The Sun. — London, England, 1827-06-30 00:00:00

the- c h arges contained in a petition presented to the Home from Mr. Bishop Burnett,. Lord Charles Somerset availed himself of leave of absence to quit his Go vernment at the Cape o f Go o d H o pe, for the purpose of meeting his accusers at home. A Committee sat to in- vestigate the charges against him, and the Honourable Member for Winchelsea 7.dmitted that the Report of that Coraroi,ttee was satisfactory, and disproved all the charies against Lord Charles Somerset, except the charge of corruption in his judicial capacity. Upon this particular Point, however, ftirther evidence had since that time been laid before the House ; and if the Hon. Member for Wineheisea considered that charge was also ;oritradieted --- . He (Lord E. Somerset) called Upon the Hon. and Learned Gentleman to state his opi nion. —(Hear, hear hear.)—As for the petition of Sir Rufane Doultio, so far from proving the charges against Lord Charles Somerset, he believed that the Louse would agree with him that the Gallant General's petition was a complete refutation of the charges against his Noble Relative. He (Lord E. Somerset) assured the Hruse that his Noble Relative was most anxious to meet .the charges made against him, and wap disappointed beyond expression'that no fair opportunity had been allowed him of repelling those charges. The Honourable Member for Arundel (Mr. Lombe) had given notice of a motion on the %subject, but on the night for which that motion was axed, abandoned his post without giving any expla- ration. This course he scarcely thought fair towards his Noble Relation.—(Hear, hear, bear.)—His Noble Re lativiJ most anxious wish was an inquiry, but after the dandonment of the lion: Member for Arundel's motion, he conceived that them was no immediate thance of being allowed an opportunity of meeting his accusers, and had, therefore, adopted the Course of resigning his government of the Oti;e of Good Hope. He trusted, however, that in taking this step the House would not consider that his Noble Relation feared inquiry, on the contrary, he courted it;_ but he believed the House and the country were now perfectly well convinced that the charges against his Noble Relative were unfounded, and got up by persons to whom be should not more parti cularly allude, for the purpose of forwarding their own objects. In conclusion, he had only to repeat, that his Noble Relative was now as ready and de sirous for enquiry as he had ever been, and he called upon the lion. Secretary to state the opinion of his Majesty's Government on the course Lord Chat•les Somerset had adopted in tendering his resignation, .subsowror4, to the abandonment of the Hon. Member for Arundel'imotion, Mr. AIABERLY said his Gallant Friend Sir Ftufani , Donkin was_ready to aubstantiate the charges he bad pre- ferret' against Cord Charles Somerset, and as the sub ject had been forced on him (Mr. Maberly) he must say that he Could not join in the acquittal for which the Noble Lord called.—(Hear,) —He thought there ought to be an inquiry. There was enough before the House to justify inqukry ; it was due to the petitioners.—(Hear.)—He (Air. Maherly) did not pronounce judgment on Lord Charles Somerset, but he could not acquit hire, and he fel' himself bound to say thus much, as the . Noble Lord bad alluded in such terms to bis Gallant Friend (Sir Doukin.) Mr. BROUGHAM said, that he (Mr. B.) about two years ago, had presented' a petition from Mr. Bishop Bur nett, complaining of the conduct of Lord Charles Somerset, and he was also certain that at that time he had stated to the Howe that his knowledge of the accuracy of the charge was more or teas imperfect, hut that there was one accuse- tion—namely,a charge of direct judicial corruption on the part of the Noble Lord, as Judge of Appeals at the Cape, ;lo gross beyond all precedent, that if well founded, be woidc feel it hie duty himself to impeac h the Noble Lord. Hay. _ _ _ _ ing so far pledged himself at that time, the Noble- Lord was now entitled to demand of him, after the lapse o. two years was granted for inquiring, what the result of the- investigation was, and he felt himself bound to give a plain and simple answer to that question. On the farmer occasion, he stated th,,t he did not vouch for the facts of the petition, further than that he hal examined Mr. Burnett generally on the nature of his allegations and proofs, and that he had received from that gentleman a clear and copious statement. He had since, however, a. better source of information, ads mg from the circumstance that he bad been profes- sionally engaged in a case before the. Privy Council, wherein some of the parties in quet.:ion were affected. The information he then received convinced him that a very serious misuaderstanding in the important point of dates existed. The principal charge against Lord C. Somerset was, that a person of the name of Donor, who had an ap- peal before him, did on the intimation of the Gorernor' Secretary, purchase a horse from the Governor for ten thousand dollars, which at the rate of ss. per dollar, which he imagined vas the value of the coin in that colony, would amount to 2,.5001. It was saki the purchaser did not receive the horse, but that, titooble Lord kept it till it died, but that he received a more valuable compensation for his money, in the reversal of the judgment given against him, and in a decision in his favour by the Noble Lord. Now, in the first place, the value of the dollar in the colony was but one Is. 6d. instead of 55., which at once reduced the price of the horse to 7001., under which a high -bred En glish hone could not be imported into the colony. The horse died soon after, and the fact was, that Lord C. So merset, out of kindness to the man who had previously, pur chased it, gave him one hundred pounds and another horse. All this led him to doubt the information he had previously received, and on the principle; which he had scrupulously adhered to, of considering .every man innocent until proved guilty, he determined to investigate the matter more fully before he ventured to proceed with it in the Home. But here came the main fact : the horse was purchased on the let Sep tember, and the sentence was given on the 30th May pre ceding—(Hear and laughter)—and what at once put an end to the enormity of the case, the sentence was given against the purchaser of the Horse.—(Hear and laughter.) The :souse would see that this wail quite enough to induce him not to persevere in carrying up an impeachment to the House of Lords for high crimes and misdemeanours against the Noble Lord. He would not go so far as the Noble Lord in saying that because one charge was found to be manifestly, and almost incredibly groundless, therefore all the charges brought by other parties—all `..e charges brought by a Gallant Officer of high rank, and of unint peached character, as far as he knew—for he thought it right to acknowledge that he knew nothing of the parties_ he would not pronounce every one of these charges false and groundless, a.neljoin in casting imputations upon the Gal lant Officer. But he would always go so far as this, that as often as he should hear a gross charge brought against any individual—were he in public or in private life—were his station high or low, let his character in the country be elevated or humble, obscure or powerful, he would do what he considered to be a fair measure of Justice—that is to say, that when so gross and flagrant a charge should be found to signally fail, he would lend to the individual so accused a much stronger presumption in his favour, 9noad ccetera—as to the remainder of the charges into 'Wiles he had not had an opportunity of inquiring, than h e "'Pull be (iiEpoceci on general principles to extend. This !'e cenceived to he a fair maxim of justice, which he would b^ desirous to see acted upon in his own case, and he was therefore disposed to extend it to others. Although. !_ k o o u n lil . not agr ee w i t h t h e N o bl e L or d, i n calling Sir Rufane 0 t a calu mn i a t or, or i n a b so l u t e ly a cquitting Lord Charles Somerset, he wished to see some grounds upon which a mature judgment could be formed upon the whole case. Sir Butane bonkin, it I vas desirous to bring for ward his charges, b ut who ‘ " vas em to e' aff , rd him the opportunity. H e was not a Membe r o f that House—he had not the same privilege, of making himself heard as he had. He might write a paragraph which Brougham) graph which would call forth a reply, an d thus produce a paper war, and fir-ills , termi nate in suits at law. But this was not the way in which the question could be settled. Let some Honourable Mem ber of that House —the Honourable Member for Arundel, since it appeared that he had formed such an intention, bring the question before the House. In the interim, it was no more than fair to the .Noble Lord who was ac_ cused, since it was not possible to pronounce his u nqua lifi ed suspend all harsh and smsu acquittal, at least to pport ed that he h a d it but fair to add, construction. He - tho u g ht not read Sir Rufane Donkin's pamphlet, not having been sufficiently acquainted with th e details of the subject. Be _ it) fore he sat down, there wa s one circumsfaucrelit g,to the Cape of Good Hope, to wh ich be thought' r his duty to advert in 'a few words, and without at all meaning to convey any personal or particular application. It was un derstood that there was a little doubt prevailing in the minds of English barristers, in consequence of certain appointments in some of the Colonial districts, and amongst the rest„ in the Cape of GoOd Hope, as to the, propriety of sending out, as Judges td the Colonies, persons who were not English lawyers. He was one of those who would be extremely averse to such a practice. fie thought it would not be safe to place in such an office any man, who,he might • ' • thongh be acquainted with the civil law, was not well versed in the English law, and trained and habituated to the trial by Jury, and the English law of evidence.—(Hear, hear.)—He` would be sorry to sec any practice prevail contrary to this maxim. He was Ocinviiti-ed that a knowledge of the civil law, upon which the Dutch law existing in some of the Colonies was founded, would not be a sufficient qualification for tile dis charge of those important functions. But as to the civil law, there was no knowledge of it 'o be obtained in Scot land. It had been proved at a recent trial at Lancaster, that this was mere sham and farce. A young man about to be examined, bad nothing to do but to go the evening betore and ask in what page he was to be questioned, and to prepare himself accordingly. It was therefore absUrd to se Judges from the Scotch bar. Let men be sent who w -e imbued with the principles of English law, and trial il by Jury. If civil lawyers were required, let them be taken frer Doctors' Commons; but it was perfectly absurd to go to he Scotch bar to look for them. He Merely threw out the suggestions incidentally. He was sure that the sub ject would meet the attention of Government. Ir. W. HORTON observed, in reference to what had fal en from his Hon. and Learned Friend, that Government dit not loee sight of the ptinciple of sending out persons to }administer the law in the colonies who were thoroughly itribued with the principles of English law. On a re cent occasion, two of the judges sent out came , precisely within the description of those persona whoin his Hon. add Learned Flieno was desirous of seeing placed in such situations; but it was at the time thought necessary, and, indeed, it was recommended by the highest authorities in this country, to send out a gentleman acquainted with the prrctice of the civil law, it being likely that questions might arisd .in which his knowledge of that branch of jurisprudence would be of the greatest utility.—(Hear,) -Now, with respect to the question immediately be fore the House, the House must be aware that the case of, the Noble Lord hail now been before it for two yehrs. They must be aware that paper after paper bad been laid upon the table, and they must likewise be aware of the extreme . expence incurred by retaining Com missioners at the Cape to sift into the charges preferred against the Noble Lord. It must also be in the recollection or, the House, that the Hon. Member for Arundel, after predging himself to bring forward a specific accusation, bad, fde reasons-with which he (Mr. W. Horton) was utterly unacquainted, abandoned that intentioc. The House, like-, wise, would not forget that on two separate occasions he had appealed to the Hon. Member for Arundel on the elincipies of justice and courtesy, to inform him what were the charges which he intended to prefer against Lord C. Sinerset, in order that the Noble Lord might. be prepared tai defend himself, and that he (Mr. W. Horton) might be enabled to collect the information which might be neces sary for that purpose. The Session had now approached 14 termination, and the Hon. Member for Arundel had neither brought his charges forward, nor communicated the nature of them. Without implying that the free will a any Member of that House should be fettered, or that 14 should not be at liberty to make or. refuse to make' a motion as he pleased, he must contend that it was unjust that a charge should longer be allowed to hang over the Noble Lord. In all the charges which had been brought aiainst Lord Charles Somerset, he had been accused of cor reption, and of every thing which was disgraceful to a man plhis situation. If any person took the pains to rea d the titions which had been presented, they would be found tq contain accusations of that description. The parties ring those accusations had not ventured to follow them u by proof, and therefore it was but fair to c o nsider the oble Lord acquitted with respect to the m. — ( Hear, hear, ar.)—Having been called upon by th e Noble Lord— ( . Somerset) to state what was the opinion enter ined by Government with respect to the c ase of s Noble Relative, he could declare, that the Noble Se cretary for the Colonies saw no reason to consider any one of the charges preferred against him as in the slightest de g ree substantiated, which affected his character as a man or honour and a gentleman.—(Hear, hear.) He did not ' tliink it necessary to go into further detail at that moment, and would therefore conclude with declaring, that in his dpinion the House must, when they considered the many ' opportunities which had been presented of making out a clam against Lord C. Somerset, and the manner in which ',. those opportunities had been neglected, be convinced of the impropriety of longer suffering charges to hang over the *obit LOrd.—(Hear, hear.) 4 Mr. HUME disclaimed the idea of there being any thing like a conspiracy against Lord Charles Somerset. i n he case of each petitioner constituted a separate griev ce. When individuals were blamed for allowing charges hang over the Noble Lord, it ought to be recolleCted, at the report of the Commissioners had only been laid raove the House during the present session. His opinion s, that it was the bounden duty of Government to in titute an inquiry on the subject the first thing in the text Session. Mr. F. PALMtiI. understood that Sir R. Donkin had Itatrd to the head of the Colonial Department, that he had charge to make against Lord C. Somerset, and that Lord athurst declined to entertain the charge. He (Mr. F. almer) had himself seen a letter, signed by the Right on- Secretary, telling Sir R. Donkin that Lord Bathurst id not wish him to king forward his charge.—(Hear.) t—That fact ought to be set at rest. He spoke in the pre eence of the Right Hon. Secretary, who could contradict Lim if he staked that which was ituawsset. • As the et...- inter of Sir R. Donkin was in some degree affected by what had passed, it might not be immaterial to put the ' douse in possession of the fact, that he had filled the of fee of Governor of the Cape for two years all. but five ays, in such a manner as to obtain "for him the thanks of is Majesty, of every public department at the Cape, and f the inhabitants of the Cape generally.--(Hear.)—These Marks of approbation were bestowed upon. Sir R. Doirkin pot at a time when he was in power, but when he was out pf office, and had left the colony. Whilst Sir R. Donkin acted as Governor he effected some extensive improve ents. Amongst other things , he reduced the expen liture to the extent of half a million. When Sir Rufane )onkin left office, the expenditure was 300,000 rix dol lars, and in 1823 it was augmented to 1,300,000. -16 could not consent to give a general verdict of acquittal in behalf of Lord Charles Somerset, be cause one charge had proved to be without:foundation. He had hitherto seen only one report from the Commissioners ; but he understood there Were to be nine altogether. Was he to suppose that because the first report contained heavy !natter against the Noble Lord, the remaining eight would acquit him of all blame ? It was indispensably necessary that the whole case should be fully inquired into. One thing was clear, namely, that the inhabitants of the Cape and the people of England would not acquit his Lord ship until an investigation had taken place. ,He would say one word in the way of apology for the Honourable Member who had not brought forward a motion in reference to this subject of which he had given, notice. It had been stated from good authority, that so long as there was a prospect of Lord Charles Somerset's return to the Cape, the in habitants of the colony would be afraid to come forward to substantiate any charge against him, but would rather sub mit to the evils they endured than provoke his Lordship's further severity by appearing as witnesses against him.— ,(Hear.)—That appeared to him a sufficient reason why ;the Hon. Member alluded to had not proceeded with his motion. He would conclude by asking the Right Hon. ;Secretary whether he intended to lay the further reportsof the Commissioners on the table ? Air. W. HORTON felt it necessary, in consequence of what had fallen from the Hon. Member (Mr. F. Palmer), to repeat what he had said on a former evening. Sir R. Donkin stated in the first instance, that he could make dis closuies which would cover Lord Charles Somerset with ruin. That declaration ,was very naturally construed into a charge by Lord Bathurst, and he thought the House would be of opinion that when one public man spoke in such terms of another, it was not forcing. the meaning of the English language to put that construction upon them. Sir R. Donkin, however, disclaimed the intention of bringing forward a charge against the Noble Lord. He said, he meant nothing of the kind. That being the case, Lord Bathurst told him .finally, that as he did not mean to bring forward any charge, the Colonial Department would not call upon him for any further information, because they had other means of arriving at a knowledge of the facts of the case. He left it to the House to decide whether Sir R. Donkin had not retracted his charge.—(Hear.) --With re spect to putting the House in possession of all the reports of ' the Commissioners, he must say that he could undertake to do no such thing. Many of the reports would refer to local points wholly unconnected with the subject under discussion. If it should appear proper to lay any of the future reports upon the table of the House, he would do so, but he would not pledge himself to any precise course. It was sufficient that Government acted on their responsibi lity, and would be prepared to defend themselves when called upon.—(Hear.) Mr. BARING thought it was equally unjust to Lord C. Somerset and to the petitioners, for a Member to place a notice of ;notion upon the order-book, and afterwards to withdraw it without assigning the slighteit reason for the proceeding.—(llear.),-H e felt bound to acquit the Noble Lord of the gross charges of personal corruption which had been brought against hi m , b ut he coul d not help cons ide r ing hit" government a misfortun e to the Cape. Lord F; L. GOWER said he shoUld feel it his duty to oppose any future inquiry into personal charges against Lord C.. Somerset , after the many opportuniti es whi c h had pl:ieeerniodn. li eglectede had taken ofbringing them f a war d b efore the P resent some pain 4 to make himself ac quainted with the charges made against the -Noble Lord, and believed t hem to be totall y g roundle ss;_ (Hear.) The papers were then - Ordered to lie on the table. Mr. LAWLEY presented a petition from the town of Bi rm i ng h a i o , praying that the Bill for enabling 'that town to send Members to ParliaMent might pads into a law. Mr. LITTLETON supported the petition: Sir C. FORBES opposed it. Mr. TENNYSON was anxious tLat the House sLUiri Bear it read at length.'. -(Cries of "No, no," from all sides of the House.) The petition was then ordered to lie on the table. MONOPOLY OF THE WATER COMPANIES. Sir R. WILSON presented a petition from the parish of St. George, Southwark, cornplainin of the monopoly arranged by the inter companles of London, and of .the arbitrary charges and exactions of those bodies. 'the Hon. Member said, that he himself was aware of the truth of great part of the petitioners' complaints, and should cer tainly, in the neat Scsainni endeavoUr to bring foils and some measure which should relieve theni. Mr. BERNAL presented a petition from the fishermen of 'Gravesend, praying to be relieved from the operation of the Act of the 47th of George 111., which limited the number of hands V.-hich they were allowed to employ on . . board their boats, in proportion to their tonnage; Mr. HERRIES said, that the law complained of was enacted with a view to the' prevention of smuggling,but the case should be inquired into; and any inconvenience under which the petitioners laboured, as tar as possible removed. Sir C. BURRELL presented a petition from East Grin stead, praying . that a duty might be imposed on foreign wool. Mr. LENNARD moved for certain returns connected with the law regarding the grant of patents. BANK, OF ENGLAND. Mr. LITTLETON Moved for an account of the amount of composition paid for stamps by the Bank of England for the present year : together with a statement whether the Branch-banks connected with the Bank of England drew their bills upon London without stamps. The object of the motion was to ascertain whether, in the rate of com position levied, the Bank of England had not an advantage over the private banks. Mr. HERRIES said that nothing could be farther from the intention of Government than to afford any such ad vantage; nor did he believe that the Bank of England de sired to hold any such. If, by accident, the existing law gave the Bank any such advantage, indeed, he had no doubt that they would be disposed, without waiting for any new enactment, at once to waive it. Mr. MABERLY said that the whole difficulty would be settled, if the branch banks of the Bank of England would consent to draw upon stamps. "Mr. PEARSE said a few words in so low a tone, that it was difficult to collect their meaning. We understood the Hon. Member to say tkat the Bank of England would be disposed to act with perfect fairness and equity. The motion was agreed to. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON presented a petition from Messrs. Fish and Collins, tobacconists,, complaining of an oppressive prosecution of the Excise-office for a trifling ir regularity in the transfer of a small quantity of tobacco which had. already paid the duty. The petitioners had for many years past paid 50,0001. a-year to the revenue. Mr. HERRIES regretted that he had not received notice before presenting the petition of the intention of the Hon. Alderman ; in which, case be might have been prepared to explain the conduct of the Excise Board; or perhaps might have pointed, out a means of redress, which the Board of Treasury was at all times ready enough to grant. Mr. HUME wished to . know why the Commisaioners of Revenue Inquiry had not made their Report on the Excise ? Mr. WALLACE said that the Commissioners had com pleted their inquiries into the excise system in Ireland and Scotland, but they had not completed their inquiries into the excise of England. Mr. Alderman WOOD bore testimony to the great re spectability and commercial honour of Mr. Fish, whom be had known for 25 years, but admitted that he would, in all . . probability, have obtained immediate redress by petitioning the Treasury. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL presented a petition from 239 Sergeants and Barristers at Law in favour of the Catholic Claims. He, as well as those enlightened persona of his own profession, was a firm friend of, and be liever in, the religion of the Established Church, and there fore he joined with them in wishing to reduce the number of her enemies by taking away all pretexts of hostility. The petition coming from so respectable and intelligent a body, proved that the cause of Catholic Emancipation was steadily gaining ground. CLERICAL DUES. Mr. HUME presented a petition from Peter Watson, complaining of imprisonment in Durham gaol for 72 days, in consequence of a suit instituted by the rector or vicar of Chester-lc-street, for the recovery of 1011 d. Easter dues, the costs and expellees having run to upwards of 1,0001. He moved the printing of the petition, because it was a case involving a question upon which some measure must be founded early in the next Session. ROBERT GOTTRLA Y. Mr. HUME pre/ranted a petition from Robert Gourlay, now a prisoner fur three years and a half, in consequence Of a charge of assault upon - an Hon. Member of that aies‘se (Mr. Brougham). The lion. Member thought it quite time that the case of this petition should be investigated. Mr. BII6IJOHAM said, that from the peculiar situa tion in which he might be supposed to stand towards this unfortunate man, he was anxious to say a few words on the present occasion. And he wished, first of all, to inform his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume) of one or two things . ivhicb, if Robert Gourlay were of sound mind (which he very much doubted) he ought to have been apprised of by the petitioner himself. In the first place, if he were ca pable of judging at all, he ought never to .have doubted who wasrhis accuser—the police of the Home Department, who had taken him into custody, to be dealt with accord ing to law. Mr. HUME.—" Certainly not., , Mr. Peel had denied that aeseetion.", Mr. BROUGHAM---" Well, then, the police acting upon their own responsibility ; for by them • the caption was made, after Gourley had been discharged from th% police-office. For any person to insinuate that this poor man was directly or indirectly detained by his intervention, was false—utterly and entirely false—as great a falsehood as ever was published in print, or uttered out of print."— (Hear, hear.)—" On the contrary," continued Mr. Brougham, " I was repeatedly sent for to my chambers at Lincoln's-inn, to attend at the police-office to pro secute this man, and my answer was, that I would not go there=that they might do as they pleased with him, but I should not appear. Finding that he had been afterwards arrested by the police somewhere near Charing-cross, I re peatedly expressed a wish to the solicitor of the Treasury (Mr. Maule), that some means might be devised for his liberation, and the answer was, he does not want to get out ; he refuses the bail tendered: for his discharge.-.-. (Hear, hear.)—Now, what was the complaint of this in dividual ?—why, one to which,. under similar cir Cums stances, each of the 14,000,000 of inhabitants of England would be liable. He was taken before a Magistrate as a violent and refractory person, and the Magistrate had no power to release him without sureties. This detention was under no sew law, but one as old as the Normans and Saxons.—(Hear.)—The poor:man's state of mind did not rest upon mere casual conjecture. Sir George Tuthill, and another equally eminent practitioner in the medi cal treatment of insanity, gentlemen who knew bow to so u nd the tone of a patient, and 'strike upon the key which would vibrate upon his real condition-- these eminent doctors had been expressly sent to exa mine him, and their opinion was, that he was clearly insane. —(Hear,)--He had never threatened him (Mr. Brougham), but he had threatened his judge, ay, a nd bought a pistol for executing (as he said) that threat.-- (Hear.) —All that he had done to him was, not to strike him, as had been falsely stated, but to lift a whip or switch over his hat, and then to mutter, as he was afterwards in formed, by those who were near the poor man, such words as these—" Is not a living man better than a dead mis sionary?" alluding to the adjourned debate into which be was then about to enter, in that gluons: strugg l e respect . ing the treatment of the missionary, Mr.. Smith. He knew perfectly well that his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume) did not believe poor Gourlay to: be insane; and' he likewise knew, thetthe more any body endeavoured to convince his Hon. Friend of the error of any (Onion which' once en tered into his head, the more certain yo u were of having that opinion more obstinately confirmed ; this, right .or wrong, would surely be the case.-- (Laughte r .).—flie Hon. Friend was, therefore, quite consistent in his obsti nacy when he continued to assert that this unfortunate man was sane. Now he (Mr. Brougham) had seen, p er haps, 500 madmen, who could talk as rationally as his Hon. Friend upon some points—(A laugh)---and the physicians said the same, but then their experience suggested the mode of seeking the key of the disorder. This experience his Hon. Friend had never had, and he fervently hoped that lie would never ha v e occasion to knew More about such efflictin g cases than be now liad.—(A laugh.)—He must again declare, that he was no party to this man's de ' tention. As to the poor man's own case of, suffering, he bad heard it distinctly from him : he had been badly used in Canada—that is, he had been tried and puniihed, when he ought not to have been tried at all, for he was clearly under a calenture at the moment, and a fitter subject for a lunatic hospital than a court of justice; and this ca lentureaggravated by the trial and subse quenti m a p v r a i s ol s „ oz e l n y t. The petitioner had always said he had been bred a gentleman, but during hii abereatione he pauper in Wiltshire, and d r i ven to break states on the road for his sustenane-i had permitted himself to fin , so low, be a parish as to If he Werea'geriilernaii; wty allow his Suptesed resenitnelWagein'st him to have sliatigiid for more than three years, and then have endeavoured to commit an assault (for actual assault there was none) in the pre- sense of above a hundred people, in so public a place as the lobby of the House of Commons, without notice, where he !cneW he must be interrupted, and then not upon any per sonal ground, but because of what be called a debate upon " a dead inissionary?"—(Hear.)—Tbe whole act was that of a lunatic, and rendered, if possible, more evident by the letters which he bad written to the Right Hon. Speaker, for in them he said that he was aloyal man, but there was no disloyalty in pulling the King by the nose, which be illustrated by adding, that if the King fell into a well, would not any loyal subject be justified in palling him out by the nose, to save him from drowning ? And again, if our Saviour ;tee right in c.: . -asing the money-lenders from the Temple, was he not rielt in endeavouring to drive the knaves from the Senate ? In fact, if ever there. Was a clear case of aberra• tion of reason, it was in this instance. The poor man was not an object of reasonable denunciatien. What was his 6.0 statement? He said, I have selected you; Mr. Brougharn, as the object of my attack, becanie you are a well 'known, or, (as he said)' a distinguhhed person, and I cannot have a surer way of - bringing myself into conspicuous notoriety.' "In charity I must surprise such a person insane, for if otherwise, can the human mind con ceive a more atrocious crime, than that of one man seeking another's life, and putting his own in jeopardy,lor the pur pose of personal notoriety ?_(dear, hear.)—But his con doct, then and since, clearly showed his mental delusion he does not quarrel with Mr. Manic of the Treasury, he does not bring his ease before any of the proper puLlic tribunals; but it is used as a stalking-horse, for a certain class of people to deal in slander and calumny. By these I am charged with a want of personal courage, because I did not fight this lunatic. And this, too, is conveyed in, as I am told, an admired poem by a reverend person who, it is said, can-write some good verses—a cler g yman, who, m eanly shelving tinder the shelter of his personal immu nity, covering himself by his cloth from all private respon sibility as a gentleman, casts forth this sort of vulgar ca lumny. The purpose of the poetaster was evident--the miscreant who disgraced his profession and his calling, hoped that by dealing in scandal, he might obtain that promotion from persons in office which, upon his real merits, he should vainly seek ; but there was some rea son to believe, that the present Government at least would not disgrace their functions, or bring scandal upon a gr ave office, by lifting any of that class of miscreants into patronage. This poor petitioner attacked me, as I have said, in a crowd without notice, and the very *mint I turned round, I found him in actual cus tody, and he consequently escaped that retort which any man breathing, who bad a hand to his body, must have giv en him at the instant." His Hon. Friend had asked why Isis accuser had not come forward. Why, the laW was Iris accuser, and required sureties for his good behaviour. Why did not his Honourable Friend, if he believed him (as he said he did) to be sane, come forward, he being a rich man, and become his surety ? No, he cautiously and prudently refrained froin such a step, because he doubtless apprehended, that when Gourlay was released, he (Mr. Hume) might be exposed to personal attack in his next paroxysm, and told, as the people in the lobby were, " let the (lead bury their dead."—(A laugh.)--If the sureties wer e once given, the man must be enlarged, and the public must take their chance with him. But he (Mr. Brougham) must again, once for all, protest against being considered either his accuser or detainer.—(Hear.) Mr. HUDSON GURNEY complained of the mode in which this man had been detained in custody ; and, as he understood, by the authority of tbat House. Mr. BROUGHAM'repeated, that there had been no detention of this man by the authority of that House. Mr. PERCEVAL understood that the Honourable Member for Montroie and several other persons were will ing to give the necessary security for this individual, but that he refused to accept it until a commission had been ap pointed. He thought that the Honourable Member for Montrose would behave in a much kinder manner to this individual if he refused to present any more of his peti tions, for the petitioner seemed to think that it was practi cable to get out of confinement by other means than those which the law prescribed ; and as long as persons con tinued to present his petitions; not only would this delusion continue, but the petitioner would _doubtless consider it as countenancing that deltision. Lord PALMERSTON could not help thinking that the refusal of the offer of the Hon. Member for. Montrose indi cated something very like . mental aberration in the peti tioner. The petition was then read. It stated that Members of the House of Commons were ex-officio Justices of the Peace, and 'prayed that .a commission or committee might be appointed to visit the petitioner, or that such other steps might be taken as the Hon. HouSe in ,their wisdom should think fit. , _ . . bad te . eii entirely IoA TlWWere not to uma a. what had been his state three years ago, but at the state in which he now was. He (Mr. Hume) war sure—if he might judge from the writings of the petitioner, which were often, it was true, very sharp—that there were men suffered to go , abroad who were much more mad than Mr. Gourlay.—(Hear, and a laugh.)•—He would only add that he would give his security for the petitioner, but that the petitinner had refused to accept it until it was decided why he was detained in confinement. Mr. BROUGHAM said that he wished it to be dis tinctly' understood, that it was his wish that the petitioner should be set at large. The petition was then. ordered to be printed. Mr, HMO presented a petition from the anti-tread Tax Association of Stroud, in Gloiceetershire, against the Corn Laws. Also a petition from Ashton-under-Line to the same effect. Also a petition froM ThOmas Gray, of Nottingham, stating, that he tad diicovered certain im provements in the manufacture of iron rail-roads,'and pray ing that he might be allowed to lay them before the House. Also, a petition from, the Minister of a parish in the Orkneys, stating 'that he had diScovered some variations in the compass,'—(A latigh,)---which were' of great impor tance, and which he prayed the House to'-take into their cOnsideration. DECIFION OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL. Mr.. BROu GRAM said, that seeing the President of the Board 'of Controul in his:plebe, he must beg leave to call his attention to a point which, in his opinion, deserved seribas consideration. He meant a point involved in the very ex traordinary decision lately made in the highest Court of ApOal, reversing the - decision of the Courts beloW, and which protected the -East India Company in taking an estate away from one man and giving it to another: He hoped that the Right Hon. Gentleman would seriously ap ply his mind to the law under which this decision had been made before the next session of Parliament, if the Com pany really meant, which he could not bring himself to think they did Mean, to enforce that extraordinary decision. I The Court had ruled, that in a question concerning the property of petty Princes, the Company succeeding to all such property, a patrimonial right wait merged in the right of sovereignty. It bad also been declared that if the C om p a ny did interfere, as a sovereign, no Court could'have any jurisdiction in the matter. There could be no doubt that the law on this must be perfectly clear, for the mo ment the arguments were ended, a decision was given with out hesitation—a decision which disposed of one of the largest properties in India, and which reversed that of the Courts below. Mr. WYNN said, that as he was not present when judg ment was given in the case to which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman referred, he could not state the ground of that judgment. He certainly did know that very great atten tion had been given to it, and he should not like now to enter upon the discussion of a decision of the highest court of appeal. Mr. BROUGHAM said, that he had been altogether , misunderstood. Here the discussion ended. Mr. COURTENAY presented the report of the Select , Committee on friendly societies.—Ordered to be printed- Mr. C. GRANT presented a petition from the congre gation of an Independent chapel at Chelmsford, praying for a repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts.—Ordered to be printed. Mr. H. GRATTAN presented a petit i o n from five indi viduals of the county of Monaghan , stating that they had been bayonetted, shot, and wounde d. The Petititmers prayed that their case might be taken into considerate con- Mr. EASTHOPE presented a petiti on from th gregatiOn of a chapel in Robinson's-row, Kingsland, pray ing for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. Mr. TENNYSON moved, that the House should not issue warrants for new writs for burgesses to serve in Par liament for the borough of East Redford until the expira tion of 14 days after the next Session of Parliament. After a few words from Mr. G. B a kes, Sir C. Wethe rell, Mr. C. Fergusson, and Mr. D. W. Harvey, the mo don was agreed to. Mr. W. SMITH presented a petition front Mr. Mon tague Burgoyne, praying that the ecclesiastical law might be amended. After a few observations. from Dr. Lushington, Mr. Home, and Mr. W. Smith, the petition was read, and or dered to lie upon the table. . • Mr. W. SMITH presented a petition from a Chapel in Crown-court, Covent-garden, and other places, for the repeal of: the Teat and. Corporation Acts. • The Hon. 'MEMBER, then moved for ari aJgttaet of _s return of the slave population of various: olm l j": 1 ; Iel°13g4ig to :' Majesty, made out. at •the:Registry,Ace in this country, since the Ist March, 1826.—Ordered. Mr. TALMASH presented a petition from the parish of Hampstead, on the distressed state of the Irish poor, and the hardship which this parish, in common with others, suffered from being constantly obliged to maintain them on their way to Ireland. Dr. LUSHINGTON moved for a copy of the report made by the visiting magistrates of Middlesex, presented at the Quarter Sessions, September, 1825. ROMAN CATHOLIC LAND-TAX BILL. On the motion of Mr. G. BANICES, the order of the day was read for the third reading of this Bill was accordingly read a third time, and passed. BILL TO REGISTER VOTERS.. ,ord NUGENT, pursuant to notice, moved for leave to 1. 1 g in a Bill for .the reiistra tion of the qualification of ro rs•in England and Wales. .ord LOWTHER objecte d to the p rinci p le of this Bill, a said that it was too late in the Session to think of in tr ucing such an important mea sure. ir C. WETHERELL also o b j ected to its introduction. Ir. WYNN would put it to t he Noble Lord whether it w desirable to press his moti on. He stron g l y recom. m ded him to withdraw the Bill. Ir. W. SMITH supported the Bill. ir C. FORBES opposed it. Lord NUGENT, in reply, observed, that if the Noble 14d (Lowther) and the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Fir C. Wetherell) would persist in calling for a division, tik knowledge of the inconveniences to which this course upuld lead, in the then state of the House, by impeding 'pfblLC business, would induce him, on that account to uithdrani ire Bill. Lord LOWTH.NR signified his intention 9f dividing the house. Lord NUGENT then withdrew his motion. THE CORN BILLS. The Lords' Amendments in the Ware h oused C orn Bill, ald the Corn Averages Bill, were read a first and second time, and agreed to. The Lords' Amendments in the Petty Session (Ireland) Pill were also agreed to. • The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at half.past eleven o'clock. SIR W. SCOTT'S LIFE OF NAPOLEON, (EXTRACTS FROM) THE FIRST JACOBIN TRIUMVIRATE. "Danton was a man of gigantic size, and possessed a voice of thunder. His countenance was that of an Ogre on the shoulders of a Hercules. He was as fond of the pleasures of vice as of the practice of cruelty; and it was said, there were times when he became humanised amidst his debauchery, laughed at the.terror which his furious de clamations excited, and might he approached with safety, like the Maelstrom at the turn of tide. His profusion was indulged to an extent hazardous to his popularity, for the populace are jealous of a lavish expenditure, as raising their favtnrites too much above their own degree ; and the charge of peculation finds always ready credit with them, when brought against public men. Robespierre possesSed this advantage over Danton, that he did not seem to seek for. wealth, either for hoarding or expending, but lived in strict and economical retirement, to justify the name of the Incorruptible, with which he was honoured by his parti-; sans. He appeared to have possessed little talent, saving a deep fund of hypocrisy, considerable powers of sophistry, and a cold exaggerated strain of oratory, as foreign to good taste as the measures he recommended were to ordinary hu manity. It seemed wonderful that even the seething and boiling of the revolutionary cauldron, should have sent up from the bottom, and long supported on the surface, a thing so miserably void of claims to public distinction ; but Robespierre had to impose on the minds of the vulgar, anti he knew how to beguile there, by accommodating his flat tery to their passions and understanding. The people lis tened as to their Cicero, when he twanged out his apos trophes of pauvre peuple, peuple vertueux ! and hastened to execute whatever came recommended by such honied phrases, though devised by the worst of men for the worst and most inhuman of purpoSes. Vanity was Robespierre's ruling passion ; and, though his countenance, was the image of his mind, he was vain even of his personal appearance, and never adopted the external habits of a sans culotte. Amongst his fellow Jacobins he was distinguished, by the nicety with which his hair was arranged and powdered ; and the neatness of bis dress was carefully attended to, so as to counterbalance, if possible, the vulgarity of his per son. His apartments, though small, were elegant, and vanity bad filled them with representations of the occu pant. Self-love, of this dangerous character is closely al lied with envy, and Robespierre was one of the .most en vious and vindictive men that ever lived. He never was knoWn to pardon any opposition, affront, or even rivalry ; to he marked in ins tablets; on such4A account, was a ante, though peel ataf not an toatntainte,mrtence atarn: Danton was a hero compared with thili cold, calculating, creeping miscreant ; for his passions, though exaggerated, had at least some touch of humanity ; and his brutal fero city was supported by brutal courage. Robespierre was a coward, who signed death-warrants with a hand that shook, though his heart was relentless. He poi sessed no passions on which to charge his crimes; they were perpetrated in cold blood, and upon mature delibera tion. Marat, the third of this infernal triumvirate, had at tracted the attention of the lower orders by the violence of his sentiments in the journal which he conducted from the commencement of the Revolution, upon such principles that it took the lead, in forming its successive changes.— His political exhortitions began and ended like the howl of a blood-hound for murder ; or, if a wolf could have written a journal, the gaunt and famished wretch could not have ravened move eagerly for slaughter. It was blood which was Marat's constant demand, not in drops from the breast of an individual—not in puny streams from the slaughter of families, but blood in the profusion of an ocean. His usual calculation of the heads which he de- Mended amounted to two hundred and sixty thousand ; and though be sometimes raised it as high as three hundred thousand, it never fell beneath the smaller number. There was a touch of insanity in this unnatural strain of ferocity, and the wild and squalid features of the wretch appear to have intimated ' a degree of alienation of mind. Marat was, like Robespierie, a coward. Danton;murdered to glut his rage ; Robespierre to avenge his injured vanity ; Marat from the same instinctive love of blood which induces a wolf to continue his ravages of the flocks long after his hunger is appeased. It was under these hell-hounds that the massacre of prisoners in Paris took place ; it was a massacre in cold blood, of the defenceless, which lasted four days—from the 2d to the 6th of September." NAPOLEON IN HIS YOUTH. " The conduct of Napoleon among his companions, was that of a studious and reserved youth, addicting himself deeply to the means of improvement, and rather avoiding than seeking the usual temptations to dissipation of time. Ile had few friends, and no intimates; yet at different times, when he chose to exert it, he exhibited considerable influence over his fellow-students, and when there was any joint plan to be carried into effect, he was frequently c hosen dictator of the little republic. In the time of wi nter, Buonaparte upon one occasion engaged his companions in constructing a fortress out of the snow, regularly defended by ditches and bastions, accordi n g to the rules of f owers ortifica- of tion. It was considered as displaying the gre . at p the juvenile engineer in the way of hits profession,. and vzis attacked and defended by the s tudens, who divided into parties for the purpose, until the battle a fair held became so keen that ws where air the their superiors thoug ht it proper to proclaim a truce. Th e o en e, yonng Buonaparte g ave another instance of address and en terprise upon held annually in the e h f o l l o w i n g "casin. There neighbourhood of Brin pupils of the military school used to find a day's amuse ment ; but on a ccount of a quarrel betwixt theni and the country people upon a former occasion, or for some such sauce, the masters of the institution had directed that the students should not on the fair day h e permitted to go be yond their own precincts,which were surrounded with a wan. U n der the direction of the young Corsican, however, the scholars had already laid a plot for securing their usual day's diversion. They had undermined the wall which encompassed th e i r exerc i s i n g ground, wi th so much skill and secrecy, that their operatioins remained entirely un known till the morning of the fair, when a part of the boundary unexpectedly f e ll, and gave a freepassage to the impris one d s t u d en t s , of wh ich they immediately took the advant age , by hurrying t o the prohibited scene of amuse ment. But although on these, and perhaps other oeca_ sions, Buonaparte displayed some o . f the frolic tempe r o f youth, mixed wi th the i nventive genius and the talent f or comm an di ng others by which he was distinguished in after life at school was in general that of a recluse and time, his acquiring by his judgment, and treasuring severe student, in his memor y, that wonderful process of almost unlimited combination, by means of which he was afterwards able to simp lify the in . ost difficult and complicated undertakings. Hi s mathematical. teacher was proud of the young Wander, as the boast of his school, and his other scientific instruc tors had the same reason to be satisfied. In languages Buonaparte was less a . proficient, and never acquired the art o f writing or spelling French, far less foreign languages, with accuracy or correetn.ss. Though of Italian origin, Buonaparte had not a decided taste for the fine arts, and his taste in composition seems to have leaned towards the grotesque and the bombastic. At the age of seventeen, he became (when a lieutenant ,of artillry) an adventUrer for the honours of literatUre alio,' and was inonyL mously a competitor for the priie offered by the Academy of Lyons on Raynal's question, What are the principles and institutions, by application of ti 7 °lout 'man kind can be raised to the hihhest pitch of The prize was adjudged to the young soldier: L iLimPog sible to avoid feeling curiosity to know the charac ter of the juvenile theories respecting government, advocates. 1 b y one who at length attained, the power of practical l y , making what experiments he pleased. Probably his early kit 'as did not exactly coincide with his more mature practice ; for. when Talleyrand, many }ears afterwards, got the Essay Out of the records of the Academy, and returned it to t. he author, Buonaparte destroyed it after he had read a fea pages. He also laboured under the temptation of writing. a journey to Mount Cenis, after the manner of Sterne,,.. which he was fortunate enough filially to resist. .'ll affectation which pervades Sterne's peculiar style of compo sition, was not likely to be simplified under the pen of: Buonaparte. Sterner times were fast approaching, and the nation was now fully divided by those factions which pro duced the Revolution." NAPOLEON IN SOCIETY. " Napoleon's general manner in society, during this part of his life, has b een described by an observer of first-rate power ; .accor4 ling to whom, he was one for whom the admiration w inch could not be refused to him,. was always mingled with a portion of fear. He was.dif-. ferent in his manner from other men, and neither pleased! nor angry, kind nor severe, after the common fashion of humanity. He appeared .w live for the execution of his- own plans, and to considor others only in so far as they were connected with, and could advance or oppose them . : He estimated his fellow-mortals no otherwise than as they- could be useful to his vies vs; and, with a precision of in - p w e h n i e l t e ra to ta stu th d e y. sen ß ti o m o e o n p ts ar o te f tdhidose notwhom poit in telligence whi c h seemed hatuitive from his rapidity; be s w sess u w th or e t ordit h his ... nary tone of light conversation in society ; probably his mind was too much burdened, or too proud to stoop to which was perhaps adopted for the • and there , was a stiffness and ; adopt that mode of pleasing, Ip.e-urle:lo"VeSePoff manner, people at a distance. His look bad t h e sa um character. When he thought himself closely ob expression, save that of a vague and indefinite served, be had the p ower of d isch arg i ng from his counte presenting to the curious investigator the fixed smile,nan ee andttl,l eyes and rigie l features of a bast of marble. ‘ "When he tailked with the purpose of pleasing, -Bona parte often told anecdotes of his life in a very pleasing man ner ; when silent, be had something disdainful in the ex pression or his face - ; when &posed to be quite at ease, a.IOIIDGE OF LODI. he was, in Zladame de Steel's opinion, rather vulgar. , His natural tom; of feeling seemed to be a sense of internal i ieft .Y. Landing, it was swept by superiority, and ot . secret cot , tempt for the world in which tl a lt n eerm d y p, e v tw e nth!) whose e pta shv than- very il objects which he puran..ed." acted, c ted a r t t ' a i he lived, the men evi.th wNont he twenty or thirty Austrian pieces of " ThoughPASSAGE was peril. The French, with great alertnees ~ got.ae many guns ders menaced death to any who shout., this tremendous j in position on the left bank, and aneWeitte,l fire with equal spirit. Durin g this cannenk de, .Buonsparte i threw himself perso nall y amon g st the flees in order to station two guns loaded with g ra p e shot, in sure, a position , i as rendered it impos s i ble for an y one to approaes, for the 1 purpose of undermining or destroying the bridge ; and then calmly proceeded to make arrangements fora dent_ rate attempt. His cavalry.wae directed to cross, if possible, at a place where the Adda was said to be fordable—a task which. ' they accomplished with difficulty. Meantime Napoleom observed that the Austrian line of infantry was thrown con- - , siderably behind the batteries of artillery which they sup ported, in order that they might have the advantage of a bending slope of ground, which afforded them shelter , from the French fire. He, therefore, drew up a close co- , lumn of three thousand gre nadiers, protected from the ar tillery of the Austrians by the walls and houses of iNe town, and yet considerably nearer to the enemy's line oft guns on the opposite side of the Adda than were their own infantry, which ought to have protected them. The co luinn of grenadiers, thus secured, waited in comparative safety, until the appearance of the French cavalry, who ha& crossed the ford, began to disquiet the flank of the Aus trians. This was the cistical moment which Buonaparte expected. A single word dean - inland wheeled the head of the column of grenadiers to the left, and placed it on the 'perilous bridge. The word was •given to advance, and they ! 1 / 4 ru.shed'on with loud shouts of Wee la Republique ! But i their appearance upon the bridge was the signal for a re- i doubled shower of grape-shot, while, ,crom the windows of the' houses on the left side of the river, t'he soldiers who oc- eupied them poured volley after volley or' musketry on thick column, as it endeavoured to force its' way over the ) long bridge. At one time the French arena (liars, unable to sustain this dreadful storm, appeared for art instant to , -ssessasesa 'mot 13.artbier, the, chief. of Etuonapatlie ' S staff, 1 , with Massena, L'Allemagne, and Corvini, hurt} id to the head of the column, and by their presence and g ollantry , renewed the resolution of. the soldiers, who now pawed i across the bridge.- The • Austrians had but one re d 1 source left ; to rush on the • .French with 'the blyoneea and kill, or drive back into the Adda, those why' had forced their passage; before they could . deploy -f into line, or receive support from their comrades, who were still filing along the bridge. But the opportunity was ne glected,.either because the troops who should have executed t the manoeuvre had been, as we have already noticed, with' drawn too far from the river; or because the soldiery , a 4 happens when they repose too much confidence in a strong position, became panic-struck when they saw it unexpect edly carried. Or it may be that General Beaulieu, so old and so unfortunate, had somewhat lost that energy are' presence of mind which the critical moment demanded' Whatever was the cause, the • French rushed on the ar tile lery-men, from whose fire they had lately suffered so tre - • i mendously, and, unsupported as they were, had little diffi" ` culty in bayonetting them. The Austrian army now entry pletely gave way, and lost in their retreat, annoyed as i t was by the French cavalry, upwards of twenty guns, e thousand prisoners, and perhaps two thousand mere 1 wounded and slaip. . Such was the famous pass - age of the Bridge of Lodi, achieved with such Ain and gallantry, ' l6 gave the victor the same character ror fearless intr epidi t Y, and practical talent in actual battle, which the former' pas' of the campaign had gained him as a most able tactician: 'i NAPOLEON'S NOBLENESS 'OF MIND. " The young victor paid a delicate and n oble-minded compliment, in declining to be personally present whet the veteran Wurmser had the mortification' to eurrender his sword, with his garrison of twenty thousand men, tete II thousand of whom were fit for service. This self.:denird I did Napoleon as much credit nearly as big victory, and l must not be omitted in a narr ative, which, often called to r stigmatise his ambition and its consequences, should no t be the less ready to observ e malice of dignified and ho nou rable feeling. The history of this remarkable man more fre' I' quently reminds us of the romantic and improbable TIC, 0 tories imputed to the heroes of the romanti c ages , then 'i the spirit of chivalry attributed to them : but, in thiti W; stance, Napoleon's condact toward s W urm i er may. b e lustl' ' f co mpared to that of the Black Prince to his • alprison' toy i King John of France." NAPOLEON'S TALENTS AS A CALCIILATOS• I " It must be admitted, looking around the 'city of Pan - O' and travelling through the provinces of France, that NO' parte has, in the works of peaceful grandeur, left a steal of ma gn ifi cence no t un worthy of the soaring, and, at 00 i , same time; profound spirit, whic h accom p lished so mail ', a onders in warfare. His conduct towards the Empre o Josephine was regular and exemplary. From their acm e sion to grandeur till the fatal divorce, as Napoleon 'onc e termed it, they s hared the privacy of the same apartmee t ' I and for many years partook of the same bed. Josephine i g said, indee d, to have g iven h er husband, upon who m she I ha d man y claims, some annoyance by her jealousy, to whie 1 h e patiently submitted, and escaped the reproach thrown ( '‘ l d so many heroes and m en o f gen i us , th a t, proo f t o se en I thing else, they are not so to the allurements of female duction. What amcifirs he had were of a passisg chars ( ' I ter. . The dignity of his throne was Splendidly and mar': ficently maintained, but the expense was still limited b A j that love of - order which arose out of Bonaparte's powe' of arithmetical calculation, habitually and constantly Cl' ployed, and the trusting to which contributed, it may b e !, f to that external regularity and decorum which he alwer supported. In speaking of his own peculiar taste; Bee,: parte - Said that his favourite work w as a boo k of l og arithrew and his choicest amusement was w orkin g o ut the probleel#:, The individual to whom the Emperor made this sing , t i ' ? avowal mentioned it with surprise to an officer near 11 , person, who assured him that not only did Napoleon Roue himself with arithmetical ciphers, and the theory of co t ', putation, but that he frequently brought it to bear on .I' i i domestic expenses, a nd diverted himself with comply!, I the price at which particular articles were chargedlo lael, with the rate which they ought to have cost at the O w market prices but which, for reasons unnecessary to W in e was in genera l greatly exceeded. Las Cases' mentions ,'', d e tecting, such an overcharge in the gold fringe wh's adorned one of his state apartments. A still More c ur; , 0 anecdote respects a watch, which the most eminent ern, of Paris had orders to Aish with his utmost skill, iOl style which might become a gift from the EmpeO r j France to, his brother the King- of Spain. Before 4 watch was out of the artist's hand s, Napoleon reel news of the battle of Vittoria. ' All is noW Ot - er V , Joseph;' were ihnOst his first wor ds after receiving. the" telligence. ' Send to countermand the order for ~, watch." Properly consi dered, this anecdote indicates 1