The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-12-23 00:00:00

to, the amelioration of the Slave Laws ;" but they claim
with regard to a subject of such deep interest to them the
right or duly considering the changes proposed to them.
They are not disposed to hazard their safety on the sug-
gestions " of persons who rather speculate on the subject
than approach it with the benefit of practical experience,
and who," they add, " arc more earnest in their desires
than prudent in the means of their accomplishment."
The Address, which is of great length, then prrceeds to
state in detail the reasons of the Legislative Council for
yielding or withholding their assent to the propositions laid
before them. We extract the following passage, and re-
commend it to the serious attention of all those who have
reflected upon this important question :

" In reviewing the origin of Africa n slavery, and its present con.
eermences, the Council deem it but an act of justice to themselves

to declare they lament ita

But It is not these co-

/onies on whom rests the guilt of the original sin. The traffic was
of the Alother Country's fostering. Parliamentary enactments and
Royal proclamations and Charters alike held out to the settlers of
these Islands, as an acknowledged right, the power of cultivating'
lb, waste lands purchased from the Crown, by the labour of Afri-
can ncgroes, brought to these shores by thousands under the corer
of the British flag, a bramii of its commerce protected by bounties,
and every immunity which the most anxious care could dictate ; •
signal proof of which, if the Council are not mistaken, is exhibited
by the very instructions from the Crown to the Governors of these
colonies, in which, forgetful of the change of policy which Great
Britain has latterly adopted, there still continues to be inserted an
earnest nesammendstion to encourage the slave trade. The Council

refer to this, and they might lengthen their address to your Excel-
lency by referring to a thousand other sources to show the fart
( which indeed is undeniable) that to Britain alone ita the establish.
ment of slavery in these colonies owing. The ancestors of the pre-
sent colonists, confiding in the good faith of their country, and un-
der the sanction of these Parliamentary and Royal authorities,
became the purchasers at high rates of the lands belonging to the
Crown. Trusting to the permanency of the system they found
established, they not only expended their own capital, and many
of them sacrificed their lives in laying the foundations of another
colony appendant to the British Empire in these seas, but the
greater number borrowed large sums of money from the merchants
of the United Kingdom (which are still due) for the purpose of
still further extending the cultivation of the soil. Such was the
trust and the system upon which thispolony was founded, culti-
vated, and brought to the advanced state in which it lately existed.
Though the Council cannot conceal from thomselvea, that amid
various other depressing causes, the late change in the policy of the
Mother Country on this subject has materially contributed to lessen
the value of colonial property, yet they cannot suppose his Majesty's
Government are indifferent to the misery such changes area calculated
to inflict on the inhabitants of the colony, placed as they are in the
niidat clan overwhelming slave population, rendered every day more
discontented, not by the misconduct of their owners, but by repeated
alterations in the rules for their management, effected, as they are
well awnre, by the influence of the Mother Country, from which
changes thy are led to expect still further concessions, and ulti-
mate fee, dust) at no distant period. Yet the consequences of this
change, and of the iliusiva benefits supposed attendant on it, are
an unexampled deterioration of property, and an exposure of the
lives of the Colonists to the highly-excited feelings of the slaves,
whom extravagant pretensions must end in disappointment."

The great obstacle, it appears, which stands in the way
of the Silk Trade, in their application for the postpone-
ment of the introduction of foreign wrought silks till,
they shall have so far improved their machinery as to
enable them to bear up against it, is—that the yielding to
their request would be an abandonment, so far, of those
principles of
.free trade which have, upon mature deli-
beration, been adopted, and from which it is not thought
expedient to depart. We sadly fear that if this system of
free trade is to be persevered in, it must be by a sacrifice
of the mercantile and manufacturing interests of this
country, to an extent, the consequences of which we
tremble to contemplate. The population of this country
must be fed, and if their means of obtaining subsistence
by their own industry is withdrawn from them, how
are they to he provided for, and what is to be the
result ? If the mercantile interests of this country are
to be put in issue--es they will be—by this experin.ental
system. who shall say to what it may lead, and where it
may end? We would entreat the advocates of these
principles—ere it is yet too late—to pause before they
attempt the application of them in the present state of
things. Let them take advantage of contingencies. Let
them profit by occasions as they arise. But la: them not
attempt to benefit the manufacturers by abstract theories of
political economy, for which they are not prepared, and
which can only produce effects so deplorable as to leave
them every thing to apprehend. If we speak on this sub-
ject with an earnestness that is extreme, it is from the
deep and indelible conviction we feel, that, before three
months shall have elapsed, if this scheme of policy as to
the Silk Trade is not postponed, the consequences to this
' country will be such as no after-wisdom can either avert or
recall.

CITY., THVIISDAY EVENING.

The Jay passed off on the Stock Exchangti with the
most perfect tranquillity. Consols were RO if ; and Re-
duced Stock, for money, was sold at 79 to 1 ; Exchequer
Bills were 30e. 20s. discount. The business in the Fo-
reign Market was very slender, and the fluctuations not
extensive. Colombian Bonds woe 581 .57 ; Mexican 6
per Cents. 391 60; Brazklian Scrip 18 20 discount ; and
Greek Bonds 18.

The accounts from the eouotry were indicative; with very
few exceptional of returning confident!.

Lor.n Coctia•tzr.—lt has been very confidently rtb.
moured in London, during the lat‘t few days, that Lord
Cochraue is now en his way to Greece, and iliat by this
time he must be considerably advanced on his journey.
Our London correspondent has taken great pains to inquire
into the report, and us that it is strongly believed
by persons who are so interested as to have the best infor-
mation on the subject.—Edinhurgh Observer.

It was stated the other day, that Lord Charles Somerset
intended to sail from the Cape for England in the Ariadne,
which is speedily expected here. We have seen a letter
dated on board that ship, the 16th October, just before the
Espvigle sailed, which contains the following passage:—
•` Captain Chapman has received a note from Commodore
Christian, informing him that Lord Charles Somerset will
not go home in the Ariadne, therefe-e we shall probably
sail on Friday morning, and hope to eat our Christmas
dinner in England."

GENERAL BOYEIL—We read as follows in the Frank-
fort Journal, under date of Borders of the Maine, 11. c. I'2:
" If any one imagines that he can foretell the success of
the campaign of Ibrahim in the Mares, he must not at-
tribute it either to the Egyptian or to the European disci-
pine, but to the individual who is, properly speaking, the
lon] of the expedition—'hat is to say, to General Boyer
der Hoberal. Camany has had too many opportunities
of witnessing the effects of his turbulent mind, and of his
Teams of oppression. This man is quite of the Napoleon
school—lie was Etat-Major to Napoleon."
ILtti.ways ow tits CONTINLST.—It is said that the
iron road between Lunehurgh and Brunswick will not be
executed. The treaty with an English Coinpany, which
was to conduct the undertaking, is to be set aside. On the
other hand, they pursue, with unceasing activity, the exe-
cution of the commercial communication between tht
Danube and MoWavia, along a space of 15 German miles,
by means of an iron road connecting Linz, in Upper
Austria, and Bodoni', in Bohemia. Already a much
more important plan is under consideration, which will
have for its object to make an iron road between the capital
of Austria and the port of Trieste.—Etoile.