Letter of Instructions to the Protector of Slaves at De 81 merara II. Foreign Convention of Commerce between his Majesty and the Most Christian King, together with two Additional Articles thereunto annexed, signed at London, January 26, 1826 Convention of Commerce and Navigation between his Majesty and the King of Sweden and Norway, together with an Additional Article thereunto annexed The Act of Abdication of the Throne of Portugal by the Emperor of Brazil in favour of his Daughter. Speech of the Infanta Regent, at the Opening of the Sessions of the Portuguese Cortes Report made by the Portu- Extract from the Message of the Vice-President of Colombia to the Congress The Message of the President to the Congress of the United Mexican States Address of General Bolivar to the Constituent Congress of Bolivia, accompanying the plan of a Constitution for the Government of that State Address of Freire to the National Congress of Chili, at its opening Report from the committee of the Senate of the United States; to whom was referred the Memorial of the 82* 86* 90* 91* 98* Account of Captain Parry's 102* 106* covery of a North West Passage, &c. Account of the Voyage of Captain Weddell into the Antarctic Seas Captain Parry's new Expedi tion Results of the Arctic Expedi 168* 169* 170* 171* . 173* THE ANNUAL REGISTER, FOR THE YEAR 1826. THE HISTORY OF EUROPE. CHAP. I. State of the Country-Meeting of Parliament-King's Speech and the Address-Measures proposed for relieving the Commercial Distresses-Prohibition against Stamping small Notes-Mr. Hume's Motion for Returns of Bankrupt Country Banks-Bill brought in to prohibit the Circulation of small Notes after Feb. 5th, 1829Exception in favour of the Bank of England-Mr. Hume's Motion to require Security from Country Banks-Reasons for limiting the Bill to England-Scottish Banks. THE HE commencement of the present year was marked by a continuance of that depression in manufactures and commerce, which had prevailed at the close of the preceding. The demand for the labour of the artisan had not yet revived; and want of employment, and its concomitant misery, were the results. Neither had private credit been yet restored; the failures of private bankers, VOL. LXVIII, both in the metropolis and in the country, continued to multiply, though much less rapidly, than in the end of 1825; and the universal distrust which existed, by limiting the facilities of obtaining discounts and advances, deprived commerce of its natural aids, and increased the difficulties of the trader. The ship-owners, likewise, were suffering from the inability to procure freights, an in [B] ability occasioned by the foreign markets being glutted, and by there being, therefore, a scarcity of employment for ships, because there was a cessation in the demand for the articles which ships were to convey. There was thus throughout the whole community a great deal of pecuniary embar rassment, of comparative privation, and of positive suffering. No man, indeed, who looked impartially at the causes which had led to such consequences in the mercantile and manufacturing world, could see in them reason to doubt the solid resources, or the public credit of the country; and, except that the ship-owners ascribed their difficulties to the changes lately introduced into the navigation laws, and that the unemployed artizans of Lancashire rose riotously, on one occasion, for the destruction of machinery, there was no spirit of discontent, nor any tendency to disturb the public peace. The lower classes, in particular, bore their sufferings with a quietness and resignation which ensured universal sympathy; in every quarter of the empire, liberal subscriptions were cheerfully made to alleviate the distress of the poor: still this distress existed widely and severely, and doubts and difficulties threw a gloom over the manufacturing, the trading, and the monied interests of the country. Such was the state of things, when Parliament was opened on the 2nd of February, by commission; temporary indisposition having prevented his majesty from attending in person. The Specch from the Throne was as follows: "My Lords and Gentlemen; "We are commanded by his Majesty to inform you, that his Majesty has seen with regret the embarrassment which has occurred in the pecuniary transactions of the country, since the close of the last session of Parliament. "This embarrassment did not arise from any political events, either at home or abroad: it was not produced by any unexpected demand upon the public resources; nor by the apprehension of any interruption to the general tranquillity. "Some of the causes to which this evil must be attributed, lie without the reach of direct parliamentary interposition, nor can security against the recurrence of them be found, unless in the experience of the sufferings which they have occasioned. "But to a certain portion of this evil, correctives, at least, if not effectual remedies, may be applied, and his Majesty relies upon your wisdom to devise such measures as may tend to protect both private and public interests against the like sudden and violent fluctuations, by placing on a more firm foundation the currency and circulating credit of the country. "His Majesty continues to receive from his Allies, and, geneally, from all foreign princes and states, the strongest assurances of their friendly disposition towards his Majesty. His Majesty, on his part, is constant and unwearied in his endeavours to reconcile conflicting interests, and to recommend and cultivate peace, both in the old world and in the new. "His Majesty commands us to inform you, that, in pursuance of this policy, his Majesty's mediation has been successfully employed in the conclusion of a treaty between the crowns of Portugal and Brazil, by which the relations of friendly intercourse long interrupted be tween two kindred nations, have been restored, and the independence of the Brazilian empire has been formally acknowledged. "His Majesty loses no opportunity of giving effect to the principles of trade and navigation, which have received the sanction of parliament, and of establishing them as far as possible, by engagements with foreign powers. "His Majesty has directed to be laid before you, a copy of a convention, framed on these principles, which has recently been concluded between his Majesty and the king of France; and of a similar convention, with the free Hanseatic cities of Lubeck, Bremen, and Hamburg. His Majesty has likewise directed to be laid before you a copy of a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, concluded between his Majesty and the republic of Colombia, the ratifications of which have been exchanged since the close of the last session. For the carrying into effect some of the stipulations of this treaty his Majesty will have need of your assist ance. "His Majesty regrets that he has not to announce to you the termination of hostilities in India: but the operations of the last campaign, through the bravery of the forces of his Majesty and of the East India company, and the skill and perseverance of their commanders, have been attended with uniform success, and his Majesty trusts that a continuance of the same exertions may lead, at no distant period, to an honourable and satisfactory pacification. "His Majesty's attention has been directed to the consideration of several measures, recommended in the last session of Parliament, for improving the condition of Ireland. "The industry of that part of the United Kingdom, his Majesty has the satisfaction of acquainting you, is in a course of gradual and general advancement-an advancement mainly to be attributed to that state of tranquillity which now happily prevails throughout all the provinces of Ireland. "Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "His Majesty has directed the estimates for the year to be prepared and laid before you. "They have been framed with an anxious desire to avoid every expenditure beyond what the necessary demands for the public service may require. "His Majesty has the satisfaction of informing you, that the produce of the Revenue in the last year, has fully justified the expectations entertained at the commencement of it. "My Lords and Gentlemen, "His Majesty deeply laments the injurious effects which the late pecuniary crisis must have entailed upon many branches of the commerce and manufactures of the United Kingdom. "But his Majesty confidently believes, that the temporary check which commerce and manufactures may at this moment experience, will, under the blessing of Divine Providence, neither impair the great sources of our wealth, nor impede the growth of national prosperity." The Address was moved in the Lords by earl Verulam, and, in the Commons, by Mr. Stuart Wortley. In neither house did it encounter any serious opposition, although much discussion took place on every topic to which it alluded, |