The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-04-06 00:00:00

V .' The American Cm third time and passed. ALLOWANCE TO CORONERS WI e r - 0 0 04wiplIchin!,. in 41e,iriYe pu the expe. rine* at least worth the trirrs , rhe others, Lt. thowla propose rt. be &ferret' to the month of Acgast; tied thtmgh there would be little cha n ce of awir bc.r then deciJeJ on, they would be certain *of a hearing at an early period of the next station. The following disposition was then made of the remaining petitions :- 1.0.10t.ni and 11u11. Tu.silar, Ist of August. 1. um.nater, 2d d.Ltu. A,l•lo.niry, ditto. hl:Mt-ex, 4th il.tto. 14.woutigh, Sth chtto. I•.iiiitun, 6th dato. S•iateshory, 'IC! ditto. C icy tkiergus, (.I.t ditto. .'•ll.l.itr, 10th :itto. \'. ••yiMuth, 11th ditto. S odour', 12th ditto. liiii•i•-tread, 14th ditto. 1 .I.ZW t rd, lith ditto. Durham, 16th ditto. And Laiidon, 17th ditto. Mr. CORRY gave notice, that immediately after the recess, it was his intention so submit some ar rangements necessary for the better colic& ion of the Revenues of Ire!and. The House went through a Committee on the Expiring Laws Bill, and ordered the Report to be received tO-Morrnw. Dill was read a Mr. DICKENS moved the second reading of the Bill for granting an encreased Allowance to Coro ners for their travelling Errences, using some few observations in support of it, but in so low a tone of voice as to be quite inaudible. Mr. HOBHOUSE hoped, that this Bill would not be suffered to pass slightly, or as a mere matter of course. The measure now under consideration was rejeded by them last year, in a very alive manner, and he had heard no fresh reason adduced for bringing it forward at present. In the former BiU, the Coroners advar.ccd four different points of claim, for additional allowances : first, for their at tendance at the assizes ; secondly, at the quarter. sessions ; thirdly, fOr holding inquisitions ; and fourthly, for travelling expences. At present they had the modesty to drop three out of the four claims, and apply for travelling expences only. The petition presented on their part, purported to be that of the subscribing Coroners, but was described to he that of all the Coroners of England and \Vales. It was to be remarked, however, that though in En gland and \Vales there were 52 counties, the petition was only signed by fourteen Coroners, amongst si hom there was not one of the principality of Wales. He readily admitted the truth of the posi t', al, that travelling expences were of late years very much enhanced ; but it did not follow that the pro s of a Coroner did not encrease in the same pro portion, and might, perhaps, add considerably to the fees of inquisitions by the increase of population. Before this demand was made, he expeCted that the House would be informed of what was the official income of the different Coroners, and whether they were not encreased by wayfs, estrays, deodands, &c. He did not hear that any of these gentle men threatened to relinquish their situations ; but if they should do so, he was confident that the papers would immecfately be filled by the advertisements of thousands of new candidates, soliciting suffrages, and solemnly promising to discharge the duties of the office faithfully, without any encrease of allow ance or emolument. As to the present Coroners, he thought the condo& of some of them called for scrim' animadversion. Instead of residing in the centre of counties where the people might have more easy ac cess to there, they generally, as men of profession, re sided in some large town in the extremities, which put the counties to great inconvenience, and fre quently, before their arrival, the bodies of persons, dying in a saspicious way, became so putrid, that the Objefl of holding an inquest on them must be defeated. So far from being dissatisfied with their situation, lie said, that they were, many of them at least, so covetous of their places, as to employ trades men and others for their deputies, which was against their oath. Upon these grounds, he must oppose, at this time particularly, so wanton and unnecessary an expenditure of the public money. Mr. SHAW I.EFIVRE regretted that the Hon. Gentleman did not • &Dim up his objeCtions, by moving that the second reading of the Bill be de ferred to this day six months. This Bill would he affording a very dangerous precedent, and open the way to innumerable applications of the same kind. '1 he print ipal Officers of that House were allowed no more than rid. per mile for their travelling ex pence:, and as Coroners were already allowed 9d. he thought they might be well satisfied. To show how valuable these appointments were considered, he assured the House he could prove at their Bar, that 1001. was offered by a person to a Coroner only to give him the first notice of his intention to resign, in order that he might have the start of his other competitors. People in general were not aware of the profits of these Gentlemen, who were so eager for business, that when vessels were thrown away, and wrecked, they were seen flocking down to the scene of misery like so many vultures. Mr. BAK 1,1 NI) said, he was a friend to the increase; hut it it should be proposed to double it, and give Is. lid. instead of 9d. a mile, he could not agree to it, while Ih)Aitee was not more than Is. or ls. 241. per nide. '1 he eagerness of canvassing and soliciting for these situations may be more than was often &hewn for seats in Parliament, but the easou was obvious. The freeholders, who had votes for the former, were generally in habits of acquain tance and intimacy with them, which made them zealous for their in;srosts ; whereas Members of Parliament were seklom known to the majority of freeholders, esc..pt from chi:After. The .House must be sensible that the offace of Coroner was one of very high importance, - though many of its fundions mere now become obsolete; but even at present, when the first civil officer of the county, (the She riff), was supposed by the Court of King's Bench to be incompetent to aft, from partiality or otherwise, the processes, in such cases, were , invariably direct= ed to the Coroners. One of the highest offences which our Liss knew nf--namely, that of murder, was always left to the.detcction of the Coroner and his Jury, aatl nn him io a great measure depended the punishment of the offender. When all thew thingswere ronsideresia, Ise thought it would be pro per to place thent'in a:situation beyond the reach of enrrnption. Mr. SHF,RIDXN otiserved, that the Hon.. Geo. ileman who spoke.# seemed to this* he had e s . pr•li Le • • •• • • • THE BRITISH PRESS. wol LON DO:•:, WEDNESDAY, A "nu 6. Some of our cotemporaries have of late been dissatisfied with the silence of the MoniPeur. We wish it had always observed the same discretion. Whenever it speaks out now, it speaks out with el , fe6t, and confining itself to the pure duty of an of , ficial journal, communicates some fart, plainly and simply, without any observations. The Moniteur of the 2d inst. received yesterday, has published a long correspondence between Colonel Femta, the English Governor, and the French Comman, dant of Senegal, who was ordered to take possession of Goree. From this correspondence it appears, that the French Commandant demanded possession of the island, in conformity with the Treaty of Amiens, on the sOth of Oas)her, and that, so late as the 214th of January, the English Governor had declined to give it up. We should be inclinc:l to believe, that the retention of that islatid was ratt of the system adopted by Ministers last OZtolier, and which induced them to countermand the sur render of the Cape ; and the probability is, that, like the Cape, it has been since given up :n conse , quence of fresh orders sent•from this country. The Monftrar probably knows this to be the fad ; but it brings this much of the case forward now, as a proof of breach of faith, on the part of England, in the execution of • the Treaty of Amiens. That Ministers, in a case of doubt and difficulty, should wish to retain such important sta tions as Malta and the Cape, is, we believe, a justi fiable policy ; but this is the first time we have heard of the retention of Goree, as a check upon the ambition of Bom A r ARTE, or a necessary measure of precaution against a rupture. It has been asked in the Senate—Would you go to war for Malta ? Would you go to war for the Cape ? But nobody has ever thought of asking—Would you go to war for Goree ?—The evident objea of the Monilau in bringing this case now forward, is to fix an odium upon this country, and to represent us as a base and perfidions nation. Any credit which we might have claimed for the execution ttf the Treaty of Atniens, in Ole lujnts in which_ it has‘heea carticii into area, .. will be refused us. If orders were sent out to retain Goree, it will be inferred, that orders must have been also sent out to retain Demarara, Surinam, &c. and that if these latter places have been delivered up, it was because the orders did not arrive in time to prevent the surrender; and all these things are the more readily believed, because the French know many persons in the British Senate are dis contented with the treaty of Amiens, and hence in fer that they would be disposed to break it. We do think that we have much to fear from the ingenuity of the French Government exercised upon this topic, for the purpose of influencing the public mind in France. It is essential to the success of a war, that we shot hi be convinced of the justice of its cause, and that such cause should be clearly defined and understood. To the very last moment of the late war, whether it originated on the part of France or of England, was represented as matter of doubt, and that very doubt damped the zeal and restrained the energy of those who entertained it. Should, however, a new war take place, we fe tr, notwithstanding the concessions and moderati m of the English Minister, that we should be still liable to this disadvantage. In such an event, the English Government would charge France with its ambi tion, and France would charge us with perfidy in re fusing to execute the treaty of Amiens. The result of such a state of things is this : -instead of France fighting with all the consciousness of a bad cause about her, prejudged and self-condemned, we shall be put upon our defence, and our justification will be the inordinate ambition of France. To which side the people of France will incline, cannot be matter of doubt. • They are now, we believe, averse to war ; but the greater their aversion to war, the greater will be their hatred to those whom they are brought to think are driving them into it. In Odober last, BONAPARTE might have been made to appear distindly the sole provoking cause of hostilities. He is now able to appeal to Malta, to the Cape, to Egypt, to Goree, to his Majesty's message, to the warlike din that echoes round our shores. He can then appeal to his own pacific professions—his innocent Lousiana and St. Domingo expeditions, and ask, in which of the two countries is to be found the hostile mind. Private letters from Paris, written by men who have carefully watched the changes of public opinion, sure us that he has made that appeal with success, and that a hostile feeling is extending itself rapidly through France. The French complain, that in many instances we suspended the execution of the treaty of Amiens, and that in one instance that suspension still continues. They have been even made to believe that we have purchased the island of Sardinia, for the purpose of annoying them in the —.wan. These arc palpable things, and ob vious to the meanest capacity ; they are things which in their nature do not involve doubt, but immediately resolve themselves into certainty. Our justification, as far as it has yet transpired, is quite another thing. It is a question for Geol . ' us and Pi: FEND() RF, and not for the many. This difference has been already felt in consequences dis.t.lvantageous to England. The temper of the Fri people is every hour be coming more hostile, while the indignation of the people of England against t 1 e ambitious career of BONAPARTE is every hour dying away. We arc assured that in Fiance they nosy talk of nothing • else but the invasion of England. They do not even pretend to be able to meet us upon the dcean, but it is their general belief that a successful de scent might be made in flat-bottomed boats from Havre, Dieppe, Cberbourg, &c. and that allowing a loss of 40,000 out of 80,000 men embarked, before they should reach the English ccast, their objLa would be comp!etely obtained. But admit ting the people of France to be pacifically in clined, under such a Government as theirs, we have no security in their disposition.—Can we presume that the French army does not wish for plunder, and that the French Generals do not pant for new triumphs? The FIRST ? CONSUL is, besides, con vinced that the English have not only a natural ha tred to the French, 'out a personal animosity to him self; and this conviction is so strong upon his.mind, no powers of argument or evidence can persuade him flat the Infernal Machine was not of English contrivance. As to the personal dislikeito him, we readily believe . it. Every 'En,glishrhan naturally bates a desp, - )t. There was a time when BONA PART& was the theme of popular applause in Eng land ; but he was Clen only ?gallant and vidorious General.—There- WIAS no joy in England, but a very different sensation, when he was reported to have fallen in Egypt by the hand cf an assassin. He was then the enemycof England, but he had not proved himself the enemy of liberty and inde pendence. We are happy in being able to contra did, upon the authority of the same letters, the va rious reports relative to the United Irishmen at Paris. It has been rflceatly ited, that they are now in high favour, and appaient c(lafidence with the French • Government. The reverse is the fa'L ARTHUR O'CoNxoa only .recently re; turned from Italy to l'aris, and lives unnoticed by the Government iss: the 'Oben; - al' Paris. Ile . . . a` ... as - - 7 '7'417.- ~r not .the Editor of the ift"ist, or co:mg:tea. with it. Mr. LE WIS GOLDSMITH has the sole merit Of COlldlia-• ing that scandalous publication. Counsellor EM MET lately resided at Brussels, and is now with his wife and child on his way for America. Dr. 11'` EVEN, and Messrs. SAMPSON, LAWLESS, &c. are at Paris, but quite in the back-ground, and consequently, dis gusted with the Government. But why all this dread of the United Irishmen at Paris ? They were once formidable, because they had the confidence of their party ; but having betrayed that party, they can never become formidable again.— They are now poor, isolated outcasts, and not the idols °fa mob. There is a great difference between Marius in the Capitol of Rome, and Marius in the manhcs of Minturnr. The Diet of the Empire at its sitting of Mai.ch 21-, adopted the aft of the Deputation of the 24th of February, containing the definitive re-partition and regulation of the indemnities. 44 No Conttssim," say s the Aloniteur, " so important t 9 the interest ; of th , c Empire has been executed since the treat of Westphalia." I.'unrk, 31it Marc:i, 5 per cent. 52 7 . , Ist April, 4. Actions of the Bank, 1145. Yesterday was Settling Day at the Stock Ex change. Several failures were declared, but only three of any great importance. Of these three, the Gentleman whose deficiency was the most consider able, has since expressed a confident expeaation that his principals will come forward, and enable him to pay fifteen shillings in the pound. Of the two great previous failures, one of which ' was declared - on Monday, and is the subje& of ge neral regret in the city, their account is said to be very complicated. It consists of what is called, in the language of the Stock Exchange, Puts and Culls. The flerusc, we understand, has declared this an il legal dealing ; and a doubt is entertained whether the claims under it will be allowed. The day was not by any means so disastrous as was expelled. The 3 per cents opened at 61, and left off at 64. By a Mail which arrived yeitcriay morning from Hamburgh, the following highly interesting letter was received from that city : " l famburgh t March 29, " Half-past Nine o'Cloek at Night. " Last night, and during the wholo of this day, the inha bitants of this city were in the greatest agita•:on and alarm, oc casioned by a variety of reports, which h. 41 a powerful influ ence in depressing the Course of Exchange on London. " lo consequence of the arrival of a Courier from France late last night, the Senate was convened, and held an extraordi nary meeting, which lasted four hours. The subjed of consi deration was a threatening note fiom the French Minister Reinhard, relative to the following affair :—A few weeks ago Reinhard applied to the Magistrates to procure the insertion, in the Correspon.lenten, of a Manifesto from the pen of Bona parte himself, full of the moat indecent invectives against England. This production was referred to the Syndic and Censor of the Press, Mr. Doorman, who permitted it to be in serted, after striking out the most objectionable pass . agc-s. The Manifesto, thus modified, appeared in the Ceritepoudenten of the 25th inst. under the head of Paris, March 15, as an extract from the Bulletin de Paris. • This, however, instead of satisfy ing the French Minister, has prey .ked hi; utmost ind.gnation, which is not to be ap,vitased but by publishint it in its entire gate. The re-publication in an official shape is accordingly to take place to-morrow in all the Hainburgh Papers, which, in consequmce of an order from the Govern •netit.„ are not to be put to pre,a until after ten o'clock, and you therefore cannot have a copy of the Manifesto before the Marl of the Ist of April." Yesterday a Court of Dire tors was held at the East India-House, which adjourned at six o'clock till this day. Yesterday a ballot was taken at the East India House, which terminated in favour of the Resolu tions of the Court of Dirdlors, exonerating the Owners and Commanders of the Hindman and Prin ters Amelia, from any blame in the loss of those ships. The following passage is from a letter of the 25d from Dort : " Yesterday forty vessels passed this town, having on board French troops from Bois-le- Duc for Helvoetsluys. Their number is between 1500 and 2000 men. It is plain, that if hostilities be resumed, the French arc determined the odium shall, if possible, be thrown upon this country ; and that they will avoid an explanation (if war be their objeCt) till they hear of ale different foreign possessions which we were to give up being evacuated, and till some of the fleets of their Allies, which are soon expected home with z ich cargoes, be safe in port. '1 hey write from Flushing, that for some time English frigates haie been seen cruising on the coasts of Holland, and especially about the mouth of the Scheldt. This sight, unexpc.fted in time of peace, has excited some uneasiness in the island of Wal. cheren. Every necessary measure for opposing with effe& any attack which may be hazarded by the French on the island of Guernsey, has been adopted by General 1)o Yl. F., the Commander in Chief, who has issued a proclamation and general orders, embracing the principal objets for its defence and security. In the event of an attack, martial law will of course take place; in which case, upon the alarm-gurs being fired, the masters and crews of the different vessels, subjeCis to his Majesty, and who may be then in the Pier, or in any of the Roads of the Island, as well all such other sea-faring persons who may not be particularly attached to the Mi litia, are to repair to the South Pier, where they will be armed and embodied. The High Bailiff is to have the command of the town. and those placed in it for the preservation of tranquillity ; and should any person be found disturbing the peace, or in the a' of rioting or pillaging, they will be subject to instant military execution —All strangers, subjeas of his Majesty, in the Island, or who may hereafter arrive in it, and who are not enrolled in the Mili tia, or whose duty in case of alarm is not already clearly defined in former regulations, are, upon the alarm-guns being fired from Fort George, Castle Cornet, andrVare Castle, immediately to be formed into a Staff Corps, and to repair to Lhe Esplanade of Fort George, there to follow such diredions u They may receive from the Commanding Royal En. g. her, or . the Officer under his orders. . I , WI! CU "TT • r 7. PTT - ponied the unpopular dill of the question, which he apprehended could rarely be the rase with a man whose obi-^d vras pure justke. One Hon. Gentle man represented Coe Coroner: as having great emo luments already; while anmher stated, that no wreck cbuld take place without the shore being vi sited by flights of curoners, like hungry vultures—( He thought the Hen. Gentleman meant to have said canrcraati—(A Lae) i but if there was any inconsis tency in this, let the Gentlemen settle it between them. Ile did not, on an occasion like this, relish such argument, as that the precedent would draw down upon them numerous other applications The only question was, whether the present was a claim of justice ? And if it was, he would allow it, whatever may be the consequences. All that Coroners had now in the advanced price of every thing was a fceof 20s. per inquisition, and nine pence a mile for travelling expences, the same that was allowed to them fifty years ago. If the population and inquests had en creased, that was far from being an advantage to the Comer, whose trouble and expences were more than proportionably augmented. If their known fees were insufficient, and induced them to accept of indire,cl emoluments, that was a strong reason why, like the judges, they should be placed in a situation inacces , :ible to temptation. As so the observation of ;in Hon. Gentleman, that only 14 Coroners out of 32 petilioned for this allowance, he would only assure him, that he would find no insu perable difficulty in forcing such as had not signed to accept of the addition. Mr. PYTCHFS observed, that the world WAS now arrived at such a degree of luxury, that no mess would now go down without some:awe tiquante to season it. The office of Coroner was heretofore considered as a good thing, and it seemed now as if it was not worth retaining. But there could be no use in applying remedies where there was no wound. This was a season for the exercise of eco noniy, as well in individuals as in the Government. The country was not without a variety of vehicles for conveyance ; and he thought it would be as be coming ia Coroners to travel on horse-back, or in sand -carts, as to race through and disturb quiet vil lages, with the rattling of their carriages, and the cracking of their whips. The candidates for these offices were already numerous enough, and would I no doubt be more so a hundred-fold, were it not for the expences of contested eledions ; only for that, there were numbers who would cheerfully under take these functions gratis. Coroners were always men of profession, who, in that situation, obtained a great object in enlarging their connexions with fa milies of distinction, and in that pursuit had always great prospeds of success. He never heard any instance of these gentlemen complaining that their dues were not paid, that they incurred debts in the execution of their office, or were reduced by it to poverty ; and, however great was his veneration for all ancient establishments, he would rather see them abolished, than rendered useless by additional emo luments. Mr. ROBERT WILLIAMS rose merely for the purpose of stating, that a contest for the election of a Coroner, for the County of Denbigh, cost no less a sum than four thousand guineas. After a few more observations, the House divided on the question for the second reading ; when the numbers were, Ayes 61 Noes 4) Majority 12 The Amendment of the Lords to the Non-Resi dence Clergy Bill was read and agreed to, and Mr. Diciatisou ordered to carry up the same to the . Lords. Adjourned till to-morrow.