of the Allies of Great Britain: particuJarly the Emperor Alexander, whom Mr Peel endeavoured to exculpate from the charge of meditating the occupation of Turkey. Mr Peel repeated the assurance given in the other House, by the Earl of Liverpool, that Ministers are still not without a hope that peace may be preserved; and communicated the important fact, that the reduction of taxation, designed by Ministers, will be directed to a diminution, or total remission, of the Assessed taxes. Sir J. Mackintosh and Mr Denman went over nearly the same ground as Mr Brougham; and the Address was carried unanimously.

Feb. 5. Dr Phillimore obtained leave to bring in a Bill for the Amendment of the New Marriage Act. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman said that his purpose was to relieve the Act of some of the most obnoxious of the clauses by which the original Bill was deformned and encumbered after it got into the House of Lords.

Feb. 10. Sir H. Parnell presented a petition from the Grand Jury of the Queen's County in Ireland, praying that the House would take into consideration the Irish Tithe system. The Hon. Baronet, Colonel Trench, Mr V. Fitzgerald, and Mr S. Rice, earnestly urged the ne cessity of some decisive change in the mode of providing for the Established Church in Ireland; and Mr Goulburn and Mr Peel announced, that it was intended by Government to propose a practical measure for the commutation of Tithe in Ireland, before the lapse of a week. This explanation seemed to give general satisfaction.

Feb. 12. Mr Wallace moved the revival of the Committee of Foreign Trade, on which occasion he submitted an able exposé of the improved state of British commerce; to which he truly said the Agricultural Interest might confidently look for an alleviation of their sufferings, and ultimately to right themselves. When the Right Honourable Gentleman had concluded, Mr Baring, Mr Ricardo, Mr Butterworth, Mr T. Wilson, Mr Hume, and Mr Canning, offered their testimony to the invaluable services rendered by him to the country during his Presidency at the Board of Trade, and expressed their regret at his retiring from it a feeling which will be echoed by the commercial interest throughout Great Britain.

Feb. 14. Sir T. Lethbridge questioned the Ministers as to the nature and extent of the relief which they proposed to extend to the suffering agriculture of the country. Mr Canning justly and candidly repeated the acknowledgment of the King's Speech, that "the agricultural in

terest is the first interest of the country." He admitted and lamented its depression, and expressed his regret that nothing could be done for its relief more than a remission of taxes.

Feb. 19.-Lord A. Hamilton moved for a return of the Royal Burghs in Scotland, specifying the number of the Town Council, distinguishing those who held property in the Burgh, and those who were resident, which was agreed to. Mr Hume moved a resolution condemning the appointment of Lord Beresford to the office of Master-General of the Ordnance. He was answered by Mr Ward and Mr Canning, who satisfactorily proved, that the office was no sinecure, but a situation so laborious, that Lords Hopetoun and Hill had refused it on that account. Mr Hume's resolution was lost by a majority of 127.

Feb. 20.-Lord John Russel moved "that a Committee be appointed by the House to ascertain the right of voting, and the number of voters sending Members to Parliament in every Borough of England and Wales." Mr Canning opposed the motion for two reasons; first, that to grant it would be injuriously and unnecessarily to expose the charters of many boroughs in the kingdom; secondly, because the appointment of such a Committee would have the effect of raising a prejudice very far beyond what the noble Lord, in perfect candour, stated to be his intention, but what in his judgement, and the Right Hon. Secretary knew, must be its result. Mr C. concluded by saying, "The question before the House was one of perfect indifference, personally, to himself, and to every other member of the House: its impracticability and its usefulness were the sole grounds of his opposition. The discussion was not very protracted, and, upon a division, the motion was lost by a majority of 38. There were only 218 Members in the House.

Feb. 21. Mr Robinson, the new Chan. cellor of the Exchequer, opened his plan of Finance for the year, from which it appears, that there will be a surplus of revenue in 1822, amounting to more than seven millions sterling: five of these are to go to the Sinking Fund, to be applied to the reduction of the National Debt: the remainder to be given to the public in a large remission of taxes. The Window Tax is to be reduced one half on houses, and shops to be wholly exempted. The Duties on a certain class of Male Servants, those on occasional Gar deners, those on the lower Taxed Carts, and those on Ponies under thirteen hands high, are to be altogether repealed; and,

13. The weather. The present winter, which we trust has now abated its rigour, has been without a parallel for severity since that of 1794-5. About the beginning of the year, the frosts set in steady, and afforded ample scope for the healthful exercises of curling and skating. On the 13th January, a heavy fall of snow commenced, which lasted for several days, and caused a slight interruption to travelling; but as it had not drifted, the roads were the sooner rendered passable. A thaw, which begun on the 27th, soon cleared the ground of its incumbrance, and nature was beginning to resume its usual appearance, when on Saturday the 1st instant, the storm recommenced, with redoubled severity. The wind blew violently from the N. E. and the snow fell thick for three days and nights without intermission. In many places throughout the country it was blown to the height of from twelve to twenty feet; and the intercourse between towns was, in consequence, for a time totally suspended. On the 9th, seven London mails, six north, and five Carlisle, were due at the Edinburgh Post-office. On the 12th, nine mails were due from the north. About mid-day on the 9th, the weather changed to a thaw, and has since continued so, that most of the missing mails have now arrived. The frost, during the continuance of the storm, was frequently intense. In Edinburgh, the cold was not at any time lower than 14 degrees of Fahrenheit; but at Glasgow, on the 6th, it fell to 1 degree below zero; and on the same day at Rothiemurchus, in Inverness-shire, it was 15 degrees below zero. At Raith, in Fifeshire, the thermometer, on the 5th, fell to 7 degrees Fahrenheit. At Coul, in Ross-shire, it was so low as 3 degrees. The storm was general throughout Scotland, particularly on the east coasts, where the gale of the Ist, 2d, and 3d, was productive of much damage to the shipping. Upwards of 200 vessels found shelter in the Frith of Forth, above Queensferry. The snow was never so deep on the west roads ; and it is remarkable, that the Highland road from Perth to Inverness was scarcely ever a day impassable to foot travellers. Since the storm abated, we have heard of several individuals having perished in the country; and as the snow dissolves, we fear more casualties of this kind must be discovered. Ireland.

The Attorney-General of Ire

land has been again baffled in his endeavours to convict the rioters who insulted the Lord Lieutenant in the Theatre at Dublin. The trial, all the accused being arraigned together, commenced on the morning of the 3d inst. and lasted until the afternoon of the 7th. Evidence was produced, on the part of the Crown, proving that tickets had been purchased, by subscription, in certain Orange Lodges, to admit some of the poorer members into the Theatre to "hiss and groan" the Lord Mayor and the Lord Lieutenant, and to make outcries for the Protestant ascendency. The principal witness to this part of the case was George Atkinson, a member of an Orange Lodge. Various other witnesses proved the activity of the traversers, in the Theatre, with the exception of Forbes, against whom the Attorney. General gave up the cause. The other parties were eloquently defended by their respective counsel. The jury retired at three o'clock, on Friday the 7th, and remained in consultation till ten o'clock, when being unable to agree upon their verdict, they were locked up for the night, and the Court adjourned till ten o'clock the next morning. They were then brought into court, and still not having agreed, they were asked if their difference arose on any point of law? To which they replied in the negative. They were then ordered back to their room, where they were kept till past twelve o'clock, when, at the instance of the court, the AttorneyGeneral consented to their being discharged without returning a verdict. The Learned Gentleman intimated his intention of bringing forward the business next term, for the third time.

Blasphemous Libels. In the Court of King's Bench, on the 4th instant, the Solicitor-General prayed the judgment of the Court on William Tonbridge, for publishing scandalous and blasphemous libels on the Holy Scriptures and Christian Religion, contained in Palmer's Principles of Nature. The defendant, in a lengthened defence, denied the power of the Court to decide on the case. He avowed himself an heretic. Mr Justice Bayley pronounced the judgment of the Court, that the defendant be imprisoned for two years, pay a fine to the King of £.100, be imprisoned until the fine be paid, and find sureties for five years, himself in £.100, and two sureties in £.50 each. Mr Gurney moved the judgment of the Court on Susannah Wright,

and Justice Bayley adjudged her to eigh teen months imprisonment; to pay a fine of £.100, and find sureties for five years, herself in £.100, and two in £.50 each.

Libel. On the 11th, in the Court of King's Bench, the Solicitor-General moved for leave to file a criminal information against Mr Barry O'Meara, for certain libels on Sir Hudson Lowe, Major-Gene ral in his Majesty's service, and late Governor of St. Helena. The application was made on the affidavits of Sir Hudson Lowe and others. The libels were contained in two volumes of the last edition of a work published by Mr O'Meara, under the title of "A Voice from St Helena; or, Napoleon in Exile." The Lord Chief justice granted a conditional rule to

sl.ew cause.

Revenue.-An official statement of the public revenue and expenditure for the year ending Jan. 5, 1823, has just been published, by order of the House of Commons. It appears that the total amount of income paid into the Exchequer during the year, was £.54,414,650 is. 54d. of which £.53,642,967 19s. 3d. was ordinary revenue. The total expenditure for the year was £.49,499,130 ls. 7d. leaving a surplus of income over the expenditure of £.4,915,410 19s. 104d. It farther appears, that the nett produce of the revenue of Great Britain for the year ending 5th Jan. 1822, was £.50,955,671, and for the year ending 5th of January 1823, £50,119,513; while that of Ireland, for the year ending 5th of January, 1822, was £.3,399,923; ending 5th January 1823, £.3,990,973. The whole sum levied in Great Britain and Ireland being less by £1,145,118 for the year ending 5th January 1823, than that for the year ending 5th January 1823.

21.-Fall of Gibson's Land, Glasgow. -A great portion of that large tenement, five stories high, besides the garrets, situated in Saltmarket-Street, and on the north-east corner of Prince's-Street, known by the name of Gibson's Land, fell on Sunday morning, the 16th instant, from top to bottom, with a tremendous crash. For some time past, suspicions were entertained that it was not in a sufficient state; and on Saturday afternoon the Dean of Guild ordered tradesmen to inspect the premises. So convinced were they of its insufficiency, that it was condemned; and no time was lost in giving notice to the inhabitants speedily to remove themselves; all Saturday the inmates were busily employed carrying away their property. As was anticipated, a little after eight o'clock on Sunday morning, the whole tenement fell. As soon as this melancholy disaster was communi

cated, a number of workmen were em. ployed, and carts and horses procured. Before one o'clock, the voice of a woman was heard under part of the ruins, which it was highly dangerous to approach, and this was a period of great anxiety to every person concerned. At length John Love, a carpenter with Messrs Scott and Grieve, courageously went in quest of the woman, whom he found in a space just large enough to contain her, with one of her arms jammed in between two pieces of wood. A glass of water having been handed to her, as she was faint, Love pro cured a saw, and after an hour's hard la bour, he succeeded in extricating her from her perilous situation, a little after two o'clock, when she proved to be a girl of the name of Mary Hamilton, servant to one of the families; she was conveyed to the Royal Infirmary, and is doing well, though her arm was broken. Yesterday a man of the name of Turnbull, who was unscrewing a bed at the time of the accident, was found dead among the rubbish, with the bed key firmly grasped in his hand.

Post-horse duty.-On the 17th inst. the Court of King's Bench determined that horses let by the day for the health, recreation, or pleasure of the rider, are not liable to the post-horse duty, as they cannot be considered horses let for travelling, within the meaning of the statutes.

28.-Execution.-On Wednesday mor ning, William Macintyre was executed at Edinburgh for breaking into Braehouse, at the north end of the Lothian Road. Before ascending the drop, he went forward to the front of the scaffold, and addressed a few words to the crowd, acknow. ledging the justice of his sentence, and warning all against breaking the Sabbath. day, drinking, and keeping bad company, whether male or female, and declared that he died justly for breaking the laws of his country.

Shocking Catastrophe.—This morning, a fine boy, only twelve years of age, was discovered in the kitchen of his father's house, in Edinburgh, suspended by a small cord, which he had fastened round his neck. The event was almost immediately detected, and every means used to restore animation, but without effect. No cause can be assigned for this distressing occur. rence, excepting that on the preceding day he had gone, without the knowledge of his parents, and witressed the execu tion of Macintyre-a catastrophe which seems to have made so strong an impression on his mind, as to lead to another equally distressing.

Portugal Wines.-A Lisbon paper gives the following as an official statement

Jury Court, Edinburgh.-On the 19th instant, an action of Damages for libel, at the instance of Dr William Aiton, against the editor and printers of the Scotsman Newspaper, came on to be tried before the Lord Chief Commissioner. The action arose out of certain remarks made in the Scotsman of December 1820, and January and February 1821, regarding the conduct of the pursuer at a public reform meeting, held at the Pantheon, head of Leith-Walk, on the 16th December 1820. The issues to be tried

were:

1st, Whether the whole or part of certain words quoted from the 205th number of the Scotsman, be of and concerning the pursuer; and are published with the intention of injuring the pursuer, and of holding him forth as a maniac, or as fatuous, or as uttering frenzied and beastly insults, or as sunk to the level of blackguard, who would shrink from nothing, however mean and base, if it promised only to gratify a paltry and unmanly revenge, or as a person who courts degradation, and merits infamy, or who is capable of misleading, inflaming, and treason-stirring, or as willing to become an assassin of persons, as well as character, and as only restrained by cowardice from using the stiletto-to the injury and damage of the pursuer.

2dly, Whether the whole, or any part of certain words quoted from the 209th number of said Newspaper, are of and concerning the pursuer, and were maliciously intended to injure the pursuer, or do injuriously and falsely hold forth the pursuer as an unworthy person, who conducted himself in a discreditable and scandalous manner, or as a surgeon who habitually conducts himself in so degrading a manner, as justly to forfeit public esteem-to the injury and damage of the

pursuer.

3dly, Whether the whole or any part of certain words quoted from the 212th number of said paper, are of and concerning the pursuer, and were maliciously intended to injure, and do injure, or

falsely and maliciously hold forth the pursuer as a madman, to the injury and damage of the pursuer. The Damages were laid at £.5000.

Mr Duncan M'Neil opened the case for the pursuer, and called several witnesses to prove what took place at the Pantheon Meeting, and also to prove, that the reflections in the Scotsman were un derstood, in various parts of the country, to apply to Dr Aiton. Mr Jeffrey addressed the Jury for the defenders, and called several witnesses. Mr Robertson addressed the Jury, in reply, for the pursuer, when the Lord Chief Commissioner summed up the case. His Lordship was of opinion, that the statement complained of had rather exceeded the bounds of free discussion, though there were circumstances in the case which should incline them to be moderate in their determination of damages. Verdict for the pursuer on all the issues-Damages £.100.

High Court of Justiciary.-On the 24th instant, William Jackson, and Elizabeth his wife, were accused of the murder of Marion Jackson, the mother of the former. The declaration of William Jackson stated, that he returned home to his house in Haddington, after having been drinking at the public-house; and that he proceeded to the chimney-piece, and took some money therefrom, saying he was going to get more drink. His wife took the money from him, and they quarrelled; and declarent said that he knew no more about the matter, than that he found himself in custody the next morning; but he knew not why, until he was informed.

The declaration of the female prisoner stated, that her husband having come in, and taken two shillings off the mantlepiece, she took the two shillings from him: whereupon he took up a hammer, with which she had been breaking coals, and flung it at her; but witness stooping, the hammer passed over her head, and fell, she knew not where. She then picked up a besom, and flung it at her husband, as he was going out; he returned, and struck her with the besom on the head, and broke it (whether the besom or the head we do not know) in two places.She afterwards discovered the hammer lying upon the deceased's bed, and that the head of the deceased was cut. then called in assistance. Never had any quarrel with the deceased, who had been for a long time confined to her bed afflicted with the palsy. Several witnesses were examined who had been in the house immediately after the deed, but none of them saw it done. The Jury, in conscquence, returned a verdict of Not proven,

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