The Sun. — London, England, 1831-05-28 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The communications of correspondents on the West India question have quite overwhelmed us. Another day we may have time to arrange and con sider them, which at this moment is beyond ou' power. Like most other subjects which involve stupendous interest., and excite impetuous passions, the parties on both sides appear to us to have rue into extremes, on either of which, if the Legislature were to act, the result would probably he pernicious to the parent country, and nliogether fatal to th e colonies. The slave-owners, it is undeniable, have displayed a degree of infatuated obstinacy in the total rejection, or very tardy, sullen, and imperfect adoption, of measures recommended by the Govern ment at home, and enjoined by the almost unanimous feeling of the people of England, for the immediate protection of slaves against ill-treatment, and for the gradual improvement of their intellectual and moral condition, which, if much longer persisted in, must bring down upon the refractory planters a severe dispens 'don of the supreme authority of Parliament. The Anti-Slavery Society, on the other hand, would, in their anxiety to realize per saltum their humane objects, offend both against justice and common sense, by attempting a premature emanci pation of the negroes from their state of servitude. It is no more fitting that the rem) should, at this moment, be thrown loose from all restraints, and its inevitable consequence—destitute of all means of subsistence—than it is at any time fitting that he should be exposed to the exercise of capricious and irresponsible power. The tendency of the proceed ings of the Anti-Slavery Society is to produce law less liberty;--the slave proprietors, we are afraid, would stickle fur lawless authority. We cannot conceive a more difficult question than this, as to the precise pelicy which ought to he employed towards our West India possessions. It is not that the views to be taken of the subject are so numerous, regarded in their superficial divisions of commercial, political, and moral, but that these several interests are really so mixed and complicated, that there seems to be no chance of disentangling them to any useful end, The diminished number of the negroes in our sugar colonies (a circumstance stilted so positively that it can hardly be unfounded),—we mean of . those negroes retained in bondage, while the free negroes have followed implicitly the general law of popu lation operatin g in all free communities, and have much increased,—is to us, we acknowledge, the great staggering fact as to the treatment experi enced by those helpless beings. If, therefore, it should turn out on examination,—and perhaps the case has been already examined with sufficient dili gence, but if it should turn out to be an undoubted truth,—thst in order to make negroes cultivate sugar at all so as produce a profit to the master, you must tax their physical constitution so oppressively as to work a esrtain, though indirect reduction, or even stagnation of their numbers, the commercial argu ment and the moral come at once into open collision; and it is not a very perplexing question by what principle a Christian society ought to be governed, whatever prudence and precaution must be observed in conducting the application of the principle. With respect to the Antigua troubles, we are con vinced that the fault lay between those who is sued the order for suppressing the Sunday market, and those who, in their obedience to the letter of that order, chose to overlook the spirit in which it had origimeed. The order was con ceived in a feeling of benevolence towards the negro, and was not designed to be a cover for depriving him of any little profit or advantage which he had hitherto enjoyed. The Colonial Office never could have contemplated the shutting np of the privilege of sale and purchase on Sunday, without transferring that necessary indulgence to some other day of the week. If the planters, there fore, took away ore market, they ought to have bestowed another,—they ought to have added part of Saturday to the period of negro relaxation, which, of course, was what Government intended. We have seen a defence of the planters on the sub ject, which would disgust any man of the least pre tension to humeniiy. Some of the estates, it was said, were so embarrassed, that the interest of the mortgagee would not admit of any suspension of the negro's work on any second day of the week What, the mortgagee have a valid claim upon the subsistence of the miserable slave ! Why, then, et this colonial A‘hylock be dealt with like him of I Venice. Give him the sugar hogshead if he will; but if ore drop of the neero blood be wasted, or one hour of negro sickness be caused by the sacrifice he demands of let himself and no other human being, "he confi-cate." The question of the West .Indies will unhappily often recur upon us : we must place ourselves as a paratonnere between the ad verse posts.--Tuxes. It is d.fficult for any man in his sober Fences to conjecture whence came the folly of imagining that the House of Lords would be capable of opposing the Reform Bill, when all the world must be so well aware bow impossible that august body would find it to make their opposition effectual. We do not now speak of the state of feeling into which respectable Noblemen would be thrown, when, from eojoyirg the esteem and confidence of their several neighbourhoods, and of the nation generally, they had rendered themselves, by a single vote in Parliament, the objects of universal suspicion or dislike. That is not the argument we now seek to address to them ; because it is just conceivable that amen whose mind had been wrought up to an extra. ordinary pitch of vehemence and passion, may con sole himself (for the moment) under any visitation of public censure, by the belief that he suffers for con science sake. No, but we ask those of their Lordships who may have been indulging some beautiful dream as to the practicability of beating the King's Ministers on the second reading of the Bill, what do they mean to do afterwards? Do they fancy that Lord Grey and his friends would con.. tinue Ministers after the Reform Bill had been thrown out ? They might as well talk of a human body performing all the vital functions after the treaty was out of it. No; Lord Grey retires in stantly on the Bill being rejected. And who comes in ?—not the Duke of Wellington, nor Sir Robert Peel. They know too well what they are doing; they know that there is a majority of much more than 100 Members of the House of Commons in favour of the Bill, even taking into account the nomination boroughs. They are also cognizant by this time of the fact, that with the dismal exception of six individuals, all the county Members of Eng land, and all the Members for open towns and boroughs, without one exception, are resolute in their adherence to the whole measure. Then how could an Anti-Reform or a mock Reform Ministry —a. Newcastle, Wetherell, or Lowther Cabinet—go on against such a House of Commons ? How could they appeal against such a House of Commons, be cause of its Reform spirit, to a nation which returned It for the sake of that very spirit, and for the purpose of ea • rrying the' Bin ? A dissolution would give a more thoroughl "ieforming 1 - louse of Commons, in which there joul d neither be a chance of Lord Chandos,norof any one other Anti-Reformist, sitting as a county Member. Would such a Parliament put supplies for the publicnstuitseed rvice into the hands of a constituted Tory Cabinet so above ? What, in that case, would b e the duration of such a Cabinet ? and what the powerofof resisting at Reform f or anot h er principle s m onth ? The ts measu s measure have b ee n rt settled in so abundantly discussed, and really the judgment of the English natior i l l'e that ely no thing more remains b u t earnest and amic a en treaty to all who are yet sus pected of .being behind g their countrymen in the race of p oliti cal reasoning, to bethink them well w hat must be the consequence to themselves and to society, should any serious obstacle be at this the eleventh hour opposed to the' progress of Reform. A public folictionaly, and above all, a legislator, at an important and very im minent crisis, cannot safely be as slow of apprehen sion as those who have no . dice to discharge but that of meditating what opinions they ought finally to form. The evils of a perverse decision on this great question to the House of Lords theinselvep, ,hould they adopt the unfortunate cow se of bidding defiance at once to King and people, are well pour trayed in the little pamphlet to which we have be fore adverted, and of which we now present anotht extract : " The loss of the Bill, as it is, means nothing more nor less than the removal of the existing Ministry ; or, rather, it means a great deal more, but it at any rate means this. Every one of its members will be out of the King's service on the morrow. And now we come to the point at once. Who dares advise his Sovereign to form a Ministry of Newcastles and Peels, Lowthers and Knatcli bulls? They may have a narrow majority of the Lords ; of the Commons the great majority is ag iinst them. We say nothing of the impossibility which any suck Govern ment must find of carrying on the Government in the House of Lords for want of debaters; we say nothing of , he storm of public indignation, which must bre..k swiftly on the heads of such a Ministry. We assume that every thing. out of doors will be profound peace—that the people of all tanks will stand patiently by, and see the combat joined in Parliament without a murmur—we speak only of that combat in that Parliament—and, we ask, how a Government can go on with all the members for cities, 'towns, and counties, all over England, deeply pledged against it, and a large majority against it, even taking in the nominees of Peers? Would the Anti- Reform and Mock-Reform Ministry venture upon a disso lution—the third within twelve months? This question is easily answered in the negative. " The inevitable consequence; of a contrary line of con duct in the Lords, from the one we have suggested awl advised, are so evident and so frightful, that it is not ne cessary to enter more into detail respecting them. But ,ye entreat the anti-reforming Peers to weigh, calmly and dispassionately, in the balance, the certain evils which must result from their hopeless contest with the country, with the possible and contingent evils which they antici pate, if they yield at once, and with a good grace, to the wishes of the other orders in the State. These latter are, the too great preponderance of the democratic power in the State, and the fear of other changes, if the old land marks of the Constitution are once removed. " We do not, of course, address ourselves to those selfish and trading politicians who, being now out of office, are only anxious to get into it again. Their reason is clear for opposing a measure which ensures to the country the con tinuance of a more liberal Ministry than has ruled, of late years at least, these islands. " But we wish to put the matter to the heads and con sciences of those independent and well-meaning Noble men, who, we firmly believe, have the best interests of their country at heart, however unfortunate we may some times think their views upon political subjects. We wish to address ourselves to the Mansfields, Newcastles, Kenyons, Camden-, Northumberlands, Buccleuchs—to the men in capable of sordid feelings, and in whose hands at this mo ment rests, as we verily believe, in a great measure, the decision, whether England shall be a peaceable and a happy, or a disturbed and a distracted country. " To them we would say, will you bring immediate and certain anarchy upon your country, in order to ward off the possibility of the increase of democratic influence in the Constitution at some future time? Can you even se riously believe that such men as the Dukes of Norfolk, Somerset, Devonshire, Grafton, Bedford—Lard Gros venor, Lord Cleveland, Lord Yarborough, Lord Staffsrd —tat Lords Winchil,ea and Ilanvers (with whom you so long acted), and so many others with great estates and high sounding titles, are anxious to increase the democratic influence in the country beyond its due bounds? The supposition that any of these men we have mentioned, who are placed in situations which render them entirely independent of the favours of the Crown, would support a measure the tendency of which was to endanger their possessions and destroy their real power and influence, is to the last degree absurd. "But then, say others of the opponents of the Reform Bill, if you once remove the ancient landmarks of the con stitution, you will be unable to stop when you wish. This argument would be a very true one, if it were intended to retain any of the abuses of the system ; but as they are to be done away with by the Bill, all reasonable opposition to our representative system is removed—and the defenders of it are thus placed on a vantage ground, from whence they may easily defy the attacks of their enemies. Besides, look at the evidence of history. At the revolution of IGSS, our liberties were established by the Declaration of Rights,' which was afterwards confirmed and perpetu ated by the act of the same name. Doubtless the advo cates of abuses at that time held the same arguments as those of the present day do now. They said, of course —You cannot stop here—your Bill of Rights, which contents the liberals of this year, will not content those of the next—you will be impelled from concession to con cession, till the power of the Cronin is at an end. But what has really happened ? The Bill of Rights has re mained the same ; and has been the text-book of our liberties, without satiation or change, ever since. " There is another argument used by anti-reforming Peers, to justify resistance to concession, which is even a less valid one than those we have already disposed of. They say, if the House of Lords yields upon this occa sion, it confesses its weakness : and will neither have, nor deserve to have, power in future. Now this is of all rea sons the most futile. Why is every one anxious respecting the opinions of the House of Lords ? Why are we even now snaking this appeal to them? Simply, because they hsve great power and influence in the State—because they have the right, we trust they will not have the will also, to negative this great measure of justice and liberality. Nor is it possible to coercive any contingency which could deprive them of their power, except their setting them selves in direct opposition to the other orders of the State. If they ' pursue the triumph and partake of the gale' with the people, their power is safe and immovable But who can say what may be the consequences of opposing their wishes? The House of Lords is a powerful body; but it neither can, nor ever was intended to, overbear the other estates of the realm, when those other estates are un;te:l in their wishes and their determinations. " If, therefore, the Lords wish to preserve their present eminent station—if they wish to prevent those divisions between the two Houses of Parliament, which, if the tes timony of history is to be relied upon, would probably end in their own discomfiture—if they wish to avert the renewal of troubles in England, they will ponder well, and long, and edinly, before they place themselves in col lision with a reforming Sovereign, a reforming House of Commons, and a reforming people. " Putting aside, however, for the moment, the consi deration of the consequences that may result from the successful opposition of the Lords to the Reform Bill, as regards the country, let us merely consider in what a posi tion they would find themselves, with reference to the other House of Parliament, by pursuing such a line of conduct. It is now quite certain, that the House of Commons which has just been chosen is a reforming one in the most de cided sense of that word. The Members of it have been selected by the people, wherever the voice of that people has any weight in the selections, for the sole purpose of supporting the Reform Bill, Their duty, therefore, to their constituents is to use every means which may be legally within their power, to enable that Bill to pass into a law. Now, under these circumstances, if the Lords negative the Bill, it is quite obvious that the natural course which the Commons have to pursue is to stop the public business, and refuse the supplies. Here, then, the Lords are at a dead lock—what are they to do ? We will suppose, for argument's sake, that they succeed in turning out the present Government--or in disgusting them so, that they throw up their offices. In copse the feebles aga'n ; and if, under these perilous circumstancca, the feebles dare to accept office, they have but one step to take-,,namely, to dissolve Parliametit. We ask any calm and unprejudiced observer, what would be the result of such a proceeding? It is obvious it must be the returning of a House of Com • mons twice as reforming, and tea times as radical, as the present. For if the country is to a man for Reform now, what will it be wheu. irritated by further opposition—by the turning out of those Ministers who hail promised them the boon they so anxiously desire, and by the coming back of the rule a the feebles, which they so much abhor ? Thus, then, the tut ht.* of the House of Lords would be worse than the first—they would find themselves equally without supplies, and without the means of carrying on the business of the country, and in a state of exasperates hosti lity with the people, and their representatives."—Timex. The Order of the Garter, which the King yes terday conferred on Earl Grey, was the spontaneous gift of his Majesty ; and the manner of conferring it does equal honour to the King and his chief Mi nister. The blue riband was given expressly, in the words of his Majesty, " to mark publiely his appro, bation of Lord Grey's conduct, and for the same reason he hail purposely chosen this time to confer ho nour to wki c h the h onour ." A n h onour thus tendered, without any suggestion from the Noble Earl himself—an S he. might hate aspired by his birth, a i s saenminent talent s , an d l ong pu bli c serv ices, as well who etrys it—could not be re fusedy; ku tattietsma ndlat. bva of royal approbation; and , r its value as a testimony merit,:to know th at i t Ave; as a reward of personal Earl several months ag n te a n un d t e i red to the Noble on office—and was then respectful; n declined.his entering Ad, ditional experiencv of the Noble Earl's se rv ic es , and further acquaintance with his character, only in creased his Majesty's desire to invest him with a distinction which it would have been ungracious a second time to have refused.—nines. The " Friendly Advice to the Lords" has ex cited, as we anticipated, a very great sensation. We quite agree with our contemporary (the Standard), that the friendly adviser is" some great person," and his advice certainly deserves the serious considera tion of those to whom it is addressed. We ex tracted from it a passage calculated to throw light on the marceuvres likely to be resorted to, in order to defeat the Reform Bill. But eiti bozo ? Let us suppose the opponents of the Bill successful in em batrassing the Ministry, would they not thereby place themselves in a more critical situation than ever ? For, be it remembered, the present opposition is the only one in our history which is without any support in the nation. The middle and lower classes are everywhere, in their hearts, devoted to the Bill, and determined to support those to whom they are indebted for it. No Ministry can be found to conduct the affairs of this nation with that nation united against it. This point has been fore . bly put by the friendly adviser. "We ask," he says, " how a Government can go on with all the Members, for cities, towns, and counties, all over England, deeply pledged against it—and a large majority against it, even taking in the nominees of Peers ? Would the Anti-Reform and Mock• Reform Ministry venture upon a disc lotion—the third within twelve months ? This question is easily answered in the negative." The friendly ad viser does not mince matters with the Lords in warning them of their danger. The House of Lords," he says, " is a powerful body ; but it neither can, nor ever was intended to overbear the other esta!es of the realm, when those other estates are united in their wishes and their determi nations. If, therefore, the Lords wish to pre serve their present eminent station—if they wish to prevent those divisions between the two Houses of Parliament, which, if the testimony of history is to be relied upon, would probably end in their own discomfiture—if they wish to avert the renewal of trouble' in England—they will ponder well, and long, and calmly, before they place themselves in collision with a Reforming Sovereign, a Reforming House of Commons, and a Reforming People. — Putting aside, however, for the moment, the con sideration of the consequences that may result from the successful opposition of the Lords to the Reform Bill, as regards the country, let us merely consider in what a position they would find themselves, with reference to the other House of Parliament, by pur suing such a line of conduct. It is now quite cer tain that the House of Commons which has just been chosen is a Reforming one in the most decided sense of that word ; the members of it having been se lected by the people, wherever the voice of thee people has any weight in the elections, for the sole purpose of supporting the Reform Bill. Their duty, therefore, to their constituents is to use every means which may be legally within their power to enable that Bill to pass into a law. Now, under these cir cumstances, if the Lords negative the Bill, it is quite obvious that the natural course which the Commons have to pursue is to stop the pubic busi ness, and refuse the supplies. Here, then, the Lords are at a dead lock—what are they to do 9 We will suppose, for argument's sake, that they succeed in turning out the present Government, or in disgusting them so, that they throw up their offices : in come the feebles again ; and if, under these perilous circumstances, the feebles dare to accept office, they have but one step to take— namely, to dissolve Parliament. We ask any calm and unprejudiced observer, what would be the re sult of such a proceeding ? It is obvious it must be the returning of a House of Commons twice as reforming, and ten times as radical as the present. For if the country is, to a man, for Reform now, what will it be when irritated by further opposition— by the turning out of those Ministers who had pro mised them the boon they so anxiously desire, nod by the coming back of the rule of the feebles, which they so much abhor ? Thus, then, the last state of the House of Lords would he worse than the first; they would find themselves equally without sup• plies, and without the means of carrying on the business of the country—and in a state of exaspe rated ho , tility with the people and their representa tives. The present House of Commons is not likely to wish to injure, or trench upon, the privi leges of the other House of Parliament ; but this would probably not be the case with one summoned under the circumstances which we have imagined."— Morning Chronicle. It is with great regret we observe that a meeting called for the express purpose of detailing the suffer ings of the starving peasantry of some parts of Ire land, and of soliciting the aid of the affluent and humane for their immediate relief from actual famine, should have been converted into a scene of sectarian acrimony and religious contention. There are per sons who, in their intemperate zeal, forget that the first principle and finest lesson which religion teaches is char:ty. Surely the angry discussion of abstract principles, while their fellow -creatures, in the agonies of starvation are appealing for succour from over whelming calamity, indicates nothing like the true and vital spirit of religion in the theological gladiators who, at a time and place consecrated to the claims of benevolence, throw down to each othtr the gauntlet of religious battle. Their zeal, though not so intemperate, would appear to us to be more sincere, if they had the good feeling and decency to suppress their hostile emotions, until the duties of charity were performed, and have discussed the causes of human misery, after having first alleviated their directs. Whatever share political or religious systems may have had in producing the evils under which Ireland labours, and which render the peasantry of a fertile country the most wretched on the face of the earth, it is certain that the poor people, whose calls for relief are now so urgent, are the victims, not the authors, of the calam;ties which they en dure. The first duty of Christian feeling is to aftbrd them the assistance of which they stand in so much need—and when that is done, there will be leisure to inquire into the best means of preventing the recurrence of such desolating. misery. Religion without charity, says the most eloquent of the apostles, is but a " sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." And certainly the augry disputants who brought the meeting convened at Exeter-hall, on Thursday, tor the starving' Irish, to a violent termi nation, by turning it into an arena of religious con troversy, displayed 'more of the . " sounding-brass" of outward piety, than the vital spirit of genuine religion, in their,speeches and their aetions.—illorn ing Herald. A pamphlet has just made its - appearance, which is supposed to speak the•sentiments of his Majesty's Ministers, and bears strong internal evidence that it has proceeded from the pen of the most practised political writer of their body. This pamphlet bears the title of Friendly Advice to the Lords on the Reform Bill, and we cannot more accurately cha racterize it than as an undisguised attempt—an at temptsas audacious and revolutionary as it will prove vain and fruitless—to bully and intimidate that estate of the realm into a complete and unreserved abdication of the whole of its unconstitutional func tions—a wholesale surrender of its rights, its powers, and its duties, as a deliberative assembly, whose concurrence is necessary to the completion of every legislative act. ,The Jacobin incendiary who has perpetrated this outrage—fur such, what ever be his rank, we take leave to pronounce him—after assuming—gratuitously, as we sup pose he will presently discoverthat the House of Lords will not venture to express an opinion hostile to the Reform Bill, in the shape of an amendment to the Address, goes on to sur mise that instead of this direct mode of attack upon the Bill, that illustrious assembly will labour to throw out the Reforming Ministers, by means of a systematic opposition to all their other measures —that they will oppose the Chancellor's law Re forms, Lord Melbourne's Sub-letting Act, and whatever else they can hope to defeat, " But," proceeds the revolutionist and the bully, " let the Lords beware of all such tricks, for tricks they are. All of their manoeuvres mean only one thing—hostility to the Reform Bill. The meaning of every thing the Opposition will say is, throw out the Bill'—the meaning of every ques tion they will put is, ' throw out the Bill'—the meaning of every vote they will give is, throw out the " The meaning of this is suffi ciently intelligible. The House of Lords, and by parity of reasoning the House of Commons also, are to be precluded from discussing, amending, or rejecting, any measure his Majesty's Ministers may think fit to propose, or those bodies are to lie under the imputation of striving to get rid, by a side wind, of a measure which they dare not openly and di rectly resist. Lord John Russell's Bill is so stu pendous an effort of legislative wisdom, a display so bright of pure and disinterested patriotism, that the Ministry under whose sanction it has been produced are entitled, in virtue of this single claim, to domi neer over both Houses of Parliament, and to be henceforth the absolute and irresponsible law givers of the land. These Ministers have at tempted measures which, in the opinion of many even of their own devoted adherents—which, in the opinion of the House of Commons that brought them into power, threatened some of tire most important of our colonies with ruin, and would actually have commenced a system of confiscation upon the property of the public creditor ; some of them are known to b- upon principle the enemies of the Church, and eager to invade its property and its rights; yet perish the colonies, perish the fundholder, perish the Church, rather than that either House of Parlia ment should presume to fetter the hands or impede the career of men who have had the wisdom to dis cover that the holders of houses worth 101. by ti►e year is the class of British society which ought for the future to enjoy a monopoly of legislative power, and the impartiality and disinterestedness to per ceive that the individuals of this class, whose houses happen to be built upon ground belonging to Whigs,are from this circumstance alone entitled to much the largest share of this legislative monopoly. The pamphleteer and his patrons or colleagues will find themselves grievously mistaken, if they ex pect that the House of Lords will be deterred by any such jacobinical denunciations from the full dis charge of their constitutional and sworn duty. That House will resist no measure which a majority of its Members believe to be salutary, neither will it sanction any which they conscientiously believe to be mischievous. We needed not the evidence which this production affords to convince us that the con tinued existence of any Ministry so incapable and unpiucipled as the present, is incompatible with the exercise of Parliamen►ary vigilance, or the due discharge of any of the constitutional functions of the Legislature. But it would require much more cogent reasoning than this production contains, to convince any reasonable mind that the present is the moment at which either House of Parliament ca., without the basest and the blackest guilt, abate any thing of its wonted vigilance, or abdicate any of its constitutional duties.—Morning Post. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, 3Li r 27 . ALEXANDER V. TILE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. Mr. KNIGHT and Mr. STUART were heard in support of the appeal. The LORD CHANCELLOR having said he should not call upon the respondents, proceeded to give judgment immediately. He said, if it had been thought advisable by the parties in the cause, or by any of them, he would have withdrawn from taking any share in deciding it, and would have availed himself of the assistance of the Judges, who would have come to the discussion without any previous knowledge of the facts, and therefore without the possibility of bias on either side. He admitted that the case was one of great importance —important from the amount of money which was in dispute, and equally important from the nature of the principle which it involved. But at the same time that he admitted its importance, lie must say also, that it was, in his opinion, one of the very clearest cases that had ever been brought before any Court of Justice. He would proceed in the first instance to state what were the principles of law re lating to prizes of war. The Crown in this country, the republic in others, the executive authority in all countries of modern times—and he believed that ancient history could show no example to the contrary—had the incontestable right to take and enjoy prizes of all nature whatsoever, which were made in the course of any war in which the country might be engaged. This was a power welch the Crown enjoyed pleno jure, absolutely, and without controul of any kind. It might deal with such prizes and with the produce of such prizes, either in keeping them fur its own use, in abandoning them to the enemy from whom they had been taken, by restoration or in distributing them in the whole or in part among the persons by whom they had been taken; and this last purpose might be effected by whatsoever scheme of distribution and in whatever way the Crown might think fit. It was a principle of law equally clear,—or that it flowed from that he had just laid down,—that the right of any other patty to have or to share in such prizes could be derived in no other way than by the act of the Crown. Whether, when such an act had been per formed by the Crown, and when the property had been finally and fully departed with, the Crown had riot still a power of revoking the gift it had made, or of modifying that gift, was a question which had never yet arisen. It was not necessary now to go into that question; but it was clear that whenever it should be raised, it would be found never to have been decided in the negative. When, indeed, the Crown had, by a solemn act, renounced the right which it must in the first instance have had property c to ided th 7tha it had been de prizes was not prizes, Crown over such at an end, arid that it re tthe p i v‘ t , i , re mained as it had been before. This principle was illustrated by some cases which had been cited yes terday. When the authority of venerable Judges, the precedents afforded by the decisions of the Prize Court Commissions, or the more venerable audio rity of the statutes themselves, were referred to, it would be found that he was not straining the doc trine of law in this case, but that the proposition he had advanced rather fell short of, than exceeded those authorities. It had been decided by Sir Wil liam Scott, now Lord Stowell, in a case reported in the sth Robinson, p. 182, in language which it would be equally vain to praise or to imitate, that before final adjudication the Crown had authority to restore a capture to the persons from whom it had been taken, and this although the captor had made it his own at the risk of his own life, perhaps after hazardous battle, or long and laborious chase, and even after he had been at the expense of bringing his prize into port, and at the further expense of litigating his right to it in the Prize Court. Hard as this case was upon the captor, he had been found to be remediless, and in the judgment to which he had alluded, in the case of the ship Elcidanzas, Sir William Scott held, that the power of the Crown extended to restoring a prize in all cases, and that this was a principle not confined to the law of Eng land, but recognized in all systems of jurisprudence. The argument in this case had been conducted with great ingenuity, and with exemplary learning and talent ; all that could be said upon the subject had been advanced with admirable ability, but his Lord ship did not find it necessary to call upon the parties respondent to reply to these arguments, because w h e n all the weight to which they were entitled was giver) to them, the case remained perfectly clear. His Lordship then adverted to the prize pro clamation published at the commencement of the war which was concluded by the peace of Paris. That document in the usual form expressed an aban donment by the King of his right in the prizes which might be made during the war to the captors, and there was not a word in it fromthe beginning to the end from which could be collected any intention on the part of the Crown to revoke or to modify the relinquishment which it thereby made. The Act of Parliament passed after the proclamation, and recit ing the proclamation, enacted that the prizes should to the ca pt ors un d er t h at proc l ama ti o n, or i n such n manner as the Crown by any future proclama tion might direct. All Acts of Parliament were of equal authority, but if one could be said to be more " germane to the matter" than another, it was this Prize Act, upon the case now before the Court. That Act not only recognized, but enacted, that the prizes should in their distribution be subject to the future proclamations of the Crown. This, however, applied to sea prizes, and there was no such Act as to captures made on land ; but by the statute of the 54th George 111. c. 86. s. 2. passed fur regulating the payment of army prize-money, the same principle was recognized; for although the proclamation was recited, it was enacted that the prizes should be divided in such propor tions and according to such rule of distribution for the army as his Majesty, or as he should, under his sign manual, direct. Now, then, he came to the warrant which lay before him in this case. As it was admitted that whether the first or the second conclusions in the warrants were right or wrong was no question here, the only question here, and the only question to which a Court of Law could attend, was, whether the Crown departed with the property in 1823, and vested a right in trustees for eastui que trusts, and which therefore could not be taken back by -any other order. First, his Lordship doubted the correctness of calling this a trust deed ; it was more like a power of attorney, given to parties who had no interest, in order to enable them to perform certain acts. The deed here, after re citing the grant, and that it was expedient to ap point trustees for collecting and receiving the fund, and preparing a distribution according to the scheme recommended by the minute, conveyed the interest to the trustees for collecting only, and said nothing in the operative part about the other object, the dis tribution. There was a power given to the trustees to prepare a scheme to be submitted to the Treasury, in order to receive the Royal sanction, added among other powers. All that the deed did was, to direct the t rustees, who were mote like agents than trustees, to lay a scheme before the Crown,after they should have collected the fund. In 1826, the scheme was laid before the Crown, and then the Crown ditected the distribution to be made according to that scheme, which then became final ; if, indeed, it were now final, which he doubted. It had been argued that all the trustees were to do was to per form an arithmetical calculation, but it was impos sible to construe it. It was true, as had been con tended, that a party might sell or assign his interest in prize-money, but it could not be held that such an assignment or sale would be good against the Crown or a second grantee, until the final adjudication. His Lordship doubted whether the Crown could at all make it irrevocable. He was therefore of opi nion that tie question was wholly out of the juris diction of this Court, and that whether right or wrong, correctly or incorrectly, the Crown gave the prizes, it wa3 enough to see that they had in fact been given. It had been said there was much confusion and inconsistency upon the face of the warrants, and that one of them was at variance with the other; but if the inconsistency had been greater than it was, this Court was precluded from going into it on that ground. The Crown had been ad vised as to the distribution, and had acted on that advice ; and this was not the place in which to raise the question as to whether the Crown had been well or ill advised. For these reasons his Lordship dismissed the appeal. Some discussion arose respecting the costs, the settlement of which was, for the present, post poned by his Lordship. PALACE COURT. In The Sun of yesterday we gave an account of an action, " Streight v. Manning," which had not terminated when our Paper went to press. The action was was brought for 9/. Mi.-71. 10s. for a quarter's rent, and 2/. arrears of a former quarter. The Jury consulted for nearly an hour, and then re turned a verdict for the p:aintitf, damages 2/. Gs, being the amount of the value of the former quarter. MARKET INTELLIGENCE. LONDON MARKETS. (From the London New Price Current of yesterday.) SUGAR.—The demand for Muscovades has considerably improved this week, particularly yesterday and this fore noon ; the market has again been nearly cleared of the good new Sugars ; the estimated sales are 2,100 hhds. and trs., the prices are 6d. to Is per cwt. higher for low quality. The refined market bas been in a very depressed state all the week, lumps and loaves are Is. lower, a large parcel of the former sold at 625. 6d. There is no altera tion in refined this afternoon ; several sales of crashed are reported 345. 6d. and 353. Molasses rather higher. EAST INDIA SUGARS.—The reduction we stated in Siam Sugars of 18. per cwt. has been fully confirmed by public sales ; the depression is chiefly in the low and mid. white, of which the great proportion of the supply at this market consists ; good white Siam sells at 245. a 255. 6d. ; low and middling, 20s. a 235. 6d. ; brown and yellow, 16s. a 193. The East India Company have declared a sale of Sugars for the 17th pros. The quantity of Mauritius sold this week, previously to this day, was about 4,500 bags, at steady price., 445. a 465. for the brown, up to 555. for fine yellow and grey. This day's sale 5,927 bags Mauri tius, nearly the whole sold at full prices, except the fine, for which there were few offers, except at a further reduc tion of Is. per cwt. Also 2,601 bags East India, chiefly Siam, which sold at the former r, duction we have stated. FOREIGN SUGARS.—There are no sales of Ilavannah Sugar to report this week. About 350 chests Bras) Sugar have sold, brown Bahia 16s. a 19s. low and mid. white 225. a 265. ; several small parcels fine white Per barns, 295. a 30s. ; brown to fine yellow Rios 16s. a 21s. 61. COFFEE.—The public sales of British Plantation Coffee this week have gone off with much greater spirit than for some time past, anti we state a general advance of Is. per cwt. The Foreign Coffee is little varied ; a large parcel of good ordinary Brazil at public sale was taken in at 395., but since the partial improvement of the market the taking in price has been repeatedly refused. At public sales this day, 2,384 bags East India, 89 ca,ks, 150 bags British Plantation; the former was chiefly Sumatra, which sold at prices again a shade lower, '27s. a 31s. ; the British Plantation fully supported the late prices. RICE.—In Rice there is little alteration, This day by public s Ile 2,000 bags ord. white Bengal Rice, mostly sold 13s. a 13s. 6d., which is much about the previous market prices. Ons.—The Oil market is very dull ; the purchases re ported by private contract this week are quite inconsider able. This day by public sale 85 tuns southern Oil, of fine quality ; the whole sold lower 221. a 29/. 10s. hiptco.—The first declarati'm of sale, above 2,000 chests, have ben issued ; the quantity will be 6,000 to B,obo chests,of according ndi g otx c i e o p t t h a e ta arrivals, sm all &c. decline. There are no purchasers Hors.—The accounts from the Hop plantations state a great increase of fly. The estimated duty, which com menced at 120,000/, has fallen to 105,0001. The prices of Hops have advanced 20s. to 255. per cwt. RUM, BRANDY, AND HOLLANDS.—The RUM market has again given way Id. per gallon; several parcels of proofs and a little over, have been sold at is. 5c1., and 4 and 5 over at Is. SFI. ; we are not aware of the sale of any other descriptions, or of Jamaica Runia. The holders of Brandy have given way in price, and iu consequence we have again rather a brisk trade ; the best marks have .sold in large parcels, 4s. 4d. a 4s. 6d. Geneva still neglected. HEMP, FLAX, AND TALLOW.—The Tallow market con tinues , o give way, particularly for parcels on the spot; the difference for immediate delivery and for delivery in September is only 6d. to Is. per cwt. In Hemp or Flax there is no material alteration. ------- ------- This day 344 packs fine new Odessa yellow candle Tallow, just arrived, sold at an average of 395. a 395. 3d. 1830. 1831. Stock of Tallow in London - - 17,0 i 5 37,338 Delivery weekly 719 1,554 Price (Monday's) - . . 345. Ott. 40s. Tallow, shipped in Aug. and Sept. 1831 38s. 6(1. to per cwt. Delivery in May 395. 6d. to 40s. -- Free on board,.lB3l . - 325. Od. to 3 - 2 s, 10d. per ton. Hemp, Shipment on or before Sept. 30, 38s. Od. to 395. CoTToN.—The market is very dull, but there are few sellers at any reduction. The sales this week are -10 Bengal 430. 40 Bowed, public sale ... 6 %d. 230 Surat 400 Surat, public sale 4d. a 4%d. SA LTPETRE. __By public sale 1,153 bags sold 365. and 86s. 6d. ; there is no alteration sine.. in the prices. SricEs.—This day 25 brie. 182 bags Pimento sold At market price 4id. a 44J. ; small parcels Cassia, Pepper, Cloves, &c. at previous prices. TOBACCO. —There are no sales of any extent to report. The public sale consisted of 53 Mids. ; it was ill at tended, and only 6 hhds. sold, good quality Marylands for the home trade Id. a I Id. per lb. TEA.—The prompt, as we expected, is heavy to-day, but the market has not given way in consequence. Cocoa.—This day 51 brls. Trinidad Cocoa, fine red, 54e. SILK.—.The market is very dull. COCHINEAL.— ParceIs have been sold at is. for ord. up to Ss. for fair quality. ASILES._Public sales Pearls 325. 6d. and 339., Pots, first, 28s. EAST INDIA SALE, MAY 24. 138 Chests Tottoiseshell, sorted, fine 525. 6d. a 565., good 41s. a 455., unsorted 30s. a 38s. 380 Elephants' teeth, 50 to 901 h. 20/. a 24/., defective 17/. 10s. a 20/. 2,200 Scrivelloes, for balls, 221. 10s. a 28/. ss. 660 Blocks Bane► tin, 645. a 655. 466 Packs Mother-o'-Pearl, China 84s. a 85s. PRICE OF BREAD. The highest price of Bread :in the Metropolis - is 10d. fot the 41b. Loaf. There are others who sell from 3 , d. to 1%(1. below that price. PRICE OF SUGAR. The average price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, computed from the Returns made in the week ending May:24, is 245. tid. per cwt., exclusive of the duties of customs paid orpayable thereon on the importation thereof into Great Britain. PRICES OF HOPS.—May 27. Kent Pockets,—...— 7 l. 15i. 91. N. to 13'. os. Sussex Ditto Fesex Ditto.-- .—... 71. 15s. 9/. Os. to 10/. Os. Fate:liani Ditto, Fine Seconds 0/. N. 71. Os to 121. Os. 31. Os, 61. 10s. to 91. 0,. 61. 10s. 171. , 7s. to 71. 10a. 71. 0;. 81.0 s. to 81. 103. Duty laid at 1 0 5,000 /. Kent Sussex Ditto Essex Ditto.. PRICE OF OIL. Ripe Oil, brown 61. Refined 6 Linseed Oil •••••••••••••••...e.rwri.W.0 !: , -n 0 Linseed Oil Cake at the Mill, per thousand 11 0 Rape Cake, per ton WHITECHAPEL HAY I\l ARKET.—May PA. Hay 604. Od. to 545. Od. I Clover Od. to 110 s. Od. Straw 345. Od. to :38.. Od. PRICE OF POTATOES.—May 27. Kidneys Scotch Reds— . 3/. ss. to 31. 15s. ditto. Marsh 01. Os. to 4/. 10s. ditto. Oxnobles and Shaws 3!. 53. to 31. 10s. ditto. RAW HIDES. Per Stone. s. d. to s. d. Per Stone. s. d. to s.d. Best Heifers & Steers 2 6 2 8 Ordinary 110 2 0 2 2 4 Market Calf 6 6 each. SHEEP SKINS. Long Wool Os. Od. to Os. Od. Short 3s. Cd. to 4s. Od. Is. 6J. to 2s. 4d. LEATHER. Per lb. d. to d, Tanned Horse Hides.. 15 19 Spanish Ditto 16 22 Per dozen. Calf Skins... 36 to 401 b. 15 19 Ditto 50 to 701 b. 20 24 Ditto 70 to 801 b. 19 21 Small Seals, Greenland 21k 221 PRICES OF Per lb. d. to d. Bo to 5611).... 1t 22 Dit to to 661 b..... 17 23 Messing Hides 14 16 Fine Coach Hides i 7 181 Crop Hides, 35 to 4011). 13 111 Ditto 1.0 to 451 h 14 151 DAto l5 17 PRICE OF RAW FAT, per stone of 81b. Price of Tallow (as stated by the Tallow Me1ter5).„......—.. 2.5. 4d. PRICE OF TALLOW' Town 'Fallow » 426. 6d. Yellow Russia 426. Od. White .. 426. Od. Soap Ditto 406. Od. Melted :346. 04. Ditto .225. Od. ', SOAP, &c. per 1121 b. Yellow Soap.. • 745. Od. Mottled Od. White... 4s. Od. Graves 14s. Od. Good Od. PRICE OF CANDLES. The price of Store Candles, in the retail shops, is as follows : Candles, per doz. 7s. Od. to Ss. Od. Moulds, per dozen —9s. rid. COAL MAW Felling Main 2ls. 6d Killingworth '29 0 Liddell's M in 21 0 Pontop 21 0 Shipcotc_M. 22 6 l'antiel4 --. 24 6 Walls End Bell and Co. 23 0 WallAEnd Bewieke&Co. 31 0 Walls Eric' Brown's--- 23 6 Walls End Greenwell 26 0 Beamish South M00r.... 21 0 Lambton Primrose-- 28 6 ships at market, 47%-Shit h: l'.—Slay 27 South Moor Main 21s. Pd. Walls End Stewart's 32 3 W. E. Cleveland Iletton 28 0 Walls End Tees 30 3 Cowpen 26 0 Hartley 27 I Stone Coal Reynolds...—. 39 0 Wall's End Elgin 23 0 Beamish South Moor Primrose small— 15 6 W. E. Beamish S. Moor small 15 8 sold, 20!4—Unsold, 273. COUNTRY CORN MARKETS DURING THE WEEK. Wheat. 1 Barley. 1 Oats. Beans. Per Quarter. !-- Ashburn ...«,......,,,... 72 82 44 47 126 34 40 48 Basingstoke 49 74 36 45 24 30 40 48 Bath . 46 68 32 42 24 32 36 52 Bridgewater 158 72 26 30 22 26 28 36 Bristol 1 60 76 38 42 22 26 35 46 Chesterfield --- 75 78 36 44 26 32 46 52 Derby 174 76 02 01 42 44 Devizes ...,.....,....,.I 66 70 32 40 24 33 4 0 48 Doncaster 60 76 28 36 22 32 28 46 Dorchester--........ 54 76 34 40 22 27 39 44 Exfuer--- 66 80 37 41 24 32 44 Gloucester--..... 52 70 30 43 25 32 42 50 Hungerford 50 74 35 43 21 02 38 48 Leicester 75 44 I 29 _ 48 Newbury f 42 77 32 42 24 34 40 44 Romsey 56 68 32 36 21 25 36 46 Shaftesbury 65 38 27 48 Shepton Mallet 64 72 36 44 25 30 40 44 Sherburne..— (14 70 32 40 22 28 38 46 Taunton 58 72 35 20 38 Yeovil ----- 58 68 34 38 24 28 38 40 Per Bushel. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. cl. s. d. 4. d. s. d. s. d. Shrewsbury 11 4 11 8; 6 6 791 6 0 7 7 0 0 0 0 The 35th depot has lately joined this (Exeter) garrison, having singular facings—orange colour: On in quiry, it appears that WILLIAM 111., as Prince of ORANGE, was its Colonel.— Western Luminary. " I have a peculiar pleasure and pride in the pictures I send to remote countries, which are unac quainted with the higher works and principles of art.— They might with security be deceived, and slighted by me. The judgment, difficulty, (if I may say it,) the science of the picture, will be lost upon them ; but after they have, perhaps, for years liked and admired it, as a resemblance, and being satisfied that it is a fair specimen of my talent, some great artist or true connoisseur may come among them, ~nd then they will learn that in every part it is one of my most finished productions; that even for the Monarch of my own country, I could not have laboured with more skill and vigilance than I have done for strangers, whom I shall never see, and from whom neither praise might he expected, nor censure feared."-- Life and Correspondence of Sir T. Lawrence. The Tories are " composing themselves to submit to the Bill !" They have discovered that there is " much reason for cheering anticipation,"—" that out of power they will no longer be the objects of that unpopu larity which always attaches itself to the dominant party, and that then the road to popularity will be once more open to them ;' . —that, in fact " their present reverses furnish them with the Lest ground for hope." Three weeks ago we were told that " the Bill" would inevitably subvert the Throne, overwhelm the Aristocracy, and de stroy the Church. The fundholders were menaced with robbery—the agriculturalists were threatened with undis• tinguishing ruin. The Bill was to consign them to mud hovels, where they were "to enjoy themselves all the year round upon fermented cabbage-leaves, and to go without shirts, or any other shoes than could be scooped out of a block of willow timber with a sharp knife!" Small in deed would be the "ground for hope" in a state of things so deplorable as this ; and yet the Tories, it seems, have already discovered the " best ground for hope." Hope in once "merry England," without King, Aristocracy, or Church ! Are the Tories themselves prepared to take part in the "general scramble" which they have so confidently predicted ? and do their anticipations of the lion's share furnish them with these best "grounds for hope ;" or do they not know that the country will go on and prosper even after the disfranchisement of Old Sarum and Gatton ? Were not their clamorous wailings mere moonshine_the tricks of skilful electioneering tacticians, put forth whilst the question between the King and his kingdom was sub. judice, and when consequently much might possibly be gaMed by appealing to the passions, the prejudices, or the fears of the people? BIRTHS. On the 25th inst. at Tatininitm7,uffblk, Mrs. John Barker, of a daughter. On the 25th inst. in Caroline-street, Bedford-square, Mrs. S. G. Gardom, of a daughter. On the 26th init. Mrs. S. Harding, of Camden-town, of a son. On the 26th host. the lady of the Rev. E. Tagart, in Torrington square, of a daughter. On the 27th inst. in Upper Gower-street, the lady of T. M. Waters, Esq. of a son. On the 27th ins. in Eaton•place, the lady of G. C. Glynn, Esq. of a son. _ MARRIED, On the 26th inst. at st. George's, Hanover.square, F. C. Knowles, Esq., eldest son of Admiral Sir C.. Knowles, K.C.B. to Emma, fourth daughter of Sir G. Pocock, Bart. and Bart. On the 26th inst. at Desford, Leicestershire, W. Wilson, Ea+ to Miss Caroline Fry. • • On the 26th inst. at Christ-church, Surrey, Mr, H. Bartlett, the elder daughter ; and Mr. 11. Hadland, of Holborn-hill, to Sarah Ann, the youngest daughter of Mr. D. Mathew, of Upper Thames-street. Devon, to Susanna, street, to Miss Starkey. son t notfheTtn. tßharintlsett.ta,tEcshqr,lsot-fehTmerieghi,n3ortrit.: On the 26th inst. at All Souls Church, Langham-place, Ji. Lawrie, Esq., to Mary, eldest daughter of C. Sparkcs, Esq., °., Harley-street. On the 25th inst. at Wick hambrook, Suffolk, the Rev. C. net' hirst, of Bury St. Edmund's, to Letitia, eldest daughter of ;"• Esq., of Banblield,liall, Suffola C . riPPs' W. Bromley,of Newgate- On the 25th inst. G. Cowie, DIED Esq. of Upper Clapton, aged 7° A On the 25th inst. i n Wi shed), Isle of Ely, Ann, the wife of k,• A. Schultz, Esq., R.N. On the 25th inst. at Watford, Herts, R. Clutterbuck, WI the 59th year of his age. On the 25th inst. at Great Surrey-street, Illackfriars.road, 11Ir. C. Sumners, aged 44.. PIIINTCI) AND PUBLIA;1111) Int MLI RDO YOUNG, AT TUB SUN OFFICE, 112 1 SPRAND, LONI/ON, TAI the Son-in- At Gal Tx By dire) TH Vicarag the Cou Coin! court, venient by foldil the Vic! Which, The/ Parti, Journal, of Mess Solicitor Reid, Capital Office Toga, fully Shrol contai Cotnn Son• in-I At Garr v Situate A in the G very con: handsoni of Know of the su. ads A NOE in excelh residence driv e to z hall form and an forming Windows, to the lav With pas , the elioic staircase A thirty. th] Propriate the princ, are suital list of a richly on ' , mans, a offices; coach-hol 'ants' site Wash-hou house ant requisite ttith the melon-gri are laid c term of I tnely.di v kotiog a 4 ne-grow tttaina 11 0 f , ro u n t soe e , a b e d E C c toile o f the metre r nan fond k i 7utbood, gibd) div 'nay be hl 04 the ' bridge • Brighton 4 Mem 41 Garret street, of where a i 's-----... OVER; kPitai and Pa stored With I Aleado talon s the Pe Rcctor B°ll- in-L At Garra TH taut IIY dir ect! A ii, tituat e w Nu ruin Ili Glebe heat ei Tith e , IVIT t i I th e a d 4 eally ' o r e , t. )(cede li ntatiot THE Ai aced ' o I ‘' oll ea i e r ti 4v ing ea t2tetaNivei 1 , 444 Outi rom the D rives ' • kith par Otens ; z ql oiee Fr to o qe3rly " bridle tr'd with b: l taettt, Iv l g rem fowl Bille pare I ::.'table l' i trkat e d SHE 111 With . ** 'la Ith , the 1 he PEI SN'l'l T heTin), T he L. --)to rll a , t : o r°4l), 'l 4 an lelt y ou Ulan KiA Thr( tiroto R% , "‘ tt „ D °na . r Wi ndsor 'IC Gardiher; riarr aw tkir, ReY