The Sun. — London, England, 1829-08-15 00:00:00

ittAm to defend Portugal, reserved their principal force for a blow against Holland ; their preparations for the last object being, however, carried on with a pomp and publicity little suitable to war. • * " We have seen that it was the work of the Mi nisters to have the troops in Sicily employed in the South of Spain, but yielding to the representations of Sir John Stuart, they permitted him to make this display of military foolery ; yet it is not with the bad or good success of these expeditions that this history has to deal, but with that palpable and direful ministerial incapacity which suffered two men, noto riously unfitted for war, to waste and dissipate the military strength of England on secondary objects, while a renowned Commander, placed at the most important point, was left without an adequate force. " For the first time since the commencement of the Peninsular war, sixty thousand Spanish troops, well armed and clothed, were collected in a mass, and in the right place, communicating with the British force. For the first time since Napoleon swayed the destiny of France, the principal army of that country had met with an important check ; die great Conqueror's fortune seemed to waver, and the moment had arrived when the British Government was called to display all its wisdom and energy. The Duke of York had performed his duty; he had paced above 90,000 superb soldier=, all disposable for offensive operations, in the hands of the Ministers; but the lawr knew not their value, and instead of concentrating them upon one, scattered them upon many points. Sir Arthur Wellesley might have had above eighty thousand British troops on the fron tiers of Poi tugal, and he was a General capable of wielding them. He was forced to commence a campaign upon which the fate of the Peninsula, a quick triumph, or a long protracted agony of twelve millions of people depended, with only twenty-two thousand ; while sixty thousand fighting men, and ships numerous enough to darken all the coasts of Spain, where waiting in Sicily and England for orders which were to doom them, one part to scorn, and the other to an inglorious and miserable fate. Shall the deliverance of the Peninsula, then, be attributed to the firmness and long-sighted policy of Ministers who gave these glaring proofs of improvidence ; or shall the glory of that great exploit lighten round the head of him who so manfully maintained the fierce struggle, even under the burden of their folly ?" Colonel Napier, we believe, only anticipates the judgment of an enlightened posterity, when he consigns the Cabinet of that day to disgrace. How many soi-disant heroes has Colonel Na , pier unlaurelled ? How beautifully he disposes of Sir Hudson Lowe and Sir John Stuart in a couple of sentences ! " As a preliminary measure, Murat attacked and carried the Island of Capri ; upon which occasion Sir Hudson Lowe first became known to history, by losing in a few days a port that, without any pre tensions to celebrity, might have been defended for as many years. Murat's demonstrations sufficed to impose upon Sir John Stuart, and from ten to twelve thousand British troops were thus paralysed at a most critical period." But we shall return to this interesting work.— rning Chronicle. _ We have made extracts from Irish Papers on the subject of a very singular charge delivered to the Grand Jury at Armagh by Mr. Justice Jebb, on the subject of Orange Processions. Mr. Justice Jebb dwells with fondness on the by gone glory of these processions ; as to the legality of which he delivers just well an opinion as is calculated to add to the distracted state of the country. The processions are not unlawful in themselves ; but if Magistrates think there is a reasonable ground for apprehending a collision of parties, they may order the people to disperse. As the Magistrates are all more or less tainted with Orangeism, they will take the one part of the opinion without concerning themselves with the other ; and as the Catholics will meet to op pose the processions, the Magistrates will act against them, and their feuds will be perpetuated. In pronouncing on any measure, the state of the country and the ways of thinking of the popula tion must be taken into consideration. If a set of French Ultras were to walk in procession in Paris on the Anniversary of the Battle of Water loo, to which the French nation are indebted for their beloved Royal Family, the consequence would unquestionably be bloodshed ; and it would be deemed the height of madness to allow such a procession. The Orange processions in Ireland commemorate an event, which, though in a natural point of view, as beneficial to the Catho lics as Waterloo to the French, can hardly ex cite very agreeable recollections in the descend ants of those whom it stript of their estates, and consigned to a century of degradation. They can do no good, and as they may lead to harm, they ought to be put down. Some other vent may surely be found for the overflowing activity of his Majesty's Protestant subjects of Ireland. Processions are , good or bad, according to cir cumstances ; and if the Irish Protestants suffer no other restriction on their liberty than that of not being allowed to have Orange processions, they have no great reason to complain. When men enjoy the benefits of the social state, they ought to reconcile themselves to a few priva. tions. We know the Irish lave fighting, and it may be deemed illiberal in us to wish to deny them a gratification of which they are so deeply enamoured. We, said the late Mr. Scully, in his celebrated advice to his brethren. "Wt are not like the Dutch or Austrians, dull, slow, and heavy machines; nor like the Spaniards and Neapolitans, indolent, debauched, or frivolous; but are, from our cradles, a bold, martial, and muscular people as ever existed. We are, be yond most nations, robust of constitution and frame, patient of fatigue, of cold and heat, hun ger and thirst, nimble, terrible in battle, rushing headlong upon the bayonet and the battery, and even prodigal of life in a favourite cause ; at our schools, our patron festivals, and our fairs, we make fighting and rough exercises our pastimes, nay our delight. What is act; has been more common in Ireland than to see the men of rival parishes and rival counties, meeting by choice and previous appointment, upon our fair-greens and race-grounds, and there with clubs and other weapons,, engaged in furious conflict for whole !lowa, with dreadful loss of limbs and lives, and all for the empty honours of their parish or county ?" We dis claim the wish to make all the world happy our way. But unfortunately when the Irish fight John Bull must pay the piper, The deaths are sufficient to keep the country unsettled, but not sufficient to prevent that regular overflow hf necessitous men, for whom no work can be found in their own country, and who are de stroying and degrading by their competition the unfortunate English labourer. We say, awry fore, let us hear no more of your liberty to walk in procession, or any other foolish nonsense, the inconvenient consequences of which we are doomed to feel. The best and only sound mode of proceeding is to take the liberty of knocking both of you about the head whenever you are seen in any suspicious postures. Till Irishmen, whether Protestants or Catholics, be come a great deal more rational than they are at present, the presumption is not far over-strained, that whenever a hundred or two of them are as- sembled, they are assembled for no good. The Dublin Evening Post reiterates the call for Martial Law, as the only means of preventing the Magistrates from doing mischief. The end to be looked after is the peace of the : country ; and if " more justice would be done at the drum head" than in Orange Courts with Orange Ju ries, why should not that remedy be tried ? " Upon the event of the trial of the homicides of Borris-o'kane (says our Dublin contemporary), at • the approachin,y, Assizrs of Tipperary, we appre hend that a great deal will depend. In this respect Government have certainly done their duty. By despatching the Solicitor-General, in whom the people, high and low of the entire county have, and most justly, the most unlimited confidence, they have given an earnest of the disposition by which they are animated, that, as fir as they are concerned, ample justice will be done. At the same time it will be borne in mind, that much will depend upon the Magistrates and Jurors. Government cannot do all : neither can the Judge. If there should be an acquittal, it will compel the Duke of Northumber land to take the government of this county into his hands ; for we repeat it, from a knowledge of the country, and an intimate acquaintance with the ex isting state of feeling, it will not be safe to leave the people to themselves. . * • From the time the Catholic Question was brought to its triumphant conclusion, it is needless to say that we ceased to belong to any party but that of Ireland. Our object has been, and continues to be, to consolidate that great settlement—to preach peace and good will to those wilting to listen to the voice of peace and good fellowship, and to throw behind us those angry reminiscences which have worked such a fearful quantity of evil to the country. But is it impossible im the pursuit of this great object to shut our eyes or our ears against the evidence of facts ? It was impossible when we saw the Orange corps congregating in the North, with the avowed and boasted intention of violating that peace which they broke—when we saw the police of the South set the laws at defiance—when we perceived, in short, the evidence of a system to countenance exaspera tion, and to thwart the designs of good government —in fine, when we saw Noblemen and Governors of counties, and persons bearing the King's Com mission of the Peace, and Clergymen of the Established Church confederating to render, as far as in them lay, all the efforts of the Government abortive—it was impossible to avoid denouncing the system. Some of our contemporaries think we went too far, and the Northern Whig, we remem- her, blame] us, when an insurrection was raging in the North, for calling for Martial Law. We have read every thing that our ingenious contemporary has said upon this subject with all the attention which his observations always merit ; but we have read, too, at the same time, an account of the pro ceedings of the Magistrates, and the conduct of the Orangemen on the spot, and the result is this—that General 'I hornton would do more justice at the drum-head than the persons who possess the local power in the county to which, upon this occasion, we particularly allude. Of this we are certain, that the people would have more confidence in that truly exemplary and prudent officer than in all the Governors, Magistrates, and Police of the country. And it is natural. What confidence can the people have in Magistrates who make it a boast that no rascally Papist' shall be admitted into the Police ? What confidence can Catholics have in a Bench, which, as Brunswickers, consigned them a thou sand times to destruction, which as Clergyman of th 6 Established Church threatened only the other day, to leave them without Cromwell's alternative, Hell or Connaught.' " We had hoped that when the Catholic Ques tion was se: tied, we should not be obliged to resort to these miserable recollections; but how, in the name of God, if they are constantly thrown in our teeth, can we avoid a recurrence to such topics ? " No—we are satisfied—if we would have peace now—and security for its continuance hereafter, that Government must alter its tone, with respect to the local authorities in different parts of the country, if not its system. It must not pay them— it need not pay them, we repeat, any deference. They are strong, certainly, but their chief power lies in the forbearance of Government."—Mid. Wishing well to the new system of Police, we should be sorry to see it fail, or even fall into any degree of disrepute, from any defect either in its materiel or arrangement. But we cannot disguise that we have heard it stated, that quite sufficient care had not been bestowed in the se lection of some of the men. Their height, health, and strength, have been scrupulously re garded—perhaps, indeed, to a fault—for we do not find, either in the " Memoirs of Vidocq," o r any of the other annals of thief-taking, that size has any thing to do with personal courage, or with that adeptness which is most wanting in a ferreter-out of offenders. What we hear com plained of is (we trust, to any great extent erroneously) that moral character has not been attended to quite as much as it ought to have been. As some corroboration of this, the pub lic must have seem that, only a few days ago, three fellows were taken before one of the Lam beth-street Magistrates, charged with a house or highway robbery, two of whom, on being inter rogated as to their occupations, said they had been just appointed to the new police—adding, with infinite sang froid, that if they had not been there, they Were to have been at Whitehall to be measured for their uniform. Whether the oversight we are alluding to be true to any considerable extent, is more, of course, than we are aware of. We would fain hope that is is not ;but even the one circumstance we have men tioned must be sufficient, we should imagine, to create suspicion, and to induce Colonel Rowan to have a minute inspection of the morale of his force before it goes into action. For it is not here as in a regiment ; the men, when on ser vice, will net be much under the eye of the Commander ; and it is, therefore, the more ue cessary that every thing should be done before hand, to ensure, as far as possible, an honest, steady and effective body of men. Though many of the present Police officers, no doubt, Are respectable men, it cannot be denied, we feae, that, in the lower grades of them especially, their integrity has been but too little attended to; and by a ridiculous esprit du corps among Ma eristrates, they have been 4lmost encouraged in mizdoing, nothing being so difficult, as too many have experienced, as to get so much as inquiry into, haw much less redress, for their misconduct. From thin error we trust the new Commissioners will steer clear. They will, of tours::, not abandon their men when in the right ; but they will be open, it is to be hoped, to every fair and reasonable com plaint, and prompt alike in their investiga tiop and decision. It is said that the parishes begin to gainplain bitterly of the nuinher of old and decrepit watchmen which the new system will throw upon their hand;,, anal probably upon the poor-rates, at the edge of winter. But why have old and decrepit men been employed ? Is not that one of the main causes which has led to the present result And if so, what right have they to complain who have produced the evil they complain of? They complain too, we hear, and apparently with much better reason, that the new Commissioners have rejected many of their present watchmen, merely on the score of their height. This, as we have already hinted, seems to be an over-squeamishness for which there is no solid foundation. To a military eye, and to that of a fine lady, a tall soldier, and an athletic footman are, no doubt, very graceful objects; but an army of giants is no more essential to wards forming a good police than the same qua lification would be necessary in the Navy, where it is well known height is rather an objection. In fact, we should have thought that men of all sizes (classed, if the Colonel wishes it, accord ing to their size) were best adapted to the vari ous kinds of duties which will devolve upon them. The Grenadiers, for instance, to quell a mob—the Lilliputians to steal silently and quietly upon the pickpocket.—Morning Herald. Some of our cotemporaries are exceedingly wroth with the Sultan, and wish him to be left to his fate, because, as they say, he will neither oppose the northern invaders, nor propose terms of peace to the Russian Autocrat. Now with regard to the matter of fighting, the Turk has shewn not only more disposition for that sort of amusement than the invaders in question have been well able to stow away, but much more than was ever expected of him ; and, with regard to offering terms of peace, of what use would it be for the Sultan to take such a step, knowing, as he does, that he can only obtain peace on the most humiliating and degrading terms ? The state of the campaign is assuredly less favourable to him now than it was at any previous time since the commencement of the %%al.; and there are always not a few, in such cases, who are ready to counsel that it is better to retain a little than to risk the loss of all ; but it :ought to be recollect ed, that however suitable this advice may be in the case of individuals who have only their own interest to consult, it is by no means adapted to the situation of those who have to consult the wishes and feelings of others. 'I he question is not with the Sultan, whether he shall retain a diadem of diminished splendour, or risk the total loss of it in the hopes of retaining it un impaired; but whether he shall sacrifice a third part of his subjects—for nearly to this extent do the demands of Russia go—in order to preserve the independence of the remainder, for such time as the northern Autocrat might find it convenient to permit them. Now we argue that the Sultan has no right to do the one, and that it would argue an ex treme lack of wisdom to dream for a moment of the other. Whatever concessions he might make for the sake of peace, would only be a stepping stone to further aggression, and the same ambi tious policy continue to be pursued until neither subject or foot of territory were left him. His true policy, therefore, we contend, is to stand firm—to maintain the integrity of his empire, and never to yield to the unjust demands of Russia, while there is a Mussulman left to wield a scymeter in his behalf. The Powers of Europe will then become more interested in his fate, the ambition of Russia made more palpable to all— and, in all probability, a general league be formed for confining the barbarian within the limits which nature has pointed out as the boundaries of his empire.—Morning Advertiser. SUMMER ASSIZES. MIDLAND CIRCUIT—DERBY, Auc. 13. Robert Borrows, aged 18, George Cooper, aged 20, Harriet Modell, aged 19, and Ann Eley, aged 19, were indicted fur a highway robbery. The Jury acquitted the women, and found both the men Guilty. ...- ....... —.... The LORD . CHIEF BARON ordered sentence of death to be recorded, and intimated to the convicts that they should be removed from this country for le remainder of their lives. John Burton was indicted for feloniously embez zling two half-crowns, the property of the church wardens of the parish of Chaddesden, whose servant he was at the time. The first and second count alleged the prisoner, who was the parish-clerk, to be the servant of the churchwardens ; the third and fourth, that he was the servant of the minister; and the fifth and sixth, that he was the servant of both the minister and churchwardens. The case for the prosecution having closed, the Learned Counsel for the defence took two objec tions to the evidence, as not sustaining the indict merit. The first was, that the prisoner was not properly described as the servant of any of the per sons mentioned in the indictment. He was stated to be the servant of the minister, or churchwardens, or both. Now they contended, that in his office of parish clerk he was not the servant of any of them ; for that had been always held to be an independent freehold office, and one whereby the owner would acquire a legal settlement; and as to his being em ployed by them to make a collection, a mere occa sional voluntary service as that would never consti tute him a servant in a legal point of view. Lord TENTERDEN—There is quite enough of doubt on the point, in my mind, to induce me to reserve it for the opinion of the 12 Judges. The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty, but re commended the prisoner to mercy on account of his former good character. Lord TENTERDEN told him, that whatever might be the decision of the other Judges upon the ques tions of law raised by his Learned Counsel, there could not be the slightest doubt of his guilt in a moral point of view. He would not now pronounce any sentence upon him, but he must remain in prison until the opinion of the Judges was pronounced. The Assizes terminated at an early hour to-day, the two special Jury cases having been settled. WESTERN CIRCUIT.-EXETER, AUG 13. Thomas Robinson, Edward Brown, Wm. Watson, Charles Morris, William Davison, and Edward Young, were placed at the bar, charged with having woku frcm the dwelling-house of Gregory Northy, at Devonpert, on the night of Monday, the 13th of July, about 1001. in sovereigns and half sovereigns, a crown piece of the reign of Queen Anne, three or four shillings, and two or three sixpenny pieces of the same reign, together with seven silver tea spoons, and two silver desert-spoons, his property ; also fbr having stolen from the same place, and at the same time, 16s. in silver, two pair of gold ear rings, and one tortoiseshell snuff-box, the property of Mary Northy, daughter of the prosecutor. This trial excited considerable interest, from the circumstance of some of the prisoners being stated to have been implicated in robberies and attempted robberies of several country banks. We understand that most, if not all of them, are well known under a variety of flames to the police of London and other places, Robinson and Brown, the former of whom has passed under the names of Broad and Thornley, and the latier, who is known as Big Ned or Ned Edwards, and has also assumed the name of Jenkins, were apprehended in April last year at Truro, on suspicion of an attempt upon the bank in that town. , At that time no less than 250 skeleton keys were found in the possession of Robinson, who is an excellent whitesmith, and is represented as having been employed in making keys for most of the persons engaged in bank robberies. It has been stated to us that the prisoner is in the habit of making a boast of the number, frequency, and daring character of his attacks upon banks : and that he has even gone so far as to threaten some bankers with a visit. A story is also told of hi s h av i n g had the hardihood to te ll a Magistrate, who is also a banker, before whotn he was examined upon some charge, that some years ago he succeeded in effect ing an entrance into his bank, but finding nothing worth carrying away, he contented himself with writing his name in one of the books, adding that had the public been as well aware of tho.poverty of the establishment as he was, its credit would very speedily have been impaired. Of course this is a fabrication as far as relates to the supposed poverty of the firm, and the entrance of the bank by the pri soner; not but we consider him, from the whole tenour of his bearing throughout the present pro- ceedings, perfectly capable of inventing arid utter ing such a statement in the spirit of bravado which appears to actuate him. - When brought before Mr. Husband, the Devonport banker, and the committing Magistrate in this case, Robinson said, with equal effrontery and coolness, "Oh, Sir, I ought to have been one of your partners before this." Whether this was said with reference to the sums of money he represented himself as having in various banks throughout the country, or whether it related to a contemplated attack on the Devonpert bank, and the prisoner's possession by such means of a good deal of its paper, we do not undertake to say. Cer tain it is, that Robinson and his companion Brown were sent to prison under the Vagrant Act at Truro, for the corduct before referred to. The meditated attack upon the Devonport bank is in the recollec tion of all our reader. There can be little doubt that the prisoners upon this charge did not confine their views to the robbery of publicans' houses. Young and Davison were observed reconnoitring the bank at Devonport, to which the former made his approaches by courting a maid-servant living on the premises. While planning this attempt, the prisoners amused themselves by flying at lower game. Mrs. Farley, the owner of the Lord High Admiral public-house, at Stonehouse, who gave her evidence upon this trial, is said to have had a nar row escape. She was in the habit of keeping a large sum, 7 or 8001. in cash by her, a circumstance which came to the knowledge of the prisoners, and it was entirely owing to an accident that she was not plundered. Mr. ERSKINE stated the case for the prosecution, and adduced a vast body of evidence in support of it. Mr. Gregory Northy examined—l keep the India Arms, in Cornwall -street, Devonport. My son and daughter live with me. A charwoman works in the house, but does not sleep there. My bed-room is on the second floor; it contains two beds, arid my daughter also sleeps there. I keep my money in a till contained in a chest at the head of my bed. On Tuesday, the 14th of July, about seven in the even ing, I received information from my daughter, in consequence of which I went up stairs to the bed room. I went to my chest, and saw it had been broken open by some instrument. I observed that li the money (about 1001. in sovereigns and half sove reigns) was gone. I had seen it safe on the Satur day before. There was a chest in the room belong ing to my daughter, which was near her bed; it was also broken open. I had in my chest one crown-piece, three or four shillings, one or two six pences, all Queen Anne's coin. The chest was al ways kept locked. I kept the key. On discovering my loss, I sent my son for Mr. Ellis (an officer.)- 1 know Brown (points him out). He was in the habit of coining to my house for about two months before the robbery. I saw him at my house on the night of the 13th of July, about ten o'clock. He had a glass of rum and water, which he drank in the bar. He went away in three or four minutes, passing through the front door; he came back again in about ten minutes, and had another glass of rum and water in the bar. He then went out again, and I did not see him any more. Before this he user' generally to go into the back room, and drink his grog there, sometimes alone, and sometimes in com pany. The back room is 25 feet from the bar, and about four from the staircase leading to my bed room. A person in the bar cannot see what is doing in the back room or on the staircase. There is a side passage to the back room without passing through the bar. When Brown came, there was a stranger there; they did not seem acquainted. I was conversing with the stranger a good deal. I now see him in the dock, and understand his name is Young. (Points him out.) I was not in my bed-room during the day, not from the time I rose (six o'clock in the morning) till I went to bed at a quarter or half-past twelve. The house was shut about a quarter past eleven. My daugh ter was at home that evening, but my son went out about half-past seven, and returned about half-past eleven. My daughter and I were sometimes in the bar, and sometimes in the tap-room, during the evening. The key of my chest was never out of my possession. 1 never sent any member of my family to it. I saw an iron instrument fitted to the marks on the chest by one of the constables. I took three sovereigns and a half from the chest on Satur day evening. The money was then safe. Ellis, a peace officer of Devonport, spoke to hav ing visited the prosecutor's premises on the morning after the robbery. Ile saw a chest in Mr. Northy's bed-room, and observed that it had been broken open. Witness went in search of some of the pri soners, whom he suspected of the robbery. Went to Morris's lodgings in Stonehouse-lane, near the Royal Hospital : was directed there by the witness Cohost. Did not find Morris there, but subse quently found him in charge of Woods, an , Officer, who had apprehended him. Took him in a coach to Devonport; on the way charged him with being concerned in the robbery of the prosecutor. Pri soner said he knew nothing about it ; that he had not been at Devonport that night, and could prove being in his lodgings at ten o'clock. On searching him, five sovereigns and a half, three half-crowns, and two sixpences were found in his pockets. Wit ness havingasked his name,prisoner said he shouldgive it before the Magistrates. Went in company with a person named Abbott to Plymouth, to the Rich mond Inn, and found in a small back room Robinson, Watson, Davison, Young, and Brown. Witness informed prisoners of the charge against them, and took them into custody. Robinson laughed, and said we were all wrong. Young and Watson got into the middle of the room, and showed symptoms of resistance. Witness upon this opened the door half-way, anti said, as if addressing somebody below stairs, " Now, my men, fix your bayonets, and suffer nobody to escape." I called Robinson by his name, and told him he ought to know better than permit resistance, as we were determined to take them info custody. Robinson said they would go with us if we did not handcuff them. He after wards attempted to escape, but without success. Robinson said, " I was not at Devonport last night. You ought to know me better than to think I would be guilty of such a paltry robbery as that. You know if ever I do any thing, it is something worth talking of." I found three sovereigns, twenty-four shillings, and one sixpence upon him. I showed part of that money to prosecutor's daughter. She had previously given me a description of a shilling that was taken from her box. On seeing the parcel of money, she identified one of the shillings as the coin in question. (The shilling was here produced, arid identified by Miss Northy.) Taverner, another officer, described his having apprehended Morris at Stonehouse. On being told of the robbery for which he was taken into custody, prisoner declared that he knew nothing about it, and did not know Devonport at all. He objected to be ing searched, and resisted. Witness handcuffed him, and found upon his person some sovereigns and silver. Was in company with Ellis at the Rich mond Inn when Watson was apprehended. On being searched, five sovereigns, a half sovereign, ten shillings in silver, a pencil-case, three knives, and a watch, were found upon him. Produces the prose cutor's and his daughter's chests. Miss Northy identified her chest and work-box. After which other evidence was adduced, and Mr. Justice BunnouGn charged the Jury, who acquitted Davison, and found all the other prisoners Guilty. Sentence was not passed. The trial occupied the Court nearly ten hours. NORFOLK CIRCUIT—NORWICEI, Aua. 13. THE KING v. IRELAND AND ROBERT WATTS. This was en ex-eicio information, filed by his Majesty's Attorney-General, against the two de fendants, for assaulting Captain Edward Delafosse, Thomas Leigh, and Thomas Chalkley, persons em- ployed ;n the service of the Custotm, at Antingham, on the coast of Norfolk, and unlawfully and vio lently hindering, obstructing, and resisting them in the due execution of their duty in such employ. — There were numerous other counts, but the above was the general tenour of them. Mr. Serjeant STORKS stated the case on behalf of the Crown. On the 31st of December last, it hap- pened that Capt. Delafosse, commander of the pre ventive service on the Mundesley station, having learned that am extensive landing of prohibited goods had taken place at a spot called " Gillham's Falls," proceeded thither, and found the marks of cart wheels, and every indication of the truth of the in formation he had received. These wheel-marks he traced to a place called Trunch, where lived the father and one of the brothers of the two defendalts. There he found carts in a very dirty, and horses in a very heated state. On the following day, his suspi cions took him to the house of the defendent Ireland Watta, at Antingham ; and he took with him a con stable and a considerable body of assistants. There he found the defendants, told them that he was come to search the house for smuggled goods,and produced his authority, which is termed a "writ of assistance." They then went into the house, the writ was again shown, and a part of it read to the defendants, and the officers proceeded to search the premises. As soon as they had commenced their search, the de fendarts commenced an equally determined resist ance; they collared the officers, obstructed their en trance into the inner rooms, and attempted to throw them over the banisters. The officers, in their own defe.ice were obliged to produce their pistols, and the affray seemed likely to become of the most serious consequence. The defendant Robert Watts, baring his breast, invited the Captain to shoot, and endea voured to provoke him to extreme measures. Lord Suffield was sent for, and while the messenger was absent, one of the defendants said to the Captain, " Your lad is very slow; if he don't make haste, the sun will be down," alluding to the power of the officers to search houses during the day-time only, which pretty clearly showed that he was tolerably well acquainted with what is called in that part of the county " smugglers' law." Whilst they were waiting for the arrival of Lord Suffield, a brother of the defendants,and another person, were observed to drive a cart out of his yard at a most furious pace, and Ireland cried out lustily, " Flog away, my boys l" Of course this cart contained no contra band goods. The only questions for the jury were, whether the officers were in the due execution of their duty, and whether they were obstructed ? With respect to the latter point, they would hear the evidence : on the former, he understood that some objection in point of law was to be made to the legality of the writ of assistance, which had ex isted for upwards of 200 years, and under which the officers acted on the present occasion. Captain Delafosse corroborated the above state ment, and other witnesses proved the same facts. The " writ of assistance" under which the officers acted was then read, and as it was the foundation of the discussion which followed, and will become the subject of much discussion hereafter, in the Court above, and the question is one of the highest public importance, we will first give our readers some no tion of its contents. It is a writ issuing out of the Court of Exche quer, and is in his Majesty's name. It is directed, " To all and every the officers and ministers who now have, or hereafter shall have, any office, power, or authority, derived from or under the Commis sioners of our Admiralty of our High Admiral of our United Kingdom, for the time being; and to all and every our Vice-Admirals, Justices of the Peace, Mayors, Sheriffs, Constables, Bailiffs, Head boroughs, and all other our Officers, Ministers, and subjects, within every city, borough, town, and county of England," &c. It then recites that it has appointed certain persons to be Commissioners of Customs, and their duties, and that his Majesty has granted to them power to constitute and appoint any persons whom they choose to be Officers of Customs throughout the kingdom. - And then comes the enjoining or enacting part of the writ, in these words : " We, therefore, command you and every one of you (that is, all the subjects of the kingdom), that all excuses apart, you, and every one of you, do permit and suffer the said Commissioners of Customs [naming them], and the Deputies, Mi nisters, servants, and other officers of them the said C o mmissioners, and each of them, from time to time, as they shall think pro- per, as well by night as by day, to enter and go on board any ship, boat, or other ves sel, lying, riding, or being within, or coming into any port, creek, or haven of England, dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and such ship, boat, or vessel, then and there found, to search and survey, and the persons therein being strictly to examine, &c.; and in the daytime to go and enter into the houses, shops, cellars, warehouses, rooms, and other places, where any goods, wares, or merchandises, lie concealed, or are suspected to lie concealed, which are prohibited, or for which the customs and duties are not, or shall not be, duly paid and truly satisfied; and such houses, shops, cellars, warehouses, rooms, and other places, to secure and survey for the said goods, wares, and merchandises." After this the writ concludes, by his Majesty strictly enjoining and commanding that the said Commissioners of Customs, " and their Deputies, Ministers, servants, and other officers, and each of them, from time to time be aiding, assisting, and helping in the execution of the premises as is meet; and this you, or any of you, are in no wise to omit at your perils." This was the case on behalf of the Crown. Mr. KELLY and Mr. GUNNING then contended to the Court, that the defendants were entitled to be acquitted. Neither under the authority of the in strument produced, and which had been just read, nor under any statute, nor by the common law, had Captain Delafosse and his party any authority to enter the house of the defendants; and if they had no authority to enter the house, the defendants were justified in resisting them, and had therefore com mitted no offence. On the part of the Crown, it is contended, that the writ of assistance gives the officers on the Preventive service a right to search any house in which they may expect prohibited goods to be concealed; and that was the question which remained to be discussed, and which they con ceived ought to be decided in . the negative. Now, assuming that the King has power to grant ,a writ to search the house of any spe cific individual, in which smuggled goods may be suspected to be, this is not that case ; but, on the contrary, it is a writ to search the house, not of an individual, not of any body of named and speci fied persons, but of all the subjects of the realm. The writ commands that " all the subjects of this kingdom do suffer and permit" another equally in definite class of persons, to enter and to search their houses, wherever they may choose to suspect, or pretend that they suspect, that any prohibited goods may be there. But the Crown has no power at common law, or by virtue of its prerogative, and certainly none by any act of Parliament, to command the people of this kingdom to permit and suffer this to be done. This writ comes precisely within the principle of, and is liable to all the objections which could be urged against, general warrants; for, first, it is not directed to any particular or speci fied individual ; and, secondly, it is not directed against any individual by name; but it leaves it to be exercised by any persons who may be deputies, officers, or servants of the Commissioners of Cus toms, and upon any and all the subjects of the realm. It is a loose, general, vague, and indefinite com mand, and therefore void. Mr. Baron GARROW said that if there were any doubt as to the legality of these writs of assistance, it was not for a single Judge sitting at Nisi Prins to determine so grave and so difficult a question ; and therefore should not call on the Counsel for the Crown now to reply. He, however, was of opinion that the writ was legal and valid : to hold a con trary opinion would be to expose the lives of all ~ .j ,~. the °ricers of Customs to the most imminent danger , For the last 200 years the Barons of the ExchequeS had advised his Majesty to grant this Writ ; and it be illegal, its illegality must be determined u pon grave consideration and deliberation before the Court above. i The defendants were found Guilty. We have given the above case at length, from its importance as connected with a considerabl e branch of our revenue laws, and the liberty of th e subject, which is involved in the question of the generality—or rather the universality—of the Wer' rant under which the officers of Customs act. The question of course will not be suffered to rest as it stands at present. r;* NORTHERN CIRCUIT—YORK, Auo. IS. 1 REX V. HILL. Mr. ARCIIBOLD opened the indictment, which charged the defendant with assaulting a Mr. Sandal, and causing him to be wrongfully imprisoned. The Jury returned a verdict of Guilty. • Sir JAMES SCARLETT is expected in York this • t evening, being specially retained in the case of 4 " Doe, dem. Turnbull v. Shepherd," which is fixed I; 1 for to-morrow. The case excites great interest• Dr. Turnbull, the plaintiff, is an eminent physicia n in Hull, and claims considerable property under a will made by one of his patients. The object of the' 1 '1 trial is to decide whether the will was made under . i circumstances which render it valid. I , . OXFORD CIRCUIT—SHREWSBURY, Aua. 19 The Commission was opened here in the after noon of yesterday by Mr. Baron VAUGHAN. fi r ' Serjeant TARDY arrived at an earlier period of the day ; and this morning, after attending divine ser vice, Mr. Baron VAUGHAN took his seat On rb e , Crown Side, and Mr. Serjeant TARDY on, the Civ" Side. Charles Rose was indicted for stealing, on th e 17th of March last, a black mare, the propertl. ° George Rutter, of Uxbridge, in the county of ista dlesex. The prisoner offered no defence, and the JarY' without hesitation, found him guilty. Sentence of death recorded. Robert Poppett was indicted for killing Richar d Evans on the Bth day of August last. The Jury found the prisoner Guilty, and, after severe admonition from the Learned Judge, he wti 9 oreered to pay a fine of Is. and be discharged. EXETER, AUG. 11. I have obtained more minute details from oae of the agricultural districts of this county, in order to inform you accurately of the state of things. I take the parish of Crediton, with 5,000 inhahitants, bI which you may form an idea of the whole. V ie poor-rates are from 4s. to ss. in the pound on o ' 3 positive rental, and one half of the whole popoli" tion are paupers. There are some neighbouring parishes even w°r, e , off than this; and I have seen a calculation whi c h proves that the poor-rates, way-rates, and tithes' amount to more than the net rental. One of the worst effects of the system whi ch has been so long in operation is the ruin of all the small farmers. Here is one man who occupies wh at were formerly fourteen independent farms—so tha t thirteen families who were masters, are b e come labourers now, and the power of monopoly has, its silent encroachments, made, perhaps, a hundre d individuals, who were once capable o f su pporting themselves, the recipients of the wages of other s. , While pro fi ts of every sort ha ve fallen, and t h e prices of almost every species of raw commod it y have been greatly reduced, rents have scarcely 101- ered at all. A farm of 150 acres in this district let, 60 Yes A ll ago, for 1001. per annum, and the landlord 'paid Al the taxes and charges on it. In fact, at that r en ' o , it was long without a tenant. The same faro lets for 2701. per annum, the tenant paying all t to charges on it, and the poor-rates nearly am ° " °t r the former rent. If the situation of th e lanu°„ ,„u i . e a were compared with that of the manufacturer ag it would be found that the tendency of things ' l 7l been towards the aggrandizement of the landlord an the ruin of the manufacturer. To expect any ° ther result from Legislators, who are, with very few el ceptions, the landed aristocracy of the couritr,Y_; would show great ignorance of the first Prin ci r and motives of human conduct. The average wages paid to agricultural labo ur er9 l are 7s. per week, with the understanding tha,. t t he as shall be provided with such quantities of wil es " a t they may require at Bs. per bushel, and of bar 4s. per bushel. Other labourers receive only 00. per week, and obtain their wheat and barley add er and 3s. per bushel. The general allowance of Oer v is three pints per day. The prospects of the c ' u o y crop are greater than for many years, and it , 111 . 0 already be bought in retail, clandestinely, at 2°' r quart. or The allowance made by parish officers to the e er is, for a man and his wife, estimated at Bs. 6(1. P i be week. This is the sum made up to him from ' poor-rates. . 0 0; Formerly there was a large weaving popula r ' but the decline of the export trade has greatly ere minished the number of weavers. Long ell°, dio made to a considerable extent for the East e to in Company; but an industrious weaver cannot ou.os more than ss. per week. The consequence is t jg few men are now employed; and, as the laboured not very oppressive, women are principally eng4 _ at the looms. t hat The opinion here of the most intelligent is, na the crop will not be more than average c ro p s, t Oa a will by no means cover last year's deficiency. 1 " 4 deficiency was so great that the largest mille r in , neighbourhood says he supplied him self with 6/ei sixths of his consumption out of the county. Ne er , one-third of the farmers were comp elled to bu y s for their own farms. One here, who sowed fear acres of wheat-land last year, mentioned that, aft,e, t providing for his family, servants, and seed for "'0 present harvest, he had only thirty bushels lean t, send to market, and lie ought to have had 50 ' - least as a fair average crop. 00- In the poorer clay lands the ears are small promiscuously into a field and grasping a Band ing:,,, ful, you will find very few which are rich in gr'''''„'st From the hundred of Lifton, I hear the 1 0°1- . l 0 is getting on extremely well : a large propo rtion ais , already housed, and through the whole o f this e d trict the corn was never finer. It is well kcar/1 and the crop is heavy.—Morning Papa.. A pauper chargeable to the parish Of C : penharntttha was lately employed at a public-house l° place to clean it. A dinner was sent out to ber, c ° " il .g' ing she r lamb, potasneer,toes, peas, and strong ha d abort "whicithett needed with a saying that she - i e t b to cut her own meat from the joint, and to dine it sc family, and could not, theref ore, brook uch an ' the ° -Bath Chronicle. MARRIED. On the 13th inst., at i3rackley' I Northampton s hire, boltthee Rev. C. A. Sage, Vicar, John . n W. Cowley, E hq. tr Buckingham, . ckingliam, to Eliz ibeth, only daughte r of Thotoit nold, Esq. of the former place. r r h roA 4 On the 12th inst., at Baswick, near Stafford, (k)lt Salt, Esq., of Weeping Cross , elde st son of J. s; lau Esq., to Harriet Letitia Petit, elde st dau g hter of ti'e Rey. John Hayes Petit. re o On the 13th inst., at Cheddleton Church, Thora,,,Ml,..piti Platt, Esq., of Child's-hill, Hampstead, Fellow of ": 10 100 College, Cambridge, to Anne, youngest daughter of Leigh, Esq., of Consall, in the county of Stafford. On the 12th inst. at Heston, Middlesex, Francis ow, Graham, Esq., of Cranford , to Harriet, y oungest dad' of George Suart, Esq. of Sutton, Middlesex. DIED. On the 14th inst., in I3erners-street, Oxford-1.A% Thomas Nutliall, Esq., a Colonel of Cavalry on the NI . 4 , Establishment in the Hon. East India Company's sersq' PILIN TED and PUBLISHED by MURDO YOUNG, a! • OrricE, 112 ; LosnoN.