The Sun.
London, England, 1824-05-05 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

HOUSE OF AUSTRIA:
MR. EDITOR—This ancient and illustrious
house derives its origin from Eticho, who was
Duke of Swabia and Alsace in the eighth cen-
tury. In the course of the ninth century, it was
divided into the branches of Hapsburg!), and of
Lorraine, which were again reunited in 1745, by
the marriage of the Archduchess Maria Theresa
of Austria with Francis Duke of Lorraine.
The severe contests between the Popes and the
Swabian dynasty, which had been greatly em-
bittered by the claims of the latter to the succes-
sion of the Countess 'Mechtillis, or Matilda, who
had enriched the Holy See with considerable
possessions, had, for some time, plunged the Em-
pire into a state of the most distressing anarchy.
Upon the death of Conrad IV. the last of the
Swabian Princes that swayed the imperial sceptre,
when no less than six competitors claimed the
vacant Throne, the electors, aware of the neces-
sity of selecting a person capable of restoring
peace and tranquillity to the distractd state, on
the 30th of September, 1273, raised Rodolph of
Hapsburg!), a simple Knight, possessed of little
wealth, but of much courage and firmness of mind,
to the Imperial dignity ; and thus paved the way
to the final accession of the House of Austria.
With a spirit that has ever formed oee of the
characteristic features of the Austrian dynasty,
no sooner was Rodolph securely seated on the
throne than he raised the honours of his house, by
creating the Duchy of Austria into an Archduchy,
a title which was confirmed to it nearly 200
years afterwards by the Emperor Frederick
It is somewhat remarkable that Elizabeth, sister
of Rodolph, was given in marriage to Frederick
of Hohenzollern, from whom the present Royal
House of Prussia is lineally descended.
Although Rodolph could not procure for his
son the imperial dignity, which was granted to
Adolph, Count of Nassau, in 1292, yet upon the
death of this Emperor, Albert 1., Archduke of
Austria, was elected as his successor, in the year
1298. It was during the reign of this Prince
that the Swiss, who had been for some time sub-
ject to the House of Austria, threw off the yoke,
and laid the foundation of the Republic of Swit-
zerland.

Upon the death of Albert 1., who fell by the
hand of his nephew, he was succeeded by Henry,
Count of Luxemburg, in 1309. Lewis, Duke of
Bavaria, was raised to the throne, notwithstand-
ing all the efforts of Frederick of Austria, who
had the mortification of finding 20,000 of his
best troops defeated by only 1,500 Switzers
at Moral], an event which led to the final
emancipation of Switzerland, whose independence
was now acknowledged by their former masters.
During the space of about two hundred years,
although the House of Austria considerably in-
creased its domains, none of its members suc-
ceeded in obtaining the Imperial dignity. This
great object of their wishes was at length ob-
tained in 1438, when Albert 11. of Austria, son-
in-law of the late Emperor, Sigismund, King
of Hungary, notwithstanding the intrigues of
the Empress Barbara, justly surnamed the Mes-
salina of the North, on account of the licentious
ness of her conduct, was placed upon the throne
of the empire, which was occupied without in.
terruption by his descendants until the changes
in the German constitution introduced by Napo-
leon Buonaparte. During this long period of the
Austrian dynasty, nothing is more remarkable
than the many marriages which gradually in-
creased its territorial possessions, and its political
importance. Among these six are noticed in
history as particularly fortunate. They are as
follows :

Ist. That of Albert I. with the heiress of Corinthia, and of
the Tyrol.
2d. That of Albert It with the heiress of Ferette and
Alsace. _ _ _

3d. That of Albert V. with the heiress of Bohemia and
Hungary.
4th. That of Maximilian with the heiress of Burgundy and
of the Netherlands.
sth. That of Philip IV. with the heiress of Spain, Naples,
and Sicily.
6. That of Ferdinand I. with the heiress of Bohemia and of
Hungary, by which the crowns of these kingdoms were finally
restored to the House of AusEria.

It was the marriage of Maximilian with Mary,
only daughter of Charles the Bold, Duke of Bur-
gundy, which gave rise to the rivality and con-
sequent wars between Austria and France, which
long agitated the whole of Europe. They arose
immediately upon the death of the Duke of Bur-
gundy, whose possessions were claimed by Louis
XI., King of France, who, though he lost Franche
Comte and the Netherlands, yet succeeded in
annexing Burgundy to his own dominions. This
spirit of rivality between the two crowns was
greatly increased by the unsuccessful attempt of
Francis I. of France to obtain the Imperial
Crown, and by his long wars against his more
fortunate and crafty competitor, Charles V. It
was, however, these wars between such powerful
rivals which introduced among the other crown-
ed heads of Europe that once favourite political
maxim of preserving a balance of power, which
they thought could alone ensure the independence
of each sovereign Prince.
• Amongst the many remarkable occurrences in
Germany that happened during the successive
reigns of the Austrian Princes, the most remark-
able are :—The division of the empire into
circles ; they were originally ten in number,
viz. Westphalia, Upper Saxony, Lower Saxony,
Upper Rhine, Lower Rhine, Franconia, Swabia,
Bavaria, Austria. and Burgundy ; but upon the
annexation of the title to France they were
reduced to only nine. It waS also during
this period that the political constitution
of Germany, which presented a mixture of
the Monarchical and Aristocratical forms of Go-
vernment, and which existed until annihilat-
ed by Buonaparte iu 1806, was finally esta-
blished. Another event of considerable im-
portance was the establishment of the Imperial
Chamber, or Supreme Court of Justice, which
held its sittings at Wetzlar. This Court, as well
as the Aulic Council, were created by the Em-
peror Maximilian in the year 1495, but both
ceased to exist when the ancient Constitution of
Germany was annihilated in 1806.

A. P.

T. W. BEAUMONT, Esq. M.P. has purchased
le Bear! estate for 23,0001.—(Leas Paper.)

DEFEAT of SIR CHARLES mccARTHY
AND THE BRITISH TROOPS.

TO THE EDITOR.

8, Queen-square, 'Westminster, May 4.
Silt—As great fears are entertained for the
safety of our excellent Governor, Sir CHAttrati
11/MARI-11y, and as it may be some consolation
to his friends in this country (among whom I am
proud to consider myself one not the least inte-
rested), to learn that there are still hopes of his
being in existence, permit me to offer the follow'
it
cannot observations upon this subject :—Although
cannot be disputed that the Ashantees are a bar'
barons nation, yet, as I have been among them,•
and witnessed their humanity to prisoners which
they captured in their late wars with the Bunts-
koos, I can, of course, speak with confidence
upon this subject ; and if the same King (Zal
Tootoo Quamina), who was alive when I was at
Coomassie, is still in existence, I can pledge my`
self for the safety of Sir Charles Nl‘Carthy, heir::
well acquainted with his sable Majesty's dispo
tion, and having the utmost confidence in his
manity. The following reasons also induce I.
to think Sir Charles's life will be preserved :-
1. When I was at Coomassie, in 1820, I
one of the Chiefs of the Buntakoos, who had hi.,
taken prisoner by the Ashantees, walking abuui
with his attendants, enjoying his liberty, and ever/
attention and respect.
2. After the battle of Benda, where the Fan•
tees were defeated by the Ashantees, one of their
chiefs, named Ato, was taken prisoner and sent
to Coomassie, where he was set at liberty, and
offered to be restored to the Fantees upon the
payment of 5404 which was demanded for Ini
ransom.

3d. It is not by any means a case without pre-
cedent for the Ashantees to have a European Go-
vernor in their possession as a prisoner, and
treating him kindly ; as they some years ago
captured a Governor Flindt and kept him for
five months, during which time he was treated
with the greatest humanity and respect ; after
which he was ransomed for 4001.
Upon all these occasions, A pokoo, the General
in Chief of the Ashantees, commanded ; and as
there is little doubt that he is with the army who
have captured Sir Charles, there is reason to hope
that as he saved the lives of others, he will also
spare that of Sir Charles AFC:artily. Sincerely
wishing that this may be the case, I am, Sir,
Your obedient humble Servant,
WM. HUTTON.

SHOCK/NG CASE OF CRUELTY.--At the llents
Easter Sessions, held at Winchester on Tuesday
last, the 27th ult., the Rev. R. WRIGHT ad-
dressed the Court respecting lunatic paupers,and
(according to a report of the proceedings inserted
its The Winchester Journal) narrated the follow-
ing case, as " having happened within his own
knowledge :"—" A very respectable young "-
man, during her state of pregnancy, became in-
sane. Her husband not being able to support
her, she was placed in the poor-house, in the
company of four other wreched beings like
herself. She was thence removed to a Lu•
natic Asylum, where the visiting Justices saw
her ; she was then perfectly tranfluil, and related
her misfortunes. She knew that she had been
insane, and that consequently restraint was ne-
cessary to prevent mischief ; and she explain-
ed how that restraint was effected. It was by
a ligature round her ancles, which was so tight..
ly bound, that the circulation of the blood
was stopped, and a mortification came on
both feet. In less than a week after she
was sent to the Lunatic Asylum, her feet
rotted, and both fell off at the ancle joints!
(A general expression of horror throughout the
whop,' Court followed the Rev. Gentleman's pa"
thetic relation. After a short pause Mr. W. pro-
ceeded.) The poor creature bore it all with re-
signation. She wished she had been at first taken
to the Asylum. She wished to live long enough
to give birth and nourishment to her child, and
then to die before that child could know the
misfortunes of its ill-fated parent. Her wish was
fulfilled—she► did give birth to her child, she nog'
rished it, and she died !"