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wise, and if these qualifications are admissible, the courts of justice are to be looked to in matters of taste; they are to decide every literary dispute; and here, as well as elsewhere, we shall be unable to open our mouths without having a lawyer for our guide and assistant. I will not answer for the correctness of this report of the Chief Justice's speech. He might not mean, that a man was punishable, by law, for unfair or unjust criticism; and, I am in hopes, that the decision, upon this occasion, will make the stupid authors feel, that they cannot worry a man of talents to death merely because he has exposed their stupidity.-It does not appear, from this report, whether Sir Richard Phillips came forward voluntarily, or was forced forward, in behalf of his brother knight; but, to be sure, it was quite good to hear him say, that he never read scandalous or anonymous publications, when he was the sole or part owner of so many works of the latter description; when he was part owner of a Review, and the sole owner of the " Anecdotes," than which there is not, perhaps, a more false and scandalous book in the English language, that is to say, if falsehood and scandal do not lose their nature when applied to French men and French women, and when they obtain circulation because they are calculated to gratify pre-conceived malice and hatred. The work of Messrs. Hood and Sharpe not only injured Sir John Carr, but Sir Richard Phillips also; for, observe, he is the proprie. tor of Sir John's first work, the very work that was criticised, and the sale of which must, of course, be greatly injured, if not totally stopped, by a criticism, which had stifled the second work in its shell. So that Sir Richard Phillips was, in fact, a person deeply interested; and, though this circumstance would not alter the fact which he had to state, it would naturally give a tinge to any sentiment that he had to express. lam, however, utterly astonished, that any word should have dropped from him calculated to throw odium upon those who endeayour to make a free use of the press. What would it have been to him, if those bundles of trash, labelled "The Stranger in Ireland,” had been sent, as they now, in all probability, will be, to the trunk-makers, or the paste-board mil? Was this vile rubbish worth the risk of his being exposed to the imputation of wishing to see a brother bookseller suffer for having published a book operating to his inJary I do not impute this wish to him. On the contrary, I sincerely believe him, who savery kind and good as well as a very clever man, to have entertained no such wish; but,

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certainly, his evidence, as stated in the newspapers, is likely to make the public infer such an imputation, The fact, I would almost lay my life, was this; between a bookseller and an author there necessarily arises, particularly if the latter be a person of some consequence, a greater or less degree of that sort of intimacy, which, as the fashion of the world goes, is denominated friendship. Sir John Carr appears to be a man not likely to lose any thing for the mere want of asking for; and, he would easily find the means of committing Sir Richard so far as to bring him into court with sentiments favourable to his cause. The moment a man is lashed, or exposed, he, according to the cant of the day, cries out libeller. Libeller is echoed by his friends; and, after hearing this in half a dozen places, he naturally begins to turn himself towards the law for redress, especially if he find himself incapable. of defending himself with his pen. It was thus that the quack in America acted towards me. He began the publications. He issued his destructive prescriptions through the news-papers. I answered his publications; I reduced him to silence, and finally drove him and his death-doing practice out of the city. Unable to defend himself, he had recourse to the lawyers; and, with the assistance of such judges and jurors as are to be found in great abundance in his country, gave me a dose almost as injurious as he would have sent me from his own shop. Of all the acts, of which a man can be guilty, none is so mean, none is so base, none is so truly detestable, as that of seeking, through the law, vengeance for a lite rary defeat. If this were to be tolerated; if exposing a man's abilities to ridicule were to be deemed libelling, and to be punished as such, who, unless he had a long purse, and a body of iron, would dare to attempt the task of criticising the works of a rich mn? Every wealthy fool might publish his tras in perfect security, and that, too, without being under the necessity of treating and bribing the Reviewers. No man would dare expose his folly or imbecility; for, at any rate, the tormentors of the law would be set upon the critic, who, as his least pu nishment, would be half ruined in his de. fence. There would be nothing, however infamous as well as foolish, that a poor writer would dare to comment upon with freedom. He must write in trammels so tight as to render his efforts of little or no effect. There would, in short, be a general license for folly and wickedness, when backed by wealth; and still there would be scoundrels so impudent, as to call upon us

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to deny ourselves almost the necessaries of lite, and to expose life itself, for the purpose of preserving, what they would still call the liberty of the press. The evil would go yet further; for the rich bookseller would become a persecutor as well as the wealthy fool who writes. His purse would be a shield for a dozen or two of dull doctors whom he keeps in his pay, and by the means of whose imposture-like performances he increases his fortune. Well might Lord Ellenborough say, that "he knew of nothing more threatening to the liberty of "the press than this species of action."But, how stands the case with regard to publications touching the words, or conduct, of persons in general, and particularly members of the government? Is it not dangerous to the liberty of the press to lay it down as a maxim, that their abilities are not to be ridiculed; that you are to say nothing at all which hurts their feelings, without exposing yourself to punishment? Reports of trials are, in general, not very correct; the whole of the places where trials are held are so crowded with lawyers, to whom, indeed, they are almost exclusively appropriated, that it is extremely difficult for any reporter to obtain the accommodation necessary for the making of notes. I do not, therefore, give the words of my motto as words actually uttered by Lord Ellenborough, but merely as words published in the several news papers, as having been uttered by him, upon the occasion alluded to. As such, they must have produced a great deal of effect; and, there is no doubt in my mind, that the doctrine they contain has encouraged Sir John Carr, knight, to bring the action, the fate of which is above recorded. Let us hope however, that this dangerous doctrine is now exploded as completely as if the Whigs had kept their words after they got their places, and made it a subject of discussion in parliament; for, I believe, it will be very difficult to produce any solid reason, why a man should have the liberty to hurt the feelings of an author any more than to hurt the feelings of a minister of state; why he should be allowed to ridicule the abilities of the former any more than the abilities of the latter; why it should be an offence worthy of penal visitation in the former case any more than in the latter case. I cannot discover any grounds for a distinction; and, therefore, I conclude, that if we should, by any accident, see a fool in office, we are at liberty to expose his folly, and to convince the nation, that the managenient of their affairs is in bad hands. Indeed, the real use of the liberty of the press s to cause the exposure of weak and wicked

public servants. It is of comparatively trifling consequence what men publish in books. Five hundred people, perhaps, never saw, or heard of, Sir John Carr's trash; and, if it could have been read by the whole nation, it is not likely that it would have done either harm or good. But, in the ability and honesty of men in office, every person in the country is deeply interested, and therefore ought to be regularly and minutely informed upon the subject. Upon matters of taste in books, of what consequence is it whether the people are well-informed er ill-informed? But, upon matters closely connected with the prosperity and honour of the country, it is of great importance that they should lack no information that can possibly be communicated to them. Well, then, how is this information to be given? How, if not through an unshackled press, a press restrained only from uttering falsehood, according to the old language and practice of the law? Suppose I had been in battle with a general, and had seen him run from the enemy, beating him in swiftness as shamefully as a March hare beats a lurcher, suppose I had seen this, or received good information of it, would it not be very ne cessary to make the fact known, in order t prevent such a winged-heeled fellow fren again exposing the lives of the army an bringing disgrace upon the nation? pose I had an opportunity of knowing se veral men, pretending to office and power to be totally unqualified for any business an totally unworthy of any trust; would it ne be very useful to communicate my know ledge to the public? Or, suppose me t have merely an opinion relating to publi men, how do we arrive at the best ebance & forming correct notions as to things un known, except it be by expressing ou opinions to one another?-Nor, ca I see what mischief could arise fror carrying the same liberty into the dis cussions relative to the private affairs of mer Suppose, for instance, I say, that Mi such an one is a contented cuckold; that l has received proof quite sufficient that hi wife has had a child by another man; ba that, in consideration of a good sum e money, paid him by the principal cuckolder he holds his tongue, and, as the old saying is, puts his horns in his pocket. This is indeed, to suppose a strong case; but, sucl a case may possibly exist; and, if it does should not such a man be pointed out Ought not the mean scoundrel to be held u to the ridicule and scorn of the world? Whe other way is there of correcting such dis graceful and perpicious vices? Suppose m

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to know a man upon the point of becoming a bankrupt, why should I not state the fact? What harm can arise from it? And if, upon any occasion, I speak what is false, there is the law to punish me, and to make compensation to the person whom I have slandered. It is said, that you would, by allowing a liberty like this, set every neighbourhood together by the ears. Why should it be so I can discover no reason for it It is to deny the excellence of truth, to suppose that an unrestrained expression of the truth could be productive of injury. It is fitting that all men and women and actions should be generally known for what they are; and, it appears to me, that to express a fear at the promulgation of truth, is to foster falshood, and to offer a screen for all sorts of vices. There are many vices and crimes, too, that the law will not reach, yet they ought to be repressed, and how are they to be repressed unless men dare communicate freely their knowledge to one another ? I publish that such an one is a liar. If what I assert be false, my falshood can be made appear, and I am punished in one way or another; but, if what I assert be true, is it not useful, that it should be known? Upon this principle the law of England formerly proceeded. The indictment of a person for a libel always stated, that he had uttered what was false; falshood was essental as a ground work of the charge. As we we grown in refinement our ears have become more delicate, and it is now sufficient that the words are scandalous and malicious, qualities which it is not easy to define, and which are, indeed, mere matter of opinion. What one man thinks scandalous and malicious another man does not think so; bat, all the world are agreed with respect to falshood and truth. These admit of proof; the others do not. Against a charge of falshood evidence can be brought; but, as to scandal and malice they must be left to surmise, to the opinions of a jury; and thes a salvo is provided for the consciences of men who would be afraid of point blank perjury. As the law now stands, you may not speak the truth, for fear of doing mischief. There is something so repugnant to Teason in this, that I cannot be brought to consider it as wise. We all pretend, that to obtain truth is our great object. We all pretend to detest disguise, hypocrisy, and all the various sorts of falshood. If we have servants to hire, tradesmen to employ, acquaintances to form, our first step is to btain a true account of them; and why, then, should the law forbid us to commucate to the public at large all the informa

tion we possess? In order to make out a defence of the contrary doctrine, some have supposed, that, if every one were at liberty to publish all the truth that came to his knowledge, the prints would be filled with anecdotes of domestic occurrences, with which the world have nothing to do. Either such occurrences are interesting to the world, or they are not; if the former, they ought to be known, if the latter, the world would not attend to them, and the promulgation of them would soon meet its just punishment in the contempt which would fall upon the promulgator. To prevent the publication of truth is to confound, the wise with the foolish, the honest man with the rogue, the brave man with the coward, the virtuous with the vicious. Where there is no press, or no shew of freedom allowed in using it, the people expect to hear no truth through that channel; but, where the liberty of the press is a subject of boasting, they may well expeét to hear the whole truth, and, if they hear it not, they are deceived with a shadow.

-Nothing can be more worthy of punishment than the publication of wilful falsehood. I would, with all my heart, make this crime transportation, where it seriously affected the reputation of any man, in whatever rank of life. To the feelings of a person, falsely accused, ample vengeance is due; but, if I speak no inore of a man than I can prove to be true, am I to De branded as a ruffian who has no regard for the feelings of my neighbour? Shall a fool be looked upon as having the feelings of a wise man, a peculator the feelings of a man of integrity, a reprobate the feelings of a saint? Aye, say some persons, you think, then, that it is only the innocent whose feelings are to be considered, but, you cannot wound the feelings of the innocent; it is only the guilty that feel. Hence Lord Mansfield's maxim, I suppose: "the great

er the truth the greater the libel," according to which maxim it is a greater libel to call a highwayman a highwayman, than to give the same appellation to a person perfectly free of every crime. This is the unavoidable consequence of making it a crime to publish truth; and, in my opinion, of all the means of debasing and corrupting a people, none is more efficacious or more speedy, than that of giving them a press, through which truth has not a free circulation,

SPANISH REVOLUTION. The intelligence from Spain seems to indicate, that, let the result be what it may, there will be an arduous contest. This I most earnestly pray for because, without such a contest,

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no good can arise. In his answer to the Londoners, the king says, he has no other object than that of supporting the ancient government" of Spain. Precisely what his majesty may mean by the word ancient, I cannot positively say; but, I hope, he does not mean, that government who sent the Spanish army to the North of Europe; who gave up the sword of Francis I; who introduced a French army into Spain; who made Murat Lieutenant of the kingdom; and who sold the Spaniards to Buonaparte for a snug maintenance in France. It is the government, I should hope, that existed when the Cortes, or representatives of the people, used to be fairly assembled, and when the nation was not governed by a set of intriguing tyrants This being the case I This being the case I cordially agree with his majesty, and hope that his efforts will be crowned with success. If the people of Spain are to have a despot, I care not one straw who he is. I feel no interest in the events going on. I care not which side beats, or is beaten.-The grandees are going back, it seems, the lacqueys of Joseph Napoleon. This is what they ought to be. Were I in his place, I would make them black, the shoes of my French servants. Nobility indeed! Here is a precious specimen of the effects of high blood! What an example is here! What a lesson for the nations of Europe! Talk of upstart kings and nobles; are there 'any of them, any of the "ale-house-keeper's sons", who have, in any one case, actod thus? What must that government have been, which was composed of wretched vermin like these? Is there any man who will openly say, that he wishes to see such a government restored? Loyal! aye, these base scoundrels were, I warrant it, the very pink of loyalty, and have, amongst them, sent many a man to the gallows upon the suspicion of being disloyal. I warrant it, they have been famous persecutors in this way. Their example, will, however, be useful, long after Joseph Buonaparte, if he should succeed, will have sent them all to clean the kennels of Madrid; for, when he is once safely seated upon the throne, he will have too much sense to keep such base wretches near his person. Grandees! They have been grandees quite long enough. The turn of somebody else is come. The soldier is abroad, as I told Sir Baalam long enough ago; and, ere he puts up the sword, he will have his share of the good things of this world.There are, I clearly perceive, some persons, who wish to see the Spaniards beat Buona. parte, but wish not to see any change of the royal family or the government, in Spain.

Such persons may make up their minds to a disappointment; for, never will Buonaparté be beaten by men that can bear the idea of again putting on the yoke of despotism. One or the other the Spaniards must be, either the subjects of Joseph Napoleon, or their own masters, subject only to a government of their own choosing.

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CORN AGAINST SUGAR. What say the "Barley growers" now? Barley has not fal len, notwithstanding all the predictions of Mr. Arthur Young. Nay, it has continued to rise, while cats have risen one third in price. I wonder what will be said now? What shuffle will be resorted to? I should like to hear what can be said by those who met to petition against the sugar-bill. There is, I think, an appearance of a short crop of barley and oats. The introduction of sugar will have added about 300,000 quarters to the crop, which, though hardly worth mentioning in comparison with the amount of the produce of the country, is something, and the bill. will, therefore, have done some little good.

-The clamour, which was raised, at the time that this bill was before the House of Commons, should not soon be forgotten. The agricultural people should be frequently reminded of it. They brought forth all their interest and their very best talents upon the occasion. Let it, therefore, remain as a stand ard whereby to judge of the degree of reliance that is to be placed upon them. I repent, that they are embodied into a sect. All sec taries are bigots. There is no liberality of discussion, or of thought, amongst them; their tenets are always to be distrusted, and their assertions, as to facts, are not always to be relied on. That this widely spread and powerful sect should have been beaten by the indolent West Indians is truly astonishing and cannot be attributed to any thing but the badness of their cause.

Botley, 28th July, 1808.

OFFICIAL PAPERS.

LONDON. On the 20th July, 180s, the mayor, aldermen, recorder, sheriffs, and common council of the city of London, waited upon his majesty, at the queen's pa lace (being introduced by lord Rivers, the lord in waiting), with the following address, which was read by sir John Silvester, the recorder, as follows:-To the king's most excellent majesty. The humble, dutiful, and loyal address of the lord mayor, alder men, and commons of the city of London, in common council assembled.-Most gra cious sovereign, we, your majesty's loyal subjects, the lord mayor, aldermen, and com

in all their wishes; and we humbly beg leave to express our fervent hope, that the glorious struggle in which the Spanish nation is engaged, aided by the energies, resources, and magnanimity of the British empire, may succeed, not only in asserting the independence of the Spanish monarchy, but in ultimately effecting under the protection of divine providence, the emancipation of Europe, and the re-establishment of the blessings of peace.

To which address his majesty was pleased to return the following most gracious answer: -I thank you for your very loyal and dutiful address. I accept, with pleasure, your congratulations on the prospect opened to the world, by the brave and loyal exertions of the Spanish ration, against the tyranny and usurpation of France, and on the reestablishment of peace between Great Britain and Spain. In aiding the efforts of the Spanish nation, I have been actuated by no other motive than that of affording the most effectual and disinterested assistance to a peo

ANCIENT government and national independence. I have no doubt I shall continue to receive from you and from all classes of my people, the same zealous and affectionate support which I have experienced on so many, and on such important occasions.

mons of the city of London, in common council assembled, with hearts full of dutiful affection to your royal person, and inseparably attached to the honour and prosperity of your government, humbly desire to approach your throne, and represent to your majesty the sentiments of a free and faithful people. While we contemplate with horror and indignation, the atrocious perfidy and wanton violence employed by the ruler of France, to reduce under his yoke the Spanish monarchy and the Spanish people, we cannot refrain from expressing our joy and exultation at the pure and animating spirit of pa triotism, displayed by that high-minded and gallant nation, in defence of their dearest rights and privileges. They have appealed to the generous feelings of your majesty for protection and support, and they have not appealed in vain. You, sire, have felt, as the sovereign of a free people, who, by extending his powerful aid to a nation, struggling for liberty and independence, holds forth to the world a happy and practical illustration of the blessings which his own sub-ple, struggling for the maintenance of their jects enjoy.-The solemn declaration by which your majesty has been pleased to recognize the Spanish nation as a natural friend and ally, against the common enemy of all established governments; the frank, disinterested, and inspiriting pledge which you have given, that you have no other object than that of preserving unimpaired the integrity and independence of the Spanish monarchy; the wisdom, liberality, and promptitude of the measures consequently adopted by your majesty's government, have excited in our breasts the most lively and grateful sensations.-We have to entreat your majesty's acceptance of our most cordial thanks for the noble and liberal system of policy by which your councils have been, and continue to be actuated towards Spain; and we beg leave to assure you, that, in contributing to the success of your royal interposition in a cause, at once so great and glorious, and so peculiarly congenial to the spirit and feelings of your people, no exertion shall be withheld, no sacrifice shall be spared on our part, to prevent twelve millions of fellow-freemen from being accursed with the most galling and profligate despotism recorded in the history of the world.In the measures which your majesty may think proper to adopt for accomplishing this great end, you may, sire, rely with the firmest confidence upon the affectionate, zealous, and enthusiastic support of your loyal citizens of London. We feel ourselves identified with the patriots of Spain; we sympathise in all their wants; we participate

They were all received very graciously, and had the honour to... . . kiss his majesty's hand!

AMERICA.-Letter from Mr. Jefferson to the Delegates of the Democratic Republicans of the City of Philadelphia, in general Committee assembled. 25th May, 1808. The epoch, fellow-citizens, into which our lot has fallen, has indeed been fruitful of the events, which require vigilance and embarrass deliberation. That, during such a period of difficulty, and amidst the perils surrounding us, the public measures which have been pursued should meet your approbation, is a source of great satisfaction.-It was not expected, in this age, that nations, so honourably distinguished by their advances in science and civilization, would suddenly cast away the esteem they had merited from the world, and revolting from the empire of morality, assume a character in history, which all the tears of their posterity will never wash from its pages.-But, during this delirium of the warring powers, the ocean having become a field of lawless violence, a suspension of our navigation, for a time, was equally necessary to avoid contest, or enter it with advantage. This measure will indeed produce some temporary inconve

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