The Sun.
London, England, 1826-12-20 00:00:00

important. The Marquis of R IBEAUPIERRE 19 said

to hare brought to St. Petersburgh the Convention of
Akermann, ratified by the SULTAN. It was reported
in that capital, that he would immediately set out for
Constantinople, as Ambassador, to press the execu-
tion of that Convention, and to open negociations re-
lative to the pacification of Greece, according to the
arrangement concluded on the 4th of last April be-
twee') England and Russia, or rather to add weight
to the negociations already commenced by the British
'Ambassador. The 'Protocol of the Conference's held
on the 4th of April, between the Duke of WELLING.
TON and Count NESSELRODE, is to serve as the
basis on both sides.

The Allgemeine Zeitung, of the 13th instant, re
ccived this morning, contains the following interest
ing article upon the present political crisis :

FRANKFORT, DEC. 8.
It is a long time since we have had so much political discussion
on our Exchange as within the last few days. Ample materials
- were indeed furnished by the King of England's speech from the
Throne, by the debates on the Address, the insurrection of the
friends of absolute power in Portage!, and lastly, the affairs
of GreeCe. The word anxiety employed in the speech
• has not a little puzzled our etymologists, and as, according to
Johnson himself, it is an expression for three or four emotions or
• state* of the mind similar, indeed, bat rather different in degree,
the ptoblem cannot be solved so as to satisfy every body, even on
the authority of that great philosopher, and the determination of
the analogous sensation must be left to each individual, which
perhaps, was what the authors of the speech Wended. The various
reporter in the French loornals, respecting the events on.tbe frontiers
of Portugal., did not a little contribute to keep up this feverish uncer.
• tainty, While some were filled with philanthropic apprehensions
for the consequences of the civil war which was on the point of
breaking out in the west of Europe, others seemed to be seized
with real terror at the incalculable consequences which the flames
, . of war kindled on the Tagus, might have for the whole political
• - surd eammercial world. In fact, it cannot be denied that the
Britiah Minister's commentary on the King's Speech contains
• expressions which tend to cherish this anxiety in the hypo-
thetieal case of a civil war in Portugal. Happily in this
critical moment we learnt that a British Cabinet Messen-
ger; coming from Vienna, had passed through our city, travelling
with all speed. This incident led some persons to conceive the
• plausible notion that this courier might be the bearer of an offi-
cial note, the object of which .vetur to allay the troubles in Portugal.
The insurgents, it was observed, had undoubtedly been guilty of a
great abuse of the name of the Infant Don Miguel, by placing it at
the head of their appeal to the Portuguese nation, though his Royal
Highness, in a state of the moat perfect liberty, had just recog-
' • niaed and sworn to the Constitution. A Proclamation of his

Royal Highness, directed against this appeal, and reprobating
• their abuie of his name, seemed to be the best and readiest means
to prevent civil war, and to hinder all future attacks on the Con-
stitution—and the Courier was perhaps going to take it to London,
Paris, or Lisbon.
With respect to the Greeks, hopes are entertained here that
the civil war which desolates the classic seat of ancient civiliza-
.
Sinn, will he put an end to by the intervention of the Great
Powers of Europe. One of them, it was added, which had
hitherto been the most backward, bad now, after a careful con-
sideration of the state of things, agreed to act in concert with
it, allies, to make the contending parties lay down their arms,
and to place the relations of the Turks and the. Christians in those
unhippy countries on a footing that may satisfy the friends
•f humanity. NOW, as the general result of all these political
discussions .is a conviction (at least in the great majority of
our mercantile men,) that peace will not be interrupted,
the rather lower price of the Austrian Funds, brought by ex-
presses yesterday, bad no effect on our Exchange. To this was
added a report, that the Hungarian Diet, in consequence of the
arrangement of existing differences, had agreed to pay by instal-
ments large arrears of taxes, and it was also generally believed that
the intended loan would he concluded, unless the contractors con-
sented to moderate the high terms which they had previously
asked.

The New Times of to-day says—" We have rea-
son to believe that intelligence will be received from.
Madrid within the next week iottetrltaipt;--ot
important and decisive character, with reference to
the question of Portugal. Our information leads us
to infer that, at the moment we arc writing this, the
events to which we allude have actually taken place."
Without the possession of any extraordinary means
of information, or any great sagacity, it might have
been inferred that the next week or ten days would
show what the decision of the Court of Spain will be,

in consequence of the remonstrance of this country.
From the folly which has already marked the conduct
o$ FERDINAND, and from the continued silence of
the Etoile on Spanish politics, we venture to hazard

an opinion that this infatuated Monarch will be mad
enough to plunge his kingdom into a war with Great
Britain, for no other object than the maintenance of
the dominion of the Priests, and of that system of Go-
. vernment which has already brought his unhappy coun-
try to the lowest pitch of national degradation.
To suppose, for an
,instant, that Spain can derive a
any advantage from state of warfare is out of the
question ; destitute of resources, she has no means
of carrying on a war with success, and the mis-
fortitnes which she must probably suffer during its
existence will, by the influence which national cala-
mities have upon the public feeling, hasten the downfal
of that system for which she is rash enough to enter
into a contest with the two: countries from whose'
alliance she might derive the most solid advantages,
hOth moral and political, if she had cultivated their
friendship rather than excited their animosity. Even-
tually we are convinced the dynasty of FERDINAND
wait pay dearly for the folly by which the Councils of
that Sovereign are directed.

Thy ?Horning Chronicle mentions, u a proof of
the activity of Ministers, and of their determination to,
beprepved for the worst, that Lord MELVILLE unit-
s& had proceeded to Portsmouth, with the view of
expediting the equipment of the ships for Lisbon !
If the Chronicle 110 taken the trouble to inquire the
object of his Lordship's visit to Portsuionth, it would
probaprobably have been kund to be merely to attend the
bly
examinatio,Y,of the Students of the Royal
Naval College, at wi6 his Lordship is generally
present. •

We are happy to observe, by the Report of the Pro_
ceedings of the Special General Meeting held yesterday
of the Proprietors of East India Stock, that a suggestion
thrown out by Sir CHARLES FORBES for paying some
mark of respect to the memory of the late Marquis of
-14Arrltios, was received in a most favourable manner.—
Few men have rendered more important services to the
East India Company than this lamented Nobleman. His
administratibn of the affairs of the East was characterized
by wisdom, prudence, mew and success. The reward
of his services from untoward circumstances was but small,
while living, and it will be no less just than honorable to
his memory that a Memorial of the gratitude of the Com-
pany and the Nation should be erected now upon his
decease.

The poachers and the game proprietors, as usual at this
Beason of the year, have been engaged in several very
`l"Perste affrays, and all of them attended with the loss of
lire) or highly dangerous wounds. The one to which we
would more particularly allude, took place some days ago, in
the preserves of Lord KENSINGTON, at 'lepton, Norfolk. A
%Yuen) of law that brings with it as a necessary coniomi

tent, hatred, and even murder, must undoubtedly be bad.
But whilst saying this, we feel that in reference to
game, some provisions are necessary for its pro-
tection, though we own ourselves totally unable to suggest.
a remedy for the evils of the present system, with-
out introducing others more mischievous in their con-
sequences, and more demoralizing to the nation at large.
Whether or not the existence of any law for the protec-
tion of game does not give a fictitious value. to it, may
indeed be extremely questionable; but should it prove
that it does,
,then without doubt the revisal of such laws
is essential and highly to be desired. Whilst, howeVer,
we are considering this point, we should remember that a
love of field sports seems to be a part of man's natural
character; and therefore, however valueless the object of
pursuit may be in itself, yet that object becomes of in-
creased importance, in proportion to the ardour and the
vehemence which its pursuit inspires. It is a dangerous
thing at any time to meddle with the pleasures and amuse-
ments of the world; but protection havingbeen once afforded
to game, in defiance, as it were of this principle, and of the
inconveniences which followed, it might now, perhaps, be
deemed equally dangerous to return to the previous state
of tl4.gs, and take away the legal protection which has
been thus given. It is also to be remembered • that the
Game Laws arc not without their political object; that
they are well calculated to sustain the national character,
and to suppress the extension of vice; that they superin-
'. duce,if they do not actually inspire a love of agricultural
pursuits and the cultivation of the soil, and that they sti-
mulate men to spend their lives and fortunes amongst their
own peasantry on their own estates, and bind by irresisti-
ble chains those to a country life who would otherwise
Waste -their time and substance in the vicious delights of
towns, and destroy their health in following the toiling
pleasures of metropolitan ideas.
• With these advantages, which result from the Game
Laws, before us, we may now turit to the other side, and
behold our prisons filled with their victims, the valuable
energies of stout and able-bodied men wasted within the
walls of our gaols, and their minds enfeebled by idleness,
tainted with the dreadful examples and worse precepts of
degraded and vicious men. We may also see how the
most deadly hatreds are engendered, and the most violent
and lasting animosities excited, and kept alive, and all this
the result of the execution of the law, and the punishment
of persons who have infringed its provisions. This re
stilt may, with the exception of the provisions against
smuggling, be considered as peculiar to the Game Laws,
and as showing,in a very eminent degree, that however wise
and however necessary may be the existence of same
protection for game from the depredations of poachers, yet
that the protection now afforded, is afforded by severity
more than adequate to the offence, and perfectly at vari-
ance with our natural and moral feelings of justice, right,
and wrong. Besides this too, the protection is not effec-
tual; its only effect has been to increase the despera-
tion of offenders, and to render it necessary that their
offence should he perpetrated with hatred undisguised, and
with mind and disposition resolved to shed blood.' We
think then here is sufficient to warrant a little enquiry,
to demand a little review of the provisions of the law; and
a little consideration whether, whilst its provisions are
rendered more consonant with the feelings and justice of
mankind, all the essential parts of the present system may not I
be preserved. -We acknowledge we think it might, and, ifit
can be, we are sure no one could advocate the longer con-
tinuance of a system whose severity defeats its own ob-
ject, and which brings with it such demoralizing, such un-
mitigated misery and woe. It has been found, that in
spite of this severity, many will tempt it 'for the sake of
the profit which follows; and, thus clearly establishes,
that severity does not and never will operate to deter.
That no provision will entirely do this may be admitted,
yet some may be found more efficacious and better calcu-
lated to promote the object of the Game Laws. More-
over, if it was only as efficacious as the present
system, still it would demand our support, as. more
uksisoi. lustfi,ee,' andfi'_ n_ltiat..oo4ol4444th
•
ments now inflicted 'on Poachers, with the. exception
of that for being. seen in an encloSed plantation after dark,
arc not, it is true, very disproportioned to the offence, but
it is to be remembered that the conscquences which follow
a conviction upon the game laws, are of a nature to para-
lyze every subsequent. effort of the offender to improve,
though he were to set about it in down right sincere ear-
liest. 'What hopes has a man placed under ,the ban of the
Empire, treated and considered as an outlaw, and watched
with a vigilance and attention that never sleeps ? It is
thus with a convicted poacher. Those to whom he is to
look for support, the gentry of his neighbourhood, with-
draw that support, and" let biro down the wind a prey to
fortune," because to have been a poacher in their
eyes is earnest of the seedd,. of crime, and such
an earnest as leaves little to 'be hoped in the way
of amendment or improvement. In addition to all
this, let it never be forgotten, the execution of these
laws, harsh in themselves, is left in the hands of the very
men most interested in seeing them strictly enforced. Is
it then surprising that the gentry and the peasantry are thus
as it were placed in immediate array against one another ?
Is it then surprising, we say, that the legal severity of the
former should engender in the latter that bitterness of spirit
and deadly animosity, which lead to consequences as
fearfully fatal, and as shocking as those which have occa-•
sioned these observations ?

We mentioned yesterday the arrival of the overland despatches
from Persia, containing an account,of a victory obtained over the
Persians isy the Russian army. These despatches are dated
Tabree, October 3, and announce that a division of the Persian
army, detached by his Ilighneas the "Prince Regent, tinder the
command of his eldest son, Mahomed Meerut, and his uncle,
Ameer Khan, was defeated, with severe loss, on the 26th of Sep-
tember, near the village of Shatukbar, five turseekhe north-west of
Georgia. The battle was fought on the banks of the Yezan, a
seeond.stream of which divided the contending armies. The Rua-
silo), force amounted to about 6,000 infantry, and 3,000 cavalry,
with a propOrtionate number of guns; that of the Persians, to
SXIOO infantry and 5,000 irregular horse, with six field-pieces.
After some hard-fighting, the Persians were compelled to retire in
.';the .ttninit confusion ; and it is supposed that nearly the whole of
'the,: infantry were either killed or taken prisoners. Three field-
•
Newt--
• fell into the hands- of the Reagens, and Ameer Khan was
killed by a Cossack, when in the act of rallying his troop,. The
young Prince Mellowed Meerza was taken prisoner by a Cossack,
'but was afterwards rescued, and borne away in triumph, by one
Of his Surdars. As the result of the war could never he doubted,
so the consequences of it cannot be foreseen. We have always
viewed this subject as one of much more iruportance to British
interests, than our coteutporaries have been inclined to consider
it. The subjugation of Persia once effected,' the temptation of
1 India, will be too strong to be resisted by the 'growing power of
the Russian EMptre.

•
His Majesty's, ship Glaticsater uiled on the 18th from the
Downs, with. the battalion of the Guards, for Lisbon. Yester-
day, at half-past three rat., . Lieutenant-General Sir Willis*
Clinton, Commander of the . Fatima to be emkkiyed in Portugal,
embarked with his Staff on board the Wellesley, and that ship
and the Iffelvilk•will sail the moment the wind will permit.
The tr"P
--
embarked in the Windsor
llfr°in Pl7°lith
have
Zyrit) 4n4 that, ship will also sail the moment the wind will
. Unfortunate! the wind yesterday and to-day has been
far to the southward.

A Dov En. Tuesday, three o'clock, Ihm.—. Ir • Leyden,
Austrian Messenger, arrived in Dover to-day, and immediately,
freighted a steam-packet. (extra) for Calais. From the great
patches. An extra courier from
haste he was in, he was doubtless charged with important dis-
to-day.
Extract of a letter, dated St. Thomas's, lbtii November :
Prince Polignac also crossed"
I arrived here yesterday. I left Lagusyra four days after the
util-boat, and had a Passage of eight days. Before m departure
y
a secretary of Bolivar hail arrived' at Caracas, and it ti generally
understood that the Liberator
;vas satisfied with the measures of
Peer. Every thing was quiet at Laguayral the new tariff, of
import and export has been aanCtitllled ity paei, and will be wilt"
ed. The vales, which were put out of circulation at the hegin-
Ding of Para', Political .rnov_emento, are ga . now a in, as before, to
be received by the Customs,"