The National Register.
London, England, 1817-12-08 00:00:00

TIIE NATIONAL ILEGIgTETt.

Intelligence of an unpleasant nature, as it respects
. our friends the Netherlanders, has been received from
their settlements in the East. The Javanese, and natives
of the other settlements which were wrested by us from
the Dutch during the war, have experienced a. bitter
change on their being delivered up to their ancient
masters. From the mild and enlightened policy of the
British Government, they have bocn again subjected to
the oppressive and ignorant system invariably pursued
by the Dutch in all their Colonies, the consequence is,
revolt in every quarter, nor need we be surprised if the
next intelligence should inform us that some of the
settlements were lost to Holland for ever.
The Gaeette of Saturday contains a proclamation
calling in all the halfpence and farthing.; current by
virtue of the proclamation of July 1797. This refers
to the largezt of the halfpence and farthings now in
citeulation.

THE KING'S lirsyrn.—On Saturamy the Queen's
Council assembled at NVindsor, to receive the mouthlv
report of the five Physicians. After the breaking up of
the Council, Lord Arden dispatched a messenger to the
Queen, at Bath. Yesterday the following bulletin was
shown at St. James's Palace:—

•• ‘VINDSOR CASTLE, Dec. T.

" Hie Majesty has been nniforndy composed through the
last month, and has egjoyed good health, though His Majesty's
dkorder continues unchanged."

Tne Qvc.tv.—Her Majesty goes every morning to
the pump room at Bath, and drinks a glass of the wa-
ters. At first all the other company was excluded dur-
ing the Queen's stay, but a limited number have sinze
been permitted to occupy the recesses of the pump
room.
Preparations are making in the residence of the Duke
of Clarence for the reception of the Prince Regent, who
it is expected, will pay a visit to his Royal Mother,
next week. Her Majesty returns to Windsor the .2:;d
instant.
On Saturday, scam after 1 o'clock, the Prince Re-
gent left Carlton-house for Brighton. llis Royal High-
ness proceeded over Vauxhall-bridge.
The Princess of Wales's apartments in Kensington
Palace are getting ready for Her Royal Highness's re-
ception.
By the Flanders Mail received on Friday, it ap-
pears that Las Cases, reached Brussels on the 27th ult.
and proceeded that day for Aix la Chapelle. After this
Gentleman's arrival at his journey's end, the public will
of course be prepared for some new and highly laudatory
version of the history and exploits of Napoleon B 11011 a..
parte. The Prussian Consul at Antwerp has notified to
the merchants, that an Algerine squadron with the
plague on board was seen off Cape St. Vincent on the
20th of October, steering northwards, to cruise against
the trade of Prussia In accounts from the Hague, we
have it confidently asserted, tf at Count Goltz, the
Dutch Commissary-General, is to follow the example of
the Prince of Orange, and forthwith to retire from the
Ministry. It may argue much, discretion and moderation
in the Count to withdraw from an office in which he has
been the unfoitunate, however blameless, cause of dis-
agreement between the Royal relatives, and his con-
tinuance in which might expose him to invidious obser-
vation; hut it will be no proof of firmness in the King
to let n faithful servant bend before a storm, whose force
was aimed against the vital interests of the Netherlands.
Their Imperial Majesties of Austria re-entered Vienna
on the 19th of November, after an absence of about.
four months, during which they traversed the greater
part of their extenaive Empire. It is stated from Munich,
that the Royal Family of Bavaria are expected to repair
to Prague, where the Emperor Francis, with the Em-
press, is .to meet them, when it is supposed that her Im—
perial Majesty will be crowned Queen of Bohemia. A
hint is given, that this family meeting may be produc-
tive of a yet closer union between the two crowns,
through an alliance of the Crown Prince of Austria,
who has attained his 24th year, witr one of the twin
sisters Princesses of Bavaria, aged al oat 16. The father
and son will thus have married into a house with which
the Court of Austria has had frequent subjects of dis-
trust and quarrel.
From :Kamtschatka, May 25, 0. S. it is stated that
—" As in the whole east and north-east part of Siberia
it has happened also in Kamtschatka, that in the course
of last winter an incredible number of bears have left
the woods, frequently. mitered the houses of the Kamts-
chadales, in many pieces have attacked and devoured
the inhabitants, nay,.truces have been found of their

having killed and devoured each other. At the end of
the winter many bears were found who had perished
with hunger. In several settlements they have hilled
from 2 to 3(R) hairs. The oldest Kamtschadales oo not
remember ever to have seen the bears so savage and
bloodthirsty. The cause of this savageness and of their
hunger is, that tin. these two years past there has been
an entire want of fish in the Kanuschatka sea ; and
ti li, as is well known, are the chief lhod of the ,cars,
being usual y so al.andant in those %voters, they
ea.,ily contrive to catelt. A couple of shucks of an earth-
quake have been lately fat in the.peninsula."

&

A Leacr from Stoel olm, Nov. 18, says :—" A dia..
charged °nicer of a fond family, of the name of Drake,
has excited general indignation by a very wicked
action :—Having &ten employed to superinteud the
workmen who were repairing the Ititterholms Church,
which is used only for the interment of the Royal fa-
mily and of the Knights of the Seraphim, as well as
to preserve the trophies of Swedish valour, he broke
into what is called the Caroline vault, disturbed the
ashes of our great King Charles X. and of a.Duchess
of Holstein, took from the homer the crown, sword-
hilt, and sceptre, and from the latter a diadem and
necklace all of gold, and in part richly set, but Las be-
trayed ltimself by his boasting, De had even had a
waistcoat made out of the velvet arm one of the calm:,
and plundered many other monuments in the church.
—But as there was found in his picket, when Ire wzs
arrested, an exact list of the stolen articles, and irt
account of what had been done with them, the whe:a
have been recovered."

The rapidity with which the British system of ede.
cation is proxented in France almost exceeds belief.
Ni less than 250 general and central schools ars esta-
blished in the different departments. One at Boar-
deaux eontrins 500 chilarcu. The Duchess of Duras
his established one in Paris for 150, and the Duke or
Orleans unother at Neuilly for 100 poor children, on
their own private expenses.
It affords us pleasure to find that one of the good ef-
fects of the ameliorated temper and disposition of the
Country has been to enable the Secretary of State to
release from confinement a further number of the pri-
soners from the Northern Counties, who are imprisoned
on charges of high treason. Orders have been Ad% en by
Lord Sidmouth ihr releasing thurteen from the gaols
in which they have been imprisoned.

The work of retrenchment in the establishments of
the Government departments is going on, and the
whole, it is understood, will be reduced to the lowest
possible scale. The Ordaance department, it is said, is
among the most prominent ; and at the Arsenal at
IVoolwich the work of reduction has already corn•
menaed. It is added, that the department for barracks
for the artillery is wholly to be abolished, while its
business, which must now be trifling, merges into the
general routine of the Ordnance office, in Pall-mull.
The principal, Colonel Neville, of course retires on
some allowance ; and probably his assistant. Of the
clerks who will thus be removed, some have, it is said,
been employed five or six years, and it is reported that
there is a possibility of no allowance being granted
them. Reductions at the Tower are also intended ;as
likewise at the stations round the coast, but to consist
merely of inferior officers, &e. Mr. Robert Ward's
journey to Ireland was fitr the ptrrpose of inspecting
the several depots for Ordnance stores in that country,
where reductions to as great an extent as possible will
also be carried into effect. The individuals have re-
ceived notice that their services will not be required
after the termination of the present year The Ord.
nance department, it is stated, is now under the con-
trol of the Lords of the Treasury, the same as all other
offices, as was recommended by the Committee on Fi.
nonce in their report. These measures of economy
must of course reduce the estimates for this extensive
department of the ensuing year.
The Elizabeth Hill, Britton, arrived in Stangnte
Creek, from the Levant, brings a report of the new
Dey of Algiers having been shot ; and of the Algerines
having declared war against the Sicilians, Dunes and
Swedes.

Extract of a letter from Antigua, dated Oat. 17.--
" Every thing goes on very quiet here, except a most
diabolical plot that has been lately discovered, in which
numbers of coloured people and slaves are concerned :
nothing less than the confidential servants of Mr. Pre-
sident Kerby robbing their master of a very large sum
of money (six or seven hundred pounds), and then
attempting to destroy him by poison, to prevent dis-
covery : two were executed yesterday, five more were
tried to-day, three condemned to be hung, two of them
Obeah people,who prepared and fiirnished the medicine ;
in all about 15, most of whom, it is supposed, will suf-
fer. Never was there developed vich a sccne of vil-
lainy. Mr. Kerby is a must humane good man ; he
has taken some poison, but it was not strong enough,
and has of late had very bad health : they poisoned hie
tilt-ring stone."

NEWSPAPERS.—In cense/pence of repeated com-
plaints ns to the irregular delivery of Newspaper in
Ireland, the folloAcing Orders were issued on the 24th
ult. from the Genet.ld Post Office in I)ublin,ivhich Wit
respectfully recommend to the imitation of the Post-
master Gencral in London :
lat. Thu. where a Postmaster. oft opening his Mail, shall find that
any Paper which 1w thinks shoul,l have reached his ()kice, has not
arrived, he will oy letter, acciiaiini the Seemtary with the enema •
stance, Will :he name of the subscriber, whose Paper truly appear ba
No paper is to be deivered hut to the Subscriber, Or to his
Iles_eneer or Servant Isr,own tab.: such.
TlAtt under no pretence, either w iAa or without the consent of
a Sul,seriber, shall at deputy open and tend a newsi•aptr,. previous to
it awing (tells end to its Owner, mat of ooursc from mailer his official
care. If Subscribers ate willing that P. sttaastcts should have the
benefit of raiding their l'apeis, it must by atter, not while they have
official custody of them.

DEC. R.

THE DRAMA.

DRURY-LANE..

The castle Spectre was played on Monday night for
'the purpose of introducing a Mrs. Robinson in the
part of An,,,eln. This lady has an agreeable deports
meat and tolerable figure, but is quite unpractised in
her profession : w'.at she hereafter may become by the
aid of time and experience we cannot discover; we
must at present in charity decline saying any thing.
Rae, as Osmond, was the chief character of the piece,
which he sustained in some passages with considerable
energy. but the general effect was injured by his in-
correct manner of placing his emphasis.
The favourite comedy of the !fogey Moon was per-
formed on Tuesday; the part of the Duke by Mr.
Johnston, Elliston who was the first Duke A-anra,
excelled all those who have succeeded hint. " Plautus
was too light, Seneca was too heavy for him." I-fe
just aspired to something above comedy, he just fell
short of tragedy ; but he hit the stage between wind and
vniter. Mr. H. Johnson's energy is most fierce, his
irony more virulent : but still he moved, and looked,
and'spoke, if not like a lord, like a very lordly husband,
and gave the essential interest to the part He danced
much at his case, and recited the speech in which the
Duke describes his idea of what his wife's dress should
be, with propriety and feeling. Knight's countryman -
was admirable : his hysteric laughter at the dispute
between his host and hostess, and his sheepish confu-
sion when discovered, were equally perfect. His won-
der at the manner in which Johnson rates his wife was
-ecstatic :

" And near him sat ecstatic watolnr.
".Listening the hoarse applauding thunder."
}lis jaws relaxed to their utmost expansion, and his
nose " grew sharp as a pen." Miss Kelly was too pert
and forward, and too much like my lady's chamber-
luaid Nor can we speak in praise of Mrs. Davison's
Juliana. She pouts, flounces, and lumbers about the
stage strangely. Mr. Harley did the Mod.: Duke well;
be seemed like Sancho .Panza in his government. The
lionry Moon is a very pleasing drama : it is a cento
of passages from old plays modernized ; it is an ingeni-
ous plagiarism from beginning to end. The author
was a most incorrigible pilferer, but so expert in his
.art, that we would say to other authors, " Go thou and
do likewise !"

Wednesday, a young 'Gentleman, es the bills of the
-day announced him, made his first appearance before a
London audience in the arduous character of Macbeth.
The attempt was a hold one, and it is with regret we
feel ourselves obliged to say was not eminently success-
lid. He does not appear a novice to the business of the
stage, or to want confidence in his own powers.
The same gentleman, whose name is Fisher, and
it, the son of the proprietor of the Norfolk and Sufiblk
aheatres, on Friday night, undertook the character of
Richard M. and his perfbrmance of it, with all its de-
fects, certainly surpassed the measure of expectation
to which his first appearanze had .restricted us. It was,
considered in the whole, a very skilful representation,
indicating an accurate conception of the text, a full ac-
quaintance with the technical forms of acting, and oc-
casionally manifesting considerable powers of varied
and forcible expreasit n. With regard, however, to the
Latter point, we regret the necessity of qualifying this
admission by noticing, at the same time, that he entire-
ly failed in several passages of the utmost importance
to the distinctness and integrity of the part. ,His man-
ner is often cold and unimpressive ; approaching more
nearly to the familiar ease of modern comedy, than to
the dignity which should surround every wearer of the
buskin. His voice is clear and musical, but like his
manner, seems ill adapted to gave the true colouring to
those features of turbulence and ferocity which con-
stitute the character of Wake. We shall not be sur-
prised to see him present a more faultless exhibition in
parts very different from those in which he has yet ap-
peared—parts which seem to condemn him to the use
of an artificial intonation, and to demand from him a
strain of uncongenial exertion. Much praise is due to
him for the correctness of his pauses, and the general
truth of his emphasis. His success in the first rank of
his profession cannot be reckoned decisive. His per-
formance of the two characters which he has already
Sustained was very unequal ; but the hazard was great
t+hich attended the assumption of such (difficult stations,
occupied for many years by actors of the most undoubt-
ed talents. Much will depend upon his developement
of other passions than those with which he has had hi-
therto, and we think injudiciously, to deal ; much, also,
on his adopting a bolder and more unfettered style of
action. As the misgivings of splicer an undertaking
ware to operate, we expect to •see him abandon himself
fearlessly to the immediate suggestions and impulses of
his sensibility, Then, and not till then, will his pro-
bation be at au end. He received much applause.