The Sun.
London, England, 1815-01-20 00:00:00

'may always be traced to this source:'

The Author has here passed his fingers lightly
Over a chord which might be made to discourse
excellent music—but we cannot now undertake to.
play out the tune. We have only space left to
take leave of the Maskers, and to express • our
conviction, that he who produced ths 1-,nantasy is
capable of much higher labours in the service of

~LiteNtura ',is Colintry.

LIVERPOOL MEETING.

A Meeting was held'at Liverpool on Tuesday,
when a Petition against the Property Tax was
arced to. This Meeting has been distinguished
from those which have taken place elsewhere
tlroughout the Country, by the elucidation it has
given to the Letter from Lord Liveapoot. to Mr.
CLADSTONE, of which so scandalous a misrepre-
sentation appeared in the Morning Chronicle.
The Itev. Mr. SHENIERD brought this subjeet
before t he Meeting. Ile acknowledged being the an.
thor of a communication but disavowed any
knowledge of the paragr,:ph which pointed out
11Ir. G. as a devcited and opectant friend of the
Treasury, and as one of its known agents-,prget is-
jug insidious artifices, expressitvg - •
his respect for
Mr. G. and paying him various compliments.
Gladstqne stated in reply, that his letter to
the Morning Chronicle was confined to the p.ira-
gvaph ciuntion, and that he again had no
tation in stating that he considered the co»tedts as
/case (211(1 nzatinant ; "that Mr. Shepherd hi d
brought no evidence to support the statement he
had made to show that Mr. G. had received such
a letter as the
paragraph described/ and there-
fore as the public had no right to call for private
letters addressed to him, he might on that ground
safely rest his complaint 3
MR as so much had heen
said and written on the subject, and misrepresen-

there, that on the 28th December he bad received-
a note or commimicatiou front Lord Liverpool,
the first part of which was marked privl!e, the
latter part cohfitientird; that he had in the exer-
cise of his diseretiOn made such communications
from. the letter (and in particular to the Mayor)
us he judged proper ; that for the exercise of,-.
this discretion he was accountable to Lord
Liver Pool, .but 'to none else ; that from this letter
being private and confidential, he could not read
it there. or give it to the public; but though- he •
could not tell them what the conteftts of the let-
ter were, he could tell them that they were not
what was stated to be the contents in•the Morn-
ing Chronicle, and that he had not received such a
letter as was there represented : that the point •of
view in which his Chnduct wasimeld up to the public
by the Morning Chronicle in representing hint as the
devoted and expectant friend of the treasury, their
known agent practising insidious artifices,
,was
false au& malignant ; that he felt and declared
himself as independent of the Treasury or the Go-
vernment as any of the Gentlemen whom he was
then addressing, that his public conduct was the best
test, and that he called upon any man to state an
instance to time contrary, or of devotion, expec.-
tancy, agency, or artifice ; that he had given, and
always would give, his humble support- to the
'measures of the Government when he thought
them right, and oppose them if he thought them
not calculated to promote the best interests of the.
Country. Ile heul done so in that Hall last summer,'
iri •opposing the measure of increasing the stn-
' port average price of corn, which was supported
-by the Government.—Mr. Gladstone then propos-
ecl to Mr.
.Shepherd to name two Gentlemen
then present, ti) whom he would confidentially
:deliver the communication which he had had the
-honour to teceive from Lorci Liverpool. For this
purpose he named M. Birch and Mr. Thomas
Earle, for whom, thou 7h he did not always agree
with them in poti!ical opinion, Mr. 0...110 the
highest respect, and to Mr. Earle he liati confi-
dentially communicated the contents of the note
the day he received it, and the ifubstancerif `.:Lr-
batty to Mr. Birch in a day or two after, in conse-
quence
of these gentlemen applying to him ; :that'
Mr. Shepherd might imanve two others to meet'
these -gentlemen ;. tha:( he would tie ready to
answer any questions they might think proper
to put to Lim, and he was ready to submit
to their opihion. whether 'b
ewas not correct,
and fully, justified in the language of the 10-
ter he had athiressed to the Editor of the Morn-
ing .Chronicle, Mr. Shepherd %%mid do the, Saint'.
This proposal, was declined by Mr. Shepherd, who
said, that a.,‘ he had appealed to the public, by the
public he would be judged. Mr. G. also stated,
that aftex be.had received the communication re-
ferret' to, Istrowiug,,as he did, that the sentiments
of. many Gentlemen in Liverpool on the subject
'Of continuing the Property Tax, for another year,
agreed With his own, he took upon himself to
inquire of Lord Liverpool whether it was the ,
inteution of 'Government to abandon the Tax
front Aunil, 1c:16, should it be continued
until - then—that his Lordship had
.favortred
. him with an account which he thought it his
duty to communicate ,to the "Alayor, marked " pri-
vate," as his Lordship's letter was so marked
to Mr. G. this letter the Mayor was requested to
communicate to fhb Meeting ,by Mr. Casey, to
which the Mayor consented, when it was read by
the Town-Clerk : it Was dated the -Ith
G. stated, that having had the honour to-receive a
communication from Lord Liverpool, stating time
sentiments of Government respecting the contithz.
once of the Property Tax, he considered it his duty
to hand a copy of it' to the Mayor, that be might
make such use of it as he might judge proper
in corninunicating with those who might present
the requisition for a to-wies meeting to hhn. The -
extract. dated the 2d January stated, that his
LOrdship had no difficulty iu acquainting Mr. G.,-
that is was not the intention of Government to
propose that the Ploperty Tax Shwaid continue
beyond the 5t.11 of April, 1816; tit that this tax
should be resorted to, except in the event of the
renewal of war. This letter Mr. G. sent to the •
Mayor on' the forenoon of the sth instant. A
strong desire was expressed by Mr. Casey and
others to know from Mr. G. what he had.written
to his Lordship in alms wer to the first communi-.
catich, alleging that he bad taken upon him th
state, that the town of Liverpool would agree to
the renewal of the tax for another year, which Mr.
G. positively denied. Mr. G. stated, that the note
he had been honoured with from Lord Liverpool
on the 28th December was wholly unexpected on
his part, though he .had the honour z-o be pel:-
sonally known to his Lord Ship.

LADIES' BOARDING-SCHOOL, near the, City-
road.—Mrs. Coss respectfully informs the Gen-
try; Merchants, and her Friends in
~iienerKi, that
her School will recommence 11,1f-o4ty next, the
23d inst. and 'that .she vacaucies for three
more,young Ladies as tottiders. She hops that
the•flattering succr she has met with for these
30 years, in educating the Daughters of sonic of
the first Families in the City, to whom references
may be had-, will be no small recommendation to
those Ladies and Gentlemen who may honour her
With their pntronage.

Terms :—The Young Ladies are boarded, and
taught the English and French ,Languages with
grammatical purity awl correctness,
History, and
the Needle Works, for thirty-fire guineas per
annum, washing. included. Parlour-boarders se-
•venty guineas a year. Day-hoarders three gui-
neas and a half and Day-scholars two guineas.
No entrance-money expected, either front Board—
ers or" Day-scholars. Writing, arithmetic, music,
dancing, drawing, Italian, geography, the use of
the globes, ;-mil astronomy,
_taught by professors
,of 'eminence and established merit.

Wanted t young „Ludy of a docile dispositiOn
and genteel address, as an apprentice. Terms,
100 guineas for three years, masters and-extras in-
cluded, drawing and books only excepted, which,
if required, must be paid separately for. Fi.he will
enjoy_inany ailantages which are not to•be me:
with in the, generality of schools.

Mrs. Cross nurAy be spoken with, or flirected.to,
at her Seminary, 'No. 11, Clarks's-square, near
the City-road.

By referring to the account of the Liverpool
Meeting-, which we have copied from the Liver-
pool Courier, a Paper as independently and ably
conducted as any in the kingdom, it will be seenthat
Government have no intention of proposing the
continuance of the Propeky Tax
_beyond April;
1816. Upon • this subject we shall to-morrow
offer a few observations, and in the mean time
recommend the honest and impartial Report of
the proceedings at Liverpool, as an antidote to
the garbled and party misrepresentations contained
in the. Morning
The'Faction, defeated at the last Election, tried
to smuggle in a note of disapprobation on the ah-
Sence of Mr. CANNING, and the Chronicle assures
us, that had the resolution been put, " it would
have been carried with a gfeat majority, for he
has totally lost his influence in Liverpool,"— We
do remember that,the smile Oracle told us, during
the sitting ot: Varliament, that it was well for Mi-
nisters the Opposition did not push ;heir triumph in
oratonjto a triLunph in numbcrs—when the "puffed
men" t tied the experiment arid mustered, prodigious
crowd about two dozen against as Many hundreds
—So would it be in Liverpool, and the Talents had
better stick to their trade of noise and speech-
making, which does not expoc them so.dktinetly
to the ignorant as figures do on a dis ieion or poll.

We have this day nn Poreig'n intelligence.—A
report, which Was
scirci.lirted about the be iunir:g
of the week, that the Congress had broken
unsatisfactorily, irasi been revived by a Morning I,
Paperof,tto authority.

The Times, we believe, has been threatened
With a prosecution by the .Father of a Young Man
in the Navy, whom One of its Corre.poodents
has, as he thinks, endeavoured to injure by% state-
men of gross, palpable, and malignant falsehOmls;
respecting a Regulation of the hi with re-
gard to Midshipmen, which does not, and never
eNist—a Regulation which could. only have .-
entered the minds of those who were once the Pa—
trans .of that Paper, and who -yet, occasionally',
vent their venom through its coLtmns.
Whether. their apologetical ppragraph of .to-,
day will be sufficient to s-at',,sfythe Father of the
Young Man who threAtened them with a pro-
secution, we canne.,t pretend to knoW, We
will tell them, .;t" any rate, , that their " Cor-
respondent,., :or whoever he may he that nra•
nufacznred I,fie paltry paragraph, is
_at, ignOr-
ant, scarni,alons 'an:d malicious libeller;_ ,one, we
will ve'Arturc to say, ,of those tvorthless fttllows
who bas been turned out of a service for which
1-te was utterly disqualified and to which he was a
disgrace. •

. The examination of witnesses, on the part 'of
the prosecution in Sir J. AizzattAY's trial, is ex-
pected to close th►s day, when the Coutt will ad-
journ to "Monday, to afford- Sir JOHN MURRAY
time to prepare his defence. The defence will be
.of considerable length.' The Court %Val SO much.
crow:.4.ed yesterday, that the rail which was erect-
ed to•scparate the auditors from the• Court, broke
down by the pressure, and nearly endangered the
limbs of many. Happily, howevt:i-, no serious
accident occurred.

Until we read the observations to which wc,are
about to rt.quest attention, tve could scarcely have
supposed; that any English Newspaper, and far
less one, generally moderate and judicious, could
have undertaken to maintain principles so unten-
able in themselves, and so distinctly hostile to the
clearest and best interests of the British Empire.
The Writer in Beirs Medspnger, correctly antici-
pating that our Navigation Laws are on the eve
of a complete revisal (though with a vice: to the
re-establishment of a system cntirdy opposite
from that which he recommends, viz. to the
return to the practice of good , times, and
not to_ a re-modifiction according to the
theiiries of the new school) ; thinks if a suitable
time to enforce his opinions In favour .of what,
he, with a confidence Somewhat overstepping
wisdom, styles the AMENDM T " of these
Laws ;—the policy of which, he says, he doubts,
and then goes on to demonstrate thlit it is un-
donbtedly bed.

It is curious to observe how cautiously he areas

I

and bulwarks of our greatness
"No one," he observes, ",is less wiling than 1V( t')
encourage any thing like innovation ; iu nine. times nOt ("i(
ten, what is ancient is only so because it is reasonable; a 94
though the reason, perhaps from the usage, t eing thC
may of an evil which it has removed, may not appear wllilst
the usage continues, it beco;es immediately manifest in the
mischief consegnent upon the removal.".
• What a pity so sensible an observation- shota.
be the prelude to a c‘ but,". and that the wit°.
should immediately thtow behind -him the dis'
cerement which led to the acknowledgment 010
just a general principle, only to eXetnplify the
folly of making an .exception to it in one of thi
strongest cases .that could have been chosen to ti
lustrate its irrefragable truth. But such is the
pride of experimental dogmatizing, and thus clod
hypothesis warp those points which are strangest
against it, into the strongest arguments in its
support. . .

The gist of the Navigation Laws is concisei
stated in the following summary-: -
" Ist, That the vessels shall be built at home-2dly, that
they shall be manned at honie—and ;idly, that they shall 10
Gened at home." •
Three most important national considerations It
Must lie -acknowledged, even were they attended
with inconveniences----inconveniences n•hich o'c
utterly deny to this Writer to " overweigh the
good on the other side." _ Far, far -from it ! tll6
good on the other 's:de is incalculable ; it is tiiC
vital source of our strength and- political great'
nets ; it has made us the mighty State we are,
and without it, We should decline not only ffolll
ire eminence, but sink below the level of a rtiliU
Power in Europe. •
It is, however, but fair to the Author of the°
projected amendments to discuss the principal ar
ginnents upon which he attempts to establish hI
theory. ern fhe first point he says•-
"-- If our ships were not required to be built in England,
'our vessels would be built where timber is cheapest,--it)
Canada, in Sulitiam, in Halifax, ece. This would occasioa
some emigration of shipwrights tu these countries abounding'
in wood, a mere rapid colonization. of them, and the ca a'
SeqUent extension of our market I,r produce and maprifac'
tore. It 1-.oldd-occasion, likewise, some diminution in 'O.,
kigii price Of timber at home; and thereby a greater facilitt
fm. our naval supply. The tizn)er of. the ships would L4'7'
wise be More suited to the voyages, and teak shipping would
be chosen for the hot climates, in which our fir and oak ves'
sell are so rapidly destroyed. It would occasion likewise/
the frequent purchase of foreign vessels, and thus mitre,: tll‘
heavy price of ships. It 'Would be
.tantamount to the ren'
Bering the whole world a ship market, and thus establishio4
the price of shipsitY one country, at the general -price of tit'
labour and materials employed throughout the world,"

It is not surpriling that a person who coati(
resort to reasoning of this kind, should underf,
value the benefits derived from thu Na-rig,o-;f7il
Laws, and esteem the national adetitinges
duoible from the glorious fabli,<- -of the wisdchh of
our forefathers w.!;icit tests thereupon, to he of
light consequence and easily outweighed ! With
the first part of his premises we are not dispose(
to quarrel, because we hold it to be sound Hid
to identify the interests of our colonies with those
of the mother country, and, therefore, what th 6
one gains is- not lost to the other. Neither
shall we at present question the more con'
-trOversita assertions respecting home and teak
timber; though we more thank 'doubt the ae'.
curacy of the statements on these, important
topics. But when the Writer tells us of tho
advantage of the frequent purchase of fa"
reign VeSsels," and speaks of the excellency of his
plan as contributing to render " the whole woricl'-
a Ship larket," we cannot bring ourselves to be-
lieve that he is in earnest ; but rather imagine that
he is reasoning ad absurdnin; to expose the fallttcY
of 'the doctrines he pretends to espouse. - This
Island, of some ten millions of N1)(11.41;011, has fro°
it maritime superiority,, ti liltilt.ittle of its ship.-
ping, and consf.;lT.-.Z:nt extent of its naval means,
risen to 'tile rank of a first rate Power ; and lo ! the',
Innovators of•the new philosophy would, for the
paultryssAving of a'trifling sum in freights, and in
the purchase Of vessels, overturn 'thu very lottodtv
lions of our strength, and at one master stroke,
destroy all that the measures• of the brightest
Statesm an-that ever adorned the land, have bets
e4licient- to buildup. They would buy their ship
from foreign huildeis, that they might teach theft)
to rival British industry in this important branch Of
political economy—and theywould render the whole
world a ship-market, forgetful that by the sane
encouraging means they would egalt other nations
into the competitors of Britain's naval greatness;,
.
and probably successful conipetitors too, for Oa'
new theory which would give them marithue
strength, would ruin that of our native Isle.
'The same remarks apply, and if possible
augmented force, to the arguments by which
~thef
second head df
,the subject is 'in o'4'
Messenger. ,
" If English maimed ships were nut entitled to ate privi4
leges of the Navigation Acts, sailors, as well as ships ,
tie procured where they could be hired cheortst.--,For
climates,. Lascars,—for northern climates, Danes arid
wegians might be engaged in common with our own sailc44
who might thus be chiefly Considered as 1m:104414 to a".

to what they hear in other regions of the world, and the mer-
chant .might thni come into the foreign market with a better
*hance."

What is here -set down is most true : and- it is also
most true,
.thit the result contemplated - by the
writer is the very danger against which the Navi-
gation LaWs arc intended principally to guard.—
It was the dread of that which he quotes, as an
inducement to allow the, expediency of his posi-
tions, that led to the construction of that code on
which all our glory is founded.. It was because
our Ancestors did not want to employ Lascars or
Swedes, or Danes, or any other foreigners, that
these- laws were devised : it was because they
believed the Ark of Britain's Covenant would be
best manned*with.British seamen, that the-mo-
ilonoly to encourage ,our sailord was resorted
to. The wisest and the greatest politicians that
togland has produced, have unanimously concurred
-in this sentiuient, for, unlike the Writer in the
Messenger, they did,not think that our safety would
be best consulted by making the subjects of other.
States the ablest Seamen in the universe, while our
own native Citizens were repelled from the service
of the OCean by which we are girded, ns with a
belt, Which renders the wearer invulnerable.
On the third point, we shall not at. c,eut di-
late, for as the Writer to whose Essay we direct
our notice has not touched upon ifs main bearings,
it is unnecessary for ns to raise the • question
de profundis in order to skew, which can readily
be done, that British Ownership is- as essential to
the 133 itish interests and to the preservation of
British greatness, as either-the home building or
native manning of the Shipping employed in our
prodigious commerce.
In conclusion, he states.that,

These laws, in short, are an example of the most' com-
Vete and finished monopoly to be found in any commercial
code, and in process of time will totally and effectually cut
up all (nu foreign commerce, and leave as to deal only with
ourselves. They are :rot necessary to procure ships, because
coulmerce will always command ships as easily as carts. They
are not. uecessa:4 to maintain our sailors, because commerce
will likewise procure them; and as to shiwrights, •ua parti-
lar clas.3 of men oughtto be supported at the expellee of the
getP;:ral ittceiest."

To these assumptions we shall offer a very short
answer, first, by'. asking how it happens- that this
censured rnimopoly has not loitg before our
era produced the dangerous effects here pre-
dicted Of it : and, see'mdly, by-asserting that it is
stet .merely ships and sailors that w ought to
look tor, but British ships and British sai-
lors SO that we may not depeud on ForeigP.ers
for our prosperity in times of peace, nor for
safety in tinies of war. In f, ne, .as• it was
always the avowed object of One Immortal
WILLIAM PITT, whenever the prospect of
peaceopetted the question for review, gradually to
do away all the relaxations which aw:ar of unex-
Mnpled difficylties hail introduced into our Na-
'itigatioir System, alla restore that .noble sys-.
tear to its °rig-it:id character and vigour, that
Britain and her Colonies might be indepen-
dent of the whole ; so are we- rejoiced
to find (as announced THE SUN of Mon-
day last), that
,it is the decide:l intention of the
l'amcE REGENT'S Advisers to 5-,2ize the. opportu-
nity now afforded to pursue the s:zlne course,.
which, in oppositiOn to the Messovr,,and htcited
by the opinions of nearly all the great \Vt•ters.
and Statesmen who have discussed the subject, we
maintain to be the only one consistent with the
prosperity and grandeur of the Country.

The D:rectors of the East India Company have
'lately resolved that the Duty of Sixpence per
Gallon on Mine imported in all ships not in the
CQaipany's employ be discontinued ; but that the
.11aige of Thirty Shillings per Pipe, to cover the
I=Xpeuces of koyage, wharfage, &c..be levied as

A notification •has been given, that the Diet of
*Norway %WAS to be re-assembled On• Ist July,
1815. On the 30th November the arrangement
'or -,the Administration of Norway was annottn-
,,O; iheCh'ef Officers of the Church, the Law,
Pace„ the. Home Department, and of Com-
Illerce'and Finances, are nominated, and • they are
Avithoitt exceptiOn•iratires of Norway.
41. The 'Lisboa letters, which were. delivered the
la" before yesterday, came down to the 30th of
iussti.naonth. The packet left the Tagus on the Ist
pit►ciT.,he letters are quite barren of news, being
Twilit:llY filled-with complaints of the commer.-
Ith -',""msy entertained against. the English, and
.I,.e44ePretlations Committed off the coast by Attie-
_lcati privateers. • One of these, called thei Ame-•
...r!ca, mounting 24 guns, alid, of CQUrse,more
I,,lrtin proportionally mannetiNas for some time
Vfested the coast off and about Cape St,Vinceut.
4,t w.as reported that a desperate conflict occurred
13.etween her and one of his Majesty's sloops,
llinne unknown, - The confirmation and issue were
4lociously looked for.
On •the 24th of December Mr. CANNING was
introduced to the Regency, and, after
aling delivered his credentials, addressed them.
;
44A speech of the-, most animated eloquence ;
course of which he took- occasion to pay the.
111Rhest .compliment to..the military character at
e Portuguese, and to its important contribution
° the glorious issue of the European contest.
4 The late Nabob of OUDE has left 171
,jerling of specie in his Treasury. It was his par-
Illie(11.ar wish that his second son should- succeed
b,,"ni) the exclusion of his eldest, and he was- in'
%jkg"elation with the East India Company on the
'isiCject. These two sons are now rivals for the
ty.l".t)ne. Lord MoIRA, great state, is gone np
e country to s-ettle the dispute.

Extract of.a Letter from the Agent to Lloyd's, at Aldbnrgh,

dated I Sth January

" I am informed that the ship Andreas, of
Christiana, left an anchor in 1101esley Bay on
the 9th December last, which has been taken up,
and carried to Orford ; it is about 12 cwt. and
marked on the croivn. thus—V2tS. UV.: there
S.
.
is a cable, as it broke CC. 'off at the clinch,

also a buoy and buoy'rope : the anchor is uew,
with an old stock.—Another large anchor has
been taken up, and carried to Orford ; it weighs
about 14 cwt. it belongs to -a ship that 'was in
company with the Andreas, and lost on the 15th
ult. in Hollesley lidy. I think it right to inform
you ofthe above, supposing you may be likely to
make out the parties who may have an interest in
these anchors."

YARMOUTH, JAN. 19 —The Mary Ann, HEN-,
DREY, from Hull for London,• with oats, was
driven on shore yesterday morning at -Winterton,
and, unfortunately, the whole of the crew have
perished. The vessel is a total wreck.'
•PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 19.—Arrived the •Prodent,
HASKETT, and the Hope, HAnniNGTON, from
Waterford ; Charlotte and Resolution colliers
from the North ; the Dagemaadt, RANDER, from
London for the Brazils, &c. came into ha.rhour.
Sailed. the Stirly cutter for Yarmouth Roads.—
NV i Fist.

• PLYMOUTH, JAN. 18.—Came in the Edward,
LAU RIE, from Newcastle' for Bourdeaux. Arrived
the Tay sloop of war from Cork..—Wittd N.
DEAL, JAN. I9.—Nothing arrived or sailed.—
Wind E.

The West India fleet sailed from Cork on

S inday.

The Aurora, NIELLiNAII, from Hamburg!' to
.Loudon, is totally lost on the coast of Jutland".
The 110 Sit, SHERIDAN, Of Wiliteht:ven, from
North America, was driven on shore the 11th
inst. at Gervan, but expected to begot off. Crew
saved.