Star.
London, England, 1831-08-10 00:00:00

WEDNESE)AY. EVENING, AUGUST 10, 1831.

SPIRIT OF THIS DAY'S JOURNALS.
CHRONICLE.—" Is the tear which Fraser has de-
clared apainss Holland WAIF NATIONAL or JVITIPLITLII"
Let me answer this question with fairness., and u it
would be replied to by the million".! In. the first place,
you must not suppose it Is national because it Is declared
by our Govetnon—nor, in the second place, because it is
war ! There are a great many blockhead; In England
as well as in France. who are continually writing and
saying that Lafayette, lifaugain, Lafitte, Lansarque,
Dupont, De Tracy, Barrot, ice. Etc. Ste. are for war
of any sort, and at any price, no matter with whom.
and no matter about what. Now you must allow me
to toll you, that never was a greater libel either written Or
uttered than this • and certainly the war against Holland
now made, if made fist the mere object of isahning fbi
King Leopold to drive beak the Dutch to Holland, is neither
approved of by the illustriotte nee whose noises I have
cited, nor by the great mass of the nation. Nor, in the
third place, is it national on the score of principle. The
only principle or the war as declared at present is to
also and carry into effect the protocols of -London, anditt7to
so on behalf of two, if not three powers, who are at this
moment arming against us. as well as against Poland. The
war against Spain was a war fora principle ; a bad one If
you will; but this is for no principle at all. Nor, in the
fourth place, is it a war to deliver a people from slavery.
as was the war In favour of Greece against the Ottoman
Porte. This would he national ; but the Belgians, if
unaided by any human power, would be fully comp-
tent to carry on a successful war against the despotic
and cruel William—nor, in the fifth place, is it a war in
the interest of civilization, like that made by France
...against the pirates of Algid', when, at least, this object
was avowed and adopted by the nation. The Dutch are
as civilised as the Belgians, and the Belgians as the'.
Dutch ; besides, Al. ?trier has taken great pains to de- 1,
dare, in advance, that the French army is not to enter Hol-
land. Such a declaration Is not national, and was un-
called for ard foolish. Nor, in the sixth place, Is it a
war in the intermit of liberty, a war of gratitude, a war to
assist the feeble against the oppressor, as would be a war in
favour of Poland against the Autocrat of All the Russian !
This would be a national war ! ! This would be adopted
and proclaimed by the million ! and no sacrifice would be
thought too great to carry it on with success. Nor, finally,
is it a war for the purpose of securing alliances. If England
were attacked by the Powers of Europe, and the British
Government should apply for French aid, though Frame
might, perchance, think more favourably of the cause of
the other Powers than of Great Britain, yet still, for the
sake of forming an intimate alliance with so immense a
maritime power as Great Britain, a war in her favour
might be justifiable and nationaL But the alliance
of Belgium, as reduced by the protocols of London,
is scarcely worth demanding, although that alliance
would be guaranteed without a war. The war, then.
SS
already explained, Is nor NATIONAL!! It may be.
come so as it might have been so in the first in.
stance ; but a mere war to obtair. not even the provinces of
Luxembourg, Lembourg, and the left bank of the &heldt
for Belgium ; but only to obtain the status quo of the Bel-
gian question as settled by the Protocol of the Eighteen
Articles. is by no meons an object worthy of France or the
Revolution of inso. This war may lead to a war of
principle—to • war fur Poland, and to a war against des-
potism. Then the war will become national, but at prevent
it does not partake of this character. You must not sup-
pose that because we have cheered the troops as they left
thisaapital sad 'skied them success, therefore that the
war is natioeal. We did the same thing when they left
for Spain and for Algiers. It would be monstrous and
anti-national not no wish success to our own sons and
brethren; but this is a wish of success to them, and not to
the principle of the war. But if the war be not national, is
it justifiable ? I can scarcely accord to it this qualification,
though, perhaps, it may be entitled to it. But if it be jus.
titiable, it is only on this ground—that the King of Holland
has not acted according to the ordinary principles and regu.
lations of war—has given orders for the destruction of one
of the moat commercial and important cities of Ku-
rope—took by surprise the Government of Belgium—
and has made this war to gain provinces which do not
belong to Holland, and the boundaries and division of
which were to have been settled by treaties. Yet, on the
other hand, the King of Holland was no party to this
eighteen-articled Protocol, and cone not bound by it. The
principle of the war of King Willsun against the Belgians is
• bad one—execrable, tyrannical, unjust. But the war of
France against Holland is not nattered. because it is not
directed against the principle of the Dutch war, but is only
intended to place the affairs between the two countries is
stalu quo! Let us hope that this war will become justi.
fable, and will become national ; though I fear it will
never become so in the hands of Ai. Casimir Peeler.—
O. P. Q.
TIMES —The address of the French Peers will of
course be as. echo of the speech, anti that echo probably the
last of the kind which well be heard from the chamber as
at present constitu.cd. One of the must prominent and
active members of the movement party has already
come forward with Isis project for abolishing the peer.
age, and substituting an assembly called a Senate for the
Upper Chamber. The first clause in his bill declares,
according to the approved formula of Napoleon, when
Ise pronnur.evd sentence on a dynasty, that the " Chem-
I ber of Peers has ceased to exist." The honourable
depu:y then proceeds to construct the new edifice which is
Ito replace the demolished chamber. lie composes it of se-
nators tor life, one third of whom are to be chosen by the
King, ard the other two-thirds by the electoral colleges
which return the deputies. it would appear to be much
more reasonable, if the King is not allowed to appoint the
whole of the Chamber, to deprive him of the power of ap-
pointing any, and to commit the whole operation, as in
Belgium, to the electoral colleges. A King a senator, and a
senator drced by the people, might not take opposite sides;
but if they did, it is easy to anticipate the discredit which
would be thrown upon the vote of the former by the source
of his nomination.

--
what happened to the Portuguese divi-
dends, after the sums wheedled out of a credulous public by
Pedro', agents on Brazilian account and spent, the Beni.
liens know how, it required more than ordinary courage to
propose the raising of more expedifionary money in London.
Some sort of guarantee it was, however, staid could be made
available. At first we heard of the revenues of Ptir-
tugal being offered ; bu; this security was laughed at.—
Next we were tohl of " parental estates ;'• it, however,
untOrtunately turned out that the laniutie and longitude
it; which tiny were situated could not be ascertained.—
Lastly, on " jewels." it was said, fund, could be
borrowed, and this to the extent of their value, we can rea.
dily believe, if the ownets pawn them, as the great Isabella
did, to fit out Columbus; but are there no misgivings in
the breast of the late wearer when he reflects that these
Jewels are a heirloom belonging to the Braganca Family.
and that. a large portion of them were honourably transmitted
to him on the death of his parents by that very brother
against whom their produce is intended to wage war? During
tint ituportantnegociation some unforeseen impediments must
have arisen, which it has not been deemed proper to ex-
. plain, as, in a semi-tone of threat, it is now held out
that. if England dots nut assist Don Pedro, France most
probably will, and all those advantages to British trade—all
that influence of the British (ante which long connexion with
the legal authorities of Portugal bas produced—will be a!
stake' The adoring-ayes unfortunately arz not enumerated,
but as to the prubsthilify of the French assisting
Don Pedro. alias the Constitutionalists, it is very
evident. that it will cease as soon as ever Al.t
miral aoussin returns home. If Don Pedro forgets what
he said of these same people in his owu letter to his late
,father,itt his aocjavitlana pre►ious to his accepting the
Bnisillan Chown; or if the admbnitions upon this' very
subject, which only last April respundod in hie ears at 'ltio•
do Janeiro, are so soon effaced twos his memory, he dill be
warmly reaninded of theokif he Apure himself on the Porto.
guess territory, and besides sited whether he comes to sue•

mount the urns of Braganca with the bonnet rouge? Donna
Marla! Innocent Princess ! she is unconscious of the
crimes and follies committed In her name! Her fortunes
have been ruined by the mad ambition of others;—
but her story is now consigned to the. Nurseries at
Rio de Janeiro. This, most probably, will noon be the
ems bare, as another " legal authority of Portugal" has
made his appearance, on whose behalf our treaties, it is ar.
Reed, are binding, as " they were not made with rocks,
veva, and stones, nothing else of Portugal being left. Was
It from these that our government demanded satisfaction last
April, just after Don Pedro made his .exit from Rio de
Janeiro Sleek plans o( Invasion are not only antisocial,
Winks the mouth of an Englishman anti.natiooal. If Don
Pak has angeflaints or flex. in Portugal, let him at once
dale* them And leave the world to page of their validity.
Whim he Wit the Brosillan crown be surrendered up alibis
inhalant* la
1111111ALD....The bill to consolidate end amend the
laws relating to hackney creches, though it does gm go
very far towards the improvement of the present system,
is, as we conceive calculated to effect some good. In the
first plaay it is something to reduce into an intelligible
shape a bundle of acts of Parliament, which, If not
often contradictory, are seldom perspicuous. But there
are also a few regulations in the new bill which promise well,
inasmuch u they aim at providing more effectually for the
good conduct both of proprietors and driven. In this view it
enacts that both one and the othershall exercise their callings
under a license from the commissioners of stamps,upon whom
the superintendence of hackney coaches is to devolve in fu-
ture, the commissioners of hackney coaches being done away
with by the measure. Even the 'mermen (the persons who
attend et the standings to assist the coachmen in the care of
their horses, Etc.) are to be limited ; so that we may expect
to find a more decent and orderly set of men employed gene-
rally about the coach-stands than we have hitherto been ac-
customed to meet with. As every one must have felt the
necessity of some improvement in this respect, the at-
tempt itself, however it may succeed, will be regarded
with favour. Another clause directed to the same object,
provides that the name of the proprietor shall be painted
on the coach, and that the number shall be placed in a
conspicuous situation within the coach as well as without,
so as to be easily ascertainable by the passenger or the pub-
lic at any moment. These and a few similar regulations
we think likely to be attended with advantage, though on a
first inspection of the bill it may have too much the appear.
ance of interfering, in the spirit of modern legislation, with
things that ought to be left to themselves. When we reflect,
however, that the hackney coachmen of London are persons
of vrey.equivocal character, and that hackney coaches have
been often made use of In the commission of robberies, and
in the furtherance of other offences, we cannot but admit
that any attempt to bring them more immediately under
superintendence and control than they are at present is an at-
tempt which ought not to be obstructed by those who wish to
see the facilities of crime diminished in the metropolis.

•
IMPERIAL PARLIA3IENT.
HOUSE OF I..ORDS, Awe. 9.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wool-
seek at ten minutes past five o'clock.
LORD SELKIRK presented a petition from the West
Lothians against the use of molasses by distillers.
' The Duke of DEVONSHIRE presented several petitions
in favour of reform; but in consequence of the manner la
which they were read by the clerks, it was impossible to
catch where they were from.
Lord KIND presented a petition against tithes.
The Earl of lIADDINUTON presented a petition from
the Senates Acadensiessa of the University of Edinburgh,
praying to have representatives in Parliament. As a discus-
sion of very great importance stood for the evening, the
noble lord observed that it was not his intention to enter into
the subject matter of the petition, the more proper time for
that being on the arrival of the Scotch reform bill in that
house ; he should content himself now with stating what
the substance of the petition was ; the petitioners, however,
stated that they observed, with great anxiety, the progress
of the measure in the other house of parliament, and be
hoped that since it was the intention of his Majesty's minis-
ters greatly to extend the right of voting throughout the
country, that their case might be taken into consideration.
Lord DUNCAN entirely agreed with his noble friend in
most of his remarks. hitt he doubted whether the granting
of representatives to the Universities o; Scotland wouLl be
attecded with the advantages which his noble friend cx.
pee:ed. He felt that this was nut the proper time to enter
into a discussion on the subject, and therefore he would re-
serve what he had to say till the question was regularly before
their lordships.
The Duke of RICHMOND brought in a bill to amend
the poor laws. Among other things the noble duke said it
extended the power of overseers to hire land foe the use of
the poor, to a greater extent than 20 acres.
The bill was read a first time.

PRICE SEVENPENCE.

eoadly, the demolition of the fortresses, and the speech of
the King of France; and, thirdly, he should conclude with
the manifesto lately published of the King of Holland, and
the situstion in which he now stands. With regard to the
negotiation which had been carried on ten months, no one
would hesitate to pronounce it a departure from the noble
earl's beautiful system of non-intervention. It would be
easy to prove there never had been so much interference
as in the ease of Belgium. The proceedings were to the
sable marquis perfectly unintelligible.—(Cries of /leaf,
hear.") First they offered the crown of Belgium to one
son of the King of France, then to the Duke de Ne.
mours,and thirdly, saPrince Leopold. How that Prince could
be put in nomination was to the noble marquis inexplicable.
After the prince had refused the sovereignty of Greece he
was the person sent by the noble earl and his colleagues to
Beiginnw -There bad been a document with the name of
Laid Ponsonby, and surd, there never was a paper so es.
traordinary. He would admit that Lord Ponsonby had a
trajo press the Belgian. to chine Prince Leopold, but to
g vMch • document to the world as the act of a Congress,
when it wag no more than the letter of a British envoy,
appeared to the noble marquis to be the most extraordinary
proceeding ever known in the annals of diplomacy. It
commenced by saying it was written in haste. Thatj
reminded him of a young lady at school, who wrote yours
in haste. Lord Ponsonby gave the motives of the Con-
gress ; what right had he to give the motives of the
Congress ? The noble marquis read the leder, which he said
was a production quite Cervantic, taken out of the reform
shop. He challenged the noble earl and his colleagues to
stand up and say they could adopt the principles of that
letter. The production had misled the French. In one of
the Paris papers it was called a system of delusion and
fraud. He understood the noble lord (Poosonby) had beein
removed from the Belgian negotiation, and his hope was that
the douteur of Naples would console him for loss of ;eme in j
Belgic diplomacy, in the same manner that his reverend bra!
then had been consoled by the blshopriek of Derry. The
noble marquis then entered upon the second part of his sub-
ject,mamely, the demolition of the fortresses inßelgium. The
objection was to the policy which required that barrier to
be med. This destruction of the fortresses appeared to an-
swer no other purpose than to afford the King of France an
opportunity to make his speech with refit. But how did the
speech agree with the protocol ? The speech said the king.
don of the Low Countries had ceased to exist, and the tor- '
tresses raised to menace France and protect Belgium would ;
be demolished. Such was the language of the King's speech,!
but the protocol said no such thing. The course Prince Tel-
leyrand had taken was at variance with the general interest,
and the decision of the Congress • but whilst that wily po-
litician was here, it was in vain to expect sound policy.
There appeared in the 7711118 journal, the day after the pro-
tocol was made public, an article censuring the arrangement
which destroyed the faineant, and calling it what it really
was, a dap-trap in the speech of the King of the French.-- ,
The opinion of Lord Clancarty, which the noble marquis
read, said, the conduct of the Congress in the Netherlands I
was at variance with the law of nations. How could they
demolish the barrier, without the consent of the King of
re the
l
Netherlands, who first contributed towards the erection of
those fortresses ? The noble marquis asked whether the
Duke of Wellington had been consulted ? Not one niili-
tat, opinion had been taken. So that these fortresses.;
formed at the expense of British blood and treasure, had
been rases fur no other purpose than to please France....:
The noble marquis then adverted to the negociationa, and
the manifesto of the Dutch. The Congress bad proceeded,
on the question of separating Belgium from the Nether-
lands. They finally ttanlved upon it, and declared, in the
Ilth and 12th protocols, that they had come to a posi.
tive determination, that the separation should take
place. To that determination the King of the Ne-
therlands should have been a consenting party, but having
conceded to the utmost he could go no farther. The
British Government, then finding they could get nothin I
from the Belgians, turned round on the Dutch, and said,'
we will compel you to do more, because you have already
done so much. A friend, Baron Wissesiburg, had been
sent to Holland to cajole and coax the King to agree to the
eighteen articles, but it was natural for the King to refuse
his consent to that protocol. Holland refused, because the
decision was contrary to her independence and honour. The
King of Holland, in his manifesto, bad preferred an appeal
to arms, resolving to abide the chance of war rather than
'intender his rights. The noble marquis went on to say
' that the present Ministry had treated Holland, one of the
oldest and best allies of England, in the most unfair manner.
The noble earl, at the head of the Administration, by the
policy he adopted, had aided the marshalling of troops in
France. Would to (lon that l'iince Leopold were back to
this country. (Hear, bear.) Was it just in the King of
the French to send over 50,000 troops in such breathless
haste to Belgium ? He would ask the noble earl at the head
of the Government, and his colleagues, to show a single
instance in history where Femme till the present juncture
had taken the initiative part. Were the days of Charles
the Second come back ? Did the noble earl think
that the French would quietly retire from Belgium at the
moment be required them ? He (Lord L.) could tell that
noble earl they would not. As an Englishman, he declared
most solemnly, that this country had bowed its head to
France ; sod that, too, at a time when the noble earl was
aware that England was as able to go to war as she was at
any former period of her history. As an Englishman, he
declared he should not be tied to such a line of policy. Had
the noble earl opposite given him such answers as he might
have deemed satisfactory on a former evening, he (Lord
Londonderry) should not now have taken up so much of
their lordship's time. He should now consent himself by
moving that an humble Address be presented to his Majesty,
praying that there be laid on the table of the house copies
or extracts, of all communications relative to the settlement
of the Governmentasf Belgium, as far as the same may be
produced without injury to the public service.
The question having been put from the Woolsack—
Earl GREY characterised the motion of the noble mar.
quis as exceedingly ill-timed. He was not prepared, nor
was it necessary, to follow the noble marquis through the
whole of his statements. The noble lord had charged his
Majesty's ministers with departing from the plan laid dovin
by them at the beginning, of not interfering with other
states. With respect to Belgium and Holland, as tar as
regarded the internal government of those couutties, England
j Dad acted on the principle of strict no t.intervention. Upon
that principle had his Majesty's ministers proceeded. lie
'trusted the house would not call upon hie to make ;smoke-
Lure productions of papers which no minister was ever called
upon to lay open and expose. He had been ch.,rged wiun
departing from the line of policy adopted by the late Mr. ;
Canning : he never hesitated to say that he did not on all
occasions coincide with Mr. Canning's foreign policy ; lan
that he (Eatl Grey) in general disapproved of it. He re.
prated, with as much strength as the noble marquis oppo. '
site, that he was ready to maintain the independence of Hui.
land as an ancient ally of England (Heat) but certainly nut j
if it were the intentitas of Holland to go to war fur that pur-
pose. Had not the noble marquis seen changes declared
noxasary by the vary lug times? He (bad (trey) was
of opinion, and was prepared to shew, teat the conduct of i
the FrenchOuvernnunt on the proem occasiun was taith fair
and open ; die representations matte to the French by the Bed-
gic Government were of the meat urgent nature; but whether
the French army had yet passed the frontiers of the Dutch
territories, he (Emil Grey) could' net say—no Ouch intelli-
gence had yet come to Mediums. With respect to the
production of the papers in question, as 'far as they might
not be prejudicial to the public interest, at resent tne only
'answer be could give wa•, that they 'coal nor be produced I
without manifest disadvantage to the *heirs of the cou:itty,
so lonic as the question was in'dodbi and underallecussiott ;
Ite..only.disitned the same privileges which bad been allowed
to former Ministers : when the proper time ardent, as he
had 'slimed' on I former bight, he should be repined
enter fully upon the subject —..the present was not a tinteJ
for such discussions; bat if noble Lords were of opinion
that the course of proceedings adopted by his Majesty's
Ministers was such epee.
derogate from the honour of the