The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-07-04 00:00:00

by the explosion of thetbagaxine, and die Paella and prln-1
cipal inhabitants, in attempting to escape to Coron, were
intercepted by the fdianotes. There is some doubtsyet
whether IBRAHIif was in possession of Navarino.
FRENCII FURIIS.—PARIS. JULY I.—Five per Cents. 103 f.
35c.: 3 per Cents. 76f. 30c, ; Rente de Naples. certif. Falconnet
OW. 35c. ; Rentes d'Espag. 17i; Rural Spankt: Loan 1823. 54i.
Exchange on London—one month 25f.; three ditto 241. 85c.—
dist4.chtilat, July I.

The fonowing is an extract of a letter from Marseilles,
doted on the Zed of June:—
" We have letters from Smyrna of the 23d of May, which state
that on the preceding day a Dutch frigate had arrived there, eon
firming the intelligence that the Egyptian fleet had been burned at
31odon on the 12th of May, and that the fortress itself had also
beets destroyed. From Corfu our letters are dated nn the 26th of
May. They say that it is certain that on the 19th of May the
Greek fleet, under Admiral 311auLts, entered the harbour of
Navarino, at the moment the garrison was about to submit to the
Egyptian army. and ha.l burned Al the Egyptian ships there. In
consequence of Os event IBRAHIM PACIIA raised the serge. and
evacuated Old Navarino, which hr did not effect without slanting
great less from the Greek army which had been posted in his rear.'

"ZASTTE, NIAT 24,
.11126.

" Ws are sorry that before you receive this letter you will have
been informed a the fall of Nararino, according to the report
brought here two days ago by his Majesty's ship the Hind. i now
take this opportunity to inform you, that by later arrivals we now
know that this news is not true, but that, on the contrary,
MIAUL ti has burned the Egyptian fl2et in that harbour, and that
the army of Inn Aunt P.tcuA has sulfored great loss in an attempt,
three times renewed, to carry the fortress by storm."

' Thus it appears, by accounts from all quarters, that the
cause of the independence of Greece has not fallen so low
as the enetnies of that nation take every opportunity of re-
presenting, though no doubt the difficulties with which
this unfortunate people have to struggle arc great. The
tesult of the existing struggle in Greece is not doubtful,
but still it is the general interest of himanity that it should
he spetdily put an end to, and Europe has only to speak
the word, and Greece will immediately take her station
again in the civilized world.

There t some reason to doubt the truth of the reported
rill of Callao. Duplicates of letters from Carthagena,
which are coming by the Jamaica packet, have been
receivcd at Liverpool, and they take no notice of that
event. •It is probable that the news would have
reached Carthagena as soon as La Guayra. The Picton
was to sail from the latter port on the 20th of yay.
This vessel is hourly expected at Liverpool, and her ar-
rival will determine the question. ,

Another Bill has passed the legislature of much import-
ance to the Commercial interests of the City of London.
It is commonly called the Merchant and Factor Act, and
materially amends the law relating to consigned property.
Previous to the passing of this excellent Act, no merchant
was safe in advancing money on consignments, as, in case '1
of bankruptcy, the owner had the power to follow his pro-
perty, and repossess himself of it without any liability forl
the money which might have been advanced on it. This
system often produced injustice, and in many cases fraud.
Thus, A was a merchant at Haruburgh, B was his agert
in London, and C was a London capitalist. B owed A
three thousand pounds, and informed him that he had no
means of repaying him. A expressed his great regret at,
the misfortune of his agent, renewed the assurance of hisl
friendship, and, es a proof of his confidence in B's I
in-
tegrity, consigned him property to the amount of five
thousand pounds, restricting the sale until prices should
advance considerably above the currency of that day. Soon
afterwards, A availed himself of a favourable exchange,
and drew on his agent Bto the extent of 3,000/. When
these bills became due, B borrowed from C 3,000 L, in se-
curity for which, he lodged A's consigned property, valued,
we will suppose, at 5,000/. With this sum, B paid his',
acceptances to A's bills, and by paying them, repaid the
debt he owed him. As soon as this operation was com-
pleted, A appeared in London, and compelled C to restore
te him the property which B had given him in security
for the loan, thus transferring to C the debt of 3,000/
previously due by B to A.
Another case, still of greater injustice, is on record. A
was a clover-seed-merchant, in the Borough, and B was a
London merchant. B purchased from A seed to the
value of 2,000!., and paid him cash for it. As this was
a speculation, and the sea was intended for re-sale, it
was not removed from A's premises. Several months after
this purchase, B borrowed from A 1,500/. on this seed,
and soon afterwards became a bankrupt. A thought his
security in the clover seed good enough, until C, a foreign
merchant, whom A had never previously known, even by
name, demanded from A the delivery of the seed, and
11 having afterwards proved in a court of law that B was
his agent in the purchase of the seed, A was consequently
compelled, by a verdict of the Jury, to give to C the seed,
Iwhich had never been removed from his warehouse, and
to prove a debt of 1,500/. on the insolvent estate of B.
I The new Act alters this system of injustice, and in
future, as is the case throughout Europe, the proprietor' ill
ihe responsible for any money which his agent may borrow
on the security of his consignments. his MAJLSTY'S
Ministers arc entitled to the thanks of every merchant in
the United Kingdom for carrying this Act through both
Houses of Parliament, in spite of the strong opposition it
encountered from the Gentlemen of the Long Robe in Par-
liament. The new Act will undoubtedly have a direct
tendency to [repress litigation, but that is, with the mer-
cantile community at least, one of its best recommenda-
tions.

'f be meeting at the Mansion House for the establishment
of a London University, is an event which demands particu-
lar notice, and requires very serious consideration. The
proposed institution is advocated on the ground that some
better mode of education than can be found in the ordinary
schools, and less expensive than can be sought at the Uni-
versities of Oxford and Cambridge, should be provided for
that numerous body of persons with moderate incomes
who reside in the metropolis. To the further diffusion of
knowledge there can be no objection ; there may, however,
be a question as to the choice of means. Let us not
forget that knowledge, commonly so called, is not the
first object of our existence, but moral improvement.
i Yet it is the leading distinction of the oew system
of education, that it excludes all theological and reli-
gious
instruction. .The pretence fur this exclusion is,
that if religious instruction be insisted upon, people will
not agree as to its form, and that therefore it is advisable
Ito have none at all. Titis argument would apply equally
to any religious establishment. Men are not of one mind;
. therefore they should not be required to uphold any parti-
cular system of religious bejief. Because there are some
disputed points in doctrine or discipline, all instruction in
the fundamental principles of religion is to be withheld.
MI knowledge will be onnmunicated but that which in
Ivalue exceeds all others—without which there can be no
I sound er genuine -morality—no ground-work of present or
future happiness. Unless Christianity be rejected as a
. fable it must be admitted that no education can be really
beneficial, excepting in proportion as it fits us for the re-
' wards which the Gospel holds forth to our acceptance. To