The Sun.
London, England, 1825-11-25 00:00:00

FRENCH PAPERS.

(From the Couriff.Francais of Tuesday, Nov. 22.)
Puts, Nov. !2.1.—A Lady distinguished hy
her rank, the graces of her understanding, her
enlightened piety, and the noble use she makes
of her fortune, lust year published the charming
novel of Ourika, which every body was eager to
read. Certainly, neither the author nor the
readers suspected that the work contained he-
resies, ill-sounding propositions and insults to the
Clergy ; but there are practised eyes which
discover irreligious tendency, where persons at-
tached to morality and religion cannot suspect it.
A Frenchman wished to print in Spain a transla-
tion of Ourika. The Vicar General of Barce-
lona appeared. We shall refrain from all re-
flections on this affair, and only lay before our
readers the letter to which it has given rise :

" TO THE VICE-GENERAL AVELLA.

" Most illustrious Sir—lionaventura Carlos Ariban repre-
sents to you, with all due respect, that having received from one
of his friends residing in France, a translation of the novel call-
ed Ourika, with the commission to publish it in this City, he
has presented the manuscript to your Lordship to obtain the
necessary approbation. Your Lordship has referred it to your
Fiscal, whose opinion you have adopted, not thinking fit to give
the permission asked, because the work contained heretical ex-
pressions, words offensive to the Clergy and ill-sounding in
pious ears. As your Lordship has verbally declared, having be-
sides confidentially read to the undersigned the same censure,
approved. In consequence, to satisfy his said friend, respecting
the commission which be intrusted to the undersigned, and for
his inspection, in case he should resolve on seeing the errors
of the work, to make the necessary corrections, that he may
be able to publish it in this kingdom ; at the same time to make
his own conscience easy, by undeceiving him with respect to
the false maxims which he may, perhaps, hare innocently im-
bibed in reading the work—humbly beseeching your Lordship
to be pleased to order that an authentic copy of the above-
mentioned censure be communicated to him—a favour which
he expects from the goodness of.your Lordship.

(Signed) " B. C. MIHALY.
" Barcelona, August 12, 1324."
In the margin is the following note :—" There is no reason.
(Signed) " A VELLA.
" Barcelona; August 14, 1824."

COUR ROYALE OF PARIS.
SOLEMN SITTING OF NOVEMBER 2L

By the heat which prevailed on the former
occasion, the varnish of two pictures has been
destroyed. At the Sitting to-day, for the trial of
the Courier Francais, the crowd was very great.
'F his is the second time thi. Journal has been
tried for tendency ; and the Procureur-General
concluded that it should he suspended for three
months, on account of this second offence. M.
Seguier presided, and was accompanied by MM.
Amy and Cassini. M. de Broe, the Advocate-
General, began his pleading against the respon-
sible Editor of the Courier Francais.

SIERRA LEONE.

( Further Extracts from Sierra Leone Papers. )

FREETOWN, JULY 23.—We regret to state, that Mr.
Campbell, the gentleman his Excellency the Governor sent
with a message to the Kussoo and Bullom nations, was at-
tacked with fever on his way back to this colony, and is now
confined to his bed at York. Our informant, however, states,
that when he left, Mr. Campbell was recovering, and hoped to
reach Freetown in a few days.
We are happy to acquaint our readers that this gentleman
has so far succeeded in the, object of his mission, as to induce
the hostile parties to agree to the terms proposed—viz. to sub-
mit their quarrels to the arbitration of his Excellency the Go-
vernor in Chief. Six of the Kussoo headmen have already
arrived, and the Bnlloms are expected hourly, for the purpose
of completing this much desired object.
The East India Compa=ny's chartered ship Roxburgh Castle,
George Denney Commander, bound to China, came into this
harbour on Saturday last, bringing with her the French brigan-
tine L'Eleonore, late Morailleau master, which she fell in with
on the 7th instant, about six hundred miles to the westward of
this port, and in lat. 10. 30. N., in apparent distress, having
lost the master and third officer, and the mate, with a part of
the crew being at that time sick. It appears, upon inquiry,
that this vessel had taken a cargo of 135 slaves at Shebar,
about three weeks betbre, where the Captain and Lieutenant
died : and that soon after quitting the river, the officer then
`in command of the brigantine was taken very ill, and it was
r said there was no porson on hoard capable of ascertaining the
position of the ship. In consequence of this, Captain Denny
states, that the crew entreated him to take charge of the vessel,
which he immediately did ; and considering Sierra Leone as
the nearest port, he put an officer and seven men on board the
brigantine, and bore up direct for this place. Immediately on
her arrival in the harbour, she was seized by his Excellency
the Governor-in-Chief, for a breach or our Slave Trade Aboli-
tion Laws.

This is the second French vessel laden with slaves that has
been brought into this colony within the last six months, under
fortuitous circumstances in a great degree similar. They both
took their cargoes in at the same place; both put to sea, and
shortly afterwards, being picked up in distress, came volunta-
rily into this port : both vessels are about 60 tons burden, and
both crammed 134 poor wretches into a space scarcely capable
of containing 30 at full length.
We should hope that the knowledge of these facts in Europe
would at last be the means of inducing the French tiovernment
to take some decided steps towards the abolition of this hateful
commerce among her subjects, and that her solemn declarations
and treaties, made in the face of the civilized world, will no
longer remain a dead letter, to be pointed at by the finger of
scorn, whenever such a case as the present is made known.
We have heard it whispered that some transactions have
taken place among the crew and slaves of L'E/eonore, so dis-
graceful to humanity that we shudder even now at the horror of
the details. A judicial inquiry has been set on foot, and we
fear it will become our painful duty to record some facts, more
dreadful than even the annals of slave-trade villainies have
usually afforded us. We have also been informed, that there
are some of the inhabitants of this peninsula among the slaves,
said to have been sold by the Caulkers; and that there are six
slave-vessels lying now at the Shebar, taking in cargoes of
human victims, five of which have French colours, and the
other Dutch.

The SILK. TitADE was on Wednesday thrown
into a state of the greatest confusion by the sud-
den and unexpected act of the Government, the
lowering of the import duty on thrown silk from
7s. 6d. to ss. per lb. The throwsters are much
dissatisfied, and allege they cannot compete with
foreign thrown, when paying this lowered duty
of ss. The alteration, on the other hand, is of
course, satisfactory to the manufacturers of silk
goods. Previous to 1824 the duty on foreign thrown
was 14S. Bd. ; on raw, ss. 6d., leaving a protec-
tion to the home throwster of Os. 2d. per lb.
The duties, in 1824, were reduced to 7s. 6d. on
foreign thrown, and 3d. per lb. on raw, giving a
protection of 7s. 3d. per lb. to the home throw-
ster. This seems to have sufficed, for, on the
whole, this body flourished more than any other
part of the trade. The present difference of
duties between ss. on foreign thrown, and 3d. on
law, leaves 4s. 9d. protection, and this is stated
by the throwsters to be altogether insufficient.