The Sun.
London, England, 1827-02-01 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The Importance of Count Villa Flor's success over th
rebels is attested from day to day, by some fresh occur
rence. It was already understood, from the Portugues
despatches which we published yesterday, that of the in
surgent fOrces many had quitted the rebel ranks and re
turned to their duty, while the bulk of their army had flee
across the frontier into Spain, the only place of refuge stil
open to those who could not reach the Tras-os-Montes, o.
having no natural ties to that province, had no means o
subsistence there. But the full effects of this victory o.
Count Villa Flor were not calculated until the Btoile o:
Tuesday last arrived, bringing a loud volley of protesta-
tions from Ferdinand, in the form of a political article from
Portugal, contained in the Madrid Gazette. The ap-
parent purpose of this declaration of its sentiments, so long
delayed by the Spanish Court, is merely to enumerate a
string of excuses for the assemblage of a large military
force near Portugal—all the reasons and motives
being derived from the fear of a contagious in-
fluence exercised by the free Constitution of Portugal
over the dispositions of the- Spaniards. There is in this
paper no such prominent spirit of insolence or invective as
many persons conceived to be visible throughout the cir-
cular of M. de Zambrano. The author of the present
composition seems more inclined to complain or argue
than to threaten or insult; and as it is fair to search for
some adequate and satisfactory cause of a sudden change
in the tone of an absolutes ts'overnment, we may remark,
that when M. de 7;ambrano published his orders to the
Captains-Genere' RO news had arrived of a disastrous na-
ture for the
1:-'
ult., the ortnguese insurgents ; whereas, on the 18th
date of the article in the official Gazette, there had
bew. ample opportunity for intelligence to reach Madrid,
announcing the defeat of the Silveiras, and the flight
or defection of their followers. The first blow aimed at
Portuguese freedom having actually failed, the knowledge
of such a catastrophe will account for the subdued
expressions of the Court of Madridfor its professions of
neutrality towards the Portuguese dissensions, its more
respectful assurances of a wish for peace with Portugal,
and its more earnest and emphatic limitation of the objects
of the present military armament to the unquestionable
tight and duty of self-preservation. If we should be asked
Whether these disavowals and promises are better evi-
dence of integrity on the part of Spain, than any of those
'which have preceded them—certainly Rot, we at once
make answer—they prove nothing as to the truth or
honour of Ferdinand, but something as to a more abso-
lute consciousness of his weakness. He would overthrow

the Portuguese Constitution to-morrow, if the attempt
to do- so was likely to have the smallest chance of suc-
cess. His professions are mere vapour, as they ever have
been; his malignity towards Great Britain and Portugal
is, we doubt not, rendered more deadly by disappoint-
ment. From his words, therefore, being more pacific, we
conclude nothing but that his hostile undertaking has been
checked,, and that if suspended, it will be resumed, pro-
's, icted he be placed perfectly at else with respect to his
',own discontented subjects by the prolonged continuance
of the French troops in Spain. In the meantime a few
days will bring us information to what extent the new
manifesto of Ferdinand and the make-believe Court Mar-
tial on some of his Officers, are belied or followed up by
his treatment of the fugitive insurgents.—Times.

The following paragraph appeared in the Bath Journal
of Monday last :

There are at present confined in the House of Correction,
near Devises, 94 persons for offences against the Game Laws ; 56
for felony ; 15 for assaults ; vagrants and misdemeanors, 46 ; and
18 for bastardy ; besides which, there are three females for felony,
and nine for misdemeanors, making a total of 241. This prison
Was erected a few years since to contain 100 !"

This is very well for the pattern county of Mr. Bennett.
Ninety-four persons in one prison for offences against the
Game Laws in one county. Mr. Estcourt, the Chair-
man at the late Wiltshire Quarter Sessions, in his charge
to the Grand Jury, adverting to the rapid increase of crime,
tame to the conclusion that some error must exist some-
.v.tiere, and that " to search after this bane, and if found,
to apply the antidote, is a patriotic occupation worthy of
the best and most enlightened in the State." But the
Magistrates are, it seems, too much occupied with the
preservation of their same, to have any thought to be-
stow on the preservation of the people. "We are sorry
to observe," says the Editor of the Bath Journal," that
too frequently, in their anxious solicitude for the preser-
vation of game, and other interests which concern them-
selves, they forget their duty as guardians of the morals
of society : and instead of tempering their minds to a
state of dispassionate impartiality, and considering abstract-
edly the nature, extent, and causes of the crimes brought
under their consideration; give way to vindictive feelings,
and stubbornly shut their minds against the reception of
any thing which reason can adduce to improve the
moral welfare of society. Thus it is with the Game
Laws, the most fruitful source of moral depravity that
ever any country was cursed with ; to a demonstration
has this evil been shown ; yet, who ever heard of a Ma-
gistrate endeavouring to remove it ?" The following
paragraph' from the same Paper, affords a sample of that
Impartiality of the Great Unpaid, which is so much cal-
culated to insure respect for the laws :

" &tufty !--.l.At a Petty Session, held at Mells, John Hobbs
and William Maryfield were convicted in the penalty of 5/. each,
for pursuing hark in the parish of Babington. John Martin was
fined 1/. ]ss. tid. for wilfully and maliciously destroying a pig
and a fowl, the property of Robert Burlington, of Cloford. Jo-
nathan Gunning was fined 18s. for stealing underwood at Clo-
ford, the property of T. S. Horner, Esq.
Pursuing hares is a very different crime from wilfully
and maliciously destroying a pig and a fowl. As the late
Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Andrews, said on behalf of a
brewer, who had been fined rather heavily for having
poisonous ingredients in a suspicious vicinity to his ale,
that it was merely an affair between him and ale drinkers,
so the destroying the pig was merely an . affair between
pig owners and pig killers—nothing more It called for
no vindictive feeling. But pursuing hares is high treason
in the Code of the Great Unpaid. Ninety-four persons
in one prison for poaching, being one-third of the whole
of the' criminals, is, to be sure, a tolerable sacrifice in
the way of bait to Country 'Squires to seduce them into
a lore for the country. Without Game Laws we should
have . no resident Gentry, and without a resident
Gentry..,we should have no Unpied. We willingly,
therefore,.effer up successive cargos of wretches iR each
County, corresponding with this batch of ninety-four for
Wilts, body and soul to the Devil, and abandon their
wives and offspring to ruin, to swell the catalogue of felons,
for the sake of a gratuitous administration of justice. 0
what a triumph for England, that she can obtain the ser-
vices of such a body at so cheap a rate as the covering the
face of the land with criminals ! Let us see now how
cheaply we have purchased the services of the Wiltshire
'Squires. If there are 94 in one prison at once, there
cannot be less than 350 or 400 in it in the course of the
year. In twenty years that would only amount to between
seven andeight thousand men destroyed in one county,with
their Wives anti cl4ldren depending on them. Poll ! that is no-
thing! lathe lastLsids Mercury we observed an account of
a most respectable Meeting at York, for the purpose of
devising means for the •
nindoo
twido.ws.
British
a stop to the burning of
humanity
is sufficiently com-
prehensive to embrace
, the whole earth. It is this com-
prehensive spirit which has shed such lustre on the British
name, When our humanity fixes its eagle eye on the re-
motest corners of India, can we wonder if
the prisons,
crowded with poachers, close beside it, should escape its
observation ?-
4, Who that, from Alpine heights, his labouring eye
Shoots round the wide horizon, to survey -
Nilus or Ganges rolling his bright wave
Through mountains, plains, through empires black with shade,
And continents of sand; will turn his gaze
To-mark the windings of a scanty rill
That murmurs at his feet ?"
Besides, humanity, for objects in llindostan
, or Loo
Ch:oci,liinkonly exalted, but safe ; for the Brahmins can-
nq oust a 'farmer from his holding, or deprive a shop-
keepir or as customer;but game preserving 'Squires would

be apt to stick in the skirts of humanity if she ventured
on their domains. Therefore, prudence obviously dictates,
that when we abound with humanity, we should seek for
objects for it as far off as possible, and thus we shall keep
on good terms with another important virtue—namely,
prudence. Of the souls consigned to irretrievable destruc-
tion in this way, a large portion are, no doubt, indebted
for their fate to the agency of Clerical Magistrates ! We
fear, in too many cases, were an account kept, the per
contra of loss through their agency under the Game
Laws would more than equal the gain through their mini-
stration. But the account will one day be balanced, and
justice, we trust, done to them and the other Unpaid;
though we fear this is a sort of reckoning that the great
people make very light of. Morning Chronicle.
It is not only unfortunate for France and England, but
disgraceful to the Ministries of the two countries, that
owing to the miserable disputes between Spain and Por-
tugal, the subjects of those two powerful and industrious
nations should be arrayed against one another—armies be
maintained'at a great expence, and the people kept in a
state of the utmost anxiety and suspense. Were they
spending their treasures and suffering deprivations for the
sake of a people struggling for their liberty, and thirsting
after those improvements in arts, sciences, and govern-
ment, which have raised France and England above all
the States of Europe, there would be some satisfaction :
but when we reflect that all this is for the sake of the
most ignorant, bigoted, idle, and degenerate people in the
world, every disinterested man in both nations must feel
ashamed of the measures at present pursued. In centu-
ries past the people of the Peninsula have been at the
bottom of the scale among European nations. The
Italians, if they have not fought for liberty, have distin-
guished themselves in another manner—in literature,
music, and the fine arts; and by their superior genius and
tine taste have led captive their barbarous conquerors.--
Germany too has been gradually advancing, not only in
new discoveries and works of literature and taste, but in
just and rational views.of liberty. The rapid strides made
by Russia, England, and France require no comment. But
what has the Peninsula done while all these nations have
been busily employed in cultivating commerce, in improv-
ing agriculture, and in making discoveries beneficial to
the human race ? They have been buried in ignorance
and sloth. Ever since the fifteenth century till the pre-
sent day, the people have been progressively degenerat-
ing. Commerce and agriculture are neglected; liberty is
detested by the lower classes as much as heresy. No im-
provements or changes beneficial to themselves or others
have been effected. They have distinguished themselves
neither in literature nor arms. Poverty, priestcraft, and
indolence reign paramount from the Straits of Gibraltar
to the Pyrenees. Yet these are the people for whom
the whole world is to be thrown into commotion ! On
taking a dispassionate view of the present dispute be-
tween Spain and Portugal, it cannot be denied that
France was the origimal cause. But for the invasion in
1823, the people of the Peninsula would have been left to
settle their own quarrels, and would by this time, pro-•
bably, have found out a Constitution suited to the gene-
ral wishes of the inhflbitants.—While the French remain
in Spain, and the English in Portugal, this never will
happen. The one party will be excited against the other;
there will be a constant scene of discord and internal
broils, without any of those advantages which result from
a civil war raised in defence of liberty and reform. Even
supposing that the presence of the respective troops
should keep comparative peace, this can only be tempo-
rary; they cannot always remain•in the Peninsula, and
the time will come when the parties must be left to -fight
their battles alone. If there be a strong party bent on
reform, a civil war must come soon or late; for we hold
it as certain, that civil and religious liberty cannot be ob-
tained without a struggle, as that man is destined to eat
his bread in the sweat f his face. If the liberal party
bear but a small proportion to the rest of the nation,
the contest would soon be decided; the priests and
monks would regain their ancient power and authority,
and Spain and Portugal would go on slumbering in poverty
and sloth, as they have done for centuries, till want and
misery should rouse them into life. The armed interfe-
rence of England and France, can in no ways be beneficial.
Leave them, therefore, to themselves. Let France with-
draw her troops from Spain, and England her's from Por-
tugal, and there will soon be an end of the contest. We
can see no other means for preserving the peace of the
world. If the French Government refuse to accede to
such a proposition, we can only- conclude that they do so
for the sake of aggrandisement, and for strengthening
their hands in case of a war with this country. If this be
the case, the sooner it is known the better. The Aposto-
lical party, no doubt, anxiously wish for war, and probably
watch a favourable opportunity to make the attack. The
great body of the people, we trust, are of a different opi-
nion. They have already a foretaste of the consequence :
foreign commerce is at a stand, and the Americans, who
always profit by our disputes, have already begun the car-
rying trade.—Morning Herald.
We must admonish the Morning Chronicle to check
that exuberance of fancy, which leads it to confound what
it imagines with what it knows. It announced to us, yes-
terday, that the trifling reforms, which have been proposed
in the Court of Chancery, will cost, as it has been calcu-
lated, two millions, for compensation to persons whose in-
comes will be taken away or diminished. If the Morning
Chronicle has made the calculation, we can conceive the
result possible; for our contemporary is in the habit of
taking so much for granted, and of reasoning so largely
from the premises which it is pleased to assume, that there
is no conclusion to which it may not come. But we deny
that any calculation, leading to that or a similar result,
has been made by any person who has, or is supposed
to have, the slightest knowledge of the subject.—
We will not confine our gossipping contemporary to
those improvements or alterations, (for, whether or
not-they are improvements, time alone can determine),
which have been recommended by the Commissioners.—
We will allow the Morning Chronicle to add to these all
the changes which have been suggested by itself, its cor-
respondents, or any of that prating race, who pronounce
every human institution intolerable, which is not quite
perfect, or which fails to correct every human imperfec-
tion. Suppose all these changes to be made, and those
who sustain any pecuniary loss by the innovation to be
indemnified, we assert that the amount of compensation
would be a mere trifle when compared with the random
guess of ignorance, which the Morning Chronicle gravely
states as the result of formal calculation, and upon which
it proceeds to build a fabric of speculation, not unworthy
of the basis. We should like to see our contemporary at-
tempt to verify its statement, by a specification of facts,
and a detail of figures.—New Times.

A dispute lately took place between some of the
drivers of the Brighton stage-coaches, arising from rather a curious
circumstance. A paragraph appeared in this paper a few days
ago, stating that a set of robbers had escaped from the black hole
in the Town-hall at Brighton, and that they had been retaken
near Hanfield, and conveyed back to the town on the top of an
early stage-coach. The driver of an opposition coach, upon hear-
ing that his competkor had driven such company, could not let so
good an opportunity of depreciating the rival vehicle pass, and im-
mediately designated it the " Transport Coach." An occurrence
had, however, taken place, which supplied the acemed with a very
effectual retort. On the day of the execution of William Burt,
at Horsham, for the murder of his child, the body of the deceased
was given up for dissection to a young surgeon, who went from
London to receive it, and who employed the executioner to assist
him in conveying it to town. Having stowed the body in a
hamper, Jack-Ketch and his employer booked it as luggage, had
it placed just behind the coachman upon a coach, and arrived in
London without accident or detection. Jack was, however,
known by some persons who were met on the road, and after he
had alighted and borne away the hamper, an inside passenger,
while in quest of a bundle under one of the seats, actually put his
hand upon the fatal noose which had but just done its dreadful
work. The coach employed upon this terrible job happened to
be driven by the person who turned up his nose at the idea of
driving thieves, and the driver of the " Transport" christened
the rival coach " the Resurrection." So furious were the parties,
that it was found necessary to call in the aid of .the police to pre-
vent bloodshed and battery.