Newspaper Page Text
0
SOUTHERN
RECORDER.
VOL. II.
MILLEDGEVILLE, TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1021.
No. 10.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY,
(on Tuesdays)
hy s. era ytl-lyd n. m. orme,
AT THREE DOLLARS. IN ADVANCE, OR YOUR
DOLLARS AT THE EXPIRATION OF THE
TEAR.
tu Advertisements conspicuously inserted at
: the customary rates.
A0\V\CY\aTY\L1\i.
I ROM rile AMERICA
DEEP PLOUGHING,
Wot requisite in the cultivation of corn
after planting.
Mr. Skinner,
That corn docs not require deep cul
tivating, is a fact that you may give to
vour correspondents without the fear of
contradiction from those who practically
know any thing upon the subject ; pro-
sided, it all times, sir, the field has been
well broken, that is, ploughed not less
than six or eight inches deep. And what
is then wanting is to keep the ground
clean. The power and vigour of the
corn plant is not generally understood ;
but if any of your friends will give them-
selves the trouble to open a piece of
ground twelve inches deep, and plant it
in corn, they will find when it has obtain
ed its growth, that the greater part of the
roots have reached the hard pan, below
the loose earth. Hence it is, sir, that
this plant rarely fails to give a good crop
upon land that is well opened—the crop
of 1U10 hid no rain after it was eight or
ten inches high, and yet I made nearly
the half of a full crop. Twenty years
ago my land was too sandy and light to
grow wheat ; by this kind of cultivation,
und a very liberal use of plaster of Paris
and grass seeds, I now make good crops
of wheat, say from tw elve to seventeen
bushels for one seeded. My best crops
have invariably followed that of corn ;
far strange as it may appear, I have f :i! .
j»,l s*v lime* on* nfnovon In tn-tlte wheat I
upon a clover lay ; i have therefore, n-
bandoned all fallow for wheat. The
summer fallow I consider a beautiful
preparation for wheat, aod a kind of cul
tivation well calculated to improve land;
but as I have many dependents, I have
found it necessary to grow great quanti
ties of corn for their comfort.—Fanner*
have a notion that they must cultivate
their land with a view to its protection
from the rays of the sun; this will he
found to be one of the follies that time
has sanctified. Upon my experience, I
venture to say, that the sun will fatten
and fructify the soil. I advance nothing
upon the credit of philosophy or specu
lation. Ifa farmer will plough well, and
mix, and separate the parts of his soil, it
will, if poor, soon acquire its pristine
power ; beyond (his he may not expect
to go, without the aid of manure. Cap
tain Smith, who has given us the history
of the settlement of Virginia, states that
bis average crops ot wheat exceeded that
of the average crop of England about
ten bushels per acre ; how will the com
parison now hold ? Is not the average
crop of England more than double that of
Virginia ? I blush, sir, when 1 say 1
believe that this is making the most of
our case. 1 will not attempt to explain
all the causes which led to this mon
strous change—it i* siilhcicnt for my
purpose to name two of them—devotion
lo the hi,oiled horse, which created the
necessity of.i plough corresponding with
his power*—this was a little wriggling
thing called a Dutch plough. Hod the
Deni been called upon lor two agents
by which the soil of a country should he
destroyed in a given time, I ain persuad
ed that with all hi* experience and ob
servation, he could not have produced
any thing better. Those wretched n-
gents opened the earth, perhaps two in
ches deep, and to keep down grass and
Weeds it was necessary to cross plough
every tenor twelve days—every gust
swept away the greater part ol the joose
earth, and this process weut on until the
soil was all swept away, when the land
was abandoned as useless. No grass
cooled or ornamented the hosoin of this
persecuted soil, save that which the
bounty of nature gave. Necessity cal
led loudly for change, nor called in vain.
Industry and skill are now busy in re
pairing the breach, and we have every
reason to believe that they will receive
their reward. .......
A VIRGINIAN.
plough ; I then cross ploughed it to the
depth of about four inches—then with
the same instrument, threw four furrows
together four feet apart from centre lo
centre, dressed them over with a hoe,
which formed a flat bed, between two
and three teet wide on the top—I then
trenched the beds thus formed cross-
ways, with a rake made of wood two feet
long, having three teeth, one in the cen
tre and one at each end, making three
trenches at a time, one foot apart; and
planted my seed the lirst day of July,
which I think too late, My Ruta Baga
had a had chance to succeed well, the
season was loo wet ; the earth was per
fectly saturated with water for week*,
nay, I may say months, after the seed
was planted ; it came up badly and did
not grow till late in September, when the
weather became a little drier. On the
third Saturday in September, I pulled
up two roots promiscuously ; one of
which weighed live pounds and three
fourths, the other six and three fourth
lbs. after the tops were cut oiF; nt which
time (the weather being warm) these
were in a line growing state. From
this result l am clearly of opinion, that
there is no situation between Long Is-
I ind and Charleston, that is not congeni
al to the growth of liuta Haga. provided
the soil is suitable. 1 can discover no
good reason why it should not grow at
any intermediate, situation, when it is
proven that it will grow well lit re and
in New-York. Although my turnips are
r.ot very large, the experiment is entire
ly satisfactory to me, and I am sure the
Ituta Baga, under favorable circumstan
ces, will grow as well here, as at “ Bot-
ley” or “ Long Island.”
I hope the Albemarle farmers wilt not
be discouraged. I think they will find
by perseverance, that instead of a “ nice
little bit of a turnip,” they will huve a
tine, large, deliglitlul turnip. They are
me most delicious tattle turnip I ever
tasted, and valuable for feeding cattle,
hogs and poultry, and some horses will
eat them.
witui»» l ' ,,0H '(’. *•) , *' 1 , *' ,S ’J'
Extract from remarks on the culture of
RUTA BAGA.
shall confine my remarks principal-
o the culture ofthe Ruta Raga, foar-
frnm th* very unfavorable account
-n of it by the Albemarle Farmer, o
rs may he deterred from cultivating
•ven making an experiment on the
ore of that very valuable article ol
essr.ee. Mr experiment was made
t piece of flat pine barren of a fine
1y soil, very poor, anil in its natural
c could not produce more than from
to eight bushel* of Indian corn per
,. I cu t off the timber and penned
ut one hundred head of cattle on it,
e acre) from the first week in the
ith of May, till the las! week in June,
len bad the roots grubbed out, and
jghed it up with • common cutter
GEOGRAPHY AND SOIL OF FLORIDA.
ritOM Darby's MV Mill H on FLORIDA.
This country, as ceded to the United
States, by the recent ratitied treaty with
Spam, has the Atlantic ocean and the Ba
hama channel to the east ; Florida or
Cuba channel south ; the Gulf of Mexico
west and south-west; Perdido hay and
river west ; and Alabama and Georgia
to the north.
Miles.
Florida lias no exterior limit on (lie At-
Inntic oremi,tielween Itie inootli ol "t.
Mary's river amt Cape Sable .... 450
Upon the Gull' ol Manic i between Cape
Sable and the inlet ot'Perdido - - - - Ono
Interior limits; with Alabama, up the
PerJidn,anJ to the 31 deg. N bit. - - - 40
Along Alelinmn nod N. lat. til deg. to the
right b ink of Ciintnhooche river - - - 110
Thence with Georgia, down Chatnhoo*
che, to tin* junction of that itreeui and
Flint river - - 40
Thence lotheeourcn ot St. Mary’s river Mo
Down the s'. .Alary - to the mouth • - Ho
Having nn outline of • .... 1400
Area, 64,600 square mile*, equal to
34,911,000 acres. Of this superficies,
there lies south ofN. Lit. 30 deg. 39,900
square miles, 23,536,000 acres ; and
north of N. lat. 30 deg. 14,700 square
miles, 9,408,000 acres.
Extreme south, N. I it. 2.7deg. nearly;
extreme north, N. lat. 31 deg. und pos
sessing u range of 6 degrees of latitude.
The soil of Florida is divisible into
three grand varieties ; pine barrens, sa
vannahs, and marshes. Other varieties
have been given by some authors, hut
are mere shades of admixture, or points
and lines of contact between the three
foregoing. Pine forest land, here, a-
elsewhere, is remarkable for its sterility
m the production of the domesticated
species of plants, though productive in
an indefinite variety of indigenous ve
getables. The soil of the pine woods ot
Florida is, perhaps, as indy as in any
other part ofthe United .States. A ridge
of dry, and in a great part ot unwooded
hills or hillocks, destitute of water, ex
tends from Eukelanoke Swamp, to an
unknown distance southward, we*t ot St.
John's and Nassau livers. This ridge,
no doubt, sinks into the common level of
the country before reaching the cape ;
or perhaps even the latitude ol 27 deg.
Savannah, or prairieTand,in Florida,
is in strictness mere varieties of swamp.
The former is, indeed, part of the latter,
M idi elevation sufliciont to admit culture
without artificial drainage. The prairie
grounds of Florida, being composed ot so
great n part of animal exuviae, are gene
rally productive, hut are confined in ex
tent. Their nature will appear more
clear by reference to cur description ol
St John’s river.
Swamp* or marshes, next to pine
woods, cover the largest portion ot I lo-
rida. A *mall share of these flat regions
may be reclaimed, hut the fir greater
part being morasses, are beyond the or
dinary powers of human melioration.—
On some points of consideration the F lo-
rida swamps may he considered valua
ble ; they are in many places covered
with excellent timber, and, where ot
proper tenacity would afford good graz
ing for cattle
Another variety of soil occurs in Flori
da, called hammock land. This species
forms in most instances an interval be
tween the pine tracts and the marshes
or savannahs, and indeed in no respect
differs from the latter, except in being
covered with wood. The hammock
land, not only of Florida, but of all the
southern section of the United States,
yields, next to river alluvion, the be«t
arable soil. In Alabama, Georgia, and
Mississippi, the hammock lands form
much the largest part of live cultivated
surface. The quality of the soil alter
nates from that of Savannah and river
alluvion, to that ofthe most unproductive
pine barren*. Bay galls or wet spongy
spot*, very frequently deteriorate ham
mock land. This inconvenience is les
sened by a slight, and removed by a con
siderable inclination of surface.
To tho,e who visit Florida with high-
raised opinions in lavor of its natural ad
vantage-, much disappointment is in
store; but tho«e who commence an ex
amination of this country with expecta
tions lo meet with nothing hut sterility,
w ill not he les«, but more agreeably dis
appointed than the former class. In a
space so extensive, and with adiinnteso
, many spots have concentrated all
the rich features of a tropical physiogno
my. When it is considered, that when
compared with the entire area, so small
i part of any equal surface in the United
Stales is actually cultivated, it may be
conceded, that if one twentieth part ol
its superficies can be brought under the
lominion of the orchard, the scythe, or
the plough, that, even in an agricultural
point of view, F'lorida is an invaluable
acquisition to the people of the United
States.
It may be repeated, that the whole
eninsuta owes its existence to mineral
and animal deposition. As fir as the
on Ins line of operations, which the pre
cipitale and unexpected retreat ofthe
French did not enable Inin to complete.
During the 100 days, Bonaparte promo
ted him to the rank of l.ieut. Gen. of
Engineeis, and nt Waterloo, he served
as engineer aid de camp to his chief, and
had the honor of carrying, at a i.ioment
of extreme peril, the last order which
the Emperor gave on the field. He left
France after this decisive battle, ac
companied by the regrets and admiration
of bit military nssonatei. The Empe
ror of Russia, it is understood, tendered
him an asylum, and cmplov nir.-nt in hi.
dominions, hut he preferred trusting In,
fortunes in this republic, where, if his
destinies are less brilli nit he was assured
of the sympathies and p.ilrounge of a
brave and enlightened people.
With letters from the Marquis do la
Fayette, ho addressed himself to our
Government. The Secretary of War
had too much sagacity not to perceive
the immense benefits rcvilling from the
employment of one ofthe first practical
Engineers in Europe, his services were
consequently secured, end Ins labors
were forthwith commenced. These
have relation to a military survey of our
Coast, from the District of Maine to New-
Orleans, and to a projection of such For
tifications, as may be necessary for its
defence. In the prosecution of these ob
jects, lie has been engaged with intromit
ted vigor and perseverance for the last
four or live years ; he has traversed
with the activity and vivacity of youth,
all the varieties of our climates and sur
face, anil at the close of each excursion,
in conjunction with hi* patriotic and en
lightened associates, M'Kea and Totten,
lias decided on the plans and proliles of
those works, which we hope the false e-
concmy of out country, will not prevent
from rising in majestic immortality, on
The times are hard, quoth the landlord,
because iny rents have fallen from DO to 7D
per relit.
They are hard, says the landholder, be
cause my land bus depreciated DO per rent.
They an peculiarly hard, says tbe queru
lous manuf-vliii'er, because the Mrili.ii goods
ore pouring in upon us, anfl banishing from
the markets the products of my looms.—My
workshops are falling into rum, and'my fa
mily going lo beggary.
'Flic married man exclaims against the
times, because it is so hard to support his
family—and the old maid re-echoes the erv
because the times are too hard “ to marry
or lie given in marriage.”
Every man and woman has his or her pe
culiar cause of complaint, as it w as in the
days of Horace when lie asks Mteernas
Qai lit, Mtecenns, quant sibi sortem, i.c.
Cast your eyes, in fact, wherever you
will, nod you see long fares, aod catch tile ac
cents of lamentation and despair.
Tin* poor are poorer, mol the rich—but
where are they ? No man will wear the
eap—nobody lias the reputation of it, except
the adventurer ill the lottery, no less worthy
than fortunate, who draws the prize of one
hundred thousand dollars ? But prizes do
not cornu every day, no more than “ one
swallow makes a summer.” Tile whole
country, indeed, seems covered w itIv mourn
ing—and if you judge from (lie universal
complaint, one would think that we are go
ing headlong into the gulf of ruin.
lint let us take a view of things in general ;
and ask—Are we like famished inhabitants
of a besieged rity r No—bread was never
cheaper in the world than it is at this mo
ment.
Is toharco low ?— It is lower than it was
three years ago—but higher than it was
some years ago.
Are goods dear 1 No—Ihe merchant's
compl lint is, they are so cheap, that they
can scarcely lie imported.
Domestic goods too are on -Lean Itiatthe
manufacturer complains of being starved by
the importer.
“Every thing then is low;—we are all
But pause, my friend,
ther arts nor science*—in short, improve*
inent is backward. Such were the pretty
expressions for wliirh«we stood indebted to
those pinks of erudition! (erudites a la vio
lets.)*
.Vo great a pleasure do tee ever lake in
speaking ill of another. But that great jodg«
of (he truth of things, who known Imw to
confute untruth and render justice, time, we
may say, has presented us as we are, to Ihe
admiration of Fmrope. How thuse obsti
nately incredulous compassionate us—who
for no other reason than their arrogance dare
to {insult the brilliant history of late eveuts!
Wretches! arc ye not the same who styl
ed (he illustrious people of Spain a nation
of slates, who till lately trembled under the
lash ofthe Prince of Peace?—Lid you riot
range in the lowest class of nations the Por
tuguese, Ilia slates of foreign domination
and incapable of blushing for her cnain*?—
Torn now therefore your views to three fa
mous nations. Their names are already
graven in history a* is our own. These na
tions are w bat of late they were not, and wo
too ate what we were not neither. They
have passed from thraldom fo liberty,
from ignominy to triumph, from wretched
ness to happiness. We also merit a like for
tune—we too ran refute the calumnies of
our enemies. Ignorantii! Do you believe
that a great people, the people of the two
Sicilies, might lie contained in a single ca
pital? Peruse our history, which ascends
much higher than the (jtli of July, and you
w ill see public spirit, patriotism, gericruut
ideas, heroic valor, manifested in the frequent
vicissitudes of our monarchy. The peopln
reduced to Ihe capital, overturned iu 17U
an unstable and chimerical republic, which a
foreign oppressor had founded. A short lime
previously, this people in the gorges of the
Appenninc, made the conquerors of F'uropo
tremble, and drank their blood on the field
of battle. This people in 1806 revived in
the remotest of their provinces, the illustri
ous examples of the ardent courage of tha
Bruciani, and sacrificed to their distracted
country, and tu their legitimate abliorrancr,
those French legions who had triumphed o-
thc most warlike rations of Europe, at
earth has been penetrated, tin* inference | the surface of those waters, over which I It you get less lor bread, you give
moment.—If all 11,1^ hive ^i'alleT why I "* Lo,li \“! ““'' Marengo.
is supported by facts. '1 ho entire terti
lity found on detached spot* is due to ani
mal matter. By means of this class of
substances, a* the original sand batiks
rose above the waves, a scanty vegeta
tion was funned, which in the lapse of
countless ages has clothed this recently
formed expanse with herbage. We may.
from what has been established, safely
form the induction, that the soil of Flo
rida, like that of all low barren regions,
situated near the tropic*, is much more
favorable lo the production of orchard
fruit tree*, than to grasses, esculent roots,
or othcrsnimal or short lived field orgar-
den vegetables.
riion riir. rmiuiiroi roi'aira.
TO THE EDITOR.
SIR—In your paper of Wednesday I
observe you have republished a para
graph from tin- Boston Ccntinel, which
contains a gross error. It is there
■dated that (veu. Bernard, who was once
a General oili. er in the French Army,
is now a Second Lieutenant in our Corps
of Engineers,
General Bernard, in fart, occupies nn
military rank in ourscrvice; ifthegene-
ral gov ernment had been disposed to have
conferred an bunor on him, they wool I
not have insulted hi* I dim fortunes bv
a commission so little ‘’om uonsur.ilc with
the distinguished station lie held iu the
army of Napoleon, and with his own il-
lustrous merit*. Although his name is
placed m tlm Army Register at tin* fool
of that portion ol it assigned lo the Corps
of Fingiueers, he cannot be said to belong
to that body, lie i*, in fact,at the head nifiranco.
they would lie calculated to coaler an in
domitable security.
The presence and influence of Gen.
Bernard, have given a new ami decided
tone to those branches of the .Military
Art in which he is most conversant.—
Grc.it accuracy, associated ailli enlarged
combination, characterize the topogra
phical school which has risen under his
auspices. It is known that he has intro
duced many practical improvement* in
relation to the ascertainment oflcvel and
distance, which aru not treated of in
book*, and were consequently not iu use
in our country.
Uin. Bernard will probably conclude
bis Atlantic surveys .N projection*, during
tbe present year ; and early in the F’all.
Col. Totten and himself, will commence
mi inspection ofthe Ohio and Mi.-sissippi.
This service in it* relations to the milita
ry defence of the western country inns'
be ofthe last importance.
It ha* been the good fortune of Gen.
Bernard, to hive such associate! a*
M'Kea and Totten, the genius and valor
of whom, are identified with the best, the
most valuable, and most glorious memo
rials of our country.—To them the asso
ciation must lie precious A: inestimable.
Their rare mid admirable capacities must
nave been essentially quickened and ex
panded, by an intercourse with a Vete
ran, whose genius has been amnliliod by
i war of twenty years, rendered memo
rable by prodigies of srience, and bv
miracle* of human enlcrprize and exer
tion, which fling the wonders of Anti
quity into the shade of comiur.ilivc in-ig-
ol’tlie Board ot Fortifications ; and for
hi* services ns a Civil and Military En
gineer, obtains the emolument* of a Bri
gadier-General.
There is no act of the present adini-
mstration, more wise it liberal, than the
employment it ha* given to this merito
rious individual, whose fortune*, whose
talents, and private virtue*, render him
altogether one of the mo*t interesting
strangers who has visited our country.—
A brief sketch of hi- pn*t fortunes and
present service-, will, 1 trust, not bo un
acceptable.
General Bernard entered the French
service when quilu u youth, with the
rank of a subaltern, being, however,
deeply ver*cd in those branches of the
element* ofthe military art w In. h may lie
•aid to form the classics of the science.
In the campaign ofltalv, as a Lieutenant,
lie attracted the notice ofthe Emperor
by being the first to cnter.i town win. h
was taken by escalade ; this recommend
ed to hi to tbe patrnnugo ofl.i* Cl.itt,
unit bis rise was rapid aod brilliant. He
ucconvpaned Ihe Emperor through al
most all liis campaigns, mid had the hon
or to render on many occasions, the
mo-t important services. At the battle
of VVagi au), as a field engineer, he dis
tinguished himself in a very eminent de
gree ; m.lent there was no eveutlul en
gagement or important work which cha
racterized the power of Napoleon, nt
which lie was not present and contribu
ted the contingent of his genius, lie
was employed on the gigantic works nt
Cherbourg, and was engaged with Carnot
in constructing the memorable defences
of Antwerp. When the Emperor ad
vanced to Moscow, he confided to Ber
nard the arrangement of the field works
There are *onto, porhnpv, who might
question the policy of putting a foreign.r
in possession of the knowledge of the
very keys of our country ; hot those
who know Gen. Bernard, those who
have had ail opportunity of understanding
the high character for rid dily nn.) pri
vate worth which he has enjoyed iu Eu
rope, during tins most evil 11.»»—*, are
conscious that there is no reposition of
private honor or public conii tenon which
would not he safe in his cualmlv.
It would perhaps be impossible Instate
a circumstance more conclusive ofthe
nminblenes* of his cheneler, than the
fact of his having been placed at the head
of a Board, composed of the most jcnloii
and ambition* spirits in our Army, with
out exciling iu them any oilier than
feelings uf unbounded friendship and re
S|>OCt.
Your reader* will now understand that
Gen. Bernini, Ihe veteran of twenty
campaigns, and tlm bearer of many scars
won in the service of his country, is no:
a sec 'ltd Lieutenant in our army. The
Boston editor* must indeed have gone
a wool gathering, lor a discovery and an
assertion, in winch folly, and a want of
consideration, arc about equivalent.
[Philo Mile,.]
From the Ridisosn rosrii.ER.
H ARD TIMES.
It i* the fashion to cry out Hard Times—
an age of embarrassments—an untrampled
pressure—and such like expression*. I-el
us see in wll»t sense these sayings nrr true ;
for it is right lo see tilings precisely as they
are.
The times are hard, says one, because
wheat end corn .are low.
The times art very hard, say* the roer-
rhant, beeause cloths have fallen fiv« dollars
lu the yard—and nobody buys.
nearly in tin. scale of value, they are compara
tively ns valuable nstliey formerly were.—
F'.ggs, vegetables, bacon, meats of most sorts,
groceries, clothes, houses, most things Hut
vvr want, have fallen ill price, though not ex
actly in the same proportion—and luill a
dollar will now go nearly us far as a dollar
would go formerly.
“ Aye, but there's the mb.” Every tiling
may have fallen—but money has risen in va
lue. •* It is because that article has risen iu
price (say* the unhappy debtor.) that so
nany complaints are echoed through the
■oui.lry. Tile debts we owe are to be I anil
ill this appreciated standard of value. \Vc
have to p.iy the same number of dollars,
which we eoulracted to pay—while the pro
perty we hold,though it henrsthe same com
parative value with other articles of proper
ty, is worth levs in dollars and cent*. It re
quires, therefore, twice or three times the
quantity of property to pay our debts ns it
did at the muineiit of contracting them.—
Tills is the cause of my own difliculties,
whatever may be the cave with others who
are not in debt.
■And this indeed is the true secret of the
embarrassments wo hear of. It in not, that
tile cause is a general one, but (bat it is fa
-limn >hlc to employ the language of com
plaint Those who arc out uf debt nr.
scarcely worse ..ITlhiu they Were before—
Labour still bear* Borne value—ut least Un-
cone proportion as the other aiticle* which
the labourer may afford to purchase.
Those, therefore, who arc nut in debt,
ought scarcely lo complain of the times.—
It is they only who are ground down by
their ancient engagements, who may com
plain with some grace. But why do they
complain? Does whining ever relieve the
necessities of the poor ? Is it not rattier
the part of a man In put his shoulders to the
wheel—do the best lie can—put forth all
tin- lac allies which his situation permits—
work anil Slice 7 Are not industry anil eco
nomy the tw o great pill irs of national pros
perity ? Some men may thrive hy specu-
I it ion. Fortneu may smile propitiously up
on nilirt*. But these con-litute the trcep-
lion— end not the rule. For one who gets
rich in this way, tiler.- are hundreds who ob
tain u competency by a labor that never
winks, and a frugal.ly that never tires.—
Look around us, aod see lire pillars that
have It. in laid prostrate. Are most of them
your pain*..taking, li oil-working, ami saving
men, or men who w i.ltetl to take bold strides
to fortune ? many of them are honest, ho
norable —and some of them industrious men
— hot those, who woikid slow and winked
nn, are now enjoying their competency in
iti-ntment. It was the tortoise who ne
ver itnpt that outstripped Ihe hare—The
surest path to competency is the old one of
Industry and Frugality.
V Mill HI .\\
Iraa-lalL-d from tbe government Madrid Ga
zette of January It.
NAPLES AND HER PROVINCES.
Naples, 12th of Dec.
A provincial work publishes the notices
and reflections, which follow, on Xaplesand
the provinces.
It has been hitherto believed that our king
dom, whose inland provinces arc ill adapted
for foreign commerce, was far behind other
countries of Italy, in culture and cultivation.
Some foreign literati, more solicitous about
uttering fine phrases, than thoroughly ac
quainting themselves withthecountry where
they travelled—some tourists, scampering
over cur kingdoms poet haste, and judging
of them with singular lightness—painted the
people of the two Sicilies rather in colour*
of poetic fancy than with those of truth and
history. In that kingdom, ’(was said, all
is capital—an immense head placed upon
a rude anil unshapen hn«t—a Thebes forex-
ample, in the centre of Rceotia. Survey her
roe. i
lanvilie*. ns fnl.d lo ih-m »s t,. it.,..- Pri: cc
dcriv ing their origin from the despotism of
few, from the iniquitous arts of* the court,
from baseness in power,from pensioned tree-
son, and from u foreign and ignorant diets-
ture, rallied around their father and king
■id proclaimed liberty and obtained it.—
Then they- equalled themselves at every e-
pncli—were polished, enlightened, brave, de
nted to their common country, notwith
standing that foreigners would neither con
fess nor acknowledge it. They were (no
same in Monteforte near the great rork, ami
tile same among the eruggy brakes of Cala
bria. What marvel then, iliat having reach
'd a sublimity so brilliant,—enviable in the
yes of those who know ns, and incredible
lo those who will not know us, public spirit
should now have attained union in four pro
vince* ! Will it he for love, of liberty ?—
Will it he from attachment to sacred inde
pendence, to Ihe glory nfking and country P
What province of onr territory, of those e-
qually precious when they suddenly organ
ize so many civic battalions, ought to bo
called tile frst? Let us not stick precisely
to their geographical position. Whoever
contemplates us in a picture of our ow n
drawing, as he who lives Jn our company,
must honor and do us justice—he who tun*
de his view only to In-hold uv in the work*
of worthless writers, let him listen to facta
licit he may be convinced,and so he shall re
cognize us.
Aeri-zzo*.—A people of noble patriot
ism and tried valor. These are onr Spartans
who guard the Appeunine Tlieimnpybr.—
Their ent .usiasm is incredible—their peete-
niary donations, offers ami daily trials of vir
tue render them highly worthy of their au-
cicut renown.
Mousse.—The name of this prnvisre
has been often honored in onr national jour
nals with such eulogies us swell ihe good pa
triot’s pride.
TirnitA de Laror.—Soldiers, proprie
tors and citizens emulate each other in do-
serving well ofthe public cause—sometimes
by entreating tho parliament to employ
them, ut other* by virtuous feats of every
sort.
1’rovince or Nai-les.—Rivals the oth
er* in civic virtues and in attachment to tho
constitution.
I’nixc-IVADO CiTFRio*.—Celebrated for
its patriotism, and worthy its valor ofthe.
best of all political causen Tbe flame uf
amor patriic appears there in all ranks.
Princifado Ulterior. -The cradle,
Ihe glorious cradle of onr liberty. It cannot
be asked in this prim ipality—Where are the
citizens and patriots l Ou the oontrary one
must enquire—Is there any who is not of this
class 1
Basilicata. A province admirrlde for
its elevated character, fur its warm and lefty
public spirit. F'rum the palace to the cot-
tag*. from the magistrate to the tenant, froth
the proprietor to the day-labourer, we And
nought hut a continued chain of civic heart*,
worthy of the country of f)r«ffa.
Capitanata. It abounds with proprie
tors, aud consequently, the divine (assien for
freedom is excessively a-d.-ot.
Tier a* de Bari.—Well known in ouv
politics! change-for its liberal spirit—though
never so great as al-the present crisis. Li
beral opinions and patriotic virtues jointly
with civilization are there diffused through
all classes.
Terra de Otranto, (countryof Otraw-
to.)—Famous for its ancient culture, which
has been acknowledged hitherto by the
haughty dissimulation of stranger*.' Tho
spirit of liberal patriotism that animates this
beautiful province is likewise of ancient date.
Its history is well known—and it has giveu
great men to the nation, of whom it '• now
more worthy than ever. In the present era
of our glory it hat diatinguiaheditaeif by ma
ny a v irtuona deed, by tending an expediti
on of volunteers to tM army, and by Ksae
designs to liberal as to reflect honor 0*00 00
provinces, and you shall encounter nothing I * Th* Soperdclt! men, with a acre iprinkg
but gross ignorance—thfro they bate nci- hnjortioctur* of literature,
ii
*