norage, 66 instead of 62 shillings being allowed to the pound Troy.

A message from the Prince-regent to both Houses of Parliament, on the 14th of March, announced the marriage contract of his daughter, the Princess Charlotte Augusta, with his Serene Highness the Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg; and, on the motion of the chancellor of the exchequer, an annual sum of 60,000Z. was voted to the illustrious pair during their joint lives; of which 10,000l. was to form a sort of privypurse for her Royal Highness. If the prince should die first, the whole sum was to be continued to her Royal Highness; if he should be the survivor, the sum of 50,0007. was to be continued to him: the sum of 60,000l. was also granted by way of outfit. The marriage ceremony was performed on the 2d of May, at the Queen's Palace, in the presence of the royal family; and the event called forth the sincere congratulations of the nation. In July another royal marriage took place, between the Princess Mary, fourth daughter of his Majesty, and her cousin, the Duke of Gloucester: Their establishments were framed on a scale which rendered an application to the public purse unne,

cessary.

A motion by Mr. Tierney, for abolishing the office of secretary of state, for the department of war and colonies, was slost by a majority of 82. A proposition that the expenditure of the civil list should not exceed the revenues, and that the several remaining charges should in future be made a charge upon the consolidated fund, or that the excess of such expenditure should be annually submitted to Parliament, was also rejected by a majority of 114. The state of Ireland was brought under discussion in April, by Sir John Newport, who moved for documents to explain the

extent and nature of those evils which rendered it necessary to maintain there, during peace, an army of 25,000 men. This motion was superseded by an amendment, proposed by Mr. Peel, who defended the measures pursued by government, and asserted that the disturbances in that country seemed to be the effect of a general confederacy in crime-a systematic opposition to all laws. The debates on the Catholic question were attended with the same results as on former occasions; but an expectation was entertained that they would be renewed in the ensuing session with greater success. A bill relative to the registry and regulation of slaves, which had been introduced by Mr. Wilberforce towards the close of the last session, became the subject of warm debates, in consequence of a calamitous insurrection which had taken place at Barbadoes. A petition from the merchants of Bristol deprecated the measure, as disclosing a spirit of interference with the local legislation of the colonies; and, on the suggestion of Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Wilberforce postponed his intended motion, and moved for papers on the subject. Mr. Palmer, who argued that the insurrection arose from expectations, among the slaves, of entire emancipation, fostered by the proposed registry bill, moved an amendment, which was carried, recommending the colonial authorities to promote the moral and religious improvement, as well as the comfort and happiness, of the negroes.

Parliament was prorogued on the 2d of July, when the Prince-regent expressed his deep regret at the distresses sustained by many classes of his Majesty's subjects, which he hoped would be found to have arisen from causes of a temporary nature.

The period had now arrived at which the conse

quences of so long and expensive a war were to be more severely felt than they had been during its continuance. The system of borrowing, which had been so profusely resorted to, could no longer be continued, and the future expenses of the government, with the enormous sum necessary for defraying the interest of the national debt, must now be raised within the year; whilst those commercial advantages which the ascendancy of our navy had been able to secure could no longer be retained. It was therefore soon discovered that the mischiefs of such a war could not be instantly repaired by a return to peace, and the pressure of agricultural and commercial distress, in the early part of the present year, was very severely felt. Distress naturally engenders discontent; and at such seasons mischievous characters are too frequently ready to start forward to avail themselves of the irritated feelings of the people. In the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and various other parts of the kingdom, tumults of a very serious nature took place; nightly assemblages were held; houses, barns, and rick-yards were set on fire; and, in the Isle of Ely, a kind of organised insurrection burst forth, in which alarming features of depravity were exhibited, and which was not suppressed without considerable difficulty. Between 70 and 80 rioters were lodged in Ely gaol, who were tried by a special commission, when 24 were found guilty, of whom five suffered the final execution of the law.

Later in the year, the inferior produce of the harvest, the consequent advance in the price of provisions, and the continued depression of trade and commerce, operated most severely upon the poorer classes throughout the kingdom. Numerous meetings were holden to consider the means of alleviating the general dis

tress, and large subscriptions were raised; but at several of the assemblies ostensibly convened for the most benevolent purposes, persons of seditious principles came forward to inflame the minds of the people, by asserting that the abolition of places and pensions, and a reform in Parliament, would prove a remedy for every evil. Of the meetings of this nature, those which were holden in Spa Fields, near London, are the most entitled to notice. On the 15th of November many thousand artisans and others, assembled for the alleged purpose of petitioning for relief under their distress, were addressed by Mr. Hunt in a long and, violent harangue, and it was determined that a petition to the Prince-regent should be presented by him, accompanied by Sir Francis Burdett; but the latter did not choose to appear in the business, and Mr. Hunt was informed that it could only be presented at a levee, or through the medium of the home secretary. On the 2d of December another meeting was convened to receive the answer to the petition, when an alarming breach of the peace took place. A young man, named Watson, after uttering an inflammatory harangue, seized a flag from one of the by-standers, and, heading a party of the populace, led them into the city, and attempted to plunder the shop of a gunsmith on Snow-hill. He fired a pistol at a gentleman named Platt, who was remonstrating with him, and for this offence he was apprehended, but in the confusion that ensued he escaped; and the riot, which might have produced incalculable mischief, was checked by the spirited conduct of the magistrates, and entirely quelled by the appearance of a military force. During this disturbance the principal part of the assemblage remained in Spa Fields, where another petition was determined upon, and another meeting appointed.

For a series of years the pirates on the coast of Barbary had committed great depredations on almost every civilized state; and so successful had been their career, that they at length ventured to attack the English flag. Sir Thomas Maitland, the Governor of Malta, proceeded, in consequence, to Tripoli, the government of which acceded to all that he proposed; and at Tunis every thing was amicably settled by negociation. These arrangements, however, proving ineffectual, Admiral Lord Exmouth, with a portion of the Mediterranean fleet, proceeded in the early part of the present year, first to Tunis, and then to Tripoli. At both these places the deys appeared disposed to accede to any terms; and his lordship proposed a treaty, for ever prohibiting the making of Christian slaves, and that such prisoners as might be taken in war should be treated according to the practice of civilized Europe. These stipulations were readily agreed to, treaties were signed, and the fleet returned to Algiers, where Lord Exmouth proposed to the dey a similar treaty, against which, however, he made a firm and resolute stand, representing that it was impossible entirely to abolish the system that had so long subsisted; that it was the commerce of the country; and that a change which would be so detrimental to the interests of every Turk and Moor, it would require considerable time to bring their minds to submit to: Lord Exmouth therefore departed from the interview with a determination to commence hostilities; on which the dey ordered the British Consul, Mr. M'Donald, to be confined, and all the English vessels at Oran to be seized. Negociations were, however, resumed, which ended in an agreement that three months should be allowed for obtaining the sanction of the Grand Seignior to the proposed treaty, and the Tagus