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From tlie Nat. Intelligencer.
ANTIQUITIES OE FLORIDA
Copy of a letter from Judge Ckkeis-
K'Dce, of Florida, to Col. White,
Delegate in Congress from that
Territory.
Washington, Jan. 1 l, 1G27
Sir: —ln compliance with your re
quest, I will now proceed to give a
brief topographical and histcrica!
sketch of the curious and interest
ing part of our Territory, in which
our capital, Tallahassee, is situated.
The twenty townships exposed to
sale last May twelvemonth, contain
a very largo proportion of excellent
tand, which has been nearly all pur
chased, with a view of settlement.
In appearance, it is entirely unlike
any part of the United States, so
near the sea board. Instead of be
ing a plan of unvaried surface, it re
sembles the high lands above the
falls of the rivers in the Atlantic
States, and is beautifully diversilied
by hill and dale, and rendered pic
turesque by the number of lakes,
whose pure waters reflects the for
ests of oak, which frequently clothe
the sides of the hills, down to their
very margin . These lakes receive
a number of streams, which flow
from the higher grounds, and lose
themselves in {heir placid bosoms.—
Tire largest of them are called ti e
Imonia, Jackson, and Micasuki, each
of which is from thirty to forty miles
in circumference; but there are many
others of a simaller size, affording
many beautiful situations for country
residences, where the natural open
groves of oak, hickory, beach, and
magnolia grandiflora, surpass in mag
nificence the proudest parks of the
English nobility. The soil of the
uplands bears a strong resemblance
to the best part of Prince George's
country, Maryland; anti the face of
the country is not unlike the South
side of the potc.mac, opposite Wash
ington city. In the valleys, there
is a much heavier growth of tim
ber, and frequently deejt cune
brakus. There arc, tiro, frequent
ly to be met with grassy ponds, sur
rounded by glades, which alford
excellent pasture. The strawber
ry, the wild grape, and plum, are
found every where, and the numer
ous flowers which embalm the air
during a great part of the year, may
perhaps, have occasioned the tuque
of Florida to be given; for I will pre
sently show, that, after Mexico, this
was the first part of the American
continent which became the scene
of Spanish adventure. The only
regret which I fell in contemplating
this beautiful region, is its very limi
ted extent—an Oasis, which app ars
to have been formed by nature, in
one of her most sportive and fan
tastic humors. The general sub
stratum, perhaps a few feet above
the level of the sea, is a soft lime
stone, cf recent formation. In th*
pine wood plain, which stretches to*
w ards the highlands of Tallahassee,
the stone is often found in masses on
the surface.
About sixteen miles ftom the port |
of St. Mark's, we begin to ascend, {
and enter the country already de-l
scribed; the ridge forming, in some |
measure, a barrier to the passage of!
the water to the sea; on the contra
ry. the streamy, in general, rising
near the submits of the hills, flow
downward, until they reach the gc n
eral bed of the lime-stono where
they either sink into the fissures of
the rock, or spread out in lakes,
which have their subterranean pas
sages; but they .again rise on the
South side of the ridge, and torn)
some ofthe largest springs in the
world. The VVakullen comes forth
at once, a noble river, two hundred
yards in width, its source not less
than one hundred feet in deptii, and
so transparent, that a person stand
ing by the side of it, fells as though
he were on the edge of a precipice.
The lakes of Tallahassee abound m
fish; the Trout, 15ream, Perch, and
soil shelled Turtle; and in Winter,
with wild fowl. The soil, as well
on the uplands as in the valley, is
adapted to the culture of the Sugar
Cane, Rice, Sea-Island Cotton, and
Indian Corn. Hitherto it has been
healthy, and it is fair 1* presume
that it will continue so; the Win
ters are of course mild, and being
within the reach of the sea breeze,
the heat of Summer is greatly mod
erated.
The appearances of a dense popu
lation, which seems at one time to
have covered this country, has in
duced me to make some inquiry.—
W bile at Havana, I could learn no
thing; but while at Charleston, l
met with an English work. Roberts’
account of Florida, 1763, which
gives a piece of history apparently
but little known. The district of
Apulache, it appears, was inhabited
by a race called Atimaco Indians,
with whom the Spaniards had be
come intermingled. The Yawassee
Indians, who lived near St. Angus
line, backed by those of Apalache,
made frequent excur?ions into the
new settlements of South Carolina,
threatening them with total destruc
tion In consequence of this, Col.
Moor Governor of that Siate, made
three inroads into their country in
the years 1702, 4 and 6, marching to
the Flint River, and taking a direc
tion to the South, towards Tallahas
see. In his last expedition ho en
tirely defeated the Spanish Govern
br, a Don Juan Mexin, killing »u<l
taking prisoners above eight hun
dred of the Spaniards and Indians—
Don Mexia himself being one of the
[ lisoners. Col. Moor transported
1-100 ofthe Indians, ami fixed them
in a settlement nsar the Savannah
[river. The settlements were coin
j pletely destroyed. This agrees tol
erably well with the traditionary ac
! coUfiit of the old Indian Chetixico,
who says that his father told him
the settlements tbrnied by the inter
marriage of the Spaniards and In
dians, had been destioycd by a great
warrior, alter three different inva
sions. Chefixico says that when a
boy, the country was so open as to
be scarce of game, and was not re
-orted to by the Indians until the
ii.rests grew up; that it was then
full of Orange and Fig trees, and the
roads and bridges still to be seen.—
At present the (races of the roads
are still visible, and also numerous
sites of villages, forts, and private
residences. A number of towns are
laid down on the old maps, the prin
cipal of which are St. Mathew, St.
Juan, Aspalaga, Ocon, Tapalaga, St.
Mark, de Apalache, Avavala, San
Pedro, 4*c. No such place as St.
Louis is marked, and I am at a loss
to know on what authority the ruins
ot a fort near Tallahassee has been
called by that name.
The Districts of Apalache, we
learn, from Garcillaso dc la Vega,
was very populous at a period much
more remote. Pamphilu dc Narvies
was the first who discovered the
bay of Apalache, but was compelled
to retreat on board his vessels with
great ioss. This is the same per
son who was afterwards appointed
by the Governor of Cuba to super
cede Cortes in the conquest of Mex
ico. Eleven years after the landing
of Narvais, that is, in 1530, the cele
brated Hernando Soto landed at
Tampa bay, and marched along the
coast, until he came to A pa! acfcc, of
which a very curious and interest
ing description is given. “The Gov
j ernor and his companions having
j been informed, in the town of Osa
[ chile, that the province of Apalache,
(which they had heard so highly
; praised, as w ell on account of the
j abundance and fertility ofthe soil, as
for the valor of its inhabitants was
now at no great distance, were de
sirous to see whether it was as fertile
as it was represented to be.” After
a slow and tedious march, opposed
at every step by parties of Indians,
and after several bloody engage -
ments, he reached the province.—
‘At daylight,” he observes, “the
Spaniards proceeded through exten
sive fields of corn, beans, pumpkins,
and other vegetables, which extend
ed on either side of the road farther
than the eye could reach. Between
the fields a great number of houses
were scattered about, without any
order, as in the villages. On (he
next day the Governor went in ad-
vancc with two hundred cavalry and
one hundred infantry, and reached
[the principal town, which he found
i deserted. It consisted ol 2,30 large
and good houses, in which lie lodg
| ed his army, while he himself occu
; pied the residence oftho Cacique.—
j Resides this town, there wasthrough
j out the whole district at the distance
of half a leag le, a league, and a
I league and a half, villages containing
sixty or a hundred houses, besides a
vast number x>f dwellings scattered
J about without order. The face of
the whole province is delightful, the
land fertile, with a great abundance
of provisions, and a plenty of fish,
which the natives catch all the year
• and preserve for use. The Govern
j or and his followers were delighted
! lo sec this country and its fertility,
but found the Indians fierce and war
like. To shew the fertility of this
province, it suffices to say, ttat the
whole ofthe Spanish
er with the Indians in their service,
i exceeding 1,500, and 300 horses,
j subsisted on the supplies taken at
■ first, and when they stood in ncad
of any addition, they never went
, more than a league and half to pro
cure it. The country is also well
su ted to the rearing of every kind
of live stock, having fine woods, ex
cellent water, lakes, ponds, and
reeds, which cattle oat so readily,
!as not to require any kind of grain
in addition. It is also well adapted
to the culture of silk, from the great
quantity of mulberry trees; and there
is besides, an abundance offish of
an excellent quality.” This de
scription is wonderfully accurate. —
The settlement of this country may
perhaps be dated from the year
1530, which, until the destruction
1706, would he nearly two hundred
yi'ars. It is probable that a par* of
De Soto’s army remained in posses
sion; we have, however, no authen
tic account of the exact period at
which the Spaniards made their set
tlements. It is stated by Roberts,
that previous to their destruction by
Governor Moor, they carried on a
considerable trade with Havana by
small vessels. After the destruc
tion,' the county appears to have
been lost sight ofby European Pow
i ers; the Spaniards made no attempt
to settle it again, and it was not un
til about the year 1763, that the
British built the present Fort of St
Mark's but formed no settlement,
perhaps on account of the hostility
of the Muscogee Indians; who then
possessed it. During the period tin
Spaniards subsequently possessed it,
(the Sciiiiiiviciiiii'l Muscogess care
GEORGIA STATESMAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1827.
fully forbade any one to enter it.
Asa proof how little it was known
to the Spaniarnds, I will mention the
fact, that there is not a single Span
ish grant in the whole of it; the grant
of Forbes, merely approaches its
borders In some old maps it it
marked “the Apalache old fields.
The inarch of General Jackson into j
this district, in 1818, in pursuit of!
the Seminole Indians, was the first I
notice ws ever had of it. It is now!
about three years since our settle- j
ments began, and contains a popu
lation of about two thousand souls,
which is rapidly increasing. By the
last census, Tallahassee contained
about eight hundred, and five or six
mercantile establishments, which do
an extensive business. One wing
of the Capitol, a handsome brick
building, is now completed, and oc
cupied this Winter by the Legisla
tive Council. The country begins
to wear the appearance of cultiva
tion; good roads arc made in all di
rections, and carts, wagons, and car
riages, are constantly travelling
them. The grant to General La-
Favctte, cotaining 23,000 acres ofthe
best land, adjoining the town, re
mains a wilderness; but it is to be
j hoped, that something will be done
with it before long: for, so large a
body ol land remaining unimproved,
must tend to retard
the progress of tho town. If the
grape, the olive, and (lie silk worm,
can succeed any where in America,
it must be here. This present to
the good old General, no doubt, fre
quently occupies his thoughts, not
as an object of sordid speculation,
hut as the means of uniting his name,
and his interests, with the very soil
of our Republic.
I am, respectfully,
Your most obdt. servt.
11. M. BRACKENKIDGE.
Col. J. M. White,
Delegate Florida.
AWFUL CALAMITY IN ALEX
ANDRIA.
it is with Hidings of the deepest
concern and sympathy, we perform
the painful duty of recording the
calamity that befel our sister City,
Alexandria, yesterday. An exten
sive and destructive conflagration
lias left tho most populous and flour
ishing part ofthe City io rums, and
filled the bosoms of its inhabitants
with griet and desolation. Many
tamiles that, yesterday morning, of
fered up their daily thanksgiving for
tho blessings ot food, raiment and
shelter, wer-, in the evening, house
less and destitute—thrown, at this
inclement season, upon the charities
of neighbors almost as wretched as
themselves, or left to wander amid
the smouldering ruins of their late
comfortable dwellings in hopeless
misery. Wc have yet been able to
collect but a very imperfect account
ofthe extent of the calamity. The
alarm of fire was given about nine
til tl.c morning, when it was discov
»red that a Cabinet maker’s shop, in
tho interior ofthe square and near
the intersection of King and Royal
street, was in flames. That house
and ‘J or 10 others, fronting on alleys
were consumed, most of which were
the back buildings ofhouses t/onting
on King and Fairfax streets. From
these the fire extended to Fairfax
street, consuming the woodeu hou
ses occupied by Mr. Hill as a tur
ner’s shop. Mr, Masterson as a
shoemaker’s shop, Mr Brochos as
a merchant tailor and dwelling; then
five three-story brick housed, occu
pied by Mr. Dodds, Shoemaker, and
family; Dr. Hooper, druggist, and
family; Capt Johnson’s family; one
unoccupied, and Capt. Ranney’s
family; then three smaller brick ten
ements and several wooden ones; all
these were on the west side of Fair
fax street. On the east side, two
threo story brick stores and dwell
ings were also consumed; one occu
pied as a wholesale dry good store
by C. &. J. P. Thompson, and dwel
ling, and the other as a dwelling by
Mr. Robert J. T. Wilson. Here
the fire was arrested on Fairfax
street but in the mean time the bla
zing shingles had lighted the flames
in Prince street, commencing at the
intersection of that and Water-street
sweeping every house on both sides
from thence to Union street, with
the exception of one fire-proof ware
house occupied by Mr. Miller as a
leather store.
On Union street the ravages were
checked north and south, and pre
vented from crossing the street to
the east, thereby saving the most
valuable property in the town, lying
on the wharves, where the shipping
was completely rivetted by ice too
strong to leave a hope of escape.—
On Prince streets about thirty hou
ses were burnt, many ot which were
brick, but chiefly wooden; and on
Union fi.e or six line Brick Ware
Houses were totally consumed.—
The sufferers on these two streets,
Mr. Field, Mr. Isabel, Mr. Hor
well, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Smoot, Mr.
May, Mr. Robinson, Messrs. Coha
gen & Whittle, Air. Shchce and
many others. The whole number
of houses consumed are hastily es
timated at between eighty and nine
ty. No correct calculation can be
made in regard to value of |>ropcrty,
but it will not fall far short of’ *l5O,
000.
We are particularly desired to ac-
knowledge the great obligation of
the citizens of Alexandria to those
of Washington and Georgetown,
through whose exertions an im
mense amount of property was sa
ved.
JSfat. Journal.
! CONGRESSIONAL.
FRIDAY, January 19, 1827.
i The Senate yesterday resumed
i the consideration of the Bankrupt
Bill, and spent several hours in ma
turing its details, One of its mate
rial features was under discussion
when the k Senate adjourned.
The House of Representatives
disposed of a few motions, and en
tered on the unfinished business of
the day before the duty on wool
lens but adjourned at an early
hour.- The reason of the early ad
journment did honor to the feelings
of the House. The Southern win
dows of the Hall commanded a full
though distant view of our unfortnate
sister town of Alexandria; the at
tention of the Members could not
be withvvrawn from the awful spec
tacle which a town almost envelop
ed in volumes of flames and smoke
presented, and it was impossible to
proceed in cold deliberation with a
scene so calamitous before they eyes.
At an early hour of the day Mr,
Miner, obeying the impulse of his
lumane disposition, offered a joint
resolution to appropriate a sum of
money from the Treasury for the re
lief of the immediate wants of the
house! ss sufferers. The afflicting
view of the burning town, and the
exreme severity of the weather, ap
pealed so powerfully to the feelings
of the House, that we heard noob
ection made to the first reading of
he proposition.
SUFFERERS at ALEXANDRIA.
The joint resolution of Mr. Mixer
proposing to appropriate a sum of
money, not exceeding $ 10 000, for
the purchase of necessaries for the
relief of the inhabitants of Alexan
dria, destituted by the fire of yester
day, (which was not withdrawn, as
we erroneously reported yesterday,
but laid upon the table,) coming up
for consideration —
Mr. MINER moved that it be re
ferred to the Standing Committee on
the District of Columbia.
Mr. POWELL, from the Commit
tee on the District, reported the
following bill: —
“Be it enacted 4 - c. That the sum
of dollars bo, and the same is
hereby, appropriated, to be paid out
of any money in the Treasury, not
otherwise appropriated, for the re
lief of the indigent sufferers by the
destructive fire in the City of Alex
andria, in the District of Columbia,
to be distributed under the direction
of the Mayor and Common Council
of the City of Alexandria, for the
immediate relief of such class of suf
ferers, and for no other purpose.”
Mr. POWELL moved that all the
orders of the day which precede the
the bill for the r lief of the distress
ed inhabitants ofAlexandria.be post
poned, and that the bill be now con
sidered.
Tke motion prevailed; and the
House went into committee of the
Whole, Mr. Findlay, of Ohio, in the
Chair, upon that bill.
M POWFLL moved to fill the
blank with twenty thousand dollars.
The motion was agreed to.
We have room only for the following speech
on the above bill, which we consider as
just as it is unique.
Mr. HERRICK, of Maine, said, as
he intended to occupy the floor but
a few minut. s, he supposed that, in
accordance with common practice,
he must consume a little time in an
nouncing to the House, “ I do not
riso to make a speech.”
I certainly (said he) have a high
respect for the philanthropic motives
on which this bill is founded, and
have not come to a determination
to vote against it. My sympathies
are strongly excited. Bat while this
bill was under the consideration of
the Committee of the Whole, which
I supposed to be the usage, I thought
I beheld the figure of a man, whom
I have never seen, but of whom I
have heard considerable, and said
something. ..a suffering constituent,
by the name of Isaac Pool....which
addressed me, in a voice probably
not sufficiently audible to be heared
by other gentlemen, but being spe
cially directed to me, I distinctly
heard him. His speech was as fol
lows .
“ I was, some few years since,
while in the pursuit of my usual avo
cation, that of a shipmaster, captur
ed, w(th the vessel and crew, then
under my command. A prize crew
was put on board. A few days after
wards, I succceeded in recapturing
the vessel, and making prisoners of
the pirates, and brought them into
a port of the United States, and de
livered them to the proper authori
ties. I was recognized, in a heavy
sum, to appear against them as a
witness, and kept under recognisance
for two years, whereby, 1 was depriv
ed of the privilege of pursuing my
usual avocation, that on which I
lived, and my family reduced to as
great distress as those for whose re
lief this bill is intended. 1 applied
to Congress for relief, but, instead
of bread, I received a stone. My
case was admitted to be a bard one,
but it was said not to be harder than
others had to submit to, and that,
to grant me relief, would be ‘opening
a door,’ and ‘establishing a danger
ous precedent,’ Bat I am unable
to see why it would be opening a
wider door, or establishing a more
dangerous precedent, to relieve dis
tress incurred by acts of pirates and
Governments, than that incurred
by an act of Providence. Other pla
ces arc equally liable to the distress
of conflagration as Alexandria ; and
must 1, who by acts of piracy .and the
Govcrnmen olfmy country, have been,
with my family, reduced to penury
j and want, be compelled to contribute
Ia mite to their relief, in every article
of comfort, which I may be obliged
to purchase and pay for by that kind
of manual labor, into which you have
arbitrarily thrown me ? If so. let me
next time he ‘tried by fire." Be just
before you are generous.”
Here ended the speech of the
spectre and here ends my speech.
The bill was read the third time and pass
ed, and sent to tiic Senate far concurrence.
From the New-Orlcans Mercantdo Advertiser
20 th of December. —Three and
twenty years will have elapsed, by
noon this day, since the royal ban
ners of Spain, and the tri- colorcd flag
of France, gave place in this city
to the “Stars and Stripes”’of the on
ly Republic then on the Continent.
Whilst the inhabitants of Louisiana
are in the full career of prosperity
under the change thus effected, it
cannot be amiss to take a retrospec
tive glance at the goal from which
they sprung. At present,this notice
will be confined to New-Orleans.
When the Commissioners of the
United States, (Messrs Wilkinson
and Claiborne) received the govern
ment of the country from Mr. Laus
sat, New-Orlcans contained 8,000
souls, and about 1,000 houses. None
of its ncmerous suburbs w'ere then
traced out, except that of St. Mary,
where very few houses could be sc n.
In the city, rope walks and grave
yards, and large gardons, occupied
snots noiv covered with handsome
buildings. The port of Orleans
contained few ships, and its trade
passed through still fewer hands.
Now the population of this city
cannot bo less than fifty thousand
souls, and there are nearly six thou
sand houses, in the town and su
burbs. Our exports during the ap
proaching season will be something
like threo hundred thousand bales
of cotton, one hundred thousand
barrels of flour, forty thousand hluls.
of sugar, twenty thousand of tobac
co, four millions pounds of lead, and
many other articles of great value,
and in Ittrgc quantities.
This rough calculation will speak
as much as volumes in confirmation
of freedom....liberty, not in name,
but in fact ; secured to the in
habitants of Louisiana and their de
scendants, by the compact fulfilled
on the 20th day of December.. .
With these recollections, and this
conviction, we could not pass such a
day over in silence ; and wc con
clude by expressing a hope that its
return may annually find every Lou
isianian in full enjoyment of peace
and prosperity.
From Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser.
Benefit of Clergy. —As there are
great misunderstandings of the pri
vileginm cleriealc n this country, this
brief account of it may not be use
less.
In the infant state of the church,
religious places nnd persons, were
exemptod from criminal process; a
privilege to which they afterwards
asserted a divine right, lounded
chiefly on the text of Scripture,
1 touch not mine anointed and do my
prophets no harm.’ In process ot
time the privilege was extended in
England to all who could read, which
was a mark of great learning in
those day of ignorance : which ex
emption was somewhat abridged by
a statute, which prevented any per
sons, excepting the clergy, pleading
it for the second offence : and to
distinguish the laymen who had once
enjoyed the privilege, such were
branded in the left thumb. Benefit
of clcigy was afterwards extended
to the peerage. Although they were
exempted from criminal process, the
privilegium clericale did not save
them from ecclesiastical trial, and as
soon as they were discharged from
the sentence of the law by pleading
their clergy, their were delivered
over to he dealt with according to
the canons of the church, which
benefit was again restricted by per
mitting the judge to imprison the
offender for any time less than a year
and then to go free of ecclesiastical
judgement. The punishment of
burning in the hand was for a time
changed into branding in the most
visible part of the left cheek.
Death was the consequence of the
crimes of those who, after trial,
where found unable to read. In the
reign of Anne, it was enacted that
the benefit of clergy should be ex
tended to all those wild were entitl
ed to ask it, without requiring them
lo read; and by enactments in George
111. the first offence, although bene
fit of clergy be granted, may be
punished by transportation or im
prisonment. It must be understood
that this privilege is not extended
to all offences Mnrii treason nniij
‘ofne others are encejptud
Volume 11.
From the London Morning Chronicle.
WAR WITH SPAIN.
Already five thousand men have
been sent to Portugal; and this step
has been taken, it is alleged, in com
plete concurrence not merely with
France, but with Austria, Russia
Prussia, &.c. We learn that an or
der has been issued from the Ilorse
Guards, for the embarkation of six
regiments for Lisbon.
This is certainly a curious state of
things. France, commissioned bv
the Holy Alliance, entered Spain to
restore Ferdinand to absolute power
and she now gairisons that country.
England, it appears, is now authoriz
ed by the Holy Alliance, and by
France the {lower which occupies
Spain, to make war on that country.
France is thus certainly placed in a
very strange position. She acts m
conjunction with the Power declar
ing war against the Government
which she established and upholds
by her arm. This is casting out
Devils by Belzcbub the Prince of
Devils.
That '.he measure will be popular,
we have no doubt. When was ever
a war declared in England, which
was not popular at the time ? War,
in this country, furnishes immediate
excitement, without immediato dan
ger ; and dearly do we, as a nation,
love strong excitement. To the in
habitants on the Rhine, the Po, and
the Elbe, the announcement of war
carries instantaneous alarm and ap
prehension ; for it prepares them lor
military ravages and desolation...the
interruption of industry....aud mel
ancholy reverses of fortune. Bat
we can never know the alarm inspir
ed by the approach ol hostile troops
we look with that sort of compla
cency on the conflicts of armies,
which the Latin Poet attributes to
the spectator on shore, who beholds
a ship tossed about in a storm. Our
insular position, our resources, and
our naval strength, protect us from,
all that is distressing in war itself,
though they cannot protect us from
the consequences which it entails
on us.
Now, Mr. Canning is no doubt a
very clever man, and the nation has
great confidence in the skill of his
combinations. It is possibl , there
fore, that the present hostile prepur*
ation will have tho effect of in
timidating Ferdinand, and at once
crushing the Portuguese malcontents.
The return ofthe fugitives from Spain
may also afford a colourable pretext
for our interference in the domestic
affairs of Portugal, which if the re
bels had never quilted Portugal wn»
should not have had All may be
for the best. But the expectations
of those who enter onja war arei
seldom realised. The Spaniards,
too, are a singular people and of
all nations their movements are least,
to be circulated on according to or
dinary principles.
Do wo then say that Ministers
ought net to support our ancient
ally ? We do not say this ; but we
wish sincerely ivo had not always
such excellent reasons for going to
War.
Let it be remembered that wo be
gan the last war in support of an an
cient ally, and Statesmen of high
name have not hesitated to state in
their {dace in Parliament, that we
should compound for the debt which
it entailed on us. Our Revenue has
fallen oil, and the nation is suffering
m ail its interests. Our support of
another ancient ally, our fidelity to
engagements, may lead to infidelity
to another sort of engagements. It
were to be wished that we had fewer
Allies.
That Mr. Canning, however, will
obtain the plaudits of the House,
anu of the country too, we do not in
the least doubt. We shall have no
ble sentiments, at all events, for our
money. Who would think of the
multitudes dying of absolute famine
in Lancashire and Scotland, when
the national glory is at stake ?
An ingenious foreign writer ob
serves, that war is always a resource
for English Ministers ivbenthey know
not how to extricate themselves from
difliculties. “Whenever the politi
cal system is threatened, an able
Minister lias always a powerful rc*
source in reserve, of which in mo
treats ot difficulty, he never fails to
avail himself.....that of a diversion
offered to the national pride in ex
ternal quarrels and foreign war!”
The Nondescript—a Sea-Bull.
An Irishman, who served on board
a man-of-war in the capacity of a
waiter, was selected by one of the
officers to haul in a tow-line, of con
siderable length, that was towing
over the taffrail. After rowsing-in
forty or fifty fathoms, ivhich had put
his patience severely to proof, as
well as every muscle of his arms,
he muttered to himself, “By my
soul, its as long as to-day and to
morrow!—lts a good week’s work
for any five in the ship!—Bad luck
to the arm or leg, it’ll leave me at
last! What! more of it yet! Och,
murder; the sa’s mighty deep! to be
sure!”—When, after continuing in a
similar strain, and conceiving there
was little probability of the comple
tion of bis labour, he stopped sud
denly short, and addressing tlie of
ficer of the watch oxrlimut-d, ‘Bad
manners to mo, sir, if i don't think
••oirrboil? “ rwf off the otfur end oj
it" •• i-- Cwkti