Star.
London, England, 1829-09-08 00:00:00

AFFAIRS OF THE EAST.

Russia permitted solidly to annex to her gigantic dominions the
capital and dependencies of the ancient Greek empire, is an event
fraught with our future ruin. The herald of Turkey's fall will
also be the harbinger of England's foundered destiny i—her gran-
deur and her Influence perish from that moment. Reader, I am not
raving :—direct your eyes to the map ;—there behold the prodigious
power, enabled, by increasing population and resource, to effect its
first stride towards the sphere of our action and interests. Remem-
ber that Russia is not the Russia of our fathers; beware bow you
undervalue the strength of a rival of this magnitude and sinew. Be-
hold a people insatiable in ambitionotaturally shrewd, evincing every
day. as civilisation improves their faculties, the highest capabilities
—they are compelled, from the situation of their vast possessions,
to become a maritime people. Their variety of climate and soil,
their necessities and pretensions, oblige them to be commercial ;
while their military strength and improvements in warlike skill,
both from the cultivation of science and from experience, enable
them not only to defend their interests, but to force advantage at
the expense of others. This Power. imprudently depreciated from
its presumed inefficiencies and remote situation, has been weakly
permitted to encroach beyond her frontiers on every side; while
her constancy in the continual attempt proves her ultimate intentions
of universal invasion. Her indigence and meagre population, in
proportion to her extent of territory, have been egregiously elev.
gerated ;—or, if not, her rapid ameliorations in resource, within
the last few years, supersede the antiquated criterion. Or could
we admit her having remained stationary, would not the possession
of Turkey—that garden and granary admirable for its ports,—
washed by convenient seas, swarming with commercial navies of
every nation, and adjacent to the shores of Egypt and Italy. yield
every abundance of wealth and population? The banks of the
White Sea. the Baltic, and the Euxine, teem with the
growth of dock-yard materials ; while the stormy seas of Russia
and its hardy genius are naturally calculated to ferns a transcen-
dent navy, which, although we venture to despise in its present
untried infancy, may soon, powerfully strengthened and matured,
present the unwelcome spectacle of formidable armaments forcing
a passage to the Atlantic from Russia's various seas—and those,
too. organised and commanded with science and success equal to
her present victorious army, which, almost within recollection,
was estimated with contempt. The crisis, we repeat, is awful, and
imbecility alone can slumber over the danger. Let the hopes of our
apathetic and reckless rulers,if entertained sincerely, be realised ; and
poor superannuated Turkey, rising in desperate effort on her last
legs, for this time beat back the Russian Eagle, how shall her ex-
tenuated force, incurably infected with mortal decay, ever again be
able to scare the awful enemy when Inclined to pounce upon his
quarry ? The Muscovite has tasted the bread of the Romelia, and
the sweet savour will cling for ever to his palate. Come what
may, he will at least, slavered by the Balkan, sit firmly down in
Belga& ; where.gathering force, he will only waits more favour-
able occasion to sweep, like a torrent, forward. So, let the small
diplomatic tricksters, governing in despite of incapacity, think to
avert the actual peril in the name of GOD ; but can a peace,
however favourably granted, now secure us against an imme.
diate recurrence of the self same danger? Is any one a dupe
to the object of Russia and believe she can be satisfied with any
thing short of Constantinople? Yes! yes! let Wellington at last
show some sign of diplomatic skill and influence, by effecting a
peace ;—but what advantage will be a little breathing-time from
inevitable discomfiture? Indeed inevitable, if an opposite policy
be not adopted instanter. But alas! this camp-schooled Statesman,
with his military colleagues and Jesuitic instruments, the wretched
laequks of illmaasticar,seents disinclined even to attempt so much.
Like the profligate Osman, whose Regtisey sealed the ruin of
France, they seem, in the selfish gratification of place and pension,
to sneer at the accumulating dangers they wickedly promote in the
heartless indulgence of that sentiment of immortal infamy—
" Ares nous le Wage."

To be continued.

••• • •

M. PERs AT, a French Officer, rescued, in 1821, a
Turkish girl of 15 years of age, from the massacre committed by
the Greeks at Tripolltza, and conducted her the year following to
Marseilles, where her history excited so muck interest that she was
received in the family of the Governor, Baron DaMA, convened
to Christianity, and delivered of an infant, the fruit of her previous
connection with her liberator, who, having promised to marry her,
now claims both the mother and child by due noun of law.
Monday se'nnight the infant daughter of Mr. J. Lynch,
Killarmi, was burned to death by falling from the arms of its nurse
into the Ste.
We are happy to learn that a chapel is about to be built
in the vicinity of St. Giles's for the use of the thousands of Irish
who Inhabit that put of the city, and who have not a single place
of worship to congregate In on the Lord's day. Every nation and
people have their church In Ludo* but the Irish. Little wonder
they should be so regardless of keeping the Sabbath holy when the
sacred obligation of doing sale never impressed upon their minds.
We are glad to say that the design bas the support of the highest
dignitaries of the church, and we trust its valuable claims will meet
with liberal support and eztensive patronage. It is intended that the
service shall be performed in the English language in the morning,
and in the Irish in the evening.
Friday afternoon a porter in the employment of a corn-
merchant in Leith absconded with 4001. which he was intrusted to
lodge in one of the banks.
The Right lion. RICHARD, Earl of GLENOALL, has
bees elected a Representative Peer for Ireland, in the room of
Cousin Joint, Earl of Bxesuirros, deceased.
Sir THOMAS BYAM MARTIN, K.C.B. Comptroller of
the Navy Board, arrived at Devonport cm Thursday with his Se-
usury, on an racial visit, and has since returned to London.
lieutenant PATTERSON, formerly of Dromore, county
of Down, and acting Brigade-major at Sierra Leone, has fallen a
victim to the pestilence which has lately swept away so many of
the military and civilians In that swamp of death.

CORPORATION EXPENDITURE.

THE GRAND GRAND ENTERTAINMENT TO THE EMPEROR OF

RUSSIA, &C. &C. AT GUILDHALL.

Numbers of persons who are interested in City matters
have been assiduous In their inquiries into the cost of the splendid
entertainment to the Monarchs and Generals who visited this
country after the Peace; but not only the items, but the gross
amount of the expenditure, have been kept up to the present time
a dead secret. The document, to which no persons except the
members of the Common Council have access, and which they are
bound not to exhibit nor to state the nature of, passed silently over
this most sumptuous treat.
The attempt to keep the citizens of London in the dark, with
respect to the" Monarchs Feed" (as this celebrated day's eating
and drinking has been denominated), has ceased to be successful,
a. the following list of charges wiU testify :
Expenses of the Dinner, &c. given to the Emperor of Russia, the
King of Prussia, &c. by the City of London, in the year 1814 ;
Sir Wm. Domville, Mayor
General expenses £80.033 7 10
Dills, bars, &c.

£10,317 5 2
Items of expenditure on the Feast-Jay to the Monarchs.
Carpentets, bricklayers, &c.
Upholder, Scc.
Hire and removal of chande1ier5............ 912 13 2
Hire of plate
liutlerage . 451 H 9
Cooks, confectioners 2.899 18 6
Wines
Music 147 11 0
Florist
Waiters, attendants, &c . 37 14 6
Tavern-bills for attendants out of the ball
Gravelling the streets 441 0 0
Constables 129 11 0
Alteration of the Comptroller's house.... .........
Frieda& engraving, ats 679 3 0
Sundries... u43 9 2
Committee's expenses. ....
Officers, bills, gratuities, &c . ...... .. ..... .. .. 1,359 10 7

£20.03S 7 10
The following is the amount of the ezpenses incurred snowily
by the City Committees :
City Lands' Committee £7oo 0 0
Bridge.house Estates do 5OO 0 0
Gresham do
Sewers do
Thames Navigation do.
Coal and Corn do.
General Purposes do.
Improvement do.
Port of London 450 0 0

04,030 O 0

By the standing order of the Court of Common Council, the
expenses of the Committees are not to exceed the above sums. The
duties of the members of all these Committees are very heavy, and
not one who happens to be five minutes behind the hour appointed
fur meeting ever gets a morsel of dinner allotted in consideration
of the due perfermance of the business of the Corporation.
The expenses of the other Committees are defrayed out of funds
with which the Corporation have nothing to do, and to several
there is no allowance whatever. Of those are the Committees of
the Irish Society; the Committee of the Select London Bridge,
the expenses of which are paid out of the general expenses of the
New Bridge, and uhich will cease to (lilt so soon as the bridge
shall have been completed ; the Committee of St. Bartholomew's
Hospital, of the London Workhouse, of Christ's Hospital. of
liridewell and Bethlehem, and of St. Thomas's Hospital.
Of those Committees to which no allowance is made, although
they have duties vs perform, are the following : The Tithe Com-
mittee, the Gaol and Finance Committee, the Pocket-Book Com-
mittee. the Wholesale Dealers' Committee, the Committee relating
to °Seers and Clerks, the Sprcial Committee upon the Toil in
Thames-street. and the Literary Committee.