The Sun. — London, England, 1829-12-25 00:00:00

are great courage and skill, humanity and kindness are ever an accompaniment to the .char racter." Frederick of Prussia, for instance, possessed both skill and courage in no ordinary degree, as well as the magnanimity and com mand of temper which his Grace seems to be without ; but Frederick was neither humane nor kind, but harsh,. and sometimes cruel ; so much so, that the contrast between his dis position and his shedding tears when reading a funeral oration composed by himself; furnished matter for some biting epigrams. But his Grace, as we have said, may be tender-hearted for all that, only we take the historical as well as lite rary knowledge of Sir James to be by no means cqnsl to his confidence. Every one knows th a his Grace's great opponent was also• exces sively sensitive with regard to the Press; and in a well-written article in the last number of the Fo reign Quarterly Review on Bourrienne's Me moirs, this weakness is imputed to what we arc sue it ought not to be imputed to in the ease of his Grace, namely, Charlatanism. " True greatness (it is said) can afford to be wrong ; but there was a dash of Charlatanism in all the success of Napoleon that dreaded the liaht. Hence, perhaps, his extraordinary sensitiveness on the subject of publication, and his wrath egsinet the slighteat sallies of ridicule. He could not tolerate public discussion-6'e news papers of Paris were his mere slaves. . . . . His dislike of discussion affected even the Tata mite ; it was a part of the Consular Constitution which he bore with impatience, and quickly sup pressed." It has been sometimes thought that this impatience of strictures is inseparable from the inilitwy character, and is formed by the habits passive obedience necessary to the discipline of an army. But this ais point the discussion of which would lead us a great way. To sum up : if the letter is so foolish that it is undeserving or attention, and conveys no imputation which can injure the Duke, the apology of Sir J. Scarlett, founded on the alleged weakness of Newspaper Editors, will go but a very short way to dimi- Nish the injury he has done to his reputation for judgment by noticing it. No other Minister of his rank, for the last half century, would have noticed such nonsense. Sir Robert Walpole and Lord North would have made themselves merry with the mock heroics of the writer. Mr. Pitt would have despised the letter. Lord Liverpool would have pitied the author. As to Mr. Canning, though of an exceedingly irritable temr.erament, he had too much tact to call in the aid of an Attorney-General. Even Lord Sidmouth would have been ashamed of coun tenancing such a prosecution. One objection stated on the part of the Rev. Mr. Isaacson was not fairly met by Sir James. Why was not the author selected for prosecution? Sir James retorted, that publishers were responsible for all that they published, and that the guilt of the writer did not , diminish theirs: but he pledged himself to prosecute the writer also, if he should give himself uo. This is little better than quibbling. It is usual when letters appear with a real name to them in a Netarspaper, to demand that the writer lee given up, on an understanding that in that case the right of prosecuting the paper be fore gone. There can in general be no breach of honour in giving up a writer who, by affixing his name, points himself out as willing to take on himself the responsibility of the publication. What satisfaction would it afford to the pro prietors of the Newspaper to enable Sir James Scarlett to punish another ? Prosecutors gene rally prefer punishing the writer to punishing the publisher ; and it seems singular why this course was not adopted in the case of this letter. We cannot part with Sir James Scarlett without notici a die following threat :—" I know I shall be accused of great tyranny iu the said prosecu tions ; the Press of the country will make com mon cause with each other. I knew an instance, some time bade, where, a day or two after the trial of,a e Proprietor of a Newspaper for libel, he thought proper to publish the names of the Jury ; if I could prove that this was done to show to the world who the men were that con victed him ; or if, in any such case, the names were published to influence any future Jury in giving a verdict, I now declare that I will take my part in bringing the Editor of any Newspaper that so publishes the names of the Jury, with such an latent, to condign punishment. Let, gentlemen, the a dministration of justice be kept pure." Why should not the names of a Jury be jublished if it be wished that justice should be kept pure ? Does Sir ,James Scarlett sup pose tilat, privacy, that Star Chamber work, affords the Est security for justice? It is not known and admitted that responsibility a-, rear oninleas ie the security we can have for upright coauct, not only in the case of Juries, but in the case .of Judges, Senators, and all other men ? The great defect in Juries is the insufficient reaponsibility ; for responsibility is weak, in proportion as the numbers among whom it is shared is increased. If Juries are to be fieeei from what is best calculated to ensure uprightness in all cases, will that improea jus o tire? We shall next have ;, c. posed to =- l its administration alto , ,—.l tie 6, by viorning Chronicle. 6 %. a The proceedings of the last three days in the c 0u,, 1 of King's Bench are not calculated to in the popularity of the present Administra- eTea •ir State prosecutions against one , - ".o• ice wspaper; with a fifth impending over its de a measure of Ministerial severity ;:ca head, ig Press which we believe to be v.! .ealt out to the _and as it is unexampled, i i o erf ,,, e . c e tl h y o u p n e ex it am wi p il let r t e , n : a in . upon the records of w i t h out We will not, British justice non circumstances hoti ever, make any remarks t.' and principles which those trials :lave developed, s intending, as we do , • to confine oui:elves to a few observations upon the trial of the I. 7 4ilitor of a I,Veekly Paper, whose case is distinct from the others, bit: not less deserving of public attention. It will be recolleC."4 that the Attorney-General, 4 -st rule for a criminal in some' time ago, obtainet. - formation against the Editor o. the "ill"' for a libel, imputing to the Lord Chatc:•til or And his Lady a - venal and simoniacal bartering ecclesiastical preferments--the libel was given as a rumour of the day, and not upon the autho rity of a newspaper. The facts connected with the publication it is not necessary to state here, as they will be seen in our report. Of the libel lous nature of the imputation no person could entertain a doubt ; but we are just as well con vinced that it was beneath the high character and station of the Lord Chancellor to give to the paltry calumny the importance of a criminal prosecution. Having, however, thought fit to, proceed against it, lie was more justified in put ting time Attorney-General, with all the ma chinery of Criminal Law, in motion to crush the obnoxious paragraph which contdined such an imputation on his personal character, than if it had been the most violent philippic that ever had been written upon his political oittlt:ct as a Minister of the Crownt Mr, Bell, the editor, who bad inserted the para graph, which, it appears, he had upon the au thority of some friend whose confidence he would not betray, came upon the floor of the Court, not to defend or justify the libel, but to vindicate himself from the charge of having been nistrinnental in publishing it from any political or malicious motive. He conducted his defence with good taste, intelligence, end discretion. The tone of his address was equally free frOm in temperance and servility ; it was that which it became a man to use who was conscious that he had inadvertently done a wrong to the character of another, and was willing to make him every reparation consistent with the vindication of the nmocence of his own motives. We shall stand icquitted of all personal partiality in this matt:;., ..vhen we state that we had never seen this gen . tleman before he appeared in Court to defend himself on the present occasion. We felt that he displayed powers and acquirements that re• fleeted credit upon himself and the Press to i which he belongs. The Court and the Jury felt it too. The latter retired to consider their verdict, and, on their return, the Foreman read from a written paper their decision to the fol lowing effect :—" We find the defendant guilty of publishing ; but, in consequence of the doubt which we entertain of malicious motive, we strongly recommend him to the mercy of the Court." This we humbly submit to he tanta mount to a verdict of acquittal. The Jury hay- 1 ieg found the act of publishing independently of 1 the malicious motive, did not find the criminal part of the charge, for, in the language of the law, there can be no crime where there is no malus animus. From what the Attorney- General said about representing the case to the Lord Chancellor, it is not likely the defendant will ever be brought up for judgment ; and this will perhaps satisfy Mr. Bell. But, leaving the individual out of the question, and contending for a principle only, and one of great ins- portance, we say that a defendant brought up for judgment, under such a verdict, would be entitled to have judgment stayed. This is a stronger case than that of the King v. Woodfall, where the defendant, being prosecuted for publishing one of the letters of Junius, the verdict of the Jury was, " guilty of publishing only." This verdict was so re corded, and in the ensuing Term a motion was made on behalf of Mr. Woodfall to stay judg mentfrom being entered up. On the part of the prosecution a cross motion was made, to enter the verdict according to ils legal import —that is, as the Crown Lawyers contended, to enter a general verdict of " guilty." Those motions were argued before Lord Mansfield—a Judge never suspected of partiality towards the liberty of the Press. The Court were against granting the motion to stay the judgment, on the ground, as Lord Mansfield said, that the Jury had found the publication, which was the only charge they had to try—the doctrine then pre vailing, be it remembered, in Westminster-Hall, that the Jury were Judges of the fact only, and the Court were the Judges of the law—never theless, it is clear Lord Mansfield's mind mis gave him respecting his own interpretation of this verdict, for the Court eventually awarded a venire de novo—or, in other words, granted a new trial. Since that time the law of libel has undergone an important alteration in this coun try by the Act of Mr. Fox—the 32d Geo. 111. —which constitutes the Jury, in all criminal proceedings for libel, judges of both the law and the fact. They have not only now to try the charge ofpublishing only, but to examine into the motive—to sift and investigate the circumstances which imply or rebut malice, as in every other criminal case, and if they negative a malicious intention, it matters not in what words they convey their verdict—for it must be a verdict of acquittal in effect. Such we maintain the ver dict in this case to be. The Jury, it is true, did not negative the malice in direct words of negation, but they expressed a unanimous and fixed doubt of malicious intention, and the benefit of that doubt must be given to time de fendant. Had they been silent about the ma lice, it might be argued that the law would infer the malice from the fact of publication, but this inference cannot be made in the teeth of time doubt expressed by the Jury, as a , qualifying part of their verdict. Expressing a doubt of the malice is equivalent to saying that they can not find the publication to be a libel quoad the defendant. Though it is the abstract rule of law to presume malice from the fact of publica tion in cases of libel, yet it is equally a rule of law that such legal presumption of m § liee -,call J,. .._, ,_ , ..., 0 ., ~,,,Acn crioenCe of circum stances, as was laid down by Mr. Justice Le Blanc in the case of the King v. Creevy. That Learned Judge distinctly admitted this doctrine, and left it to the Jury to say whether the legal inference of a malicious intention were rebutted by the facts attending the publication of the libel, :end, if it were, to acquit the defendant. In the present case the Jury took the circum stances whiCh Ni. Bell detailed as accompany ing the act of publishing into consideration, and, having so done, they entertained a doubt, which doubt could not be removed from their minds, of the existence of malice, without which there can be no guilt, and, by expressing that doubt, having negatived the charge of crime, it was superfluous to recommend the defendant to mercy, for they had in effect acquitted him.— Morning Herald. " Another, and another, and another still ! and yet there are more to come !" Verily his Majesty's Attorney-General is 'earning a repu tation which will live after him— he is not eat ing the bread of idleness—nor, so far as the press and public opinion are concerned, is he likely to drink the waters of forgetfulness. Four separate prosecutions, not against one news paper only, but against one man—all of them leading to fine and imprisonment—have this week been commenced and ended by Sir James Scarlett ; and we will venture to add, that there is not in-the whole course of British history an '. instance of such continued prosecution on 're _cord, It would seem that it were not now enough his fortune, and to deprive him to ru'!:* "a'i-irl _ • but that it were also ne- ' of his persona-1. libert.Y) -±he death—to lay hold ces42ry to hunt him to' of every foolish express ion whicit; !le may have written, and to fasten tip2n it the fangs of every tyrannical enactment which wee ;Ter passed on the - subject of libel ! In the good days of cep ning there was nothing of this—the Press en- joyed unrestricted freedom, and its freedom ex alted the character both of the country and of its Ministry. But the times are'changed. The Government —no—but his INlejeety'e Attr::iney- GengrAl has been :banged, and the' free express: , eion of 1 - .l4blic opinion through the medium of the Press must bo reprefseil. We will make - bold to tell him that .he Fe.4y 14 tt, but that be . , .will .pot- succeed. Englishme n are not vindic tive, and however gross the libels may havebeen for which redress is sought,,we are confident that there is not one in a thousand who will not consider such reiterated prosecutions as the veriest persecution that was ever waged against one of the most valuable rights which we pos sess; and who will not set down to the preju dice of the Government what has been, perhaps, the act only of the Attorney-General. But hold. We are treading on tender ground, and if we give free vent to our feelings, we shall, in all probability, place ourselves in the same pre dicament that the unfortunate Editor of the Morning Journal now is—in the clutches, in . fact, of the Attorney-General, and liable to all the tender mercies which it would appear to be his pleasure to deal out to those who have the misfortune to be responsible for libels. Let our readers remember that the trial in this day's paper is the fourth against an individual, and that it was brought on by an ex-eicio informa tion; and let them reed, at the same time, the adverse speeches on the occasion, and they will themselves think all that we could wish to say on the subject.—Morning Advertiser. A fourth verdict of Guilty, it will be seen by cur law report, was yesterday pronounced against the Morning Journal, for the publication of a most atrocious libel against the Duke of Wel lington. In these several decisions, it is gratify ing to consider, that the general character of the Press has been vindicated in the marked con demnation of those unprincipled members of it, who for the basest purposes, not only dare to vilify many of the highest and purest characters in the State, but who, in the prosecution of their object, do not scruple to invent and propagate the most infamous falsehoods that a depraved imagination could conceive. It is asserted in some quarters that these prosecutions are the first demonstrations of a deliberate and con• certed scheme to destroy the liberty of the Press. We do not hesitate to answer, that if such gross abuses as these were suffered to pass with impunity, the boasted freedom of the Press would be nothing but an empty sound. It could no longer hope to be looked to with respect ; with its character it would justly lose its power, and cease to exercise any influence upon public opinion. The case of the Atlas, which was also decided yesterday, we must ob serve, is one which admits of much reasonable extenuation ; and we are happy to find that the recommendation of the Jury in this respect is likely to receive all the indulgent consideration to which it is entitled.—Morning Post. To call the present proceedings of the Go vernment " foolish," " senseless," " absurd," and " uncalled for," as many of our respectable con temporaries do, is scarcely doing justice either to the persecuted or avenging parties. They are proceedings of the most partial, vindictive, and arbitrary nature. They alike evince weak ness and tyranny ; for oppressive proceedings on the part of any Government invariably demon strate a state of fear, of conscious guilt, of just exposure, and hopeless impotence. In what position does the British Government stand at this moment in the eyes of all Europe ? Are our Ministers either respected at home or feared abroad ? Do they maintain that dignified and invulnerable attitude which inspires either awe or respect ? Are they pursuing that wholesome 1 course of policy which is calculated to do them honour or benefit their country ? Are they directing their undivided attention to the suf fering interests of the nation, or endeavour- I ing to relieve the unexampled distresses of the people ? Are they administering charity to the helpless or ragged pauper—devising profitable employment for the wretched artisan, or reducing their extravagant military and civil salaries to lighten the enormous pressure of the taxes God save the mark ! they are do ing no such thing. They are -actively engaged in prosecutions against the Press—fighting a desperate and cruel battle with the newspapers — dispensing briefs among their legal hirelings in order to make the Court of King's Bench a second Waterloo, where all the glory and the shame are at the cost of the loyal and indepen dent subjects of the King. It is a grievous crime, it would appear, in these mock liberal days to utter any sentiments derogatory to the irreproachable reputations of Ministers of State. It is a high crime and misdemeanour to animad vert on the blunders of the Wellington Admi nistration, or " lament" the misery which their measures have produced. It is an unpardonable offence to laugh at the tricks and shifts of un principled men, or recall to our memories their numerous and slating acts of apostacy and ioconsistency. The press must, therefore, be restrained, says the Whig Atttorney-Generai, f.;;. James Scarlett. It has, for the last ten years, says this incomparable patriot, been permitted to ruin riot in its excesses, and he, consequently, is pleased that it is in his power to administer a little wholesome correction. In the name of justice aed decency, who is the man who offers this insult to public opinion and the privilege of open discussion ? Sir James Scarlett ! Who is he ? Is he not, and has he not, during his whole life been, an avowed Whig ?—a friend of the people ?—an apostate to public :liberty ? an advocate of Parliamentary Reform P—a de claimer at party meetings, and in the House of Commons, in favour of the freedom of that Press which he is now hired to curb and destroy? Oh, deep, damning shame ! Sir James Scarlett has been all this, especially while a member of his " Majesty's opposition ;" and yet we now see this very man the readiest instrument of a profligate Ministry in repudiating his former opinions, in being the assassin of his professed principles, the libeller of his own acts, and the greatest enemy of that press to which he and his party owe ail their ephemeral fame and all their popular adulation. Disgusting, indeed, is this conduct. But can we be surprised at this conduct when we consider that a converted hypocrite is always the greaten despot ? And yet the Learned Gentleman plumes himself upon his:liberality and his extensive information,while he coolly commits homicide on his declared senti ment, and deals around him charges of ignorance and disloyalty on those to whom, comparatively speaking, he is a dunce and a carbonaro. Per haps, in no Court of Criminal Judicature in the world were there ever heard so many illogical arguments or distorted facts as were made use of by this learned person within the last three days. Averments as baseless as the winds, were the trappings of his shabby and half-cast eloquence. Figures of speech, as incongruous as sugar mixed with coal gas, interlarded his orations. Artifice made ample amends for his deficiency. of ideas, and a hazardous denial of facts, 'where no reply could be made, carried a momentarybut still suspected conviction to the minds of those. &Ale persons who considered they were legally bound to believe what they did not understand. His facts and his reasoning were perfectly in keeping, ! They were both exclusively and•pe cuharly his own, Whet was scarlet to him was crimson to every honest face in his pre , sence. Ireland never was so tranquil, said the candid lawyer, as it has been since the passing of the late Relief Bill ! He never heard, he said, of the alleged libels on the Duke of Cumberland ! He ascribed the authorship of a letter, with the name, designation, and address of its writer, to another person ! He declared he had never before seen a person whom he had pointed out to his audience and aspersed on a former occa sion. He condescended to be vituperative where his arguments were inconclusive, and he discussed questions of trade with as much ala crity as he would bag a brief or pocket a fee.— His comparisons were alike forensic and mer cantile. Poisons and opinions, fire-arms and ex-eicios, partnership liabilities and the belles iettres, ancient history and modern liberality, Henry the Seventh and Arthur the First, mad dogs and delicate attorneys, were all equally at his command, and the objects of his censure or his approbation as it suited his purpose. To dispute the palm with such a man, on any subject, would have been little less than sedition and blasphemy. His ideas . of things beyond the range of Westminster-hall were quite original.— Foolish, indeed, must have been the night who would have dared to dissent from his doctrines, or call in question his superior information. On grammar and on politics—on liberty and auxiliary verbs—on moderation and the ninth commandment—en decency and per sonal slander—he proved himself to be a most accomplished pedant. But the entire details are too exquisite to be dwelt upon any longer. He has rendered himself immortal, and we therefore leave him to the gods. We cannot help thinking, however, that he would have served his employers better had he spared us a little of his pretension to superior knowledge upon subjects which are not within his province. If he be the only hardworking subaltern of the Government we take leave to think he might have employed his time better in finding Out some legal remedy for the defects of the law instead of availing himself of these defects to oppress and curtail the liberty of the subject. If he should contend that he only laboured in his vocation, then we reply it is matter of regret that his employers do not labour more unremittingly in theirs. We have a population reduced to the last stage of human misery, and yet no attempts are made to alleviate their sufferings. The vengeance of a bad law is applied to re strain public opinion, while the efforts of the 1 natural guardians of the commonwealth are re laxed where the real interests of the country are concerned. The legal hack toils in his inglo rious profession, while the Minister of com merce sleep. Ex-officios flow ish while the shuttle rusts in the loom. The gaol is the threatened corrective of sentiments inspired by general distress ; and, while the terrors of the law thunder round our heads, the march of in solvency advances, and universal pauperism is the echo of our liberal measures. Look at the corner of every street in this vast metropolis and see the haggard remains of Evilg beings, whose only means of existence are dependant upon alms. Turn ►here we will we hear the loud wail of distress—of hungry children—of parents houseless and pennyless. All this is overlooked while the crusade against the press rages. Agri culture languishes, and manufactures are un saleable, while the verdicts of juries give con solation to the sensitive and delicate minds of our modern statesmen. 0 tempora ! 0 mores ! —Morning Journal. CEMETERY OF THE BRITISH OFFICERS NEAR BA Y ONNE. On my return from a tour in Spain with a young friend this last autumn, I passed a week at Bayonne. On the morning of the 24th of September, the rain, which had been falling in torrents all night, having moderated, though not entirely ceased, we were enabled to walk out and visit the ground which ob tained so much unhappy celebrity in 1814. Cros sing the long wooden bridge over the river, we came to what seems a detached portion or suburb of Bayonne, though it is a separate municipality, called St. Esprit. This quarter contains a great many Jews. Ascending the steep road to Bordeaux, we at length, according to directions we had received, struck off into a side road along a height to the right. From this side road we had a most com manding prospect, which, in spite of the cloudy, gloomy, sullen atmosphere, appeared both grand and beautiful. The valley beneath us, traversed by the winding Adour, presented the whole town of B tyonne, with all its old buildings and its im mortal recollections. The narrow vale is begirt with woods and pretty hills ; and beyond, croweed with labouring clouds, arose the stupendous sum mits of the Pyrenees. Advancing, we reached the ;;;;;:ieet :,sf St. n:,eieee. With some difficulty we found in the church-yard the grave of General Hay, who was slain on the 14th April, 1814, in the action occasioned by a sortie of the French from the citadel of Bayonne, which the British troops then blockaded. It is pretty well known that the French officer who commanded in the citadel was extremely averse to this sortie, which he was compelled to make in obedience to .the peremptory orders of Thouvenot, his superior officer, who commanded in the town of Bayonne. After many brave men had been killed on both sides, in the sortie, the French were repulsed. Thoovenot, it afterwards appeared, was previously aware (though not officially informed) that Napo leons's reige had ended; and two days after the sortie, the white flag of the Bourbon was displayed from the citadel. Intelligence of the meditated attack was carried to General Hope, the British Commander, by a French deserter; but the Ge neral, in galloping from his qnarters to the front of his lines, was intercepted and taken prisoner by a French party, in a wood, which we afterwards traverses. He offered his watch and money to a French sergeat as the price of his release ; but the sergeant rejected the offer. On his way as a prisoner to the citadel, Hope and several of his captors were wounded by the fire of the British troops. He afterwards sent for the French sergeant, praised his behaviour, and offered him as a testi mony of esteem what he had refused to take as a bribe; but the sergeant declined to accept anything from a prisoner. General Hay was killed in the church-yard of St. Etienne, and there he was buried. The marble gravestone expresses that it was erected by his officers. It is surrounded by grass and nettles. After earnestly surveying it, and reading the in scription again and again, we plucked and have preserved a weed that overhung the hero's resting place. Returning to the Bordeaux road, we had to tra verse another cross-road in an opposite direction to the last, in order to attain the main object of our peregrination—the cemetery of the other British officers who fell in the Bayonne sortie—situated, as we were told, in the grounds of Monsieur Leon, a wealthy Jew. We engaged an old peasant to guide us ; and he, though he knew where, or at least whereabouts, the cemetery w as , h a d some diffi cu lty to find it. We traversed foul, miry ways, and ad vancing much further than I had expected, obtai'ied a view of the debouchment of the Adour into the Gulf of Gascony. Striking off from the road into the grounds of Monsieur Leon, we reach a most ro mantic sequestered region, consisting of a multitude of low furee and heath-clad hills, on the side of one of which, " with thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild," we beheld the cemetery. Despite of rain and mud we pushed on; but it was no easy matter to approach, for there is no road nor pathway, and hardly-access through a wilderness of thorns, briars, and bushes. We went round and round the ceme -rery, tearing our clothes and skins, but long unable to reach or even neatly approach it. It seemed as if some stern guardian genius " access denied" to all idle, careless intrusion. However, at length, after toiling up a steep side, less bristling with re sistance than the rest, we gained the exterior wall of the cemetery, and entered it by a flight of rude steps. It is a small square space enclosed by a wall, and surrounded by willows and poplars. A few other melancholy shrubs are there; and a lovely Italian cypress ascends in the middle of the little plat of honour's ground. " Here sleep the brave, who sunk to rest, By all their country's wishes blest ; When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallowed mould,. She there shall dress a sweeter sod Than fancy's feet have ever trod. 7 It is indeed (to pursue the fine strain of Collins) as " a weeping hermit " that. fancy must repair to and linger on this spot, which is rather a hermitage than a temple of glory. But the place is as much neglected within as without ; and rank grass and reeds threaten soon to obliterate the memorials of the brave. On the few tombstones (seven or eight in number) are engraved only the initial letters of the names of those who tenant the gory beds below. All bear the date of April 14, 1814. On °tie I re marked these letters—" Sir H. S., Bt., Lt.-Col. Coldm. Gd." On a second, " Honble. W. G C.,, Cap. Coldm. Gd." On a third, "G. C , L., Lt.- Col. Coldm. Gd." On a fourth, "W. 8., Cap., Coldm. Gd." On a fifth, which is most beautifully wreathed with creeping shrubs, " W. P., Ensgn., Coldm. Gd." On a sixth, "J. H., Lt. 60th Regt." There are one or two other stones uninscribed, or having the inscriptions obliterated. After a visit which we prolonged in spite of the rain that now fell heavily upon us, We plucked and appropriated a small branch of the eypress—" invisos cupressos "—and bade a reluctant farewell so this singularly wild, lovely, romantic, and interesting spot. " Oh ! who shall lightly say that Fame la nothing but an empty name?" &c. These well known lines of our illustrious coun trywoman, Joanna Baill'e, recurred to my memory, as I afterwards recalled the strong, deep, mingled sentiments of tenderness, honour, respect, and na tional pride, which every one of the little tomb stones in the cemetery had awakened in my heart. lam sure that there is no mind undebauched by fashion, and undepraved by meanness or igno rance, that would not derive a higher and nobler gratification from contemplating that silent scene, that, from gazing on the living pomp and show of the most splendid Court in Europe. We were obliged to set off for Bordeaux next morning. But a little before our departure, I was informed by a respectable banker of Bayonne, that the British Consul, who had been absent for some time, had just returned, and had announced his pur pose of repairing and improving the condition of the cemetery, in conformity with instructions which he had received from the British Government. I hope that such instructions have really been given, and that they will be properly attended to. If I could have remained a few days longer at Bayonne, I would have caused the lines above quoted from Collins to be engraved on a plate of copper, and at tached to the wall of the cemetery. It would be well, I think, in place of the present tomb-stones, to substitute others of more enduring quality; and as the idea (once entertained, I believe,) of tran sporting the bodies to England, is now of course abandoned, surely, instead of the initial letters, the names of the dead heroes shoul►l be recorded at full length. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, Disc. 24. cum. CON.-SIR THOMAS CROFT. BART., V. COLONEL LTSTEK. Mr. Serjeant Wir.nE (with whom was Mr. THESSIGER) stated that this was an action brought by the plaintiff against the defendant for a criminal conversation with the plaintiffs wife. The damages were laid at 10,000/. The defendant admitted the criminal conversation ; sad witnesses were called to prove the manner in - which the plaintiff treated his wife, to mitigate damages. It was stated that Lady Croft passed under the name of Mrs. Lyster. The Jury gave a verdict for the plaintiff with 2,5001. (We shall give the particulate to-morrow ) LEGAL PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO MR. THOM'S STATUES. We alluded in a former number to these proceed ings. The papers lodged by the parties, and the interlocutor of the Court, are now before us, and from them we have abstracted the following account of the relative situation and averments of the ligi tants. Some time in the year 1823, Mr. Thorn re ceived an order from the Earl of Cassilis to complete for him a group, consisting of Tam O'Shanter, Souter Johnnie, the Landlord and Landlady. About the same time, Sir Charles Lamb gave him an order for copies of Tam and the Souter. In Decernbcr, !828, Mr. Thom entered into an agree ment with Mr. Dick at Tanfiell, near Edinburgh, to complete for him a group consisting of the same figures as that intended for the Earl. Mr. Thom promised that these figures should be the first of that description he should finish after those for the Earl and Sir Charles, but declined becoming bound to finish them by a certain day, as circumstances which he could not foresee might occur to retard his labours. Mr. Thom did not first complete the four figures bespoke by the Earl of Cassilis, and then apply himself to those intended for Mr. Dick, but, according as fitting atones could be procured from the quarry, he worked at one or the other figure for both groups. In this way, he bad made, in October, 1829, two Tarn 0 chanters, two Souters, and one Landlord, with which he was satisfied; one Landlady, which was likewise to his mind, and one which was not. On the 13th of June, he had, at the urgent entreaties of Mr. Dick, delivered to him a Tam and a Souter; and, on the 14th of October, he shipped to the address of the Earl of Cassilis, a complete set of four figures. Mr. Dick, on the plea that the Landlady, included in this shipment, was the second made, applied for an interdict against her delivery. The pursuer argued, that Mr. Thom had agreed to deliver to him the first figures he should finish after those meant for the Earl of Cas silis and Sir Charles Lamb; that Mr. Thom had completed two figures of the Landlady ; and that, consequently, the first belonged to the Earl, and the second to the pursuer. It was argued on behalf of Mr. Th)m—that he had never become specifically bound to furnish the pursuer with the second figure of the Landlady he should finish; that having failed in his first attempt, he hail never quite finished it, but set about making one more to his taste ; that he was entitled to do this, both on account of the obligation under which he lay to furnish his employer with a good piece of workmanship, and of a regard to his reputation, which might suffer by allowing an imperfect production to go forth to the world; and that he was still ready to implement his bargain. It was farther urged for Mr. Thom, that he had been induced to enter into the bargain with Mr. Dick, by the latter's representing himself to be employed by a gentleman of fortune ; whereas it now proved, that he was one of several partners who wished to get the statues for the purpose of exhibiting them in opposition to the exhibition in which the artist has an interest; and that the two figures delivered had already been exhibited in Li verpool. It was argued for the Earl of Gssilis (who was brought into Court), that he was nor obliged to take a first abortive attempt, but was en titled to the first successful one—that the terms of the pursuer's agreement excluded him from receiv ing any figures until the defender's prior.orders had been executed. Lord Moncreiff refused the com plainer's bill of suspension and interdict, on the ground that the statue in question bud been deliver ed to the Earl of Cassius before the bill was pre sented. In a note subjoined to his interlocutor, his Lordship declined entering into the merits, ag, ll ` l * necessary in the circumstances of the case. case was carried before the Inner Ilcuse, by a r®' . i claiming note on the part of the pursuer, but RI Ordinary's interlocutor was adhered to.—Edinburgh Literary Journal. - - -- - FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FRENCH PAPERS. - - (From the Massager des Chambres of Tuesday.) PARIS, DEC. 21.—A letter from Marseilles ear , " A respectable house in this city has received a 1.-:tter from Malta, dated Nov. 18, stating that an. English frigate, the Isis, which sailed from V'eurla on the 7th of November, and from Egina on the 14th, has brought news that the Sultan has give" orders to the Paella of Smyrna to withdraw the TUrkish troops from Athens and Negropont, and to. deliver up those two places to the Greeks." PARIS, DEC. 22.—1 t is affirmed that an august Personage, conversing on the present state of affair° with a person of distinction, spoke to the folloWing effect : " The happ3neas of the people is the object, or the constant solicitude of the King. Be therefore persuaded that his Majesty will give to France for the new year a present worthy of himself." (From the Gazette de France of Wednesday.) . PARIS, Nov. 22.—The official part of the Mom teur contains a Royal Ordinance for the election of Deputies in the room of Messrs. Vauquelin and Chit bron de Solilhac, deceased. Another Royal Ord nance prescribes regulations for introducing more order and regularity in the dispatch of business rela tive to the Chamber of Peers. Conformably to the engagements into which he had entered, the builder of the temporary hull of the Chamber of Deputies completed his r ork on the 20th of December. Psuis STOCK EXCHAN•E, Dzc. 22.--Firs pet Celli 1081. 2oc. ; Three per Cents. 84f. 20e. ; 5t0ck,.1,91.5f. Recta di Naples, Falc. Cert , 91L B'wc.; Spanish ditto, Fren c h C e rt. 7i; Royal Sl"" lish flr 84 ; Rents:Perp. d'Espagne, 65i; H a ytias Loan," THE MARKETS. SOUTHALL MARKET.—Dec. 43. In this day's market, which exhibited a limited NIPP I P and was thinly attended by buyers, each kind of rasa me t with a very dull sale, at the following prices per ato ne c" 81b. to mini the offale:— . Beef ..,.«........ 21. lfid. to 4s. 6d I 3 Veal 3s. 4d. to IC / I. Mutton ~ ...,.w ,. 3 0 4 6 Pork , 3 6 4 The foregoing quotations are eef, Mutton, and Pork O. stone lower lower than on this day se'nnight; Veal unaltered. ;ILO of the supply left the market unsold. LEWES M A RKET.—Dee. 88. Beet ---3 s. Bd. to 4.4. 6d. Veal Os. (x.l. to Oa. ea' Mutton I 3 8 4 4 Pork. -, 310 4 A moderate supply, and a dull trades RKWr. —Dec. 19. RUMFORD MA. ii. tl. to s. d. ' Reef 3 U 4 4 Veal Mutton 3 0 4 4 Pork .... s 4 6 Suckling Calves from 12s. to 2Ss. ; Quarter old Pigsl2s.t l o . l d is. each' II A moderate supply, and a dull trade. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING THE WIC Wheat. Barley. / Oats. Beans. - -----. Per Quarter. s. to s. s. a. s. to s. s• 1° ;77 Blandford —..-- 56 23 33 ...: SS Grigg ...... 50 54 25 30 95 30 +. ' s 3 Cambridge .—.— 59 26 74 el . Chard --..—.... 56 70 32 33 24 SO " 56 91 I Huntingdon.--.. 56 67 24 33 17 2 3 ca 32 Long Sutton-- 2l . A " - 31 Louth 4 52 20 - 26 16 29 Sd 22 94 Ag Lynn., - Nevrark ;5 Nottingham —..... 50 63 30 39 2 1 - - is ,117 . "'" ' Peterbormigh 55 70 37 40 1. pA -- .-. "'- Plymouth —...—.. 51 76 26 V. 5 17 ii --, Pontetiaet—......—. at 34 Sleafonl Si 46 Uppingham ........—. 50 60 25 35 18 .. 1 41 go' SS Wisbech--...... 50 58 16 ' 10 ..'r -- ...........•••••••• LEEDS CORN MARKET.—Dec. 22. The supply of Wheat has been considerably smaller than list week, but there has been a fair supply of Barley and other kinds of Grain. Not much business has been dose, ..,. and prices remain nearly the same. Wheat, Norfolk and Suffolk, 501 b. ...... 43s. to M. 4 - York. and Lincoln. 601 b. - .. Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Grinding Beans 63lb. Oats, Potato , . d —Mealing, Foreign 10d. to 11%d....English 10d. to 12 • 0e' 1034 1. Shelling 2Bs. to 30s. Pe r .. . r iot. mapeseed. English, 271. to 291 - —77" -- 7- , LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHANGE—Dec• rit _A„ The Whtat trade this morning w as d u ll , A t a r7", tl as of 3d. to 4d. per 701 h. In Oats a moderate busit t h '- transacted, at a decline of about 2d. per 451 b. grior descriptions of Barley were offering Id• to of n om! cheaper ; but there was no change in the value Oat . offering Is. to 24. per sack under previous rate s. parcels. Scarcely a sale was effected in Flour , tb "gb load : meal met a moderate demand, at a reduction ofl o y t : io r .ga, WIINAT. English, White, per 7011). -- R 8 c 3 9 lied fl g Scotch ' Welch, and Manz 8 6 • 3 Irish, White 8 3 9 --- Red • • '7 8 - 9 10 '" Foreign $ 5 aers, English, Welsh, and Scotch, per 451 b 3 9 6 Irish Foreign sa t ) BARLEY, English, Matting, per Imp. quarter 35 0 . Scotch and Irish, per 601bs. Feeding 4 2 4 7, • 56 43 BEANS, English, per Imperial quarter 0 7, Irish, &c. Foreign 39 0 n s. PEASE, English, per Imperial quarter 38 0 41 y --Foreign Fumit, English, per litiOlb -- Irish Osmaczt., English and Irish, per 2401bs INDIAN CORN, per 4-10113. Rye, per Imperial quarter MALT, per Ihiperial quarter IMPORT sr GRAIN for the Week ending 442728034 Dec. o:6oo 2 1 . 4 94r:4 :":" E ~ , Wheat. Oats. I Barley I Flour. 1 t2 1, r 9 5 43 . 4 12 3, r 5 5 0i1 . 1 (2 ,33 r5 6 . IForei_gn, Brig Ilrish s , , t. Sas.'oatnivi 18-134dit The great capitalist, whG scarcely limits hire' self to any object or country, whether-3 few penc e or • million or two are to be turned, is said to have been latt l Y engaged in forwarding to the Bank large supplies - Di r id ' contenting himself with the moderate gross proft of four• pence per ounce for the transaction. It is stated in the City that the visit paid 1 1 the Governor and some of the Directors of the Bank 0 1 England to the Ciuswert.r.on of the Excracaran, on Wed nesday, had reference to the projected reduction of the Four per Cents. It is also asserted that the reductioo to be attempted immediately after tl:e payment of the April dividends. BIRTH& On the 23d inst. at Alpha Lodge, the lady of Ale' General Ashworth, of a eon. On the 19th inet. at Cheltenham, the lady of J. worth, Esq. Commander It.N., of a 8811. At Mineral del Monte, Mexico, the lady of C. Tm.-- -- " 1. EAT, of a son. At Chatham, the lady of J. Best, Eb,q. of The lady of S. Woodhead, Esq. of N e thertkong• two sons and a daughter. MARRIED. the On the 24th last. at Cranford, .1. Maxi, Esq. o f Lady Caroline Fitzhardinge Berkeley, second daughte r _ _ the late Earl of Berkeley. - Os the 22d inst. at Westminster, Mr. George F" ik' aer, of High-street, Southwark, to Miss Mary Burton/ of Brighton. DIED. , .fter On the 23d i ns t., a t th e B rewer y, Whiteehapel, bits a few days' illness, Mr. Joseph Tickell, Jun., 46th year. On the 22d inst. at Bath, E. Pittston, Esq of APPle toe, Norfolk, aged '75. On the 23d inst. after an illness of great suffering, 11/ Portland -terrace, Regent's-park, Win. Wright cockl e ' Esq. eldest son of Dr. Cockle, of Terringtun St. John th Norfolk. On the 15th inst. at Windsor, tged 90, John Eito e Esq., formerly Lieutenant-Colonel of the Ist or R°Y Dragoons, in which he served with honour and integril for 50 years, and particularly distinguished himself by b ill gallantry and intrepidity in most of the memorable actio99 in Germany during the seven years' war. EAST INDIA.---DEATHS. At Hoonsoor, May 15, J. Trail!, Esq. Assistant -S u" geou on this EstabliAtneat. At Calcutta, June 3, Mr. J. Dunkin, aged 40. At Calcutta, May 17, Mr. J. Runtley, aged 29. , At Cailent, May 7, Terence, son of Thornas an, Esq. 4" "'Antra, AND Pwausaza n . 11118.130 TOUNfit Tin Orrzt% is) 114u.sivionowt.,1 1 des '- r adtbi -,,,~ are r th addn krid i neat bt a l l am and ! s utt lad ; Akti, At t bo n , and ciao see, call I Ailll here GI N hY a ton. ......... In, kr p 4F I pair d P , gl o , P Indi ri m Po 1 21