sider them as the engines of a conspiracy devoted to those purposes. He was, therefore, decidedly in favour of an immediate inquiry. Sir Francis Burdett said, he had heard so many stories in circulation, which he had never had the smallest doubt were calumnies, that, without knowing any thing more of the motion than what he had heard from the Hon. Gentleman, he had seconded it. He could have no other rea son for doing this, than a sincere wish that these stories should be fairly brought to the test before that House, and there receive that decision which he had no doubt would be highly honourable to the character of the illustrious personage who had been so vehemently assailed by them. Mr Adam said, with respect to all those alleged facts, which the Hon. Gentleman had brought forward, he had not the smal Jest doubt it would ultimately turn out that they were founded in falsehood and misrepresentation. With respect to money, there were some circumstances in the transactions which positively forbade him from believing them possible to attach to his Royal Highness the Duke of York. He had been more than twenty years gratuitously in the service of his Royal Highness; and, from motives of justice, he thought it his duty to declare, that he had ever received the most unbounded confidence from his Royal Highness, as to all his pecuniary affairs; and he could positively say, that he never heard of any loan, which he wished or attempted to negociate, with any individual whatever, that was not grounded on ás fair and honourable terms as a loan of the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Northumberland, or any nobleman could be.-He was, therefore, an advocate for the in quiry, and should be happy that the five facts, or alleged facts, which had been stafed by the Hon. Gentleman, should be speedily inquired into. It was his advice that it should take place in a Committee of the whole House, where every Member would be a witness to it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was decidedly in favour of an inquiry, but preferred a Committee of the whole HouseThe Hon. Gentleman, who brought for ward the motion, had stated, that an agency extended to situations in church and state, as well as the army, and that two great officers in his Majesty's present Councils were privy to this office. Mr Wardle said, the office was in a court out of Threadneedle Street; one of the agent's names was Dunlop, and he thought the other was Warren. The two great officers who had been mentioned were the Chancellor and the Duke of Portland. (A loud laugh.) There were variety of places for sale, some in Jamaica and some in England. He did not wish to keep back any thing. The Chancellor of the Exchequer then 'moved that the Committee be of the whole House. Mr Canning expressed his admiration of the conduct of the Hon. Gentleman in bringing forward these charges, if his motives were purely patriotism and the public welfare; but it was not to be disguised, that, when this charge was once brought forward, it must, some how or other, be brought to a conclusion, and he begged him to recollect, that ignominy and infamy must attach somewhere. There had been a degree of calumny the most extensive, and attended with a brutality of insult, which would almost make one regret the liberty of the press, if it were not that the evil was transient, while the good was perpetual. Mr Whitbread thought that the Duke of York was obliged to his Hon. Friend for bringing forward this charge, and though he had no doubt the illustrious Commander in Chief would be found innocent, yet if The be, no infamy or ignominy could attach to his Hon. Friend, who had acted in discharge of his duty as an independent member of Parliament. The Right Hon. Gen. tleman (Mr Yorke) had ascribed this inquiry to a conspiracy, not only against the Duke of York, but against the illustrious House of Brunswick, and as sapping the foundation of the constitution of the country; and threw out some hints against the liberty of the press. He should have recollected, that the liberty of this country was established upon the accession of that family to the throne of England. If those calumnies did exist, it was the duty of his Majesty's Ministers, and of the Law Officers of the Crown, to institute prosecutions, and punish these calumniators. Lord Castlereagh said, it was a proud situation for the constitution of this country, as well as for the illustrious person who was the subject of this accusation, to have a personage the most exalted in rank of any subject in the realm (except one,) desiring the same publicity in the examination of the charges against him, as would take place in the case of the lowest and meanest subject. There certainly did exist a conspiracy, which turned the attributes of the liberty of the press to the destruction of the state. The question was then put, "that the Committee be a Committee of the whole House," and was carried without a division. Historical Affairs. INDIA. ACCOUNTS have been lately rics at CCOUNTS have been lately recei Serampore. They are all well, and dili. gently employed in the work of translating the Scriptures into the Indian and Chinese languages. They have received the same protection as formerly, since the British were in possession of Serampore. Seven churches now exist at Serampore, Dinage pore, Cuteva, Jessore, Goamally, Calcutta, and Bangeor. At the latter place, Mr Felix Carey, who received instruction in medicine in the hospital of Calcutta, and from Dr Taylor, has introduced the vaccine inoculation in the kingdom of Burmah, and has been sent for to inoculate the Governor's children. AMERICAN STATES. On the 20th December, a bill was reported for prohibiting commercial intercourse between the United States and Great Britain and France. By the 11th section of this bill, the operation of the act and the embargo acts shall cease, provided Great Britain and France revoke or modify their orders and decrees. In short, hardly any thing else seems to occupy the attention of the American representatives but the embargo, and the circumstances connected with it. On the 30th December, the resolution for raising 50,000 volunteers was adopt ed in a Committee of the whole, and debated at length in the House. From this and several other circumstances, it would not be surprising if the States should finally resolve upon a war, in preference to their present system of embargo. A bill passed the American Senate, voting 4000 seamen for the better man ning that part of the naval force which was to be employed in the enforcement of the embargo laws. The bill was, however, rejected in the other House, by a majority of thirteen.. March 1809. Mr Smith, secretary to the American navy, in a report, states, that the sum of 2,662,949 dollars, and 51 cents. will be wanting in the ensuing year for the support of the navy; that the addition al number of officers and seamen required for the public service, which cannot be employed without the autho rity of a special act of Congress, is as follows:-284 midshipmen and 2000 seamen. The President had intimated to the ship owners, that they might be fur nished with licences for a given num. ber of vessels, which were to be allow. ed to proceed to sea in ballast, on the special condition of returning (under a penalty) with a cargo of salt. Several of the northern States of the Union have publicly avowed their determination to resist the further continuance of the embargo restrictions. In New England, town meetings have again been held, and strong resolutions enter ed into. In Boston, Rhode Island, and other States, the Collectors and Comp. trollers of the Customs have resigned their situations, finding it impossible to maintain them against the will of the people. In Connecticut, the merch ants and people had held meetings, at which they had earnestly and deliberately determined to be the first to set an example of resistance to the oppression of the Government, and no longer submit to the privations, inflicted on them by the embargo laws. The American papers of the 27th January contain sufficient proofs of the indignation in which the embargo laws are held, and of the determination of the people to resist the execution of them, if the Government do not immediately repeal them.-Ships sail in de fiance of the laws, and the Government officers are wholly unable to enforce the orders of the Executive. Some of these officers have resigned, and the military have refused to fire upon a tumultuous meeting. Associations have been held in different parts of America, and the strongest strongest resolutions have been passed against the Government, One of the resolutions passed at Boston was, that "we view, with the deepest concern and astonishment, the determination of the general Government to persevere in a system of commercial restriction, which is equally repugnant to the true interest and design of the Constitution, and to the best interests of the Union; or to relax it with a view only to a state of hostility, which must probably terminate in an unsuccessful and ruinous war with Great Britain, and a fatal alliance with France; that having therefore expressed our disapprobation of the laws imposing an embargo on commerce, and signified to the constituted authorities of the Union our earnest wish for their repeal, we perceive, with indignation and regret, that unprecedented, arbitrary, and unconstitutional means have been provided for enforcing them, and that no resource remains to us but in the protection of our State Legislature." WEST INDIES. The arrival of General Prevost, with 12,000 men, off Martinique, has been announced. He was to attack that island immediately. The French garrison was said to amount to 4000 men, and a vigorous opposition was expected. Hostilities seem to have commenced with an attack on Pigeon Island, off Martinique, which was taken by the Circe frigate, Captain Collier, after a severe engagement. The capture of this island will facilitate the attack upon Mar. tinique. Guadaloupe is next to be attacked; and should our troops prove successful there, they are finally to attack Cayenne, and thus to deprive the French of all their West India posses. sions. In the month of November, a body of Spaniards landed from Porto Rico, and attacked the French in St Domin. go. General Ferrand, who commanded the French, marched out of the town to oppose them, at the head of a respectable body of men; but part of his own force, who were Spaniards, joining the enemy, the General was so much disconcerted, that he put an end to his own life with a pistol. He is spoken of by our countrymen in the West Indies in the highest terms of esteem. The Spaniards had not got possession of the city of St Domingo in the beginning of December, but it was expected soon to fall into their hands, as the garrison and inhabitants were in the greatest distress from the want of provisions; nor was there any probability of their obtaining a supply, the ports being blockaded by British vessels, and all communication with the interior cut off by the Spaniards. Samona, that famous rendezvous for a horde of privateers in St Domingo, has been captured by his Majesty's frigates Franchise, Aurora, and Reindeer and Pert brigs. On the 10th Dec. these vessels anchored off the town, when the alarm was soon spread, and, at the sight of such a superior force, the principal part of the inhabitants, consisting of upwards of 900 men, women, and children, sought refuge on board the Exchange privateer, of 14 guns and 100 men, and another privateer, lying in the harbour, expecting they would be able to effect their escape to St Domingo, with the assistance of their sweeps. The men of war, perceiving their intention, immediately dispatched four boats, well manned, after them, which soon came up with and captured them. In the mean time, several other boats proceeded to storm the fort, which was accomplished after a slight resistance. We regret, however, to add, that Capt. Dyer, of the Aurora, was dangerously wounded in the head by a musket ball, while landing the party. Four vessels, lying in the harbour, laden with coffee, &c. also fell into the hands of the captors. A vessel was shortly after dispatched to Porto Rico with the intelligence, and requesting a sufficient number of troops to be sent from thence to garrison the place. An unhappy rupture has taken place between his Grace the Duke of Manchester, Governor of Jamaica, and the House of Assembly of that island. This difference regards a mutiny which broke out in the 2d West India regiment, at Fort Augusta, in the month of May last, in which Major Darley and Lieut. Ellis were killed by the mutineers, and the other officers escaped with difficulty. Many unpleasant rumours having run on this affair, in consequence of there being no Coroner's Inquest held, nor any civil proceeding taken to inquire into the merits of the case, the House of Assembly, at its meeting, appointed a Committee to inquire into the affair; and they made a report, upon which a message was sent up to his Grace the Governor, praying that he would direct the proceedings on the Court-martial and Court of Inquiry to be laid before the Assembly. The Commander in Chief, General Carmichael, however, forbad all persons under his command to answer any questions put by the As sembly, or to attend in person. The Assembly, in consequence, ordered the Serjeant at Arms to take him into custody; and things went to such an extremity, that the Governor, who approved of the conduct of the Commander in Chief, found it necessary to prorogue the Sessions, in order to get instructions from home. SPAIN. Bonaparte has not been idle in prosecuting his wonted policy at Madrid. On the 9th of December, the Corregi dor of Madrid, in the name of the magistrates and citizens of that capital, presented the following address to Napoleon : "Sire! The city of Madrid presents itself at the feet of your Imperial Majesty, to offer you its most respectful thanks for the gracious clemency with which your Majesty has been pleased to think of the safety and welfare of its inhabitants, and the beneficent treatment which your Majesty has shown towards them, and which the city of Madrid considers as a pledge of forgiveness for all that has occurred in the absence of our King Joseph, your Majesty's brother. "The several Colleges constituting this Assembly, duly.deliberating on the subject of their meeting, have concluded and resolved to entreat your Impe-rial and Royal Majesty, that it may please you to grant them the favour of seeing King Joseph in Madrid, in order that, under his laws, Madrid, with all the places under its immediate jurisdiction, and the whole of Spain, may at length enjoy that tranquillity and happiness which they expect from the benevolence of his Majesty's character. "Finally, Madrid flatters herself that she shall find protection in the power of your Imperial and Royal Majesty, at the same time that your clemency gua ranfees her happiness. "Sire-At the feet of your Imperial and Royal Majesty." To this address Bonaparte returned the following extraordinary answer :"I am pleased with the sentiments of the city of Madrid. I regret the injuries she has suffered, and am happy that, under existing circumstances, I have been able to effect her deliverance, and to protect her from great calamities. "I have hastened to adopt measures calculated to tranquillize all ranks of the citizens, knowing how painful a state of uncertainty is to all men. "I have preserved the Spiritual Orders, but limited the number of monks. There is not an intelligent person who is not of opinion that they were too numerous. Those of them who are influenced by a divine call shall remain in their cloisters. With regard to those whose call was doubtful, I have fixed their condition in the order of secular priests.-But of the surplus of the monastic property, I have provided for the maintenance of the pastors, that important and useful class of the clergy. I have abolished that court which was a subject of complaint to Europe and the present age. I have accomplished what I owed to myself and my nation. Vengeance has had its due. It has fallen upon ten of the principal culprits ; all the rest have entire forgiveness. "I have abolished those privileges which the Grandees usurped, during times of civil war, when Kings but too frequently are necessitated to surrender their rights, to purchase their own tranquillity and that of their people. I have abolished the feudal rights, and henceforth every one may set up inns, ovens, mills, employ himself in fishing and rabbit-hunting, and give free scope to his industry, provided he respects the laws and regulations of the police. The selfishness, wealth, and prosperity of a small number of individuals, were more injurious to your agriculture than the beat of the dog-days. "As there is but one God, so should there be in a state but one judicial power. All peculiar jurisdictions were usurpations, and at variance with the rights rights of the nation; I have abolished them. "I have also made known to every one what he may have to fear, and what he may have to hope. I shall expel the English army from the Peninsula. Sa ragossa, Valencia, Seville, shall be reduced to submission, either by persuasion, or by the power of my arms. There is no obstacle which can long resist the execution of my resolutions. "But what transcends my power is this to consolidate the Spaniards as one nation, under the sway of the King. Should they continue to be infected with those principles of aversion and hatred to France, which the partisans of the English, and the enemies of the Continent, have infused into the bosom of Spain, I will establish no nation, no King, no independence among you, if the King be not assured of your attachment and fidelity. "The Bourbons can no longer reign in Europe. The divisions in the Royal Family were contrived by the Engfish. It was not the dethronement of King Charles, and the favourite, that the Dust of Infantado, the tool of Eng. land, had in view. His intention was to establish the predominant influence of England in Spain; a senseless project, the result of which would have been a perpetual Continental war, that would have caused the shedding of torrents of blood. No power under the influence of England can exist on the Continent. If there be any that entertain such a wish, their wish is absurd, and will sooner or later occasion their fall. "It would be easy for me to govern Spain, by establishing as many Viceroys in it as there are provinces. Nevertheless, I do not refuse to abdicate my right of conquest in favour of the King, and to establish him in Madrid, as soon as the 30,000 citizens which this capital contains, the clergy, nobility, merchants, and lawyers, shall have declared their sentiments and their fidelity, set an example to the provinces, enlightened the people, and made the nation sen. sible that their existence and prosperity essentially depend upon a King and a free Constitution, favourable to the people, and hostile only to the egotism and haughty passions of the Grandees. "If such be the sentiments of the in habitants of the city of Madrid, let the 30,000 citizens assemble in the churches; let them, in the presence of the holy sa crament, take an oath, not only with their mouths, but also with their hearts, and without any jesuitical equivocation, that they promise support, attachment, and fidelity to their King; let the priests in the confessional and the pulpit, the mercantile class in their correspondence, the men of the law in their writings and speeches, infuse these sentiments into the people: Then shall I surrender my right of conquest, place the King upon the throne, and make it my pleasing task to conduct myself as a true friend of the Spaniards. The present generation may differ in their opinions; the passions have been brought into action; but your grand-children will bless me as your renovator; they will reckon the day when I appeared among their memorable festivals; and from that will the happiness of Spain date its commencement. "You are thus, Monsieur le Corregidor, informed of the whole of my determination. Consult with your fellow citizens, and consider what part you will choose; but whatever it be, make your choice with sincerity, and tell me only your genuine sentiments." Thus it appears that the cession of Charles and Ferdinand, and the proceedings at Bayonne, have been forgotten; and that Bonaparte now founds his usurpation and disposal of the crown of Spain on the right of conquest. According to the French accounts, the demands of Bonaparte were speedily complied with by the terrified inhabi tants of Madrid. "That capital (say they) exhibits an extraordinary sight.Registers were opened in 64 quarters. Thirty thousand fathers of families rushed to these in a crowd, and have signed a supplication to his Majesty, in which they entreat him to put an end to their misfortunes, by granting them his august brother, Joseph, as King. At the same time, the Host was elevated in all the churches. The priests attended at the altars. All honest men, even those of the lowest classes of society, enlightened by the calamities that fell on them in consequence of the absence of the Government, eagerly flocked to take the oath of fidelity to their new Sovereign." These |