Star.
London, England, 1827-04-11 00:00:00

and Deputy • Ai"hetet • Commissaries-General. Mr.
Bisset, the Commissary-General at head-quarters, is
reckoned a man of great experience and capacity ,
sod as the'service is limited and small, in proportion
to the number of officers on half pay who were anxious
wise employed, none have been called into active service
but those who have inspired confidence by their previous
conduct. The number of 40 Commissariat officers seems
very great in proportion to the amount of the military
force—being one Commissary for less than 200 men;
but this disproportion maybe accounted for and justified
by recent changes in this department of administration,
and by the nature of the present service. By a late
Treasury arrangement, the custody of the military chest
(which belonged to the Paymaster-General's depart-
ment) has been joined to the Commissariat, while the
Storekeeper• General's duty and responsibility have like-
wise been transferred to the same department, on the
suppression and discontinuance of that office.
The contracts for the supply of the troops, on account
of their being small, are obtained at moderate rates.
No bills are to be drawn on the Treasury so as to turn
the exchanges against us. The money both for paying
the troops and for discharging the contracts is to be
sent from England, and supplied by Mr. Rothschild.
I have mentioned above, the apparently dispropor-
tioned number of Commissaries of different ranks who
are now with the army, and it may not be uninterest-
ing to explain the reason why they are so numerous.
There are upwards of twenty of them Deputy Assist-
ant Commissary Generals, who perform the bffice of
clerks. The great number created during the last war,
and now existing on half pay, suggested to the Treasury
the advantage of employing a proportion oPthe inferior
officers at full pay in the capacity of clerks, rather theta
employing clerks at a less salary. The army has thud
the benefit of their experience, without imposing any
additional charge to the country, or creating any new
claims to support at• the end of their service. The
difference between their half pay and their pay on active
service is not more than must have been given to super-
numerary officers of an inferior rank.—Economy rs
thus consulted, while efficiency is seemed. •
The system of management now adopted renders it
Impossible for a Commissary to derive dishonest gains
from the public expenditure. The principal contracts
for supplying the troops are not left to be made by each
Commissary for his respective charge, but are entered
into by the Commissary-General for the whole army.
Even the discretion of this officer is extremely limited
in the transaction. A competition for the contracts
must be established by public advertisement, and
tenders can only be opened in the presence of the
Commander of the forces and the Commissary of ac-
counts, both of whom must concur in deciding on the
,offer most advantageous for the public service. The
transactions of the different Commissaries, by whom
the contracts are carried into effect, are afterwards
most completely checked by the contractor, for his 01111

_. Gaaste„ others ►.
891110 public sad several !nitrate Bills.

PUMAS&
The Duke of BUCKINGHAM, with reference to the
Petition he yesterday presented, rose to call their Lord-
ships attention to their Standing Orders. His LsrilstCp
then read the 128th Order, which requires that these
Lordships shall not proceed to consider any caw reli-
live to the Peerage till after the Petition calling on their
ILordships to consider it, shall have been four teen days
before them. This Standing Order, however, did not
bind the party presenting the Petition to proceed within
any limited period ; be should, thertfore, move their
Lordships to make an amendment to this Standiog Or-
der, requiring all persons claimirg a Peerage to lay a
printed statement of the evidence•for their claims be-
fore their Lordships within six weeks from the time of
presenting the Petition, if Parliament were then'asssens-
bled, or within six weeks after the next meeting of
Parliament.
After a few words from the Earl of LAUDERDALE, this
Amendment to their Lordships' Standing Order was agreed to.
The Duke of BUCKINGHAM then moved, that Mr.
Chandos Leigh's Petition be referred to the Committee
of Privileges, to which the Petition of Mr. Geo. Leigh
was referred, giving him power to cross-examine wit-
nesses, and to bring forward such evidence as he might
' 6nd necessary to rebut any assertions of Mr. G. Leigh's
statement, injurious to himself.
After a few words from the LORD CEA
I REDESDALE, the motion was agreed to.

Lord

CORM Laws.
The Earl of MALMESBURY moved for a return
of all the sheep and lambs wool imported into this
country since the year 1825, distinguishing such as had
paid a du y of one penny in the pound, -from such as
had paid only one halfpenny. His Lordship explained,
that this return would :hew their Lordships what sort
of wool had been imported into this country, and in
what manner that importation bad injured the agr:cul•
turists. His Lordship also moved for a return of the
quantity of grain and flour warehoused in this country,
or entered inwards to be warehoused, up to the late t
period to which such returns could be made up, Maim-
giatuts the place where such corn and flour vete

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11,256 reis, and it is possible that even this sum interest on the one hand, and by the account
educed; but as theft calculations are liable to merit on the other. This latter department is este=
d the Government must by no means be exposed to receive the commissariat accounts at short periodos
means 'to ctrry on the businessof the State, the and to audit them on the spot. •
✓ had already authorised the Government to A new set of regulations has been sent out by *a •
a loan of 4,000,000,000 reis. last packet, which will effectually shut she door on • 1
Ommittee, tberefote, proposes a project of Law some abuses which prevailed during the last war.. •
Articles—one and two firing the expenditure As supplies -for the army were thee often required
ipt at the sums above mentioned, and the third, when mom for immediate payment was waiving,
deficit shall be made up by the balance of last receipts were hastily given, and claims established, ill
~ d
by the loan. of which have not yet been eetirely liquidated. Tim 1
ebate on the Estimates commenced, and waste new regulations put a bar on all such claims, by intro-.
toed in the next Sitting. during into every agreement made for the service, a • A:
aum••••••••• clause, that if demand of payment is not made within ••1
PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. three months from the time it the contract, the claim , kt
........;—• will be forfeited. . .
• miss sox assn 270w4kaday itailleial dlysithmesssocaiewl hoar •
i
L 158014 Maws an
Madrid, with the important abatable Coast f
wit sots tin,. Ma; sit aeairsom. . : of Spin, having at last Aim** Ot peffillate iO its . 4,
Lead-ipastess of our Arnyhavia, withia, the lost mama of aggression and tailieny• earths
s been transferred from Coimbra to Leyria. frentsee,hdgeoleed to &ends' appand 11thaattats • • ..
ll finally be fixed at Santarem, on the Tagus, to give all the explanations of its past conduct bid; I
troops will occupy a line between that tows circumstances required, end all the assurances for the
and Thomar. British soldiers still, howeve7, future which even the pacific disposition of the English ,r.
Coimbra, though head-quarters have retro- Cabinet might be ready to exact. The Nobleman se-
t
4
The reason for this backward movement is lected for this embassy is Count d'Ofalia. In the note
rbe the necessity of being nearer our supplies, addressed to Mr. .Lamb, which announced the ap- - f
security which a more concentrated position pointment of an. extraordinary Envoy, the most satis- . l,
al
o the capital and to the Government. The co- factory 4eclarations were given of the desire of the Spa- t
ipersion of the armed force of the rebels in the nish Golernment to renew cordial and amicable rile-
es, renders it unnecessary to give any support to tions with that of England. It was even formally stated. I.
stitutional army in the north, and thus leaves that Spain bad already a Minister at London whom she
ish General the power of best consulting the in. did not intend to recall; but that,as great misunderstand- ff
I, )
4‘
if his troops, and the protection of Lisbon.— logs had of late prevailed, and ns a series of angry dis-
not learnt the precise amount of force, rank cussions had taken place between she Ministers of the .
• which he has under his command ; but all two Powers, Spain was anxious fo make the first offer:
s concur in making it between 6,000 and 7,000 of renewed confidencethrough the medium of a special. i
With one wing on the Taps, at Santarem, embassy, thus giving extraordinary solemnity •and im-
i other on the Lis, at Leyria, and having coin- portance to any communication which she might now
Immand of•the Tagus by the power of our fleet, make. As the Spanish Minister was to leave Madrid ,
: possession. of the fortresses at its mouth, a on the 21st or 22d instant, he may probably have ar-
iilitary body is sufficient-for its own security, and rived in England before this letter.
protection of the Constitutional Government At the same time that Ferdinand thus endeavours to
sudden aggression. It is now well known that satisfy England with respect to his conduct and inter-
treaty concluded at Brighton, between the tions, his authorities on the frontiers have partially 1
is of Fahnella and Mr. Canning, our troops are fulfilled their e,gagements,to the Portuguese Govern.. !ti
py fort Sc. Julian and the opposite Castle in the meat, as to the surrender of the rebels arms. None of
; and that they ate to be supplied with provi- the horses, however, have yet been' delivered up ; but,
wring their stay at the expense of- the Portuguese Although the Spanish Government cannot own the - i
, .
intent. In this supply of provisions are includ- Tact, probably Portugal can justly lay claim to few of
id, meat, wine, and flour, for the troops, Loge- them. The arms were clearly those of Portugal, because
th corn and other forage for the horses. These being the property of the State, they had been car-
i
1, however, are not be furnished in kind. The tied into Spain by Portuguese deserters; but the horses,
Commissariat advertise for contracts in all these which had mostly been bought with Apostolic money, or I ii
I, and pay the contractors directly, leaving to had been presented by the Spanish Authorities, though
Irish Government the settlement of the account their possession evinced greater cause for dissatisfac. . ,
IC Government of Lisbon, at the end of our nil- tion than the arms, could not with equal urgency be 4
occupation. reclaimed. The excuse given for reclaiming them is i
e were to judge from tbe preparations oedema ridiculous enough, bet may be accepted without dis: i
g for the maintenance of oar troops in Portugal, honour by a willing and placable party, when. no bet.
mid conclude that their stay would not be of ter can be given. This excuse, in several instances, has
luration. Large magazines are forming along been that the horses have run ~,,,y, or lime fdio,wed ,
eof our military occupation, and a large coin- their riders into the interior. As an additional reason, i 1
iat has been seat out to replenish and superintend for confidence in the durability of those friendly relit- l g
:pots. Before the arrival of the. last packet tions which Spain now professes such a willingness to
i brought out three Gentlemen connected with the reestablish, the Cabinet of Ferdinand has given _ ,i
sissariat department), we had in Portugal no less orders for a retrograde movement of its troops on the
thirty-nine Commissaries-General, Deputy Com- frontier. The withdrawal of a part of the Army of
ries-General, Assistant Commissaries-General. Occupation into the interior is stated as a certain fact, i
Deputy Assistant Commissaries-General. Mr. though the cause assigned for it is different, according 'l.
, the Commissary-General at head-quarters, is to the political principles or excusable suspicions of the .1 ,
lied a man of great experience and capacity; parties who speak on the subject. By some it is as-
s _ I
the service is limited and small, in proportion cribed to the fear of a conststutional fever among the
number of othcers on half pay who were anxious troops; by others, to returning good faith on the part .
employed, none have been called into active service of the Government. Probable the influence of the •
ose who have inspired confidence by their previous former, joined to a persuasion of the impossibility of ' i
ict. The number of 40 Commissariat officers seems effecting any important object on the frontier, while an
great in proportion to the amount of the military English force possesses the command of Lisbon, and '
—being one Commissary for less than 200 men ; protects the existence of the new Government, may be 1/4
is disproportion maybe accounted for and justified the real cause of this temporary but politic retreat. .
vent changes in this department of administration, essaremsarese r
I, the nature of the present service. By a late - IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. ',c
ury arrangement, the custody of the military chest ~.•
r
I belonged to the Paymaster-General's depart- HOUSE OF LORDS, Ars= to. •
1 has been joined to the Commissariat, while the Sir Aim. G*aar, and others been the Commons, brought up
leponer.General's duty and resnentibilitv have like- MOM Pew and several Private Bills- a