Newspaper Page Text
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From the Nat. Intelligencer.
ANTIQUITIES OE FLORIDA.
Copy of a letter from Judge Bracken
ridge, of Florida, to Col. White,
Delegate in Congress from that.
’d'err itori/.
IVas'iington, Jan. 14, 1J27
Sir:—ln compliance with your re- .
quest, 1 wni now proceed to give a
brief topographical and historical
sketch of the curious and interest
ing part of our Territory, in which
our capital, Tallahass e, is situated.
The twenty townships exposed to
sale last May twelvemonth, contain
a very large proportion of excellent
land, which has been nearly ail 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 diversified
by hill and dale, and rendered pic
turesque by the number of lakes,
whose pure waters reflects the for
csts of oak, which frequently clothe
the sides of the hills, down to their
very margins. These lakes receive
a number of streams, which flow
from the higher grounds, and lose
themselves in their placid bosoms. —
The largest of them are called the
Imonia, Jackson, and Micasuki, each
of which is from thirty to forty miles
in circumferenc ; but there are many
others of a simal’er size, affording
many beautiful situations for country
residences, where the natural open
groves of oak, hickory, beach, and
magnolia grandillora, surpas s 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; and the face of
the country is not unlike the South
side of the potomuc, opposite Wash
ington city, in the vaheys, there
is a much heavier growth of tim
ber, and frequently deep cane-
There are, also, frequent
ly to be met with grassy ponds, sur
"rounded by glades, which afford
excellent pasture. The strawber
ry, the wild grape, and plum, arc
found every where, and the numer
ous flowers which embalm the air
duringa great pait of the y ar. may
perhaps, have occasioned the name
of Florida to be given; for 1 will pre
sently shew, that, alter 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 appears
to have been formed by nature, in
one of her most sportive and fan
tastic humors. The gem r.d sub
stratum, perhaps a few feet above
the level el the sea, is a soft lime
stone, c.f recent formation. In the
pine wood plain, which stretches lo !
wards the highlands of Tallahassee,'
the stone is often found in masse ■ on
the - iii -ai c.
About sixteen miles from the port
ot St. Mark’s, we begin to ascend,
and enter the country already de
scribed; the ridge forming, in some
measure, a barrier to the passage of
the water to the sea; on (he contra
ry. the streams, in general, rising
near the summits of the hills, flow
downward, until they reach the gen
eral bed of the lime-stone 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 form
some of the largest springs in the
world. The Wakullcn comes forth
at once, a noble river, two hundred
yards in width, its source not less
than one hundred feet in depth, and
so transparent, that a person stand
ing by the side of it, fells as (hough !
he were on the edge of a precipice. 1
The lakes of Tallahassee abound in i
fish; the Trout, Bream, Perch, and 1
soft shelled Turtle; and tn Winter, I
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 t) presume
that it will continue so; the Win
ters are of course mild, and being
within the reach of the sea breeze,
the heat ol Summer is greatly mod
erated.
The appearances of a dense popu- i
lation, which seems at one time to j
have covered this country, has in-,
duccd inc to make some inquiry.
While at Havana, 1 could learn no
thing; but while at Charleston, I
met with an English work. Roberts’
account of Florida, 1763, which
gives a piece of history apparently
but little known. The district of
Apalache, it appears, was inhabited
by a race called Atimaco Indians,
with whom the Spaniards had be
come intermingled. The Yawa-s<«*
Indians, who lived near St. Angus- 1 ,
tine, backed by those of Apalache, [
made frequent excursions into the!
new settlements of South Carolina, |
threatening them with total destruc-i
tion In consequence of this, Col j
Moor, Governor of that State, made I
thru* inroads into their country m!
the y« ars 1702, 4 and 6, marching t< j
the Flint River, and taking a direc
tion to the South, towards Tallahas
see. In his hist expedition ha en
tirely defeated the Spanish Govtr
rr>a D< A n Ju tn Mexia, killing
taking prisoners above eight hun
drcgl of the Spaniards and Indians—
Don Mexia himself being one of the
prisoners. Col. Moor transported
1100 of the Indians, and fixed them
m a settlement nsur the Savannah
river. The settlements were com
pletely destroyed. This agrees tol
erably well with the traditionary ac
count of the old Indian Chefixico,
who says thwt his father told him
the settlements formed by the inter
i marriage of the Spaniards and In
; dians, hud been destroyed by a great
[ warrior, after three different inva
ions. Chefixico says that when a
boy, the-country was so open as to
be scarce of game, and was not re
sorted to by the Indians until the
forests grew up; that it was then
i full of Orange and Fig trees, and the
roads and bridges still to be seen.—
/xt present the traces of the roads
■>re 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, Ayavala, San
Pedro, <s’C. No such place as St.
Louis is marked, and I am at a loss
to know on what authority the ruins
i of a fort near Tallahassee has been
I called by that name
! The Districts of Apalache, we
i : am, from Garcillaso de la Veg i,
was very populous at a period much
mure remote. Pamphile de Narvaes
was the first who discovered the
hay of Apalache, but was compelled
to retreat on board his vessels with
great loss. 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 Narvres, that is, in 1530, the cele
brated Hernando Soto landed at
Tampa bay, and marched along the
coast, until he came to Apalache, of
which a very curious and interest
ing description is given. “The Gov
i ernor and his companions having
• been informed, in the town of Osa
[chile, that the province of Apalache,
[which they had heard so highly
praised, as well on account of the
abundance and fertility of the soil as
for the valor of its inhabitants was
non at no great distance, were <!• -
[ sin us to see whether it was as fertile
as it was represented to be.” After
a slow and tedious march, opposed
al 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 cither 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 the
next day tha Governor went in ad
vance with two hundred cavalry and
one hundred infantry, and reached
the principal town, which he found
deserted. it consisted of 250 large
and good houses, in which lie lodg
ed his army, while he himself occu
pied the residence of Ihe Cacique.—
Besides this town, there was through
out the whole district at the distance
of half a leag ic, a league, and a
league and a half, villages containing
sixty or a hundred houses, besides a
vast number of dwellings scattered
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 fur use. The Govern
or and his followers were delighted
to see this country and its fertility,
but found the Indians fierce and war
like. To shew the fertility of this
province, it suffices to say, that the
whole of the Spanish army, togeth- '
er with the Indians in their service, i
exceeding 1,500, and 300 horses, I
subsisted on the supplies taken at
first, and when they stood in ncad j
of any addition, they never went !
more than a league and half to pro- j
cure it. The country is also well
suited to the rearing of every kind [
of live stock, having fine woods, ex
cellent water, lakes, ponds, and
reeds, which cattle eat so readily,
as not to require any kind of gram
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 of fish 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 be nearly two hundred
y ars. It is probable that a part of
De Soto's army remained in posses
sion; we have, honever. 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-i
lion, the county appears to have!
been lost sight of by European Pow-1
rrs; the Spaniards made no attempt !
io settle it again, and it was not na
il about the- year 1763. that the
British built the present Fort of Si
• lark’s but formed no settlement
oerhaps on account of the hostilit
’’the Muscogee Indians; who the. j
'o-sessed it During the period th i
Spaniards subsequently possessed i .
the Scnu.ncUs md Mu: joeress car<.
GEORGIA STATESMAN, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY (>, 1827.
hilly forbade anyone to enter it.
As a 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 march of General Jackson into
this district, in 1818, in pursuit ol!
the Seminole Indians, ivas the first
notice we ever had of it. It is now
about three years since our settle
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 are made in all di
rections, and carts, wagons, and car
riages, are constantly travelling
them. The grant to General La-
Fayette, cotaining 23,000 acres ofthe
best land, adjoining the town, re
mains a wilderness; but it is to be
' hoped, that something will be done
: with it before long: for, so large a
' body of land remaining unimproved,
; must tend to retard
| the progress of the town. If tiie
* grape, the olive, and the silk worm,
| can succeed any where in America,
!it mu t b' here. This present to
■ the good old General, no doubt, fre
quently occupies his thoughts, not
as an object of sordid speculation,
but 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. BRACKENRIDGE.
Col. J. M. White,
Delegate Florida.
AWFUL CALAMITY IN ALEX
ANDRIA.
It is with feelings 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
has left the most populous and flour
ishing- part ofthe City in rums, and
filled the bosoms of its inhabitants
■with grief ami desolation. Many
I familes that, yesterday morning, of
f fcred up their daily thanksgiving for
i the blessings of food, raiment and
I shelter, were, 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. We have yet been able to
collect but a very imperfect account
ol the extent of the calamity. The
alarm of fire was given about nine
in the morning, when it was discov
ered that a Cabinet maker’s shop, in
the interior ofthe square and near
the intersection us King and Royal
street, was in flames. That house
and 9 or 10 others, fronting on allevs
were consumed, most of which were
the back buil ings of houses fronting
on King and Fairfax street-. From
these the lire extended to Fairfax
street, consuming the wooden hou
>cs occupied by Mr. Hill as a tur
ner’s shop, Mr, .Masterson as a
shoemaker’s shop, Mr Brocchus as
a merchant tailor and dwelling; then
five three-story brick houses, 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 cast side, two
three 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 bv
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 tire-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 trie shipping
was completely nvetted by ice too '
strong to leave a hope of escape.— !
On Prince street- about thirty lion- [
ses were burnt, many ot winch were *
brick, but chiefly wooden; and on
Union fi.e or six fine Brick Ware
Houses were totally consumed.— 1
The sufferers on these two streets, I
Mr. Field, Mr. Isabel, Mr. Ilor
well, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Smoot, Mr.
May, Mr. Robinson. Messrs. Coha
gen & \V hittie, Mr. Shehee and
many others. The whole number
of houses consumed arc hastily es
imated at between eighty and nine
y No correct calculation can be !
iade in regard to value of property, I
u* it will not fall tar short us £lsU.'
000.
, We arc particularly dcaired to ac- 1
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.
Nat. Journal.
"If)IyG]tESSfONAL.
i
FRIDAY, January 19, 1827.
The Senate yesterday resumed
the consideration of the Bankrupt
Bill, and spent several hours in ma
turing its details, One ot its mate
rial features was under discussion
when the 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 cany ad
journment did honor to the feelings
of the/House. The Southern win
fl w» 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 withwravvn from the awlul spec
tacle which a town almost envelop
ed in vo*umes of flames and smoke
presented, and it was impossible tu
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 di-po-ition, offered a jc r
resolution to appropriate :r sum ot
money from the Treasury for the re
lief of the immediate wants of the
housck ss sufferers, i’he 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 noub
ection made to the first reading of
he proposition.
SUFFERERS at ALEXANDRIA.
The joint resolution of Mr. Miner
proposing to appropriate a sum ot
maney, not exceeding £ 10 000, tor
the purchase ot' necessaries tor the
relief of the inhabitants ot Alexan
dria, destituted by the fire of yester
day, (which was not withdrawn, as
we erroneously reported vest "day,
but laid upon the table?, coming up
for consideration—
Mr. MINE R moved that it bo re
ferred to the Standing Committee on
the District of Columbia.
Mr. POWELL, from the Commit
tee on the District, reported the
following bill :
“ He it enacted <Vc. That the sum
o f dollars be, 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 I y 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 j
of the City of Alexandria, for the 1
immediate relief of such class of suf
ferers, and for no other purpose.’’
Mr. POWELL moved that all the
orders ofthe day which precede the
the bill for the r lief of the distress
ed inhabitants of Alexandria, be post- i
poned, and that the bill be now con
sidered. ,
The motion prevailed ; and the '
House went into committee of the I
Whole, Mr. Fi.xdi.ay, of Ohio, in the 1
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 minutes, he supposed that, in
accordance with common practice,
he must consume a little time in an
nouncing to the House, “ 1 do not
rise to make a speech. ’
J certainly (said he) have a high
respect for the philanthropic motives
on which this bill is founded, and
lure not come to a determination
to vote against it. My sympathies
are strongly excited. But while this
bill was under the consideration of
the Committee of the hole, which
1 supposed to be the usage, I thought
1 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 beared
by other gentlemen, but being spe
cially directed to me, I distinctly
heard him. Ilis speech was as fol
lows .
• 1 was, some few years since,
while in the pursuit of iny usual avo- :
cation, that of a ship master, captur-1
od, with the vessel and crew, then!
under my command. A prize crew •
was put on board. A few davs after-'
wards, 1 succeeeded in recapturing '
the vessel, and making prisoners of;
the pirates, and brought them into I
a port of the United States, and de-!
livered them to the proper authori- 1
ties. I was recognized, in a heavy
sum, to appear against them as a !
w itness, and kept under recognisance ,
for two years, whereby. I 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 lor whose re
lief this bill is intended. I applied
to Congress for relief but. instead |
of bread, I received a stone. Myi
case was admitted to be a hard one, I
but it wui said net to be than I
others had to submit to, and that,
to grant me relief, would be ‘opening
a door,’ and ‘establishing a danger
ous precedent,’ But 1 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 are equally liable to the distress
of conflagration as Alexandria ; and
must 1, who by acts of piracy and the
Govcrnraen offmy country, have been,
with my family, reduced to penury
and want, be compelled to contribute
a 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 Ipt me
’ next time be ‘tried by fire.' Be just
before you arc generous.’’
Here ended the speech of the
spectre and here ends my speech.
The bill toj read the third time and pass
ed, and sent to the Senate for concurrence.
From the New -Orleans Mercantile Advertiser
20th of December.— Three and
twenty years will have elapsed, bv
noon this day, since the royal ban
ners of Spain, and the tri-colored flag
of Fiance, gave place in this city
to the “Stars and Stripes”’of the on
ly Republic then on the Continent.
Whilst the inhabitants of Louisiana
- arc in the full caret r 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-Orleans contained B,GOO
souls, and about 1,000 houses. None
ofits numerous suburbs were then
traced out. except that of St. Mary,
where very few houses could be se n.
In the city, rope walks and grave
yards. and large gardens, occupied
spots now covered with handsome
buildings. The port of Orleans
contained few’ ships, and its trade
passed through still fewer hands.
I Now the population of this citv
cannot be less than fifty thousand
souls, and there are nearly six thou
sand houses, in tho town and su
burbs. Our exports during the ap
proaching season will be something
like three hundred thousand bales
of cotton, one hundred thousand
barrels of flour, forty thousand hhds
of sugar, twenty thousand of tobac
co, four millions pounds of lead, and
many other articles of great value,
and in large quantities.
Thi- rough calcul.ition will speak
as much as volumes in co: tirmatiou
[of freedom....liberty, not in name,
i 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, wc could not pass such a
i day over in silence ; and we con-!
i elude by expressing a hope that its
return may annually find every Lou
[ isianian m full enjoyment of peace
j and prosperity.
I rum Poulson's American Daily Advertiser.
Benefit oj Clergy. —As there are
great misunderstand ngs of the/»ri
vilegium clcricale m this’country, thi
briei account of it mav nut be Use
less.
In the infant state of the church,
religious places and persons, were
exempted from criminal process; a
privilege to which they afterwards
asserted a divine right, founded
chiefly on the text of Scripture,
* touch nut mine anointed and do ms
prophets no harm.’ In process ol
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-j
emption was somewhat abridged bv '
a statute, which prevented any per-1
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 1
of clergy was afterwards extended 1
to the peerage. Although they were ,
exempted from criminal process, the
prrvilegiinn c’enc.ale did not save
them from ecclesiastical trial, and as
soon as they were discharged from
the sentence of the law bv pleading
their clergy, their wer ■ delivered
over to be dealt with according to
the canons ol ti.e church, which
benefit was again restricted by per
mitting tiic judge to imprison the
offender for any time less than a year
and then tu go free of ecclesiastical 1 <
judgement. The punishment of;
burning in the hand was for a time:
changed into branding m the most I
visible part of the left check. .
Death was the consequence of the
crimes of those who. after trial,;
v,here found unable to read. In the j
reignofAnne.it was enacted that |,
the benefit of ( lergv should be ex-1 ;
tended to ail those who were entitl-1
cd to ask it. without requiring them !
to read: and by enactments in George j
HI. the first offence, although bene
fit of clergy be granted, may be J
punished by transportation or im-L
prisonmerit. It must be understood |
that this privilege is not extended'
to all offences. Hig’h t :r »'-on and;
seme other ar? f xc? ( ;
Volume 11.
From the London Morning Chronicle,
WAR WITH SPAIN.
Already five thousand men have
been sent to Portugal; and this step
lias been taken, it is alleged, in com
plete concurrence not merely with
France, but with Austria, Russia,
Prussia, &c. Wc learn that an or
der has been issued from the Horse
Guards, for the embarkation of six
regiments for Lisbon.
This is certainly a curious state of
things. France, commissioned by
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 power which occupies
Spain, to make war on that country.
France is thus certainly placed in a
very strange position. She acts in,
conjunction with the Power declar
ing war against the Government
which she established and upholds
by her arm. This is casting out
Devils by Belzebub the Prince of
Devils.
That the measure will be popular,
we have no doubt. When was ever
a war declared in England, which
i was not popular at the time ? War,
s in this country, furnishes immediate
; excitement, without immediate dan
; ger ; and dearly do' we, as a nation,
I love strong excitement. To the in-
* habitants on the Rhine, the Po, and
the Elbe, the announcement of war
’ carries instantaneous alarm and ap
i prehension ; for it prepares them tor
I military ravages and desolation...the
* interruption of industry....and mcl-
* ancholy reverses of fortune. But
j we can never know the alarm inspir
ed by the approach of hostile troops
we look with that sort .of compla
cency on the conflicts ui armies,
which the Latin Poti aiidfe|tes to
the spectator on shore, wMßiehckis
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 camWt protect us from
the consequences which it entails
on us.
Now, iMr. 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 prepar
alien will have the effect of in
timidating Ferdinand, and at once
crushing the Portuguese malcontents.
The return ofthe fugitives from Spain
may also afford a colourable pretext
tor our interference in the domestic
affairs of Portugal, which if the re
bels had never quitted Portugal we
should not have had All may be
'for the best. But the expectations
ol those who enter on|a war arc
seldom realised. The Spaniards,
Loo, are a singular people and < f
all nations their movements arc least
to be calculated on according to or
dinary principles.
Do wc then say that Ministers
ought not to support our ancient
ally ’ Wc do not say this ; but wc
wish sincerely we bad not always
such excellent reasons lor going to
War.
Let it be remembered that we be
gan the last war in support of an an
cient ally, and Statesmen of high
name have not hesitated to slate in
their place in Parliament, that we
should compound for the debt which
it entailed on us. Our Revenue has
fallen off, and the nation is suffering
in all its interests. Our support of
another ancient ally, our fidelity to
engagements, may lead to infidelity
to another sort oi engagements. It
were to be wished that we had fewer
Allies.
That Mr. Canning, however, will
i obtain the plaudits of the House,
' and of the country too, we do not in
I 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 when they know
not how to extricate themselves from
difficulties. “Whenever the politi
cal system is threatened, an able
.Minister has always a powerful re
source in reserve, of which in mo
ments oi 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 tafl’rail. After rowsing-m
forty or fifty fathoms, which 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 live 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 lit’le probability of the comple
tion o; his labour, lie stopped sud
denly short, and addressing the of.
ficer of the watch exclaimed, tßad
manners to me, sir, if I don't think
-ornc-h' d- - <’ r-ff tie ether end cj