The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-30 00:00:00

stance of the tellers is given in THE SUN of yes-
terday]—lt is yet to be seen whether Don
Pedro will propose the promulgation of the new
Constitution as a law of the Empire. The " Ca-
more'," 'or Municipality of Rio, had early present-
ed a petitionto the Emperor,soliciting that the new
Constitution should he at once adopted as a law of
the empire, without the intervention of a.legis-
!alive Assembly. Don Pedro, it will be recol-
lected, expressed his satisfaction at receiving such
an address, but declined compliance with it until
he should be acquainted with the wishes of the
other provinces. It is certainly strange and sus-
picious, that nothing in the interval has been said
of the future assembling of the legislative body ;
and. that the election of deputies, commenced
throughout the provinces, had been suspended.—
It is by no means improbable, that I)on Pedro
has lent himself to the views of the faction at
Lisbon, supported by the intrigues of the Cabinet
.of France. But we cannot yet 'believe that the
Frefich Ministry would venture an open rupture
with this country,!by sending such a•fleec to the
_Brazils, as, in the alarm of our private leVers, is
mentioned and anticipated. Such an attempt
_would be too glaring, too gross a breach of every
think like' neutrality, to be passed by for a mo-
ment. It would call for immediate explanation
from this country, and that denied, the next step
would be a hostile squadron, on our part, appear-
ing in the-harbour of Rio, and off Martinique and
Guadeloupe, where the French ships were stated
to be assembling. France has, as yet, no fleet
that could even risk a contest with the naval
power of this country. We therefore think that
there is great exaggeration in the statements last
received from Rio; and though we anticipated
the agency of every sort of intrigue on the part
of France, not only in Brazil but throughout
South America, wherever she can obtain a foot-
ing for her missionaries, no open attempt, we
are persuaded, will be made that can, by possi-
bility, entail a rupture with this country ; and
the French Ministry are long since in full pos-
session of the decided sentiments of our Cabine'
on the subject of South America.

[NEW TIMES.]
An abstract of the proceedings -against Mr.
Smith, of Demerara, embraces the substance of
the charges against him, of his defensive state-
ment., and.of the whole evidence in the case, and
we must say that we have never, in the whole
course of onr legal reading, met with a sentence
so utterly unsupported, by the semblance of ra-
tional proof. We are indeed, to this moment, at
a loss to Understand for what reason Mr. Smith
was sentenced to he hanged ; or what is the
crime that he is alleged to -have committed de-
serving death. He is acquitted of any 'intention
to excite rebellion, but found guilty of the non-
descript crime of promoting diScontent in the
minds of other people without any evil in-
tent.- He is also convicted of having *ad-
vised on a certain day touching and concerning
a certain rebellion, the pfoof being most dis-
tinctly that the only advice he gave was to have
nothing to do with it. This advice too was given
without knowing or suspecting that the parties
had rebellion in their thoughts,, but merely on an
idea that they had some vague discontent which
might lead them to illegal conduct. It comes
out incidentally in the course of the trial (though
not necessary to. be noticed in an abstract), that
Mr. Smith was not
i arrested on any information
••
against him; it that two -Militia Captains, one
of whom had had a quarrel with.-him two years
before, thought, 'fit to command him to take
up arms, and , becadse as a Minister of the
Gospel he considered- himself exempt, they.
seized his person and his papers ! He is
charged with hriving. preached disaffection for
six years together, and is tried upon this mon-
strous plea without speCification of a single' ex-
pression, or of any one day,.week, month, or year,
within which his alleged crime was committed.
is tried by Martial Law for the general
tenor of sermons preached and chapters of the
Bible read years before .he became subject .to
that law !---He is found guilty of- aiding and'
assisting in rebellion, because a man whom
he did ; not know to be even a reputed re-
bel came one day to his house unexpected
by him, stayed there a few minutes and left
it, without prOof of a single_ word having .pasSed
between them. It is monstrous for a Court-
Martial to be sitting to judge a Minister of the
Gospel, not for specific incitements to rebellion
delivered from, the .pulpit, but for the general
Character of his doctrines as loosely stated from
the vague. impression. of ignoraot hearers! It is
still more "monstrous to find that one of the doc-
trines which the prosecutor, the Officer of the
Crown, argues to be treasonable, is the duty of
keeping holy the Sabbath-day !

[itORN/NO CIitiONIGLE.]

The account of the arrival of a number of
French ships of war at Rio Janeiro has naturally
produced a -great sensation in the Metropolis.
What good object can the French Government
have in view in sending such a large naval force
to that part of South America ? We have for
some limp been in possession of very curious torn
mnnications ,from a most respectable quarter with
regard to the views of the French, in South Ante-
rica, and the steps they • have taken, and are
now taking,lo realize them, but we did not. lay
this information before our
.readers, because we
did not conceive qurselves warranted in any
thing short of positive proof, in. stating, what
might have had a most ruinous effect on the for-
tunes of intlividuals, while such extensive float].
cial operations are in progress. . As Ministers,
too, have necessarily extensive_ menus of informa-
(Ton, we could not bring ourselves to believe that
they were either not privy to,all the. measures of
the
,'French Government, or that they would
,con-
five at any attempts to disturb the•existingstate
of thiogs in South America, after.the lofty, lan-
guage they have held on this, subject. Unfor-
innately for Brazil,
.an. individual who is under
a strong temptation to sacrifice its interests to.
his own aggrandizement, has been placed at the
bead of its Government. It, was not to be expected
that Don Pedro should forget that he was Heir
to the Crown of Portugal, or titat'hestmuld ; not
wish to unite the two Sovereignties.: Suk to. ef-

fect this union, European. aid is necessary to
him ; and the moment he relies on Europe, he
becomes an European Potentate, actuated by Eu 7
' ropean views. If Ministers, therefore, either lend
themselves to, or connive at any attempt to extend
the influence of the European Cabinets to South
America, they sacrifice the interests of England to
other considerations. But what are we to think
of the intelligence from Brazil' The presence
of so large a French force in that quarter can
be explained only in one manner. This, how-.
ever, places us in the alternative of believing
either that Ministers have views hostile to the
independence of South America, or that they
have been deceived by the French Government.
As far as regards the FrenchGovernMent,. we
should not be disposed to place the smallest,
reliance on its promises or professions. The
higher classes in France, whatever M.- De
Chateauhriand may say of their improve-
ment in morals since the French Revolution, are,
strangers to honour and good
generally speaking,
faith. They have not sense enough to perceive
that-honesty- is, in the long run, the best policy ;
that fraud, by destroying confidence, defeats its
,own object. ''hey are genuine descendants or
themen of the old. Regime, -for, centuries the
great corrupters of European morals, who
are so faithfully pourtrayed in, the Memoirs
which they.. have left behind them. We are
not deceived ,by the French Ministers, be-
cause we attach no more importance to
their language than they do themselves. One
difficulty is with regard to our own Ministers,
who being in possession of a most effectual, key
to the secrets of men in place in France, could
hardly be taken by surprise, and -who, we are
willing to believe, not so lost to shame as to join
them in any intrigues against the independence
of South America. However, if we cannot sup-
pose the English Ministry either the dupes or the
allies of their French brethren, we are equally at
a loss -to suppose that the latter would hazard
the success of their financial schemes by attempts
OW South America, unpalatable to the former
This would be sheer madness, which is very di
ferent from dishonesty.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Aplin..29.
INSURANCE AGAINST FIRE.

GOTTIE v. TURNER AND OTHERS.

This was an action brought by the plaintiff to recover from
the defendants, who are Directors of the Eagle Insurance Coin-
pany, compensation in damages for an injury sustained by him
in consequence of the destruction of his furniture and stock in
trade by fire, and which furniture and stock in trade was insur-
ed in the Eagle Insurance Office for 4001. The defendants
pleaded that the plaintiff had made a false return of his loss,
and that,the fire was not occasioned by accident.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL the case for the plain-

whom he represented to be a German by birth, and who

by strict economy hack scraped together as much money as en-
abled him to set himself up as a master biscuit-baker in White-
cross-street, where he, hid the misfortune of being burnout in
1811; since which period he was prevented by extreme poverty
from bringing an action for the value of the goods thus destroyed.
Al, few years afterwards he set up the same business, without
any concealment, in'St. where a short time ago
he again had the 'misfortune of being burnt out. After this

misfortune he was, in consequence of false rumours spread by a

woman named Gibbs, tried for having burt his house in 1811,
but he was honourably acquitted ; and he now came before a
Jury to give him that compensation to- which he considered.
himself justly entitled.
William Pegge—l was employed as a carpenter by the plain-
tiff at his house in Whitecross-street in 1811. I made the coun-
ter, shelves, &c. in the shop,. and a bench in the bakehouse ;
my bill for this work was 111. 6s. fal. Whilst I was so em-
ployed I saw tables, chairs, crockery ware, and other articles of
household furniture. , I cannot say how many beds were in the
house; I have seen the defendant wear' good clothes; at that
time he had a blue coat, a drab coat, a great coat, and a work-
ing dress, ',There was pastry in his shop ; there were also japi
in the shop ; I -don't recollect having. seen any books
.in the
shop; I remember when the fire too place. . '
Cross-examined—l did not know the defendantuntil.the 26th
of August 1811, when he eameio employ the to do the .work ;.
I have never heard Gottie say that he had been burnt out be-
fore •one of the tables was a deal table - worth-about a pound ;
another was a mahogany pillar and elaw table, arid worth about •
2/..105. - Tlie chairs were rush bottomed ; the bed Stead was a
tent bedstead ; it is so lane ago I can't swear accurately to the-
amount of the stock in the shop.
Joshua Cardell—l am a bricklayer ; in the year 1811 I built
an oven for Mr. .Gottie in - Whitecross-street ; my bill was
-about 531. The oven -'flue was carried into the back parlour
chimney.

Cross-examined,-I think the oven was built in April, 1811 ;
I was employed by Gottie. The house Wag empty at the time.
Re-examined—l arrested GOttie for the amount of my bill,
which has never been paid.

. Thomas Mitchell-1 was acquainted with the plaintiff iu
1811. 1 remember his going into the house in NVliitecross-
street' ; I owed him some moneyf and he'applied to une to pay
401. for the lease of the house ; I paid"that sum for him ; I
then carried on business as a chcesemongcr and grocer; I sup_
plied him with one small parcel of butter and sugar.
Cross examined—About a year and a half before the fire in
Whitecross-street, he was burnt 'out in High-street, Shadwell;
he then owed me 1041. ss. which I paid myself out .of a sum of
2501. which I receiVed from the Phoenix Fire 011ie& for the
benefit of his creditors ; every thing 'Gottie had was destroyed
in Shadwell.

George Illarchy—l know the plaintiff when he lived in
Whitecross-street ; I saw his furniture; lie had a bed and bed-
stead, and blankets in the bed-MOM; there were two trunks
in the bed-room. There was a table, two or three chairs, a
stove and fender, in the parlour ; there was also some crockery
ware, tea-kettle, &c. As far as my judgment goes, I think
about 171. would be the Value of the furniture.
Cross-examined--I was at this time on liking as an appren-
tice with the plaintiff;. I slept with the plaintiff two or three
night before the fire ; I think the shop was open about three
weeks before'the fire happened; 1 did not sleep there on the
night Of the fire, because a person named Samerton slept 'with
the plaintiff; I saw the plaintiff the next morning, and he told,
me that he made his escape out of the hack window of the room
in which he slept. ,I think his stock did not exceed two sacks
of flour.

' Mary. ..Payn'e-Lln 1811 I lived near the plaintiff's- house in
Whitecrosa-street ; I remember the night of the fire ; I was not
gone to bed when it happened ; the plaintiff ran into my-house
and appeared much agitated ; he had nothing on except his
shirt and small-olothes.

Cross-esamined—The plaintiff slept at my house the two fol
lowing nights.
Maria Payne—l am the daughter of the rast witness; 1 re.
member the night of the fire; when the plaintiff came into
my mother's house he had a trunk .under one arm, and was
keeping up his trowsers with his .other hand ; he appeared
to be very much frightened ; the trunk contained some half-
pency..... .

William Kemp—A few days before the fire •I received 71.
from the,plaintift for coals which were sent to .his house in
Whitecross-street. •

Cross-examined—l cannot say positively that the coals were
delivered.

J. Samerton—l slept with the plaintiff' on the night of the
fire I saw flour and other articles used in the plaintiff's
business on the premises, but I can't particularly enumerate the
articles. . •

with whom was Mr. ANDREWS, for the
defeadauts, submitted that as the •plaintiff had not proved
the truth of the bill of particulars annexed to his schedule, and