The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-01-01 00:00:00

THE BRITISH PRESS.

EQUITABLE ASSURANCE.

A Special Getieral Court of this. Society was held on
Thursday. The minutes of the last Court, which-referred
it to the Directors to report ns to the propriety of revising
the decd of settlement, Sic. were confirmed. Mr. &Muslin
(the City Comptroller), then moved that the Court of
Proprietors recommend to the Directors, not to receive any
further insurances for the whole term of life, until after
they had delivered their opinion upon the motion of the
16th December, which wasps

" That it he refevr el to the Court of Directors to consider and
report—whether it would be advisable to cease effecting Assurances
upon the footing of the existing Deed of Settlement, Regulations,
Bye Laws, and Premiums :—and shether it would be advisable to
form a new Deed and now Regulations, to be signed and observed
by new Members, haring due regard to the interest of the present
Members :--and whether any and what measures would be advi-
sable to be adopted, in order to benefit the present )lembers, either
by a declaration of additional profit, or by reduction of their pre-
miums, or by more' frequent rests and additions, or otherwise;
having regard to the price of the Public Funds, in which the inm
nies of the Society are tat este& when the atltit lona ere made and
when payable ?—and that the Directors do state in their Report the
grounds upon which the men, shall be founded, together with any
other circumstances which might be deemed expedient by the Di-
rectors to be made known to the Membe-s."

Mr. Huainan, Mr. Sweet, the Solicitor, and Dr. Stmt.
dart, spoke at some length
.in favour of the recommenda-
tion to tl:e Court of Directors ; and Mr. 'Poynder, of Bride-
well Hospital, and two or three otivr gentlemen, made a
feeble opposition to it, ot; the ground of. irregularity, suffi-
cient notice net having been given of the motion. The
objection, was, however, overruled, and Mr. 13uslinan's
motion was ultimately carried by a great majority, five
bands only being held up against it.
The Recorder was in the Chair, and there was a most
numerous and highly respectable meeting of Proprietors.

DOVER, Dze.3o.
The Spitfire arrived here from Calais this morning with
several passengers, among whom was a gentleman who left
Madrid on the Istb instant, where he has been for some
time oil business connected with the much-talked of new
loan to Ferdinand. Ile states that on the 13th the question
was again discussed in Council, and Ferdinand, in the
most decided manlier, declared that be never would recog-
nize the loans of the Cortes, even partially. Such a step,
he said, had been made the basis of all the offers which he
had received (seventeen in number) for new loans byl
eminent French and English houses, but he would be
found firm in his determination. This gentleman informs
me that the new ecclesiastical police, which is virtually an
inquisition, is to commence its functions in February.
The Members are sworn to secrecy, and to pursue inces-
santly all heresies, of whatever denomination. It must be
mentioned, to the shame of Spain, that Ferdinand received
in November no less than forty addresses from large towns,
praying him to re-establish the inquisition.
By the Spitfire, despatches have been received from
Paris by a respectable agency-house here, which state that
a messenger has sailed from Havre to Rio Janeiro, with
the answer of the French Government to the representa-
tions of the French merchants at that place, in which they
complain that theit trade has been seriously injured by the
treaty between Portugal and England, which grants ex-
elusive privileges to the British merchants at Rio, hut
which treaty ends, they say, in February 182.5. They
entreat the ling to open a treaty of commerce with Brazil,
and it is not doubted that the answer from llavre is favour-
able to their wishes. These accounts add, that the final
arrangement of all the differences between Portugal and
Brazil may he hourly expected. 1
The Arrow steam-packet experienced an accident last
Saturday. She left Dover at twelve o'clock, and arrived off
Calais at four ; a heavy wave struck her against the pier,
and for three hours she ICU in imminent danger. Fortu- '
nately, however, the engine was put to work with all its
power, and she succeeded in running into Ramsgate at
twelve o'clock at night ; had she been a sailing boat she
must have gone to pieces: the engine alone kept her off' the
shore. The weather is still very boisterous here.

CORRESPONDENCE.