Newspaper Page Text
y Oft® m'JTX’IiTSi
Monday
,r-On the bank of the Okmulgee
\ r in tlio Town ok Macon, a quar
lUf’nniblewasatew .lavs ago d.s
----■ vpred. We have only seen a small
piece of it roughly polished ; hut Dr.
i M. In'-crsolwho has tested it, in
forms that it is much like the Italian
marble ; and though not equal in qual
itv to some in the United States, is
capable of a high polish. The piece
weS a>v was of a dark grey, interspers
ed with lumps of white flint, which
formed a beautiful variety.
Should this be equal in quantity and
quality to wht is anticipated, it will
be no small acquisition to the state,
but a much greater one to the town in
which it is imbedded, and in which it
wili no doubt soon he exhibited in
chimney pieces and other ornamental
parts of the buildings that are so ra
pidly progressing there.
The following correspondence oc
cupies rather more room than our col
umns will admit of without excluding
other matter that we wish to publish :
it is on a subject in which the Ameri
can people feel so much interest that
we cannot withhold it from the public.
We publish as much of it this week as
we have room for—the remainder will
be found in our next.
CORRESPONDENCE
BETWEEN COM. PORTER AND THE
GOVERNOR OF PORTO RICO.
To his excellemj the Governor of Por
to Pico.
U. S.ship Peacock, Mar. 4, 1823.
Tour Excellency —l have the honor
to inform you that in pursuance of or
ders from iny government, [ have ta
ken command of the U. S. naval force
in these seas, for the protection of the
commerce of the U. States against all
unlawful interruptions, to guard the
rights both of property and persons of
our citizens whenever it shall become
necessary, and for the suppression of
piracy and the slave trade.
As great complaints have been made
of the interruption and injury to our
commerce by privateers, fitted out
from Spanish ports, I must beg your
excellency to furnish me a descriptive
list of vessels legally commissioned to
cruize from Porto Rico, with a set of
the blank forms of their papers, that I
may know how and when to respect
them, if I should meet with any of
them. I must also beg your excellen
cy to inform me how far they have
been instructed to interrupt our trade
with Mexico and the Colombian re
public, and whatever instructions or
authorities they may have affecting our
commerce generally.
As the suppression of piracy, the
principal motive for my visit to
these seas, is an object that concerns
all nations, (all being parties against
them and maybe considered as allies,)
I confidently look to all for co-opera
tion whenever it may be necessarv, or
at least their favorable and friendly
support—and to none more than those
mdst exposed to their depredations.
I therefore look with confidence to
your excellency for the aid of such
means as mav be in your power for
their suppression—and in the absence
ot means, I beg to assure vour excel
lency, that whatever course may be
pursued by me to destroy those ene
mies ot the human race, it will have
no other aim—and l shall observe the
utmost caution not to encroach on the
rights, or willingly offend the feelings
ol others either in substance or in form
in all the measures which may he
adopted la accomplish the end in
view.
It will afford me sincere pleasure
s ' lo,, ld 1 lie so lortunateas to fulfil the
expectations of my government, and
at (he same time preserve harmony
and a good understanding with those
with whom I may he so unfortunate as
0 come in collision or discussion in
■elation thereto—indeed it will add
h* niy happiness if it can be
ax oh led altogether.
I hat such is my sincere wish,
•■ ■'(l that the objects set forth bv me
•ne the only ones which brought me to
■ese sens, 1 beg leave to assure your
excellency in the most positive and un
equivocal terns.
, “ d!i the highest respect, l have the
■onmir 1 1 be, your excellency’s very
obedient humble servant.
Signed. D. PORTER.
To his Excellency the Governor of
Porto Itieo.
I • S. ship Peacock, Aguada, ?
. March 8, $
Jour Excellency —On the 3d of this
month 1 despatched from the squad
ron under my command ihe U. States
schooner Urey Hound, commanded bv
capt. John Porter of the U. S. navy,
who was the bearer of a letter from
me to your excellency, written in
strict conformity with instructions
which I bad received from my gov
ernment, propounding certain inqui
ries to enable your excellency to put
me in possession of such information
as would place it in my power to ful
fil the benevolent intentions of the go
vernment of the U. States without in
fringing on the rights of Spain as a
belligerent.
The commander of the Grey Hound
was directed to remain in St. Johns
two days for your excellenrv’s anwer,
and then to join me ofl‘ the port, or at
this place, where 1 proposed watering
the squadron under my command.
On the second day after his arrival
at St. Johns, I directed the comman
der of the U. S. schr. Fox to proceed
there with his vessel, to ascertain
what time it was probable your reply
would be obtained, with orders to re
turn immediately, and apprise the
commander of the U. S. schr. Beagle,
another of my squadron, of my inten
tion to come to this place.
On the arrival of the Fox within gun
shot of the castle, I was much surpri
sed to observe that six guns were fired
at her—but knowing of no cause to
justify such an act of violence, I should
have thought that perhaps I might
have been mistaken, had not the com
manders of all three of those vessels
failed to obey my instructions, which
could not have happened but from
some violent detention by the authori
ties of St. Johns.
Until I am belter satisfied of the
fact, however, I shall refrain from the
expression of mv sentiments on the
subject, and shall for the present
merely observe, that their character
could not have been misunderstood, as
my squadron, at the time of the de
parture of the Fox, was lying in full
view of the castle with their colours
flying, and a British squadron under
the command of sir Thomas Cochrane,
which had several times communica
ted with me and weli knew the ves
sels arrived there the day previous to
the last mentioned vessel, and on the
day of my arrival off the port.
1 know not whether my suspicions
are correct; but I have in the event of
their being so, directed the senior offi
cer to abandon the vessels and leave
the island of Porto Rico, as soon as
possible, leaving it to my country, to
whom I shall make known the facts,
to resent the outrage as it may think
proper, and which it w ill no doubt do
promptly and effectually.
Your excellency must be aware that
it is in my power to retaliate and even
in this place—but it would be a poor
return for the friendship and hospita
lity I have received from its inhabi
tants, and I cannot reconcile it to my
self that the innocent should be made
to sutler for offences not their own.
With great respect, 1 have the hon
our to be, your excellency’s most obe
dient humble servant.
Signed. D. PORTER.
[translation/]
Office of the Captain General of Por
to llico.
Most Excellent Sir—At noon this
day, just as I arrived from the village
of Cagus, where I received at 8 o’clock
this morning the official letter of the
king’s lieutenant commandant of this
place, advising me of the arrival olthe
squadron under the command of your
excellency, with a disposition to enter
this port, 1 have been inauspiciously
informed of the misfortune occurring
in the death of the commander of a
schooner of war belonging to the
squadron, who it seems persisted in
entering the port notwithstanding his
having been warned by the fort to de
sist from his undertaking, by a dis
charge from two cannons, the first with
a blank cartridge, and the other at an
elevation with a ball. But4he garri
son in seeing his obstinacy, followed
with an extraordinary rigor the orders
of hindering the entrance of the squad
ron till my arrival, according to the
determination formed by the said lieu
tenant of the place yesterday.
I wish to persuade the mind of your
excellency into a consciousness ol the
sorrow which this event so mournful
and unfortunate has caused me—so
much the more painful, inasmuch as it
has happened in a place in the district
under my command, and on an indi
vidual under the orders of your ex
cellency, and a citizen of the United
Slates—of a nation whom in all ac
ceptations the Spaniards of both he
mispheres are found united.
So unexpected a misfortune, which
i t seems ought never to be feared in
friendly establishments, appears to
carry on iiseii a character ot c in'in
alifv, which more and mare agg av ate®
my feelings. liut the juncture of the
circumstances which have conspired
towards the fatality, according to the
information received by me is such,
that if your excellency will he pleased
to examine it with impartiality, you
w ill perceive that if the facts are not
sufficient to mitigate the regret, they
are at least enough to prove that there
lias been no intention of failing in re
gard to your excellency, nor ofoffend
ing any citizen of the United States,
and much less their government.
The lieutenant of the king, and
commandant of the place, grounded
on various reasons, of which ;t is not
important to trouble your excellency
with a citation, but of which, h iwever,
I will point out a few, believing that
he. ought not to permit the entering of
the squadron until my arrival. One of
his motives arose from his recollecting
that during the last year an expedition
was armed in the ports of North Amer
ica, against this island, and placed
under the command of a man named
Ducoudray Holstein —which expedi
tion actually went into the port of St.
Bartholomew under the American flag,
and among his other reasons were the
following: It has been reported here
that another similar expedition is this
year in preparation. That the sch’rs
alluded to on their entering yesterday,
would not receive the pilots on board,
unless they practiced with particular
plans of tiie harbour, and the leads in
their hand, of which the captain of the
port made his complaint: That when
the officers came on shore a rumour
was spread that they were saying
Spain had ceded this island, and that
of Cuba to the English, which relation
they confirmed to the lieutenantof the
king, as lie himself assured me: That
their not having presented to him the
writing nor any expression from your
excellency—he suspected he had found
something alarming in these rumors—
and not sufficient proofs, that these
were national vessels, merely by the
uniforms in which the officers were
dressed.
These are some of the reasons
which he has informed me he had in
view in not consenting to the entrance
of the squadron until my arrival, and
in consequence of them, he dispatched
his orders to the castle of Moro, not
for the purpose of committing hostili
ties—but merely preventive orders.
He sent an adjutant at half past six
o’clock in the morning, accompanied
by an interpreter on board one of the
schooners under the command of your
excellency", to entreat her commander
to he so good as to call on the govern
ment in order to agree with them on
the means and form of making known
to your excellency this their determi
nation. Unfortunately the comman
der of the American schr. deferred, in
the first place, his seeing the lieutenant
of the king until one o’clock in the af
ternoon—and provoked by the adjutant
to view it as an unjust case, and to con
sider duly the cause of his being dis
turbed, and of which he was fully in
formed ; the commander promised the
adjutant that he would go to the gov
ernment, as soon as he could dress
himself.
By an unheard of fatality he did not
accomplish this promise until after his
hearing the firing of the cannon at the
Moro, which might have been avoided
had lie only presented himself for an
interview with the commander of the
place.
The remissnes of this officer, and
the pertinacity of him who commanded
the schooner in his not suspending his
entering in spite of the cannon that
was fired without a shot, and without I
waiting for a pilot—but notwithstand
ing this, and the second discharge of a
gun at an elevation, to crowd sail in
order at all events to gain the port—
these acts, most excellent sir, have
been the means of depriving the United
States of a citizen, your excellency of
an officer, of filling Puerto Rico with
mourning, and myself with inexpressi
ble sorrow. 1 feel it to be my duty to
assure your excellency that the orders
issued by the lieutenant of the king
and commandant general of the place,
were by no means intended to commit
hostilities or offences against the ves
sels—but as the firing was made at an
elevation, either the tumbling of the
sea or perhaps some bad pointing, must
have been the cause, why the fourth
discharge should produce such a latai
effect.
Immediately on my return to this
place, I gave orders that all the vessels
under the command ol your excellency
of whatever description, may enter
safely into tins harbor, as into a port of
friends, where they will meet that re
ception which the law 7 of nations as
signs to those who claim a title in civi
fixation and other privileges, secured
by the treaties of friendship existing
between the two nations. In this act,
I anticipate for myself the satisfaction
of being able to manifest personally all
the consideration which your person
merits from me, and my regret for so
mournful and disagreeable an event.
May God guard your excellency
n'Tiiv vear*.
V v ‘
Puerto llico, March 6, 1823.
/0 . 1N C Excetmo. S’or.
(Signed) ’ Miouel De La Torre.
To the most excellent com
mander in chief of the An
glo-American squadron in
the offing of Puerto Rico*
1). David Porter.
[TRANSLATION.]
Office of the Captain General of
Puerto Hico.
Most Excellent Sir :—1 this moment
received the very estimable letter of
your excellency dated the 4th of the
present month, in which your excel
lency has been pleased to communi
cate to me the important commission
which lias been entrusted to you by a
government, that claims the respect of
all the territories within its influence.
1 have the satisfaction of forwarding
to your excellency a nominal report of
the privateer vessels which have been
armed and despatched for the purpose
of cruising by the competent authority
in this island, agreeably to the request
which your excellency has made me in
the letter of that date, and I am ex
tremely sorry to find myself so situa
ted that I cannot comply with the
wishes of your excellency in regard to
my transmitting you a set ol blank
forms, for the purpose of enabling your
excellency how and when to respect
their commissions. The diplomas
which they receive, come from our
court already signed by his most cath
olic majesty, and the minister to whom
this office pertains, leaving in these ca
ses the naval authority here limited
only to tne filling of the blank spaces
in them with the name of the captaiu
and the vessel. Thus situated, it is
impossible lor me to accede to your
circumspect views in this particular
object. But nevertheless, if it should
on occasion appear requisite to your
excellency, the said diplomas or com
missions can be examined together
with a blank signature of the captain of
this port, in order that a sufficient
ground may be established for compa
ring this signature with those which
may be presented, keeping m view the
prospectus of those, with which the said
privateers are cruising.
I am likewise asked by your excel
lency for information how far my in
structions arc extended for interrupt
ing the commerce of the U. States with
Mexico and the Republic of Columbia;
and for your gratification it is my du
ty to declare, that l find myself gtifli
ciently instructed to state that the
blockade which was established on all
the coasts and ports of the provinces
of Venezuela has been raised. Under
these circumstances, I consider the
commerce of the U. States to be in tree
capacity for an intercourse with that
ot the places formerly blockaded ; re
serving however for lawful capture tiie
vessels of any nation which shall be
found conveying implements of yvar to
the insurgents—or people disposed to
co-operate with them in their military
resistance. I can give your excellen
cy no certain information concerning
Mexico; but it is my opinion that the
circumstances and condition are to
be found the same as those of Vene
zuela.
The very important objects to which
your mission into these seas is direct
ed, and your good intentions and views
afford me the greatest satisfaction, and
hasten me to manifest myselt to your
excellency, as at the instant l now do,
in order to assure you that all within
the scope of my authority and faculty
in this island is one of the places most
interested in the flourishing of com
merce, and the revival if possible of
good faith, and due respect to the pro
perly of the citizens.
Trusting that your excellency may
be able to fulfil five desires of your go
vernment in this important charge and
that they may be ever more and more
happy in their election, l have the hon
or ofbeing, with the greatest respect,
your excellency’s most attentive and
sure servant, —Q.ue sus manos bese
Puerto llico, March 6, 1823.
/c .. .. t FiXcellentisimo Senor.
(Signed) Miguel Ue La Torre.
Most excellent Sir, commandant of
tiie squadron of the U. S. of Ameri
ca, in the oiling of this port, D. D.
PORTER.
TRANSLATION.
Office of the Captain General of
Puerto llico.
Most Excellent Sir:—One of the
first objects of my attention, as soon as
I was informed of the mournful acci
dent concerning which I wrote to your
excellency in my letter of yesterday,
was to acquaint myself with the actual
condition of the wounded individual,
in order that he should lie located,
where the duties of friendship might
lie exercised for his accomodation and
comforts, but being certified that he
had died during the transaction before
related, I could do no otherwise than
give mv orders that his funeral should
be conducted w ith all the decorum and
manifestation of rested due loan hon
orable officer of his character and sta
tion, and causing his corpse to be at
tended to the grave by a procession
composed of the principal chieftains,
authorities, and other officers of this
garrison. In this act, 1 could wish
that your excellency might recognise
an expression of the lively sorrow which
lias been excited in me by this mislor
tune.
May God preserve your excellency
many years.
Puerto Itico, March 7, 1823.
n <. Kxlmo: Senor.
< b, s" cd > hl'ouEi.Jh. La Tonus.
The most excellent comman
der, ivc. &.C. I). I). I’oilTßU.
Tu he concluded in oar next.
Trieste , Feb. 28,
By letters from Corfu to the 9th
February, we have received ac
counts from Messaloitghi. Ihe
brave Bozzarics and his son had
advanced on Vrachori, the capital
of Etolia. The Turks dared not
accept the offered combat, but
retreated to the town, which they
endeavoured to defend. Ihe fight
was pursued in the streets with
great slaughter. The Turks sought
refuge in the houses, from whence
they were expelled by setting fire
to them, and the whole perished in
the flames or were cut to pieces.
After this glorious success the,
(hetks hope to concentrate all
their forces under the walls ot La
rissa during the month cl March.
Another article, dated Missalon
ghi,the irth January, gives a de
tailed account of an attack ot Omar
Pacha and his Albanian troops, in
which the latter were defeated alter
a desperate conflict with the loss of
1500 men. The retreat of the
Turks was so precipitate that all
their artillery, camp equipage tnd
baggage, was abandoned. Ihe ac
tion led to the successful exploit
mentioned in the preceeding ar
ticle.
By an arrival at Sag-Harbour from
St. Salvador, we learn that the Bra
zilians attacked the latter place on
the 16th of February, and were re
pulsed with from two to three iim
dred killed on both sides, it was
known that the Brazilian flee f h;at
sailed from Rio and were to ‘land
some miles to windward of that port.
To Correspondents —The favoi of
“ Critic & Cos.” shall appear r \t
week. “An epistle,” &c. is un'er
consideration.
Prices U invent.
SC g c
Flour, bbl. 13 0 0 0
Whiskey, gal. 58 (a)
Rum,(Jam.) do. 150
do. \V. I. do. 1
Gin, do. 05 68
Molasses, do. 60
Sugar, brown lb. H 13
do. Loaf lb. 22
Coffee, do. 30 32
Bacon* lb. 17
Iron, do.
Nails do. 12]
Shot do. 13
Powder keg 11
Rice lb. 5J
Castings do. 10
Pork, prime, do. 22
Do. Mess do. 28
Salt bush. 1 50
Mackerel bbl. 11 15
_
We ave authorised to
announce Capt. Charles Bul
lock a candidate to represent this
County in the Senatorial branch of
the next Legislature of this State.
\\V ave v(H\v\esied to sa\
that Charles Ingram Jun’r. is a
candidate for the office of Captain
of this district.
■ra'o 3i'jawA:iOK
v iCT 1) ANA WAY from.
A’ e Subscriber
about the Ist inst. a
| rf’Tf* negro fellow by the
name of
0 D unwood's,
about 40 years old,
yellow complexion, 5 feet 8 or 9 in
ches high. H,e probably will aim
lor Augusta, CJeo. or to Lewis Caf
fry’s in the Creek Nation, as he
was once owned by said Caffry, and
has lately expressed a wish to live
with him again. Any person ap
prehending said fellow and give in
formation so that I get him, shall
receive the above reward
C HAS. BULLOCK.
April 29. 7 -JU