The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-12-19 00:00:00

NEW IMPROVEM ENTS.

It is stated that some additions are to he made to Callth
house. The roof is to be taken off', the walls to he raised a
story higher; and Ili. house, as it will thine sound, will foi
the remit of a palace, upon a magnificent SCRIP, to be built
at a fltillir period. When 11w additional buildings are about
to be hegini, Warwick-house, %Yam irk.stieet, and lac triode
of the house's from Ilse Haymarket to CurUotr house are to
be pulled down; and MI the other side, tlie Itril.house, Mr.
Phillips's Lou e, anh some others, so as to libiaiii sufficient
some to render Ihe• wings of the new palace uniform A
larger court-yard will he formed before earl, of the new wings,
as these will extend in a sloping form to the rear.

The straight line from Carltuo•hnuse will terminate with
a magoificent pile of architecture intended for a public
This will extend beyond the Crescent in Piccadilly;
thr site fiao•d upitii is Mary-le-holie.street ; branching off
with a sweep It, the kilos far as Sivallosnstrees, will be a
a superb double row of uniform buildings, to lw called
Ite4elit sheet. 'There will he a beautiful colons& on each
side of due street, the midrib of which are taken front the
finest buildisigs in Koine.
The arrangements respecting the improvements to the
east are concluded. The north side of Cockspur-street is to
come down, and not a Nouse is to be left in Suffolk-street, or
in any of the alleys adjoi iiii tg All the buildings in the King's
Mews, except the new stables (those erected by George II )
are 40 lie pulled down, and one of the flouts ref Carlton-house
will command a view of SI. NI art iu'o Chord'.

Government will gain enormously by some of these no-
p►uvnuruts--.l'ur isiqunce, Suffolk-sir. et pays them the mll-
- 1111111 of thirty fire plinsi,:A only, hot to the holder
of the leases they Meld 8,009/. The lenses expire it Mi-
chaelmas 1819.

FRA A CE.

-...m....
LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.

The Minerna (Nn. 44) gives the following ac.
count of the pions prOOOKell to the Council of State,
reryeetatag the Liberty of the Press. In Fraoce,
where the Kill has the sole right of originating
projects of lavv, these prop,sitions are submitted to
the Council of State,nud discussed to it, before they
are sent in the King's 'Ernie to the Chambers:—

Several projects of • law on the abuses of the press have
beets proposed (in the Council of State). 111 was at first mig-
rated, that a sort of Special Jury should be formed, com-
posed of all the Members of the Institute, and of all those of
the Universitiee. This, under pretext of having men of let-
ters tried by their peers, was puttsug all their trials under
the intliteisce of the Government, fur the greater put of
the men who belong to these learned bodies receive al.
lowalices or pensions from the Government; so that if
we now complain, with justice, because the Juries are ap-
pointed by the Prefects, we should protest sill more strong-
ly against their being appointed by the Si inistere, which
would 01(4'110.1y happen, ei lice the Institute nrkous among its
oitimhers a great number of academicians appointed by the
kitten order. Resides, we need only pay attention to 'wily
literary enmities and rivalries to perceive the ineonveniencies
of such a plan. The Academy would become anodise
Sorbonne, and would find in books propositions which so
• perceives in them, and which miller pretence of defend-
ing the State, would only satiety the hatred of a Coterie. If
it has hero said that men of letters should only be tried by
their Peers, this has been meant of works of 'caroling, and
not of offences of opinion. But it is objected that a Jury
which does out know all the finesse of language, mid all the
tricks of style, is nut capable of appreciating the &ismer of
certain woks; that it will not perceive what there is really
seditious in phrases which seem iunweent. Well ! if the
Jury take'. from the c!ass of proprietors du nut penetrate the
sense of it, and sees nothing mischievous, the mass of the
public will see soothing inure of it ; and then it is proved
that the work is nut dangerous.
Nye must hope, then, that this project, which would coin.
plate the discredit of the Academies, will he renounced, and
that there will be no other Juriee fur the Press, alms those
which are appointed for other offences. The Collikell slf
State hen held, during the last few days, several sittings, its
which this question bas been solemnly discussed. I an-
nounced to you, suite moonlit' ago, that Ilse Ministry had sent
to I, lon NI Cotta, Counsellor to Our Cour Royale, in order
to obtain positive iiiformation rearming the Le•gislatioi of
the Press. This Macistrate might have passed 20 years in
England. without discovering what they %hated him to tied
there. There are on that cuautty 110 lies reaper-10m the
Liberty of the Press. It exists in fact, and tint in law.
Hot M. Culla was able to study the organization of Juries,
and the whole of the criminal procedure. With whatever
prejudices be set out, he returned persuaded of the "ospe.
rionity of the English institutions over slur Own ; and no
the Report which he wrote of his journey, he eudeavoureil
impress all minds with a conviction, a hich the must en.
lightened lawyers had felt long twfore him His work Iris
been printed; but it seems that a Nltioster has prevented the
publication of it, because it might counteract his pe►suwal
designs respecting Julies. M. Cotta was not sent to Eng-
land fusee things as he has seen them The sane• reproach
cannot be urged against M. Owlet. He has se. n Ung(sle law
in the manlier in which he was told to see it If we sissy be-
lieve public sport, he eves expressed in the Council
of State au opinion, which hie appeared hold to Ilie most
intrepid defenders of absolute power. The substance of his
optmon is, that the Jury should nut be altogether indepen-
dent of authority ; and that the law, winch I the choice
of it to the Prefects, is not au had as the Deamernts please
to say. What! shall the life, the property, the reputa-
tion of the citizens he at the merry of an angry
Fnnc-
tionary ? M. Curler has the misfortune nut to lie a
Catholic 1 would ask him, wit thee, at a Certain time,
he could have seen, without shuddering, the members
of his own religion accused of political co ones, tried
by a Jury named by such or much a Prefi•ct ? And
yet, it is the Mall who aas one of the roust eloquent defen-
ders of the Election Law that maiutains smell • doctrine as
this! Would he wish to make us forget that he was so? I
ehould then be of the opie of M. Dezese, who, when
receiving M. Cosier as so dcademicinu, regretted 'bat po-
litics had taken hies off loom the ariellera. lie appear., to
me m reality to know murk more of phyolcal than 'asocial
Mall. And if his opinion- on the Penal LAW of France nod
England have not been missepieirented, it is plain that he is
letter versed in comparative ouritomy than its comparative
legislation Al. Cueier found a vigorous ails., is M.
Iloyer-Collard, who refuted him with a ;newel fool and
who defended sound &tot sots with wit and ingenuity.
Nevertheless, his In II Willi hiss uut heels tomple.te ; for the
Council, as it frequently happens in asse•mbhes, has adoopteil
• sort of mezzo teresiho, which partakes at the same time of
the nature of liberal and of despotic legislat ..... . hi-
m-plc of the election of the Jurymen by lot has been adopted,
but it has hero decides! that out of 80, dots President of the
Court of Assizes shall have the right of rejecting 41) No
long reasoning is to chew that this is a meal's of
influence over ins ies, which the Goeernuo•ot indirectly
preserves for itself, In vans will it br sniii that the Preto-
dent is independent, Ineause lie cannot be displaced
In the host place, he is nut irremovable as President of the
Court of AStioXes, solidi he holds under a tanspoi icy lean-
us ssiun. (n Ills acct nothing is more allegory than
Nor independence ff n ,hedge, n•ho rutty lie protaol,offroms u
tower situation to tt hidhcr mie, mull who may trill ranch the
CUIIIII6II of state•, to discuss Ihr iirwiters u( laws like that
stow in questitee. If we reflect, besides, that the Pre•suknt
caused by the Executive Power has Ilse rigid of ►ejectirg
the half uf the Jurynien uaroed by lush, and that sint of the
rem g half, the t'rru•arers, oe the King bits still the power
sir rliallrsigiiig UllWris; it Will be allowed sh•.t the helaoire, far
from toeing sgnal, inclines to the side of pinvei, nod Ihr law
which lis EisTialiol stints made in favour 01 iii, accused, In
always 'rich us in favour ',row 11, we now
only spixk 01 a pr•• 1. Ci ; and if it has pa.sert ills d. lihcns•
1 itms Csitisoi I of stk.;.• is a rough ruins, sir hope it
will be punned sit robot: thriowili the sits's: of the Chaisibt 1•
of Deputies.

PRICE OF I.E.4'FH Fit.
Runs', 50 to 56Th.. each 11,1 to 25.1 per lb.
Ditto, 56 to 6610 s earls Vs 1 to 2641
Dreesoug Hides.
FitteCoarle Hide, ... • 20.1 to 29.1
Crop Highs 35 to 40 His fort t log 160 to 204
Ditto 45 to 50 lit% 90,1 to 72,1
Call Skins 30 to 401hs
Ditto 50 to 7016 a 33.1 to 301
Ditto 70 tit ..............3:t,1 to 31411
Small Seals (Greetilsii)
'Amt• ditto
Tamed Norge hides
Spassi.li Horse bilks 2341 to 264