Star.
London, England, 1821-05-08 00:00:00

BRITISH PEERAGE.

The number of Peers of Great Britain, inde:
pendent of the Bishops, is exactly Five Hundred ;
of these 56 have become ennobled as courtiers; 19
as younger branches of nobility ; 39 as statesmen ; 16
by diplomatic, 17 by naval, 57 by military, 39 by
legal services, 39 by marriage, and 227 by the influ-
ence of wealth, &c. There are 92 bachelors, 64
widowers, and 314 who are married. Of the 408 mar-
ried 'and widowers, 99 are without children ; and the'
remaining 309 have now living 755 sons and 703.
daughters. The paternal descent of 156 Peers can
be traced to the Conquest, or 11th century; that of
51 to the 12th, 52 to the 13th, 35 to the 15th, 60 to
the 16th, 59 to the 17th, and three to the 18th cen-
tury ; the genealogies of the remaining 49 cannot be
traced with sufficient accuracy to warrant insertion.
The ancestors of 78 of the Peers, whose descent can
be traced to the Conquest, were settled in England
previous to that event ; the other 78 came over with
the Conqueror. Of the ancestors of the remainder,
81 have emigrated to this country since that period.

By late accounts from Vienna we learn, that her
Excellency, Lady VANE STEWART, the British Am-
bassadress, was happily delivered, on the 26th of,
April, of a fine boy, who is heir to the large estates
in the county of Durham. We are happy to add,
that her Excellency and the infant are doing as well
as possible.
Yesterday, the Earl of Wurrwonin and Duchess
of DoasEr gave a superb dinner, at their house in
Grcsvenor-square, to the Earl and Countess of Pt.y-
mourn, Earl and Countess of VERULAU, Lord
STRATHAVEN, M.P. Sir CHARLES and Lady CAVEN-
DISH, and EDWARD and Lady BARER, Mr. CECIL
JENKINSON, M.P. and a large party of distinguished
personages. The Earl of WIHTWCRTIE and Duchess
of DORSET left town to-day, for their seat in Kent.

The estate of BOYD and BENVIELD is now enabled
to clear itself, and leave to the surviving partner, Mr.
Bon), a surplus of Eighty Thousand Pounds. Many of
our City friends will recollect, that the failure of this
house caused the ruin of E. P. SOLOMON; whose debt
will now be paid off. There is a circumstance con-
nected with this business, which we are sure will af-
ford pleasure to our Readers. A Mr. MYER COVEN,
who was a partner in the house of SOLOMON; and
who has suffered severely from the res angusta donti,
on /earning that a surplus would now remain to him
from the estate, sufficient to afford him a comfortable
competence for the remainder of his life, absolutely
fainted away with excess of joy. Those who remem-
ber the Gentleman in the days of his affluence, his
charity, integrity, and benignity of character, will,
no doubt, sympathize in his feelings.
Friday, at Windsor Quarter Sessions, If'. Cooper
was tried for stealing elm planks from Frogmore, the
property of her Royal Highness the Princess Au-
ousta.—Guilty.—Transpoi tation for seven years.
At the General Quarter Sessions for Hull, Ann,
the wife of F. Bowen, was tried for assaulting and
ill-treating, at various times, H. Bowen, a child be-
tween five and six years of age, son of the said F.
Bowen, by a former wife. It appeared that she had
repeatedly thrown the poor child upon the floor, and
kicked it while thus laid, threatening she would kick
its bowels out. She had been seen to throw the fire-
poker at it, and nearly the whole of its body was
covered with cuts and wounds. The prisoner did
not attempt to deny the ill-treatment, but allegertin
her defence, that the child was so uncleanly, that she
was compelled to have recourse to chastisement, to
break its evil habits. The RECORDER, in passing
sentence, observed, that had not the flogging of wo-
men been abolished by a late Act of Parliament, he
should have thought it right to have subjected her to
that punishment, in order that she herself might have
been made to feel a portion of that misery she had
inflicted upon this helpless infant. The Jury, in de-
livering their verdict, wished their sentiments might
be conveyed to the Governor of the Poor, who had
so humanely and properly taken up the prosecution,
that he would never let the child be returned to this
inhuman mother-in-law. She was to be imprisoned
in the jail for two years.
The trial of Bridget Batterly and Bridget Ennis,
for the murder of Miss Marry flames, at the house
of Captain PECK, Portland-place, Dublin, and for the
robbery of Captain PECK, came on at Dublin on
Wednesday last. The evidence produced did not,
add anything important to the circumstances respect-
ing this horrid affair, with which the Public are al-
ready acquainted. The Jury found the prisoners
Guilty on both indictments. Sentence of death was
then passed upon them, and was to be put in execu-
tion at Kilmainham on Friday last.
Thursday, the 26th ultimo, the trial of James. Mac
Conachy, late Master of thesloop Thomas, of Port
Bannatyne, took place at Rothesay, before SAMUEL
M‘Coascict, Esq. the Sheriff-Depute of Buteshire,
and a respectable Jury. The accused was charged
with falsehood, fraud, and wilful imposition, in hav-
ing shipped a quantity of Sourlie coals at Irvine,
amounting to twenty-three tons and a half, and there-
after selling the same cargo to William Stirling, Esq.
residing at Port Bannatyne, as a cargo of twenty-
eight tons. The case being clearly proved, the Jury,
on Friday morning, returned an unanimous verdict,
finding the prisoner Guilty. The SHERINT, after a
suitable address, sentenced the prisoner to six months
imprisonment in the jail of Rothesay, and thereafter
to be banished from the county of Bute for seven years.
FlRE.—Yesterday an alarming fire broke out at
Clayton House, Upper Clapham, occupied by Mr.
D. HEARNE, which was occasioned by the servant
setting
.the drawing-room window-curtains on fire.
One wing of the house, containing six rooms, was
burnt before assistance could be had, and the other
part was saved by a wall. The house was elegantly
furnished.

Friday night, an extensive copse of furze in Wind-
sor Great Park, adjoining Virginia Water, was set
on fire by some incendiary. The flames spread wall
astonishing rapidity, and the whole copse was en-
tirely consumed in a very short time. Considerable
damage was done also to the ueighbourinf planta-
tions. On the following morning; as Mr. fuaNza,
one of the keepers of the Great Park, was walking
over the scene of the conflagration, he discovered a
pheasant's nest, with the poor bird, though scorched
almost to a cinder, still in a sitting posture on the
eggs. The nest, with the bird and eggs, was taken
carefully up, and brought to the Palace at Carlton
House with the intelligence of the conflagration,