The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-27 00:00:00

WILLSON.

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till his own inadvertency, or mi►taken confidence in the
sacredness of public law, led him to put himself in the power
of his enemies.

By a private letter from Madras, we are sorry to learn
that, in consequence of a drought of nearly eighteen months,
a famine is ravaging that Presidency, and the people
arc actually (lying in hundreds daily. This dreadful
calamity is the more to be deplored at this particular
time, as Madras can only be supplied with provisions from
Bengal; and as all the shipping of India is at present
occupied by the Burmese expedition, great havoc must
necessarily be made among the population before any relief
can be given.

A Mcrning Paper, which published the fullest and most
disgusting account of the late pugilistic contest at War-
wick, yesterday attempted to offer an apology to its readers
for the part it has taken in assisting to deprave the public
taste. This article opens with the two following sen-
tences:—

" As hi►torians of the day, we are often obliged to describe
scenes which reflect honour neither on the parties who figure in
them, nor on the national character. Among the most disgusting
exhibitions of the age, boxing matches certainly occupy the first
rank."

From the latter proposition, we believe, no person of cor-
rect sentiments will dissent; but with respect to the former
the agreement will not be so general. Is it the business
of an "historian," if he sometimes is obliged to describe
disgraceful scenes, to narrate them in the brutal slang of
common thieves? Is it the business of a sober "historian,
having unhappily to record what he admits to be one of
"the most disgusting exhibitions of the age," to commence
his narrative in this manner?—
" TIP-TOP MILLING AT WARWICK.

"In spite of all that has been said—in spite of all that has been
done to check the good old practice of Baring—whether for love,
for honour, or for profit, the taste of Jain Bull and his frolicsome
family seems to be unchanged ; and you have only to hold out to
him the prospect of a good mill, and lie is careless of what labour
or expense he may incur in the gratification of his appetite. In
vain do you talk of crosses, and of ?Weeks, and of deaths—only tie
a couple of fighting men at the end of a string, and draw them
across the country, and like hounds in a drag hunt, you are sure
to have a few thousands of the Fatt..y in full cry at their heels."

The censorial power of the daily newspapers is con-
fessedly very great, and it should be used with due regard
to the important consequences that may flow from its mis-
direction. Many things, we know, are of necessity made
public which it would be desirable wholly to suppress, if
greater evil were not to be apprehended from the suppres-
sion than the publication ; but in these cases, though t':e
facts must be made known for the public good, ott;lit the
writer to adopt the cant phrases of the criminals, and
palliate their offences by disguising their real nature with
the false jargon invented to conceal it? On the contrary,
is it not his duty to strip off the covering of fraud, and hold
up the transaction to public indignation in the strong
language of truth, and the pure idiom of his native tongue?
Our contemporary remarks, that—

" To a coarse and sluggish disposition, the view of men covered
over with blood, their faces laid open with deep gashes, placed in a
state of insensibility on shutters, with the ghastly look of dcath
discernible in such of their features as can be seen through the
gore—all this must be a pleasure of the highest order."
_ _ .

But surely it is not the " historian's" province to pander
to such " pleasures" as these, though it may be his painful
duty to record that there arc brutal wretches who indulge
in them. There are enough of coarse and cruel disposi-
tions to delight in blood without our countenancing their
sports with seeming approbation. The truth is, however,
and we regret to state it, that the public press is deeply
disgraced by the scandalous avidity manifested to purvey
for all appetites, however gross and disgusting. We are
told, indeed, that newspapers would not exhibit the age
if they did not exhibit this very prevalent, though dis-
graceful taste. We answer, that the proper business of
newspapers is most certainly not in this way " to hold the
mirror up to nature," but to reflect only such matters,
and in such a mode, as ought to be exhibited. We know
not to what lengths the doctrine of " exhibiting the age"
would lead, if every taste, however " disgraceful," was to
be exhibited, because it might be " very prevalent." It is
admitted, however, that boxing should be checked.

" The tute itself may be met in two ways, either by the ?strong
hand of the law, the worst mode that can be adopted, it is like
skinning nrcr a bail sore, or by the improvement of the general cha-
racter and the general tame."

This is not very elegant, nor indeed very clear. The
taste, we arc informed, may be met most eff:ctually by
the improvement of the general character and the general
taste. A had taste mav, no doubt, he most effectually
cured by substituting for it a better taste ; hut by our con-
temporary we are left nearly as much in the dark as ever,
as to the mode of improvement. In tenth, he who had so
eloquently expatiated two days before on the " Tip-top
Milling at Irartriek," could hardly he expected to declare
all at once, that it was his duty to have discouraged and de-
liotine..ll it: but he says,

" It is useless to raise one voice against an evil which seems
almost interwoven with the national character. To cure it more
than palliatives is required. So long as the exhibition has its sup.
port in congeniality of disposition, it will be continued in spite of
all the strictures of the Press. just as the taste fir horses, &e. on
our Sta:;e, was proof against the Theatrical Critics."
One voice may, under some circumstances, do much to-
wards putting down a nuisance. No voice is raised in vain
to condemn public vices. But admitting, that one voice can
do little to suppress the evil of prize-tighting, ought it,
thery:,re, to chaunt the praises of this brutal sporting?
There was a time, when the paper to which we allude
would rather have ceased its publication than have de-
graded its character by such an exhibition as it made on
Wednesday last.
lieu quantum routatus rib lido !

Every tit ing continues extremely flat in the Consol Market.
(hi the whole. three securities were rather depressed during
the course of yesterday. The cause of this depression is
unknown, but it was partially owing to the r::ry little
business that was transacted. Mexican and Colombian
Bonds also fell during the day, but towards the close of
the market they recovered themselves. Spanish Stock has
experienced a rise of rather better than 1 per cent., and
this is ascribed to intelligence said to he brot:glit by ex-
press, that the Spanish Government had ren guised the
Loan, but refused to pay the dividends. Vie c tunot con-
ceive any rea:am why this should produce a rive in these
Securities, as we cannot ~re of what importatiet• it Call be
to the creditors of a pennyless bankrupt, to know that th,:ir
claims are acknowlcdged, when thatacknowledgmont is ac-
companied with an assurance, that they can never be paid.
According to the last accounts from Lima, Yr. Row-
' croft was there fulfilling the functions of Consul-general.
He called a meeting of the British commercial resii lents on
the 30th of June, to whom he exhibited his rutin oission,
and read extracts from the instructions given hint by Mr.
Secretary Canning. These, it appears, did not pert Mt hint
to carry on trade, nor to charge any .commission, but au-
thorised him to certify any instrument as a notary, and to
claim a remuneration for that service. He was particu-
larly charged not to encourage any illicit traffic, either
against the laws of England or those of the country in
which his official residence was fixed. No mention is made
of Mr. Roweroft's having presented his credentials to the
Spanish authorities in Lima.

THE BRITISH ' PRESS.