The Sun. — London, England, 1831-09-12 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. We understand that the Bishop of Chichester is to be translated to the see of Worcester, and that Dr. Maltby is to be the new Bishop. A better se lection could not have been made. No man better deserves such a distinction than Dr. Maltby, either in respect of learning or of moral worth. Indeed, there can he little doubt that nothing but the con sistency of Dr. Maltby's political character has been the cause that a scholar of his attainments has been passed over so long in the selection of learned and distinguiShed divines, to adorn the bench of Bishops. Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Byng have declined the Peerage ; but their refusal to be called to the Upper House has been couched in the most handsome terms, and accompanied by the warmest acknowledgments of the motives and considerations which caused a patent of Nobility to be offered them. Admiral Saumarez is to he among the number of the new Peers. If we could properly relate the circumstances connected with this promotion, the public would see an addislonal reason to admire their excellent and true-hearted Sovereign.—Tinges. The question—" What will the Lords do ?"-- forming the title of a pamphlet which we have already quoted, and to which we shall by-and-by re vert, is uppermost in the mind of every man —nay, almost of every woman—in England. And well may every man and woman make such an inquiry of each other, for on the practical solution of it de pends so much of the comfort of every family in Great Britain as can in any manner be affected by the maintenance or breaking up of the peace and order of society. In times of threatened danger, great evil might be averted, if men could only be prevailed upon to lay aside the language of conven tional humbug, and without evasion or circumlocu tion to speak plainly what it is they are afraid of. Self-flattery, and adulation of others, are equally to be deprecated when the public safety is at stake. Our fear is then, that the majority of the House of Lords may be so ill informed, or so reckless of what is passing round them, as to think that they are passing but an ordinary vote when they throw out the Bill of Reform. It is much to he appre hended that there are many amongst them who really believe, what others of their Lordships deem it politic to assert without believing—that the Bill has lost a part of its hold over the country. That this error—this monstrous error—will be acted on, if the people do not exert themselves to dis abuse those of the Peers who are misled, and to frustrate their deluders, may be collected from cer tain recent appearances of the Tory press, where, the defeat of the Bill being regarded as a matter of course, the idiot exultation at the victory (!) can scarcely be suppressed, even for the few days likely to elapse before the measure quits the protecting roof of the House of Commons. Well, the Bill is thrown out on the second reading, and now for the victory. Lord Grey and his friends go out of office. It is vain to think of forming another liberal Administration, who would still be met by an Anti- Reforming majority in the Lords. The brave, staunch, and upright Monarch, baffled, together with his indignant people, in their joint effort to save England from convulsion, the King will have to devise some means of carrying on the public business ; and he must effect that purpose, be it only for ever so short a time, through official and respon sible advisers. Nothing is left for bim but a Cabinet of downright Tories ; and let us see how they are to carry on the public business. The minority in the Lords, though, unhappily, it be a minority, cannot be other than a strong one— within, it is presumed, about twenty-eight or thirty of forming a majority in a House of four hundred Members. That minority will contain—we speok to the letter—the whole deliberative and debating talent of the House of Peers, Lord Lyndhurst alone excepted, and he is a Judge. The bake of Wel lington we admit to be a man of powerful ability and of great personal weight ; but we doubt whether his Grace would think it wise to accept the Go vernment in such precarious circumstances. The sornposition of the Upper House itself, then, forms slight impediment to the course of an A.ti- Reform Cabinet. But look beyond that House, and to the other—what.ts spectacle ! A majority of one hundred and forty Members pledged, irrevocably pledged, to support that Reform which the Lords have rejected ; and that Administration which the Lords have indirectly forced to resign, pledged therefore to oppose the adverse policy, and the adverse Ministry. Can the affair go on thus ? Manifestly not. There must be another dissolution. Another dissolution and another election, and with what results? Will disappoint ment, and exasperation, and the sense of being bearded by a faction whom all reformers in the empire must esteem no better than a band of outcasts from our political community, and of selfish conspirators against the Constitution,—will such sentiments, we say, help to promote the interests of Anti-Reform candidates, and to reduce the liberal majority now dominant in tl.e House or Commons ? Let any man of common sense answer for us. Is it not unques tionable that another election, resorted to by a Tory Minister in such a state of the public mind, would add to instead of weakening the present majority, by the exclusion of every individual, Lord Chandos not excepted, who had shown himself inimical to Reform, and the substitution of some thoroughgoing Re former, who would promise to make no mistakes in in his" aye," or " no ?" With a new, and even, if that were possible, more ttenuous majority against the new Cabinet, what then would happen ? 1. An amendment to the Anti-Reform, or Mock-Re form, address, carried by 150 votes against the Minister. 2. A resolution, that " this House roust withhold its confidence from his Majesty's" (then) " advisers." 3: If the Tories should doggedly still cling to office, the introduction and triumphant passing of another Reform Bill, it is to be feared less conservative of certain cherished privileges than the present. Could the Tory Government, we ask again, pro ceed thus ? Impossible. But we have - hitherto confined ourselves to the surface—the mere forma lities of our political condition. What would be the real and substantial state of the commonwealth, if the House of Lords, as new constituted, were to reject the Bill, or, which is precisely the same thing, meddle with any one of its mere important piovi eioes ? The House of Lords would, in the melan choly case, be at open war with the King, the Commons, and the a hole people of England. The struggle would not be for this or that limited, iso lated, especial, temporary, or commonplace object. It would be a vital one. The Lords would strive to withhold from the English nation the main sup port, the source and security of all the rights and political enjoyments, by which freemen are distin guished from slaves : one party or the other must give way : and which party ? The mown ? No, truly. If, therefore, the Lords were only to give way upon compulsion, what would be the nature of that compulsion ? The Constitution offers none but an unlimited creation of Peers. If there had not been objections, held insuperable by the existing Government, to such a measure, though we cannot divine them, it would doubtless have been had re course to before now. But if the calling up of 40, or 50,0 r even 100,eldest sons of Peers which could even tually work little change, so far as we can perceive, in the . chara c t er or pos i t i on o f t h at assembly,—if that be Impractic a bl e, w h y t h en i t must b e a d m i tte d t h at within the letter of the existing Constitution the Lords cannot be coerced, and that the most grievous wrong may be inflicted with absolute impunity, and without the shadow of remedy, by a small number of titled individuals, upon a nation which calls itself great and free! Then, however, in spite of all lo vers of law, and all sticklers and const i tutional forms, a question would aris e ,—„,,d men, aye, sober i and honest citizens , would ask t—" Shall we be without a Constitution, or shall the Lord s b e made to do without tho-e power s which enable them to deprive us of it ?" The question, we repeat, will &asked, and by the nation, on its own behalf, as contradistinguished from the Peers. It is a question which we are not inclined to answer. . But if Tories complain of our putting questions which lie beyon d the pale of the Constitution, we affirm that their hope of succeeding to the Government if—which Heaven avert—a Reform Ministry should resign, can be founded, in the actual situation of the country, on no conceivable da'um but one,—namely, that they will themselves be able to govern England, in spite of the House of Commons and the people, by the army and the House of Lotds alone, That thellope has been 'ex pressed by some of the party is, we are assured, a fact, of whi c h ev id ence m i g h t b e g i ven ; t h at a Cory Government could practically be conducted on no other system, is obvious from the nature of things— every power in eue State, King, Commons, and people, being open enemies to the Anti-Reform fac tion. then it comes to this—Can the 7'wy leaders govern England by means of the art .t amd the mouse (ye Lords ? Answer us, countrymen, will you be so ruled ? Yea, will the troops, who are Englishmen, and deeply imbued with the spirit of their friends and fellow-citizens ; will they, whether officers or soldiers, be made the instruments of such a base do - - minion ? Never? How poorly qualified are the ma , jority of the Lords to early on a war ad internecionenz with the nation, may be gathered from an able por traiture of that generally well-disposed, but essen- tially subordinate and passive, order in the State, taken from the pamphlet to which we have already drawn attention. " What will the Lords do If the Lords reject or mutilatc the hill, they are in effect, though indisputably riot by design, guilty—first, of throwing the empire into confusions secondly, of 'more than endangering their own existence. _ . " This lagging' behind the intellect of the day has alienated much of the affections and respect of a large portion of the community, while the plate-htinttng pro pensities of some noble famllie% who have addicted themselves to politics, laa've featfully detracted from a belief in public honour and patriotism. Now, while such has been the eonduct of individual Peers, the enact ments of their collective wisdom have not been of a na ture to call forth love and honour. The Lords have se dulously obeyed every Minister, and harshly adopted every coercive a't of each successive Cabinet. No one liberal, reforining, popular measure, bat originated in their douse ; many of such a natnit which the Com mons have sent up, have ttbn by them rejected or de feated, while they horse carefully abstained from exercising this their restrictive privilege, by softening the rigour, abating the extravagance, or enlarging the policy of any one of thosa unpopular acts in which the Commons have too frequently indulged. Once, Wild once only, did the Peers give way, and wisely ; for they retrieved, as far as in them lay, the evil of their previous opposition, regained credit with alt good men, and saved Irel Ind from a con vulsion. May they now, u hen the question at issue is the peace of the whole Empire, go end do likewise. Still this o ne wise act of grace is a solitary exception to their Nvourite pursnit 'di a restrictive policy, which, however irritating , ' has hitherto proved not the less vain ; for the People have gained ground, and the Peers now witness the consequences of thwarting opposition, coupled with niggard and reluctant concession. They see, on the part of the people, an appetite for Reforms, heightened by delay ; and they acknowle.'ge, while they complain of, a daily decay of respect towards themselves as individuals, and of public influence as a body. " But their individual and collective popularity form, as I have shown, their peculiar safeguards in the hour of danger. And now, with these fortresses of defence, thus found crumbling and dilapidated, with scarcely an ally, certainly not an efficient ally, how is this declining order of men, who by their habits of life and tenure of property, are peculiarly unfitted for an arduous struggle—how are they to bear themselves successfully through the coming conflict? Will they in vain be called to a sense of their langer? Will they not hear both sides ? Will they listen to those only whe flatter or agree with them ? Do they remember that instructive passage, concerning him who cbem-r " • Sui gaudere theatri " • Nee reparare novas vices, inultunique priori " • Credere fortunw ; stet Inagni nominis umbra. " • Qalis frugifero quetcus sublimii in agro " • Exuvis Veteres populi, sacrataque gestans " • Pon ducum : nec jam validis radicibus hxrens, " Pondere fixa sua est : nudosque per aera ramos " Effundens, trunco, non frondibus etticit umbram2 " Thus far then I have taken a hasty and general view of the forces and position of the British Peerage at the present critical moment. I have shown, I believe truly, and certainly with no hostile sentiment, that it is in a state of great incidental weakness. I say incidental, for it is in itself, I trust, essentially strong, and would it shake off its present cholera of unpopularity—would it place itself at the head of the intellect and liberality, true liberality of the country, it would shine forth as the sun, honoured, bright, and beneficent. If Noble Lords should h ild me to be mistaken in this calculation of their streng.h let them, I pray, for the sake of themselves, and the mighty interests involved in their preservation, carefully calculate, and, as wise men, under-rate rather than exag gerate, their means of attack and defence. I will not stop to ask them against whom they are thus to marshal their forces, but ptocted at once to examine the nature of the contest, if contest they will have. " At the very outset I am prepared to grant the ge neral, though partially concealed hatred, of a vast majority of the House of Lords to the present Reform Bill— indeed to all Parliamentary Reform. The practices to which it tends to put an end have been pre cisely those illegal means by which the Peers have endeavoured to supply that hold on the State, which they have loosened by th e ir u n p o p u l ar ac t as a b o dy, and their lack of industry and attainments as individuals ; and yet, ill truth, not a small portion of this loss of real power is attributable to the practice of these very means, slid the false confidence it has inspired. But I fear it would be time thrown away to attempt persuading the anti-rJormeia to receiVe this truth. And yet why will they not perceive that a small junto of boroughmongers and their adherents, who have been long usurping the patronage of the State, to the palpable detriment of the Peerage at large, are now seeking to cover their own sordid and selfish opposition, by an alliance with the more disinterested of the Tories and most timid of the Whigs. Why will not those Peers, whose sole share of the borough mongering system has been a full portion of its ol.loquy— why will they not perceive that they are about to be made the tools of a cunning and selfish faction? Why will they sully the purity of their own ermine, by asserting that it is best defended by the corruption of a brother Peer's rotten borough. Strange perversity ! One might smile at the short-sighted dexterity of the boroughmongers, so wise in their generation, did one not foresee the fatal consequences that may result from the success of their cajoleries. " But are we, then, to expect that the Peers, deficient in energy and power, will madly place themselves in the breach, and bid defiance to the present current of royal and popular opinion? No : this would be an act of devo tion worthy only of the Hindoos and their Juggernaut. I cannot believe, that a body of staid, sober, wealthy, elderly gentlemen, fathers too of large and affectionate families, should, for the sake of an opinion, meditate a pro ceeding, so nearly approaching to a political felo-de-se. And I am the more inclined to this charitable opinion of their discretion, when I see that their object, if their object be to defeat the Bill, can be as effectually gained by side winds, and flank movements, as by direct opposition. Half measures will here, for once, be as effectual as whole ; and from their nature, are as peculiarly fitted for the affections and exigencies of weak bodies. To these then, I fear, they will have recourse; willingly, would I believe that they would, with a manly courage and patriotic candour, accede to the honest demands of their countrymen ; that they would, magnanimously, place themselves within the circle of the interests and the affections of their native land. But, I much fear, that without a struggle, they wili not do so ; and I more fear, that, after a struggle, it will no longer be in their power to do so."— We heartily concur in opinion with the writer of the able pamphlet " What will the Lords do ?" that " a vast majority of the House of Lords" entertain " a general though partially concocted hatred to the present Reform Bill, indeed to all Parliamentary Re form." If the Reform Bill answer the object for which it is intended, it will give to the people the power of enforcing economy and retrenchment.— But a great majority of the House of Peers are ne cesmrily enemies of economy and retrenchment, for their dignity is maintained by the pillage of the people. Do not let the people delude themselves with the hopes that a majority of the Peers can be friendly to Reform in their hearts. They may, notwithstanding, be brought to see the wisdom of voting for the Bill, as Balaam, in spite of his de sire for the riches and honours of Baluk, was obliged to bless those whom he wished to curse. Everything w;11 depend on the people themselves. If they wish the benefits - of good Government, if they wish an end to be put to the .reign of corruption, they must now exbesrertvtehetmhasteltvhees.peolptleis, whhaerdniyunnietedeessaarre a y for li o u ‘ s y e t r o o_ lid. Th a t t h ey are united' on the question o f iße form is proved by th e l arge ma j or i ties of represer ' tatives chosen by the p eo pl e , i n sp i te of the opPoSi tion of all those who were returned to Parliament through sinister influence. What an ,idea of the Home of Peers would the world receive from the spectacle of their opposing the Commons in a mea sure for which the whole nation, with the exception of themselves, were anxious—the object of which measure being to prevent the Peers from possessing an influence over eleetionz, which the Constitution never intended they should have! A decision of the House against the nation would bold up the House as essentially the enemy of the nation ; and we need not repeat that, in these times, no order can exist by any other title than the persuasion of the people that its existence is beneficial to them, Let the Peers only teach the people that they are opposed to the welfare of the people, and the result may be anticipated without the gift of prophecy. The per)ple of Prance have at this time their eyes on Eng land. The question Which is about to be presented to the House Of Peers ) places this body before them in a position in which it has never yet been placed. The corruption of the House of Commons has hitherto produced an uniformity between the two Houses, and the Upper House has riot appeared to (lifer from the Lower, in the latter's being identified with the nation, and the former's being opposed to it. Opposition on the great question of questions, which shall decide whether the people of England shall Or shall not possess real representatives— whether they shall or shall not emancipate them selves from the system of corruption under which they have long groaned, will call forth--not merely in France ) bet in all Europe—a deadly hared to all institutions, not directly emanating from, and res ponsib'e to, the people. The people of England were true to themselves during the late elections. They must continue true to themselves. They must, by exer tions corresponding to the emergency, secure the nation against the mischiefs which might result fuom an improper decision at this conjuncture. Much evil may be prevented by the people acting in such a manner at this crisis as shall extinguish, in the House of Peers, all hope of the possibility of suc ceeding in depriving the nation of the blessing which is now in prospect. Let the people be on their guard. All sorts of devices will be resorted to. The plunder of the nation is a prize worth con tending for. Reform in Parliament is a termination to the reign of plunder. Through it we see gradual ameliorations of all sorts; the fruits of industry secured to the industrious, an united people, instead of plundering and plundered—the reign of true mo• rality and true religion, instead of cant and hypo crisy, the spawn of corrupti‘ n and peculation. In Jeremy Bentham's Letter to his Fellow-citizens of France on Houses of Peers and Senates, there are arguments which, if the Members of our Upper House possess wisdom, they will not force the people to consider too curiously " Dignity, lustre, splendour, honour, glory, and in fluence,—do they not give support to Government; and if Government is an evil, is it not a necessary one? Give support to Government? 0 yes, that they do : and there's the mischief of them. What we want is—that a good Government should have support and that a bad Go vernment should not have support—should fall to pieces for want of support. But what these things do is—giving support to all Governments—to the worst as much as to the best. . . . Wherever there is either honour, or dignity, there must be a support to it. Everybody says as much ; nobody denies it. And this support must be made of money. And for the extraction of the material from the pockets of those by whose labour that which is given in exchange for it is produced, there must he a pretence; and the pretence is . made by the manufacture of official situations: to which situations is attached money and money's worth, flowing in through the medium of salaries, fees, and perquisites; and to the situations are annexed pensions of retreat. 'So likewise pensions or donations, or both, for widows and children. For as each Peer has his dignity to support, so has his widow her's; so have his children theirs--every one of those same children, his or her's : of his male children, the eldest has more dignity than any of the others have ; the others have every one of them the same. And in each case what would become of all this dignity, if it was not for the support given to it by the money? It would, of course, drop down. * * • • • • * « 0 " True it is, your Peers, if you continue to have ahy, will not be so bad as ours: for they will not have so much —they will not have near so much—power along ‘vith, their honour and dignity. They will not have the nomination of the self-constituted and self-styled repre sentatives of the people; they will not be in the habit of having distant dependencies obtained and retained, for the s.ke of official situations established in them, for the pur pose and with the effect of being filled by Peers, or elder or younger sons of Peers, for the profit of depredation and pleasure of oppression to be exercised by these same living receptacles of honour and dignity. The consequences of any such burthen would, in your part o' the world, be for some time too bad for endurance ; and therefore it would not, till after a considerable length of time, be endeavoured to be fas.ened on you. But when all this is taken off, there is scarcely enough left to prevent you from consent ing to be loaded with any such incumbrance as it would load you with." Tt!ere are many honest men in the House of Peers, content to live 011 their own property—but let the people bear in mind, that there are also many to whom the pillage of the people is desirable, and who will struggle for it. The opposition in the House of Commons might, in some instances, pro ceed from wrongheadedness. In the House of Peers, opposition to the Reform of the Commons, for which the Commons themselves have declared, can have but one motive—the desire to retain the pillage of the nation.—Morning Chronicle. While the leading Tory politicians in both Houses of Parliament, assisted by a portion of the Press, impute the most ambitious views to France, and accuse her, by anticipation, of the most serious breaches of faith, there is no notice taken by Whig or Tory of the extensive warlike preparations which Prussia is, and has long been, making in the Rhenish provinces, and the accumulaton of her forces gathered upon the frontiers of Belgium, while she professes the most pacific i►►tentions. It is agreed on all sides that the French troops marched ►nte Belgium to support King Leopold's Govern ment with the concurrence of the Conference, as those Powers now call themselves, which, with the exception of England, _are better known by the name of the Holy Alliance. In fact, if France had not the sanction of the other Powers to that advance of her troops upon Belgium, the movement would have been considered not only a declaration of war, but an actual eom• mencement of hostilities. Prussia, therefore, openly countenanced France in this march into Belgium— at least her subsequent assent to the proceedings which the French Government adopted on the re ceipt of King Leopold's letter was equivalent to a previous permission. Yet there is great reason to believe that Prussia encouraged the invasion of Belgium by the Dutch, at the very time that French troops marched, by her consent, to drive back the invaders. What was the object of Prussia in prac tising this double-faced policy ? We shall see. The invasion of Belgium by the Dutch has rendered the Belgic question more complicated, and more diffi cult of adjustment, than before. The very fact of the march of the French troops excited suspicions that France was taking the first favourable oppor tunity that presented itself for realising her views of aggrandizement, and taking the first step to wards a new series of Europeans conquests. In the former revolution Prussia invaded France, and, miscalculating the energies and resources of a people who were struggling for free dom, hoped to restore the ancient despotism by a coup de main. Instructed by biter expe rience, her Quixotism against liberty is now so ram pant ; she mixes more of cautious policy with her deadly hostily to a.revolutionised Government. She has shown this in the case of Poland as well as France. She has not yet taken arms against either, but she has practised a Machiavelian policy towards both. The concentration of Prussian forces in theßhe 'Ash provinces to the amount of upwards of 200,000 men, well equipped arid ready to march at a mo ment's notice, forebodes, whatever diplomatic as surances there may be to the contrary, that there is little probability deny long continuance of the peace of Europe. That Prussian soldiers were not pre vented from joining in great numbers the Dutch in vading rrny of Belgium seem now to be placed be yond doubt, although the Prussian Government managed the matter in such a way as not to be openly or directly implicated in giving any assistance to the King of Holland. The game that Prussia and the other Powers of the Holy Alliance are now playing is to lay a train for a war with France in such a manner as that the English Govern ment shall set fire to that train. They will remem ber what an advantage they had in having 'England the paymaster of their forces during the late war, and they would dearly like to be subsidized by English gold again. That the four Powers have demanded the evacuation of Belgium by every French soldier we are disposed to believe. If the French Government should refine, or should be, at present, unable to obey, on account of the mischief which the recall of the troops, while the Dutch, tracked by the Prussians, are obviously preparing for new aggressions, might produce at home, England will be placed in a situation which will compel her to make common cause with the Holy Alliance in their projected crusade against France, and thus the object of the Machiavelian policy of Prussia will have been attained. It is deeply to be regretted that our Ministry, who left the Poles to their fate, should have evinced so little wisdom as to have in volved this country in the quarrel between Belgium and Holland, in blind submission to the crafty arid dangerous machinations of the Holy Alliance. — Morning Herald. However, be this as it may, the same veracious organs whose previous predictions had so signally failed, are still harping on their favourite daughter —the rejection of the Bill—and now assuring u-, with the same gravity and solemnity of feature, and the same hardiness of assertion, that the Bill will be rejected by the Lords. In what mode, however, this rejection is to be effected, and who are to be the high priests of a new Ministry, which would inevi tably, if a Ministry could be concocted, succeed the present, they either do not agree, or do not inform its. On the former point, indeed, their statements are singularly at variance with each other. The Bill says one, will be gallantly thrown out by a decisive majority, on the attempt to read it a second time— it will, says another, be thrown out by a side wind, that is, by such a modification of some of its clauses as will be tantamount to a rejection, and compel the resignation of the King's Ministers—the House of Lords, says another, is a Court of Justice, and the Lords, as Judge s, cannot sentence the rotten boroughs to be hanged, or aid the. generation of a more healthy offspring, without hearing evidence in support of delinquency in the one case, and just title in the other :—which hearing of evidence, it is boldly averred, may occupy seven years, and being found insufficient, the Bill will be got rid of. New that all these factious attempts may be made, there is but little manner of doubt ; but the variety of the schemes furnishes the strongest proof, both of the want of concord among the Anti-Reformers—of their weakness in every thing but numbers—and of the certainty, of speedy execution being done upon them, by the speedy passage of the Bill to the King's throne, where it will be as graciously received as it has been shamefully treated and abused else where. However, not to waste words in vain, we beg, in contradiction to the assertions of the cotem poraries to whom we have alluded, to state that the question of the passing of the Bill is, at the worst, but a question of time. Pass, at last, it must, and be acted upon by the people of these realms; and we really cannot bring ourselves to believe that any majority of the Peers could he found so thoroughly ignorant of the public feeling—so little alive to a sense of justice—and so destitute of regard for the peace of the country, arid the existence of their own order, as to be brought by any motive or con sideration whatever, to reject a Bill which has re ceived the sanction of ninety-nine out of every hun dred of the population.—Morning Advertiser. We yesterday received Brussels Papers of the 10th, containing the Speech of King Leopold at the opening of the Congress on Thursday. The para graph in the Speech which will excite the greatest surprise is that relating to the demolition of the Bel gian fortresses:— " The neutrality of Belgium," says King Leopold, "gtv ranteed by the Five Powers, liss suggested the possibility of modifications in its system of defence. This possibility, the principle of which is admitted by the Powers concerned in the erection of the fortresses of 1815, will, I doubt not, be acknowledged by the nation. Negotiations will take place to regulate the execution of the measures connected with the demolition of some of those fortresses. Happy in being able to draw closer the ties which unite the two people, Belgium will on this occasion give a proof of its gratitude to France, Europe a striking pledge of its just confidence in the honour of the King of the F. ench." We are now enabled to estimate the value of those pleas which have hitherto been put forth, even officially, as to the expense of maintaining and the difficulty of finding garrisons for the Belgic fortresses. There can now be no further dissimulation, for the secret is fairly out. The fortresses we are plainly told are to be demolished as a proof of gratitude to France on the part of Belgium. In other words, it is openly proclaimed that the demolition is as a boon to France, and has solely and exclusively a French object. And what inte rest can France have in the matter other than the removal of a principal obstruction to the prosecution whenever a suitable opportunity arises, of her am bitious projects ? We are surprised that King Leopold should have made so unequivocal a decla ration on this point, for the inference is immediate and irresistible. There can be but one view of the subject. As to the concluding words of the sen tence above quoted, we may exclaim with Lady Teazle, " Honour may be left out of the question." in referring to the flight of the 40,000 King Leo poldcool d have neatl y compensated observes, that the " w i a f individual cizoui organization, we we should without doubt have re p ulsed an unjust aggression." It remained for the discerning eyes of their King to discover any courage, whether in dividual or collective, among his faithful subjects. —Morning Post. His Majesty's ships Prince Regent, of 120 guns, Captain Deane Dundas, and Asia, 84, Captain Hyde Parker, sailed from Spithead on Saturday (pursuant to orders received that morning) for the Tagus, tinder the command of Rear-Admiral Parker. The ,Portsmouth Telegraph says that this expedition is in consequence of our countrymen having of late, " in more instances than one," been insulted and beaten at Lisbon without having obtained any re dress. We think the respectable Editor of the Telegraph must have been misinformed on this oc casion. An expedition, surely, could never be sent out on such very insignificant grounds, even supposing their existence to have been fully weer rained. But the real fact we believe to be that there is scarcely any foundation for the statement. Some of the resident British at Lisbon, we are sorry to be obliged to confess, are so indiscreet as tcstoenhsmtaenot l t y t t o o insult Sovereignthe .el oa claim h t e o i r t a h t e - Crown they acknowledge, and whose judicious rule t h e y all cordially approve. In this way only do spoenrostnaarlidcoptodirieclyts defensivearise— buototthheey partare ns a f e rteillye per Po rtuguese. If any of the British Agents, in their revolutionary spirit, have thought proper to give a f a l s e colouring to such trivial affairs, we cannot help indulging in the hope that even the present British Government would not be so weak as to siutiog men.—Morning thedu m pes or o ni f ng su ri ch ost. shallow artifices of de- There have been several discussions among t h e leading Reformers in t his county, mid its diff erent towns, as to the expediency of public meetings to address the House of Lords on the subject of the Reform Bill.— We believe the predominant opinion at present is to wait till some indication is afforded of the probable feeling of the majority of that House. If that feeling should be unfavourable to the passing of the Bill, the whole county must be instantly summoned, and suitable measures adopted. It behoves every Reformer in the mean while to be at his post of observance, and to watch narrowly for the first signal. We trust, however, that " hereditary wisdom" will not render any further exertions necessary, The country needs repose from party violence..—Kent Her. OLD BAILEY, SEPT. 10. Ann Rowell, a handsome young woman, aged 22, was indicted for that, she being the wife of Thomas Rowell, took, during his lifetime, one Henry Mill burne as her husband, against the statute. Mr. BODKIN stated the case for the prosecution, and it appeared to excite an unusual interest. Philip Hooton is a sail-marker, living in Acre street, Wapping, and was present when the prisoner married Rowell, in Poplar New Church, on the 29th of November, 1824. He gave her away. Her maiden name was Cobbit. Mr. C. PHILLIPS (for the prisoner)—How came you to be father to this child at the wedding, you must have been then a child yourself ? Witness— I was requested by Rowell. The prisoner at that time was about 15 years old. Rowell lived with her a month, and then left her in a state of destitution. lam now 26 years old. I knew the prisoner was far under t 1 when she was married. I was summoned here by Millburne, the second husband. lam not aware that the prisoner had seen Rowell since he went to sea, six years ago. -I do not know that when he left her abruptly he went to the uttermost pat t of the earth. By Mr. BODKIN—None of her relations were pre sent at the nuptials. By the COURT—I do not know the name of the clergyman who solemnized the marriage. I am not aware that her mother knew any thing about it at the time. Mary Ann Anderson was present, be sides me and the bride and bridegroom. Mary Ann Inglis, the female alluded to by the last witness, deposed to having acted as bride's-maid ; she was then 19 years old. By Mr. C. PHILLIPS--Has been lucky enough since to get married herself. At the time prisoner married Mr. Rowell, she had a mother, but no father alive. By the COURT—I do not know the age of R9well at the time ; I will not swear that he was 21. By Mr. C. PHILLIPS—The ages of the bride, bridegroom, father, and herself, varied from 15 to 19 years. The COMMON SERJEANT (to Mr. Bodkin)—Sir, you have proposed to call Milburne, the second hus band, but before you do so, you'must prove the first marriage in a legal way. Mr. BODKIN—My Lord, I am quite unable to obviate the objection. The COMMON SERJEANT—The marriage with Rowell is riot proved; where are the clergyman and clerk, or a proper certificate ? Mr. PHILLIPS told Millburne to take his wife home : you will find the speculation you are making fail you. An unverified certificate of the marriage was pro duced, but not put in as documentary evidence. The COMMON SERJEANT—It is teally a most ex traordinaiy thing that no person is here to prove the first marriage, except those who appear to be parties deeply interested. Mr. C. PHILLIPS—My Lord, at all events, if the marriage ever wok place, it was without the con sent of the parents and guardians. The whole party were all minors, and the marriage was clan destine. Robert Thomas Ovenden, of No. 45, Carey street, engraver, deposed that he saw a paper like the certificate produced, at the house of the parish clerk of Poplar. The COMMON SERJEANT—Witness, I warn you to be careful. Did you not hear the prosecutor, I.llillburne, at the Police-office, listen to the follow ing words of the prisoner, viz.—" I told Mr. Mill burne that I had been married, and he said if I married him, nothing would hurt me ; and then he went and got a certificate of my first marriage, and then he married me." _ _ Witness (embarrassed)-4 do not know he heard it. The COMMON SERJEANT—Why this hesitation ? You must know, and unless you answer fairly, you shall be sent to prison. Now, did you not, having heard the young woman say so, afterwards ask Millburne if her statement was true ? Did he then acknowledge to you that he knew that at the time be married this unhappy young woman, her husband was alive? Witness (stammering)—He—he—he did. The CoatiroN SERJEANT—OtIicer, don't let that witness depart from the Court at present,—perhaps, though, Mr. Phillips has some other question to ask. Mr. C. PHILLIPS —My Lord, I have done with him. The COMMON SERJEANT told the Jury that he would, if necessary, consult the Learned, Judges in the other Court, as to whether the prisoner was le gally married to Rowell. My present opinion is that she was not. There is no evidence, parole or other wise, to determine whether, if a marriage did take place, it was by banns or license. The Foreman of the Jury said that their minds were made up that the indictment was not sustained. Mr. Woraner, the Governor of Newgate, spoke in favourable terms of the prisoner, and said she had never cast eyes on Rowell from the time he aban doned her till he was pointed out to her to-day. Obedient to the demand of the Court Rowell stood forth. The COMMON SERJEANT then ordered Millburne, the second husband, and prosecutor, to stand up. He obeyed, when the Learned Judge addressed him to the following effect—he, however, listened with great indifference :—" Mr. Millburne, you have thought proper from some cause to prosecute this unhappy young woman, who appears to be your wife. You have admitted that when you married her you knew of a previous ceremony (one can scarcely term it marriage), hence you were not de ceived. The Court thinks your conduct highly d( - grading; and I beg to tell you, that never in my life, since I have been acquainted with Courts of Justice, have I witne.sed so disgraceful a prosecutuan." Mr. M:lburne—Allow me to explain. COURT—Say what you please. Mr. Millburne—My Lord, I was 19 years old when I went to lodge with the prisoner's mother (Mrs. Cobbit), and I admit that I married the prisoner, and know that she had a husband. Some time be fore I married her she said one day, I have tidings froth my husband, and I have 201. or 301. to receive. She went out and then came back all in tears, and said her husband was no more. After her grief had subsided, Mrs. Cobbit, her mother, requested me to marry the prisoner, and having no objection, 1 did so; but I married her as a widow. The CoMMON SERJEANT—Yon may stand down, for your statement is quite at variance with the evi dence. The time of the public cannot be wasted in listening to your unsatisfactory and inexplicable explanations. The Jury then returned a verdict of acquittal, and his Lordship, in an emphatic tone, ordered her to be instantly discharged, to the evident satisfac tion of every one but Millburne. His Lordship said, that the prosecutor and witnesses, excepting those who were disinterested, should not be allowed a farthing expences. Mr. C. PHILLIPS —So much for your speculation, Mr. Millburne. Now the case is over, I can state that the prosecutor is enamoured of a lady of pro perty, said to be the natural daughter of the Duke of (whose mansion is near Charing-cross). The unfortunate female who was acquitted has a child near five years of age by her husband. TEDDINGTON.—In this spirited little village, which had for so many years witnessed the private vir;ues and enjoye I the munificent benevolence of our good KING and QUEEN, the substantial good old English feeling was strongly displayed on Thursday last. Out of a population of 900 persons, 450 men, women, and children, were re galed with a plentiful dinner of roast-beef and plum-pud ding, furnished by the subscription of the inhabitants.— The churchwardens and overseers, assisted by the gentle men of the parish, performed the grateful office of carvers and waiters, at a long table placed in a field in the centre of the village, and protected from rain by an awning ; the gratitude of the guests was manifested in their cheerful looks, and in the hearty cheer when they drank the health of " The King and Queen." After dinner the women and children, with their husbands and fathers, partook of tea, bread, and butter,. provided for them under the s.ine well-constructed booth. MURDER AT BILBOA. (From the Limerick Chronicle.) too ) Another victim has been added to that bees 0 , b oo,, their sufferers which this lawless district has ses k t oot , their last account. Michael Griffin expired on day morning at the county infirmary, from the of three-gun shot wounds in his thigh, inflicted ls , he lay fast aleep on his straw pallet, in a card • Bilboa, with his son and wife. The circtunstli of the attack appeared in our last. On W . ' t o' the Mayor proceeded to the county infirmsri , : hold an inquest on the body of this unfortunate ir and was assisted by Thomas P. Yokes, Esq., C 7 1 0, Magistrate of Police. A Jury having been etor, d o led, Martin Griffin, son of the deceased, was sw:,, and examined. On the night of the 31st of An he vv,is in bed in the same house with his WS' mother, and brother, when, two hours before Orj crow, he was alarmed by hearing a shot &ell the cries of his father ; the shot was fired into I%'; haus a through the door, and the bed lay opposit e tt l ii; immediately after heard another shot filed oil .v j the door; it was the first shot struck his fatherl, it grazed the legs of his brother, who was in same bed; there was no noise or signal given be the shot was fired ; in half an hour after the c s, :: was opened, and a written notice found outsitleff the ground, it was brought in and read by the of the fire. The notice was, that we should so il death if we did not drop what we had in view were at thiS time herding on the farm under _I, Wheeler. Ryan was the man who occupied it, he was under notice to quit, though he still e°l tinued on the farm ; the hou•e was in a bogy the country lonesome. osf Mr. Yokes here explained—Some years ag? Ryan, a wealthy farmer, held a large districtur Bilboa under lease from Lord S radbroke, and took in several score of under-ten an t s u pon the so that when his term expired th e esta te Was °I :4 yawl with poor occupiers. Mr. William Blonde, Lordship's agent, who was murdered the other (OP re-let the ground to those in possession, but it of no use, and he was obliged to forgive th e heavy arrears of rent before lie could get them oolt in fact they absorbed the proceeds of the WI I° estate to themselves and their families, and g h t ; Blood forgave them some years of arrears before d could clear the ground. They returned again, s ri he was forced again to put them out. When dll : spec;able or wealliy farmer proposes for those 1 0 0 and attempts to l o c a t e him se lf, those people sure to frighten him out by threats and intimidati t# ' conceiving that a n y other but t hemselves are usurP e : r f i , of the soil. M r . Wh ee l er tenan t e d a f a rm 0 1 ; and lie was sh o t f or so d o i ng . M r . B eer y, ane tbe w respectabl e t enant , commence d budding a nd Pi i proving on th e es t a t e , an d h e was served Wit h. ol e Rock notice to give up, or else —1 The vib estate of Lord S tra db ro k e i n thi s dist r i c t coritte, 13,000 acre: ; and the people in that part of l: ef country are all Ryans and Kennedys, and will none but themselves to occupy it—thus prevents; any person of respectability from living there. I l'S ge had liberty from Lord Stradbroke to build a poll t barrack there, and I am determined to go on ol i o it, notwithstanding the systematic opposition wh i ' be i is offered by those persons. A whole family t i t •• Connells) were immolated on this property o,,, Je h i years ago, all arising from the same cause. I 'l mason employed to superintend the barrack has shed week received an incendiary notice, that if he de r build a barrack for " Police or Proctors," lie sh° lll suffer for it. The Jury found a verdict of " Wilful nucl ei against some person or persons unknown. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS. DURING LAST WIZEN. Wheat. Barley. I Oats. Bea,"'" Per Quarter. Is.to s. s. to s. s. to s. Carlisle . 55 33 24 36 :4, Hexham..—...... 55 117 24 49 22 26 50 ,4# 50 53 3 38 24 28 34 /' Penrith 58 I 37 32 41 64 38 27 Winchester 62 70 '34 41 23 30 42 Per Bushel. s.d. a.d. s.d. s.d. s.d. s.d. s.d. 00 Carmarthen 60 73 36 40 20 24 00 60 Coventry 70 90 48 54 36 40 56 )0 Newcastle (Staff.) 90 9.3 60 66 39 40 53 61, Northallerton 7 0 9 3 3 6 4 6 3 3 4 0 5 9 01, 94 100 59 62 39 46 76 0 Swansea 7 6 8 0 4 4 4 8 2 4 2 8 0 0 1 6 Warwick 90 10 01 4 6 50 22 26 73 Per 8011. 1 ,i i Barnarcleastle 14 6 17 610 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 i ge Durham .114 0 176 90 100 60 83 0 : 1 1l Richmond 140 190 90 10 0 74 94 10 'OO Stockton 115 3 16 6 9 0 10 0 5 8 6 6 0 0 ELD CORN MARKET.—Sept. 9. orfolk and Safi)lk 465. 525. to 608. fine in. and Cam. 46s. 525. to 608. fine 6 mkshire 48s. 525. to 575. fine o''' ~ Red White 4 5,2 1:: : 50 5 5 Z t t t o o o 5 t 6 ii... fi fi fi n n n e e e 7 ,... 46' Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk 24s. to all. tine 17, --- Lincolnshire 23s. to 30s. fine Yorkshire Wold 29s. to 30s. fine I Foreign —s. to —s. fine •••-- Beans, Small ---- Tick Oats, Potato 3 3 5 t 37 225, ... tt to 40s. 3 4 2 e O 9, sg s ... fine fitl ,:lee —., . . _ 86 43: Poland s. 21s. to 245. fine:: Friezland and Small —s. 19s. to 235. fine f...: Mealing - I Id. to I3d. per SY_IIT, Shelling 355. to 365. Od. per / .. . , .a . Malt 36s. 425. fine 465. per 11 0 !:i, Rapeseed WAKEE Wheat, Red, No -- Lii Yo - White.. - Foreign, SCOTCH MARKETS. Oats. I Beans. Ft 91 67 30 40 Wheat. i Barley Aberdeen II 2rwick Coldstream Cupar Dundee 44 62 27 31 36 45 21 23 40 44 20 24 48 60 29 35 50 66 az 33 50 58 30 33 40 52 39 31 41 45 22 24 42 49 27 39 46 58 21 27 of the measure rat 22 24 15 19 17 22 25 26 30 31 20 26 24 28 18 23 25 32 2) 23 ie throut Inverness.,,.., Kelso ~............. Kirkaldy- Pert h .....,.......... ti -- _, , , The size 30 3-2 30 31 38 40 34 38 19 21 34 35 29 32 45 48 2:2 24 ;hout the 43 */ Dlintr'j EDINBURGH MEAT We had a large supply of hich met with a better sale tl reduction of Is. on the sack. Re Per Sack of 2801 h. Imp. First Oatmeal Second ditto 1 17 0 Barl-ymeal 1 10 0 Peasenssal. 1 10 0 Pot Barley—No. 1, per cwt. 14. L NI Alt K ET. —Sept. 6. , d ti Oatmeal at this day's mall 1 ban for some weeks past, !tail prices the same as last so' Per Stone ot 14tb. IlluP 0 I First Oatmeal £o Second ditto Barleymeal tl i l'easemeal nos. EDIN BURG Fl ColtN Mll AIME f.—Sept. 7. e% We had a full supply of a ll ki n d s o f G ra i n to -d a y, Pease and Beans. Barley sold readily, but all other articles 0 0 very heavy. Old Wheat up 3s. on the top, and down 2s. (7° tpe average. average ; New Wheat, top price 745., and down 3s. 4d. 0 , 4 tig Barleyoi andsam e d t o o w p , , l a l d42dd.. on np ther,n thevearvaegrea.ge.petaro e. thet Beans only two returns, 435. and 41s. Wheat. Oats. Pease: 13 6,1 ,! 3 " First 74s Od 37s 6d 25s Od 43s Od oj Second Third PRICES or raovislows, &c. 5 0 Beef, per lb. .... Os. 3J. to Os. 71. Fresh Butter,lb.s.lol to 1 0 . : -0 Mutton 0 4 0 6 Salt 010 0 Veal 10 4 0 8 Ditto, per cm 86 0 0 0 Pork ,0 4 0 6 Eggs, per dot. 0 9 io 0 8 Lamb, per qr. 1 0 3 0 OatStraw(kp'.) 9 0 ' 0 fallow, cwt... 6 0 0 Wheat Ditto.. 7 0 0 Quartern Loaf .36 0 9 0 0 Barley Ditto 6 6 6 Potatoes, 17:lb. 0 4 0 0 Hay, per at.... 1 0 MINING INTELLIGENCE. To" s ' l 0 Quantity of Copper Ore sold at R e d r uth last Thurday 2,9 177 1 3 Quantity of fine ' 283 Average Produce_.,._.,,,, o d,, Amount of Sale, 19,882/. Ss. 6d.—Average Standard. 991. BIRTHS On the 9th inst. at Br an d en h am Lodge, the lady of G. E'q., of a son. e lb On the 'kith inst. at Brixton-hill, the wife of Mr. E. -Ho d of a son. On the Bth inst. th e l a d y of S. Webb, Esq. of IVIiIA rd - h °l°6 Surrey, of a son. On the 7th in s t. a t Ch e lt en h am , t h e l a dy o f W. F. Dick, son.} Bengal Civil Service, of a son. " 3°4' On tli; 7th inst. at Deptford-green, the lady of E. G. Ba Esq. of G'ostield, of a son o f 0' On the 6th inst. the lady of Lieut.. Colonel Macdonald, ton-place, Belgrave-square, of a daughter. - . MARRIED. „ Hoff On the 10th inst. at St. George's, Hanover-square,J Esq., of Midanbury, Southampton, to Marian D'OyleY,..„4, dauhter and heiress of the late S. Bird, Esq., of Harold's-r- Essex. On the 10th inst. at St. George's, Hanover-square, Th' - t 0 Metcalfe, eldest son of T. Metcalfe, Esq., of Port and-pla c o o' Grace, second daughter of Wm. Shepherd, E-q., of Half -in street, Piccadilly. fa°. On the 6th lost. at St. Michael's, Cernhill, Robert, seco nd of F. G. Wolf, Esq., of Tonbridge-house, Sussex, to Sab",' 4 sannah, youngest daughter of C. Gerock, E.g., of Corolo%ool On the Bth inst. Mr. J. Rhodes, of Islington, to Mary `' daughter of R. Strange, Esq., of Swindon, Wilts. 0 4 ' On the 7th inst. at Morden, Surrey, Charles Rivingtqb a ne of Fenchurch-buildings, to Mary, only daughter of E. ley, Esq., of Morden lE. On the Bth in t. at Richmon D d-ter D race, Clifton, Gloucestersbitts Martha, relict of W. liroderip, Esq. ,ife On the 6th inst. at Eastington Lodge, Gloucester, I%farY , oo On the 30th ult. Eq.,on board the Rosalind, hound for Lo ii nd r :L 4 of P. Leversage, aged 29. Jamaica, Dr. Bennett, l a t e p rac titi oner o f physic it' 'e - Town, Of pulmonary consump ti on. _......i.al p i YOU v.. 10 AO PRINTED AND PUBLI SHED BY 111 WIDO Y 0,,- ~ SUN OFFICE, 112, •STRAND, LUND N. ; NOT] r. 7. fat ibe To' ti • ivr a j 44tk s 'Ouch • .1440, 4 , enio r i dge tit; the : ehitti ewr r u it la nd 43 00 . _an Tilt • -,ne, t ' • 1, 1017 41 2 (exc' I n the A . _ And in 11808 l !/ritZ, `Pay Ifit tli _ tLtis ‘sti ''l l . Hi E E 6: 4 _141 tu t ., • chi" p Aa • — Neat ai :* tyZi 44 ten it t - *Wain het. 111 Peria Fo