The Sun. — London, England, 1822-05-08 00:00:00

'l'.llE' LONDON JOURNALS. Ty'f.7:3l.A.CT9 FROM THE DAILY MORNING PAPERS, May 8, 1829.. [MORNING POST] • The House of Commons having last night re solved itself into a Committee, the Marquis of Lon donderry went into a luminous and detailed expo , sitiOn, both of the principle upon which the contem plated alteration in the Corn . Law was projected, and also of the views by which his scale of duties was regulated. The object of the alteration ap pv4rs to us highly salutary. It is not intended by any means .to change essentially the existing Act for the protection of Agriculture ; but merely to modify its operative poW6r in such a manner, a.,5,--first, to avoid the sudden and great rise in the. price of Corn, which, may take place under tts present provisions ; . and secondly, to prevent the enormous glut, which may be at once, and for a long period, throWn into the market when ever the averages amount to SOs. a quarter. It is therefore clear, as his Lordship stated ;that the new scale of duties is not proposed as a means of reliev ing existing distress, but of guardingagainSt future . evil. The evil, too, is one-which we belieim all ran easily foresee, and are equally agreed upon the necessity of providing for. The latter, how ever, is the great difficulty, as no less, than five sets of Resolutions have been submitted - to Par liarikent on that single' subject. These various Revolutions the Marquis of Londonderry inves tigated with great nicety of judgment. His LOrdship commenced with Sir T. Lethbridge's, which were the highest in amount, being 355. per quarter duty above 80s. as an import price ; the cost of freight and interest of capital being estimated at'los. additional. To this plan, and al=o to that of Mr. Bennet, though lower in amount, one objection applied, namely, that Whenever corn rose to such a price as they con templated,' the cries of the public for foreign relief would induce Parliament to repeal them ill foto in a single day. To Mr. Ricardo's it was objected than they maintained the same sum of duty both at the lowest and the highest price at which corn might be imported. The Noble .ord then went into a comparison of his own and Mr. Huskisson's. The latter he principally dis . s.enied from because this appeared an improper time to dispense ,with a certain import standard price, and merely imposed a fluctuating duty on foreign grain at whatever rate. With respect to his Lordship's own Resolutions, or rather those recommended by the Committee, he very skil fully reasoned that they embraced ally the bene ,ticial parts of the others, while divested of , What appeared in then) exceptionable. [MORNING CHRONICLE.] BASK OF ENGLAND.—Mr. Grenfell yesterday moved for the periods at %Ilia the Charter to the Bank of England has been renewed, upon which Mr. Maberly stated that the. Bank, by their present Charter, had no power to contract either for this new Loan or any other, and asked whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer bad any intention of introducing a clause in the new Charter, now under consideration, to allow the Bank to contract ? lie hoped and trusted there •was no such intention. On which Mr. Lushing ton replied, that he could assure the Muse there war no such intention. We , therefore do not see any other means of obtaining the Loan but through The Sinking Fund, for no party or parties what ever will lend money under such circumstances at 3/. 18s. per cent., which is the rate of interest at which the Commissioners are now daily-laying out the public money ; the Minister cannot, of course, give more to any contractors, without being guilty of the most extravagant waste. [MORNING II ERA I4D.] At the Meeting yesterday at the London Tavern, for the relief of the starving poor in the South of Ireland, there was much more business than speaking—a circumstance rather auspicious for the purpose of the Meeting. It was presided by Mr. Wilson, the City Member. Resolutions ,for entering into a subscription for the purpose of affording immediate relief were proposed by Messrs. Smith and Reid, and agreed to with but little observation. - A Conducting ComMittee was next appointed ; and lastly a contribution was made •Of several thousand pounds on . the spot. The Irish Members - of Parliament and others lirtsent expressed a disposition to leave the sUbscription in the hands of the English Gentlemen—who have come forward with a benevolent promptitude that does . them he xiatir, and consented to being .MemberS of the Committee chiefly as poisessing local knowledge yhich might. be of use. The Archbishop of Can terbury was present, and the Archbishop of York was absent only in consequence of an in= dispensable engagement. It will be observed tha. the Government has nothing whateVer to do with this subscription—with the exception of C<intributions of WO/. each by Lord Liverpool, Mr. Peel, and Mr. Vansittart, in their private . capacity. [ARITI§II. iItESS.] Very few persons . regiet the failure in the House of Commons of the'plan suggested by the 'Agricultural Committee, of advancing money to. farmerS upon pledges of corm Lord London derry, who moved "the Resolution that embraced' this project;avowed that he felt very little inte : mst in its success, and threw all its merits or demerqs, whatever they might lie, upon the head of Mr. Irving, the- Member -for Bramber, with, whom it seems the- plan had originated. The Mea sure having been withdrawn, it would promote no present advantage to pass any comments upon it, but the result of this attempt to regulate or infittance the markets of the country by the active interference of the Government, will deter other persons from proposing similar schemes, and may thus - offeruseful negative instruction to the MeM bers of the Legislative Bodies. It was well ob served by Sir J. Sebright, that the best thing to he said for the project 'was that the farmers were understood to approve of it, as offer ing them a certain and immediate assistance; but he added, from his own experience of the wisheS of the agricultural body, that a reeling to this effect was not entertained gene rally. The views of the farmers upon the present posture of the affairs, and the only means of sub stantial relief, may be very easily collected from the numberless petitions which have been pre sented from that body of men to both Houses of Parliament during the present Session., and with this strong mass of testimony before us, it is worse than affectation to attribute other wishes to them than that of having the weight of taxa tion diminished. The farmers are too wise and too considerate to seek for the means of perma nent relief by any unhealthy measure, the pre sent object of which would be to shift the bur den of distress from their own shoulders to those of other classes in the community, and which, in truth, could upon such terms merely amuse them with a, deceitful shew of assistance. NEW TIMES.] • Mr. Denman was Osterday sworn into the office of Common Serjeant, by the Court of Al dermen. It appears, however, that this measure did not take place without some objection, which perhaps may lead to some ulterior proceedings at law. petition, we learn, was presented to the Court of Aldermen, to swear in Mr. Bolland, as the legally elected Common Serjeant. We have not seen the petition ; but report states it to be grounded on a subsisting bye-law of the Court of Aldermen, declaring no per son to be eligible to the office of Common Serjeant who had not been for two years pre viously a common pleader of the city. It will be remembered that the Court of Common Coun cil suspended their own bye-laws to give Mr. Denman an opportunity of becoming a candidate ; but this, of course, could not affect the bye-laws of the Court of Aldermen. [THE TIM ES.] The proposed Meeting took place yesterday, at the City of London Tavern, for the relief of the distresses hi Ireland : and a considerable sum was subscribed. There is no doubt also that much will be added. What, therefore, we above all things hope and recommend is, that the ut most care may be used in the application of these charitable funds. It is remarkable that nearly all the great Irish' land-owners were absent yester day. No Irish Bishops attended. The Archbishop of Dublin, who isan Irishman by birth,was known to be in town. A great proportion also of the Irish Members must be hi Lonilon, as there was a Call of the House so late as on the 26th ult., which was discharged by Sir John Newport on his finding that so many Members had arrived as to make it unnecessary. There were also two Committees at the House of Commons, one on the- Holyhead Itoad Bill, which is strongly sus pected to be a job. We mention these facts without hastily imputing blame to any one., There -are many circumstances, we confess, in the past treatment and present condi tion of Ireland, that may excite in true hearted, Irishmen that indifference which is akin to despair, when any measure tending -to relieve the sufferings of their - country is, proposed in Engfand. Yet it should be, recollected, that the good Book says, " But above all things have charity." The meeting was deficient in informa tion respecting the state of the country, and the best practicable mode of applying relief. There was not even a letter read from any absent Irish man of intelligence and consideration on these subjects. We hope these defects will be reme died ; and that not only the subscription will be aided, by Irish bounty, but that the most trust worthy persons will be employed in giving it "effect. FOR THE SUN. THE CATHOLIC LORD DIGBYIN FAVOUR OF-A TEST, Ma. EDITOR—As an attempt is now making to enable Roman Catholic Peers to sit in Parlia ment, your Readers will probably not be dis pleased with the following speed► of the cele brated Lord. DIGBY. It is quoted in Wanuux- TON'S " Alliance," B. iii. C. i. When at the Restoration the Bill for making a Test was first brought into the House of Lords, Lord DiGgy, then Earl of Bristol, though at that time a Pa pist, spoke to the following effect :- 44 The Bill," he observed, " was brought up from the House of Commons, the Representatives of the People, and consequently the best Judges of the temper of the. Nation :—a Bill as full of modera tion towards Catholics as of prudence and se curity towards the Religion of the State, all the particulars of it betng reduced to this one intent, NATURAL TO . ALL SOCIETIES OF MEN, of HINDER ING A LESSER OPPOSITE PARTY FROM GROWING TOO 'STRONG FOR THE GREATER AND MORE CON SIDERABLE ONE. And in this just way of preven tion, is not the moderation .of the House' of Com mons to 1)e admired; that they have restrained it to this sole. point of bEBAIIRING THEIR ADVERSARIES FROM OFFICES AN!) PLACES ? However the sin titnent of .a CatholiC of the Church •(;;•f Rome may .oblige me, upon scruple at conscience, in some particulars of.this Bill, to give my negative to it, when it comes to passing, yet, As A MEM BER OF A PROTESTANT PARLIAMENT,' my advice prildentially 'CANNOT BUT :GO ALONG with the • main scope of it." " • COURT of ALDERMEN.---Yesterday the Lour) MAYOR held a Court of Aldermen, at Guildhall, for the transaction of general business, which was well attended.—=Thomas Denman, Esq. lat f ly . ' elected by the Court of Common Council as Common Sergeant, attended, and took the usual oaths.—Mr. • Brown attended, and .resigned his office of Keeper of Nerd ;ate, when the Court were pleaSed to come to a unanimous resolution to present him with a-piece of plate, in testiknony of the high sense entertained of his uniform good conduct during the time he filled that situation, — The Couit then proceeded to elect a .Keeper of Nekvgate, in the room of Mr.- Brown,. resigned, when Mr. John Wontner, Citizen and , Clock- Maker, was unanimously elected, and took th,e usual oaths. The price of Beer at two of the In.as at Rams gate has been reduced to four-pence per pot, DISTRESS,JKIRELAND. MEETING AT THE CITY OF LONDON TAVERN. A Meeting having been called to take into consideration the distressed state of certain Pro vinces in Ireland, a numerous party of Gentle men assembled yesterday at the City . of London Tavern, at the hour named in the Advertisement calling the Meeting.--At one o'clock" Mr. WIL SON, M. P., entered the late room, accompanied by'a number of Gentlemen of distinction. Mr. WILSON having been called to the Chair, opened the businesOf the day in a brief but appropriate speech. To save t110:-•time of the Meeting, and to spare their feelings, he woultl'hot enlarge on the nature of that distress which it was their object to relieve. It was enough to know that they were brought together to consult on the means of relieving one .of our own Provinces which was suffering under the miseries of famine. • It was not therefore now necessary for them to Wok back to the cause of that distress, though if they were to do so, the probability was, that the best conclusion they could come to was, that it was to be ascribed to the visitation of Providence. ' That which had now fallen on an other country might one day fall upon ourselves, and he was therefore of opinion that we could not better employ ourselves than in attempting to relieve the sufferers who called for our assistance. He had felt in the first instance that there was some difficulty in taking up this subject as it was now proposed to do, as Government had pledged themselves to give it their most serious consideration with a view of supplying an effi cient remedy as far as this should be found practicable. All feelings of this sort had however been set at rest by his find ing that the Gentlemen connected with the present under taking had been in communication with the Government, ' who far from 'feeling that it would be to cast any slur upon them to openh subscription, were decidedly in favour of the measure. They felt that such a . body of men . as he then ad dressed could enter - more into the details of such a question than the Government itself, the Government being necessarily obliged to act'more on a general survey of the whole question than the Committee of h body like that. They could more conveniently apply theMselves to a part of the question which most immediately" demanded attention than the Minis-' ters could, and afford relief more promptly than it could be supplied by the measures of Government. He took it for granted that the facts stated with respect • to the distress were believed to be correct. If this were not so, those were then present who could remove every doubt on the subject.. As to the subscription, he begged to say that it was thought desi= rable to distance every idea of competition. It would, be well that those who were able to do so should give large sums, be cause their means were large, and thus others should . give small sums, because they could spare something, though their means were not very ample. It was not proposed to begin this subscription with such very large sums as had been in some instances subscribed in the course of the war ; but the object in view was to encourage :all who were disposed to co-operate in the cause, to-give what they could. He would not •detain the meeting longer, but would now wait for any resolutions that might be offered, or speeches that Gentlemen might feel dis posed to address to the Chair. Mr. ROWCROFT rose to correct the Chairman in one small particular. He begged to state, that those with whom this meeting originated had not had the smallest communication with Government. They knew not whether Ministers would consider a meeting like the present useful or injurious, and made no appeal to them on the subject. Last night, however, they had received a very satisfactory communication from the Government. That communication was very simple and very much to the purpose. It announced a subscription of ,2001. from Mr. Peel, 2001. from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and 2001. from Lord Liverpool. This was the only com munication which had passed between the Government and those who had called the present meeting . ; it had only come . to hand last night, with a request that it should be made known to the Chairman of the day, and was the spontaneous announce= went of the individuals trom whom it had been received. The CHAIRMAN apologised for the error into which he had fallen. He saw letters before him, from which it was clear that Ministers approved of the object of the meeting, and this had led him to make the erroneous statement which he had of fered. He was obliged to the worthy Gentleman for correct ing him. Mr. REID thought it would be wasting time to do more than . to move a resolution. He accordingly moved " That a gene ral subscription should be then begun for the purpose of re lieving the extreme distress which at present prevailed in seve ral provinces in Ireland." Mr. CROOK thought nothing could more largely interest this country than the existing distress in Ireland. He was one of those to whom the idea - of calling a public meeting like this had first occurred, and perhaps it might not be too much that he should occupy their time on the present occasion by making them acquainted with what had come to his knowledge on the subject of the misery now experienced in Ireland. He then read the following letter , dated rullogh, county Clare, April 30, 1822, received May 7 : " But the most distressed part of our situation remains un told. Our peasantry are not merely distressed, but starving.. ' Your friend E. and myself rode yesterday a circle of about 18 miles, and the scenes we witnessed were truly terrific. in some parts the bark of the glm and birch trees have been al ready stripped off: In the neighbourhood of Charles's little box, the young wheats have been repeatedly sheared and eaten as you would spinage, and even the primrose leaves have • been carefully collected. Notwithstanding the many reports, I do not, from personal experience, think that our—= are half as bad as represented. There is, indeed, much despon dence, and a good deal of petty stealing, but it is the belly, not the head, or heart, which is the instigator. 'We are beginning to be greatly alarmed at the frequent appearance of pyrexne ; many cases are decidedly of a typhoid character. We yesterday witnessed one in a young woman of 22, .in which the petechial ' symptoms of the worst kind of typhus, were but too evident. I fear it was too late, but we immediately sent wine, muriatie acid, &c. From the almost total want of every species of nu= tritive food, nervous fevers of a very malignant type must be expected, and unless assistance can be immediately given, this beautiful country must be depopulated by pestilence and fa,. mine.—For God's sake do what you can in England to assist us. I hope the worst will be over in about three months, but it is a very low estimate to say, that in this and the neighbouring counties 200,000 are without any means of existence at all, and that there are above double that number who cannot obtain food above once in the twenty-four hours, and that too of a very miserable kind." —That district, he remarked, which most peculiarly felt the present distress, was the central part of the county of Clare, which had been one of the richest portions of grazing land in Ireland. At the end of the war the demand for its produce had fallen off, and in consequence it had no longer been used as- grazing land, and this had caused much of the distress which was now the subject of complaint. The Resolution was then put, and carried unanimously. 11r. J. SMITH thought there could be no doubt as to the si tuation of the Poor in Ireland. He was convinced that the statements which they had heard were not exaggerated. In the HouSe of' Commons an eloquent picture of the state of the suf ferers had been supplied, which was conveyed in terms most afflicting to every one who heard it, and if a single doubt remained, there were Gentlemen. in the room who could bring forward proofs that would remove it. Such was the, distress which prevailed, that their brothers in Ireland were literally perishing from famine.. It was sufficient to state this fact to induce all who heard him to come forward to contribute to the relief of the sufferers. Ile moved that a Committee be now appointed to attend, to: the subscription and' superintend its application. ~, Shortly after the busWtess of the day was opened the Arch bishop of CANTERBUR‘i entered the,room, and took his seat on the right of the CHAIRMAN. The Marquis of CONYNG- Ham followed, and was accommodated to the left of the Chair. The Resolution for appointing a, Committee having beep carried, , The CHAIRMAN expressed the satisfaction he felt at seeing the meeting honoured with the presence of -the Archbishop of Canterbury, and begged to ask if ne would allow his name to be placed on the Committee? The Archbishop of CANTERBITRY said he had no objection to his name being placed on the Committee, but he feared that he should be found a very .useless Committee-man, either in the way of solicitation or in that of attendance ; but If it were thoifFht that his name on the list would be at all -useful, he begged that it might be placed there. • The CltAltt3inN their theexp;es,sed a hope that the Noble Mar . , quis near him -woutd consent to have his name placed on the list of the Committee. The Marquis of CONYSGDAm signified his assent. The Archbishop of ClAx•rt.ltn,WtY and the Marquis of Co riyartaLtst were then voted on Oe Committee. Mr. MmtTEN had no doubt the Lord Mayor would wil lingly become a Member of the CoMmittee, and considering , where they were met, he thought it due to• the dignity of th city that lie should be natned. He could mention his Lord ship, Mr. Alderman Brown, Mr. Alderman Garrett, and Mr. Venables, who, with other Members of the Corporation, would ' be willing to come forward in such a cause. He stated this from himself, as those concerned in calling the present meeting bad no more communication with the Government of the City on the subject' than with the Government of the Land. He (Sir. Marten) had the honour to assist on an occasion of this kind in 1797, when this country was threatened with evils si ' milar to those which at present afflicted Ireland. - The greateit benefits had resulted from the exertions then made to repress the evil. Much good had been done by the subscription' opened for the relief of the suffering Germans towards the close' of the Itite war. He had since travelled through the country, and been treated with much respect on account of his connec_. tion with that subscription. He had it from the Magistracy of Leipsic, that through their exertions thousands and tens of thousands had been saved from starving. The people of Ire land were nearer to us than those of Germany, and though' Christians thought nothing of kin where human life was at stake, the connection of Ireland with this Country ought to supply an additional motive for exertion on the present occasion. The names proposed by Mr. Marten were added to this Com mittee. Mr. RowcrtorT accounted for the absence of Mr. Bain bridge, who was kept away by hig being obliged, as one of the principal inhabitants of the parish, to be present at the Conse cration of Pancras New Church. He had to announce a sub scription from him at present, limited to one hundred guineas. A Lady who desired that her name might be concealed had chartered a vessel which, laden with 40 tons of meal and 10 of herrings, she proposed to dispatch forthwith to the nearest Irish port. He had besides received communications of a very gra tifying description from other parts, and expected more to ar rive as soon as the post could bring them. Mr. OwEN (of New Lanark) was requested by the Bishop of Norwich to state, that his great age, and other circumstances, prevented him from being present at the Meeting ; but he de sired to assure them that his heart was with them. ROWCROFT read a letter from Dublin, describing the distress which prevailed in Ireland to arise not so much from a scarcity of grain, as from the want of money to purchase it, and the failure of the crops of potatoes in various parts of the country. The situation of Ireland was described to be most dreadful, and such as to threaten the most awful consequences, if relief were not promptly afforded, which could only be sup plied by the exertion of meetings like the present. Mr. BALDWIN said, that having lately come from Ireland, where he had the honour of being a Magistrate for two of the southern counties now labouring under the extremity of dis tress, and where he had some share in restoring tranquillity in some of the disturbed districts, having not only accompanied and assisted the military in putting down two of the most in surrectionary movements there, while for every drop of blood that his duty compelled him to see shed his heart bled in pro portion, but advised, reasoned with, and soothed, as much as he could, the wretched peasantry of that country; and having much knowledge of their circumstances, wants, and sentiments, he begged leave with great diffidence , to make a few observa tions. The state of the Irish peasantry would, he was sure, if witnessed by the people of England, be considered by them loudly to call for the alleviating hand of those who with hearts to feel had hands to give. But to their present state, any for mer was comparative affluence and luxury. Indeed, their mi sery was such, that no descnption could do justice to it ; and it was unnecessary by recitals of such affliction and suffering as he knew but too, too many instances of, to harrow up the feel ings of a meeting, where he was llelighted to see one accordant sentiment of sympathy and benevolence pervading. He was sure that the proceeding which this day was commencing would do more to conciliate the population of Ireland, and to create, not a nominal or legislative, but a real and cordial union, an union of hearts and affections and interests. It would be more, if well managed, than armies, victories, and laws. When the Irish peasantry would see the English generously stretch ing forth the hand of succour to them, at their utmost need, and rescuing them from the lowest depth of calamity; that warmth of feeling which was their characteristic would burst forward in irresistible gratitude to their benefactors, and they would then hail those benefactors as their real fellow subjects, their real brothers, and their real friends. He would now beg leave to add one remark, with respect to the best mode of ap plying the funds. He knew there was an abundance of all the means of relief except money, for the Irish Peasantry in Ireland. It was from a want of the ability to purchase the necessaries, even the most absolute necessaries of life, that the Irish Peasantry were suffering so grievously. They could not procure employment, and therefore, however cheap pro visions were, they could not purchase them. They were not an idle or a lazy race. They wished for employment ; they sought for it ; they begged for it ; but they could 'not find it. He would therefore suggest that it would be a doubling of the relief to remit the money subscribed to Ireland, and to pur chase the provisions and other articles there. [Here Mr. ROWCROFT interrupted the Speaker, and said those were considerations for the Committee ; and the Chair man acquiesced in Mr. Rowcroft's observations.] Mr. BALDWIN begged pardon, if he had in any thing deviated from the line he should have pursued ; but he only mentioned the remittance of the money to Ireland, instead of sending pro visions or other articles, where there was an abundance of them already, and where they could be purchased in general much more cheaply than here, as a very great increase of the assist ance, which English bounty and fellow feeling was rendering to Ireland. He would also, if he were allowed, beg to suggest that the money be remitted to the Marquis Wellesley, a Go vernor in whom the people of Ireland highly confided and re joiced, and who was most highly worthy of all their confidence, and that it should be drawn from him by Committees of the Magistrates and the Clergymen of all persuasiens of the baro nies or half baronies where the distress existed, who must be so much better acquainted than any London Committee could be with the local necessities and individual wants of their dis tricts. [Here the Speaker was again interrupted by Mr. Row croft, who repeated that these were considerations for the Com mittee.] Mr. BALDWIN said, said, that he offered those suggestions only that the Meeting and the people of England may be sa tisfied that their noble feelings and beneficence might be duly directed. Mr. WILLS rose to suggest an improvement of the present Irish system. The CHAIRMAN thought, if the Meeting were to receive communications of the sort now tendered, they could only have the effect of bewildering the Committee. He should be happy to hear the sentiments of a Right Hon. Gentleman near him, whose name he proposed to add to the Committee, who was intimately acquainted with the state of Ireland (Mr. C. Grant) and any communications that he might make would not fail to be viewed as of the highest importance. Mr. MAxoar proposed to add the name of the Duke of Devonshire to the Committee. He thought the best course that could be taken would be to leave the Committee free to act according to their own discretion. If they did this, where money was wanted, it would be supplied by the hand of bene volence, and where provisions were required, they would be afforded with the same feeling. In the name of his country, he begged to return thanks to the Assembly which he _then addressed for the exertions which they were making in • her cause. He rejoiced to see those step forward to succour Ireland, who had before united to mitigate the sufferings of the naked Russians and those of ravaged Germany, and plundered Por tugal. He rejoiced to see the. Archbishop of Canterbury en gaged in such a cause, not bearing aloft the banner of pro scription, but stretching out the hand of benevolence to assist the unhappy sufferers of Ireland. It was impossible not to anticipate the happiest results from such exertions, and he trusted the people of England and Ireland would henceforth be united, with common rights and common interests, the glory of the world, and the admiration of each other. Mr. J. SMIT II proposed that the name of Mr. Spring Rice should be added to the Committee. Mr. C. GRANT, was glad that he had deferred acknow ledging the high honour which he had received in having his name added to the Committee, till that moment, as it afforded him an opportunity of seconding, at the same time, the nomina tion of an Honourable Gentleman near him—Mr. S. Rice. Among the names which already appeared on the list, highly as he respected them, he did not know the name of one indivi dual who was more capable of serving Ireland, or more anxious to do so. He thought the best course that could be taken Would be to leave the Committee at liberty to act as circum stances might require, and to take their own course of action. He was glad to hear the sentiments of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Mahon) on the subject of those feelings which the present Meeting must.inspire. The sentiments which had fallen from him were a model of those which would animate his country men. In- the wildest and most uncultivated parts of Ireland the proceedings of that day would be known ; and it would be felt, that .although England was separated from Ireland by various circumstances, yet in the hour of calamity her suffer ings were not forgotten, nor suffered to pass unheeded. It was unnecessary for him • to dwell on the present distress: on he subject of its extent no doubt existed. For some months it had been seen approaching. In August last, the weather had proved unfortunately wet; and in December it had been com mon to see whole fields under water, and the peasants in boats labouring to pick up their potatoes, as if they were dredging for shell-fish. At present he was told the distress had compel led the sufferers to live on their seed-potatoes. Before the new crops came in, there was commonly a severe pressure for five or six weeks. This, in the present instance, had been anticipa ted by a month or six weeks. The fever had already appeared, and if the present pressure were not removed, he.thought there could be no doubt that it would increase to a considerable ex tent. It was lamentable to reflect that in a few years, from 1809, not fewer than 60,000 persons had fallen victims to the fever. Having said so much, he would leave the rest to the feelings of the meeting, and the generosity of the country. A GENTLEMAN, whose name could not be learnt, had thought the best mode of affording relief would be to .send somebody over to Ireland to ascertain the wants of the sufferers, and to administer to them on the spot. He had been on the point of sending over a person on his own responsibility before this Meeting was called, He now begged to announce that an in dividual well known, from his connections with various bene volent institutions, was ready to go to Ireland at a moment's notice if theConunitteeshould wish to s e nd some one to distri bute the Subscribers' bounty. A list of subscriptions was then read over. Among the names were the following : The Earl of Blesinton, 1001. ; Mr. J. Smith, 1001.; Mr. Reid and Co., 1001. • Mr. Bainbridge, 1001. ; Mr. S. Ri ce , 501. ; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 2001. ; Mr. Peel, 2001. • the Earl of Liverpool, 2001. ; M r . T. Wil son (the Chairman); I'ool. ; the Archbishop of Canterbury, 1001. ; the Archbishop of York, 1001. • and the Marquis of Conyngham, 1001. The Ancnitisllop of CANTERBURY said, the Archbishop of York would have been present had it not been necessary for him to take the Chair, which he (the Archbishop o f C anter b ur y ) had left to attend the Meeting. The t arl of BLESINTON announced a dortation of 3001. from the Marquis of Hertford. Mr. GwYx had a list of subscriptions to submit to the Meet ing, had the Chairman thought it proper that it should be brought forward. He, however, had said that such commu nications were not intended to be laid before the Meeting. He could now only state that Lord Milton had sent 1001. ; Messrs. Snowpall and Co., 501. ; but he had sent for the papers which he hoped would be useful to the Meeting. Mr. Rrct had received two notes of 1001. each from some individual who concealed his name. These he had forwarded to Ireland, :o be applied according to the wish of the munifi cent but concealed donor. He had also received 501. through the hands of Mr. Sykes. He agreed with those who calculated on this generosity producing the happiest effects on the people of Ireland. It would prove to them that momentary irritation, that crime itself, could almost be over-looked in the hour of se vere distress. Having been named as a Member of the Com mittee, he would give every assistance in his power, but he could have wished that, as the first impulse in this business was English, the whole should have been carried on by English hands. Sir E. O'BRIEN described the present distress in Ireland' from letters which he had received. He stated a benevolent person to have called on him yesterday, who was' 'disposed to give a cargo of meal and rice for the relief of the sufferers; and who had applied to him to learn where it could be most ad vantageously sent. He was unwilling from any selfish motive to name the county with which he was connected, bOt the Gentleman had previously thought of sending it there, and there he was disposed to send it to relieve the severe distress of that county. Several Gentlemen then spoke of the importance of imme diately subscribing. The Chairman considered the business of the day to be over, so far as regarded reciprocal communi cation with each other, and future communications would be best addressed to the several Bankers who receive subscrir . tions.—Mr. O'Grady named Mr. R. Martin, Mr. Daly, and Mr. Prendergast, as Gentlemen who would be happy to co-ope rate with the Committee. Mr. Wilson then took his leave, being obliged to retire on account of partictilar business -calling him away. Mr. Ellis was then called to the Chair ; and Mr. Owen was about to speak, when the Chairman announced the business of the day to have reached its termination. The com pany then separated, but not till very considerable sums had been subscribed by those who had attended the Meeting, and a noble basis formed for the benevolent structure about to be' raised by English generosity, to establish a lasting claim tc" Irish gratitude. ST. PANCRAS NEW CHURCH. Yesterday the impressive ceremony of the Con' secration of the Parish Church of St. Pancras: was performed :by the Bishop of London. nis Lordship was received at the door of the Church by the Apparitor, Registrar, Chancellor, the Vicar, Churchwardens, and twelve Trustees who attended him to the Robing-room. When robed/ his Lordship proceeded to the front of the'Altar , where the Petition was presented by the Vicar, and read by the Registrar, after which his Lord ship, and the procession, in the following order, walked down and up the Middle Aisle, alter nately repeating the 24th Ps a l m , th e Cl er gy and others making the responses : Verger, Clergy, two and two ; T we l ve T r u s t ee s, two 114 two; Churchwardens, Apparitor, Bish o p, Six C. Robixiso u (Chancellor), Vicar Bishop's Chaplains, Mr. Shepperd ( 11 ,". gistrar), Messrs. Vims and Scadding (Solicitors), Messrs. 01- wood's (Architects), Mr. Seabrook (Builder.) On his Lordship's return, he. was conducted to the Cote' munion Table, where chairs with h a ssock s , an d p en a nd ink , were provided. The prayers in the form were then repeated b; the Bishop, after which the sentence of Consecratio n was rc3u by the Chancellor, and signed by the Bishop. The 'Ministe r then began the Service, the Bishop and his two Chaplains re maining at the Communion Table. The. Psalms and Lessons were as follow :—:-Psalms g 4, d to and 132. First Lesson-Ist Kings, Bth Charer, from', C a p_ 62d Verse inclusive. 'Second' Lesson—Hebrews, em of ter, from 19th to 26th Verse, inclusive. Kent's flia riestys Hear my Prayer, by the Young Gentlemen from his NA , vice , Chapel Royal, St. James's. Before the C ommu nion Ser _ n a an Anthem was sung by Messrs. Knyvett, Vaughan; on. Hawes. • The Communion Service was read by the irs: i ft r a The Epistle and Gospel by his Lordship's Chaplains. the Sermon the Bishop read the prayer for the Church Ati" tant, and dismissed the Congregation with his blessing. NAVAL AND MILITARY BIBLE SOCIETY. --T he Annual Meeting of this imp or t an t 'Society wa g held yesterday, in the King's Concert Row/ which was completely filled by , a most respectable company.—At twelve o'Clock Lord. GAUDIO took the Chair , and was supported by many P ar_ sons of rank , Naval and Military Officers, 8 " .0 who severally addressed the Meeti ng in nO s h able speeches on behalf of the Soci e ty, wil ic r i has greatly meliorated the condition of sold' e i t and sailors. The Report, however,, stated, h the Society was in debt to the amount of 14 4 -''' A liberal collection was made at the door. COURSE OF EXCHANGE, May. 6. , 'f' rn s , Astet dam ,• • • ... 12 . 5 td• ' • Ditto, at Sight - • ' " . 12 2 Rotterdam l2 6 •. . Antwerp 'l2 1 0 . • Hamburgb 0 i, Altona 37 3 2 U 5. Paris, 3 Day's Sight 25 20 , rs . • Ditto • ' Ilourdeaux, ditto 50 50 CI lul e s . 1 Ex. Mo n • Ft ank forton the Main Madrid ' .. 3 , , u t. , , :ct Cadiz .. ' - I , ' tic 1 ! 6 36? ' tiv 4 F,lle‘ Bilboa • 361 Barcelona Seville - • Gibraltar , . Leghorn...., Go i a 'Wl—Venice, Ital. Liv 27 60 • , Malta ' 45 —Naples 4O r OP Palermo - Lisbon Oporto - - 5 l 5l Rio Janeiro Dublin .... 9-. i Cork 9i pet Cent. BULLION. , s H it OP: . . Portugal Gold, in Coin h.o a° •,u, r- Foreign Gold, in Bars • • s 17 I V ) New Doubloons • ' ... 6 .• •• -3 l & ° New' Dollars " • 0 4 93 Silver in Bars, Standards ...:.—.----. 0 22 . BIRTH. 3f -r'' On the 23d of April, at James Drummond, Es ( l.,;', t ;rnilY. Great George-street, Westminster, the Right Hon. Lau, Drummond, of a son. MARRIED. to lOn Sunday, the 28th ult , Mr. T. Dixon , of AY!es bur ilf. Mrs. Hobcraft, of the same place, being the'third tulle of _ife f i rs t w. Dixon's entering into the bonds of matrimony ; d s aol, died about 14 months ago, when We shortly after marne ribir,il the second also died ; and he now is a husband time within the space of a year and a quarter ! _________...----"" for the DIED. On Sunday last, at Bolton, in Lancashire, Mrs. Sladc,, of oY e the s Rev. 6t P R r e e gi be m n e d n a t r . y Slade, and daughter of the Lord Os" of Chester. On the 29th ult. at his lodgings in Park-place, Camde n rrc llfs: after a short illness, Captain is. onnan Douglas, late of his Printed and Published for the PROPRI ETO RS, at tile - Office, No. 112, Strand, by J. B. CARSTAIRS. ~, d_ , , ~, . Th e e ct ;Add Ito