Star.
London, England, 1823-02-06 00:00:00

on Madrid is ..giveip.. in stt..priyattf letter from Paris,
dated on Monday last :.—,-0 From the 2(AI:to t1r.214h.
ultimo all the enttnies.4 the Constitution sit Madrid •
. .
looked with anxiety for the approach of the *doge
both who were-Nnoien to be in the neighbourhood:
The danger had been at first too much despised, or
too little known by the Government. Hence the
means of resistance were not organised with sufficient
tin, or exercised with sufficient promptitude. The
rebels were therefore allowed to advance within a
few leagues of the seat of power, and had they suc-
ceeded in overcoming the militia, might have even
fraternized with the Serviles about the Royal
Palace. This movement of Bessieres on the ca•
pital has nothing in it so striking as its audacity.
This Chief commanded at 111equinesza,on the Ebro.
He would appear to have broken up from that place
to march upon Saragossa ; but, being opposed by
Velasco, was obliged .to change his purpose, and
formed the design of a forced march upon the capital.
His band increased with all the discontented in his
way, and, when he had passed the Guadalasara, it'
appears that he commanded not fewer than between
5,000 and 7,000 men. The few troops that could be
dispatched from the garrison of Madrid yielded to
the superior numbers of this force; but, on the 24th,
the National Militia completely routed it, and com-
pelled its retreat towards Velasco, who, coming in its
rear, would allow few to escape. Thus Madrid has
been saved from a scene similar to that of the 7th
of July."
It is remarkable that neither of the leaders in this
exploit were Spaniards. Bessieres is a Frenchman,
and Ulman a Swiss.

Letters from Rio de Janeiro to the 17th December
state, that the expected declaration of war against
Portugal had not been published, but that two De-
crees, dated the llth of December, had been issued,
which may be regarded as preliminary steps to active
hostilities tgainst Portugal. The first lays an em-
bargo on all vessels bound to the Portuguese domi-
nions in Europe: the second orders the sequestration
of all property in Brazil belonging to native Por-
tuguese.

Cape of Good Hope Papers have been received at
the New England Coffee-house to the 20th of No.
vember ; and private letters bring the intelligence five
days later. The Luna had arrived at Table Bay with
3000 bags of wheat, and the reports from the neigh-
bouring districts of the state of the wheat crops were
favourab!e. Mr. PEDDEIt'S house and other property
at St. Helena Bay had been destroyed by two fires,
and in the latter his little son, WILLIAM, fell a sacri-
fice. It was set on fire, it appears, by one of the
Prize Negroes, who is now in prison, and will be
brought to trial in a few days.
An unfortunate young man, Mr. Gebpard, suffered
the sentence of the law cfh the 15th instant, for the
murder of one of his father's slaves. This is the first
time the punish mtnt of death has been inflicted for the
murder of a slave. The Dutch thought that he would
not be executed, and it has caused a great sensation
among them.

The Spanish Government has published the De-
cree of the Cortes, which orders the calling into active
service the whole of the militia of the kingdom.—
There are three kinds of militia in Spain, each of
which has a particular denomination and object, viz.
the Active Miiiria, the Volunteer Militia, and the
Lego! Militia. The first is a kind of army of re-
serve, and in time of war those who serve in it must
perform the same duty as the troops of the line.—
The Volunteer Militia are enrolled for the purpose of
maintaining order in the interior, and, above all, of
defending, at all risks, the Constitutional system:
finally, the Legal Militia is nothing else than the great
body of the male population capable of bearing arms,
who are liable to be called out, if need be, in aid of
the Volunteer Militia, or to to-operate with the other
troops in defending the national independence against
the attacks of foreign Powers.

We this day present our Readers with the first day's
proceedings in the Court of King's Bench, Dublin,
on the ex-ojicio informations filed against certain
persons, for a riot and conspiracy at the Theatre,
when the LORD LIEUTENANT was so brutally assailed.
From the report which we have taken from Fana-
ner's Dublin Journal, and a newbournal:called the
Dublin Evening Mail, it will be seen that the pro-
ceedings were somewhat disorderly, and that there
vas a difficulty in obtait,ing a sufficient paiinel from
which to form a Jury. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL
addressed the Court in a Speech of two hours and a
half; which, we are sorry to find very ill reported.
U'e, however, give the only version of it that has
reached us.

Yesterday morning, the Duke and Duchess of
CLARE:ZE left Bushy Park for the KING% Palace,
Kensington, where the Duchess stopped and spent
the day with the Duchess of KENT. The Royal
Doke proceeded to London, remained till neatly five
('clock, and left on his return to Bushy Park, calling
for the Duchess at Kensington.

ARRIVALS.
The Marquis of Huntly, at his house in Norfolk-street, Park-
ine, from Kimboltoii Castle, Huntingdonshire.
Captain Maction.ild,92d Regiment, at Ibbotson's Hotel, Vere-
ftrtet, from ditto. _

J. Ines, k‘q. AI. P. from ditto
Sir Thomis LethbriAge, Ilan. M.P. at his house is Whitchall-
place, from Saulbill P.4rk, Somersetslaire.
Sum l.angsdcrff, NA :16;4r Braids= of 13Aden and Ilex.
hem the Continent.

BRIGHTON, FEBRUARY 5.
;1;
The gloom which his MAJESTY'S indisposition cast
'upon the circles. of tom here, notwithstanding the
SOVEREIGN'S favourable state of convalescence, is
tar from dissipated—it was a vital blow to gaiety.
tram which, during the remaining part of the winter
season, it is not likely entirely to recover. The
answer to inquiries this evening at ten o'clock was—
" His MAJESTY continues gradually to recover."

COURT OF KING'S BENCH-THIS DAY.

BLASPHEMOUS LIBELS.--JUDGMENT&
THE KING V. TONBRIDGE.

The JUDGES having taken their seats on the Bench,
the SOLICITOR,GENERAL prayed the judgment of the
Court on William. Tonbridge, for publishing certain
scandalous and blasphemous libels on the Holy Scrip-
tures and Christian Religion of the country, contained
in a work entitled Palmer's Principles of Nature. It
will be in the recollection of our Readers, that the
defendant was tiied at the last Sittings, on an in-
formation by the Attorney-General.
The LORI, CHIEF JUSTICE read over the libellous
passages charged in the information, and his notes of
the proceedings on the trial, and the defence set up
by the prisoner, until stopped by the Court. His
Lordship then called on him for any observations he
might wish to make.
The defendant read from a written paper a very
lengthened defence, in which he denied the power of
the Court to decide on the case. He denied that he
had sold the book in question, and avowed himself
an heretic of the present day, and proceeded in such
a strain, as repeatedly to call for the interference
of the Court.

Their Lordships having conferred for some time,

Mr. Justice BAYLEY, after an impressive address,
pronounced the judgment of the Court to be, that
the defendant be imprisoned in the House of Cor-
rection, Cold Bath-fields, for Two Years; at the end
of that period to pay a fine to the King of £100;
to be imprisoned until the fine be paid, and then to
find sureties for five years, himself in £lOO, and two
sureties in £5O each.