Star.
London, England, 1830-06-16 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE JOURNALS.

CIIRONICL E.—We rejoice toss that a disposition exists to libe.
rate the country from the restraints of the Methuen Treaty. Mr.
Hyde Villiers, in a masterly speech, exposed the injurious effects
of which that Treaty had been productive to this country. The
Oporto Company have, under it, obtained a monopoly by which,
.a their own prices, they force the English to receive the worst
wines:in Portugal. Mr. Courtney abated, generally speaking, the
views of Mr. Villiers. and assured him that no doubt was enter.
taintd as to our power to revise the Methuen Treaty, and that this
would be undertaken as soon as our relations with Portugal
should afford a convenient opportunity. It appears that the
Treaty has been as injurious to Portugal as to England. The ex.
-.minden of wine to other countries, which was once considerable,
nos fallen to next to nothing ; because other nations are not bound
treaty to poison themselves with bad wine ; and as was observed
!.1 Mr. Villiers, "it is notorious that much of the wine produced In
tht district of the Oporto Company is of an inferior quality, while
:Loch of the wine produced elsewhere is first rate." Such are the
dicta of monopoly. We need not be surprised, then, that "the'
w::ies of Portugal have never recovered their value in the foreign
ir...:ket since the establishment of the Oporto Company ;" and that,
while their exports last year to this country amounted to 17,951;
Ores, their exports to all the rest of the world amounted to only
1.232 pipes."
_ _

. .
tax oNicr.E.--Therc was some discussion last night about the
New• Police. The general opinion of the house seemed to be that it
had answered very well. Sir Richard Vyvyan, indeed, went back to
the days of King Alfred, and spoke with marvellous unction of
the institution which, more than any other, contributed to keep
ali‘e the spirit of Liberty that which entitled every man
to share in the administration of justice, and called on
ban in turn to take his part in seeing that the laws were obeyed. No
doubt, the old Irish watchmen, and the old stagers who served as
deputies for constables, that the Sybarites of this metropolis might
rot be exposed to the risk of broken heads and broken mt,were very
much calculated to make us in love with our old institutions. How.l
ever, declamation will not prevail against daily experience. That
man must be very deficient in candour who will not allow that the
state of our streets, both by day and night, is greatly improved under
the new police, and the roads in the vicinity of the metropolis still
more. As to the force being under the controul of the government,
that is because London, being an aggregate of towns and villages,
thLre is no authority to take the command of the whole, except the
Secretary of State. The new police will soon bear down all oppo.
sition.

II E RALD.—Our colonies, in general, which ought to be the va-
luable appendages of the empire, seem to be governed on the prin.
clple of rendering them as onerous as possible to the parent coon.
ity. It sounds proudly in the ears of Englishmen to say that the
British sceptre extends over dominions on which the sun never sets;
but it is a boast more vain than profitable. Better would it have
lieen that the limits of the empire had never extended to the
remote regions of the other hemisphere, than that such vast and
distant accessions of territory should have been made only to
drain the resources and to increase the burdens of the British
people. In the Committee of Supply, the other night, we observe
that a suns of 120,0001. was moved for and voted for the civil
establishment of the colonies of New South Wales and Van
Diemen's Land, and for the expensed of convicts in these set.
dements. The sum was exclusive of the military expenses,
which, as the annual estimates showed, amounted to 150,0001.
more, making together a sum of 270,0001. voted out of the pockets
of the people of this country, to defray the civil and military este-
tlisliments of these two colonies. This is indeed but a small part
of the price which England pays for the expensive glory of ruling a
dominion on which " the sun never goes down !" Let us suppose
any private individual was in possession of a productive patrimony,
winch he increased by thousands of additional acres, and, when
itsked how much his rent-roll had been enlarged by those additional
acres, was to say, " They have not produced me any thing, nor do
I mean that they should--they are a positive expense to me—they
drain me of a great part of the income which I receive from my pa.
trimonial property—they make me poor, instead of adding to my
wealth—but still it is a glorious thing to say that I have extended my
estate miles beyond what it was in the hands ofaome of my ancestors,
though I lose money by every acre of land added to the original de.
mesne." Would not anybody suppose that such amen was insane,
and utterly incapable of the management of his own affairs ? Yet
such is the nature of our boast with regard to our colonies: every
accession to our territory becomes an accession to our burdens; and
the taxes of England must be increased that the system of colonize-
don may be extended. As to New South Wales, it appears that,
instead of becoming more able to maintain its own establishments
as it advances in population, agriculture, and commerce, it becomes
more burdensome to this country. Surely it must be a strange sort
of statesmanship which produces such a result. It appears that,
five years ago—namely, in 1825---the revenue had been 68,0001. and
the expenditure 77,0001. From that period there had been an
advance in the revenue, but a still greater one in the expen.
diture, and in 1829 the former amounted to 94,00001. and the
latter to 134,0001. and, in addition to this, the country is
now asked for 120,0001. exclusive of the military expenses
before stated. It was said by Mr. Hume (whether correctly or
not we have at present no means of ascertaining) that the colony
might be maintained at half the expense, and the revenue, if well
applied, would cover the whole expenditure within 30,0001. or
40,0001. He said he had moved, three months ago, for the accounts
of the colony, in order to be prepared for this vote, but could
not get them. He added that every department was under the au.
preinacy of an individual, over whom there was no control, and who
had three funds to draw upon, consisting of the colonial revenue,
hills drawn on the Treasury, and the commissariat bills drawn on
account of the military. We do not know what to think of ano-
?her statement made by the honourable Member. It would seem
scarcely credible but that the Secretary for the Colonies seemed
to confirm it. Mr. Hume said, at the time this sum was
asked for, the Secretary of State was in possession of no ac-
counts ; and the House was called on to vote 270,0001. with.
out knowing how it wan to be expended. Sir G. Murray at.
tempted to account for this by stating that the lion. member called
for papers of 1829, which could not be produced, because they had
rot yet arrived from the colony ; and, with respect to other returns
,Or which he had asked, he (the Secretary) told him there was mach
time and great labour to be employed in getting them, as some of
them were connected with other departments. Never have we heard
of more lame and insufficient excuses for requiring Parliament to
vote away the money of the people without furnishing the requisite
documents as to its necessity and application. If the papers which
were to afford Parliament the intelligence on which alone its
vote could be justified had not yet arrived front the colony,
;that would have been the obvious and proper course to pur.
•:,e by a Government anxious to appear correct in the eyes of
the public ? To postpone the vote until they did arrive.
-If those who want the money do not furnish the Sc.
,aants in time, then the money ought to be kept back until they
did furnish them. If that were done, we are quite confident there
scald not be so much delay the next time. As to the other reason
given by Sir George Murtay for not laying before the House
:mother portion of documents connected with this subject—namely,
the 4• much time and great labour to be employed in getting them"
—one would suppose it came from a person who did the duties of
office gratuitously for the public ; and, even so, it would not
very creditable to the zeal and industry of the patriotic
Minister who undertook the task of managing the colonies, and
accounted for the non.production of necessary documents by
:ornrlaining of the time and trouble that must be expended
in procuring them. But the Right Honourable Secre-
"ms, as well as others in his department, is paid well for
transacting the business of his office, of which we conceive the pre.
paring and furnishing to Parliament the documents in question
farmed no unimportant part. If, indeed, be had accounted for the
*tenet: of the documents on the ground of their not being necessary,
that would have involved a different question ; but he did not deny
their importance : and so, because it was troublesome to procure
them. Parliament must vote away the money of the people, without
kilos ing whether they were doing right or wrong ! Such a mode of
"olonial government is eminently calculated to engender extrava.
dance. Secretaries may be immaculate, and governors may be ho.
'towable; but it is the nature of such a system to beget prodigality.
No wonder that in New South Wales the Press is so obnoxious to
Nves, that it is found necessary to keep it in due restraint by re.
rcattal ex-officio inform:dons, and the verdicts of military juries 1

Tin: GALWAY FRANCHISE BILL.--Mr. O'Hara has
'lad ft/quoit interviews with Earl Grey, who has undertaken the ad-
•ocacy of the bill in the House of Lords, and has also promised to
Ilk hit exertions on the occasion. We understand that 31r. O'Hara
pus succeeded in overcoming the difficulties which were opposed to the
J('Lks and Canal Bill in the House of Lords, in consequence of the
tkcetisary for accelerating its progress.—Connaught Journal.
TILE SUPPRESSION TAXES.—On Thursday the spi-
rited inhabitants of St. John's parish, Limerick, met to record their
reprobation of the odious taxes proposed to be levied on this unfor-
tunate country. Francis 3lahony, Esq was unanimously called to
the chair, and, in an animated speech of some length, deprecated
the conduct of the ministry In attempting to crush the guardian of
lie people's rights—the press of Ireland. He said it was a national
irivanec, and it should be opposed by the united voice of the na-
t!on• It was an attempt, by putting an extinguisher on the public
pass, to rob the people of their rights, and destroy the usual source
information. It affected the merchant, tradesman, and farmer.
It was like taking the shepherd from the fold, and leaving the
Hoek to the mercy of the world. (Cheers.) &metal gentlemen
poke in a similar strsin, when a series of resolutions were agreed
and a petition, to be entrusted to our representative, Thomas
spring Rice, Esq. in the Commons, and to the Marquis if Angle-
4eal in the House of Lords. A vote of thanks was moved to the
liainnAn, and the meeting separated.—Lisserkk Post.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

The following urivals have taken place :—The Elizabeth,
Dwyer, from Newfoundland, at Bristol; Belvidera, from.
Baltimore, off Holyhead ; Boon, from Cadiz, at Hoylake ; Erse,
from Gergend, off Dover; Eblana, Sunk, from Barbados, at
Dublin ; James, Morgan, from Trinidad, at Cork ; Jean, Mur-
ray, from Riga, at Montros; and the Confidence, Wesley, from
ditto, at Yarmouth.

The Commerce, Brown, from St. Petersburgh, has put into
Yarmouth Roads, haring struck on the Lemon Sand.
DEAL. Jima 15.—Wind N.E. to N.N.E.—Arrived the Briton,
Sadler, from Jamaica ; Ibis, —., from Oporto ; Mercy. Beasley,
from Barbadoes ; and Fame, —, from the Cape of Good Hope.
The homeward bound are getting under weigh.
POSTIMOUTH, JUNZ 15.—Wind N.E.—Arrived off the port, the
Nederlander, —, from Rio Janeiro.
FALMOUTH. JUN/ 14.—Arrived the Swallow packet, from Rio
Janeiro—sailed 21st April ; and Hector, Gourley, front ditto.
DUBLIN, Jots 14.—Arrived the Hercules, Vaughan, from Lon-
don for New South Wales ; Amity, Gray, and Asia, Blair, from
London for Halifax.

Livaeroot, Jumr 14.—Arrived the Mary, Grayson, from De-
merara • Washington, Robinson, from New Orleans ; Tweed,
Ham, from St. John'.; Colonist, M' Master, from St. Andrew's;
Halifax, Finlay, from Halifax; Terra Nova, Parry, front New-
foundland ; Hannah, Carpenter, from Smyrna ; and United Bro-
thers, --., front Seville.

ALEXANDRIA, April 27.—The Hugh Lindsay steamer is at
last safely arrived at Suez, in thiny-three days from Bombay. She
lost twelve days in taking in coals, at Aden, Ludda, and Cosseir.
It appear. moreover, that she is not well adapted for the voyage in
the Red Sea, owing to her not carrying, with ease, more than six
days' coal. It Is now evident that, with a proper steamer, the
Bombay despatches may be received in twenty days. A few days
ago Mons. le Baron Taylor arrived here, in the Levier brig of war.
He is come to carry of one of the obelisks, and to solicit the Viceroy
for one of those at Luxar, which are perfect. The one which Is
erect is very imperfect : the other, you know, belongs to us. It is
the city of Paris which defrays the expences of removing these obe-
lisks.—Pour thousand infantry are just come down here from Cairo.
The greatest activity in every military department continues to be
observed here; and it is evident Mahommed Ali is preparing to re.
pel the Sultan's forces, should he undertake to change the Govern-
ment of this country. The two three-deckers building here are
going on rapidly, and great exertions are being made to complete
them.