The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-03-28 00:00:00

r•-•r - . FOREIGN INTRLLIGENCE.' • DUTt.gl MAIL. twice, MARCH 18. A C'ol , ;n^r from the First Consul, who is arrived at the French Ambassadoi's, has brought dispatches, n pou the reciipt of which the s.tiltng of the expedi tion fair ialuisi.ma was counterni.mdcd. The troops ha:l already left their respe:live quarters to be em bat lo .1 t they are now rclurtiing to them. Several b will he cant-rici at I lelvoct, and in the enviions, while they will %%ilk the ulterior disposi tions of the trench Government. Frequent Mate cooferences are held ; several couriers have been dispatched to different destinations ; and orders have been sent to the Marine Counerl and the War arJ Finance Departnicuts.—We hear that Admiral H 'Thirds, so !to was to have relvved Admiral De % inter in the l'ili-tfiterrAnean, will not sail with his st.i.t.tdron from our ports till it be decided whether peace will be prem.' ved or not. An English Mes s• user has brought dispatche; for Mr. Liston, the Minister, and is goin, , , with important dis patches to the Northern Comb. Our it fall mote and more ev.ry day. LEYDEN, MAIICII The formidable preparations making in England, appear more and mole to awaken the solicitude of t.ie French Government, and dispositions are al ready made, at all events, as if war were inevitable. It could hardly have been hoped, under the present eircnuistaneei, that the two Belligerent Powers wattld tolerate the Neutrality of the Batavian Re ; hut it there were the smallest gr ounds for uncertainty ton that heasi, all hopes of t he kind are w totaiig vanished. We learn that France has it:mauled of the Batay . . n Government, that the ne-essary preparations for the maintenance Of a considerable cores of French troops shall inane sVately be made, which troops are ', L id t o b e a l_ teak. on their march for the frontiers. Thaingh this measure be only precautionary, it proves how much the I reneb 00%,;tinteut, notwithstanding the silence asset ved by its deurnais, attaches import ance to whit px-isses is England. It veas not possi ble to imagiae that the First Consul, after the high 41 "flee of glory ar.d power which he had acquired, wauid ever yield to menaces. It appears that the leocii ;Army, destined to cover Holland in case of invainn, and, no .11 , 04 also to make tart of a genend e reclit agai:.st . yri ;. t,lanti, will be distribut ed in the principal towns ot Holland. It is not )et known where the head-tpiarters will be fixed. It is said that General Duroc has set nut fur Berlin, require of that Court the most prompt MC/Sint% 11. ,:h respea to the hie" crate of Hanover. Thus net every side semi-h. , stilc preparations do not even a ....tit the declaration of War, and, without the trvention of a tutelary genius, it seems that the frends of humanity in a few days, have again to lament its true. Cen Crsar Berthicr, brother of the Minister t r Wit at Paris, and who had arrived in Holland in duality of thief of the St at . to the Expedition to Ltaiisiatia, on liVednewlay quitted the Hagne, on another desLination. He is gone to Helvoet s, to embark for I ainkirk, w hence he will go to Tobago, ith the chart ter of Captain-General of that island. 1, ap!sears, likewise, that the departure of the troops, at the head of which General Vigor is to take possession of Louisiana, will be hastened. Ito: rERT)A•I, MARCH i n. The grand question «Nell interrsts every nun in I.ratice. and Engui:d, seems as yct to re mom undeciJesi.--Since oar last, we see no addi tional reasons for cl:e4Jing op.i. between Ind trance. Eng Lind _ We are the rather inclined to augur a continu ance tit peace t since tit* two los-mil - able pa: lies in diTtite seem to he appealing to the Emperor of whi se philanthropy anti detes:aziou ut war, is too well known, to suppose for a moment that he wl.l teiU•C to tale upon himself the office of Media tor, 'haul] la a:ting in that capacity afferd the clianLe t.t pr,:venting the etrusion of liurnan bi• od. The present political state of uncertainty has ca « f 3 gfeAL Mign.t:itm in Lommerce here. Coif ter awl sug:ir remain as mentioned in our List. GUI has undergooe no aheiation of price, ari l i, dud at a time wile.. a tniskneKs was to be expe:ted. Batter k los king down, wit4otit any other prosped. Clorerseed makes no ',ingress 14 the better: that muck is even In the Funds, there much tranin:tin,, ,, . The 13.a.4viAn wtre solneubilt b r i s k to -d a y on 'Llr.suge, and they wcre done at 66 per cent tvt time. VITSNA, MARCH . The Grand Duke of Tuscany has, with Passau, also obtained the Passau Court in this city, which is .s large edifice, let out to several tenants. io give the commerce of Trieste additional ad vAlithgei, and to afford more security and conveni enze to toreign as well as native ships, the Emperor has concluded not only to widen the harbour, but also to improve it considerably. In this city a cony an y h a , b e en formed, which, here and in Trieste. will establish agency houses, and by means of which they promise to convey merchandises from L:nce to Trieste, and Tug , verar, in a sLorter time, .aid fur an espcnce of carriage less than hitherto, and repair all .accidents from their own capital. To guard the merchandises, superannuated soldiers will be employed; and by whose assistance the 'money to and from each place will be performed to 15 days, which hitheito required from 18 to 20. Monday next the Stakelottery commences Irase ing : Tickets and Shatesaie on sale, at the Corner of thellank-buildings, CSchill, and facing the Cate of the King's Mews, Charing.cross, London, the Licensed State Lottery Offices of RICitAItDSON, CrOODLU , Vto and Ce. On Finlay ie'sulight. Mr. a profes,ional gentlennm of great TOspeclability, at Dublin, in at .temptirtg w draw a charge from a,gun, while probing for the wadding, it itidoitunately went off, and the ramrod entered his .heart, he died instantaneously. unfortunate accident is peculiarly lamentable, as no man more slitservesllz , enjoyed the esteem of his family auilfriends. A Coroner's Inquest sat on the body ou Saturday—the verdiB was Accidnual D.A.% . T,Ar. scarcity of labourers is so severel7 felt at tins tinte on the hisser and Norfolk coasts, that the fartn.ms on unable to thrash their corn, finding ait dtuk even to procure men enough to go with , *we. in order to get in the spring seed ... COM. . . ON lin Cll.l/ A:701 ANn CAPACITY 0/ ASa ICs, ASO PAR . ! I CUL Alti.Y 07 TOE I:.►rlVfS OF 017000 SIAM. [FROM Int MAYS AIT Li TNT•tES OF nit NEW COLLECT., CALCUTIA•j Iv MI. W. S. MAR rip. " Respicerr %it& moramque juLtho, " Et ver.o blue (1,,t-vrc vocr%." liolAcc• To ascertain with precision, and define with aecu racy, the charaCter of any people, it is necessary that we first investigate the spirit of their laws, the nature of their government s and the frame of their religion. These are causes so powerful in their operation, and determinate in their influence on the mind of man, that the aggregate exercise of vice and virtue will, almost invariably, be found to bear an exalt proportion to the degree of good and evil predominant in each. The mischievous effeets of arbitrary power have been so frequently inveighed against, with all the pomp of rhetoric, and all the energy of truth, that little room remains either for addition or embellish ment. Slavery and oppression, vice and ignorance, tyranny and persecution, have been shewn to be at tendants on a lawless and despotic sway. These, forming an artfid combination of mutual support, have gradually coalesced into a mass, indurated by time, and fortified by prejudice, which the desultory and disunited efforts of virtue ;111(1 of freedom, have vainly labonced to dissolve. The effeCis or this, thu•u;h (gyrating of itself, and void of any stronger impulse, must prove hiistile to the general diffusion of knowled3e, and epidemical increase of virtue. But, when ambition fires the mind of the man, who concenters in himself such absolute and unrestrained authority ; who would acquire glory at the expense of humanity, and who desires only slaves and wor shipers ; then will his subjeets be made to drink the bitterest cup of human misery. The viCtorious progress of Mohummud, the exploits of Aurnng teen and Tiniour, furnish adequate examples of the above assertion. The misery which pursued their steps, and the havock which accompanied their progress, are too notorious to need mention here. _ _ Such, then, is the species of Government which has generally prevailed among all Eastern nations ; and we may trace its consequences, in that want of all the sterner virtues, that total suppression of all strength of sentiment, that abjea servitude, and that decay of genius, which so eminently elm raderize the natives of the East. Their laws will naturally be framed in such a manner, as to sup port their principles of rule ; they will (and we find they anually do) inculcate a most servile obedi ence, and unqualified submission, to be their first and greatest dutios. But when we turn to their re ligion, and find a compound of tyranny and priest craft, nicely interwoven by the dexterous hand of fraud, injustice, and oppression ; when we find many of its precepts subversive of society, and destruc tive to its happiness ; when we evidently see traces of cruelty and blood, though coloured with some specious appearances of virtue, and tinCturei with some slight infusion of morality ; we cannot but conclude, that such a people are destitute of most of the qualities that adorn, and are in possession of many of the vices that degrade humanity. The indolence of Oriental nations, and the despo tism to which they have been usually subjected, are generally ascribed to the heat of the climate, which enervates the vigour both of mind and body : but this does not hold universally. The character of nations depends n ,- ,t merely on the climate ; but also on the nature of their government and religion, their progress in refinement, improvement in knowledge, and various other circumstances. .1 he causes, says an ingeni!-us writer, whick suspend the progress and diffusion of truth, arise, not from climate, but front the watchful and intolerant jealousy of despotic sovereigns. Regaril:ng the character of the natives of Hin , doottan, very erroneous opinions have almoa uni t versally prevailed. They have generally been re presented as a mild, harmless, inoffensive race : whose religion breathed nothing but the most en larged benevolence to all mankind; whose breasts never rankled with the fiercer passions of revenge and cruelty ; who led their lives in innocence, and all whose paths were peace. But stubborn fats confute such flattering ideas. Thousands of human viaims have been known, annually to smoke on the polluted altars of their horrid deities ; whose crimes, if upon earth, society could not endure ; and those bosoms, which have been fondly imagined the asy lums of love, of meekness, and humanity, are found to be the receptacles of every debasing crime, and every malignant passion ! Of all the vices incident to human nature, cruelty is the worst, and at the same time the most unac- countable. All other passions rise in the mind from objeas proper to excite them ; but of such ob. cruelty alone seems destitute ; and from its be ing discernible even in children of the tenderest age,. it furnishes one of the strongest arguments to the natural depravity of our fallen charaacr. The genei.d propensity of the Romans to this vice, so visible in the savage cast of their recreations and amusements, may be accounted fOr from the mime- Tons foreign and domestic wars in which they were so constantly engaged. But what shall we say to the mild, gentle, the humane Hindoos ? who, with careless levity or calm indiiTerence, can view a fel low-creature sacri:i.,:el by the murderous hand of some perfidious Brahmin, and writhing under the torture of a painful and protraaed death ! who can see with unconcern, the widow burning on the pile with her &rated husband, and hear, without re• morse, the lielples infant's unavailing cries, left to perish on a tree, a prey to ravenous birds, and to devouring iusths! Such are the fruits of a religion, which has been supposed to breathe a spirit of the . purest love, the most enlarged benevolence, the most enlightenei charity. It we examine into the capacity peculiar to the Asiatics, we shall find them to possess a larger por tion of ability than is generally supposed. Indeed, we have every reason to suppose, that the Sun of science, as well as of revelation, first arose upon the Eastern world ; and that the polished nations of Europe, who now excel antiquity in arts, and vie oith it in arms, are iidebted to Asia for their cul tivation, and many of their best attainments. The Asiatics, it is probable, had climbed the heights of science before the Greeks had learned their alpha bet and while the forests of Europe were stocked ► with a feW wijd, ussculi.ivaud savages, these were • coneaei pArnienlS cities, the seats of art, of l u xury, and of despotism.' A3ia too has given birth to seine of the greatest monarchirs of the world; to that of the Assyrians, the Modes, and die Per sians. The foundations of astronomy are said to hare been laid in Baby i lon; and from the Magi of Persia, Pythagoras is declared to have acquired the pi inciples of that knowledge which procured him the applause and veneration of the Greeks. Hindnostan was infinitely more enlightened than it is at this day, and its inhabitants, a civilized, com mercial, and even a warlike people; and at the time the Greeks imagined themselves the only great peo ple upon earth, Confutsee had planted morality and good government in China. Thus we see that lite rature, taste, and science originated in Asia, and by a gradual difrusion, in the course of time, spread themselves over Greece and Italy. Such then hav ing been once the state of the sciences and arts among the Asiatics, it cannot be unreasonable to suppose, that their ability still remains unhurt and vigorous ; and that those sparks of genius, hitherto smothered or enfeebled by the noxious climate of oppression, might, under the congenial influence of a milder government and mor; favourable laws, again be fanned into a flame. If," says Sir William Jones, " the numerous writings of the Hindons on grammar, logic, rhe toric, and music, all which are extant and accessi ble, were explained into some language generally understood, it would be found that they have the highest pretensions to the praise of a fertile and inventiv,! genius. Their lighter poems are lively and elegant, their epic magnificent and sublime in the highest degree ; and we cannot reasonably doubt, how degenerate and debased soever the Hin doos may now appear, that in some early age, they were splendid in arts and arms, happy in govern ment, wise in legislation, and eminent in various knowledge; indeed, in spite of their many revolu tions and conquests, their sources of wealth are still abundant, and in many of their manufactures they still surpass all the world." Such, then, are the people who now acknow ledge the comparati , uly mild effeds of Biitish go vernment. How animating the idea, how glorious the opportunity which Providence has placed in our hands, of diffusing over thirty millions of people, a more enlightened knowledge, and a purer system of morality ; of employing Christianity to knock off the fetters of Brahminical hypocrisy and pride ; and of seeuring to an ignorant and degraded multitude the invaluable blessings of social felicity ! CONDORCET. Among the Girondists prosecuted by Robespierre on the 31st of May 1793, Condorcet was the very first on the list, and was obliged to skulk in the most obscure corners, to elude the persecutions of the furi ous Jacobins. A lads, to whom he was known only by name, became, at the instance of a common friend, his generous protearess, concealing him in her house at Paris, at the most imminent hazard, till the latter end of April Mil, when the apprehen sion of general domiciliary visits so much increased, and the risk of exposing both himself-and his patro ness became so pressing on the mind of Condorcet, that he resolved to quit Paris. Without either passport or civic card, he contrived, under the disguise of a Provencal countrywoman, with a white cap on his head, to steal through the barriers of Paris, and reached the plains of Mont Rouge, is the district of Bourg-la-Reine, where he hoped to have found an asylum in the country honse of a gentleman with whom he had once been intimate. l'his friend having unthrtunately at that very time gone to Paris, Condorcet was under the necessity of wandering about in the fields and woods for three successive days and nights, not veuturiv to enter into any inn unprovided with a civic card. };ithamted by hunger, fatigue, and anguish, with a wound in his foot, he was scarcely able to drag himself into a deserted quarry, where he purposed to await the return of his friend. At length, hav ing advanced towards the road-side, Condorcet saw him approach, was recognized, and received with open arms : but, as they both feared lest Coador cet's frequent inquiries at his friend's house should have raised suspicions ; and as, at any rate, it was not adviseable for them to make their entrance to gether in the day-time, they agreed that Condorcet should stay in the fields till dusk'. It was then, how ever, that impi udence threw him of his guard. The forlorn exile, after having patiently borne hunger and thirst for three days together without so much as approaching an inn, now finds himself incapable of waiting a few hours longer, at the end of which :dl his staerings were to subside hr the bosom of friendship. Transported with this happy prospea, and foregoing all caution, which seemed to have become habitual to him, he entered an inn at Clamars, and called for an omelet. His attired his dirty cap and long beard, his pale meagre coun tenance, and the ravenous appetite with which he devoured the viaaals, could not fail to excite the curiosity and suspicion of the company. A member of the revolutionary committee, who happened to be present, taking it for grant ed tlat this woe-begone figure could be no other than some run-away from the Bicetre, addressed and qpestioned -- him whence he came, whether he could produce a passport, &c. to which inqui ries, Condorcet, having lost all self-command, an swered so unsatisfaaorily, that he was taken to the house of the committee as a suspected person. Thence, having undergone a second interrogatory, during winch he acquitted himself equally ill, he was concluded to Bourg-la-lleine an 4 as he very inconsistent answers to the questions put to him by the municipality, it was inferred that this unknown person must have some very important reasons for wishing to continue undiscovered. Being sent to a temporary confinement till the mat ter should be cleared up, on the next morning he was found senseless on the ground, without any marks of violence on his body; whence it was conjedured that he must have poisoned himself. It was well known Condorcet had for some time before carried about him the most deadly poison ; and, not long before his fatal exit, he owned to a friend, that he had more than twenty times been tempted to make use of it, but was checked by motives of affeEtion•for his wife and dau"hter. It was during his concealment of ten months at Paris, that he wrote his excellent History of the Progress of Human Understanding. Thus perished one of the most illustrious of the French literati that the present age had produced. • Arill 7 -1L !NTELLiCENCE. PoßTsstourst, si...nca Last sailld his Majesty's ships .lur,ra and La Duternsine, tier Cuernsey, with the 81st regi ment; and sioop MN-giant:, to St. Helens. This morning the Right Hon. Lord Gardner hoisted his Blue Hag at the Main, on hoard his Majesty's ship Neptune, of 98 guns, at Spithead. His Majesty's ship Venerable, of 71 guns, is under orders to rendezvous in cawsand Bay, with the rest of the squadron preparing for that station, and is expected to sail very soon. The Alcmene, of 32 guns, is under orders to pro ceed to the Downs. _ . . His Majesty's ship Ith, of 50 guns, is tinmoored, and ready to put to sea. Lieutenant Robert Parry is appointed the Flag Lieutenant on board his Majeay's ship Dreadnosigle. of 98 guns. Lieutenant Stephen Donovan is appointed First of his Majesty's ship Rawl!, of 74 guns, fitting out here. Put back the Pha•nir, I.ish, from the Streights for London, and remains with the Calcutta, for New South Wales ; and the Matthew, Young, for St. Kitts.—Wind easterly. DOVER, MA R , ll 23. Arrived last night the ABif, Hedde, from Calais. with Francis Dillon, Esq. and family, Messrs. Froome, and a few other passengers. Sailed the Prince of Wales packet, with the mail for Calais. The passengers were, the Duchess of 1 larcourt and Emily, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Wedgt.-- wood, and Mr. Underwood. LIVERPOOL, stArtcn 21. The Elizabeth, Hanna ; and the Fortitude, Ged ney, from Liverpool, are arrived at Naples. 'll,e Hope, —, from Jamaica, is arrived at Charleston. A ship is lost near Kircudbright, name not known, but supposed an American, and it is feared all the crew are drowned.—Wind E.S.E. MEETINGS t.r CREDITORS AT MILD/RM., 10 Adult NOW, in.incia 29. N. Timinui Bright, of Inner I Teml).e-.ane, ggioner and 6;pol:butler :3 10 Charles Col !, late of Odiham, !tants, dealer in corn, but now of Drury-lane, viatialler 3 1 A. Leith, late ut Sho,!-lace, Fteat-street, smith 2 10 Baurne, of St. Jaine% street, Westminst!r, silk mercer 2 10 William Simpson, of l"ament',.lane, merchant 1 1.1 J-iges P.:ter Fearon, Of Upper Graft.m-street, Fitzroy s.loare, late comir.atid-,:r of the Belvidere Exit India man, merc 'ivit Thomailbnnison, of Pre.;cott-street, Guodmati'.;M:lds, merchant 3 11 Joseph 1 of B_7riliontliey, Southwark, leather-dres _ _ 3 1) Wdli.un Dance, of 'l'o°ler-street, Southwark, merchant 1 It William Stokes, Lite of (Ad Broad-street, merchant 1 i Gcurg..t Sly, of Wanstesd, stockbroker 1 1 Thomas fiiitthori, of Odeinaii•strevt, userenutit 1 10 DIVIDENDS. Thomas Thomas, of Streatliarn-stref:t, Bloomsbury, jew ell..r 0 1 T. Maiuu, of Tokenliouse yard, London, isiefehaitt 0 10 David Currio, of Throimur strezt, London, nie:chalit 010 • CERTIFICATES. John B aford, late of Holborn-bridge, Middlesex, liniert dray t Joint Whately, Lac of Bank.iidc, Southwark, colour-mama tacturer. Ralph Wood Carr, /ate of Leeds, Yorkshire, drysa;ter. BIRTHS. On Saturday morning, of a son, the Lady of Captain Lambert, of the Navy, at his house in Somerset.street, Portman-stiii Early y.:sterday morning, the Lady of Lieut. Colonel Dyke, of a son and heir. MARRIED. On Tuesday last, at Soutliamptc.n, Lieut. Col. Home, Of Y3111147U111, Isle of Wight, to Mss Gossitt, of Lym iiipton. On Thursday, at St. Martin's in t: - .e Fields, Mr. W. Holland. PI intselei , Cockspur- vice, to MI s. ('lit of Carmarthen, eldest dati e hrer of the Lite Frai.c s Chute, Esq. of Chute Hall, in the co,my of !CAI - I'y. D 1 1.. D. On Thursday, at her house in Thcrnhaugh-street. Bed ford-sluste. agwi 69, Mrs. Gaskell, relict of Peter G.I kell, Esq. of the City of Ilith, and only daughter of W. Penn, late of Shinnsgarry, in the county et Cork, Esq the grandson an.l heir of W. Penn, the Founder and firs: Pi oprittur of the City of Philadelphia and Province of Penn sylvania, in America. On Ihursd iy twining, at Shepherd's hill Lodge, Hare field, the Lady of J. Callan, Esq. On the tch IVA:. Mrs. Freeman, of Abbot's Langley. s, wittiw of J. Cope Fi eeman, Esq. PRICE 01 SAT Rink Sturk F' STOCKS It Y 3 per Vent H0d..,.. 7 1:3a: irerCvnt.ens t 5 41.5 i 4 per Cent Con.. .... S 8 1K.7 COIL Aim 98;i4 Exelwq. WIN 16.11 'r per C-111. 0011,4 4; for April .... G 44 t',.; India 6,r Open. Kink for Open. Oinninin Irish Onminin Eng. Lot. Imp. ri per Cent I)ittn Ann. S per Cent. 1797..... 104 1 .! Kink 1.. Ann 20.; 11-I , i Bank Short Anti. .... 4 9 16 India Stock Ditto Bondi HIGH WATER AT IAiNtION-BRIDCE. Tllli DAY. M after 5 I A ft3runon,.. after G. *alto bp glutian• By LEIGH, SOTHF.BY, and SON, TI - lIS and Four followine Days at Twelve o'Cluck, A VERY VALUABLE COLLET' I'ION of .1. BOOKS, the Duplicates of a distinguished COLLEC TOR's LIBRARY, brous.,dit from hig - Hume in the Cuouray. The Books lit goiersl ar.• in a very fine Curulition, anti amongst them are litany Eititiones To be viewed, when Catalogues (price Gd.) may be had at the Place of Sale.' BOOKS AND MATHEMATICAL INSTRUNIENTS. By Mr. KIN(;, At his Great Room, Nu. 38, in kiug-street, Covent Garden, Rs Order of the Executrix, On WEDNESDAY next, and following Day, at Twelve o'Clock, THE MEDICAL PART of the LIBRARY of Dr. GEORGE FORDYCE, of Essex-street, in the Strand, lately D.•ceased, together with wine Valuable MA THEM I.TICAL and MECHANICAL INSTRUMENI S. Among them are a capital Reflecting Teles..-ow, by Short; well-known Instrument, from the Collectio:i of the Hon. Topham Ikauclerck ; an Equatorial, by Ramselen; a beauti ful Machnie for cutting Mierosco ilea' Objects Wood. to the 2t/30th part of an inch; klectacal Ma:Ali:Les, by two Turning Lathes; an Air-pump, with .Ipnaratos ; sundry Glass Receivers, Retorts, and various Chemical Apr - rants Mir be viewed on Monday till the Sale, and Cat' luguesthen had at the Room. N. B. A Catalogue of the Exteniire and Valuable Cn . .kction of Natural History is now making, and will be ready for public Sale next Month. London: Printed by J G 11.141, No. 18. Crown -court. Fleet•street ; and' published there by W. 1. Calm as r. ai Ntr..804, Snood. Asiondieements and Letters (poet paM) must be addresseJ to the Pilleast44..lj.S•;4owl-018ae. .~ ..... L.. ,~