The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-18 00:00:00

ABERDEEN.

( Abridged from the Aberdeen Observer.)
On Friday night a company consisting of about sixty gentle-
men, dined in the County Rooms, for the purpose of cele-
brating the return of the Melbourne Administration to office
—Alexander Bannerman, Esq., M. P., in the Chair. Alex
der Stronach, Esq., of Drumallan, acted as Croupier.
After the cloth had been removed, the Chairman proposed
la succession the customary loyal toasts—" The King"—" The
Queen"--" The pride and hope of the nation, the Princess
Vietoria"—" The Duke of Sussex, a Prince who had always
shown himself a friend to liberal principles." Air—" A man's
a man for a' that." " The People, and may they appreciate
the blessings of living under good and liberal government, and
never abuse the power they possess."
The CHAIRMAN then said, we have met for the purpose of
celebrating the return of Lord Melbourne to office, so soon
after his unceremonious dismissal—a dismission unprecedented
in the history of this country.—( Cheers.) Eight months have
elapsed since I proposed in this room the health of the Noble
Lord, now at the head of his Majesty's Government, and I can
assure you that it is with undiminished pleasure that I now
propose a bumper to his health. I beg to propose, " Lord
Melbourne and his Majesty's Ministers." Drunk with all the
honours.
The CROUPIER said it was quite unnecessry for him to do
more than propose " The health of Mr. Bannerman."
The CHAIRMAN, in returning thanks said he had stated to
them in November and January, that he was convinced Sir
R. Peel would never get a majority in the House of r;ommons
to agree with him upon the subject of the Irish Church. That
prediction had been fulfilled. He would say that he should be
more surprised to see Sir R. Peel acting in a few months
hence with his recent coadjutors, than he would be to find the
llon. Baronet co-operating in the course of two years with
Lord Melbourne. He would not insult their understandings
by asking them if he had erred in supporting Lord John
Russell's resolution. He would ask them whether in their
consciences they believed that, after amply providing for the
%cants of the Irish Church, by expending the surplus on the
education of the people, they had done any thing which
ould, in the smallest degree, injure the cause of Protestant-
ism in Ireland, and in the remotest way endanger the safety of
the Church ?—(Loud cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN proposed " The Reformers of England,
Ireland, and Scotland." Drunk with all the honours.

The CHAIRMAN was quite sure that they would all fill a
bumper to the toast which he was now about to propose. It
referred to a Noble Lord, then Lord High Chancellor of
England, who in September last had done the city of Aber-
di en the honour of a visit in passing. They were quite well
aware that the Noble Lord's visit to Scotland, and particularly
his speechifying at Aberdeen, had given rise to most violent
attacks upon him. If, however, he had lost Court favour for
ghat reason, he had risen in the estimation of Scotsmen.--
( Loud cheers.) And, if be were again to visit Scotland, he
wouYd find how they admired here his transcendent—his mag-
nificent talents. He begged to propose " The health of Lord
Brougham." Drunk with all the honours, and one cheer
:more. . Air—" Young Harry is the lad for me."
The CHAIRMAN proposed, in connection with the last toast,
" 'The repeal of all those taxes which impede the progress of
knowledge among the people."
The CHAIRMAN begged leave to propose the health of a
Nobleman who had rendered the State some service. He
only regretted that Lord John Russell had not a Scotch con-
stituency.—( Cheers and laughter.) They would have ap-
preciated his merits at their true value. The Chairman
.Lier-ed to propose " The health of Lord John Russell and his
noble Bride, and many happy years to them." Air--." Woo'd
and married an' a'. "

The CHAIRMAN proposed " Freedom of Election." His
friend beside him observed, with regard to this subject, that
they must all come to the ballot.—(Loud and repeated cheer-
ing.) He hoped, however, that some other means would be
found to prevent intimidation, than the introduction of what he
considered a tremendous moral evil, in order to get the better
of It political one. He did not say but he might himself come
to be perfectly convinced of the absolute necessity of the bal-
14—but let them have patience, and give the present system a
f,ir trial.
Mr. NEIL SMITH, jun., had no doubt they might be taunted
by their opponents, and told that they had met to celebrate
not the return of Lord Melbourne to office, but the defeat of
Lord John Russell in Devonshire. He had no doubt, how-
ever, that the defeat of that Noble Lord would only serve to
advance the cause of which he was so able an advocate, and so
great an ornament,—for there was not a friend to the cause of
leeform more firm and decided than Lord John Russell. He
stir.', sincerely as he respected the clergy, he wished that their
political influence could be annihilated to-morrow; and he
wished that measures could be introduced for taking the
franchise from the clergy.—(Loud cheers.) He was certain
that there was not an honest clergyman in the three kingdoms
wL•o would not be rejoiced to see that done. He proposed
lhe Devonshire Election, the annihilation of the political
influence of the Clergy, and the vote by Ballot."—(Cheers.)
Mr. JAMES CLYNE said there was a class of men—Radicals
—to whom the Whigs were greatly obliged. lie begged to
I ropose " Messrs. Hume and O'Connell."
The CHAIRMAN said that, with regard to the allegations that
the Whigs lay under deep obligations to the Radicals, he ac-
knowledged that they certainly did; but his own notion was,
L:,at the Radicals were fully more indebted to the Whigs. He
v. ished not to be Misunderstood ; but he begged to say that
had the advice of that party been taken with regard to the
sinestions brought before this Parliament, Sir R. Peel would
have now been Prime Minister, and would have continued to
I e so for years to come ; and it required all the efforts of the
Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin and of others to induce
+l.e Radical party to adopt a less violent mode of procedure.
No one more admired than he did the talents--the prodigious
ta:smts and eloquence—of the Hon. and Learned Member for
Dublin. God Almighty grant that Mr. O'Connell may be
induced to render to his country those services which arc most
useful. Ile had rendered eminent services to his country al-
; tsly, and God forbid that Lord Melbourne, or any Minister,
r.T.zonld scout the assistance of Mr. O'Connell.
BLACKIE, banker, gave—" The Press, and Mr. Murdo
Young, Editor of The Sun."
Mr. BANNERMAN, after some appropriate remarks, gave
" The Liberty of the Press," which was drunk with applause.
The company then broke up about eleven o'clock, after
spending upon the whole a pleasant enough evening. The
o. chestra, conducted by Mr. Duff, played appropriate airs to
the toasts ; and the dinner and wines furnished by Mr.
Mollison, of the Union Hotel, were excellent, as all Mr. Mol-
Lion's entertainments are.

The Queen sent a message by a Noble Lord in
Waiting to Miss Adelaide Kemble, immediately after the ter-
mination of the Concert of Ancient Music on Wednesday
evening, requesting her to sing at a private party of the
Clurt at St. James's Palace.

The High Office of Lord Chamberlain to the King
was offered to the Duke of Devonshire by Lord Melbourne,
u hen he resumed the Premiership, but was declined by his
Gr.tce in consequence of the extremely delicate state of his
health. The Marquis of Wellesley experienced so much
fatigue during the ceremony of inauguration of the Knights
the Bath at St. James's Palace on Thursday, that he was
01.)liged repeatedly to sit down.
DINNER TO THE TURKISH AMBASSADOR.—A
grand dinner was given on Saturday at the Star and Garter,
Richmond, by the merchants of London engaged in the Le-
-v.IIA trade, to Nourri Effendi, the recently arrived Ambassador
from the court of Turkey. Namik Pacha, the Ambassador
whom Nourri Effendi has superseded, was also invited, and had
dt•layed to commence his journey homewards in order to be pre-
nt but unfortunately an indisposition under which he has
.for some time been labouring was on Saturday so much increased
us to render him wholly incapable of attending. Nourri
Effendi and his suite soon after three o'clock embarked at
+,7estminster on board the Endeavour steam-boat, which had
been engaged for the occasion, and a favourable tide rapidly
conveys. -them to Richmond. His Excellency remained
chiefly on deck, enjoying at once the delightful scenery of the
river and tile ftunes of his chibouqe. The party arrived at
Richmoild-hridge about five o'clock, and were conveyed in
carriages to the Star and Garter. The dinner, which was at-
tended by upwards of a hundred of the Levant merchants,
among whom were Sir John R. Reid, M.P., and Mr. Robinson,
M. p., and also the Lord Mayor, was served up at six o'clock ,
and though so short a time resident in this country, Nourri
Effendi appeared to want no relish for English viands, nor
Oid e
h suffer the grape's forbidden Juice to pass untasted by.

LONDON,
MONDAY EVENING, MAY 18, 1835.

We have authority to contradict the report in some
of the Morning Papers, that the Earl of ALBEMARLE
had resigned the Mastership of the Horse.

At a recent public dinner given by the Reformers of
Aberdeen, in celebration of the return of the MEL-
BOURNE Ministry to power, an abridged report of
which will be found in another part of The Sun, Mr.
NEIL SMITH observed, he had " no doubt they might
be taunted by their opponents, and told that they had
met to celebrate, not the return of Lord MELBOURNE
to office, but the defeat of Lord JOHN RUSSELL in
Devonshire. He had no doubt, however, that the de-
feat of that Noble Lord would only serve to advance
the cause of which he was so able an advocate, and so
great an ornament." Mr. NEIL SMITH here alludes
to the question of the Ballot, to which the late Devon-
shire election has unquestionably given a powerful im-
petus. Popular as it was before, it has now acquired
a tenfold popularity, from the simple fact that its ne-
cessity, as the only measure calculated to check undue
interference at elections, is placed beyond a doubt.
Had it been in existence when Mr. PARKER com-
menced his recent canvass of South Devonshire, the
Hon. Member would never have been permitted
by the electors to affix M.P. to his name ;
for his political principles were precisely those
to which the majority of them entertained the
greatest aversion ; but they were borne down by the
combined influence of the lay and clerical Conserva-
tives, and compelled to surrender up their inclinations
to their necessities. It was by the unremitting exercise
of this corrupt influence that the Tories swelled their
majority at the last general election to nearly three
hundred Members. The re-action, as they call it, in
their favour, was not the healthy re-action produced by
conviction on the part of those among their consti-
tuents who voted for them, but a forced, factitious
re-action brought about by Conservative bribery and
corruption. The only remedy for this oppressive
grievance is the Ballot, which we advocate, and shall
ever continue to advocate, with as much zeal as our
brother Reformers of Aberdeen, to whom, by the bye,
we have to tender our best thanks for the cordial and
flattering manner in which they drank our healths at
the dinner to which we have been alluding. To know
that our exertions in the cause of constitutional liberty
are appreciated by such an enlightened body of men
as the Aberdeen Reformers, is among our proudest, as
it will be among our most enduring, recollections.

We have frequently, during the last six or eight
months, called the attention of our readers to that im-
portant branch of the national commerce, the Tea
trade ; and we shall continue to do so, until such al-
terations are made in the laws by which it is regulated,
as shall restore it to a sound and healthy state.
Our readers are aware, that in the course of the last
session of Parliament a select Committee of the House
of Commons was appointed, to inquire into the practi-
cability and policy of levying different rates of duty on
the different shades and qualities of tea. It will be
recollected, too, that an Act had already passed esta-
blishing such a scale of duties, and to people of plain
common sense, not initiated in the mysteries of law
making, it would seem that the prope.r course would
have been to have inquired first, and legislated after-
wards, instead of following the example of the worthy
Magistrates of an ancient border borough in Scot.
land, who always commenced proceedings in cri-
minal cases by hanging the culprit, and then
went on to examine the evidence against him.
But let that pass. The Committee entered into a
careful and laborious investigation of the following
points submitted to their determination :—First, the
practicability of distinguishing the various kinds of
tea, so as to make such distinction the basis of a gra-
duated scale of duties. Second, the operation of the
scale of duties as influencing the price to consumers,
compared with one uniform rate of duty. Third,
the effect of a scale of duty in reference to the pro.
ductiveness of the revenue ; and, Fourth, whethe

the scale-of-duty system was calculated to promote the
extension of our commerce with China. On all these
points the Committee decided against the scale of du-
ties, and in favour of one uniform rate of duty. A
very able report was drawn up by Mr. CRAWFORD,
the city Member, who conducted the examination
before the Committee. After this report, however,
had been approved of by a majority of the Committee,
it happened, by some means or other into which we
shall not at preient inquire, that a resolution, of a
very evasive character, was substituted for the
Report—which resolution recommended a trial of the
scale of duties, until the meeting of Parliament,
when the practical working of the scale would have
been seen. Now, the scale system has had a " fair trial,"
and the consequence, as in other " fair trials," has
been to prove its utter worthlessness. The imprac-
ticability of distinguishing the nice gradations by
which one kind of tea runs into another (as might
have been anticipated, had the fact that all teas are
the produce of one and the same shrub been attended
to), has been proved, times out of number, to the no
small cost both of the revenue and the importer. Every
fresh importation has been the signal for a regular
siege of the Treasury. Applications and appeals from
all quarters of the kingdom have been piled on one
another to the ceiling in the office of the CHANCELLOR
of the EXCHEQUER, all exclaiming against the un-
heard-of injustice of a system by which it is made to
depend upon the state of an Inspector's olfactory nerves,
whether every importer of tea shall be a rich man or a
beggar, and whether the tea-drinking community, that is,
the population of England, Scotland, and Ireland, shall
enjoy a wholesome beverage, or be poisoned by the
noxious juice of every shrub that grows in China.
Let us not be accused of exaggeration in thus expressing
ourselves. There is at this moment an importation
of tea awaiting Mr. WYB Ito w's inspection, on which
it will make a difference to the importer of TEN
THOUSAND POUNDS, whether it is passed as Congou
or Bohea ; and we have seen a letter from a respect-
able firm in Canton, iii whiCh it is stated that there
is not a shrub or tree within miles of Canton,
but what has been completely stripped of its leaves
to make tea for the English market ? In the mean
time the whole trade, both in London and the out-
ports, is in a state of the greatest confusion. The re-
venue is defrauded, and the market, within the last
six months overrun with a greater quantity of spurious
tea (the scale system favouring its importation) than
has been imported within twice that number of years
previously.
Such is the state to which this important branch of
trade has been reduced by absurd legislation—we say
absurd—for what can be more absurd than a law
which takes it for granted that teas separated by im-
perceptible gradations may be as easily distin-
guished from each other as a turnip from a potatoe.
We hope the Legislature is about to retrace its steps
in this matter. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE-
QUER is, we believe, favourable to a substitution of
one fixed duty for the scale which is producing such
ruinous effects. In another part of The Sun will be
found the Report to which we have alluded, and which
we recommend to the most serious attention of our rea-
ders—though long, it will amply repay perusal.

The Staffordshire election is affording the Tories an
excellent field for the exercise of their peculiar talents
for misrepresentation. Colonel ANSON, they say, has
retired from the contest. No doubt they wish that this
were true, and with them that is warrant enough to as-
sert it for truth. It is, however, as gross a fabrication as
any everforged in the Tory mint. Colonel ANso N is in the
field, and confident of success. In the meantime his oppo-
nent, Sir F. GOODRICICE, has vacated his seat for that
sink of corruption Stafford, where the Tories expect to
worm in some of their underlings. In this they may
probably be disappointed. It is not quite certain that
the House of Commons will consent to issue a writ
for a borough so notoriously corrupt, that a Bill intro-
duced last Session for its disfranchisement, was sup-
ported—if we mistake not—even by Sir R. PEEL.

We have received the whole of the Paris papers of
Friday and Saturday. The Court of Peers sat both
days in its judicial capacity ; and such was the
rapidity with which the Secretary read the Act of In-
dictment, that we find most of the journals of opinion
that the whole of this voluminous document would be
gone through before the rising of the Court on Satur-
day. Only twenty-three of the prisoners consented to
be present in Court during the reading of the Act of
Accusation, and they paid no more regard to it than
if it referred to the inhabitants of Timbuctoo. On
both days there was a full attendance of the Peers
who previously assisted at the trials, with the excep-
tion of M. LEMERCIER, who signified that his health
would not permit him to remain longer in the capital.
This venerable Peer has attained the ninety-third year
of his age, and consequently cannot be presumed com-
petent to discharge judicial functions.
Great anxiety prevails among all classes in Paris
respecting the termination of the resolution of the
Chamber of Peers, for calling to the Bar the ninety-one
persons who signed the letter addressed to the pri-
soners through the columns of the now defunct
Tribune. The nomination of the members to whom
the Peers' message should be referred, was warmly
debated in the standing Committees of the Chamber of
Deputies on Friday, when the Ministers succeeded in
obtaining a majority of one hundred and eleven votes
in favour of the creatures of the Court. The opposition
very properly contended that as the question at issue was
one which involved the privileges of the Chamber, it was
of the utmost importance that it should be considered
without reference to party, and that the Committee ought
to comprise men of all shades ofopinion. This was op-
posed by M. PERSIL and his colleagues, who proposed
that nine Members, whom they named, and who are
well known as the mete hacks of the Government,
should be appointed as a Committee. After a rather
intemperate debate, in which the merits of the question
were lost sight of, in the eagerness to expose the con-
duct of individuals, the Chamber divided, when the
numbers were— •
In favour of the Ministerial Candidates 247
Against them
Majority in favour of Ministers — 111
Thus, at the very commencement, the Chamber has
stultified itself, and compromised its own dignity ; for
our knowledge of the Deputies, who have been ap-
pointed as a Committee, is quite sufficient to make us
acquainted with their report, which will at once sanc-
tion the proceedings of the Chamber of Peers, and
give instructions for delivering over to its jurisdiction
those Members whose names are affixed to the ob-
noxious letter in the Tribune. If the Chamber of
Deputies fully understood, and properly appreciated,
its own privileges, it would vote the message of the
Chamber of Peers a breach of privilege, and
take measures for compelling that branch of
the Legislature to recal it. But corruption and Court
influence have been lately too busy with the Deputies
of France. The KING reposes in security, because
he knows that in all questions in which his personal
feelings are deeply interested, he can, through his
Ministers, command a sweeping majority. For some
months past the ranks of the Opposition have grown
thinner and thinner. Almost every day has witnessed
the desertion of some popular demagogue ; and among
those who continue to cling to the Opposition
benches, it is surprising to mark the subdued tone
in which they declaim against the conduct of the
Government. The celebrated leaders of the Opposi-

tion demean themselves as courteously in their colli-
sions with Ministers, as would my Lord's gentleman,
if by some accident he were to be driven in contact
with his master. Those fierce denunciations of the
despotism of the KING, which resounded in the Cham-
ber of Deputies in 1832, are now quite forgotten ; and
we almost question whether our own immortal SIMP-
SON could rival M. DupiN in the expression of loyal
devotion to the Citizen KING, and all that are in
authority under him.
We regret this ; and we regret it the more because
the corruption of the Deputies, and their subserviency
to the will of Ministers, will doubly accelerate the
movement towards another revolution in France. Were
the Chamber of Deputies to do its duty firmly and
honestly—were it to fling itself between the KING and
the people, and by a bold resistance of all despotical
measures, compel the Ministry either to resign or to
consult for the welfare of the country—were it
to do this, we should be under no apprehen-
sion of immediate danger, notwithstanding the mad
freaks of the SOVEREIGN. But when the Cham-
ber of Deputies is carried away with the tide of
Court corruption—when the Representatives of the
people begin to make merchandize of the powers dele-
gated to them for the most sacred purposes—then
indeed is there cause for general alarm, and the most
direful apprehension. With an honest Legislative
Assembly, it is not difficult to oppose success-
fully, the most mischievous schemes of constitution-
ally limited sovereignty ; but when the legislative be-
comes corrupt, the last check is removed—the helm of
the State is gone, and nothing short of a miracle can
prevent the vessel from foundering.
The Committee, to which the Peers' message was
referred, will make its report to day, so that, in the
course of the week we shall have learned the result
of this extraordinary proceeding. All are anxious to
know in what way the Peers propose to deal with
the writers of the letter, admitting that the Chamber
of Deputies consent to their appearance at their Lord-
ships' Bar. The Peers sitting in a Legislative capa-
city cannot constitutionally, either fine or imprison, or
in any way punish an offence committed against them
as a judicial body ; and as a judicial assembly they
have no jurisdiction when the crime charged does not
amount to treason. The Peers, it is true, may punish
for a contempt of Court, in the same way as all other
judicial tribunals, but then it is necessary that the
offence should be committed in the presence of the
Judges while sitting in a judicial capacity, or else it
must consist in resisting some order or mandate issuing
from thein. Now to denounce the jurisdiction of a
Court, in writing, does not come within the meaning of
contempt ; and consequently the Peers can only pro-
ceed against the writers of the letter by implicating
them as parties after the fact, in the crime of High
Treason.

It is stated in several of the , French journals that
several legions of the National Guard have protested
against the attendance of any portion of their fellows
in arms at the new Court of the Luxembourg. The
Journal de Paris attempts a bungling refutation of
these assertions, by the publication of the names of
the legions who have already furnished their quota
for this service. This mode of argument is about as
conclusive as if we were to give the names of six
supporters of the late Tory Government in Eng-
land, as a convincing proof that Sir ROBERT
PEEL'S Administrtion was not opposed in
the House of Commons. Verily, the logic of the
partizans of the French Government is not less re-
markable than the crooked policy of the KING, and the
apostacy of his Ministers. The principals, the agents,
the instruments, and the oNects proposed, are all
worthy of each other.

FRENCH FUNDS.-Paula, May 15
Five per Cents., 108 f. 35e. 55c. 60c.
Four per Cents., 99f. 20c.
Three per Cents., 82f. sc. 10c. 15c.
Bank Actions, 1,980 f.
Rente de Naples, 99f-35c. 30c. 40c.
Roman Five per Centl, 100%.
Rente d'Espagne, Five per Cents., 504 59 50M.
Rente d'Espagne, Three per Cents., 31%1A 31.
Royal Spanish Loan, 50% 50 50%
Rente Perpet. d'Espagne, Five per*Cents., 49% %%.
Belgian Loan, Five per Cents, 102.
Portuguese Loan, Five per Cent., 101.
Haytiaii Loan, 4401. 50c.
EXCHANGE ON LONDON.
One month, paper, 25f. 40c ; money, 251 40c.
Three months, paper, 25f. 23c. ; money, 25f. 25c.
-Court Authentique.
FRENCH FUNDS -PARIS, MAY 16.
Five per Cents., 108 f. 65c. 85c. 75c.
Four per Cents., 99f. 20e.
Three per Cents., 82f. 10c 20c. 30c.
Bank Actions, 1,990f.'-c.
Route de Naples, 95f. kle. 45c. 50c.
Roman Five per Cents., 101 101%.
Rente d'Espagne, Five per Cents., 50%.
Rente d'Espagne, Three per Cents., 31 14 31 3114.
Royal Spanish Loan, 50!.4
Rente Perpet. d'Espagne, Five per Cent., 49% 50 19%.
Portuguese Loan, Five per Cents., 101.
Haytian Loan, 137 f. 50c. 4401.
EXCHANGE ON LONDON.
0.. e month, paper, 25f. 40e.: ; money, 25f. 40c
Three months, paper, 25f. 25c. ; money, 25f. 25c
-Co, rs Authentivie.

BOURSE, THREE o'CLocK.—A report to the effect that a
negotiation between Don Carlos and the Spanish Government
is on foot has been circulated with much activity. It has
given an impulse to the French Three per Cents. and to the
Spanish securities. The French Rentes have been done at
82f. 30c., buyers. The foreign securities generally are in
demand.

QUARTER TO FOUR O'CLOCK.—Five per Cents., 108 f. 85c. ;
Three per Cents., 82f. 30c. ; Five per Cents., Spanish, 491;
Three per Cents. Spanish, 31+; Cortes, 501; Coupons, 29i;
Guebhards, 501; DifferCs, 21+ ; Definitive, 64i ; New Loan,
65 ; Passive, 181 ; Ducats, 99f. 55c. ; Romans, 101+ ;
Pedros, 101 ; Miguelites, 27 ; Dutch, 59 5 ; Haytian, 4401. ;
Brabant Bank, 20g.

Letters and Papers from Bayonne and Madrid have
been received, the latter to the sth inst. Their con-
tents are not of the slightest importance.

We have received the Belgian and Holland journals
of Saturday. Great excitement prevails in Brussels,
in consequence of the abrupt prorogation of the
Chambers on Thursday, without any previous notice
to that effect, having been communicated to them.
The following account of this singular and unprece-
dented affair is from the Courrier Beige, the leading
journal of the Opposition :

" The order of the day was the debate on M. Rodenbach's
motion relative to the addition of 10 per cent. to the taxes,
and to the cadastre, when all at once, in the midst of the de-
bate, and without any person expecting it,
"M. de Theux ascended the tribute, and drawing a paper
from his pocket, read as follows : _ _

." Gentlemen--The Government being convinced that the
very near approach of the time for the new elections to the
Chamber leaves no reasonable hope of converting into laws
any of the projects of laws now pending before the Chambers,
has thought it most advisable to close the session, leaving to
itself to convoke the Chambers at the usual time for their
meeting.
The proposals brought forward to-day were unforeseen ;
however, they have not seemed to us to be such as to make it
necessary to alter the resolution which the King has sanc-
tioned, and which he has instructed me to communicate to
you.'
" The Minister then read the following decree :
Leopold, King of the Belgians, to all present and to come,
- -

greeting—
seeing. article 70 of the Constitution, by the advice of
our Council of Ministers, we have decreed and decree as
follows :-
4, Art. 1. The session of the Chamber of Representatives
and of the Senate for 1834 is closed.
Art. 2. The present decree shall be communicated to
the Chamber of Representatives and to the Senate by our
Minister of the Interior.
Given at Brussels, 14th May. " LEOPOLD.
" By the King,
The Minister of the Interior, De THE UX.'
" During the time this decree was reading the astonishment
of the Chamber continued to increase. Towards the close the
greater part of the Members rose and surrounded the tribune,
and when the reading was finished, exclamations of different
kinds arose on all sides and drowned the voice of the Presi-
dent, who spoke some words which could not be heard. The
Chamber broke up in the greatest confusion. M. de Theux,
holding down his head, returned to his seat.
" It is impossible to paint the surprise, the astonishment of
the Chamber. The country will judge whether indignation
ought not to be added to astonishment.
4, The most important parts of the communal law were
going to be voted in two or three days, and there was every
indication that the Ministry would be defeated. The law on
public education was also going to make the Ministry feel
the disapproval of the two great divisions of the Chamber, who,

though they do not agree together on all points, are, however,
free from the dependence of the great number of public func-
tionaries who fill the Ministerial benches.

6' The continuance of the 10 per cent. additional taxes and
the cadastre were going to be revised, and the result was easy
to be foreseen ; and now, just when the Government might be
informed of the real sentiments of the nation, it abruptly dis-
misses its representatives."
We believe that LEOPOLD was persuaded to dismiss
the Chamber in this manner, as the only means by
which he could keep the Ministers in office. The per-
sons who advised the KING to adopt such a course are
unworthy of his confidence. It is too hazardous a stretch
of the Royal Prerogative in so young a kingdom. If
his Ministers were driven to seek shelter behind the
skirts of the Regal mantle, the KING ought to have
left them to be dealt with according to the good plea
sure of the Belgian Representatives.
BELGIAN FUNDS.—Bausscr.s, MAY 16.
Actual Debt, 21,4 per Cent ,
Rothschild's Loan, Five per Cent lOl%
Loan of City, 1832, Four per Cent 99%
Society of Commerce, Four and a Half per Cent ll9!¢
Bank of Belgium, Five per Cent 12016
—Brussels Papers, May 17.
DUTCH FUNDS—AMSTERDAM, MAY 15
Money. Bills.
Actual Debt, 21!, per Cent. 51% 57
A wort Syndic, 4 per cent 95!4 91
Ditto, ditto, 33 per cent BO% 81
Loan (1830) 5 per cent. -
Ditto (1832 and 1833) 5 per cent.
Commercial Company, 4 •., per c.nt 107% 1.7%
New ditto . lOl% 10252
Exchange on London, One month l2 05.
Two months
Dutch Papers, May 16.
PRUSSIAN FUNDS.—BERLIN, MAY 12.
Bills. Money.
St. Schuld. Sch., 4; per cent. 'ol 10014
Prussian English Loan, 1830, 4 per cent 99% . 99%
Exchange son London, Two months 6 25%
Prussian State Gazette, May 14.
HAMBURG BORSEN HALLE, MAY 15.
FOREIGN FUNDS. Bills. Money.
Austrian Metalliques, 5 per cent.
Ditto ditto 4 percent.
Ditto Bank Shares l3lO 1358
Anglo-Russian Loan 11,61,, 106
Ditto, 5 per cent. lOO% 100%
Paper Inscription, 6 per cent 79% 79%
Russian inscription, Hope and Co., 3d and Ith
Series
Portuguese Regency Bonds, 5 par cent 9!i 9.1%
Ditto, 3 per cent 7l
Dutch 2y., per Cents.
Ditto 5 per Cents —
Polish Bonds, 3 per cents.
Anglo_Danish Loan, 3 per cents 75% 751,6
Norwegian Loan of 1834, 4 per cents.
Spanish, in piastres, 3 per Cents.... ...........
T)itto 4 per Cent. 52%
Cortes Loan, 5 per Cent
EXCHANGES ON LONDON.
11/oilman, May 15.-13 9% ; two months, 1381.:1.
Sr. PETEKSBURCII, MAY'S.—Three months, liJ 9-16.
Srocaltorm, MAY B.—Two months, 1220.
BERLIN, MAY 12.—Three mot. ths, 6 2.5.
—.Hamburg Papers, May 15.