The National Register.
London, England, 1818-07-06 00:00:00

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Our iling,Con4titution an 3EOO.

MONDAY, .JULY 6, 1818.

Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, the Corn Bill, the In-
demnity Bill, the Alien Bill, cunt nwllis uliis, arc be-
fore the public, and let the public decide. To quarrel with
the past would indeed be fruitless if it did not lead us into
some consideration as to the future. The measures of
Government always require to be canvassed, in order
that if good, they obtain the affections of the governed ;
if they arc evil, that those who enact them may be dis-
placed as incapable et' ruling* free people,--or exercis-
ing mastery,—merely to play the master. Free discus-
sion particularly serves both the people and Government
of a free stsitc—it gives both a proper estiniate of
their value, and prevents conspiracy and nlirt. ‘ll.ere
the people can openly express their disapprobation, they
will not use the dagger ; where they caa in bodies peti-
tion and remonstrate, they will not wait till the midnight
hour, to present their petitions at the point of the bay-
onet or the torch- In England, we owe the protec-
tion of our persons as much to the public expression of
opinion, as to the terrors of the law, or perhaps the
denuaciations of the Gospel. Indeed itsinfluence is
beyond our calculation. It must however be so manifest
to every man, that we shall not dilate further upon
it at thistaoment.
One word of the elections and we have done. The
cry of independence is almost in every quarter com-
pletely triumphant. Before the close of this article,
we shall perhaps hear of another victory atchiered
by the fearless assertors of their rights—the people of
Westminster; and whatever nnr opinions may be of
the private character of Sir Murray Maxwell—we
should renet to see him placed in the I louse of Com-
mons as one of its representatives.
[Our expectations have been realise.l, as will he seen
in another part of our columns.]

By an Ordinance of his Majesty the King of France,
a French man of war will be constantly kept ernizing
off the coast of Africa, where the French have estab-
lishments, in order to prevent illicit traffic, and enfbrc-
int; the due execution of the laws which have been
enacted in France for the abolition of the Slave
Trade.

A letter from St. Thomas, of MaylGth, states, that
on the 11th of the same month a desperate battle was
I;night between the contending forces, in which the
Spaniards claim the victory, but with an alarming loss.
The insurgents were commanded by General l'aez, who
had under his orders 1,300 cavalry, and 6 or SOt) in-
floury. Of thi► corps, say the Spaniards, 1,000 were
put hors do combat, and 400 horses were taken. On
the other hand, the Spanish Commander-in-Chief, 1)
La Torre, was severely wounded, and Colonel Pillars,
his Aide-de-Cam,-, with about 10 other officers, were
killed and won del by the enemy. The loss in rank
and file is not ma4ie known to us, nor are any distinct
consequences attributed to this victory ; except w hat
rests on a vague report, that the Spaniards had iaal-
vanced to some of the positions which they had formerly
abandoned. Morillo is represented as having recovered
from his wounds. The above engagement, front the
insurgent force which took part in it, appears to us to
have been a skirmish, though a bloody one, between
detached corps front either army.
The mercantile interest of this kingdom may be as-
sured, that no measure respecting the Royal Spanish
Decree, relative to the ports of entrepot for South Ame-
rica, has been received in this country of a posterior
date to the following official document upon that high-
ly interesting subject. The rmucur of a revocation of•
the Royal Decree, which har• been circulated through
some of the journals of this metropolis, is totally un-
founded :