The Sun.
London, England, 1821-05-23 00:00:00

[BRITISH PRESS.]

• The. Second Deport from the-Select Commit-
tee appointed by the House of Commons to con-
sider of the means of improving the Foreign
Trade of the country has been printed. It
is very brief in comparison with the more

detailed views of our foreign commerce which
have Issued. from the-Committee of the House
of. Lords, but it concurs -in principle with
their Lordships' last Report, in recommend-
ing an 'extension to all British subjocts.of the
privilege now enjoyed by foreigners, European
and American, of carrying-on trade .between the
eastern ports embraced withiti the charter of the
East India. Company. (exc,epting-. the dominions
of the Emperor of China), and. all foreign coun-
tries in amity with the Crown of Great Britain.
, It certainly appears to be an extraordinary incon-
sistency that •British subjects should be excluded
by the !power ofitheir own Government from a
moat profitable .branch of trade, which is at the
same timempen.to:theinhabitants of every other
country:: ;!chis, trade is actually one of. the most
lucrative that engage the attention of the ,Anglo-
Arnericans ;it enables them-to enter the markets.
of Europe with --singular. advantages, and there
to compete: successfully, with the Lords of the
Great Eastern._ Peninsula • themselves, while it
gives:employment to nearly one half of the Ame-
rican marine, with its due proportion of seamen.
The concurrence of .the -,Committees of both
Houses: in.-recommending this extension of the
eastern trade, is calculated to ensure the consent
of .Parliament., A Bill for effecting this purpose
will, we presume, be immediately. introduced into
the. House of .Commons, for the Report classing
this point among, the "-facilities" which may be
granted to the foreign trade of the. empire pre-
vious to the adoption of.any general measure,
remarks, that it " cannot. be delayed to a future
year without the. risk of losing much of the bene-
ficial results which at the present time may be
expected from it."

; {MORNING CHRONICLIZ.]
The hostility of the Clergy of Spain to the
new order of things in that country was to be ex-
pected. However beneficial,the.reformation must
be to the nation in general, to them it is not a
cause of rejoicing; and the members of a church
are like the members of any other corporation,

always much more alive to their own separate in-
terest, than the interest of the community at
large. The monks of Spain (there are individual
exceptions no doubt) would be very sorry to see
the people generally industrious and intelligent;
because the condition on which this can be ef:-
fected puts an end to their luxurious idleness.—
Priestcraft and"national prosperity are incompa-
tible with each other; but the Monks thrive
by Priestcraft:-.--Among those who from this
Cause naturally hated the Revolution, and
wished to return to the old system of abuses
by which he conld hope to thrive, was the
Canon Vinuessa. This man had entered
deeply into a conspiracy for the overthrow of
the existing Government ; had formed a plan for
that ptirpose ; and evidence in his own hand-writ-
ing of his machinations was produced against him
in abundance. The Court before which he was
tried sentenced. him to a severe punishment no
doubt, but. a punishment to which, many of the
brave defenders of their country were subjected
on the return of Ferdinand. Into the adequacy
or inadequacy of this punishment, however, it
would be presumptuous itt us to enter. The peo-
ple of Madrid, however (and at this, considering
the conduct of the Priests at the present conjunc-
ture, and the state of agitation produced by intes-
tine commotions and the alarm of fOreign invasion,
we do not wonder), seem to have been.greatly
exasperated against Vinuessa; and the sentence
was unsatisfactory to them. It is . said to have.
been known to the Ministers, that an attempt
would be made on Vinuessa's life; but no pre-
cautions, or none suitable, were taken to frustrate.
thatattempt, and Vinuessa fell a sacrifice to the
fury of the mob and the bad conduct of the Authot
rifles. We regret this transaction as much as it is
possible to do. But regret for the transaction,
and respect for the sufferer, are two distinct
things. We should regret the destruction of the
vilest miscreant that 'ever disgraced human nature,
'if it was not exacted by law. Vinuessa was a
man who wished for his own selfish ends to in-
volve his country in blood and confusion ; but
if the law spared him, the Authorities ought not
to have allowed him to be murdered. But what
man does not feel indignant when he hears this
busy meddling priest spoken of by a British Jour-
nalist in the following terms :—" The manner
in which the brave and pious Vinuessa met his
death is most affecting. His murderers found
him in his dungeon offering up his prayers to the
Almighty." The brave and the pious Vinuessa!
What a prostitution of language ! What would this
worshipper of the Church Militant of Spain say
of any writer, who as Baird, the leaderut Bonny-
muir, was a very religious man, and probably
more brave than the Spanish Priest, should ex-
claim, 44 The brave and pious Baird !" This brave
and religious Priest wished very much, no doubt,
like most of his brethren, to see the Inquisition
restored, and joined heartily in the cry of—
" Down with the Constitution and up with the
Inquisition I" This is what is meant by religion.
It is not religion; but its abuses, which are ad-
mired by our Ministerial advocates; and they
seem perfectly impartial in this respect between
Catholics and Protestants, 'as they are as ready to
admire the supporters of Orange Societies as the
supporters of the Inquisition.

[THE TIMES.
The Papers moved for some time ago by Mr.
Robert Smith, respecting the sums of money due
from Austria to this country, are now laid before
Parliament. It is the practice of some debtors
to decline, shuffle, defer ; and so ultimately evade
the payment of their just debts. Austria adopts
no such disingenuous course ; she replies very brief-
ly, as Falstaff replied to Bardolph upon a similar
occasion—" not give thee a penny ; no, not
a penny." Here is no hypocrisy in this; but only
flat roguery. Nay, Austria, it appears, does not
only refuse to pay us the money, or any part of it. in
hard cash, but will not even consent to treat with us
for timber out of the imperial forests, if the timber
so afforded us be to be applied to the liquidation of
any part of her debt. Count Stadion " is very
eager to enter into an arrangement for the sale of
his master's timber, but will not treat upon any
terms which involve the question of the debt to
Great Britain." So says Mr. Robert Gordon in
the last dispatch, dated so long ago as February,
1818. The end, therefore, of the timber nego-
tiation is this—that a Mr. IL Smith is sent out to
the Adriatic, to contract, not. with the Austrian
government, but with certain individuals ; and
we shall subjoin to these remarks some par-
ticulars of that negotiation. With respect
to the sums advanced to Austria, those who
were- guilty of commencing that extravagance
exist no longer as ministers—some of them not as
men : they are " no more." But what their
hopes of repayment may have been, is. obvious
from the following circumstance—that Austria
refused to ratify or bind herself to the dig-
charge of the first loan till she wanted more,
when she made that ratification a condition
of the further advances 1. The people upon
'Change would say that this was an odd way
" of doing ..business." However, to do Lord
Grenville jUstice, he is importunate enough for
the ratification : but it does not appear from
the papers before us, what instances, entreaties,
or remonstrances, have been made by Lord Cas-
tlereagh, for the payment either in " money-or
malt," of the sums, or any part of them, now due.
In 1817 it was proposed by the Navy Board to
the Admiralty, to send a competent person, as to
knowledge of timber, its growth and quality, to
select from the Adriatic forests such as was fit for
our navy, and would be cheaper than if bought
in England. A. Mr. Smith got appointed to
this important
,service,: he was then Deputy
Secretary to the Navy Board, and had been from
leaving school a clerk in the Secretary or Clerk
of Accounts' office, and did not, we believe, even
profess.to- know any thing on the subject of tim-
ber, that being a distinct branch. of service. He
continued to receive his salary as Deputy Secre-
tary, with an additional two guineas..a clay and
travelling expellees. A Mr. Mosington was
:chosen to attend him, a person brought np in the
shipping line ; he also had a salary and his ex-
pences allowed.. Mr. Smith was two years ab-
sent; and iia conseqnence otitis report, the Navy
Board entered into,. a private contract with Ada-

. -
mich and flare, the former a native of Austria, to
supply 20,000 loads of sided Austrian timber, at
12/. per load; and, provided this contract was
fulfilled, Adamich *as to be forgiven 8,0001.
which he was indebted to the Board on a for-
mer
contract, and which there waSnoprobability
of ever getting from him. The timber bought
under this engagement has, ice have' been assur-
ed, turned out so. bad, as to he in a state of decay
in the ships which have been repaired with it.
—lndeed, on the first cargo being delivered at-
Portsmouth, it was reported to be much inferior
to any' before received, and by. no Means equal
to some timber which our old contractors had
offered to supply from their own estates, at the
same time, at 11./. per load. It is matter of sur-
prise that this latter offer was refused: The con
tract .with Adamich and Hare amounted to
240,0001. and the tittOer is now lying in the dif-
ferent yards; the shiPwrights are afraid to use
it•in building new ships. The-Austrian Govern-
ment always marks the best trees for its own use,
and only allows the inferidr to be exported,