The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-05-08 00:00:00

LITERARY FUND.

The anniversary of that excellent institution, the Lite-
rary Fund, will be celebrated on Wednesday next. It is
hardly to be expected that in this season of public distress
the charities of the Metropolis should experience the same
fostering liberality as on former occasions; but such coun-
tenance and support as the personal attendance of the
friends of the Institution can give, is perhaps more than
ever desirable. In a state of high civilization, the enjoy-
ments of literature become necessary to intellectual man.
Hence the number who are supported by purveying to the
cravings of the mind are proportionably great. This fact,
however, is notorious, that the labours of the press have
felts temporary suspension, and the products of the brain
have met but with partial encouragement, since the shock
which has struck general credit with the efflct of a para-
lysis. The claimants, therefore, of a fund raised exclu-
sively for the benefit of distressed men of letters bust
consequently be increased ; and that generous benevolence
which is exerted with truly British liberality to relieve the
starving population of the manufactuiing diitricts, can yet,
we are persuaded, be confidently relied ou as affording
something by which the calamities of the times may be
softened towards the literary man—to him who, perhaps
by a culpable disregard of the goods of fortune, has scat-
tered around him the produce of his intellect with a wild
sod lavish hand, or to the more humble votary of learning,
who providing for the day, by the exertions of the day, has
been suddenly deprived of the means of his support. Such
cases, we believe, are numerous, beyond all precedent;
and such, it is the particular object of the Literary Fund
to relieve—an Institution but little known, for its opera-
tions are offichs qua meininisse debut is in quens collate
sine, ROM commentorare qui mutant.

We are requested to say that Mr. T. P. Williams did
not vote upon Lord John Russell's motion relating to a
Reform in Parliament, as represented in the minorityin-
serted in our Paper of the 29th of April.
The Bank of England, it appears, after a minute and
laborious examination of the subject, have come to the
resolution of establishing branch banks, a measure full of
benefit and advantage to the community. We are not in-
clined, like some, who see good in nothing, to attribute in-
terested motives to the Bank for their disposition to meet
the convenience of the public. The Bank has been most
protnpt and liberal in its measures in the late trying panic,
but our readers will no doubt participate in our astonish-
ment, when they find that in the midst of all the much-
talked of mercantile distress, the advances of the Bank in
aid of the manufacturer do not amount to 400,0001. ; a
striking proof either of the quackery of the distress, or of
its highly disgraceful nature to those who have become in-
volved by mad speculation and wanton extravagance in their
private living, which it was hoped the fruits of their vice
and gambling would provide for.—Julin Bull.
Friday night another detachment of the 38th regiment of
foot arrived at Liverpool from Dublin in the Hibernia
steam-vessel.

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