gitimacy could effect-little did we anticipate that the amnesty was then actually in progress of publication, and yet that our prophecy was about to be fulfilled to the letter! This special example of Royal clemency has just appeared, and really one would suppose that its long delay had been occasioned by its having been sub mitted to the Irish Cabinet for approval-it is very like the merciful system attributed by Captain Rock to the Hibernian statesmen, and savours strongly of the admirable precision of that country. By this famous amnesty all are pardoned-except those who are to be punished, and none are to be punished except those who are pardoned! This is literally the meaning of this State paper, by which France pretends to fulfil her liberal professions, while at the same time Spain gluts her most ultra animosities. That our readers may see we do not overstate the fact, we shall just name the exceptions by which the general ostensible principle of mercy is not merely clouded, but completely overcast. Those excepted from the amnesty are-1. The chiefs of the insurrection of the isle of Leon.-2. The members of the Cortes who proclaimed the deposition of the King at Seville.-3. The chiefs of the military insurrection in different parts of Spain.-4. The assassin of Vermessa, the judges of Elio, and the authors of the massacres in the prisons of Grenada! Such is the document which, under the name of mercy, is neither more nor less than a libel on humanity, because it excites hope for no other purpose than that of inflicting despair. By this it appears, that all who deserve, in fact, to live, not in Spain, but to live at all, are carefully rejected. The brave and noble Mina-the eloquent Arguelles-the bold and patriotic Galliano, and a thousand others of the same stamp and quality, must crimson more deeply the scaffold on which Riego expiated a life of honour by a death of torture, if they dare to set their foot upon the soil which their virtues in vain struggled to emancipate! Who would imagine that the very men who are the objects of this bloody and bigoted exclusion, are the master spirits to whom this crowned ingrate owes the power of persecu tion! This characteristic amnesty is accompanied by another precious document, which well deserves in deed to be its companion. By it, ignorance is legitimated in Spain a long with Ferdinand. A list of all books imported must be furnished by the booksellers, and none are to be licensed until after previous examina tion-prohibited books must be delivered up, no matter by whom pos sessed, to the ordinary of the diocese, within two months, under a heavy fine-detached leaves and wrappers, paintings, engravings, and all arts of design, come under this prohibition! Thus, having banished every living liberal thing from Spain, the only chance of an escape from priestcraft and servility is by anticipation swindled away from the rising generation. Surely, however, to suppose that such things can exist and pros per, would be to doubt the existence of a Providence. With respect to the part which France is playing in this tragic farce, she cannot deceive herself so far as to believe that she is imposing upon any body. The mur derous amnesty under whose insulting mercies she pretends to yield the continuance of her troops in Spain for the protection of its author, is a juggle as palpable as it is atrocious, and has, indeed, only one redeeming quality about it-namely, that it is likely to leave some trace upon the memory of those to whom the abs sence of foreign bayonets shall com mit hereafter the vindication of their country. In Portugal, also, it would appear as if the legitimacy of that country was afraid of being outtravestied in Spain. The infant, Don Miguel, and his august mother, the no less august sister of the still more august Fer dinand, have been exceedingly busy for the last month, in endeavouring to persuade Don John, the King, that the only way to save his life was to imprison him; a royal mercy, by the way, of some of our Holy Allies, who are often humanely pleased to commute the sentence of death for twenty or thirty years of incarceration. This grand manœuvre commenced on the 30th of April, by the assemblage of a large body of troops in one of the squares of Lisbon, the confinement of the King in the palace of Bemposta, and the arrest of a multitude of persons, amongst whom were several of the ministers, with Count Palmella at their head. Don Miguel issued some proclamations on the occasion, the chief burthen of which was that he had discovered a grand conspiracy against the house of Braganza, which had been fomented by the Freemasons. The conclusion of one of these proclamations runs thus, and we give it be cause it really concentrates the pith of the entire of them, and is a fair specimen of the style and genius of their author-" Soldiers-be worthy of me, and Don Miguel your commander will be worthy of you! Long live our Lord the King! Long live the Roman Catholic religion! Long live her Most Faithful Majesty! Long live the Royal family! Long live the nation! Die all infamous Freemasons!" We need not inform our classical readers that a great part of the above is stolen almost verbatim from the works of Mr. Fitzgerald, one of our most loyal and celebrated modern poets. The Queen, "her Most Faith ful Majesty," must have been pretty well aware before hand of all these proceedings, as she repaired to Lisbon from a distant palace, under the idea of hearing this hopeful slip of legitimacy proclaimed Regent. In this, however, she was disappointed; the ambassadors seem to have interfered, and liberated the King and his ministers. There were also some ridiculous letters published by Don Miguel, representing all the grievances of Portugal, foreign and domestic, as the work of the Freemasons. There are various versions of the termination of this affair, but none of them official we shall probably have the denouement in our next. It is remarkable enough, however, that some of the French official journals which highly lauded the constitutional conduct of the French ambassador at first, have suddenly turned round and attempted to justify Don Miguel. Though some of the reports say that the English party have since got into favour with the King, and even that Marshal Beresford has been appointed to the command of the army, this conduct of the French press, in durance as it is, gives the whole scheme very much the air of a Parisian contrivance. We know by what plots and counter plots, cordons sanitaires, &c. these gentry contrived to work themselves into possession of the strong holds and sea-ports of Spain. Happy are they to whom experience teaches wisdom; it is high time indeed for England to look sharp ere her ancient enemy and very expensive friend proves to her, in Portugal as in Spain, that she is willing to save her the trouble. There was a rumour on Change that a seventy-four gun British ship had been ordered immediately to Lisbon-it is, however, merely a rumour. Although there is no foreign news from South America, still a circumstance has occurred at home which is very likely soon to furnish us with some details from that quarter-the departure of the Ex-Emperor Iturbide for Mexico. Our readers are aware that after the deposition or abdication of this military adventurer, he made this country his domicile. The people over whom he formerly governed had guaranteed to him the payment of a handsome annual stipend, which, we believe, was punctually paid to him. Suddenly, however, in pursuance of a well-concealed and well-concerted scheme, he departed from England, contriving with a few followers to get himself transferred from a steam boat off the Isle of Wight, whither he pretended to go on a pleasure excursion, on board a larger vessel. His immediate views are, no doubt, his own personal aggrandisement, though he has left a letter behind him, declaring that his sole object is to heal the dissensions of his country -a declaration easily made and easily forgotten. Iturbide's sway, while it lasted, was an iron one, and no friend of freedom can wish for his restoration-his adherents are known to be the priests and soldiers, men generally adverse to every cause which has liberty for its object. The rumour here is, that he is gone as an instrument in the hands of France and Spain. Indeed, the Journal des Debats, in commenting on the circumstance, says that it is probable he is gone to prepare the way for a legitimate prince-" the ways of Providence are so strange." It is in our mind quite as strange that the British Cabinet do not, at once, by an acknowledgment of the independence of those states, frustrate speculations which certainly mean us no good. Our differences, whatever they may be, with his legitimacy of Algiers, have not yet been settled, and that port continues in a state of blockade. With sincere regret we have to announce that the last arrivals from Greece brought an account of the death of Lord Byron, on the 19th of April, at Missolonghi. The fatal disorder was a cold, attended with inflammation, which terminated thus on the tenth day. This event took place on the festival of Easter, and converted the mirth of all Greece into mourning. His Lordship was justly beloved, and popular amongst that gallant people, to whom he devoted his talents, his fortune, and, as it appears, his life. This is not the place for us, merely relating the fact, as is our duty, to expatiate upon the genius and character of the deceased -in order, however, to record the deep and honourable sense which Greece entertained of her misfortune, we give the notice issued by the provisional government on the occasion. The present days of festivity are con verted into days of bitter lamentation for all. Lord Noel Byron departed this life to-day, about eleven o'clock in the evening, in consequence of a rheumatic inflammatory fever, which had lasted for ten days. During the time of his illness, your general anxiety evinced the profound sorrow that pervaded your hearts. All classes, without distinction of age or sex, oppressed by grief, entirely forgot the days of Easter. The death of this illustrious personage is certainly a most calamitous event for all Greece, and still more lamentable for this city, to which he was eminently partial, of which he became a citizen, and of the dangers of which he was determined personally to partake, when circumstances should require it. His munificent donations to this community are before the eyes of every one, and no one amongst us ever ceased, or ever will cease, to consider him, with the purest and most grateful sentiments, our benefactor. Until the dispositions of the National Government regarding this most calamitous event be known, by virtue of the decree of the Legislature, No. 314, of date the 15th October, It is ordained, 1. To-morrow, by sunrise, thirty-seven minute guns shall be fired from the batteries of this town, equal to the number of years of the deceased personage. 2. All public offices, including all Courts of Justice, shall be shut for three JUNE, 1824. following days. 3. All shops, except those for provisions and medicines, shall also be kept shut; and all sorts of musical instruments, all dances customary on these days, all sorts of festivities and merriment in the public taverns, and every other sort of public amusement, shall cease during the ing shall take place for twenty-one days. above-named period. 4. A general mourn5. Funeral ceremonies shall be performed in all the churches. A. MAVROCORDATO. GIORGIO PRAIDI, Secretary. Missolonghi, 19th April, 1824. has passed a law, abolishing arrest The Congress of the United States and imprisonment for debt. Our domestic news is, as usual, almost narrowed to the parliamen tary abstract; this, however, we have endeavoured to render as faithful as our limits will allow. In reply to some questions put to Mr. Canning by Sir James Mackintosh, respecting rumours which had become prevalent of the appearance of a large French force at the Brazils, Mr. Canning stated, that it was true, that a few French ships coming from different destinations had arrived at that station, but that he had forwarded an inquiry on the subject to the doubt of being soon able to give a saFrench government, and had no tisfactory explanation. In a few nights afterwards the right hon. gentleman stated that he had received the expected answer from the French government, accounting for every ship which had appeared at Rio Janeiro, and most satisfactorily explaining their different destinati ons. of eight frigates, and of these two, There were only two, instead There were two British line-of-battle one was now on its way home. ships placed there merely for the protection of our commerce in those seas, and there was no foreign station in which the British naval force did not out-number that of every power in the world. A motion was made by Mr. Maberly, for the grant by parliament of a million of money, in order to promote the employment of the poor in Ireland. He This sum he wished to be allotted to the increase of the fisheries and the cultivation of flax. meant that this loan should be repaid by those to whom the advances were made, and a security given for the discharge; the entire to be under the 2X superintendence of a commission. This was supported by many members, who argued that such grants had been useful in England, where they had been applied to the progress of public works, and that, by a parity of reasoning, Ireland must be benefited by a similar measure; it was also argued, that there was now manifested a disposition to work among the people of that country, which ought to be taken advantage of, and that the object of the motion being to stimulate local industry, it might, if attained, render future eleemosynary grants unnecessary. The motion was resisted by government, on the ground, that though such a grant might afford a passing relief, still, in the end, it would entail injury and disappointment. Such a plan would, in fact, make the landed gentlemen of Ireland debtors to the crown, which must place them in a situation of ultimate inconvenience. After some debate, the motion was lost by a majority of 85 to 33. The Chancellor of the Exchequer brought forward what is technically termed the budget, which was, in fact, very little more than a recapitulation of the financial statement made by him on the opening of the session. He stated, however, that the plan for reducing the 4 per cent stock, to 3 per cent, had so far succeeded, that out of 75 millions, there was only a dissent to the amount of between 6 and 7 millions. This he meant to be paid off by exchequer bills, payable, both principal and interest, by the sinking fund, which fund would be compensated by a transference to it of the stock paid off at 3 per cent. The accounts connected with the reduction of the silk duties had been made up, and the loss to the revenue was found to be 500,000l., a larger deficit than was anticipated, but by no means to be balanced against the benefit which would be finally derived by the trade. He also proposed to lower the interest on exchequer bills at the next issue from 2d. to 1d. a-day, which would save the country next year 230,000l. on 30 millions of bills. The floating debt was 34,000,000, but the odd four millions were to be provided for by a charge on the produce of the consolidated fund in each quarter. This statement brought on a conversation, in which Mr. Hume strongly contended against the complication of the fi nances and the fruitlessness of the sinking fund. Mr. Hume prefaced a motion for an inquiry into the state of the Irish church establishment, by a speech of considerable labour and research. He stated, that the root of the evil under which Ireland groaned was, in his opinion, to be found in religious intolerance, in the Irish church establishment, in the amount of its revenues, and the manner in which they were collected. The Protestant establishment, protected as it was by all the advantages of wealth and power, seemed, by the last returns, to consist of 1,289 benefices. By the returns in the "Clerical Guide," the numbers appeared to be 4 archbishops, 18 bishops, 33 deans, 108 dignitaries, 178 prebends, 52 vicars choral, 107 rural deans, and 512 minor canons, &c.! The population or Ireland consisted of seven millions; one million of which was Protestant, half of that number being Dissenters; and the other six millions Catholic! According to the best calculation which could be made, the value of church property in Ireland amounted to 3,200,000%. The result of all the inquiries which he had formed upon this subject was, that the Protestant clergy, even thus paid, performed their duties in a very inefficient manner. According to a return on the table, it appeared that the number of parishes having benefices was 2,224. In 1818, the total number of incumbents was 1,289; out of this number, 758 were resident and 531 were non-resident; the nonresidents therefore formed a considerable proportion of the whole number of incumbents. The honourable member instanced a number of parishes in the south of Ireland where there were in the aggregate only 18 or 20 Protestant families for the celebration of divine worship, for whom the Catholics in those parishes paid tithe to the amount of 7000/. annually. It was therefore no great wonder if they occasionally broke out into acts of outrage. The greatest act of disgrace, however, which the government committed on the subject of the Church in Ireland, was the depriving the poorer clergy of the pittance which had been allotted to them for the improvement of their re venues, and the giving of it to the rich. By the papers laid before parliament it appeared that the payments made as first fruits, in Ireland, amounted to 9117. It appeared that the sees of England paid in first fruits, in seven years, 5,9991. and in the same time the tenths amounted to 8,8541.; making together, 14,8531.; while, in the same time in Ireland, where the clergy paid no tenths, the whole amount of first fruits did not exceed the sum of 9117. being about one-sixteenth of the sum paid in England; and taking the Irish church to be three times as rich as that of England, the proportion, to the value of livings, would be about one forty-eighth of the sum which England paid. Such a difference was not only a disgrace to the Irish church, but to the government which could tolerate such partiality. Its effects were evident in the overgrown wealth of the clergy and in the poverty of the people-the last three primates of Ireland had died, as he was informed, worth about 800,000l. each, although very poor when they attained their dignity, and some of these enormous riches were amassed when thousands of Irishmen were dying of famine around them. The hon. member concluded by moving a resolution" that it was expedient to inquire whether the present church establishment of Ireland was not more than commensurate to the services to be performed, both as regarded the number of persons employed and the incomes they received." This statement was met on the part of government by a mere denial of the facts, and a refusal to institute any inquiry as to whether they were true or not. It was insisted on that the church was not quite so rich as was represented, that its members performed their duties punctually, and that the number of non-resident clergymen had been greatly exaggerated. One member declared that the revenues of the church were as sacred as private property, and that the bishops ought to have incomes sufficient to place them among "the nobles of the land!" Mr. Leslie Foster declared, that by the act of Union the House had no right to enter into the proposed inquiry, which would do infinite mischief in the discussion. These were the chief topics urged in defence of the Irish church; but of course we can do no more than generalize the debate; after a very able reply from Mr. Hume, the house divided, when there appeared, for the motion 79against it 152-majority 73. A petition having been presented from some "separatists in Ireland," praying to be relieved from the taking of oaths, upon some religious scruples, Mr. J. Williams remarked on the gross inconsistency of the law in allowing the affirmations of Quakers in civil cases and rejecting them in criminal prosecutions. He gave notice of a bill next session to remedy this anomaly. The duty on salt is to be discontinued. Mr. Wodehouse having brought forward a motion, the object of which was to "continue the duty on salt in order to enable his Majesty's government to give a more efficient relief to the country in the next session of parliament by the remission of the duty on windows of low rateable houses," the Chancellor of the Exchequer declared that, in his statement at the commencement of the session, he had informed the house, that if a strong general feeling should be manifested in favour of this duty, means might be devised of affording some relief to the publicthis general feeling had not been made manifest, and therefore he in justice considered himself bound to adhere to the law as it now stood; under these circumstances, therefore, he did not think that he should be justified in continuing this duty a moment longer than the period prescribed by the law. This declaration was received with loud cheers, and Mr. Wodehouse withdrew his motion. Mr. Richard Martin moved a resolution for the increase of the salaries of certain officers of state, and also of the judges of the land. The motion, not being seconded, fell to the ground; it elicited however a statement from Mr. Peel, that a proposition for increasing the salaries of the judges had recently been under the consideration of the crown. Their emoluments were at present insufficient to support the situation which they held in the country, and fluctuated in a degree according to the fees which they received-it was |