The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-01-28 00:00:00

THE BRITISH PRESS.

LONDON,
FRIDAY, JAN. 28.

In the absence of new intelligence from the Con-
tinent, and without any domestic occurrences of
moment before us, we may give our attention to
any feather which accidentally floats across cur
way.,---Some of the papers of the last week have
anivaed themselves with speculating on the occur-
r..nice of Mr. PITT'S late visit to St. James's. In
the event itself, we profess to see nothing that is
extraordinary.—That a man, who has moved in the
high sphere, which was occupied during so many
years by Mr. Pirr, should pay his compliments at
Court, on the oceasioq, of a Royal Birth-day ; or
should be fond of hovering round the source of that
power, which has constituted the happiness of the
greater portion of his life—cannot reasonably
excite our surprise, or force us to the neces-
shy of diving deeply for motives. It; indeed,
Mr. Peres compliment was received by the
sovereign with coolness, and a lowering counte-
nance, (and this we believe to have been the fact)
the event would rise into importance ; and the
omen, which wa ; so ill-boding to the individual,
would be hailed by uc i,s at s..icious to the commu-
nity. ;t is not our temper to insult over the fallen ;
Lut a Minister, wh s, c freer has bten so disas-
trou ly eventful to Bri-ain, that every step of it is im-
pressed with the most painful associations upon
our minds, may fairly be pursued by the public
voice to his retreat. When we contemplate the
whole of Mr. PIIT'S political conduct—when we
see him trampling on the people, on whose shoul-
ders he had been elevated to power—when we see
him uniting with those very characters to whom he
had previously been in the most hostile opposition ;
and, after playing off the people against the Parlia-
ment, employing the Parliament against the people
—when we observe him, not only break.ng thos.:

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engagements Which had armed him ,with the
strength of popularity, but persecuting men whose
sole crime seemed to be an adherence to that
cause, from which he had .apostatized--when
we behold him supporting the interested views
of a narrow aristocracy, by illusion, by ri-
gour ; by the most lavish expenditure of the blood,
the' treasures, and the Constitution of England.—
When we see him, after all, abandoning his Sove-
reign and the State in the midst of that tempest,
which he had himself excited ; and eager to retire
from danger, on an usurped spot of popular ground,
and under die protection of an Act of Indemnity : ,
When we contemplate the whole of this scene, and
feel the deep wounds inflicted by his extrava-
gance as a Financier, and his intemperance as a
Statesman, we must necessarily rejoice at the cir-
cumstance, which prohibits his hope of recovered
power ;' and must warmly applaud the feeling
which actuated the Royal frown. The Sovereign,
indeed, has experienced as much of Mr. PITT'S
haughtiness, as the Parliament and the people ; and
with servants More agreeable to himself and to the
country which he goveens, he will scarcely expose
himself again to die menace of a subject-brow.—
We arc as far from being the sycophants of an ex-
isting as we arc from being the insulters cf a de-
parted Minister; but looking to the past and to the
present administration, we should certainly con-
sid...r Mr. PITT'S succession to Mr. ADD;NGTON as
a very afflicting event to Great Britain : We should
dread from it, in peace, the clumsy trick of new
commutation and income taxes : and in war, a fresh
exhibition of weakness abroad, and of rigour at
home. Mr. PITT may still possess friends among
an Aristocracy, whom his declamation may assist,
while his pride must offend: and the sturdy grati-
tude of a few of that multitude, whose fortunes
have sprung from the distresses of the nation, may
still salute him as the saviour of his country ; but
we assure ourselves that England, in a large majo-
rity of her present generation, and in the whole of
her next, will unite with us, when resigning the
task of praising him to Mr. CANNING, we must
condemn him as the Minister, to whose misconduct
may be referred a train of evils, great in their ex-
tent, and we fear permanent in their duration.
Mr. PITT'S discouraging reception, supposing it to
be the fact, will damp his Parliamentary ardour.
—He may attend in his place upon great occa-
sions, but without the prospect of returning power
he will not be uniform and enthusiastic in his exer-
tions. Even his active mind will think occasional
secession is not without its charms, while, on the
other hand, we are assured, Mr. Fox will pay off
the large arrcar of eloquence, which he owes his
country, by an unremitting observance of his Parlia-
mentary duty, during the remainder of the Session.

The vessel arrived at Plymouth from Honduras,
had so tedious a passage that her accounts can
scarcely be looked to for intelligence relative to the
state of that colony ; yet it is sonic satisfaction to
know that they do not mention the expectation of
any untoward event.
An extraordinary courier was yesterday dispatch-
ed to Paris by General ANDREOSSI.
A gentleman just arrived from Venice says, that
the frequent reductions in the value of the coin have
produced great discontent in that state. No man
knows for a day how much money be has in his
pocket. One of these alterations was so great as to
cause a depreciation of 401. per cent.
Mr. T. Di nois's Opera of Family Quarrels, it is
expected, will soon be honoured with a royal com-
mand. His Majesty not having seen this pleasing
piece, the paragraph alluding to it in our paper of
yesterday is evidently without any foundation.
The beginning of next week, the different poli-
tical parties will meet to form their several plans,
for the remainder of the parliamentary campaign,
which cannot but prove a busy one.
Mr. MIDDLETON is elected one of the l{epresen-
tires for Ipswich, vice Mr. CRICKE T, without op-
position.
The House of Commons, we understand, intend
to be very strict in enforcing the payment of the
sureties entered into by Petitioners, in the case of
such petitions as are not prosecuted—and in no in-
stance where a petition is withdrawn, will the Pe-
titioners be excused their recognizance, except a
very strong case is made out.
There was a report yesterday that accounts were
received by the Jamaica Mail that a communication
had been made by the French Commander at St. Do-
mingo to the Governor of Jamaica, for permission
to bring thither the wretched remains of that expe-
dition, which, little more than a twelvemonth ago,
was sent out to recover the finest island of the Wes-
tern Archipelago, and once the finest colony pos-
sessed by any European nation. We cannot say
what credit is due to this report. Perhaps it is the
echo of one which had reached America, and had
spread over the West Indies, that General Lee LE a e,
previous to his death, had intended to evacuate the
island.
By the Auckland Packet, from Jamaica, whence
she sailed on the 13th ult. we have received accounts
that the Yellow Fever still raged with great violence
in that Island. On the 4th, sth, -and 6th ult. the
following Ships of the Line sailed from Port Royal,
on a Crtuze, in three Divisions:—
ships Guns. Commanders
Tiles •us • Captain BL IG If,
Bellerophon 74 ---- Lome;,
Cumberland 74 Coluntodore BA IrS I ON,
Elephant 74. Captain Dun DA.,
Ganges 74 ---- WKar4LEY,
Vanguard 74 --NV/11.KM( .
On Wednesday afternoon, as one of the lamp-
lighters in Hatton-garden was employed in lighting
the lamps, the ladder on which he stood slipt from
under hi it, a'nd the poor fellow fell, and had the
misfortune to break one of his legs. lie was imme-
diately conveyed to St. Bartholomew's Hospital.

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