Star.
London, England, 1831-06-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE JOURNALS.

T I MES.—If the magnates of distant corporations cannot
;any all things before them on the hustings, in the election
of members of Parliament, or cannot ensure the certainty
:hit their favourite member, when chosen, will be able to
-Lake good his ground against those troublesome persons
called petitioners, they do, it must be confessed, take ample
Avenge on such of the King's subjects as pretend to the anti-
•orperate privilege of free agency, whether in the tendering of
otes or the expression of opinions, by exercising pugnacious
tad rather outrageous superintendanee over the public
..race. The " loyal and affectionate" corporation of Car-
.narthen—sore, we lament to say, at the present aspect of
he reform question—bare made a war of proclamations,
nit in a very termagant manner, and in sesquipedalian
:pglish, upon the refractory lieges of the said town, for
perambulating the streets," " disturbing public tran-
,:iaillity," " fancying " that the felt " disapprobation or
hatred," seeking " victims for their licentious wayward-
less," and other felonies of the like burglarious nature :
-o all of which the simple answer is—Make the most of
:our time, my fine fellows . it is almost over with you.

POST.—The Great Council of the Nation assembles this
Jay, and although a short period will of necessity be dc-
toted to business of mere routine before the awflll question
of Parliamentary Reform can regularly come under discus.
.ion, TAIDI TS THE DAT which history will mark as the
-pod: of the meeting of that Parliament, by the decision of
which the future weal or woe, prosperity or declension, of
the British Empire is to be determined. The questions which
the new Parliament will have to discuss, are szof whether abuses
have existed in the British Government, or whether the Consti-
tution of the Legislature has been free from anomalies, in.
congruities, or defects ! but whether, admitting the existence
of these practical abuses and organical imperfections, they
hare risen to such an enormous and mischievous height as
to warrant, with a view to their correction, an experiment of
which every man fit to take any share in such a discussion,
:rust see the danger, and whether the specific experiment it
is proposed to try be that which presents the best chance of
success, and guards moat cautiously and effectually against
the dangers inseparable from every such experiment.—
It is not by the influence of personal or party
f_elings ;—it is not by the reeollection of a popular
clamour, artificially excited, ephemeral, already extinguished
—it is not by any reference to pledger., unconstitutionally
extorted and given upon the hustings, In the presence and
under the terror of furious mobs—it Is not by deference to
the personal wishes of any individual, however exalted, even
if the wishes of the most exalted individual of the realm could
(which is impossible) be authentically and constitutionally
known, that any conscientious or intelligent man will be
guided to a decision upon the great and awful questions we
have described.
11ER ALD.—A rumour is very prevalen► to the effect,
that France and England have at length determined to Inter-
fere on behalf of the Poles. It is said that Casimir Perier
has ir formed the Court of Russia, that if the Emperor will
not admit of mediation, he will be compclltd to submit to an
interference—that, in short, France is determined to see the
treaty of 1814, with regard to Poland, carried into effect.—
S_4l3 are the reports, and, though we cannot pledge ourselves
as to their accuracy, yet we have pretty good reason to think
that they are not devoid of truth. We know, indeed, that
negociations on the subject have been going on between
the French and English Governments for some time
past ; and, it is understood, that the best understanding
stibsists between them. The reports are rendered very pro.
bab'c from the circumstance of the great naval force which
is now ready for sea. We have little doubt that the
fiat under the command of Admiral Codrington is destined
TA. the Baltic; and this is the opinion of the officers
~f the different ships. The following ships of war are
row lying at Spithead, ready for sea at a moment's
Nairn ; while it will be seen from the subjoined list
that a number of others are in the harbours fitting out :
Caledonia, 120 guns ; Prince Regent, 120 ; Asia, 84 ;
Donegal, 78; Wellesley, 74; Revenge 76; Alfred, 50;
Barham, 50; Briton, 46; Pearl, 32; Wasp, 18; Brisk, 10.
In the harbour, fitting for sea: Spartiate, 76 guns; Royal
George, 120 ; Samarang, 28 ; Rattlesnake, 28 ; Tweed, 28 ;
Childers, 28 ; Victor, 18 ; Recruit, 10; Charybdis, 10.—
These ships, by blockading the Baltic ports, would soon
bring the Autocrat to his senses. Let the Nobles be de-
prived of a market for their tallow and other produce for a
few months, and they will read their Imperial Master a
moral lesson which he will not soon forget.

POST.—To the assertion that the news of the serious
riots in Wales and other parts of the country was received
by the Tory party with " undisguised joy," we have only
to offer an unqual►fied and indignant denial. They cer-
tainly called the attention of the public to those alarming
circumstances, when the venal press of the government
seemed disposed to make light of them, or to suppress the
facts altogether; but it is the duty of faithful sentinels of
:he constitution to make the people aware of the danger
which threatens them. We repeat that the riots in
iVales and in Dean Forest ate most serious signs of the
times, and indicate but too plainly the state of insubordina-
tion to which political excitement has brought the population
of these districts, when they dare to venture upon outrage so
extensive. We too have our information from Dean Forest,
and we have reason to know that the rioters there avow a con-
nection with their fellow-rioters in Wales, and in the district
of the Potteries. The country is in a most dangerous state,
and the Government may ere long And that they shall have
to pay a bitter reckoning for the p opular triumphs at the
elections.

HER A LD.—lf the Merthyr Tidvil dreadful catastrophe
has been the result at an endeavour, on the part of one or
more of the iron.masters, to lower the rate of wages at the
present time, it makes inquiry more requisite. It is too bad
that the lives of so many human beings, if that statement be
true, should be sacrificed to the cupidity of any man or set of
men. There is no doubt the soldiers acted according to orders,
but the country ought to know who gave those orders, and
under what circumstances they were given. We should like
to see a list of the widows and orphans who have to deplore
this dreadful transaction. If the magistrates, the masters,
and the soldiery, be free from blame, inquiry will exculpate
them, and distinguish the innocent from the guilty. If, how-
ever, it should be true that the bodies have been interred
without a Coroner's inquest, the Coroner is responsible to the
law ; and the relatives and friends of the parties are not
precluded from presenting bills of indictment for homicide,
if they can undertake the expense of legal proceedings,—
to the Grand Jury at the ensuing Anises. The (Wren.
tape of a Coroner's inquisition is,—that if a bill of in.
(liniment, preferred to a Grand Jury, be ignored, the
accused party may still be arraigned and tried on the coro-
ner's " inquisition," which is the finding of the coroner's
jury drawn up in form, and signed and sealed by the coroner
and the jurors. It is particularly important that the most
solemn investigation, both in Courts of Justice and in the
High Court of Parliament, should take place in such cases,
lest military power should, in course of time, become too
formidable to be consistent with the preservation of the liber.
ties of a free state, or the people should become so familiar
with scenes of blood, as to rely more upon the sanguinary
exercise of their strength than upon the impartial dispensa-
tion of equal laws. We prejudge not this use, but public
justice demands that It shall be thoroughly investigated.

Warsaw, the object of so much contemporary
interest, is an ancient city, on the Vistula,
bich there is nearly the width of the Thames
at Deptford. For the last two hundred and
tifty years it has been the seat of the Government
of Poland. It contains about 100,000 inhabitants,
and is a scattered town, extending three or four
wiles in length, and consists of an old town
and a new town on the banks. It contains
noble feudal palaces, mingled with many wretched
habitations. Its site is elevated so as to be
above the inundations of the Vistula. Praga
is a suburb on the opposite or eastern, or right side
of the river, and they communicate ou a bridge of
boats, which rises and falls with the floods. War-
stw is an open town, with an old and extensive
rastle, in which the Diet meets, and the Adminis-
tration resides. Praga is low and flat, and latterly
;,,ts been strongly fortified. It is 300 miles from
500 from Petersburgh, and 160 from the

CATHOLIC PEEllB.—There are in the Peerage
of the United Kingdom eighteen Catholics; eight
tur England—one Duke, one Earl, and six Barons;
tight for Ireland—two Earls, four Viscounts, and
t io Barons; and two for Scotland—both Earls.