The Statesman. — London, England, 1821-04-02 00:00:00

ON PEOPLE OF SENSE. (raox BALDWIN AND CO . S. LONDON ILADAZINIL 0/ PRESENT NONTR.) People of sense (as they are called) give themselves great and unwarrantable airs over the rest of the world. if we examine the history of mankind, we shall find that the greatest absurdities have been must atrentsoisly maintained by these very persons, who stive themselves out as wiser than any body else. The fictions of law, the quibbles of school divinity, the rhicanery of politics, the mysteries of the Cabbala, The doctrine of Divine Right, anti the secret of the Philosopher's stone,—all the grave impostures that have been anted in the world, have been the contriv ance of those who set up fur oracles to their neigh bours. The learned professions alone have propagated and lent their countenance to as many perverse con tradictions and idle fallacies, as have pouted the wits, amid set the credulous, thoughtless, unpretending part tf mankind together by the ears, ever sine(' the ills. tinetiun between learning and ignorance subsisted. lt is the part of deep professors to teach others what they do not know themselves ; and to prove by infal lible rules the truth of any nonsense they happen to take in their heads, or chose to give ont to amuse the gaping multitude. What every one felt and saw fur himself—the obvious dictates of common sense and buntanitv—such superficial studies as these afforded a very institlicient field for the exercise of reason and abstruse philosophy, in the view of " the demure, grave-looking, spring-nailed, velvet-pawed, green eyed" despisers of popular opinion :—Nair object has revalarly been, by taking post in the terra ineoguita ..f science, to discover what could not be known, and to establish what could be of no use, if it were. Hence one age is employed in pulling down what another nit!' infinite pomp and pains has been striving to build up ; and our greatest proof of wisdom is to un l..arn the follies and prejudices that have been instilled into us by our predecessors. It took ages of inge nuity, of . sophistry, and learning. to incorporate the Aristotelian, or seitolastie philosophy into a complete system of absurdity, applicable to all qursti.ons, and to all the purposes of life ; and it has taken two cen turies of metaphysical acuteness, and b o ldness of inquiry. to take to pieces the cumbrous, dispropor tioned edifier, and to comert the materials to the eon ,'ruction of the wmt; ra Powell phibmupliv. by means of verbal logic, self-evident propositions, and usi• eatibted aaiums—a philosophy just as remote from truth and nature, and setting them equally at defiance. What a number of parties and school* have we in tee.lieine,—all noisy and dogmatical, and agreeing in r thing but contempt anti reprohation of each other! A,rain, how many sects iu re!igion,—all con fid en t of lig i n the right, able to bring chapter and verse in sopport of every doctrine and tittle of belief, all ready to damn and excommunicate one another* yet oak _ . out clan these ;nett tillers to superior wisdom and i••••4llihili.y, rail he right: the eunrinsions of all the dr awn With Slllll labOUrell accuracy, and sup po—ed with sueh unflinching constancy and solemnity. e. an.t lotto be, a bundle of heresies and errors! 1! ,w many We &Armes anal intolerant practices have tWien their rise from no better a funtulation than a r-votic garment, a divining-rod, or Pythagoras's gobl er thigh' When Baxter, the. celebrated controversial d;%ine, and Nonconformist 31inister, in the reign of L!:arles 11. went to preach at Kidderminster, he segn lar:v es. ry Sunday insisted from the pulpit that hap ti .m was necessary to salvation. and roundly asserted, ti-at Ilell was paved with infants sknlls." 'I his t'.e indignation of the poor women of Kidder minster so murk, that they were inclined to pelt their preacher as he passed along the streets. 1114 zeal, however. was as great as theirs, and his learning and 1:•s do:pie:we greater; and he poured out such torrents ut texts Noon them, and such authorities fro... grave coureils and pious divines, that the poor w. 'Si tier*. &trate& an.l forced. with tears in their eyes, to star• rerder their natural feelings and unenlightened con victions to the proofs from reason and Scripture, which they did nut know how to answer. Yet these untu tored toi.ophisticated dictates of nature and instinc tive affection have, in their turn, triumphed over all the ride of casuistry. and merciless bigotry of CE.VSONNIIIP ur THE PRESS IN INDI.I. TO I.IEVT.-COL. THE HON. 1.. STAN HOPE. Lothian. Much SI. ISII. S:n—llaiing a partiality for British India, it has r , :t.t.r. utr 1 0...3•tire to learn that you have given no tit r of a I,,,st:flor to the Court of Proprietors of bast India St/wk. Ia n the sobject of the Liberty of the PreS% in !bat distant portion of our dominions, from Welt it at a% tiiird itniteeessarily, as well as most arbi trarily. :mil unconstitutionally taken away by the h.artittis Welleley. upwards of twenty-two years ago. y•as at that time in liengal, and had an opportunity ut knouiti: , the ciresim<taures, which were the imme diate orea.iim of. or atforlieil the pretext for this measure; and wish+, a 4 the i n f o rinati..ft wa y be us e ful toward w.truling your laudable %let% n, 1 shall here shortly 'Wail. _ _ Stir. Allan Maclean and Mr. were joint pr prietors AA insligo•worker, at Gatizeepore, in the district of Renares. In pursuance of a plan fur rjeetire Yr. 31aeleats, scho resisfed on the plat , task's!, Air. D'Aquillar. ms the l'lth or o f M arc ' s . I9s. cattle to the stmts. , . and provoked him to an as•anlt. On the information of D'Asptillar. 31:Idea's was committed to pri-ost, without A hearing., by Mr. Rider, the Magi.trate of riastreepore„ who, the offence charged being a simple assault, refract( to admit him to (mi.'. [lasing performed this ac hievement, Instead of consulting the Airamottt Aslawlut, as was Isis shvy, Mr. Rider applied to the Benares appeal Judges, who had no jurisdiction in the case, fur instructions re specting Isis farther proceedings. Mr. Treves and dlr. Cherry. two of these judges, thcpsrost r a pa, t wit!! IrAittllbtr la the indiro works, directed the lissureepore Magistrate to send Maclean in confine ment to Calcutta, informing him that he haul Ins alter native or option in the business. Mr. gave, another of the appeal Judges, was absent, and highly disap. proved of the conduct of his colleagues. Mr. Rider. thus authorises', sent 3lacleats off fur Calcutta, under a guard of a Ilacildar, Naick, and twelve *spays. in a common patella, or b agg age boat, without a ebupper. or covering, sufficient to watt off the sun and rain. The Havildar had orders posed to a scotching sun in the day, and to torrents of rain in the night, and in constaut expectation of the boat bring dashed to pieres, hr the severe north westers, prevalent at that season of the year. Upon, his arrival at Patna, Major Marrae, Captaius Macleod and Cameron, and the Reverend Dr. Mackinnon, ofl i the 76th regiment, puhlie:y applied to the Judge or that district, for his release. erring security for hie appearance iu Calcutta. Hat he declined interfering • with the orders of the Magistrate .of Hauzeepore; and it was not until lie reached !'longlsyr, that Mr. Maclean was released, hy order of Ws-emote:it, from this cruel, illegal, and ignominioas confinement no equivocal acknowledgment. sin their own part, of the misconduct of the Nlagistrate. As these circumstauces led to the transaction, which occasioned Dr. Maclean . * expulsion from India, which expulsion appeared to be an in,lispentsible preliminary to the imposition of the Censorship on the Press, slate that gentleman's determination to maintain his right to an entire freedom of discussion, in the Journal and Magazine of st hide lie was the proprietor, at Calcutta, were well known, anal consequently that the Censor ship could nut be established but by his removal, or close imprisonment there. If the Censorship itself teas a prof,er and legal measnre, it would undoubtedly follow that the removal of Dr. Maclean, or of any other obstacle to its establishment, was justifiable.--. But, Hit was neither legal, nor useful, but the re• verse, it becouses a tit subject of enquiry (in which. Dr. Maclean has now no farther interest than any other person in the natiou) whether the part which he took in the case of Mitelean and IFAquillar, justifies' the conduct of the Marquis Wellesley. in exercising an arbitrary power of transportatissu, against an indivi dual, to the destruction of a business, a fforsling. ass increasing income of between six and seven hundred pounds a year, of a C't.ital of several thousand pounds invested in it, and of all his then prospects in life The public will have to ess si sister whether the chance of preventing future safene••s Sillatr to that committed be Dr. M., was ground for the destructisso of the liberty of the press its spa large a portion of the British dominions, or o•liether this was only a pretext, the real object Lein?, to establish a precedent, in a dis tant part of the empire, whore it mintlil not create so It alarm, for the itesfosition, on a fawn• occasion, of a censorship at home; having also the collateral ob ject of enabling the Ma•sfois Wellesley to carry sin his projects against the 'satire Princes of India, with out dread of investigation. or of censure. But, be these things as they may, it is most certain that Dr. Mach•an's arbitrary expulsion from India was intimately connect ed with, and immediately followed by the imposition of a censorship on the press throughout the British possessions in the East. And, it does seem most sur prising, and very little creditable to the public spirit of the mother country, that a. , .aa,rotion of this dr eruption should, fur novae& of twenty-tuU years, have passed almost wholly uoooti. ed, I am credibly informed, indeed, that such was t h e apathy prevailioa . in England, or the stupid dread o f th a t e t erna l h oe bear, the French Ilevolution, Iltat,rven as late as Itstni, Dr. Maclean found it necessary, such was the pusil lani 1111 l us ap: , reisension oat libek. to take out a license as printer, in order to he enabled to conmannicate his rorresponslence vi ills the Bs al 6ov et meta to the British Public. ropy .•I that eorrespondence is now before Me: and. ;as CO' work is now out of print, it may possibly serve to promote the 'audible object you have in view, if I Isere transcribe such parts of it as relate more immediately to the subject of Your pro posed 'notion. The institution of an in q uiry, respect ing the censorship on the press in India,after the lapse of so many years, verities the proverb, that •` Murder will out and entitles pot to the thanks of evere friend of freedom. I may here o bserve, that, as the inhabitants of British India, are by far the happiest portion of time subjects of this, or perhaps of any other state; as they have the voullest cause of complaint, and are time least disposed to turbulence, of ;my people upon the face of the earth, it is the last country, its which any restraint upon the liberty of the press, could either be necessary or justifiable. Bat, to MUM to my narrative : Its consequence of the circumstances of the quarrel between Maclean and D'Aquillar, a paragraph was loses hal in aotlae of the Calcutta en-apart-ca. apparently intended :IN squib against the latter, announcing the death of the former, l'Ottliegbroil r 0 . 1 a firet. :at lienares. It uas the Eons tradivtien of this report, in the &alumina terms. by Dr. Maclean. %%bids Ott: ASlolled his forcible expulsion 'runt !idled bomb! (Sii Au* t, " Tha immetrati ... and satisfactory apeleirk" Te squired, Dr. Maclean, as o►ay readily be conceived, de clined to make ; and, fur a►► " insinuation" of improper conduct on the part of a Magistrate, he suffered ex pulsion from India, an imprisonment of twelve months ou board a ship s the Ines of his income, property, and prospects; and, as far as Ile influence of his op ponents could operate, of reputation. Nay, there is ground to believe, that the same influence has been employed to war his subsequent views in life, and to misrepresent and vilify his conduct generally; for, those who have deeply injured, do net readily forgive. I lint, I feel assured tl►at I do but justice to the senti ments entertained by that gentleman, when I say that, if the wounds inflicted upon public principle, by the imposition of a censorship on the press of India, were healed by its formal repeal and condemnation, he would, without hesitation, consign his own personal injuries to oblivion. If it should appear, that, to wards this repeal and condemnation, to transcribe farther portions of the correspondence in question, or to animadvert upon it, should be dee►ued useful to your undertaking, I will be ready to dedicate some portion of my time to tile:employment, whilst I confess it would be much more azreeable to me to see a due disposition, on bath sides, to conciliation, and to avoid ripping up (Oa griev.u►ces. Wishing you success, I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, A\(11.0 ASIATICUS. PRICK OF aweHs THE Hank Stuck 3 per Cent. Ited. shut. 3per Cent. Con. 71Li 3$ iwr Cent. shut I. per 12..nts. stint. per Ct. Navy ludi 7 5 iwr t'ent. Lung Ann. shut Imp. S per Cent. Irish 5 per Cent. DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK India Mtock Dittoliontis 465. Otis. pm. South-Sea Stock E Bills2d. 2. is. pm °vintner) for Money Munk for Account India for ditto Con. for Aect :•3LLS Lott. Tickets —/. —l. kedie a rat u fair seepoys constantly o r offur ig ett,' )4116 . 1i hi this was T he confined, from the 25} of )0 e &smut he Tfif March to the end of April, (upwards of a month} , es - Council Chamber, Ju . _ ...I ••• •••••••••11111 • ICI the gene is it t sus. t h e Ile servant, * at t he ivied) Henry*. 0. R. to the 16. TH THE EDITOR 01 THE TELEGRAPH. SIR-1 request yon will contradiet the account, which, through • very %MU mi•informatims, was inserted in the last hail Gazette and Ilirrarrah, an nouncing the death of Mr. Alexander Alai.lean, said to he shot in a duel at Ilenares. I this day receivegl a letter from that gentleman, mentioning, in4,...41, swisr ,•irrstut stances, which, if his antagonist had not possessed an uncommon degree of prudence, might have led to that catastre p'oe; but I am happy to add that the v„ la dir• nArreeirbre riferta the reneontre hare aeivn film, the ioterPrencr ,;" the gilagialmte thonLeepare, schwa . mulled, wpm this aeritsient, I Will take a floor appartst- Nity of appreciating. I aue, sir, your obedient servant, CIIARIES Calcutta. April Xl3, IN?. The 3lagistrate of fiancrepore took the ala•tn. lie got I r. Yelol, an old acquaintance of lir. Alarleatt's to Write to him, intreating that he would abstain front publishing the threatened appreciation of his con ,lnct. Hut, lest this intreaty should prove unavailing, instead of bringing an action before the ordinary tii bona's, for rob e.vA, Ile applied to the Governor General for protection. Nothing can better show, than these proreetlings thews I% e.., the great 'benefits of a free and vigilant press towar d - preventing the misconduct of ignorant or corrupt 3lagistr.ates. I n consequence of the representation of Mr. flitter, or the united influence of the Ilenazes Junta, or the predetermination of the Governur•iieneral concerning the press. Dr. Maclean received the following notification from Governtsbent. TO 31:t. ctivitLes MACLIAN. _ _ _ J *id. Department. !Stn—.\ representation baying been istaile to govern-1 silent rerpeentig a letter which was pithlisheil in The Telegraph attic INtli of April last. under your signs titre, I am directed by the Right Hon. tiorernor-tlenrral in Cuoaril, to inform you, that his Lordship considers the i,.ainwatina in your letter, with regard to the col iduet of the Magistrate of tlaineepore, to be higlety los proper, and that hr •aerurdingly requires that yew xir4- mit to gorcriotant an immediate and ralittikt.ey ape- LONDON: MOVDAY ErENINII, APRIL 2, )S2l. STOCK EXCIIANGR, ONE °Timex. The Funds have been upon the rise this morning ; Consols being now bityers at 721 fur the Account, the Market looking well. Some fresh intelligence is the cause, but the particulars up to this time, have not transpired. Intelligence from Maple. has at length reached us through the Paris papers of Friday and Saturday last. and we regret to add, confirms, in a great degree. the tuortifying accounts that had previously prevailed, re specting the dispersion of an important portion of the,lcapolitan army. The following detail appears, is; part official : Nae Les, Mauen It —Within these four days, says th e j o urnal called the race del Scrub), great events have occurred in this kingdom. We abstain from all commentary : it would be too painful to make it. Yesterday we received a second bulletin from Gene ral William Pepe, dated Castel di Sangro, twenty leagues Cann this capital. It is as follows : " The corps commanded by Oeneral Pepe was chiefly composed of legionaries and provisional militia, who were hastily assembled on the first announcement of the movements of the Austrian troops, and who never be lieved the war in which we were engages!. " With this corps General Pepe haul to guard the Talley of Rovelo, Tagil:owrat, Antroduco, Leonessa, and the 'frisuto. The enema- appeared in force its the neighlmorl lof Civita !Mettle. Among the refuses nlsich General l'epe had it in his power to follow, the t prudent was to &hostels from his position, and to attempt an extensive reconnoissance. On the morning of the 7th he attacked the enemy near Rieti, and at the same time directed an attack to be made near lA.onessa by three battalions. The national troops, and par tieularle those of the line, drove hack the enemy with ,Ise greatest bravery. .'t sleets' Isettal . of the Ca t .itanata distinguished itself in the first line, as slid a oirmi lut!talion of the 31 light infantry. " In vain slid the enemy eleploy all his cavalry in the plain of Rieti, our sharpshooters handled the hussars severely. awl killed a great number of them, including some superior officers. " After a warm tire had continued for seven hours, the enemy brought up fresh reinforcements. HIS nuns. hers soon became very superior to ours. The General urslered a retreat, which was efferted without any of our troops receiving either a musket shut or sabre cut. Bat the enemy advanced ; the fire of his artillery threw iota disorder the seemed line of one militia, who, perceiving that the troops composing the first line were retreating, believed the corps del . ..eta! which they had so bravely sustained fur seven boars under the hottest fire. Many of the battalion of militia dispersed. • The enemy, surprises! at the conrage onr troops had opposed to them, did not ventnre to aelvatwe on any point: but having learned from spies the disorder which had taken place, he seised the propiti moment, and tried with large Misses to farce the passage of Antes,- duce). This defile was defended with extreme valour by the brave general Russo, whose troops fought well; butt our troops were overcome by numbers, and the defile was carried. General Pepe then moved Isis head quarters to Subsume, and on the Ilth to Castel di San• gro, where he intends to recompose his corps, and to present to the enemy that resistance which be ought to expect from Neapolitan soldiers, when recovered from a first surprise. This corps will he re-organiaesl, and will be rendered worthy of the esteem of the enemy and. the nation:* The journal adds to this bulletin, that General. Pepe has displayed all the coolness and bravery of a veteran. We are, however, assured, that he is this day expected in the capital, and that lie is replaced lit his commies' by tieneral It was yesterday announced that the artily of the I centre, and that of the left, in which. are many troop. line, are tranquil in their cantonments; h e t i t i s same time stated that the Prince Regent had bead-quarters of the first rorps of the army; that he found every thing there in good order. and that O neral Carascosa was maniruvring with his well-Immea ability to support the second corps. _ It is added, that Marshal Verdinosi, whose colas* / hail sustained no loss, wes in the province of Chiettasa that he would embarrass the enemy by man enering in his flanks. We learn to day that a council of war, presided by i e Prince Regent, has been held at Capua. On the break. iog up of the council the Prince sent Lieut.-teena Florence on a mission to the King. 31tLAN, M.tßcu 21.—tleneral Wardell;, *lgo wa s 4. spatched by the Doke of Calabria to H Kink of N s . Ales, left Florence on the 19th, to return to Naples tit a letter addressed to his Royal Highness.. NAPLES. MARCH 14. (EXTRACT OP A PRIVATE LSTTEIt.) " On the 9th the Austrians advanced and attached the position which coven') Aquila. It apro n t h at they met with no resistance, as all lied at their app roac h : and even the defiles of Antroduco, where few ales wood have sufficed to arrest the progress of a whol e corps of the enemy, were abandoned. The militia and l eg i es . ir troops tied from their colours. At kvi t t t o whit army of General Pepe disappeared, and Le attivii at Castel di Sawa. " It is said that the rneaways having committed wow excesses in the places through which they passes, th e city of Sulinons closed its gates against Owen. The army of Uarascosa, which found itself iu dupe of being cut off, has received orders to aimed°, then. trenched camp of Magnano and the line of the (brit liano, and to retire to Carta by that of the Volturno. As soon as the news of this defeat n•as received, the s adopted ion too t i h e e Ki g resolution ith o as f h sendi n g een Prince Regent communicated it to the Parliament, who car a r n ied adi ty re ri p e o a n r i e t m gl o l7 l. F t w he . de , l , 6 4 „ kd ait e l r -t s le-c ha a r t e ttp be t e o n tl: s e s l: ,d ilve fo o r f t r ! e a c l a a:;r ii i i a ; troops to Naples, for the purpose of preserving then-an. quality of the city. "There remains here no symptom of aritation; the Royal Family have abandoned the project of going to I Messina, and will remain here." The Wooing extract from the letter of a Orate correspondent gives some further account of the pm gress and proceedings of the Austrians TURIN, Blanca 23.—The Milan wail has arrived here this morning, bringing the gazette of' the :Ist. We find in it the capitulation of Aquila, which begins is this explicit manner:—" lu virtue of the authority me ferret' upon the Austrian troops by King. Ferdinand aft the 23d of February, Lieutenant-General Mohr take possession of Aquila." The first article is, that the fortress shall be garrisoned by Austrian and Neapolitan troops ; that the command in chief shall be in the Ass mans ; but that the flag of Ferdinand will be displayed on the walls. We have nothing to add to these details, hot the account of a proclamation stated in a private letter from Paris, of the 2Sth nit. to have been issued by tte Constitutional tioyernment of Naple, previous to its dissolution : " Countrymen—lt is found impossible effectually to resist the progress of the Austrian army. We had hoped a different result, bat you must now be content with such terms and with such a Constitution us the King nosy 66 axcom MENDED to give yaw. Our functions are at an end ; but we cannot close them without the expression of a fervent wish that you may obtain from the clemency and liberality of his Majesty all that, under other and more fortunate circumstances, you might have procured fur yourselves." Since writing the above we learn, that letters hare been received from Paris, dated at a late hour on SA. turday. Advires had on that afternoon readied the French capital, of the entrance of the Austrian troops into Naples. They are said to have been received by the Neapolitans with every demonstration of joy !!! The accounts from lavbach are of The Emperors of Austria and Russia are stated tohare bound themselves, by a fresh treaty, to oppose every change of government in foreiis countries that Mar have been produced by the The French Funds closed on Saturday at Slf. 25e. By advices from Turin, it is ascertained that the Prince Regent of Sardinia,',without informing either the National Junta or his Ministers of his departure. leas gone to the army of Norvara, on the Milanese frontier. In hia absence the Provincial Junta, on the •22t1 ult, issued a proclamation, in which they declared their resolution to remain united till they can resirt the public administration into the hands of other per sons authorised by his M a j est y Charles Felix. or hi* Serene Highness the Prince Regent. On the nex t da y the following decree was made public. ° THE PROVISIONAL JUNTA, " Seeing that in the present siltation of the country. it is above all things most urgent to preserve robin; order, and to put an end to every irrygolatity ill the . tneamtres adopted Isy each province fur the puipose u t avoiding anarchy, do " DU KEE " I. There- shall be appointed for each prnvince a political chief*. on whom shall depend all aothorities and offices within the peocinee..in whatever relates to ailuii nistration and police. This political c hief shall ce r • respond with the First S ecretary of State for the Home Departniene,.and propose to him the measures which it may be thought advisable to adopt. " 11. The indemnity to lw Er Awed to the political chief, and the expense of Isivoifice. shall be regulated by a sninetinent decry,. " 111. The First %emetic" . of `State for the Home P pertinent is charged with the execution uf the present decree. 11.31ARESTINI, Presided'. nALPOI4 OI4 IS Done at Turin,. Mutb 23." 01) c &tat tOtnan. " THR 111TIaN STATEtIII% .. 1.1 'neon roRA rite NITU " Tt■ ST %TM' %N." k • .t i I