The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-08 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY, J ANUARY 1842.

OOYAL- POLYTECHNIC INSTITU-
TION, REGENT-STREET.—MORNINGS and
EVENINGS except SA'k URDAY EVENINGS.
A SERIES of entirely NEW DISSOLVING VIEWS, il-
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DEL of the UNDERCLIFF, of the Isle of Wight, and va-
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Admission to the whole, One Shilling.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

Yesterday a crowded meeting was held in the Lecture
Room of the Social Institution, Mount-street, Lambeth,
for the purpose of considering the necessity of supporting
Mr. South well against the proceedings lately adopted
against him by the clergy of Bristol, for some free opi-
nions on religion, written by him in a new work, pub-
lished by him and others in that city, which were held to
be blasphemous. The room was crowded soon after
eight o'clock. About half past that hour Mr. Huggett
moved that Mr. Hine take the chair, which was unani-
mously agreed to.
On taking the Chair he said he would at all times be
found ready to do his part to uphold and disseminate
truth—truth, which would yet make this a great, a re-
flecting, and a Happy oonsetry. Mr. Southwell had been
most scandalbesly treated—nay, he would say persecu-
ted, by a knot of self-elected theologians—a-set- of bi-
gotted Magistrates, who persecuted him in the most
tyrannical manner for merely publishing his opinions.
He trusted the time would soon come when priesthood
would be put down, for the priests had dune
more harm than tyrants ; at least ho was in-
clined to give them the palm. He believed that
religious freedom must depend upon the Charter, and
he was glad to say that the demand fur it was extending
even among the middle classes. Mr. Southwell deserved
well of the country for the article for which he had been
punished, and he trusted that it would be widely dis-
seminated throughout the country. At all events, he
must be as well defended as it was possible he could
by any means, and that would only be as he de-
served, and he hoped that a Jury would on this occasion
be found to act without fear and without prejudice.
FreeJom must progress—it would progress, notwith-
standing the tyranny of Magistrates, or even of a corrupt
Jury, and consequent tyrannical imprisonment.
Mr. HETHERINGTON appeared to move the first reso-
lution-amidst cheering. He had much pleasure in doing
so, or in any way lending his aid in so glorious a cause
as the advancement of perfect liberty of opinion. If any
one advanced opinions that could not stand the test of
truth, don't punish him in any other way than by refuting
Wm. He had stood and defended himself against a charge
of blasphemy, but he stood up not for his own opinion, but
for the right of everyone to put forth his own opinions freely
as the air blows.—(Here Mr. Southwell entered the room,
amidst loud cheering.) It was the duty of every man,
and every woman, too, to stand forward and support
those who led the way to the.final attainment of such a
blessing. Was the present position of the country in
arts and sciences attained by the persecution of any
man who found fault with a building or a picture? No;
it was by leaving opinion entirely free. Why, then,
should it not also .be so with theology ? He
was of Dr. Johnson's opinion, that " Truth .is
the basis of all excellence," and he was for pursuing it at
all hazards and all risks. He moved a resolution to the
effect, that the interests of sc,ciety demanded that free-
dom of opinion upon all subjects should be established ;
that to the practical recognition of that principle, as re-
spected the arts and sciences, we owe those improve-
ments which had advanced this country to its present
glorious eminence ; and that the social and political
freedom of the people would never be consolidated until
proSecutions for the free publication of opinion on theo-
logical and political subjects were abolished.
Mr. RYALL seconded the motion. He was one who
differed -Much from many of the opinions put forth by
Mr. Southwell—ho professed himself a believer not only
in the Christian religion, but also in what had been
called the Jew's book; but, at the same time, he would
not only allow any one who pleased to write against and
vilify either, but they might burn both, without his lift-
ing a single finger to prevent them.--(Cheers.) If they
could not maintain their own way by the truths they
contained, he would never have them maintained by per-
secution. Let them not attack the inspiration of the
Bible ; let them grant that ; but claim it for Byron,
Goethe, and many of our poets—nay,.he would claim it
for many who were present.
Mr. SAVAGE supported the resolution. The very
book which Mr. Southwell had called the Jew's book,
showed that the race of vipers, by whom he was perse-
cuted, were as old as the time of Jesus of Nazareth, for
he himself had been persecuted for what was, as now,
the sin called blasphemy, viz., the sin of speaking against
the race of the priesthood. One thing was clear to the
minds of all, that that one crime was only a crime
against one class, for they would never find that any
one prosecuted the so-called crime except one of that
class whose interests were attacked. There never was
a prosecutor for blaSphemy but was either a priest, or the
paid hireling or tool of one. In the words of
St. Paul, he would call upon them all " To stand fast in
that liberty with which God bath made them free."—
(Cheers.) Therefore let them stand fast on behalf of
those who were pioneers in their owe cause. Let them
support Mr. Southwell, who now had the serpents—the
viper race—at his heels.—(Cheers.)
The resolution was then passed unanimously.
Mr. NEESOM then rose to move, " That the prosecu-
tion of Mr. Southwell for an alleged libel, contained in
an article in the Oracle of Reason,' was impolitic • and
unjust. Impolitic, because it was not calculated to
change or correct his opinions, if erroneous, nor
prevent their pernicious influence on the public ; and
unjust, because th punish him for freedom of
opinion was ineorupatible with civil and reli-
gious liberty, which was his inherent right. Any
one so punished was deserving of public sympathy and
support, and that meeting pledged itself to aid him in
his defence by every means in its power." The Resolu-
tion contained his own opinions, and those of the meet-
ing he felt certain, in such - forcible language, that he
was satisfied they were all anxious to pledge themselves
to use every effort in their power to save Mr. Southwell
from the fangs of the 'persecutors who now oppressed
him. He would only further say that until the working
classes bade farewell to the pipe and the pot they would
Continue to be enslaved.—(Cheers.)
Mr. CARPENTER seconded the motion, on the broad
ground that every person, be he who he might, had a
right to give the utmost and freest expression to what-
ever opinions he might conscientiously adopt. •
Mr. TENNANT advocated the cause of Mr. Southwell,
as 'his case might very soon become their own. The
state of the law with respect to blasphemy was a disgrace
not only to England, but to the boasted intelligence of
the nineteenth century. hr. Southwell deserved to be
well supported by the members of that Institution, for he
had been its main support. The resolution was then
agreed to unanimously.
. Mr. SOUTIIWELL then appeared, and was received
With three cheers. -He could assure them of the truth of
the adage that it was much easier to hear censure than
applause. He was 'among them again, as well and as
hearty as ever, .and us determined as ever to fight the
spirit of tyranny and bigotry in a manful manner.
What he contended for was, that he had as perfect aright
to express his own opinions in as free a manner as the
Lord Chancellor of England. They had never had the
liberty of the press—it was all fudge ; but he was deter-
mined to maintain the right at the hazard of his
—(Cheers.) What the result of the approaching trial
might be, he knew not ; but one good must
come from it—truth. Truths Which had never yet ['nen
spoken in a Court of Justice would then come out.—
(Cheers.) He at considerable length defended the
article on the ",Jew's beok." It would, at all events, do
that which he had challenged—it would prove whether
he wqs to be put down with the strong arm of the law,
or by reason. His only object was to emancipate the
npress,f:m e taon d t
he
his
book
which
con-
tained truths or opinions which no man in
Europe had ever dared to give expression to
through the press. If he succeeded in his wish,
he would, at all events, leave the world better
than he found it—if he established his principle he would
leave the world a more thinking one, and, therefore, a
more happy one. He would say, unless they roused
themselves, so far from progressing they would retrugade,
so far as the liberty of the Press was concerned ; for
there were spirits at work numerous and crafty, and
determined to put a gag in every one's mouth ; for their
own sakes,- then, he called on them to come forward and.
assist those who were willing to take upon themselves
the brunt of the bathe. As they found him then he
would be found in the Bristol Court. Sir C. Wetherell
might doom him to two, three, four, or fire years im-
prisonment, but in the Court before him they would nut
make him tell a lie or speak one insincere thought. The
article on the Jew'S Book had done its work, and it would
be followed up. There were a dozen of them who
were determined that opinion should be free—it
was for them sto assist them in that deter-
mination. He gladly acknowledged the extraordinary
support he had received from the Social body, as it was
well known that he had separated from that body; it was,
therefore, the more disinterested, and showed that they
practically carried out their own doctrines. No one who
supported him was understood to agree either in the
matter or the manner of the article alleged to be blasphe-
mous. They did neither, they supported the great doc-
trine that opinion should be corrected by opinion alone;
they merely supported the freedom of the press. He
fought for a principle, and was sustained by principle ;
and even if he died under the visitation, his labou rs
must have done some good. He thanked them for the
kindness of his reception, and as he might not see them
again for a year or two, he trusted they would fearlessly
examine what had fallen from him, and they might de-
pend upon it tyranny and superstition would
.soon
bite the dust.
Thanks were then voted to chairman, *ad the
nitvirg ropirateftl!

THE SPANISH REGENCY.

TO THE EDITOR OF. THE MORNING CHRONICLE.
SlR—Absence from London prevented my seeing
until recently the'speeches of the Lord Mayor of Dub-
lin, in which he assails_ the Regent, Government, and
present institutions of Spain. I have re id at the same
time your just and admirable comments on them, with
those of other iefluential journals.
Connected by military service, as well as by valued
relations of friendship, with that country, and feeling
that if the imputations thus ti.rown out have any
foundation, I am myself liable to a share of them, I
trust I may be excused in offering a few remarks on the
subject.
The facts specified in these speeches would seem,
even if proved, scarcely in proportion to the sweeping
inferences of criminality indulged in, and the fearful
remedies invoked. But they are urged in the name of
liberty by one long known as one of its ablest advocates,
and, therefore, appear to challenge, in a peculiar de-
gree, acquiescecce, or a frank avowal to the contrary.
The Regent, it is alleged, " courted the aid of the
most brutal and sanguinary mob in the world—that of
Madrid ; who, when two gallant young gentlemen were
on their trial, and the Court conceived that the terrible
punishment of ten years' imprisonment would be suffi-
cient for their crime, the mob called. for their destruc-
tion, and, with the approbation of Espartero, these
young men were sacrificed."
There is here an obvious mistake. It was the pro-
secutor_appointed by Government, and not the Court,
who conceived that ten )cart' imprisonment would be
sufficient. And it was the court, and not the snob, or
the Regent, who, overruling this more lenient sugges-
tion, sentenced the prisoners to capital punishment.
The approval of this finding of the Court by the Re-
gent, under the advice of his Ministers, is styled
" slaughtering his brother officers." With as much
propriety might (in my humble opinion) the punishment
of Courvoisier be termed a " slaughter."
The law which decrees death for high treason is com-
mon to all nations. The Legislatures which enact it
may or mu not be in the wrong. But in either case it
would surely be an abuse of the privilege of discussion
to heap contumely on public functionaries for not de-
viating from that which they have neither the power
nor the right to alter.;
The other prominent illustrations of the " despotism"
of the Regent, dwelt on more than once, is that of an
" eminent lawyer," tried (we are told) by some provin-
cial court and imprisoned for " merely defending his
client, a clergyman." I have inquired from the only
official source within reach; and am positively assured
that no occurrence whatever, admitting of ibis applica-
tion of it, has taken place.
The people of Madrid are, it is stated, the " most
brutal and sanguinary mob in the world." How is this
borne out by the event referred to ? Notwithstanding
the confusion and excited passions of a prolonged night
conflict (except in the combat) neither loss of life nor
injury of person or property appears to have occurred.
The victory of the Constitution, the safety of the
Queen, the presence of the Executive Chief of the
State, were indeed hailed on the following morning
with ferv&.nt enthusiasm. But so satisfied were the
Government of the good and loyal disposition of the
population, that the whole of the troops were with-
drawn to the frontiers ; the palace, Sovereign, and ca-
pital being left in the exclusive charge of the armed
citizens.
But though anxious to remonstrate, however reluct
Connell's memorable
Agior.odo
and
just cause not to
Lindy, against these injurious inaccuracies, I have far
et ox oe r t
ot rnos n
ign
sal soe
snt s e
evero f y
attribute them solely to the want of impartial informa-
tion, or of time (from the multiplicity of his functions)
to attend to the transactions of foreign countries. Bat
this conviction does not exonerate one from the duty of
endeavouring to render justice to a friendly people
struggling for the same sacred objects with ourselves.
The leaders of the revolt at Madrid had ample time
to prepare for trial. No discouragernents were offered
to the military or legal Counsel who honourably under-
took their defence. Five of theta paid the forfeit of
their lives for their error. No one has uttered a. doubt
of the completeness of the evidence against them ; and,
as to the numbers thus subjected to punishment, you have
already, Mr. Editor, pertinently suggested whether con-
siderably more might not have been deemed requisite,
were the Palace of a British Sovereign similarly attacked.
Why, the rigour of our own code has been proverbial ;
nor has its mitigation in practice been by any means
conspicuous. For inaaoc,s, the execution of Thistle-
wood and his wretched accomplices, whose crime, how-
ever atrocious, was only intended—not committed ; that
of the many hundreds banged, drawn, and quartered,
beside v ist numbers left to perish in crowded gaols and
holds of ships after the last rebellion in England, not a
century since; and even coming down to present times,
were not comparatively far harsher penalties exacted
for the mere local riots at Bristol ? We may leave out
of question the barbarous system of razzias (for warfare
it does not deserve to be called), prosecuted at this day
in Africa, not owing to any casual excitements of the
soldiery, hut deliberately adopted as a process of exter-
mination, by authority of successive ministries of France,
that of the present Conservative M. Guizot inclusive!
The present Government of Spain is, is my opinion, to
say the least, amongst the most lenient earl forbearing
of Europe.
I cordially concur in Mr. O'Connell's regrets for the
fate of the young officers to whom he has alluded, as
well as fin that of their few unfortunate companions.
They were each of them distinguished by an honourable
military career ; but pre-eminentiv so their deeply la-
mented chief, the chivalrous General Diego Leon,
whose last aspirations in this life were for the preserve.
tion of those rights for which he had so often fought,
,and against which he had unconsciously, therefore, we
,must believe, on a single occasion raised his arm. But
what other sentiment can this suggest than that of ad-
ditional resentment against the heartless and shallow
instigators, whether foreign or not, who could have de-
ceived and misled to his ruin so guileless and noble a
spirit !

The unfairness, however; has been adverted to of
thus restricting our sympathy. It was obviously far
better deserved by the soldiers of the line and national
guards, who fell, while faithfully as well as gallantly re-
sitting this deplorable enterprise ; and by none more
than by the valiant inhabitants of Pamplona, who—
acquainted by sad experience with the horrors of civil
war, and yet preferring the destruction of their city and
every consequent peril, to compromise with the enemies
(according to their belief) of the Constitution and a
patriot Regent—resolutely withstood in their open and
defenceless streets, at musket-shot distance, a protracted
bombardment, remorselessly poured on them, from the
ramparts of their own citadel.

1 In what country has this been surpassed—whether as
a fete of arms, or as a trait of devotion to public interest?
The National Guards, under the direption of the
municipalities of San Sebastian, Santander, Sarragossa,
and almost every other town of the kingdom, either ac-
tually took the field with the same intent, or equally de-
monstrated their determination to stand by the Govern-
ment, and-emulate the spirit of Madrid and Pamplona.
The difficulty was to restrain, not stimulate the general
zeal. The conspiracy, though not wanting, it was said,
in the sinews of war—though emanating, as generally
believed, from a powerful external' source, was thus. by
a spontaneous national effort, crushed in its birth. Was
there ever a people, in the history of the world, who
thus came forward, at a moment of need, fdr the sup.
port of one whom they deemed a tyrant, or of laws
which had not their esteem ? No ; these are not the
men whom the champion of Irish liberty would, on being
reminded of these facts, deliver up again, bound with
heat ihccaet.
ignominious chains, to the tender mercies of a French
army l But what is more satisfactory, is the conviction,
that the accomplishment of any such project would sig.
robber of the
milli fail, and assuredlytouching retchoiisl
colnassw whoever eTperropsehrotuyl,d.
hsnoAtllanthaeseet
at-
tempt it, in the present day.
shhios being
w:
C The
hu reh R."egeYnotuhis have
mchi"r,rig3stelid,rresra
.already
spoliation of this
oorfigtihneatCedortwesit,
measures date from the Regency of Christina, and
the Ministries of Mendizabal and Calatriva. Sho'ild
kind has really been perpetrated, thee I must take
leave to say, that the Lord Mayor himself can no more
disclaim than I can, having been a zealous accomplice
it be yet contended, however, that
in' that unholy deed. To prove this, it seems only
necessary to enumerate the strenuous aid afforded by
himself and family towards raising some regiments of
the British Legion in Ireland ; the numerous officers
appointed at his recommendation to the Queen's army,
all
of
whom
assisted in lighting the battles of clerical
robbery ; the coincidence of the acts of the Legislature
for abolishing monasteries—for appropriating their
landed pos,essions to the State—for regulating a pro-
vision for ecclesiastics from the
public funds, and even
that of the Constitution itself; having been all passed or
adopted during the cooperation of the British Auxi-
liaries in the ranks of the Liberal army, Neither
should we omit to mention his generous support of this
corps, and the cause it was engaged in, against all their
assailants in Parliament ; and not merely by a lawyer's
opinion on the right of succession to the throne, but by
a vigorous, impassioned eloquence, which he may, it ap-
pears, forget, but of Which I preserve a fresh and grate-
ful recollection. .

Spain is taunted for the embarrassment of her trea-
sury, and the clergy may, it is deeply to be regretted,
be among&t the sufferers. Few countries, however,
have passed through a similar ordeal without a similar
result. The North American States wero for a long
time nwable, and sTeZlirtey eat sexy a illirg, to/ setae

accounts, even with their own native army. The French
werebankrupt repeatedly during their revolution. The
guillotine and bayonet supplied their deficiencies. The
anguish of a violent internal contest has but ceased in
Spain, and she is already straining every nerve, by
peaceful and useful means, to meet ber obligations,
gradually, but to the utmost of her ability. And if dis-
appointments on this head in future occur, it must be
distinctly attributable to the unprovoked policy of a
powerful neighbour, which will not allow her to deve-
lope her resources or reduce her military establishments.
Louis Philippe receives in these speeches a warm
eulogium ; on which, I will only beg to say, that there
is at least a difficulty in reconciling the present with
some former opinions expressed in Parliament on the
political character of that Monarch.
But tbo portrait drawn of Espartero involves some-
thing more than a difficulty ; for who that ever saw or
knew the original will discover in it the remotest fea-
ture of resemblance ? " Vile, wicked, base, bitter,
treacherous, tyrannical, jacobinical, &c., one who has
seized, without virtue or merit, by artifice, bribery, nod
intrigue, on the whole civil and military power of his
country," against whom all voices and all sands should
be raised, against whom a crusade of the civilized
world should be directed ! Such are the characteris-
tics, such the pith of the epithets, bestowed on this
occasion !
Mr. O'Connell has been miraculously imposed on,
and should he extend his inquiries, not confining them
to parties, perhaps unavoidably aggrieved by the mere
course of events, I am convinced he will be disposed,
with the candour and manliness that belong to him, to
acknowledge that he has been deceived.
I should think there is not an individual in existence
more conspicuously the opposite of the above descrips
tion than him to whom it is applied. Oee who, what-
ever may be objected to him, possesses, by general note
riety, a frankness, kindness, and generosity of disposition
—which have, in fact, been important elements of his
success. Equally is it known, that if his earnest ad-
vice and entreaties bad been listened to, the necessity
for calling him to the station he so well fills, but never
sought or thought of, could not have arisen, and his
predecessor must have been still at the head of her
daughter's Government. He was lately received
by a procession of the population of a city
through which he passed with this brief inscription
on their banners—that, " Above all others be had the
honesty to obey and the courage to execute the laws."
This is the description of tyranny of which he is sup-
posed by Spaniards to be guilty. He has checked
licentiousness and vindicated discipline with unswerving
sternness, and yet his generous, affectionate personal
conduct, and brilliant soldiership, won for him the
hearts of the army. He has shown none of the infatu-
ated egotism which shipwrecked the power of the
greatest of modern warriors. Nor has he the poor am-
bition, because placed in the ducal rank, of giving to
an aristocracy that prestige and consequent influence
which the general interests of the nation may claim at
his hands. His prudence, fortitude, and constancy—
the example of his undaunted courage and endurance,
were the means by which he happily terminated (amidst
obstacles that no commander of these times has encoun-
tered), a cruel and devastating civil war. And no man
ever rose to eminence through the different gradations
of his fortune by a straighter or more honourable
path. These aro the actions, the virtues, and
merits which, with the public conviction of his sin-
cerity, elevation, and goodness of purpose, have pointed
him out as capable and worthy of the greatest trust
that can be reposed in man—the protection of the in-
fant liberties of his country I
The destruction of the Constitution which embodies
those libeities will not be desired by any Liberal who
informs himself on the subject. Austria is the gaoler
of Italy—Russia brandishes her sword over the man•
gled carpse of Poland ' • is France to be invited to the
same odious office in Spain ? Fortunately, however,
to this extent, at least for a permanency, it is impossi-
ble. But the scheme cf dismembering her territory
was avowed ; and of the pretension of peculiar access
to her Sovereign, of swaying her measures, of over-1
throwing her present Regency and Government, the
evidence is not less morally conclusive. The last vain
effort of foreign influence in Spanish counsels was to
destroy the municipal rights, on the basis of which the
new institutions rest. This, and this alone, was the
cause of the change of the Regency. The extinction
of these local rights, so long enjoyed and cherished,
must, it is well known, immediately follow the resutnp-
tion of that influence. Thus may probably be afforded
an antidote to the distractions of party, and new bonds
of union between every village, town, and city of the
kingdom against the unwise interference and hated do-
mination with which they are constantly threatened
from the Tuileries. It is true that Spaniards, for the
most part, look on the British people, including the
Irish, with the most friendly feelings, and on the Bri-
tish Government, be it Whig, Tory, or Radical, as
as their truest, safest, and most powerful ally. Of this
one of the causes is our abstinence from all improper
meddling. It furnishes no just ground of umbrage, and
with us, at all events, should insure reciprocal disposi-
tions. The form of Government they have adopted,
after so many conflicts, carries out the representative
principle, perhaps, more consistently than any other
which exists. And what is, above all, indispensable,
it appears to harmonise with the manners, customs, and
wishes of the people. In its stability and the'prosperity
it promises to Spain, the true interests of France and of
all other countries, are materially interested. But
it guarantees a greater degree of freedom than is per-
mitted to their neighbours. Herein appears a cause of
hostility ; and whence it seems conjectured that a quar-
rel is sought as a pretext for the renewal of the policy
of Napoleon and the elder Bourbons, in 1808 and 1823.
The disclosures on the Syrian question ; the delu-
sions successfully practised in regard to it, on the
French people ; the vast warlike preparations (not by
any means yet wholly abated), while not a Power of Eu-
rope had a thought of curtailing the due influence of
France ; the enormous fortress constructing, whether
as a Parisian prison or the basis of foreign conquest, or
as both, remaining to be •shown ; the Cabinet design'
admitted to have been entertained of seizing the Ba-
learic Isles—to say nothing of the events of last Octo-
ber—render anything from that quarter possible.
The jealousies and suspicions of Europe have been
again awakened. Is it certain that the great Powers
would now view with confidence an important enter.
prise beyond the Pyrenees, or would all stand by with
fulled arms ? The French factions, too, of which we
hear so much, are they for ever subdued ? At all events
the covert system of hostility' will no longer avail, and
if the overt be resorted to, it will not this time be a
march to the Trocadero. Spain is tolerably fore-
warned ; she bas now a national army, one worthy of
that name. The national spirit has gained new force—
the national intellect new development; and amongst
the consequences, it seems far from improbable, would
be that which awaited the two last French dynasties
who undertook the same unprincipled project.
Having spent some years of my life in that country
in the former and late wars, the associations ad-
verted to occasion the interest I have expressed and
the observations I have offered on this topic, which I
trust my, opponent in those opinions will receive as they
are meant, in the feeling of just appreciation to which
his transcendent services to our common' country so
ir,DoEhecLlieAniclyy NSyEouvrsA ~
richly entitle h,qintua
—re,lJaarno., S 4.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

Another coveting to consider the propriety of taking
measures for assisting Mr. Southwell in his defence
against the charge of blasphemy braught against him at
Bristol, was held last night in the Literary and Social
HA, John-street, Tottenham-court-road. The meeting
was well attended. Resolutions condemnatory of the
persecution suffered by Mr. Southwell, in favour of a
totally free press, both on political and theological sub-
jects, and for raising a subscription in aid of Mr. South-
well's defence, were proposed and agreed to. with
enthusiasm.

gr. Southwell addressed the meeting in defence of
the article for which he stands indicted ; and in the
same strain, as on the previous night at Lambeth,
pledged himself to pursue his object, the obtaining of
a wholly free and independent press, with all his ener-
gies, whatever might be the result of the coming trial.
A collection was made at-the door, and subscription
papers ordered to be provided at different stations
throughout the metropolis

THE DISTRESSED SPITALFIELDS WEAVERS.
—On Thursday a deputation of the unemployed Spital-
fields Silk-weavers, appointed at a meeting held the pre-
vious night, waited on Mr. Robert Newbury (Treasurer
to the Committee by which the funds in the hand of the,
Lord Mayor are to be destrihuted) to request that. he
would grant the relief, generally on Saturday morning,
instead of on the Monday following. The deputation
raw Mr. Banbury, who upon hearing the application,
said the request should be'complied with, and also stated
that he had received a letter that morning from the LUid
Mayor, in which his Lordship stated that he would give
to him, Mr. Banbury, the money, as soon as applied for.
It was further intimated, that as the district would be
divided into Is sections, that in each -section, a house
would be selected where those weavers who had not
beep visited, might send their applications for relief.
THE WRAXALL BURGLARY.— The men
charged with this robbery were examined at Bath on Sa-
turday, at the Lion Hotel, before a bench of Wiltshi.e
Magistrates, • T. Clutterbuck, Esq., presiding, assisted by
W. Toogoad Davis, Esq., C. Botsford, Eiy., &c. The
evidence given by Miss Alethia Awdrey precisely cor-
responded in its substance with the statements which have
already appeared in The Sun, and the testimony of the
secondary witnesses was in exact corroboration of the
circumstances detailed by that lady. The prisoners were
ultimately committed for trial et the next Wilts

WOOL WIC H.—FRIDAY.
ROYAL ARTILLERY.
Captain Griffiths proceeds to Ipswich, to relieve Cap-
tain Burnaby, as recruiting officer at that station, the
latter officer having beets appointed Assistant Fire-
master at Plymouth.
The Master-General has been pleased to approve of
Second Captain Taylor being posted to the first battalion,
and Second Captain Young to the third battalion.
The Master-General has been pleased to make. the
following anpointments, viz. :
Beevet Atajor Sandilands to be Deputy Assistant
1 Quartermaster-General, vice Romer, promoted to Liente-
pant-Colonel.
tboattitiaelis(i: battalion,
0:8a taasti Lieutenant-Colonel
nelT(It:1:1-itaice:lia'atalle:(111nlin'sta-jeCnil(Ltiloi-:itl:Itt'nuile:leieoelirBn:e(3:erftliozraog."siraleyitdp::Iaiedps:o'pe,tsfoi(iiiticu'ireit°rSes eeitnchl Sinclair; :rilrilri;tihrela:nb'ad. ant:ll2:titleilliiu:j?-;
on Major's
134L.INi.c°66.—raly;e detachment at Ihe 'rower was relieved
by 'Major Vaughan's company, 6th battalion. Major
Vaughan and Lieutenant Crofton accompanied the de-
tachment.
Captain Lethbridge takes charge of Captain Drew's
company, 9th battalion. at present in battery, in place of
Captain Nlitchell, appointed Adjutant to the 3d battalion.
Major Eyre's company, 7th battalion, has commenced a
course of Repository instructions.
The Master,General has been pleased to approve of
Second Captain Mitchell being. appointed Adjutant to
the :Id battalion, provisionally under the regulations co::-
tained in the general order of Feb.:,, 1836. vice Griffith,
promoted.
Second Captain innes is, therefore, posted to the 6th
battalion, vice Mitchell.
NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Monkey steam-vessel, Second Master William
Saunders (acting), is ordered from Chatham to Wool-
wich, to proceed to Pembroke, in place of the Alban
steam-vessel, as the latter steamer will have .to remain
longer in Dock at Deptford, to have her defects made
good, than was at first anticipated.
Ships in Woolwich Harbour.—William and Mary
yacht ; Mastiff surveying vessel ; Woodlark and Violet
tenders ; Firebrand, Shearwater, Lightning, Meteor, and
Kite steam vessels..
In Woolwich Basin.—Salamander, Confiance, Colum-
bia, and Acheron steam-vessels.
Woolwich Dock-yard.---Yesterday afternoon the heads
of the various departments were introduced to Captain
Sir Francis A. Collier, C.B. and K.C.H., on his entering
upon the office of Superintendent of the Woolwich Dock •
yard, and the whole of the men employed in that exten-
sive naval establishment were mustered, as is usual, then
a new appointment to the charge of the Dock-yard
takes place.

Signor Arsini, conductor of the Phi;harmonic
Ccncerts and the Opera of Rome, will make his first ap-
pearance before a British public, as ,c;onFluc,tor of the
Promenade Concerts, at the English 'Opera House,. on
Monday 'evening, Independently of his talent :Is -1,.-n;r-
-eal'director, Signor Arsini is a first-rate composer, -andwjll produce shortly several of 1-1'.3 Compositions.