1 Oft at her fond maternal call, Stanzas on the death of Dr John He lingered by the greenwood tree, Leyden. How sad the twilight echoes fell, But softer, sadder was the strain, O wildly sad the numbers fell, No grandeur o'er his cradle smiled, Till years of opening boyhood came, She led him where her mountains, lone, Where sleeps beneath the shapeless cairn, Or onward by lona's steep, When viewless formis at evening-fall, What demon-power could ruthless rend, Yet, tossed on oceans roaring streams, Even where the muddy Cavery speeds Nor could the Muse's charms alone, Lo, Seriswattee smiles, and pours Goddess! could not thine eagle eye Ah, no! as Britain's banners wave, Then sad the mournful accents fell, Along Batavia's woodlands wild; But Teviot's echoes sadder swell, The requiem of her minstrel child! Edinburgh, January 1812. Proceedings Proceedings of Parliament. HOUSE OF LORDS. TUESDAY, Jan. 7. 100N after three o'clock, the Commons having been summoned to hear read the Prince Regent's speech, on the opening of Parliament, the Commissioners deliver ed the following My Lords and Gentlemen, We are commanded, by his Royal Highhess the Prince Regent, to express to you the deep sorrow which he feels in announcing to you the continuance of his Majesty's lamented indisposition, and the unhappy disappointment of those hopes of his Majesty's early recovery, which had been cherished by the dutiful affection of his family, and the loyal attachment of his people. The Prince Regent has directed copies of the last reports of her Majesty the Queen's Council to be laid before you; and he is satisfied that you will adopt such measures as the present melancholy exigency may appear to require. In securing a suitable and ample provision for the support of his Majesty's royal dignity, and for the attendance upon his Majesty's sacred person during his illness, the Prince Regent rests assured that you will also bear in mind the indispensible duty of continuing to preserve for his Majesty the facility of resuming the personal exercise of his royal authority in the happy event of his recovery, so earnestly desired by the wishes and the prayers of his family and his subjects. The Prince Regent directs us to signify to you the satisfaction with which his Royal Highness has observed, that the measures which have been pursued for the defence and security of the kingdom of Portugal have proved completely effectual; and that on the several occasions in which the British or Portuguese troops had been January 1812. engaged with the enemy, the reputation : already acquired by them has been fully maintained. The successful and brilliant enterprize which terminated in the surprise, in Spanish Estremadura, of a French corps, by a detachment of the allied army under Lieut. Gen. Hill, is highly creditable to that distinguished officer, and to the troops under his command, and has contributed materially to obstruct the designs of the enemy in that part of the Peninsula. The Prince Regent is assured, that, while you reflect with pride and satisfaction on the conduct of his Majesty's troops, and of the allies, in these various and important services, you will render justice to the consummate judgment and skill displayed. by General Lord Viscount Wellington, in the direction of the campaign. In Spain the spirit of the people remains unsubdued; and the system of warfare, so peculiarly adapted to the actual condition of the Spanish nation, has been recently extended and improved, under the advantages which result from the operation of the allied armies on the frontier, and from the countenance and assistance of his Majesty's navy on the coast. Although the great exertions of the enemy have in some quarters been attended with success, his Royal Highness is persuaded, that you will admire the perseverance and gallantry manifested by the Spanish armies. Even in those provinces principally occupied by the French forces, new energy has arisen a mong the people; and the increase of the difficulty and danger has produced more connected efforts of general resistance. The Prince Regent, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, commands us to express his confident hope, that you will enable him to continue to afford the most effectual aid and assistance in the support of the contest which the brave nations of the the Peninsula still maintain with such un- with that spirit and exertion which will afabated zeal and resolution. His Royal Highness commands us to express his congratulations on the success of the British arms in the island of Java. The Prince Regent trusts that you will concur with his Royal Highness in approving the wisdom and ability with which this enterprize, as well as the capture of the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius, has been conducted under the immediate direction of the Governor General of India; and that you will applaud the decision, gallantry, and spirit,conspicuously display ed in the late operations of the brave army under the command of that distinguished officer, Lieut. Gen. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, 80 powerfully and ably supported by his Majesty's naval forces. By the completion of this system of operations, great additional security will have been given to the British commerce and possessions in the East Indies, and the colonial power of France will have been entirely extinguished. His Royal Highness thinks it expedient to recommend to your attention the propriety of providing such measures for the future government of the British possessions in India, as shall appear from experience and upon mature deliberation, to be calculated to secure their internal prosperity, and to derive from those flourishing dominions, the utmost degree of advantage to the commerce and revenue of the united kingdom. We are commanded by the Prince Regent to acquaint you, that, while his Royal Highness regrets that various important subjects of difference with the government of the United States of America still remain unadjusted, the difficulties which the affair of the Chesapeake frigate had occasioned have been finally removed; and that we are directed to assure you, that, in the further progress of the discussion with the United States, the Prince Regent will continue to employ such means of conciliation as may be consistent with the honour and dignity of his Majesty's Crown, and with the due maintenance of the maritime and commercial rights and interests of the British empire. Gentlemen of the House of Commons, His Royal Highness has directed the estimates for the service of the current year to be laid before you. He trusts that you will furnish him with such supplies as may be necessary to enable him to continue the contest in which his Majesty is engaged, ford the best prospects of its successful termination. His Royal Highness commands us to recommend, that you should resume the consideration of the state of the finances of Ireland, which you had commenced in the last session of Parliament. He has the satisfaction to inform you, that the improved receipt of the revenue of Ireland in the last, as compared with the preceding year, confirms the belief that the depression which the revenue had experienced is to be attributed to accidental and temporary causes. My Lords and Gentlemen, The Prince Regent is satished that you entertain a just sense of the arduous duties which his Royal Highness has been called upon to fulfil, in consequence of his Majesty's continued indisposition. Under this severe calamity, his Royal Highness derives the greatest consolation from his reliance on your experienced wisdom, loyalty, and public spirit, to which in every difficulty he will resort, with a firm confidence that, through your assistance and support, he shall be enabled, under the blessings of Divine Providence, successfully to discharge the important functions of the high trust reposed in him, and, in the name and on the behalf of his beloved Father and Sovereign, to maintain unimpaired the prosperity and honour of the nation. The Earl of SHAFTESBURY, in a speech in which the happiness and prosperity of the country were strongly insisted upon, and which, he said, were chiefly preserved by the personal virtues of his Majesty, moved the address, which was, as usual, merely an echo of the speech. Lord GRENVILLE would not move an amendment; yet, he could not but strongly reprobate the conduct of Ministers toward Ireland. The only notice taken of that country was in regard to its revenue; whilst the state of the oppressed inhabitants, from whom that revenue was drawn, was not in the least noticed. After some other Lords had spoken, the address was carried nem. diss.. HOUSE OF COMMONS. TUESDAY, JAN. 7. On the return of the Commons from the Lords, the Speaker read the Speech of his Royal Highness; after which Sir FRANCIS BURDETT and Lord JOCELYN rose nearly at the same time, but the Speaker informing the Hon. Baronet, that he was in possession of the Chair Sir FRANCIS said, he had risen to move such an address to his Royal Highness as would convey to his ears the grievances of his country.-The Hon. Baronet, while he paid all due encomium to the bravery of our forces, was sorry that their exertions had uniformly been made in favour of oppression. This was the case in the American war; and it was also in support of despotism that we engaged in the present war. With respect to the war in Spain, the laurels we won were barren, and our victories almost equal to defeats; and, while we were protectiug the Inquisition, and caressing Spaniards in those parts of which we held possession, we were treading under our feet the Irish Catholics at home!-much more valuable allies. He would ask, whether it were possible to be so insensible to danger as for persons to hope for the salvation of the country, when the fate of the rest of Europe had been precipitated by those measures which now forbode our own. The wide-spreading system of taxation spread pauperism over the land, along with profligate expenditure and wanton waste. There was a time when even the sanction of an act of Parliament could not protect Empson and Dudley from the just indignation of the people but now there were many Empsons and Dudleys, who, under the name of surchargers, supervisors, &c. inflicted amercements and fines at their pleasure, while the party so aggrieved had no power of redress. In proportion to the increase of these extortions was the military increased, and even German mercenaries were called in. To this might be added the institution of that military conscription, the Local Militia, where, without any of the rewards of the soldier, a man might be dragged from the bosom of his family, subjected to martial law and the torture of the lash; so that truly it might be said "We were a flogged nation." After inveighing against the restrictions upon the press, ex officio informations, &c. &c. he moved an address embracing the topics of his speech. Lord COCHRANE seconded the address. Lord JOCELYN moved an amendment to the address, heing a mere echo of the Regent's speech. It was seconded by Mr VYSE; and, after some conversation, a division took place on Sir F. Burdett's address--for it 1, against it 238. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 8. The report of the Queen's Council on the state of his Majesty's health, was brought up and read as follows "We, the undermentioned Members of the Council appointed to assist in the trust committed to her Majesty, under the act of the 51st of the King, intituled, &c. having duly met on the 4th January 1812, at the Queen's Lodge, Windsor, and hav ing called in and examined the physicians in attendance on his Majesty, and having ascertained the state of his Majesty's health, by every means we thought necessary, "Do declare and certify, that the present state of his Majesty's health is not such as to enable his Majesty to resume the personal exercise of his royal authority. "That his Majesty's bodily health is as good as it was at the time of the last report, and his Majesty's mental health does not appear to be worse since the signature. of the last report; but we think that a complete and final recovery is improbable, some of the physicians stating that they do not despair of such an event, while others say they do not entirely despair, and one. of the physicians observing that, under all the circumstances, he cannot avoid despairing." (Signed by all the Members of the Council.) To this report was subjoined the following "After the above report had been read in the presence of the physcians, the physician alluded to in the last clause of the report (when some of the members of the Council had gone away) stated in writing to the other members then present, that he had unguardedly made use of an expression which was far beyond what he intended to convey; and, being requested to correct it, he added, that he by no means intended to assert that he entirely despaired of the final recovery of his Majesty. The members of the Council present having sworn the physician, subsequently. communicated this alteration to the other members of the Council." (Signed by three members of the Council.) Dated St James's Square, Jan. 7. On bringing up the report of the address to the Prince Regent, Mr Mr WHITBREAD took a review of the state of the war, and of all our foreign relations. He considered the contest in the Peninsula as hopeless. He expressed an opinion that Bonaparte's character was not incompatible with any proposition for peace; and concluded with an ardent wish that he had what he so emphatically wished for, commercial ships, colonies, and commerce; for then, and not till then, would the world be at peace. Mr PERCEVAL reprobated this earnest desire that the enemy might gain those resources which enabled this country to carry on the contest. He treated all the Hon. Gentleman's predictions with contempt, as they were the same which had been falsified by the events of last year. With re spect to Spanish America, this country had offered its best mediation; and he only lamented, that both parties were not equally disposed to reconcilement. With respect to the United States, he assured the House, every degree of conciliation, consistent with the honour and dignity of this country, had and would be held out; but the Berlin and Milan decrees had not been repealed, except upon grounds wholly inadmissible by this country. The British army in the Peninsula was stronger by 10,000 men, than last year at this time; and he contended, that the finances of this country were never in so flourishing a state, particularly the excise duties. Mr CREEVEY moved to adjourn the discussion till the accounts were brought up; but this was resisted by Mr Perceval, and the address was read and agreed to. Historical Affairs. EAST INDIES. CAPTURE OF BATAVIA. (Extract from the London Gazette Extraordinary, Dec. 16, 1811.) SIR SAMUEL AUCHMUTY'S DISPATCH TO LORD MINTO. Weltevreede, August 31, 1811. MY LORD-After a .short but arduous campaign, the troops you did me the honour to place under my orders, have taken -the capital of Java, have assaulted and carried the enemy's formidable works at Cornelis, have defeated and dispersed their collected force, and have driven them from the kingdoms of Bantam and Jacatra. This brilliant success, over a well appointed and disciplined force, greatly superior in numbers, and in every respect well equipped, is the result of the great zeal, gallantry, and discipline of the troops, qualities which they have possessed in a degree certainly never surpassed. It is my duty to lay before your Lordship the details of their success, but it is not in my power to do them the justice they de serve, or to express how much their country is indebted to them for their great exertions. Your Lordship is acquainted with the reasons that induced me to attempt a landing in the neighbourhood of Batavia. It was effected without opposition at the village of Chillingching, twelve miles east of the city, on the 4th inst. My inten tion was to proceed from thence by the direct road to Cornelis, where the enemy's force was said to be assembled in a strong. ly fortified position, and to place the city of Batavia on my rear, from whence alone I could expect to derive supplies equal to the arduous contest we were engaged in. A's some time was required to make preparations for an inland movement, I judged it proper to reconnoitre the road by the coast leading to Batavia, and observe how far it would be practicable to penetrate by that |