The Sun. — London, England, 1827-04-05 00:00:00

ARIGNA MINING COMIWRIt. REPORT FROM THE SELECT CO MITTEE ON THE ARIGNA aeneusC COMPANY. . O l fmmigp, RE THE Rocas Op coD[ tONs, TO SE P r A INT/D, MARCH, 1827. ( 111X T P —AcTs FROM THE REPORT.) The Select cbmmittee appointed to inquire into the origin, manavmett, and present state of the Arigna Iron and Co al Mining Company, and to report the same, with any special matter touching the conduct of any Members o .i this Hoene, together with the Minutes of Evidence taken before them, have examined into the matters re ferred to them, and now submit their Report to the House; subjoining t o i t i n an A ppen di x t h e ev id ence both oral and documentary on which it proceeds. (Continued from our Paper of yesterday.) Soon after the meeting of the Ist of January, 1825, Sir William Congreve again went abroad ; and on the 15th of January, the second meeting of the Directors took place, the attending Directors being Colonel (now Gene ral) M'Lean, Messrs. Bent, Dunston, S.urtees, and the two Clarkes. This meeting was distieoished by an occurrence to which some allusion has atteady been made. On the table before Each of the Directors present, the Messrs. Clarke eXet:pted, Mr. Henry Clarke, as it appears without any vrarning or preface, laid a small paper parcel, which, on being opened, was found to contain the sum of 1,0471. bank notes and sovereigns. Something seems to ha-v• been said of these sums being paid as a remunera tion for "management." Few more words passed ; and these were chiefly spoken by Mr. Bent. He expressed great surprise. He asked Mr. Clark e ,_ " What is this ?" and, in reply, was assured that be saw in the money his own property, and was de sired to pocket it without further questions. At this crisis Mr. Dunston rose, and proposed that the fractional sums of 47/. should be thrown into a fund to be employed in the purchase of a piece of plate for Mr. H. Clarke,_.... a proposal which was instantly adopted by the whole party. This donation the contributors avowedly meant as an ac knowledgment of the services of Mr. Clarke in the forma tion of the company. No statement was at this meeting, nor for some time af terwards, made, whence the sums so distributed arose; but the Messrs. Clarke now assert, as will have been antici pated, that the money was derived from the profit of 15,000/. gained en the sale of the Arigna property to the Company. Mr. Power, another of the Directors, bad pre icenily received 1,0001., which is ascribed to the same origin, being the net sum divided, after deducting 47/. for the plate fund of Mr. Henry Clarke. The Messrs. Clarke admit that they themselves respectively appropriated sums of 1,047/. out of the same fund; a like sum was soon after wards given by Mr: Henry Clarke to Mr. Brogden ; and it seems that a sum of 2,5001. produced, as alleged, in the same manner, was credited by Mr. Clarke to Sir Wm. Congreve in account. Two sums of 1,0471. each were also reserved by Mr. Henry Clarke for Mr. Schneider, jun., and 11r. Morgan, both named Directors by Sir William Congreve ; but both of whom were abroad. The sum for Mr. Schneider, 'or rather 1,0001. part of it, the rest being added to Mr. Henry (arke's plate fund, was credited to Sir William Congreve, Mr. Holroyd, who was the brother-in-l a w of Mr. Morgan, tearing of a sum held by Mr. Henry Clarke to the credit of Mr. Morgan, applied for it to Mr. Clarke ; but the payment of it was withheld by Mr. Clarke until (as he said) Mr. Morgan should return to England. No other occurrence of importance, in fact, took place before the return of Mr. Morgan, who reached England on the 6th of June, 1825 ; except that a bill for the regula tion of the Company was brought into Parliament, which passed into a law on th e 2 3 d of June. Mr. Morgan, how ever, soon after his return, reas informed by Mr. Flat tery that 5,0001., part of th e os t ens ibl e purchase-money of the .Ari 1, g-na property, had bee n a pp ropr i ate d b y Sir Wil liam Congreve and. the Messrs. Clarke; and he, about the middle of the month, communicated this statement to Messrs. Ber..t and Brogden. It was agreed by Messrs. Morgan, 7r - fent, and Brogden, that an inquiry should he made ;alto the truth of this story, and they, in fact, after wa':ds proceeded to question the accused parties on the %abject. la is not necessary to enter into the particulars of the discussion that elasned at the Board of Directors. The sensation quickly extended to the shareholders ; Messrs: Robert Hitehens, /demon, and other members of the body; stood forward as the advocates of investigation ; and, in consequence of a requisition in writing sent by these indi viduals to the Directors, under a clause in the Company's Act of Parliament, a public meeting of the Company was, after some delay, called on the sth of December, 1825. At this meeting the aff-,ir of the 15 000/. was ma- 1 - - of _ • Congreve, 'And certain other of the Directors, and a propo saliwas (submitted for removing them from the Direction, whirrs, however, was negatived. Afterwards, however, at a public meeting held on the 30th of May, 1826, all the Directors were removed, with the exception of Mr. Schneider, jun., who had taken no concern in the Company, also of Messrs. Morgan, Bent, and Brogden, who were held to be uncontaminated by the imputed fraud ; also of Geiieral Maclean, who had resigned his situation of Director on the 17th of the preceding Dec. ; —and lastly, of Sir Wm. Congreve, who likewise in Feb. 1526, had resigned his office as Chairman, and also his seat in the direction. A bill in Chancery is now in progress, filed by Messrs. Robt. Hitchens, Moxen, and Parker, on behalf of themselves and all other shareholders of the Company, against all the original Directors, together with Mr. Flattery, and Messrs. P. Moore, Barrett, and T. Dunaton, to whom, as trustees for the Company, Mr. Flattery, conveyed the original pro perty ; praying that the 15,000/. with interest at the rate of 5 per cent., may be refunded to the Company ; but the cause has not yet been brought to a hearing. Having now completed their general sketch of the mat ters of fact concerned in the present inquiry, the Committee will proceed to notice more particularly certain of the pro ceedings which that sketch comprehends. Their attention will principally be directed to two points : 1. To the title and also the advantages of the Arigna property, as set forth in the prospectuses of November and December, 1824. 2. To the division of the 15,0001. among certain of the persona concerned in forming the Company. Some notice will afterwards be taken of an improper and illegal traffic in the shares of the Company's stock, alleged to have taken place shortly after the Company was estab lished. Of the title and advantages of the Arigna property, the prospectuses issued by the promoters of the Company in November and December, 1821, exhibited a very attractive representation. The property was stated to abound in ex cejlent coal, iron -ore, and other minerals ; its command also of good roads and other acquired facilities was strongly set forth ; and on the nature of the interest vested in the Com pany, the following expressions were used : " The Company hold the premises under the authority of the said Acts of Parliament, for lives renewable for ever at the option of the Company on the payment of one penny for each renewal ; and the property may therefore be con sidered equal in value to a freehold estate, as it is subject only to a quit-rent and small toll dues." It has already been observed that the Company derived their property through certain mesne assignments from the families of Tenison and Latouche, and hold it subject to certain rights rights reserved to both those families. - - To Mr. Latouche there was reserved by his lease to Mr. Flattery, a power of taking at any time within ten years a share (not exceeding one-third) of the profits of the iron-wjks, manufactories, and collieries, he pay ing a propfftionate share of the actual expenditure or outlay on the premises, to be estimated in the manner directed in the lease. Besides this, it will be recollected, that Mr. Flattery was entitled to one-fifteenth of the Com pany's profits ; and as has already been in part inti mated, if the business of smelting iron -ore, or making pig iron from the ore raised, was not effectually established on the premises within two years, or should afterwards cease to be carried on, Mr. Latouche might avoid the lease and re-enter. By the aggregate effect of these reservations, it appears that the association, though set up as a coal and iron corn pany, had no power to work coal generally ; and that even the right to work iron was a restricted right, being clogged by the contingency of forfeiture within two years—quali fied by the participation of profit secured to Flattery— greatly encroached on by the optional participation secured to Mr. Latouche--and entirely over-ridden by the right of Colonel Tenison to work the mines concurrently with his lessee. Such was the interest acquired by the Company, and so far was it from approaching to that freehold tenure, from which the prospectus, with an apparently scrupulous nicety o f discrimination, pronounces it to differ only by the payment of « a quit rent and small toll dues !" It required no legal skill or elaborate research to disco ver these objections. Mr. Schneider, after examining the title only frith the unassisted acuteness of a man of busi ness, condemned it peremptorily. Professional advice in deed confirmed bin doubts ; but it had not suggested them: ime the extent of those doubts may be collected from the fol . lowi ng d ec l ara ti on Viewing the co ncern as a man of b " l ncts, I should say it was worth nothing ; I would not have embarked a penny upon such an undertaking." finder thex circumstances it is hard to find an excuse for those who prciact e d the design, and by whcse exertions and influents it teas nsbered into public notiee and favour. Sir William Congreve, indeed, states that he never himself saw the prospectus, and the Committee do not mean to dispute the statement; but neither can they, on the other hand, admit its importance. There can be no doubt that Sir William Congreve was apprised of the objections of Mr. Schneider, and that, without any regard to them, be gave the undertaking the full credit and benefit of his zea lous support. It surely ought to have occurred to Sir Wm. Congreve, that to bring out with eclat an undertak ing grounded on titles which he knew to he insecure, was to bring it ont with false colours; and that to accumulate around it the aids of power and patronage, was only to aug ment the means and the mass of public delusion. The same observation, although in a mitigated degree, plies to the less active and conspicuous abettors of the undertaking. Mr. Brogden, in one instance, being asked by the Committee whether he recollected that Mr. Schneider had made any objection to the title of the Arigna property, answered, " I never heard that till lately ; I never heard at the time that he made any objection to it." This was a hasty answer, undoubtedly ; for Mr. Brogden had on a preceding day stated that, in September, 1824, he was informed by Mr. Cox, that in his opinion the company would not be formed, and that Mr. Cox "said particularly that Mr. Schneider• objected much to the title, or something." . _ _ The Committee are indeed very willing to believe that Mr. Brogden was not himself acquainted with the specific points in which the title was defective ; and they will not dispute a remark elsewhere made by him, that " in the case of some of the most respectable companies in London which have been established, many Directors have joined them without going more into investigation than he him self did in the instance of the Arigna Company." That men of station and influence have too frequently lent the credit of their names and patronage to projects essentially unsound and projectors without principle, taking the merits both of the schemes and the men of trust, is a fact as notorious as it is unfortunate. But, without in cluding in one common censure every example of such in cautiousness, it must at least be plain, that no man should recommend designs to the public, of the delusiveness or doubtfulness of which he has received express notice. The next subject for consideration is the division of 15,000/. part of the purchase-money paid by the Company for the Arigna property, among certain persons through whose influence the Company was formed. With the exception of the memorandum of agreement, signed by Mr. Holroyd on behalf of Sir William Congreve, and by Mr. Henry Clarke on behalf of himself and his brother,—which, as being altogether a private agreement between those parties, may be laid out of view,—nothing is more remarkable in the instruments referred to, than their complete and impenetrable silence respecting matters ad mitted to have formed a most important part of the pro ceeding to which they relate. The instruments purport to be the successive steps or stages of a transfer of landed property ; they wear the appearance of the utmost form and regularity; yet throughout them not a trace appears, either by name or reference, of the concern of certain parties in the transaction, who are confessed to have been most materially concerned in it, with whom it even origi nated, who actually appropriated to themselves three. fifths of the purchase money, and, it may be added, under whose special superintendence the instruments are proved to have been prepared. For this singular circumstance it affords no solution to say, that it may have been caused by some technical pe culiarity in the forms of conveyancing. The solicitors who were professionally employed in the transaction, state that the shape in which it was made to take place, is contrary to all practice, and such as they would never have advised. Nor yet could the irregularity be the effect of accident or carelessness ; for it is uniform and syste matic. There is even evidence that the principal deed had originally been so framed as to disclose some of those circumstances which have since disappeared. At the same time Mr. Henry Clarke, the person chiefly engaged in the conduct of the operation, was one eminently inured to business, acute, and cautious ; his attention to the suc cessive steps of the matter is proved to have been minute and unremitting ; and the irregularity of the instruments is of a sort that could not but be obvious to the plainest understanding. The sum of the whole is this, that a company consisting of the Messrs. Clarke and other persons, purchased certain mines for a very considerable sum of money, those other persons according to the bargain chiefly or solely on the authority of the Messrs. Clarke,—that the purchase-money was ostensibly paid to Mr. Flattery"as the seller,—but that the Messrs. Clarke, who were the principal actors in these transactions, reserved to themselves and certain of their friends the larger portion of it, which circumstance was net only not known to the members of the company in general, (e__~ t,ll;!!t.:„Fcgy,t together without example. After this, it cannot be thought surprising that the so licitor, who was principally implicated in this transac tion, and who, as a young man, might in some degree be misled by a deference for his clients and the other parties concerned, should declare that he has never since been able to forgive himself. The Committee would leave this proceeding without further remark, were it-not for the gloss which has stu diously been thrown over it. The argument of the Messrs. Clarke is, that having bought the mines absolutely from Mr. Flattery, they had a right to sell them at a fair profit, whether it were to a Company or a❑ individual. They were not, they contend, purckasiir in the character of trustees or agents for the Company, for no Company then existed. They were independent parties, who, on com mercial principles, purchased the property on speculation, to resell it a premium ; and who, in fact, resold it at a price not exceeding its value. There is but one farther topic to be noticed in this branch of the report. The Messrs. Clarke, it will be ob served, received between them only 2,094/. of the 15,0001. the rest being distributed among the other Directors and the Agents ; and they remark the absurdity of the supposi tion that, to cover a fraud of 15,0001. they should have given away 1%906/. Whatever may be thought of this argument in reference to the case of Sir William Congreve, it seems to be but a limited application to that of the Messrs. Clarke. It is in evidence that those gentlemen, at the very outset, objected to the admittance of any person not being a co-purchaser of the property with themselves, into a participation of the 15,0001. and that in this objection they tv,re over-ruled only by the peremptory determination of Sir Wm. Con greve. In compliance with that determination, it was by the agreement of the 30th of October, 1824, between Mr. Holroyd and Mr. Henry Clarke, provided that a certain portion of the 15,0001. should be divided among the other Directors and the Agents. Afterwards as Mr. Henry Clarke states, but not till December, 1824, Sir William Congreve insisted on an alteration of the proportions in which the distribution was to be made, to the effect of securing to the other Directors much larger sums than by the agreement last-mentioned they were entitled to receive ; and the matter was so arranged accordingly. But Mr. Clarke states that he submitted to the dictation of Sir Wm. Congreve in this instance, only because he had ex pectations from Sir William which it was not for his in terest to relinquish; that he submitted most reluctantly; that he even considered the conduct of Sir Wm. Congreve as oppressive, and the sums distributed as suing " with which only imperious circumstances forced him to part." These statements seem scarcely consistent with that credit for liberality which the Messrs. Clarke are desirous of founding on the distribution that took place out of the 15,000/. Nor, perhaps, is it unimportant to observe, that the larger part of the sacrifice which they claim praise for having made, is stated to have been compelled by the dicta tion of Sir Wm. Congreve so late as December, 1824 ; by which time the Company was conclusively formed ; the purchase of the property for 25,0001. definitively resolved upon ; the fraud, if any, already committed, and when all retreat had become impossible. On the whole, therefore, and without reference to the legal character of this transaction, with which the Com mittee feel that they have no concern, they cannot in a moral view designate it otherwise than as a deliberate fraud ; and it remains only to be seen in what degree the Members of Parliament whose names have been mentioned in connexion with the proceeding are really implicated in that which constituted its impropriety. (TO BE CONCLUDED TO-MORROW.) COLOMBIA.—A letter was received yester day from La Guayra, of the date of the 6th of February, in which it is stated with much confidence that Bolivar meditated an expedition against the island of Porto Rico, and that he only waited for the arrival of some ships at Carthagena, to proceed on that enterprise in person. It is well known to those who have been in personal communi cation with Bolivar, and so far it may seem to lend credi bility to the present account, that he considered the inde pendence of Colombia imperfectly assured, while Spain remained in possession of Cuba and of Porto Rico, and added, that an attempt ought to be made at the earliest opportunity that offered, to annex them to the Republic._ It will be a bad omen, however, for the creditors of Co lombia, if that energy which ought to be directed in the first instance to the restoration of credit by a reform in its financial system, shall be wasted in enterprises' of very doubtful result, and attended at all events with much ex lance. It is said, that La Torre, the Spanish Governor of Porto Rico, is brother-in-law to Bolivar. EXPLOSION of the POWDER MAGAZINE AT BOMBAY. (From the Bombay Gazette of August 23.) Most of our readers at the Presidency must have heard of the dreadful explosion which took place on Friday night, of the Company's powder works at Mazagon, the cause of whick is not yet ascertained, and will probably for ever re main a mystery, owing to the guard in charge of the pre - raises having, it is said, been blown up in the general con flagration. The Shock was felt all over the island, but the damage was chiefly confined to the neighhourhoed of Maze gon, the Mount and Chintzpoogly, or within a circle of half a circle in radius from the point of explosion. Fortunately the weakest side of the building appears to have been on that fronting Mazagon dock-yard, the principal part of the stones having been thrown in that direction, but the shock alone has been sufficient to destroy every building, amount ing to eleven in number, in the ground connected with the powder-works. The only places left entire being a small open guard-house and the grand magazine. Of the magazine and composition-house in which the powder was deposited in different states of preparation, the quantity of which we have been unable to ascertain, not a vestige re mains, a hollow in the earth like the crater of a small volcano, being the only indication of its position. The. Sulphur, Saltpetre, anti Charcoal Houses have all been destroyed, and we may perhaps add with their contents, since from the specimen of what we saw clearing from the ruins when we visited the grounds, we would say they could be of very little use. The first place outside the walls of the powder-wake, where the damage sustained is most apparent, is where the native vessels are laid up during the rains ; here the havoc has been very great, hardly one having escaped injury, the sides of some large Dhows and B oa t s are completely riddled as if from shot, and so great has been the force by which the stones were impelled that they have actually gone through both sides—here only one life has been lost and that in a most singular manner—a man known to have been asleep on the deck of a small pleasure boat at the time was found the next morning hanging across the gun-whale of a boat at a short distance, with his back broken. In a line with the boats is the Dock-yard at 3lazagon, and here the shower of stones was very great and the damage done considerable—a most dreadful ac cident occurred by a stone being impelled through the Governor's Snake boat Balloon, by which two men were killed and one wounded, out of four who were then asleep ; the bowels of one were torn out, and the other man killed had his head literally cut in half; three Sepoys were also wounded in different parts of the yard, and a man on board of the Governor's yacht, asleep on the deck of the vessel, was thrown into the hold, but escaped with out injury. It is difficult to ascertain how many lives have been lost on this occasion, but we are informed that the bodies of seven men have been found. The loss of property to individuals in the neighbourhood, by the fracture of doors, windows, and glass-ware, is very considerable, and particularly so by these whose houses are situated on Alazagon Hill, Chintzpoogly, and the Mount road. A gentleman's house, in the neighbourhood of the Dock-yard, suffered so much by the shock, as to render it scarcely habitable ; every article of glass-ware in it was destroyed. HIBERNIAN MINING COMPANY. A Special General Meeting of Proprietors was held yes terday at the Company's office, in King's Arms-yard, Coleman-street, to receive the Report of the Committee appointed at the last Meeting to investigate the affairs of the Company, his Grace the Duke of Devonshire in the Chair. Mr. BLAIN, the Chairman of the Committee, read the Report, which detailed the several steps taken by the Di rectors for the working of the mines in Ireland ; the cost of the two establishments of Directors in Dublin and London. Mr. HARTLEY, one of the Committee, was anxious to disclaim the responsibility of even indirectly recommending the propriety of going on with the concern. He would leave it to Proprietors of larger interests than he possessed, to determine that matter, but his own impression was against carrying on the Company. Several Shareholders and Directors here intimated that there was no intention of abandoning the concern. Mr. HARTLEY then moved that the report just read, be received and approved of.—Carried. The Duke of DEVONSIIIIIE complimented Mr. Hartley for the anxiety he evinced for the prosperity of the Company, and said it was to his (Mr. H.'s) exertions, at the last meeting that they were indebted for the appointment of the Committee. He concurred in the motion of thanks to the Committee, and expressed himself ready at any time to as sist the Company, if they conaidered his services of any use.—(Cheers.) _ _ Thanki were then voted to Mr. Parkes, the late Secre tary, the Directors, and the Noble Chairman, and the Meeting adjourned. MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL.-Arm 2. MONTHLY RETURN OF PATIENTS, From March 1 to 31. In-Patients admitted by letters Ditto, Accidents 33 -147 Out admitted by letters 173 3itto, Accidents 145 -318 In-Patients discharged Remaining in the Hospital Total 465 136 ISS The main contriver of the different mail and stage-coach robberies, is at length in custody, on a charge of abstracting, and afterwards destroying the Italian bags from the Dover coach. PROTESTANT MEETING IN FAVOUR CF EMANCIPATION.—A Requisition appears in the Castlebar Papers, addressed to the High Sheriff of Mayo, requesting him to " call a Meeting of the Freeholders of that County, to consider the propriety of petitioning the King to re commend to Parliament the restoration of his Majesty's Ro man Catholic subjects to their rights, and thus rendering Ireland, in fact as well as by law, an integral part of the British Empire." The High Sheriff complied, and the Meeting was to be held on Saturday.—Dublin Morning Register. A singular circumstance occurred in the pig market, Chichester. A man was standing with a sow for sale, when she was taken unwell. He was advised to &crush her, in doing which she broke the bottle in her month, and was in the act of swallowing the neck of the bottle, when the man put his finger in her mouth to take it out; the sow instantly bit his finger off, which he regained, and put it into his waistcoat pocket. The wound was dressedshortly afterwards, but the man was peen in the afternoon in the street, bleeding very profusely from the wound. Prudence would, one might have supposed, dictate more caution than to have entrusted the hand in the mouth of the pig in the agonized state in which she was at the moment. She was obliged to be killed on the spot.—Brighton Paper. On Monday se'nnight, one of our Hastings fishing boats brought on shore a very curious fish which was caught about thirty miles at sea: it appears to be a species of Dolphin, commonly called the Dolphin of the Ancients. The following are tbs dimensions taken while it lay on the beach :—Length from the tip of the nose to the tail, 7ft. 6in. ; circumference of the head, 2ft. .siin.; circumference of the middle, 3ft. 1 tin. ; circumference behind the fin on the back, 3ft. 3in. ; circumference at the end next the tail, Ift. ; the number of teeth in the upper jaw, 236 ; the weight about 3 cwt. The tongue and eyes very mach resemble those of a pig. It was exhi bited o❑ the beach till Friday last, and it is now gone to London.—Brighton Paper. SENSATION BEFORE BATTLE.—The pros pect of being every moment hurried into action, even though it be accompanied in the bravest heart with sensations, not perhaps of alarm, but of something remotely akin to it, is, upon the whole, to a soldier in full march, and surrounded by gallant comrades, one of the most animating and exqui site sensations of which human nature is susceptible. It is not then with him, as it is in the stillness of his tent or bivouac, when he knows that to-morrow's sun must light him to a field of carnage and death. Then, indeed, there is time to think ; and no man can think of an impending dissolution without at least a degree of seriousness which no other thought is capable of producing. But when he is scouring the woods, or advancing through fields and inclo ■ures, his men all about him, and eager and animated, like huntsmen about a fox-cover, the officer must be phlegmatic indeed whose energies are not wrought up to a degree of enthusiasm which causes all apprehension of personal risk to be forgotten, and directs his whole thought into one channel, namely, how he is most successfully to discharge his duty when the moment of trial shall arrive. lam not one of those who, writing in my own study, pretend to say, that I should prefer a bloody battle to a Snug dinner with my friends, a n d a soc i a l glass of wine after it ; but I confess, that during the remainder of our progress, one wish, and one only, rose into my mind ; and that w as , that the Americans would afford me an opportunity, with. the twenty brave men whom I commanded, to make what im pression I could upon any of their ambuscades, however udiciously disposed.—A Subaltern in America. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS, APRIL 4. The Bishop of EXETER presented a petition from South Brent, Devonshire, against the Catholics. Lord REDESDALE presented a petition from a Mr. Dillon, who claims the Roscommon Peerage, stating that he was too poor to bring up the wit nesses necessary to refute his opponent's c l a i m , an d establish his own, and praying their Lordships to furnish him the means to bring up his witnesses. Lord ELLENBOROUGH complained that some Returns relative to the Navigation Laws, which had been formerly moved for, had not yet been made ; and he moved that these Returns be forthwith made.—Ordered. Lord CLIFDEN presented a petition from Ha vant Island, and other parishes in Hampshire, pray ing for protection to Agriculture, and that the im port price should be fixed at 645. per quarter. His Lordship said, the petition was respectably signed, and he had thought it his duty to present it; but he wished to be understood as not entertaining the same opinion as the petitioners. He was not yet sure, but he thought he should approve of the Bill then going through the other House. The NOBLE LORD also presented petitions from the Borough of Southwark and the parish of St. Margaret, Westniinster, praying for some law to prevent cruelty to animals, such as bull baiting, &c. Several Private Bills were forwarded one stage. The Marquis of LANSDOWN gave notice, that he should on Monday next, move the second read ing of a Bill which had come up from the other House, to amend the 57th Geo. 111 respecting Costs on Distress. SPRING GUNS. Lord SUFFIELD rose to move the Order of the Day for the second reading of the Spring Guns Bill. His Lordship said, that in proposing the second reading of this Bill it would not be neces sary for him to detain their Lordships by entering into any arguments on the principle of the Bill. He only wished to call to their Lordships' recollection the Bill which lie had submitted to them on this subject two years ago. The present Bill was exactly like the Bill as he then brought it in, but not like the Bill as it was amended by their Lordships, and sent to another place. He wished to state, but only as a matter of history, that his motives for introducing that Bill, prohibiting the setting of spring guns in woods and plantations, was to meet and remedy a practical evil. Several accidents had occurred from the use of spring guns, but they had occurred principally in woods and plantations, and he had not then heard that any such accidents had occurred from setting spring guns in gardens. Since then he bad heard of such acci dents, and no longer ago than yesterday, a case had been mentioned to him, in which a gentleman had shot his own father. He would not mention any names, as the sufferings of the family had been suf ficiently great. This was, in his opinion, a reason for prohibiting the setting of spring guns in gardens as well as in woods. Such instances, however, were very few, and the great mass of the accidents arose from setting spring guns in woods. He was, how ever, bound, by the principle on which he had op posed setting spring guns in woods ; and he would not object if any Noble Lord should propose to ex tend the principle of the Bill, and prohibit the use of spring guns in any place. He had always contended, and by this principle he would stand, that it was not legal for any man to do that per (ilium which he had no right to do per se. Indeed, he had never heard any valid arguments for setting spring guns in anyplace. Nobody had contended that it was just, but some persons had said that it was expedient. He knew ' that some Noble Lords were prepared to contend, that the Bill was directed particularly against the sports of the country gentlemen; he could only say, that it was not so intended. The evil only existed in woods and plantations, and to meet that evil the Bill was drawn • up. Any Noble Lords who pro posed to extend its provisions might do so in a Com mittee, to which he would willingly consent, and he hoped they would allow the Bill to go into a Com anitaee Some. Noble Lords might w ish t o m a k e thep . ro'hibition general,.but excepting walled gardens. Against such an exception he would enter his pro test. It would introduce a new law and a new pu nishment into the Code of Great Britain—the pu nishment of spring guns—which was now unknown to our law. A man had no right to shoot another who trespassed in his garden, if he saw him; and he could have no such right to shoot him by an in strument, when he did not see him. It was a sneak ing assassin-like method of wreaking his vengeance, which no man would like to encourage. He would not further detain their Lordships, but just to re mark, that it had been contended, in favour of spring guns, that they were in reality a greater good than evil, and that humanity gained more than it lost by setting them. This he must deny. Putting out of view the people shot by them—though a game keeper within fourteen days had been shot by his own spring -gun, in the county of Warwick, and within the same period a lad, who had gone into a wood to drive out some sheep, had, in another county, been shot in the middle of the day—he would contend that the use of spring-guns caused a mass of evil. These were cases of undeniable mischief; but he was also of opinion, that the conflicts which were carried on between game-keepers and poachers arose from the use of spring-guns. Before the use of spring -guns, such sanguinary contests were unknown. They were new features of the national character, and bad been ingrafted on it by the use of such sanguinary in struments. Before they were introduced, there were broken heads, such as were got at fairs, but there was no bloodshed and no death. The keepers went armed with sticks, and were met by men with no other weapons. Shooting men by spring guns, however, had now taught them to shoot each other. Looking at spring gulls as the origin of those san guinary conflicts which it was said they prevented, he must contend that the mass of suffering they oc casioned was very great, Supposing, also, that in these contests a poacher was wounded, the punish ment fell on the guilty ; but when spring guns were used, the punishment fell, in nine cases out of ten, he believed he might say in ninety-nine cases out of one hundred, on the innocent. Even ad mitting, therefore, that the mode of protecting pro perty was in any case justifls.ble, which, however, he did not admit, it protected property by punishing the innocent, and allowing the guilty to escape.— Within three weeks at most, there had been two instances of this, in the gamekeeper and farmer's boy, to whom he had before alluded. He should feel disposed to assent to extending the principle of the Bill in the Committee, and under these circum stances he hoped no Noble Lord would object to the Bill going into a Committee. The LORD CHANCELLOR did not certainly mean to object to going into a Committee on the Bill, but there was one point in it to which he wished to call their Lordship's attention. He had not had an opportunity of examining the Bill very closely, but he observed that it made it a misde meanour to set spring guns and other engines of this description in particular places; and he did enter tain a doubt, whether from this it would not be in ferred that it was not illegal to set them elsewhere. The Earl of MALMESBURY was of opinion, that prohibiting the setting Spring Guns in parti cular places would have the effect of legalizing the setting them in other places. If the Bill was founded on a just as he thought it was, it ou g ht to be mGuns was a d e principle, general. Setting Spring alto gether objectionable, as it was not, under any cir cumstances, proper to destroy life by their means. — The present Bill was, in his opinion, imperfect in principle, and odious in operation. It was directed against one class of persons and one description of property. By anoth er Bill before their Lordships, g ame was to b e ma d e pro perty, and why w as i t not to he protected as well as other property ? By what possible argument, also, could it beproved that woods were not to be protected ? It was not more unjust and inhuman to shoot persons for breaking and steal ing trees, than to shoot them for stealing codlins ; a n d yet, the Bill went to legalise one, and make the oth er penal. On the understanding that the princi- ple of the Bill should be extended in the Commit tee, he would not oppose the second reading. Two years ago, a Bill had been passed for the protection of gardens; and if this Bill were also to pass, the owners of gardens would have the power of shoot ing men added to their other means of protection. By one Bill, a person might first be shot, and by the other he might afterwards be sent to prison. He would not oppose the second reading; but it would he with the special understanding, that the principle of the Bill should be extended to every species of property. Humanity demanded it in one case as well as another. Lord WHARNCLIFFE was also of opinion that the Bill ought to be extended ; it would not go to the root of the evil if it allowed spring guns in any situation. At the same time he believed, if the Game Laws were not altered, the Bill would not be a benefit to humanity. The Noble Lord was quite mistaken if he supposed that no conflicts had arisen before spring guns were employed. He had had one of his keepers murdered before he had used spring guns. He had afterwards used them, and never since using them had he had any conflicts. He knew the same circumstances had happened to other persons. He thought the Bill ought not to be entertained, unless it were made general; he would not oppose going to a Committee; but if it were to be confined to woods and plantations, he should certainly oppose the Bill. The Earl of CARNARVON did not mean to oppose the second reading of the Bill, but he wished, before their Lordships proceeded to legis late, that they knew how the law stood at present. One Judge was in favour of the legality of setting spring guns; another was supposed to entertain a very different opinion. Whether setting guns was at present justifiable, or whether the person setting them, and causing death by them, was guilty of man slaughter or murder, he believed neither any un learned nor learned person could give them any po sitive information. If in legislating on this subject, they declared that spring-guns should not he set in some particular places, and left the law in its pre sent state of uncertainty as to other places, their Lordships would not do their duty. He wished that the subject should at once be exhausted, and either the setting of spring-guns should be declared unlaw ful at all places, or the exceptions should be speci fied. He, for one, was quite ready to prohibit the use of spring-guns altogether. Or, if they were al lowed in any place, he would confine the use of them to places within walls, and having locked gates, and would allow them to no spot where there came occasional trespassers. He gave his consent to the Bill going to a Committee, and he hoped that the question would be disposed of as that no person should be liable accidentally to suffer from others using spring-guns. Lord SUFFIELD explained that he did not originate this Bill. It came from another place, and he had no power to alter it. Hs would willingly adopt the alteration suggested, of extending the principle of the Bill, but he was not competent to alter it, except by proposing Amendments in the Committee. The Bill was then read a second time, and or• dered to be committed to-morrow.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Amur. 4. At four o'clock the Speaker took the Chair, and proceeded to count the Members—theie being only thirty-three present, the House was adjourned to the following day. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FRENCH PAPERS. (From the Etoile of Tuesday.) PARIS, APRIL 2.—The Memorial Bordclais has the following article, dated Bayonne, March 27 : " The Count d'Ofalia, Ambassador from Spain to his Britannic Majesty, has just arrived in our city, on his way to his destination. " Yesterday morning a Russian courier passed through our city, on his way from Madrid to St. Petersbureh ; he was preceded several hours by three Spanish Couriers, going to London, Vienna, and St. Petersburgh." The Courier of the Meuse announcer,' that the Concor dat between the Government of the Netherland. and the Court of Rome will be signed before the end of May ; and that the vacant Sees of Ghent, Tournay, Namur, and Liege, will he filled up by the end of August. The Government Gazette of Potsdam, of 19th March, contained a notice, stating that Mexican vessels would be henceforth received in the ports of Prussia, and that they would be treated on the same footing as those of the most favoured nations. The Berlin Journals have not yet said any thing on this subject. LIES OF THE DAY. Pan's, APRIL 2.—TILE INDICATEUR.—The Duke de Villa Hermosa is disgraced, and banished to Arragon. THE SAME.—The Spanish army, instead of returning, is advancing. THE JOURNAL DU Commracr.—Rear-Admiral Helgan leaves the direction of the Marine, and will be succeeded by Rear-Admiral de Rigny. (From the Journal de Paris.) VENICE, MARCH 19.—The Captain of a ship just ar rived from the Morea states, that it was generally reported at Modon, that an extraordinary Courier had brought to Ibrahim Pacha orders from his father, the Viceroy of Egypt, to evacuate the Morea as soon as possible, and pro ceed with his army to the Island of Candia. (From the Constitutionnel of Monday. ) TO THE EDITOR, OF THE CONSTITUTIONNEL._ Paris, Ist April, 1827. Sta—Being requested by my family to procure in sertion of the following letter, I request you to publishit In the . the next number of your Journal.-1 have the honour, &c. Count ALEXANDER'DE LA ROCHEFOUCACJLT. " The children and grandchildren of the Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt think it due to the memory of their parent and their honour, to inform the public exactly concerning the facts which have aggravated their misfor tunes on the 30th March last, during the removal which took place from the house of the deceased to the Barrier d e Clichy, where th e b o dy was pl ace d in the vehicle, and con.. veyed to the estate of Liancourt. They will abstain f rom all reflections, as they dist r ust their indignation. " The family was unaware of the proof of grat itude which the young men, who had formerly been pupils at Ch a l ons, intended to give to their benefactor. When they d escen d ed to follow the coffin, they found it ca r ried by the y oung men : the four corners of the pall were borne by the Dukes de Doudeauville and d'Uzes, the Marquess Desolles, all Peers of France ; and M. Raynouard, late . Perpet ua l S ecre t ary o f the French Academy. The procession moved on in the greatest order, and ar rived at the Chu rc h o f t h e M a d ele i ne, when, during the celebration of , the funeral service, the young men surrounded the catafalque. As soon as the service had con cluded, they agai n t oo k tip the body, and prepared to carry it to the Barrier de Clichy. On the very police, declared th a t h e h a d rece i ve d a p os iti ve steps of the Church, a man, wh o b ore no externa l mar k s o f prevent thi s proo f o f attac h men t, an d re quiredt , o rmed force to rep l ace t h e b o dy in the h earse .— i a n n u o n ffi c t c it e oh r ne of This order irritated all the young men, and they refused to yield to it. The family, perceiving the displeasure which this order produced, made some ineffectual effort s t o pac if y the young men. A contest then arose , between the young men, who refus e d t o qu it th e body, and the soldi ers , w h o endeavoured t o d epr i ve th e m of it. The coffin fell. "The y oung men , o bliged to yield to force, wept at leaving so precious a burden, but followed the procession as far as the harrier, where the armed force separated from it. The young men then formed a large circle, and listened with attention to an address, full of feeling and truth, pro nounced by Baron Charles Dupin. The address having terminated, the coffin was removed from the first vehicle to another, and proceeded on its journey, followed by the undersigned :—The Duke d'Estissac, Counts Alexander, Gaetan, Franck, Olivier, Frederick, Julius de la Rouche foucalt, Prince Aldobrandini, and Count Montault." (PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE.) MADRID, MARCH 23.—A1l the Ministers proceeded yes terday to the Prado, whence, after an extraordinary coun cil, M. Salmon dispatched three couriers—one to London, another to Paris, and the third to Petersburgh. With regard to the dissolution of the Spanish army, that was a report spread to serve a purpose, for, far from decreasing it, a new brigade has been sent towards Talavera. The letters from Caceres make no mention of any dismissal of the Provincial troops, in virtue of orders issuing from the Inspector-General of the troops. General Eguia, Capt. - G e neral of Gallicia, seems t o h ave un d erstoo d , differently from Gen. Monet, the ord ers h e rece i ve d f or disarming the Portuguese r e b e l s; f or we are assure d th e rebels, who had re-entered by Galli c i a , h ave re p asse d i n t o the province of Minho, t o th e num b er o f 1 , 2 00 ; t hey have proceeded to wards the city of Setubal. extraordinary convey- LISBON, MARCH 17.. --- ( B i au ance.)--An extraordinary Council of Ministers WAS held this morning. It is said to have been determined upon to put the Cabinet to a final and decisive trial, by demanding the disarmed rebels to be sent to the Canaries, or, at least, to the Balearic Islands. Positive intelligence has come to hand that, since the disarming of the rebels, the Marquis de Chaves has sent * factious Captain, escorted by an orderly, to the Com mander-in-Chief, at Badajoz (in Spain), and that in conse quence of the despatches forwarded in this manner, the lat ter has immediately sent a courier to Madrid, and another to Caceres _(in Spain), where a corps of 1,500 men was ex' pected, who had left Madrid on the 2d inst. A convoy of twenty-seven waggons, laden with powder and ball, has lately entered Puebla (in Spain), and it is as , serted that General Rodil, the Commander of the Spanish forces at Caceres, has advanced and taken up a position at Albuquerque, Villa del Rey, and St. Vocente, on the extreme frontier of Portugal, adjoining the province of Alentejo. It is represented as certain, that General Clinton returns from Coimbra to occupy the line of Zezeres, to pretect the province of Alentejo and Lower Beira ; and to cover, in case of need, the capital. A detachment of English troops returned this morning to this town, to escort a numerous convoy of mules, which are to be laden with ammnaitioo of war at the fort of San Julian, for the purpose of tutus porting them to Villa Franca, upon the Tagus. (From the Journal des Debats of Monday.) Manx:an, MARCH 23. —The Portuguese rebels continue to he sent towards the provinces of Rioxa and of Soria; but we are assured that the Generals, the Marquis de' Chaves and Viscount de Canellas, who had already arrived at Burgos, on their journey to France, have suddenly bee , authorized to return to Zamora, and to establish their reei' deuce in that town. What concerns the Field Office* the Staff, and Subalterns, it is not yet known at what place they are to remain. The greatest discord reigns amongst them. The conduct of General Monet seems to have incurred the displeasure of Government, for it is said that he has been dismissed, and replaced by General O'Donnel, wh° is to be superseded, in his turn, at Valence, by General, Longa. This circumstance seems to unmask some rio t ' project of invasion, for it is impossible to replace the latter better than l'y conferring his post upon General O'DonneL General Sarsfield is likely to experience the same fate a* General Monet, and the Government is embarrased to such a degree in filling up his place, that, in spite of the well-known hatred Of Count d'Espagne, it intends to con fide the command of the Army of Observation to him. With respect to this array, all the rumours which have been circulated about its retreat or disbanding, are all in" accurate. Up to the present moment not a single corps has been displaced, and so far from disbanding it, it is going to be reinforced by a fresh brigade, sent from Ta lavera. General Eguia seems to have better deciphered the sense of his instructions than General Monet did ; for it is air sorted that the rebels, who returned by way of Galliciar have not been disarmed, and have since re-entered Porttt gal, where they traverse the country in numerous gang* in the vicinity of the town of Chaves. The mission of Count d'Offalia is an extraordinary gm' bassy, but apparently not limited to London alone ; for hie Excellency is to stop for a month or two at Paris. M. Usoz has not yet taken his departure. LENT ASSIZES.—(RECEIVED Tins DAY.) KINGSTON. THE VAUXHALL Conszas.--Linihe course of the m L oir ing the Grand Jury br oug ht i nto C ourt th ree t ru e . 1) , !1 against Daniel Buckl ey , J erem i a h A n d rews , an d Davie' Pycroft, for high treason, and against Mary Ann Buckle'' , and Mary Ann Patrick, for the misdemeanour,—the SO' licitor for the Mint having mercifully declined from Pre" senting a bill against the women for the capital offence.--' The other prisoner, Shadrach Walker, has been admittei evidence for the Crown. The trial of the indictments it fixed for Saturday morning; and from the great n un3bec of witnesses to be examined, they are expected to o ecupl the entire day. JONATHAN'S HUMANITY. wh T ir h following he the eAni horrible erira npl instance sntersp of the nnisht baba heirsla r ves rit i y s g l i tt l/ 0 by Hector St. John, a respectable Pensylvanian farmer " I was," says this gentleman, " not long since, invited t ° dine with a planter, who lived three miles from where he then resided. I was leisurely travellieg alougf. attentively examining some peculi ar pl ants w hi c h I hs° collected, w hen all at once I felt the air strongly agitated' though the day was perfectly calm and sultry ; I ;mote diately cast my eyes towards the cleared ground, fr° ° which I was but a small distance, in order to see w hetho it was not occasioned by a sudden shower, when at SW' S instant a sound resembling a deep rough voice, uttered, I thought, a few inarticulate monosyllables. Alarmed aw surprised, I precipitately looked all around, when I per' ceived, at about six roods distance, something resembling cage suspended to the limbs of a tree, all the branches °' which appeared covered with large birds of prey, flutterid about, and anxiously endeavouring to pitch upon the cag e ' Actuated by an involuntary action of my hands, mere 00 by any design of mind, I fired at them: they all flew to $ short distance, with a most hideous noise, when, horrid 0 , think, and p a i n f u l t o repea t, I perce i ve d a negro su spend in the cage, and left there to expire. The birds had ti' ready picked out his eyes ; his cheek bones were bare ; 11/ 0 arms had been attacked in several pluses, and his bodf seemed covered with wounds. s w From the edges o f the hollow sockets, the blood slowly dropped, and tin ge d th e ground beneath. I%l° birds flown unfortunatesthan swarms nireotcfh,inelgectal c to feed on his mangled flesh, an d t o d r i n k hi s blood. sooner oveied were th the whole body e found myself suddenly convulsed—l trembled—l stood 0 0 ' tionless. The living spectre, though deprived of his could still distinctly hear, and in his uncouth dialect, beg', ged me to giv e hi m some water to allay his thirst. A s he l l ready fixed to a pole, which had been used by some negroes, presented itself to me, I filled it with water, and with trent' Kling hands, I guided it to the quivering lips of the sufferer. Urged by irresistible thirst, he endeavoured to meet it, so he instinctively guessed its approach, " Tanke you, whin man, tanke you ; pute some poison, and give me ."--110V long have you been hanging there ? I asked him, " Tw o days—and me no die—the birds—the birds--ah me, ah me." Oppressed with the reflection which this shocking spectacle afforded me, I mustered strength enough to vvidi‘ away, and soon reached the house at which I intended to dine; there I heard that the reason of this slave being thus punished, was on account of his having killed his roaster or overseer of the plantation. They told me, that self preservation rendered such executions necessary, and sup' ported the doctrine of slavery with.the arguments generallf, made use of, to justify the practice, with the repetition of which, I shall not trouble you at present.— Galway Iry dependent. SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. DONCASTER SPRING RACES.--APRIL 3. Th e Union Stakes of 7 says. each. Two miles. Mr. Clarks's Candidate walked over. A Cup, value 50 sous., given by the Hon. E. Petre. Two miles. Mr. Long's Limestone Mr. Tute's br. m. by Ardrossan.. 2 The Sandbeck Hunt Stakes of 5 sous. each. Two miles. (13 subscribers.) Mr. Clarke's Candidate 1 Mr. Barlow's Sir Harry 2 Mr. Athorpe's Primrose 3 A Handicap of 4 sous. each. Mile and a half. Mr. Wood's My Lady Mr. Long's Li mestone Mr. B ou lt on ' s Ell er k er 3 Mr. Paynet'hs,s Susan Mr. sSpecula .......... Speculator .................. .............. ..• C Griffi o : Mr. Brown's b. h. by Clifton ....... 0 Mr. T u t e ' s b. m . by Ardrossan BATH SPRING RACES.—APRIL 3. The company on Lansdown was numerous and elegant , ?lid the throng of carriages u nprecedented. The follow ing is an accoun t o f the day's spo rt, w hich was excellent :..-- The Lansdown Stakes of 10 sovs- each, with a Purse added, for horses never having won any Plate or Stakes. oung ...... 3 1 1 Mr. Isaac DaY' s Y. •••• Mr. Jones's Grecian .................. I. 2 2 :with a Purse added. Mr. Brice' s Gas Li g ht ............... 2 0 0 Mr. Upt on ' s Slut ..................... 4 3 0 Mr. Sureatrnan's b. c. by L'Orz: ent... 5 4 0 The Bath Stakes of 10 sous. each Mr. John Thorne's Sidbury Lass 2 4 1 1 Mr. Codrington' s S a l t Fish 1 2 3 2 Mr. Gough's D uc h ess Mr. John B ay l y ' s Harper 3 3- 0 '° ' - Mr. W rexworthy ' s Robin Hood 4 5 . 0 .0 '..,' 0 A Piece of Pl ate given by the Members' of t h e 'Gralt° Club, to b e run f or -b y h orse i not t h o roughbred. ' Mr. Davis' s T r ip o li ' - •••3 -1' 1, ". ~i. . , Mr. Richards's Habb e rl e y ...... , .Y. • : . .i. 71 ':2` 0- t ,• , Mr. Russell's Naughty Tommy ;4 , •. 2 dr 0 • Mr. Williams's Wisp : ....... . ........ . 0 2 dr