passions, and thus occasioned dreadful excesses, and a deplorable catas trophe in the midst of a noble resistance."

The indignation of the Ultras, however, overwhelmed every attempt at defence or explanation, and the President declared the chamber adjourned, after a scene of uproar unexampled in any legislative assembly. Next day, a commission was appointed to deliberate on a proposition for the expulsion of M. Manuel; and he having presented himself to be heard on the subsequent discussion on the war credit, a fresh explosion took place, in the midst of which this sitting also terminated. In the mean time, the feelings of the populace became excited, and, on leaving the Chamber, Manuel was met by a crowd, who assembled to salute him, and who escorted him home, amid repeated cries of "Vive Manuel." On the first of March, M. de la Bourdonnaye presented the unanimous vote of the commission that Manuel should be expelled, upon which he again presented himself in the tribune, and again the sitting was abruptly terminated. On the third of March the Chamber again met; when, after some previous stormy discussion, M. Hyde de Neuville made a modified proposition, that Manuel should be expelled for the present session, leaving it to the discretion of the Chamber hereafter to resume the proceedings or not. A debate ensued upon this motion, and Manuel, at length having ascended the tribune, thus addressed the Chamber amid the most profound

silence.

Even if I should have conceived the idea of justifying myself before you, for the accusation urged against me, the zeal of my honourable friends would beforehand have fulfilled my task. The absence of right, usurpation, arbitrary power, the innocence of my intentions, all have been sufficiently established by them; and if one of my defenders, no doubt misled by old prejudices, has suffered some words of disapprobation to escape him, at the moment when I have to resist such fury, I can disdain an act of weakness or of rancour; but I will not give my adversaries the satisfaction of seeing me placed before them as a sellette (the place where the accused stand in French Criminal Courts), to which they have no right of making me descend. Let others seek to debase the national character;

they have, no doubt, a guilty interest in doing so; I, urged on by a very different feeling, will do every thing in my power to preserve its virtue. I declare then I do not acknowledge here in any one the right of trying me. I look here for judges, I of justice; it is to one of vengeance that I only find accusers. I do not expect an act resign myself. I profess respect for the authorities on which they are founded, and I recognize their power no longer from the moment when, in contempt of the law, they usurp powers which it has not given them. In such a state of things, whether submission be an act of prudence I know not, but this I know, as soon as resistance is a right, it becomes a duty. It is a duty, especially for those who, like us, ought best of all to know our rights; and for me, I should thy citizens of La Vendée, who have given owe this example of courage to those worFrance so noble an example of courage and independence in a second time giving me their votes. Sent to this Chamber by the will of those who had the right to send me here, I shall only leave it through the violence of those who have not the right to exclude me; and if this resolution on my part may draw on my head the gravest dangers, I console myself that the field of liberty has sometimes been fertilized by ge

nerous blood.

After this address, the discussion was carried on amid the vehement protestations of the left side, and with this qualification, M. de Neuville's motion passed in the affirmative. Manuel, however, having declared that he would never suffer himself to be removed from the Chamber, except by violence, appeared the next day in his place as usual. Dreadful confusion ensued. The President reproached the Usher for suffering him to pass; the Usher declared it was out of his power to prevent him; and at length, the Ministers, after a consultation with the President, retired into their conference chamber. After some time, the President declared that M. Manuel having been excluded by a vote of the previous day, orders had been given for his nonadmission, which orders having been violated, he now invited the Deputy to withdraw. Manuel said, he had yesterday stated that he would quit his place only by violence, and he would keep his word to-day. The President then declared the sitting suspended for an hour, during which time he would give the necessary orders; the right side upon this arose and withdrew, but all the left

kept their places, encouraging and conversing with the menaced Deputy. While the President was absent, a body of infantry of the line was introduced into the anti-chamber, and at three o'clock a number of deputies on the right side having entered and taken their places, the principal Usher approached Manuel, and told him that he had orders to cause him to quit the hall, and that if he did "not go voluntarily, he must employ armed force. Manuel remained firm; the Usher then retired, and immediately a picquet of the National Guard and veterans entered. M. La Fayette, "What an indignity! it would be dishonourable to the National Guard." M. Chauvelin"Peace! M. La Fayette, remain "quiet." All the left side-"The National Guard ought not to act-refuse, brave Guards." The Chief of the battalion of veterans requested Manuel to leave the chamber, but he refused, and the Chief gave some orders to the Guard. M. Mechin"This is dishonouring the National Guard." M. de Girardin-" The National Guard ought to protect, not oppress the citizens." M. La 'Fayette "We are your representatives." The deputies pressed round -M. Manuel, and the officer of the -guard communicated the orders he had received to the serjeant of the platoon, but the serjeant and men refused to obey! Shouts of "bravo," issued from the left side, and the Chief of the battalion left the hall; in a few moments, however, a strong detachment of Gendarmerie entered amid violent murmurs from the left side. M. Girardin-" This is the first step towards the degradation of the representative dignity." The 'Colonel of the Gendarmerie invited Manuel to retire voluntarily; he again refused. The Colonel-" Lay hold of M. Manuel!" The left side rose, exclaiming, "Lay hold of us all ;"the Gendarmes went up to M. Manuel, and one of the officers seized him by the collar, while his friends "pressed around to shield him. Manuel was hurried out, followed by the whole of the left side, except M. Sebastiani, who remained in his place. In about half an hour, the President declared the sitting resumed, and the entire right side returned to their -seats, the left benches, however, still

remaining vacant. The debate on the war credit vote was recommenced, but when M. Sebastiani was called upon to speak, he declared his mind too much agitated by the events which he had just witnessed, and several other deputies following his example, the sitting was adjourned. On the next day, a protest was tendered to the President by General Foy, and a number of other liberal deputies, which the right side would not suffer to be read. It has since been pub"lished, and declares the conviction of "the protestors, that the expulsion of Manuel "is but the prelude to the system which conducts France to an unjust war abroad, in order to consummate the counter-revolution at "home, and to invite the foreign occu"pation of our territory." The entire left side then departed from the Chamber, and, of course, the vote of credit passed almost without opposition. The liberal members have ever since continued to absent themselves. This is not new in opposition politics; in 1797, the Whigs of England 'under Mr. Fox, and those of Ireland under Mr. Grattan, adopted a similar measure; but they soon renounced it, as its only effect proved to be the unlimited power of the minister of the day. The exclusion of Manuel has, of course, under such circum'stances, only tended to render him the most popular man in France, and 'crowds have continued to assemble daily before his door, vociferating his praises. The person who can at all pretend to divide the empire of popularity with Manuel is Mercier, the recusant serjeant of the guard. The Colonels of the 4th and 7th regiments of this corps having thought proper to issue orders of the day, declaring "the whole National Guard to be plunged in profound grief at this event," one hundred and fifty officers and sub-officers of the fourth legion published an immediate contradiction, declaring, that on the contrary they " adhere to him with heart and principles, and, in a similar situation, each would imitate his example." This has been followed up by gifts of sabres, fusees, and snuff-boxes; and Mercier, who happens to be a poor fringe-maker, is likely to make his fortune on the occasion. That the French government are strongly impressed with the consequences

likely to flow from this rash measure, evidently appears from their forbear ance to prosecute. Indeed, it is difficult to say at such a time, when the Bourbons are about to make their first military experiment, how this refusal on the part of the National Guard may operate. In the mean time, the Duke d'Angouleme has actually departed for Bayonne, but so encumbered by suite, baggagewaggons, and kitchen utensils, that he travels but slowly-much more sedately than the imperial conqueror was wont upon such occasions! There are strange reports abroad as to the disposition of the invading army, which, so far from amounting to the hundred thousand men promised in the King's speech, is now said scarcely to exceed one half the number. The army, however, is concentrated on the Spanish frontiers; and the engineers are stated to have pontoons sufficient for the construction of a bridge across the Bidassoa, which they can complete in less than twelve hours; this bridge is to be thrown across on the evening previous to the French troops entering the Spanish territory. Numerous desertions are stated to have taken place; and on the 28th ultimo, twenty-five men left Perpignan and joined the Spaniards at Figueras; a bad omen at the opening of a campaign! Indeed, the worst possible spirit seems to prevail throughout France; the fine arsenal and powder maga zine at Toulon have just narrowly escaped the designs of the incendia ries, who set them on fire.

The Spaniards seem to have taken every possible advantage of the delay thus unexpectedly offered in the invasion of their territory. Bessieres, who had made several unsuccessful attempts to rescue Ferdinand from Madrid, was completely routed, and is now a fugitive, his few remain ing followers having been totally dispersed. On the 19th of February the session of the extraordinary Cortes was closed by a speech from the King, delivered by one of the Ministers. That body had, however, previously passed a decree, authorizing the transfer of the King, Court, and Government, to any town in the interior which might be considered most advisable, in case of invasion. When the Cortes were dis

solved, the Ministers accordingly waited upon Ferdinand to apprise him of this decree, and take his advice upon its execution:-his repugnance was at once discernible, and at last it rose to downright rage; and, declaring vehemently that he would not quit the capital, he demanded from his Ministers their seals of office. When this event became public in Madrid, it excited an extraordinary sensation; a crowd collected round the palace, inveighing fu riously against the King, and demanding a regency; the militia interfered, and dispersed them; but Ferdinand in the mean time, becoming alarmed, issued a new decree, reinstating his Ministers, and thus, for the time at least, tranquillity was restored. Indeed this infatuated monarch could have recourse to no other expedient; for the Cortes decreed, that no other ministry could deserve the public confidence so well as those who were dismissed; and out of the seven appointed by Ferdinand to replace them, only two accepted the nomination; the answer of one them conveying his refusal, contains a strange mixture of the ludicrous and the sarcastic-Don Antonio Diaz del Moral declares, that "he is destitute of genius, educated with but little care or atten tion, a stranger to business, and in a state of continual suffering, in consequence of the many troubles experienced during six years of the se verest banishment." Thus situated, Ferdinand, left without any alternative, was obliged to submit with as good a grace as possible. On the 1st of March the session of the ordinary Cortes was opened by a speech, which, though out of courtesy called a Royal speech, does not contain a single sentiment which is not notoriously opposed to the feelings of the nominal author! In reference to the menaced invasion, Ferdinand is made to say-" The Most Christian King has said, that 100,000 Frenchmen are to come to settle the domestic affairs of Spain, and to amend the errors of our constitution. When before were soldiers commissioned to reform laws? In what code is it written, that military invasions may be the precursors of national felicity to any people? It would be unworthy of reason to refute such anti

suspected persons, the Cortes had suspended, for three months, those constitutional securities which are there equivalent to our habeas corpus. The plot is said to have been well devised in order to produce a counter revolution, and in pursuance of it a list of a new ministry was handed to the King, but he firmly rejected it The Portuguese ambassador received orders to leave Paris the moment the news arrived there of the actual invasion of the Spanish territory.

The most recent accounts from Greece state that the Greeks were complete masters of the Morea; that the Christians may be said to be without an enemy, and that the most complete concord prevailed amongst the chieftains. Patras and Corinth had surrendered. An article from Constantinople, however, dated the 10th of Feb. states that Lord Strangford is on the point of issuing a proclamation in the Greek language, declaring "that the Greeks are not to expect any assistance from the Christian powers." We confess, grieved as we should be to see such a declaration issued by any Christian ambassador whatever, our regret would be much heightened by the circumstance of an Englishman having been selected for the purpose. We will hope, for the sake of the country, that it is a fabrication.

A dreadful fire has lately taken place at Canton, in China, which to tally destroyed the East India Company's factories there. 13,000 chests of tea were destroyed, but fortunate ly the treasure and specie were transported on board their ships in time. The commerce, however,, between China and the Company will not be interrupted, as a select committee was appointed, who immediately engaged several suites of rooms for warehousing, and three private factories. The loss occasioned by this accident was immense. Its full amount, however, cannot be ascertâined, until the Hong, or security merchants, come to settle their ac

On the committal of the Mutiny Act, a motion was made by Colonel. Davies, to prevent the dismissal of any officer without a trial by courtmartial, or the punishment of any. officer or soldier, tried by a courtmartial, with severity beyond the sentence of the court; the motion was, however, negatived, on the ground that it went to interfere with the Royal prerogative.

The usual discussions on the Navy and Army Estimates have taken place, and the sums required were voted after several obstinate attempts at retrenchment by Mr. Hume. That this gentleman's indefatigable exertions have not passed, however, with out some effect, appears by the observation of Sir Thomas Osborne, who, in moving a sum of five millions and a half for the service of the Navy, for 1823, declared that the estimates were 217,000l. less than last year, though there were 4,000 men more employed.

A motion was made in the House, of Commons by Lord A. Hamilton, for the production of certain papers relative to the arrest of Mr. Bowring. The motion was opposed by Mr. Camming, on the ground that, if granted, it would countenance the notion that any British subject, travelling in France, had a right to call upon his government to shield him from the laws of the country. Those local laws, it appears, had not been violated in the case of Mr. Bowring; if this be the case, we can only say, that even the paternal sway of the Bourbons would hardly reconcile us to a residence within their jurisdic→ tion.

A communication was made to the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announcing a gift to the nation, from the King, of the voluminous and magnificent li brary compiled with such care by his late Majesty. A committee was appointed to consider the best mode of appropriating it to the use of the public; and Sir C. Long said, that the only wish which the donor had was that it might be disposed of so as to give all, who were capable of using it, the freest possible access.

We are sorry to announce the death of the gallant and venerable Earl St. Vincent, but glad to record in our Parliamentary Abstract the