The Sun.
London, England, 1807-03-11 00:00:00

Mr: W4ITBREAD moved, that the Petition do lie
on the table.
The S.ECRET4RY at WAR, although the Hon•
Gentleman had declared that it was not his inten-
tion to follow up the presentation of the Petition
with any motion, would trouble the.. House with a

few words on the subje&, becatise an tpinion Fad
gone forth that_ he :(the Secretary at War) had
pledged himself to. bring forward a motion founded
.on the case stated in this very Petition, and he was
therefore glad to have an opportunity of publicly re-
futing that assertion. The faEt was, as those Gen-
tlemen who were Members of the last Parliament
must recolle6t, that when he had' given a notice on
this subje&, he observed. that in other cases, as well
as the present, great abuses had arisen in the kr-

•-ministration of military justice, from the prathce of
.confiding to the Judge-Advocate-General the high
and important trust of receiving his Majesty's-plea-
.sure; with regard to the sentences of Courts-martial,
and that it was-very improper that matters of such

consequence shouldhe decided upon without a re-
ference to the Commander in Chief. At that pe-
riod, therefore, he had given notice, that in the vn-
suing Session he would bring, forward some mo-
tion on the .subjeft. In giving that notice, he had
stated, that the Petitioner's, as it was one of the most

recent, was also one of the strongest cases in point.
Subsequently the change in Administration had trt.
ken .place ; he. had entered into office; and in con-
sequence of the representations which he had thought
it his duty to-make on the subjedi he was happy to
acquaint'the-House, that the pra6tice' complained of
would in future be discontinued. The Judge Advo.
care General would still communicate to,,his Majesty
the sentences of Courts -Martial, but the decision of
his Majesty thereon would be received by the Com-
mander in Chief, and be by him communicated to
the army at large.
.Of the present case the Com-
,mandei: in Chief had no' cognizance but that which
he derived from. the Judge Advocate Genera]. One
'object of the Petitiorier, namely; to recover his
rank in the army, was by no means a fit subje& on
which to institute a ,discussion in Parliament ; and
the other objed, to prevent the recurrence of such
a case,,the statement which he had just made sheav-
ed it bad been already attained. -He could not re-
frain from saying thus much in refutation of the
calumnies that ' had been so liberally . vented against
him.

'Ali'. W. DUNDAS and Mr. PLOMER, whO had se-
yerally 'declined presenting Mr. Johnson's Petition,
signified their dissent from the Hon. Gentleman's
cloarine, that it was incumbent on a Member of
Pathament to present any Petition nuched.- in re-.
spealthl langutge, -without exercising his awn •dis-
cretion on the matter which it contained:

Sir-E. KNATCHBULL, on the contrary, complete-
ly concurred in opinion with the Hon. Gentleman,
and seconded the motion for the Petition to lie on
table; tlw which was agreed t 0..•

General PORTER gave notice, that on Tuesday,
the 14Th of April next, he would submit to the
House a motion relative to Mr. Cawt borne.
On the motion of General PORTER, Mr. Caw-
thornc was ordered to attend in his Place an that
day.

The Sk:CRETARY at WAR proposed to postpone
the Order of the Day for receiving the Report of the
Mutiny Bill to Thursday, on two grounds ; the one
for the pUrpose of accommodating several embers
who could not this day attend the discussion (among
the rest we-understood to Hon. Secretary to allude
to Lord' Ho\vick, as being prevented from coming
down to the House, by a oorneAic calamity); the
other-in order to give. an opportunity for laying on.
„ ,
the tame: further Papers, which were necessary to
elucidate.the-subjea., . ,

After some conversation-- between Lord CASTLE-
REAGH, Mr. PERCIVAL. and Lord I'EMPLE, the.post-
portement to Thursday was agreed to.

SLAVE TRADE AND ROMAN CATHOLIC BILLS.

• A long discussion then, ensued with respect to
the days on which the Slave Trade Abolition Bill,
and the Roman Catholic Bill, should be read a third
time.

Mr. WILBERFORCE, Mr., PERCIVAL, Mr. CAN-
NING, and Mr. PLoNER, were desirous that no'de-
lay Ihould take place in passing the Slave Trade Bill;
and Mr. WILBERFORCE. moved that the third read-
ing should takd place on Friday.

lord TEMPLE,_ as an Amendment to Mr. Vil-
berforee's motion, moved that the third reading of
the Slave. Trade Abolition Bill should be, on Monday
next.

General LOFTUS and. Mr. H. BRowNE,sugge.sted
the propriety of postponing any further proceeding
on the Catholic Bill for a fortnight, to allow the
IriSh Members 'time to return from the Assizes ;
but Sir. J. NEWPORT and Sir J. DOYLE contended
that this was wholly unnecessary, as the provisions
Of the Bill were already law In Ireland.
At length the House divided, when there ap-
peared—

For the 3d reading of the Slave Bill .on Friday 26
Against it -

Majority for Monday - 39
The third reading of the Roman Catholic .111 was
thus fixed for Friday.

VANSITTART brought in, a Bill for allowing
a certain quantity of Coals to be brought to London
by Inland Navigation ;
.as also a Bill for permitting,
the Eportation of Salt to the Bahamas in Ameri-
can. VesSels. Read a first time, and ordered to be
read a second time to-morrow.

The Loan Bill .went through a ComMittee, the
Report of which was ordered to be received to-
morrow.—Adjourned.

MAILS. .
Dut—z Gottenburgh, i Lisbon, i Dublib, 3 Waterford.

PRICE OF STOCKS
THIS DAY AT TWEL.VS O'CLOCK.
Consols - Onaniuni - - -

L 0 D 0 N ,
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1807.

No accOunt had reached, town, when this Paper
-was put to,Press,, respeeling the result of the .Cotirt
Marti 4 upon Sir HOME PoknArs. But it is -gene-
rally,believed that the Trial will conclude this day,
and under that impression nverai a the •Morning

Papers published Reports of it. •We hare hither o,
in compliance wit, the direaions (if the Cf.;urt; ab-
stained from giving any
.statement Of .the proeeed
ings ; but as they have been published in (Abel.
Papers, we trust we shall stand excused for layirig
theni before our Readers.

A Vessel- has arrived from Pillau, but she sailed
before the tesult of the battle of the Bth was known
there, and. consequently -brings no intelligence of
importance.. It is stated in some Private Letters
which have been received, that ,The Russians have
retired behind the Pregel, partly on account of the
scarcity of provisions, and partly for the purpose of
effecting a junCtion with the reinforcements which.
were on their march to join the Array.
This Morning French, Papers to the esth ult. were
received, but they scarcely contain a ward of Intelli-
gence from the Army in Poland:- The ilford'etir
is quite silent with respea to the Battle of Eylati;
one of the Minor Papers, however, contains the folk
lowing Letter from Thorn, which has evidently been
fabricated for the purpose of softening down the late
disasters in Poland, •

THORN, Fl3/3. 13.—We have had information
these three days of a. great battle gained over the
Russians by the French Army. The first account
of it was brought here on the ioth by an, Extrabrdi-
nary'Messenger,, and next day we received the con-
firmation 4af the news by a numberof private letters,
-containing details more or less particular respaing
this memorable. event. All these letters agree in re-
' presenting the Russian Army as, driven back- anti
Touted, after d- long and most obstinate resistance.
Various other letters have been received this day,
the date of which is
.so late as the evening ,ot the
12th. In them 'it: is stated, tlitit the Enemy, doubt-
less persuaded that 'it was the intention of the French
to pursue them to the titmost.of their retreat, did
not venture to
_take a moment's repost:: for two days
after the battle, but made offby forced Porches, and
left •.behind in their flight a great m2mber :of
stragglers, wounded, and horses, as well as a quart
tity of artillery and baggage. This augments still
more the- enormous loss which they had befoi;e
-sustained- in killed, prisoners, and it pleinents of
war. The losS'of the French is not/to be compares
with that of the. Russians. Those who estitnate it
highest do not Make it equal to a third of that
which theEn:,:my has sustained. Though this battle
has not, in appearance, had any other immediate re-
sult than-that of obtaining a brilliant vi&ory to the
French army, military men regard it as decisive, as
it has produced the greatest discouragement in the
just
idea army, and given the French army a
idea of its superiority. This is certain, that the Rus-
sians had combined, calculated, and prepared every
thing for the battle which they have lost ; whereas
the French made only general dispositions to gain it.
The Russian officers who have been made Prisoners
acknowledge that every measure was,concerted on
their part to render all subsequent operations de..
pendent on this first effort, and to restore to their
army, by a brilliant success, that confidence of
Which it had been deprived by, the defeat of the
Prussians. We have now to learn how the brill
Haut success which the Russians have obtained
in the battle of Eylau supply them with this
confidence.

PLYMOUTH, MARCH 9.—Stived the Kent,. of 74
guns, Captain Roe;Etts., fro ;off Rochefort. , The
other Ships composing the Rochefort division are
also expelled in to refit.
- The Atalanta Sloop of War, of 16 guns, was late-
ly lost near Rochefort, having been driven on the
rocks in a.gaie of wind. The Captain is arrived
here in the Kent ; some of the Officers and Crew
were made prisoners.

THE THEATRE.--The Comedy which has been
so long expeded from Mr. MORTON, was last night
brought forward at CoVent-Garden Theatre, under
the title of Town and Country i or, Which Is Best ?
We regret that we have. not at present an opportunity
of entering into a critical examination of the merits
of this Pieee, but the great length of more impor—
lant matter must be our apology-. - It is the laud-
able purpose of this . Play to discountenance the
vices;p
realence of fashion, and to avert the follies,
and mischiefs that result from it. This
purpose the author has endeavoured to effect
by as ample a representation of the manners of town
and country as could be comprized within a compo-
sition of the kind. His fable, if not striking in no-
Velty, is recommended ly:.-, a strong interest. The
sentiments are pUre, affeaing, and energetic. The
di&ion is. generally corre& and. elegant. The cha-
ra&ers
are numerous and well diversified. There are
many admirable strokes of humour and satirical allu-
sions to fashionable life. •Hondur, reaitude, and be-
nevolence, are uniformly inculcated. The duties of a
mother are painted in glowing colours, and it way
hilly be said that no auditor will " go unimproved
away," that is not steeled against nature, simplicity,
and benevolence. But the moral qualities of the
Piece are so judiciously blended with hum Our, that.
it affords considerable entertainment while' it exer-
cises every nobler feeling.—The charaeterslivere ad-.
mirably cast, and supported with great ability.
KE:Ai3cn has never appeared to- more advantage in
the scenes of domestielife. FAW.CETT was humor-
ous, quaint, and diverting. BLANCHARD exerted
himself with great success in a part originally, de-
signed for IVitNnlis. CHARLES -KEMBLE, indeed, had
not
onrteadpiatr\tviqttitlitje
n'c
Ignf e 'adaptedjudgment, and
EMERY was a strong prop to the Piece in a rustic
to haispppeoLedrss,,e
very
tealslye,
isnupi
t:
charaeter. Mrs. GLOVER, Mrs. MATTOCKS,. and
Miss.BRuNToN, were all entitled to a very com-
rnendatory
.notice.
rtf • he Author, however, has bent
his powers chiefly to- he construetion .of the dia.
rater of Reuben, which he has nicely adapted to the
talents of KcioLE,z,and which receives the am-:
plest justice from the efforts of the Performer;
'l'here were several illiberal spirits in the Theatre
who attempted to obstru& the success of this lute-
resting Drama, but the zealous and persevering ap-
probation of a numerous Audience entirely defeated
this; despicable hostility. The Comedy was' am
flounced for to-morrow by KEMBLE„. with the hearty,
concurrence of the Audience in general;

LONDON 'Printed by R. HARRIS (of Martlett;routt;
Bow-street), and published by W. A. Scß4rPs (of Sotniv,
Moulton-street), at thc StknAglice: 11'22 Strand.