The Sun. — London, England, 1827-01-12 00:00:00

Which — Ailiertiati . .Veaseli, Were subjected higher duties "Cr charge, than Brit.itiA. That. We sincerely believe that negocia tiou, and not , Walition,-410he means 'by which it was ex pected arrangeinent was, fo be effected by the parties, will further appear front a letter addressed by me, on the 25th day of December, 1825, to a Member of Congress, a copy of which is herewith transmitted. In that letter, the opinion is expressed, that the British Government could not have intended to apply the Act of Parliament of the sth July, 1825, to the intercourse be tween the United States and the British Colonies, because-1. It would be inconsistent with professions made by that Government to this, and with negociations between the two Governments, con templated,, if not yet resumed.-2. No notice has been given at Washington, or at London, of such a purpose as that which, for the first time, is indicated at Halifax.-3. The British Minister here isunadvised by his Government of any intention to close the colonial ports against our vessels.-4. No information has been received here front any British colonial port, except Halifax, of such intention." This letter was published in the American Gazettes ; a copy of it was furnished to Mr. Vaughan, which be is understood to have transmitted to his Government. And it is believed to have had some effect in producing the revccation of an order of the local Government, by which the port of Halifax was to have been closed against vessels of the United States from the sth of January last. The order was, in fact, from whatever cause, re voked. And as that port, and all other British colonial ports, remained after that day open to our vesssels, we were confirmed in the belief that the act, in the present state of the relations of the two countries, was not intended to be enforced on the com merce of the United States. The belief was further strengthened by the terms of the fourth section of the Act, which are—" And Whereas by the lan , of navigation, foreign ships are permitted to import into any of the British possessions abroad, from the coun tries to which they belong, goods the produce of those countries, and to export goods from such possessions, to be carried to any foreign country whatever : And whereas, it is expedient that such permission should be subject to certain conditions, be it therefore enacted, that the privileges thereby granted to foreign ships shall be limited to the ships of those countries which, having colonial posessions, shall grant the like privileges of trading with those possessions to British ships, or which, not having colonial possessions, shall place the commerce and navigation of this coun try, and of its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured nation, unless his Majesty, by his Order in Council, shall, in any case, deem it expedient to grant the whole, or anv of such privileges, to the ships of any foreign country, although the conditions aforesaid shall not, in all respects, be flailed by such foreign country." Now his Britannie Majesty was thereby authorised, by his Or der in Council, if he should, in any ease, deem it expedient, to grant the whole or any of the privileges mentioned in the sec tion, to the ships of any foreign country, " although the con ditions aforesaid, shall not, in all respects, be fulfilled by such foreign country." This investment of power is the Crown to dispense with a strict compliance with the conditions of the Act, in relation to any Powers like the United States, not having colonies, seemed necessarily to imply discussion, and consequently, negotiation with such Powers. It is not the object, in bringing forward the facts and observations which have been stated in vin dication of the American Government, to convey any reproaches against that of Great Britain, on account of the late unexpected resolution which-it has taken. These facts and observations, how ever, show that it ought not to excite any surprise that the Con gress of the United States declined legislating on a matter which it appeared to them was both most fitting in itself, and preferred by Great Britain, to be settled by mutual and friendly arrange ment. When deliberating on the only proposition which was m ade during their last Session, that of a simple repeal of all dis criminating duties, which it now appears would have been un availing, and would have fallen far short of British expectations, they were unaware that they were acting under the pains and penalties of a British Act of Parliament, suspended over their heads ; a non-campliance with the strict conditions of which, subjected the United &tette not only to the forfeiture of all inter course with the British Colonies, but was to be attended with the further consequence of terminating all negotiation, even between the parties. I will now proceed to a consideration of the specific conditions required by the Act of Parliament, the non-fulfilment of which is the professed ground of the late British Order in Council. These conditions are understood to be contained in the fourth sec tkas of the Act, which begins by reciting, " And whereas, by the law of navigation, foreign ships are permitted to import into any of the British possessioas abroad, from the countries to which they belong, goods the produce of those countries, and to export goods from such possessions to he carried to any foreign country what ever And whereas, it is expedient that such permission should be subject to certain conditions." It then proceeds to enact, in respect to countries not having colonial possessions, " That the privileges thereby granted to foreign ships shall be limited to the ships of those countries (not having colonial possessions) which shall place the commerce and navigation of this country, and of its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured na tion, unless his Majesty, by his Order in Council, shall, in any case, deem it expedient to grant the whole or any of such privi leges to the ships of any foreign country, although the conditions aforesaid shall not, in all respects, be fulfilled by such foreign country." In considering this Act of Parliament, the first cir cumstance which commands attention, is, the marked difference which it makes in the cfinditions required of foreign powers, be tween those which have colonies, and those which have none. From the colonial powers it only demands that they should grant to aritish ships, privileges of trading with their colonies, like those which British law of navigation grants to those Powers, of trading wit:: the British colonies—that is to say, that such Powers should allow tQ Dritish vessels the privilege of importing British produce into their coi: lilies, and of exporting goods therefrom, to be carried to any country - whatever, except the parent country. But, from the Powers having no colonies, the Act demands that they should place the commerce and navigation, both of the United I Kingdom and its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured nation. With the colonial Powers, the Act proposes an exchange of colonial trade for colonial trade, oxcLi.ive of the trade of the parent country. With Powers not having colonies, it pro [poses to give the British ccionial trade only in exchange for a trade between those Powers and the Cuited Kingdom, and all its possessions abroad. From the colonial Power - . it asks nothing 'hut mere reciprocity; which, viewing the vast extent of the Bri tish Colonies, in comparison with those of any other Power, is ; only nominal. The Act, on the contrary, is not satisfied with de mending front the Powers having no Colonies, reciprocity of pri vileges, but it requires that, in consideration of the permission to impo r t their produce into the British Colonies, and to export therefrom produce of these Colonies to any foreign country, ex cept Great Britain, those Powers should at ones extend to the commerce and navigation of the United Kingdom, and its pos etssions abroad, the full measure of all commercial privileges ! w hile;_ .they may have granted to the most favoured nation. It is i mposs ;,;eik not to see that this discrimination, made, by the Act of Parliament, between diff e r en t P owers, operates exclusively - upon the United Si:tes- All the maritime States have colonies, and, therefore, will he fe'ein!othe trade with the British Colonies upon the less onerous conditions. The United States are the only Power, not laving Colonies, whle'le trades, or is ever likely to trade, in any extent, with British Colonies. And, if they alone had been named in the second class of Powel' described in the Act, the application of its snore burdensome conditions would not, in that case, have been_ more exclusively confined to them. The trade of the United States will bear an advantageous comparison with the trade of any of the colonial Powers, either ia its amount, or the value or variety of the articles which it comprehends, is f greatly superior to that of most of them, awl justly entitled us to demand from Great Britain as favourable terms as those which are extended to any of them. It is true, that the Act holds out the idea of some mitigation of these conditions in the authority confided to the King. But on what considerations his Britannic Ma j est y might h e induced, by his Order in Council, to exercise the dispensing power vested in bins, is not stated in the Act itself, nor have they been disclosed by any Order in Council, or in any other manner which has come to our knowledge. The very in vestment of Bush a power, I repeat, implied friendly explanations and discussions, and, consequently, the means of negotiation which the British GoVernment nos' rejects as altogether inadmissible. Being, therefore, unable to ascertain the undivulged considerations which might have led to some re laaati m or variation of the con ditions of the Act of Parliament, we are confined to at examina tion of those specific conditions themselves. - . They require that the United State s , to entitle themselves to the permission of the importation and exportation which is grant ed by the British law of navigation, hia° , dd place the commerce and navigation of the United Kingdom, and of i ts possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured nation. The first observations occurring is, that at the very moment when the British Government is putting forth the new principle that the regulation of the trade o f th e parent country and of its colonies depends upon two rules essentially different, the one admitting and the other excluding, all consultation with foreign States, this Act confounds them together, and requires not merely that we sho u ld pl ac e the British Colonies on the footing of the most fa voured colonies, but that, to entitle us to enjoy the privileges of an intercourse with those colonies, we must comply with the re quirement of placing the navigation and commerce, both of the parent country and all its possessions abroad, on the footing of the most favoured nation. • The first difficulty which is encountered in ascertaining the precise nature and extent of the conditions prescribed by the Act of Parliament, is, that it furnishes no definition of the terms, "the most favoured nation," which it employ. According to one interpretation of these terms, they import the gratituous con cession of commercial privileges. According to another, they imply the nation which enjoys the greatest amount of com mercial privilege, whether granted with or without equivalents. That the first was not the sense in which the British Govern ment intended to use those terms, we conjectured ; because if it were, nothing remained to be done by the American Government to bring itself within the conditions of the Act of Parliament, and we apprehend that the British Government required some positive Act. Great Britain, in that sense of the terms, is, in respect to the commerce and navigation, both of the parent coun try and its possessions abroad, on the footing of the most favoured nation. Whatever commercial privileges are granted by the United States, to any foreign nation, by Act of Congress, or by treaties, are founded upon equivalents. Holding out the principle of fair reciprocity to all nations, we neither ask, nor profess to bestow comrnet cial boons. Thus, in respect to alien or discriminating duties, we have not abolished them in behalf of any nation which has not professed to abolish them as to us. If they are now levied upon British vessels coming to the United States, from British Colonies, countervailing duties are now also levied upon American vessels entering British Colonies, and have been constantly, as Mr. Canning declares, from 1823. If the amount of American tonnage admitted to entry in British colonial ports, and of British tonnage entering American ports from British colonies, were ex actly equal, the collection of duties on one side would neutralise the collection on the other. But, as there is much more Ameri can than British tonnage employed in the colonial trade, we pay a greater amount of those duties than Great Britain. And con sequently, if there were cause of complaint on either side, on ac count of their exietesce, it would be with us. It could not, therefore, have been in the first, but must have been in the se cond, meaning of the terms that they are employed in the Act of Parliament. Great Britain is understood, then, to have demanded that the United Kingdom, and its possessions abroad, should be allowed to enjoy, in the ports of the United States, the greatest extent of commercial privileges which we have granted, no matter upon what ample equivalent, to any foreign nation whatever. In order 'to ascertain the latitude of concession thus required, it is neces sary to glance, and it shall be done as rapidly as possible, at the state of our commercial relations with other foreign powers. By the general law of navigation (see 6th vol. of the laws of the United States, page 189), it is enacted, that after the 30th day of September, 1818, "no goods, wares, or merchandise, shall be imported into the United States, from any foreign port or place, except in vessels of the United States, or in such foreign vessels as wholly and truly belong to the citizens or subjects of that country of which the goods are the growth, production, or manufacture; or from which such goods, wares, or merchandise, can only be, or most generally are, first shipped for transporta tion : —provided" nevertheless that this regulation shall not ex tend to the vessels of any foreign nation which has not adopted, and which shall not adopt, a similar regulation." Great Britain has, long prior to that Act, adopted, and con tinues to enforce, the restriction on which it is founded ; whilst almost all other nations have abstained from incorporating it in their navigation codes. A vessel, therefore, of the United States, on entering a British port, being limited by British law to the introduction of goods the produce of the United States, a British vessel, on entering their ports, is limited to the introduction of goods being of British produce; whilst the vessels of all other nations, which have not adopted the restrictive regulations, are allowed, on entering a port of the United States, to introduce any foreign produce whatever, by paying the alien and discri minating duties, from which vessels of the United States are exempted: By particular arrangements with various Powers, some by treaty, and others by separate but reciproca 1 Acts of the Govern ments of the United States and those Powers, the alien duties of the United States are aholished as to them ; and their vessels and those of the United States, are allowed the reciprocal liberty of importation and exportation, at the same rate of duty, upon both ship and cargo. Thus, by the Act of Congress of January, 1824, " so much of the several Acts imposing duties on the tonnage of vessels in the ports of the United States, as imposes a discriminating duty be tween foreign vessels and vessels of the United States, is hereby suspended, so far as respects vessels truly and wholly belonging to subjects or citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, of Prussia, of the Imperial Hanseatic Cities of Hamburg, Lubec, and Bremen of the Dukedom of Oldenburg, of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and of the Empire of Russia." And it enacts a like suspension of the discriminating duties on the cargo of any of the vessels of those several countries. But it further enacts, that the suspension of those duties shall " continue in behalf of each of the above-mentioned nations, on condition that, and so long as the vessels of the United States, and truly and wholly belonging to the citizens thereof, and all goods and merchandise of the produce and manufacture thereof, laden therein, and imported into any of the said nations in Eu rope, respectively, shall be exempted from all and every discrimi nating duty of impost or tonnage, direct or indirect, whatsoever, other or higher than is levied upon the vessels and merchandise therein imported, belonging to the subjects or citizens of each of the said nations respectively." Thus, therefore, to comply with the conditions of the Act of Parliament, we must, Ist, have allowed British vessels to import into the United States the produce of any foreign country what ever, upon the payment of the alien duties, although vessels of the United States are, and should have remained, prohibited to import into British ports like produce upon any terms whatever, And, 2dly, we must have abolished or suspended our diseriminat• ing duties, placing Great Britain upon the footinc , o f th e mos t fa voured nation, in whose behalf we had abolished or suspended them, although it now appears, from the averment of Mr. Can ning, that duties of at least an equal amount, have been, since the adoption of the Order in Council, in the year 1828, and now are, levied upon American vessels and their cargoes in British colonial ports. So stood our law, and such must have been our compliance with the conditions of the Act of Parliament at the time of its passage. But we suppose it to have been the understanding of the British Government, that, if, subsequent t, that period, we should grant to any foreign nation still greater privileges than those above described, by treaty or otherwise, in consideration of equivalents or not, such more extensive privileges must have im mediately accrued to the United Kingdom and its possessions abroad, upon the male of the most favoured nation, or we most have subjected ourselves to the forfeiture of the colonial trade, de twunced by the Act of Parliament. Now, subsequently to the date of that Act, to wit, on the 6th December last, we concluded a Treaty with the Republic of the Federation of the Centre of America, which, having been after wards ratified by both parties, is now in full operation. By thus Treaty it is stipulated, that whatever can be exported from, or imported into either country, in its own vessels, to or from ny foreign place whatever, may, in like manner, be exported or im ported in the vessels of the other country, the vessel and the cargo paying, in both cases, the same and no higher duties, and consequently neither paying the Alien Duties. If we had entit led ourselves, by the fulfilment of the required con diti ons , t o an intercourse with the British Colonies, we Would now be obliged; in order to retain the light to that intercourse, to allow British vessels, both of the parent country and its possessions abroad, a liberty of exportation and importation co-extensive with that of the vessels of the United States, although the interdict of the British Law of Navigation should remain in full operation on the vessels of the United States. If wa are mistaken in the extent of the concessions required by the British Government, to place the United Kingdom and its possessions abroad, on the footing of the most favoured nation, the beet and most friendly mode of correcting our error would have been to have accompanied an official communication of the Act of Parliament with a full and frank explanation of those conditions, the performance of which, on our part, would have satisfied that Government. By withholding all explanation, if the . Congress o f th e U n i te d S tates h a d l eg i slated on that subject at its last Ses s i on , it must have acted either, I s t, u p on th e expo sition of the conditions of the Act of Parliament now given ; or idly, upon the views of the British Government, as disclosed in the negotiations of 1824. It could not have conformed to the conditions of the Act of Parliament, as we understand them, without a manifest sacrifice of the interests of the people of the ITn;tcil States, and an abandonment of those principles of recipro city for which thy have ever contended in all their negotiations with Foreign Powers. It now appears that it would have been unavailing if Congress had legislated in compliance with the views of the British Government, as presented in the negotiations of 1824. According to those views, that Government was then Willing that the trade between the colonies and th e U n i te d S tates should continue restricted , as it then was, by the laws of the two countries, to the direct intercourse; that is to say, that a British vessel chiaring from the United States for a colonial port, should he bound to land its cargo in that port; and an American vessel, clearing from the colonies for the United States, should be bound to land its cargo in them. But without any intimation t o us, through the regular diplomatic channels, of an alteration in her views, Great Britain has now changed them, and on the 11 th of September, 1526, for the first time announced her determination not ‘‘ to consent to enter into any renewed negotiation upon the intercourse between the United States and the British Colonies, so long as the pretensions (the above restriction as to the direct intercourse) recorded in the Act of 1823, and there applied to British Colonies alone, remains part of the law of the United States." And we are also given to understand, " that the British Government further owes to the spirit of frankness which it wishes to cultivate, in all' its relations with the United States, to declare, that after having been compelled to apply to any country the interdict prescribed by the Act of 1825, the British Govern ment cannot hold itself bound to remove that interdict, as a matter of course, whenever it may happen to suit the convenience of the foreign Government to reconsider the measures by which the application of that interdict was occasioned." The pre tension referred to is the exact counterpart of a similar pre-existing pretension, contained in the Act of Parliament of 1522. The British Government does not appear to have reflect ed that its rejection of all negotiation on the subject deprives it of the best of the only two modes of getting rid of the exception able restriction. From what has now been advanced, it has been established— Ist, That the Colonial trade was a fit subject for the adjustment, by friendly negociation between the two Powers, of the condi tions on which it should be carried on; 2dly, That it has been long, and often, in fact, a subject of negociation between them ; and !idly, That the American Government was bound to con clude, from every thing which pasvil between the two Govern ments, that both parties entertained the expectation that it was to he arranged by negociation, and only by negociation. It was under this full conviction that your general instructions were prepared. What may be the nature of the proposals which you were au thorised to make, upon the renewal of the negociation so confi dently anticipated, it is not now proper should be communicated to the British Government. Respect for ourselves, no less than for that Government, forbids that we should obtrude upon their consideration, proposals against which they have deemed it proper to shut their ears. It will be, however, no violation of that re spect to say, that they were of a character, on all the disputed points between the two Governments, autherising us to believe that they would be satisfactory. The Government of the United States is animated by the sin cerest desire to maintain, with that of Great Britain, not merely the forms of courtesy and amity, but to cultivate a cordial and lasting friendship ; to settle every controverted question between them upon principles of justice and reciprocity; and, by an en larged liberality in their mutual intercourse, to advance the real prosperity of both. Entertaining this desire, it has learned with the most lively regret the resolution of the British Government to close the door against those friendly explanations, and that frank and mutual exposition of the wishes and views of the parties, which are, or should be, the object of all negociation. The har mony of nations requires that every avenue to such explanations should always be kept fully open. But such a free access, on all questions, appears to the Government of the United States to be especially desirable between two such nations as Great Britain And the United States, whose interests and happiness are so intimately interwoven. By rejecting the ordinary mode of treating, through the established agency of accredited ministers, and substituting for it that of mutual legislation, which, after all, is but another though less advantageous, mode of negociation,. we deprive our selves of many facilities. Congress and the British Parliament are numerous bodies, acting in different and distant spheres, and it is not derogating from their undoubted wisdom and superior in telligence, to suppose that their organization is not the best suited to the exercise of diplomatic functions in all cases. A single word of explanation, an instantaneous suggestion of the modification of a proposal elicited in conference, may lead to the adjustment of a difference when ministers are treating face to face, which might not be settled for a long time in a negociation conducted between two bodies, each composed of several hundred members, separated by the Atlantic Ocean. We do not mean to bring forward any formal complaint against Great Britain, on ac count of her determination to exclude one of the mesas which experience has evinced to be best adapted to the accommodation of national differences. Our main purpose is to show that the United States are not justly chargeable with the consequences which may flow from that most unexpected decision. As the only alternative which the course adopted by that Go vet-nu-lent has left, the President has determined to give a signal proof of his anxious wish to preserve a good tal?rstanding be tween the two Governments, by laying the whsle of the corres pondence which has passed between them, on this subject, in cluding the instructions to our several Ministers at the Court of St. James, before Congress, at its next Session. The wisdom of that body, in the actual state of things, is alone competent to decide whether the colonial intercourse shall remain closed, ac cording to the pleasure of the British Government, as manifested in the late Order in Council, and whether that portion of it left open by the Order shall remain open, or on what conditions, compatible with the interests of the people of the United States, Congress is willing the trade should he placed. You will accompany the communication of the substance of this despatch, or the substance of such part of it as you may not have anticipated in my answer to Mr. Canning's note, pre sented from yourself to the British Government, with the as surance that, notwithstanding their present decision, the Govern ment of the United States, at all times hereafter, will be ready, at Washington or at London, to treat of the colonial inter course, whenever it may be their desire or inclination to nego ciate on that subject. I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, A. CLAY. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. (From the Plymouth Journal.) Sir Charles Ogle is said to be nominated for the North Ameri can command. The Nightingale cutter appeared in the offing on Sunday, and stood away to the southward. The Ringdove, 18, is under orders for the- North American station. The Bramble cutter, Lieut. Fayell, went out of harbour on Tuesday, and was paid wages. In Ilamoaze—Britannia, Thetis, Alligator, Satellite, Rifleman, Vigilant. At the Island—Bramble. In the Sound—Ringdove, The Princess Elizabeth packet, from the Mediterranean, and Duke of Marlborough, from Lisbon, which arrived at Falmouth on Sunday, brought dispatches which were sent off immediately for town. Lieut. T. Best is appointed to the Alligator, 28, in this port. The following statement of our Naval Force employed on Fo reign stations, may not be unacceptable at the present moment : MEDITERRANEAN.—Revenge, 74 (Sir Harry Neale), 0102- brian, Glasgow, Seringapatam, Dryad, Ariadne, and Talbot fri gates ; Alacrity, Brisk, Camelion, Chanticleer, Gannet, Jasper, Medina, Parthian, Pelican, Pelorus, Philornel, Raleigh, Rose, Zebra, and Weazle, sloops and brigs; Mastiff surveying-Yessel. Lzsaow—Spartiate,74,(ViceAdmiral Lord Aurelius Beauclerk); Ocean, '74; Wellesley, '74 ; Windsor Castle, 74 ; Melville; 74 ; Albion, 74 ; Genoa, 74; Gloucester, 74 ; Romney and Pyramus frigates. At Oporto—Galatea, 42 ; Dispatch, 18 ; Plumper, 10; Reynard, 10. EAST INDIES. —Java (Rear-Admiral Gage), Boadicea, Athol, Success, Tamar, and Rainbow frigates ; Champion, Cyreae, Hind, Larne, Martin, Fly, Pandora, and Slan e y s l oo p s . CAPE OF Goo') HOPE.--Owen Glendower (Commodore Chris tian), Samarang, Sparrowhawk, Helicon. WEST INmEs.—lsis (Vice-Admiral Sir Lawrence Halsted), Aurora, Druid, Rattlesnake, Tweed, and Valorous, frigates ; Beaver, Britomart, Bustard, Espeigle, Ferret, Harlequin, Prim rose, Pylades, and Scylia, brigs and sloops ; Kangaroo, surveying. SOUTH AMERICA.—Ganges, 80 (Rear-Admiral Sir R. W. Otway) ; Cambridge, 80 ; Warspite, 74 ; Blanche, Doris, Forte, Mersey, Ranger, and Volage, frigates, Eclair, Jasseur, and Heron, sloops; Blossom, Adventure, and Beagle, surveying. NORTH AMERlCA.—Jupiter, 50, (Rear-Admiral Willoughby L a k e ) ; Niemen, Orestes, Dotterel], and Grasshopper, sloops ; Contest, gun-brig. COAST OF AFRlCA.—Maidstone, 42, (Commodore Charles Bullen) ; North Star, 26 ; Redwing, and Esk, sloops ; and Con flict, gun-brig. Captain Michael Seymour is appointed to the Menai, 26, at Woolwich ; Lieut. 'Edward Handtield, of the Blanche, has been promoted to the rank of Commander, and appointed to the Jasseur, vice Commander, T. Martin, promoted.—Lieut. Caulfield, of the Victory, to the Henry ; Lieut. J. T. Warren to the Victory, vice Caulfield ; Mr. R. M. Ford, to be supernumerary Surgeon of the Barham, for the Jamaica station. _ Captain Chads, who ha-s-j-u;t-paid off the Alligator, has had the Companionship of the Rath conferred upon him for his various and gallant services. This is the officer who so bravely defended his Majesty's ship Java, atter Captain Lambert was mortally wounded—Captains F. Marryatt, and G. F. Ryves, have also had the same distinction conferred on them. The number of officers of the Navy promoted from the Ist .January, 1826, to the 30th December, was as follow, :-17 Captains, 39 Commanders, 152 Lieutenants, 14 Masters, 6 Sur geons, 32 Assistant Surgeons, 4 Pursers, 13 Field Officers of the Royal Marines, 44 Captains, and 6 Second Lieutenants of that corps. A British Union Jack, with a border of white of one-fifth of the Jack, is to be used in future by all British vessels, as a pilot flag in all parts of the world. -14 \ ' , I , : t 4 illll 4 ~.5 1' 1 $S .4..4-'' LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 12, 1827. We received last night the Frankfort Papers to the 4th inst. They contain no political news whatever.— It is mentioned from Naples that the regulations for the exportation of corn, which were to cease on the 31st December, have been renewed for the whole of 1827, during which, therefore, corn may be exported from the Neapolitan States, under Foreign flags, with out paying export duty. Their Royal Highnesses Prince CHARLEs of PRUSSIA and the Duchess MARIA LouisA ALEX ANDRIA of SAXONY, were solemnly betrothed at Weimar on the 25th ult. The health of the KING of PROssIA continues to improve. In consequence of the very boisterous state of the weather, during the whole of yesterday and last night, we are without any arrival from France, to relieve our suspense with regard to affairs at Madrid. The gale which has blown, however, cannot disperse the clouds which are rising in that quarter of the political horizon. The conduct of FERDINAND appears to be no longer doubtful in the eyes of even those who were foremost to assert, that the Court of Madrid had been no party to the invasion of Portugal, and to treat, as imaginary, those apprehensions which we have invariably expressed of the course likely to be pursued by the Spanish Government. Experience of the past, as- well as accurate in formation of the feeling of FERDINAND and his Ministers respecting the new Constitution established at Lisbon, convinced us that the acts of the Spanish authorities in the Provinces, and the preparations made by the Royalists, were carried on with the per fect knowledge and secret connivance, if not open permission, of the Cabinet of Madrid : and the same experience and information have led us to conclude; with equal certainty, that no immediate change of policy could be expected to he wrought. The accuracy of our reasoning has been shewn by the events which have already taken place. The conditional reinstatement of diplomatic relations between Spain a nd Portugal, and the Notes of M. S ALMON , have not, in any d e _ 16,000 gree, altered the question, but, on the contrary, have strengthened the inferences which we had drawn from d l: an raeillnt A io r y m e y ev o e f ry previous circumstances. The subsequent appointment doubt, m of en G o e i l i h th il e ° fr p oi l l i tier t s o the procrastina ted sooner or later will avow a if doubt before existed ; and although delay may still discussions with MocforP.lnLor . Po rtug al, policy take place, which has been steadily pursued, and will be acted upon so long as the influence and wealth of the Church remain predominant in Spain. Since writing the above we find that a French Mail has arrived; notwithstandin g the violence of the wind. By this opportunity, we understand, letters have been received from the frontiers of Spain of a very warlike character. The letters from Madrid of the 28th December state, that every thing there indicates being on the eve of war. FERDINAND, it is said, will not listen to the repre sentation of any of the Ambassadors, and even the Russian Minister has no influence. • Troop, are marching towards the frontiers of Portugal. Couriers are continually despatched to the provinces for the muster of troops. Letters from Pampeluna, of the 90th December, state that all the Spanish Officers there have received orders to join their corps, and preparations were making for war. From Saragossa they write that orders have been re ce i ve d t o hasten the departure of that garrison to join th e t r oops going towards Portugal. It is st a t e d from Valladolid, under date of the 25th December, that SILVEIRA has retired to Alegre, on the extreme frontiers of Spain, after having been compl e t e ly b ea t en . Such is the substance of the intelligence received this morning through France, which by no means sur prises us. It is in accordance with the predictions which we have invariably made. The French Funds have declined : the three per Cents. dosed at 67. 90. We have inserted in our columns to-day a continua tion of the Official Documents relative to the discus sions between Great Britain and the United States — the instructions given through Mr. CL AY by the Ame rican Government, on the 11th of November, to Mr. GALLATIN, in consequence of the correspondence which had passed between him and Mr. CANNING. The report from the Treasury of the United States, which was laid before Congress on the 12th ult., has also been received in this country, but we have not yet been able to examine it with attention, and its mense length prevents our inserting it in our columns. The subject, however, is not one of direct importance to the people of this country. The cause of the delay of BOLIVAR in Lima so long after the original period fixed for his departure, receives additional explanation by the circumstances stated in the annexed extract of a highly interesting letter which we have received from a correspondent in Lima. The conspiracy against the life of the LI BERATOR appears to have been more serious than has, been supposed ; but the decisive measures lie has taken, leave no room to doubt that it will not have been completely annihilated. (Extract of a Letter from Lima, dated 15th August, 1826.) Events have taken place here lately the most distressing, and which to us are of the greatest importance. A revolutionary spirit is manifested at Peru, especially directed against Bolivar and the Co lombians, a most diabolical conspiracy has been frustrated, the object of which was, to murder this great and good man, mur der the Colombian officers, and drive all the Colombian troops out of Peru. Bolivar had notice of it about ten h o urs before its intended execution : he went, first, coolly to Callao, to see if any preparation was going on in those strong castles; he saw none, but ordered Colonel Grey, an excellent young man, a countryman of ours, to take the com mand, and put the Governor under temporary arrest, after which he returned to Lima, went to the theatre, remained there half an hour, after which retired to the Palace, shut all the gates, doubled the guard, sent parties in all directions, and during all the night continued arresting the parties; the arre►ts now amount to one hundred and fifty, and more still continue coming in ; amo n gst which are four or five Peruvian Generals, thirty Colonels, many inferior officers, and a great number of Limaniane of different classes. His measures, thank God, are strong and unrelenting, and yesterday a Lieutenant-Colonel suf fered and to day several others were shot, with. military formali ties, in the Plaza or principal square, and made the Pe ruvians themselves shoot them, Colonel Grey command ing ; but here Peruvian perfidy was conspicuous, the soldiers h av i ng put grease in the pan of their muskets, and missing tire, while the victims were crying out on their stools for mercy, and requesting Peru to avenge their deaths ; however, Colonel Grey ordered a company of grenadiers of the Caraccas re giment to advance, and, placed within one foot of the culprits, shot them to pieces. I had a good view of this terrible scene, haying got admittance to the palace balcony. There is very little doubt but Bolivar will shoot the whole of the con spirators against whom any proofs are found. Bolivar's chat acter,the peace of Peru, and the lives and property of the English, depend on his severest and most decisive measures. The Peruvians are perfidious, ungrateful race, and in a moment would expel us the country, if they had their own way. In addition to the announcement we made a few days ago, that the Duke of WELLINGTON wag to succeed to the office of Commander-in-Chief, we can now state that his Grace is to retain the ap pointment of Master-General of the Ordnance, and his seat in the Cabinet. It has been our lot more than once to call public attention to the inefficiency of our Police establish ments for suppressing the floatin g mass of evil cha racters in this metropolis; and w e perceive, w ith pleasure, that the subject is about to be taken up in that quarter where justice will be administered with effect. But we are not sure that even the Right Hon. Secretary for the Home Department, with all his acuteness, will be a match for the knotuing ones he has to deal with. Could he turn out their pursy consciences with as little ceremony as they turn Out the pockets of suspected persons, there might be some hope of coming at the truth—that "secret worth' knowing," as they emphatically term the clue to a, "booked customer;" but, unfortunately in their awn case, they are more interested in evading the inquiry of the Right Hon. Gentleman than in gratifying his curiosity, and with good reason too, for no man likes to answer impertinent questions himself, far less so if he has been in the official habit of taking t hat liberty by puttin g them to others. To judge and be judged are two different things, not more dissimilar than sailingwith the tide and stemming the torrent. Mr. PEEL may think, in his laudable endeavours to purify the administration of justice, that he will at least correct the most prominent evils—but unless he can induce some of the gang to make common cause with him, many loose fish will elude his grasp. As money is said to be the root of all evil, it might very properly be applied in getting at the secrets of evil doers. " Setting a thief to catch a thief," is not more politic than employing money to bribe' money-hunters. Though there be no royal road to mathematics, there may be a secret way to the den of thieves. All knowledge must be acquired, and if information can be had at once like ready made clothes, it is better than spinning the tedious yarn, and weav ing the weary web, through all its ulterior pro cess—for knowledge ready bought bursts en the mind like light, and enables the purchaser to pro ceed to sea at once and complete his fortunate voy age, while "slow and sure" is building his bark—just in time to be too late for the season. On this prin ciple we would humbly suggest that certain rewards be offered to all those known in ways of wickedness w ho shall communicate the arts by which they have arrived , at such abstract distinction. Let them tell all— Divulge the burning secret—and confess— They would make more—if Officers took less --- But, unfortunately for our suggestion, in steps the proverb " honour among thieves," which must awaken many qualms of conscience before the secrets of the prison -house are disclosed. However, as a golden key unlocks the hardest heart, we have no doubt that some exception exists to this rule—for it is a maxim, that the greater the rogue the greater the probability of his turning King's evidence, and the love of self-pre servation justifies him in throwing the first stone. But another obstacle arises—it is sometimes more difficult to communicate than to acquire useful infor mation—and here there may be sonic danger in the trick of pointing out the light fingered road to for tune. Besides, it would be libelling the whole pro fession, and the overcharged verdicts in some recent trials for libel clearly indicate, that they would be more safe in practising their vocation at the Old Bailey, than in impeaching their Peers. If they made " tenders in writing, it would be signing away their charac ters—no easy thing to regain, and rather ticklish in the experiment—and if they appeared in propriii persona, it would be jumping into the lion's mouth. the closing of which would awaken no pleasing re collection in such sensitive minds—it would, in deed, be tempting their fortune, unless they took a bond of fate, And masked that face which never blush'd before. In this dilemma we see no chance for the -Right Honourable Secretary getting initiated into all the mysteries of the lovers of darkness, unless he will-con descend to grant a free pardon to all comers, and make .£219 £216 STOCKS, JAN. 9. St. Patrick Insur. (perst►arei Royal Irish Ditto National Ditto Patriotic Ditto Hibernian Bank Provincial Ditto Royal Irish Mine Imperial Mine Mining Co. of Ireland Commercial Buildings MAILS. Arrived. Due. Arrived. Due. 0 America 0 0 Guernsey & Jersey. t 0 Brazil 0 0 HambUrgh 3 0 Buenos Ayres 0 Donagliadee 0 0 Jamaica 0 1 Dublin 0 Flanders „ 1 0 Lisbon ; 0 1 France 0 6 ottenburgh 2 1 Waterford 0 HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Morning l3 minutes after 2. I Evening 40 minutes after 2, PRICES OF STOCKS THI Bank Stock 201% 2 1 .4 3 per Cent. Red 79 ~ .i NiYii 3 per Cent. Cons. 78 3 ,..iU!i ex aw. 3a1,. per Cont.; 86 } i 6 Ditto Red. B6.', 4% 6 5' I per Cent. New... 94,i% ex dir. Ditto, 19 6 95}4 4% 5!4 Bank Long Ann 19.?, 19 India Stock - Ditto Bond. ' 44pm. PRICES OF SNARES British Iron Mining Company , Columbian Mining Company Potosi La Paz and Peruvian Assoc PRICE OF IRISH Bank Stock „ .232% Coosols, 3 per:ceat Goy. Stock, 3y, per cerit.8514 . % Ditto, New 85%!4 4 per Cent .95 4% 1 , 4 3, Gov. Deb. 34 pet cent. Royal Canal Stock Grand Canal Stock City Deb. 4 per Gent 131illast Office Deb. 4 per cent - DAY AT ONE 0 CLOCK. Small Sea Stock Old Annuities New Llatto Ex. Btlb. £l,OOO 2d. 2tl 24 pm. Ditto 5OO 2d 2t5 24 pm. Ditto Small 2d.' 26 24 pm. Ditto Commercial Bank for Account India fbr Account Cons. for Acct. SOli '794 , 4 ' SON AT ONE O'CLOCK. Paid, AAI Per Share. 844 17