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Untitled Article
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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In loose Meanders , thro' the trackless Air ; Ps a blue wat ' ry Sheet , anon , dispers'd , A hoary Mist , then , gather ed in again , A darted Stream , aslant the hollow rock ,
This Way , and that tormented , dashing thick , From Steep to Steep , with wild , infracted Course , And restless , roaring to the humble vale .
" With the rough Prospect tir'd , I turn my eyes Where , in long f ^ tsto , the soft murmuring Main Darts a green Lustre , trembling , thro '
the Trees ; Or to yon Silver-streaming Threads of Light , A showery Beauty beaming thro * the Boughs . "
An account of the variations and additions in the remainder of this poem , I must reserve for the next number . VERMICULUS .
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A Letter to a Deputy of the Portuguese Cortes . [ The subjoined letter contains a concise view of the probable effects of ii Free Press on the superstition , the laws and manners of the Hindoos and
the surrounding' world . It is signed " Leicester Stanhope ; " but whether this be the real or the assumed name of the writer , is a matter of no conquence . 1
London , Sir , March 2 , 1822 . HAVING witnessed in British India the baleful influence of a
Press under a Censor , and the beneficial effects of a Free Press , I am anxious to call the attention of your < 'ulightenxid mind to the great benefit which the latter policy , exercised at ( joa , would confer on Asia—Asia , hitherto debased and demoralized b y tt ^ es of impious priestcraft and dark despotism .
It may naturally be expected that the patriot Senators of the Portuguese Cortes , who have emancipated their native country , will next take into consideration the reformation of their colonies ; and I have ventured to address myself to you , of whom fame speaks as eminently entitled to a leading influence in that august Assembly .
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England justly claims the honour of having first established a Free Press . In the reign of Charles I ., the liberty of the press , as well as religious toleration , was generally deemed of dangerous tendency , and therefore incompatible with good
government-Experience , however , has taught us that they are the harbingers of peace and happiness . To freedom of writing may be traced the improved cdndition of society . The establishment of toleration , the abolition of the Slave Trade , the diffusion of education , and the extension of representative government , all emanated from an advanced
and cultivated state of the human mind , which was chiefly promoted bv a Free Press . The advantages derived from liberty of conscience are conspicuous in every country where it prevails—in England , in America , even in Indostan . Compare , for example ,
the conduct of the famous Mogul Emperors Akbar and Aurungzebe . Akbar , influenced by a philosophic spirit , encouraged the most perfect religious freedom . He called into the presence a Portuguese priest , and
theologians of various other persuasions , for the purpose of freely discussing the great question of religion . The consequence was , that , during his long reign , religious rancour having never been excited , there was no holy war . Far different was the conduct of
Aurungzebe . For nearly half a century he kept the sword of Mahomed reeking in the blood of the unfortunate Hindoos . But on his death-bed his conscience smote him , and he expressed his remorse in the following admonition to his sons : — < c If in our
prosperity , " says Aurungzebe , " we ever forget our duties , sooner or later the day of repentance must come—it is inevitable . " These words arc remarkable , as proceeding from a monarch who knew no limit to his
power but the will of God . " On whatever side I turn my thoughts , " continued he , " I behold nothing but evidences of the Divinity . " I shall now briefly notice to you
certain great evils that prevail under the theocracy of Indostan , and shall endeavour to prove that they can be removed only by means of education , and a Free Press . The Hindoos arc divided into castes , all under the do-
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A Letter to a Deputy of the Portuguese Cortes . 415
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1822, page 415, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2514/page/23/
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