Star.
London, England, 1817-11-14 00:00:00

DUTCH MAIL.

'.t• Mail of this morning brings the following
,ticks

HAGUE. NOVEMBER 10.
According to the proposed law for a tax 011 Me.

,ed property, which is now under discussion in the
;.-coed Chamber of the States General, there is an
r. mire exemption for property in the direct line ascend-
',
:t log or descending, and for propesty the value of
'i which does not exceed ;;00 francs. In all other cases
' the duties are fixed upon a just basis, according to
fr
e the degree of relationship, viz. for husband or wife,,
Ind for brother and sister, 4 per cent.—for nephews
' and nicces, uncles and aunts, and their immediate
' descendants and ascendants, 6 Jet cent.--and for all
fr distant relatives or other persons, 10 per cent.
t."
SICOND tIIASIDER OF TIIX 5TAT1043113:1114Lp NOV. 7.
(Two Addresses were presented from a number of
great Mercantile Hotses of Amsterdam and hotter.
t. dam, against the Bill respecting the l'es Trade, now
t,44 ardor discussion in the Chamber.
The President caused to be read the proposal of
the Central Committee, respecting the frontier line
/ between the Provinces of Groningen and Drenthe.—
The discu.sion of the proposed law. on the subject
was fixed for the next sitting.
,
1 SITTING OW 11Tu Novzianun

The order of the day was the debate on the law
respecting the froneer lire of Groningen and Drenthe.
Nobody desiring to speak, the question was put to
the vote and carried.
BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 9.
The extraordinary special tribunal beard on Satur-
day, the accusation brought against the son of the
ommissary of Police, Snellinkx, at Ghent, accused
of having written mid circulated a poem against the
Government. The Court found that the piece in
question contained injurious expressions concerning
the reigning family, but the accused not being con-
victed of having circulated it, acquitted him.
VIENNA, OCTOBER as.

It is generally affirmed that Russia has made sr_
gent proposals to the Powers of the first and second
rank, inviting than to join in measures against the
African Pirates, and that the negociatioos are pro.
seeding with great activity.
The peraguion given to the 'sinuous Protestant
Congregations to the Austrian Monarchy to celebrate
Festival of the Reforinaden, is considered as a
proof of the gracious sentiments of the Enipe.
or, and of the evident progress of a truly religious
• it in our Monarchy. The regulations and prayers
Tv been published, which the Consistories of. the
ugsburgh and Helvetic Confessions have proscribed.
• publication serves to correct the erroseciar idea
by some persons, that she Austrian Go.
. ,
lionnent is -sot liberal in its treatment of the Pro.

fi ~.

;••• " •
.•• _ Y:t • :14!

ENGLISH IN ITALY.

RATRART FROM A PRIVATE LATTER FROM AN ENOUGH
TRAVALLZR, DATED FLOAANCEI (=OEM 1.

" After rentaining at Pisa three weeks, and geolo-
Rising fora time on the Piss Mountains, I am now
reposing hom the toils of travel on the banks of the
Arno. Florence is situated in a narrow part of the
vale; the heights on each side rise to a considerable
elevation, and the country around covered with vines,
olives, fruit-trees, and villas, is the. most beautiful
that can be imagined. The city, howevever, is far
from being healthy. Its hospitals, or rather human
slaughter.honses, are full, and the sick throughout
the city are tsumerous. The physicians seem to know
nothing of the means of remedy, and catarrhal com-
plaints, colds, Sze. are extremely prevalent, although
the weather is still hot. About a week ago the ther-
mometer was at 82. an hoar after sun-set ; now it is
at 72. but the wind sharp and cold. One circum-
stance to which much of this disease may be owing
is, that the Arno, which divides the city, is rendered
nearly stagnant by a number of mill dams, so that
clouds of noxious exhalations may be seen ascending
almost every day from its muddy bottom. Nearly
every twelfth person is somehow or other deformed;
yet handsome men and women are numerous. In
their manner of living and whole tastes and habits,
there is a sad deviation from nature and morality.
No poring English penosi, ersale or female, should he
allowed to travel alone through this country. I
would not marry the finest Englishwoman living if
she had lived six months in Italian hotels. Almost
every thing, too, in point of subsistence, is extremely
dear, much dearer than in London, and of quality
most execrable. It is true you may dine for about
two shillings and sixpence, if yon can eat putrid
fish or stinking meat, and drink sour wine ; but if
the articles are at all tolerable, you have to pay
a much higher price than you would do lir the very
best of the same description at home. Even cream
of tartar, the peculiar product of this part of Italy, is
as dear as in England; in quality, however, it is ex-
cellent, being perfectly and totally soluble. The wine
of Florence has been much vaunted, but to tny taste
with very little reason. It is not at all to be compared
with that of Aoste, which is really as good a wine as
1 ever drank—strong bodied, cool, moderately sweet I
and nourishing, without being intoxicating. The Flo-
rence wine, the only cheap article they have, costs
12 sous a bottle—that of Aoste costs 16 sons. In
general the wine of Italy is most wretched—sharp,
'acid and irritating. Florence and Aoste are the best
exceptions, and the former I only drink Asr farce, as
the water is of too vile a quality to be used with
safety. A Journal of Science was begun last year,
but lived only seventeen weeks. The Gazette, a small.
Newspaper, is the only periodical publication here;
'add in it I was pleased to read a translation from the
STAR of an able article on the real state of Britain
and its resources. It is, indeed, doing a great wrong
to our country, to encourage a belief that our manu-
factures are become, from the pressure of public bur-
dens, in the least inferior to what they once were.
The English manufacturks are still incomparably su-
perior to every thing which I have been able to meet
with either in this or any other part of the Continent.
They are in fact about one-half cheaper, and on an
average about three times better than any ether pro-
ductions which the Continent can produce to rival
them ; and as long as this is the ease, we need not fear
their losing that preference which they have always
hitherto commanded."