The Sun. — London, England, 1830-05-27 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. The affair of Prince Leopold's resignation of the Greek Sovereignty was again started last night in the House of Lords. Lord Aberdeen had, it was supposed, said that the resignation came upon him unexpectedly at a late hour last Friday night; but it was stated by Lord Durham, and maintained by Earl Grey awl Lord Holland, that the Noble Secre tary had received an intimation that such would, or might be the case on the 15th, nearly a week earlier than last Friday. Lord Aberdeen, however, con ceived that the scruples had been overcome, and the objections removed, by the explanation given to his Royal Highness on the 15th; and hearing nothing in the interval between the 15th and the 21st, he was naturally confirmed in this opinion. It is some what curious, that whilst Prince Leopold speaks of the pecuniary accommodation in the note published by us yesterday, he frankly acquiesces in the smaller boundary, himself defining the left bank of the Aspropotamos as the frontier, and thus excluding Acarnania from Greece. And yet it was in this very note, and with this restriction, that he ac cepted the sovereignty. But then the communica tions from Cape d'lstria obliged him afterwards to recede. We like not this Capo d'lstria, he is ob viously un homme ruse. Yet Capo d'lstria in his letter, also published yesterday, whilst he craftily throws out the suggestion that the surrender of Acarnania will be attended with commotion, and may not be consented to by the National Congress, never seems to doubt but that the acceptance of the Prince Leopold is fixed and irrevocable. The inti mation that the sense of the nation shall be taken, and that that sense will be adverse to the surrender of Acarnania, is contained in the following passages : In proportiim, however, to the earnest desire of the Government to be the faithful interpreter of these senti ments, is the sincere regret which it feels at its inability to acquit itself of this honourable mission in the forms pre scribed to it by the acts of the last National Congress. " The Residents of the three Courts were present at Argos during the Session of the month of August, and the first Decree of the Assembly must without doubt have attracted their attention. Theycannot, then, be unaware that the definitive arrangements which are now in ques tion ought to be previously submitted to the Deputies Plenipotentiaries'of the nation, and to be ratified by them." The proof that Capo d'lstria considered the sovereignty of the nation as finally vested in Prince Leopold, appears from the following passage of the same note : " Considerations of high political interest have doubtless influenced them in placing ber destinies under the safe guard of a monarchical and hereditary Government, and in fixing their choice upon a Prince who might become the organ of their generous intentions with respect to Greece, and thus give a pledge for the stability of the work of peace, of which the Act of the 3d of February has laid the foundation." Still, however, does this designing Greek (or rather Corfu-Russian), while he affects to consider the Prince as his Sovereign, strive, as we gather from the debate, to deter him, in private as well as public communications, from accepting the reins of government, by frightful representations of what will be the state of the country if Acarnania be given up.—After all, we suppose that the Prince's chief objections to go to Greece have sprung from con siderations of a more domestic nature than the cession of Acarnania.—Times. Every man possessed of any political foresight must for some time have anticipated the approach of difficulties with regard to the arrangements which will follow a certain event. Without descending to all the particulars which now occupy the attention of politicians; we may observe that the advanced age of the Heir Apparent and the tender years of the Heiress Presumptive point to a measure which cannot fail to lead to no ordinary divisions and heart burnings. No one point is, perhaps, of more im portance, in a national point of view, than the edu cat'on of the Princess who is destined to fill the Throne of these realms. Much must depend on the persons to whose care she shall be confided. On the death of Frederick Prince of Wales, father of his late Majesty, a Regency was immediately ap pointed, and at that time the struggle for power was of no ordinary violence. The Duke of Cumber land, son of the reigning King, covered with the laurels of Culloden, the especial favourite of his father, and at the head of a powerful party in Parlia ment, was eager to be at the head of the Regency. Notwithstanding, however, all these claims, it was deemed more advisable to confide the future Sove reign during his minority to the care of his mother, who thus triumphed over the Duke of Cumberland, and was placed at the bead of the Regency. We have no doubt that the nation will be much disap pointed if this precedent be not followed in the case of the Princess Victoria. Her mother is her na tural guardian—the guardian, whose care, and kind ness, and vigilance, may be counted on with cer tainty, while more or less distrust will always be felt with regard to every other. Surmises, how ever, are confidently thrown out, which justify ap prehensions of attempts at variance with the course which would, we are confident, prove most satis factory to the nation. The man who is now at the bead of affairs will no doubt strive to bring about such an arrangement as may secure to him the pos session of power for many years. He is bold—he is able—he may be said to be at the head of the army ; and he will not easily relinquish any design which he may deem likely to promote his views.— That his plans are already formed may well be be lieved; but for the present we shall not att e mpt t o allude further to them. The time, however, is ra pidly approaching, when silence must be broken on this all-important subject.—Morning Chronicle. Whatever change may have taken place in the views of Prince Leopold respecting the value of the Sovereignty of Greece, in consequence of events not anticipated at the period of his acceptance of it (and on this subject we have nothing but conjecture to guide us), the question between his Royal High ness end the British Ministry must be judged of by what appears on the face of the transactions alone. Lord Aberdeen, on Monday night, attributed to his Royal Highness a line of conduct in the course of his negociations with the Allied Sovereigns, which, if true, would not redound to his reputation for sincerity and fair dealing. But there are two ways of telling a story, and there is always some suspi cion when a party seems more than usually anxious to forestall opinion by premature statements. The friends of Prince Leopold (and he will now have many friends) repel the insinuations directed against him by Lord Aberdeen. It is said, and said confi dently, that the facts were not all told; that some yery important ones, with a vie.v to his Royal High ness's justification, were withheld. In the House of Lords, last night, Lord Durham alluded to the partial nature of Lord Aberdeen's statement, and observed, that " he was also desirous to correct gjefie errors respecting dates into which the Noble Earl had fallen in his explanation. The Noble Earl bad said, that up to Friday last his Majesty's Go vernment were not in possession of any document, nor had any information transpired which might af fect the ultimate result of the negociations then pending. And in answer to a question from a Noble Marquis, the Noble Earl had stated that the papers would be produced, not in consequence of anything that had fallen from the Noble Marquis, but because the time was come when they might be brought forward, since the negociations were concluded upon all except a few minor points. Now this communication 'was made on the 16th of May, and the fact was, that on the 15th the Noble arl had received a letter from Prince Leopold, annnunFing to him, in plain terms, that lie might ex pect his Royal Highness's resignation, in conse quence o f despatches he had received from the Senate and people of Greece, declaring that they never would consent to the arrangements attempted to be forced upon th em b y t h e Alli e d P owers. " This is a very impo r t an t difference. If Lord Aber deen, with the kn ow l e d ge o f t h e P r i nce ' s deter mination not to accept the Sovereignty on grounds essentially connected with his power of preserving tranquillity, chose notwithstanding to declare pub licly on the 16th that all was settled ; he was not entitled to throw the blame of the contradiction on Prince Leopold on Monday, by another declaration that, up to Friday last, Ministers were not aware of the change of the Prince's determination.—Lord Durham noticed also what had been said respecting the pecuniary demand, which, according to Lord Aberdeen, the Prince had urged with so much per tinacity. Personally, his Royal Highness was not concerned with regard to this money. The loan for which a guarantee was demanded, was the same which had been required on the part of Count Capo d'lstria, before the Prince had had any communica tion with the Allied Powers. Lord Aberdeen cer tainly meant to convey the impression, that when he stated on the 16th, all was definitively settled, ex cept some points of minor importance, he was not aware of any change of determination of the Prince before that date; whereas, it now appears that what on Monday night he termed fresh grounds of hesitation, were actually communicated by his Royal Highness on the 15th. But his Lordship endea voured last night to meet this imputation on his candour, by declaring that he conceived the last of the three communications of Count Capo d'lstria, received by the Prince, and sent to his Lordship en the 15th May, would dissipate the alarm the other two communications had a tendency to create in the mind of his Royal Highness. It seems Lord Aberdeen would have it that he knew the mind of Prince Leopold better than he did himself. He concluded that he would be able to gain over Prince Leopold, and not having succeeded, he makes his own conclusion as evidence against his Royal High ness. Earl Grey complained also of the at tempt to create a prejudice against Prince Leopold, by pre maturely forcing on a discussion on an ex-parte statement. His Lordship also showed that Lord Aberdeen had put an improper construction on the last of the three communications from Count Capo d'lstria, which, so far from representing the Greeks to have acquiesced in the arrangement of the Allies, expressed their dissatisfaction at the arrangement, and directed measures to be taken with a view to an alteration. Lord Aberdeen promised that all the papers relative to Prince Leopold should be ready on Thursday; and having been driven into a corner by Earl Grey, he admitted that it would have been better perhaps not to have produced a partial state ment. He also stated, what we cannot well recon cile with his account of the inference drawn by him from the communications of Count Capo d'lstria to Prince Leopold, namely, that Prince Leopold had not thought proper to send him the letters until after his resignation. Fierce hostility was announced by Lord Holland to Ministers. " The Noble Lord might depend upon it, that abundant opportunities would offer, and would be taken, for discussing the question more fully." The truce is at an end, and parties are again in the field.—Morning Chronicle. A Bill has just been smuggled into Parliament under circumstances that require, and must from time to time receive, a little exposition, " The Bir mingham Free Grammar School Bill." We shall only for the present draw public attention to a few facts. The school was founded by a Charter and endowment of King Edward VI., in 1552, and the management vested in twenty Governors, the va cancies in whose body, from death, resignation, and non-residence, are directed by the Charter to be filled up by the election of successors from the " more discreet and trusty" of the resident inhabitants. The present funds of this school exceed 3,0001. per annum. By the expiration of building leases the receipts will in a few years realise 10,0001. per annum. The school has long been decayed, and indifferently administered, and forms the subject of strong exposure and animadversion in the Report of the Charity Commissioners, No. 20, dated 12th July, 1828. The Bishop of the Diocese (Lichfield), whose advice is guaranteed ill the Charter, has been " at Chancery" with the Governors (but unsuccess fully) to endeavour to establish an additional Dio cesan attribute of consent; anti the Governors, unknown to the inhabitants, and without the least communication or advice with them, have been soliciting the sanction of the Court of Chancery to a scheme, referred to Master Farrer, and reported and confirmed by the Court. This scheme, altother unknown to the inhabitants, con tains the following clause :—" No person shall be elected a Governor who is not a member of the Esta blished Church of England." This ridiculous ghost of intolerance was unknown, and confined to the Mas ter's Office, till it appeared in a Bill introduced into the House of Lords as an Estate Bill. The time limited by the usual order of the House of Lords for the reception of petitions for private Bills was the 25th of March. Leave, however, wag obtained to bring in this Birmingham Bill a fortnight since. It was read a first time, read a second time on Tues day, the 18th instant, and the Committee on the Bill appointed for Friday next. Thus the first and only notice to the inhabitants of Birmingham, from their Trustees the Governors, of a measure so interesting and important to the town, was the receipt (from a private individual) of printed copies of the Bill. The obnoxious clause of exclusion is smuggled into the Schedule of the Bill ; and thus in 1830 are the opulent, intelligent, and public spirited classes of that populous town, dissenting from the Established Church, to be disfranchised of rights vested in them by a Royal Charter, and enjoyed for three centuries ! This disgust ing example of gratuitous and impolitic bigotry has only to be exposed and held up to the scorn of the public and the Legislature. We pledge ourselves for the accuracy of the facts here stated, however apparently incredible; and we shall call public attention to other matters respecting the Charity and this incomparable Bill at another stage of its existence. Who are the wise men, " the more discreet and trusty" Governors, who, in the pleni tude of their zeal for the Established Church, can thus play the cards of its opponents ? Mean while, to the credit of the town, a universal feeling of indignation prevails, and the Dissen ters are not passive in vindicating their violated right. A Public. Meeting was held on Monday, convened by advertisement, of the General Body of Dissenters, and many resolutions`were passed, supported by the Rev. Mr. Kentish, Rev. Mr. Mor gan, Rev. Mr. J. A. James, Rev.. Mr. M'Donnell, Rev. Mr. Wreford, Rev. Mr. Swan, Rev. Mr. Jones, Rev. Hugh Hutton, Rev. Mr. East, Rev. Mr. Crowther, Paul Moon James, Esq., Messrs. Lowe, James, Lawrence, Phipson, Berry, Beale, Fidian, and Osier. The Meeting comprehended all the principal Quaker, Catholic, and Protestant Dis senters; the Low Bailiff, Edward Corn, Esq., in the Chair. Among the resolutions passed were the following : " That this meeting has heard with regret and indigna tion of the attempt made by the Governors of the Free Grammar School in this town, to deprive those inhabi tants who are not members of the Establishment, of their eligibility to the office of Governor of the said school. " That the proscription thus attempted to be established is altogether unauthorised by the Charter of the Royal founder of the school of Edward VI., which merely di rects, 'that the Governors shall be of the more discreet, and more trusty inhabitants of the town, parish, or manor of Birmingham.' " That believing the contemplated system of exclusion, if accomplished, will attach a most unmerited stigma to those who on principle are dissidents from the Church of England, and that its obvious tendency will be to revive divisions and to perpetuate jealousies which it has been the wise and beneficent policy of the Legislature to heal and extinguish, this Meeting feels greatly indebted to those gentlemen who have been the means of bringing the sub ject before their fellow townsmen, and approves and con firms the measures which, as a Provisional Committee, they have adopted to frustr.te the object proposed by the Governors." Petitions were agreed to both Houses of Parlia ment and numerously signed, a subscription com menced, a Committee appointed, and measures adopted for immediately communicating with the different Dissenting Bodies of the Metropolis. It may be that these " more discreet and trusty" Governors may now provoke a legislative investiga tion into their own eligibility.—Morning Chronicle. Though we are willing to admit that the Bill brought into the House of Lords by the Lord Chancellor, to give effect to the recommendation contained in the King's Message relative to the sign manual, seems to guard with considerable care against the abuse of the great power which it is in tended to delegate, vet we think Parliament cannot be too scrupulous in examining a measure so pecu liar and delicate, and so dubiously sanctioned by any thing like precedent. The affixing of the sign ma nual to public instruments is so far from being a matter of form, as some writers erroneously suppose, that it is one of the most important functions of Royalty. It is important for this reason, that it is what gives effect to a vast variety of public instru merits, otherwise invalid, and to all the King's grants, whether they be of lands, honours, liberties, franchises, or other things. Can the affixing a signa ture which carries with it such serious consequences and such valuable rights be a matter of little impor tance ? Such a notion could only arise from a very superficial view of the subject. But then we are told, as a reason for considering the transfer of the power of affixing the sign manual as a matter of little moment, that the authority or assent to affix the sign is every thing, and the instrumentality by which it is affixed nothing. It so happens, how ever, that although the mere act of signing a docu ment is mechanical, yet the Royal signature is taken as evidence of the Royal Assent. Those who have to act upon the instrument can only know the latter by means of the former; and therefore the affixing the sign manual is, in other words, the placing the evidence of the King's assent on record; and, con sequently, is an act of State, of the very first im portance. In order to judge more particularly of the solemn and grave nature of this Royal function, let us see what the process is by which the King's grants, or letters patent, are passed. A document, tailed a Bill, is prepared , by the Attorney and solicitor-General, in consequence of a warrant from the Crown, and is then superscribed with the sign manual, it being written at the top, and is sealed ►with the privy signet, which is always in the custody of the principal Secretary of State. It next, upon some occasions, obtains the con firmation of the great seal; in which case the grant is subscribed per ipszon Regem: but the more usual way is to carry an extract of the Bill to the Keeper of the privy seal, instead of affixing the privy signet. That officer makes out a writ, or warrant, thereupon, to the Chancery; and thus it is evident that the sign manual is the warrant to the privy seal, and the privy seal is the warrant to the great seal. The latter sort of grant, or patent, is called per breve de privato sigillo, or, by writ of privy seal. There are other grants which pass through certain offices, as the Admiralty and Trea sury, in consequence of a sign manual, without the confirmation of either the signet, the privy, or the great seal. In the latter cases it is clear that there is less chance of detecting fraud or forgery, if any should be committed, than in the former; but in every case the inspection of the Royal signature is what affords evidence of the King's assent to the grant to those who were not present when he affixed it, because nobody but the King himself can legally affix the sign manual, and to forge it incurs the penalties of high treason. Let, however, a stamp or any thing else be substituted for the sign manual—let the power of affixing that stamp to pub lic instruments, to grants and letters patent, be placed in the hands of any person but the King him self, or in the hands of any Commission—and let it be at the same time enacted that the said sub stitute for the sign manual shall not be affixed to any instrument without the King's permis sion ;—yet what guarantee have the public that such a privilege will not be abused unless there be such careful ai►d jealous restrictions placed upon the exercise of that privilege as will make it morally impossible that fraud or imposition can be practised'? It is only by the protecting checks and guards which are made to accompany such an arrangement that the affixing of the proposed stamp, or whatever else may be a sub stitute for the sign manual, can become evidence of the King's assent so to affix it; because it is only in this way that the public can have anything like a moral certainty that the King has authorised the application of the stamp to a document to which this sign of validity has not been placed by his own hand, but by those of others, who need not even be in his presence at the time. There are those who may be inclined to trust to the honour and high feeling of great official persons even where the public welfare is concerned; but constitutional law looks to principles, and not to persons. Our whole political system is composed of cheques and ba lances, counteracting and controulling the tendency which power has to overstep the boundaries of the law. The great preservative of public rights is a jealous vigilance, which the Constitution itself in culcates, of the motives and actions of public men. There have been bad Ministers in England, and there may be such again. Parliament hap, there fore, to take special care that, whoever may here after be advisers of the Crown, they shall not be able to avail themselves of the present proceeding as a precedent, to serve the purposes of an ambitious Minister, injurious to the interests or dangerous to the repose of the country. Rightly then did the Lord Chancellor describe the Bill as a serious and delicate measure, and tell the House of Peers that it would require all the counsel which they could give upon so grave and important an occasion.—Morn ing Herald. We think, and we do not stand alone in the opinion, that Sir Robert Peel has not treated the country fairly with regard to his Forgery Bill. He admitted, on introducing that Bill, that the criminal law of England was the " most sanguinary of any in Europe." This was a pretty strong admission for one to make who had the power of ameliorating it in hia own hands. It was, in fact, a confession of the utter insufficiency of the plan of " legal re form," known by the popular title of " Peel's Acts," for which he had taken much credit to himself, and which his flatterers described as a work calculated to hand down his name to posterity with all the honours of an English Justinian !—Having made the admission which we have stated, we gave him credit for no small portion of candour, and expected he would have availed himself of the great power and influence attached to the situation which he holds to purify the statute-book from the stain of acknowledged barbarism, and make it more conform able with the progress of knowledge and the ad vanced state of our civilization. The Right Hon. Secretary, however, seemed to be afraid that by adopting measures for a real and thorough mitigation of our penal system he might outrun public opinion. He, therefore, on taking up the subject of forgery, did not venture to propose the abolition of the ca pital punishment in any cases but those minor ones in which the theoretic cruelty of the law is never reduced to practice—so that all which humanity will owe him in this respect, should his Bill, as it now stands, pass into a law, will be the abolition not of a living principle of cruelty, but of a dead letter. Great as his timidity—sensitive as his circumspec tion is with regard to legal innovation, he must now be convinced that, instead of outrunning public opinion, as he anticipated, public opinion has left him far behind. The number of petitions presented from the most 'respectable and enlightened classes of society—and from practical men of business — especially bankers, leave no room for doubt upon this subject. One would have supposed, if Sir Robert Peel were sincere in what he said on intro clueing his Bill, that he would be gratified at finding that he might now proceed to propose the abolis tion of the sanguinary principle without any danger of incurring the odious celebrity of a rash and in temperate innovator; but not so—Sir Robert Peel has not only been afraid to lead, but he has declined to follow public opinion. He has not only not pro posed to abolish the punishment for forgery, but he has most strenuously resisted the proposition when moved by Sir James Mackintosh. He has not only given the force of his Parliamentary eloquence, such as it is, to the preservation of the sanguinary prin ciple, but he has given the influence of hi s s t a tion and office to the support and p erpetuat i on o f t h at barbarism which he had so recently condemned. We will not say that he directly induced the sup porters of Government to rally round the standard of vindictive legislation in the debate of Tuesday night, but certainly some Ministerial Members, who were conscientiously opposed to Mr. Peel's Bill, had got an impression on their mind that, by voting ac cording to their conviction, they would displease the Minister, and accordingly they kept away from the discussion of the Bill in Committee. We have heard of three of those gentlemen having admitted that, if present, they must, in conscience, have sup ported the amendment of Sir James Mackintosh to abolish the capital punishment ; but they thought it more prudent to stay away. They also admitted that they knew several others who had acted in the same manner. Yet each of these three Mini sterial Members gave it as their opinion that Mr. Peel must abandon his views. We hope those per sons acted under an erroneous impression as to the consequences which they apprehended would have resulted from giving on such an occasion an inde pendent vote. We also hope that at the next gene ral election those Members who had given their con stituents reason to believe they would oppose the Bill, and yet were not found at their posts on the day of battle, will be called to render up an account of their stewardship, arid that their constituents will give a preference to men who courageously dis charged a public duty. Again we call upon Mr. Peel to pause, and, by abandoning his Bill, to en deavour to redeem his character as a legislator, and not continue to place himself in a position in which the intelligence and virtue of the country must be decidedly opposed to his measures.—Morn. Herald. The refusal of Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg to fulfil his engagements with the Allied Sovereigns, and to enter upon the high and glorious career which awaited him as the first Sovereign of a State, en nobled by ancient recollections, and not less so by the efforts which in our own day have called it into a new existence, would be wholly unaccountable, if experience had not already taught us that every Prince is not of necessity a hero. It is of small importance perhaps that the first Sovereign of re generated Greece should be a hero, but it is of infinite importance that he should be a man of steady resolution and practical good sense ; and so far as these qualities may be deemed indis pensable in the man whose difficult duty it will be to educe order out of confusion in the fabric of sc ciety, and whose splendid destiny it may be to found an empire, and be the father of a race of Kings, it is, we think, abundantly clear that the timely vacil lation of Prince Leopold has afforded an escape alike for him and for Greece. We do not hesitate to em ploy the term vacillation as most descriptive of the conduct of his Reyal Highness, for why, unless it be from uncertain workings of a mind naturally infirm, should he now reject the elevation which once be ea geily courted ? Is Greece other than it was ? Did he ever expect that a bed of roses was already pre pared for him as the Sovereign of that country ? Was he not told from the beginning that the terri torial limits of Greece were fixed, that the boun- dories of the new State could not be extended ? Did he not know, with moral certainty, from the beginning, that upon this question of boundary he would have to encounter discontent and dissa tisfaction among his new subjects ? The plain fact, however it may be disguised—and it is a fact which no documents hereafter to be pre sented can alter—is that Prince Leopold has changed his mind, and forfeited his engagement, without any change in the posture of affairs to ac count for his vacillation or infidelity. He it is that is altered. Greece and her prospects remain the same. These are certain facts, although we admit that they are facts which, if Prince Leopold or Greece only had been concerned, we should scarcely have thought it necessary to state. But we cannot conceal from ourselves that the domestic politics of England have had an important influence in de priving Greece of her appointed Sovereign, nor will we conceal from our readers the visible symp toms, that one of our domestic parties looks forward to the acquisition of political importance in Eng land—a fruitless expectation we hope and believe— with Prince Leopold of :Saxe Coburg as their patron and leader. The feverish anxiety to vindicate Prince Leopold, before be is accused, manifested by some of the leading Whigs, must be allowed to be a most inauspicious omen as to the success of his eventual vindication, while it affords evidence the most conclusive that this party has not yet aban doned that base system of policy by which it has heretofore been distinguished, but which it has found eminently unsuccessful, of hanging upon the expectants of courtly influence and power. Prince Leopold may by possibility be a man of para mount influence in this country. This accounts in some degree for his otherwise unaccountable abdi cation of the Greek throne, but it accounts in a manner infinitely more clear for the morbid zeal ex hibited on his behalf by some of our Whig Aristo cracy. The latter are incorrigible by experience, or they must already have been convinced that the worship of the wising sun is likely to be an unpro fitable idolatry.—Morning Post. We do not know precisely the degree of blame which may attach itself to the resignation of the -throne of Greece by Prince Leopold; but it would appear, from the brief statement of the Earl of Aberdeen, on Monday last, and also from the lame excuses put forth by his defenders, that there has been a change of mind on the part of his Royal Highness, for which no sufficient reason has yet been given. Previous to the commencement of ne gociations in February last, it was distinctly under stood that his Royal Highness would not only have no objection to be invested with the new Sovereignty, but that he was extremely desirous to be entrusted with the future destinies of Greece; and, according to the statement of the Earl of Aberdeen, not only did the Prince accept the proffered dignity with becoming earnestness, and due gratitude to the Allied Powers who had done him the honour to select him ; but even up to Friday last there never existed a doubted in the mind of any that the nego tiation would terminate in the embarrassing manner to his Majesty's Government that it has now done. The only point, in the shape of an objection, that was urged by Prince Leopold, related solely to money. Money he would have previous to his em barkation; and money, notwithstanding the finan cial difficulties of the country, his Majesty's Mini sters agreed that he should have to the utmost extent of his wish, in order that the laudable am bition of his Royal Highness, to regenerate the people of Greece, might not be frustrated. What then was the final objection ? On this point the Noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs threw no light ; but it was evidently not an objection springing out of the conduct of the Allied Powers, but of the Prince's own con coction. It has been alleged by some, that it re lated to the boundaries of the new State ; but these boundaries had been fixed long ago, and had there been any objection on this head, it ought to have been stated at an earlier period. By others it has been stated, that the Prince had received a des patch from Count Capo d'lstria, in which he was informed, that his intended subjects had a decided objection to give up Acarnania, and further, that they were not particularly well pleased with the se lection which the Allies had made of their future sovereign ; but, besides the improbability of such a piece of impertinence, proceeding even from the creature of Russia, every one must agree with us, that the man could be nothing short of a downright idiot, who would be simple enough to receive, and act upon such statements, coming from a party di rectly interested in frustrating his prospects. We do not, in fact, give the slightest credit to any of these reasons, as originating the resignation of the throne of Greece; and it is quite clear, from the brief statement of the Earl of Aberdeen, that what ever the alleged motive was, it was not one in which he was disposed to place much reliance. The public indeed will, perhaps, more readily guess, than we can safely allude to, the real cause ; but this much we will venture to state, that if the Prince has now disappointed the Allied Powers, he is not himself a whit less likely to be disappointed in his anticipations of future influence nearer hOme. He never has been a favourite with the English public, though it has lavished its bounty upon him with its accustomed liberality; and his conduct in the affair of the Greek Sovereignty will not, he may be certain, tend to exalt him in their affections. — Morning Advertiser. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, MAY 26. BURMISTER V. SMITH. This was an action brought for the recovery of 1501., being a year's rent due by the defendant as lessee of the house No. l, Hereford -street, Fitzroy square. The defendant denied his liability, upon the ground of the house being a house of ill-fame, and let to him as such. It was proved i❑ evidence that the house was one of ill-fame, and that a lanthorn had been placed before the door for the purpose of publishing the " burning shame." His LORDSHIP in summing up Observed, a land lord knowingly letting his house for an improper purpose could not recover for rent. The Jury consequently returned a verdict for the defendant. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. TIATrON.GARDEN. A young man of the name of Robert Durley was yesterday re-examined before Mr. ROGERS arid Mr. LAING OH a charge of stealing a silver wine-cooler of the value of 100 guineas, the property of Mr. Solo mon, of No. b 3, Strand, refiner and goldsmith. The prisoner, who declined to say any thing to the charge, stands committed for trial, but is to be again brought up on Friday next. QUEEN-SQUARE. For some time past considerable jealousy has ex isted between the military and the new police of the IL division, stationed in the district of this office.— Last week a serious riot took place in New Pye street, originating in a party of police endeavouring to disperse a number of drunken soldiers belonging to the Guards, who were insulting every person they met in the streets. Nine of the ringleaders were taken into custody, and delivered over to the regi ment, and a court of inquiry was appointed to in vestigate the charge, the result of which was, that the soldiers were punished by being sent to drill for seven days. On this occasion one of the police con stables was most seriously injured, and at the pre sent moment, we understand, he is not out of danger from the injuries he received. Since the above affray private information has been received by the police authorities, that a party of soldiers belonging to the Ist regiment of Guards intended to attack the police constables on duty as last night. A communication was immediately made to Lord- Saltoun, the Colonel commanding one of the battalions of that regiment, who gave immediate orders for the regiment to be mustered, and the Arti cles of War were directed to be read over to the men; after which it was intimated, that if any of t he soldiers interfered with the civil power, they would be punished with the utmost severity. It is sup posed that last night was appointed for the attack on the police, on account of the greater part of the officers of the regiment being at Epsom races.— Proper measures have been taken to prevent any dis turbance; and yesterday morning an extra military patrol was appointed to do duty and to preserve order, should there be any disposition to riot amongst the soldiers. John Carney, the man charged with robbing one of the carts of Messrs. Hanbury and Co., the brewers, of a bag containing 5/. worth of copper money, was brought up to undergo a final examina tion, and was fully committed for trial. THAMES POLICE-OFFICE. Thomas Hamilton, foreman to Messrs. Addis and Son, granarv-keeper s and corn-merchants, at Horsley down, was br night bef , re Mr. BRODERIP, charged with robbing his employers of property to a large amount. On Saturday last Daniel Blyth and William Judge, two surveyors of the Thames police, were walking through Bermondsey, when they met the prisoner, whose bulky appearance excited their sus picion, and on searching him they found a peck and a half of oats in a waistcoat, made like a pair of stays for the purpose of concealing property, and contrived in a most ingenious manner. On proceed ing to the prisoner's house in Park-street, Bermond sey, they discovered in nearly every apartment a great quantity of oats, wheat, tares, barley, bran, and seed, concealed in various bags and utensils.— They also found secreted in the kitcben several new and old sacks ; and in the cellar a large mill for grinding corn was discovered, with some flour near it. The prisoner refusing to give any account as to bow he became possessed of the property, the officers seized the whole, and took the prisoner into custody. Samples of the articles seized were produced, and Mr. Addis, the prisoner's employer, who appeared much astonished at the discovery of the prisoner's dishonesty, and the extent of his depredation'', said, he had been in the service of the firm 22 years, as foreman, and they had hitherto placed the greatest confidence in his integrity, lie believed the whole corn was his property, but it was impossible to swear to it. The waistcoat found on the prisoner's person, and filled with oats, was handed to the Bench. Mr. BRODERIP expressed his surprise at the inge nuity of its contrivance for the purpose of carrying Stolen property without exciting suspicion. He was determined the prisoner should not escape without some punishment, and sentenced him to two months' imprisonment and hard labour in Brixton gaol, for unlawful possession of the property. BUONAPARTE'S IDEA OF IMMORTALITY. --" With me," said NAromrox to BounarxxNE, " im mortality is the recollection left in the memory of men. That idea prompts to great actions. It would be better for a man never to have lived, than not to leave behind him traces of his existence." THE STEAM CARRIAGE.—The New-road, in the vicinity of Portland-place, was electrified on Tues day, at five o'clock, by the appearance of a steam carriage, which threaded all the difficulties of a crowded passage without any apparent impulse. There was neither smoke nor noise—there was no external force or palpable direc tion—the carriage seemed to move by its own volition, passing by horses without giving them the least alarm; describing half circles round the corners ; trying short races with stanhopes and cabriolets, and flying with the same rapid and steady pace over the most unequal ground. Five gentlemen and a lady were quite at their ease as passengers—one gentleman directed the moving principle, and ano►her appeared to sit unconcerned behind, but his object was ascertained to be the care of the fuel and water. It was altogether a startling and uncommon sight ; but it was evidently a complete triumph of the principle, and the success of these carriages was, in the opinion of the spectators, completely established. The carriage was lightly and conveniently built, not larger or heavier than a moderate phaeton. It went without the least vibration, and preserved a balance in the most complicated movements. The pace was varied from five to twelve miles an hour according to pleasure, and the stoppage or accelerated progress, was effected with the quickness of thought. It was amusing to hear the cries of wonder which burst from the crowd, and the exclama tions of delight which escaped from several ladies, who stopped their carriages to witness the exhibition. It was still more entertaining to mark the rage of the Paddington omnibus and stage-drivers, who lingered with curses to behold a coach in motion without guide or horses. Rival whips reconciled their differences to vow vengeance to the march of intellect ; and many a hackney-coachman sighed as it passed along at his own approaching end, when Ju ries will return no other verdict on dead drivers than, " died by steam." The horses, though the most inte rested in these innovations, seemed to be the least affected by them. There was neither fire, smoke, nor noise to terrify them, and they preserved an equanimity foreign to their masters' bosoms—even some donkeys that were pre sent, were equally thoughtless of futurity, and there was not one symptom of discontent to justify an apprehension that a steamer on the road would be a terror to any qua druped. After an exhibition of half an hour, the car riage went into a yard in Albany street, and it was an nounced that it would appear this day at the same hour. —.Morning Paper. TEE MARKETS. COAL MARE Adair's 295. Od. Bishop's 27 0 Charlotte 28 6 East 27 6 Holywell— 3O 0 Ord's Redhugh _ 27 6 Percy Bensham 29 3 Peiaw 39 3 Pontop 27 3 Tan field Tanfield Lea- 27 6 Townley . 28 3 Wylam .31 0 Walls End Bell and Co. 31 0 Ditto Bell Robson & Co. 30 6 Ditto Bewickeand :13 0 Walls End Brown's ..—. 30 0 Ditto Brown's unser...-. 30 0 Walls End Carr and Co. 28 0 Ditto Cramlington—...—. 27 0 Ditto Callerton 28 6 Slips at market, 78—Shlpi CJUNTRY COR. Wheat. I S. to 8. 55 62 55 65 56 66 56 74 48 65 54 86 48 74 54 83 64 84 62 80 65 84 56 76 41 86 56 68 54 76 64 74 65 78 48 74 46 73 40 74 48 84 60 63 Barley. Per Quarter. Abingd0n..,.,...«. Ando - ver, Birmingham.—... Bridport ---. Cirencester -,..—. Faringdon, Guildford -,...,—.5. Henley Hereford Highworth Maidenhead Oakingham Reading Salisbury... —....5..—.. Southampton ..... Stroud --...,..........,.. Tewkesbury -.. Uxbridge ..,........... yyantage..,,.......... Warminster...... VVind50r"—.......—...... Worcester—..,-.... sold, 443--Unsoll N MARKETS DURING THE s. to s. 32 38 22 34 32 38 32 39 20 37 36 40 24 35 30 3,5 38 45 32 42 28 38 30 36 18 41 27 37 37 40 34 38 40 43 21 32 20 36 21 42 26 34 32 36 Oats. .ET.—.May 26. Walls End Newmarch.. 311.6 1 Ditto Gosforth 32 Ditto 32 ;‘,. Ditto Hilda Ditto Hotspur 30 Ditto Northumberland 30 n 0 Ditto Peareth Ditto Perkins and C 0.,. 30 6 Ditto Russell's 32 0 Ditto Walker 31 0 Walls End Hato') 33 3 Walls End Lambton..... 33 ~ Walls End Stewart's ... 33 5 Russell's Hetton's W.E 33 5 Cowpen .31 0 Swallow Wood 25 0 Silkstone 29 0 Warde's 29 0 Tanfield Trader. 27 6 Ellison small d, 334. WEE g ._ Beans• r, r. A: 51 := 0 54 :::. 40 40 92 40 60 _l6 it = 4s _ 44 io = iq = 44 44 49 - 44 .... 46 4 0 - 52 C Roy THE Mulls% Catalogue c m "EORG: Prniti a : fine at This gbii) istol , Toth — s' nk p kmse 4(.. V41 fu lacy. pw,ks Each, Apply ] 111 _ r r P he's 11a;i Y IEW of the Patrt foot six i 'beet Co' Order 1111 ttee av thry ties put-, EWES MARKET.—: (per quarter) £3 White Wheat Red ditto Barley Oats, New Beans Oil Cake, New 11 12 1 [ay 25. 7 0 to .£l." [8 0 1 . 6 0 1 0 12 0 1 [0 0 per thi 10 0 80 9 0 8 0 17 0 lus and. CHELTENHAM MARKET.—May 25. Per Bushel. s. d. to s. d. Per lb. d. to d. Wheat Barley Oats Beans 4 9 5 6 Lamb 0 0 Pease 5 0 8 0 Pork ...... ....... ..... 5 6 Hay 31. 10s. to 31. 15s: per t on. HULL M A RKET.—May 25. The foreign arrivals of Wheat since this day week hare not been large, and we had only a middling supply English Wheat ; the holders of foreign, as well as the far. mere, demanded the last week's prices ; hut the buyer s were unwilling to comply, and the business done Wa g trifling, and last week's currency scarcely supported.-' Our inaltsters have most of them done working, the trade for Barley was extremely dull, and lower when salmi could be effected. No material alteration in Beans. 00 1 1 very few Free Oats offering, which may be noted Is. Pe r quarter dearer than last week; but the trade was not e° brisk as during the previous week. Very little busine o doing in Linseed. Rapeseed is 11. per last dearer. ___ . Wheat, Old —s. 555. 724. .....New —s. 51s. 639. Foreign —s. 545. 725. ......In bond... —s. —s. -*/* Oats, Poland —s. 20s. 245. Old. --13...-8. 2 65 ' Small or Feed —s. 12s. 18s —s. —5....5. Foreign —s. 21s. 275. —s. .--11. •-' 44 Barley, Norf. & Suf. ... —s. 395. 365. Line. & %Vold —s. 28s 3' o ' Foreign Beans 32e. 375. 425. Foreign... ..... . —s. 30s. 3 94 Pease, White —s. 35... 38s. Grey —s. 315.3 45 . Tares —s. 30s. 365. F0reign......... —s. 265. 3 00 * Rapeseed, in laond none. Free, per last —4. 281. 301._ DUMFRIES MA s.d. s.d. s.d. s.d. Wheat, Imp. Bush... 7 9 to 8 0 Butter, I6oz. 0 otoo o Barley ... ... 39 4 0 Eggs, down OOO I v Oats 3 2 3 9 Be e f, p er lb. ,' Flour, 141 b. Oatmeal 2 2 2 6 Veal .... 8 3 0 4 Potatoes, cwt.... ...... . I_6 2 0 Qnartern Loaf 0 7 a 0 RKETS.—May 19. Intelligence from Toulon is conveyed to Pa' ris by the telegraph in 20 minutes—a distance of 388 miles. SACRILEGE.—On Friday night or Saturday morning last some sacrilegious thieves broke into the Church of Drayton Basset, and stripped the pulpit, coin' mullion table, and Sir ROBERT Pest's pew, of the black cloth with which they bad been covered on occasion of the late Baronet's decease ; and they also carried off the scarlet cloth hangings of the pulpit and communion tablet together with the Minister's surplice, &c. Two wen are suspected who h a d b een l o i ter i ng a b out t h e v ill ag e and neighbourhood, co ll ec ti ng rags , b ro k en g l ass, aw l o ld i r on. The parish officers of D ra yt on h ave o ff ered a ienrard o f 501. for the discovery of th e ro bb ers . GILBERT TEASDALE, th e p ug ili st , an d JOHN Gow, were yest er d a y t r i e d a t t h e Middlesex Seel sions, charged with riot, a n d w ith assau lti ng va r io us of the members of G a t e - s t ree t c h ape l, Li nco l n ' s I nn -Fi e ldli as they were coining out of th e c h a p e l on th e conc l u sion of divine service on Sunday th e 11th o f Ap r il. Th e y we re also charged with assaulting WILLIAM ANDERSON, ape" lice-constable, while in the execution of his duty. The facts of the case were given a short time since when the prisoners were before the Magistrates at Bow-street. The Jury found them guilty. Sentence deferred till Saturday. It may be recollected that a person named Bossy was found guilty, upon his own confession, of per:: jury, at the last sessions held at the Old Bailey, and is the first instance was sentenced to seven years' trans portation. After the prisoner had left the dock, he will recalled, the former sentence revoked, and a new one passed, which added six months' imprisonment in Newgatep and to stand in and upon the pillory fur the space of one hour. Strange as it may appear, the sentence was again altered at the suggestion of some one, and the prisoner was ordered to be confined for six months in the Compter, instead of the gaol of Newgate. Heinous and abhorrent as was the crime of the convict, it is due to him to st tte, that from his first apprehension he evinced great contri tion, and when put upon his trial, notwithstanding the remonstrance of the Judge, he pleaded guilty, observing, that he would not aggravate his crime by committing an other perjury by denying the first; he however threw him self upon the mercy of the Court. There has been a con siderable difficulty existing in the minds of some of the municipal authorities in respect to making out the order to carry that part of the sentence into execution relative to the pillory, and some went so far as to express their' doubts whether the original sentencecould or ought, under all the circumstances, to have been revoked or rendered more coercive. The order, however, has been issued to the sheriffs, and the decree has gone forth, so that it noW remains with those gentlemen to name when and where the convict will be called " to fret his hourupon the stage." It is supposed the time will be after the close of the pre sent Old Bailey sessions, and the place in Guildhall-yard. BIRTHS. On the 25th inst. at 13, Grosvenor-place, the Lady Alice Peel, of a daughter. On the 25th inst. Mrs. Macleod Robinson, at Perry street, Kent, of a son, still-born. On the 26th inst. in Hailey-street, 51ra. E. Clark, of a daughter. On the 24th inst. at Kempston House, near Bedford, the lady of Col. Greenstreet, Bengal Army, of a son. On the 25th inst. Mrs. R. Nelme, of Great Alie-street, of a daughter. MARRIED. On the 25th inst. at St. George's, Bloomsbury, Henry Stafford Thompson, Esq , of Holtby, near York, to Han riot, daughter of T. Croft, Esq., of lidontagu-street r Russell-square. On the 25th inst. at St. James's, Clerkenwell, J. Ire land, Esq. of Kendal, to Margaret, eldest daughter of Mr. J. Somervell, Wilmington-square. On the 25th inst. at Cheltenham, J. F. Falwasser, Esq., only son of the late John F. Falwasser, Esq. of Maidenhead, Barks, to Rosetta Jane, daughter of Edw. Shewell, DIED. On the I 9th inst. in Dublir, the Viscount Ki!warden. His Lordship was in his 61st year, and: dying without issue is succeeded by his nephew. . . ___ On the 23d inst. Wm. Moore, Esq. of Goswell-street, aged 57. On the 24th inst. at Drungan's-lodge, near Dumfries, Mr. J. Smith, in the '7sth year of his age, purser in the Royal Navy. On the 11th inst. at Aberdeen, in his 76th year, Wm. Laurence Brown, D.D., Professor of Divinity, and Prin cipal of Marischal College, Dean of the Chapel Royal, and of the most ancient Order of the Thistle. Dr. Brown obtained Burnet's first prize, amounting to 12501. The competitors were about 50 in number; and the second prize, amounting to 4001. was awarded to Dr. Sumner, the present Bishop of Chester. Dr. Brown's work was published under the title of " An Essay on the Existence of a Supreme Creator." . . On the 23d inst. at Esher, Peter Nathan Roberts, Esq ,n his 74th year. On the 23d inst. at the Vicarage, Brookland, Kent, Susannah, wife of the Rev. J. Barrow. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY MURDO YOUNG, A THE SUN OFFICE, 112, &MEND, Lel t aim At the ,;(1 n'eloo SUS s r SIX Forest, fot 14 g to Chi g w i!la ce Thorrov 'ALAI; NEity trli of low Lave 13;4 k.tonlach Organs, System, ~otti~net Ml:a, as rat affer it stand Tile ITU brought quern!), the 8.11 if not IN re co , ill Illerits. Strict u kidne ) "( 1 otl Perfo rn It coot With ti Which Sytopt from al a perst J 1:`, C Ey 0 It old Of t, stye ttr, WI Ci