Star. — London, England, 1814-12-17 00:00:00

P" - THE EVENING STAR,. -LAN DON. KINGSTON, OCTOBER t 4. f~ BRITISH SETTLEMENIS IN AMBRIC4. ro ILti TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR. - '" )2l ' SlR—Having seen your paper of the 9th ;ottani, find you have inserted a letter, copied from the Quebec Mercury, with certain preliminary observations of your own. Knowing, as I do, that the Quebec let ter-writerhas asserted, as true, circumstances which are false and wholly groundless, I hope you will have no hesitation in making room for this, which has for its object to shew, if not the libellous malignity of that writer, the perfect innocence of the officers and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company in their terri tories in North America. There was not at any time threats made use of to sthe settlers to send them on board the ship of war ; nor were any settlers ever sent on board that or any other ship. No father was ever separated from his offspring; and no husband was ever disjoined from his wife. None of these settlers ever needed or dreamt of asking for protection from a British ship of war.— These settlers had experienced from the generous and humane Commander (Captain STIRLING) much real and substantial assistance, both on the voyage and after their arrival in Hudson's Bay. Every tender attention, and the securest protection in the power of the Hudson's Bay Company's servants, and they had much in their power, were afforded bountifully and liberally to those settlers, at all times, and in all cases. Neither is there an influence in the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company operating to prevent their servants from returning to their friends and families at the expiration of their engagements, which termi nate always at the end of every three years : and even during their contracts, it is not uncommon to permit servants quitting the country, when a rea sonable motive has been urged for the indulgence. Tie writer of the Quebec letter, who is a Canadian trader, must have known he was writing a deliberate falsehood, when he said the Company's servants were hindered tram returning to their country and friends. As 1 was on the spot at the time when the other cir cumstances above are said to have occurred, I pub licly declare they are also utterly false. They could not have happened without my knowledge, nor been executed without my express permission. Unlike the writer of the Quebec letter, I shall no' anunym,usly appeal to the:Government, nor to the people of this country : but after having shewn me the ssay, let him and his colleagues tremble, when I make my next appeal to a British public, for they ought to know that from this bar no delinquent, how. ever p iwerlul or wicked, has ever been able to retire in triumph. For your satisfaction, I have added my name and address, which is also very much at the service of the Quebec. letter-writer, who may possibly be now in London.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant, WILLIAM AULD, Late Superintendant of the Nor hern District of the Company's Territories. Jules Coffee-bouse, Dec. 18, 1814. SATURDAY, DECEMBER . It i I4r PRICE OF STOCX3 THIS DAY•AT TWEICAMOVat e It: Reduced 65+4-4 per Cent. 821+-5 per Cent: Nay Ant' . Cou.4)ls .but—for account, 66+ 67-omnium 111 dis. !milk Long Arms. 16 3. I 6ths +--India Bonds 19s. pre. Exchequer Bills 2s. dis. ss. prem. Jamaica Gazettes have arrived this mornin&, from which we select the following : Several privateers have lately been cruizing in the neighbourhood (.f . St. Thomas, and the depredations cnmmitttd by them on the small craft, appear to have been of a serious and alarming nature. Yesterday we• bad two arrivals from Margarita, and it appears that Bermudos had obtained a most glorious victory over Merak's Army. He put 1000 people to death, took 1000 stand of arms, and with 1000 cavalry, and 400 infantry, he is advancing on Carracas from Ca agent. _ . • SEPT. 24.—We learn did a cessation of hostilities has t tken place at Santa •Fse, between the Royalist anc Independent f.oreei. The line of demarcation is p os vn .—Gsnerml lilartas commands the former, and General Montt* was be, ttleased from captivity the moment the articles fix the armistice were signed, and would thea take the command of the indepen dent force*. We are informed, that letters from Carthagena of the iii instant, state, that the interiiir provinces of sew Granada have ta length come to the resolution of contributing, in proportion to their respective means, to the support of the Government of Cartha gena ; and that such contributions were actually going on at the date of the communication. From some additional files of American Papers, received by the last arrival from Halifax, we have selected some interesting extracts. It will be seen that the Americans did not come off so triumphantly at Baltimore as their friends have represented : while . their armies were covered with glory, their ►hipping and merchandize were in flames ; and now that their exultation has somewhat abated, they begin to calcu late their loss. With respect to the general state of the public mind throughout the United States : that it is highly, unfavourable to the existing Government cannot be doubted : their papers teem with expressions of dissa tisfaction with the taxes, and nice calculations of their relative pressure ; distrust in the talent; or integrity of the Executive; threats to dissolve the union in the le hupe of predictions, ,if the Administration is not altered; and, on the side of Government, preposte• r pus exultation on account of partial or supposed sec. ceases i n t h e war, urgeunded calumnies. against Eng. l a nd, a nd assertions of loyalty in behalf (A American citirxns. Amid this conflicting scene, the eyes of au on the other side of the Atlantic ate directed with anxious solicitude to Ghent, where, 'notwithstanding all their blustering, the people look for a termination of all their sufferings• These feelings cannot be concealed, 'notwithstanding all the " glozing lies" of the arch Bend at Washington and those of his out-riders at Ghent. In the mean time the interchange of Couriers is incessant between the latter place and London, and from the additional speed of a few hours or even a few minutes with which a Messenger travels, it is gravely inferred that he is the bearer of dispatches still more closely approximating to a pacification. From the frequency of the interchange of Couriers, inferences of this nature certainly may fairly be drawn' but the speed with which a British Messenger travels is a circumstance of an ordinary nature. A most spirited and still more extended plan of operations, we have reason to believe, will be acted upon instantly in Canada and on the Lakes. Com modore OWEN took leave yesterday of the Lords of the Admiralty, for Portsmouth, previous to his im. mediate embarkation for Cauada, where he will pro ceed in the Mons. He will then transfer his flag to the Lakes, where, we have no doubt he will effect more in twenty-four hours than all the Negotiators at Ghent will do in twice twenty-four months. FROM THE AMERICAN PAPERS. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM BALTIMORE TO A MER CHANT IN NEW-YORK. " In answer to your enquiry respecting The To bacco purchased by you, which was stored" in the Lower Marlborough warehouse, I am sorry to inform you that the whole of yours, with fifteen thousand hogsheads belonging to others, has been burnt by the invaders, in the different inspecting warehouses which ,have been destroyed with their contents, with the ex ception of four or five hundred hogsheads, which the enemy carried off. The whole stock of Tobacco in the Nottingham, Upper and Lower Marlborough warehouses, and all the warehouses on the Potowmac, has been wantonly destroyed; and what is still a more lasting injury to this part of the country, is the taking off the black people : a great number of the Planters here have not only lost their whole stock of tobacco, but most of their slaves, and some have not one left. The dis tress in this part of the country is not to be described, and no prospect of relief. Piscataway and Benedict warehouses have also shared the same fate; Colonel Lyles has lost every slave he had." WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 22. Our readers have all seen the account of the enter prise against the Pirates of Barrataria. But few, we believe, were informed of the situation, history, or na ture of that establishment. For the information of such as were unacquainted with it, we have procured firom a friend the following interesting narrative of 'the main facts of which he has personal knowledge, *eft which cannot fail to interest some of our readers . Barrataria, is a Bay, or a narrow arm of the Gulf tof Mexico. It runs tivough a rich but very flat `country, until it reaches within a mile or two of the Missisippi river, 15 miles below the city of New. Orleans. The Bayou has branches almost innume rable, in which persons can lie concealed from the severest scrutiny. It communicates with three lakes which lie on the southwest side, and these, with the lake of the same name, and which lies contiguous to the sea, where there is an island formed by the two arms of this lake and the sea. The east and west points of this island were fortified in the year 1811' by a band - of pirates, under the command of one Monsieur La Fitte. A large majority of these out laws are of that class of the population of the state of Louisiana, who fled from the Island :of St. Domingo during the troubles there, and took refuge in the island of Cuba. And when the .last'war between France and Spain commenced, they were compelled to have that islald with the short notice of a few days. Without ceremony►, they en tered the United States, the most of them the State of Louisiana, with all the negroes they had possessed in Cuba. They were notified by the Governor of that State of the clause in the constitution which forbade the importation of slaves ; but, at the same time, re ceived the assurance of the Governor that he would obtain, if possible, the approbation of the general Government for their retaining this property. The conduct of this part of the favoured emigrants, and the refusal of those who could not, from local causes; join in the illicit confederacy to obey the draft in that State, which was required by the General Govern ment and ordered by the State herself, prove the fidelity of the allegiance which was promised by these fugitives to the United States. The Island of Barrataria is situated about lat. 29 deg. 15 min. long. 92 30, and is as remarkable for its health as for the superior scale and shell fish with which its waters abound. The chief of this horde, like Charles de Moor; had mixed with his many vices some transcendent virtues. In the year 1813, this party had, from its turpitude and boldness, claimed the attention of the Governor of Louisiana; and to break up the establishment, he thought proper to strike at the head. I-le therefore offered a reward of 500 dollars for the head of Monsieur La Fitte, who was well known to the inhabitants of the city of New Orleans, from his immediate connexion, and his once having been a fencing master in that city of great reputation, which art he learnt in Bonaparte's army, where he was a Captain, The reward, which was offered by the Governor for the head of La Fitte, was answered by the offer of a reward from the latter . . of 15,000 for the bead 61 - ' Doveniitt. The Go vernor ordered outs Company to march from the city to La Fitte'claiiidNind to burn and destroy all the property, and to bring to the city - Of New Orleans all his banditti. This company; under the command of a man who had been the intimate associate of this hold Captain, approached very near to the fortified island before he saw a man, or heard a sound, until he heard a whistle, not unlike a 'boatswain's call.- -Then it was he found himself suiroundeJ by armed men who had emerged from the secret avenues which led into Bayou. Here it was that the modern Charles de Moor developed his few noble traits ; for to this man who had come to destroy his life and all that was dear to him, he not only spared his life, but offered him that which would have made the honest soldier easy for the remainder of his days, which was indig nantly refused. He then, with the approbation of his captor, returned to the city. This circumstance, and some concomitant events, proved that this band of pirates are not to be taken by land. Our naval force having always been small in that quarter, exertions for the destruction of this illicit establishment could not be expected from them until augmt . nted ; for an officer of the navy, with most of the gun-boats on that station had to retreat from an overwhelming force of La Fitte's. So soon as the augmentation of the navy 'authorized an attack, one was mac!e ; the overthrow of this banditti has been the result; and now this almost invulnerable point and key to N.:W- Orleans is clear of an enemy, it is to be hoped the government will hold it by a strong militar) force. • THE AR mr. Tuesdaylast the Staffof the Bedford Militia marched into Woodbridge Barracks. The 2d R0y,41 Veteran Battalion marched on Mon day from Canterbury, on their route to Chelsea, where it is expected they will be disbanded. The 2d Battalion of the 47th and 65th Regiments of Foot arrived at Chatham on the 7th instant, from Liverpool, and will assist in doing garrison duty till they embark for India. Thursday the Brunswick Hussars returned to Isl(.rwich. A party of the Bedford Militia having been lately ordered from Colchester to Lynn, to assist the civil power, the inhabitants of Bury St. Edmund's, with that humanity and loyalty for which they are so emi nently distinguished, supplied the party at their sole expense with waggons to The t ford. The soldiers had marched 1(3 miles to Bury. (ctßceLait.) wdita-orrice, Mc. 10. His Royal Highness the Panic! ReCaNT having been gra ciously pleased to to►e into consideration the situation of the Officers of the British Army, who, having been prisoners of war in France, have incurred a loss by an unfavourable Exchange in the Receipt of their Pay, white in confinement, acid• having directed, in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, that the loss so incurred shall be made Food to such' Off errs; I have therefore to desire that you will call upon the Officers belonging to Corps in your Agency, for a statement of their respective Lasses on this bead, which you will transmit to this office, accompanied by the Bills drawn by them fur their pay, while in captivity. Yesterday, at two o'clock; his Royal Highness the PRINCE REGENT held a Court at Carlton House, which was attended by— His Excellency the Austrian Ambassador, the President of the Council, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Privy Seal, the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Mahter-General of the Ordnance, the Secretaries of State for the H sole and War De partments, the President of the Board of Control, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Master of the Mint, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench, the Lord Cham berlain, the Lord Steward, the Vice-Charnherlaiti, the Comp- Inner of the Household, the Recoreer of London, Ste. His Royal Highness held a Privy Council, which was attended by all those of the above who have the honour of being Privy Councillors, at which Viscount CHETWYND presided as Clerk. Yesterday the Mate of a packet arrived at the Foreign Office, Downing-street, with dispatches from Ghent. He eatne with all speed from Aldborough, not being able to put in at Dover, owing to the bois terous state of the weather. Mr. MINTER, the King's Messenger, was afterwards sent off with dispatches from the Foreign Office. Last night between seven and eight o'clock, a fire broke out at a pastry.cook's shop, adjoining the White Horse and Halt Moon public-house, in High street, Borough : by the speedy arrival of several engines its ravages were entirely confined to the pre mises on which it began, which were entirely con sumed, with the whole of the property therein. Hap pily no lives were lost. HVNTING.—The Hatfield hounds meet Monday, at Knoebs worth ; Thursday, at Bower Heath ; Saturday, the 24th, at Dowdells, at half-past ten o'clock. The burrey lox hoends meet Monday, at Crown Ash Hill; Thursday, at Shirley House; Sa turday, at Fox Kestun. H. Julliffe, Esq.'s fox hounds meet Monday, at Windmill, Walton; hursday, at Redston House; Saturday, at Platt's Green. The Essex Hunt met this day, at Cooks Mill Green; Monday, at Matching Green ; Wednerday, at Roydon Park; Saturday, the 24th, at High Roothing Street. The East Essex fox hounds meet Monday, at Burch Hall ; and Saturday, at Boated Hall. Extract of a letter from Pensacola, Sept. 21, 1814.: I am sorry to say that my sanguine expectations as to the taking of the fort at Mobile Point have been cruelly disappointed. It was attacked with every pro bAiity of success, and would no doubt have been car ried could all the ships have reached their stations'. The wind died away before two of them could get within the range of the guns, so that the whole fire of the fort was directed against the HEimics and SornnE. They silenced the fire of the fort twice, And tNice shot away their flagstaff, when iy the HERMES grounded, which rendered all hi r .;u4s use less. In this situation she was long exposed to a most galling fire from the enemy, until the greater part of her crew were either killed or wounded, and herself a mere wreck, when it was determined to burn her to prevent her falling into the enemy's hands ; she blew up about ten o'clock with a dreadful explosion. She had fifty men killed and wounded, and the SOPHII 20 : most of the wounded have lost either legs or arms • they are all landed and doing well ; they fought like lions, and were with difficulty retrained from storming the. fort. The Americans will no doubt give a brilliant account of this action ; to do them justice they fought well ; and from what I can learn guns were never better served. I am, however, proud to fay, that the %Mae flag was flying to the moment she blew up, and, what is most singular, was found next morainic by che boats. N.IV4L INTELLIGENCE. FALMOUTH, DECEMBER 14. The West India fleet appear to ride out the gale well—have not heard of a single accident all day. PORTSMOUTH, DECEMBER 16. Arrived the Catharine, from Amelia Island, with cotton, in a leaky state. Convoys—His Majesty's ships NIGER for the Cape and East Indies; acid MoNTA4UE for Bermuda, Bcc. The gale has conti nued the whole day, towards sun-set it became more moderate ; have not heard of any damage to the ship. ping.—Wind W. DEAL, DECEMBER 16. During the whole of this day k has blown a gale from the South-west, which occasioned the shipping to ride very hard, and I am doubtful some of th. must have suffered. At twelve o'clock, three b, i t ,. and a galliot parted from their anchors and ran iu leeward ; the Spanish ship San Josef, has cut ir ,, ra three anchors and gone for Ramsgate Pier ;'sevcral more have been obliged to cut. and run for the same port, particulars not known. The John, fee Jamaica ; Etheldred, for St. Domingo ; Lord Wellington, 1( r the West Indies; with the Ctlumbus, Dtedalus, Du chess of Richmond, and British Army tran.pom, all ride out the gale ; we cannot learn any particul irs from any other ship.—Five o'clock, more moderate. RAMSGATE, DECEMBER 16. Arrived the Pomona, ANDRES, from Bilboa, with loss of two anchors and cables ; St. Joze, DEL VALLE, from Gijon, with loss of two anchors and cables; Janus, HATER, from Copenhagen, bound to St. Croix, with loss of anchor and cable; 1-,ng .Tarc!, L LUND, from I;amburgh for Rouen, wit!, loss of two anchors and cables ; St. Cruz, NlAcHan , ), from Fayal for Havi with loss of anchor and cable. MARCA rg, DECEMBER 16. Arrived the Trust, FOWLER, from London far Pool, with loss of anchor and cable, and several other vessels with loss of anchors and cables. LIVERPOOL, DECEMBER IS. The Hiram, YEObIAN, from this port to New Bruns wick, has been captured by an American privateer, who alter plundering her of her dry goods, gave her up to the crew, and she has arrived at Halifax.— Arrived the Elephant, from Bourdeaux—sailed the 7th instant ; on the IGth she was boarded by his Ma. jetty's cutter DWARF, who informed them they were on the look-out for an American privateer, expected out of L'Urient, of six guns. The Theodore, Lams, from Maranham for this port, has been re-captured by his Majesty's ship SULTAN, and arrived at Ha fax. The Jane, GEORGE, is recaptured, and carried into Halifax. The Active, HARRISON, from this port for St. Michael's, has been cut out of Punto del Goda, by the Hero American privateer. YARMOUTH, DEC. 16. Saturday night last the brig Providence, of Sun. derland, laden with coals for Schedam, went on a shoal off Lowestoft, and afterwards got off, but wai driven on shore on Kirkby beach, and went to pieces. The crew took to their boat, and landed sate at Lowestoft. The Industry, of Hull, W. Amirraoe f master, laden with slip stores, taken in at Aldbo. rough, for Hull, was driven on shore to the south of Pakefield crew saved. The Amphion, of Dundea,, ALEX. CROAT, master, a large vessel of 300 tons ad; measurement, laden with deals, taken in at Moss for London, was driven ashore at Lowestoft, and bratt of water. The crew (14 men and boys,) saved. DUNOVER, DECEMBER 4. ' Last night, about nine o'clock, during a tremen dous gale, the sloop Katherine, fvf4wrvag masts , about 55 tons burthen, from Dundalk, bound to Glasgow, laden with oats, struck on the long rock et Ballywalter, and went to pieces. The Captain ai: a boy were saved ; but another min who was board perished. The tide having ebbed a little bctor! she struck, the Captain and boy, with much culty, and after receiving many cuts and bruises, si:z, ceeded in clambering to a dry part of the mck. Tie boy gives account, that he then fell rill 4p, and (lid not awake till the tide returning awoke him. He then shouted as loud ai possible, and, as the storm had abated, they were heard on shore, and boats put out to their rel.cf. A few fragments of the ses:::1 have been saved. GREENOCK, DEC. 13. This forenoon, his Majesty's ship TA nrattus made signal for sailing, to the ships of this port, intending to join convoy at Cork for the West Indies, and went down the River as far as Gowock, where she has been obliged to anchor, the wind having set in sttnmy from S.W.—The ships assembled at Tail of the Back remain still at anchor. The Dunlop, ABltAliti frubi Quebec, in beating up on Saturday night, missed stays and drifted on the Gantock rocks, near Dunoon, buc has since been got off with little damage. The ship IsAbell4, CRAWFOILD, from Port Gnu. gow for Jamaica, in working down the river turday, got aground off the Bay of Quick ; she WAII got off yesterday without damage. Arrived at Pot t• Glasgow on Thursday, the brig Charlotte, DUSCAN. sots, from Mirimachi, in SO days, a single vessel ; loading for the Clyde, Mariner, Ma/tuna:it ; ADAMS; Aimwell, Musa.sv ; And Elizabeth, Cll4l TOMERSON—spoke no vessels. Monday the master, John Brown, and six of the crew of the ship Speed, of Leith, were landed frcm a Dutch galliot, at Dungeness. 'the Speed wx. captured off Cape Finisterre, on a voyage from L s• bon to London, by the Lion American schooner. Yesterday, a Court of Directors was held at Z.:e East India House, when the under-mentioned shq' were thus stationed, viz : Warky, 1,200 tons, Captain lames Coulee ; Hope, 1,200 • Q.t . ., Captain Jame. Prendergast; Walmer Castle, ,vou • Luke bodds—for China. Ceres. 1,500 tons, Capt. H. Seott—for St. Helena and Ch'ns. Metcalfe, 319 tons, Captain Sanders; Streatham, bl , n t 6 1 Captain Grant—lor Madras and Bengal. Minerva, 950 tons, Capt. Simon Lee—for Bengal direct. Canticle, Captain 1. istanslsard—tor Ceylon and Ben4Al, stead of St. Helena and Bengal . Captain T. SANDERS was sworn into the command of the ship Metcalfe. The Charles Grant, David Scott. Inglis, Essess Marquis Camden, and Vansittart, all, tit INI/t) tons, are expected to be dispatched at.the India Howe early in January, for Bombay and Coma. . the Cap tains of these Indiamen have received instructions to c take in the trobps and recruits for the Company's service, at Sheerness, and to proceed on their voyar: from the Downs, under the protecli. , n of the. COR's - WALLIS, of 74 guns, and not from Port:mouth, :t _heretofore. CC the reli hal :en bla Re dec th CI.