The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-10-23 00:00:00

TOE CORTES.

The chief subject of di•aaistaon in the sittings of
the sth, eth, 7th, and Bth, were the law on the
fibertv of the press.; the direct contributions ; a
ur,ji-et of law fur the iinprovcnirnt of prisons, sod
i.4ler treatment of prisoners; and the proposed loan
rt 200 million,, to cover the deficit in the revenue.
The articles of law on the libertv of the prea,, iu
sittitip, were from 37 to 71ri, which were all
approved, with some slight alterations.
The debates on the direct contributions were very
".ciiiiated, amity Deputies declaring that it was justly
• ailed odious and oilman; ous iti its present shape,
i:wee being no data even approximating to the
upon which to make a just tlistributien
• f it.

We (the Editors of the Miscellanea) who are
rent accustomed to exaggerate our &wrote:its, and
trine endeavour to lay stride all passion when we take
the pelt to express what we think reasonable and
just, have not beett willing to speak of the intruded
'lto no the liberty of the press, which we should
better call the slavery of the press. '.'e will now
Lk, so frankly, declaring that we know nothing
more cruel and more unequal than its penalties,
more rash or more fatal than its judges of the fact
!jaws (le perhu), niore illusory or less convincing
than the arguments adduced in its support. A■
}or its cruelty and inequality, the C'onstitucional
have made a demonstration, to which we he.
have nobody will repl)—(The writer proceeds
to argue that risen) to be thriven as jur►es Inay
and probably will be of the lowest and most iv°.
'Ant classes, sod, coosequeutly, wholly unfit to de-
cide on questions of this astute.)—We are far front
praising either the Joules of Ceusurship, or the
judges of the fret. sinew it is not in our cha-
racter to abuse the liberty of the press ; bin we
know that there is nobody in the world who
world slot rather be judged by enliOteived
and well educated men, that. sometimes idiots,
sometimes evil disposed person., since indivi-
duals of either class may be elected by the Mu-
nicipalities ; and we ven►ure a wager, that in the
decisions of ilie jotiges of the fact. 90 out of 190
will be unjo.t. We torus those who may become the
victims of them to transmit them to us ; alai we
engage to denounce thou to public opinion, in order
thin 111 case tine fatal law slow ur plot roar should
be adopted. it m:a•: not list longer than till March
1922. and that tl4r new Legislators, bent; nifornied
of tht evils it may have accrued. may begin the
Session by abeliblong it. and thus ressmiug the
liberty of the press.—(Atireellonea, October 9.)

New York Papers have arrived to the 14th► last.
They comsat' ►:o intelligence of interest. •
Extract of • letter received in Portsmouth, from
our of the southern States of America, dated die
15'It of August, 1132U: •' There is nautili commer-
cial distress in A MerIC.I. and IOW" cries for unitary;
the stutters.* who, a few- years since, thought that
wealth was ramped paper, begin to discover their
error.; banks *puma.; up with the rapidity of mash-
looms; the apparent value of property was enhanc-
ed, blind and bowie speculation indulged in, and
debts of unbounded prolusion were creased. Whet
its now the result The Banks every where fail-
ing, myriads of silly gudgeons engulfed ; those
that remain ►rally stable. have half the real estate
of the (wintry mortgaged to them; mean while
life lauded proprietors Isere to pay their large
debts nn 6preciated currency, while agricultural
produce does 1101 command half the price it did
three )ears ago. Every body iu this part of
Anterior appears to be in debt, and sin one con-
tent to live withal, his income ; still no our
.serves ; fertile land is very abundant, sod
►fte labourer, who gets out of the -gre:;t cities. al-
ways acquires enough to recompence him fur his
toils. Fur ages to come. America will be esupha.
tically the Poor Men's Laud ; there is )et in her
constitutions, and in the actual stale of society,
muds to gratify and console the lover of freedom
and the practical philanthropies."
The plantations ou the asewly-enclneed lands at
Tifton and Mortimer. its Ileskshare, were mallet-
otAly set on fire is: several places, a few nights ago,
and destroyed to a considerable extent.
Tuesday Net Mr. EDWARD BLAKE, chief officer
of the preventive bort in the service of the Customs,
stationed at North Yarmouth, went out (with lass
boatmen) very may in the morning, tau a cruise up
the north river, and having got about four wiles
sap, a squall of wind caused the sail to gibe, which
occesioued the boat to upset, by which accident
Mr. Ikaas was unfortunately drowned. The
boatmen were saved. The body of the deemed
has been taken up, the Coroner sat upon it, aid
warned a verdict of Accidentally Drowned.