The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-10-10 00:00:00

bit STATESMAN,

1 To TOE EDITOR OP raz STAIWiESSUN.

Silt,—lt ill accords with the liberality and tempe-
rate patriotism of your Paper, to impute the immo-
ralities of France to the late Emperor; and the more
so, as the Neregale Calendar, the Calendars of our
County Gaols, and the authenticated Reports on our
Prisons, unhappily prove, that we ought not to be
the most fore ard to reproach other States with a de-
pravity that is making most rapid strides in our own
country ! That the morals of our neighbours are the
re►erse of exemplary, ssill be readily admitted by
every Gentleman who has resided long enough on the
. Continent to form an accurate opinion of the morals
land manners of the People; and every man compe-
tent to judge will readily b,e'r %sillies!, that Box t.
PARTE and his family had a far less share in ex-
• tiogeishieg sir toe in France than the Bounsoas. A
Court notoriously corrupt and debauched, and a licen-
tious Clergy, resolsing all the dillies soil obligations of I
civilized life into for n.s and a blind submission to the
• Chute'', under the nick-names of piety and faith,
are bad preceptors in any nation and you cannot
be so little read in the history of France, Spit', tied
the Italian States, and especially of those under the
immediate dominion of the Pore, not to be aware
that the people, as well as their mite's, have been de-
graded and fashioned to the vilest. purposes, under
the senseless tuition anti coercion of owe n hrs. :
blasphemously calling theta4elves the Vicegerents of
Heaven and the Vicars of Goo, had debased the un-
derstanding,
and perverted the hearts of mankind, by
giving to faith alone a mischievous and fatal pre..
ponderance over morals. It would answer tin put-
pose to refer your Readers fur proofs of these melan-
, choly facts to the history of the Pepes, and particu-
larly to that of ALEXANDEIt VI. The atrocities of ,
his Holiness are upon record, as well as those of
CATHARINE ne Mentcts, and the wretch her son,
CHAILEi IX., who, concealed in a closet of the
Louvre, perfidiously shot his fellow-creatures at
midnight. I will not say his subjects ; because man. ;
kind, properly speaking, are not the subjects of
Kings, but of laws confided to the honour of Kings
, to see faithfully obeyed and respected. It will be
sufficient for my purpose, which is,
Not to extenuate, nor set down aught in malice,"
if I recal you to the reigns of Louts XIV. awl XV.,
in which space is contained the histories of the Re-1
gent Duke of OnLeasts, and of his debauched and
profligate minion, the Abbe Boss, who, aspiring to
the Popedum, was elevated, through the influence
of his shameless Master, by the Pope, to the dignity
of Cardinal. It is to these disgraceful periods I beg
leave to refer you for the causes of that immorality
which you deplore as actually existing in Fre' ce, and
which you ha►e, in the warmth of your rest. tment,
and contrary to your usual candour, attrihated
solely to BONAPARTE! It is almost impossible to
read the well-authenticated records of the criminal
profusion and libertinism of the Courts of Louis
, XIV. anti Xl`„ without questioning the veracity
of history. According to my conception of
Kings, the revenue of a State is for the express
purpose of supporting its political rank in the scale
of nations, by preserving its independence, and re-
warding its public servants, at the head of which
stands the Severeign ; and that the Prince who de-
, votca ails portion ef that revenue to purposes of use.
lest prodigality or debauchery, tending to corrupt
those morals of which he ought to be the con-
servator, is guilty of fraud, and unworthy of
the station in which the mere accident of birth
; has placed him. The immorality of which
you so justly complain in Fiance has had no
other source than Vie abuses to which I have alluded.
The prodigality of the immediate ancestors of Louis
XVIII. laid the foundation of that Revolution, the
sad effscts of which every man in this country has
reason '0 deplore. The scandalous waste of public
mor rev du. ing a minority and to o reigns, impoverish-
ed tae. nation while it corrupted its morals. The
Nobility became pimps and parasites to their Royal
Masters, and the people stases to both ! Taxes ar-
bitrarily levied, and brutally exacted, deprived the
latter of their little comforts ; w bile the hither classes
of society added to an immorality, of e hick they gave
the first example, an arrogance as disgusting as it
was misplaced. They had the insolence to pride them-
selves on their birth, as they impudently call it,
and claim homage from that circumstance alone, as
if the peasant was not .aetea and produced by
precisely the same process as that which gives exist-
ence to the Being whom the courtesy of social life
decorates with the title of Prince ! These are the
causes which demoralise notions, and not the des-
potism of an individual who, unhappily for the
liberties of mankind, abused at once his genius and
his for:sines, but who, having lost his power, it is no
longer decent to revile. While 90NAPARTE was a
tyrant, and France waged war against my country,
I was their enemy. The one has fallen from his
stupendous height, and the other is oppressed and
depressed by foreign mercenaries and a worthless
fanatic priesthood—the Sovereigns, in fact, of their
bigoted master! So fallen, it would be unmanly
to harbour even the slightest reseutment against
either. Your Paper, some days past, stated,
that Newgate alone contained 300 persons to be tried
for criminal offences, in which were included several
children under the age of 15 ! I have also lately
read the tepnrts of a Committee of the House of
Com:toms on the Jails, in which it is stated that the
Fleet Prison is the largest brothel in England; and
that senral men and women have been known to

sleep in one room in the King's Bench ; in uhich it
is also asserted the existence of gin-shops is con-
nived at, and that the Master Jailor of each has an
income almost equal to that of the Secretary of the
Admiralty, thong!' they cannot boast of cribbing quite
so much patroller. There are in this very short detail
proofs in abundance of immorality equal to any that
France can be stionatized with ; %%here, by-the.bye,
you can eat excellent unadulterated bread, at half the
price charged for the vile mixture sold to us under that
denomination by our bakers lied millers. If you have
not bad reason to complain of the table beer vou
drink, you are wonderfully fortunate; and no less so,
if any of sour children have run the gauntlet of any
of our public schools %Werra having given you
serious cause of uneasiness, if not of alarm, for ;
the deviations ftorn those precepts which were
better respected in thc happier ties s of our grand-
fathers than they are at present. If boy:: will apply
themselves, they may certainly become what is techni-
cally called scholar, ; that is, they will, at the ex-
piration of seven or eight years, be capable to con-
strue of hand JUVENAL or Homha, or any other
difficult author in Latin and Greek ; hut as to
morals and manners, they are held by the gowns-
men who teach the boys of little comparative value
with the classics. Indeed, morals and manners
form no part of the education at any of our
public seminaries. They do not belong to the
system of (bore Monki,li foundations, while feasting,
gambling, drinkitig, contracting debts, and de-
bauchery, occupy nn inconsiderable portion of the
thoughts of youth so consigned, end in which they
generally ;Jerome adepts, by the time they are of an
age to be ilifaliculaled at either of the Universities.
Your most excellent and enlightened Correspondent
has well touched upon this lamentable and important
topic. Implore him, I beseech you, to resume the
subject. Ili, masterly pen may lead to reform in a
matter highly connected with the vital interests of the
erruntry—the morals of the rising generati I There
will he patriotism even in the attempt ; and I am sure
that in such an attempt I would most cheerfully con-
tribute my mite. The Archbishop of CaNvennutty
is, by his once, the hereditary superintendent of
schools threughout England, as the Loan Cosa-
crehort i • the guardian of minors ; and if you tan
prevail up•lrti his Grace to give us his aid, lie still set
a most lare'able example to his successors, end rer-
! tainly render a most inestimable service to the youths
of the present day, as well as to their parents and
guardians. . _ _

AN ENEMY TO PREJUDIC
Cowes, I)!o. of Wi7i.e, O. 5, ISO.

! lly accounts from Aberdeen, we are sorry to find
that during the last five days a spirit of tumult and
disorder has manife,ted itself among the seamen of
!hat port, similar to what has :I:.-!y been exhibited
at. Newcastle and Sundellaml. On t:._ 21 and 3d
inst. a large body of two!, assembled together, and
went the length of stopping s,veral vessels from put-
' ing to sea ; but by the prompt interference of the
Magistracy, supported by the great body of ship-
, owners, and a Wholesome show of military force, they
were reduced to obedience, and peace restored.
Tite elegant mansion of the late Dike of F!T. Ar.-
nsN's, at the upper end of Stratford-place, Oxford-
street, formerly the residence of Lord A Loeonovon,
is taken, by the command of the Put Nee Iti:Gestr,
for the abode of the Archduke Jolts of A astria, his
new married Archduchess, and suite, during their
stay in this country, where they are expected spee-
dily on their intended visit. Orders have been issued
to get the house. &e. ready on the 14th inst. for the
reception of the illustrious guests, or such part of their
companions who may precede them in the order of
their journey.
I At Nottingham Fair, on the first day, from 70 to
754. were asked for prime daries of Cheese, though
but little was sold for more than 70s. On the second
day, the best cheese on the stones was sold at 66,
and some on the third slay, sold as low as 60.
In the neighbourhood of Kennington, a young
Lady of considerable fortune, who was under the
care of some relations, has, w;thin these few days,
become insane, it. consequence of being deprived of
all means of correspondence with a young man
holding a highly respectable situation in a public
office, to whom she had been violently attached fur
Some years past.
Yesterday se'nnight, at nine o'clock, e fire broke
nut in the extensive set of buildings occupied by
Messrs. John M`Aslan and Co. liaen-printers and
and colour-makers, Tradeston, Glasgow. These
buildings are at so great a distance from the centre
of the city, that the flames had made great progress
before the fire-engines had reached the spot. About
one half of the buildings, with a great quantity of
manufactured stock, was lost. . .

On Saturday se'nnight two spirited horses belong-
ing to Ciptain Stothert, of Corgeti, having become
uninaneagable in passing through a crowd collected
round a quantity of earthen-ware exhibited fur sale
in Castle-street, Dumfries, after destroying not a
little of that frail material, threw down and tram-
pled upon a poor woman of the (lame of Hogg, rut
her head and bruised her elicit so severely, that, on
Sunday morning, she expired. It is but justice to
say that no blame whatever attaches to the groom.—
Captain Siothert, on being informed of the fatal
event, visited the afflicted widower of the decenied
(a (lay labourer in English-street), and after having
offered him all the consolation in his power, /Irv.
sewed him with '2Ol. and promised to take hi,n elf
and his three motherless children under his protec-
tion and patronage.
On Monday se'nnight an Of of the Royal
Navy, belonging to ou of the shit's fitting out at
Woolwich, was stopped on the road between Lon-
don and Woolwich, by three men dressed in sailor's
clothes, who demanded his money, and took from
him Bank of England notes to the amount of lifty
pounds; they then made off, hiring lam six shil-
lings to pay lot a bed. •