The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-24 00:00:00

[BRITISH PRESS.]

The Paris Papers. of Wednesday, with Thurs.-
day's Etoile, reached our office yesterday. The
Etoile, which far teveral months- has been-harp..l
ing on South America, contains. some new-fangled
statements from the Madrid Gazette—a most, un-
worthy authority—on the present state of Colom-
bia. These accounts are stated, by ibe -Madrid
paper, to have been received-by the Spanish Go-
vernment from Porto Rico, and to have been
transmitted to that island, from the Continent.-
They profess to be dated the bth of February,
and state, " that the people of those countries,
charged with the yoke of therevolutionists, every
where rise to throw it off"—that cries of love
and fidelity to the wretched tyrant of Spain are
heard in all places.
" Spectatum admissi risum teneatis."
Can any one acquainted with these countries
read these tales of invention with feelings of any
thing but utter incredulity and contempt ? This
account goes on to say, that there are only two
thousand men in- arms at Venezuela—that the
rest have deserted—that the fortresses of Puerto
Cabello, Maracaibo, and Cumana, were nearly
without garrisons, and orders had been given
to withdraw all the materiel to the south
of the Apura. —These dispositions indicate
(the Madrid Paper adds), an intention to
fall back on Aranca, in case of invasion,
by the Spanish royalists ? Where, we ask,
are the invaders to be found ? There is no force in
Cuba equal to the attempt, or more than sufficient
to retain an uncertain possession of that exten-
sive island. Since Morales and his followers
were driven out of Colombia, and Puerto Ca-
bello taken by storm, the Spaniards have not an
inch of that territory in their possession ; nor is
there now a Spanish soldier in arms throughout
that vast Republic. Where then is the danger ?
or from what is it to spring, unless the Colom-
bians themselves, who, during past years of
strife and danger, bore arms in the cause of li-
berty, and adhered to the Republic, until every
enemy was driven from its soil, should now, in
their day of triumph and security, grow sud-
denly tired of freedom and growing prosperity,
and sigh for the happiness of Spanish tyranny
and monopoly again ? Though the illustrious
Bolivar is in Peru, he left the Government of
Colombia assured and. settled before he sailed.
The tales, therefore, of the Madrid Gazette, and
its ally, the Etoile, are destitute of even proba-
bility ; but both these Journals have dealt in
these fradulent inventions for months,
,and
unable to make any other war, the Paris and
Madrid Cabinets have put these Journals in com-
mission. Southern America, exhausted by a
long and desolating contest, may, for a while
feel domestic pressure heavy, but would Spa-
nish tyranny renew her resources, or the
burthees of her people be lighter under the iron
Hyoke of- the -merciless Ferdinand, and the fa-
natics who now desolate and oppress the mo-
ther country, than they are under a free go-
vernment ? Bourrnont's return to France, by the
last accounts, is spoken of as certain ; and Mar-
moot, the Duke of Ragusa, is now mentioned
as his successor. On Sunday, the 4th of April,
our Bayonne letters, some French were assassi-
nated by Spaniards. These sanguinary crimes,
it adds, are now but too frequent. Ferdinand
was to have been at Toledo on the 9th; the
French were to accompany him, and their head-
quarters were to be at that city during his

stay. Orders were already given, as at Aran-
juez, not to suffer any person to enter the city
without the tyrant's permission. The return of
'the French gardes du corps to France was looked
for. Among the Spaniards, already amounting
to 200 men, who are to take their place, there
are several French ; in fact, Spain is now a
mere province of France, where the French Com-
mander is absolute, and the despot is a mere
puppet in his hands, suffered accasionally to in-
dulge his prejudices and his caprice. General
hatred to the French appears every day gaining
ground; all parties are now gradually uniting in
that feeling, and the French troops may soon
have a most dangerous and uncertain footing
within the Pyrenees.

[NEW TIMES.]
Yesterday being the day appointed for the ce-
lebration of his Majesty's Birth-day, the Bank,
Stock Exchange, &c. were closed with the most
rigid exactness. Some few speculators, however,
were'congregated upon
The the Royal Exchange, and
some business was transacted in the latter part of
the day, both in the British and Foreign Securities.
prices at which Consols were sold were 964,
and for the Account 961; but these may be con-
siderd as little better than nominal prices, for the
business transacted was very trivial compared
with what usually takes place on an open day.
The French Funds were quoted at 103 in Paris
on 'Wednesday, and 'the price they bear in Lon-
don is near one per cent. higher. Some extensive
business was done in the French Scrip, in pursu-
ance of orders from Parisond these circumstances
tend to spew the confidence entertained of
those Funds improving. The Scrip fully main-
tained a premium of 18 Per cent. The Colorn-
bian Scrip was lower in price, as were most of
the other Securities. The following may be quo-
ted as the correct prices of the Securities in
which any business took place :—Austrian
Scrip, 174: ; Colombian Bonds, 934, 4 ; French
Rentes, 1034, 4 ; Mexican Scrip, 1041 prem. ;
Neapolitan Bonds, 971 ; Russian 971 ; and
Spanish Bonds 18, and the New 16.—Consider-
able interest is excited as to the plan of the
West India Company, and the names of the Di-
rectors have a strong influence upon the Public,
from their highly respectable character and
station in society. The list of subscribers is
stated to be already nearly completed.