Star.
London, England, 1831-03-15 00:00:00

.SPIRIT OF THE JOURY ALS.

C... 1 Yesterday we were compelled, for want of rot m, to exclude the
" Spirit of the Journals" of the da:, ; hut the tollAving paragraph
IRIS6e:,SCS MO much iracret, to be wholly omitted, and cottieitetes all
tha tut. of value in the S;tirit of the d:.y.

name—Considering the ctiti :al nature of our relations whit
certain foreign and nnuititne States, the British Admiralty craght, with-
out a moment's delay, to build and equip a considerable nun bet of
armed steuni-ships, of formidable size and force, for the prmection
our own, and the annoyance of any hostile commerce, in cave of out
being, which does not seem unlikely, embroiled of a sudden whit sr'n
formidable European Power.—lt was made known many weeks :fejt,.
that Fiance hail then prepared no less than 30 aimed steamers. r.ppli.
cable to immediate service, and capable of indicting the most exam-
sir,! ruin upon the mcichantmen of England. especially in the narrnw
seas. The British naval department, it is alleged, had not—at least
during Loid 31ELvit.La's Ministry—prepared any armament of a
similar nature, to cope, in ease of need, with en state and
enterprising rival. In trtrh, not only that noble Lord.
but a certain naval officer, a leading ntember of tie Ward of
Admiralty, was accused of a sort of pig-headed repugnance to the hunts
deletion of any sort of novelty into the set rice, no matter how urgently
it might be called for by the inventive and menacing improvements nt
neighbouring states. Several ingenious additions hart., we are told,
beer, made to the equipment and atmantent of their ineti.of-war by the
G e nments of France and of North America, which have not net, err
had for very lately, been provided against by corresponding measures
her . The old practice, ftir example, of building 46-pm filtrates
cartying long 18-pounders on the main deck,—when neither the ratted
States nor France have for years past launched any of a less force than
trom 50 to 60 guns, `l4-rounders on the main deck,—has been persisted
in by the Melville Band with i'eplorable and cruel obstinacy. IVhat is it
lut sending our ships to be captured:am: our officers end seamen to ho
massacred or disgraced ? We thought the last American war would bar I
roved a lesson on that score. So cur Admiralty have gone on build
mg another most useless class of ships carrying 28 guns, those on th,
quarter-deck and forecastle included. Neither France nor America ha
any thing so ridiculous as this. They send to sea corvettes of 24 gun
4.2-pound carronatles on one deck, more effective and warlike vessel,,
throwing a broadside one-third heavier than our 28-gun I rigates, and soil-
ing much better. so that our ships of the class in question can neither rti,
from them nor fight them : a if any thing of a sea be going.
twenty.eights will find it impassible to use their main deck guns. Ali
such old. womanish folly, anti s.upil waste of money .red materials, us
we have now described, ought to be at once put an end to. Heavy
frigates ought to be built or ulteied out of old seventy-fours cut
down, and in double the numbers that at present exist In the
navy; powerful corvettes, likewise, to match those of other na-
tions, instead of the lumbering or feeble craft with which our yards
have been for some time infested. But above all things—and tee
press it most earnestly on the government—let there be art immedi .te
and adequate force of steam-vessels to keep all clear of the coasts of
the United Kingdom, not merely in the two channels and in the North
Sea, but for 600 or 800 miles into the Ocean ; for it we ne2leet that
salutary precaution, our trade will inevitably be cut to piece's within the
first three months f war. The use of steam-ships, as appendages to
naval squadrons all over the world, is too apparent to call for any ob.
servation.

Iluxs..eoThe people have almost exceeded our hopes. They have
far outstripped our utmost efforts to keep pace with their still-increasing
ardour in the cause of reform, as far as these atter.) might hate
at presenting to our readers even a faint outline of what is taking place
every hour of each succeeding day, at meetings held throughout eveyy
county of England, and attended by numbers, wealth, intelligence,
high reputation, and consequent moral power, such as never before
were seen, or imagined, in connexion with any pont tc::1
question, at the most animated period of English History.
One or two croaking ravens yet flap their wings amongst us; but their
notes antidpatc the fast-coming downiallof that edifice where filthy
vermin, noxious reptiles, ill•uatened birds, and ravening wolves, have
had for centuries unhallowed shelter. The base falsehocds and rotten-
ness of the whole practice is evident from this single fact—that no wan
will boast of being himself that sort of poblic benefactor, which a s. at.
purchaser or self.seller is, by the anti reformists in their constitatierted
romances, described to be, for fear of being indicted and sent t t gaol
However the pinch of the battle is aircady past, unless the nations' troops
disperse too soon, and sect: toenjoy the victory before they have sec an d u.
Truss.—ln perfect good-will we beg to caution a certain
guished lady not to suffer herself to be made a laughing-stock to dan-
dies and intriguers. Her personal attraction and accomplishmt:tts
must always ensure her as much admiration as an Erglish lady aught
to covet. Why aim at more ? Besides, she has not reached the pro.
per age for political partisanship. Under the old regime, t o Fiend'
lady joined the ranks of the philosopher and atheists till she lost her
yowls and beauty; so no English lady should be a politician till she Is
on the ultra side of fifty. The lady to whom we allude has, from mis.
taken ambition, long allowed herself to be a tool in the hands of persons
whom, in her vanity, she imagines she directs. She has late sly joined
the banners of a military statesman, who, while he flatters ter with
a show of deference, exacts from her a most professional suhmis.
sion to discipline. Under his directions this misguided lady h s lately
been denouncing the Reform Bill with all her sex's seal, anti with a
vehement: qui:e her own. Het sincerity had made her overstep those
limits of angry opposition which her prudential chief considered decor-
ous. A hint was given to that effect, and the other night, at a Royal
fete, the lady, with great naivete, at once disclosed the secret, and tx-
hibited her own humble subserviency to her chief. Her ladyshiii went
about, eagerly addressing her friends in something like the fo lasing
strain :—•• How do I look ? I was told to pot a pod face an rite
matter to-night. lam doing so. Do I not look very cheerful P This
speech, uttered and repeated with tones, and looks, anti gestures, worthy
or the tragic muse, was too much to bear. Gentlemen eough:d_
ladies shook their fans to hide their emotion—till at last all restraint
gave way, the joke went round, and
Unextinguished laughter shook the place."
POST—If some one who had buried himself in solitude and seclu-
eion at the commencement of the present century were now to come
forth again into the world, and read the abusive assertions put forward
instead of argument by the advocates of the Reform Bill, he would
be tempted to exclaim, t• How wretched must have been the career of
my country ender such a legislature as this ! How incessatst must have
been the struggles of the people to free themselves from& systevt f aught
sub such evil and misfortune!" But when he had read the I. stiey of
the tine which had elapsed—when he had examined the sea e of the
numbers and wealth and education of the wire, c...mpared w.tb s hat
he hail known it before—would he not be struck with amazement a. the
efliontery or those who dare to heap such slander open a system under
which has grown up the results that lie cometnplattil ? 1► hat tiler, it
will again be asked, is the motive for all this ? We do rot hest me to
say that it is the effort of a desperate democratical Letton (taktt.e ad-
vantage of a weak Government which has been drie.r. to scek the r aid)
to overturn the Constitution.

HERALD.—The state. of political feeling throughout Furop: ;:t lint
without its importance is determining the eaped:ency of iiitreduj: g a
peat measure of change in our repr.sentative sys:em at the pie', nt
time. We say, advisedly, `• Lot without rimpurtatice," for we must
affirm that the right of the peopic of England to secure a real rept. ett.
tat ion of themselves is the paramountsonsideration--st ill tt e zee disi ed
to admit that the success or failute of the measur_ is to a gre..t d wrce
an European question; moreover, we think it cue of great :mettia-
tional importanct. If the late expulsion of Charles X. fr• ne the
throne of Fiance—caused as it was by his violation of the most
sser•d obligations that can bind nun individually, or societies ttlge:her
—has shaken the political inviolatility of mon-treks, we do not to
rider that the cliauge made in the reigning dynasty has exhibited
any indisposition in the people of France to a moilarchiesl fo n. of
government; on the contraty, se believe that, however parties in
that country mar differ as to the d stribution of power amrsng the
orders of the State, they ail, with the exception of the small re.
publican faciion, aid bald of the military anarenists, sincerely rrefer
a King to a Republican Presh4m, or Otrtctory. Such alsu has
been the declared wish of that declaiming, absurd vestry, the Bel.
gian emigre,. If they have a ieenporary Regent instead of a sovereign
t•rinee, the fault is not theirs: tither the Prince of Leuchtenberg, or the
Duke el: Nemours, or any Fettle:, but he M Orange, would have satis-
fied them. Neither Sillialby, nor Erunawick, nor Polar& have eon-
templaud the republican form as a substnute for their present Govern-
ment. In short, let us look wnere we will lit Europe, facts Lear us out
iu asser.ing that the tendency of the European mind is towards hold May
monarchy, limited in the exercuc of authority by reprtsentative betiits,
titely chosen, and acting for the interests of inc people at large.

Earl Bathurst has recovered from his recent illness. His
Lordship walked out on Frida: fur the first ti:ue since the
commencement of his attack.

It is rumoured that Air. Stanley is likely to be ancinted
Chancellor of the Exchequer, in lieu of Lord A:thorp, who
dues not, however, quit the Goverment ; and that Lord
John Russell will succeed Mr. Stanley in the Secretaryship
for Ireland. - Chronic le.

The Baron Zuylen de Nyevelt, second Plenipotentiary
of the king of the Netherlands, at the Congress of London
for the settlement of the affairs of Holland and Belgium. set
out yesterday for the Hague. His Excellency is e,yected
to return to London very shortly.
The new Regent of Belgium has published a Proclamation
to the inhabitants of Luxemburg, assuring them of the sup-
port of the Belgic Government against Holland. The King
of Holland has sent a new Governor with troops to Luxem-
burg, to assert his claim to that province, as admitted by the
conferences of London. The renewal of the war is there-
fore inevitable, unless the Alias again interfere.—Time .