The Sun.
London, England, 1818-06-24 00:00:00

PORT SPAIN.

SATURDAY, MAY C, 1818.—It is with the most painful sen-
sation we record an event that occurred yesterday, and of
cenich we received intelligence this morning, though the par-
ticular; are not so circumstantial as we could wish. We al-
lude to the fire which took place in San Fernando—it broke
out on the premises of Mr William Flewetson ; and the
building being entirely of wood, as the houses in that town
are generally, the names spread in an instant: it commenced
about one o'clock in the afternoon, at '► by three the buildings
as far Last as the Church, and the whole to the North, were
entirely consumed ; as also about two hundred hogsheads of
sugar. which hail been carted down front the Estates in that
tioarter, for the purpose of being shipped. it being the prin-
cipal deptit for produce previous to embarkation. The loss
sustained by individuals must hare been immense; and we
understand that they laad not time to save scarcely any
thing, such being the rapidity of the !lames. f lis Excellency
Sir Ralph Woodford, with his usual promptitude, this morn-
ing 'sent to visit the scene of this awful and dreadful cala-
mity, and, no doubt, will du every thing in his power to ame-
liorate the condition of the unfortunate sufferers.

The people in general, we are persuaded,
will hear with horror, that the united mobs
of the Burdettites and Iluntites last night made an
atrocious attempt upon THE LIFE or Captain Sir
MURRAY MAXWELL ! in (pitting the hustings
he was knocked down by a ferocious rabble, and
would most probably have beets trampled to death
if his friends had not raised and conducted bins
safely into 111cl-lAm:son's Hotel, where it was
judged proper to put him immediately in bed, and
to obtain medical assistance. Though we have
said that ibis horrible outrage was committed by
the united mobs of the Burd6tWes and a Hantites,
yet there is reason to bel►eve that the large ma-

j,)rity of this furious rabble were Burdeltites.—
The followers of FIUNT are chiefly a gang of
ri,ffi t!!s, who assemble for plunder, and make
Party merely a handle for riot and robbery,
but the Burdettitcs are absolute Jacobins, who
aim at the destruction of Government and the
Monarchy. As a proof that the followers of Sir
FR kNCIS BURDETT are really the authors of the

infamous outrage of yesterday, it is to be observ-
ed, that the Huntites contented themselves with
yells, hissings, shouts, &c. except in the instance

of one Ruffian, who threw a stone at the eye of
,Captain MAX wELL, but as soon as the Burdeltites
took the field, the most violent excesses bvpn,

and last nitil►t evidently amounted to intended

murder !! Another goof of the execrable views
of the Burdettites may be gathered from the

conduct of their favourite, who skulks behind,
because he will not appear to give any sanction
to the outrages of his followers. To the Burilet-

tiles, therefore, are the chief evils, and all the

desperate designs of the mob who committed the
1 outrage of yesterday, to be imputed. The fol-
lowers of the Baronet in former times were equal-

ly desperate. Whatever may be the real opinions

of Sir FRANCIS respecting UniYersul Syragc arid
Annual Parliaments, it is certain that he has

sated both in public, and that is warrant enough
for his followers, as they know that if Universal
aSugrage and Annual Parliaments conic) he admitted

r.e!e ‘‘:ould soon he so eod to the Constitution°
;klunarclij, and thtti ail the miseries of the French

Revolution Wmild be transferred to tLis Coun-
try. It is well known that CoBBETT de-
elated, on first observing the conduct of Sir
FRANCIS BoaDETT, that he thought him the
tuost dangerous man to a Government that
ever lived in any country, at any time. COBBETT
afterwards, indeed, teas upon friendly terms with
Sir FRANCIS, but, oti farther observation and re-
fl,:ction, he returned to his first opinion, and pro-
nounced the Baronet not only a Hypocrite, but a
most danzerous Demtsrogue. We are tar from
meaning to say, that we believe the Baronet
urges the miscreants who support him to the
perpetration of their infernal excesses, but we
may boldly affirm, that his speeches, in and out
of Parliament, afforded them ground for the most
furious outrages, and may well induce them to
suppose that they are gratifying his real wishes
in resorting to the utmost extremities of violence.
But, numerous as the Burdettites are, they are,
we trust, far out-numbered by the respectable and
well-disposed Electors of Westminster, and that
if the latter were to assemble with vigour, they
might check the Burdettite rabble, and secure the
freedom of Election. Tut? CAUSE OF THE COUN-
TEY is really at stake on this occasion, for it the
JACOBINS, that is, Cie Burdettirtes, were to succeed
its Westminster, they would raise their heads
throughout the linked Empire, and in due time
level all distinctions, and bury 'run THRON F.; THE
ALTAR, and every vestige of our glorious Consti-
tution, under Universal, Suffrage, the meaning of
%which is UNIVERSAL RUIN ! ! !

To every man who has witnessed the disgrace-
ful and disgusting proceedings o( those moss
execrable ot all tyrants, the bawlers tot liberty
under the banners of BURDETT and Hos:l.—who
has observed the open developement ot he long
meditated design of influencing and dictating to
the Government of the country, by means of a
ferocioos t abble, composed of the very off-scour-
in s, the very feculence of society—nototious ruf-
fiansand pickpockets, hired desperadoes, villains
without remorse or feeling, because without cha-
racter—who has heard threats of assassination
openly denounced by wretches of the most hideous
aspect against Candidates, who they know wila
exert themselves for the maintenance of public
law and order ; the very vestiges of which will
soon disappear, if the populace are suffered to be
familiarised to scenes such as the present
hlec-
tion at Covent Garden—typo hers the systematic
opponents of Government, meat to whom the
proposal of any measure for the public good by
Ministers is a sufficient motive for its rejection—
persons who make no scruple of sacrificing the
general interests of the community to the mean,
petty, selfish designs of Party—who hears such
buck friends of their Country proclaimed as the
only triends of the People ; and the, faithful Ser-
vant of the Public, who sustains the severest la-
bours, or encounters the most imminent perils in
its service—hardships and Mangers which can re-
ceive no pecuniary compensation—branded and
stigmatized as its enemy, only because a vile and
onions faction have striven with success to render
the terms Minister and Govertom to tasteful to the
undiscerning Mob, by associating with them ideas
with which they have no more necessary connec-
tion than Patriot and Ra;:cal,—to every reasonable
man, who remarks these portentous signs of the
times, it must ap,ear sufficiently obvious, the
number and respectability of the bulk of the
Westminster Electors being considered, that
there remain to he polled considerable bodies of
the most reputable Householders, who have
been prevented, by the pre-concerted outrages
daily practised before the Hustings, from attend-
ing to give their votes. Upon such persons we
beg leave most urgently to impress a due and se-
rious consideration of the appalling and dreadful
prospect which is held up to their contemplation in
the peculiar and NOVEL character of the tumults
now acting before their eyes in the centre of a great
metropolis, whose example is of such essential
import to the rest of the Empire. They have
seen what has been effected in the City and Bo-
rough by these arts of intimidation. Surely,
surely the most timid apprehension, if accompa-
nied by any thing like the glow of real Patriot-
!An, should be Folioed to active promptitude of
exertion, to stem this overflowing and destruc-
tive title of popular encroachment. Surely a firm
stand will at length be made by those in whom
the power of effectual resistance resides to pre-
vent the further progress of this spirit of disorder.
Will they permit the great City of Westminster to
be again insulted by the ayrannical domination of
a Junto of MARATS and ROZESPIERRES, whose
furious hostility against the glorious Institutions
of their Forefathers is backed by a Banditti of
Miscreants who are a disgrace to any civilised
State, and whose audacit! has progressively in-
creased, and will continue to increase, with their
injurious and unaccountable forbearance ? We.

hope to see the appeals which have been made to
their patriotism► responded to by an immediate,
a powerful, a general, and united combination of
efforts among the respectable body of Electors,
whose suffrages tipt yet not disposed of, to prevent
the Representation of Westminster from being,
what it has hitherto been, the mere organ of a
Revolutionary Rabble• Whether the Committee
of Sir SAmuF.I. RomiLLY have succeeded in forming
a coalition with that of Sir FRANCIS or nor, we
hope no time will be lost in following the noble
and intrepid example before them in tl►e vote
courageously given by Lord CASTLEREAGH. Capt.
MAXWELL may say (we quote SALLUST, because
we do not address the Rabble) to the Electors of
Westminster—

" Vos in men injuris flespecti estis."

They have it in their power, by hastening with
plumpers to the poll to mark their indignation at
such brutality to,yards a brave, meritorious, and
independent Officer.

It is with mach regret that we see the issue of
the Contest in the City of London, not only be-
cause Sir WILLIAM CURTIS has been thrown from
that situation in which, though he appeared as a
fir in friend to Government, he was by no means
the servile tool of Miui3ters. He had always the
interests of his country in view, and he opposed
the measures of Government when be thought
that they were inimical to the interests of the
people. He maintained the rights of his Con-
stituents in the same manly and independent way.
He felt that he was sent into Parliament not
merely to protect the interests of his immediate
Constituents, and therefore, that when those in-
terests interfered with the welfare of the State,
he had a right to act according to the best of
his judgment, and the dictates of his conscience.
But it is not merely, as we said, on his account
that we regret Iris failure, but because it
evinces the triumph of PRINCIPLES, which, if they
ever become . prevalent in the country, will effect
the TOTAL DEMOLITION of the present form of
Government. Upon a view, however, of the ge-
neral return of Members to Parliament, as far as
the progress of things appears at present, we
have reason to hope .that the new House of
Commons will contain a majority, and, we
trust, a large one, of those who are firmly at-
tached to their KING and to that GLORIOUS CON-
STITUTION which blends-in harmonious order the
indispensable authority of Power, with the rights
and privileges of the People.