The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-04-15 00:00:00

THE BRITISH PRES S.

LONDON.
THURSDAY, Aram 15, 1819.

A Paris Paper of Sunday hot states, that the
intelligence of a conspitacy having been formed at
Mantua, to poison tie Emperor of AUSTK!A, is I
confirmed. Twu I died persons are bind to have
been arrested in consequence of the discovery of
the plot ; but nothing furth.r is added respectiog
the ultimate object of the conspirators. They
must be weak as well as wicked, if they could en-
tertain the notion of obtaining libeity i.e Italy, by
assamitiating the Emperor of ALA ut A, fur the
murder of his MAJESTY could, wills reepeet to its
tirt-Clb on the Italian States of Austria, hr isitersded
by no other result shah that or truh.rtiiii.K the
Crown, a Ilk all its existing rights and powers, to
fame other Illtinher of his illustrious Weise.
In the Climber of Deputies the furths r dis-
cussion on the law relating to Ilse manufacture
and sale of totacco was resnmed, seal the I.sw
livaUy
adopted by a unjustly of len agaiim 78. M. Vs
COURVOISIER thewasceneled the trthisise, and in
the name of the Central Commission appointed to
examine the projects of the law 'dative to. the
Liberty of the Press, proceeded in report the opi-
nions of the Committee, but he had Dot quite gone
through the statement of the proposed laws, when
he unfortunately found that he had lust some 4.1'
his papers. Lie apprised the Chamber of 11. s
misfortune, telling them it was impossible to re-
toady it, and that every search would then be use-
less. B)' way of coissolatiosi, however, lie statt7d,
the lost sheets were of very little einportance, and
he deiceDded from the tribune without ham%l, read
the amendments projected by the Conimittee. The
Report however was ordered to be whited and dr-
.
livered to the Membeis, and the dllttalilllll t.l. the
Liberty of the Press fixed for yesterday.
l Notice is giveu iu :he French !'apes, that tiny

will not be.putlibbed on !ante? Mg-I)day, on act
count ilf the festival Of the preceding day.
The French luuda"se.•tn to improve. The Five •
per Ceuta. on Saturday were G 7 I. 50 c.

We lately noticed the military preparations now
making by France. They are ascribed, in pr,vate
letters, to the apprehension of a rapture wan Aus-
tria and Prussia.' A report to that eflect is cer-
tainly prevalent in Paris, lint the circumstances
which gave rise to it are not stated, and it is per-
haps a mere speculation. A desire to put her
northern frontier in a complete state of defence,
and organise her army, is perfectly in the spirit
•nd policy of a great military power like France
at all times; and although the means of safety
e►ay inspire th• idea of clanger, they do ant always
necessarily prove its actual existence.

An official statement of the business in progress
in the (louse of Commons is given iu another part
of our Paper. A grrat deal remains, particularly
iii the financial drpartment, tint yet noticed, and
on which probibly the tinial of the Minister is hot
made up. Taking the whole tutu account, we niay
presume that the Srssion will nut close until the
end of June.

Various rumours prevailed yesterday in the City,
as is usual on the eve of settling day, and the Funds
experienced a trilling The probable

financial measures of the CtlaNcio.Loß of the

EXCHEQUER were of course the subject of COlijre-

lure, arid loans and new taxes, including the
Property and War Malt Duties, were anticipated,
according to the humour or interest of the several
parties. Such conjectures are iu themselves wholly
unworthy of serious attention, and yet it is impos-
sible to doubt that they occasionally exercise some
influence on the state of the money market. A
loan or a new tax is certainly a probable, or at
least • possible occurrence, hot we entertain too
high an opinion of the Cti•Ncia.r.on of the Ex-
citiQUEß's moral character to believe that hr would
ever give to one class of persons in the market an
advantage over the others, by commoincating to his
favourites in private those projects of nuance which
Ur Parliament he affects to consider would be itijit-
lions to the general interests of the country, if
avowed in public. We, however, are inclined to.
believe, from certain expressions that fell from Mr.
VANSITTART iii the early part of the Session,
that he purposes to raise the money required for
the service of the preterit year by funding Ex-
chequer bills in a manner similar to that pur-
sued during the last Session. It is much to be
lamented that the CllANcEt.t.olt of the EXCUE•
QUEtt should be thus compelled, year after year,
to pursue this pitiful system of shifts and ex-
pedients. It certainly sloes no credit to the Go-
vernment, and it it attended by incalculable mis-
chief to the public. There is All evident want of
sincerity aid ingenuousness on the part of the Mi-
nisters, in not sulimltting a connected view of the
finances and expend:tore of the country fully aml
fairly to Parliament, that measures might be adopt-
ed to equalize the receipts with the disbursements.
They imagine, that as long as they can contrive
to procure the means of extravagance, without re..
quiring a new tax, so long will Parliament skew
a contented iodic rence to their proceeding:. They
will thus maintain their establishments, preserve
their patronage, and cowirquently their darling
places; and while they can enity these individual
blessings, what matters it to them whether they
coidinue to neutralize the effects of the Sinking
Fund, by borrowing money to an *viol amount,

and thus perpetuate the load of debt that weighs
upon the country ? We are now entering on
the fifth year of peace, and in that length of
time what have the Ministers clone to redeem the •
extravagant expenditure of the war ? The OPPO-
SITION in Parliament, aided by the voice of the
people, have indeed succeeded in relieving the
country f a large amount of taxes, but what-
ever of good has taken place, to them alone must
it be attributed. lied the Ministers been suffered
to proceed in their own measures unopposed, we
tould have to ninnin the continuance of the Pro-
perly Tax and the War Malt Duty ; the original
phalanx of sinecure places had still rentained with.
out even a prospect of their removal ; no diminu-
tion had taken place in the military or civil vita.
blishments of the country ; and a hatever the,
summit of the revenue, aided by the war Naomi
and the energy of the collectors, may have been, it
would be found to have but little exceeded that of
the annual expenditure. it is, however, a happy
disposition in the present Niliaisters, that are saris.
fied to take advantage of whatever corrective die-
cipline they may occasionally receive from their
isolitieal opponents, and even subsequently to boast
of the good effects it has produced on themselves and
the country. During the present Session they have,
in every important point, pursued exclusively the
measures of the Opposition, ruder the pretence, of
acting from their own discretion. it is evident,
notwithstanding their endeavours to conceal their
good qualities, that they have at least the merit of
being open to conviction.

Extract of a lette►, dated Jamaica. Feb. 19, and
received by the Hibernia, via Cove of Cork It is
reported toot Al‘tigatiott has eight vessels at Aux
Cayes. but it-is not known to whikt root of the [lain
he intends to proceed. Good coffee is selling at
8/. 64. Bd. cash. lint:imp currency, twist to 7/. 7s.
EttgliAi on board. per 11216"."