The Sun. — London, England, 1837-06-16 00:00:00

Justice to distinguished foreign officers, who had with great credit spent the greater part of their lives in the service of „their country. In 1815 a Bill h a d b een p asse d t o ena bl e for eign officers to attain superior regimental rank in our se "ice. By some technical objection this was held to ex clude three distinguished foreign officers, one of %%horn was Baro n had Tuyl, from the benefit of the late brevet. The Bill a subsidiary object, to legalise enlistment of foreigners into our service to a limited extent. .Sir H. HARDINGE trusted, as part of t l 7, ob j ect of the Bil l was to do justice to me r itorious lind distinguished officers, that his Gallant friend wq,kild not persevere in his , !amendment, as he could d() to when the Report was trough t up. The Bill then went through Committee, Ivitbout 4rnend rnent, and the Report was ordered to be received this day. THE . Col one l SIBTHO RP B wi U sh D ed G to ET ask a question of the C hancello r of the Exchequer on a subject about which the greatest anxiety was felt in the City. The Hon. Member was proceeding to make some observations, when The SPEAKER said the Hon. Member was not in ord er . There was no question before the House, and it was not competent for the Hon. and Gallant Member to go into any argument. He should confine himself to the questio n lie wished to ask. colonel SII3THORP said, then he wished to put two questions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. First— wbttlier or not he meant to bring on the Budget at all ; second! • if he did, when he intended to bring it forward? 41The CH ANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—The o n. and Gallant Member had put to him two questions. "0 the former, whether he intended to bring forward the "ndget at all, be answered yes ; to the question, when he meant to d o so, he was not then prepared to give any reply. The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at Half-past One o'Clock. HOUSE OF LORDS, JUNE 15. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at Five o'clock. Sir H. PARNELL and other Members of the House of dill, brou g ht u p th e D un d ee P o li ce Bill, t h e B at h G as 'pill, the Durham Junction Rlilway Bill, the Wark worth Harbour Bill, and the Grand Junction Railway Amend ment Bill, The Marquis of DO WNSHIRE reported the Belfast Harbour Bill with amendments. The Duke of RICHMOND moved that a message be lent to the Commons for a Copy of the Report of the Co mmittee of that House last Session on prisons. Lord RAYLEIGH presented a petition from Chelms ford in favour of Church-rates. Lord BURLINGTON presented petitions in favour of a Lord' s Day Bill. Lord BRO UGHAM presented a petition from St. Pancras against the Necropolis Cemetery Bill. The Marqui s o f LONDONDERRY b egge d t h at t h e Noble Lord near him would postpone till Friday week next the, se con d reading of the Bridlington Harbour Bill, as the documents he had moved for had not been laid on the tabl e. The Earl of HAREWOOD said that the production of th e papers could make no difference in the consideration of the Bill, and he would therefore go on with the Bill to morrovr, if permitted, by the House to do so. Marquis of LONDONDERRY sa id th a t th e 0 ",. °le Lord would b es t consu lt th e i n t eres t s o f t h e peop l e the North of England by consentineo the postponement. The E ar l o f H A R EWOO D then consented to the P os tponeme n t till to-morrow week. POST-OFFICE BILLS. The Earl of LICHFIELD, in proposing the second reading o f t h ese Bills, said that he did not anticipate ITY oppositi on , as the measure was to consolidate the 150 Acts by which the Post-office business was no w r egulated The object was also to assimilate the laws in E ngland and Ireland. Lord ELLENBOROUGH did not intend to oppose the Bills, but it seemed to him that they had not been sub mitted to the heads of departments. He referred to a com munication between England and India, which he consi dered was impossible, as the rate of postage to Egypt was so high, and that to India by the Cape was so small. The Duke of RICHMOND said that it. was out of the Power of that House to interfere in any of the clauses re lating to the taxation of letters. Ho thought, how ever, that the high rates of postage tended to en courage fraud.—(Hear, hear.) There was a provision in the Bill also, which would bear hard upon the trustees of Roads, for as according to the Bill mail-coaches went free of tolls, and as it was proposed to send letters by stage-coaches, it would be hard if they should go free of toll also. He contended also that there should have been a clause introduced to repeal the halfpenny extra pos tage in Scotland. He should like that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee out of which it would come much im proved. Lord ELLENBOROUGH wished to know if there was any clause in the Bill to charge extra postage on a doubl e letter ? After a few words from Lord HADDINGTON, The Duke of RICHMOND said that what he meant ,was that h e d es i re d t h at t h e w h o l e o f t h e to ll s should by paid by the Government. Lord HADDINGTON agreed with this view, and had When in the other House proposed a measure to this effect. Lord BROUGHAM said that the reason why this had not been agreed to was, that in Scotland it was felt that the tolls would amount to more than the additional half- Penny, Lord LICHFIELD said that the objections made in rbyeference to the communication with India would be met Pthe ar rangement made by Government with the East odia Company. In reference to the additional halfpenny, did not amount to the tolls paid ; and in respect to 'double letters, the 26th clause provided for extra payment for th em. Lord ASHBURTON said that the consolidation of the Post -office Acts would render future changes in the system 1 :ore simpl e an d easy. He objected, however, to the enor mous amount of the rates of postage, and he thought they a bettld be reduced. Lord DUNGANNON said that, in respect to referring toe Bills to a Select Committee, he had no objection where it was practicable that such a course should be adop te d ; but in the present case, if the Bills were altered, they would be thrown out by the ether House. 7—(l-l ear, hear.) In reference to the rates of postage, it was the intention of the Post-office to reduce them. The Earl of LICHFIELD said that where letters were sent by a circuitous route there would be no extra charge made. With respect to the revenue of the Post-office he b egged to say that there had been no falling off, but an in crease, as would be seen from the following Gross Revenue. re t urn : Years. Net Revemw. 1827 £2,278,412 £1,484,164 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 jn 1836 respect to Mr. Hill's propositions, they were the most wild and visionary he had ever heard of : it was a fair ques tion whether the rate of postage would not admit of some r eduction, and the revenue not suffer from it. Lord ASHBURTON said that the Noble Earl, like all other postmasters, looked on the post-office as a means of taxation rather than, as a great engine of civilization and commerce. He would contend that the increase of letters "old be itumense if the rate of postage were diminished. A fter a fe w wor d s f rom the Duke of RICHMOND, t he several Bills were read a second time. Th e E arl of SHAFTESBURY and the Bishop of GLOUCESTER presented p e titi ons aga i ns t the abolition of Church -rates. di Lord SEGR AVE presented a petition from the guar sof union in Gl ouces t ers hi re , pray i ng t h at t h e land r(„s of small t enements m i g h t b e rated, and not the tenants. lAa he M arqu i s of I3UTE presented a petition from a . r e,e in Ayrshire against travelling upon Sunday. Itt er F ITZWILLIAM wished to know from the Noble • 84,..quis what party or what animal offended against the 3,,,thlth by the railway engines running upon Sundays ? Marquis of BUTE, without concurring in the full petitions petitions confided to him, such as were respect- A$ Y Worded, h e felt it his duty to present to Parl i ament. I to th e " animals" that were worked by railway engines Sundays, he considered that they were the individuals 7Ployed about the engines. WAR IN SPAIN. rft ' r u he M arquess of LONDONDERRY would state that th e ;irity of that House condemned the mode in which ce h a ar was conducted in Spain—a majority of the public • e nthed it, and he know that a majority of Europe ,:elrantly lamented the unfortunate war in which they t r i t e i e t ngaged, and which Aid no honour nor credit to the tisl arms; but which he, in common with every Bri tv.sti sold; i or, must lament. It was with these views that he ,:ed to know if the same system 'was to be continued ; tiwhether efforts would still be made on the part of his cstY's Government to raise a new levy, or to have a new e ( !. l . ° P and whether they were to be supplied with all tbe ""ogencies of war—whether they were to have arms, ammunition,had and artillery, supplied to them—things that , a lready cost th e country half it million of money ; and t,:tust say th at, l ooking to the economy of the country, if tilie s uccess of Don Carlos should ultimately occur, whe tishr mean s h a d been taken o f having refunded to the Public that which was thus expended ? He wished to nnerstand if the same system was to be carried on, and if they were to pursue the course already adopted ? Another question that he had to ask—and it was one of Vtlry great importance—it was to ask of thb Noble Viscount at the head of his Majesty's tiovernment whether he had at tempted, and +.\'hether he had effected, putting a stop to that which the Noble Viscount had himself deelm-ed in his Place in rdriiament were the entiguitiafty proceedings, and tli extraordinary rondo hi which the war had been carried on ? Had th e Noble Viscount, in pursuance of that de tertnination, sent out British officers or a diplomatic agent, with the view of establishing, and seeing actually carried into effect in the Basque provinces, that which was called the Elliot Convention ? Had that attempt been made ? If it had, bad it been carried into effect ? If so, then he was most grateful to the Noble Viscount—he should be de lighted to hear it. If he had done so, the Durango de cree must naturally fall to the ground in consequence. If it had been done, they would not so lately have had so many instances of bloodshed and massacre committed by those, who, under the guise of Spaniards, committed them with English arms and English muskets. He had to observe, that if an enlightened statesman or an en lightened general in the course of a campaign made a mistake in his march, or that the object desired (lid not turn out according to his wish, then a prudent ge neral or an enlightened statesman would, without diffi culty, make a retrograde motion, and recover the ground that he had lost. But it was left to the Noble Viscount obstinately, pertinaciously, and in a bigoted manner, to ad here to the line he bad first taken with respect to the em ployment of British troops in the service ; so that no representations made to him, no feeling exhibited out of , doors, no representations made to him by his ally, he meant the King of the French—nothing could arrest the Noble Viscount in the reckless career he had once resolved upon pursuing. The Noble Viscount had differed with him upon a former occasion as to what would be the probable ter mination of the war. He would say to the Noble Viscount, that success in this, as in any thing else, might be considered to justify the course adopted. The Noble Viscount would find that he had not that to maintain him in his present position. He had put upon paper what had been the situation of Don Carlos at the close of the last Session, and the information he was now about giving be had obtained from various sources. He had put together the state of the forces last year, and at present. In 1835, for he thought it fairer to take the former period, " the Christinos had, including militia, natives amounting to 275,000 men contending against the Carlists, besides three foreign legions, viz., British, 10.000 ; French, 6,000 ; and Portuguese, 5,000 ; independent of naval forces." That was the state of the Queen's forces at that time. They had three places in the Basque provinces ; they had, too, the British Legion, and they had the British fleet on their flank ; and yet from that time to the present the war had been sustained by Don Carlos ; and he had, notwithstand ing all the opposition made to him, sustained hims e lf aga i ns t the whale of the Queen's forces united together.--(Hear.) " At the end of 1835 the Carlist forces were—infantry in Navarre, 11,300 ; Alaya, 5,500 ; Guipuscoa, 5,050 ; Biscay, 6,750 ; and Castilians, operating in the above provinces, 5,350. Also cavalry, 1,300 ; and artillery, 350.—Total, 35,600 regulars, besides 10,000 armed peasants. " In Catalonia there were then in the various districts, but badly armed, 22,000 ; in Arragon, under Cabrera, 5,000 ; and under Quilez, 4,000 ; in Valencia, La Mancha, Toledo, in flying columns, 6,500 ; in Galicia, under Lopez, 3,000 ; in Castile, Rioja, Estremadura, Andalusia, and various parts of the kingdom, in small bands, 6,ooo.—Total, 56,500. " The Carlist forces may be now stated thus : In the Basque provinces and Navarre, for their de fence, and including armed peasants Under the Infante, gone to Catalonia 12,000 In Catalonia, well armed, under various leaders, and organized, 23 battalions, say 20,000 In Valencia, under Cabrera, Serrador, and other leaders 16,000 In Lower Arragon, now chiefly with the Infante's expedition In various part s o f t h e ki ng d om , i n sma ll b an d s 6OOO Total 99,000" Was it wise, then, was it expedient, in his Majesty's Go vernment pursuimg a course which could only lead to the sufferings of their unhappy countrymen, without affording the smallest chance of a successful issue to the war ? The Noble Viscount told him on February the 12th, " I have every hope that a speedy and happy termination will be put to the Spanish contest, through the means now in opera tion. There is a prospect of this result, from the conduct pursued by the present Government of Spain. There is no one, my Lo r d s , so i ncura bl e as a prophet ; the spirit of prediction is a most obstinate disease. I do not know whether the Noble Marquis has any adequate reason for declaring our prediction will be falsified, but I have every reason to believe what I have said will turn out to be the fact—and what was the fact ?" The Noble Lord, too, at the head of the Admiralty, said to him this also :—" I shall only add, that I speak from informa tion shich I have derived from authorities in Spain, and probably from less public sources than those on which the Noble Marquis relies. From these I arrive at the conclu sion, that General Evans is likely to pursue that successful course which he has hitherto done." Now, such were the predictions that had been uttered, and they saw that they had been most unsuccessful ; but upon the grounds he had stated he wished the country to be informed—" Whe ther any instructions or authority have been sent to Col. Wylde, British Commissioner in the North of Spain, to aid the formation of any new British Auxiliary Legion, or to lend his exertions to induce British soldiers to enter the ser vice of the Queen of Spain ?"—" Whether any further communications have been received from the Spanish Go vernment relating to their efforts to arrest the sanguinary system of the warfare." If the information that he wished for were received, then, on a future occasion, he should wish it to be laid before the House ; or, if it were con tended that no information should be afforded, or that no authority had been given to Colonel Wylde, then it would be satisfactory to hear at last, and he hoped they would do so, that tke means had , been taken for preventing that which they must all lament, the continued effusion of blood, and to the effecting of the war being carried on in a more civilised and satisfactory manner. These were the two points upon which he should press for information on his Majesty's Government ; but it would be also desirable to know—and he was afraid that he could not obtain it from the Noble Viscount —whether or not his Majesty's Government had been made acquainted by their great ally, the King of the French, that it was his Majesty's deter mination to limit his interference in the cause of Spain, strictly to the stipulations of the Quadruple Alliance. He wished to know whether or not the Noble Viscount had received that declaration since the last Ses sion ?—(Hear, hear ) He wished also to call the Noble Viscount's attention to expressions Which had fallen from the King of the French, and in which he expressed his reluctance that the soldiers of that nation should march under any other colours than their own to any war in which it was proposed to them to be engaged . He asked whether the s e express i ons did not mean more than met the eye ? Could the Noble Viscount attach these ex pressions to the British marines Or the British soldiers? —(Hear, hear.) But it was come to this, when they saw British soldiers march with the Spanish cockade and wear at the same time the English uniform. Those were the questions he wished to ask. Viscount MELBOURNE observed that with respect to what would be the policy pursued, the renewing the Order in Council, he apprehended, was a sufficient answer to that question—(Cheers)—at the same time he begged leave to say that the renewal of the Order in Council, whatever might be thought by all who were originally opposed to it, was not precisely the same thing to be considered as if it were now for the first time made. Their Lordships were aware that it was not very easy to depart from a line of policy when once adopted ; that such a course would be attended with very great inconvenience s ; and that by having induced men to enter into a particular service by exempting them from the penalties of an Act of Parliament, and yet when those persons felt themselves hound to the same service by feeling, by honour, or by interest, then, perhaps, by renew ing the same severe penalties from which they had been exempted, to render it difficult for thom to continue in that service, thus to compel them to withdraw from that ser vice, could hardly be justifiable in a government which would make them liable to an Act of Parliament which they had themselves exempted those persons from ; and he must add, too, it would hardly be justifiable to the Spanish Government to have given to all Eu rope so marked an abandonment of its cause at such a moment ; and he felt, also, that such a course could not be consistent either with the engagements entered into or with the honour of his Majesty's Government, or the good faith of this country..—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) He thought it might have well been objected to —the original issuing of the order in council ; but still he thought it must be felt to be by no means the same ques tion, the renewing the order in council, and, in fact, liable to great objection not to have pursued that course. If it had not been done it would have been a blow inflicted upon the Spanish cause, and it would be a desertion and abandon ment of the engagement into which they had entered.— (Hear, hear.) If the Noble Lord had informed him of any particular dispatch with respect to which, or for which, he intended to call, then he should have made it undoubtedly his business to inform himself more distinctly as to its exist mice. The 'Noble Lord had said that he probably would not answer him upon a particular point upon which he made inquiry—whether there was or not a distinct intimation from the King of the French of his confining himself to the Qua druple Treaty ? Not only now, but at all other times, they never had any other intimation from the King of the French than that. it was strictly and truly his intention to execute that treaty, and to confine himself to the letter of that treaty ; and he bogged also explicitly to tell to the Noble Lord that all they ever required from the government of the King of the Frencli was that they would execute that treaty.— (Cheers.) But there was one matter upon which he could give to the Noble Lord the most satisfactory and explicit answer, and that was, that the Government of the King of the French had most distinctly disavowed the interprete lion of the terms and the expressions put into the speech of the King of the French—it was not their intention, and, furthermore, it did not enter into their imagination, to cast any imputation, to utter any reproach, or to throw any blame on the Government of England by the expressions which they had advised the King to use and to employ upon that occasion. The Noble Lord had said that there was a pertinacity in adhering to the course they were pursuing, that there was obstinacy in it, and that there was a violent and bigotted attachment to the system that. they had adopted ; while he must say, notwithstandin g the difficulties that were to be encountered, and the dangers to which they might be exposed, what they adhered to with tenacity, and what they always had adhered to, and what he hoped they would adhere to, was the execution and fulfilment of the treaties entered into by this country.— ( Hear, hear.) That was the obstinacy—that was the pertinacity--displayed upon this occasion, and no other— (Loud cheers.) The Noble Lord said that he denied the accuracy of his statement on a former occasion. He did not recollect the particular statement to which the Noble Lord referred ; but all he did upon a former oc cesion was to hope that the result would be different from that which the Noble Lord declared it would be ; and he took the liberty, in the same way, in differing with the Noble Lord in his expectations of the result of the war upon the present occasion as he had upon a former.— ( Hear.) With respect to the specific question which had been moved by the Noble Lord, he would say that it was very well known that the Order in Council suspended the operation of the Foreign Enlistment Act, and permitted persons to engage during the period of another year. He begged to say that Colonel Wylde had no specific instruc tions as to the reconstruction of the Legion. What he had done he did on his own responsibility, and his Majesty had approved his conduct on that occasion. Ho was not aware whether there were any specific dispatches relating to that subject on which their Lordships were all so deeply inte rested, namely, - the attempts which had been made to miti gate the sanguinary character of the war in Spain ; but he could confidently say that every possible exertion had been used by the persons in the employ of the British Govern ment, and more particularly by his . Majesty's Minister at Madrid, to induce a more humane mode of carrying on the war.—( Hear.) He thought, however, that the Noble Lerd took much too partial a view of one side when he supposed that the Durango decree would have 'been abandoned as a matter of course, if the forbearance he had spoken of had been practised by the other side. He begged to say that there never had been the slightest appearance of any disposition on the part of Don Carlos to withdraw that de cree, or to relax its severity—( Hear, hear)—on the contrary, it was acted upon in the most sanguinary and merciless spirit whenever the opportunity presented itself.—(Hear.) He begged further to remark, that there was a great diffe rence between the barbarities committed under the Durango decree and any barbarities which might have disgraced the Queen's troops, because they were contrary to the wish of the Government. They were against its will and orders, and were the result of the violence and ferocity of the ge nerals and troops themselves ; but the barbarities under the decree were the act of the Government—they were the act of that man who called himself King of Sdain. , —(Hear.) He would make inquiry to ascertain whether there wee such papers as the Noble Marquis had described ; he could not say distinctly that there were or that there were not ; but speaking for the Governmenr, he could pledge himself that every possible effort had been made to produce that result so strongly felt by their Lordships to be in the highest degree desirable.—(Cheers.) The Duke of WELLINGTON said, when his Ma jesty's subjects entered the service of a foreign power, they enlisted, he concluded, under certain engagements on the part of that power, and on certain terms in favour of those individuals, whether officers or soldiers. Now, lie wished to' ask the Noble Viscount, as a Minister of the Crown, was it desirable that the agent of his Majesty's Government —(Hear)—with the Spanish authorities acting on that frontier—was it prudent that that officer should have in terfered in the arrangements and engagements that were made, and that he should, as far as his conduct went—he would not put it higher than that—have given those indi viduals reason to believe that the arrangements and engage ments entered into were sanctioned or guaranteed by his Majesty's Government?—(Hear, hear.) If the officer in question had taken on himself conduct of that description without the command or instruction of his Majesty's Go vernment, he must say it appeared to him that he had done that which he ought not to have done.—(Hear.) He was an officer employed at the head-quarters of one of the Spanish armies for the purpose of sending intel ligence to his Majesty's Government of the course of proceedings there.—(Hear.) It was quite right that he shOuld give that intelligence ; it was quite right that he should be on the best terms with all those by whom the proceedings were regulated ; but for him to interfere be tween his Majesty's subjects and the foreign power—for him to assist in forming a Spanish Legion, or in making any new arrangements for the continuance of the services of his Majesty's subjects.in Spain—was for him to do that which might expose the Government to be called on by the individuals forming that force to make good the engage ments entered into with them by the Spanish Government. He hoped that the officer to whom he referred had not taken such course ; if he had, the Noble Viscount would hear of it hereafter.—(Hear.) The Earl of CAItNARVON trusted he perceived in what had fallen from the Noble Viscount on this subject some words of lurking repentance.—(Opposition cheers.) The Noble Viscount had said that it would be inconsistent with their former policy, and would inflict a serious injury on the Queen's cause, if this Government had refused to renew the Order in Council ; but he must confess he could not see in the conduct of the Spanish Government towards the British Legion much to entitle it to the particu lar consideration of this country. He believed that in many instances the Spanish Generals had exceeded the in structions of the Spanish Government ; but the instruction s of that Government had been to carry terror into the pro vinces by the most unsparing exaction of the last penalty of the law. What had been the opinion expressed in the speech of the King of the French with regard to the ques tion of interference in the affairs of Spain ? That speech said, " If the interests of France require it, the sons of France shall march to battle, but only under the glorious banners of their native country." Allusion had been made to the slaughter at Irun ; that slaughter was perpetrated, not exactly in cold blood, but after the victory was really won. This was a new mode to Englishmen of conducting war, and he hoped it would not be repeated. He did not think a Christian country justified in smiling out its children to shed the blood of their fellow-creatures when they had no just cause of quarrel with them.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") The body of Englishmen in arms in Spain had experienced greater reverses than the English in arms had suffered for a long time before. lie would con tend that by these reverses the interests of their country suffered severely. The glory which our arms acquired soma years ago in Spain had been seriously impaired by the interference. There had been a violation of a sound prin ciple, unredeemed by that success which might, which would, have dazzled opinion ; though, in his judgment, success even would have been a poor compensation for so great a departure from sound policy. in the beginning of the war, his Majesty's Ministers declared that they had no intention of interfering in the settlement of any of the great questions at issue. Our assistance was limited by the treaty, and by the additional articles to a naval co-opera tion, which at that time all knew meant only a blockade. Then the Legion was sent out ; and soon after his Ma jesty's Marines were sent to support the Legion —(Oppo sit ion cheers.) It was impossible to exaggerate the impor tance, in questions of foreign policy, of holding consistent language. The Noble Lord then proceeded to describe the sacrifices and the sufferings of the Basque people, which he attributed to the uncertain policy of the Govern- . went. His Lordship's delivery became so affected while addressing the House on this subject, that we could not understand what he said. At last he suddenly paused ; and having kept the House waiting for several seconds, ad mitted in a hurried manner that he was unable to proceed. A Noble Lord behind him suggested to him to resume his se-it, which, however, he declined doing. Having refreshed himself with a little water, he continued. He said he would call on his Majesty's Ministers to take care that they did not incur the risk of a general war—they might provoke the forbearance which had been observed towards them too far. And for what purpose would they incur such a risk ? The state of things in Spain was anything but satis fictory. The Constitution of Spain exhibited, at best, very little practical wisdom. The treaty entered into might turn out exceedingly unfortunate. It was impossible for any man to determine whether his Majesty's Ministers might not have involved themselves and every succeeding Administration in difficulties, the extent of which could not be ascertained. Suppose this civil war were to continue fur ten or fifteen years, would the people of this country consent to provide the money—would they bear the burden, year after year, of having to furnish such large sums, voted in furtherance of a murderous contest, which brought nothing but dishonour on the country—in furtherance of a murderous contest, in which they had no personal interest ? He most sincerely trusted that the Government would confine our interfe rence in the affairs of Spain to the narrowest possible limits. The Earl of MI NTO had risen merely for the purpose of saying a few words upon the ungenerous accusations — (Cheers)—which had been cast upon those brave men who under the conduct,of General Evans, had not only showed boldness and courage, but had, at the same time, exhibited a degree of foiLearance—(Hear, hear)—and humanity of which—and he would appeal to the Noble Duke, whose THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 1837. fairness and justice he well knew—there were but few ex amples in the history of war. During last year it had been the fashion to tell them that the course of the war was so de moralizing that the men engageq. in it would return altoge ther unfit for the usages of civilized society. He had not, how ever, found that such had been the effect of the war amongst them ; and he should be enabled to show, from documents, that the war had produced no such results; but, before he read the statement of an officer to that effect, be it remembered, whilst they were told so frequently that the Legion had dis graced themselv es , th ey did nut h ear one word of him who was the real author of all the atrocities that had been com mitted ; and who, when he put his name to those bar barous orders that had been issued, brought no disgrace on himself. No ! all the disgrace must be attached to those who were the sufferers under those orders. But the Noble Lord had said that the gallant men who had defended Irun had fallen on the bayonets of the British Legion, even after the town had been surrendered ; and he therefore thought it due to the brave men of that force to read first a passage from the official report of Lord John Hay, in which he said that " that important place surren dered on the 18th instant, and it had afforded him the greatest satisfaction to witness the respect which had been paid to the persons and property of the inhabitants of the town and its vicinity by her Catholic Majesty's troops." In a private letter accompanying that dispatch, after describing the gallantry with which the town had been carried, Lord John Hay observed " that every possible respect had been shown to the persons and property of the inhabitants. Irun had suffered ; but not a man had been killed after the town was surrendered."—(Hear, hear.) It was indeed wonderful that the officers were enabled to keep the troops so well, when it was remembered that the day before they left Hcrnani five of their men had been taken by the Carlists and shot, and that a Carlist Governor had shot fourteen men last year.—(Cheers.) If he wanted further evidence in support of his position, he would venture to refer to the testimony borne by the garrison of Irun to Don Carlos, in which they said that 700 of the people who owed the lives of their relations to the forbearance of the troops on that occasion, and called, in zealous terms, upon their cruel and barbarous Sovereign to repeal the disgrace ful orders which he had issued.—(Cheers.) Then he did think it was too much, after the provocations which that force had received, and the barbarity to which it had been subjected, for Noble Lords to come down to that House and to tell them that such was the cruel course of the war that it disgraced—whom ? not the Spaniards, but the Bri tish troops.—(Cheers.) He would not then trouble their Lordships by going into any other topics connected with that subject. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY, in reply, wished only to say a few words. When the Noble Lord opposite referred to the commission of atrocities by the Carlists, did he suppose that the Noble Lords on their side of the House did not view with abhorrence such a state of thing s ? But he must beg to deny the position of the Noble Lord that Don Carlos was the real author of such cruelties. He would assert that Don Carlos had been driven, despite himself and his own disposition, by the manner in which Christino Generals had commenced the war, to adopt the measures condemned. But what was the reason that those miseries had continued? Was it not because his Majesty's Government had not exercised that authority which the position of this country was calcu lated to afford, and had not employed their influence with th e Spanish Government by setting an example which he was confident would be immediately followed by all those , who had only opposed cruelty to cruelty ?—(Hear, hear, hear.) The Noble Viscount had appeared extremely tenacious as to the conduct of the British Legion. He might have an opinion as to the despatches ; and, in reference to one particular instance, there was no one who would not admit that if it had not been for the interposition of the gallant seamen who were engaged a very different result might have been produced.—(Hear, hear.) Let them remember when the gun-boats came up ; and let them look to the details of the last action, and compare them with the dispatches which had been formerly seen of the events that occurred in action. By the last dispatch he saw that the columns of the British Legion had been in confusion ; and all military men knew that that was a posi tion in which a force became perfectly useless. The Earl of MINTO explained. He had not accused Noble Lords opposite of approving of the cruelties -com mitted ; he had only said that they had not heard that loud condemnation of the cruelty of one party which had been bestowed on the other. The Earl of CARNARVON explained. The Marquis of LONDONDERRY then gave notice that on a future day he should move for any instructions which may have been delivered by the Govern.nent to Co lonel Wylde on the subject of the British Legion. Their Lordships then adjourned. AMERICAN PAPERS. NEW ORLEANS, MAY 13.—The True American says : " Oa the opening of the doors of the recusant banks, on Saturday morning, the rush for specie was considerable. The State Bank, foreseeing the storm, refused the redemp tion of any of her paper—such being the decision of the authorities at eight o'clock in the morning-. It would have been more magnanimous in her to have joined the six de clarers on the previous evening. The Union had the teme rity during the morning to refuse the acceptance of the non specie paying paper in payment of" United States bonds, but by one o'clock they saw the false step they had taken, and backed out in time. The Consolidation Association soon found that the cement which bound them together was not o f th a t adhesive nature, as, in their pride and vanity, they had led themselves to believe, for they ended by paying only fives and tens. " The citizens, canal, and merchants—the latter, by the way, is a mere agent of' the United States Bank—continued throughout the day to pay all descriptions of their notes presented. We must state here, that the Gas Light Bank, from its exceedingly limited circulation, and its intimate connection with Mr. Biddle's " dead monster," and the as sistance of the St. Charles Theatre, Arcade and Arcade Baths Company, was enabled to pay all demands against it." NEW ORLEANS, MAY 17.—The Citizens, Gas-light, Consolidated, and Merchants' Banks continued yesterday to redeem notes of all denominations presented at their coun ters. The call for specie upon them has considerably dc creased since Saturday, from the fact being well ascertained in the community, that they are disposed and competent to redeem every note they have out with the specie. Their notes are now considered as good as silver or gold, and will command, if they do not so already, a premium os er non specie paying banks. This is an inevitable consequence, and might have been easily foreseen. The amount redeemedin specie yesterday is as follows : Citizens Bank Gaslight Consolidated Merchants We have not received the returns from the two last banks, but their, payments were doubtless in proportion. The following banks also continued to redeem their 5 dol lar and 10 dollar notes, to wit, the Louisiana State Bank, Union Bank, Commercial Bank, and Improvement Bank. The Mechanics and Traders, Canal, Carrollton, Atchafeyla, Louisiana, and Orleans Banks refuse altogether to redeem any of their notes with the specie, and the most of them will not issue smaller notes in exchange for larger ones. The Orleans Bank being authorized by a clause in its char ter, has emitted notes from 1 to 5 dollars, for the purpose of making change. Gavernor Ritner, of Pennsylvania, has made a proclama tion, in which he refuses to call the Legislature together, as has been requested : " Because the evils under which the good people of this commonwealth labour have not been produced by the ac tion of the government of this state, but mainly by the un necessary and unauthorised interference of the general go vernment with th e currency an d mon i e d transact i ons o f th e country ; and, therefore, the constituted authorities of Penn sylvania cannot, now, by any active measures, arrest or ma terially mitigate. the misfortune, relief from which must come from the same source with the injury. " Because all the measures which have been proposed to be adopted by the State Legislature, to meet the emer gency, would, in my opinion, rather increase than diminish the real difficulties of our condition." The three objects for which the Legislature could be assembled, he sets forth as,ist— " Authority to the banks to issue notes of denomina tions less than five dollars, would be the infliction of a great permanent evil, to alleviate a temporary embarrass ment, and would only be the substitution of' the lower de nominations of a circulating medium for the higher deno minations of the same, without withdrawing any of the latter from circulation, or giving to any one stronger claims on public confidence than the other, thereby increasing the aggregate amount of bank notes, without increasing the amount of specie or prop,lrty represented, and thus inevit ably depreciating the actual value of the existing representa tive currency. " The passage rf a law to save thcfoifeiture Vibe char ters, to which the banks will become subject by continuine to refuse specie for their notes, would only increase and render more lasting the mischief. The instant result would, in all probability, be a vast and ruinous increase of the bank -note circulation—a correspondent diminution of its real value— a dangerous facility of obtaining bank loans—a sudden rise in the nominal value of all kinds of property—a further increase of the mad spirit of speculation—and, finally, the incurring of a real amount of debt, which must afterwards be paid in hard money, dollar for dollar, to the ruin of thousands. " The passage of a law for the stay of execution in case of debt, besides aggravating the evils just named, would ac custom our citizens to a diregard for the obligations of law, and f or punctuality in their dealings, and would beget a familiarity with the dependence of indebtedness wholly inconsistent with the character of Pennsylvania citizens. " For these reasons I deem it inexpedimt for the present to convene the Legislature." LATEST FROM TEXAS. We have received files of papers from Houston of the 9th inst., and from Velasco of the I 1 th. The Herald con tains at full length the message of President Houston to Congress on the meeting of that body. It gives an ani mated account of the flourishing state of the Itzpublic and the efficient condition of the army, which, he says, is able to meet any emergency. We may probably lay this docu ment before our readers in the next number of the Bee. A rumour prevailed at Velasco on the II th May that Santa Anna was restored to power in Mexico, and that the independence was acknowledged by the Mexican Govern ment. It was reported also that several Mexicans had ar rived at the Texian head-quarters with-a flag of truce and official papers relative to the above intelligence, and that Captain John Powell had passed through Brazoria, on his way to the town of Houston, with the papers alluded to in his possession, dnd some of the Mexicans in his company. The editor of the irclasco Herald seems to be at a loss what degree of credit to attach to this news. The Velasco Herald of the 27th ult. states that the Karankaway Indians bad been at head-quarters, and en tered into a treaty of alliance with the Tcxian army. The same Paper states that the army will shortly encamp on the Nueces river, to receive supplies of arms, provisions, &c. There were 2,508 men who received rations at head-quar ters, and at the posts of Bexar, Copano, &c., there were 500 more. GENERAL JACKSON'S PECUNIARY EMBARRASSMENTS. —lt seems that the statement which has circulated so ex tensively in the Newspapers, that General Jackson had lost his property by endorsing, and by the failure of Yeatman, Wood, and Co., at Nashville, is entirely unfounded. The Courier and Enquirer, in allusion to this subject, says : " It affords us pleasure, therefore, to say that the ru mour of his having a draft protested in this city, or of his losing a large sum of money by the failure of Yunnan, Wood, and Co., of Nashville, or in any other way, is ut terly without foundation. We have seen a letter from the old general, in which he says, that for twenty years he has not drawn a draft upon any person whatever ; that he is in no way responsible to the amount of a dollar, for any per son or persons. except for the purchase of two or three slaves by his adopted son ; and that all the rumours in re lation to his alrafs, his endorsements, and his losses, are entirely false, and without the shadow of foundation in truth." NEW YORK, MAY 23. ( From the Washington Globe:of Saturday night. ) THE CASE STATED.—Numerous merchants and specu lators, with the hope of accumulating huge fortunes in their operations, run in debt beyond their ability to pay. They force the banks to suspend the payment of specie, with the double object of relieving themselves from being called on to pay for the present, and, finally, paying in a depreciated currency. They thus throw their losses OR other portions of the community, which have no hand in their money-making schemes. The best bank notes are now ten per cent. below specie. Every farmer and mechanic who had a dollar note on band when the banks stopped, was made to pay ten cents of the speculators' losses ; every one who bad a five dollar note paid fifty cents ; every one who had a ten dollar note paid one dollar ; and every man who bad a hundred dollar note paid ten dollars. The bank note circulation of the country was at least one hundred millions of dollars, so that the speculators, by stopping the banks, threw on the people their own losses, to the amount of ten millions of dollars in that single operation! The depositors in banks were also made to bear their ten per cent. of the speculator's losses. The private de posits were probably a hundred millions, so that a loss of ten millions was thrown upon them also. Thus the losses of merchants and speculators, to the amount of twenty millions of dollars, were thrown off their shoulders, and forced upon those members of the community who had no concern in their wild schemes of fortune-hunting. The speculators are now attempting to force a part of their losses on the creditors of the Government. The merchants have brought in goods, and sold them for specie or its equivalent. They were allowed credit for the duties, and now they refuse to pay them " in specie or its equiva lent." They insist that the Gcvernment shall receive in payment a currency ten per cent. below par, and in this currency pay off the public creditors. Every officer of the army and navy, every soldier and sailor, every mechanic and labourer employed on the public works, every clerk who writes for his daily bread, is to lose ten per cent. of his just and legal compensation, to help merchants and speculators to pay off their debts. They now urge the stopped banks to increase their notes in circulation, and are pressing the issue of corporation and other change tickets in all directions, so as to increase the paper in circulation, and cause it to depreciate down to 15, 20, or 50 per cent. below specie. Every one per cent. of depreciation is a tax of a million of dollars on the people who hold the notes, which goes to aid the speculators out of their difficulties. NEW YORK, MAY 24. We cannot say there is any remarkable improvement in the general aspect of affairs. Very few bills of exchange were purchased for this day's packets, and those that were at rates varying from three to four per cent. We have heard some southern paper, endorsed by banks there and here, was sold at 115, some other bills even higher, while some were taken as low as 112. There are, how ever, considerable purchases of specie, probably for ex port, going on. At the board of brokers yesterday a sale was made of 325 Napoleons, at 4 dolls. 10 cents., which is an advance of 10 cents. each on previous rates ; 1,000 half dollars were also sold there at 7 per cent. pre mium. Sovereigns to a considerable amount were afterwards purchased in the streets at 5 dols. 27 cents., 5 dols. 28 cents. Mexican dollars have been selling at from 7 to 9 per cent. premium. We arc informed that arrangements to receive in deposit, as well as in payment of debts, the paper of Interior Banks, is on the eve of completion with the principal city institutions. It is understood that the latter have agreed with the Bank Commissioners to receive this paper, providAl the former will redeem the same, in the city of New York, at certain stipulated periods. A scale of time to be allowed has been adopted, and, as we learn, the conditions arc, that the City Banks, on receiving the paper, arc to seal up the same, and notify the respective Country Banks of the amount held. Within a stipulated number of days after the date of such notification, the amount thus held is to be redeemed with City Bank bills. The shortest time is five days : the longest time is twenty five days. Thus the banks on this side of Albany, are to redeem within from five to eight days after the date of notification. The banks at the extreme end of the State are allowed twenty-five days. We learn, further, that the Bank Commissioners have addressed a circular to the interior banks recommending their acceptance of the terms. This will enable country merchants to make remittances, and so far will afford re lief in the money market. The Manhattan Bank has not agreed to the supervision of the the Safety Fund Com missioners. As yet, she sets herself down upon her " re served rights." TORONTO, U.C., MAY 16.—UMER CANADA BANKS. —" The dreadful news of the suspension of specia payments by your banks reached this city yesterday. This really untoward event to your future prosperity was anticipated in public expectation, and did not, therefore, create that sensation here which ot;:aavrise it was calculated to do ; and there is not much, if an y, uneasiness as to our provin cial banks. They will not follow 1::;:e example. The pro vinces are like the United States, a &btu: country to Eng land, but, unlike them, their business pursuits a:e of a jog trot, not speculative character. A favourable harve.:!' for two years past here, and, vicevcrsa, with the United States, States, has made New York our farmers' best market for produce generally. The milleri in Rochester, Oswego, &c., invested immense sums for the purchase of bread stuffs, every dollar of which has been paid for in cash, so that neither our merchants nor banks have suffered losses, and there is consequently no apprehension of such a demand upon the hitter for specie, as to compel them to stop. Tb u s while, the sturdy oak is assailed by the storm, the humble willow escapes it. MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE.—The resolution requesting the President to rescind the Treasury Order, has passed the House by a vote of 43 against 8. The Bill authorising the United States Bank of Pennsylvania to locate a branch 'in that State has been lost. The Bill 'gianting banking privileges to the Mississippi Railroad Company has passed the House, and is now before the Senate. The Post Note Bill has passed that body, and has.been sent to the House. It provides that it shall be lawful for the banks heretofore chartered within the State to issue Post Notes, not having a less period than six months, nor a greater period than thirteen months to run to maturity, nor of a less denomi tion than twenty dollars ; that such Post Notes shall be payable from the time of their issuance, in payment of all claims, taxes, or other form of indebtedness due to the State, or any county therein. • And such Post Notes shall in like manner be reviseable by the Bank issuing the same, in payment of any individual debt due such Bank or its branches, from any citizen or citizens of this State ; that they shall, bear an interest at the -rate of five Cent., and loaned out at an interest not exceeding- nine per cent. dis count per annum. CINCINNATI.—Tice news of the suspension of specie payments by the New . York and Philadelphia Banks was received in Cincinnati on the 17th instant. A meeting of citizens was immediately called, and a resolution was unani mously adopted, recommending. the Cincinnati Bonks also to suspend. NEW ORLEANS MARKET. --Tho depreCiatibil iu the value of Bank notes is producing a rise in all descriptions of produce, especially in cotton, sugar, coree, flour, and pork. The holders of notes issued by suspended banks are using every endeavour to get rid of them iu exchange for produce but in many instances they are refused by the parties , which causes a complete paralyzation of butanes=, and a general despondency. MONEY MARKET. (From the Morning Chronicle.) At the usual weekly meeting of the Directors of the Bank of England, which was held to-day (Thursday), a final decision was made as regards a large firm at Liver pool connected with the American trade, which has re cently been compelled to seek succour from the Bank to carry it through its difficulties. We have the utmost plea sure in saying that the resolution come to, almost una nimously, was in favour of the applicants, and the house its question is guaranteed whatever sums it may require be tween this and the 31st of December. Security for the greater part, if not for the whole, has, however, been given, and therefore the Bank runs but little risk in adopting this plan, which, we feel convinced, will give general satisfae,- tion throughout the country ; for had this firm been com pelled to yield to the severity of the times, the consequences must have been fatal to many minor establishments in the same place, as well as several manufacturers in the neigh bourhood ; thereby throwing throusands out of employ, and having, perhaps, the tranquillity of the country disturbed by the restlessness of so many idle persons. The amount required immediately by this establishment is, we b&ieve, 400,000/., and about 200,000/. in the beginning of July. The sum already advanced, as we have before stated, is 650,0001. In the opinions we expressed regarding the consequences . - which would most probably result to England from the re cent suspension of specie payments on the part of the .banks of the United States, we believe we stand a:most alone, as far as the City correspondents of the London press are concerned, and some remarks have been made upon us in consequence. We have, however, only looked upon the American merchants as honourable, upright men, anxious to uphold their credit, and ready to strain every nerve to relieve their correspondents in this coun try as much as possible. Time alone can decide whether we or our Contemporaries are right. But we feel con vinced that our statement represents the feeling of eight tenths of the mercantile community, not only in the me tropolis, but in all the large commercial towns where we have yet been aLle to know the effect produced by the in telligenc.! from New York. The Americans, when com paratively poor, experienced panics, and suffered severe re verses, yet,, nationally speaking, they have always complied with their engagements. Now, however, they are in a dif ferent position. They have realized wealth, and obtained great power, and we think it will be found that they are equally ready to make every sacrifice to liqui date their debts. What, in fact, could be stronger' proof of their integrity than the ready manner in which they paid from two to three per cent. per month for money, that they might transmit bills to their correspondents here when the first symptoms of the pressure were felt ? We therefore repeat our conviction that the present state of things in the United States will ultimately be of much greater benefit to the creditors here than the uncertain po sition in which the States previously were. The circula tion of small paper must relieve all their anxiety for urgent purposes, and, if adopted generally throughout the union, which there is every reason to suppose will be the case, there will be no necessity for hoarding the precious metals ; and gold and silver, as we stated before, if necessary, will find their way to this country. The banks probably will per severe in their determination to suspend cash payments, and yet uselessly strive to keep the specie within their grasp ; but the Government must pay the expenses of its different de partments in the legal coin of the country, so that whatever obstacles may be thrown in the way by other parties, this circumstance alone would, in time, occasion a large dis tribution of gold and silver. Besides this, the central Government, next month we believe, will have to make over a considerable sum to the different States, as their portion of the surplus revenue, which will of course be paid in bullion, and thereby offer another and speedy op portunity to those indebted to this country to become possessed of it. - The majority of the Directors of the Bank of Eng land, we believe, regard the intelligence from the United States in the same light as ourselves, and in consequence are considering, it is stated, the propriety of bringing the case of the three large American firms which have re cently suspended operations once more before the Board, with a view of procuring that assistance which has hitherto been withheld from them. Such a step would be popular, and certainly it would be a great stimulus to the Americans to find their corres pondents had resumed business. No doubt the arrival of Mr. Melville Wilson and Mr. Searle has put both the firms. with which they are connected in the possession of more detailed information, and therefore the Bank could at least, do itself no harm by once more investigating their position, and seeing if there were sufficient grounds to rescind their resolution. The effect of these houses re suming payment, added to the certainty that all appre hension of the failure of the large firm in Liverpool was removed, would give new life to every branch of com merce, restore confidence, and relieve many establishments from great embarrassment. In the midst of this more cheerful picture of affairs, we regret to have it in our power to announce the failure of Messrs. Bolton, Ogden, and Co., of Liverpool, a firm con nected with the American trade, and whose suspension of payment, we believe, has been chiefly occasioned by the fall of those in London. We have not heard what its liabilities are. but we believe they carried on an extensive business. Many persons are under the impression that the exporta tion of gold from St. Petersburg, which we sta' ed yester day, was for the purpose of sending it through this country to Don Carlos. This is wholly without foundation, and we believe it will be found that the gold in question has come to London, on account of the dividends due on Russian Stock in September next. The demand from Holland for gold in bars, which we alluded to a few days since, was, however, for traasmision to the Pretender to the Spanish Throne. (From the Ti►xes.) The Bank Directors sat in deliberation to day (Thurs day) on the application for assistance to the great American house, Messrs. Brown and Co., of Liverpool, and after a protracted discussion, have decided on gi% ing it. Accord ing to the current statements in the City, the securities offered were of so unexceptionable a nature that it has been determined on not only to grant what is asked to meet the engagements for this month, the amount of which is very large, but to carry the firm entirely through, and set them free as the claims come in from the whole of their outstand ing obligations, We arc unable to say that such statements are incorrect ; they very possibly represent the true state of the case, but they would have been more conclusive and satisfactory to all the parties concerned, if they did not recollect that in the instance of the house of George Wildes and Co. a similar engagement was understood to have been entered into, which was afterwards broken. It would appear also that the question was not decided until after a long discussion, as up to three o'clock some doubt prevailed. It was disposed of, however, shortly af terwards, and, as we arc assured by the unanimous vote of the Board. An express started for Liverpool with the in telligence the instant the court broke up. Of the number of Directors present at the deliberation re cannot speak precisely, but it is positively said, and the fact is not unitn portant, that Mr. J. H. Palmer did not attend this meet ing. Of the outstanding engagements of the House which has been assisted, some statements which seem very extra vagant have been made. They may, perhaps, be taken safely as requiring the aid of the Bank to the extent of neatly 1,000,0001. in the whole. Some considerations as to the consequences of any embarrassments of this house in the great manufacturing district in which it is placed, are sa id to b a ,-:e influenced the Bank, independently of the cha- Ti meter of the securities offered. The Directors have not only to guard agate:t loss, but to weigh well the effect which so large an increoe of issues may have upon the circulation. The bills of a leading Liverpooi house, that of Bolton, Ogden, and Co., have been refused payment to-day in the city. It is not known, however, by any Accounts from thence, that the firm has actually •stopi,cd. Besides tile subject already adverted to, it is under stood that the Bank Directors were occupied in consi dering the propriety of taking up those three houses which were suffered to fall last week, and that this was brought on by a resolution passed on 'Tuesday, at a Meeting of the creditors of Messrs. T. Wlggin and Co,, and sanctioned by most respectable names, that the Bank should be solicited to reconsider that step, in the new stove of things which has been disclosed in the American justify the which was calculated i n their o p inion to the Bank in retracing that course. There is reason to believe that not much time, if any, has been occupied iu till; matter, and, at all events, nothing of the nature hinted at has been done. (From the Morning Post.) The Bank Directors have to-day (Thursday) held their ordinary weekly Court, at which they came to a decision respecting en application made to them by the great !Li verpool firm so frequently alluded to of late as being undt r temporary embarrassment, and , as this decision has proved favourable to the parties m aking it, we have no longer the same scruple that w e have hitherto had iabent naming them. The hou se in question is that of Messrs. William and James Brown and Co., one of the largest and most eminent commercial establishments in Eu rope. The transactions of Messrs. Brown and Co. are ellictly, if not exclusiv el y , with the United States, and such o s h a s been their character for integrity and prudence, and