The Statesman. — London, England, 1822-01-28 00:00:00

p4.. 1 ,, , fd to the public creditors—it will most probably • be productive of much confusion, speculation, and usher evil consequences, to create, as it were, twenty. f nr independent land companies in the country; all bringiog their lauds into the market together. and rash tempted to undersell the others for the purpose of raisin? money. In sorb a state of things the ge• ueral government might shut up their land oleos for ti ,y years, and would necessarily have to seek an tvivalent in the revenue in some other quarter. — 'I his, among other objections, has already been stated aga , nst the project; but it is too soon yet to form a derided opioion on the subject. It is always -safest to bear %bat can be said on both sides before a conchs sion is draws. For my own part, 1 would go great lengths to promote so desirable an object as the edo avian of the people, 010 are to succeed us in the fair inheritance of freedom. At the same time. as at pre. sent advised, I would touch rather grant the proceeds of the lands for that purpose than erect a number of companies. who would unquestionably give rise to a fearful scene of land-jobbing a 1111 l net us. Perhaps, however, there way be arguments in store on the other side of the questitm, of which I am not aware. RUSSIAN EMPIRE. Peranetsuaott, Dec. 28.—According to the state ment jolt published by the Synod (which, however, Wades only the lireek Church) the number of birtbr, Lee., in the Russian Empire, iu the year 1819, was as fullows: ButTus.--IlotalPS Feu ales - 796,426 725,708 Total 1,522,134 Being 98,888 more than in the year 1818. MATHS.---Males Females - 467.668 451,441 Total 919,109 Being 44,182 more in the year ISIS. The number of births exceeds that of the deaths by 603,025. allatong the deaths were 233,697 males ender ire years of age. It is worthy of remark, that if we except the first ten years of infancy. the greatest mortality takes place at the axe of 60 to 65 years, for in these years there died 17,745 males—that is, the 2131 b or 27th part of the whole. Among the deaths of the male sex (the age of the females is not steed) there were 18,741 above 80; 5.734 above 90; 1,094 above 100 ; 324 above 105 ; 179 above 110 ; 90 above 115 ; 56 above 120 ; 23 above 125; 13 above 130; and two do:extraordinary age of between 140 and 130. A To-moemew. 45 30 m. later 6. - - PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Reek Stock 238 India Stock 3 per Clot. Red. 76. Ditto Bonds 3 per Ct.Coa. pai 73 Soak Sea Stock 3f per Cent B7 Seetk Sea Old Ave 4 per Cents 6 per Ceets. Navy.. 107544 --3901...3.. Os. pm 3 per Ceet Lung Atm. l9 7-164 . Cos. for Acet .7644 Imp. 3 per Ceet 76 bf WI. for ditto Irish b eer Cost i Lott. Tickets 191. 18s .tit ktattOman. •nia NAM •T I.A MOTaillg 4 ia. after - tali sartaus rrarainwo" Is I wrni " ems . STATESMAN." LONDON: MONDAY EVENING. JANUARY 28, 1822. The Paris papers of Thursday and Friday bring a report of the continuation of the debate in the Cham ber of Deputies on the project of law for repressing offerers of the press. M. de Housing was first heard. He contended that the proposed law would have the eifect of removing that censorship, against which so many objections had been urged, by introducing a re gular system for the repression of abuses of the press, by entrusting that repression to the assembly of the two.Chambrrs of a superior tribunal. A free press, if nut properly- regulated, might introduce evils of the worst kinds throughout France. The peace, the religion, the welfare of the country were at stake.— lie therefore would vote for the project, and for the amendment of the committee. Ile proposed the fol lowing amendment:—" That each journal when first condemned shall be first subject to a censorship, of a period of from one to six months; on a second condem• nation to a censorship of a period of from three to twelve months; and in case of a third offence, the censorship was to be indefinite, and the journal might be put a stop to by an ordonance of the King." blechin next addressed the Chamber. He as- gibed the disquietude with which France was at pre sent fiikd, to the Government being in the hands of men of no settled political character; who to-day ab jure on the Ministerial bench the principles which they defended as deputies. He then traced the vicis situdes which the liberty of the press had at different periods under one, and reminded the Chamber, that it was the subjugation of the press under the reign of Henry IV. which promoted the success of a society (the Jesuits) whose re-appearance at present cowl toted the terror of all France, and which society had whetted the poniard which put an end to the existence of that good King. One of the capital crimes, be observed, charged against a prodigious man, who belongs now only to history. and who fell from a throne erected by innumerable triumphs—one of the capital crimes against him, in the act of forfeiture, wss his having subjected to the censorship of the police the liberty of the press, which had been esta blished as a national right. But the violation of a right so sacred, continued be, which had precipitated the conqueror from the summit of the Tarpeisn rock, now made the Ministry ascend to the capitol. lie con chided by moving for the rejection of the project. M. de Pryronnet (Keeper of the Seals) rose next. lie spoke at considerable length in vindication of that part of the project which relates to attacks on reli gion, and them proceeded to notice the objection, that 1 11 THE STATESMAN. lit was contrary ?cp the charter. Sumr J. pnties, ssirr: he, are of opinion, that einre the charter has beet. given, all powers must proceed from it. That is cer tainly true; but the maim is susceptible of some im portant explanations. Powers preceded the charter. and it would be eery extraordinary were the charter to prevent the passing of a law intended to secure re spect to the very authority by which the charter was given. What has been the consequence of the silence of repressive laws on this subject? That serious at tacks have been directed against the royal authority, with reference to times anterior to the concession of the charter, and French juries hare been found, with pain it most be stated—(i(.lloller and murmurs on the left)—French juries have been found, who, adopting the strange and pernicious sophism, by means of which it had Leen attempted to establish a distinction between the constitutional authority, properly so called, and the authority which preceded the promul gation of the charter, have acquitted persons whose criminal doctrines it would be impossible to , repeat here. M. de Peyronuet proceeded to defend tho ar ticle of the project for punishing libels on classes of persons. which be considered as just as the punish. meat of libels on iodividuals. With regard to the question of confiscation, be argued that no confisca tion could take place when nothing was forfeited to the Exchequer. To suppress a journal was the same thing as putting down any establishment in a town' which might be injurious to the iababitants ; Of as iris ing goods un the frontiers which might introduce cOu tagion. The amendment of the committee he (Amerced,' which refers the offences of the press to the judgment of the Royal Court has been made the subject of re p►oach against the Ministers of the King, and per haps against tl.e King himself. The present Minis ters, however, were subject to the laws, and would al ways govern by the laws. They would act with strict impartiality, and that moderation which the laws pre scribe ; but they would employ the force which the laws g►anted them, and which bad citizens only could wish to refuse them. The Minister descended from the tribune amidst marks of approbation from the right. M. Devatix spoke against the project. Ile took for his test one of Paces maxims ; namely, that the li berty of man consists in thonght. Ile regarded the suppression of the jury for offences of the prom, as egni►alent to the ancient parliament jurisprudence. which condemned a man without expressing tie grounds of the condemnation. The whole law was reducible to this—that the jusroals of the OppositloC might be suppressed at pleasure, and that no jottroal4 should be allowed except such ware written in thb manner the Ministers approve. The debate was then adjourned to the Imo Oil when M. Kergorlay supported the project, and malolained that the system of Juries was good only i• the of society, and that Judges assured of their rank ing their lives are preferable. He cited differessi English Authors, who alledged that the decisions of Juries aro not conformable to justice. N. Human followed, and in a discoirse of consider able length opposed the project. General Donnadien expressed his determination to 'vote for it altogether. M. Bignon argued against the project, in an able speech. in which, in obvious reference to France, be took occasion to quote the words of Mr. Fox, in 179 A, in a discussion on seditious writings—" What would the Stuarts have dune," said Mr. A., "if they had been replaced on the throne? They would have favoured the Catholic at the expense of the Protestant Religion ; they would have destroyed the institution of Juries; they would have annihilated the Liberty of the Press." If these, said M. Bignn, are the traits of counter-revo lotion, judge, Gentlemen, where we are? Mr. Fox, continued be, added, " They would have abolished Parliament." In France, Gentlemen, continued AL 8., the Chambers are not abolished ; they are but de-aa- Ilionslised. li. Corbiere, the Minister of the interior, proceeded iis answer the objections that had been made to the project of law, and was followed by Al. Foyer d'Ar gensoo, who spoke for its rejection. At Five o'clock the discussion was closed, and the reporter, Al. Clsif fiet, not being prepared to speak, the sitting was ad journei to Friday. The accounts from Madrid come down to the 14th instant, but contain little more than what appears is another part of our paper. There Is nothing new respecting Greece, on ing to the continuance of unfa vourable weather, which has prevented the arrival of any vessel in the ports either of Marseilles or Toulon. The Sieurs Tellier and Vatbled, Adjutant-Sub officer and Sergeant-Major of the 29th regiment. who after the discovery of their plot, had Aed to Porreatrui, have been delivered up by the Grand ![silly. The arti cles found in the house of the Sieur Petit-Jean, advo cate of Belfort, consist of too lei-coloured flags, and the cravats which were detached from them, 17 cock tides with silver edges, GOO woollen cockades, a coun ter epaulette of a chief of battalion, 400 balls, and about 1,200 cartridges. Some new sabres were found in the streets of Belfort, which hall been left there by the men who wished to elude the investigations of the police on the failure of the plot. The son of the Sheer Petit-Jean has led, and the candler of persons now arrested amounts to 37. Fe Knelt FL N u., J a N. 24.—Five per Cents. 86f. 35e. Bank Actions, 1540 f. -- - The Irish papers received this scorning brinz intel ligence of en encounter of a serious na:ure, which tw.k lase in the county of Cork, between a party of mill tart', commanded by Lord BANTEIV, and a lumber of . armed peasantry. The following particulars are from Fle Dublin Fre.nia;.• Post:— " On Monday, Mr. Iir:DOES Erne and Lord !lAN- Tar, learning that a num nnnnn assemblage of banditti occupied some heights in the vicinity of Macroom• county Cork, mustered about two hundred troops, whom they divided into different parties, and sent in different directions to encompass them. 31r. Era► and Lord DSNIRY, with about fifty of the troop, attacked the banditti; they were full SOO in number, and all armed. A heavy fire fiom so commanding a situation obliged the troops to retire, and before they could carry off a wounded soldier the villains rushed from the heights, and ing his head from his body placed it in triumph on a pole, carrying it along with them. They dispersed before the other troops could act." . The Cork papers confirm the melancholy news, and communicate details forwhich we have net room. Mr. NOBCOTT, surveyor of Customs, at Clonkilty has published an account of the unfortunate affair in which Mr. Ilvzsc EP FORD was concerned.— '• The moment," says Mr. NOROOTT. " we commenced moving the seizure, the mob commenced throwing stones in showers on our party ; the prisoners were in front of the party, and were placed there thinking the mob would be cautious how they would throw on the party, for fear of injnrisg the prisoners. Mr. Hungerfurd had great forbearance, and never fired until I collies of stones were let fiy at as. At last, the constable gave positive directions (according to my orders) to fire on the mob. While the pri were making their escape to their own party. one of them was shot, and, I am told, expired in the course of the day. There were some more lives lost and a number wounded, which is sot acknowledged by the country people.—l never witnessed so lawless or so rebellions a business in my life; and were it not for determination and coolness we would have been all murdered." The enemies of freedom are pnrsuiog their %tribal , lowed object with a pertinacity and zeal which is with. out example. That Haisnatued Monster the Holy 41. Ranee, has done its work completely in Naples. But they have their subordinate agents in every country where the freedom of the Press , still, in some degree. remains ; and it becomes the friends of liberty and of human nature to watch their proceed isle with unremitting diligence. The hireling Press kilt& main instrument; and amongst those who et • ittrifie their trade of destroying the freedom of the Prim. the Ultra paper, yelepl the Slop Pally is the most conspicuous. This journal has laboured indefa tigably to support the new Ministry of France, the Ultra Royalists, in their endeavours to destroy the *llll4 remnant of freedom in France by annihilating the freedom of the Press in that country. The two pnyets of the present French Ministers Moen to the Press, woold have been scooted a very abort time sines, both in the two Chambers and throughout all France. But a great change appears to have bees wrought in that country, and despotism is making its strides there with uncommon rapidity. One of the , objectaof these projets is to withdraw the protection of a Jury from persons accused of libel in the French Journals. If the protection of a Jury bad been with drawn from persons accused of libel here, what would be the state of the English Press at this moment ? Writers who maintained all that is dear to English. men in supporting their rights, would have been de livered over to the decision and to the mercy of interested individuals. Would the Ultra Editor venture to say in each a case, that any freedom of discussion would remain? Nothing would remain upon the face of any of our journals but such adulation, of power and such blasphemies against the freedom of Englishmen as are found in the Ultra, The Courier, and other Minis 'torts! papers. The Ultra has been adroit in his manage- P otent of the warfare he has carried on against the liber ties of Europe 4 and while he pretends to be guiding against the return of the revolutionists in France. he is, in effect, preparing for the Holy Alliance to march over the liberties of France, of Spain. of Portugal, and of England. He is preparing the way for the ultra royalists of France ; and he knows what their purpose is. He says, speaking of an insiduous arti cle in the Journal des Detats—"The writer intimates that there are precipitate winds who would wish hli nisters to proceed with greater violence. There are individuals (and of this we a►e well aware) who Isar- ing been persecuted for their loyalty, think the time come for repairing the injuries they hare sustained.— le short they desire a readier which would assuredly render proUcioatical the permanence of the Ministry, and perhaps the peace of the country. These persons, however, are few in number, and reflection will teach them to pat a restraint on their feelings."—Te use a vulgar, but significant expression, the ultra E litor has here "let the cat ort of the Gag." A re-action is wanted by the ultras of Fr me, and by the ultras of ExcLaten too. But the ultra Editor quickly recovyrs his prudence, after the lapse of the words re-adios,' wed Me tine brims come for repoitiog of i.jorits, sad teaches his friends to put arceent restraint upon their feelings. Assuredly, if they did not, he well knows there would soon be an end both to th• perusa• woce of the present French Ministry, and even of the :tease of France. " The people of France (exclaims lie) are weary of revolutions." And we will add', are weary too of the old regime of France, and of t h e an.l new priestcraft of France. He, however, think. that 6i. friends the okras in France will be supported by the " great majority of a Chamber in which their antagonists, he says, are as accurately appreci ate.l as WOOD, and PETER MOORE. EMI Jos MI Heim, and IV tt ruware have been in our House of Commons." Notwithitantling the surprising progress which the ultra royalists of France have recently made, we think the ultra Editor will find himself mistaken in his calculations respecting the temper of the Cheadle; of Deputies: and we trust the new ministry and de. wo:isin will soon be hooted oat of France. The ultra Editor has chiefly confined his speculation, for many dap, to the discussion of the question we have been noticing, but be occasionally wanders to ether topics which be can make subservient to his main purposes. Speaking of the Agricultural distress es he says—" the real relief to the Agriculturist* must arise from a different measure. The general sofa sof the national imposts nut remain nearly the same.— A tax pressing heavily on the Agriculturists may be taken off, and another more directly affecting a differ. eat class class of Society may be imposed." Here, the fraud that lurks through all his reasonings, is most apparent. The friends of this country agree that economy is the public expenditure, and retrench. ment its the public expenditure, aid reduction ef taxes, are the only remedies for Agricultural dk. t . The ultra proposes a shifting of the birdies frees one shoulder to another, wad not its entire re. moral and annihilation. But surely be will not say that be can find one spot of the political body to which he can remove any one tax that may be taken off Agricultural distress or any other distress la the country. He says, the friends of retrenchment in ear public expenditure are for "cutting down oar cap blishments to the scale of the United Stoics." Bet they mean no such thing. They are willing to allow a necessary dignity and grandeur to their Km.: ; but they know that peculation and wrong add notbiag to the real dignity of the crown, though they add totbe Agriculteral distresses and all the other distresses of this country. Ministers have tried every Alum to effect their pur poses and strengthen their party on the approaching crisis, and their old co-adjutors in Threadneedle-street. have not been idle spectators. They played off a fo midabk Reese de geese, in order to second the hopes of the Vaa leader. Last Noreuaber, Cora, meat, ire tumbled down so rapidly in prices, that their Lon!- ship, in tire RAG TRAD6, male proclamation that the standing role for the regulation of discosats would be dispensed with ; that Bills at 95, instead of 65 da)-. would be discounted. which see waders wilt sbserve st once, threw 50 per Cent. more cash into the marker. This was, no doubt, a deep thing, and might ostareUT be supposed, would, according to co , unton calculation, give a fillip to the price, of articles of the first neces sity. The Ministers were not entirely wrong is the plot ; for nottwithstandiug that 'there was no rase, still there was no fall, and so far was the end answered.-- Along with this essential proposal, came that of sends; gold to any part of the country is sums not less thee 30001. carriage free. This was a deeper scheme than the former; for it is well known that there are no cone. try bankers that do not issue their own notes, escept at Liverpool and Manchester. Therefore, where s local circulation of country bank notes were in credit, the bankers would not prove themselves such bed !mites as to resort a circulation of the precious mesh, when a few shilliegs worth of soft paper would answer the same purpose ; they being able to distribute it with the same facility. All the plans recently adopted under colour of commercial conveniences, are but the old things over again ;—creating a false capital from the facility of discounts, and giving a spar to speculation, nithout a probable chance of a owl market. The only measures that can p'erent the people from falling into a state of pauperism, are a Radical change in the Represetration of tile people, and a sac• ing of 70 per Cent. in the public expenditure. The pensions of 5511,women mostly North of the Twecl must be lopped off ; the Placeillapatiid Ministers them selves must give up half; we must have no sinecure!: all omit be broke down ; the masts must be rut ar,;., to wee Me ship, or demi she gore 'Pith colour:if :l isp Peddling, Niggling, or humbugging, will not do oat longer; a change must be made, and if there is 31 ignorant wretch, who eau hold a doubt en the kalif** let him read the report of the late Norwich reit!): tion of the Anniversary of the birth-day of the 1p Mr. Fox ; let them peruse it coref , lig ; there itself bore testimony of what we have been so We. ringing in the ears of the puhlic to so little purl'. until at last they find the clouds ready to bar , r their beads. Neither the Ministers, nor the 1 0 4.1 i nrearliredle-street can stop it; if taxes are • aid, it must be from new sources, as the old ours b.or ; whether the Bulls and Hears or the Lor , t• t the soil suffer, is of little etasequence to the peol.. they have equally supported the system, and should suffer equally. Both landholders and landholders kot themselves to the Pilot that gathered the stow. red as they have not made a bed of Roses for their repo. let then' lie on the thorns. The persecuted and abuta Jacobins, Levellers, and Radicals, as they have Vas called, will at last be proved the real friends of the Kam; and Constitution of the Country. Bat we bar I .deed a I °petal picture of once happy England. th e ,;loriuttslegari ofthe glorious and immortal DurcoP, 110*. _. i ~w , . _,: t . % ."‘"Pi- , .. ,~ ! I , L. - C# P* Cal 09 , di