The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-08 00:00:00

[THE T! 31 ES.]
_ _ _

The Etoile of -Monday, received yesterday,
contains matter of considerable importance.—
First, the projeft of the law for reducing the in-
terest of the public debt ; and next, the Ad-
dresses of the two Chambers in answer to the
opening speech.--The interest of the public
debt is to be reduced nominally to 3 per cent.
..but with such advantages to the holder in the
first acquisition of the new stock, that the interest
upon his capital Kill amount to 4 per cent.—that
is, the creditor may either accept of repayment,
or he may receive 3 per cent. hereafter, upon a
new stock placed to his account 75 for every 100.
The Government, of course, will derive from this

measure, not immediately, but (at the latest) from
the Ist of January, 1826, a diminution of 1-sth
of the interest payable on the whole public
debt. But when we find that the debt so to
be reduced, only amounts to 197,014,802 of
rentes, we say, happy France in this respect,
and perverse legislators in England, who struggle
every way against honest retrenchment. The
exposition of the Minister of the Interior con-
tains a general proposition, which, obvious as it
may seem when offered to the human understand-
ing, never appeared to occur at the period when
loans were making. That proposition is, that
the interest of a public debt may at any time be
reduced to the rate at which the improved credit of
the State shall enable it to borrow money afresh.
A Ministry may he. perplexed by the magnitude
and complexity of a financial operation ; hut if,
in a precarious state of affairs, we had contract-
ed a debt, paying ten per cent. at present, and
we could now raise money at one per cent., to
this latter rate of interest could we forthwith
reduce the debt.

The motion of Mr. G. Lamb, for allowing full
efence by Counsel to persons under trial: for
elony, has been lost in the House of Commons.
The question, however, has been decided. The
division was against the motion, but not only ar-
gument, but learned or legal authority, were de-
cidedly in its favotir. The Attorney-General's
authority cannot properly enter into the scale,
because, virtille officii, he is a-sort of sentinel in
the porch, and the natural enemy of all inno-
vation. After the speeches of the Honourable
Mover, of Sir James Mackintosh, of Doctor
Lushington, and of Mr. Denman—the learn-
--amaa.,----- ing, the logic, and the experience which
[NEW TimEs.]
they brought to bear upon the matter, there
Nothing surely can be more weak and frivo-
cannot remain a particle of doubt, at least,
lows than the remarks of the Radical Journals on
upon the mind of the " unlearned" public—not
the Quarterly Financial Statement. " We are a speck (to borrow au astronomical metaphor
, far from quarrelling with our improving condi- from a learned opponent of the mOtion)not a
tion," say they—Candid creatures ! . So our speck upon the disk of the public reason. To
Condition is really improving, is it ? And yet those who read the speech which immediately
we find in the next sentence that " these docu- followed that of the mover, we should suggest the
meats rather tend to show the extremely oppres- following process to try its validity. In Cases of
sive nature of the taxes!" It will be for the treason and misdemeanor Counsel are allowed
boobies to explain what they mean by extreme
to address the Jury in defence after evidence
oppression •and an improving condition. They heard. Now let all the arguments against this
have not the sense to write two sentences
motion be applied to cases of treason, -and (we
in immediate succession. without a gross and will select) libel, and let the issue be - staked
palpable contradiction.—They proceed—" Not-
upon the question. whether the arguments against
withstanding the remission of taxes year
Mr. Lamb do not apply still more forcibly to
after year, the renewed diminution of the
libel and treason—whether they do not strike
old Taxes still produces a falling off ire the
directly in the face of experience, from the
Revenue." Now what can be meant by this
passing of the 7th Of William to this hour, and
nonsense? . Do they mean that the Taxes which
whether they do not conclude the
_Learned Gen-
are remitted do not now contribute to the sup-
tleman who used them, in consistency to bring
port of the Revenue ? Agreed. But if they in a Bill taking- away the right of full defence by
mean that .there is, year after year, a renewed Counsel in cases of treason and misdemeanour,
diminution in the produce of the Taxes which for the purpoie of placing them on- the same hu-
are not remitted,
,they assert a downright false-
mane, secure, and happy footing with cases of
hood. Out of 26 articles on which Excise Duties felony. There were one or two observations of
are paid, there is an increase on 17 in the year
Mr. North founded on 'rather a curious misconcep-
just concluded as compared with the year im- tion. He appeared greatly alarmed at the encou-
mediately preceding, ; • and on 19 as coca-iraeement which the passing of this Bill would
pared with . the year ending en. the sth of I
I afford to the grievous sin of declamation. There,
January .IS2I. Nay, in_ the latter instance however, is not the least room for such an alarm.
there is an increased produce on some ar- The Advocate who in this country should, un-
tidies, although the rate of taxation has happily for himself, yield to that temptation,
been diminished. I t is hardly worth while
' would soon be rebuked to his level and to si-
to argue on these points. We have only to lence, by the opiniou of the bar, even without
open.O.Ur eyes and look around us, to see that the
the authority of the Court. Again, Mr. North
conntry iS' daily advancing in wealth and com- alluded to the defence made by Thur.:ells as
fort's.—The most .extraordinary circumstance is,
" evincing talent which a prisoner would be for-
that these croakers, who hare so long been cry- tunate, to meet in Counsel." There is no dis-
rt;g oat against the heavy burthen of taxation,
puting tastes, and there are at the present day
.new -change their note. and actually complain
varieties of tastes----and. indeed of schools—in
- that "-:thelecrenseln•tbe Taxes for the last year eloquence as well as in poetry. But this defence
i4'.a.,l)oVe a million." . There is no pleasing therm has been publiShed word for word, and we
f ,taxes area burthen, the decrease of taxes is have never heard upon it but one opinion,—that
the decrease of a-burthen: But these fellows are • it was an idle rhapsody, calculated to prove
'like Curs that'} rost hoWI,-and,if they have nothing
fatal to the prisoner—a piece of such hollow and
else•to howl. at, they will howl at the moon.
irrelevant rant, that the very case might. be (pot-
. • - .. tastonsusta POST.]
ed as one in which the humanity of the law
The statement of the Quarter's Revenue, would interfere between the culprit and his own
which we had the satisfaction of laying before 'unfitness to defend himself. Mr. North's eu-
our readers on Tuesday, exhibits the pregreisive logy of the criminal jurisprudence of England
erosperity of the country in a point of view is IN doubt just in the main ; but like the lover

mentioned by the Roman poet, whose mistress
captivated him even by a very disenchanting im-
perfection, he seems enamoured of the very ano-
malies of the law as it exists.—" Veluti Balbinum
polypus Agnce."

[BRITISH PRESS.]
Mr. Lamb's motion, on Tuesday night, to allow
the assistance of Counsel to persons tried for
felony, ought not to hare failed : its object was
even-handed justice ; and its success would have
remedied one of the most oppressive evils in the
criminal code of the country. Mr. Lamb spoke
convincingly and ably on the subject : the intro-
duction of the motion was equally honourable to
his head and to his heart ; he supported his argu-
ments, not by the idle and flimsy declamation
with which he was opposed, but by the best re-
ferences to facts and history—by inferences drawn
from the past experience of other days, when the
agitated and sacrificed accused, standing at the
bar of a Court, in peril of his life, felt the weight
of judi
jcieag
l authority,e prejudices of a Prero-
gative collected array of Government
dthe the
hCeou
caosuelldprseuinssimngonattOonbee up against the load,
but upon him, with nothing
but his own broken strength, and, perhaps, feeble
innocence, when his existence hung upon a despair-
ing effort. We trust the day never will come, when,
as Mr. Lamb said.a prisoner's safety may
depend
on the advocacy of such Judges as a Jeffries, a
Page, or an Ayscough : but what has been may
be : Judges are but men, subject to all the fail-
ings and the passions that influence authority in
other situations ; and the Bench, though now
pure, may at some future day be us arbitrary and
tyrannical as in the c'ays of Scroggs and Jeffries,
in the worst times of the Tudors and the Stuarts.
A well-meaning and an independent Jury would
be, in such a case, the best safeguard of the
subject : but we know also that Juries, even
in cases of life arid death, cannot divest them-
selves of the prejudices and passions of men ; that
the very accusation 'if a foul crime, unsupported
by proof, carries with it a stain, that even the
longest life of irreproachable character cannot
afterwards wholly !vast] out ; that with such a
Jury, selected from plain and well-meaning men,
taken from the middle ranks of every-day life,
unaccustomed to exaggeration, and liable to be
influenced by the artful- and apparently candid
statements of experienced Counsel, appear-
ing for the Crown and against the accused,
the shrinking and unprotected criminal at
the bar, stands the fearful issue under the
deepest and most hopeless disadvantages.—
The advocates employed against him often af-
fect moderation, as the most deadly weapon they
can use ; they d well on his situation and his
crime with pretended commiseration, in a way
that effects more with a Jury than the most stu-
died invective could hope to produce. Ars est
celare (trim. The practised pleader in this way
does more with a Jury than by the most vehe-
ment harangues, and the unhappy prisoner too
often sinks before it, without the power
of refutation, or of the assistance of an Ad.-
vocate to expose the deadly sophistry which
has sunk into the minds of his Jury, with-
out the possibility of any antidote being ap-
plied. Mr. Lamb in the course of his speech,
made a striking appeal to the case of Lord Lova t's
trial for high treason in the reign of George [I.
and who suffered on the block with uncommon
firmness. The unfortunate old chieftain, borne
down by Crown illfillefiCp, declared he could
make no defence for himself; his guilt, it is true,
amid all the- art by which he sought to disguise
it, was but too clear; but his utterly defenceless
situation was so apparent, that Sir William
Younge, who led the impeachment for the
Commons against him, inmediately after brought
in a Bill to allow persons accused of treason
to be defended by Counsel. Those so charged
have now the benefit of that statute, and are also
entitled to a list of the witnesses and the Jury
summoned on their trial. Why should a differ-
ence be made between felony and treason ? The
convict in either case is equally attainted in
property and blood.

The following extract of a private letter, dated
Rome, March 20, contains some further particu-
larsmelancholy death of Miss
BA Tii
TILe body of Miss Bathurst,
, nrdr yeAfts
yps Tel
t—e
rn i‘ the gs
niece,
bus not yet been found.—
The cause of this lamentable accif.lent, which
has deprived our gay circles of one of
its most accomplished and brilliant orna-
ments, was us follows :---The road on the
banks of the Tiber, beyond the Pente Mole, was
so narrow and bad, that the party, who were on
horseback, were obliged to return. Lord Aylmer
took hold of Miss l3athurst's bridle to assist her

in turning round : but at that moment the horse
backed and fell into the river with the unfortu-

nate young lady. Besides Lord Aylmer, a
young Englishman and a servant of the French
Ambassador, leaped into the water. Divers,
boats, and every kind of succour, were im-
mediately employed, but it was too late.—
En this place the Tiber is winding and its
wafers rapid. This young lady, who is -a
niece of Lord Bathurst, was seventeen years
of age, and was the charm of all her friends
by her beauty and cultivated mind. A fatality
seems to be attached to this family. Mr.
Bathurst, her father, who was" an Ambassador
to the Court of Prussia some years ago, sud-
denly disappeared whilst traversing a forest
on his way to Hamburgh, without his body
being ever found, or any certain information ob-
tained relative to his death. The health of the
Pope improves, although but slowly. Yesterday
his Holiness was carried in a chair to a room in
the Quirinal, where there is a sermon'preached
on Fridays dUring Lent. A prospectus has
just been published in the name of the
Duchess of DEVONSHIRE, and the Hanoverian
Minister, of a medal in bronze or gold, at
the choice of subscribers, in honour of Cardinal
Gonsalvo. The medal will bear -the effigy of
his late Eminence, and o❑ the reverse the me-
morable events by which his career was marked.
The. execution is entrusted to Messrs. Girometti
and Cerbara. The company Oneesi of Milan
have obtained a patent for the establishment of
diligences, to run from Rome in all directions.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

YORK CRAVEN MEETING, 1824.

MONDAY, APRIL 5.
Match for 50 soy. h. ft. Two miles.
Mr. Bayard's br m. Lilla, 6 yrs old, 9st. 41b. - - 1
Mr. J. Wormald's b. m. Scranton Lass, 5 yrs old, Bst. 111 b. 2
The Liberty Stakes of 3gs each, for horses, &c. not thorough-
bred, that never won before the day of naming. The winner
to be sold for 70gs, if demanded within a quarter of an hour
after the race, the second being first entitled. Free for any
Rider, regular Jockeys only excepted ; (ages as in May);
three yrs old, Bst. 51b. ; four, lOst.; five, 11 st. ; six, I 1 st. 101 b. ;
and aged, 12st. Heats, one mile and a half. (10 Subscribers.)
Mr. Boyce's b. g. Tom Jones, 5 yrs old - . 4 1 1
Mr. Garbutt's b. m. Top the Heather, 5 yrs old - 1 4 3
Mr. Pigou's b. m. Polly, 6 yrs old - 5 3 2
Mr. E. K. Bayard's br. h. Wallflower, aged - 25 4
Mr. Wyrill's ch. h. Go-do-it, 5 yrs old - - 3 3dr
The Craven Stakes ( Handicap) of 5 soy, each, free for any
horse, &c.—Gentlemen riders. One mile and a quarter. (11
Subscribers).
Mr. I'. S. Duncombe's ch. c. St. Leger, 3 yrs old, lOst.
Capt. Ramsden - - 1
Mr. W. Healey's ch. h. Swift, aged 12st.-111r. Ridsdale 2
Mr. Wilson's gr. m. Fair Fanny, 6 yrs old, 1 lst.—Mr. Wood 3
The following also started, but were not placed:—
Mr. J. Wormald's b. m. Stranton Lass—Capt. Rickaby
Mr. Ridsdale's b. h. Walnut—Mr. Newton

Mr. R. Johnson's br. g. York
Mr. Warneford's b. f. by Macbeth_ Mr. Webster
Mr. J. Turner's ch. c. by Ilenderskelf—Mr. Brown
The Gold Cup, value 100 sovereigns, by subscription of seven
sovereigns each, for horses, &c. not thorough-bred (ages as
in May); three years old, flst. 71b.; four, 10st. 41b.; five,
llst. 41b.; six, Ilst. 121 b.; and aged, 12st. A winner once
to carry Mb. ; twice, 101 b. ; thrice-141bs. extra. Gentlemen
riders. 2 miles.

Sir T. Sykes's ch. by Egremont, 5 yrs old, Sir T. Sykes 1
Mr. Pigou's br. m. Kate, 5 yrs old - - 2
Mr. Rowlay's br. h. Newburgh, 5 yrs old, Mr. Ridsdale 3
Mr. Hopkinson's b. m. Eliza, 5 yrs old - 4
Sir J. Johnstone's b. h. Shepherd, aged, Captain Ramsden 5
Mr. Batman's b. g. Fearnought, 6 yrs old, Mr. Wharton 6
Mr. Webster's b. m. by Macbeth, 5 yrs old, Mr. Webster 7
The Hunters' Stakes of 5 sovereigns each, for Horses, &c. not
thorough bred. Gentlemen riders, 12st each. The winner
to be sold for 150 sovereigns, if demanded, within a quarter
of an hour after the race, the second being first entitled. Two
mile heats.—(10 subscribers.)
Mr. A. M. Bayard's br. m. Lilla, by Ardrossan, 6 yrs
old, Captain Ramsden - 2 1 1
Mr. Ridsdals's gr. g. Jerry, 6 yrs old, Mr. Brooks 1 2 3
Sir J. Johnstone's b. h. Shepherd, by Sir Paul, 6 yrs 4 3 2
Mr. Rowlay's br. Newburgh, 4 yrs old, Mr. Ridsdale 3 dr.

SPORTING EXTRAORDINARY.
BRIGHTON, APRIL 2.—On Friday, as announced, the Sub-
scribers to the Brighton Hunt closed their field diversions for
the season. The promise of a Buck for the occasion, to be
turned out at the Devil's Dyke, occasioned a numerous assem-
blage of " horse and foot" in that vicinity. As early as ten
o'clock in the morning, horses, donkies, and mules, of all condi-
tions and sizes, and every species of vehicle, from the dust and
market cart to the well appointed sociable and barouche, were,
eventually, huddled together, though occupying several miles
of turfy ground. Pedestrian sportsmen were beyond all
count ; and the varied tints of a partially fog-obscured No-
vember rainbow, are sterile in diversity to the multiplied hues
in costume which the field presented. The sportsman's scarlet
and the ragman's tatters, with all the novelty that low life and
trade in holiday could furnish, were there ; the sun-beams
playing on all with equal fervency, and equally warming, to a
temper of gladness, the well-mounted Peer and dismounted.
post-boy. The heterogenous turns-out which have some times
given a joyous character to the neighbourhood of Epping, may
furnish an idea, perhaps, of the general scene presented—but
not of the effect which disappointment produced, when, instead
of a Buck, a pigmy half-starved Doe was ushered into notice,
in which the instinct of seeking safety by flight had lost its
action, and which refused to accept of lite on the proffered
terms. A bag-fox, and a brace of purposely bagged hares,
were the derrner resources, but these, as good luck would have
it, after every thing in the shape of luck appeared as lost, gave
rise to such a fund of entertainment, that neither the Buck nor
the Doe were thought of with regret afterwards. The fox,
after a capital burst of eight miles, by plunging into the water
near Shoreham Bridge, was re-taken alive. The hares also
ran well, one fell a victim to the dogs, and the other escaped.
'Many accidents occurred to " man and horse," but they were
ill of a ludicrous stamp, and but served to increase the uncon-
troulable merriments of the ,day. About forty sportsmen and
their friends, after tile " toils of the chase," met and dined
together, at the Hanover Arms Inn, and where the true
social spirit of British conviviality held dominion to a late
hour. In the the course of the entertainment, a proposition
was made, involving the future prosperity of the Hunt, that
of opening a Subscription for voluntary contributions in
the town, from the inhabitant Householders, &c. that
proportionate part of the annual expences of the pack might
be defrayed thereby. The proposition was generally approved
—and, as the interests of this place are confessedly improved,
by the inducements which the said pack holds forth for the
amateurs of field sports to take lengthened sojourns with us, it
is confidently expected that the additional support sought, will
turn out more than sufficient for every needed purpose.