Star.
London, England, 1807-03-23 00:00:00

THE PRESENT CR1513.

Whitft the daily papers are filled with the forr,,, of
arty triumph, or indulging in redprocal animal
terroas on the characters, talents, and condo& of
the goers-out and the comers•in, for our own part
sire cannot but contemplate all that is palling, and all
that may refult from it, with the moll ferieus appre

henfions and anxiety. If ever there was a moment
when frequent changes of our Government were to
be deprecated by every re&aing man, it is the pre-
fent ; and never was there a time when freedom
from political animofities was mote to be defired,
and that our affairs fhotild be in the hands of an Ad-
miniaration, poffetling at once the confidence of the
King, and of the Country.

The faas that have led to this embarraffed Rate of
things are now pretty well ; and we (hall
!hardy nate them, without any opinion or comment.
It feems that Lio.d GRENVILLE thought forne con-
ceflions to the Catholics neceffary ; and, in the firß in-
Ranee, propofed to grant to thofe footing in the army,
by new claufes in the Mutiny Bill, fuel( fecuriry and
encouragement as the Iri(h Ail of 1793 held out to
them. To this no objeCtion was made in the Cabinet,
not even by Lord Stomotrrir ;—and we under-
nand, that none was made by hi. Majesry himfeJf.
---But when coneeffions going far beyond that ACI
were propofcd, by which Papifts were to be enabled
to hold any appointments whatever, either in the
Army or Navy, and by which the nece(lity of repeal.
ing part of the Tell and Corporation Acts was created,
Lords SIDtIOIrTH and act:van/tour; ri immediately
declared their difTent, in the moll unqualified manner;
and the former expreffed his determination to with.
draw from the Cabinet, if it was perfi9e,?. in. The Bill
Was brought into the Hotrfe of Commons, and was to
be read a fecond time on Friday the 13th, when it was
well known that Lord SIDMOUTH's friends intended
openly to oppofe it. On Wednclda) morning he fent in
his refignation to Lord GRENVILLE, probably that he
inight confider himfelf quite at liberty on that day,
to exprefs to his MAJESTY his omelet red opinion on
the Catholic Bill. We have not heard that the KING
had, before t`lat day, confulted any other perfon on
the fubjea. Shortly after, the Royal difarprobation
was exprefred to the Cabinet in flrong terms ; and at
a meeting, held at Lord GRENVILLE'S, on Sunday the
15th, (to which neither Lord SIDMOU TH, Lord Ec-
LENBOROUGH, nor, we believe, the CHANCELLOR, were
invited) it was determined to yield to the KING'S
willies; refer ving, however, to his fervants the liberty
of bringing forward, at fome future period, fuch nrea-
lures of a fimilar nature as cir cumftances might pof-
fibly call for. On receiving this communication, his
MAJESTY demanded a pledge in return, that no Inch
meafure fhould ever again be propored to him. To
this Lord GRENVILLE, and the greater part of his
colleagues have demUrred ; and there is no doubt,
but that in confequence of their refufal, their Cervices
will be difpenfcd with as loon as a new Government
can be prat together.
We had always underflood from the time of the
formation of the Government in tSo6, that Lord
STOa:OUTH had referved tc himfelf the right of ailing
according to his known opinions on any Catholic
queftion that might arife. His condua has, there-
fore, throughout the whole of this delicate bufinefs
been direa, manly, and conli:tent. His colleagues
were fully apprifed of his intentions ; and he let
himfelf at liberty to ea up to them, before he attend.
ed the Council on Wednefday fe'nnight. It does not
appear that his refignation has aaually taken place ;
nor are we enabled to fay, whether this has been
owing to a requelt made by Lord Gattsv ILLS, or
from a higher quarter. We have not heard that
he has been fent to by the Krac, or had any com-
munication made to him from thole who weie ar-
ranging a New Government. This naturally (n-
-eat-ions no (mall degree of obfervation and furprife.
—We are perfealy convinced that very great diffi-
culties have occurred in the formation of it, and be-
lieve that no dependance is to be placed even on fuch
parts of the arrangement as have been the molt po.
fitively announced. A good deal might puffibly de-
pend on Lord CHATHAM'S opinion, who did not reach
town till yefterday afternoon, and who can hardly
have yet waited on the KING. We believe there is
no doubt but that Lcrd HARDWICK E and Mr. WELKE.
have politively refufed to take any office ; end we
have heard it confidently afferted that Lord Melo/113A
had declined.

Anew Government conQituted as this feems likely
to be, though it may poffef; the confidence of the
KING, can be hardly calculated to command the con-
fidence of the Country. Under filch cii.cuniftances we
!hall abflain from exnreffing what our own
would have been, in which we h2lieve a great part of
the public would have been difprifed to fympathife.
According to prefent pr4fpdh, what have we to look
forward to, but to the dangerous flip Mf mother
Difiblution of Parliament, and to the poflibility of
thofe great meafures being put a flop to or refcin-
ded, from which the country had In much to hope ?
—A frequent change of fyllem is always ruin-
ous ; and we doubt whether it would not be lef;
injurious to pelf-tit in even a defdlive one! " Time
and the Hour," can al. ne difpel er confirm there
anxieties. As to the Arrangements, we
Mould not be furprifed if it to .k another 'week to

complete ►hem.
To the candid.and diipafflorate, it appears not a

little fingulat that a difference in opinion between any
two of the three Branches of the I.egillature, refpec-
ting the propriety of any propufed meafure, Ihould,
on almost every occafion, fo far cliarael the Govern-
ment as to render a change of Miniflers neceffary.--
Thole who are not verfed in the nature of the contrary
forces which diflurb the ofcillations of the political pen.
dulurn; would be apt to think that the balance of the
three powers fhould, on any occafion of the kind that has
occurretl, be able to restore equilibrium to the machine
of Government, without the neceffity of fufpending
its movements—a n,irchief which in Come degree or
other attends every new arrangement, and of which
the real extent can never be calculated.—Time alone
can unfold the magnitude oTthe evil, refulting in any
cafe from Inch a delangementi and the mifchief is
bequeathed to poiloity.

The following (hips arrived at St. Helena the 23d
January Lail :—WILLIAM PITT, EUROPE, STREAT-
HAM, SIR WILLIAM PULTENEY, DIANA, PHOENIX,
CALCUTTA, PRESTON, TIGRIS, COMET, GLORY,
UNION, NORTHAMPTON, JANE, and DUCHESS of
GOR DON.

The SARAH CHRISTIANA left the GBORGIANA and
MARGARET Packet at the Cape of Good Hope.
The UNION, with the MATILDA, country Mips, ar-
rived at the Cape the 22J December ; the SKELTON
CASTLE parted Company from thole fhips the loth of
that month, in lat. 33. 18. W. long. It. 45.

Barbadoes Papers, to the :4th of December, date,
that the ifland of St. Thomas has fuffered, a third
time, by fire ; and that the ClkcE frigate has taken
a Spanifh prize of great value.

Since our lan, French Papers to the 9th, and Dutch
to the t.ftli intlant ioclufive, have arrived, but their
contents are not of great importance. It is Paid the
towns of Elbing, Marienbourg, and Marienwerder,
have been again occupied by the French, who are alfo
in poffeflion of the whole of the coaft along the
gulph of Prifch•hatl ; but no confiderable body of
troops had arrived in the fuburbs of Dantzic,
for the purpofe of commencing the fiege of that
city. The reduetion of Graudentz was, it was
under(ood, to be effeeleCl before regular approaches
were made againft Dantzic. A large detach.
ment of the Bavarian army, and a corps of 6coo
Saxons, were on the point of marching to join the
Grand Army in Poland. A body of goo Ruffians,
taken partners at the battle of Pultulk, arrived the
latter enJ of February at Cad, on their way to
Mentz. A great number of troops from Italy were
on their march through the Tyrol for the isurpufe of
effeCting a junetion with the Grand Army. .
The public opinion in favour of peace had become
thong in Bet lin ; but we cannot learn from what caufe.

Difpatches wert yefterday received at the Admi.
ralty from Sir SAM LIFE. Hoot.: they are dated from
on board the CFNTAUR, off Madeira, the latter end of
February, and do not, as we undet Rand, contain any
thing itnportant.

liis MAjefly's /11;p DECADV, has arrived at Spit-
head, with eifpatclies from Admiral BERKELEY. off
the 13ermull Mands.

TheCOSSACR frigate, at Chatham, is to be fitted for
immediate fervice, as is. the VICTORY, of t to guns.
The Pigmy brig, of t 8 guns, was wrecked near the
back of the light houfe, off the entrance of Rochefort
harbour, on the night of the zd inflant, during a
tremendous gale of Kind. She went to pieces, but
HIGGINSOW, his officers, and crew, were raved,
and are prifoners in France.
A new yacht is to be built at Deptford, to be cal•
led the William and Mary.

Commiffioner CUNNINGHAM has affirmed the fu.
perintendence of the Dock Yards at Deptford and
Woolwich. In the former yard, the houfe occupied
by the Clerk of the Cheque has heen appropriated for
the refidence of the Commit!' incr.

The TERRIBLE, Dutch man of war, of 68 guns,
is iotally loft at B►tavia.
The crew of the Dutch fligate, lately wrecked on
Sanja Viand, one of the Orkneys, have furrendered
to the Volunteet's who went from Thurfo againft
them, and have arrived at Kirkwall.

Saturday morning Lord GRENVILLE and Sir JOHN
NEWPORT had a conference with the Gentlemen
who are bidders for the hill). Loan, at the Irifh Ea•
change-Office, Whitehall, when the following prices
were offered :

Battle, Avgerftein and Co. Ci 49 14 34 per et. for net.
Reed and Irving 149 34 0
Jordaine and Shaw 147 8 o
But as there exceeded the fealed price (142) the ,
offers were not accepted, and the Loan will, it is faid,
be offered to the ContraFlors of the Englifh Loan at
the fealed price.
A firart (hock of an earthquake has done confider-
able damage to the interior of the ifland of Sumatra,
particularly i❑ the Czflia country. A volcano bnrft
nut in the bills, and has difcharged its lava to a great
distance, deilrnying the neighbouring woods ;—the
livers role at the lame time above their banks, and
(wept away numerous villager.
Lieutenant How s, of the South Glnucefler Mi-
litia, tinc7ertook lall week, for a wager of too guineas,
to pick up 'co [tones, each placed one yard distance
feparate from each other, and bring them all to a
balket at the flarting point, within the fpace of 45
minutes. lie performed it on the Prince's Cricketing
Ground, at Prr;gblon. in 44 minutes and 58 feconds.
Confiderably furls were betted on the occafion.
On Sunday fe'nnight, as Mifs Wood, eldell daugh•
ter of Colonel Wood, w-ts (landing with her back to
the fire, in the parlour of her father's houfe, in Hete
ford, her clothes were attralzd by the draft of the
chimr:ey, and taking fire, fhe was irdlantly enveloped
in a flame ; fortonately, the Colonel was in the room,
w!1,,. with admirable pretence of mind, threw his
daurliter or. the carpet, and by rollingher in it, ex-
tingui flied the fire, and fared her life.