The National Register. — London, England, 1814-08-21 00:00:00

5 SO Till!: NATIONAL REGISTER... :-ture We have here endeavoured faintly to delineate.—Let 11: , ,thands who pine in want, whom a fatal policy first f:ntn the sober and retired pursuits of rustic life, to acquire our manufactures, and whom our suspended looms will no longer support--let those who toil in vain to dis chat ge the burtheus which this just and luccssary war has en tailed upon them—let the heart-broken bankrupt—let the INSOLv eNT CITY hollowr the peace will a faithful commen tary, and the true character of the war will be displayed. In wain would the cour;iy parasite perAt.,de the fancied con queror that England was far greatet and more powerful than at its conitnencement. The happiness and strength of a courtly is in the satisfied condition and cheerful labours of a grateful people. Look wound, and see what England is, and what she was. Nor can we hope to see any rapid and singular change in our sinking fortunes.—Tht sceptre los departedfrem thee, 0 ! never to return again FORE N I NTE E.NCE. FRENCH PAPERS. CHAMBER OW DEPUTIES. Si/ling of Oer nth August. • The Abbe Montesquion this i;o• addressed the Chamber in de fence of the pthti of law which had been sibmit!...d to them. lie observed, that it had been diAcussed with so much care, its adva ! ! tages and inconvolit !ices had been - so well developed, -that there % l ac on' One of them Who could not now determiee 1111 wisdom on a point of legi-lation which appeared of a delicate nature. It was in this happy situation that they had to deertle on the Oat) of the law. He had the more re .on to trust that they would !)e favour hi)le to it, because, though divided in opinion, they were all united in feeling. The public good was the only object that animated them, and the contests of opinions would necessarily tend to the ge neral welfare, the interests of which were entrusted to them. Some of you, continued he, have expressed your fears lest the plan of the law should tend to check the progress of knowledge: Lit is tint learniug the glory of the French nation? Other nations are jealous of us in this respect, but they will never equal us. We hive essentially the empire of letters—the glory which our cele brated writers have spread over France will always remain our mag tiifleent • triniony. Our Kings have taken pleasure in preserving • and im (al :1; it. One of them merited the title of Father of Lets lei , : ra . at was by the protection of letters chiefly, that Louis XIV illustrated his reign. and communirated his name to the age iu whntia he lived. Lay a,ide.. Gentlemen, I- beseech yon, all dis agreeable ideas which have no foundation. The plan of the law has been dictated with a vit w to serve good authors, and such wri tcrs as Are %vorthy of the noble profession which they have adopted. I will aibl, that the censorship which has inspired so much alarm, becomes aadvantageons to real learning : do you not remember that tat Rome, when the censors ceased to exist, good manners also dis appeared? • During the fine age of Louis XIV. dial not a very terrible cen sorship exist? You may have ;rad with what severity some antbors who had written on political 'patters were prosecuted b e i nre the Courts of justice : very well! dial this. prevent our literattu e from reaching the highest pitch of glory ? -The censorship, then, can never be pernicious to letters, nor pain ful to those who cultivate them. As embodied in the plan of th e law, its only tendency was to favour good authors. la Trance, works of any importance generally extended to mote volumes than one, because questions were time cominooly profoundly considered, that more light might be thrown upon then,. It was on this ;le per to fix a number of sheets under which seise its vigilance, without the fear of diss o ineditat ions that were truly useful. How amber of theeta fixed too great, and that it would be proper to reduce them to twenty, I am charged by his Majesty to assent, on his part. to that reduction. Upon the whole, I will not scruple to assert that the first article of the plan of law is perfectly conformable to the Constitution, us e . NI to liberty, and suitable to eircomstances. The penal lasts which had been recommended could not sappy its place. As to the (Afferent opinions w Melt have been delivered with re. caul to the true meaning of the eth article of the Charter, I would ask ssho is best moitled to interpret it: And if it did admit of different meanings, who shall decide between them? I can !ninny . suppoSe that yon do not think it must he the King. The precautions announced by the Constitutional Charter h ave two objects in vtpw—authors and private individuals. D o yolk think to obviate the abuse of the press by means of repressis e —this is a ereat error. What could yon do it' an author shoohl say to vet!. " rO% Miro, have committed a crime; N 1 rt. is t he law whir h I hase broken He would demand that he should 1w pro ceeded aerunst in as positive it instinct . as on a charge of robbery this was quite impossible. The woole of our legal code could trot contain a description of the various circumstances winch the abuses of the press may produce; and if we cannot define the crime, haw are we to apportion the punislaneot ? iere M. Montesquion put the rase of a ealunioiator being broneht before the tribunals, where head& to the outrage he has committed by his defence, and his di/Cr:li e [ends him all his talents to tiaduc e still more the victim.; of the origival calumny. Alluding to th e claim set 11( of a right to give utterance to our thonghts. Wh at , he, is a right i It is that which does not injure another. Hot there are no rights iu a state of ileum : they are the fruit of our soc i a l la w s. !Wore the ex: , tence of these laws, man is in a state of con•!ant arfit:T. and the right of the strongest is the law. The liberty of the press hall been said to be the truest safeguard of the Collo ion and of liberty. It was the Constitution milieu oraranteed :Worts ; it was for the Deputies appointed by the la pit to maintain the Governmeut ; a few pamphleteers cook! net et Ls its euardrans. England 11;13 been repeatedly quoted ; I shall stop a moment at this objection. The. English Constitntioo is a kind of phenomeorm is its results. It is the strongest Government in the world ; and s i I it is a com position which rhatice only seems to have pnt togs then , for the mind of man never could have conceived it. The Path:Anent exercises an over. ruling notion - 4y, before which evens one must he silent, and every' thing els s• ay. 'lbis power is exercised by the majority :it is this majority which gives the law—it seizes upon all places, and entsrosses ell power. What strength can be greater than that which holds ail, which wishes to keep all, which escapes from responsibility, because it is always this majority which makes the law, the accusation, and the sentence, and which finally execntes it ? It is necessary to give to the people a kind of compensation against such an energy of autlio ritv--against a Gaverninent so vigorous, which, it not pressed upon by another foroe, would no doubt end by destroying itself. I ad- • mit that the morality of those who compose this power, and oho are worthy to command such a nation it a perfect model for intr. giity ; and what has x government so powerful to tear esom thi s boasted liberty of the press? Pamphlets are neutralized— respore.i. bility escapes from their vain declamations. They have no !rows, whatever against the strength of the Government : they serve to amuse the public : this is all. England maiotains the liberty of the press by means we kitow ant how to imitate. The prisoner there lives and dies in prism) a!rau. doned by all. Yon ought trot, Gentlemen, to envy such manners. Item the prisoner is an object of interest ; he receive s the visits and the eonsolations of friendship. In France, liberty is more mode rate, and our manners arc gentler. Let us leave the English those means which our natioual characto r repels. In that country, the laves repressive of defamation are supported by terrible means. Libel is punislo. , l by sentences which i inn individuals, which cause them to die in prison ; for offenders are often subjected to tines he. yond all proportion to their fortuins. In France the judges me more mild : they sem:times look to the accused alone, they considLr the deplorable ,situarion of his family. It has been said that the I,iberty of the Press, if permitted, (slight at length make is insensible to its abuses. This %%amid be a girt rellol evil ; when (-Amboy ceases to annoy us, what will become of' inn' ralitv and honour? What is it that the advocates against the law require--iN it to protect the sciences? No!—contemptible nieag,re like the books or the Sy hils--tlivhe are the iiitles for the representatives of the people aic contending. I figuie to wyielf lonia XIV. and the Ministeri who illtistiated his reign, How proent count it was thought prop the retliftp excl . tpqi4,, .evOted to 1 1 1 !x 4. :"" • r ethe sup • i f , • 'b r .1 •?. ' ' _ -~_~ AITG. 21. I