The Sun.
London, England, 1832-10-23 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE .PUBLIC .TOURNALS.

The defence which is now set up by the Trea-
sury scribes for the intermeddling policy of our
Ministry in the . disputes of Holland and Bel-
gium is two-fold'. They allege, in the first
place, that the Whig.. Ministers only pursue the
line of policy which 'the Duke of Wellington's
Administration had commenced, and, secondly,
that a war between the Dutch and Belgians must
have led to a war between Prussia and France,
which would probably have grown into an Euro-
pean war of opinion. The first of these propo-
sitions we believe to be correct, or very nearly
so—the other is doubtful ; but let us suppose
both to he strictly true, and then let us see whe-
ther they form any valid justification of the con-
duct of the Whig Ministry, in placing this
country in such a position by its protocol la-
bours, that it must either commence a war
against Holland, to the great detriment of its
own commercial interests, or bear the stigma of
playing the bully towards the Dutch people and
their King without having the courage to strike.
That the Duke of Wellington's Administration
intermeddled in the dispute between Holland and
Belgium is matter of history ; but it is equally
notorious that the politicians who form the Whig
Cabinet made that very interference the ground
of grave and even angry accusation against the
Duke's Cabinet. The present place-enjoying
Sir John Hobhouse—then the unplaced, unpen-
sioned, and professedly radical Member for
Westminster, a short time before the downfall of
the Duke's power, gave notice of a motion
which had for its object the putting a stop to
such interference on the part of our Govern-
ment. Sir John was loudly cheered and warmly
supported by the Whigs in general, who again
and again declared that, in relation to the quarrel
of Belgium and Holland, it was the duty and
ought to be the policy of the English Govern-
ment to act strictly upon the principle of non-
intervention. No sooner, however, had the
force of public opinion driven the Duke's
Tory Administration from the helm, than
their Whig successors immediately proceeded
with the line of policy which, when out of office,
they had so severely reprobated. So far, then,
is their foolish interference from deserving to be
excused, on the ground that it is only a servile
imitation of the Duke of Wellington's policy,
that the very circumstance urged in their defence
aggravates their misconduct. Our Whig Minis-
ters were raised into power by that publinpinion
which overthrew their predecessors, because,
when candidates for place, they professed to be
not the admirers, but the opponents of both the
domestic and foreign policy of Tory Statesmen
—especially used their " thunders" be levelled
against the close and suspicious connection of
our Tory Ministers with the Holy Alliance. We
have lived to see them draw the bonds of poli-
tical intimacy as close as ever the Tories did,
and that, too, although Mr. Canning, who was
only a late and doubtful convert to the doctrines
of the' " liberal" school, had earned their praise
during his Premiership by severing the bond of
connection, or, in other words, dissolving partner-
ship between the Holy Alliance (Great Britain
and Co.) Who could have anticipated, two
years ago, that a Ministry, formed under the
auspices of Lord Grey, should take credit for
copying the condemned policy of the Duke of
Wellington's Cabinet, and think it an honour
that the rulers of a free State should sit in
Council to "settle the affairs" of independent
nations with the despotic opponents of all po-
pular rights—of all freedom of opinion—of all
social and political improvement ? Such an un-
natural conjunction, however, (lid take place—
a branch association of the Holy Alliance was es-
tablished in Downing-street. Our foreign policy
had been relieved apparently from its embarrass-
ments by the removal of the intermeddling and
imbecile Lord Aberdeen ; but it was only to be
plunged in fresh difficulties by the presiding
incapacity of the equally intermeddling and im-
becile Lord Palmerston, than whom England
has never produced a more incompetent Foreign
.Minister, or one whose diplomatic pen has been
more laboriously abortive. Now, as to the second
point, or preventing a tear of opinion, let us see
how the case stands. We are told that if the
Dutch and Belgians had been allowed to appeal to
arms for the settlement of their own quarrel " the
Germanic Confederation must have supported
his Majesty's claim to the Grand Duchy of
Luxemburg ; the Prussian provinces on the
Rhine would have felt the shock of a rebellion,
encouraged by a powerful neighbour; the prin-
ciples of a popular revolution must have been
universally supported by French political mis-
sionaries and French troops, in opposition to
the creed of the Holy Alliance." Let us im-
agine all this to have happened, what reason
would England have to mix herself tip in this
war of opinion ?" The war which the Pitt
Minirry entered into at the period of the French
revolution was a war of opinion. It was so ad-
mitted to be by Pitt himself, who did not pre-
tend to enter into the contest to resent any ag-
gression, or attempted aggression, or insult, on
the part of France, but to prevent the importa-
tion of " French principles." It was con-
sequently, a war of Monarchical against Re-
publican opinions,—a war in which our Go-
verment undertook to restore the Bourbona,
and to tax the English people for the
costs. Whether France bad a Republi-
can or a Monarchical Government was no af-
fair of ours, but a Tory Ministry were afraid
that the establishment of civil freedom in
France would facilitate the progress of reform in
this country. They, therefore, eagerly took ad-
vantage of the events in France to enter into a
war of opinion—and, after many disasters, ob-
tained a victory which, like that of Pyrrhus over
the Romans, has nearly ruined the conquerors.
If the Rhenish provinces threw off the Prus-
sian yoke what is that to England ? If tha in-
surrections against oppressive power in Italy, in
Switzerland, in Hesse Cassel, in Saxony, and
some other places, had been more successful
than they were, and thereby rendered the de-
spotic Powers more embarrassed,. and, eonse.•
quently, more incapable of annoyi' g their
neighbours than they are at present, would not
the interests of England be served instead of
being, injured by the establishment of con-
stitutional instead of arbitrary systems on
the Continent ? Would not the power
that military Governments have to dis-
turb the peace of Europe be thereby repressed,
and the future repose of nations be better secured?
A Tory Government might consistently claim
credit for taking measures to prevent the over-
throw of the military despotisms of the Conti-
nent, but with what face does a Whig Govern-
ment reckon such a course of policy among its
merits ? After all, the question comes—are
not events still in progress to a war of opinion in
Europe ? Has the conduct of our Cabinet re-
tarded the progress of those events ? Has it not
rather accelerated the crisis which will put
in issue the antagonist principles of arbitrary

and, representative Governments—a crisis which
all true Englishmen hope, whenever it comes,
will put dowit :for ever the barbarous system of
ruling by standing armies—will restore the peo-
ple of Italy, of Germany, and other oppressed
States to their plundered liberties, in despite of
the thunders of the Calmuc Jupiter, the bulls of
his pious Ally, the Sovereign Pontiff, and
the insolent decrees of the Germanic Confede-
ration—a crisis which all just and good men
hope will not only break down for ever the dan-
gerous and degrading supremacy of the Northern
Barbarian, but exact a signal expiation of the
crimes against Poland.—Morning Herald.
Besides the usual quantity of common abuse
against the new Cabinet, the Paris Papers of
Friday and Saturday contain abundant subjects
of new attacks in the trial and acquittal of M.
Berryer, and in the conduct of the authorities
of Nantes during a riot which took place to
welcome the arrival of the new Prefect and new
Peer, M. Maurice Duval. Though it is neither
our duty, nor our desire, as foreigners, to criti-
cise minutely, or in a hostile manner, the con-
duct of the internal government of France, we
have been obliged repeatedly to express our dis-
approbation of various acts of its Administra-
tion, of which every constitutional people may be
as good judges as our neighbours themselves,
and we have had the satisfaction to see that we
were considered as right by the transference of
our opinions to the columns of the French
Journals. Among these proceedings were the
persecutions of the press—the declaration of
martial law in Paris last June, after the iosurrec-
lion had been quelled—and the frivolous pre-
texts on which alleged political offenders are im-
prisoned and tried. On the mere dictates of
prudence these prosecutions of the political
press and of political journalists should cease.
When juries either consider themselves bound
from conscience to acquit, or are afraid
from clamour to condemn, alleged libels, the
authorities of the State can gain nothing,
but may lose much, from bringing them before
the tribunals. The trial confers importance
on the person whom the law cannot punish,
and diffuses over the whole Press the alleged
scandal, which would otherwise have been con-
lined to an insignificant portion of it. As it is
generally for making charges of tyranny or cor-
ruption that the journalists are denounced as ene-
mies of order, their charges receive a kind of
justification from the severity of the Govern-
ment against their own persons, while their
acquittal, which never indemnifies them for their
pecuniary losses, emboldens or exasperates them
to renew their attacks, and to extend their cir-
cle of warfare. In addition to their former in-
fluence, they thus acquire the reputation of suc-
cessful antagonists of a cruel Government, or of
martyrs in the cause of freedom. The Tribune,
for instance, which every day advocates the esta-
blishment of a republican Government in France,
has arrived at its 65th prosecution within the
year, and boasts of every new seizure by the law
officers as a new title of glory. What an ab-
surdity is it. to prosecute a journal thus con-
ducted and thus supported, where the palm
of martyrdom must make more converts
than the laurel of victory ! We speak not
here of the more atrocious attempt of the Go-
vernment, by their declaration of a state of siege,
to convert a charge of libel into an act of
high treason. The Press is merely a more effi•
cient and extensive instrument for spreading
doctrines, opinions, or information than the
tongue or the pen, and in a free country ought
to enjoy nearly the came unchallenged freedom.
The very principle of popular sovereignty, on
which the Government of the barricades is
founded, warranted political writers in thinking
that they might propagate speculative opinions
on republicanism with safety, as Louis Philippe
was styled " the best of republics." Having at-
tacked the Jacobins of the Press, and the ring-
leaders of republican tumults, the Government
thought it necessary to evince their impartiality
by attacking likewise the Royalists connected
with the Press, and in public life. Hence their
several prosecutions of the Gazette de France—
their imprisonment of M. de Chateaubriand,
with his friends—and their trial of M. Ber-
ryer. This latter distinguished Deputy and
Barrister has just been tried and acquitted at
Blois, in circumstances calculated to make him
a popular character in France, if any popularity
could attach to a partisan of the Bourbon dy-
nasty among a people who detested their reign and
expelled them from their throne. He was arrested
in the beginning of June, or the end of May,
and has consequently been imprisoned for nearly
five months. The charge brought against
him was that of high treason, in having com-
bined with the Duchess de Berri to excite rebel-
lion in La Vendee, and it is proved that his
object in proceeding to Nantes was to prevent
and not to kindle a civil war. On the reported
information, obtained through an alleged in-
terrogatory of M. Berryer, on the 3d of June,
by the Procureur du Roi at Nantes, M. de Cha-
teaubriand, M. de Fitzjames, and NI. Hyde de
Neuville, were arrested at Paris, by the advice
of that officer. It is proved on the trial that the
accused Deputy underwent no. interrogatory on
that day, or before the 11th of June, and there-
fore that these noblemen were arrested on a pure
fiction. Papers were alleged to be found in the
possession of M. Berryer on his arrest, which
went to establish the charge of conspiracy with
the Duchess de Berri. One of those papers
was signed C. 8.. which was understood to be
the initials of Caroline Berri, but it was
proved on the trial that this paper was
as old as 1817, and that some of the
concoct ors of the accusation had erased
the date and torn away the proces-verbal with
which it was connected. One of the charges
against the prisoner was, that he had attempted
to enlist one Colonel Tournier in the service of
Henry V. This person was called as a witness
for the Crown, and was found to be a liar and
an informer, of whom his employers were
ashamed. in short, not a particle of evidence,
either documentary at oral, could be brought in
support of the indictment, while forgery, fraud,
and perjury had been employed to give it a
plausible colouring. Even the law officers were
obliged to abandon the prosecution. It is ex-
tremely probable that this prosecution was at
first undertaken, and subsequently carried on, in
order to gain popularity with the movement
party, by showing that the Carlists were not
spared while the Republicans were brought be-
fore the tribunals; but the manner in which it
has been conducted has entirely defeated its ob-
ject. The Opposition papers are now loudest
in its condemnation, and have almost been re-
conctled to an adversary who has exposed the
j u metal system of their common enemy.— Times,
'The country newspapers of every county in the
United Kingdom, afford us weekly evidence of
the necessity of the Ballot to perfect the great
measures of Parliamentary Reform. The ci
devant Boroughmongers struggle hard to pre.
serve the wreck of their power; they appear

perversely *determined eo promote a further
amendment oftheittpresentative system, and to
present us with the Ballot earlier by many years
than we had anticipated its advent. The Aris-
tocracy, indeed, seem born blind, and resolved
not to see the light which is bursting on the
minds of the people—that prescription is vir-
tually abolished. We make these observations in
relation to a sample of Welch Boroughmonger-
ing, which richly merits exposure. All the world
know that the Marquis of Bute has consider-
able " electioneering influence" hi Glamorgan-
shire, South Wales, in which county he is the
owner of a large property, and is withal the
Tory Lord Lieutenant. Under the expiring
distribution of the Welch Representation, Car-
diff, Meath, and Swansea formed a Contribu-
tory Borough, returning one Member. The two
latter large and opulent commercial towns neu-
tralized the Cardiff " influence" of the Noble
Marquis, and the constituency of late years
would not receive a Tory nominee from his
Lordship's hands. The electors, therefore, have
long compounded with the Marquis by return-
ing to Parliament his brother, Lord James
Stuart, an honourable and consistent Whig,
who (lid not follow the family in the "crossover"
to the Tories. Lord James Stuart has been
to the present moment a most useful and
popular representative, and eminently attentive
to the local interests of his constituents. He
was, moreover, a thorough supporter of the
Reform Bills—voting in every division, and
never swerving. It was mainly owing to his ex-
ertions that Merthyr Tidvil acquired an in-
dependent representative, and which town would
otherwise have been added to Cardiff, and effec-
tually swamped all the interest of the Marquis of
Bute. By the English and Welch Reform
Swansea, Neat!), and three smaller towns are
constituted a separate borough ; the towns of
Cardiff, Cowbridge, and Llantrissent forming a
new Cardiff district still enfranchised with one
Member as before ; but the added part of Llan-
trissent greatly increasing the influence of the
Marquis of Bute, the abstraction of the Swansea
constituency also further diminishing the number
of independent electors. The old Cardiff elec-
tors, of course, intended the return of their fa-
vourite Whig Member, Lord James Stuart ;
but, the latter end of September, foreboding ru-
mours were afloat that the Marquis of Bute
would substitute a Tory Candidate in lieu of his
own brother, the heir presumptive of his title
and estates ! The report proved but too well
founded, as the following address in the Swansea
Cambrian of the 6th inst , moil-ninny proved:—
" To the Independent Electors of Cardiff, Cowbridge, and

Llantrissent.

" Gentlemen,—lt is with feelings of heartfelt regret
I have to announce, that it is not my intention to offer
m)self to represent you in the ensuing Parliament. It
would have been a matter of pride and satisfaction to me,
after giving my humble support to the great measure of
Reform brought forward by his Majesty's Ministers, and
which, mainly through their exertions, is now become the
law of the land, to sit as your Representative in a Re-
formed House of Commons; but, Gentlemen, considera-
tions, founded upon circumstances which I have not been
ab'e to control, have led me to the conclusion that, how-
ever painful to my feelings, there is but one course to
adopt—namely, to retire altogether from Parliament.
I cannot upon this, probably the last, occasion of ad-
dressing you, refrain from adverting, with extreme
satisfaction, to the confidence with which I have
been honoured throughout the course of our political
connecti,n ; and more especially at periods when public
questions of unusual importance, necessarily involving
great difference of opinion, have been under discussion :
and it is impossible to take my leave of you, as well as of
Swansea and the other western boroughs hitherto contri-
butory to Cardiff, without offering the warm expression of
my gratitude, as well for the unvarying kindness which I
have experienced et your hands, as for those marks of re-
ga,rd which, upon many trying occasions, you hwe gene-
rously evinced towards me. I now bid you farewell.;
and, in doing so, I beg you to be assured, that I must
always refer with pride and pleasure to the connection
that has so long subsisted between us ; and that I cart
never forget the obligations which, I most gladly avow, I
owe to you.—l have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
" Your ever obliged and faithful servant,
" JAMES STUART."
6' Rosemount, Oct. 2, 1832."

The real meaning of this address was pal-
pable—the political differences of opinion be
tween the brothers, and the introduction of a
Conservative. Accordingly, the following week,
the plot thickened by the appearance of a suc-
cessor to Lord James Stuart, in the following
chary advertisement
. To the Electors of Cardiff, Cowbridge, and Llantrissent.
" Gentlemen,—Lord James Stuart having publicly
sign:fled his determination to retire altogether from Par-
liament, I venture to announce to you my intention of so
belting your suffrages at the next election. Deeply at-
tached by long residence in your neighbourhood, and by a
community of interest to all that concerns your welfare, I
pledge mys df, if honoured by your choice, to exert my
utmost energies in discharging, with zeal and independence,
the duties of an honest representative.—l have the honour
to be Gentlemen,

" With the greatest respect,
" Your obedient humble servant,
" JOHN NICHOLL, jun.
" Merthyr Mawr, Oct. 8, 1832."
_ _

Mr. John Nichol!, jun., who vouchsafes no
revelation of his opinions, is a son of Sir John
Nicholl—a member of the Conservative Club—
a young Ultra-Tory barrister, inexperienced, and
not to be compared one moment with Lord
James Stuart ; indeed, about as much qualified
to represent Cardiff as the Noble Marquis's
valet de ehambre. Thus a Reforming Consti-
tuency is meekly to exchange a juvenile Conser-
vative for an old Liberal Member ! It may of
course be asserted that " the Marquis of Bute
has nothing to do with the transfer in progress."
But no man in South Wales disbelieves that the
retirement of Lord James Stuart is attributable
to his brother ; and no Cardiff elector doubts
that Mr. John Nichol!, jun , comes forward as
the nominee of the Noble Marquis. We re-
joice, however, to learn that the Cardiff electors
are not like Welch mountain sheep, who never
sleep two nights in the same parish ; but are de-
termined to defeat time plot, and to return their
old representative, as the following advertisement
denotes :

REPRESEI,TATION OF THE CARDIFF DISTRICT.—
The independent electors of the contributory boroughs of
Cardiff, Cowbridge, and Llantrissent, are respectfully in-
formed, that immediate arrangements are in progress to
secure the return of their present, tried, patriotic, and
enlightened representative, Lord James Stuart, to the first
Reformed Parliament, as an honour justly due to his long
service of the constituency, and as a representative
best acquainted with their important local interests.
The electors are informed that the friends of the good old
cruse at Swansea and Meath will aid, by their purses and
personal exertions, the return of their proved representa-
tive free of expense, anir to save the freemen of the new
district from the ignominy and slavery of becoming a
pocket or nomination borough. The electors are particu-
larly requested to understand, that from the peculiar rela-
tion of Lord James Stuart to his family, no verbal or
written commmunication will be hcld with him on the
subject of his election.—.‘ Britons never will be slaves
Oct. 18, 1832."

The Reformers of Swansea and Meath,
though now severed from Cardiff, are bound in
honour to support their present Member, Lord
James Stuart; and we are glad to hear that
public meetings are in contemplation to aid the
electors of the new district in maintaining their po-
litical independence. Our readers will recollect
that in January last the Marquis of Bute ad-
dressed us a letter, indignantly denying that he
had " directly or indirectly, by agents or other-

wise, attempted to influence the opinions of any
class of the people of Rothsay upon the subject
of Parliamentary Reform." His Lordship was
extremely wrath at such imputations. If he now
wishes to clear himself in the eyes of the people
of South Wales from a violent suspicion of
boroughmongering, let him publicly inform the
Cardiff district elec:ors that they may freely vote
for Lord James Stuart or Mr. John Nicholl,
jun. This will be the test of the Noble Mar-
quis's non-interference ; and none will be more
gratified to be assured of his neutrality than our-
selves. But whatever the course of the Noble
Marquis, we trust the inhabitants of Cardiff;
Cowbridge, and Llantrissent, will resolutely op-
pose Mr. J. Nicholl, and as determinately return
Lord James Stuart. They may confidently cal-
culate, by playing " Bute against Bute," that the
Noble Marquis will return Mr. John Nicholl
to Doctors' Commons, his proper metropolitan
district. For this threatened evil of a " Pocket
Borough," the Ballot is the only specific. The
Cambrian of last Friday declares the growing
opinion in its favour—

4‘ With reference to the measures of a new Parliament,
we bear a very general opinion declared in favour of the
Vote by Ballot; and there can no longer be a question as
to the absolute necessity of such a measure, if the system
of intimidati,sn and revenge, at this moment practising by
certain parties, in various parts of the kingdom, be per-
severed in. It will become an indispensable protection
for the poor or dependent voter of honest principles or
intelligent character."

This is another instance of the altered opinion
on this vital subject in a country paper of
moderate and independent political principles.
Will the Duke of Newcastle, the Marquis of
Exeter, the Marquis of Bute, and the Earl of
Warwick, never open their eyes ? Do these
Peers flatter themselves, that when great ques-
tions come to be decided by a few votes in the
House of Commons, that Birmingham, which,
with its wealth and population of 150,000 in-
habitants, sends only two Members, will be con-
tent to be voted down by the half Members of
Newark, Stamford, Cardiff, and Warwick ?
These short-sighted Nobles sensibly remind us
of the swimming swine—of the pigs who swam
with remarkable celerity—but, at every stroke,
were dividing their own throats. Win or lose,
in their devices for nominating Members of the
House of Commons, they will advance the
cause of further reform. By perseverance in
their course, they will soon abolish the class
system of representation. Their success in
usurping the franchise of the Commons will
speedily determine the people that the Lower
House of Legislature shall authentically repre-
, sent public opinion, by an early, systematic
dp-
portionment of the country into electoral dis-
tricts, which will leave the Aristocracy all the
indirect and just influence of property, but
destroy its destructive and exclusive power.
The Boroughmongers are, therefore, in fact, the
ultra Radicals ; they will give us short Parlia-
ments, extended Suffrage, and Vote by Ballot
—Morning Chronicle.
We are glad to see something like indications
on the pact of Government, of an intention to
enforce, without farther delay, the rightful de-
mands of British subjects on Don Miguel for
injuries sustained by them from his Government,
in violation of international law, and the treaties
between Great Britain and Portugal. The St.
Vincent, of 120 guns, from the Mediterranean ;
the Britannia, of 120 guns, from Plymouth ;
the Rover and a bomb vessel from Gibraltar, are
ordered with all expedition for Lisbon, to rein-
force the squadron of Admiral Parker. We are
by no means inclined to recommend any measure
irreconcileable with strict justice. Whatever
our feelings may be with regard to Dos Pedro
—and we think more depends on the success of
his expedition than most people imagine—we
are far from advocating anything like partisan-
ship on the part of the Government. But on
the other hand, we owe nothing to Don Miguel,
and are not obliged to attend to his conve-
nience in enforcing our claims. We trust, there-
fore, that justice will at length be done to Brit-
ish subjects, and the sending of this addition to
the force of Admiral Parker looks as if the Go-
vernment were in earnest. The enforcement of the
payment of the long-unadjusted claims of Brit-
ish subjects, which have been demand-
ed through the British Consul, but contemptu-
ously rejected, would of itself be sufficient to
ruin Miguel ; but reparation is also due for the
insults offered to the British flag, and a guaran-
tee for future conduct. Our readers have not
forgotten what happened a few weeks since in
the Douro. About three months ago the Viper
sloop of war was fired upon by the batteries of
St. Julian ; Admiral Parker demanded explana-
tion. It was a mistake. Admiral Parker de-
manded the dismissal of the officer ; Don
Miguel refused it until the British squadron
cleared for action, and lay off Lisbon with a
threat of bombarding it. He then dismissed
We
have,
v claimse in indeed,
eae ndd,
the officer ; but instantly, as though to mark his
implacable contempt for the English, promoted
demands
mfmo ar
enind tso
expressedo
sfahn otohut
eh
d another bi
British
havea surprise
ie rpryr.i s e
that t
beenG allowedoverin to remainentupon
this
individual
so long unadjusted. It could not have been
longer delayed without great ; .njust.ce to the
claimants, and a manifest breach of duty on the
part of the Crown. The whole country would
be indignant if they knew one-half of the atroci-
ties of the monster. We will now only revert to
the case of Sir John Milley Doyle, to show how
absolutely necessary is the step that is about to
be taken. Lord Palmerston in his letter, of
which we have seen an extract, to Sir John
Milley Doyle, of the 17th of August, 1831,
observes—
The treatment not only appears to have been ex-
tretnely harsh and oppressive, but was also in violation of
the Treaties entered into between the two Governments
for the protection of British subjects ; and it was in no
manner justified or excused by the evidence produced
upon your trial, which, so far from establishing any cri-
minal acts against you, did not even raise a reasonable
doubt of suspicion against you. In this respect, there-
fore, the King's Advocate is of opinion, that you are en-
titled to the protection of his Majesty's Government, and
have a right to claim their interference in your behalf, in
order to obtain from the Portuguese Government com-
pensation for your arrest, detention, and imprisonment,
and for the expenses which you may have incurred in de-
fending yourself against charges which do not appear to
have had any foundation in fact.
Under these circumstances, you will furnish a state-
ment of the sum to which you may consider yourself en-
titled, as adequate compensation for the personal ill-treat-
ment which you have received from the Portuguese Go-
vernment, and as remuneration for the law expenses to
which you were subjected in consequence, in order to in-
struct his Majesty's Consul-General at Lisbon to bring
your claim under the immediate consideration of the Go-
vernment of Portugal."
Dr. Lushington, upon being required to state
what he considered the amount of compensation
due to Sir John Milley Doyle, was of opinion
c, that less than ten thousand pounds would not
be adequate compensation for the personal ill-
treatment which Sir John Milley Doyle has re-
ceived from the Portuguese Government." A
Correspondent has favoured us with the follow- ,

ing statement of the treatment to which Sir
John Milley Doyle was exposed :
" On the 2d of June, 1828, he was ordered to appear
before a magistrate at Leiria ; he was placed in the centre
of an escort of six men, under the command of a corpo-
ra', and in that manner marched through the public streets of
the city, exposed to insult, derision, and personal violence,
at a time when the fury of the populace was excited to a
degree bordering upon frenzy ; and besides the most fre-
quent menaces of death, there were no terms of oppro-
brium that were not uttered against him, such as death to
the Endish Freemason, &c.

" Sir John was kept four days in solitary confinement
in the common gaol of Leiria ; and then delivered over to
the custody of a constableS, and escorted by a detachment
of cavalry to the city gaol of Lisbon, where he arrived,
after a harassing march of four days, during which be had
to undergo the most mortifying abuse, and, in four in-
stances, narrowly escaped assassination, and which would
have been effected when he was about to enter the
prison door, but for the generous interposition
of the militia officer on guard ; a furious fanatic from the
mob, having rushed out with his knife and made two stabs
at him, which failing of effect, the ruffian closed, and was
on the point of making a sure blow, when the assassin was
forced back by the officer, who at the same time pushed
Sir John Milley Doyle into the gaol. For this act of hu-
manity, the officer, Lieutenant John Martin Modena
Chaves, was himself immediately put into prison, confined
for a fortnight, and then publicly dismissed from the-army.
" On the morning fol!owing Sir John Doyle's arrival
at the Lisbon prison, the monster Miguel ordered him to
be removed into a dungeon (a segredo), the nature of the
torture of which can scarcely be conceived by an English
man. It was a narrow damp cell, between four thick
walls covered with bugs and other vermin, 40 feet under
ground, and nearly deprived of light ; the access to it was
through a trap-door, with a long flight of narrow steps.
While Sir John Milley Doyle was immured there, he was
not allowed a bed, chair, stool, table, or knife and fork,
neither was he permitted to be shaved, nor to have any in-
tercourse even with his legal or medical advisers, or with
any person save the gaoler or turnkey ; at every appear-
ance of whom he was led to expect a violent death. The
place was, moreover, swarming with rats, who bad become
so familiar from impunity, as all night to walk over his
person, and he was frequently disturbed, when from wea-
riness he was endeavouring to close his eyes, by the rats
nibbling at his hair and clothes.
" Although the law of Portugal prohibits such a
species of imprisonment fur more than five days, even for
the gravest offence, yet Sir John Milley Doyle, for travel-
-I;ng without a passport, which, according to the criminal
law of Portugal, is on'y punishable by a trifling fine of
half a moidore (twelve shillings), was immured in this
loathsome cell, enough to destroy the strongest constitu-
tion, if not life, for a period of nineteen days. He was
then removed to the saletta of the prison, which, although
scarcely large enough to contain ten persons, had twenty-
six prisoners crammed into it, in the most oppressive
period of the hot season.
" Sir John Milley Doyle underwent two trials, to
which he was subjected for one supposed offence. Not-
withstanding the vindictive malignity of his persecutors,
and their unlimited power under a system of terror to
obtain witnesses to any extent and for any purpose, the
whole body of evidence adduced against Sir John Milley
Doyle consisted only of a mass of hearsay repetitions,
reports, and general rumours, uncorroborated upon every
point, even by the testimony of any two of the witnesses,
or by the production of one single document, official or
otherwise. This was carried en in direct violation of all
the established laws of Portugal, which require that every
criminal charge shall be !moved by the ' corroborative tes-
timony of two witnesses at the least.'"

Sir John Milky Doyle's only offence was that
of travelling upon a public road, without a pass-
port ; and for this, by the laws, he was only
liable to be arrested and punished, in case of
non-identity of his person. But of that there
could be no mistake ; his identity was imme-
diately proved on the spot, where he was well
kuown. The only point even to which the
hearsay evidence went against him, was the sus-
picion that he was a Freemason, and (as they
construed it) an enemy to Monarchical Govern-
ments. Indeed Don Miguel himself seems
afterwards to have been ashamed of his conduct--
he acknowledges the gross violation of the law,
but meanly throws the blame upon the agents—
the tools of power—in this dark transaction. In
reference to this affair, the Lisbon Gazette, of
the 30th of October, 1828, has the following
Proclamation :

" Cabinet of the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and
Justice.

" The King, our Master, being informed that some
prisoners at the disposal of your Excellency have been
kept in secret confinement longer than the laws allow,
without demanding the authority of superiors, and that
this infraction fell on some subjects of Great Britain; the
King, being necessarily surprised at this failure of the
laws, has been pleased to ordain that the greatest care be
taken on this subject, so that such things may not again
take place; particularly towards strangers, with respect
to whom it would be a neglect of the rights of hospitality."
Rights of hospitality, indeed ! We trust,
however, that the power to subject English-
men to outrages like these will soon be taken
from him—that his career is nearly ended.—
Morning Chronicle.

NEW STEAM ENGINE.-A Mr. PELLETAN
is making experiments at Cherbourg on a vessel, which he
has built for the express purpose of ascertaining the merits
of his simplified application of the powers of steam ; and
the result is said to have been hitherto satisfactory. His
object is to get rid of the shock and tremulous motion
which attend the use of paddle-wheels, as well as to do
away with the steam-funnel. In effecting this he hopes
to lie enabled to diminish the weight of the machinery
and of the vessel itself. The mechanism which he has de-
vised lies below the surface of the water, and from not oc-
cuping more than a tenth part of the ship's tonnage, much
rester space is obtained for the stowage of fuel. The
steam iiidisengaged from behind the after-part of the vessel,
eh se above the water line..—(44theruzum.)

A MAN OVERBOARD.—On Tuesday after-
noon last, at high water, as the St. David steamer for
Warren's Point, was going through the inner gates of the
Clarence Dock, a vender of ginger. bread, who had stopped
on board till the last moment, made an attempt to leap on
shore. Having missed his footing, however, be fell into
the water immediately before the paddle box. Captain
SPEARS, formetly of the William Huskisson, who hap-
p-neti to be present, instantly called to the engineer of the
s
Moments, and then minutes of anxious suspense passed
oSbte.yDed
abyoeifdo ret h estop paddles the
ae gtiinnmee tao cmo ma
kme aanndo twh ehric sht r owk ea!
away, however, without any appearance of the unfor-
tunate man, and it began to be conjectured that in
falling he must have struck the pier, or have re-
ceived a blow from the paddles, which had sent him
for ever to the bottom. His hat came to the sur-
face, and was picked up ; and at length as the water
began to operate on the contents of the basket which
contained his stock in trade, pieces of ginger ..bread and of
the paper in which they had been wrapped, came one by
one to the surface, and floated past with the tide. This
last incident proved too much for the excited feelings of
many of the spectators—as the papers, of ginger-bread
gradually dissolved, the hearts of those who witnessed the
catastrophe also melted sympathetically, and a general
gloom pervaded every countenance. All hope of saving
the poor fellow was at length relinquished ; the boat hook
and grappling irons were withdrawn, the boats dispersed,
and the St. David proceeded on her voyage, and was
quickly followed by the City of Glasgow and other
steamers. As she passed through the outer gates, how-
ever, the St. David slackened her speed for a moment ;
and presently a figure clothed in a tattered surtout, with
dripping locks, and a pair of wide black bombazette
trs,wsers adhering closely to his limbs from the wet, was
seen by the astonished spectators to leap from the top of
the paddle box on to th 4 pier. Having shaken his (Lip-
ping vestments, he instantly set off at full speed round the
basin, leaping like a madman, and performing the most
fantastic motions imaginable. In this singular manner,
and with an occasional giggle which sounded rather hyste-
rical, he came scampering round the pier, expressing a
sort of uncouth delight at his miraculous escape. His
chief anxiety was about his lost hat, for the basket of gin-
ger-bread was embedded beyond the hope of recovery in
the mud at the bottom of the dock. It appears that after
his first plunge he rose within the paddle box, and as the
paddles (in consequence of Captain SPEARS'S presence of
mind) were now at rest, he found no difficulty in climbing
up by them, and got on board the boat, during the
confusion, through the trap door at the top, while every
one was intently looking for him in the water below. We
believe he was rather intoxicated when the accident hap-
pened, but he seemed pretty sober, after the first paroxysm
of joy which followed bis escape had time to evaporate.—
Liverpool Chronicle.