The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-12-29 00:00:00

EXCISE SALES.

When we find bribery, corruption, and gross
Irregularities openly and unblissoinely avowed
among the higher orders of the Governmeot, the
discovery of like political evils existing in those of
the lower, would not be matter of surprise or
astonishment. But if, in the account I am about to
give, I do not accuse any inditiduals of bribery or
corruption, I beg the reatleis of your Paper a ill
not init.:. that I pronounce those ititlividualscither
innocent or guilty. The dillicti!ty, too gcner..lly
speaking, of proving facts of that nature, even if a
man knew they did exist in any particular quarter,
woulti deter him, if he was in his sanscs, (ruin engag.
jog in any such Quixotic and hatArdonseuterpriv.
It Rill ke.sofficient for _Lan anal/he pulslic_tti point
out most. gross irregularities ; and the defective- 1
ness of a system, where individuals are exposed to '
these lures of temptation whieh#ll whet:Govern.
mews would avoid ; here itidueoraents to teed.
bcry, corruption, and gross irregilaritics, have
the faccistating accompaniments of almost iropessi.
ble dit•coiciy, and consequent impunity. I speak
of the Excuse Sales ; and u licit I deseribe them)
the Public will tolerably judgc-of all the rest.
First, almost every person on the Bench ap-
pointed to regulate the Sales, and to keep an ac-
count (tithe owls, down to the very porters. who
attend the warehouses where the goods are.soici, bid
as freely as any other individual present. Some of
these ;gain are, most no:tangy, the zp•ry persons
rofso foe ous the goods, aml prepare MR samples.
Now every intelligent nun would naturally ask, if
those persons thus employed weee to show worse
samples, of the goods which they themselves design-
ed to buy, what was to ptetent them from doing it?
Next, in many instances the strength of the spirits is
not given, and the strengths and qualities of the sans-
pies of bot h spirits, wines, and tither liquids, are les-
sened by being tasted by the mouth out of phials ;
what security than has any individual to obtain the
precise lot affixed uptin by the sample. Every
avenue to justice is denied, by stating in the condi-
tion of ssle, that goodsanoist be taken away "with
alt faults," tendering thereby samples altogether
nugatory, and every application, till doomsday,
for redress, of no avail whatever. In many in.
stances; too, the quantity of the lots is not fixed,
and I know of nothing to prevent the totters of the
goods to give a great deal to one individual, and
almost nothing to another, jest as it may snit the
whims, caprices, or interests of the individuals.
It aoold be impertinent In me to stale all the
absurdities and frauds that such a ridiculous sys-
tem might, or does generate. I shall only mention
another obserention that 1 madei that the auctioneer
seems to dwell very long on some articles, white:
others he knocks down almost ietsantanetiosly,
frequently occasioning observation.; from those
bidding, that partialities wet iotended.

The vile' anal alisurd parts of MB <ysfrim could
be easily rooted out Hy a few' whidebotoe
: the chief Of *bleb should be, that every
person employed in the totiiog ur sale of goods
sold by. the Excie, tr.• deprived of •his situation,
if he bought any goods at thoie *Wes, of re-
ceired Guy profits or emoluments ar:aingfrJas the
same. •

If you Iva give insertion to this letter, you
will not fail to gratify the: virtuous part of the
contnotnity, and give rise to many letters on the
mute subject, in regard to other departments.

Throngh the munificence and exartions or Lord
Mu sc.tirrn, sit prisoners fur debts in the gaol sof
Appleby, %tete released from confinement, arta-
turday, tlia 16th instant.
M. Pitman, Editor of the imiips, and the
Correspnadesst of Ctuurroeus is about to viait
his Black Friend; he has alriLly disposed of his
library, %hien was a weli.iesTectri (see.

..-...

XO VIE EDITOR OF Mk: STATESMAN.
COLOTEL (MIME.

Srll,—ilatiag " fongllt the.gocid-fight" the Ai'
Cl. P.'/,; I hdpe you are preparing a More itnpoy:
tan t ,ictOry tor The iP.'a, I mean, the Public.
'• Ana Glaf, Sir, in me ask,' who Mr. Ittoies;
in some 'street near Goldeo.square I hair not
heard of any great Gottlen.svare ainro.
the famous Jock, Alderson, who shot ptior
Stedhcns in a Duer,sitid. for -whorn a Mr.TomfAulf,'
a deeraced Mewl of mine, was inihriscintid
Dover Castle; but you know, Sir, th,t in theft
oui days, stripes and iyni».l,vantent dlr.^ mere'
iii(4lklarllicv, if we arc to eteilit those great au-
thorities, Wool the watermaii, Gibbons the in_
former, and Brandon the 11.a.ket;per.

. .
But, pray, Sir, what have you to td! us rea-
specting the purchase of Ala(lam Clarke's hooky,
about which, with a very little trunblv, volt might
learn a great deal' From a late triai it-appears,'
that one of the PuNte Purre-telders, bring it
the same time one of his Makes 's Piistmagtersl.
General has formed so wonderfully favrirtrib!e an
opininn of this little Work, as to be induced to
place it among the Pelham Papers, at the enor:
mous expellee of .£10,t.;00, in Newland and nose
piper, and as much more in promises towards Mas.
ter and Miss C!ailte I Oh, •that I may not taste'
, of death till I have seine theie Pelham Papers 1
What treasures of wisdo-il mu they cOn'ain ; fog:
dopend upon it, Sir, Mrs. (hike s lfborli Bie
I letst valuable among the collection!! '
Between ourselves, Mr. li:tlitor, I • wore there
suspect that a certain eh/mien/a Bdokseller to
your neighbourltoozi has the means of redocing the
value of the noble Poitrua.tar's Original, as Much'
at Miss Linwood has; by her ins'incible art, re:
duced the value of Lbrd Exeter's Winkle' Salintoe
Niundi. That this prt-loas c.iillt4Ctinn of Leittes,
Ste. has been sect' by mother! in this Town iend
out of it, I well know, and so due+ Hie Knight.
alluded to. I have indeed seen a Gpitleinau, who
has had thegooll fortune to peruse them ; but as
could furnish such parti only as bore tho
most striking resemblance to awiatcregting work
published twiny years since by a Young Lady,
and as mine' has unfoitiinately bnt little te.:
naei'y on this subkci, I recollect little moral
than a most strikingly interestini passage, de,
scrihing,iu langoule the most eloquent and ins.
pasvioned, -the sensations that would attend the
writer on entering the front Room on the.secora
I ROW', after an cdosenCe un severe mill:ul
duty !! ! ! Slit.% 11.'s Work, Sir, contains oil. •
1 thing half so Sublime or beautiful.
ANTI-SEJANUS.
Gloucester-place, Chricttraa-day.

What human faculties can perform, BUNAPIRTI
his afforded us the most estrAordinary josianres
that the annals of the wurl•t edit show ; hitt prri,Apa
it is the w4I of Pulvidence, that Los Ciminero,
sboald. desceld imtu the grave, without leatios
behind him an. heir to inherit the last doutifkisoss
Requited by his genius or his arms.
410:v.trattie was ntare:ed fifteen years to lb.
Empress Jossassurar-ahrs.-14-abil.iwe br*4
first hoilnotd, anti had no chitdtew by hint, filioszli
she cettainly was not arriv,tl at a I ettiaut of liro
ihrn women cease to be fruitful.

Are we to 111111. pow, that the misrnrtutie of wants
big progeny is snore imputable lo N IPot.nov hon.
self than to his rou.ort ; if Ail be toe ir .1 et ,tn! of
the case, what will he be the better•for gelitet tad
of Joss:Nit V-E

A melancholy accident ht ;ustiell on Theirs fay
Mays/nes Land, Gi?es's-street, 'Rslib.
burgh. The ncighbours ol.,icrritte a mote than
usual light to come rforn a Mrs. Fergasestft
house, they burst open the thew, w hen theylwusid
a woman laying on the floor, her clothei newly
orf, and her face and oilier part- of het loot,'
dreadfully seorehetl. Medical assistance was in.
mediately procured ; little hopes ore,' however,
entertained of her recovery. The accident is
supposed to have been occasioned by some sparks
having dropped. from her pipe upon ht.r clothes
when she was smoking. •
Bostoo.—A pugilistic contest, fer a purse of
20 guineas, wol the honour of first provincial
fame, took !duce at Haaely, Berke, on Tuesday,
between George GaflJ, a weaver, and 11. Moat,
a miner, the latter of whom vanquished nowerc,
of provincial note, about 12 months ago. God[
was never before pitted for a stake, bat be had
given such proofs of his manhi.d that Captain
Hanson, of Thatch:ma, brought him forward. in
the first round Gold, by a deztoronl hit through
the guard, closed up the left'aye of lrit %NM); ad.
versiry, who, in return, slit the ear. of (kid,
and threw him a severe cross.ltuttocl7. The bat.
tic lasted 55 minutes, when a blow in the wind,
and a stunning one on the bead of his adversary,
gave the victory to Goa, who as well as his•bealfht
foe was carried off the field.

Gully and 'Crab, according to reports in the
pngiliatic circles, last right, arc to coniend for
the championship of England. Odds were tif.
Bred 6t04 in favour of Gollq. It 41 spiso saidt
that Balch Sam and Tom Belcher are mateliedlo
fi,:ht for a purse of WO guineas.
The Theatres of Vicenst and Parma, halite in
the 10th century, are the only ettffitrs' now Tit.
tant which bear any resemblance to the asteieist
Thestrel, as to fora) they are, however, much
smaller. At them (De first es+ays of the dravatic
art were made.; but its a taste for that sort of '

amusement made rapid progrss, more extensiro
Theatres weralnund neces.ary for dramati”
batons, dte when in France there w9rc only crad
Deno and tcnis courts to pertorna in, numerous
Oar-horses nein cotrattncted in Daly.
&vend mote frigatti a!” to be .ent to the East
/miles; the ships, toe, 4u that cation arc to Ise
often
When Count Evoeri, the Swedish Ambassador
at Paris, applied to BONMPART6 fur a pasiinot for
the deposed King of tiwkostr, it is sdi I the latter
replied, "1 grant a free passport to that 110(tarelt
to reside-at any pldce (whatever hi:Andy t hose ;
and I engage, on my honour, that he shall receiia
all protection in nay States...Do you thank, Cultic
&spilt Oat, GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS Woiliti hays
done this to me, bid I been in his &tuition?"

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