to retain the reputation, the rights, and immunities of innocence. "In the present perilous crisis of my fate, I am supported by that courage which arises from the consciousness of rectitude; and I feel that the English people will never suffer an injured Queen to appeal in vain either to their justice or to their humanity. I am convinced that in this land of liberty no oppression can be practised, and that to be upright is to be secure. "In the warm desire which the people of Westminster have expressed for the conservation of my honour, they have exhibited a striking testimony of their loyalty to the King; for the honour of his Majesty must for ever be identified with that of his Queen. "My first wish is to prove, that my character has been unjustly traduced; my next is to terminate my days among the high-minded people of this country, to whose affectionate sympathy I am at present indebted for so much of the cheerfulness which I feel, and of the support which I possess, under the pressure of such complicated wrongs, and such accumulated persecutions." BY THE KING. A Proclamation for adjourning the solemnity of the Coronation of his Majesty. "G. R. Whereas by our royal Proclamation, bearing date the 6th of May last, we did (amongst other things) publish and declare our royal intention to celebrate the solemnity of our royal Coronation, upon Tuesday, the 1st day of August next, at our palace, at Westminster; and whereas for divers weighty reasons, us thereunto moving, we have thought fit to adjourn the said solemnity until our royal will and pleasure shall be further signified thereon, we do by this our royal proclamation give notice thereof; and we do hereby farther signify to all our loving subjects whom it may concern, that all persons of what quality or rank soever they be, who either upon our letters to them directed, or by reason of their offices, or tenures, or otherwise, are to do any service at the time of such coronation, are discharged from their attendance, on Tuesday, the 1st day of August next. Given at our court at Carlton-house, this 12th day of July 1820, and in the first year of our reign. GOD SAVE THE KING. GALWAY, July 17.—It is our painful duty this day to advert to the perpetration of a most malignant and atrocious outrage on an officer's party of the 49th regiment, by a numerous body of armed peasantry, on the night of Friday the 7th inst. at the Glebe-house of Clonfert, in this county. This offence exceeds in enormity any of those lately committed. The sentinel on his post was assailed by those miscreants, and knocked down by a stone, on which they deprived him of his arms and ammunition. He lay insensible for some time from the effects of the blows ioflicted on him. They then attempted to force open the yard-gate of the house appropriated to the use of the military, but were repulsed; on which they renewed their assault on the sentinel, by placing a rope round his neck, with the intention, as they intimated, of hanging him on a tree adjacent to the place, as an example to the corps to which he belonged. This menace they, however, dispensed with putting into execution, but tendered an oath to him, and on his having resolutely declined taking it, a blunderbuss was discharged at him, the contents of which lodged in his left arm. The poor fellow's arm, we understand, having threatened a mortification, it was deemed indispensably necessary to have it amputated. He sustained serious other damage from the blows he received; and we cannot too much admire the courage evinced by him in having resisted taking the oath, notwithstanding the intimidation made use of by these deluded wretches to induce him to do so. Majors, 11 48 By a return to parliament, from the Horse-guards, of the number of officers who have been appointed from the halfpay to full-pay, upon vacancies in the army, and not by exchange, since the 31st of December, 1815, it appears that the total numbers are as follow: Colonels, 12 Ensigns, 54 Lieut.-colonels, 33 Paymasters, 11 Surgeons, 26 Assistant-sur157 geons, 59 By a similar return, it appears that the number of gentlemen who have been appointed to commissions in regiments of cavalry and infantry of the line, from the 26th January, 1819, to 25th January, 1820, has been 182. Of these, 40 were gentlemen cadets from the Royal Military College, of whom nine obtained their appointment by purchase, and 31 without purchase. Of the remaining 142, there were 69 by purchase, and 73 without purchase. The following return has also been made of the number of gentlemen who have been appointed to commissions in the line since the 14th of March, 1819, and who have subsequently been placed upon half-pay : Purchasers of half-pay commis sions, vacant at the period of the reduction of the corps, or its establishment, Riding-masters of cavalry, to make them eligible as such, they having been non-commissioned officers of cavalry, At his own request, he having affairs of the utmost consequence, which prevented his embarking for the East Indies, At his own request, for the restoration of his health, and the prosecution of his studies, An old quarter-master, for the Maidstone, Monday, July 31. This wretched criminal surrendered his life to-day to the outraged laws of his country. It is gratifying to know, that in the interval which elapsed between his condemnation and his execution, a considerable change took place in his frame of mind and general deportment. On leaving the court on Friday last, after receiving sentence, he evinced the same levity, the same hardened ferocity of disposition, that had marked his conduct during his confinement before the trial. So insensible was he of his awful situation, that on being placed in the cart which was to convey him back from the court-house to the gaol, feeling himself annoyed by the gaze of the spectators, he exclaimed in a peevish and surly tone of voice to the turnkey who had charge of the cart, "Drive away like hell, and let's get out of this as quickly as possible!" But when replaced in his cell, and allowed an opportunity of reflecting quietly on his fate, he found it impossible to retain that indifference which he had hitherto assumed. He became restless and agitated, but still he evinced no symptoms of contrition. He had called for a pipe of tobacco, and, on a refusal, he repeated the request in so urgent a manner, that the suspicions of his attendants were aroused. 1 They accordingly began to examine the cell in the first place, and in one of the corners they discovered the handle of the sauce-pan in which his victuals were usually brought to him. The 5 2 1 * Both gentlemen cadets, appointed from the Royal Military College. tin tube forming the handle of the pan had been taken off, and was perforated near the lower end; and this instrument was immediately suspected to have been constructed by the prisoner as a rude though certainly an ingenious, substitute for a pistol. His person was instantly searched, when he thrust into the hand of the turnkeya quantity of gunpowder, wrapped up in a paper, and a couple of marbles, which had been intended to supply the place of bullets. Various conjectures have been made as to the manner in which he was supplied with the powder and marbles; a very general suspicion attaches to his mother, who had seen him a short time previous to his trial. It is most probable, however, that the articles were conveyed to him by some person in the court, while he stood in the dock. Those who have had the best means of knowing the character of the parties certainly favour the former supposition; and if outward appearances formed a just criterion of moral character, one would be justified in concluding that the mother was a person capable of such an act. She is a woman of almost gigantic tallness; of a perfectly upright figure, though apparently more than 70 years of age; her features are sharp, haggard, and of a peculiarly unamiable expression. Upon the whole, her appearance irresistibly forces on the mind the portrait which the author of Guy Mannering has drawn of that wild and almost supernatural being Meg Merri. lees. In consequence of this attempt to destroy himself, Nesbett was stripped of the dress which he had hitherto worn, with the exception of his shirt and stockings; and on being conveyed on the same evening to the condemned cell, he was furnished with a prison dress, and heavily ironed. During Friday night he was extremely agita ted, and was unable to sleep. In that state he continued during Saturday, and the greater part of Sunday. He joined in prayer with the Rev. Mr Harker, the chaplain of the gaol, and professed to be sincere in his devotions; but still he persisted in denying that he committed the murder for which he was to suffer. About six o'clock on Sunday evening his wife and chil. dren arrived from Woolwich to take leave of him. The interview was distressing beyond description, and on this occasion he evinced a greater degree of feeling than he had previously shewn. He wept much on embracing them; and when his wife implored him not to die with a falsehood on his lips, he promised to reveal the whole of his guilt before he died. His family consists of four daughters and two sons; the eldest about 18 years, and the youngest only 16 months old. After his family had taken leave of him, he made a full confession of his guilt. Some of the particulars which he communicated are said to be very important, and the whole of his statement is, for the present, kept strictly secret. Various rumours are, of course, in circulation respecting the nature of his confession, to which it would be equally improper to give publicity, whether they be ill or well founded. After his mind had been disburdened of the load of guilt which had pressed so heavily on it, he became more composed, and joined in the exercises of devotion with more fixed attention, and apparently with a greater degree of intelligence, than he had hitherto evinced. On Sunday night he slept for more than two hours; and this morning he was more tranquil than usual. The Rev. Mr Harker, whose humane exertions in administering to him the consolations of religion have all along been unremitted, attended him at six o'clock, and remained with him till eight. He returned again at nine o'clock, to assist him in preparing for the last awful trial of his fortitude. At a quarter past eleven the unhappy culprit was placed in a waggon, to be drawn to the place of execution, on Pennenden-heath, about a mile from Maidstone gaol. The procession moved slowly towards the heath, the criminal frequently turning up his eyes to heaven and ejaculating, "O Lord, have mercy upon me! Christ, have mercy upon me!" About 100 yards from the prison-gate, his mother caught his eye in the crowd. He did not appear to be much moved at seeing her, but bent his head towards one of the officers who sat before him, and said, "Mind, tell Mr Bowen to do something for my family." The procession arrived at the place of execution about ten minutes before 12, and the waggon was drawn up along the side of the scaffold. The chaplain then joined the criminal in prayer, and the stillest silence pervaded the immense crowd, who stood uncovered while the service was reading. The criminal, who had knelt down by Mr Harker's side, joined in the prayers with as much fervour as his agitation would permit. About five minutes after 12 o'clock the fatal signal was given. He did not seem to suffer more than one minute. The body, after hanging the usual time, was cut down, and convey. ed in a shell to Messrs Day and Watman's, to be anatomized, pursuant to his sentence. Previously to his trial, Nesbett had prepared the following declaration, in his own hand-writing, to be delivered to Mr Hay, the barrack-master of Woolwich: "Maidstone, the 24th July, 1820. "This is the truth, as I have God to meet in the next world, let me Be Gilty or Not, no one of my family, father or mother, wife or Childern or any Raltion of mine, knows whether I am Gilty or Not of the Crime that is laid to my Charge, that is the mourder of Mr Parker and his House keepr, or any other part of that Crime that is laid to my Charge, or any other Crime that is laid to me, as God has my soul in his Charge this Day to try my Gilt that is the truth, and I hope no one will Cast it up to my wife or Childer, for the Do not Deservit. I sine this to be truth, "JAMES NESBET." AUGUST. The Rev. William Gillespie, minister of Kells, has published a discourse, under circumstances that may well be deemed extraordinary. This reverend gentleman has for some years acted as chaplain to the Stewartry Yeomanry, and on Sunday the 30th July, he preached before the corps, which was then assembled at Kirkcudbright, one of the most loyal and patriotic discourses ever delivered from a pulpit. In his prayer, however, after many petitions in behalf of his Majesty, he added the words, "Bless also the Queen ;" and for this he was placed under military arrest by his commanding officer, Colonel Gordon, who is also Sheriff of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. This proceeding excited a strong feeling of surprise-particularly among the members of the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, who are no strangers to the soundness of Mr Gillespie's political principles, and who are themselves in the general practice of praying for her Majesty. Another singular circumstance, with which the above mentioned proceeding appears connected, took place on the 16th July. The parish of Crossmichael being vaccant, the Rev. Mr Jeffrey of Girthon was on that day appointed to preach; and on that occa sion, as was his constant practice, he prayed for the Queen. Sir Alexander Gordon, Stewart-Depute, and his son, Mr James Gordon, Sheriff of the Stewartry, were present, and, after service, requested Mr Jeffrey to convene a meeting of the kirk-session, which he did accordingly; when Mr James Gordon proposed a resolution that no minister appointed to preach in that parish, during the vacancy, should pray in express words for the Queen. Sir Alexander Gordon and Mr Jeffrey being the only persons present, besides the mover, the resolution was of course carried; Mr Jeffrey protesting, and appealing to the Presbytery. The Presbytery, on the 2d August, ordered the resolution in question to be erased from the session book of Crossmichael. At the same time they took into consideration the case of Mr Gillespie's arrest by Colonel Gordon for praying for the Queen, when they unanimously agreed that the chaplain of the corps had done nothing to merit such treatment, and came to the resolution of laying the commandant's conduct before the next General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. However, on the 6th instant, Sir Alexander Gordon and his son appeared at the bar of the Presbytery, and having there stated, that, in obedience to the judgment of the Presbytery of the 2d of August, they had erased from the records of the kirk-session the minute in which the obnoxious resolution in question was contained, and declared that they had no intention of infringing on the rights of the church, however in appearance they had seemed to do so, and in the amplest manner apologized for their conduct, the Presbytery were pleased to accept their apology, and agreed to sist all further procedure in the busi ness. -The John transport has arrived at Portsmouth from the Cape of Good Hope. The John took out 600 settlers for Algoa-bay, principally from Lancashire. The passengers were severely attacked with the measles on the voyage out, but, from the great attention paid them, they soon recovered from its effects. By the John the following letter has been received from one of the settlers who went out : "My Dear Friend,-Accept a hurried statement of our situation, as far as I have experienced it. We arrived at Algoa-bay, after a tedious passage from England, during which we experienced sufficient proofs of the very excellent arrangements of the government for our comfort. I have been up the country as far as Graham's town, and a more delightful one cannot be expressed. The first landing at Algoabay is a little unpleasant, occasioned by a continual surf; but, once landed, your greatest difficulty is over. You then apply to the proper officer, who has a surveyed government plan before him of the intended settlement, marked out in lots, of from 100 to 10,000 acres. Especial care is taken that every lot has a good spring of water, and well wooded. You are then asked the number of followers you have, each being allowed 100 acres. — This being ascertained, the quantity of land you want is sought for on the government map, without any partiality, An authority is then given you to take possession. Too much praise cannot be given to the governor for those arrangements. If you have not brought waggons, they can be procured of the boors, with a team of oxen, and off you set. The settlement is about 190 miles from the sea. You pass a good Dutch farm every 15 or 20 miles. The government sell you a good tent for two guineas, which you set up every night, make a blazing fire, and, surrounded by your team, sleep in the greatest safety. We |
