The Sun.
London, England, 1825-12-08 00:00:00

UNION-HALL.

Application was this day made to the Magistrate for a war-
rant against the father-in-law of an interesting little girl, about
six years of age. The charge was cruelty, and the appearance
of the child was shocking, being bruised all over in the most
shameful w.anner. CITAMBErts, to whom the application
was made, horror struck on the appearance of the child, Ml-
' mediately granted the warrant.
James Hump4rey, who ,lescribes himself as a travelling
.vender of lines, &c., was brought up by Pople and Grasamith,
charged with having robbed the premises of James Bryant,
situate at Coombe, in the parish of Croydon, of one .game-
cock and three hens, which were taken in his possession, with
other fowls, which were' quite warm, although dead. The
person said he slept,the previous night in Roscmary-lane,
and that he purchasedAe. fowls in question, together with
others, from a man with a cart, on Sunday morning, near the
Horns, Kennington, which was proved false by the blood
upon his clothes, and being ancle-deep in country mud. The
officers, with a degree of diligence which does them credit,
succeeded in tracing owners for the property. The man WM
taken, near St. George's Church, in company with a commi.n
thief, about eight o'clock on Sunday morning. He is fully
committed for trial at Kingston Assizes,

THE LONDON JOURNALS.

DAILY
lracts from the Morning Papers, Dec. 8, 1825.

[THE TIMES.]

The state of the Honey-market at present re-
quires a few additional remarks. it is thought,
Ire know, that the observations which we have
already made upon the perplexities of certain
bankers and others connected with the diffusion
of paper, have tended to increase the evil, and
are therefore injurious to the public. To use the
language of logicians, " we deny the conse-
quence." Truth is never injurious ; and the
truths which we have proclaimed, or evinced by
Teasoning, are above all things most beneficial at

the present crisis. Are not these bankers well
aware, that the state to which they had brought
things, by their over issues and their too ready
supplies from scanty capitals, was a state most
grievously oppressive and injurious to the nation,
as well as destructive of its character and morals?
This not the present condition of the paper-and-
credit-market of which the country complains,
but the past, from which it now looks for eman-
cipation ; anti such is the thoughtlessness of
mankind, that if the difficulties now existing
-were smothered up, and the accommodation-paper
men suffered to huddle 'up their affairs as well as
they could, without being obliged to put their
Teal funds to the test, their escape, and not their
danger, would be pleaded as a precedent to regu-
late their future conduct. They would say
hereafter, " Oh ! we can venture now, as we

44 did antecedently to the close of the year 1825.
" We were the ' pilots that weathered the storm'
" then, and why not again ?" Let those who
without adequate capital have been dealing ex•
tibitantly in accommodation paper bear it con-
stantly impressed on their minds, that the op-
pre,lsed and degraded state into which they had
brought the country antecedently to this crash,
—, as the thing to be complained of ; not the pre-
sent result, which we, fin' the last two years,
haze been constantly predicting. Neither will
ake men of real property be afraid of the gathered

.er gathering storm. They know they must
emerge with honour ; and surely we serve THEIR
cause, and, siist our countrymen of every rank,
by laying open the real state of affairs, and instill-
ing general caution. Some surprise is expressed
that. the public funds have not sunk lower on so
p:essing• an occasion. Why, this is at once a
proof that public Credit is not affected to the
!rime degree as that of individuals : and, to go

Q;►e step farther in reasoning, the cause of this
tenacity of. the funds we believe to be the deter.
urination of Government to lend no aid in diffi-
cr.:hies which have not been of its creating. Mere
'Speculators must fight their way through with
their ow•n -resources : we are only anxious to
gcard the incautious from being duped. But
z.ow let us ,suppose—and we know that aspira-
lions have been breathed in that cadence—the

government were to issue an order of Council

enabling the Bank to refuse cash-payments,
what would be the consequence? Why, that
the Bank must issue more paper—one and
two pound-notes particularly ; the Funds
might probably rise in nominal value, and
sink below fifty in real security ; three sove-
reigns, if they could be had, would buy a five-
poind note, whereas the guinea was only worth
235. in paper when the House of Commons deter-
r:rned that a one pound note and a shilling was
equal to it. During the last suspension of sash
payments, also, the Continent was shut, and we
were obliged to work for ourselves, and to use
our own manufactures : but now the exchanges
would be felt,—they would be against us in a
tremendous ratio. We could not afford to buy

abroad the raw material for any of our manu-
factures ; from abroad, therefore, it would he
sent us in a manufactured state ; and the
workshops of our artificers would be shut up,
with no navy or army, as in time of war,
to employ hands. The Government has
therefore determined wisely, to keep itself un-
mingled, so far as it can, with the present p&-
piexities of paper '
credit. They govern for the
state, and not for individuals. The reduction of
a higher rate of interest than that allowed by
law, has been talked of as likely to draw relief
to hollow coffers. But it is not the duty of a
well-ordered State to place its subjects between
the temptation of exorbitant gain, and the risk of
ruin. Security under an easy and equitable state
of interest is its object.

[MORNING HERALD.]
The trial of the Constitutionnel was one of
those experiments which a G overnment avaricious
of power, but not intrepid in ambition, makes
upon the liberty of the Press, as the outwork al
all other liberty. In every age and nation the
first labour of tyranny has been the suppression
of public opinion. A bold and vigorous despot,
like Caesar and Napoleon, strikes at once at the
root ofpopular freedom, and his authoritative ge-
,uius gives an air of grandeur to the criminal en-
terprize. 'But meatier tyranny ever adopts a po-
licy is contemptible in its means as it is guilty in
its object. It is timorous, malignant, and evasive.
It does not so me!, attempt to overawe a nation,
:as to dishearten, exhaust, or ruin the advocates
of public right by a train of petty persecutions.
Ambitious ruler's of old, who obtained an ascen-
dancy in free States, corrupted the assemblies of
the people, or contrived false accusations against.
the ablest and most discerning champions of their
rights. In modern times the Press has more TioVrer
and influence in collecting the sentiments
of a nation, and bringing opinion to.bear upon the
cduduct and policy of rulers, than the popular
assemblies had in the ancient republics. It.
natural, therefore, that Governments which aim
at arbitrary power, should desire in the 'first: in-
stance to get rid of the inconvenient vigilance oil
"a' free Press. It is as natural they 4hould do so,
as thata General advancing'under the darkness
of the night to take a camp or town by surprise,
should first make it a point to cut off the sentinels
--he kill do so, if he can, without noise, ifnot,;he:
"will do so at
.all events., With similar caution a vi- ,
cious Government first,endeavourS to corrupt the
Press, to take off its opposition,,sileutly,

it cannot seduce, it proceeds to persecute. It was
stated some time ago, that the French Ministry
or their agents had speculated on purchasing the
copyrights of some of the newspapers whose op-
position they dreaded. Whatever may have
been the result in some instances, the Constitu-
tionnel preserved its independence, and was
marked out as deserving to taste some of the
bitter consequences of its impolitic severity of
principle. This Journal has been particularly
lactive in pointint out and denouncing the pro-
ceedings of the emissaries of Rome, whose ob-
ject it is to reduce France to the state of ignor-
rance and mental servitude in which her popu-
lation was generally sunk before the Revolution.
The enmity of a class of men whose malice is
said to be implacable was consequently excited,
and the friends of arbitrary power made common
cause with the priesthood. The process of the
law was called into operation against the Con.
stitutionnel, on the pretext that it was attacking
religion and morality.--flow ? By exposing the
impostures—commenting on the mercenary fac-
tions—and turning into merited ridicule the
grotesque legends which artful or fanatical men
were substituting for the pure and simple mora-
lity of the Gospel of Christ. 'When the Tar-
tuffe, on its first appearance, put all the
clergy of France in a fermata, it was ob-
served that if Moliere had attacked God
himself, the impiel might have been over-
looked ; but, having exposed the hypocrisy
of the priests, his crime never could be forgiven.
In the same way, if the Journal which has been
just now prosecuted on the charge of defaming
religion, had critised with severity the precepts of
our Saviour instead of. the legends of the Monks,
if it had turned the Bible into ridicule, and left
untouched the commentaries of the Jesuits,"
we should not now have heard of its being
dragged before the tribunal of the laws to answer
for its 44 crimes against religion." There is,
however, a large portion of the French people
who know that religion is more severely injured
by the fraudulent piety of hypocrites, and the
absurd fictions of the dealers in " holy" reliques,
" pious" tracts, and such saintly merchandize,
than by all the shafts of argument or jest that
were ever shot from the quiver of infidelity, even
when the giant arm of Voltaire drew the bow.
The writers who clear away from religion the
absurdities with which ambitious, venal, or igno-
rant members of the priesthood overlay it, re-
move the principal materials on which sceptics
build their creed, and vindicate the purity of
truth from the defilement of debasing inventions.
What gave point and keenness to the wit and sar-
casm of" the philosophers" before the Revolution?
What made the works of Diderot and d'Alembert
more acceptable than the breviaries of the esta-
blished faith ? the legends, the superstitious
rites, the worldly vanities that composed a sy-
stem which assumed the name, but abjured the
essence of the revelation of Christ. If the Gal-
lican Church should be placed under the domi-
neering influence of monks and missionaries, and
be made again the sanctuary of zealots and the
promoter of a persecuting ignorance, infidelity
will increase—new materials will be afforded to
the sarcastic disciples of Voltaire. Who is then
the .enemy of. religion ? Not the writer who
h onestly exposes the frauds that disgrace it; and
the acquittal of the Constitutionnel proves that
there is a spirit among the people of France
which is as desirous to enlist reason in the ser-
vice of religion, as it is jealous of the encroach-
ing ambition of Rome:

[MORNING POST.]
We,received last night, by Express, French
Papers to the 6th inst. and the Etoile of Tuesday.
The Courier Francais has been acquitted in
nearly the same terms, and with the same recom-
mendation to be more cautious in future as the
Constitutionnel. The only result of this prosecu-
tion, undertaken to further the restoration of the
Jesuits in France, has therefere been to produce
a solemn declaration from the highest Court of
Magistracy in the country, that it was proper
" to combat the introduction and establish-
ment of an Association 'unauthorised by law,
and to expose the dangers and excesses of a
doctrine which menaces at once the independence
of the Monarchy, the sovereignty of the King,
and the public liberties guaranteed by the
Constitutional Charter." A more complete de-
feat it is impossible for any Administration to
sustain. Not only has it missed the object which
it had in view, but it has established, confirmed,
and consecrated the reverse. The Constitutionnel
does not abuse its triumph. instead of raising a
cry of wild and intemperate exultation, it ex-
presses itself with nobleness and generosity.—
" The Arret of the Royal Court," it says, " im-
poses,obligations upon us which are become sa-
cred, and which we shall obey with religious
scrupulosity. We shall be at once faithful to the
respect which we owe to its sovereign decision,
and to the profound gratitude with which it has
filled our hearts. France will see in this Arret
more than the acquittal of a Journal. She will find.
in it a second guarantee of •her imperishable li-
berties, sanctioned by royal oaths, and now so-
lemnly recognized and proclaimed in the sanc-
tuary where justicels dispensed to the country
hi the name of the King."—The foreign intelli-
gence in these papers is not without interest.
The King of Spain had issued a Decree for
regulating the finances of his kingdom, the
operation of which was to commence on the
first of next January. It is a cumbrous
,piece of machinery, but ill calculated to
Affect, the object in view. Accounts from
-.Madrid state, that the Palace of the Escu-
rial was on lire. The particulars of the con-
flagration were not distinctly known in the capi-
tal at the time of the departure of the Courier ;
bltt great fears were entertained of its total le-
st tion, together with the valuable collection
ofAitaings and other works of art contained
within its walls. The Palace and Monastery of
the Escurial was built by Pbl;ip I Lin the strange
form of a gridiron, the instrument of the martyr-
dom of St. Lawrence, upon whose anniversary
the Spaniards gained the victory of St. Quentin.
The Convent is 740leet, by 580, and the Palace
forms the'handle of the imaginary gridiron. The
paintings are excellent and numerous ; and the

vault containing the royal tombs is grand and
impressive.

[TUE PUBLIC LEDGER.]
We have received the Paris Papers of Monday,
with the Etoile of Tuesday. The Rentes con-
tinue to improve, with a decided tendency to a
further rise ; and it must be allowed, that every
other interest in that country presents an aspect
equally favourable. This arises from the influ-
ence which sound public opinion has for some
time exercised on the measures of the Govern-
' ment ; and if the nation has of late wonderfully
improved, in point of public feeling, the Govern-
ment has the good sense not to see itself in
direct collision with the just wishes of the
great majority of the French people. By
yielding, with a good grace, to the controul
of circumstances, instead of employing un-
constitutional and highly immoral means
of counteraction, the Government has esta-
blished a strong claim to confidence ; and it has
absolutely taken root in the affections of the
people, in proportion as the latter advance in the
knowledge and love of sound principles. In the
preceding reign, on account of its l'ilacheavelian
character, every thing in the State was unhinged,
and the King and his People viewed one another
with equal distrust. An alarming crisis was evi-
dently approaching, when Fate cut it short; and
the present reign was ushered in under appear-
ances so very different to those under which the
former had closed, that opposition immediately,
laid aside its virulent character, for one bet-
ter adapted to the purposes of improvement
without violence. From that time to this, there
has been no departure from the professions with
which the King commenced his reign, and there
has been no abatement also of the confidence
which his first declarations excited in the public
mind. The reason of this is, that the Monarch
really means well towards his People, and has
the good taste to prefer being the Ruler of a con-
tented and thriving People, rather than have re-
course to underhand and dishonest means of ex-
tending his authority at the expellee of every na-
tional interest. His reign, too, has been marked
by an uninterrupted course of public prosperity
—by profound tranquillity at home, and increased
consideration abroad. A dispassionate view of
the actual state of things in that country will
show at once that there is not the slightest
exaggeration in our description ; and let the
Government but continue to act as it has hitherto
done, and it will be able to act independently of
foreign controul, and even to give the law where
it has been in the habit of receiving it ; whilst it
will consolidate its authority at home, i❑ the
exact ratio of its efforts to promote the good of
the nation. The acquittal of The Constitutionnel
was scarcely made known, when another triumph
of the same kind was proclaimed in that of The
Courier Francais ; and this double acquittal
speaks so eloquently as to the spirit ❑ow pervad-
ing ail classes of the French nation, that to en-
large upon it would be only to weaken the effect.
It speaks, however, to the admirers, and particu-
larly to the supporters, of arbitrary power, in
a language that they will not understand ; and
whoever still fears the ultimate triumph of des-
potism over liberty would be frightened by his
own shadow.