The Sun. — London, England, 1823-09-25 00:00:00

THE LONDON JOURNALS. DAILY Extracts from the Morning Papers, September 25 [THIC TIMES 'We have fottnd; after some experience, that the safest mode of treating the intelligence con veyed through French Newspapers from the seat of war is to let it shift for itself. Between ad. ditions to facts and their suppression—between garbling and inventing—we seldom find a single French narrative, especially if it professes to ern brace more than some one simple occurrence, that does not stagger the stoutest faith, or puzzle the clearest judgment. Their Spanish allies are no bet ter. There is now a long story from the Madrid Restaurador, full of that figure of speech called " confusion." Riego and Ballasteros are the he roes, but the things asserted, particularly of the former, we.confess ourselves unable to believe, to contradict, or to explain. Riego, who was said to have made his way into Cadiz, is now al ledged to have marched towards the army of Ballasteros in its cantonments, near the frontier of Grenada, with the hope of recalling the troops to their country's cause, and to have sought an interview with Ballasteros him self, for no purpose but to trepan that officer into his power. Nay, says the Madrid Servile print, Ballasteros was actually a prisoner in the bands of Riego, and in a house which they oc ' copied jointly at Priego. How is all this ? Priego is stated in the first line of the account to be one of the_ positions of Ballasteros; yet Riego, who moves upon him as an enemy, and with whose corps the soldiers of Bal lasteros have commenced an action, takes the latter prisoner in the midst of his own army —Had Riego captured the army too ? Be this as it may, up comes the French General Bonnemains, who was never before said to have been employed either in watching . Bal. lasteros, or in pursuing Riego, rushes on the Con stitutional General like a whirlwind, and destroys his whole army to a man. AnOther letter, im proving upon the first, informs us that Riego, en deavouring to fly with three officers only, was taken at La Carolina (eighty or one hundred miles from Priega), and handed over to the French ! It is enough to say about all this hum bug, that we really do not understand it. Ilos tilities appear to have re-commenced before Cadiz on the 9th or 10th instant, and the French describe their own preparations for the as sault to be on the most formidable scale. On the 12th the Duke d'Angouleme moved from Port St. Mary's for Chiclana, on the left of his positions, with his whole Staff. Some infer ences appear to have been drawn from this fact, that an attack was to be made on the right of the Spaniards in the Isle de Leon, towards the point of Santi Petri. A misfortune, we la ment to say, has befallen the Patriots in Cata lonia, where, on the 16th inst., the small corps ,which had issued from Barcelona, intending to relieve or reinforce Figueras, was compelled, after an action with M. de Dames, at Undo, to surrender, to the amount of t,OOO men. - [MORNING HERALD.] We have received the Paris Papers of Mon day. It will be seen that the French Autho rities give favourable accounts of all their ope rations in Spain. The corps of Diego is entirely dispersed ; and that Commander is said to have Bed to the mountains in the neighbourhood of Malaga. Some successes have also been gained . over the Constitutionalists in Catalonia. Pre parations for the attack against Cadiz are said to have been completed on the most extensive scale ; and the letters from Port St. Mary speak with confidence of the speedy capture of that city. [MORNING CHRONICLE.] The firm and resolute manner in which Lord Nugent has acted since his arrival at Cadiz re beets the highest honour on him. Those worthy Spaniards who wish to hold out to the last, and who knows that a successful defence for a very short period must force the French either to flee with disgrace or rush on their destruction, have been greatly aided by the strenuous exhorta tions and active exertions of his Lordship, who has uniformly deprecated all attempts at negoci ation, as the complete abandonment of the cause of liberty without any object. The attempt, however, was made ; but we rejoice that it was unsuccessful. The difference between capitula tion on terms, and unconditional submission, is merely nominal when there can be no guarantee for the performance of what has been stipulated. The restoration of Ferdinand to power must ne cessarily be accompanied with the ascendancy of those brutal and ignorant ruffians who have fought along with the French for the re-establishment of Despotism ; and the knife would soon be to the throat of every man who took any part in the regeneration of his country. This Lord Nugent bad the discernment to see, and the firmness to maintain on all occasions. If there had been even a disposition among the Spaniards to yield (and of this there is no evidence), we would wish to see an Englishman volunteer any thing rather than the freeing them from any part of the responsibility of such an act. What a haunt Spain holds out to the world 1 The Spanish gentlemen, at the time when Charles the Fifth deprived Spain of its liberties, were supe rior in character to English gentlemen. In 1578, the revenue of Spain alone amounted to 4,138,0004 sterling, including the Netherlands, Sicily, M ilans, and Naples ; the Spanish King had 3,479,0004 a-year in Europe. This sum was nearly equal to the whole annual income of the people of England at the period in question. Hurrae calculates the whole of the income of Eli xabeth at 500,0001. The revenue of France in .1574 was, allowing for the difference in the value of the livre, about 610,0001. a-year. And now what do we see ? Scotland alone, the whole re venue of which was not then equal to that of one Hof the towns of Spain, paying now more taxes than could he raised at present from the whole of that extensive and fertile country. The struggles for religion and liberty raised the character and sharpened the intellects of our population ; a I large and well-informed middle class has grown up, which, in spite of the defects of our Repre• sentation, preserves in our higher classes a regard for character. The Spanish gentleman, accuse tomed from his infancy to venality and corrup tion of every kind in their worst form, sink lower and lower every' generation. Hence the melancholy spectacle the country has afforded in the corruption and treachery of nearly all the higher ranks. Should Spain succeed in preserv ing her liberty, a generation will grow up under the influence of public opinion, alive to virtue ; for virtue and true honour could only exist under a public controul. [New TIMES.] According to private letters front Paris, the last price of the Rentes in that capital on Mon day was 90f. 30c., Scrip 2,1 premium, and Spa nish Bonds 42i ; but in Paris as well as here the operations are extremely limited, speculation being in a great measure suspended until deci sive intelligence shall arrive from Cadiz. We learn by the French Papers of Monday, that the French head-quarters are now removed from Port St. Mary, which is north-east of Cadiz, to Chic lana, which is south-east; and it is expected that the next attack will be made on this quarter in order to get possession of the Isle of Leon, thus drawing the toils more and more closely round Cadiz itself. It has been repeatedly asserted, that in the early part of the siege the French squadron did not keep up a strict blockade ; it appears, however, that in the month of August the French flotilla took no less than fifty-six vessels, loaded mostly with flour and other provisions for Cadiz, besides driving many others ashore.—lt was late ly stated in a letter from Gibraltar, by a person who seemed to admire the exploits of Riego, that on arriving at Malaga he seized all the property he could lay his hand upon, took a large quantity of plate from the Churches, and plundered all the rich merchants, causing thou, who refused payment to be shot! For this cause he shot fourteen monied Spaniards ! Having thus enabled himself to pay his troops, he abandoned Malaga, which he came to protect, and marched on an expedi tion, the particulars of which have at length transpired. He thought he could persuade the troops of Ballasteros to betray their General ; but failing in that, he requested Ballasteros to grant him an interview. The latter foolishly enough acceded to his request, when the traitor threw oil the mask and made Ballasteros pri soner. The treachery, however, was of little avail.- A French General came up in the nick of time, attacked the corps of Riego, and put it completely to the rout. Riego himself was closely pursued, and we trust he will be brought to justice for his atrocities: some accounts, in deed, go so fur as to say that he has been arrested. The fabulous story of a victory obtained by Milans, which was circulated by the Bayonne papers, relates to the affair of Altafulla, which formed the subject of a report from Marshal Moncey, inserted in our paper of the Bth inst.; we need scarcely add, that the Marshal claimed the advantage on that occasion. A more impor tant success however has been very recently ob tained by the French troops under the Baron de llamas, who so completely routed a large body of the rebels on the 15th instant, not far from Figueiras, that on the day following two thou sand of them surrendered themselves to him as prisoners. [BRITISH PRESS.] Whatever turn affairs may take in Spain during he present intestine struggle, Its subjugation by the arms of France is an event not to be looked for. Such a result must be quite out of the contemplation of any reasonable man, who knows any thing of the Spanish nation, or who is at all familiar with the character of that proud and high-minded people. The prevailing spirit of liberty in that kingdom does not arise out of any sudden zeal ; it is not a burst of revolutionary enthusiasm kindled by interested incendiaries, neither is it an insane sympathy, begotten amidst visionary theories or fostered by political intrigues : it has nothing of this stamp about it. It is the natural result of the progress of knowledge, combined with the more equal distribution of wealth ; . the same causes are at work not in Spain only, but throughout the whole of Christian Europe, and have engendered that spirit of po. litical improvement, which the bayonet can never put down, and which laughs alliances to scorn. There is no triple confederacy of Sovereigns can conquer the mind of m a n. There are more code m _ _ tertio's in the background, but their conspiracy will be fruitless. There are more difficulties in the way of success than mere military strength can ever surmount. A cloud of black events, we fear, will break over us before the conflict with Spain is at an end. The truth is, the different governments of Eu rope, powerful as they are in outward appearance, are in reality extremely feeble, and they are be. coming every day weaker by the very efforts they are making to terrify by a display of their power. The cause of this lies upon the surface. While the people have advanced in intelligence, Governments have stood still. Existing institu tions have not been suffered to partake of that improved spirit of reason and liberty which has altered the character of the age. Power, which has no support but in opinion, goes on to admi nister the same system, now that its subjects are everywhere enlightened, as was acted upon when all was submission, in those days when superstition never doubted and credulity never inquired. it is a truth, which those in autho rity would do well always to bear in mind, that every Government, in its nature despotic, must become feeble in proportion as its subjects become enlightened ; for as all political power has its origin in the will of the nation, its tenure must be precarious, when it is so exercised as to make that will adverse. When authority is in league with justice, and in amity with freedom, kings have nothing to fear from the discontent of their people. Rebellion never yet rose up against an honest ruler. It is profligate and wicked Ministers that strike at their Monarch's throne. It may soued paradoxical, but it is not the less true, that Kings are oftentimes as much a prey to power abused as their subjects. It is their fate to depcud upon dependants : men of 'stern integrity rarely cross their path, and still less frequently come into their councils ; and if they are unwilling themselves to hear un welcome truths, they are surrounded by those who are quite as unwilling to utter them. To return to Spain. As for any triple junction of Monarch to preserve social order, either in that kingdom or in any other, it is a base pretext. Let those,to whom the charge of the public wel fare is confided execute their trust faithfully, and they have nothing to fear from the disturbance of social order, either abroad or at home. If Governments wish to have their authority obey. ed, the task is easy : let them make it the real interest of the people to obey it. The Continen tal Sovereigns may then dissolve their Holy Al liance, and our Ministers may repeal the Six Acts [MORNING POST] French Papers to the 23d inst. reached us last night by Express. The intelligence which they have brought, if correct, is highly important.— Riego, whose name has been loaded with abuse by the Royalists, and whose military abilities seem to have been doubted by the friends of the Constitution (who would otherwise have brought them earlier into action)—Riego, the pretended fugitive, who after plundering had deserted Ma laga, and fled back with his prey to Cadiz for shelter, appears on the contrary to have advanced with a considerable force beyond Granada, and to have succeeded in taking Ballasteros pri soner ! The details of this extraordinary event, as copied in the Mode from the Madrid Restaurador, though purposely confused and fol lowed by an assurance that Riego had been sub sequently defeated, and even captured, are cal culated to excite much interest and gratification. This daring Chief evacuated Malaga, it is true, but for the purpose of advance, not of flight. By skil ful marches he eluded the columns sent by the enemy to arrest or to surround him, and presented himself before the army of Ballasteros, at the head of nearly 5,000 infantry and cavalry, and made an appeal to its patriotism. The Journal des Debuts owns that " some soldiers deserted to his stan dard." But the Madrid Restaurador with greater caution passes over this fact, and only states, though without explaining why, that Ballasteros accepted the offer of an interview demanded by Riego ; that he came to the house occupied by the latter, whilst both armies re tained their positions in front of each other, and that whilst the conference lasted, his escort was disarmed and himself made prisoner. Now it appears to us that unless the whole of this transaction was a matter previously arranged be tween the parties, in order to facilitate the return of Ballasteros to the cause of his country,—or unless he found that his troops were departing, and that he could not prevent their patriotic defection, be would not have consented to throw himself as he evidently did, if these accounts be correct, into the hands of the Constitutionalists. That the latter was the case, appears probable from the line of con duct pursued by General Balauzat, whom he had left in command during his absence. In stead of immediately avenging the insult offered to hit superior, and restoring him to liberty, which he could easily have done if his army had not been reduced to an insignificant body, he merely 64 harangued his troops and prepared to act against the forces of ltiego." As a kind of apology for this inaction, it is hinted that his " Divisiou" (for the word Army is suddenly and significantly dropped for that of Division) was in want of rations, and thut he had been obliged to dispatch a messenger to some distance in order to procure them. Now in a case in which nothing ought to have been done, if it was intended to be done with effect, but to commence an immediate attack, rations, it might have been thought, would not have been absolutely neces sary. Every thing tends to prove therefore that what bad been called the army of Ballasteros had ceased to be an army, and that if Itiego had not recruited the whole to the standard of his country, but a small and insignificant proportion of it remain ed connected with the Invaders. But then comes the grand crisis, says the Reataurador: " Just at the must critical moment the French, commanded by Gen. Bonnemain, suddenly appeared. They rushed with their ordinary impetuosity upon the corps of Riego, and put it completely to the rout, and the revolutionary Chief was closely pursued." Other accounts add, as we have already stated, that he was taken ; but as no explanation is given of the sudden appearance of General Bonne. main, who was engaged in the pursuit of de tached corps at a considerable distance from the seat of this extraordinary occurrence, and could hardly contrive to reach it " at the critical mo ment)" we shall entertain a hope that the Saints have ceased to perform miracles for the unholy cause of the enemy, and that Riego is now at the head of a powerful army. Event the accounts that speak of his capture do not mention the de. hverance of Ballasteros. He had perhaps been tried and shot as a traitor. Such an execution, when Abisbal gave the first example of defection, would probabl y h ave prev ented all thos e th a t have since brought so much disgrace upon the Spanish name, and so much ruin upon the country. We regret exceedingly to h ave t o announce t h e failure of t h e respectable house of FREDERICK MEYER? and Co. at Hamburgh, on the 9th inst. Their deficiences, h oweve r, we understand, a re much less than might have been expected. The gross sum i s stated at Bark() Marks 136,990 (about 12,000/. sterling.) The Dir ec t or of the G enera l Post-office at Leipzig, says the Hamburg h Correspondent of the 12th instant, has officially notified to the public that the small town of Hof had been al most wholly destroyed by fire. About 400 dwelling-houses, including the church, the town house, and the post-office, had fallen a prey to, the flame s. The evil was accidental ; it originat ed in the shop of a varnish-maker. Gen. Il Essalitm, a wea lthy individu a l i n t h e French army, lately presented his father at Thoulouse, whose circumstances were bordering on mendicity, with the sum of 4,000 francs, about 1601. sterling !--(Preach Paper.) LONDON AUXILIARY BIBLE SOCIETY A.n anniversary Meeting of the Friends of this Institution was held yesterday, at twelve o'clock, in the Egyptian Hall (Mansion House). The floor of that mag nificent chamber was exceedingly crowded. Shortly after 12 o'clock, the Lord Mayor, accompanied by two Lathes, the Right Hon. Lord Bexley, M r . Ald erman B rown , Mr. Alder. man Thompson, and several other Gentlemen, presented them. selves to the Meeting, and were extremely well received. The LORD MAYOR, having taken the Chair, addressed the assembly. His Lordship said, that before he called on their worthy Secretary to read the Report which had been prepared, they would allow him to express his regret that indispensable business of a public nature had prevented his being as punctual to the appointed hour as he could have wished. It was unne. cessary that he should proceed to discuss the nature of the In. stitution which they had met to commemorate, since every argument that could be urged for or objected against it, had been long since exhausted. It was at length decided, by expe rience and time, that though in a lOW cases some errors might possibly arise, and some mischiefs might result, as regarded the minds of those who were extremely ignorant and unin formed from a perusal of the Scriptures, yet, on the whole, the general diffusion of the Bible among all classes was one of the greatest blessings that could by possibility be conferred on theme—(Hear, hear !)—His Lordship concluded by requesting the Secretary to read to the Meeting the Committee's Report. The Secretary then read the ann ua l re p ort , o f w hi c h the fol lowing are extracts : " If your Committee have no surprising details to furnish of a splendid success—if they make the Crank avowal that the fruits of their efforts have not been so abundant as on a former day, yet they are not without the cheering persuasion that the following statement will inspire the joy and awaken the gratitude of the present assembly. " The Committee have the pleasure to inform you, that they have received in the past year, in subscriptions; and on the sale of books and donations, 406/.55. Id. ; and in remittances from the associations, 519/. 18s. Id.; and that they have paid to the British and Foreign Bible Society 7151.25. 7d.; making a total of 15,9211.45. 4d. paid to the parent Society since the establish ment of the Auxiliary. " The Committee have distributed, duri the past year, 1,043 Bibles, 602 Test a m en t s , ma ki ng a gra n total of 31,752 copies of the Holy Scriptures circulated by your Society." The annual meeting being convened earlier than usual, the following explanation is given " As the use of this Hall was given by the Chief Magistrate of the city, and as it has been with considerable difficulty that arrangements could be made amidst the pressure of business at the close of the mayoralty, it became of importance to fix the anniversary at a different period of the year. It is therefore proposed to transfer gradually the public meeting from the au-1 tumn to spring. " The Committee hare to acknowledge with gratitude the important services which are performed at the ladies' branch of the Society. There are connected with that society about, .150 ladies, who have, during the past year, collected from among the poor 3574, and who are now paying weekly visits to up wards of 600 industrious families, in order to receive their humble but cheerful subscriptions." The Report having been read— the Lo Societyr d B E x o n r. E th v e r a o p s p e e , a a r n a t ee congratulated proportion of the inhabitants of the metropolis at this season o f the anddie L o rd so respectable rayor an ad d f naturally have been expected.—(Hear, stance he could not help looking upon as a certa in . indication, the year, when an attendance by no meat h is ea s r o o n — um T e h ro is u e s ire m u tg m ht . that since the period of the last Meeting of the Society it had lost none of its former supporters. He (Lord Bexley) derived pleasure from the recollection of having been . pre and it was not without being reminded of some _ ed excited in his breast many serious reflections, that he . advert sent at the first establishment of this auxiliary m in a st tters ituti t o h n at ; ton . s as to and his occu ttoheaneooncdciadsoionnofhahpimpesenlinfgatsothnartniymey,cial ' • to the situation and prospects of this society, and, patrons , as above all, the situations and prospects of this great country. lie could not but recollect,, that at the period to which he Il ia f a ri g e d)— nds r : fiect alluded, the country was engaged in that protracted and awful struggle which was to determine the stability of its greatness, and the existence of its liberty : he could not cease to re member that Great Britain was then, if he might use the phrase, in the cr i s i s o f h er f ate : that the great question was then undermined, whether the extraordinary individual who had usurped the throne of one of the greatest powers in the world should prostrate at his feet the independence and happiness of Europe ; or whether England, under Providence, would b e enabled to arrest hi s career, defeat his projects, and success fully combat theanany an d mighty dangers by which she was threatened. He thanked God she had since overcome them all. When he referred to those eventful times, he could not help adverting to his own political engagements, and to the un remitting anxiety and application which they had occasioned him ; nor could he refrain from expressing his gratitude; for having been assisted to reach, at last, a haven of peace and quietness ; and after a long season of trouble and uneasiness, to enjoy the calm pleasures of a peaceful repose.—(Hear !)—He could not allow the present opportunity to escape him, without offering a very few words in relation to the signal success which bad attended the great cause which was advocated by this so. ciety. When the establishment of so admirable an institution was first proposed in the City of London, its friends were told that their cause was hopeless ; and when they talked of the bene. fits to be derived from translating the Bible into 40 or 50 lan guages, they were assured that th eir hopes were visionary,and their expectations exagge ra t e d an d unreasonable.--( Hear !)—Happy he was, however, to find, that since that day, those hopes and expectations had been realized beyond the most sanguine anti. cipations ; for the melting had now the satisfaction of knowing, that not in 40 or 501anguages only, but in 140 different tongues, the Bible had either been already published, or was now pre paring for publication, through the exertions of the parent and auxiliary societies.—( Hear!)—The number of auxiliarysocieties established in aid .of the principal institution had more than doubled in the same period ; for there were at present, in this kingdom alone, no less than 800 Auxiliary Bible Societies.— In various countries abroad their existed 2,000 associations of the same description.—(Hear, hear o—The flame which had been so auspiciously kindled here, seemed to have spread itself with equal promptitude in foreign parts ; for at that former period to which he had adverted, there existed only six Foreign Bible Societies. The Meeting might now look round them, and count in different states 26 national associations, in correspondence ,with our own, and having 600 auxiliary associations to support them.—( Hear !)—ln Great Britain al most every district possessed an Auxiliary Society; on the Continent, though it could not be denied that much had been done, there remained yet much to do. Amidst this galaxy which shed so bright and healthful a radiance over this king. dons, the city of London, as it was to be desired, shone a re splendent luminary. Placed in the situation which they occu pied, as the citizen s o f time capital of this great e th p i re, it well became the inhabitants of London tofshew that commerce might be devoted to nobler purposes than the acquisition of wealth, or even titan the establishment of our national greatness, which had hitherto been the just and constant subject of our eulogy and attention. If, therefore, they wished their country to be powerful without injustice, rich without luxury, great without wickedness, it became them, by every means, to encourage and support institutions like this of the Bible Society—(Hear !) institutions whose establishment would rank them among the benefactors of mankind. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the first resolution. Mr. PAY ELL felt particular pleasure in seconding this re solution. Ile remembered that at the first institution of the So. ciety he had had the honour of supporting a similar proposition. The Noble Lord who preceded him had well observed, that at this season of the year it was matter of considerable congratula tion to witness so numerous and highly respectable an assem blage; and be (Mr. Favell) must agein congratulate the ladies —the wives, daughters, and female friends (as he might call them) of this excellent association —en the encouraging pros liects which now r ewar d e d t h e i r ki nd exertions in its favour.— Hear !)—They who, lik e hi mse lf , were its public advocates, aboured, on these occasions, un d er a considerable disadvantage; because, from the length o f t i me that this institution had existed, they had, of necessity, very little new to say upon the subject. He could only express a hope, therefore, that Provi. Bence would continue to smile on their labour; and he did trust that he might appeal tbr the demonstration of its favours to the success with which they bad been hitherto blessed. Where ever these associations had been established in the city, or its vi cinity, their good effects had been sensibly felt, anti it was found, that among females, all who were the friends of the institution had become better wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, than they had been before they were connected with us. Before he sat down, he would observe that there was one topic which seemed well worthy to attract the attention of their Chairman ; and it was this—that the establishment of the Auxi. liary Society had proved most beneficial not only to the Parent Society, but also to the Magistracy of the city of London, by operating towards the prev ent i on of crime... -{Applause.)—This sort of preventive service, effected by th e diff usion o f t h e Bibl e, was one of the highest utility; and much as all who heard him, in common with their f e ll ow -countrymen, must fee/ indebted to the humane exertions of those benevolent individuals who devoted ther time, talent, and, attention to the improvement of prison discipline, their thanks were due in a yet greater degree to that institution which prevented the commission of crime._ ( Hear !)—From one of the late prison discipline reports, he ob served that out of 119 female convicts whom the ladies had visited in the prison of Newgate, it appeared on examining them to that fact, that only three or four had been either brought up in the schools, or had in any way participated in the advantages which had been furnished by Bible auociations.--(Hear fad alone might manifest the vast importance of supporting such societies, and the intimate connexion which subsisted between their well-being and the well-being of the Magistracy, by their tendency to prevent crime. That they did so, any one might be immediately satisfied, who could compare the condition of a fa mily, however poor, which was thus placed in possession of a Bible, and a family which, like too many in this great metro polis, was without the sacred volume. In the one case, good order and good morals—in the other, profligacy, vicious habits, and consequent crime—marked the effects of possessing the Scrip tures, or showed the miserable results of an ignorance of them. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by briefly contrasting the pleas. ing example afforded by a Lord Mayor, and Aldermen, and a Sheriff elect, who were friendly to an institution founded on the liberal principle of disseminating th e sacre d volume to all denominations of Christians-without distinction of sect, with that frightful picture of intolerance a nd bi go t r y which the neighbourhood of that hall presented only a century or two ago, when men of the purest lives and most unquestionable . I , :iety were imprisoned, insulted, and executed even for their religious opinions. He hoped that Providence would give to the efforts of this Society " the wings of the morning" wherewith to fly to the uttermost parts of the earth to promote peace and good will towards men.—(Hear, hear !) This resolution was carried unanimously. The Rev. Mr. HALL, in proposing the second resolution, observed, that London possessed a claim to the pre-eminent ' distinction among the cities of the un i verse , for i ts opulence, its vastness, its populati on , it s p u bli c work s, its munificence and spirit, its progress in arts and sciences; but the same distinction, in former ages of the world, had attached to Babylon, Nineveh, Carthage, and Tyre ; and these, and Rome herself (vainly called th e Eternal), had perished in their turn from the excess o f l uxury an d grandeur, and were now utterly extinct. Rome, indeed, still languish ed on, in a state of en feebled and miserable existence ; but she was the mere wreck of her departed might and ancient renown. The successive fall of these magnificent capitals was mainly attributable to their want of a great and general moral principle, which might have stemmed the torrent of popular corruption, and withstood the influence of those inevitable evils which are entailed by luxury and power; but he did hope that London, from the mul titude of her benevolent institutions, and especially from that strong feeling of piety and religion on which this institution was founded, was destined, immoveable to that moral principle, to remain to the end of all things, great, mighty, and respected, amidst the cities of the world. The Rev. Gentleman then com bated the objections which had been urged against the Society. and conclude by moving the second resolution. Mr. LAURIE (Sheriff elect), in a neat speech, seconded the resolution ; and it was carried unanimously. The LORD MAYOR returned thanks for the honour which had been paid him ;. and doubted not that all chief Magistrates of the city would be happy to give the same assistance and en couragement which he had been able to give to this Society. Mr. Alderman Bnowx also expressed his acknowledgments for the compliment paid to himself and his colleaguea, though he felt that as they had simply p er f orme d d uties to the fulfil ment of which it was an honour to be called, no thanks were due. The other resolutions were then proposed, and unanimously carried, after speeches from Mr. Sheriff Thompson, M.P., Mr. Alderman Keys, the Rev. J. Fletcher, of Stepney ; i M. Bois sot, (Minister of the F renc h P rotestant Church a London), the Rev. J. II illyer, of Bedford, Mr. James Allen, of the Society of Friends, the Rev. 11. Venn, Minister of St. Dunstan in the East, - Burder, LL.D. and Barrister at L aw , th e R ev . D r . Macbride, Arabic Professor in the University of Oxford, and one or two other Gentlemen. Thanks having been voted in the usual course to the Lord Mayor (who had left the Chair to attend the Justice-room, be fore the close of the meeting), and Sir C. S. Hunter, who had presided as his successor in the Chair, the Meeting broke up at about four o'clock. The Resolutions passed at this'Meeting were as follow r-- " I. That the report which has been read be approved and adopted by the meeting. 2. That this meeting, sensible of the advantage which, under the Divine blessing, has been derived from the patronage conferred upon the society, tenders an expression of gratitude to the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, the President, to the Right Hon. and others the Vice-Presidents, to the Treasurer, to the Secretaries, and to the Committee, for their countenance, sup port, and exertions, during the past year. " 3. That this meeting, deeply impressed with it conviction of the necessity that still exists for perseverance in distributing the sacred volume, requests the gentlemen, whose names the Secretary will read ? to undertake the various offices of the Society for the ensuing year. " 4. That this meeting records its gratitude to the I t adies who have exerted their efforts for the Society, and approves of the following appointments which have been arranged by the Committee of the Ladies' Branch. " 5. That this meeting regards with undiminished interest the effects which have resulted from the Bible Associations, in connexion with the City of London Auxiliary Bible Society. That while the meeting feels grateful to Almighty God for the blessings which he has bestowed upon these operations t it ap peals to all the m em b ers of the Institution for additional atten tion, earnestness, and zeal, in this peculiar department of the Bible Society system. " 6. That this meeting hears with admiring gratitude, that the blessing of God still attends the benign operations of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and will therefore, as far as its influence may reach, strive to render the City of London Bible Society a still more efficient auxiliary, and an Institution worthy of the metropolis of this affluent and charitable nation. " 7. That this meeting, sensible of the obligation conferred upon the Society by the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, desires gratefully to acknowledge the kindness of his Lordship in having granted permission that the anniversary of the Society should be held in the Egyptian Hall, and a l so f or t h e suit able manner in w hi c h his Lordship has presided upon the pre sent occasion." A Petersburgh Newspaper says, that the finest sables are caught near the little town of Clek -minsk, in Siberia, 2,000 verts distant to the north of Irkutsk. A valuable branch of industry is carried on with this sort of peltry. Letters from Perpignan state, that in some of the districts of the first circle of the department of the Lower Pyrenees a murrian rages among the cattle, and that sheep in particular are af fected by it. The Members of the Royal Caledonian Hunt gate 100/., and the Members of the United Meeting lOU., to be ilistributed to the various charitable institutions in Aber deen. Miss Stephens gave the proceeds of a Concert, amount ing to 651., to the Stewards, to be distributed in the same manner. A miserable woman died on Tuesday in cons*. quence of drinking a great quantity of gin at a draught at the bar of the Cooper's Arms, Kent road. It appeared that she had been urged to the destructive action by persons sitting there. FIRE.—A very alarming fire broke out at the house of Mr. Dodds, a loom-turner, in Thomas street, Brick-lane, about three o'clock yesterday, which destroyed the premises and damaged seve ral adjoining houses; but by the timely assist ance of engines and firemen the devouring ele ment was stopped. COAL-MARKET, SEPT. 24. Ships at Market. Ships sold 8 4 Newcastle . 78 27 Sunderland -23 f Price. Sts Od to 4h Ott 36s Od to 4tSs Od BIRTHS. On the 24th inst., at Kentish -town, Mrs. James Block, of a daughter. On 18th inst., at Cheltenham, the lady of the Rev. J. Tho mas' late As s i stant Mi nister at the Dissenting Chapel, Oxford, of a daughter. MARRIED. On the 23d, at Wanstead, George Blair Hall, Esq., only son of the l ate J o h n Hall, Esq., Postmaster -General of Ben gal, to Laura, youngest daughter of Sir W. Plomer, deceased. On Wednesday, the 24th inst., at St: Ann's, Westminster, Mr. Mich()!son, of Grafton-house, Soho, to Miss Ray, of Finch ley, 3 liddlesex, sister to :11r. Ray, of the same place. DIED. On the 22d inst., Philip, the second son of Mr. Evans, of 97, Hatton-gardon. On the 20th inst., i n t h e prime of life, the lady of Robert Banner, Esq., deeply lamented. On the 6th inst., at Florence, Mr. Laurence Rowe, of Brent ford, aged 69. At Edinburgh, on the 13th inst., Dr. John Smith, physi cian, in th e 39 t h year of his a-:e. Printed and Published for the P ll ol.2.lEirOlt4, at the St.ll{. OFFICE. 112, Strand, by J. B. CA1131'40114. 1