The Sun.
London, England, 1820-04-25 00:00:00

[New Times.]

The contempt of Court evinced in the puhlica-
tiow.ot he state Trials now pending has, as we
expect ed,, called forth the marked reprobation of
the AttOrneT-Genrral, who has- notified that pro-
ecet-ling;s.witi!be. instituted ,against the offender.
in,!ced, the ',carped Gentlemao :justly described'
the pullication.as ".a most daring and flagrant
contempt of the Court." If no "notice had been
of it, the injunction of, the, mu_ C
_t would.
h.ive beeu regarded 118 a „were 'nonentity, and the
authority of the .Ittsiges would have been utterly
disregarded. It does not ,yet appear in what
ecise shape the matter will be brought forward ;
but the Attorney-General has very properly de-
clared that he owes it to the dignity of the:Com t,
well as to the situation which he holds, not--to
pass it biunnoticed.

Yesterday WitJinni Wi/kinsoit, a block man,
was committed from Bow,otrcet for trii►l,.charMed
with accosting a Captain in the Navy in St.
James's )'az►k, armed with a .large knife, and
with extorting money, by exciting bodily fear,
hy.a threat of itiniottitig to the Ceptaiu a cer-
tain offence.

MR. THE SUN.

LIBERTY THE PRESS.

EITITOR,—The Gazette de France, a Paris
Plier, exclusively devoted to the Ultra Royalists,
has winouneed, on the authority of letters from

England, that it is the intention of one Ministers
to apply to Partiantent for further re•ttictions
upon the Press, or in other words, for the estu-

Hist.ment of a Censorship. There is nothint:

surnri,ing in this announcement, looking at the
(I.Artur Iron) whence it proceeds ; for the Ultra
Nopliqs.would Wadly hail the introduction of

bnci) a measure in this CMlllity as a sanction to

the restrictir2 or ra:her desirtie;ire, regulations

xchicit Atey, in the inotniml. of i!iumphlot

Hve co:oriv, d n. intrudlice in 0131.11 (It'fl•d;iCi

of (LC Chartri.

(ft' 11 IZoyalists

long the %ictiliP+ .)t H tivSr,►ric faction, rribbeti of

and insolted their persnns, tip-
pressed by the Anti:tree and neglected b:cr the Snse-
re;4n;—thet.thr-i Rovaii,t4. „teat in their down-
-1.11 and nobit: in their sutTeringt, the

t.toi fit \l':11(3!1 hung aroan►i tht it tort ortes, the oniv

good that Plovidenee intends, when, Nit(' a cilos-

tcning hati, it strikes the priste how +II nature.
They have refoen);,ered rifvhirg but their ‘vrotigl.
Ori their startrititti, which, since the ilestoration,

has been but too often the standard of revMt,
they have only one rallying word, " recover;"
whilst the Revo!otionis's, who boll the lost
rights and priklleges ot the tii ras, cry l• avail)."
The Liberty of the Pitss, by each. abo-eel, iota
been, with the ultras, like the o'er-feeding ser-
rent , which, in its hungrrtage, is choaked by the
food which should sustain it. If theLitieral, haste
been licentious, so lave the Ultras, bat with h
difit,rent view ;--tthey Lousy that it; a country
v5,1,1-le Il'ete is hardly a medium bytwern open ty-
ranny and opt n revolution, the Press inns( till to
serwt, their tutu. They ‘vere right ; the Press has
fall, n, and the opponents breathe. For n time
they ctied shame ; but the ct \' " followed the
ey.ertrion, and not averteil it ;" and now they do
all they can to gain ,hat sanction here which
local circurnstances could not tot nigh. Our Eng-
lish Newspapers, speculating upon the grave an-
nouncement of the Paris Journal. are very indig.
snmt indeed that the French Ministers, who •are
supposed to he the inventors of the rumour (for
it) a censorship they must take the odium of
all that gives offence), should *endeavour to
reconrile the French nation tin ir slit-
very, by telling them that• we also are about to
be matte slaves. Now, Sir, all this indignation
;aright he vet y well spared, and it would, be so,
but for a very simple circumstance, which will
I-cc-04e tittle elocidarion. There is an old Spa-
nish story which. runs thus—" A Castilian Moor
had two %Lees ishom be ponished for stealing, by
cutting off t heir hands ; the slaves of a neigh.,
hoofing Chief instantly proceeded to the house of
the Moor, and demanded his life ; they told him
it was but n'iost sacrifice for his cruehy.—liut how
.have I offended you said the Moor ? Thou art
the frienn'of our master said one of the shire.,
and ma! advise him to do as thou bast done, for
we ion have stolen, and therefore, that thy ex-
ample may not reach him, we are lucre to strangle
thee." Thete can be little difficulty in' the appli-
cation of ibis story—l take it to mean this—that
when one rogue suffers, other rogues make corn-

mon cause with the snllcrer, and cry shame
the pro.ectror, This is preeis•Jy the case with our
radical and ovosition press gentlemen. Con-
sciousness of guilt sits heavily upon them, and
they fear the rod as much as the Castilian slaves
feared amputation. And they may, for if
any thiT,g stands in the woy of the trine;i scatted
check ,:poo their licen:ionsue,s, it is a worthy
1,.,a10n3y which allows their sin to live, rather
than that the hand of chasti!iemeot should by tire
slightest pressure wound the Constitution. The
French Ptess was said to he like a child, and re.
ytired leading strings ; but the English Press is a
maniac, and needs a straight waistcoat ; the
one bore as little proportion to the other, as a
moose does to an elephant. Let us begin with
the-Daily Press—the free Press, as it was called ;
and tree it certainly was, cotupared with what it
is now. The French Capital, yvben I let; it four
months ago, bad about 8 oprosi!ion nttwspapers,
t he chief of which were, the Independunt, tbb Con-
stitutionel, the Censcur, and the Retionte—the
uth(rs wert• mi!lt-and-water stuff, but these tour
were radical; that is to say. they favoured radi•
calism rather than loyalty; but they were fools
in their malignity to our raoicai miters, of whom
ti,ey were rather the pupils titan the tutors.
There were 7 or S periodical pawphlets against
Illittisters; for the French Radicals were never
hold en-ugh to say any thing against the Mo•
starch—they did nor hilt know their trash—if
t hey had possessed as mu( h Muck as on'r Radicals,
tut y would have ploiited by the kave they hat! to
Iviite to y do‘vn limo as tyrants, monsters,
earl natural agents of fraud and cruelty. The
Oread of nilibi3iinient could be no barrier, for dur
Radical makes it none—he sows the seed and the
poison grows—it supports hurt in the Hall of Jus-
tice, where he spreads it tearlessly—the Judge's of-
fice saves him not trout insult, and :he sacred Ma-
jesty of ileaven passes not uolectured ; the instrte-
ntenis of mischief go wi!it him to his cell ; he still
writes on, anti mocks the funk that scull him there.

a:i the Frei}, h political pamphlets there was not
one that advocated the cause of deism—mark this!
not one;—and yet France has.been called a Land
of I)::ists What ! was reverence for Christian

rule so great that none dare I)..,ard it ! Here is a
Land or Christians—hear it, ye trait inclining Ra-
dicals abroad ;—here, where the very Jew' should
51111031 hide his unbelief—here a host of open
rici,m. Where are the French CARLILES, their
,heir WooLatts, their j:vANsas, and
their COIILETTS Where are their Deists' Maga•
zinc s,—their " Apologies for Deism,"—theil!
" Chris ian Creeds retoted,"—their " Black
Thvai Ittpoblicaos, Registers, and Union
.:;eitools ? Where is their " Chronicle," to bear

e false record against the Ruler ; their " Stafes•
man," to vive .laws ; and their " Times," to
frame fond tales .of magisterial butchery."
Where their Examiner," their " News," their
" Champion," their " IVlrig," their " .Struday.
nonitor ;" in abort, where can the French Phi-
losopher cull flowers' of blasphenty and garlands
of sedition ?" All this have we, and yet we have
no Censorship., In France, the hand of Justice
could strike quickly under former laws—Oppres-
sion even wanted no engine to COmplele its
power—a paltry Magistrate, the creature of some
creature's crew ore, could harass arid perplex the
journalists—a Jut y nominated by a Prefect chosen
by the King decided on their guilt rr innocence-
-Ind yet they. have now a Censorship.—Well may
the- Biitish Radical Pt-ass Contributors exclaim,
" We like it ikot ;—if they were guilty what are
We ?" 1-fere blasphemy and sedition openly d'ely
in•tice and 114,01 Ht ChastiSewent, and yet we
hav !,0 Censor,hip ! Let 'tire It ench keep their
Cen,o,..hilr thearselves, for it savours strong of
d ; but it e gre,irest lover of Conn-
hherty here may tahly desire some more el-
le-wive cuitsiituliorial -I est rnint to prevent his licen-
trohsness from doing harm, lather than for
it when it has done the mischief. Mr.-
Wuirrnam is reported, during his Ministry, to
!lase; used die following worth to a great political,
Character THE BEST CI-41,CE. upon the licen-
tions part otehe E'resi 1, TO ENCoVRAGE ME RE-
PAET OF IT ; but all do not agree with.
me to give this eneouraKentent—well, then, they
wrist take their own cour•e, and the Press will get'
the better of +bent, for no British Minister will
etre'• venture to propose 'a Censorship."
I am, Sir, your %et y obedient Servant,_

G. M.