The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-04-17 00:00:00

Emptriai llatifitturnt.' HOUSE OF .LORDS.-MONDAY. The royal assentwas given by cornmission to the mutiny bill, the marine mutiny bill,' the indemnity (India) bill, and several private hills. The cominissioners were the Lord Chancellor, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and the Earl of Rosslyu. The Earl of MALMESSURY presented petitions, praying for the protection of the established church of Ireland, from South ampton; Hereford, and several other places. Petitions in favour of the established church of Scotland, and, for additional church accommodation in that. country, were pre sented from various places in Scotland by the Duke of Gordon, the. Earl of.Rosebery, the Marquis of Ailsa, the Earl of Mani field, the Duke of Sutherland, Earl Grey (who took his seat on the cross-benches,) and th e D u k e o f Ric hmond. The Earl of Hoskins'' , presented petitions from Arbroath, and from a dissenting congregation in Glasgow, against any grant of public money for the building of churches, or providing additional church accommodation in scotland. The Bishop of EXETER said, that having given notice of his intention to present a petition from a rev. gentleman, complain ing of the condect of certain coinmissiouers appointed by the crown to inquire into the state of religious and other education in Ireland, he thought it necessary to state that as the petition contained charges against Officers thus appointed by the crown, he did not mean to hring it forward until a recognized govern ment was formed. The Duke of WILLLINGTON then moved the adjournment of the house. Their lordships were on the point of separating, when Lord BROUGHAM stated that he wished to give judgment in two appeal cases. His lordship then gave judgment in two Scotch appeals, which, having been agreed to by their lordships, the house adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Mosioay. The Speaker took the chair at half-past three o'clock. Mr. J. E. llsSitsots appeared at the bar with the report of the Worcester tlectiou committee, which was that J. Bailey, Sgt., the sitting member; was duly elected, and that the petition against his return was neither frivolous nor vexatious. The house was occupied for a considerable, time with private business. . , . Sir J. CAMPBELL presented petitions from the lord provost, magistrates, and town council of Edinburgh, and frcm another lace, against (as we understood) the Leith harbour bill. The hon. member moved that they be referred to the committee on 'the bill. • • Colonel Leith Hay, Mr. Mine, and other hon. members opposed the miAion,on the ground that the bill had been already fully discussed before the commitiee, and that the second reading iof it stood for to-morrow. Sir G. CLERK was understood to support the motion. The hdose 'divided— . For the motion, 2S # Against it, 72 I Majority, 41. The house went toile 11 ouse.o f Lords to hear the royal assent 'given to certain bills (fur which see lords' report.) The Speake,r..hauing returned and some matters of private business having been disiased of, • Sir PEEL rose and said—“,l bare received an intimation from his majesty that arisngemeuts for the formation of a new government are in progress, but that .they have not yet been finally completed. Under these circumstances I cannot doubt that the same motives which induced the house on a formerdav to consent to a short adjournment will still intlueuce them, and that, from considerations of convenience. to the public service, they will now agree to a similar motion.. (Hear, hear.) I therefore beg leave to move that the house, at its rising, do ad journ till Thursday n e xt." The question havingheen put, after a few words from Sir J. Campbell and Mr. S. Rice,, relative, as we understood, to the disposal of private business, .hai which did nut reach us, the 'i s:n otion was agreed to. Sir J. CAM Peal. gave notice that on' Thursday next he would present a petition, signed by MAO inhabitant householders of the city of Edinbuigh, agreed to at a public meeting, approving of the resolution of that house relative to the Irish church, and praying that measures might be speedily adopted for the purpose of carrvin the same into effect. Sir 1.1. CLERK moved that anew writ be issued for the election of a member to serve in parliament for the north division of the county of Essex, in the room of the Hight Hon. Alexander Baring, now called to the upper house as Baron Ashburton. At half-past five the house adjourned till Thursday next. HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY. Petitions for the protection of the established church of Scot land, and fur additional church accommodation, in that country, were presented from liiv e ra r y, H a ddington.. Kilmarnock, and other places, by Lord Dundas, the Duke of Gordon, the Duke of Richmond, and the'Earl of Shaftesbury. • Lord KENYON presented a petition fruiu Derby for the better observance of the Sabbath. The Duke Of BucaINGilAM presented a petition from three parishes in Buckinghamshire against being united with the parish of Stoke Poges. Lord PROUGHAM presented a 'petition from a congteg,ation in Glasgow, against any grant of public money fur church' ac commodation m that place.. He had received a letter, in which it was stated thatthere were upwards of three thousand seats un occupied in the churches of that city, where it had been asserted that additional church accommodation wirtrho much wanted. The noble and learned lord presented ,petitions of a similar nature from Home and its vicinity, from a parish in Perthshire, front the Island of Islay, from a place in k'ifeshire, and from many other places in different parts of Scotland. Some of those petitions besides deprecating a grant of public money for building chutches, or affording additional church' accommoda tion, directed their lordships' attention to what was degeribed to be " the overgrown and monstrous church establishment of Ire land," as calling for reform. The Duke of WELL, siotoN, in moving the adjournment of the house, said he understood that it would be necessary for their lordships to meet to-morrow for the purpose of hearing appeals. To-morrow, however, he should move that the house should ad journ until the 30th instant. -Lord BROUGHAM said that during the last two years he bad, in consequence of the number of appeals, deviated trom the usual course, and sat iu the recess, in order to expedite the judicial business. It was no longer necessary to do so, as there were not more than two or three Scotch appeals and one Eng lish appeal remaining to be heard. It would, however, be very inconvenient not to sit to-morrow, as the noble duke proposed, since a cause which had. been partly hearcrto-day might proba bly be finished to-morrow. 'The Duke of acaost said, he should to-morrow move that the house be adjourned to the 3Uth of April.—Adjourned. HOUSE OF LORDS,—WEDNESDb Y. At half-past four, Lord BrOughaut commenced 'giving judg ment in the Scotch Appeal of " A nitruthei v, A:nstruther," re mitting the case back to the Court of Session. The Lord Chancellor took his seat on 'the Woolsack at five -o'clock. The Duke of GORDON presented a petition from St. Nicholas, Aberdeen, in faviiur of the established church in Scotland. After souse petitions being pres'ented, A OIGUIINMENV OF THE HOUSE. The Duke of WELLINGTON said that last night he had given notice that he should this' day move the adjournment of the House to the 30th of April, but finding that it would not be convenient to his Majesty's service that the house should ad dourn this day, he begged leave to postpone his motion till to morrow. Ile Duke of-BtcßtNcitAst, under the particular circtim stances, thought he might be excused for asking his noble friend to what period 'he meant to move the adjournment of the house. The Duke ''of WRLLINGTON• said ho intended originally to move that the house should adjourn to the 30th; but he was not aware, frOni the coininunicatious he had received, that it would be convenient he should make that specific motion to-day. (Loud cries of "hear, bear.") The motion he should make to- Marrow would be, that the house should adjourn over the boll - SaV S. Lord BROUGHAM said that the usual course was that the house should adjourn over Passion week and Easter week. The Duke of CUMBERLANO thought that their lordships should not adjourn for a longer period than the House of -Commons. . The Duke of WELLINGTON had no desire to move the ad journment for a longer period than was convenient for the pub lic service. It was desirable that the house should not adjourn until to-inortow. On the 'notion of the noble duke, the house then adjourned antilte•tcorrow. LOYDON POLICE REPORT. MARLBOROUGH •STREET—TrssnAT, No JUSTIOE iv ENGLAND.2—A captain of the Russian • Im perial Guard, attired in full uniform and carrying an enormous sabre by his side, came to this office to request assistance under the following circumstances : . . _ . tie stated that be had recently arrived in this country from Russia, and on the way from Dover to London, being short of money, he was cotnpelled to burrow some of a fellow-traveller, an Englishman, and when they arrived iu Loudon they took lodgings in the same house, and on the night before, this Eng lishman came into his room while he was in bed and took his watch from off the table, and refused to return it to him, and he in consequencequade the present application, thinking the police would take 4'l - Englishman into custody for stealing his watch, and compel:him to return it to him. The captain was asked whether he had repaid the money which had been lent to him, and-whether it was not likely that the watch was merely takea as a security for the repayment. The captain replied that .ho had not repaid the money, al though he had been asked for it several times, and he was then told that a magistrate could not interfere under such circumstances. He seemed very touch astonished at this, and said that he had understood that in England there was secuntv for property and liberty, and yet a foreigner could be robbed in such a manner. Great pains were takes to show him that a man was per fectly justified in takieg-such a step to recover his own property, and that it could not be possibly construed into an act of felony, but he still seemed to be very muc h surprised that the English man conlcl.not be tak en tip as - a thief,.and left the office declar ing that in ituss'a a captain of the Imperial Ouard could not be treated in such a , nanuer, and that there was no justice in Eng land. - - _CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT, LONDON, MONDAY. • TRIM'. OP THE INDIAN emir. Mac Coonse, the Indian chi e f. was indicted for an assault upon the person of Fr a n c i s Saran Morton, a child of only twelve yews of age. The circumstances having been detailed to the pin - , the girl was pit into the witness-b o x to prove the assault. True deposi 7 tion of a' surgeon who attended the child, after the alleged vio lence, was read in consequence of his inability to attend from indirppsition. It stated that peat violence had been used, but the crane had not been acitiatly perpetrated. Mr. Adolphus addressed Abe Jury for the prisoner, and called witnesses to prove that die chief could not have been at the house of the prosecutrix father, at the time when the offence was said to have been coMmitted. At the close of the exatnina tion of one of these Witnesses, Mr. Clarkson, -the counsel for the prosecutiou, deClined proceeding any further in the case. ' Mr. Adolphus thought that' Mi. Clarkson, in not attempting to carry on his case agamst the conviction of his own mind, had set au example worthy to be followed by every member of the bar. The foreman of the jury said, his colleagues entirely concur red in that opinion,. hut one of the iurynem said such an asser tion had been made without.his 'authority. After some consul tation, however, an unanimous verdict of not Guilty was agreed to. The Common Sergeant said the learned counsel for the vro -secution bad exercised a sound discretion. But there could be no doubt that the child had been injured, though the evidence could not.sustain the charge against the defendant. Mr. Adolphus,--I hope the Court will adanit that the chief goes away without blame. • The Cometon-Sergeent.--I believe so. Several of the friends'of the chief-shook hands with him as he let the court. Some expressions of approbation escaped from the spectators, but were 4uppressed by the officers of the court. Sir Augustus D'Este sat on the bench during the.tsial, and, took great iuterest in the proceedings. POREIGIVINTELLIGE:VCE. FRANCE. Pants, APRIL 13. —Special news from the head quarters of_ Don Carlos his been received to -day at Paris. The aespatches are dated the sth instant, and their contents are of considerable importance. Th,y inform us that on the 2d instant Zumala carreguy commenced the siege of Maesta. On the next day a body of Christinos troops, amounting to 9,000 men, advanced by Santa Cruz and Campeza against Zumalacarreguy. Al though the latter had but 5,000 men, haresolyed on standing his ground, and accepting the combat. On the 31, haying placed his pieces of artillery in safety, lie prepared to receive the attack of the 9,000 Christinos. During the 3d he kept his troops in' readiness, but the 9,000 Christinos did not attack him. Having, . waited the whole of that day in vain, he determined on taking the offensive side, and on advancing upon them. This he did on the morning of the 4th, but the Christinos troops retreated precipitately before he could come up with them. Thus 9.000 Christinos troops refused to accept combat with Carlist forceit only , amounting to a little more than half that number. The reason given for this fact is, that the Christinias troops had been so completely routed and put to the sword on the 29th and 30th of last month that the Queen's troops were greatly discouraged, and would not fight against Zumalacarreguy. The news from Madrid is sufficiently sombfe. The Queen Regent has renounced her journey to Aranjuez, from fear of a " coup de main," on the part of the Carlists. The military com mandants of all the provinces are requiring that troops be. sent them. Malaga, Andalusia and Saragossa are in a state of fer mentation.- Letters fromßarcelona, dated the 31it of March, state, thht in the environs of that town a "paraded" of 80 sol diers had been formed, and that on the 30th ult. a corporal and 12 soldiers of the garrison had deserted, and had joined this " partidad," That at Belaguer, three leagues from Lerida, in the Llano de Urgel, the Carlist chief, Burgos, has raised a guerilla of 500 men That the chief, Mesonero de Caitille Leva, is at the head of a guerilla of 200 men, devoted to Don Carlos. That at Agramoat he attacked with success the Chris 7 tines, and that, during the action, a captain, three sub-o rcers, and sixty soldiers l e ft the Christinos side and joined the Carlist chief. 'Ma the Christinos geyernor of Seu d'Urgel has written to the general commanding the corps of observation in the eastern Pyrenees to request permission to traverse, when he may deem it. necessary, the French territory, as all the commu nications were interrupted between - the north of Spain and Bar celona by the Spanish routes. Letters from Pampeluna, dated 2d instant, state that the troops of Mina are so discouraged at their ceaselesi failures arid want of success that he does not even dare to leave the city with them. In order to give some excuse fur his inaction, he says that, he is too ill to go on 'much longer, and he keeps hiS Tamil and sees hardly any one. From the '2Bth of Marcia to 2d inst. he had only seen his wife and his medical adviser, who is his personal friend. Still at Pampeluna the system of terror was being adopted. No one is allowed even to speak on the'subject of the military operations: No one had dared to say a word on the subject of the fall of EchArri-Aranaz. If any one had ventured to transgress this order tie would have been instantly seized and shot Letters from Zugarramnrdi, dated the sth instant, state that travellers and others, who bad arrived from Escurra, where was the Cariist junta, had declared that for three days there bad been fighting in.the environs of Los Arcos, and that the Chris tinos had been defeated, and had sustained very considerable loss. They add that they were the young Christmos conscripts who had been attacked and put to 'flight. These letters from . Zugarramurdi are not hovrever .confirmed by any other , letters or -.prcirnals.to-day. The French papers assure us that the three northern powers of Europe have proposed to the governments of France and England, to interfere in the settlement of the affairs of Spain ; as Fraitte, Russia, and England di.l in the affairs of Greece. THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT AGAINT THE FRENCH BAR. There is no possibility of getting into the Royal Court of Paris. The avenues are all thronged to suffocation. The pro cess has begun on the part of the - French government against the French bar. Not M. Dupin the elder, but M. Philip Du pin, the " batonnier," himself, is charged with the defence. He will insist on the incompetency of the Royal Court to decide on any matter which arises out of orders issued by the president of an exceptional tribunal. M. Menestrier, one of the members of the Paris bar, has in this day's Debats contended that the ordinance of Louis Philippe is legal, and not illegal, as the Paris bar has decided. Another barrister, M. Devaux, mem ber of the council of state, has also come forward to maintain that, as that council considers the ordinance to be legal, its de cision is as good as the " Counseil de Discipline" of the Paris bar, which Is of opinion that the ordinance is illegal. Th e ar gument of M. Devaux is this, that, inasmuch as the Court of Peers is reenznised by the charter, it is -not, and cannot be, an exceptional tribunal. This, however, is a fallacy. The char ter declares that a_ law shall be passed to define the critLes of treason and conspiracy against the state, and then that the Court of Peers shall, try those offences. But, as no such law has passed,' of course the Court of Peers is an exceptional tribu nal.. Thus the resistance to the government by enteotes has been succeeded by a legal resistance, beginning with the bar. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.-SIR FRANCIS PALGRAVE'S PROTEST. Sir Francis Palgrave, one of the commissioners appointed t inquire into the existing state of municipal corporations in Eng land and Wales, has published a long protest against the re port agreed to by his fellow-labourers, in order to show that it Is of a partial character and unsupported by the evidence upon which it professes to he founded. The protest, after setting forth the names of the commissioners and the objects of the commission, proceeds as follows : The undersigned eommissioner- having beeon informed in the month of October last, that John Blackburne, Esq., the chief commission er name d i n the sa i d commission, was collect ing materials fur the general report, he shortly afterwards de livered to the said chief of commissioner, a statement contain ing a summary of the opinions which appeared to him to be the results of the evidence, so far as the same had come to his knowledge, and in which, amongst several other matters, were contained ebservations to the following effect:— "In whom is the elective franchise for corporate purposes to he vested ?- - --:In considering and discussing this question, may it not be proper] to pause and inquire whether conservatives and reformers do not respectively overrate the dangers as well as the advantages of an extended popular franchise ?—With the fears and apprehensions of the former, i.e. the conservatives, which - 1 firmly ,believe to be erroneous, we have no concern. But if the list, ii.e: the reformers, trust too much to the benefi cial effects of popular election ; and if, so trusug, they are thereby induced to neglect the elements of good government, they will assuredly inflict the most serious evils on the country. Popular suffrage is not a panacea for a 1 the diseases of the body politic. Popular suffrage, ;taken by itself alone, affords no se curity against the incompetency, corruption, jobbing, or des potism of the ruling body; nor does the establishment of a po pular constituency in anywise relieve the legislature from the necessity of_providing every possible check against maladmi nistration. The most open borough must be watched as jea lously by the law as the closest oligarchy. The vices may differ in feature, but they will be the same in nature. Popular suf fragan the .Most powerful engine, which may be rendered the means of reniciVing causes of offence. It ma y t en d t o p romo t e security and political cheerfulness; but it cannot •be received as the basis and foundation of political virtue, political inte grity, or political order and prosperity. Muncipal suffrage must not be surrendered to the mass of the people as a right which they are entitled to demand, but treated as a flee gift, bestowed upon them out of a spirit of conciliation, restoring confidence and harmony bete een the governors and the go verned, and thus contributing to the general welfare of the community. Of course these observations could not be applied to a report then not in existence, but it will be seen that they involve a main principle of the objections hereinafter taken, that is to say, that in examining the evidence it is proper to discriminate between those defects which may be removed by laws applied to the acts or defaults of individuals, and those that may re quire a change in the political constitution of municipal corpo rations. Sir Francis then proceeds to detail the objections which he raised at the deliberations of the board, both verbally and in writing, all of which were overruled. On this subject he says : The general objections to the report are the following, viz., that in the statements professing to be enumerations of the principal abuses and defects found in the constitution and ma- nagement of the municipal corporations of England and Wales the report dues not clearly and pertinently discriminate be tween those abuses and detects which are or may be remedied by law in municipal corporations as they now exist, and those abuses and defects which cannot be remedied without an altera tion in the constitution of municipal corporations ; and that by thus refusing to admit the broad distinction between adventi tious defects and inhereurdefects, and also between the acts of individuals and the acts of communties, the report contains vari ous assumptions and inferences which the evidence, so far as it has come to the knowledge of the undersigned. commissioner; viz., the evidence obtained in the city of London, and the printed circuit reports of the commissioners, ending with the Leeds report, (p. 1,624,) does not sustain It would be difficult to point out any branch of legal policy which can be investigated with accuracy and justice unless the 1 1 foregoing distinctions be admitted ; but in the present inquiry they are of vital importance. The addre - ss of the House Of Commons upon which the commission is grounded is in the na ture of an accusation; municipal corporations are to be put upon their trial before the whole high court of parliament. The - address is virtually an information against every corporation which has been visited ; and any bill adopted in consequence of the address and report will be, not an amendment of abstract principles of law operating in i'utiob, but an adjudication affect ing vested rights and franchises; and, so far as it alters or di vests those rights and franchissa, a bill of pains and penalties. In the great case of the city of London, it was argued, and most conclusively, that the franchises of a corporation are net liable to forfeiture by reason of the misuser of its individual members; wncreas'the asstrroptions and inferential statements adopted by the report make such corporation liable not only for the acts of its own members but also for the acts of every other corporation. Each personal default—each local abuse is ascribed to the whole agregate of municipal corporations; in cluding not merely the transactions of the present era, but ranging without limitation of time to the past, and suggesting, as existing d e f ec t s , a b uses w hi c h h ave cease d or have been wholly extirpated. And although it is not maintained that the high court of parliament, acting in its legislative capacity, should conform to the strict and technical rules required in cases between party and party, yet it is submitted that the evi dence should be presented to the legislature in a form regulated by the maxims and dictates of justice; and furthermore, that although the r e p or t o f the commissioners is i n no wise stringent upon the legislature, it nevertheless is fit and proper that in such a report an endeavour should be made to sum up the evi. dence so as to assist the parliament in the duty of apply:ng the evidence to the several branches and bearings of the subject, pointing out al so t h ose portions of the evidence which ought tint to be received i m pli c i tly, or which ought to he wholly rejected. It is further submitted that in order to assist parliament in the duty of forming a right judgment, the evidence ought to have been analyzed and digested, distinguishing, in all needful ewes, between the acts of individuals and the defaultsof communities ; 'and further, so as to discriminate clearly under each head or ar ticle of inquiry %between and amongst. the following classes of evidence, viz.:---1. Evidence relating to abuses capable of being remedied by the ordinary course of law, or by new laws remedial of the afmse, but not necessarily affecting the present form of municipal corporations. 2. Evidence relating to de fects inherent in the present form of municipal corporations, and by which they are rendered inadequate to the wants of the present state of society, or perverted from theirroper ends. 3. And, lastly, evidence which ought to be carefully examined before it is,admitted as the.motives of legislation, or wholly dim discarded. And that by neglecting this, or some similar mode of sifting and-trying the relevancy of the evidence, various as sumptions, generalizations, and inferences are presented to par liament by the report which are not sufficiently supported by, the evidence to which the report refers. The whol e o f th e evi dence is not before parliament, hut the report states that the commissioners " have reason to believe that the remaining te ports will not affect their conclusions otherwise than by afford ing further illustration and confirmation," (p. 15,) and the mode of reasoning would not have been altered had the eeneral report been postponed until the production of the whole of the evidence. ' It is stated in the report "that there prevails amongst the ' inhabitants of a great majority of the incorporated towns a THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. general, and in the opinion of the commissioners a just, dissa tisfaction with their municipal institutions," and "that the existing corporations of England anti Wales, neither possess nor deserve the confidence or respect of his Majesty'saubjects." (p. 49.) Tina is to say that there is a great majority of dissa tisfied towns, and. a majority of dissatisfied inhabitants in each dissatisfied towu; whereas it appears, Ito far as the existence o f diss o isfaction can be collected from the printed circuit reports that the reining which in the loose language of conversation is termed general unpopularity'exists onty in a small proportion of these ceminauities, (see tables hereto annexed,'pp. 22-320 and whilst it is thus proved by the evidence that such dissatis faction does not exist in a great majority of the incoraorated towns it is impossible to ascertain the absolute extent of dissa tisfaction or distrust in the places wheie (according to the cir cuit reports) it does prevail. In the report it is assumed to be a general and preponderating feeling; but the evidence does not.affurd (nor could it afford) any sufficient data from which such an inference can be drawn. There is no evidence of the numerical proportion of the non-contenrs to the rest of the in habitants. The report further affirms, and offers as the grounds upon which parliament is to pronounce a penal judgment. and iu addition to the before-mentioned "general" and "just dis satisfaction," "a distrust of the self-elected municipal coun cils," "a distrust of the municipal magistracy, tainting with suspicion the local administration of justice, &c.," but the cammissioners have not the means of measuring the extent of such dissatisfaction, distrust, or suspicion with any degree eif -accuracy. The individuals (and what were their numbers, whether few or many, is not stated) who came before the circuit commissioners for the purpose of testifying upon these points can only be received as competent evitle'nce so far as they speak to their own opinions. But their opinions do not afford a test of the opinions of those who remained at borne, and respecting whose sentiments the commissioners could not, from the very nature of things, obtain any information.' In such matters even the result of a poll at qn election is a very insufficient test;. for very many of those individuals whose opinions and sentiments ought to be collected and consulted abstain from active inter . - ference in public affairs. And if it be disirable, as it may pos sibly be on future occasions, to collect the opinions of the inha bitants of a town upon their municipal• constitution, no certain ' mode can be adopted, excepting by the double operation of opening a general declaration book at the Guildhall, 'and also of sending the parish or ward officers round from house to house to collect the "contents" and "non-contents" of such inha bitants. By nothing short of this process cart the deliberate deCision of an inhabitancy be obtained. In a inure qnestion of property the legislature requires a specific record of "assents," and 'dissents," and " neutrals" to the line of a canal or a tail.: road; and the same precaution is fully as desirable where the measure concerns the rights of a whole community. With respect to the "just dissatisfaction" assumed by the report to be "general," Sir Francis quotes a . great variety of cases from the evidence to prove that this feeling is nut well •founded, just, or generally entertained. We take the following' cases referred to by the learned gentleman in illustration of his ' •reason in gs : , . Inßaubury, where all the several charges against the cor poration were. disproved, the cominissiuners repokthese refuted charges as "proofs of the existence of an inveterate suspicion, and distrust on the part of the inhabitants towards the local ma gistracy, which leads even intelligent and well-instructed per sons to believe improbable suggestions and accusations upon little or no. evidence." (Evidence, p. 14; app. p. 3i.) In Evesham " complaiuts were made of the narrow and exclusive spirit in which the body is perpetuated. Every one who is known to entertain opinions at variance with those of the in fluential. part of the corporation is carefully excluded from that body." (Evidence, p. 54; appendix, p. at) But in the fol lowing page the commissioners proceed to state that, "as far as we had the means of judging, it appeared that the municipal authority was vested in the beat hands, with reference both to intelligence and character, to be found in so small a district;" thus contradicting, by their own testimony, the preceding evi dence as to the unfair exclusion of parties opposed to the cor poration ; yet nevertheless the commissioners come to the con clusion " that whilst such a persuasion (i. e. of injustice) as we have described prevails, whether with or without reason, the administration of justice must be attended with a degree of dis credit and mistrust which cannot but be prejudicial to every social institution." (Evidence, p. 55; app. p. 34.) In Glen cester, where all the charges brought against the corporation are dismissed, and the corporate Management of the town proved to be meritorious, "it was strongly urged by the parties oppOsed to the corporation that though the business were never so well conducted by the present corporation the jealousies and animosities occasioned by the system of self-election were pro ductive of great evil to the inhabitants at large." (Evidence, p. 62; app. 31, 35.) In Marlborough the commissioners say that "although upon a full inquiry we find the decisions of the borough inagist rates in several instances of imptttedm i b s i c as on . duct have been correct, the conviction of their political opponents, pro ducestl t atju m d g a i n n y e n O t t. is th e worst al o a of justice." (Evi dence, political p. 85; app. p. 36.) In Reading all the 'various charges brought against the corporation are dismissed; scone of these involving a grave inculpation, viz., corrupt partiality in grant ing leases of the corporate property to their own members. Here the commissioners state that the "mayor, aldermen, and assist ants, constitute the ruling body of the corporation; they are self-elected, and it 'may probably be ascribed to this circum stance, and to the fact that members of the same family have happened to belong successively to the corporation for the last fifty years, that their conduct is viewed by the inhabitants of Reading with a degree of jealousy and dissatisfaction which their official acts taken by themselves are by no means sufficient to account fort" (Evidence, p. 113; app. p. 37, 38.) In Bris tol the state of public feeling is such "that it seems doubtful whether the corporation could now do an act of real liberality without becoming liable to suspicion and reproach." (Evi dence, p. 1223; app. 70.) And in the majority of cases the cause of dissatisfaction is the preference given by the corpora tion to individuals of a particular party. But all bodies and sets of men will prefer individuals of the same mode of thinking as themselves, and as far as it is an evil it is one which the law never can recognise, because the law never can afford a remedy. Such then is the nature of the dissatisfaction and distrust of the municipal magistracy, assumed by the report to be "general," and pronounced to be " just;" but which may be dismissed . with the one remark, that although such dissatisfaction must be carefully, temperately, and dispassionately weighed and consi dered, and neither slighted, nor contemned, nor despised, still that the epithet of "just," as applied to the same, might to be expunged from a document professing to assist the deliberatious of parliament. We genie next to the general charge of lavish .expenditure for corrupt purposes. - The report (page 45, sec. 108) states, that in " some • towns" largo sums have been spent in bribery, end the other illegal practices of contested elections. From the context it appears that parliamentary elections are inferred, and that the stuns were expended out• of corporate funds. As specific examples the report quotes the notorious case of Leicester in 1826, and states that " in Barnstaple and Liverpool the funds of the cor poration have been wasted in defending from- threatened dia• franchisement a body of freemen who had been proved guilty of bribery." With respect to Barnstaple, the money was expended in opposing a bill introduced into parliament, after a contested election in 1826, intituled " An Act for the Prevention of Bri bery and Corruption in the Election of Membe‘e of Parliament for the Borough of Barnstaple, in the county of Devon," and which bill was thrown out tin the House of Lords, (Evidence, p 433; app. p. 43,) thereby affording an inference that the freemen were not proved to be guilty of bribery before that tri bunal, and that, acting as conservators of-its corporate privi leges, the corporation was bound to oppose the bill. It is not altogether unworthy of notice, that the circuit commissioners roceed to state that " no part of the funds of the corporation of Barnstaple] have ever been expended in contested elections. 'he corporation have been generally divided in opinion upon the merits of the- candidates; they have not, as a body, there fore, interfered." (Evidence, p 433; app..p. 43.) 13ut the main objection to this section of the report is, that the reader cannot possibly discover that the evil, great and crying as it certainly was, is now entirely remedied, the very case of Leices ter having been the cause of the introduction of the bill, since passed into a law, (2 and 3 W. 4, c. 69,) "for preventing the application of corporate property to the purposes of election of , members to serve in parliament." No other corporation ex cept Leicester appears on the face of the printed reports to be charged with this abuse. The report thus assumes as a general I charge " that revenues, which ought to be applied for the pub lic advantage, are diverted from their legitimate use, and are sometimes squandered for purposes injuriops to the character and morals of the people;" . whilst the chief and priucipal foundation for this charge, in which all corporations are in volved, is an abuse or act of delinquency committed by one corporation, and which abuse has been thoroughly and effec tually reformed. '1 lie report states (p. 46, sec. 117) "that the debts incurred by many corporations have been seeded to their present amount by the most negligent and improper management. At Berwick upon-Tweed, where the freemen manage the affairs of the cor poration, and possess commons of the value of about £6,000 per annum, they have borrowed money expressly for the purpose of dividing amongst themselves." It is strange that Berwick upon-Tweed, the only specific example quoted, should be brought forward thus prominently in a general report upon the corporations of England and Wales. Belonging to this corpo ration is a very large tract of land, divided into three great por tions ; one of these portions is subdivided into smaller parcels called " stints," which the burgesses take in severally; another portion, formerly common land, and upon which each burgess was anciently entitled to a right of pastuve, is now inclosed, but the rents are divided amongst the burgesses. A third por- , Lion of the land is held for the general purposes of the corpora tion ; and the burgesses in guild assembled have very ample powers fur governing and disposing of all their lands. Under these circumstances they have purchased the tithes, and - paid for repairs and various other charges out of the aggregate or corporation portion; and up to the year 1817 they paid the poor's-rate in the same manner, borrowing money to make up deficiencies, by which means a very large debt has accumulated. (Evidence, pp. 1443, 1449; opp. pp. 72, 73.) No doubt can be entertained of the extreme impolicy (perhaps illegality) of such} a course;" but at the same time it is equally certain that the' v acts of a community thus circumstanced afford no standard whatever for estimating the management of other corporations. The abuses of Berwick-upon-Tweed, brought forward as the promi nent feature of the case, is one from which no general conclu sion can• be drawn, and which no general enactment could remedy. The reform must be effected by a local act adapted to the special circumstances of the corporation. As to the debts 'incurred by the mismanagement of many not named corpora tions, no judgment could be pronounced without a very minute examination of their affairs; and it appears from the reports that the circuit commissioners did not always conclude that the amount of debt incurred by a corporation was a proof of negli gent and improper management. ispoongst the largest debts incurred by any corporation in the west of England is the debt of Plymouth, viz., £39,000 on mortgage, annuities payable an nually £2,124. 10s. 84., &c., (Evidence, p. 594;) and yet the commissioners report, that "we have not visited any corpc ration in the west of England so well managed in all respects as the corporation of Plymouth." (Evidence, pp. 595, 596; app. pp. 50, 51.) More will be said about Plymouth in another part of this protest, p. 16. Inefficiency of Magistrates.—The report states that the cor porde "magistrates, generally speaking are not looked upon by the inhabitants with favour or respect, and are often regarded with peculiar distrust and dislike." "The corporate magistrates are often selectedii om a class incompetent to the dischaige of judicial functions, and the consequence has been 'a great defect in the administration of justice. And in sueport of this posi- Akin, the report quotes the unprinted case of Last Retford, rest ing upon the evidence of the "respectable individual who had been clerk to the magistrates ;" the unprinted Wenlock c ase , and • the lliatmesbury case (Evidence, p. 79, app. pp. 25, 36), where the magistrates are often unable to read and ante. And the report proceeds to state "that the evils resulting from the ignorance and inefficiency of the borough magistrates are height ened by gross defects in other parts of the judicial system.' The assumptions in these passages bear upon the personal qualifications of the borough magistracy for the (Zees which they hold. The question.oi personal competency for offices is a question in all cases one of great delicacy, and involving much cousideration of collateral circumstances; and when e v er it becomes necessary for the law to designate (either directly or indirectly) any peculiar class of individuals as fit for peculiar offices, or (either directly or indirectly) to exclude them as un fitted, the saute question offers one of the most difficult pro bleats of practical legislation. And it is only necessary to ob serve that the' data contained in the evidence are nut adequate fur the solution of the problem. Malmesbury (like Berwick upon-Tweed). is an isolated case, the borough being in fact a . territorial 'community, in which the 'principal objects of the cogotation (except so far as it has been kept up for parlia ntfutary purposes) are the distribution of the town lands, after a singular custom which- is probably as old as the reign of Athelstaue, froin whom (as they suppose) they received their first charter. (Evidence, pp, 70, 79, 80, app. pp. 35, 360 The report does not offer arty other example of a aimilar anti. cut constitution, nor of 'sinniar want of education- 0 9.nd iustruc tion. It is true, that in certain Welsh boroughs, Aheravon - Kenfi g , K.elgerran, and St. Cl ears (Evid e uce, pp. 165. 269,' 479, 377) the reports state that the magistrates are unacquainted with business, and so i gnoran t o f the English language that "scarcely any information could be collected from them" (p. 165); but inasmuch as it appears from the reports that the coin- ' missioners were uuprovided with an interpreter the incompe tence of the magistrates could not be easily ascertained; and it is submitted that ignorance of the Welsh language w.aild (in , the magistrates) have opposed a more serious obstacle to the transaction of business in a remote Welsh borough, where the inhabitants do not speak English, than the deficiency animad vet ted upon by the commissioners. '". • But with respect to inefficieocy it may be collected that the opinion of the inhabitants is nut. entirely iu unison with the opinions expressed iu the report. For in that same report, when treating on the borough courts, it is said, " notwithstand these defects, a very general desire was expressed on the part of the inhabitants of these boroughs, where the civil courts bad fallen into disuse, for their, revival." It is nut unworthy of notice that in the p ar ti cu l ar Case of Chard, the circuit commis sioners argue strongly against the opinion of the inhabitants, asserting that "the boon"—the extension of the powers of the civil court—"which many of the inhabitants appear to desire," would not be valued by them, nor answer its proper ends, unless it were accompanied with an alteration in the mode of choosing the members of the corporation.--(Evidence, p. 1212 ) Popular Con:ilia—The Corporation of Plymouili.-1 he com missioners state in the report, "that they 'have considered that the terms o f the commission do not authorize t hem to recom mend specific measures for the improvement of the corporate system, and that they have therefore refrained from pointing out even the'most obvious remedies for the imperfections they have observed, unless so far as the suggestion of the remedy in some cases is unavoidably implied in the state of the evil." But without inquiring whether they are or are not correct with re spect to their powers, it appears, that although the report does not suggest any specific measures, yet that "popular controul" and "the influence of public opinion" are prescribed by the whole tenour of the. report as the specific remedy for the " prin cipal defects which they have found in the municipal constitu tions of England and Wales." Now, with respect to the prac tical effects . produced by popular control and the influence of public opinion, the fullest proof is afforded by the evidence that, taken by themselves, these elements of government are not suf ficient to secure a good local administration. The corporation of Plymouth is noticed by the circuit commissioners as " the • only instance which occurred to us iu the course of our inquiries of a corporation framed and acting upon popular principles. Not only are the mayor and aldermen elected by the common alty, but the management of all the corporate affairs has, since the year 1803, been in th e ha n d s o f . th e freemen at large. This power has been exercised by them with much prudence and discretion, by the appointment of a committee of twenty-one of their number, by whil:l all the business of the corporation is , conducted." (hvidence, p. 595; app. pp. 50, 51.) But im mediately afterwards it is stated, " the committee of twenty one" (previously designated by the commissioners as "an ex cellent board of management") have not, nevertheless, in the management of the financial affairs of the corporation acted with that caution and discretion whia might have been ex pected from them. (Evidence, p. 595; app. p. 51.) They have involved the corporation in great difficulties by most im provident speculations. 4,1 enormous debt has been contracted, which at present there are no means of discharging. (See above, p. 11.) The funds required for the erection of the gaol have been wasted in the erec ti on o f a n h o tel and a theatre. The next presentations to two of the churches have been sold, and, ' instead of employing the proceeds upon the repairs of those buildings, they have applied the money in reduction of their general debt, so as to lender it " necessary to impose a church rate, a measure of course very unpopular amongst the inhabi tants." The corporation have cut off the supply of water from the public conduits, " which afforded to the poor a cheap and easy means of procuring an article of the highest necessity." ( Evidence, p. 591; app. p. 50;) and this for a most inconsi derable profit: Very valuable reversions have been alienated, and the sources of future increase of revenue have thus been destroyed. By-laws have been passed, considered as unfairly restrictive of the rights of the working classes, and continue on repealed, notwithstanding the discontent which they have occa sioned; and the corporation maintains what, in the opinion of the commissioners, is an undeniable connexion with' the ma nagementof the poor. (Evidence, p. 585, 586, 591, 59'2, 695, 596; app. pp. 49, 50, 51.) And the conduct of the body thus forcibly characterized by , the circuit commissioners " we have not visited any corporation in the west of England so well ma naged in all respects as the corporation of Plymouth, which we attribute to the efficient control exercised by the public over the elections of the members of that body, ana to the publicity which is given to all their proceedings," (Evidence, p. 595,) and exhibiting the full operation of. the principles held out by the general report as the very basis of municipal reform, is marked by the principal defects assumed by that very same re port to be the consequence of secrecy and want of popular con trol. WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. The interesting services connected with the Livrepool Aux iliary to this important branch of christian missions have this week been held in this town, and we are happy to learn that the pecuniary . returns, so far as they have been ascertained are very encouraging. The anniversary sermons having been preached at the several Wesleyan Chapels last Sunday, the annual meeting for the Liverpool North Circuit was held yesterday evening in Bruns wick Chapel, Moss-street, James Wood, Esq., in the chair. The meeting commenced at six o'clock, when a very numerous auditory attended. The Itev. Richard Reece opened the business of the evening by prayer, after which the Chairman addressed the meeting by some very appropriate remarks on the object of missions, and the mode and spirit in which they ought to be supported and conducted. The Rev.. John Stamp, one of tne local secretaries, then read a very interesting report of the proceedings of the:auKitiary ;dieing tt:a past year, with a condensed view of the operations of the parent institution; front which it appeared thht the pre sent number of missionary stations in all parts of the world are 106, and of missionaries engaged 2'lB. he number of members under the care and christian instruction of the mis sionaries is 45,786, with 36,000 children in the schools attached to the mission. The total receipts in the Liverpool district, for the past year, is £1,805 7s. 5t1., being by several thousand pounds th e l arges t con t r ib ut i on ev e r made - in any one year to this cause. After these details has been communicated the meeting was addressed by the Rev. Robert Spence Hardy, late missionary at Ceylon, and by the Rev. Robert Alder, one of the parent secretaries, also formerly a missionary. The latter gentleman gave a very interesting. sketch of the present state and prospects of the missions at. home and abroad, especially as it respected Ireland, the Continent of Europe the Islands of the Mediter ranean, Continental India, the South Sea Islands, Africa, the West Indies, 8:e. In referring to the• West Indies, he re marked the e ncourag i ng resu lt o f th e recen t measures o f eman cipation, and of the disposition of the negroes to benefit by it, and of the planters to encourage every attempt for their moral .and religions improvement. One fact appeared very striking; that in one school for the instruction iu reading of negro adults there were found 48S persons who had been induced to attend in order to be prepared for the gift of the Holy Scriptures about to be presented by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Another fact of peculiar interest was stated, namely, that in Constantinople, the seat of Mahominedan delusion, there are at this moment seven chistian schools for the education of the Turkish population, and conducted by American missionaries, at which 2,5000 of the junior soldiers of the Porte attended for instruction. The rut eting was next addressed by that ornament of his species, and friend to everything which adorns humanity, James Montgomery. The pathos, the exquisite touches of delicate sentiment, combined with christian feeling and poetical imagery which characterised his admirable address, to be duly appre ciated must h ave b een h ear d. H e commence d by ex p ress i ng his pleasu re i n b e i ng aga i n p erm itt e d to mee t hi s c h r i s ti an friends on an occasion like the present. With much feeling he adverted to the absence by death of several most valued friends with whom he h a d f ormer ly the gratifi ca ti on o f assoc i a ti ng on missionary occasions, and alluded particularly to the late Rev. Dr. Ad am Clarke and the Rev. Richard Watson. Mr. Mont gomery alluded to the fact of he himself having descended from missionary parents who had spent their lives in endeavouring to benefit the poor negro, and concluded by an impressive and affecting appeal to all present on the vast responsibility laid on them to exert their utmost energies in promoting the spiritual improvement of that vast portion of the human race still desti tute of the benefits of our common christianity. The Rev. Dr. Stewart, M'Leau, from Sheffield, and Waugh, from Dublin, also addressed the meeting; after which the com pany separated, much gratified with this interesting feast of christianity feeling and sympathy. The collection on this occasion amounted to £l3O 7s. 6d. ; and the sum raised at the several services up to this time amounts to upwards of £27 more than the corresponding one last year. PRIESTLY INFLUENCE AT ELECTIONS. ( From the Carlow Sentinel.) One of the first petitions on the subject of the illegal and un constitutional interference of the priests at elections, will, in a few days, be forwarded to our representatives for presentation to parliament. Already the petition which contains many spe- cific charges has had th; signatures of nearly two thousand pro_ testants and Roman Catholics affixed to it; and we trust simi lar petitions will be forwarded from every borough and county in Ireland, praying that the legislature may speedily devise such salutary enactments as will effectually check their tyranny, and above all, prevent their interference at elections. To this moment they are canvassing the county—employing every pos- . sible means to intimidate the electors. In many instances they have deprived the farmers of their leases, and such as manifest an inclination to resist their demands, are threatened with ex termination from the altar—where scenes of blasphemy and ruffianism have taken place, that would disgrace the French re publicanism, during the reign of terror. • 'I he adoption of such measures as may tend to check. their arrogance and political villainy in this county has had due effect on those ghostly gen try, and accordingly they arc getting up counter petitions in justification of their conduct. But all their efforts are vain— for we have reason to know, that they are likely to be cut short • in their career, by the timely adoption of such remedies as will effectually deprive the priest of his unhallowed influence over a benighted laity, and send the agitating boors that have inter fered at elections, "back to their altars." We again assert that every toten and county in Ireland should send forth its pe tion to the legislature on this subject. SIR ROBERT PEEL. (By the Author of The Flea are Awake.) The rock of the ocean, when night-storms rage loudly, Stands 6rm in its might, and repels the rude wave; And the beacon above it shines calmly and proudly, flow wildly soever waves roll or winds rave. That rock still unmoved, and that light still appearing, There is hope for the bark o'er the billows careering ; For her mariners watch it, and, dauntlessly steering, Hold on by the beacon that lightens to save ! And now, when the tempests of faction rage loudly, 0! is there no rock the rude surge to outbrave ? 0! shines there no beacon-light calmly and proudly, To guide the State bark through the night of the wave ? Yes, Peel! every bosom not dead to emotion, Exulting confides in thy fearless devotion ; Thy courage is England's firm rock of the ocean ! Thy wisdom her beacon that lightens to save ! POPERY "The papers from London have confirmed the truth of the news yesterday. We find that popery has triumphed over pro testanlism—that perjury has triumphed over truth—and that the enemies of all religion have made common cause with the enemies of protestantisiu, in order to spoliate the Irish Pro testant Church." The foregoing is the introductory passage of a letter from the private correspondent of the Standard,, at Paris, dated Paris, April 5, and we have given it this prominent place as an in stance cola strict and literal truth, ut the certainty of which the writer had no doubt—but which is in strict accordance with the actual facts—though at the same time the author could have only had a general impression of them. Popery has triumphed over protestantism in the late majority. That majority con • sists of thirty-three. Precisely thirty-three papists voted in that majority, and triumphed over the protestautism of the em pire. . It is a most singular coincidence—but no less true than remarkable. Here are their names : 1 Barron, H. W. lB O'Connell, Daniell 2 Barry, lll9 O'Connell, Johu 3 Bellew, R. M. 20 O'Connell, Morgan John 4 Bellew, Sir P. 21 O'Connell, Maurice 5 Blake, 22 O'Conor Don 6 Bodkin, 23 O'Ferrall, R. M. 7 Brady, 24 0' Dywer, 8 Bridgman, 25 O'Loghlen, 9 Finu, '26 Power, Pat. • 10 Fitzsinaon, Christopjler 27 Roche, William 11 Fitzsimou, Nicholas 28 Roche, David 12 Lynch, 29 Ronayne, • 13 Maher 30 Shell 14 Mullins, 31 Sullivan 15 Nagle 132 Talbot, J. H. 16 O'Brien, Cornelius 33 Wyse. 17 O'Connell , Morgan But another observation of the sagacious writer which was still to be verified at the time he wrote, by a list of the majority, is not less observable for its unpremeditated exactness. " Per jury," says he, " has triumphed over truth." Yes, every one' of those thirty-three had taken a solemn oath not to use any of the privileges of membership to disturb or weaken the protestant church establishment. Yet these very thirty-three (and they . include almost every man in the ,house to whom such an oath is tendered) did vote for the disturbance and weakening of the protestant church establishment. We mark the word establish ment as it occurs in the oath, emphatically; because the tem poralities are, part, not of the religion—but of the establishment of protestantistn. Protestants of the empire, look to these facts. The foresworn Irish Roman catholic members (we do not now allude to the quasi•protestant nominees of the priests who sit in the heuse)— but the absolute popish members have triumphed—by an act of open and flagrant perjury—over the protestant established church of the realm; and the feeling of English protestaets has been overborne by THIRTY-THREE Irish Romanists. In conclusion—let this fact be trumpeted to the people of England : That A MAJORITY OP THIRTY-THRKR IRISH PAPISTS HAS DECIDED FOR THE PLUNDER AND DESTRUCTION OF THE PRO TESTANT CHURCH INARELAND; and let this be added—That the very same majority may detelmine °lithe plunder and destruc tion of the protestant church in England. CAPTURE OF A SPANISH SLAVER. The following is an extract of a letter from an officer onboard His Majesty's brigantine Buzzard, giving the particulars of an action between that vessel and a Spanish slaver, off the coast of Africa:— "H. M. brigantine Buzzard, off Fernando Po, Jan. 1 "In my last letter I mentioned to you our hope of falling in with the Formidable, and fortunately we did so on the 17th ult., while cruising off the entrance to the old Calabar river. On looking with our glasses we made her out to be a rakish-looking brig, distant about nine miles. The little barky was seen clothed with canvass from the truck to the gunwale, and sweeps out to help her. We had rather more wind than her, and from the use of our sweeps, came up with her hand-over-hand, but the captain taking us for a schooner which had sailed in com pany with him from the river, did not alter his course or make sail, until we had neared a couple of miles: then finding his mistake, up went studding sails, with every stitch he could set in regular man-of-war-style. This settled the matter in our minds, and we no longer doubted her being the redoubtable Formidable. "Our chase kept steadily on, endeavouring to cross our bows, but finding that impossible, and that she must come to blows with us, when within half gunshot he took in all the studding sails at once, and lowered his stern boat, showing us two fine teeth, in addition to.three out of his starboard side. As we bad our studding sails still set, and gaining fast from the situation of both vessels, and the very bad position upon him, we in sweeps and piped to quarters. Unfortunately, from the Position in which our long gun is placed, we could not get it to - 13 ear upon him without yawing, and that would have been losing time. At this moment all was the most intense anxiety; of course you know where I was obliged to go, which, if possible, increased mine. Shortly after, being then at about a pistol shot distance, he let fly his starboard stern chaser with a round, two cannister shot, a star shot, many of which went through our fore-top sail, his object being to carry away our masts; a boy stationed iu the top received a wound in the shoulder from one of the cannister shot, which also carried away a portion of his lower jaw. We then gave him the contents of our long , gun and two carronades, with a volley of musketry, which seemed to astonish him, and well it might, for every shot told, and they were pretty well up to the muzzle. A brisk fire was now kept up on both sides until 10 minutes before 5, when, being sufficiently uear, we ran him on board on the starboard quarter, the fluke of our starboard anchor breaking it in, and hooking on the lanyard; of his main rigging. Our fellows soon found a passage, and in less than a minute every Spaniard of the crew but about six ran down below, for had they attempted cutlass work our fellows would have soon finished them. "The captain of the Formidable proved himself a brave fellow ; as he walked the poop, encouraging his men, he was a mark for ours, one of whom (a marine) brought him down at last, after he had received no less than three musket balls in his body, and one through his cap. He is an officer in the Spanish navy, and certainly did not disgrace it. lie suffered much from two of his wounds, but is now out of danger. We found they had on board upwards of 700 slaves and a crew of 66 men, 8 guns, 30 muskets, 10 pair of, pistols, besides entlasses, W e found four killer, and It wounded, the severely, tlieremain der, with three of the slaves, slightly. On our side we had in all six wounded, two severely, and four slightly. The Formi dable was much cut up and we were a good deal riddled. Our prize is a most beautiful vessel, worthy of the peril, upwards of 34) tons, and pierced for 20 guns. I suppose she will go for a mere sous at Sierra Leone, and in a few months be employed in the same trade again." SIR GEORGE TUTHILL. The funeral of this celebrated physician, who died on the 7th inst., after an illness of only ten days, took place on Monday last at St. Alban's. Many individuals of rank were desirous of paying the last sad token of respect to his memory, but Mr. Basil Montagu, his executor, directed that his funeral should be strictly private, in obedience to the wishes of Sir George, who was known to have an aversion to the pomp and show of mourn ing. He has left a widow and daughter afflicted by his loss. Sir George's malady was inflammation of the larynx—his me dical attendants were Sir Henry Halford, Dr. - Warren, Dr. Watson, and Mr. Laurence. Mi. Knox, of the Westminster Hospital, also sat up with him. This accomplished physician was for many years attached in his medical capacity to Beth lens and the Westminster Hospitals, and was highly esteemed by his professional brethren for his extensive professional ac quirements, and general erudition. Sir G. Tuthill's entrance upon his professional career was considerably protracted, owing to an untoward circumstance, from which he was somewhat romantically delivered. After graduating at Cambridge, where he obtained first honours, and was subsequently selected to pre sent a University address to the King, he proceeded to Paris pre vious to the war with France, and was, with his lady, included among the numerous detenus at that period ,• here he continued in captivity for some years. L a dy Tuthill was at length re commended to appeal to the generosity of the First Consul, and being provided with a petition she encountered Napoleon and his suite on their return from hunting, and respectfully pre sented her memorial. The result was propitious, and in a f‘ny days they . were on their road to England. His friend Mr. Manning, joined with Mr. Montagu in the executorship, had previously been released, after an interview with Bonaparte, in which he explaisrd that his destination when s t o pped was, for scientific purposes, .r.o the interior of China. B ona p ar te, in ac cording to his wish, said—" What want von in China? You will have your head taken off; however, you are au Englishman, and may go." Mr. Manning_ was thrice brought from the in terior in a cage, and eventually returning to England, stopped at St. Helena, and encountered Napoleon in his exile. Ile instantly remembered the circumstance, and expressed his sur prise that the head and shoulders had not parted company. Sir.Gcorge was for many years a lecturer on the practice of physic, tke., and, at one time, boasted the largest class in Lon don; of late, his practice had been chiefly devoted to diseases of the brain, and his name had usually been included among the evidences in the commissions de 2unatico inguirendo. Sir George was appointed to deliver the Harveian oration at the College of Physicians, on the 25th of next month, and with his friends Sir Henry Halford, and lately deceased colleague, Dr. Maton, was actively engaged. in effecting such wholesome re forms in the college as he deemed the improvement in the pre sent state of medical science had rendered necessary. He was, however, a stanch enemy to radicalism in the profession. PROSPECTS OF THE NEW MINISTERS. EXETER, SaTURDAY.—The friends of "good government" in this division of the county, in anticipation of Lord John Russell's return to office, which necessarily obliges him to be re-elected,. haVe this day at a meeting determined to oppose him in the most strenuous manner. For this purpose a requisitinn has been addressed to Montague Edmund Newcombe Parker, of Whitevrav, in this bounty, to come forward, to a Inch that gentleman has signified his assent. The contest whieb will thus ensue will be of a most desperate and determined character. Mr. Parker, though rather a young man and young in public life, stands deservedly high in the estimation of the respectable yeomanry of, the county. His family is good, being ind e ed 'elated to Earl Morley. He is of must amiable temper, high talents, and unsullied conduct; his principles are sate, sound, and constitutional. The conduct of Lord John Russell, on the contrary, particularly since his alliance with O'Connell, and the glaringly factious course he has-pursued towards Sir Robert Peel's administrations has very considerably alienated him from his party; for though they are reformers they are no papists, and are too much attached to the protestant established church, even with all the abuses th e y impute to it, to consent t o raise catholicism onits ruins. Lord John Russell's partisans also have been gathering here to-day. but their appea.rance is by no means that of being at ease; they are evidently afraid of what has been done. Ray. W. J. Fox.--21 Specimen of the rauntasy System and its results.—ln the New Monthly Magazine, for 1824, p. 191, oc curs this sentence. "There is a Mr. Fox, a Dissenting Minis ter, who is the darling o f hi s congrega ti on ." Thi s i s the Rev. William Johnson Fox, of Finsbury Chapel, formerly a pupil of Dr. Pye Smith, but who has since embraced Unitarianism, a change by no means unfrequent in Dissenting Colleges, as Dr. Smith informs us. In the course of ten years, this darling of his congregation has not only ceased to be their darling, but their minister too. The precise cause has not transpired, al though Mr. Fox has recorded his griefs and wrongs in a letter addressed to the Morning Chronicle of September 6th, 1834. He there complains of unresponsible accusers, unspecific charges, and imputations denied, and pronounces the whole matter to be "a chaos of impertinence and distortions." lie inveighs bit terly against the conduct of his congregation, in ransacking his correspondence, and even inspecting the accounts of his house hold expenditure. "The evils (he says) without the advantages, if such there would be, of a domestic inquisition gathered around me; while the evil was not confined to myself, but of the proverbial delicacy of female reputation, advantage was ta ken the most unjust and base." This is a specimen of the vo luntary system and its results. Disgusting as the statement is, it is rendered ten times worse by the effrontery with which the advocates of that system prl claim its alleged superiority. But why call it voluntary? The wyta system would be a far more appropriate name. APAIL 17. I 9E3r GRAND - NEW ITALIAN OPERA AND BALLET THE Original Proprietors and F o u n d ers o f th e Li ver p o ol and Manchestet ITALIAN OPERA, having assured themselves that the hopes which th e y bad entertained in establishing OPERATIC ENTERTAINMENTS in this town have since been realized by the enthusiastic encouragement of its inhabitants, are anxious, if possible, to gratify the refined taste for ITALIAN MUSIC, which they had the honor of forming, and propose to u n f ur l once more their banners, provided a suffi cient number of Friends and Supporters can be obtained to unite with them in so perilous and splendid an enterprise. They hope that the manner in which the Establishment was conducted, in the year 183.1, gave satisfaction to the Public, considering the disadvantages under which it laboured, and can only promise on the present occasion that their future efforts will be unremitting. in order to form an effective OPERA COMPANY and GRAND BALLET, such as may be wortls.l.lre patronage of the second town in England. The time proposed is the early part 44e next year, and the Subscriptions for the Season, which will consist of Thirty-six Representations of the MOST POPULAR MODERN OPERAS, will be SEVEN GUINEAS—the Tickets to be Transferable. The price of Single Tickets for the Boxes will be raised to Five Shillings, in consequence of the enormous expense attend ing the undertaking. Families who intend favouring the list with their names will have the kindness to apply to Messrs. Rocrt.tvP and Due/L -yman-I, Stationers, Castle-street, to Mr. Wsrss, Music seller, Church-street, or to Messrs. litres and Son, Music sellers, Church -street and Castle-street, on ur before the2.stlr April instant. UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF THE WORSHIPFUL THE MAYOR. POSTPONEMENT OF THE FANCY FAIR. In consequence of Chester Races taking place on the days announced for the BAZAA4, the Proprietor has been solicited to POSTPONE the Public Days until MONDAY, the Ilth, and TUESDAY, the 12th of May next; the Fancy Fair will, therefore, take place a week later than originally announced. LIVERPOOL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. MARATKINS, Proprietor the • ive GARDE NS , begs . lave most respeetfully t o o f retnr a n im ihanis to t he Nobility and Gentry, and to the Inhabitants of Liverpool a e vici nity generally, for the very flattering support 1. c his Esta bliihment has received since its commeu , and to inforip them that the Season for 1835-6 w ill co ence on MONDAY, the 11th May next, on which and the following day, the anni versary, of the Opening of the Gardens will be celebrated, as usual, by a BAZAAR AND FANCY FAIR; the profits of which, together with a donation proportionate to • the receipts, will be divided alpongst the PUBLIC CHARITIES. On the evenings of those days the Gardens and principal Buildings will be • SPLENDIDLY ILLUMINATED. There will also be a GRAND EXHIBITION OF FIREWORKS, under the superintendence of an eminent artist. " A FULL MILITARY BAND will be in attendance on the opening days, and will perform three days a week during the season. Contributions from Ladies and Gentlemen of articles for sate at the Bazaar will be thankfully received, and duly accounted for at the Garden; where any further information may be ob tained. " Subscription Books for the season are now lying for signature at Mr. Grapel's, Church-street, at the Lyceum News-room, and at the principal Hotels and Newspaper-offices, where Tickets may be had. Subscribers are respectfully requested to observe that, as the season for 1834 expires with the present month, old tickets are inadmissible on the opening days. Non-subscribers will be ad mitted on those days with an order from a Subscriber, on pay ment of Two Shillings, till Two o'clock ; after that hour, and for the rest of the season, at the usual charge of One Shilling. The following are the TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: — Annual Ticket for a single Subscriber £1 1 0 Ditto for a Family not exceeding four persons 3 3 0 Ditto for any additional member of a Family above four 0 7 0 Ditto ditto above six 0 5 0 The terms for the admission of Schools, either for a single visit or for the season, may be known on application at the Garden. Subscribers to enjoy the privilege of writing Visitors' Tickets, without which Non-subscribers will not be admitted. Tickets not transferable. The Gardens are Open from Seven or Eight o'clock in the Morning, according to the season, till dusk, throughout the year. Zoological Gardens, Derby-road, April 15, 1835. TO CORRESPONDENTS. What a very silly question "John T." asks; it is hardly tit for the Mercury. We refer him to the noun "Native" in John son's dictionary. Zbe Eiberpool eStanbarb. FRIDAY MORNING. APRIL 17, 1835, The latest advices from London state that Lord MEI:* BOURNE had made no progress whatever in the formation of his administration. Lord JOHN RUSSELL had been suddenly summoned from Woburn to give his advice. Lord GREY having withdrawn from the party altogether. The news from Devonshire had cooled the ardour of Lot d JOHN, and that from Cambridge had damped the cou rage of Mr. SPRING RICE. In short, Lord MELBOURNE is beset by difficulties on every side, and it was confi dently expected that he would cause it to be announced in the House of Cdtmilons, last night; that he liarfa . io - in constructing a ministry. The King, our private cor respondent .assures us, remains firm, and positively re, fuses to concede any terms to the Irish agitator. The foreign news is not devoid' of interest. The death of one prince in Portugal, and the birth of ano ther in Belgium, are events of some importance to the gossipping world; but the more important intelligence has reference to the new aspect of affairs in Spain. The adherents of Don CARLOS are increasing daily, and the. Queen REGENT, fearing some sudden outbreak of po pular fury, has retired rather clandestinely from the ca pital. It would not surprise us to see Don CARLOS on the throne before midsummer. In France, Louis PHILIPPE is making war, as usual, upon the press and the patriots who raised him to his present rank of " Citizen King." He has proved him self to be the greatest despot in Europe. The position of the ministry in abeyance, and the mi nistry in expectancy, is perhaps the most curious upon re cord. It must have been foreseen from the first that the failure or the retirement of Sir ROBERT PEEL would se riously embarrass the crown and interrupt the business of the country. But the united factions cared for none of these things. Like furious hounds upon a chase, they dashed on through the gloom, reckless of the precipice before them, over which the foremost were impelled and destroyed. This, we contend, is the situation of Lord JOHN RUE* SELL and those of the whig party who have supported him. They are politically dead. In other words they are powerless ; and they have no more chance of form ing a government, which could exist for a month, than JOHN GULLY has of being Lord High Chancellor of England. They will go all lengths, we are told, in their despe rate resolves, and their unconquerable love of place and pelf. We know it. To obtain power, and provide for the needy and the vile, they would take the crown from the head of WILLIAM IV. and place it on the bead a DANIEL O'CONNELL. To accomplish their base and fac tious ends, they would give Ireland to the popish priests, and raze to the foundation every protestant ehurch io that island. But will they be permitted to do all the acts of wickedness which they contemplate, aqd t, Ater away the rights of England fur the support which is promised them in return by the Irish demagogue .? We hardly think they will. Let us see how the case stands. In November last the King, in the exercise of his undoubted prerogative, thought fit to dismiss from his councils that ministry of which Lord MELBOURNE was the nominal head. He se-. ected new advisers. His Majesty sought the aid of Sic' ROBERT PEEL, who was not seeking office, and whn.baft never in the slightest degree offered any factious opposi tion to the preceding government. A new pardiameat is . summoned ; and upon an important question, involving a constitutional principle, Sir ROBERT PEEL. is defeated by a majority of thirty-three--a majority composed en tirely of Irish papists! The prime minister retires in consequence of this defeat ; and here the. crown is once more called upon to exercise its prerogative. The King consults Lord GREY—Lord GREY recom mends Lord LANSDOWNE—Lord LANSDOWNE recom mends Lord MELBOURNE—the very man whom the King,, had dismissed in November last! But pass we over this —Lord MELBOURNE is sent for, and he, after consulting Lord JOHN RUSSELL, consents to undertake the task of forming a new ministry. Lord MELBOURNE knows that the only mode of securing for his government a majority in the House of Commons is by purchasing, silencing, or neutralizing in some way or other, the sweet voices ofthe knot of Irish papists who supported the confiscation clause of Lord JOHN RUSSELL. Now, how is this to be done ? O'CONNELL is not the man to throw a chance away. lie' is not the man to work without pay. He will not take office himself, for this simple reason, that the paupers and assassins of Ireland are better paymasters than the King of Great Britain, and because be would be a decided loSer W ' Ith ot Pitt ro kt NI /44, ......!„,, by a O'C, puwf Isi Itgv e. 2a flant that th e NEL] Rt.'s ussu Ir e i Pact . dep., 11l = ELL e (it Net