Star.
London, England, 1809-01-10 00:00:00

ed as the accounts that seem to have
circulated throughout the peninsula.
that Madrid continued to defend itsel
but that all the troops had been sent
the armies ; that the Marquis de la R
bead of 60,000 men and accompanied
army under Sir JOHN Moon, was on his march to
the capital, &c. &c.

What ought we to think of the circulation of such
nonsense ? Is this the way to prepare the people for
the defence of their towns and possessions?—Keeping
them in ignorance of the accumulating dangers which
are pressing upon them !
This fault does not lay with the public press, but
must be imputed to a high sanction—or to the most
culpable ignorance and stupidity ; for the press, one
of the noblest auxiliaries of liberty, has been put under
a most blameable restraint by the enlightened directors
of the affairs of the Patriots !
Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat.

IMHOF OF Mir*
find that, in reporting what puled
Court of King's Bench, for setting
on the ground that the ceremony
/ a Popish Priest, and is stating the
Lord ELLIDI3OIIIOCGII, that this in it-
affect the marriage, as the validity of
Popish orders was admitted in our church, and as
there was at this time a Protestant Bishop in Ireland.,
who never hid any orders but those of a Popish Priest;
we were under an error when we mentioned the pre.
sent BISHOP of MEATH as the Prelate whom we sup-
posed his Lordship to have in view. We now have
authority to say, that Doctor O'BEIRNE never did
receive orders in the Church of Rome ; that, as soon
as he was of the canonical age to be ordained, he re-
ceived, first Deacon's and then Priest's orders, from
Dr. HINCHLIFFE, Bishop of Peterborough, in the
Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, the proofs of
which are in the registry of that diocese ; as the

proofs of his matrici_ Ltion and being a graduate in
the University of Cambridge, and of his claiming his
standing of B. D. there, in order to be admitted to
the degree of D. D. which he holds in Trinity Col-
lege, Dublin, are to be found in the records of those
Universities.
We further have authority to say, that, very shortly
after receiving Priest's orders, he was presented to
the vicarage of Grendon, in the diocese of Peterbo-
rough, belonging to Trinity College, Cambridge,
which vicarage he held until he was presented by
Lord Chancellor THUIRLOW to the living of West)
Deeping, in the diocese of Lincoln, and that after-
wards, and while Chaplain to the King, he held in
succession the livings of Whittingham and Stamford-
' ham, in the diocese of Durham, and of Temple-Mi-
chael and Mohill, in Ireland; having thus received
the same professional eLl7.eation, been admitted to the
same professional_ tiegreeg in our Universities, and
risen through the same gradations with every Bishop
in the United Church to his seat on the Bench.
We have ever been most careful to exclude from
the STAR whatever might hurt the feelings, or reflect
on the character of art individual: but we wish to be
particularly cautious to preserve this purity of our
Paper, where the individual could not be misrepre-
sented without involving a consideration affecting the
public, which, in the present circumstances of Ireland,
we are assured is to be apprehended from an imputa.'
tion on a Prelate of the Established Church, that
must lessen his influence and counteract his exertions
in the discharge of his important duties, by prejudicing
the Protestants of that country against him, and
lessening bim in the estimation of his own Clergy,
while at the same time it renders him odious to the
Catholics.

We are therefore happy in saying, on the best au-
thority, that the imputation of having received orders
in the Church of Rome, cannot apply to the present
Bishop of MEATH. We seize with pleasure the op-
portunity of cluing justice to a learned, amiable, and
exemplary character.

The 4th Heavy Dragoons are assemblirg at Arun-
del, preparatory to their embarkation for Spain.
The first division of the 84th regiment of foot,
lately stationed at Hull, went across the Humber on
Wednesday, on their route for Colchester Barracks.
The second division was to have followed early next
day, and the baggage belonging to it was sent on
board the horse boat, in the Ferry Dock, on the after-
noon of Wednesday ; but, owing to the violence of
the storm, the boat sunk in the night. A great part
of the baggage had previously been taken out, but a
considerable quantity went down in her.
The Wahingham packet, .the first that sailed for
the Brazils, is returned to Falmouth. The news she
brings is, that the glut of British goods is so great in
that quarter, that they may be bought there cheaper
than at the English manufactories.
UtPANDWICH hired lugger has had a very despe-
rate action —were French coast, with a French lugger
of superior force ; which, at the end of a two-hours
conflict, sheered off, with her decks covered with
dead bodies : and the Sandwich being a dull sailer,
was unable to overtake her. The Lieutenant com-
manding the Sandwich, and Mr. PHILLIPS the Master,
were severely wounded ; Mr. Robert Jago, a pas-
senger on board, was killed ; Matthew Clark, wounded
in the shoulder; Mr. Tool, a musket-ball through
his leg ; John Moffatt, a ball in his arm and one fin-
ger shot off ; and ten others badly wounded.
Upwards of 3000 poor persons, in the neighbour-
hood of Blenheim, partook last week of the annual
bounty of the Duke of MARLDOROUGH. Her Grace,
at the same time, distributed her customary donation
among the poor widows and married women at
Woodstock.
_ _

Another Tax Collector, at the West-end of the town,
is said to have been discovered to be minus several
thousand pounds.
The Bank notes of which ALEXANDER COWIE was
robbed between Banff and Aberdeen, as formerly
mentioned, have been recovered.
Thursday week in the evening, at Thornaby, near
Stockton, as GEORGE Ht7rroN, Esq. of turf celebrity,
was returning home, in crossing a small bridge over-
flowed with water, he unfortunately fell from his
horse aid was drowned.
A woman corning to Hull last week, in order to
have a tooth pulled out, brought along with her an
iufant child, about three months old, which she had
wrapped closely up and laid upon her bosom to pre-
serve it from the intense cold. On reaching the sur-
geon's house, he uncovered the child, when, lament-
able to relate ! it was found to be lifeless ; having,
we understand, unfortunately, been smothered, in
consequence of the too great caution she had used to
,pr
event its suffering by the inclemency of the weather.
Thursday last, as 14 men were at work at Dow-
,gate chalk-pit, near Welling, Bucks, which is 100
'feet deep, an impending cliff gave way, and buried
seven of them, with two carts and four horses. Three
of them were dug out the same day, two of whom
were unhurt, and the third dead ; as three others
were, in the course of the night, one of whom died
' afterwards. ;he seventh protected by a cart, was
unhurt.—The horses were rendered useless.
A singular funeral procession took place on Fri-
°.day last, from Brick-street, May-fair, to South Aud.
ley-street Burying-ground, of a lamplighter, follcWed
by 60 of his fraternity, in white woollen jackets, one
leaclirl on the proseuien with a lamp before him re-
Yrne

been rurally AISJ
They state
If on the 18th, We are sorry to
from it-to in join an a trial the C
aside a marriage,
LOMANA, at the was performed by
by the British opinion given by I
n his march to self could not afi