The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-04-30 00:00:00

ships, received permission to return to their homes; in 4
that the same liberty had been extended to a regiment of
Brazilian cavalry, which was the most active in the
service of independence. Lord .Cochrane's vessel, the
Pedro the First, of 79 guns (these letters add), had
scarcely as many men on board as were sufficient to carry
the officers to and from the ship; and that Don Pedro, by
withholding from the crew the prize-money to which they
were entitled, had disgusted the European seamen, who
funned the great majority of the crew, and dein-iv:el the
cause of Brazilian independence of the invaluable services
of a number of British seamen. The Magicienne French
frigate is said to have brought out a tli:domatic character
from France, under the title u' Secretary of Legation, who
was looked on by the British merchants as an emissary of
intrigue. It is yet to be seen whether Don Pedro will pro-
pose the promulgation of the new Constitution as a law
of the empire. The " Cullom," or municipality of Rio, had
early presented a petition to the Einp.vor, soliciting that
the new Constitution should he at one.: ailoil:ed as a law of
the empire, without the intervention of a legislative assem-
bly. Dan Pedro, it will be recollected, expressed his satis-
faction
at receiving such an adelress, but declined co:npii-
Lance with it until he should be acquainted with the wishes
lof the other provinci:s. It i 3 certi.inly strange and sus-
picious, that nothing in the interval has been said of the
future assembling of the legislative body; and that the,
election of Deputies, commenced throughout the provinces,
I had been su:pcilded. It is by uo means improbable, that
I Don Pedro has lent himself to the views of the faction at
Lisbon, supported by the intrigues of the Cabinet of
; France. But we cannot yet believe that the French Nlinis-
!try would venture an open rupture with this country, by
i sending such a fleet to the Brazils, 's, in the alarm of our
private letters, is mentioned and anticipated. Such an at-
tempt would be too glaring, too gross a breach of every
thing liLe neutrality, to be passed by fcr a moment. It
would call for immediate explanation from this country,
and a t denied, the next step would be a hostile squadron,
on our part. appearing in the harbour of Rio, and off Mar-
, tinique and livadaioupe, where the French ships were •
stated, to he assembling. France has, as yet, no fiat that
mid even risk a conte st with the naval power of this coon-
' try. We therefore think that there is great exaggeration
in the statements last received from Rio ; and though we
anticipated the agency of every sort of intrigue on the part
of France, nut mdy in If: azil bt t throughout South America,
- wherever she can obtain a footing for her missionaries,
no open attempt, we are persuaded, will be made, that
• can, by possibility, entail a rupture with this country ; and
the French Ministry are long since in full possession of the
, decided sentiments of our Cabinet on the subject of South
1 _kinetics.

It is astonishing bow much personal disappointment
does to make men troubled Reformers, and how soon the
most violent ultra in church or politics wal change his
tone if he finds his pursuits do not answer his purposes of
irdividual aggrandizement. A gentleman of the name of
Hamilton, well known for his opinions in Ireland, halt
lately become the correspondent of a 'Morning Paper in
this city, on the subject of Church Abuses in the sister,
country. and had a petition presented to Parliament on the
subject in the present Session, which, if we remember
right, was rather unfortunate at the time. Mr. Hamilton,
who, to his mortification and regret, still continues the
humble Curate of !losers, complains.bitterly of the plu-
rality of livings in Ireland, from which he is excluded.
Two unions, it seems, were bestowed by Lord Robert
Tottenham, upon his near relatives, the Hon. Robert and
Charles Maude ; and Mr. Hamilton asserts, that Lord Ro-
bert also bestowed upon his cousin, the Rev. Mr. Langrishe,
the union of Lackeen, comprising three parishes, one of
which is distant from the other thirty miles. Now all this,
if true, is very censurable, and too many abuses of the
same sort, we know, exist throughout Ireland. But who
is Mr. Hamilton that prefers the complaint? A disappoint-
ed Church expectant,—the individual who, some few years
since, got up the well-known plot against himself. After
disturbing Roscrea with his intolerance and violence for
months—after repeated rumours of nightly risings and in-
surrection—he at length wound the whole up by a sham
plot of his own assassination. He dressed up a straw
figure in his sitting room, and either fired at it himself,
or got one of his accomplices to do so; and he then pro-
claimed the existence of a horrid plot for his murder, and
charged several individuals, subsequently acquitted, with
the attempt. But neither Mr. Hamilton's Orange intem-
perance, nor the mock murder, availed anything at the
Castle. He was then a curate, and a curate lie remains,
et hine ills lachrynicr. Hence this worthy clergyman's
antipathy to pluralities and church patronage in Ireland.
Swift made one of his coarse puns, by saving, that the
poorest of ail rats was a curate. Had Mr. Hamilton sue-
ceedol, while one of the church militants, in getting a
living, we should have had him a violent eulogist of Lord
Robert Tottenham and the whole Church system in Ire-
land, with which and his curacy he is now so deeply dis-
contcntal. But the Irish Government, at the time, were
int...maniocs on the subject of his murder; the mock mar-
tyrdom of the Itoscrea agitator did nothing to help his
promotion ; and Mr. Hamilton at length, in utter despair,
has becomes a Church Reformer—the Irish li'ickliffe of his
day. We think it right to detail the history of this man,
aml to place his character and motives justly before the
public. lie is one of that incorrigible faction who are
keeping alive dissension and disunion in Ireland. The
Church abuses in that count!), arc many, and most glaring
and oppressive. We have often detailed and opposed them,
but with different feelings and motives from those of Mr.
Hamilton. He is barking sullenly because the sop was not
flung to stop his mouth. 11. laboured hard in a provincial
town to attract notice and preferment, but the Government
was blind to his merits and his danger; and his eyes, in
consequence, have suddenly been opened to all the corrup-
tion of the Irish Church. In Ireland it would be unne-
cessary to say a word about this man, for his history and
character there are well known ; but when lie obtrudes hint
self on Parliament, and, rejected there, puts himself in a
new shape before the public in the press, it is but right to
inform t110;,` who may have read his details in this country
who amt what this *immaculate Reformer is. We know
that cast of eeil has often sprung good ; but we can antici-
p:t:• no good from this mean's disappointed efforts: we knee:•
him tro well. Whil.• thus expressing our opinions as to
this individual persou:,lh•, let us not be thcu4lit for a 'I:o-
-ink:tit to defend the otitis. a of the overgrown Establishine;it
which lie impugns. We have been long convinced that
the tranquiiiity of Inland imperiously requires that it
should be scri••ush re:enncd ; but dilferent agents must be
found for important work beside Mr. Hamilton unit
his partisans, whose motives are well known, and in conse-
qm•!.cc appreciated as they deserve.

THE KIN inquiry at Carlton-house yesterday, we
learnt that no intelligence had been receives) from NVititi.-
sor later titan eon bulletin et' yesterday ; it is the:Core to
I be presumed that his Majesty is still better.
Yesterday the Princess Augusta received visits frem the
Ducbces of Gloucester and the Princess Sophia.
The Princess Augusta dined with the Duke and Doclier3
of Gloucester yesterday.
The entertainments for which invitations had been issued
by the Cabinet Ministers, the Gloat Officers of State, and
others, took place, with the exception of that of the Earl of
Liverpool, which was postponed in consequence of the
de-
cease of the Duchess of Devonshire, as well as the aliavtice
of the Noble Earl from London, occasioned by indispo-
slam ; and also that of Earl Bathurst, in cm-Alit:eine of
the decease of the Marquis of Lothian.