The Sun.
London, England, 1828-02-14 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

A detachment of the 39th or Dorsetshire Regiment Of
Infantry embarked orie the 12th inst., at Gravesend, °O
board the Beitgal Mer Chant convict ship, as guards over
convicts destitied'to New South Wales.
Detachments belonging to the 4th and 13th *Regiments
of Light Dragoons marched this morning, from Westtnir
ster, for the Cavalry Depot at Maidstone.
A detachment belonging to the 35th RegiMent of Fool
marched this morning-from Westminster,' for Portsmouth,
on route to Jprsey

. _
A detachment belonging. to the 14th Regiment of In'
fantry, embarked this morning on board a steam-vestiel is
the River for Graresend, on route to Chatham.
_ _

A detachment belonging to the 16th Regim-ent of Feet
embarked this-morning on board a steam vessel in the
River; for .Graiesend, on route to DPal.
A detachment belonging to the 20th Regiment of In'
fantry, • embarked this morning on board a steam-vessel is
the River, fur Gravesend, en route to Canterbury.

A PRECIOUS • DOCUMENT
" Lost or mislaid,
" Stolen or strayed."

SlR—Returning from Westminster at dusk
yesterday evening, I observed a passenger be-
fore me, near the Treasury, givo a kick to a soil-
ed paper on the pavement,which he tifen passed un-
noticed. Possessing, more curiosity; I picked it
up, consigned it to my pocket, and now send
you a copv, conceiving you may deem it deS•ereing
a place in your Journal. I freely confess, Sir,
it speaks of things beyond my humble compre-
hension. The meeting of Parliament having so
recently taken place, 1 rather conjecture it may
contain the lucubrations of some great man,
preparatory to the appointment of a Committee,
the benefit of which you May,. by gii-ink it
publicity, prevent being altogether lost to the
public.
The Committee appointed to consider the
State of the Nation, and report thereon, have,
pursuant to the order of the House, considered
the several matters to them referred, and have
agreed to the following Report
:--
DRAFT PROPOSED REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON TH%
STATE OF THE NATION.
Your Committee have the satisfaction to report
that the National Debt,
,and the annual 'interest
thereof, is far greater than in any other country in
Europe, a proud distinction, affording to British
subjects the delight of revelling in taxation to an
extent far beyond what is enjoyed, or can ever be
hoped for, by the subjects of any other State.
This ultra glory of glories •
--- England owes to the Tories.
the margin is the following :.:--"MENl.—Experience
ta,t, has abundantly proved that national prosperity
• " always increased with the national debt,—impeach
" Chancellor of Exchequer if he "provide ways and
" means without a lean. Query—lnelude all the
" other Ministers in impeachment ?" •
Your Committee have further to report,
that there are more laws and more lawyers in
the British Empire than in any other -three• States,
or possibly the
,whole of Europe, which, as law is
the perfection of government, is proud matter of
congratulation to the country, evidencing the indefati-
gable zeal of former Patliaments in. the great :workof legislation, and presenting a bright .example to
the House to ceder further benefits on, 'nation,
by adding to, and increasing, the beautiful and mul-
tifarious enactments which constitute that perfect
code found in the Statute-book. -
It is with-infinite pride and-gratification' your Com-
mittee have further to report, that'independent of our
numerous charitable institutions, the. principles of
philanthropy are so interwoven with our system, that
the sums annually raised for the relief of. the poor
are nearly equal to the interest of the national debt
of France, and nearly three times the interest of the
debt of the kingdom of the, Netherlatids•-• : Your
Committee feel the greatest diffidence 'in proposing
any measure. for the improvement'Of -sO perfed and
admirable a syStem, they nevertheless venture to sub-'
mit to the House the propriety of referring the
Poor Laws to a --'S'elect" Committee, with' instruc-
lions to prepare a Bill -declaring the wages of the
poor shall be !wholly paid out of the parish. rates,
but exempting the landed interest from coitthjbuting
thereto.

Your Committee have further to report that in
their opinion all classes of his Majesty's subjects are
entitled to the equal consideration of this House, save
only that the landed interest have always a right to
be first considered, being more ~vealthy, wise, and
patriotic than any other class, 'as is clearly evinced
brtheir devoting their lives, fortunes, and estates to
increasing the breed of hares and pheasants, poachers
and paupers ; and by their having made that most
-notable and important of all discoveries, namely,
that a high protecting duty for grain is the only true
principle in all political economy, increasing in an
equal ratio the prosperity of the rich and the luxury
of the poor—since it needs no demonstraticin that a
pound of bread when it costs four-pence, must be
fours t: n
penny, all luxuries being measured by
their price.
Your Committeea f
the
Britishaffording
forces,
cs permanent
auxhuaiv-ye
as
when a like quantity
ofurther • to report,
c Mmesly a
ones great
that Ireland is an integral part of the British em-
pire a
luxury
illustration of the advantages resulting
limn one in seven of the gross population riding
roughshod over the other six. Your Committee,
however, recommend that a Select Committee be
qpuiraert oe f
quarters er utmost
one-fourth importance,
appointed to inquire and report to the House, whe-
ther sanative or deleterious qualities prevail most in
the potatoe, what are the peculiar virtues of., the
orange, and whether the orange system or the' potatoe
system his contributed most to the prosperity, tran-
quillity, and welfare Of the Irish nation—inquiries
that, in the opinion of this Committee, present an
opportunity for much deep and curious research, po-
litical and philosophical-
Your Committee have further to report, that
an increasing population is the natural result of
prosperity, and emigration the natural remedy for
an excess of population—since, if one million be
taken from fifteen, only fourteen will remain—
the-only impediment to this simple operation is the
difficulty, not to say impossibility, of simultaneously
removing the million, and the
.further impossibility
that such removal should produce the deinred effect.
In the margin is the following note :—" Mem.—
Expense no object—Fate of emigrants
Your Committee have further to report,
there is no truth whatever in the adage of " Set
a thief to catch a thief;"—that police officers have
fully kept pace with the modern march of intellect,
and having dipped into Shakspeare, and adopted
the following motto—

their protection,
" liWthat steals my purse steals trash,"'
while some of the
scarcely consider the purses or property of the pub-
lichigher ministers of justice, dipping deeper into the
deserving
pages of the great dramatist, and finding it there
written—
fie that filches from me my good name,
have with a talent, surpassing legal ingenuity, tacked
thereto the tnost learned and refined of legal maxims,
namely,
" the greater the truth the greater the libel,"
which, in plain English, means that to proclaim an
honest man a villain is a mere venial offence, but. to
publish the villainy of a scoundrel is a crime of the
deepest atrocity. Your Committee therefore have
a reasonable hope that a precedent may, ere leng, be
formally established, placing the future definition of
a libel beyond doubt, on the broad principle that a
libel is any thing printed or published of which
any body chuses to complain, and that this desirable
end may be attained without the aid or labour of
legislation, and of course without any breach of the
Privileges of this House.
Here the paper becomes illegible from being
soiled and trampled on, and I greatly regret that
lam unable to decipher what follows,—.:if the
writer wishes the manuscript restored, it shall be
returned to him on his sending a proper descrip-
tion, and identifying it.
I arn, Sir, yourth &et

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