The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1832-12-28 00:00:00

THE LONDON PnEss. THE WHIG REFORM MINISTRY. At the dinner at the London Tavern, on Saturtlay, to celebrate the triumph of reform, and the return of Mr. Grote, that gentleman repudiated, in the strongest tern*, the idea that people were to go into parliament without any fixed principles at all, and expect to pick up princi ples on the floor of the House of Commons. "The present times," he observed, "were such as re quired men who went to parliament with principles formed; and he should be a recreant to his own princi ples if he hesitated to avow that he thought they required, in a peculiar degree, men devoted - to the service of the country—men of decision and knowledge—men possess ing the command of large principles and comprehensive views.(Applause.) There were faults to correct, in juries to repair, grievances to redress, which called for no wavering or undecided hand—for no men who would stand aloof till the minister should set his seal upon a measure—those surely were not the men for the ensuing parliament, but those were the men who drew back from pledges.—(Applause.)" The chairman (Mr. Warburton) observed, that he saw no distinction between persecution for conscience sake, whether it had reference to a political or a religious con science, and that if they expected to preserve the inde pendence of the voter, they must insist upon the ballot. Mr. Hume observed, "'that lie felt as they all must feel, that the bill was not a complete measure—that it did not scure political freedom with ou t th e b a ll o t ; an d t h at was a e Viith, which he should never cease to inculcate upon a reirmed parliament until it,was obtained." 4 . — di few exceptions, the 'church, the -aristocracy, and th iagistracy , have b een th roug h ou t th e l ate contests, enii ntly Conservatite or 'Tory. What Mr. Walter says in his address to the electors of Berkshire, may, in fact, be subscribed to by every liberal candidate for the representation .of a county. " With a few splendid individual exceptions, gentle men, I owe little to that order which calls itself, or is considered, the aristocracy of Berkshire. The middle and industrious classes, with whom, as a body, are found in the highest degree in which they exist throughout this nation, the noblest characteristics of intelligence, honesty, manly truths and honour, are they to whom I feel myself most sensibly indebted for the eminent, though arduous, station to which I have been raised." Lord John Russell, even in his canvass through South Devon, after finding that the .tenants were intimidated by their landlords, declared that the object of the reform bill was to pUt an end to influence, and that if the voter could not otherwise be protected, recourse must be had to the ballot. Mr. Abercromby at Edinburgh, Mr. Macauly at Leeds, so say nothing of men unconnected with ministers, have held the same language. But behold Mr. Stanley, not satisfied with throwing Ireland into, we had almost said, a remediless confusion, throws out a challenge at Lancaster, which, if we are not mistaken, will render it difficult t o d e t erm in e i n w hi c h island lie has done most mischief to his oolleagues. "The government (he said) had come forward with a complete measure of reform, which the people had adopted as the new, charter of their liberties ; it had been so extensive as to alarm many, who, however, consented to go the length of it upon the diStinct pledge, that it was to-be taken as a final measure. If, therefore, it should be at- tempted to bring forward any measure tbr shortening the duration of parliament, or still further extensive altera tion by a protection, as it was falsely'called, of the vote by ballot, he now announced (and he spoke the senti ments of his honourable colleagues,) that any such mea sure would meet their most decided opposition." But is the opinion of the nation itself to go for no thing ? The ministers gave a pledge, But other people have given pledgeif as well as ministers. If the Com- irons represent the nation, and the nation be determined to have the voter protected by the ballot, and the dura tion shortened, which ought to give way, the ministry or t House of Commons ? Ministers have clearly pledged themselves to what was not within their competency, if they pledged themselves there should be no ballot, and the duration of parliament should not be shortened. We apprehend that the object of the reform bill was to make the ministry dependent on parliament, and not parliament on the ministry. However, Mr. Stanley has not only givefi•a side blow to his colleague, Lord John Russell; but he has at once called into being an oppoSition which ministers may find acme difficulty in over.mning. This young man seems to possess in admirable proportion the faculty described by 'Sheridan, of raising up a wall to break his own head on, as well as the heads of his friends.— Morning Chrcnicle. • Lords Althorp and John Russell, we think, have-hard measure from their friends, who charge them with breach of engagement, because they will not do every Thing at a "hop, step, and jump" gait: this, however, is not our concern. Ourbusiness lies with a gentleman widely „distinzuishedfrom both in every attribute, of talent, we - are sure—and as we think, in every attribute of in tegrity also, Mr Stanley. The Right Honourable . Secretary for Ireland, plainly, and without securing any loop-hole- .ilir . after-evasion, avows his resolution to maintain the bill inflexibly,' as . a final measure. His colleagues, even ' those who come nearest to him, all treat it, on the other hand, as but a step to ulterior • advances towards a democracy. The infion between them must therefore end, upon the first concession which the Cabinet shall be commanded to. mile / -to its allies of the Political Unions. Lord Beuugharn's sentiments are knownto coincide more nearly W4li‘those Of ;qr. Stanley than • with the sentiments of firiT 'Vier member of the Cabinet. And the mere re ''tir74lit •ef 'Lord Brougham - and Mr. Stanley would at ;: • onceA l liik the administration. :. • • With the dissolution of the present ministry, oCwhicli the •foundations-are SO clearrnaid here, were'llieie •.not as-there are a thousand (Wei elements of - dissolution; must begin in form what we are happy to say has long since commenced in, fact, a new cast - of parties. The division between "Conservatives" and " Destructives," or the " Motivement,7' no longer disguised by the abuse of obsolete names, will then become e nnequivocal; and we - are are greatly mistaken if .the result will not be on the whole more beneficial than perhaps the bill had hi therto given to either opponents or supporters any just right to anticipate. The only danger is of the• forma tion of a " juste milieu" party, but :we: rely upon the manliness of the , British character, upon the intelligence of the people, enlightened by the last, fifteen years' ex perience of " juste,maieuint,"—finally; upon the mercy of Providence to prntect, us, from that: grpatest of all curses that can afflict a people —a powerful and unprin cipled party, prep - wed always . to keep the middle ground. Medio tutissimus," is a sound maxim, but.the safety 'whii,Tl it promises is to the party himself ; eyery wise staifsman, from Solon to Burke, has ,shown that it is ruin to the public. is moderation then to be altogether rejected ? By no means ; moderatiOn• •is , an excellent thing, rightly applied. 'Paitiesor individuals cannot be -too Moderate in their resentmentsx)vambition; !or any • other passion, or in their opinions ;'but -let there be .no ; moderation in integrity, zeal, .or patriotism, or in the fir m n e ss with which principles onces.honestly. and tem ,perately taken up,. are to - be maintained. In times' of :settled grverlinent a ". ftate•ntiliete:;party.may perhaps consist cf honest men, though it will rarely at any time consist of zealous pattiots; butrn such a political posi tiortio-that of the country at . present, it can cons i s t o f none but Inaves. The questio n 'snow between rest and move ment ; there can; therefore, in fact, be .no middle_ term, and any pretended intermediate party would merely con sist of a sordid co** . of greedy wretches and cowards, following the avowed revolutionists, for the sake of plun der, or under the influence of fear—giving them the sup port which the obseqUiOusness of pretended neutrals always fives • and even propelling thei r h ea dl ong marc h by the fear' drivalship. We feel deeply grateful to Mr. Stanley for the word final—it at once discharges him from the service of the "mouvement," and precludes his ever falling into the abomination of a juste milieu.—Standard. We hope that one of the first measures of the reformed Parliament will be the repeal of the assessed taxes, not their reduction or modification, but their entire and un qualified repeal. We do not ask, or wish for this, on po litical grounds, although it must be admitted, that the payment of these taxes stands in the way of the elective franchise, but on the ground of the unequal pressure of these imposts, and in order to hold ministers to their so lemn pledge of retrenchment. is These mi ters have now been tw o y ears in office, and we de heir advocates to point t o any s i ng l e i mpost, the pres eof which they have reduced. In fact, instead of reducing taxes, they are at this moment issuing orders, the object of which is to increase the burden of those most obnoxious taxes, the house and window tax. They have already done this to a most unjustifiable extent in many places; and seem resolved, at this period of general dis tress : to farthi ng squeeze.the uttermost out of the pocket s ,. of .the people. It may be true that the necessities of the; Chancellor of the Exchequer compel him to resort to this expedient, but it would have been in better taste had 'he waited to ascertain what judgment the House of Corn ! mons would pronounce on his proceedings. Under the old system, the house and window duty was an unfair and grinding tax, and it has never.been paid till the last moment. But the system now pursued by Mr. Spring ' Rice; under the direction of Lord Althorp, renders this tax far more obnoxious than ever. The folloviring ex tract from the Cambridge Chronicle of Friday last, and a reference to the excellent speech of Captain Yorke in anotherpart of our paper, will. explain what we mean : "One of the most barefacedinstances of whig manoeuvring and hypocrisy has be e n pl a y e d o ff i n t hi s town d ur i ng the last week. It has been surmised for sonic time that an attempt would be made greatly to increase the inhabited house duty; and that the serving of the surcharges had been delayed in or der to avoid risking the return of our retrenchment and eco .nomy member, Mr. Spring Rice. That gentleman's friends, however, stoutly denied a s t a t emen t t o th at e ff e c t during the town election, and the denial had its effect. It defer r ed the knowledge of the truth for exactly one whole day ! Yes ! it i s an absolute fact, that, on the very day after Mr. S. Rice's elec tion, surcharges k ,bearing date nwre than d fortnight preciously, were delivered at the houses of many hundred inhabitants, gluing the)n notice that their inhabited house duty was raised, in some cases 50 per cent., and in some cases 100 per cent. This is a trick worthy of Mr. Spring Rice, and a re trenchment ministry. It was certainly believed, and the belief was encouraged for certain electioneering purposes, that the government intended to abolish these duties. But the vision of reduced taxAtion has, at, the appointed time, melted into thin air,. and the c o ll ector i s sent f orth armed with surcharges. Oh these whigs ! But we must . have the assessed: taxes repeited neverthel ess , "or the Parliament i s reformed in vain.—Guardian and Public Ledger. THE SIEGE OF ANTWERP. The inflexible resolution of the Dutch excites general admiration : and as. we approach the close of the . siege, which must now be rapid and decisive, the conduct of Chasse and his brave band increases its claims upon the sympathy of Europe. The French soldiers have not exhibited that forbear ance which distinguished the better disciplined ranks of the English army throughout the war id the Peninsula, and in the campaign in the Low Countries. .We do not make this contrast from any invidious desire to publish our own superiority, but for the sake of convenience in being the more clearly understood. The army of Wel lington, greater in numbers, flushed with victory, and animated by one of the most glorious ends that ever in spired war with dignity, ebserVed the most rigid respect for persons and, property, except in isolated instances, which even the most admirable vigilance in detail could not wholly prevent. In desultory warfare, where a whole country is to be traversed, where the soldiers are bivou acked in the neighbourhoods of small towns, and amidst . Clusters of farm4iouses,.it .is extremely difficult to pre serve that restraint which surrounding temptations only render the more necessary; but in the situation of the French troops there is no such palliation for outrage' and plunder. They are encamped in a friendly country, and occupy a position :that presents abundant resources of supply ; they have no need to resort to improper means of procuring either shelter or subsistence : yet we find, by the last accounts, that a portion of the troops lying behind the trenches have driven out the inhabitants of certain isolated and, unprotected houses situated in the immediate vicinity, and carried away their effects, with all the unbridled ferocity of marau d ers. Marshal Gerard has, very properly, interfered to check this spirit of insu bordination, and threatens the repetition of the offence with summary punishinent. But this, we regret to say, is not a solitary example of the reckless fury of the be sieging army. Chasse complains, and justly, of the bru tality thev evince in firing upon the hospital and chapel, although those places are respectively distinguished by black and white flags. Even the French marshal is im plicated in the blame of these proceedings, for when the Dutch general demanded of hint a cessation Of hostilities for forty-eight hours, for the mutual purpose of attending to the wounded, his unmannered reply was, that it would be time enough to attend to the wounded when the cita del was evacuated. War is bad enough, and its evils are numerous enough; but when. an exterminating war is hardly sanctioned by the magnitude of its object, the cruelty of enhancing its inevitable horrors must appear the more atrocious in the eyes of mankind.—Atlas. L , .. LIVERPOOL STANDARD. - - an irresponsible power over them, and that they cannot look to the English minister for redress. It is full time that this disgraceful affair were terminated, or that we should withdraw our ships altogether, and leave . Oporto and its British residents to their fate, which-would be scarcely more culpable than the tacit encouragement we are daily giving to so many wrongs against our own honour.—Atlas•. • o G N INTELLIGENCE. SIEGE OF THE CITADEL OF ANTWERP. ANTWERP, DEC. 21, Friday Noon.—The last act of the siege has begun. The breach battery, armed and fully prepared, be gan at half past 11 o'clock the work of destruction on the left Lace of the bastion Toledo. This battery consists of six 24- pounders, the balls of which strike the wail at the water level, and shattering the old bricks of which it is composed into pieces, raise clouds of dust. The firing is vehement on both sides, for the besieged, whose only defence has hitherto been not art, but the strength of their guns, "are now compelled to make nest, and, as ail allow, a fruitless effort to repel the attack." The bat tery plays horizontally upon a width of abo u t 15 yar d s, an d f rom a distance of a b ou t 80. The sounds are, therefore, such as have not yet beeen heard during the siege, from their frequent and forcible detonation. The counter-batteries also direct their fire on the flanks of the Fernando and Pacietto bastions. It is feared that some balls may fly over the esplanade to the next street of the town, called Rue de la Cuilliere, which has pro duced the departing of the persons resident therein. Sentinels are placed to prevent all passage through that street.—Rumour speaks of a final summons having been sent by Marshal Gerard this morning, to demand the surrender, before the breach bat teries opened. It is not easy at this moment to learn the truth on the subject. FOUR O'CLOCK, AFTERNOON.—The great liege, or as it is now called, monster mortar, has been tried to-day, and has suc ceeded. It is placed on the counter-guard, between the Mech lingate and the fort Montebello. fhe first enormous shell thrown by this mortar during its approach to the citadel, fell upon and sunk into the rampart of the citadel, near the gate of the esplanade. After a delay of about three minutes it burst, and scattered an immense quantity of earth on all sides. The second shell, from some fault in the fuze, broke in the mortar, and bursting at 100 yards, threw the fragments forward. A de lay of two or three hours then followed, during which the shells were examined. At four o'clock four or five more were thrown with precision into the citadel, a distance of more than 1,000 yards. The appearance of the citadel is hourly growing snore hideous. The little turret of the chapel, long one of the distinguishing features of the place, has fallen, as well as the great pa r t o f th e building itself. A fi re broke out this morning among the ruins, as if to leave no vestige of the works of olden time. A shell also fell among some Dutch shells ready charged near the masked mortar battery, in the interior of which it caused, at least, a dozen of them to burst, and of course to do even more mischief than those-thrown by the French. Five o'CLoce.—There has been considerable firing on the river. The French have guns of heavy calibre, stationed, one at Burcht, and the , other on the opposite side, which have dis charged a considerable number of shot against the Dutch gun boats in the Seheldt, near the citadel, to cut off, as it is said, the communication with the Tete de Flandres. Th e di stance was too great to produce" any effect. It is also asserted that there has been a heavy- cannonade down the river towards Lillo, but the haziness, of this rainy weather prevents all chance of distinguishing the places. It is asserted that the arrange ments of the k reach corps under Generals Sebastiani and Achard are such as to interrupt effectually all communication down the lower part of the Scheldt. I saw the King, Leopold, attended by a brilliant staff, ride on horseback along the road to Berchem about two hours ago, on his return to Brussels. The rain nor the dangers of the road did not cause him to-hasten his usual pace, although all th e Belgians now pass along th a t c h au sseefear that some of Chasse's balls, which have already riddled the houses on- the road side, should do them injury. The royal carri a g e foll owe d, into which the King, after having paid a visit to the head quarters of Marshal Gerard, entered, and drove off. During his stay in Antwerp, his majesty has visited all the hospitals,. and made inquiries into the cases of all the wounded, even of the Dutch prisoners. 'He also rode through every part of the city, which his presence contributes to console at this critical period. His return here is stated to take place early next week. The number of killed and wounded of the French now amounts to about 600; the latter are treated w ith grea t kind ness and attention; those who are not seri ous ly woun d e d are removed to the neighbouring towns, such as Mechlin Louvain, &c., while such as are i ncapa bl e o f b e i ng transported so far, are received in the hospitals &c. of this city. DEC. 22, SATURDAY MORNING, EIGHT O'CLOCK.—'There was during the night a cessation of the battering cannon, although the fusilade continued brisk. The cause of the former is con jectured by some to arise from the flow of the tide into the ditch of the citadel, which prevented the continuance of the horizontal cut; some think it arose from the darkness. The ditch of the citadel being six feet deeper than that of the town, water must necessarily remain in it, and at high water there are consequently several feet more. Others suppose that Gene ral Haxo has been at work mining some part of the bastion. The firing has re-commenced at a brisk rate. At three o'clock yesterday there were four distinct vertical cuts in the brick work of. the scarp of the bastion ; at four o'-clock these -cuts-were-said-to have reached the-earth-foteniirg the rampart. After which there was to be a horizontal cut formed at the lower part, just above the level of the water. When this is completed, there are to be salvoes fired into the masonry to shake it down, and a few shells into the earth, to make tile breach there practicable. The ditch is to be filled up. The counterscarp is mined, in order to be thrown into it. TEN cfCLOCK.—The French appear to have given up the in tention of attacking the demi-lune near the bastion Pacietto, which, as the Passage leading from it into the citadel is de stroyed, can be now of no avail to the besieged, and can be taken when useful by the besiegers. ELEVEN O'CLOCK.—On the river this morning nothing new. The gun-boats opposite to the citadel have not suffereu from yesterday's fire, which is described as too distant from them. The fleet at Lillo cannot be distinguished from the quay, on account of the weather. Some of the balls fired from the coun ter battery at the flank battery of the bastion Fernando have fallen into the river between the Tete de Flandres and the fort Austruweel.—Christmas continues to be stated as the nearest possible time for the assault of the citadel TWELVE O'CLOCK.—The breach is considered now as nearly completed, mid probably by to-morrow morning the passage into the ditch will commence. The number of killed and wounded during the night has been very great. The weather is cloudy. THE TWENTY-SECOND DAY OF THE SIEGE. ANTWERP, DEC . . 21.—The fire of the batteries Nos: 1 and 2 of the second parallel was warmly,kept up during the night of the 20th. The 13eiieged replied to it by their mortars, their flank pieces, and their rampart fusils. The batteries in breach and .the counter-batteries opened their fire at 11 this morning. The first fired by salvoes, which greatly damaged the scarp of the left front of bastion No. 2. The fire will lie continued - until a breach is made in that side of the bastion near the salient. The' first bomb from the great mortar fell in the centre of bastion No. 1, against which it was pointed. It exploded in its passage, owing to the fuse. Every preparation for the descent to the fosse is now ready, and every means have been adopted to open immediately a communication between the covered way and the breach, when the latter becomes practicable. The solidity of the walls is not as great as was expected; the bricks are large, and•in some places joined with a cement of so soft a nature, that the balls pierce it. On the average it may be said that every shot displaces two bricks. We may therefore now cat culate that in 48 hours the fatigues of the army will be brought to a close. It is now some mouths since Marshal Soult required from the engineer department a plan of the attack projected against Antwerp. That document, which is still extant, point ed Out' the 28th or 29th day from the opening of the trenches, all the preparations for the assault would be ready. The event has Collie within 24 hours of the calculation of the engineer. • The commandant of the battery in breach, M. Brunet, has been wounded by the bursting of it howitzer shell. He cannot remain at his post, but his wound is not of a serious nature. 64 BE.RCHEM, DEC'. 22, HALF-PASY 12.—The fire, which had rather slackened a few hours preceding the'break of day, com menced with redoubled force a little before 9, and still continues very loud. I have been just examining With' a teleScope the effect of the breach in batteries, and I find that they have just traced the line against which they are to act, and have cut very deep at the foot of the bastion. It is impossible to form any idea, without being actually on the spot; of the immense extent of the works of attack against the citadel. They extend to 11,000 metres, and cover about 2 leagues. " As soon as the breach is practicable; they will spring that portion of the counterscarp which comes down to the ditch, and the passage will then be commenced." ANTWERP, DEC• 22, SATURDAY NIGHT.:---The firing during the day has been murderous. The French have lost a consider able number of men, and four or five excellent officers.—The " monster" mortar has limed off eight shells, the effect of which, as described by a deserter who arrived this morning, is TIIE PORTUGUESE BUSINESS. The English.flag has been again and again insulted . at Oporto by the insolent batteries Of Don - Miguel. The Engikh volunteers, like a crowd "of mendicants, assemble in the square. of St. Lazaro, to suffer renewed injuries at the hands of Don Pedro. Humiliation can hardly go farther. Our ships of war are fired on w ith i mpun i ty, and our small trading vessels.pass the bar, under the guns of the Portuguese forts; ourcauntrymen, who, deluded by ] promises,: and inspired by a rash .enthusiasm, em barked in an enterprise of certain danger,-are rewarded for their gallantry by scoffs and neglect. Yet England, Who. now suffers these indignities in silence, was once queen of the ocean, and arbiter of the destinies of nations on the plains of the Peninsula ! Don Miguel's :officers vindicate themselves by a n a pp ea l to the pr inc i p l es . of the blockade, and assert that they have beset so o fte n de ceived by vessels assuming the English colours, that they must perform their duty. without any exception, lest they should be imposed-upon again; but this is only a pretext to cover the'petty satisfaction with which they make covert reprisals upon the undeclared ally of the invader.- The case of theyolunteers is hopeless, for the venture was their oil l if,'.inisanctionecli and, therefore, unprotected by the goversuinent, so that 'they must' endure their priva tions as 411 as . they may, and make their Way home as soon as they can, Pon Pedro knows that he exercises . tremendous among the besieged. Each shot is valued at sterling. It is 24 inches in diameter.—There have been guns dismounted in the counter-battery, o f w hi c h the sita.a. , is most exposed to th e fi re of the flank and retired batter ie ; the bastions F er nando and P ac i e tt o . T he d i sc h arg e 0' sorts of projectiles has been very great, among them arc. pierries, or stone mortars.—The breaching-b atteries have I, ll ' great advances. That part of the fortific a ti ons c alled counter-forts, or buttresses, has been visible this evening. SUNDAY biORNING, 7 o'cLocx.—There has b ee n a file night in the citadel. - One of their large buildin gs , whic h been considertd bomb-proof has been blazing all night: - :;, breach is very nearly practicable : a great part of the fort' tion there has fallen down. ffic EIGHT o'cLOCK.—The Dutch h ave sen t t wo su p er i or 0 -m e o r a Colonel G o sn o e ns an d a C a pt a i n, as parlementaires to lot shal Gerard. The officer to whom they presented theins e S was unwilling at first to receive them, as the commanda u o the citadel had refused to receive the parlementaires on part of the Marshal with the first summons. NINE o'cLoex.—The firing continues at the most tr em ea dous rate. re HALF-PAST NINE O'CLOCK.—The firing has ceased lg° o ut of Marshal Gerard, and the Dutch soldiers have jumPeu ar t, of their casemates and danced with delight on the ran 3 Pjer The firing being su s p en d e d, th ere i s no d ou b t of t h e surrei of the citadel. TEN o'cLocx.—The suspension of the fire continues, a b o r people of the city are thronging to the ramparts, &C., t° 1: ;e the news.—Som e p ersons will have it that General L' but ought to be forced t o surren d er Li e fk ens h oe k an d Lill° , H those forts are not under his command. • AST ELEVEN o'cLocx. ii —There is a eavy P et o heard at the f or t o f K ryss h aus (L a C ro i x.) The Dutch aeye stated to have mounted the Scheldt and to have attache d fort, but their efforts are now too late. OFFER OF CHASSE TO CAPITULATE. e 0 BRUSSELS, DEC. 2.3, SUNDAY, 1 O'CLOCK, P . M.—Th e . nO, a has just rea c h e d thi s p l ace, t h at at 9 o ' clock this mor ninribe breach being then practicable, Chasse offered to evacua,„.,t e rs rd citadel provided h e cou ld ge t terms. T o th i s Marshal rrtber, sent an answer exp re s s i ng his readiness t o p reven t the Laittre effusion of blood. Wh a t - the terms were has n o t y e t tru n k u lit• here, but of the fact of the offer to surrender there is It ° o f er Flys P. Al.—This pl ace h as b een i n the , highest state the citement sin ce th e arr i va l o f t h e i nte lli gence to-day, at 1, „ f ca offer of Chasse to capitulate. Every one was busy with si a ra ., lations as t o th e pro b a bl e terms. Of course, it would be Ge r cp policy to put, if p oss ibl e , an en d to all hostilities at on e f o rt' getting possession o f th e T ete d e Flandres, and the other nfhi dependent on the cit a d e l ; an d , as h e i ntim a ted in one "„rtof letters, would wish to m a k e th e garr i son prisoners, as a %ler surety for the possession of the o th er f orts. H ow far suc h sure may be successful remains to be seen if the garrison 3 w je r , consent to the terms of unconditional surrender, but I u,!„ 11 1 , 1 stand that even if the citadel and the Tete de I:lamb-es su_ fi v. j , get into the p o ssession of the French, it would not necesnor follow that so me o f the oth er forts on the Scheldt w ou ld surrel i ii iti also. If they should hold out, the taking of them by force w ° ; be a tediou s b us i ness , as th e coun t ry aroun d th em is under, µ. to ter. From the m omen t w h en th e news transp i re d to -d a y, f' :ire present, group s o f persons may be seen at the corners ° w e, streets, particularly the Place ifoya.le, and near the I,B to each anxiously inquiring from his "neighbour some account t ee the particular s . I h ave not w i tn e ssed such i ntense i nte res t cited by anything else since I came here. te os Six O ' CLOCK.—Nothing ha s yet transpir e d as to the m rd• asked by Chasse, nor of those which the Marshal may a c h ' e jil' At the time the account which I now forward left the i " quarters this m orn i ng i t was un d erstood that the Mars h a l occupied in drawing up the terms of the capitulation. SURRENDER OF THE CITADEL. date(' A telegraphic dispatch has been received in town, Lillo,Ge2n4th December, at noon : „ " eral Chasse has just signed, with G ener al S ain t the Nugues, the most a d vantageous cap itulation possible 1 ; )1. 0 0 1 , French. The garrison ar e t o remain prisoners of war tili a pbe, land gi ve s• u p th e f orts o f Lill o an d L i efkenshock. "--' Tuesday, Dec. 25. FRANCE. The Paris papers of Sunday, which have been received; tain no news of importance. They are chiefly filled 1 6 ° 1 5 . 4 15 ports from Ant wer p, an d private' correspondence from Br u ,octi and other quarter s . The Chambe r o f D eput i es was e llgar c o , on Saturd a y i n h ear i ng p e titi ons , some of which were lows enough. especially that of a man who styled him': it ' Colonel of th e L eg i on o f th e Ch arter, " and who claimed eke pensation notlaving robbed th e p u bli c treasure during " glorious daye . 9f the revolution of 1830. SPAIN. col' Accounts from Bordeaux of the 20th Dec. bring us the lowin g information:— ,rrive d " The M a drid , Gaz e tt e , o f th e 15 t h D ec., w hi c h' has .oking by express, contains five decrees of the Queen Regent, ' I este the following changes in the Spanish ministry. GeueTi e neral nos is appointed President of the Council of Castile ; rer- Minet, who is appointed Captain-General of Castile; line d nandez del Pino, Mini s t er o f Justice. The . capital rel i t li tranquil." These changes, and some o th ers, are all t, beret interest. pre- CARTHAGENA, (province of Murcia,) Dee. I.—ln 11th sent political state of Spain, this province is one of the . ies, interesting. Our town, from its well-known liberal princ'gi e fs is converted into a sort of state prison. Several of the .e „ n( 1. have been sent here prisoners; also the Bishops of Murcia "" Oruvella, as well as the Dean of Murcia named Ortelega , e d man of infam ous con d uc t. Th e Bi s h op of Murcia had pru cur o t passports f r o m C ar th agena f or R ome, w hi ch the govervue having received n o ti ce o f, cause d t h e bi s h op to b e closely ci. 0..0 n, fined. The chan ges i n thi s coun t ry are goo d , b ut the ma rch slow. Should th e ki ng di e, we f ear t h e C arlos party W ill 1 , s dominate front its great strength, and, no doubt, dreadful sce :e'• will occur. I forgot to m en t ion th a t th e mur d erer o f the b •Torrijos and poor Boyd i s d a il y expec t e d h ere : t h e PP°l, .0 AL threaten to tear him to pieces. elusive a ma i have Jamaica p b a e p e e s r e ( c t e h i e v e C d o . u ra T n h t e ) JAMAIC o A. h e had be en an d were s till , o f a warm and angr y nature.. _ The remarks made by th e C ourant upon t h e s peech of tr Governor, in reply t o th e a dd ress f rom t h e H ouse o f AsseniblPi are not of a very sa tisf ac t or y d escr i pt i on , as t h e y s t a te (with Kret) th a t hi s E xce ll ency ' s d emeanour was any thi ng b u t dig o , l lied; N and that h e evinced more display of feeling on that 0c. 0 ., t in h t ofhe Houseovem b o e f r A in debates a sion than was consistent withthe representative of the Sovereig' of England. Petitions were preparing by several of the ruined propriet t : of the island, to the House of Assembly, praying that prOg tions of the l o an o f 1:200,(XX), granted by this country, shoul d eln , remitted to New Y or k, f or th e pu r p ose o f b e i ng i nves ted in ' ti t purchase of a track of land in the United States, of as gr e ,;t extent as the island, and to be called Jamaica. The Coo" it adds, "We lament this feelinv, and we deeply regret thatao should exist among a class of His Majesty's subjects w h ,,°, 13 r always been ce lebrated f o r th e i r l o y a lty; but the time "7i, u o ie rived when we must look towards kindred spirits; : ricans must remember with gratitude the appeal thosewhic made by the legislature of Jamaica, on their behalf, to in 'who drove loyal and British subjects to demand and to main a' their rights. America has now attained a rank among .u'' - tion,.ef the wfirld that commands not onl respect but adiniratinhe Mr. Watts, the late Consul at Carthagena, from whence or had been expelled for protecting British interests, had been ° lit dered to return to his consulate immediately; and, in the ect :ye of any difficulties being started by the Columbians to reee l him, it is hinted that coercion will be had recourse to. and the Was UNITED STATES. de' The legislature o f the province of South Carolina ba r '. r ig' tided by a considerabl e majority, that the long-contested 'lv shall, after a ce rt a i n day, cease to be the law of that state. sup , provinces of Georgi a , M iss i ss ippi, an d Al a b ama w ill , it i° grime way follow the example ; a nd un l ess th e nort h ern s t a tes g way a little, so as to enable the president to effect a ce le Plti mise,.there is a danger of a total dissolution of the union. pra l this course there is, however, a g r eat diffi cu l ty, for Gee-10 Jackson, and all the most i n fl uen t ia l o f t h e ministers , o .r i ! ertt l favour of a system of duti es an d i n t ercourse even more he a y and extended than that secure d b y the Tariff, so that theY• c not relax without a g rea t sacr ifi ce o f pr i nc i p l e. The r sitioo of of the United States begins to afford much interest_u/obe, Monday evening. COLUMBIA. Letters have been received in London- from General Saut an e ; der, President of New Granada, giving an account of hi s s i o o trance into Bogota on th e 4th o f O c t o b er, an d ta ki ng posse_,,i, of the government on the 7th. The n om i na ti on to the Pr o il dency is for four years, which commence from the 2d of i' 1 , 3 (1 next. Tranquillity had been every where re-established? the country was graud a lly recovering from the effects of Bolo„r'ol dictatorial despotism. Though business was inactive, in te h ich dissentions had ceased, an d th e p rov i nce o f P asto , O f w t hc General Flores had posse ss i on , h a d comp l ete l y su b m itted ts?._ ht Bogota authorities. G enera l S an t an d er expresses grea t de l %, at the passing of the ref orm bill i n - E ng l an d , an d an any of desire to strength= and extend the co m merc i a l relatio lls 'Columbia with Great Britain.