The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-05-26 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF CHESTER.

Having, in the ordinary course of reporting public trans-
actions, given eurrency to the libel which the following
letter so completely repels, we feel ourselves bound, in
justice to the character of the eminent and virtuous Prelate
who was calumniated, to copy the defence by which
his honour and integrity have been _triumphantly vindi-
cated :
TO THE EDITOR OF THE COURIER.
Sta—The reports of Mr. O'Connell's speech at the Crown and
Anchor, on Saturday last, represent him to have made a violent
and bitter attack upon the Bishop of Chester, in reference to his
Lordship's speech in the House of Peers, on the Roman Catholic
Claims. The greater part of this attack consists of such intem-
perate and abusive language, as only proves the sense entertained
of the effect produced by the Right Reverend Prelate's speech, and
Mr. O'Connell's inability to answer it with any better arguments
than invective. There is, however, one assertion levelled against
the character of the Bishop, the falsehood of which eau only be ex-
posed by those who have been intimately acquainted with his
Undship. Mr. O'Connell, in charging him with interested and
selfish motives, la represented by all the newspapers to have de-
clared that his Lordship had changed his opinions, which were
once favourable to the ltoman Catholics the moment that he became
tutor to the nephew of Lord Liverpool ; and upon this assump-
tion is founded a long and railing accusation. Allow me to
assure you, that there never was a more direct and complete
mis-statement of fact. The Bishop avowed, in his speech, that
he had once, in early life, entertained sentiments favourable
to the Roman Catholics; but that, when he had read and
reflected upon the subject, he was compelled to alter his opi-
nions. He expressly stated, however, that this change was not
If recent date. His present notions of the question were formed
and avowed at a time when they were opposed to every view of pri-
vate interest which he could entertain, being hostile to the opinions
and wishes of the Earl of Bristol—the friend of his family, as well
as to those of Earl Spencer, the Nobleman by whom his extraor-
' dinary merits had first been noticed and rewarded. And this fact
(which gave pain to his Lordship) was very feelingly alluded to in
the commencement of his speech. Mr. O'Connell's assertion is,
therefore, not only unfounded, but is diametrically opposite to the
truth. The Bishop's sentiments on this subject, tar from being of
an interested nature, were formed in opposition to the bias of pri.
trate feeling, as well as to the prospects of professional advance-
ment. I shall just add, that Lord Hervey, the nephew of Lord
I Liverpool, to whore Mr. O'Connell alludes as the instrument of
the Bishop's " sudden" and " miraculous" conversion, entertains'
himself different views of this question. It is well known that this
siniable and promising young Nobleman might have been, at this
I moment, the Representative of the University of Cambridge, had
he not defeated his own hopes of attaining that object, by the an-
did avowal of opinions differing from those of his tutor.
As the character of so eminent a Prelate is of importance to the
nation, I hope you will insert the above refutation of a calumnious
charge, which might otherwise gain credit with some, yaw know
nothing of the Bishop except his learning and his talent. You
may also assure Mr. O'Connell. that he has deplorably mistaken
the character of this Prelate ; and that he will always find him no
less distinguished by inflexible integrity and high principles of
honour, than by unrivalled ability and acquirements.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
May 24, 1825. Your humble servant, VERAX.

Qua/LIN/7XF: '
THE QUARANTINE STATIONS AfiAINST
COMMERCIAL WORLD.
',AO* a COILITSPONDIVIT.I
By the recent proceedings in this country, alarm has
been excited throughout the quarantine stations in the
Mediterranean, foreign as well as British. This re-action
is naturals The officersof health, as they are called, with
about as much aptness as the officers of the inquisition are
called hag, must, like other people, lire by their calling.
They have also, like other people, a surprising alacrity at
confounding their particular interests with those of the
public. In the mail states of Italy, where the poor no-
bility often find a resource in the quarantine stations, those
officers of health are allowed, by the fears and supine-
nein of their governments, to exercise the most arbi-
trary power. They increase quarantine upon the
commerce of foreign nations, almost at their pleasure
,or caprice. Some yews ago, when the quarantine in this
country against yellow fever, from America and the West
Indies, underwent a relaxation of which they disapproved,
the Italian health officers imposed additional restri :dons
on ships from Britain, there being no epidemic in this
country • and the first ship that suffered upon the occasion
was one laden with iron, that being in their opinion a sus-
ceptible article. The States of Italy are, besides, partial
to those establishments, as constituting appropriate engines
of arbitrary power. They are now making an immense
clamour, and may proceed, if suffered, to the imposition,
for the moment, of further restraints on our commerce,
with a view to compel us to retain the ancient quarantine
laws. It would be curious, but we believe not unprece-
dented, to see quarantlne imposed at Leghorn, Genoa, or
Marseilles, on ships from England, of a similar descrip-
tion with those which are allowed immediately to land goods
and passengers at Calais or Boulogne- Whilst a few hours
are deemed sufficient for purification, in sailing to Calais
gr Boulogne, weeks or months are deemed insufficient in
sailing to ports in the Mediterranean, without a further
quarantine upon arrival ; and this when no sickness pre-
vails in England ! The difference is, that at the former
ports there are no health officers—no familiars of quaran-
tine; and this appears to be the only reason why no re-
strictions are deemed necessary in these ports. IVill the
English Government and Legislature then be moved from
their grand purposes of freeing commerce from useless
or pernicious restrictions, by the clamours of a few interested
quarantine guardians and superintendents ?
But the British quarantine stations in the Mediterranean,
are also, it seems, bestirring themselves, and presenting
ponderous documents to the Colonial Office, in proof, as
thiy call it, of the existence of contagion in the plague. We
should like to see these documents. It has, however, been
Wisely determined not to trust solely to written evidence,
which, unlike contagion, is of much too tangible a nature
to escape scrutiny—but to support it by the viva voce testi-
mony, and the private and personal representations, of the
first quarantine authorities. The advanced guard of these
forces is understood to have arrived some time ago, under
the command of Colonel Rivarola, whom Sir Thomas
Maitland used to designate as one of his principal plague
doctors, and who, it is said, skilfully directed the Police
of Casal Curmi, in 1813, when the unfortunate inhabitants
of that town were almost exterminated by dint of precau-
tions. A second detachment, under the command of Dr.
Grieves, the actual Superintendent of Quarantine, at
Malta, is also reported to have arrived ; and, if public
report be true, the main body of evidence, testimony,
and representations, is actually in motion, and on the
way, under the personal command of the Marquis of
of Hastings, the Governor of Malta. Such are the rumours
of the day.
The non-existence of contagion in the plague having
bus demonstrated upon general principles, and all the
nottnriptions of a contrary nature having been shown to be
unfounded, it will be curious to observe what new assump-
lions will be brought forward upon this occasion, or how
the old assumptions will be served up in a new form. The
standing assumptions are, that the plague depends upon a
=entagion ; that whenever ships arrive with the
on board, this contagion always exists; and that it
would always spread but for the precautions employed.
Now, respecting any one of these assertions, thore is not,
and never has been, a single particle of proof. !vary link
of the chain is toiess fee grouted. The minernasertissee
vary ad infinitum. The importation, for instance, may be
attributed to any one of a hundred vessels, or tie any one
of a thousand animals, from the elephant to the mosquetto,
or to any one of a hundred thousand articles of merchan-
dise, from a bag of cotton to a skein of silk. The Superin-
tendent of quarantine on the Rochester station has discovered
and solemnly affirms in his evidence, that ships can no phine
bring up for examination, with so much safety to
health, as at Standgate Creek; as if detriment
public health had ever been sustained through shl
in any other creek, port, or river, in the United Kt:
King-
dom. It is quite true that ships could nowhere ehs bring
up for examination, with so much safety to the Soper.-
tendent's income, as at Standgate Creek ; but let all who
would suffer from the modification or abolition of qua-
rantine be fully indemnified, and they would the less sen-
sibly feel the loss of their hypothesis.
Let us shortly compare the premises with the conclu-
sions of the partisans of contagion. The amount of their
evidence before the Committee of the House of Com:ions,
on Foreign Trade, in 1844, may be thus summed up :
" We believe that epidemic diseases depend upon a specific
contagion, which may exist in an active state in goods for
months or years: we believe that quarantine laws are ne-
cessary and efficient to prevent its spreading: yet we be-
lieve that quarantine may be entirely abolished on ships
with clean bills of health, and considerably shortened on
ships with foul bills of health, although their cargoes,
which may retain contagion in an active state for months
or years, may have undergone but a very imperfect airing
at Standgate Creek, or no airing at all at Carlingford I"
(See Report.) But it must be obvious to every person
possessing the smallest degree of common sense, who has
fully examined the subject, that whilst the diminution or
abolition of quarantine can alone be warranted or justified
by the principles of non-contagion; if the opposite doctrine
were correct, these restrictions ought, on the contrary, to
be augmented in duration, increased in rigour, and univer-
sally extended. The partisans of contagion, however, seem
to consider themselves privileged to deduce conclusions,'
which are altogether at variance with their premises, and, to
crown the climax of absurdity, they presume to indicate a de-
terminate period of time during which the contagion thus im-
plicitly assumed, may, under any degree, or no degree of
airing, be deemed to be purified out of existence ! They she,
like all men conscious of error, and not wishing to get
wiser, endeavour to suppress inquiry.
The non-contagionists, on the other hand, only desire a
fair and efficient investigation into the merits of the facts
and arguments, which have already been adduced in
favour of each side of the question at issue, or the institu-
Doe of a further practical inquiry in the Levant; always,
however, protesting against the reception, as facts of the
mere assertions of persons connected with the quarantine
establishments, who invariably confound an acquaintance
with the practice of these institutions with a knowledge of
the nature of plague. There are, we know, Physicians,
who are willing alone, or in conjuetion with colleagues, to
undertake the necessary experiments; and what solid ob-
jection can be urged against such a mode of investigation ?
It seems, indeed, to have become indespensible, the subject
being no longer exclusively pi the hands of the faculty ;
that in order to satisfy the phblic mind, the inquiry should,
in some form or other, continue to be prosecuted to a final
issue. How much would it have saved to the eountry in
' money, and to the colonies in lives, not to speak of the
effects which would have been produced throughout the
world, had the experiments now proposed to be further
prosecuted, been undertaken and successfully executed at,
the commencement of the existing controversy, respecting
pestilential contagion, about thirty years ago !
In another paper it is proposed succinctly to show, by
incontrovertible facts, that the quarantine laws, instead of
being efficient for their proposed end, are only simply ree
kss, are essentially and nivel iably miscChievous.
A MEDIAL LOGICIAN.

A number of worktnen are actively employed at the
apartments of the Duke of Cumberland, m St. James's
Palace, preparing them for the reception of the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge.

1CA..17' INDIA SHIPI'ING.
The Sir David Suit, Tmeen, has arrived of Ptruouth—ohe
sailed from China the 12th of January, and frau St. Ileleas the
.9th of April.
The Marquis Handy, Fraser. from China, off Plymouth ; she
sailed from Canton the 24 of February, and from Si. Helena the
14th of April.
PAI.SENGERS PER MARQUIS EIUNTLT, Captain Fraser,
from China :—hire. JOT'S Roberts and infant, Iwo Masters ditto,
1111,s ditto, and four servants.
N.B.—Mr. James Roberts died at Macao on the 26th of January,
fte3.
The Hannah, Shepherd, hu arrived of Portsmouth—she sailed
from Bombay the 6th of February, and from St. Helena the SO of
April.
The Cornwallis. Henderson, has arrived of Portsrassith—she
soiled from the Cape the 13th of March.
ARRIVALS AT ST. HELEXA.—The Castle Forbee,.Ord, from
the Mauritius, the 11th of April; the Emily iwlvden, Russell,
from Timor and the Ca the Bth of April ; Les ifirrry, °Meant*,
from Bengal, and the pe
Thanes, Haviside, from China, the 10th of
April ; the Lady Roan. Cox well, from Bearall and Madras ;
the Joseph, Christopherson, from Penang ; the Claudine, Nicholls,
from Bengal and Madras ; the Noroloh, Brenkamlna, from Ba-
tavia ; and the Eliza, Putman, frotn Sumatra, the 12th of April :
the Monmouth, Simpson, from the Capeohe 13th of April ; the
Timor, Fooed, and the Hope, Harris (whalers), from Timor, the
14th of April.
SAILINCIS PROD ST. lIELINA.-.-The Castle Fortin, Ord. for
London, the Wilt April ; the Emily, Russell, for Landon, the 12th
April ; Les Mary, Guiunce, for Bordeaux ; the Joseph, Christi).
phenten, for England ; the lghs, Putman, for Salem, the 13th
Aped ; and the Repulse. Paterson, for Bencoolea and China, the
14th April.
ARRIVALS AT CHINA.—The Juliana, Fotheringliam, from
London ; and the London, Sotheby, from Bengal, the 24th of
January.
CHINA, FEN. 2, 1825.—The Alofratt; Brown ; and Juliana,
Fotheringhain ; were to sail for Quebec the 14th of February.
The London, Sotheby, to sail for London abodt the 12th of March.
The Canning, Baylis, to salt fur London about the 211th of
February.
Sr. HELENA, APRIL 11.—The Lady Raffles, Cowell,z was to
sall for London the 18th of April. The Rose, Marquis ; and
Astell, Levy, were hourly expected at St. Helena.
SHIPS SPOKEN WITH.—The Aurora. Earl, from .Loixdon to
Madras and Bengal, the 20th of February, in hit, id. 30. S.,
long. 88. 27. E. The Salmon River, Gransitiere, from Singapore
to London, the 7th of May, in lat. 19. 57. N., lung. 34. 40. W.
The Rockingham, Beach, from London to 31adras and Bengal, the
25th March, °lithe Cape of Good Hope. The Driver, Neilson,
from the Cape to Cork, 12th of May, in let. 49. long. 23.
ARRIVALS AT RIO JANEIRO.—The Iledleys, Crockley, from
the Cape, the 18th of March.
PASSENGERS PER SIR DAVID SCOTT, Captain Twee% from
China.—Mfrs. Wallick. two Masters and Hiss Aliso
Stowe, and two savants.
ARRIVAL AT NEM SOUTH WALES.—The Minerva, Bell,
from London, has arrived at Sydney.
ARRIVAL AT THE CAPE.—The Rose, Marquis, from Bengal
and Madras. She remained there 48 hours, and sailed for London
previous to the 31st March.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

CUSTOM-HOUSE, MAT 24.

SHIPS ESITEHipIIIWARDS.—Tise Wubbina, Klein, from
Rotterdam ; Fox, Fox, jun. from Ostend ; Catharina, Mortensen,
from Tondern ; Countess of Elgin, Stranack, from Ostend ; Tyne,
Warrington, from Calcutta, Madras. and St. Helena; Marshal
Blucher, Golder, from Rotterdam ; Blues, Blues, from Alexan-
dria; Elizabeth, Brooks, from Tobago; Eagle, Williams, from
Baltimore.

.....
ENTERED oti wAn la s.—The 0 ond Intent,Fox, for amburgh ;
Heros, Faillant, for Calais • Hero, 'Willson, for Trieste and Venice ;
New Manly, Tyack, for Gibraltar, Malaga, and Barcelona; Junge
Tobias, Lubbers, for Holdenburg ; Scorpion, Itiaon, for Tene-
riffe, Oalparaiso, and Lima ; Madeline, Hayes, for Madras, Isle
of France and Ceylon ; John Biggar, Blair, for Bombay ; Cesar,
Watt, for Itladeira and Calcutta ; York, Moncrief, for :Madras and
New South Tales.

CLEARED OUTWARDS FINALLY AT GRAVESEND.—The
Venus, l.uscombe, for El-incur and Riga ; Cygnet, Hill, for El-
sineur and Petersburgh; Graces, Nickols, for Hamburgh ; Charles,
Agasso, for Rouen ; Stapler, Chambers, for Hamburgh ; Hoopende
Zeeman, Plat h, for Hamburgh ; 11 alcolm. Eyles, for India ; Charles,
biomes, for Havre; Science, Allen, for Hamburgh.
CLEARING OUTWARDS.—The Jongt. Tobias, Lubbers, for
Oldenburg; Hoffnung, Hortsman, for Bremen and Brake ; Eliza,
Simmons, for Elsineur and Petersburg ; Utdion, Hedde, for Calais ;
Julie, Preager, for ditto; Commodore Hayes, Monaief, for Te-
nerife, Madras and Bengal ; Woodford, Chapman, for Teneriffe,
Madras and Calcutta ; Wilson, Simpson, for Quebec ; Northum.
brie, Wright, for ditto; Teaser, Horn, for Malaga; Caroline,
Ounces, for Lisbon.

FROM LLOYD'S LIST.

FALMOUTH, MAT 211.—Off the port, the Sarah Agatha, Hoff-
man, from Demerara, in 68 data ; Jane, Russel, from Bahia--
sailed 9th March. Sailed the Sandwich packet, for Lisbon ; and
lord Hobart ditto, for the Leeward Islands—Wind variable.
PLYMOUTH, Ma 23.—Arrived of the port, the Stately, Ed.
gar, from Jamaica, in 64 days; Mars, Henna, from Rio Janeiro,
sailed 29th March ; on the 15th inst. spoke the large ship Co-
lumbus, in lat. 45. 15. loc.. 25. 20. ; and on the 19th inst. the
Richard Reynolds, from Jamaica, in lat. 41. 20. long. 12.40.
Wind S.W.
PORTSMOUTH, MAY 24.—Arrived his Majesty's ship Brazen.
bringing in a French smuggling lugger, which she captured off
Brighton ; William Harris transport from Jamaica, sailed 17th
March; and Gilbert Henderson, from Sierra Leone, sailed March
22.—Wind S.S.W.

DEAL, MAY 24.—Passed through for the River, the Governor
lisiket, from Sierra Leone; Charles, Milne, from Tobago; and
Diligence transport, from Portsmouth.—Arrived from the River,
and remain, the Northumbrian, Davison, for Qaebec ; Ocean,
Williams, for Oporto ; Waterloo transport, for ; Malcolm,
Field, for India; and Maria, Cameron, for Hunduras.-6 r. n.—
The Company's ships, Princess Ameliaand Asia, from China, are
now coming into the Downs. The Brighton, Sebor, from New
York, is pausing through. The Elizabeth, Fohker, from New
York, foe liamburgh, is passing at the back of the Goodwin.
GRAVESEND, MAY 24.—Arrived, the Elizabeth, Brooks, from
Tobago; Columbus, Jackson, from Sierra Leone ; Blues, Blues,
from Alexandria; Fanny, little, from New Zealand ; Acorn, Ro-
bertson, from Charente ; Auspicious, Fox, from Dunkirk.—
Sailed, the Merchant, Robinson, for Archangel ; St. David,
Salmon, for Norfolk ; Agsnoria, Barker, for Clamor; Alexander,
Thomson, for Sicily ; Oporto, Covey, for Oporto; Catherina,
Bartels, for Stettin; Pomona, Smith, for Rouen.

VESSELS SPOKEN WITH, ALL WE,,L.—The Emulus, from
London to Rio Janeiro, 10th ult. I Exchange, from Newfoundland
to Bahia, 21st March ; Rock, from Bahia to Oporto, 29th March ;
Venus, from Pernambuco to Cape de Verdi, 17th ult. ' • Justine,
from London to Grenada, 22d ult.; Swift, from Jersey to Labrador.
12th inst. ; Thomas Pym and Penrose, from Waterford to Ante-
rid, 27th ult. ; Canada, from Alaryport to Richebucto, 29th ult.
The Moffatt and the Julians were to sail from China 24th Feb.
for Quebec. The Canning was to sail on the 25th for London •
and the London on the 10th March.
of l -

EL LIGENCE.
CO3IE.

Ascot Reath

Taunton

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