The messenger. (Fort Hawkins, Ga.) 1823-1823, May 05, 1823, Image 3

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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