The Sun. — London, England, 1822-12-13 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. PARIS, DEC. 10.—The Journal de Toulouse of the 4th of December gives the following par ticulars of the defeat of the Baron d'Eroles by Mina's troops : " Preticerda,• Nov. 30.—1 formerly acquainted you with the measures which Baron d'Eroles had taken for defending, the entrance to the Cerdagne by Mootailla and Martinet : he proceeded in person to i\loussa. Mina, being informed of Baron d'Eroles' movements, and of the situations which he occupied, took his measures accord ;- and on the 27th directed a division upon iMontailla by Quefourada and Bouscail, and another on Belver by Aristot above Taltendre : these divisions together consisted of about 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry. The Constitutional troops came in sight of the insurgents about twelve o'clock on the morning of the 28th. The firing commenced soon after, and the engagement be , came general along the whole line : the rebels being unable to resist the number of the Consti -ttstional troops, and fearing that their retreat - would be be cut off, fled and dispersed themselves. Many were killed or taken prisoners, the rest effected their escape. Baron d'Eroles himself, was very near falling into the hands of his enemy is the neighbourhood of Martinet, but he suc ceeded in eluding the pursuit of the victors, and proceeded with about 80 men towards the moun tains of Andorre. On the 28th Mina passed the -Isight at Belver, or in the environs, and on the morning of the 29th, before daylight, he marched on Puycerda, where he arrived aboutnine o'clock. The insurgents who were in the town abandoned it on his approach, and ranged themselves in order of battle near the tower of Denzalabert, which is • about the distance of a musket shot from the Embech, a village within the French territory. Mina attacked the rebels in this position, and after an engagement of half an hour, the troops of the Faith fled, part towards Our, another French village near Embech, and part towards Llivia, and from thence to Estavar, where they were compelled to lay down their arms." We (the Journal de Paris) have received a letter from Perpignan, dated Dec. 2, which states as follows :—" In consequence of the re peated defeats which the Army of the Faith has experienced, the emigration into France is im mense. The number of Spaniards who have en tered the French territories since the capture of Castelfolit, amounts without exaggeration to up wards of 5,000, of which one-third consists of priests and monks. We are informed that the road from the frontiers to the Junguera is filled with retreating insurgents. We expect every ;moment to`hear of the capture of the fortress of Urgel. The members of the Regency are ex pected to arrive at Prades to-day, from whence, it is stated, they will proceed to Toulouse. It - is supposed that Baron d'Eroles will also proceed to the same place, in order to concert with the Regency the plan of their future operations.-- The wise and moderate conduct of Gen. Minal .since he entered Llivia has surprised many-per sons, and filled others with vexation. It is im possible to bestow too much praise on that Ge neral's conduct, if the account of it be correct which we have received from two French officers who beheld his entrance into the town. The `Spanish soldiers observed the strictest discipline, and manifested the greatest respect for the :French territory. Mina marched on foot at the head of his troops to dislodge the insurgents from Llivia, which is a town situated between the boundaries of the two kingdoms : whilst his troops proceeded along the neutral road they testified, by their silence, their obedience to the cullers of their General: it was not until they arrived upon the Spanish territory that they made the air resound with cries of 4 Long live the Constitution !' The Duke of Wellington arrived at Paris yes terday evening. Lord Clanwilliam, had arrived the day before. The Star of the Regency of Urgel, which never speaks false, had declared that he would not arrive until the end of this Montli.—(Constztutionnel.) The Monitezu has copied to-day the article from the Journal des D6bats. Some persons con sider this a proof of its official character. We know the contrary. It will doubtless be recol- lected, that the Moniteur, on a former occasion, copied the Journal in question, and that, on the following day, it repeated the contradiction which we had given to the article.—(Etoile.) Last night an extraordinary courier was dis patched from the Russian Embassy to Verona. Letters from Madrid announce that the Infants .I.)on Carlos and •Don Francisco are confined to their apartments,. and that the King is not allow ed to go anywhere without a double guard, lest .he shOuld escape. Arrests are more frequent than ever in this capital and its vicinity.—(Dra .AFiernt Blanc.) • The manner in which the French Journals have •.stated the refusal of the Queen of Portugal to swear obedience to the Constitution is inaccurate. - The following is a literal transcript of the letter • written by the Chancellor of her Most Faithful . Majesty, by order of that Princess, to the Pre ‘sident of the Cortes at Lisbon. We (the Dra ,:pealt Blanc) hasten to publish it, agreeably to a solicitation made to us to do so : ' " Sir—Dona Caroline Joschime, Queen of Portugal, the . Algarves, and the Colonies, my Sovereign Lady and Mistress, does not consent to take the oath of obedience to the Constitu . Lion; frem motives which have their source in her conscience .-and her 'dignity. She would rather abandon the territory of this unhappy country than accede, by oath, to laws which her Majesty deems neither rational nnr even innocent. She hopes, in this case, that heriate dower will be returned to her, in order . that she may go and live and die as a Royal Personage, in a place of safety, independent of foreign aid ; in peace with her religion, which she prefers to the Crown; and with the well .• known loyalty Which will influence her until death. " God preserve you, Sir. " By order of her Most Faithful Majesty, &c." VIENNA, OCT. 29. (EXTRACT or A PRIVATE LETTER.) The return of their Imperir I Majesties and the Foreign Sovereigns and Ministers, to Vienna, will take place about the 20th of December, after several confidential conferences will be held : the final labours of the Congress gill com mence with the new year. ANCONA, Nov. 23. (EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER.) The latest news received from the lo►►ian Islands is of Nov. 10. According to it, the two l'achas commanding the Albanians in Epirus, Omar and Mehemed, are acting on the offensive in Acarnai►ia and Etolia. Mehemed Pacha put himself in motion on the 2.oth October for Missi lengo. The Greeks allowed him to advance beyond the Achelons without offering any resist ance. Omar Pacha, encouraged by this example, afterwards set out for Arta in the same direc tion, but he was attacked in passing the Ache lons by the Greeks, and routed. Letters from Corfu make his loss amount to 3000 men. If the latest news from this Island is correct, the Al banian army is in a very bad position, and is divided. MADRID, DEC. 2. (EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER.) The answer to the Urgel Manifesto receives here general approbation : it is attributed to the Ex-Minister Felin, one of those who have shewn most opposition to the opinions of the present Ministry, and who began the persecution against Riego, which } :roves that all the Liberals of Spain, however they may differ in trifles, will always unite when it is necessary to defend the Constitution. BRUSSELS, DEC. 9.—Letters from Dunkirk say, that orders have been given to load artillery and ammunition, and warlike stores of every de scription, on board several vessels in that port ; the whole is destined for Bayonne. The contin gent to be furnished by the Department of the North towards the levy of 40,000 men is fixed at 1,190 men. This levy is to take place imme diately. BRAZIL. " RIO JANEIRO, OCT. 19, 1822.—The preparations for pro claiming the Prince Regent, I)on Pedro, as Emperor of the Brazils, were on a grand scale: the 12th of this month was the day on which the ceremony was performed with the greatest de monstrations of joy, and an opposing solemnity. You have already been informed of the declaration of independence of the Brazils : this was a step which nothing could prevent, but was acceler.ted by his Majesty's departure from Lisbon, and by the impolitic proceedings of the Cortes. " The people here are full of enthusiasm and fire, which, ac cording to my opinion, nothing can extinguish : if the black slaves, among whom some symptoms of unruliness have lately been observed, are not lost sight of, there is no doubt but the independence will be maintained and consolidated. Of course some difficulties are to be encountered in the beginning, but will be overcome with a little energy and perseverance. The town of Bahia is garrisoned with 4,000 European troops, under the com mand of General Madeira, and this force has refused to acknow ledge the independence of the 19 provinces : considerable pre parations are making to reduce Bahia, and it will no doubt be accomplished in time. A division of 3 frigates and some other vessels is to sail immediately for the purpose of blockading the port; that force is commanded by the late Captain of the Heroine privateer, of Buenos Ayres, who, on his arrival here, was most graciously received by our Emperor, and made Cap tain in the navy, all the old European officers in that depart ment having been dismissed. Out Government is now in want of able naval officers, and if any offer themselves, they will be well received, and well paid : it is even said, that proposals have been sent to Lord Cochrane, to take the command in chief of our navy, with unlimited powers for giving it a new organization, if he can obtain leave from the Govern ment of Chili. It is almost incredible what activity and energy the new Emperor displays ; and if he was assisted by able Ministers, he would do great things : he is beloved almost to excess, having removed from his side all the Gran dees who might give umbrage to the native Brazilians, and having introduced an extraordinary system of economy : you may judge of it when you learn that he has reserved for his ex. pences only ten contos of rees (about 2,0001. sterling) per an num, which he says will be quite sufficient for him. In fine, every thing seems to indicate that our affairs will go well, with out the disorders and misfortunes generally attending revo lutions. "•The Portuguese troops at Montevideo, having understood that General Lecor had resolved to declare for the Brazilian cause, attempted to oppose it, and would have murdered him, if he had not been protected by a battalion which he had com manded in Europe, and which escorted him out of the fortress. With this small force, and attended by all his Staff, he took post at Canclones, where he was joined by Frutos Rivero with 700 men. Most of the inhabitants of Montevideo, fearing a siege, have left it ; some naval forces are now fitting out, to blockade that port. " All the European Portuguese established here for years, are winding up their concerns, and many of them have already embarked for Europe, taking all their property with them ; few or none will remain in a short time; money is scarce to such a degree, that only copper can be obtained in exchange for bank paper. Produce is equally scarce, and excessively high in price." CITY. THURSDAY EVENING. A letter was this morning posted at Lloyd's from Valparaiso, dated on the 31st July, stating that the news received there from Peru were of an unfavourable nature, for the Royalists had increased so considerably in power, that ex pectation& were entertained of shortly hearing2hat General San Martin had abandoned Lima. This intelligence is probably not correct, because letters dated on the 16th August make no mention of an event so important. The mercantile information received by the mail yesterday from the Brazils, is not very gratifying to the consigners of British Manufactures, for in general every town was over -stocked, particularly with linens, and none of the late consign ments were expected to render any thing like prime cost. There will probably soon be a considerable depression here in the value of Cotton and Linen Goods, manufactured for exporta tion, the demand for them appearing not to be more favourable in South America than in India. At the Stock Exchange, and on the Royal Exchange, the un certainty of the relations betwixt Spain and the Monkey Mini sters of France (it would be not just to say the French Nation) remains the same. An express arrived early from Paris with in formation to Tuesday evening. The renter were Oil. GO. but they are not a fair criterion of the feelings of the Parisians. Ifere the Consols opened at 80i, rose to 80i, fell to 801, and closed at 80ii. Some heavy sales were effected. In Securities, no great den of business has been done. The Spanish Bonds being ex tremely low, arc the chief objects of present attraction, for it is no.: thought that even the actual knowledge of the commence ment of hostilities would create a much greater decline than has already taken place. Prussian and Russian Scrip also find both buyers and sellers, but on the whole, the credit of all Eu ropean Continental Bonds has received a severe shock, from which they will not easily recover.—{Morning Chronicle.) THE PORTSMOUTH CAUSE. COURT OF CHANCERY, DECEMBER 12. • JUDGMENT. This important cause, it will be recollected, was appointed for judgment this day, and such was the intense interest excited, that long before the sitting of the Court the Hall was exceedingly crowded. The judicial attendance was greater than we have ever before witnessed. The LORD CHANCELLOR said, that in this case a petition was presented by the brother of Lord Portsmouth, praying that a commission might issue for the purpose of inquiring into the soundness or unsoundness of the mind of his Lol ‘: ;hip. The application was made, as was the custom in most other cases, for a commission of lunacy. It was fitting that the fact should be rightly understood, on account of what he had to observe upon it, with respect to the rule and jurisdiction of this Court. Whatever had been the practice of the Court originally, it had been long confirmed, that where the attention of the Court was drawn to such cases, on the question being referred to the jury of the country, and their returning a verdict declaring unsound ness of mind, the affidavits, if properly supported, would be sufficient to authorize the Court to take such further steps as the security of the person and property might be supposed to require. The return of the writ de inquircndo lunatico, even if the jury should deem that there was unsoundness of mind, would not of necessity compel the issuing of a commission of lunacy. There might be strong grounds under which the verdict should be returned, and yet not sufficient to cause the commis sion to issue ; because, if the party were found by them to be even incapable of managing his affairs, unless there was a verdict of unsoundness of mind the Court could not act all. Neither did it follow that the Court would act in all cases where the return of the inquisition alleged unsoundness of mind. In stating this to )e the doctrine of the Court, he had great satisfaction in being able to refer them to the judgment of one of his most able predecessors. In the case of Lord Donegall, Lord Chancellor Hardwicke laid down the law in the way which he was about to show them.— After mentioning a preceding case wherein the Countess Warman had taken extraordinary pains to prevent the exe cution of the inquisition as to the soundness or unsound ness of her husband's mind (the case was in Peer Williams), Lord Chancellor Hardwicke condemned the conduct of the Countess ; because, if her husband had been found a lunatic, the custody of the person would most probably have fallen to her as the natural guardian. The judgment went on to show that a distinction must be held between an idiot and a lunatic. An idiot must be so ex navitate. It vas good, however, to find a man for several years past, as it went towards a presumption that he must have been such ea , navitate, from his birth. It then went on to show what was in law to be considered as lunacy. His Lordship then proceeded to read the judgment as follows, from 2d Vesey, sen., page 41)7 :—" Lunacy is a dis temper occasioned either by disorders or accidents, and to one of these two cases were commissions first confined. But in some time this part of the prerogative, this paternal care was enlarged and extended to one who is non compos mends. But here it stopped ; and this at least the Court insists THUSC:be found to entitle any one to a commission, and therefore, though a Jury finds that one is incapable of managing his affairs, yet such a finding is not sufficient ; but they must expressly find him of unsound mind. In the present case I allow Lord Do negan is of very weak understanding, anti of no resolution of mind ; but that is not sufficient for me whereupon to ground a commission. If I was to grant any, it must be that of idiotcy, for no time is mentioned when he was of better understanding. There was a case in Lord Harcourt's time, where though one could not be proved a lunatic, yet, from the imposition upon his weakness, this Court releived against a deed obtained from him. Immediately after the decree, the grantee in the deed got a release of the decree from him. Against this also the Court relieved, and I have heard it said, that Lord Harcourt ordered that he should not execute any future deed but with the consent of the Court. It may be very difficult to draw the line between such weakness which is the proper object of relief in this Court, and such as amounts to insanity ; however, the denying a commission does not exclude from relief against any deeds or wills which may be improperly ob tained." It was under these conditions that the care of lunatics devolved to the Court ; and thus young persons especially, re presented as not being of sound mind, received that great care and attention which their misfortunes required. In fulfiling this duty of protection, it next became a question with the Court who were and who were not proper persons to be in trusted with the immediate care of the person of the lunatic.— On the other hand, the Court would he cautious not to assume that care in every particular case, as in all cases it would be careful not to assume it under say circumstances but those of a commission which should establish the lunacy ; because it was difficult for the Court to interfere without seriously affecting the liberty of the individual both in respect to his person and the management of his property. This made it necessary that the power of the jurisdiction should be limited in the first instance ; and that it should be trusted so far with no other authority than that of considering whether or not there were good and sufficient grounds for inquiry. It could by no means undertake ofitself to determine the question of sound ness or unsoundness of mind ; but only if there were grounds, or if there were not grounds, sufficient to warrant the sending of the inquisition to be tried before a jury of the country. if by their verdict the Jury should return that not only the grounds were good, but also that they believed from the evidence that the party must be of unsound mind, then the Court would have enough to authorize the issuing a commission of lunacy ; or if it deemed, notwithstanding the proof of unsoundness, that the circumstances were not such as to call for the com mission, to refuse to order it. But the greatest latitude must be given in the conduct of the inquisition. Any one might come forward to rept ; the allegation of insanity, and the parties who might choose to controvert it were at liberty to traverse-the in quisition, without assigning any reasons for it. The parties making the allegation were bound to answer all the reasons ad vanced against them, and even to invite all persons to conic for ward to offer such reasons as would tend to show that such an inquisition ought not to be had. He would now turn to the facts of the case before them, in which, to support the allegation of insanity, there were affidavits from five persons of the medical profession—Messrs. France and Palmer, Sir George Tuthill, Dr. Sutherland, and Dr. Warburton. If this matter had never been mentioned to hint before—if he had never before heard of Lord Portsmouth, and if 110 caveat had been entered against the commission—he would have thought that there was case enough to authorize him in the discharge of his duty to direct an inquiry to be instituted. It did happen, however, that about the year 1813 or 1814, an application was made to him for the same purpose by Mr. Newton Fellowes, brother to Lord Portsmouth, and heir presumptive to the estate. He said " heir presumptive," not wishing thereby to prejudice the question, or in any way to affect the rights or characters of any of the parties in other respects. He had adapted the term " heir presumptive" deliberately, and according to the circum stances of the case. if there had been a son horn to Lord Portsmouth, now living, instead of A daughter, he would not have called_ Mr. N. Fehowes heir presumptive, because that would have been at once prejudicing the question and circum stances of the birth of that son, and reflecting on the character of the mother, neither of which he could consent to do. But without reflecting on, or prejudicing in any way, the characters and interests of any party, Mr. Newton Fellowes was, and continued to be, heir presumptive to the estate. In that appli cation there was no statement made as to what had been the condition of Lord Portsmouth's mind since his birth. There were only some particulars given as to the occurrences in his marriages—first with Lady Grace Norton, and afterwards with Miss Hanson ; while it appeared on the other hand that Lord Portsmouth had transacted affairs of consequence—that he had even executed deeds to which Mr. Newton Fellowes had been a party, and had made an important settlement with the concur rence of parties who might and ought to have opposed it, if the unsoundness of his mind were matter of common conviction.— As the circumstances then alleged did not seem to have refe rence to the question of soundness or unsoundness of mind, he did not think it his duty to interfere : he considered that there might be indications of weakness of mind, but not any thing capable of producing conviction as to the insanity. The medical evidence which accompanied the application contained a great variety of remarks on the conduct of Lord Portsmouth ; but in his (the Lord Chancellor's) opinion they might all be classed as eccentricities of little or no importance. So far was the case at that time from leading him to infer that there was alienation of mind, he was of opinion that the representation went rather to establish tine soundnes of the mind of Lord Portsmouth. On that account lie felt considerable surprise at the satements made on the present application. With respect to the complaints of ill treatment, they were of a very serious and important nature ; but whether they were right or wrong, they could of themselves form no part of the question as to whether or not the party on whose behalf the allegations were offered were a fit object for a commission of lunacy;._ and if he were so, whether it would be right in him (the Lord Chancellor) to grant such commission ; and lastly, whether or not it would be incumbent on him to take any steps to alter the situation and guardianship of the lu natic ; for if he found that the sufferer was placed in such circumstances, as were in the first place most natural and fit— such as a husband, though a lunatic, living under the protec tion and care of his wife—or a lunatic father, who was properly watched and provided for by his son—or a lunatic son as well taken care of by his father—though no one would doubt but that the commission of lunacy would be perfectly applicable to all these ; yet, if he found ix the first proceedings that the sufferer would be as carefully and providently watched over without the interference of the law as with it, the Court would be at liberty to issue or not to issue the commission, according to the expediency suggested by this and other circumstances. He had read the affidavits on the applications both now and on the former occasion ; and on reviewing what took place on that former occasion, he felt that there was not enough advanced to substantiate the allegation of unsoundness of mind, though there was testimony of weakness of mind. Had the statements now made been alleged on the first application, he must have had great difficulty in refusing the commission ; and the ques tion was, if, having that conviction on his mind, he ought or ought not still to refuse the commission ? He wished it to be understood that his present determination could go no farther than to settle this question ; that his business was only to say whether there should or should not be inquiry, and not to de cide in any thing beyond it.—(His Lordship here again ex pressed his strong anxiety that his remarks should not be held to reflect the least reproach on the character and conduct of any of the parties, as he considered himself bound to protect them from any such danger, as much as the interests of justice would permit.)—No doubt there were cases in which certain juris dictions could take notice of imputations or offences of cruelty and adultery. His was no jurisdiction to try such questions directly ; indirectly he had power to notice them. Ile might he called upon to determine on an imputation of cruelty or adultery. It would perfectly consist with every thing which he was now saying, that the imputations of adultery and cruelty made in this case should turn out true or false hereafter. The only question for the present was, if matter enough had been laid before him to induce him, in the proper exercise of his authority, to direct an inquiry to be instituted. As to the alle gations of cruelty, adultery, and impotency, from neither of them, nor from all of them together, would it follow of neces sity that there was unsoundness of mind, the proof of which must depend mainly on the testimony of the conduct of the indi vidual. There might be impotency, and yet the patient might be no fit object for a commission ; he might suffer cruelty, and yet be no fit object for a commission. His wife might commit adul tery, and yet he might not be a fit object for a lunatic commis sion. Whether in this case there had been adultery, or cruelty, or impotency, on none of these points would he give an opinion. He would not so far prejudice the question which was to be tried, as to say any thing likely to affect the character of any one of the parties, which he must do were he to pronounce upon any of those allegations. The only question, as he had re peatedly shown, was, whether or not he had grounds to induce him to direct an inquiry. Ile must, therefore, look at the case more closely, and consider what affidavits were offered in sup port of it, and what had been offered in contradiction to those affidavits. Ile was obliged to compare the affidavit of Dr. Bankhead with those of the other Medical Gentlemen, and con sider the particular grounds on which Dr. Bankhead professed to found his opinion. Ile must consider Dr. Bankhead as not only representing that there was no unsoundness in Lord Ports mouth's mind, but as endeavouring to prove " that there was not a tittle of testimony" to support the contrary assertion. On reading over the evidence of Dr. Bankhead, it did appear to him strikingly evident that the Doctor had not entered into the examination with the only proper view—that of simple inquiry. It would he in the recollection of some who were about him, what had been his opinion on subjects of this kind for many years hack. From the experience of the evidence given in luna tic cases during at least 20 years, he felt himself justified in say ing, that Dr. Bankhead did not approach Lord Portsmouth in a way and manner which were likely to make his observations useful in the way of testimony. He might be mistaken in his opinion, but he guided himself by all that he had ever heard of medical evidence given in cases of lunacy. Dr. Bankhead's affidavit contained these expressions : " Previously to his seeing Lord Portsmouth, this deponent was desired by Messrs Palmer and France to read over the affi davits of Sir George Tuthill, Dr. Sunderland, and Dr. War burton, and then adopt his own course ; and they delivered to him the affidavits for that purpose, which this deponent carefully read over. This deponent considered that if he adopt ed the mode of examination which those Gentlemen pursued, he should not satisfy his judgment on the question of sanity, and he therefore determined in his own mind, before seeing his Lord ship, not to follow the example of either of the said Gentlemen in his mode of examination, for this reason—that each of the said Gentlemen, on points which only enclosed a prejudice or a' passion (for example, timidity of Mr. Alder and Mr. Hanson, jealousy as to Lady Portsmouth—capricious modes of excite ment of venery, and the vanity to sit on a throne on the birth of a son),-these being points of error in Lord Portsmouth's mind, as detected by those Gentlemen in their examination of his Lordship ; whereas this deponent, as a medical person, be lieves a man may be timid of the control of another, jealous of his wife, morbid and base in his carnal propensities, and fool ishly vain of his rank on the birth of an heir, without its afford ing one tittle of testimony as to the soundness or unsoundness of his mind, or as to his competency or incompetency to manage his concerns. This deponent further saith, that even if he had so examined Lord Portsmouth, and ascertained the existence of some errors and illusions on these points, he should not have given a different opinion as to the general soundness of Lord Portsmouth's mind from the statements of the affidavits." He did not wish to prejudice the opinions and assertions of Dr. Bankhead at all ; but they did not much affect the present ap plication. It was one thing, be it observed, to say that a Noble man may be a man of weak mind, and therefore sat upon a throne at the birth of a son, and quite another thing to say that he sat there imagining himself a ju.lge distributing justice; and again another thing to say that a Nobleman sat upon a throne professing to have the same splendour and dignity as the King had at his coronation, which that Nobleman was repre sented as having done, and also as having adopted a son which he declared to be none of his—of having repeatedly avowed that he never had sexual intercourse with his wife—and as having actually pointed out and named those whom he took to be the parents of the boy, which names, on account of the reasons which he had before expressed, his Lordship would not now re peat. It was not the acts of adultery, or cruelty, nor the im potency alleged, either of which might he borne by a base and depraved mind, that constituted proof of insanity ; but the question was, how did the party demean himself under the circumstances ? The medical evidence preponderated prodi giously towards unsoundness of mind. lie would abstain from any observations on the matter of other affidavits, as to what passed at Edinburgh, Cheltenham Harrington, the Metropolis, andother places. Ile would say nothing more at present, than that all the allegations were solemnly denied on oath. The facts being so, the question was, if he was not bound to inquire on what side the truth lay ? Ile allowed that he could not, in this stage of the proceedings, go farther than to state the nature of the affidavits, and how far he was bound to notice their con tents. It might be his duty to order an inquiry, and it would tend to prejudice that inquiry, if he suffered the consideration of those allegations to reach any further at present. The ques lion as it stood was merely one of expediency or inexpediency.— As the facts affected the situation ()Mord Portsmouth, he would go no Eirther than this at present—was it such as, under all the circumstances, was likely to secure to him that protection and care which the law intended should be thrown about him ; and that before he (the Lord Chancellor) really had hoped would be thrown about him, by those who had been connected with him ? That question, he must be allowed to say, he could not look on in the same light as he had done. He did not pretend to say that the allegations were true or false ; they might turn out either way ; they could not now be determined. But on the grounds stated, and considering that tile alleeeations, though they might be fidse, might also turn out to be facts, he was of opinion that the commissiete must issue. Under what circum stances it should issue with respect to the means and mode of examination, the persons who were to be examined, the secu rity for the person and property of Lord Portsmouth—these were matters which would require considerable judgment, and such as he would not now pronounce upon. The immediate point for consideration was the commission, which would cer tainly issue before the week could close. Again he desired that nothing which he had said should be interpreted prejudicially to the characters of any of the parties. He wished to reflect shame on no one living or dead. He only felt that there were grounds for inquiry, and that it was his duty to throw around Lord Portsmouth that protection and security which the law had provided for him in case he should be found of insane mind. He felt that he must grant tire commission. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL suggested, that upon the whole it would be better for the commission to issue in Middlesex, for the sake of securing his Lordship's attention to the progress of the inquiry, for the convenience of having the best medical evi dence, and the convenience of the parties generally who would have to attend. Mr. llonNE said, on behalf of his clients, that he did not believe there would be any obstacle to the course of an intelli gible inquiry. The LORD CHANCE Limn observed, that it was of great im portance to save expense, if it could be done without lessening the facilities. The parties on the other side ought also to have the fullest benefit of papers and evidence. Ile was of opinion, upon the whole, that it would be better for the commission to issue in Middlesex. STOCKS PRICE 0 Tilts DAY AT Bank Stock 3 per Cent. ILO — , 3 per Cent. Cons. shut ' 3, , , , per Cent 'll3i 4 per Cent. -1 . Old New shut 9 der Cents. 1797 Bank Lg. Ann. Lipp. 3 per Cents. "hk - 3 - ONE 0 - CLOCK. India Stock India Bonds South Sea Stock Old Annuitici Ex. Bills i 4 pr. Ditto Sinai! Bank for Act. India for Con. Acct. Cons. for Account SO %dab PRICE OF FOREIGN STOCKS IN LONDON, DEc. 13 ! AT ONE O'CLOCK. Five per Cents. 88. ( Six per Cents. 00. ..,: Five per Cents. (Metallic) 00. (Ditto New 84. Neapolitan I Five per Cent. Bonds, 78!. . t Scrip, .77i. . Austrian Five per Cents. (Metallic) 00. Five per Cent. Bonds, tio. .; Spanish • New Ditto, 544. Scrip, 10 disc. Prussian ( Five per Cent. Bonds, 8,5 i. t Ditto New, 85%.,. Danish Five per Cent. Bonds, 90. Chili 72. (Old Bonds, 00. Colombian •i Six per Cent. Bonds, 72. (Ditto Scrip, 00. Peruvian New Loan, 79. ( Bank Shares £2l 10s. 1 Americi:n Six per Ctrit. 92-98. ' Five per Cent. 96i. kThree per Cent. 70j. French Russian PRICE OF IRISH STOCK, DEC. 10. Bank Stock 9 43 74 Grand Canal Loan, 4 p.ct. 41 ,. Gov. Deb. :1 per cent.... 92 1 A Ditto 3 per cent. ••• 683 Stock, 31 per ct 90_;i DittoStock ............ --- Gov. Deb. 4 per cent...... Royal Canal Stock ......... —' Gov. Deb. 5 per cent. —Stock, 5 per cent. i par N 1)o. I)eb. with Gov. Sec..— Treasury Bills, 5 per cent. Pipe Water Deb. 5 per ct. --- City Debentures, 5 per Do. - cent. Lying in Hospital 4 per ct. 5 per cent. Exchange on London, Dec. 9, Bi. HIGH WATER AT LONDO. Morning, 26 minutes after 2. BRIDGE TO-MORBOW; Evening, 50 minutes after -* THE S UN. SULEM QUIS DICERE FALSUM AUDEAT ••P LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 18'2'2• [FROM A CORRESPONDENT.] CITY, Half-past Twelve o Clock.—Three presses arrived this morning from Paris, bringio6 the French Funds S9f. 20c. The moment it 0 5 known on the Stock Exchange an improvemen t took place in Consols, which opened at 80'1 and up to this hour they are 80. The priva te information from Paris continues to be pacific=" The Duke of WELLINGTON is upon the most 4 16 " mate terms with his French Majesty, who, we t ty derstand, has expressed in strong terms his inten tion to maintain peace in his old age. At the same time, it is not very desirable to have t he Russians again in his territory, which must be th e event if a war takes place.—The Foreign I''luid9 this morning have also improved, in conseque lice of the information from Paris. The French Papers, which might be expec ted ;i de to' be important in . proportion to the magDP- - of the present crisis . of public affairs, bec° l/10 every day less and less interesting, and neith er furnish accounts of preparations for war, nor communicate any decisive manifestation of a de termination to maintain peace. The Monittlif continues to preserve silence, and to take fi e notice of the warlike article in the Emile. Eloile censures it for having copied the pacifi c article of the Journal des Debals, and defil e that the Debuts had any official authority for the publication of its statement and opinions. T b j Journal des Debals, on the other hand, o ' ll l doubtless retort the same charge upon the P°; Some of the private letters from Paris allege tha „ the pretended assumption of official authority tif ; 0 0 5 an Evening Paper in London, in its speculo t on the affairs of Spain, has cuvered it with cule, and has utterly destroyed all future c a/1 deuce in its supposed semi-official annun ciati °l) i It is but justice to say, that the ridicule 1 5 full a shared by the demi-official Journals of Paris , 311 b0 that their political intimations must in future received with the greatest distrust. In the wello itr time, the very circumstance that nothing of Abe portance has either transpired or occurred_ 0 silence of the Monitear—the conflicting sent imen of the other Ministerial Journals—and ab ove all' the improvement of the funds, both in Fra nc e and in in this country—are all favourable sYra,j) tha t toms, and materially strengthen the hope the existing peace will not be disturbed. FRENCH FUNDS.-DEC. 10.. Five per Cents. Highest Closed at Bank Stock 1620 f. --- c• Neapolitan Five pet Cents. Exchange on London—One Month 25 1. 3v c' Three Months 25 f. 15 c. e ( Ccrurs AutheatiVi At four o'clock, the 5 per cents were 88 f. 60 c. Spanish Bonds of 1820 1821 PRIVATE AND AUTHENTIC CORRESPONIOL'r PARIS, DEC. 10.—The article in the Jour' a des DaHds of yesterday has carried a fir e-bll decl ar amongst political parties. The Wats i t that a war with Spain will be fatal to France' ais, will surprise many that the Journal des O b oe which receives a large sum monthly fr ° ` n to Ministry, should insert an article so contralto, the supposed views and intentions o f G°lre nlent ; 1 Minist€ Pied t] t " Ve Propri e banker inou r 0 it is ,s( gularly Press 4 cond to h e w ell Li t ile arl Pressi o 7ziteur -toile, Sceaui fr om vc harr noi the K tizans trernel G Ei of the 31 1 hot (sated betw e Place s The given b thle au hardly fable. \o n I tantinc T it bring I'erribe V allee , ed th( d epot COgui doubt eror Venibi ---(44 NV E PAR K Cap e rep, the 0 tract degre tie= trient tiland uistel iai g l y ing } the ti tiZrtr, " T I Rreem Thi ( late, than f tXeep and 1, tube; All Dili b viblati Rroun 'rh •tltent tlred, e ti At bor 41 g cc of the there, civil If or co "riPoi the v; Whol(