of her belief. "But you have already, Madam," said the Magistrate, "twice sworn positively that it was a piece of newspaper," At this period the other witnesses were or dered out of the room. Mrs. Verelst then went on to say, that the prisoner went up stairs about two o'clock, though she had no business there, and described the discovery of the smell of fire, and her going into the room where the smoke was, when she instantly directed Lattey, the gardener, to the window seat, and cried, "There is the fire, tear down the boards.?" On being asked what made her direct Littey to the window-seat, she replied, "I saw the smoke issuing from it." She admitted the room was full of smoke at the time.

not, and that the tinder-box was not out of the kitchen for the day.

The Magistrate directed the room to be cleared, while he consulted his clerk. In about five an nutes the prisoner and her accusers were called in, and we were again adınitted, where the worthy and excellent Magistrate, addressing prisoner, said, "I feel great pleasure in saying that you are discharged, and that I believe you to be wholly innocent; and that when you leave this room, you will do so as free from imputation of being guilty of the charge this day brought against you, as you out it would have done had you week ago. Cause for suspicion there was, and it is my belief that there was a fire to create purpose, and that

She was asked if any rooms in the house had a fire originated v

the

the house, but

one

in

was cer

tainty not you; atid I heartily wish that the
real criminal may yet be discovered and
punished."T
It was a market-day at Dunster, and the
at manry and

Was

been washed or scrubbed that day, which it was the prisoner's place to do when it was necessary; she auswered positively, "No." She further said, in answer to other questions, that the prisoner had given her notice to leave her service at the end of the month, but that they had had no quarrel. 9400 wurde fox room The next person examined was her own people of the town, and neighbourhood, who maid, Harriet Merry, whose evidence was heartily congratulated the poor girl (a stranger almost, au con of her mistress's, except that in the neighbourhood, and a native of Exeter) she did not swear positively that the paper on her escape, and a subscription was inwrapped round the candle was a piece of newsmade for her, which did as inuch paper; but to the best of her belief it was, honour to the subscribers as did their symand that the prisoner had the candle in a can-pathy and anxiety during the examination. dlestick, instead of holding it in her hand without one, she also swore positively that no rooms had been washed or scrubbed on that days ap daar m

The expressions of feeling during the time of Mrs. Verelst being examined were so strong that Mr. Luttrell was obliged to restrain them, and to declare," that, however unwilling to do so, he should order the room to be cleared Were if they At one time during continued." her examination, Mrs. Verelst was so annoyed by the questions put to her, that she declared she would answer no more. Her husband and Mr. Luttrell, however, told her she must do so.

At a numerous and respectable meeting of owners and occupiers of land in the parish of Barnwell, in the county of Somerset, convened by the vestry, pursuant to public notice, and held at the Ship Inn, the 14th of January, 1831, for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of petitioning Parliament to repeal or alter the tithe-laws,

The Butler, Piucombe, was examined next he swore that he saw a candlestick, which was produced, about the time mentioned by Mrs. Verelst, near the housemaid's closet, with a piece of candle in it about two inches long, but whether it was wrapped in paper or not he did not know. In answer to a question, he said his room had been washed out that day. On hearing this, Mrs. Verelst rose from her seat and said, "she begged leave to say that she now recollected that two rooms had been washed on the day of the supposed fire, from a remark which Mrs. Merry, her maid, had made to her when she was about to enter them, 'Don't go into them, Madam, as they are damp, and you will take cold, and which remark that moment came to her recollection." George Littey, the gardener, then swore that he was alarmed at the cry of fire"! that he entered the house, ran up stairs, went with his master into the room, which was full of smoke, and began to examine the cracks of the floor, when he was directed to the win-Hewlett, dow-seat by his mistress, who said, "Look in the window seat, look in the window-seat;" which he did, and found, the piece of paper and skipping-rope partly burnt, there was no fire there then, aud those things were cold..

46

Mr. BISDEE, churchwarden, in the chair; The following resolutions were unanimously agreed to:

Moved by Mr. Ford, seconded by Joseph

That tithes were originally, granted to maintain the edifice of the church, to support the poor, to maintain the bishops and parochial clergy, and it was far from the granter's intentions, that titbes; should be applied in The kitchen-maid was examined next, and the manner they are at the present day; in answer to questions put to her, said, that which produces the effect of paralyzing inwhen the prisoner went up stairs she was industry in its efforts to increase the produce the kitchen, and if she had bad a lighted of the earth, by taxing it in proportion to the candle she must have seen it, which she did exertions made for its productiveness.

“That your petitioners undoubtedly cònsider the poor's rates as a very important part of their burdens; but at the same time cannot help reflecting, that when the tithes were first instituted, they were intended not only to support the poor, but to repair churches, both of which are now paid by your petitioners in addition, to the tithe, of which they now complain, I's tędy po

"That the mode of paying the clergy by a forced collection of a tenth or other portion of the prod see of the land, is one most destructive to all religion and even to morality, inas much as it tends to litigation and dispute, thereby preventing that cordial friendship which ought to subsist between the clergyman and those under his care, and creating, in its place, hostility and bitter feeling, contrary to the dictates of the established Christian religion; and, in uneducated minds, producing even a contempt for the doctrines taught by the clergy.

That your petitioners have a full proof thereof in their own parish, in a continued system of law-suits, begun and carried on by their vicar, during a period of twenty-one years down to the present time, and not even yet terminated: nor do your petitioners expect them to end so long as the present system of tithe remains.

"That seventy-five persons in this parish have, at this present time, suits pending against them, at the instigation of the vicar and were your petitioners to take into consideration the pense thereby create, auugyance, and exare quite certain

that equal to one-fifth part of the produce of the land is thus swept away and taken from them..

all classes of persons and property receiving spiritual assistance.

And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c. (6)

That Sir Berkeley William Guise, one of the county Menibers, he requested to present the same to the House of Commous, and that the petition to the House of Lords he forward ed to Colonel Berkeley, with a respectful request that he will select some Peer to present the same. da

Resolved also, that a subscription, he im mediately entered into to defray the expenses of advertisements, &e.

That these resolutions, with a copy of the petition, be published in the Gloucester Journal and Bristol Mirror.

That the petitions lie for signatures at the Offices of Messsrs. Croome and Smith, Attorneys, Berkeley, till Thursday next..

That the thauks of this Meeting be given to William Cornock, Esq, for the trouble he has taken with the petition.

EDWARD ANDREWS, Chairman. The Chairman having left the Chair, thanks were voted to him for his kindness in taking the same.

At a numerous and highly-respectable Meeting of the owners and occupiers of land, and other inhabitants of the parish of Old Sodbury, in the county of Gloucester, held on the 19th instant: Mr. Dutfield, seur. in the chair:

A petition to both Houses of parliament, of which the following is a copy, was most cordially and unanimously agreed to; and that the right hon. Lord King be requested to present and support the same in the House of Lords, and Sir B. W. Guise, M. P. for the county, in the House of Commons; and the thanks of the Meeting were given to the Chairman, for his able conduct on the occasion.

"To the honourable the Commous of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- ́
& land, in parliament assembled 197
1949 The humble petition of the undersigned

loyal owners and occupier of land,
and other inhabitauts of the parish of
4. Old Sodbury, in the county of Glou-
cester,)
“SHEWETH,

"That your petitioners have to boast of their loyalty and attachment to the King, laws, and government, as a proof whereqf54 they adduce, that during the late 'eventful times, not a single disturbance has taken place in their parish; and the whole hody of yeomanry, labourers, and others, amounting to 627 persons came forward in two days, and were sworn in to oppose any breach of the peace.

That your petitioners beg leave to approach your honourable House, on the vital and impurtant subject of the tithe system. Year after year hare your petitioners patiently waited in expectation of better times, but in vaiu! and as long as a shade, of hope remained, they forbore trespassing on the valua ble time of your honourable House; but they Your Petitioners, therefore, bumbly be now, witness the distressed situation of nuseech your honourable House to take such merous industrious renting farmers, and measures as in your wisdom you may deem anticipating what their own, may be, are exfit and proper, for the purpose of doing away ciied by au garuest desire to use their bumblewith the present odious system of tithes, and efforts in averting the dreaded crisis from substituting instead thereof an annual al-themselves and others, who have not as yet lowance to the clergy, or other persons in- suuk,under the accumulation of difficulties. terested in the receipt of tithes, to be paid by they have long had to endure, produced in a

ر

THE BOURBONS, AND THE DRAPERS' osmon amies COMPANY, I b

9

The thunder-storm being passed, the insects are again crawling forth. In an obscure place, as announced in The Star of Tuesday, one Mr. Warden Wrench informed the Company (Right Worshipful Genhonoured with the

great measure, your petitioners believe, by Bourbons and Polignac; though one the injurious effects of the tithe system. might be surprised at their impudence "That your petitioners presume not to instruct your honourable House in the history in avowing is were it not that we are of their country, but with due deference, beg all aware, that base men, with full skins, to remind your honourable House, that the are always impudent and insolent. With tithe-system now, is very different from what these proceedings at the Draper's Comit was at its first institution in England, as the country was, probably, at that time, thinly any those at No York, relating to the inhabited, uniuclosed and imperfectly cubi same event, form a fine contrast! Here vated and prior to the era of the Reforma we have a fair specimen of the different tion, the poor, &c. were supported out of the light in which acts of tyranny are tithes as well as the clergy but so extremely viewed by d by guzzling slaves and by sober heavy are the expenses of agriculture sitidesain dans 3.119 that period, towing unquestionably, to the freement overwhelming weight of taxation which the people of this country have to bear, that onl poor arable land, from which the great tithes are taken in kind, as is the case in this parish, by a lays impropriator, the only indie vidual benefited by its cultivation since the value of agricultural produce has been so greatly depressed,isarthe tithe-owner; but your petitioners trust that the dawn of tha!) that they were" day is about to arise, when a patriotic king, presence of one of the Cabinet Ministers of and an enlightened administration, will re lieve the country from this grevious impost. "That your petitioners beg to assure your honourable House, that they are not actuated by the slightest feeling of hostility towards the clergy, but are fully persuaded that hu. patriotic endeavours were not crowned with the success that they merited." "Let these rash and reckless gentlemen beware. The English people have exhibited wonderful forbearance towards the refuse of France, when, after the vile attempts to enslave their own for an asylum to ours. But "Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray. country, they flew your honourable House speedily to repeal the they must not obtrude either themselves or tithe-laws, and that your honourable House, their doings upon the notice of Englishmen. may, in its wisdom, substinute sme other They must make no perilous experiments support for the established clergy, more con-upou our patience.-Their friends had better ducive to the temporal and eternal welfare of tion of the Bourbons.NESTOU just now pocket up obliviously all their laudathe community,

A

a

man ingenuity could scarcely have devised system for the support of the ministers of the Gospel, more, destructive of the peace and harmony which ought to exist between the pastor and his flock, than the tithe-system.

And your petitioners, as in, duty bound, will ever pray, &c.!!

BOURBONS

BRAND

CITY-GUTTLERS.

the ex

which hauna

a

France (Barou! Dudon), on made a long speech in honour and glory of King Charles the Tenth and the Ultras, concluding with a Jeremiad, deploring their honest, loyal, and

that we lay it entire before our readers :— The account it such a curiosity in its way,

BARON DUDON, 455

RED DRAPERS' ANNUAL DINNER.

198 PARTIGO vid zá City, Jan. 29. At the Annual Dinner of the Drapers this day, Mr. Warden Wrench informed the as-" sembly that they were honoured with the presence of one of the Cabinet Ministers of the Ex-King of France, and after eulogizing his talent and amiable manners, proposed the which was received with every testimony of health of his Excellency Baron Dudon," satisfaction.

The BARON returned bis thanks in the

French language, which not being generally understood,

THE following article, taken from the STAR (a good honest evening paper), will make my readers stare. They will be surprised that any-body, in England, should have the audacity to applaud the deeds of Charles X., and to lament, publicly, that his designs failed of their intended effect. But, when one considers Mr. WYBORN (who accompanied him) adwho these fellows are; when one consi-dressed the assembly as follows:-" In rising ders what immense amount of public to interpret the sentiments of the eminent property they handle, and how soon a real reform to leave them to guttle and guzzle on their own earnings, one is not at all surprised at their partiality for the

statesman whom you have just honoured with such cordial expressions of generous hospitality, I cannot refrain from begging you to accept my owu thanks for your kindness towards that distinguished individual-with whose

confidence, intimacy, and friendship, I have
been honoured for nearly twenty years, and in
whose present and future welfare
ness I feel, as it is my duty, there and happi.
and
most affectionate interest, and nothing, I am
sure, he begs me to state has given him more
heartfelt delight (while it was quite unexpect
ed), than your friendly reception of him this
evening-a reception which does honour to
society and to the British nation. Gentlemen,
I know and applaud those wise rules of this
corporation, which exclude all politics from

of reinforcing the executive are those Ministers who experienced the irresistible pressure of the rising force in the people, which, if not counteracted and quelled, would have overawed and impelled the Monarch into measures injurious and fatal to the honour of the King, the peace of Europe, and the prosperity of history of all civilized nations, ancient of Frauce herself. In such a predicament, and modern (and of none more than the suspensions of the Habeas Corpus act by Mr. Pitt), has shown, and established as an axiom,

these convivial meetings that that Pe that it is the first duty and the chief virtue of

culiar example of

a Minister to preserve the State at the risk of his own responsibility for a violation of establislied laws. Gentlemen, it is in vain to disguise, the fact the French people were impatient of their long reposes and ham far

bose me with your pa- from treating as criminal (except in a 4

จายท

ZUOVE O

upon a question of purely foreign politics, and the consequences of which must, however, sooner or later, and I fear speedily, come home to the business of every gentleman present, you a polititience for a few observations upon the recent cal sense) that noble aspiration of military revolution in France, and the present state of glory which warms the heart of every Frenchthe French capital, Upon that convulsion, man, but which has proved so pernicious to which has occasioned the temporary retire- their own permanent interests, and so fatal to ment from his native country of the nobleman the existence of so many neighbouring States. who sits beside me-of a man who, having It may be said, the present tranquillity of already in tender years endured, the affliction France refutes the assertion of the necessity of seeing, his father and grandfather perish | for the Ordinances. This is an error. The upon the same scaffold, martyrs in the cause present Sovereign and Ministry were not the of loyalty to their King and the laws, is now, chiefs of that party which hurled the exiled fain his turn, himself au exile the legiti-mily from the throne,on the contrary,they seem mate inheritors of that ancient monarchy- -a to have been placed in readiness by a special man who, I will giving full credit to the general principles Ow venture to assert, and providence to arrest for a moment the dangerof ous career of the republican movers, and the loyalty, patriotism, and talent in that gallant criterion of the real necessity for extraordinary nation, has not, on quitting France, left behind powers to the government of Charles X will him a truer Frenchman, a wiser or more ex-be the permanence of that King and that mipert statesman, a more sincere patriot, a better nistry. They have recently escaped from the friend of rational liberty, or a more enlight-attacks of an apposition so formidable, that, ened and amiable member of society than bimself, be he whom he may; and I speak from an intimate knowledge of the French capital for more than twenty years, up to within a very few weeks since, when I last visited France, Dudon has a right to the title of a true Frenchman, and a patriot; bis property was confiscated by the Republic, and he served in the ranks of the republican armies, and rose by his courage, merit, and genius, to the post of Intendant General, or Viceroy, of the northern kingdoms of Spain, during the campaigns of the British armies in the Peninsula. Until Napoleon abdicated, he was faithful to him, as he has since proyed himself to the restored dynasty, to whose Cabinet he was called in the moment of dan ger; and that after the promulgation of the fatal Ordinances. He was therefore no party to their promulgation, but he saw and felt the

system of internal policy. The temporary restriction on the press would, if executed, have spared many evils; that wise (only be cause necessary) precaution was rendered abortive by the errors in its execution. Prince Polignac, by deciding for himself upon the time and mode of its enforcement, incurred and has submitted to the consequences of its failure. Gentlemen, the fittest pledges of the necessity

but for the interference of one distinguished
character, the Orleans dynasty would have ere
now ceased to reign. I do not contemplate
the possibility of their protracted resistance
to the national passion for military glory. In
the mean time, what evils have already re-
sulted from the ill-comprehended cry of li-
berty over distracted Europe? Consider the
state of Belgium, of Poland, of Switzerland, of
Hanover, of Ireland. Gentlemen, civil liber-
ty, like ardent, spirits, becomes a blessing or
a curse, according to the capacity of the pos
sessor, and the measure of the dose. Taken
in moderation, it enlivens and invigorates ;—
beyond that exact proportion, it intoxicates,
maddens, and destroys. Time alone can re-
solve the question, whether the French, under
Charles X., enjoyed or abused the liberty
best adapted to their permanent interests.
They have thrown off the bonds of allegiance to
revolution has been

accomplished, and, as
ree is best
known by its fruits, the Tate Ministers are
condemned to await with patience the result
of the subversion of their well-intended efforts
to preserve the peace of France and the world
by the only means which to them appeared
feasible. Those efforts were abortive, they
being physically unable to carry them into
execution against the national will. Should