The Sun. — London, England, 1822-03-27 00:00:00

trympared with the diminution of the undue 'influence of the Crown. The Noble Lord concluded by moving the following Address " 'We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the,Lords Spiritual and Temporal of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia •ment assembled, most humbly represent to your Majesty, that the expences of the Civil Government have been greatly in-' Creased in various branches formerly charged upon the Civil List revenue, now forming part of the supplies of the year, but more particularly in the class of the Civil List which comprises the sa laries and allowances of Foreign Ministers. That by an Act passed in the 56th year of his late Majesty, provision was made tor the future. annual charges of the several classes of his Ma t:sty•tsCivil L'st in consequence of an estimate laid before Paz- ALl:Tient for. that purpose, and that with regard to the expences the third - classot was'further provided, that in case any sur lus or - saving should have arisen in .that class, it should be lawful for the Lord- Bi 11 Treasurer or Cominissioners of the Treasury, and they were thereby required, to direct the same to be carried to the account of the Consolidated Fund. '4:That the expences of the said third class appear, greatly to exceed what.l? required for the public service, and that the re duction of the same, and the application of the saving made in e.thAseqt 'ence. thereof, according to the provisions of the 56th of iLs late Majesty,- would; in the present distressed situation of the country, he conducive - to the relief of your Majesty's suf fering subjects. _ _ We therefore approach your Majesty with the humble ex prrseieas of the earnest hope, which, from your Majesty's Con stant disposition to nseet the wishes of your people, as wellas from the proofs recently given of your Majesty's paternal at tention to the distresses of your subjects, we confidently enter that Yodr Majesty will immediately give the necessary orders for effecting a reduction of the expences attending the appointment offoreign Ministers, also for making such further rte. - action in the other charges of the Civil Government, as may be consistent with the support of the true dignity of eveor Majesty'S Crowu, Which it will at all times be our anxious desire io preser"e unimpared." se Earl. of' LIVERPOOL said, that any one who had lis ter.ed toSthe Noble Lord would suppose that his Majesty's Go . vernment, instead of making every effort to reduce the expendi sure. to as low a rate as was compatible with the nationalsafety, had evinced a wanton disposition to increase that expenditure to then:most extent. Whatever might formerly have been the ease, it was most extraordinary that such a charge should be pre feired against his Majesty's Government at the present moment. Yor on that subject their Lordships had before thens the Report of a Committee as to what might be considered the reasonable ex h encliture of the country. fly the Report of a Finan ce Com mittee appointed by the other House in 1817, and which Report was on their Lordships' Table, it appeared that that Committee had entered into an elaborate consideration of all the different - branches ef our civil and military expenditure, with a view to state what, in their opinion, would be the reasonable amount of a peace expenditure. And what was the fact ? That the public expenditure had been reduced 1,200,0001. below whit the Committee of Finance of 1817 estimated as a reasonable 'Peace expenditure. After having stated that, he would ask whe ther the Noble Lord was warranted in throwing out such impu tations against his Majesty's Government, and whether,'on the contrary, he (Lord Liverpool) was not warranted in asserting that every effort had been made by his Majesty's Government to re duce the national expenditure to as low a scale as possible There was one question which was alwayi overlooked in considering the amount of the , reductions that had been made. No one looked at the expences which had grown up with the war, and which it was not practicable to get rid of. When their Lordshipslooked at the dead expenee of the army, the half-pay and pensions, amounting to 5,000,0001., and when they considered the proportion which that bore to the 164000,0001. which was the whole of our civil, military, naval, and miscellaneous expenditure; and when they further considered that those 5;000,0001. were entirely out of the .controul of his Majesty's Government, they would be still more sensible of the amount of the reductions. In the Civil Depart ments great reductions had taken place. Several years ago a Commission had reduced the expence of the Customs 80,0001. a-year ; and a further reduction of 20,0001. a-year in that depart ment had since been made. But it was impossible, with the slightest justice to the individuals employed in the public ser . vice, to - accomplish all the reductions which it might be desira ble to make at once. They must be gradually effected. Be fore he entered into the consideration of the reductions which had Leen made in the present year in the civil establishment, he would say a few words on the Noble Lord's general doctrine, 'as to the jurisdiction of Parliament over the Civil List. Un doubtedly he (Lord Liverpool) admitted that there was no ques tion which could be excluded from the jurisdiction of Parlia . merit, on a strong case being made out for submitting it to that jurisdiction. But he was supported by the authoiity of all the greatest statesmen which this country had produced, both those who had opposed and these who had supported the measures of his Majesty's Government, when he declared that as long as the Crown kept in its expenditure within the sum appropriated to the Civil List.-not that no Parliamentary inquiry ought to take place into the subject; but that a very strong ground ought to he laid to warrant such an inquiry. On that point he fancied there tould be no difference of opinion among their Lordships. tut he readily agreed with the Noble Lord, with respect ..to that particular branch of the Civil List to which the _is'ohle Lord had mainly addressed his observations, that the Arrangements made in 1816 were for the purpose of bringing That particular subject more under the cognizance of Parliament. 'Qn that point, therefore, there was no difference of opinion be tween the Noble Lord and himself. But, before he went into sthat part of the subject, he wished to correct one remark made by .be Noble Lord, who said that the Committee appointed on -the accession of his present Majesty, and who recommended the present establishment Of the Civil List, took the estimate trained by the Committee of 1816 as their model ; but that, as what was called Mr. Peel's Bill had passed since 1816, things werein a very .different situation froin that in which they were at that period. 'The fair inference, however, was, that Parliament, perfectly aware of that circumstance, did, after due consideration upon it (add he begged leave to remark that the subject had never before .undergone such an ordeal at the commencementof a new reign), _settle, in 1820, the specific amount of the Civil List under the :new circumstances in which the country was placed. But the Noble Lord was not correct in his assertion with , respect to the great difference of circumstances in 1820 and 1816. The depre sciation of currency in 1816 was not like the depreciation of cur stoney in 1810. The exchanges in 1816 were in favour of. this .country, and gold was below the Mint price, and was imported iii lazge quantities. He had,a right, therefore, to contend that in framing the Civil List Estimate, in 1816, Parliament had been influenced not by any consideration connected with the de preciation of the currency, and the consequent increase in the priced the necessaries of life ; but by other and distinct consi ederations ; for, he repeated, that he believed the exchanges were more in favour of this country in 1816 than they were at the pre _Eent moment. Under these peculiar circumstances it was that .it was prophied to make a saving in the Civil Expenditure.— Their Lordships were aware that both Houses addressed his Majesty last Session to institute an inquiry into the details of the different branches of the Civil Establishnient, particularly with reference to those officers whose salaries had been in 'creased since the year 1797, when cash payments were gas . peoded, in order that in the improved state of the circulation those salaries might be brought back to their former amount.— . ills Majesty's Government, of course, felt it their duty to in stitute• a minute inquiry into the state of every department of -the Civil ,service. They had adopted a plan of retrenchment which would hereafter, in all probability, come before their '.Lordships in a legislative shape .; founded on the principle of endeavouring to combine what was due to the wishes of Parlia . merit with what was due hi common justice to the individuals immediately concerned. Undoubtedly his Majesty's Govern.. . merit might have stopped at the strict execution of the inten tion,: of Parliament; they might have stopped at the reduction .of salaries which had been augimented in consequence of the effects on the value of money of tae suspension of cash pay . meats in 17P.7. But having ,accomplished that object, they felt it their duty to proceed still further, and humbly to recommend, to his Majesty to issue an order in Council for the reduction of all other salaries of civil officers; although those salaries had not been previously increased. With the exception of the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, there was no great Officer of State whose salary and appoint ment-I were not the same through the war, and after the resto= rathai of peace. 'Whatever other classes ofpropertymight have . lest in the ore state of things or gained in the other, their sala ries and appointments, remained invariably the same. They felt . it however to be their duty, ,under the pressing circumstances of the times, not from any consciousness that their salaries and emoluments were too large (for on that subject he would can didly appeal to the Noble Lords opposite), but because they had been obliged to inflict a wound on others, to recommend his ' Majesty to subject their salarieS to a tax of 10 per cent. He had •farther to state, that although the circumstances under which die Civil List was framed did.not impose any such duty on the Sovereign, it was. his Majesty's spontaneous feeling to submit to the same sacrifices, whatever they might cost him, and to what ever inconvenience they might subject him. The amount of the *hole immediate saving was within a fraction of 200,0001.; and of the prospective- saving 173,0091.; making an imme diAss saving of 200,9001., and an ultimate saving of 373,0001. if was for their l a ardships, for Parliament, and for the public ti sly whether, ,under 'all the circumstances which he had de scathed, his Abiesty's servants had not done all that could fair ly be . vq - notori prom them,? He would proceed to that which had been the principAl object of the Noble Lord's remarks ; he• meant tl:e 3d class of the Civil List, relating to Ambassadors to Foreign States. The Noble Lord had, drawn a comparison on this subject between the year 178§ and the present Their Lordships would, however, be astonished to bear, that when the scale of that part of the Civil Expenditure wail settled in 1792 Parliament went back as far as th e y ear .1/21 ; and that in eact no alteration had been tilde in the scale of the salaries of Ambassadors and Envoys from 1721 to 1804. Now, he submitted to any one who-had experience or knowledge of such appointments, - whether with such salaries it was not positive ruin to any individual to enter into the diplomatic profession, unless he had a large private fOrtune, oc other means of defraying the charges that must necessarily fall upon him ? What it was inateriaffor their Lbrdships to consider was, that this very subject carne u nde r - the" consideration. of the Com mittee in 1813, That Committee had all the Estimates ' and all the details before them. From their silence, he might fairly infer that they thought this biarieli of the civil - expenditure rea sonable. But he did not rest uf‘ a on that. Their Lordships had on their Table Reams illustrative of the subject; and he would call on any Noble Lord at all acquainted with the fo reign countries, and with the duties of the Representatives of the British Government in those countries, to say whether any individual could accept a foreign mission, unless over and above his official allowance he had a private-fortune, on which he could dietiv for aid ? Some of the foreign Courts might be more, and some less expensive • b u t suc h was the fair general statement of the fact. The Noble Lord made the appointment of an Ambassador at the Court of the King of the Netherlands the subject of his particular animadversion. Now, if there was-one foreign- Embassy which ought to have been exempt from any remarks of that nature, it was the Embassy to the Court et the King of the Netherlands. Were all the rest of our foreign Embassies abolished, that to the United Provinces might to be preserved. In saying this,he but spoke the opinion of the greatest Statesmen which this country ever produced ; he might advert in support of it to the s e ntiments exp re p se d by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox, on former occasions ; and sure he was that there was no man of true English feeling and political judgment, who would not go :Jong with him in asserting, that we ought to maintain, not au occasional or a fluctuating, but a real per manent connexion with the Government of the Netherlands— (Hear, hear!)—With respect to this appointment, it must be observed that there was an additional expence peculiar to it, and which arose from the circumstance that the Court of the Netherlands was at one time holden in the town of Brussels,! at another time at the Hague ; and it was necessary that our Ambassador should keep up two establishments, to meet the Court at either place. On the ,point of sending out an Am bassador to that Court he differed altogether from the Noble Lord, who certainly had, not given any fair ground of objec tion. That an Ambassador might be necessary at one time and not at another, was a different question, but surely no one suppose that at the Courts of either St. Petersburgh or Vienna we ought not to have an Ambassador. He could not conceive, it consistent with the high character of the • country and its most important interests, to seed an inferior Minister to those Courts. It was not a becoming, but a niggardly economy, which would induce us not to maintain at those Courts the most exalted and dignified representatives of - the Sovereign.= It ought to be recollected, too, that a Noble Lord Opposite had, - when Secretary for Foreign Affairs, sent out a Noble- F r i en d of his tbord Liverpool) as Ambassador to St. Petersburgh, and that at a time when there did not appear the very greatest ne cessity for our interference. But the thing would speak for it self; let their Lordships look to the power and station which that Court maintained in Europe, and then consider whether it was consistent with that station and with our dignity, not to send an Ambassador there. While the Courts of Petersburgh and Vienna were desirous of sending Ambassadors to us, it could not be to our credit o r i n t er e s t not t o sen d Ambassadors to. them ; and!hi trusted the opinion of the Noble Lord would not weigh against the important advantages which resulted from this policy. He then stated, that the question was di vided into two principal branches, the first of which was, whether the whole of this class was useless, and in itself pro fusion ; and next, whether the particular missions were paid beyond the burdens belonging to them ? He would leave any one' to judge, who knew Continental matters, whether more was allotted to those offices in.the way of emolument than the nature and extent of the duties to be discharged called for. The Noble Lord had. alluded to the appointment of a Mini ster to Switzerland, and was dissatisfied with that appoint ment, though not of the first rank.—But the House must be aware how imppriant that appointment was. They could not forget the relative importance .of Switzerland in 1813 and 1014, and of how much consequence her independence was to Europe, nor how much she felt that the arrangement then made was owing to that appointment. Let their Lord ships ,only look at Switzerland her geographical position, on the frontiers of France, of Germany, and of Italy—she was one of the keys to Europe. Let them also look at the strug gle which had been maintained there, for foreign influence, and particularly for the creation . and support of French influence, and would they .not say it was a fitting place to which to send a British Minister to represent the feelings of the Government? The Noble Lord had also alluded to the appointment of a Mi nister to Dresden. He (Lord Liverpool) at that time had the honour of holding the 'office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and made the appointment ;And in doing so, he was in fluenced solely by a sense of public d u ty, an d what he conceiv ed to be the interest of the country under the circumstances which then existed. The Noble Lord had then gone on to state that diplomacy was, formerly a' profession to which Ministers were regularly brought up, but now it was a matter of patron age and Parliamentary influence. In answer to this he (Lord L.) would refer to the Papers befora their Lordships, and by these they would find, that out of 18 'Foreign Ministers, 14 were re gularly brought up from the lowest grades of the line —from Secretaries of Legation up to .the highest appointments.— They were not selected on acco un t o Parliamentary influ ence; but their promotion grew out of existing circumstances, and was justified by their qualifications. Ile was sure that every man who was acquainted with those matters would allow that those appointments were not only proper, but perfectly na tural, and that they grew out of the circumstances of the case. ' There Bever was, indeed, a time in which there was not some exception ! to the rule, but he maintained that there never was a time when the general rule was more, if. as much, adhe red to as at present—never was the regularity of promotion more regarded. The Noble Lord had proceeded to .say, that when a contribution-was to be made by the civil officers of the Crown -to the exigencies of the State, those individuals who were on foreign missions should not be excluded. But he . (Lord L.) would take the liberty of observing, that elta blishment was on the 'scale which had been laid down in the year 1916, when the whole subject was inquired into by the House of Commons ; and it would not be found that there was a' single Minister over-paid, or whose income was more than sufficient to cover his fair expences. The salaries were calcu lated with a view to the doing away with the necessity of inci dental expences, which were incurred when the regular sala ries were insufficient. He believed, that since that time there was not one appointment to which a salary was attached more than adequate to the expences of the situation: He did not he sitate tb say, that if the country waa in such a condition that it must part with its Foreign Ministers, or pay them but a beg garly income, why then it would be much better to have none at all, if we could not pay them in a way which would sustain the credit and dignity of the nation. lie would conclude by observing, that on the subject of diplomacy the Noble Lord had made out no case whatever ; and that, in the particular in stances to which he 'alluded, he was, if - possible, still more astray than on the general principle. Lord.HOLLAND began by observing, that the question before the House was contained within a narrow compass.— The Noble Earl opposite had, in the commencement of his speech, entered into a variety of repoits made by Committees of the other House, a practice adopted by the Noble Earl'when those reports het with his approbation ; buf he could not agree with the Noble Earl that it was the duty of the other House solely to take - care of this part of the expenditure. The Noble ' Earl came down to-night, and, took, prodigious credit to himself 'for reduction, of which the Noble Earl had frequently spoken, in the manner in which he ha - d. spoken of the reductions pro posed by the Noble Mover. The Noble Earl had over and over again staked, that the last shilling in the way of reduction had been made. The Noble Earl had assumed lofty language both in and out of the House upon that subject. He had often said, " I hold my place by the retention of 'these establishments, and the moment a reduction of those establishments, which enable me to conduct the affairs of Government, shall have taken place, I shall feel it my duty to lay my resignation at the feet of my Sovereign." But when the Noble Earl found that the reduc tions must be made, he came to the House,,and took to'himself the credit of making reductions, which the year before he had ,represented as injurious to the general, interests of the coun try, anti of the Sovereign whom he served. The question now before their • Lordships was a narrow question, as the Noble Lord had admitted that particular branch of the Civil List to Which this motion particularly related to be under the' control of, Parliament: In all what had fallen from the Noble Earl relative to the Civil List he (Lord H.) agreed ; but if the question of. the Civil List were now open to the considera tion of Parliament, he must say that there were many tithe` parts, of it in which reductions, consistent with the dignity and splendour of the Crown and the respect due to the Sovereign, could be Made, and parts Which, if the question were now ("pen,' he would smash without remorse; but the question now before their Lordships was lithited to this : If any man, looking at the papers on the table, should-be of opinion that' there was no extravagant - expenditure in the Civil List, he must vote against the motion • but the t itian who should be of opinion that a greater expenditure than was necessary had taken place, Must, if he felt the necessity of retrenchment, vote for the motion. The Noble Earl had said, that the expenses settled in 1791 had been formed upon a scale regulated so far back as 1721 ; but if he (Lord H.) was not much mistaken, a • Committee of the other House had, in 1786, recommended re duction in this class, and-Mr. Pitt, whose object before he had ,engaged in a lavish, execrable, and abominable war, had been to push retrenehment as far as possible, didnot think himself bound by the reduction proposed by the Committee in 1786, but had appointed a Cominittee. in 1799, which recommended: reduc tion.. In 1804, at which time Mr. Pitt had merged pretty deeply into a system of extravagance there 7naZ been anoiter estimate of, this expenditure presented; and in 1816 another Estimate to which the Noble Earl had alluded. The Noble Earl had not taken upon himself to say that any saving had been effected in the third class of the Civil List ; neither, he must conclude from the silence of the Noble Lord at the head of the Treasury (at a time when they were willing to lay before the house all savings), had' any saving been made. He would not now go into any particular statements ; but looking at the.pa pers in gross, he was satisfied that enough appeared to convince any ii an that the expenditure had been excessive. The Noble Lord had left untouched a collateral question which arose out of this, and it was that Mr. Pitt bad in 1786, when any number of inferior States on the Continent had been greater than at present, considered a sum of 70,8521. including every thing, quite suffi cient, - and that in 1814, after the country had been involved in the revolutionary war, a sum of 112,0001. was stated to be the sum necessary, wheirthe country should enjoy the blessings of peace ; but deducting from the estimate of 1816 the pensions to Ministers, the actual expense was 174,0001. It had been said that, by an increase of salary, the amount of the pensions to Mi nisters- would be lessened, because no Minister would be hardy enough to fill up his appointments with others than those on the pension list. Mr. Pitt had done so, but he could name no other Minister that had followed , his example. The annual amount of the pensions to Foreign Ministers, &c. In 1786, was, - - - - - £8,970 1804, - - - - - 27,490 • 1821, • - - - - • - - 52,000 ,Thus the augmentation, between 1786 and 1816, amounted to 350 per cent.; and would the Noble Lord say, that the change in the circumstances of the country authorised such an aug mentation ? It was probable that the Noble Lord would say so, taut would the House rest satisfied with such vague de clamation ? Something had been said with respect to the rates of exchange justifying the increase of salaries, and he admitted that it was perfectly right to give to those who were obliged to reside on the Continent the full amount of the salaries which they had a right to expect . ; and Government were authorised in charging whatever loss arose from the exchange upon the country. • He admit ted, too, that it was perfectly fair, from the magnitude and inipertance of the Russian territory. Whether these were sub jects of exultation or of regret, he.did not now pause to consi der. It was perfectly reasonable, however, he allowed, that an Ambassador should be appointed to that country; but when the Noble Lord, by asweeping clause, would extend the same principle to Switzerland, he was at a loss precisely to under stand the grounds upon which he justified the expediency of the appointment. The .Noble ,Lord was evidently embar raased en that point. He beat about for a very considerable • portion of time, in order to discover something like a reason for the appointment, and he had at length furnished their Lordships , with a title for the respect which Switzerland had on this country, viz. her geographical situation.• Here she stood where she formerly stood ; and though 2501. a year were formerly considered an ample compensation to her .Charge d'Affaires, 4,9001. or 5,3001., for he did not know which, was the sum which the country was 'now obliged to pay to an AmbaSsador. If they asked the people of Switzerland who was the Resident there, the answer would be that they knew no such officer; the very name even of such an officer, with so poor a salary, was erased from the vocabulary of the Secretary of State. His Majesty's Ministers had now scorned to have any thing 'to do with the low people of a vulgar Republic--they only treated with Kings, and that through the media of Envoys Extraordinary or Ministers Plenipotentiary. They despised those officers which, even under the Administration of the ju dicious Lord Walpole, were considered sufficient to manage in their respective stations .the interests of the country. Our ex penses then in SWitzerland,until the year 1793, amounted to 2501. a year:--no very great sum, it was true. It was true that the Noble Lord must have the advantage of any change derived from her geographical situation—that point he willingly surren dered to the Noble Lord. He contended, then, that at the period when our expenses in Switzerland amounted to so small a sum, our relations with that country were 'much more import ant than they were at the present moment. They were much more important, for instance, in the early period of the l as t century, for at that time the children of this country were sent there for the purpose. of obtaining a Protestant education; they were more important, too, for to that country the rich traveller proceeded, and there he preesed no limited portion of his days. The Resident was then protector of the religion,' and of that religion which was professed by the people of Savoy, whose interests had been so shamefully sacrificed by his Majesty's present Miniiters. They came then to the year 1793, when the political situation of that country was altered— when she 'was in fact a neutral country ; and it then became necessary, or so •it seemed good to Mr. Pitt, to appoint an other person to the situation, with an advanced salary of 10001. ; and so it remained until the peace, and then forsooth it became necessary toenake an additional increase to 'his salary. In Mr. Pitt's time there had been six missions to Germany, and now of course there were more. Why they were greater, and that 'too because some respect was to be paid to alittlepetty German Prince, who thought proper to call himself a King or an Empe ror, he knew not, no r care d h e w hi c h, a nd he wou ld w illi ng ly call him either, provided it cost him nothing. There had been six:missions to Germany, and the result had been that 16,6551. was the sum paid for them. 'With respect to the Netherlands, though the system' pursued there was in direct opposition to the wisest and the purest maxims of policy—in opposition to the course recommended by Sir Wni..Temple, William 111., and Prince Eugene ; yet, since this country had promised to support the system, he saw no possibility of anhonourable reduction. He did. not wish to look into every hundred pounds of every man's salary, but the penurious prodigality of Ministers forced upon men that lawful duty ; and though there might be a ne cessity for maintainingan Ambassador there, sure he was that not the slightest necessity could be urged for the payment of so large a salary, even to the distinguished individual who then held that situation. He did not see the same reasons to justify the 4point ment of Ambassadors in many other countries that he perceived in the case of France. The great resort of the English to that country, was in itself, independent of other reasons, sufficient to justify the necessity of that appointment. One word he was de airous of saying. with respect to-what had fallen from the,Noble Lord upon the manner in which fourteen out of eighteen of those who were, then employed in embassies had reached ,-,,eh situa tions. The Noble Lord said in his answer to his.( Lord Hol land's) Noble Friend (Lord. King), that they had risen to these stations from the lowest situations of their profession. But that was by no means an answer to the complaint of his Noble Friend. It was not that they ,had risen, but that they had risen with such unparallelled rapidity, that excited his merited reprehension. It was not accurately true that the highest situations in that prof fession e generally given to those who, had reached them through different and progressive gradations; they were generally given to men of g!eat fortune, of great talents,' of rank, influ ence, and station in the country ; but though the splendid and captivating glories of an embassy rose, not before the vision of the youthftil adventurer in this profession, still the certainty of rising teen Envoy Extraordinary or a Minister Plenipotentiary animated and sustained him. When the whole question of the Civil List was before the House, the Noble Lord had boldly challenged their Lordships to find in any country an arrange ment of embassies So economical as that which he then proposed, and he (Lord Holland) had then alluded to the United States of America ; not that he meant to contend . that the relations be:. tween this and any other country were not different from the United States and other countries. The NOble Lord proceeded, " I must allow that their relations are difihrent, but I took, ii`ow-' ever,. the year 815. I was not so unfair as to compare expense against expense; but what will your Lordships think, when you. hear that the mission of Lord Castlereagh alone, amounting to forty-three thousand 'ponds, exceeded the whole of the diplo matic expenses of the Coiled States of America ? i do not now .see a Noble Lord in s his Place who has-had sonic experience in American diplomacy (Lord St. Helens), or your Lordships might learn from him that there was' no insensibility to the rote-' rests of their country, no want of zeal, no deficiency of talent in the Ambassadors of America." lle contended, therefore, that there was something like an approximation of proof of gross ex travagance in our diploinatic expenses. In 1816, the Noble Lord having achieved great triumphs, cuine down to that House lite rally covered.with triumphs ; and then their Lordships heard nothing of the transition from peace to war and of the evils of plenty. The Noble Secretary of State hahately expressed his disapprobation of what Austria was ,doing, and he had either done so upon a mere false pretence, or 'Austria had little re garded the dissatisfaction of the Noble Lord, and that triumph which in 1816 was so loudly proclaimed, appeared, therefore, to be one of but a very limited duration. The , Noble Lord had 'told him, that the loan which, by a species of swindling, the Emperor of Austria obtained from the country; would speedily be repaid ; but he believed that if the country recovered but one quarterly payment of the Embassy to-that country, it would be a circumstance of considerable congratulation. He did not wish to'speak of other negotiations, but with respect to Tur key and Russia, - he, was not anxious that this country should exert her influence. He wished, • both. as a man and as a phi losopher, that the odious Government of Turkey should fall to the ground. Whether that destruction was achieved by the Russians or the Greeks, he cared not; but he felt an anxiety, he confessed, that the whole system of that odious and op pressive Government should be destroyed. There could be no reason for England's interference in such a cause, and he trusted that' she would never sully herself by any interference with these rival and jealous Governments. They had no claim to the compassion or the sympathy of the people of England.; and when their energies had. urged them to the commencement of a war, he trusted that they would be permitted to continue it, without the interference of England., Lord ELLENBOROUGH said, that however desirous he might be to consider the foreign policy of this' country, he, was at present disposed rather to confine himself to the question be fore the House, and, in the first place, he had to complain that Ilia pal:4=i moved for by the Noble Lord did not afford them an opportunity of entering fairly into that question. They did not state the contingent charges. The Noble Lord generally de- I fended the appointments, but said, that he never could consider diplomacy as a profession, nor could he discover how the species of information obtained in one part of the world, could prove serviceable to a man in any other portion of it. Ex penditure in "iiiplomatic situations was dispatch of business— it led to the dispatch of business ; it stood in the place of secret service money, and if they deprived Ambassadors of what gave to them the power of obtaining information, it would be much bet ter to appoint no Ambassadors at all. Information was only to be obtained by those who lived in Society, and by those who would entertain in a style of magnificence suited to the station which they filled in these countries. There was no complaint that a single individual of these countries was dissatisfied with the con ductof their Ambassadors, there was no reason for supposing that they neglected to ylromOte the best interests of the country ; and he gave great credit to those who by their negociations and their diplomatic skill retained so many foreign powers in a perfect amity with this country. The question was then put, and the motion negatived with out a 'division ; after which. the House adjourned at 9 o'clock. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MARCH 26. This day the SPEAKER came to the 4 - louse, and at four o'clock proceeded to count it when there being but twenty-one Members present, he acquainted the' House that it was adjourn ed until to-morrow. Quantity of Foreign Corn, &c. that remained in 'Warehouse in Great Britain on the sth Jan. 1822. Corn and Grain. I Meai and Flour. Barley - Beaus - - Indian Corn - - Oats - Pease - - Rye - - - - Wheat - - Wheat Meal and Flour Qrs. Bu. 35,955 3 24,897 3 226 100,196 10,063 7 9,001 670,609 7 Cwt. q. it 133,652 1 3 Total - 858,949 6 I 133,652 1 3 Inspector WILLIAM IRVING, . leneral of the Imports and Exports of Great Britain. Custom House,. try, 1822. Inspector General's Office; London, 18th Februa: MENDICITY SOCIETY. The Anniversary Dinner of the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity, was holden yesterday, at the Freernaso:s' Ta vern ; the Duke of Yonx in the Chair. After the health of the King and the Noble Chairman had been drank with the usual demonstations of enthusiasm, Mr. WiLmoT M.P. rose to propose th e h ea lth o f t h e ' Vice- Presidents of the Society. He regretted extremely that he had to apologise for the absence of the Right Hon. Robert Peel ; but when it was recollected that the pressure of severe of ficial duties interfered to prevent him from blending the convi vialities of the meeting with those duties, he was convinced his absence would be attributed to the true cause. He had, how ever, to announce from him a donation of 20 guineas, and from the Duke of Wellingtoh a donation of 50 guineas.—(Cheers.) Sir PULTENEY MALCOLM, after eulogizing the conduct of the Manageis, called their attention to the Naval Floating Hos pital, which would always be ready to receive any sick Seamen . who might be found in the streets. Mr. IL POWNALL returned thanks in an eloquent and im pressive speech, in which he noticed the case of a child of six years of age, who had been reclaimed from the paths of vice, and taught to walk in the pleasant flowery gardens of virtue.— He also noticed the case of a Frenchman, who had been 30 hours without food, and who having been robbed of trinkets and jewellery to a considerable amo u nt, w hi c h h e was a b out to vend in this country, had received from the Society not only sustenance and clothes, but also a passport to convey him to his own country. Mr. WILLIAMS, M.P., and Treasurer, rose to propose the health of the Secretary of State for the Home Department. It had been said by the enemies of the Society, that they had transgressed the bounds oflaw, and assumed a new and danger ous jurisdiction in the exercise of their , functions ; but he was convinced that a Secretary of State, so anxiously vigilant as the present, would never permit them to go beyond the pale of sound, wholesome, and constitutional jurisdiction. He there fore proposed the health of the Right Honourable Robert Peel.--7(cheers.) Lord . BELGItAvE then proposed the health of the City Ma. gistrates, who had been of so much service in aiding the opera tions of the Society. Mr. DYER returned thanks for the Magistrates. Sir T. BARING proposed the health of his Hon. Friend, the Treasurer, Mr. W. Williams, M.P. Mr. W. H. BODKIN, Secretary, then read the list of Dona tions. Among the number were Lord John Russell, 6th &na tion, 20 guineas. Sir H. Taylor, and Lord Ancram, 20 guineas ; Messrs. Baring, 10 guineas ; R. Mitchell, Esq. 2 guineas annually ; James Peachy, Esq., Salisbury-square, and Samuel Bosanquet, Esq., 1 guinea, annually. Immediately after this the Duke of York left the Chair, and the meeting se parated, with the delightful reflection that they had made " liberal pity dignify delight, and mirth be bounty with an humble name." LENT ASSIZES. HORSII.AM, MARCH 25. The Assizes for this county (Sussex) commenced here to day, before the Hon. Mr. Baron GRAHAM on the Crown side, and the nob. Mr. Baron WOOD on the Civil side. The busi ness is of an average amount, 30 cases in the calendar, and 15 causes entered on the Nisi Prins side. ' CROWN SIDE. Andrew Morse was indicted for burglariously breaking .and entering the dwelling-house of George Pipon, Esq. at Brighton, in the night of the 28th of November last, with intent to steal. It appeared in evidence that the prosecutor, ,an Officer in the 6th Dragoon Guards; rented a house in Jermyn-place, Brighton, in November last. On the night of the 28th of that month, after the family had retired to bed, the. house was distufbed by a strange noise of sonic, person moving up and down stairs. The prosecutor got up, struck a light, and saw a Man going down stairs.- He followed him 'to the drawing-room'floor, and the man h av ing e nt ere d the drawing room, he closed the door updn him, and went to the dining-room to some weapon of defence. When he entered the dining room, he found one of the windows open, the air-from which blew his candle out. However, he Seized a poker, returned to the drawing-room, 'opened- the door, and seized the man by the collar, and struck him . two blows, in the second of which the poker broke. When he was about to strike a third, the man said he would surrender, if,the prosecutor did not murder hiM. The in truder turned out to be the prisoner, who accounted for his mid night visit by saying that he was a distracted lover, and that he came only to visit one of the maid-servants. The prosecutor's female servants were confronted with the „prisoner, and they de nied all knowledge of him. The prisoner then said that he had mistaken the hoilse, and- that he had intended to visit a female in a neighbouring house, with whom he had been intimate. No property was missing, nor had the prisoner Made any prepara tion for carrying off any. The prisoner, in his defence, repeated the same story as when detected, but called no witnesses. He had come from the sister kingdom about two months before the transaction in question. Mr. Baron GRAHAM left it to the Jury to, say whether - the prisoner had the anim u s furendi when he entered the house. If he came with an intention to steal, the burglary was suflici en proved.—The Jury found the prisoner Guilty—Death. The prosecutor recommended the prisoner to mercy. CORON&R'S INQUEST.—CHI LI) MURD CR.—Yes terday an Inquisition was held before T. STIRLING, Esq., Co roner, at the Board-room of St. (liles's Workhouse, on the body of a female infant child, which was found within the railings of Lincoln's-inn-square on Saturday evening.-t-It appeared from . the evidence of Mr. John 13iron, of Gate-street, that on Satur day evening, about 9 o'clock, he, - passing by the west end side of the square, iaerceived something lying within the railings, which at first he conceived to be a cat, but on approaching to ascertain, what it was,' he found a' bundle : he immediately called the watchman, who picked up the bundle, and found it to be a child, which was then taken to the watch-house, and from thence subsequently to the workhouse. Mr. Burgess, surgeon, stated that the child, in his opinion, was born alive ; his opinion was strengthened by having put the lungs to the usual test ; the child was full grown, and died, in his opinion, from neglect ; the proper requisite attention apparently had not been paid the child, or it might have been saved. The Jury, after a few minutes consideration, returned a verdict of." ful Mutdcr" against some person or persons unknown. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. PARIS, MARCH 24.—1 t is said the King will go to St. Cloud in the beginning of May. The following is an authentic account of the number of English who have visited Paris during the last seven years, viz.: in 1815, 13,822; in 1816, 15,512; in 1817, 16,618; in 1818,19,838; in 1819, 18,720 ; in 1820, 19,840 ; in 1821, 20,184. The And de la Religion announces that the Queen of Thibet is, desirious of introducing the Catholic religion into her'dominions, and has ap plied for some Missionaries, in consequence of which five Capuchins left Leghorn last month for Thihet. FRENCH FUNDS. March 23, Five per Cents. Bank Stock 1595 f.._ c. VIENNA, MARCH 9.—Among the reports in circulation is one stating that the King of Eng land will come here thi3 summer, and be present , at the Congress of Sovereigns, which will be held at Florence. MAacu 11.—The arrival of the next courier from Constantinople is anxiously expected, as he is to bring the answer of the 4eis-Effendi to the Note of our Internuncio, delivered on the 23d of January. It is said that the Russian Se nator, Tatittschef, who came here on an extra ordinary mission, will wait at Sienna for this answer. AlAacti 12.—Our public funds have fallen. The partizans of Turkey attribute this circum stance to the death of Mr. Calman, one of our richest bankers, who it is asserted held 6,000 metallics. AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, MARCH 18.—Letters from Russia announce that important events are ou the eve of occurring, and confirm the movements made by the Russian armies. liAmßunGx, MARCH 17.—We learn from Pe tersburgh that the Prince of Wurtemberg is ar rived in the Russian capital, and will accompany the Emperor Alexander to the head-quarters of his Guards at Minsk. STOCKHOLM, MARCH S.—The official Gazette publishes a. letter from the Emperor of Morocco. to his Majesty our King, thanking him in the most friendly manner for the 20 brass cannon which he has sent hirn. TIAN() VER, MARCH 15.—We learn that an Ordi nance is expected shortly to appear, abolishing the use of Torture in the kingdom of Hanover. COPENHAGEN, MARCH 12.—His Majesty the King has had "a pretty good night. The St. An• thony's fire is diminishing, and his Majesty's health continues to improve. ST. PETERSBURGH, FEB. 27.—Our Embassy sent in 1820 to Bucharia, after crossing in 72 days the Kirgese Desart (Steppe)', where it suf fered many hardships, especially for want of water, reached Bucharia on the 20th of Decem ber, 1820. They found Bucharia to be a very' fruitful and well-cultivated country, with two and a half millions of inhabitants. The trade with Russia amounts to twenty millions. of rubles. -The Embassy set out on its return to Oren burg on the '22d of Alarch, 18a1, and arrival there safe in 65 days . . Hamburgh Exchange on London, 19th March, 36._4. 36.7• Exchange on London at St. Peters - burgh, on the Ist ofFMareh, 9 5-14 . 9 21-32: Congress ARGQS, JAN. 24.-The convoked within our city finished its deliberations at the end of. December, after having for Med and :in.; stalled the Supreme Government of Greece, to which all the local Junta are subordinate. It is composed of fifty members,' twenty 'of whom have been elected by the Junta of Peloponnesus, ten by that of Vraichore, ten by that of Salona, and the remaining ten by the islanders of the Archipelago. More than Twenty millions 0 ful Turkish piastres fell into the hands of the victors at the taking of Acro-Corinth': one eighth has been distri buted a mong t h e army,•and: the remainder de posited in the public treasury. ZANTE FE 19.—The military operations of the Greeks, which have slackened during the last four months, in consequence of the political deliberations relative •to the form of a Govern ment having engrossed the attention of the whole nation, will soon be actively resumed. Already have Contojeanne and Paliascas, who relieved Ulysses at the Pass of Vhermopylw, gained a fresh victory against twelve thousand Turks, who marched from Macedon and attempted to pass into Livadia. in another quar-er, Colocotrone, one r of the four Generals of Fc oponnesus, has advan ced at the head of 8,000 men on Acarnania, and/ formed a junction with the Etolian and Acarna nian Chiefs. Demetrius Ypsilante is marching on Thessaly with ten thousand men, taken from ale Peloponnesus, Attica, and Bceotia. The 'Turkish fleet, which left the Dardanelles on the 3d of February, sailed towards the Waters of Hydra. After having storped six hours before that island at a considerable. distance, without attempting any, operation, it continued its voyage, past before the Island of Spezia and the Gulf of Napoli de Romania without stopping, .and took the direction of Cape Tmnarus. This fleet is composed of 60 sail, six of which are line of battle ships, twenty are frigates, brigs, and sehooners, and thirty-four transports, having on board from 6 to 7000 troops. The Greek flees consisting of '95 sail appeared off the last men tioned island three' days after the passage of the Turkish fleet, and immediately set sail in pur suit of it, GRAIN. • An •ACCOUNT of all GRAIN, WHEAT, MEAL, ani FLOUR, WAREHOUSED under the Act 55 Geo. 3, .c. 26 and remaining in the said Warehouses on the sth January, 1822 ; distinguishing the several sorts of such Grain. / gi