The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-06-10 00:00:00

ROr.a rNSTITUTIO.Y.

Oo S iturday. tat two o'cl.)ck, the Rev. SsfoNzy
S,tit is delivered a very ingenious and forcible ler-
tore, on the reasoning facilities of nasiouls, in the
coarse of which he chewed, that nun, thon;Th Lir

superior to animals is this distinguished qualifica-
tion, chiefly derives that superiority trom his power
of speech, his longevity. ant the peculiar delicacy
and texture of his hands. itu began by assuming
the plain and general propoNition, " that allkeitiS
have reasoning faculties;" and, in support of it, he
quoted beverAt passages from the works of Me.
Loom Dr. lisaTtev, Dr. Rein, and other

nem writers on Moral Philosophy, who all speak
most decidedly on the subjeft. He then instanced
an observation made by the celebrated Naturalist
Auroras, who tells us that be had paid most patti-
cuter attention to the mode and manner in which
those diminutive animals, fiold-mice, provide for
their wants, and comfier to support themselves and
their young, during the inclemency of the winter.
He described the manner in which they Witted
their little mansions within the ground; the regular
divisions they make of different apartments, some
of which they este for their own irnnsediats use and
occupancy, and the other as store-houses for the
grain, &c. which they lay in for their subsistence,
in which they exhibit a degree of sagacity and taste
in domestic economy, which borders strongly on
the efforts of man, in the rudest state of nature.
From these diminutive animals, he proceeded to
notice some of a larger size, and, from their imitative
faculties, approaching nearer to our ow,] species. He
related from a Freuch author, whose name we,
could not distindly hear, an anecdote of an
ape, that was in his possession, and that he
used to amine himself by feeding with walnuts,
and &nerving the tricks and fancies he made
use of during the time of his repast. 0-se
day he tiappene." to throw down the walnuts, so
that they were out of the reach of the animal. th.o
was fastened by a chain; he made two or t:tree at-
tempts, to reach them, in vain, and was most wist-
fully eyeing the luturious dainties, when a feouvran
passing by with a napkin under his arm, the ape
seized the napkin, threw it out till he had swept all
the walnuts within his reach, and then flung the
towel to the servant from whom lie had snatched it.
The Reverend Lehner then proceeded to notice the
docility and sagacity of another animal of still great-
er magnitude, viz. the elephant There were, he
said, the most undoubted authorities, of many en
stances of their enmity, which almost exceeded
credibility. In many parts of Asia, the Blacks.
when they go from home, leave their infant childreto
as it were, under the care and proteßion of this ex-
traordinary animal, which they keep tied to a post,
and they place the children on the ground very near
to him. The attentive and sagacious creature will
watch them with the utmost care. and when they
crawl about, and he sees them g-sting too far, he
stretches out his proboscis, pulls then] towards him in
the gentlest manner, and so gives them fresh scope
for the renoral th tt exercise which alone they ate
capable of taking. Asother instance was that which
we have often heard before, but which rn ty, per-
haps, not be the case with many of our readers. In
a great town or city of the Eastern world, an ele-
phant was walking through the streets to drink in
the river. As he passed along, there was a tailor
sitting on itie shopboatd, making a suit of deaths fee
a .11gch:t of Nine 'cads, in the first stile of Eastern
magnificence. Attratted by the splendour of the
sight, the animal looked in at the window, and the
uncourteous and inhospitable tailor pricked Isis pro-
boscis with his needle. The animal, in his useaf
gait, slowly, but indignant, proceeded to the river,
where, having satisfied his thirst, he filled his trunk
with muddy water, and, as 1w repassed the shop,
emptied it upon the fagot, who was nearly drowned
with the torrent, and had to make good the costly
suit, which was entirely spoiled. Such an instance
of quick resentment, and speedy, as well as appro-
priate revenge, could hardly be exceeded by the
mast whimsical humourist, or most acute. reasoner of
our own species. He then adverted to the great
sagacity in dogs, that eery freqactoty found the:7-
way across a country of sixty or eiwity miles in
tent, which they had never seen hut once, ..
which could only be dotes by the very extract. di-
nary attention I ley paid to every particular b.rh,
gate, house, tree, lee. as they passed, Ltd witch
their retentive memory, one of the strong.tst parts
of the reasoning faculty in man, enabled- theta to
recolle& again. Having given these instances, he
proceeded to state, that he conceived one of the first
causes of the superiority of man arose .from the
power of speech, another from his longevity, and a
still greater from the familiar delicacy and forma-
tion of his hands. For if man's life had been limit-
ed to twenty years, his improvements would, in all
likelihood, have been very few; and iflis hands
had not enabled him to smelt meals, and thus pro-
cure their diffusion, he would have been very little
superior to the wild and untutored savage. Ano-
ther cause of man's superiority was, his gregarious
disposition, and that innate desire of the society n'
his fellow creatures. A lion lit sin a hole under a
huge rock, and if another lion should pass by he
would get up and fight him. If man wets to do the
Same. and to get up and box every ether mar., he
saw their state of improvement would be lisle
more than that of animals Besides, the wisest
philosophers and most rolebrated writers were
agreed, that most animals have a social turn as well
a. man ; and though they have not the faculty of
speech, they have curtain symbols, by which they
communicate with, and understand each other.
No deubt could therefore remain, that animals
possess reasoning faculties, ilsou„s.h in a mose in-
ferior degree to man. Those faculties were given
them by the Great Creator, for the wisest and bus:
purposes, to render them more useful and snbser-
vien: to man ; and those who thought it necessary
to support the cause of revealed religion, and the
glorious and divine dottrine of the immortality of
the soul, to deny the possession of reasoning facul-
ties to animals, were, in his opinion, widely
mis-
taken; and he spas afraid, that, by such advocates,
religion would receive more real injury from pro-
fessed friend;, than it ever could from open and
avowed enemies.
The Theatre was exceedingly crowded with la-
dies and gentlemen of the first rank, fashion, and
beauty, who paid the deepest attention.
'1 he street was, frum end to end, full of elegant
carriages.

L.414r.

. ~~

C6URT OF KING'S RENt.:If, Woroitsolge, lose ••

Sillily:1 at Nisi Priir, tr.? Et.t.z): tits,
gait Ss r,al Jewirt.
BAILEY p. WipIIONINd unreal.
This was an et:l ro ion bu tto reeiover demure,
against the Defendants, for the negligeece of their
coachman.
The Plaintiff was a respeetable linen-draper resid-
ing in BedfordSury, and the Defendants were opu-
le t coach-owners.
It appeared. that in A neost last the Plaintiff watt
returning, to town from an :annual journey of busi-
ness, as an outside passenger, on the Derby coach,
belonging to the Defendants. At four o'clock in
the morning, they stopped at a village called Hor-
ton Park., in Northampton, for the purpose of change
ing horses ; and, upon setting off again, some of
the passengers perceived that the coachman was
SOMtWilAt inebriated. They had not gone very far,
at the rate of about five miles an hour, when the
driver beean to dose, and the reins slackened in his
hands ; the horses immediately crossed the road,
which was very broad, and ran the off-wheels upon
a b ink two feet high ; the carriage, being heavy
helm, was instantly nverset, and the Plaintiff
thrown off to a considerable distance; his leg was
broken, and he was o:herwise much injured. The
other passengers escaped with slight bruises ; the
Plaintiff .vas carried to a neighbouring inn, where
he wai. eleven weeks confined to his bed.
From the evidence of Mr. Harding, the surgeon,
es nepeared, that the Plaintiff had received a corn-
p-anid fr _attire in his leg, which required the utmost
skill and attention ; ezfolietions were crintinually
taking pl ice, and he continued in a very doubtful
state, tur a length of time ; the injury altogether
was No great, that, in all probAisaity, he would ne-
ver regain the use of the bath, and Nould be under
the necessity of using crutches for the remainder of
his life. The expenses of medical assistance, nurses,
Cm cost hire upwards of 1001.
The Sotierroa-GenLRAL shortly addressed the
Jury on behalf of the Defendants ; he urged some
matters in palliation, as he considered no personal
blame could attach to them. He called no witnesses.
Lord ELLENBOROUOII. in summing up the evi-
dence to the Joey, observed that the law very pro-
perly, in all cases, held masters responsible and liable
t'Jr the negligence or carelessness of their servants.
Ile only question fee the Jury in the pr.scnt case
we.:, the quantum of damages.
The Jury having retired, after a short consulta-
tion, found a verdift of 6001. fiat the Plaintiff.
COMSINATION.
Tlit ICING T. 11,1/IY.
'lbis was an indiament for a conspiracy. chug
ing the Defendant, a respedable boot and shoe.
maker, in St. James's-street. with forwarding the
views of several journeymen boot-makers, who had
(what is generally termed) struck work, in order to
compel their masters to raise their wages.
On the part of the prosecution, Mr. Grimmer, in
opening the case, animadverted with great severity
upon the conduCt of those journimest who had car-
ried on unlawful combinations. lie adverted tn the
prosecutions at Clerkenwell, the Sessions before last,
of which we have given full repo:tale tomer papers,
and said that all these illegal proceedings had been
countenanced and assisted by the Defendant, Mr.

Hotly.
The only evidence for the prosecution were two
journeymen boot-closers, whom the Defendant had
discharged from his service. Ou their cross exami-
natian, however, it appeared that he had not dis-
charged them with it view to countenance combina-
tions, !,int to secure to himself the services of other
journeymen, who would not work if these two men,
who had refused to agree with their propositions,
were not discharged.
It appeared from the evidence of a clerk, belong-
ing to the journeymen, that their combination was
of a very extensive nature, as they had regular
Committees, Delegates, &c.
Lard ELLE% BOROUGH, in addressing the Jury,
declavd, chat if ever a case came before him wherein
persons had been conviEted of this very heinous of-
fence, they should be punished with the utmost seve-
rity. With respell to the present case, there was no
proof whatever that the Defendant had at all counte-
nanced the combination; he had merely discharged
those men, to prevent his business om being wholly
negleSed ; end it might as well be sai I, that a man,
who b I given up his purse to a highwayman, when
attacked, was the abettor of his crime.
The Jury, without hesitation, acysiiited the Dz-
fendant.
The Soucrrna-GeNteA c. expressed a wiih that
the Court would assist him in a case of a stniiiar ita-
turz, which had been laid before him.
Several journeymen had, one atter another, pone
to their masters, and each asked him fur an increase
of wages; the request was refused, amt .hey a!1
gave notice of quitting his employment, en the fol-
lowing day. He had been called upon to give bis
opinion, whether this was an alt of combination,
and he had declared it was
Lord Et.t.Lis so itouria said, he perfeitly coincided
with the Learned SOL Ie; RAL. that such
conduit was clearly an at of combination.
The case of 'Nov v. list as, which was an aition
by the Titular Ai chbishop of Dubl n, for a libel,
charging him with a knowledge of the late rebellion
in Ireland before its commencement, ai on l'xi-
day last called on for trial ; btu, in consequence cf
the absence of the Earl of Fingal, and some other
necessary witnesses, the record was withdrawn.
Saturday last the Sittings ended at Wesminsler.
This day the Courts of King's Bencia and Com-
mon Pleas hold their adjourned Sittings in London,
at Guldhall, at 9 o'clock.

Upwards of 100 feet of the b ick work of the
East In.tia Decks have fallen in; owintz to the sandy
soil of the foundation, which was not discovered
until the breach took place. There is no blat.le at-
tached to the Engineer. A number of mem were
employed yesterday clearing RWA y -thit brick•. pre-
paratory to laying a mite!, d:eper foundation.
Part of the road to Baglhot, nenr Virginia %Vat:r,
lately sunk eight or ten feet, and people have Lea
empl 'yed in cutting it down to a hrrner station
['he new surface had some days since. been
covered, but received the carriage wheels for several
inches•

:ter