HONOURS CONFERRED ON WELLINGTON, ETC.
The news of the important events which had taken place in Fiance arrived while the spring session of the British parliament was sitting. Loud acclamations were heard from every part of the house when Lord Castlereagh, who had been our negociator at Paris, appeared again in the house; but louder and longer still were the shouts of applause, when the great general, who had recently been raised to a dukedom, took his seat among them. A splendid provision was settled on him by parliament. In addition to a former grant of £100,000 the chancellor of the exchequer moved a farther vote of £300,000 for the purchase of an estate for him, but at the suggestion of Whitbread and Mr. Pousonby, two leading members of opposition, it was increased to £400,000. Moreover, the house of commons conferred on his grace the unprecedented distinction of sending a deputation to offer him its thanks, as well as congratulations on his return to his own country. The duke acknowledged this compliment in person on the 1st of July, on which occasion he was greeted by all the members with enthusiasm, and addressed by the speaker in an appropriate and animated speech. Nor were the duke’s companions forgotten. Grants and peerages were bestowed on Sir Thomas Graham, Sir William Beresford, Sir Rowland Hill, Sir John Hope, and Sir Stapleton Cotton. But there was one name omitted in this list which gave general dissatisfaction in the country—the name of “Picton,” by whose sword the British troops were led to the victorious assault of Ciudad Rodrigo; by whose daring hand the British standard was planted on the castle of Badajoz; whose battalions, when the usurper of the Spanish throne was driven to his last stand at Vittoria, filled the centre of that formidable line, before which the troops of France fled in dismay; and by whose skill, prudence, and valour, exerted in a critical hour, the enemy was foiled in his desperate attempt to break through the barrier of the Pyrenees. Picton received the thanks of the house for his valorous conduct for the seventh time; but that was all, his services were left unrewarded.
VISIT OF THE ALLIED SOVEREIGNS.
As soon as the allied sovereigns had imagined their work was completed in Paris, the Emperor of Russia with his sister, and the King of Prussia with his two sons, came to England on a visit to the prince regent. They were accompanied by a numerous body of counts, barons, dukes, princes, marshals, and generals, among whom were Blucher, and Platoff the Hettman of the Cossacks. The reception given these distinguished visitors was both honourable and flattering; such continuous shows, spectacles, and fêtes were given in honour of their visit as London never before witnessed.
CONGRESS OF VIENNA.
The congress of Vienna was opened on the 1st of November. There were present at this assembly the Emperors of Russia and Austria; the Kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and Wurtemburg; the Elector of Hesse: the Grand-duke of Baden; the Dukes of Saxe Weimar, Brunswick, Nassau, Coburg, and several other places. The principal ambassadors and ministers were—from the pope, Cardinal Gonsalvi; from Austria, Prince Metternich; from Russia, Prince Rasumoosky, with Counts Stakelburg and Nesselrode; from Great Britain, Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington; from Prussia, Prince Hardenburg and Von Humboldt; from France, Talleyrand and Dalburg; from Spain, Don Labrador; from Portugal, Counts Palmella and Lobo da Silveria; from the Netherlands and Nassau, Spoen and Gagern; from Denmark, Bernstorf; from Sweden, Lowenheim; from Sardinia, St. Marsan, &c., &c. One of the first acts of congress was to recognise a new regal title annexed to the British crown, that of Elector of Hanover not being considered suitable to existing circumstances, or to the sixth article of the treaty of Paris respecting the independence of the German states and their federal union. In accordance with the new title annexed to the British crown, a general diet assembled in Germany on the 15th of December, which was opened by the Duke of Cambridge, and which agreed to the plan of a new constitution founded on a representative system. In the same month a protocol from congress announced to the astonished Genoese that their republic would be incorporated with the territories of the king of Sardinia. The fate of its old rival, Venice, was similar; the whole of Lombardy with its fine capital, Milan, was subjected to the leaden yoke of Austria. Of all the sovereigns by right of French conquest Murat, King of Naples, alone was permitted to hold his acquisitions undisturbed.