The National Register.
London, England, 1818-07-27 00:00:00

HAI MARKE I THEATRE.

Mr. .4r. Russel, the actor who lately appeared in Dr.
011apud, on Wednesday night perform-Al the character
of Sonmu in the Sleep Walker. Tlo general tone of
the part was given in very good style, and some of his
imitations were at once car:" to be disci :;wished, and
•entirey free fram all caricature and distortion. In the
imitation of singing he was particularly successfid ; he
Las a powerful and well-fhrmed voice ty nature, with
infinite facility in grafting on it the peculiar manner
of others; that. of Incledon was a lac sip:de. Some
gentleman in the pit was very active in expressing his
disapprobation, which was so much resented as to tause
the e.xpadsion of the offender. The applause was then
universal.

Mr_ Warde made his second attempt on a London
stagy on Friday night in the character of o,:invian.
Like his Leon, it was a good and correct rather than a
great cud striking perfimmance Nothing could be
more picturesque than his appear:wee, and general
manner, or present a better outline of this singular
character; in the details and the, colouring of the
deeper tints of feeling he was occasionally deficient ;
he presented the ruined limn and the de jectee. manner,
but the permrtcd intellect and ardent love, in their
nicer s:l►ades of delineation, escaped him II is best pas-
sares were hls first meeting with 174wandre, and the
scene where he discovers he has no longer a rival. Mr.
Warde was received with the warmest applause, and is
evidently a growing favourite of the p&tblic. Miss E.
Blanchard r.:preseatcd Zoraida in an interesting man.
ncr.

Mr. Kean, on his arrival in Paris, took up his resi-
dence at the London Hotel ; at which time 160 Eng-
lish persons lodged there. He was almost immediately
visited by Talma, who gave a superb dinner.to Mr_
Kean and a numerous party on the •25th inst. Mr.
Kean was to leave Paris on Mon lay last on his route to
Gene :a.

Several material alterations arc making in the:Covent
Garden company, preparatory to the re-opening of the
theatre in September next. Sinclair has given in his
resignation, and the names of Miss S. Booth and Mrs.
Egerton no longerappear in the prompter's list. Among
the new arrangements are these of Miss Kelly and her
sister, Mrs. Hill, Mrs.Dkkins, Mrs. Yates (front Dublin),
Miss Somerville, Mr. Pyre, late of Drury Lane, and
a Mr. Hunt from the country. The whole of the bane.
with the exception of Mr. Ware, the leader, and two
others are tlischarged.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has granted a surn
of 5001...f0r the relief of the inhabitants of Scilly and
Islands. It is stated, however, by the Cornwall Ga-
zette, that 10001. at least arc necescary to satisfy their
present necessities; and front .20001. to 30001. to esta-
blish mackerel and .pikhard fisheries, as the only mea-
sure of permanent support. The same paper-strongly
recommends the opening of subscriptions thr that chari-
table purpose.
The following is from a .Liverpool paper, and we
hope the conjecture that all is quiet in Manchester
may prove .well finintled ;—" One and twenty per-
sons have been apprehended on a charge of rioting, ten
of whom have, we understand, been committed to
Chester Castle. The Manchester paper makes no men-
tion of the proceedings of the workmen who had struck
for wages at that place ; so that we sninfose all is trait,
quit there."
Letters from Jamaica, mention the shock of an earth-
rtnake, which had been telt throughout the whole island.
The day is not specified.

UT V W 7

:NORWICH UNION FIRE AND ANNUITY
OFFICE.
.......

A meeting took place on Thursday morning, at the
George and Vulture Tavern, of private gentlemen,
neintitheturers, and others, holding policies, or other-
-to:3e concerned in the above establishment, to take into
• consideration the spirit and manner of some of its late
•promedings in regard to those persons who had claims
upon it. About fifty gentlemen were present Mr.
Alderman Thorp was in the chuir. .Some cursor facts
were adduced on this occasion, which, if their correct-
ness may be dependod or., will direct a considerable de-
gree of public odium towards the conductors of the Nor.
wick Union. Several persons present stated the treat-
ment to which• they had been exposed, and the difficul-
ties they had encountered before they were ehle to ob-
tain satisfaction of their demand's It was rid to have
been the. practice, at least in London, to oppose every
obstacle to clainunts, to offer sums ;!er short of what
was really ?am, and on a day being fixed for final pay-
ment, still to evade, by every possible means, the final
settlement. Individuals of tercet respectability have
..
• frequently had their veracity impeached by theta with;
• out cause; have undergone •crose-extninations, trod
even been sehjeeted to the-imputation or: fraud and ilis-
_honesty, without the weediest gronad, what .ver. The
London agent is said to have told one of the gentlemen
present, t!.at• the company have a feud of 30,0001. for
.defraying the expellee of litigatieeto Few of the noble-
men and gentlemen whose .rarocs appeared in their
policies and circular letters, bad auy concern in the
.company, and in some -few instances the enaction of
their names had been obtained in a surreptitious man-
ner. As a proof of the importance and necessity of in-
qniry into the toneerns of this tympany, it was stated
that -they -are 'liable, on policies of insurance aguinst
lire, to the amount of 40,000,0001.; and were-Yeovil-
-661e upon life annuities to the extent of 2,1.00,0001.
yearly. A series of resolutions, expressing the sense
entertained by the meeting of the conduct of the Nor-
• wich Union, and its determination to proceed, for the
public benefit, to a strict investigation cl all the
.circumstances connected with it, were real and passed
unanimously. A committee was appointed,with power
io add to its number, to conduct the business A
gentleman named Lovell, the agent to the Nor.
svich Union for the town of.Dinriegham, was present
in the room tlittiog the whole of the , proceedings, at
the desire, as we understood, of the Directors of the
Norwich Union. Mr. Lovell expressed his conviction
of their general wish to render justice to the public,
• but did not offer:any contradiction of the facts related
to the-meeting.
The cases adduced to show the manner in which the
...business .of this insurance company had been conducted
-were numerous ; we give, as a specimen, that of
Stubbs, a linendraper, in Fleet-marl:et, related by Mr.
Itothwell, one •of the creditors.
Stubbs was insured with the Norwich Union for
• 3,0001. and.suffered a total loss by tire. On applica-
•tioa for the payment of the sum insured, on whiell his
-solveacy depended, he exeerienced much difficulty in
.establishing his, claims and in coming to a proper un-
derstanding with the office. The affair was taken up
by his creditors, who made enquiry at ether insurance
offices, when they learned that the ebstacles and delays
.oaf the Union offoe were coneldered unusual, and very
different from the liberal spirit generally. acted upon ;
grey hed an interview on the .subject with the London
tient, who treated them very-cavalierly.
After some time an offer was made to Stnhboef
1,7001., little-more than half his claim. -This was of
course rejected. After a 'further delay the offer was
increased to !2,20.01., but this was also. refused. An
arbitration was then agreed on, and after infinite tro u
caused ebigy by the London :went, who demanded
in the firstluseance, that thearbitmtor.should not be a
Lawyer:, .and afterwards insisted on thecontrary, Stubbs
obtained an award -fin. something more than 2.,900L---
A day was then fixed ow for the payment, but on ap-
elicatien the Lundell anent was not to be found, having, •
0-
os it appeared, net out for .Norwiee. Stubbs was ad-
vised to fellow him, end did so, arriving.at.Norwich
roan after the Donlon agent, whom be traced to the
in which he had taken a place to return to Lon-
don, and they boat came back by the same vehicle,
Stubbs being an outside and the agent an inside pas-
senger. Stubbs. it appears, had a very intelligent legal
friend, who advised all his actions ; aid the arrest of
the agent was recuminentiea, which was effected with
some difficulty, and then, andatot till then, the money
was paid. Stubbs was literally wevea from bankruptcy
by the vigilance of his friends. Mr. Rothwelly in con-
cluding his account, observed that the prieciples.on
which the Norwich Union conducted its business ap-
peared to him higely reprehensible, and a proper subject
of public notice.

As the•Seots Greys passed-through Gatehouse (North
Bti, tin) last week, on their wly o liedand, each
wl-
diet ;as presented with a olass•u• whi:key, as a small
of the veneration and esteem in which these gal-
zeroes of Waterloo are held by the inhabitants of
Shat Butsgh.

THE NATIONAT. REGISTER.

THE COUNT, OR THE CONVICT.

The remarkable trials for imposture and mysterious
villainly which have lately se-singularly sucLeeded each
other in France, and fixed the general attention cf
Europe, seem only to have stimulated ingenious auda-
city to become notorious at the risk ofjudicial condem-
nation. The doow,:o or the Court of Paris, on the
20th instant, has added another item to the register of
" Celebrated Causes." The examinations in the affair
of Count Pontis de St. Helene being concluded, J&is
Counsel (M. Unpin) made a most ingenious defetueno
prove the identity of his client's claim to distinguished
birth. He traced his adventurous life, and stated that
he was covered with glorious wounds ; that he had
gained the hmourable approbation of his commanders
in a military career, of which he possessed numerous
certificates, particularly one from the Duke of Dalma-
tia, who gave him the command of a battalion, observ-
ing, that " he knew no one more capable of comunind-
ing, or possessed of more intelligence." In his perora-
tion, M. Dupin entreated them to banish prejudice
'from their minds, and seriously consider whether
circumstances did not substantiate his client's title, and
to reflect that .so many estimable qualities as bad been
proved, could never be cherished in the mind cf a con-
demned convict.

The Kiag's Counsel, in his reply, forcibly exposed the
filllaey of Cok,manl's pretensions, and the evidence in
141;4a/a of them. He stated, that no family named
Poit:ig, .Count de St. Helene, ever existed in France:
and ihrtherothat,the Minister of Justice had applied to
the tspimish Government, and had received for answer,
that no French Officer of the Dame of Pontis had ever
,Nerv-3tl in the Sp:wish armies. The archives of the
or.ier of A!can• :- I had been examined; but the name
eauLi not be notwithstanding Coiguard assumed
that decorati.,;„

After a deliberation of three-quarters of an hour,
the Court declared the prisoner to he identified as the
condemned Coignard, who had escaped from his con-
finement,.aftd decreed that he should be placed at the
disposal of the. Attorney General to.cosnplete the judg-
ment passed upon him, of fourteen years hard labour.

The latest ermines from St. Helena continue to
zention the circumstance of the sailor making his way
to the residence of Buonaparie. lit was also reported
on the island, that, in oonsequence of representations
from Napoleon, or from other circumstances, heewould
shortly quit Longwood, and reside at Mr. LCLVWS
farm, whichbad been, or was about to he, purchased
for his future residence. The latter is situated to the
westward of the only landing place on the island, about
three or four miles in the interior. The only access to
it is a winding way up the ladder-hill, at the top of
which is a strong battery. The.accounts state, that it
was considered by every person not only the most plea-
sant reeidence.en the island, but that all chance of es-
cape was rendered impossible, as any person.appreach-
ing could be seen at a great distance ; and as there was
only one path, a few seetinels would be sufficient
the purpose of guarding it. The fortifications on Lad-
der-hill are represented to be of the most commanding
description, large cannon looking nearly perpendicular
down both on the narrow pals end also towards the
sea. Some of theta are fe2 and 14 pounders ; they are
swung in chains, and. could on the instant be levelled
at any object, however much below the range of the
„guns. By means of a telegraph at the house of Mr.
Leech, communications could be had in a few seconds
with the Governer:F. house, or with any part of the
island. On its being made known by si„ettal that a
vessel is about to sail from she island,• the officer on
duty makes himself Fore that Buonapartc at hiseesi-
dence, or, -to speak in the language of the island, " he
.sights him." The•signal is then tirade for the vessel
to depart, and if she dues not instantly heave her an-
chor, the batteries come:awe firing, end continue till
the vessel has cleared the hay.
Upwards of fifty beautiful , Roman urns have been
accidentally discovered within the last few days, in a
field belonging to the Marquis Cornwallis, pear Lye,
in Suffolk. From the great length of time they have
been deposited in the ereth, the workmen experience
much difficulty in getting than out entire.
.It is strongly reported that :slr. Cobbett is arrived in
town. It is said he sailed at the saute time with-his
faufily, in another vessel, in order te avoid observation
at landing, as he ietentis makieg the necessaryeare
raugements with the persons to Whom he is indebted
befOre his arrival is publicly announced.
The expeaces of the several Candidates for the coun-
ty:of Wexford are estimated at 8001. a day. According
to this-estimate, the contest will cost each of them not
less thanl‘2,o6ol.

The heat for some days has been so excessive, we
•seem to have exchanged &mates with Italy and tLe
West Indies—the one at pre.+•nt ildugeil with rains,
and the other surprised with a v:Nit Loin the icebergs.
Letters have been received from Preston, which
state that one ,of the most extensive manufactories of
that town had been attempted to be set on ':re by ail
incendiary. The lire had Leen got under before great
damsze was done.