wound which had re.opened. Not having received spiritual aid, the curate of Vic-Frezcnsac re fused him the ecclesiastical ceremony of burial. On the news of this refusal, the inhabitants of the town, and others under the late jurisdiction of the deceased, assembled to the number of three or four thousand, in order to accompany him to his last abode. All the different Corporations jotted with their banners the crowd of other inhabitants ; and every honour wan sought to be paid to the Colonel, who had been known as a brave military man, and an ir reproachable functionary. Several discourses were delivered MT his tomb. But at the moment that Mr. Delon was receiving all these last honours, a scene of a different kind was passing at the church of Vic-Frezensac. It was St. Peter's Day. The Curate ascended the pulpit, and, in a sermon composed for the occasion, made use of the following words :—" My dear brethren, I forbid you to be present at the interment ; prayers are there interdicted ; they arc useless for such people. The Corporations which will at. tend shall be expelled from this church ; I will never more suffix them to appear in it." So extraordinary a threat only appeared the momentary effect of the Priest's discontent. It was, however, carried into execution on the following Sunday. The murmurs became universal, and the public peace ran the risk of being disturbed in the moat serious manner. Fortunately the municipal authority of the town was watching. The Sub-Mayor publislasl an order, on the strength of the law of Dectniber, 17139, forbidding the inhabitants to ap pear, until further orders, in processions as corporate bodies. In the motives given for this order, it was said that corporations, rot being recognised by law, were merely tolerated in processions. This measure prevented the disturbances which might have hap pened. No one murmured ; and the procession did not take place. Such are the facts which took place on the occasion of the burial of a highly esteemed functionary, whose greatest crime, no doubt, was a love of liberty. FRENCII FUND3.—PAIII3. Arc:. 21.-5 per Cents. opened at 1001. 55e. ; closed at Itair. 1;:ic ; 3 per Cents. titif. 25c. ; Bank S;oelc, 20121. ilk'.; Remelt de Naples. 72f. 8.5 c ; Reutes d'Espagne, 9 ; Royal Spanish Loan, ; I laytian Loan, 672 f. 50c. Exchange on London, ore month, 25h fi,:c.—Cosa Aathentique. The Doilc of the 22d contains the continuation of the Finnan, addressed by the GRAND SEIGNIOR. to the Cadi of Constantinople. It is very true that the mere fact of Turkey's possessing :a disciplined army will not ender her a match for her European neighbours; but the abolition of the Janissaries is the first and most important step towards civilization. These troops formed the great obstacle to all improvement, and a rapid progress may soon be made by Turkey both in military and poli tical science. Her Russian neighbour still reckons many fo reigners among her Statesmen and Generals, and was at one time entirely dein ndent for military skill on the strangers in her service. As an Ally of Austria against Russia, Turkey, with a disciplined army, will become a very im portant member of the European family, and her newly acquired strength in this particular will enable her better to suffer a slight diminution of force, in order to give some degree of national independence to Greece. In the mean time, doubts continue to be thrown out in the German Papers concerning the final result of the new measures of the Se rTA N. A letter from Ancona says, " Though Man► Noel) may have succeeded in obtaining the assent of the Mufti, and of several of the most distinguished of the Clemas, to the plan of reform which he has projected, yet the great:majority of that powerful body by no means con cur in it. A great part of its members, indignant at the measures which have already been carried into effect, have left the capital, and gone to various parts of the empire. It may be easily imagined that they will not fail, wherever they come, to impart to the Turks this unfavourable opi nion of the projected reform ; and as they are highly revered as the legal and authentic interpreters of the Koran, it is much to be apprehended that, through insinuations, great difficulties may be raised, which the SULTAN may, per haps, find it beyond his power to overcome." For our parts, we are glad to see a chance of a nation like the Turks being brought within the pale of civilization, and we cannot think it any disparagement to the Greeks to see the Turks running the career of improvement along with them. A letter from Salonichi positively asserts that the Janissaries in that town have submitted. By the Dutch Papers of the 22d inst. we have received accounts from Batavia, dated the 10th of April. The war with the Javanese still proceeded, and it was asserted that it would be found necessary, before sending more troops from the city, to wait for reinfoicanents from Europe. BATAVIA, APRIL 10. The Lieut.-Governor left Semarang on the Ist of this month, and having stopped some hours at Sal.itiga, arrived at Sorracarta the same day. On the 3d his Excellency gave the Cross of the Order of William of the 3tl Class to the Pangerang Ario Adipatti Mangko Negoro, as a reward for the many proofs of fidelity and attachment to the Government of the Netherlands for a long series of years, end for important services which have been done to the country by this ally, to whose valour we are indebted fur many ad vantages. The Pangerang's son, 3lajor Soerio Diningrat, received a very handsome present troll, his Excellency. The Pangerang then returned to Klatten, and his operations di_ raged from that place have alreiAy had the effect of gaining exten sive districts from the rebels, and the submission of the notorious Tomongong Sentare Riiljo, midi 70 native Chiefs, and a number of followe s. The Sultan, on his side, has prepared a new expe dition, of 300 foot, .30 horse, and 50 artillerymen, to act against the rebels in Kadoe. Arßif.l4. We have received very favourable accounts from the upper coon. try. Illangko, who had gone against the rebels with 15,000 men, has, in concert with our troops, surrounded them as far Satan be done in that country. All the chief outlets are occupied by our troops ; but we know that many will escape notwithstanding. General Van then is much better ; he is in the upper country. Colonel Cochius sailed thither this morning with 150 men, on board the steam-boat ; but at present no more troops can be sent from this city. We must wait for reinforcements from Europe. GRONINGEN, AuG. 17. The Board of Iltalth at this place has published a long state ment respecting the fevers prevalent here, declaring that the reports that have spread in other places respecting the nature of the disease are entirely incorrect; that the fevers are of the usual description of bilious fevers, which have often afflicted this and other provinces in former years ; but that they are not in the slightest iburre m ax , gious, nor are more persons seized than on former OCC:I3IOi4. CITY, WEDNESDAY EVENIVr„ Consols have remained stationary during th e day, at 785 g for the Account, with little or nothing doing. T he speculators are making up their accounts previous to th e settlement, which takes place on the 29th, though t h ey cannot be of a very heavy nature, seeing the slight (Nemo. tion that has occurred during the per io d of the Account. In the Foreign Market both Mexican and Colombi a , have kept their prices up to-day, through a very d i al market, the ,urmer being tni, and the latter 32 1 i. By the Ayacucho, from Lima, letters have been re , ceivt;tl to the 19th of May, which describe the 'ce ntral tranquillity of that country, at the same tune statin g a fact, not uncommon among Governments of more ancient date, that constant intrigues are taking place a mong the leading personage: , of the Republic tor the po me ,,,i, of paramount authority in the State. These tellers give very flattering account of the prosperity of the Peruvian mines. In the Corn Nfarket there has been little doing excep t in Oats, which hove increased cts. p , v quarter since Friday, and, from the general state of the Oat crops, are likely to advance, unless his Majesty's Ministers should permit an importation, which, under the particular circumstances of the case, particularly as reards Scotland, would appear desirable. It is impossible but that the county in general must see that even under the present circumstanc.s of a favourable harvest, at least as regards Wheat, an t ot . portation of other grain might be made with advanu n to the people at large ; and the event fully proves that toe confidence asked of Parliament by his Majesty'sMinitter t , for discretionary power during the Recess, was a wise p o d salutary proceeding, fully borne out by the present state of prices in the Corn Market. In Mincing-lane the sales of Sugar have been mil ler heavier to-day, at last prices, while extensive sal es of Rum have been made at an advance. In Last India pro. duce Spices and Indigo still look up, and a consi. derable call still displays itself in respect to tbtse coon. moditits. GREECH. .--...17- The Observer of Trieste, under the head of Zante, Bth July, announces that on the 29th of June 4,000 Arabs froni Alexandria, landed in the Gulf of Calathata, and that on the 4th of July Ibrahim, who waited their arrival, set out with them to blockade Napoli di Romania. The divi. eion of the Egyptian fleet which was at Navarino wan going to sail to juin that of the Capitan Paella, composed of fifty sail, ships of the line, frigatts, corvettes, and brigs. Its first attempt will be on Hydra, where the Greek fin. tills is aseemialed, and where the inhabitants of Spezzis, Paros, Egetia, and Kotari, have taken refuge. Confusion and consternation reign among them. The Greeks repre sent Hydra as another Gibraltar ; but well-informed per. eons think it will have the fate of Ipsara and Scio. Alta. solonghi was in comparison impregnable. TURKEY. CONTINUATION OF THE FIRMAN DISSOLVING THL COSTS 01 TLIE JAKlssanzas. In consequence of this iie3i;ioii,;;,ii.: 7 las given to the Janis. varies that every individual who sbonld oppose the execution of this measure, unanimously adopted, whether by acting or speaking against it, should be punished with ail the rigour oldie laws. The enrolments were begun—minis and unites wits were distributed, and order was given last trek to begin the new exercise. All thew preparations were at the expense of the Trea-ury ; but, without regard for the commands of religion or the orders of the law, the Janissaries mutinied during the night of Thursday last, attacked the palace of their Aga. and eves the Sublime Porte, the palace of the Grand Vizier, and several ethers; and after having plundered these residences, they cut in pieces with a knife a holy book (the Koran, wherever they found it, and committed • thousand ex. crsses, crying, " We will not have any exercise." The Janissaries therefore having respected neither the divine law, nor its organ, nor the Sublime Pure, nor the (lams ; having dared with sacrilegious bands to turn agaiant .he most es. abed powers the arms which 113 d been delivered to them by the law of the Prophet, and having thereby shown that they have neither faith nor religion, have become the object of general ex ecration. Immediatehr the respectable Muftis, retired or in otlice, the noble Kadiliskeits (supreme Judges in Europe and Asia), the august Grand Vizier, the learned Mettles, whoa' number may the Almighty increase to the day of the resuerection, the officers en duty. and all the other Id ussulmans, hastened to the Imo erial Niue, brought thither the standard of the Prophet, to which salutation and prayer may be addressed, and then wen( to the mosque of Sultan Achmet. Thence they sent criers inm all parts of the city to invite all good Dltissolmans to come and place themselves under the standard of Alahomet. Though the number of the faitlitul who immediately and with zeal obeyed this summons was its niense, the seditious persisted in their detestable design, and or cupied the place-of assembly, which was become the theatre of their iniquities, ths only object of which was to effect the total ruin of the Ottoman Empire, to snake the State fall into the talons of the enemies of the filth, glad to tread all good 31ussu:mans under foot. Under such circumstances the law commands blood to be shed withaut mercy. An armed force was therefore sent against them, their barracks were burnt, and the omnipotent God punished them for their crime, by bending their heads under the sword of the law. As it was positively known that seditious and ill-disposed individuals arid other corporations- had secretly excited and sup. ported the revolt of the Janissaries, preparations were made to make them undergo the same fare. All these events have produced a conviction, that the institution of the Janissaries, the original principles cf which were bravery and obedience, had in process ot time assumcd a very different character, and was now founded on perverseness and iusuhordination, so that the title of Janisasry, the name Voldaset (comrade), and the badges of this corps, had beeoine the shield of all those worthless individuals who wished to domineer over honest men. . . It has happened that among those who have been arrested and exertited on this occasion, wretches have been discovered who had marked on one arm the sign of the 75th Ores and the Cross of the Christians, a certain proof that men of all sects had et:limes] among them, and that there were always wretches among them who under the Mussulman habit concealed the character of spies. It has been observed that whenever proposals have been made to them to purge their corps by the expulsion of this vermin, they have always made the greatest resistance, and that it has never been possible to real them to the object of their primitive institution, so that the men of honour among the Agas and other Commanders of their corps could no longer control them. As it has been thus, as it were, pointed out with the finger, that their amelioration was impossible, and that there were absolutely no means of making them useful, we have this day, by the unanimous advice of the respectable Muftis, of the noble Kadiliskiers, of the august Viziers, of the learned Me man, and of all honest men heartily devoted to the government and to religion, assembled for the public good under the Sacred Stan dard in the Mosque of Sultan Acluner, changed the name of the Corporation of the Janissaries, and given another form to their ancient statutes." (To be eon:inued.) Yesterday a Court of Directors was held at the East India House, when the following Captains were sworn into the command of their respective ships, viz.:— Captain John Clermont Whiteman, of the Herefordshire—Ben gal and Chinr. Captain William Henry Ladd, of the Kellie Castle—Chira direct. Captain John Hine, of the ship Atlas—St. Helena, Bombay, and China. ---- Captain Charles Shea, of the Thomas Grenville. Yesterday a Court of Direc:ors was held at the East India 11-use, when the under-tnentioned ships were thus viz:— The Atlas, for St. Helens. Bombay, and China ; and the Bridge water and Lowther Castle. fir Bombay and China ; be afloat Ilatt Nov. 1620, sail to Gravesend 29th, stay there 30 days, and be in the Downs 4th Jan. H.:pulse, Duke of York, and Herefordshire. for Bengal mil China ; be afloat 29th Nov. 1826; sail to Gravesend 14th Dec. stay there 30 days, nad be in the Downs 19th Jan. 1827. Th.• Vimsittart,Buckinghainshire, and Sradeby Castle, for Bengal and Gina ; be afloat 14th Dec. 1828 ; pail to Gravesend 28th, stay there 30 days, ailel be in the Downs 3d Feb. 1827. The Inglis and Charles Grant, for Bengal and China; the Windsor and Hythe, for llorn!ay and China ; and the Farquhar son, for St. Helena, Penang, Singapore, and China; be afloat VA Dec. 1826; sad to Gravesend 12th Jan. 11L7; stay there 30 kis, and be in the Deans 17th . Feb.. The Bomb iy, Gener.l Kyd. and iraterloo, for Madras and China; be afloat 12th Jun. 1827; sail to Gravesend 26. h; stay there 30 days, and be in the Downs 3d March. The new ship building in the room of the Kent, and the Kellie Castle, fur China direct; be afloat 25th Feb. 1827, sail to Graves end 13th March, stay there all days, and be in the Dowr.s 18th The accounts from the moors in this district are very favourable. Game is said to be plentiful, but the birds we represented as being very wild, and strong upon the wing. Good shots have had no reason to complain of the epor. The extensive Moors on Stammore, in Westmorland, the property of the Earl of Thanet, never abounded more m game than they do this season. This is Tartly attributed to the great fires on the Yorkshire Fells adjoining, which deprived the birds of cover, and partly to the:strict watt b that has been kept.—Tyne Mercury. N Li N 1: