Star.
London, England, 1830-01-09 00:00:00

HALF-PAST ONL

The Funds add continue languid, with little business doing. sad
Consols have continued the whole of the morning at Pik, akir-
nately buyers and sellers.

The Foreign Market is also is a state of stepadas. awl Ike
prices are muck the same as yesterday. We de net "ear WI ray
Express frost Paris as yet.
rum iris Cara Patin le THE 22D Valoass.—The weep"
composing *overlaps at Green Point bad a review sod sham
light. for the wpm of being inspected by his Excellency Osumi
the Earl of Dalbmasie. Ceimmesder-la Odd of the Indies Army.
Fuse WS Pam er as 10ts Ocm—As nothing is said hi we
letters frost the frostiers this week about the rust in the asps, we
are ready to hope that the colony may yet escape this embed*
—HI. Excellency the Go/emu and Ms sake arrived at Omit
Reind on the 15th Sept. a saistallea was lived la ceoseferor.
They write from Graham'. Town. that the weedier has me Is
within these few days very told. with SOK shower. His pm&
lency will thus have la opportunity of babe/ding Menses loom's'•
isig part of the adopt:

0

THE KING.
WIN nson, JAN. B.—The KING, owing to the un-
favourable state of the weather, has not been out from
the Castle since he took up his residence there, nor has
his MAJESTY hitherto entertained any company. The
KING takes a deal of exercise daily in his extensive
suite of apartments, and a great portion of his time and
attention are occupied with the Government dispatches.
The KING'S stag-hounds will meet on Monday next at
Bracknell, and on Friday at Slough, each day at half-
past ten o'clock.

COMPOSITION of the HOUSEof COMMONS.
TO THE THE STAR.
Stn—So the Morning Chronicle wants a virtuous op-
position—does he ? Bless us—what a state the country
must be in, for old Priam to buckle on his stew-pan and
barber's bason, and go forth in proprid persond
Non tall auzilto nee de fensoribus isds
Tentpue eget ---.-
What has happened ? 14 the Bank or Change-alley
threatened ? Whit has driven this worthy old veteran
into a totally new key ? How long has he re-com-
mended or wanted the ten or fire honest and true men ?
Of course it must be some now occurrence that calls
forth such new language ; or else perhaps the fact of
such a nucleus of association already existing may have
given rise to the hint—'Who knows ? I have heard it ru-
moured, that such an attempt would have been made last
spring ; and that it was only delayed by the general order
not to speak louder than a whisper—an order sure to be
renewed on every convenient pretext—for fear of dis-
turbing the Catholic question ; and that the experiment
will be tried this session. If so, Priam will think ho
awoke us from death.
But to be serious—if any thing likely to happen in
that place will admit of serious calculation—there are
twenty times the number of honest and well-meaning
men you, or your contemporary Editor reckon : the mis-
fortune is, that to get them of the firmness you want for
your purpose, we must put them through half a dozen
sieves.

First : They should be all of one political stamp—al
men who see the necessity of throwing their whole weight
into the popular scale, in order to restore the lost equi-
librium. The Court and the Aristocracy are too strong
—' • when there are tob many gentlemen, the people will
be base," says Lord Be cow.
Secondly : —Many very good and honest men are run
away with by some one hobby-horse, which makes them
bate every one who will not get up behind them. There
are twenty points to be carried: you differ upon one;
and they revenge themselves upon their own characters
by deserting you on the remaining nineteen. This is the
gage of the consistency of many excellent men.
Thirdly :—You have to combat influence of persons:—
Connections play the D—l where they are allowed—.
as well as culinary seductions at the eleventh hour
It is a most disagreeable duty, to which few persons
much conversant with society can bring themselves to
speak out the plain uncompromising truth, when persons
or places are in question.
Fourthly :This third sieve will leave you some
thirty good fair men, capable of every thing, if they
choose it ; and before whose battery no dishonest or in-
competent minister could stand one week : but this num-
ber is again reduced to one third—by what ?--a defici-
ency of the only thing they are expected as a matter of
course to comply with.—attendance !
Now—you have got your ten men all ready for work ;
but who I. to drive and keep them together ? Some say
a leader is necessary : Ido not see that. Let them yield
all but principle, one to the other ; and there is no reason
why they should not do more good than has for many
years been effected, though they may fall short of Imme-
diately overturning those who are combined by the
strongest ties imaginable, viz.-.-keen appetites, and the
strangled nation's carcase lying before them. Without
mutual conciliation and concession, no great good can be
dons; and some of the team are rather bard pullers.
One—the finest and most astonishing animal in single
harness in the world—is w terrible kicker in company.
I, of course, put the old Opposition body—being a dead
body—out of consideration. " Some are fallen asleep ;"
others are ogling the Duke, and, like Don Jt; A N'S mis-
tress in the song, say " vorrei e non vorrei." But the
General, though sadly in want of artillery, sees these old
guns, which have been spiked during the whole of this
Parliament, would do him no good. The purchases of
this kind, which be has already made, shew him that these
old pieces, when dragged to the other side, are not worth
the expense : for they must all have gold touch-holes—
they will not go off. The rats—in heart—don't see this.
They don't see 'why a squeak in the granary is not as
good as it is in the empty barn : they are like the Cuckold
in Juvenal—" Dedecus ille dolmas sciet ultimus"—We
shall see !

But, Sir, the Duke has them in hand, if he
likes, yet; and in this way :—he needs no more guns;
if he will only pelt a few of Mr. GUNTER'S sugar-
plumbs at old Mother Church, the nation will be so de-
lighted, that I question whether the populace would let
us drive our new opposition-coach beyond Hyde-park-
corner.—To such a pass are we come !
Jzuv.

COLOMBIA.

-0,...-
TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.
LETTER XIII.

Beam, Oct. 5.11111.

Sza,—Neither party which triumphed, or which Bat-
tered itself with triumph, knew how to maintain itself in
just limits. Thus the majority which commanded in
Omuta, meeting with scarcely any resistance in the
preparatory committees, precipitately presented the pro-
ject

of constitution submitted for their examination, and
report to the Chamber of Congress for its discussion.
In time of similar agitations, pure laws seldom can ema-
nate from a General Assembly.
The constitutional project framed at this conjuncture,
was a master-work of the demagogue-spirit which pre-
sided. The Parochial Electors, and Electoral Assem-
blies of the Cantons, were unineasureably multiplied,
and a portion of the future Members of the Congresses
was to be renewed more frequently than ever by the
Constitution of Cucuta. Under the term guarantees,
" an Executive was established without force—the
Authorities were insulted—even organised, as if they
were so many enemies in the system to oppose constantly
the Government, and prejudice its action. Finally, the
bases of a federation were laid, which, in the temper of
the people, would have involved. the country in all the
horrors of a civil war.

When Legislators deviate from the paths of order and
of jastice, reforms are almost impossible, and the hopes
of rational liberty are defeated and lost. The moderate
party, Mowing the extent of the evil which-was pre,
paring for the country, presented another project, in mo-
dification of the one proposed by the Commission. With the
greatest difficulty leave was obtained to permit its being
read, and as soon as it began to be discussed, its oppo-
nents determined against it, as more monarc: kal than
the Bolivian Constitution ; and declared it was only
calculated to perpetuate the authority .of the LIBE-
RATOR, and to frame an organization in favour of
the most insupportable despotism. Without doubt the
second project was far preferable to the first, since it
gave more necessary vigour to the executive, and ren-
dered the action of the administration more effective.
The article 128 of the Constitution of Cucuta was also
suppressed, which article, " by giving to the first magis-
trate a real irresponsible power, might enable him to become
an irresistable despot."—Sufficient independence was left
to the administration of justice. The departmental assem-
blies were put in possession of sufficient attributes to do
good locally without usurping supreme authority, and
the rights of the Columbiana were duly recognized, and
properly defined.
The differences between the parties, admitted, however,
of no conciliatory arrangement, although the Moderates
offered to yield some cardinal points, the Ultras con-
tinued inflexible—at length the minority, wearied by the
intrigues, the personal insults, and the irregularities, to
which they had been so invariably exposed, feeling that
in fact there was no liberty granted for deliberation,
and no possible means within their reach to render the
country any service in the Congress, they embraced
the only alternative at their command, via. to paralyse
the action of the Assembly, and therefore they resolved
to retire from the Assembly, that they might not contri-
bute even negatively to the establishment of a code that
must have inevitably been the cause of immediate ruin to
the Republic.
To get the better of this resolution, the adverse party,
infringing the rules of the Congress, and setting aside
the two projects which were under discussion, presented
to the Assembly "an additional Act" to the Constitu-
tion of Cucuta ; but the proposition of this Act, which
even in its name was sinister, and being, in fact, nothing
less than a compendium of the project of the commission,
was attended with no result whatsoever; for the twenty-
one Deputies which composed the minority having quitted
Ocana, and a sufficient quorum, according to the regula-
tions enacted, not being left to hold the sittings, the
ultra party was obliged to suspend all proceedings, and
eventually the Convention was dissolved.
Thus this Congress terminated its short career, and dis-
appointed the hopes of the friends of Columbia. It cer-
tainly had the power to effect much good, if it had
not permitted egotist passions, obstinacy, and inexpe-
rience, to enter into its sanctuary.
The Convention died without glory, and without in-
spiring the least compassion for the fate which bad be-
fallen it. Happily for the country, although amongst the
majority there were some men of integrity, good inten-
tions' and knowledge, there were none of a contrary
character who possessed the talents of a M I ILA ISLA U or
the audacity of CA TILIN
The minority rendered their country the greatest ser-
vice by their secession.
At the head of these benefactors we should name
Casmi,o, who at Ocana set the seal to his eminent
services in the public cause. History will say one day,
of these ,twentrone individuals, " When ambition end
egotism had taken possession of the Convention, it was
in the. :virtue and firmness of this chosen phalanx the
country found a refuge."