The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-01 00:00:00

BELGIC FORTRESSES.

(From the French Papers.)
There is in existence a protocol, dated April 17, 1831,
in substance pronouncing that five of the Belgian for-
tresses shall be demolished, and directing that the selec-
tion of these fortresses shall be made by the four Power,
parties to the treaty of November 20, 1815, in concert
with King Leopold. The part of this engagement which
seemed to be most embarrassing is its vagueness. The
military men of France have been sadly puzzled to deter-
mine which are the fortresses that would be razed with
most advantage to our country. Something worse, how-
ever, than this perplexity—something far more menacing
—was conceived in the loose language of the protocol.
It is known that the treaty of the 20th of November
gave to the Holy Alliance the right of inspecting those
t4tresses whose guns were directed against us. The Con-
ference, by making no allusion to this subject, left us the
right—indeed imposed upon us the necessity—of inferring
that this claim of the Holy Alliance was still to be as-
serted. The French Cabinet demanded a decisive assur-
ance upon the point (that the claim should be abandoned),
and this has been the subject of all the recent negociations.
After several very animated discussions, the point was
yielded, as we stated yesterday, in a manner rather fa-
vourable to France. This, however, is not all ; the ba-
lance of the sixty millions appropriated to the erection of
these fortresses, which still remains in hand, is, by agree-
ment, to be applied to their demolition.

This is the favourable side of the business; unfortu-
nately, however, we have now to present a high price
paid for these concessions. The French Government ha■
most earnestly desired that the fortresses of Marienburgh
and Pbilippeville should be amongst those preserved ; it
has been determined that they should be razed. The
places which the late protocol condemns to demolition are
Ath, Menin, Mons, Pbilippeville and Alarienburgh.
These places shall be demolished within two years, accord-
ing to the protocol, the work of destruction to commence
within the next two months.
Such, in a word, is the tenour of the last determination
of the London Conference, which has not, we know not
why, been as yet honoured with the dignity of a protocol.
It is not to be denied that our condition has been nothing
improved by it, though it certainly has put Belgium in a
better state to serve as the valisel barrier of the Holy Alli-
ance against the power of France.

(From Le Temps of Saturday.)
PARIS, JAN. 27.—The Moniteur has merely announced
that M. C. Perier has brought the final resolutions for
the arrangements relative to the demolition of the Belgian
fortresses, but says nothing of the conditions of the treaty,
of the causes that have led to it, or of the clauses which
may affect the national honour or interest.

Since the Government is so reserved, we must make up
for its silence. The following is what passed in the Con-
ference on the question of the fortresses

We need not remind our readers that, by an addition to
the treaty of the 20th of November, 1815, a subsidy of
60,000,000, taken from the military contribution imposed
on France, was allotted to the King ot Holland, to enlarge,
fortify, and maintain the line of fortifications on the
northern frontiers of France.

As these fortifications were part of the military and po-
litical system of Europe, to bridle and restrain France, the
Powers reserved to themselves a kind of inspection and su-
perintendence.

The Duke of Wellington, at that time Marshal of France,
even received a salary on account of this insi'ection.
The separation of Belgium and Holland having broken
the barrier butiosed on France by the imperious treaty of
1815, the question of the d,molition of I.l,lgian fortresses
was agitated ; an official assurance of it was given in the
speech from tt,e throne • since then the four great inter-
vening Powers have endeavoured to treat with King Leo,
! old to put him in the place of the King of the Nrthe!,
lands with respect to the guarding of the fortresses, and td
this end what remained of the funds allotted to the main-
tenance of the fortifications was placed at his disposal.
France. in its turn, pretended to treat separately with
King Leopold respecting the fortresses, and would not, by
any means, admit theintt od notion of the other great Powers.

It is reported that, independent of Sir
HENRY PARNELL'S refusing to vote for Ministers on the
question of the Russian Dutch Loan, that he had differed
with them on account of their r fusing to n duce the army
and on several other points of policy.—Morning Paper.
MILITARY ASYLUMS.—The following is
an abatraet of a Parliamentary return of the expenses til
the military asylums, since their first establishment 'rat
1801, up to the end of 1830 .—Chelsea, 673,1531.
9s. 114 d. ; Isle of Wight, 29,294/. 7s. 7d. ; South-
ampton, 91,727/. 9s. siil. ; making a total of 794,157/. 7s,
There are at present in the Chelsea Asylum, 677 boys,
202 girls; making a total of 879. Since the foundation
of the Asylum the numbers received there have been, boys,
:5,036, girls 1,721 ; total 6,757. Apprenticed since that
period, boys 1,469, girls 1,171 ; total 2,640. Volun-
teered to the army, 1,496. From the Southampton
Asylum, 219 boys joined the army from 1817 to 1828.
At the end of the same return is a statement of all the
sums received, including the King's bounty, by the Hi-
bernian Society for the care of soldiers' children, from its
establishment in 1764 to 1830; the amount is 3?3,879/.
17s. 2d. The number of boys who have volunteered to
the army from that establishment is 904.
The will of Mr. STEPHEN GIRARD, of
Philadelphia, is given entire in the American Papers re-
ceived en Monday. The fortune appears to be greater
than was anticipated. After a number of magnificent
legacies to various useful institutions, and legacies and an-
nuities to a number of individuals, he leaves two millions
of dollars of the residue for a college in Philadelphia, for
the residence and accommodation of at least 360 scholars,
and the requite teachers, and the supplying tl.e college
with furniture and books, and incomes to the professors
and instructors. Oae passage in the will has given great
offence, it is said, to the Clergy of the different persua-
sions—" I enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic, mis-
sionary, or minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold
or exercise any station or duty whatever in the said
college ; nor shall any such person ever be admitted for
any purpose, or as a visiter, within the premises appro-
priated to the purpose of the said college."
GENERAL MINA.--Previous to the depar-
ture of Don PEDRO for Belle-Isle, he requested General
SALOANItA to wait upon the brave and patriotic Chief, and
offer him a command in the expedition that is now on the
point of restoring a Constitution to tyrannised Portugal,
and the legitimate QUEEN to her throne. The answer
the valorona veteran made to SALDANHA is worthy of the
man—" When I unsheath my sword it will be for the
liberty of my own country : remember I am a Spaniard."
The Government of Louts Putraere, which has been
persecuting the Spanish refugees ever since the revolution
o July, 1830, has prevaiki upon Don PEDRO not to
all iv/ one Spaniard to accompany him in the expedition,
and also induced him to dismiss General SALDANIIA
whose name has such influence over the troops now at
Terceira, that he is afraid, were he to go out, that the
Conde de VILLA FLOE would have but little command
over them.
PARIS, JAN. 29.—The ball at the Opera
last night, for the benefit of the poor of this city, was as
brilliant as on former occasion.. Between 3,000 and
4,000 persons thronged the house. Louis PHILIP, the
QUEEN, and Madame ADELAIDE, with the two eldest
Princesses, and the Dukes of ORLEANS and NEMOURS,
entered at ten o'clock. The coup d'wil at that motnent
was magnificent ; the ladies in the boxes and side galleries
of the stage rose, while shouts of " Vive le Roi," and
t‘ Vive la Reine," resounded from all sides. To judge of
the feelings entertained towards the KING in that assembly,
which, from being composed of the better and even mid-
dling classes from all the districts of Paris is the best
adapted for exhibiting the opinion of the public, one may
with certainty say, that Louts PHILIP and his family are
far from being unpopular. The KING alone, at ten o'clock,
traversed the crowded house, and was greeted freely with
shouts of applause. The QUEEN and the Princesses sat
in the Royal box during the evening, but the Royal Dukes
amused themselves in the dance. The Royal party retired
at midnight, but the citizens continued in gaiety until a
late hour this morning. The Ex-Eatraass and DONNA
MARIA sat in a private box, and left the house before the
Royal Family.
Our Chinese Correspondent informs us
(under date Aug. 4,) that the little remaining confidence
felt by British subjects in the Hon. East India Company's
managers was entirely destroyed by the removal of Mr. T,
C. SMITH from a seat in the Committee, which orders
reached Canton, from Leadenhall-street, by the Waterloo.
The Fo-Yusr, now head magistrate in the province (the
Viceroy being at Pekin), had been going on mu radically
that hundreds of the smaller Mandarins were coming in
chin churning, and knocking heads, entreating in their
ipahrrsatsoeoolodgeaf
phraseology, saying,tobear_tai‘ ‘ ihy
a
—permit me to give up my office, and go home to my
mother to be taken care of!" The Waterloo arrivcd the
30th July, at Macao; the Lady Melville the Ist Aug.
The Company's ships were said not to be allowed to come
higher than the second bar.
eyesr tremble are
too old to e
The Committee and the
so c,,nnsoet— wrin aye
Government are on terms of correspondence. A new
Paper, the Canton Courier, in American hands, hie
published one number.