The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-12-24 00:00:00

tusten by the flowte, than by Wile other
11,.1r).—Out of doors he had

Lees represetated as having said on the night re-
ferred to, that he was an enemy to the prowess of
education, and the diffusion of knowledge gene-
' rdly. whereas tte .couthl appeal with confidence to
all whu beard Inns, that be had not &livered any
ourb• sesitiment. tie had said that atone] he
sea aware he differed froth many fiends. for
.whsee opinions and character he entertained
. the highest respect, and though it was very
Ronanl to think that the Member for Bram/ter
...(Mr. Witlverforce) was anioug them, yet Ise could
Dot help enteltainiog very great doubts of the pru-
dence, in the present 'tate of the country, of carry-
ing the education of the lower orders, io the ('Pry
great extent that the 1111131 braille.' to have set in for,
By educating the people so generally, they were
placing them in a situet very &Wert-lit from oily
they 114 d ever stood iu before, and while they were
cluing that, it became the House seriously to lure
and consider the rids to wheel, it exposed them,
ssoless it early adopted powerful ',response or pro-
tective measures to oard them f imbibing
the poison which womld crrtainly be ditse fffff sated,
anal laud been disseminated g them by Inoae
and unprincipled men. If the question were put
is the abstract, whether education and the eaten-
bloll' of knowledge was a good or an evil, no Man
coold be so brutal as to llroy the excellence of

it ; but if he were asked whether, taking into
tonsieleration all the circumstances of the present
times, he deemed it prnileot and advisable to
advance the education of the lower ciao..s of
this country to the extent it had been carried.
he must he allo,serl to hesitate before ansivernig in
the affirmative. The opinions winch lie entertained
$lll this sulject were of very !nog standing ; and
being so 'warty connected with the disc ussion of a
question relative to the regulation of the press, he
had thought it his duty to state it.—( ilear.j—
lle could not, he repeated, help feeling great sus-
picions and apprehensions from be.towirig too ge-
neral it ficility.oo the poor of approaching those

abominable productions, now so studiously circu-
lated for the unsettling their principles, mural and
religiote.„ and corrupting their minds. True it was
that while the boy was under the roaster's eye, be
might be guarded against the contagion of Stich
works, hot when absent or wholly removed from
.his care, how could be answer for the species of in-
tellectual food that might be placed before his ap-
'elite fur knowledge ? The Honourable Mem-
ber then entered into a historical statement respect-
ing the drawing up and passing of the Hill of
.Rights, for this purpose of replying to an ob-
jection made to one of his arguments by Sir

fames Mackintosh, and establiiiiing the posi.
Lion, that at the time of the Revolution, in the
heraa age of Whiggisin—(A l4ugk)—no such
principle had been admitted by IVhsgs, as that the
Cosistitution could swot exist without the liberty of
the press. fie thought that the increase of puntsh-
nient, iii case of a second offence, might bring a
onus hack to his right mind.—/Hear.)—l' it did
1 Ot, should such a person be allowed to remain in
the country ?—(Hear, hear)—and if not, could
there be a milder mode sendisig him out of it
►ha:l banishment ?
Sir. J. P. GRANT said, that he had looked upon
the H"n. Member to be one of the must sincere
sapporters of the measure, for he bail a distinct re.
tollectimi of his having said that he entertaiued
great doalus of the prudence of extending the
donation of the poet too far, while there was so
great an extension of dangerous publications. But
the Him. Gentleman was too late in the expression
of his opinion, for the education of the lower orders
had been too generally adopted to be now ab
ut-
stonrd; it would go on, and he fervently hoped it
would—for, taking the bad and good of it to.
grther, lie bad beets convinced from what he had
witose.sed, that in its effects the peace, religious, awl
moraloy of the country would be every day ad-
vanced, and the government more easily executed.
The Hon. and Learned Gentleman then expressed
hit reprobation of the measure at considerable
length.
Lord BIN mills. in opposition to the opinions of
the Hots. Gentleman who had just sat down,
, thought the papers on the table sufficient to war-
rant the measure now proposed. He particularly
1-united out the letter of Lord Glasgow, which was
proof of itself that the west of Scotland was in a
state of most dangerous turbulence. lie insisted
cis it (hat Live state of Scotland was in general very
sruch disturbed, and not wily defeudtd the Lord
President and the people of Editiburgli from the
, of the lion. Gentleman. hut coinolitncuted

them on their heroic alacrity ill taking arms for the
'lettuce of Edinburgh, while deuuded of troops. in
order to repel the invasion of sedition, which they
expected to blaze at their own doors.
Mr. J. P. Grunt. explained. He did not intepd
jto riiilkule the Lord President ; but his new services
fully proved that all information should be received
bum that quarter with a grain of allowance.
Mr. Btacu rose to complain of an article in a
.Pattinginori paper, in which he had been osisrepre.
seated and libelled, in regard to the expressions he
used oa the night in which he proposed to exempt
the coroly of Nottingham from the effects of the
St•srchwg fur Arms Bill.
'Elie House then resolved itself into a Committee
no Ihe Blasphemous Libels Bill. As soon as the
Ijsakelause was read—
, Bic J. AlacxtNTostt nee to propose some
•menditpents. 'the first lie had to offer was to in-
-traduce the words " maliciously and advisedly"
lecture the words " printing, publishing." &e. as
iilry stood in the Bill. This he did to perfect.- the
isoisatiou of tlw 36th of the King. from which the
kill before the House had been chiefly copied. He
irrits mot anxious to go into a discussion of the sub-
„pre, hriore he learnt from the Right Hou. Gen-
+snaj► opesite, if there would be any objection.
—d.ord Losilereagh replied .6 Yes.")—He was to
rpti4erstand diet there were objections ; he must.
, siscesSity, then go into the discussioo. He read
overihe suirde,iis the Bill. " for composing, prior-
publisfriqg, any blasphemous or seditious
khelr, ?wading tu, bring into contempt the King,
retuce, Regent. ,Houses of Parliament: &c.
*!:or attTnoptsug te. bring auou; „soy alteration
• rburcMK.stste..y. y paws than lawful. nuasur."
Joss 40, lquire whi sort of a fJeacrip-
-I.bere tr. Wits it iskteptlext
, •
Oh, at,. ivecoryirl.to
'air, to welshed bY• tfie Bill ? If

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