The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-02-15 00:00:00

LONDON,

TUESDAY, FEB. 15.

The Morning Frost of yesterday asserted, that
" Colonel Dese AID, and his six condemned asso-
ciates who were not recommended to mercy, are
chained together in a string, the chain strongly
fastened to she cell in which they are confined,"
and that " no one sees or speaks to them but
through a grating." When we considered that
Colonel I)Espa RD was stated to be the seducer of
his guilty companions ; when we reflected upon. the
crimination and re-crimination that must consti-
tute the converse of a groupe thus hideously bound
together, and how impossible it must be, in such a
situation, to recover that sanative affeaion of the
mind so eloquently recommended by Lord EL LEN-
nosnuatt as the great duty of their remaining
days, we own we were shocked with horror, upon
reading this account. A restraint so barbarous,
and involving consequences so revoking to human
feelings, might become the Spanish Inquisition in
the darkest ages, but would ill accord with the en-
lightened charaker of the British nation, and the mild
exercise of its criminal jurisprudence.—We have,
therefore, made the most diligent enquiry into the real
circumstances of the case, and arc happy to say, that
the alleged cruel treatment of these wretched men,
is as unfounded in point of fad, as illiberal with re-
ference to those by whose orders alone such seve-
rit y could have been infliaed. It is not true that
they are chained together in a string : they are se-
cured as all felons are after ecinviaion. The enor-
mity of their offence makes no difference as to their
treatment ; and the Governor, obeying the impulse
of his own humanity, has only adopted those pre-
cautions necessary for the safety of persons for
whose appearance to answer the lodgment of the
law he is responsible. The Prisoners have, in addi-
tion to those comforts provided at the expence of
the county, whatever their own means, or their
friends can procure for them. indeed such a num-
ber of persons were never left in this Prison under
Sentence of Death ; and thence there is some diffi-
culty in disposing of them separately. They are,
however, allowed the range of a spacious ward, with-
out any other restraint, than that of being double
ironed, theusual precaution in all cases of capital con
vidion. Their friends and relatives are also allowed

free access to them. Any restraint beyond what ts
Accessary for safe custody would be unconstit,i-
tional and unjust ; and we understand the deport-
ment of the prisoners is not such as to render it ne-
cessary. From every information we have been able
to eollea, we should rather suppuse that the or-
dinary restraint of condemned prisoners i 3 relaxed
in their favor.

A Cabinet Council will be held to-morrow, at.
Lord HAWKESOURY'S Office, Downing-street. Re-
port says, the fate of the prisoners now under sen-
tence of death for High Treason, will be one sub-
je of its consideration.
Mails from New York, *nd the Leeward Islands,
arrived Yesterday morning. The letters contain no
important intelligence. Leeward Islands, %se.
are happy to state, ate healthy.
It is said, that the CHANCELLOR of the ERCHE•
gent will, on Monday next, deliver a Message to
the House of Commons from his Majesty, respea—
ing the adj ctment of the affairs of his Royal High-'
nest the PRINCE of WA 1. vs. BI the nevi arrange-
ment, his Royal Highness is to have a clear income
of 12.5,0001. per annum. •
On Friday night arrived, off Plymouth, the Nils,
East Indiaman, from China. purser landed
at Plymouth, with the dispatches. The Mk left
China on the 25th of May list. She experienced
very bad weather on her passage. In a gale of
wind, last month, she fell in with the Minorca East
Indianian, which arrived in the Dowus a few days
art
Orders have been issued from the War-Office,
within these few days past, to increase the bounties
for recruiting, and to take men two inches below the
last regulation standard.
Thelist of Members who have been chosen to
forni the COurt of East India Judicature, on the part
of the Hottte of. Coundoni, contains among the
names, those of W. WILBERFORCE, Esq. W.
SMITH Jun. Esq. G. WOOD, Esq. D. LANGHAM,
Esq. H. BAtoces, Esq. I. H. BROwNE, Esq. Hon. J.
SCOTT, Hon. W. A. Towtoncrop, C. ADAMS, Esq.
W. STURGES, Esq. J. H. ST MITT,. Esq. Hon. R.
RYDER, Sir W. PyLTEN Bart, C. S. LE FEVRE,
Esq. W. M. PITT, Esq. Sir E. H. Hatroep, Bart.
T. STANLEY, Esq. and Sir J. FREDERICK, Bart.
TnomAs TY RWHITT, Esq. is elested Member for
the Borough of Portarlington, in the room of
HENR Y PA KNELL, Esq. who has accepted the office.
of Escheator of Munster.
A new writ is ordered to be issued for the Bo-
rough of Yarmouth, in the County of Southampton,
for a Burgess to serve in Parliament, in the room of
JAMES PATRICK MURRAY, Esq. who has accepted
the Office of his Majesty's Manor of East Hendred,
in the County of Bella.
Mr. COOPER was advertised to take his farewel
benefit, at the Near York Th'eatr, on the Bth Ja-
nuary, previous to his departure for that of Drury-
lane.

The American, Judge AnotsoN, Was upon li;s
trial on the 7th of January, before the Senate of
Pennsylvania, upon an impeachment, charging hit:a
with attempting to vilify and degrade his brother
Judge LUCAS on Circuit in the Allegheny County,
by telling a Petit Jury that the charge of the said
LUCAS was nothing to the question at issue, and
refusing to lot him address the Grand Jury.
Some of the daily papers are sending Sir SIDNEY
SMITH to Egypt, in the Diamond frigate. °the's
insist that he will stay at home.
The same paper, alluding to the report that
parcel of inflammatory hand-bins were picked up in
the City, and carried to the Lord Mayor, also says,
" Nothing is more probable, than that hand-bills
or letters, containing threats, to prevent the execu-
tion of Colonel DESPARD, have been dispersed by
some such of his mad partizans, as those that have
been convicted with him."—Now into this :also we
have made diligent enquiry, and we have the plea-,
sure to say, that no such hand-bills or letters have
been dispersed, nor is it probable that any such
have been dispersed, for this plain reason—no such
hand-bills or papers have been seen or read by any
body.

This morning tl c first battalion of the Cold-
stream Regiment of Guards will attend at the
Surry side of Blackfriars-bridge, to conduct the
remaining convicts from Newgate to Woolwich,
to be put on board the transport intended for Bo-
tany Bay. Yesterday morning, at eight o'clock,
eighty of the Guards attended the above place, to
escort, in waggons, 100 of the said convicts to the
aforesaid place.
On the 4th instant died, at Paris, the Lady of Sir
ALEXANDER. GRANT, Bart. of Malsanger, Hants.
A report was circulated on Saturday, that Earl
Sr. VI rtc EST is to retire from the Admiralty, and is
to be succeeded by Lord MELVILLE.
The Committee appointed to try the merits of the
Shaftesbury Eleetion Petition, met on Thursday
last, and declared RORLRT HURST, Esq. (the sitking
Member) to he duly elefted. The petitioner callei
no witnesses in support of the petition. Mr. HURST
being chosen also a. Burgess for the Borough of
Steyning, in the county of Sussex, has made his
eleetion to serve for the said Borough of Shaftes-
bury. In consequence, a new writ was on'Thurs-
day ordered for Steyning.
In consequence of a number of young Gentlemen
being paid off at the conclusion of the war, and not
provided for, the Lords of the Admiralty have
been pleased to allow 10 additional Midshipmen to
be entered on board 50-gun ships and large frigates,
and-five on board smaller ships.
Letters and papers fmra America, confirm the
statements we have already made of the alarm pro-
duced throughout the United States, and more par-
ticularly in the western districts, by the shutting up
of the port of New Orleans against the American
commerce, unless it consents to pay the established
duties of the port. 'these duties consist of five per
cent. upon the estimate made by the merchant:
themselves of the value of the article, viz. flour 4
dollars per lb. cotton 18 cents. per lb. tobacco 40
dolls. per hhd. which must be paid immediately after
the entry, aad the same on exportation. Should
the ploduce be forwarded to New Orleans for ex-
portation, the duties may be saved, by keeping it
on board the boats till an opportunity occurs of
shipping it gp board American vessels, which must
lie in the stream. Produce sold out of baats to
persons shipping in American vessels will not be
subject to duty, as the Custom-House is not to
know transactions of this nature ; but the moment
the articles are entered, the duties must inevitably
be paid.