The Sun. — London, England, 1845-12-30 00:00:00

7-:' -1: .:..: : ~ `# i d ' ~ c I .- 'i _ .... : i :4, il t ' 1 1 :1 1 : I ' -1 , ... . i 1 c 1 1. f 4 ; 4 i .1 • 1 h; rt . , fri THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 30, 184 who had made a settlement, you shall not avail yourself, centuries before they had been entered by Captain Ber of your possession, because this was taken in violation keley, under the Austrian flag. of smother outstanding title : and although I must ad- It is unnecessary to detail the discoveries off the mit that you have also acquired this outstanding title, yet Spaniards as they regularly advanced to the north from even this shall avail you nothing, because, having taken the settlements on the western coasts of North America, possession previously to your purchase, you thereby until we reach the voyage of Captain Juan Perez, in evietered that you did not regard such title as valid. And 1774. That navigator was commissioned by the viceroy yet, such is the mode by which the British Plenipoten- of Mexico to proceed, in the corvette Santiago, to the teary has attempted to destroy both the American and 60th degree of north latitude; and from that point to iSpanish titles. On the contrary, in the case mentioned, examine the coast down to Mexico. He sailed from San the possession and the outstanding title being united in Blas on the 25th January, 1774. In the performance of the same individual, these conjoined would be as perfect this commission he - landed first on the north-west coast LS if both had been vested in him from the beginning. of Queen Charlotte's Island, near the 54th degree of The undersigned, whilst strongly asserting both these north latitude ; and thence proceeded south along the titles, and believing each of them separately to be good shore of that island and of the great islands of Quadra as against Great Britain, has studiously avoided insti- and Vancouver; and then along the coast of the conti tuting any comparison between them. But admitting, nent, until he reached Monteroy. He went on shore, for the sake of the argument merely, that the discovery and held intercourse with the natives at several places; by Captain Gray o f th e mout h of the Columbia, its ex- and especially at the entrance of a bay, in latitude 291 ploration by Lewis and Clarke, and the settlement upon deg., which he called Port San Lorenz3-the same now its banks at Astoria, were encroachments on Spain, she, known by the name of Nootka Sound. In addition to and she alone had a right to complain. Great Bi itain the journals of this voyage, which render the fact incon was a third party ; and, as such, had no right to inter- testible, wehave the high authority of Baron Humboldt fere in the question between Spain and the United States. in its favour. That disting uished traveller, w h o h a d But Spair, i nstea d o f complaining of these acts as access to the manuscriptdocuments in the city of encroachments, on the 22d February, 1819, by Mexico, states that " Perez and his pilot E-e_ van the Florida treaty, transferred the whole title Martinez left the port of San Blas 24th January, 1774. to the United States. From that moment, all On the 9th August they anchored (the first of all Euro possible conflict between the two titles was ended, both peen navigators) in Nootka roads, which they called the being united in the same party. Two titles which might port of San Lorenz.), and which the illustrious Couk, have conflicted, therefore, were thus blended together. four years afterwards, called King George's Sound." The title now vested in the United States it just LS strong In the next year (1775) the viceroy of Mexico again as though every act o f disc o v er y, exploration, and settle- fitted out the Santiago, under the command of Bruno ment on the part of bath powers had been performed by Heceta with Perez, her former commander, as ensign, Spain alone, befor e s h e h a d transferred all herrights to :he and also a schooner, called the Sonora, commanded by United States. The two Powers are one in this respect; Juan Francesco de la, Bodega y Quadra. These vessels the two titles are one ; and, as the undersigned will were commissioned to examine the north. we stern coast of show hereafter, they serve to confirm and strengthen each America as far as the 65th degree of latitude, and sailed other. It Great Britain, instead of the United States, in company from San Blas on the 15th March, 1775. had acquired the title of Spain, she might have contended It is unnecessary to enumerate the different places on that those acts of the United States were encroachments, the coast examined by these navigators, either in corn but, standing in the attitude of a stranger to both titles, pany or separately. Suffice it to say, that they landed at she has no right to interfere in the matter. many places on the coast from the 41st to the 57th de 'The undersigned deems it unnecessary to pursae this gree of latitude, on all of which occasions they took pos branch of the subject further than to state that the United session of the country in the name of their sovereign, States, before they had acquired the title of Spain, always according to a prescribed regulation ; celebrating mass, treated that title with respect. In the negotiation of 1818, reading declarations asserting the right of Spain to the the American Plenipotentiaries " did not assert that the territory, and erecting crosses with inscriptions, to com- United States had a perfect right to that country ; but memorate the event. Some of these crosses were after insisted that their claim was at least good against Great wards found standing by British navigators. In rela- Britain," and the convention of October 20, 1818, unlike tion to these voyages, Baron Humboldt says, "In the that of Nootka Sound, reset ved the claims of any other following year (1775, after that of Perez), a second power or state to any part of the said country. This re- expedition set out from San Blas, under the command of serration could hare been intended for Spain alone. But, Heceta, Ayala, and Quadra. He discovered the mouth ever since the United States acquired the Spanish title, of the Rio Columbia, called it the Entrada de Heceta, the they have always asserted and maintained their right in peak of San Jacinto (Mount Edgecomb, near Norfolk the strongest terms up to the Russian line, even whilst Bay), and the fine port of Bucareli. I possess two very offering, for the sake of harmony and peace, to divid e curious small maps, engraved in 1788, in the city of the territory in dispute by the 49th parallel of latitude. Mexico, which give the bearings of the coast from the The British Plenirotentiary, then, has entirely failed 27th to the 58th degree of latitude, as they were disco to sustain his position, that the United States can found vered in the expedition of Quadra." no claim on discovery, exploration, and settlement, with- In the fa ce o f th ese i ncontestible facts, the British out admitti ng th e pr i nc i p l es o f t h e N oo tk a convention. Pienipotentiary says "that Captain Cook must also be That convention died on the commencement of the war considered the discoverer of Nootka Sound, in conse between Spain and England, in 1796, and has never since quence of the want of authenticity in the alleged previous been revived, discovery of that port by Perez." And yet Cook did not The British Plenipotentiary next" endeavours to prove even sail from England until the 12th July, 1776, nearly that, even if the Nootka Sound convention had ever ex- two years after Perez made this discovery. The chief isted, the position of Great Britain in regard to her claim, object of Cook's voyage was the discovery of a north whether to the whole or to any particular portion of the west passage, and he never landed at any point of the Oregon territory is at least as good as that of the United continent south of Nootka Sound. It is true, that in States." In order to establish this position he must show coasting along the continent, before he reached this place, that the British claim is equal in validity to the titles he had observed Cape Flattery, but he was entirely igno both of Spain and the United States. These can never rant that this was the southern entrance of the straits of now be separated. They are one and the same. Diffe- Fuca. In his journal he admits that he had heard. some rent and diverging as they may have been before the account of the Spanish voyages of 1774 and 1775, before Florida treaty, they are now blended together and iden- he left England; and it is beyond question that, before tified. The separate discoveries, explorations, and set- his departure, accounts of the voyage of Quadra had tlements of the two powers previous to that date must now been published both in Madrid and London. From be considered as if they had all been made by the Nootka Sound Cook did not again see land until he United States alone. Under this palpable view of the reached the 57th degree of north latitude. subject, the undersigned was surprised to find that in the In 1787, it is alleged by the British Plenipotentiary comparison and contrast instituted by the British Pleni- that Captain Berkeley, a British subject, discovered the potentiary between the claim of Great Britain and that Straits of Fuca; but these straits had been discovered by of the United States, he had entirely omitted to refer to Juan de Fuca, nearly two centuries before. Besides, if the discoveries, explorations and settlem en t s ma d e b y t h ere h a d b een any merit in this discovery of Captain Spain. The undersigned will endeavour to supply the Berkeley, it would h ave b e l onged to Austria, in whose omission, service he was, and under whose colours he sailed, and But before he proceeds to the main argument on this cannot be appropriated to Great Britain. point, he feels himself constrained to express his surprise And here it is worthy of remark that these disco that the British Plenipotentiary should again have invoked veries of Cook and Berkeley, in 1778 and 1787, are all in support of the British title the inconsistency between those on which the British Plenipotentiary relies pre the Spanish and American branches of the title of the vious to the date of the Nootka Sound Convention, in United States. The undersigned cannot forbear to con- October, 1790, to defeat the ancient Spanish title to the gratulate himself upon the fact, that a gentleman of north-west coast of America. Mr. Pakenham's acknowledged ability has been reduced The undersigned will now take a position which can tenhe necessity of relying chiefly upon such a snpport not, in his opinion, be successfully assailed ; and that is, for sustaining the British pretensions. Stated in brief, that no discovery, exploration, or settlement, made by the argument is this : the American title is not good Great Britain on the north-west coast of America, against Great Britain, because inconsistent with that of after the date of the Nootka Sound Convention, and - Spain ; and the Spanish title is not good against Great before it was terminated by the war of 1796, can Britain, because inconsistent with that of the United be invoked by that Power in favour of her own States. The undersigned had expected something far title, or against the title of Spain. Even according to different from such an argument in a circle. He had the British construction of that Convention, the sove anticipated that the British Plenipotentiary would have reignty over the territory was to remain in abeyance attempted to prove that Spain had no right to the north- during its continuance, as well in regard to Great western coast of' America ; that it was vacant and un- Britain as to Spain. It would, therefore, have appropriated ; and hence, under the law of nations, was been an open violation of faith on the part of Great open to discovery, exploration, and settlement by all Britain, after having secured the privileges conferred nations. But no such thing. On this vital point of his upon her by the convention, to turn round against her case he rests his argument solely on the declaration partner, and perform any acts calculated to divest Spain made by the undersigned, that the title of the United of her ultimate sovereignty over any portion of this States to the valley of the Columbia:was perfect and corn- country. The palpable meaning of the convention was, plete before the treaties of joint occupation of October, that during it s cont i nuance the rights of the respective 1818, and August, 1827, a n d b e f ore t h e date of the parties, whatever they may have been, should remain Florida treaty, in 1819. just as they had existed at its commencement. But the British Plenipotentiary ought to recollect that The Government of Great Britain is not justly charge this title was asserted to be complete, not against Spain, able with any such breach of faith. Captain Vancouver but against Great Britain ; that the argument was con acted without instructions in attempting to take posses duoted not against a Spanish but a British Plenipoten- sion of the whole north-western coast of America in tiary ; and that the United States, and not Great Bri- the name of his sovereign. This officer, sent out from tain, represent the Spanish title. And further, that the England to execute the convention, did not carry with statement from which he extracts these declarations was him any authority to violate it in this outrageous almost exclusively devoted to prove, in the language manner. quoted by the British Plenipotentiary himself, that Without this treaty, be would !have been almere:in " Spain had a good title, as against Great Britain, to the truder; under it, Great Britain had a right to make whole of the Oregon territory." The undersigned has discoveries and surveys, not thereby to acquire title, but never, as before observed, instituted any comparison merely to enable her subjects to select spots the most between the American and Spanish titles. Holding both advantageous, to use the language of the convention, -having a perfect right to rely on both, whether jointly " for the purpose of carrying on their commerce with or separately-he has strongly asserted each of them in the natives of the country, or of making settlements their turn, fully persuaded that either the one or the there." other is good against Great Britain ; and that no human If this construction of the Nootka Sound Convention ingenuity can make the Spanish title, now vested in the be correct-and the undersigned does not perceive how United States, worse than it would have been had it re- it can be questioned-then Vancouver's passage through mained in the h an d s o f S pa i n. the Straits of Fuca, in 1792, and Alexander Mackenzie's Briefly to illustrate and enforce that title shall be the journey across the continent in 1793, can never be trans remaining task of tho undersigned. formed into elements of title in favour of Great Britain. And, in the first place, he cannot but commend the But even if the undersigned could be mistaken in these frankness and candour of the British Plenipotentiary positions, it would be easy to prove that Captain John in departing from the course of his predecessors, and Kendrick, in the American sloop Washington, passed rejecting all discoveries previous to those of Captain through the Straits of Fuca in 1789, three years before Cook, in the year 1778, as foundations of British title. Captain Vancouver performed the same voyage. The Commencing with discovery at a period so late, the very instructions to the latter, before he left England, in Spanish title, on the score of antiquity, presents a January 1791, refers to this fact, which has been com strong contrast to that of Great Britain. The under- municated to the British Government by Lieutenant signed had stated as an historical and " striking fact, Meares, who has rendered his name so notorious by its which must have an important bearing against the connexion with the transactions preceding the Nootka chant of Great Britain, that this convention (the Nootka) Sound Convention. It is, moreover, well known that the which was dictated by her to Spain, contains no pro- whole southern division of the straits had been explored vision impairing the ultimate sovereignty which that by the Spanish navigators Elisa and Quimper-the first power has asserted for nearly three centuries over the in 1790, and the latter in 1791. whole western side of North America as far north as the 61st degree o f l at i tu d e, and which had never been After what ha s b een sa id , it w i ll b e perceived how seriously questio ne d b y any European nation. This little reason the Briti s h Pl en i potent i ary has for stating that his Go vernment h as, " as far as relates to Van • jealohad been ma i nta i ne d b y Spain with the most vigilant couver's Island, as complete a case of discovery, ex usy ever since the discovery of the American con- ploration, and settlement, as can well be presented, giv tinent, end had been acquiesced in by all European Go- ing to Great Britain, in any arrangement that may be vernments. It had been admitted even beyond the lati- made with regard to the territorydispute in the tude of 54 40 no r th, b y R ussia, then the only power strongest possible claim to the exclusive possess ion of having claims which co u ld come i n collision with Spain!. that island." and that, too, under a sover e i gn pecu li arly tenacious oi The discovery th us re li ed upon is that of Nootka the territorial rights of her em pi re ." These historical facts had not b een , as th ey cou ld not Sound by C oo k, i n 1778: when it has been demonstrated that this wa s fi rst discovered by Perez, in 1774. The be, controverted by th e B r iti s h Plenipotentiary,although exploration is that by Vancouver, in p examining the coastsassing thro ug h th e they were bro ug ht un d er hi s part i cu l ar o b servat i on, and Straits of Fuca i n 17 92, and were even quoted by him with approbation, for the pur- of the territory in dispute, when De Fuca himself had pose of showing the inconsistency of the 'several titles de Montmori n , th e S ecretary of the Foreign part- Perez and Quadra. A s t o p ossess i on, if M eares was : "By the ever restored to his possessions at Nootka Sound, what treaties, demarcations, taking possession, and the most ever these may have been, the undersigned has never decided acts of sovereignty exercised by the Spaniards in seen any evidence of the fact. It is not to be found those stations from the reign of Charles 11., and autho- in the journal of Vancouver, although this officer was rised by that monarch in 1692, the original vouchers for sent from England f or th e avowed purpose of witnessing which shall be b roug ht f orward i n the course of the ne- such a restoration. The undersigned knows not whether gotiation, all the coast to the north of the western any new understanding took place between the British America, on the side of the South Sea, as far as beyond and Spanish Governments on this subject ; but one fact what is called Prince William's Sound, which is in the is placed beyond all doubt, that the Spaniards continued 61st degree, is acknowledged to belong exclusively to in the undisturbed possession of Nootka Sound until the Spain." year 1795, whe n th e y vo l untar i ly abandoned the place. Compared with this an c i en t c l a i m o f Spa i n, acquiesced Great Britain h as never , at any tnne since occupied this in by all Eur o p ean nat i ons f or centuries, the claim of or any other p os iti on on Vancouver's Island. Thus, on Great Britain, found e d on di scover i es commenced at so the score of either discovery, exploration, or possession, late a period as the year 1778, must make an unfavour- this island seems to be the very last portion of the ter able first impression. ritory in dispute to which she can assert a just claim. Spain considered the north-west coast of America as In the meantime, the United States were proceeding exclusively her own. She did not send out expeditions to explore that coast, for the purpose of rendering her • h the discoveries which served to complete and con title th e Spanish American title to the whole of the title more valid. When it suited her own convenience, or territory. terr s ' Promoted her own i nterest, she fitted out such ex- disputed e in June, 1789, i n th e s l oop . peditions o f discovery to ascertain the character and ex- Captain Robert Gray, tent of her own territory ; and yet her discoveries Washington, first explored the whole eastern coast of along that coast are far earlier than those of the Q ueen Charlotte's island. British. In the autumn of the same year, Captain John Ken in 1 That Juan de Fnca, a Greek in the service of Spain, drick-having in the meantime surrendered the corn- 592, discovered and sailed through the strait now mend of the Columbia to Captain Gray-sailed, as had bearing his name, fr om its southern to its northern ex- been already st a t e d, i n t h e s l oop Washington, entirely tremity, and thence r e t urned by the same passage, no through the Straits o f F uca . ]anger admits of a reason a bl e doubt. An account of the In 1791, Captain G ra y re t urne d to t h e North Pacific voyage was published in London in 1625, in a work in the Columbia, and in the summer of that year exa culled " The Pilgrims," by Samuel Purchas. This ac- mined many of the inlets and passages between the 54th count was received from the lip s of Fuca himself at and 56 th degrees of latitude, which the u n d ers i gne d Venice, in April, 1596, by Michael Lock, a highly re- considers it unnece ssar y to speed)... spectable English merchant. On the 7th M a y, 179 2 , he discovered and entered During a long period this voyage was deemed fabu- Bulfinch's harbour, where he remained at anchor three lous, because subsequent navigators h a d i n vain at- days, tradin g w i t h th e I n di ans. tempted to find th ese s t r aits. Finally, a f ter they bad On the 11 th M a y, 17 92, C apta i n Gray entered the been found, it was di scovere d t h a t the descriptionsofDe mouth of the Col um bi a an d completed the discovery of Fuca corresponded so accura t e ly w ith their geography, that gre a t r i ver . Thi s r i ver had been long sought in vain by fbrmer navigators. Both Meares and ant] the facts presented by nature upon the ground, that couver, after examination, had denied its existence. Van it was no longer possible to consider his narration . as Thus is the world indebted to the enterprise, perseve fabulous. It is true that the opening of the straits engine, and intelligence of an American captain of a from the south lies between the 48th and 49th parallels rtradit: vessel for their first knowledge of this, the of latitude, and not between the 47th and 48tharallels ; greatest as be had supposed; but this mistake may be e plainen whose head springs on the western coast of America -a river by the inaccuracy so common throughout the sixteenth Afoun tains, a nd whos e i l s flow , from the gorges of th e _ Rock t y o e l a titu branches de . e T ic h t i F s n d w f a r s o from e t t he 43d to century in ascertaining the latitude of places in newly the 53d parallels of discovered countries. all future time It is also true th a t D e F uca, after passing through most important disc overy on the coast and has perpe tuated the name of R o b ert Gray. It; these straits, supposed he h a d reac h e d t h e Atlantic, and had discovered the p assage so l ong and so anxiously • th?t was true that Bruno H eceta , in the year 1775, had great river will bear th e name of his veseel. s ought after, betw een th e t wo oceans; but from the total i gnorance and mis a pp re h ens i on wh i ch prevailed at that been opposite the Bay of the C o l um b ia ; and the cur early day of the geography of this portion of North rents and eddies of the water caused him, as he remarks America, it was natural for him to believe that he h , . d to believe that this was " the mouth o f some great river, " or of some passage. to another s ea ; and his o pi n i on made this YoPorta n t di scovery. Justice qps at length been done to his memory, and seems decidedly t o have been tear these straits which h e discovered will, in all future time, Ju a n the great dif ardethFisuc w a a L the l 59o2p.eni Tong of the strait di scovere d by 9 a h bear his name. Thu s , t h e merit of the discovery of the use his own language : "No straita of Fuca belongs to Spy; and this nea r ly t wo ference between the position of this Bay and the passage mentioned by De Fuca, I have little difficulty in con ceiving that they may be the same, having observed equal or greater differences in the latitude of other capes and ports on the coast, as I shall show at its proper time ; and in all cases the latitude thus assigned are higher than the real ones." lleceta, from his own declaration, had never entered the Columbia ; and he was in doubt whether the open ing was a mouth of a river or an arm of the sea ; and subsequent examinations of the coast by other navi gators had rendered the opinion universal that no such river existed, when Gray first bore the American flag across its bar, sailed up its channel for twenty-five miles, and remained in the river nine days, trading with the Indians. The British Plenipotentiary attempts to depreciate the value to the United States of Gray's discovery, because his ship (the Columbia) was a trading, and not a na tional, vessel. As he furnishes no reason for this dis tinction, the undersigned will confine himself to the re mark that a merchant vessel bears the flag of her coun try at her mast•head,: and continues under its jurisdic tion and protection, in the same manner as though she had been commissioned for the express purpose of making discoveigee.. Besides, beyond all doubt, this discovery was made by Gray ; and to what nation could the benefit of it belong, unless it be to the United States ? Certainly not to Great Britain. And if to Spain, the United States are now her representatives. Nor does the undersigned perceive in what manner the value of this great discovery can be lessened by the fact that it was first published to the world through the journal of Vancouver, a British authority. On the con trary, its authenticity being thus acknowledged by the party having an adverse interest, is more firmly esta blished than if it had been first published in the United States. Upon his accession to office, he found the present ne gotiation pending. It had been instituted in the spirit and upon the principle of compromise. Its object, as avowed by the negotiators, was not to demand the whole territory in dispute for either country ; but in the lan guage of the first protocol, " to treat of the respective claims of the two countries to the Oregon territory, with the view to establish a permanent boundary between them westward of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean." Placed in this position, and considering that Presidents Monroe and Adams had, on former occasions, offered to divide the territory in dispute by the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, he felt it to be his duty not abruptly. to arrest the negotiation ; but so far to yield his own opinion as once more to make a similar offer. Not only respect for the conduct of his predecessors, but sincere and anxious desire to promote peace and harmony between the two countries, influenced him to pursue this course. The Oregon question presents the only intervening cloud which intercept; the prospect of a long career of mutual friendship arid beneficial com merce between the two nations, and this cloud he desired to remove. These are the masons which actuated the President to offer a proposition so liberal to Great Britain. And how has this propositio❑ bt.en received by the British Plenipotentiary? It has been rejected without even a reference to his own Government; nay, more, the British Plenipotentiary, to u:;e his own language, " trusts that the American Plenipotentiary will be pre pared to offer some further proposal for the settlement of the Oregon vestion more consistent with fairness and equity, and with the reasonable expectations of the Bri tish Government." Under such circumstances the undersigned is in ' structed by the President to say that he owes it to his own country, and a just appreciati on of her title to the Oregon territory, to withdraw th e p repos i t i on to the British Govern me nt which had been made under his direction; and it is hereby accordingly withdrawn. In taking this necessary step the President still cherishes the hope that this long. p en di ng controversy may yet be finally acljuis ted in such a manner as nut to disturb the peace or interrupt the harmony now so happily subsisting between the two nations.—The under signed avails himself, &c., From a careful examination and review of the subject, the undersigned ventures the assertion, that to Spain and the United States belong all the merit of the disco very of the north-west coast of America south of the Russian line, not a spot of which, unless it may have been the shores of some of the interior bays and inlets, after the entrance to them had been known, was ever beheld by B r iti s h su bj ects, until after it had been seen or touched by a Spaniard or an American. Spain pro ceeded in this work of discovery, not as a means of ac quiring title, but for the purpose of examining and sur veying territory to which she believed she had an incon testable right. This title had been sanctioned for cen turies by the acknowledgment or acquiescence of all the European Powers. The United States alone could have disputed this title, and that only to the extent of the region watered by the Columbia. The Spanish and American titles, now united by the Florida treaty, can not be justly resisted by Great Britain. Considered to gether, they constitute a perfect title to the whole terri tory in dispute, ever since the 11 th of May, 1792, when Captain Gray passed the bar at the mouth of the Co lumbia, which he had observed in August, 1788. The undersigned will now proceed to show that the title of the United States, at least to the possession of the territory at the mouth of the Columbia, has been acknowledged by the most solemn and unequivocal acts of the British Government. After the purchase of Louisiana from France, the Go vernment of the United States fitted out an expedition, under Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, who, in 1805, first ex plored the Columbia, from its source to its mouth, pre paratory to the occupation of the territory by the United States. In 1811, the settlement of Astoria was made by the Americans near the mouth of the river, and several other posts were established in the interior along its banks. The war of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States thus found the latter in peaceable posses sion of that great region. Astoria was captured by Great Britain during the war. The treaty of peace Cort i eluded at Ghent in December, 1814, provided that " all territory, places, and possessions whatsoever, taken by either party from the other during the war," &c. &c., "shall be returned without delay." In obedience to the provisions of this treaty, Great Britain restored Astoria to the United States ; and this is admitted in the most solemn manner, not only that it had been an American territory or possession at the commencement of the war, but that it had been captured by British arms during its continuance. It is now too late to gainsay or explain away these facts. Both the treaty of Ghent, and the acts of the British Government under it, disprove the allegations of the British Plenipotentiary, that Astoria passed " into British hands by the voluntary act of the persons in charge of it," and that it was restored to the United States in 1818, with certain well-authenticated reservations. In reply to the first of these allegations, it is true that the agents of the (American) Pacific Fur Company, before the capture of Astoria, on the 16th of October, 1818, had transferred all that they could transfer—the private property of the Company—to the (British) North-west Company; but it will scarcely be contended that such an arrangement could impair the sovereign rights of the United States to the territory. Accord ingly, the American flag was still kept flying over the fort until the Ist December, 1813, when it was captured by his Majesty's sloop-of-war Rackoon, and the British flag was then substituted. That it was not restored to the United States " with certain well- authenticated reservations," fully appears from this act of restoration itself, bearing date 6th October, 1818. This is as absolute and unconditional as the English language can make it. That this was the intention ts d si of i Lord ou om Castlereagh r rßush f h clea o rly t aP e Pe rgh f t of from the m Americans his previous to be reinstated, and to the party in posses sion while treating on the title. If British Mite afterwards, in dispatches to their own agents, the con tents of which were not communicated to the Govern ment of the United States, thought proper to protest against our title, these were, in effect, but mere mental reservations, which could not affect the validity of their own solemn and unconditional act of restoratien. But the British Plenipotentiary, notwithstanding the American discovery of the Columbia by Captain Gray, and the exploration by Lewis and Clarke of several of its branches, from their sources in the Rocky Mountains, as well as its main channel to the ocean, contends that because Thompson, a British subject in the employment of the North West Company, was the first who navigated the northern branch of that river, the British Govern ment thereby acquired certain rights against the United States, the extent of which he does not undertake to specify. In other words, that after one nation has dis covered and explored a great river, and several tributa ries, and made settlements on its banks, another nation, if it could find a single branch on its broad waters which had not been actually explored, might appropriate to itself this branch, together with the adjacent territory. If this could have been done, it would have produced perpetual strife and collision among the nations after the discovery of America. It would have violated the wise principle consecrated by the practice of nations, which gives the valley drained by a river and its branches to the nation which had first discovered and appropriated its mouth. But, fur another reason, this alleged discovery of Thompson has no merits whatever. His journey was undertaken on behalf of the North West Company for the mere purpose of anticipating the United States in the occupation of the Columbia—a territory to which no nation, unless it may have been Spain, could with any show of justice dispute their right. They had acquired it by discovery and by exploration, and were now in the act of taking possession. It was in an enterprise under taken for such a purpose that Thompson, in hastening from Canada to the mouth of the Columbia, descended the north, arbitrarily assumed by Great Britain to be the main, branch of the river. The period was far too late to impair the title either of Spain or the United States by any such proceeding. Mr. Thompson, on his return, was accompanied by a party from Astoria, under Major Stuart, who established a post at the confluence of the Okinagan with the north branch of the Columbia, about six hundred miles above the mouth of the latter. In the next year (1812) a second trading post was established by a party from Astoria, on the Spoken, about six hundred and fifty miles from the ocean. It thus appears that, previous to the capture of them by the British, the Americans had extended their posses sions up the Columbia six hundred and fifty miles. The mere intrusion of the North West Company into this terri tory, and the establishment of two or three trading posts in 1811 and 1812, on the head waters of the river, can surely not interfere with, or impair the Spanish Ameri can title. What this company may have done in the in termediate period until the 20th October, 1818—the date of the first treaty of joint occupation—i s unknown to the undersigned, from the impenetrable mystery in which they have veiled their proceedings. After the date of this treaty neither Great Britain nor the United States could have performed any act affee:ing their claims to the disputed territory. To sum up the whole, then, Great Britain cannot rest her claims to the north-west coast of America upon dis covery. As little will her single claim by settlement at Nootka Sound avail her. Even Belsham, her own histo rian, forty years ago, declared it to be certain from the most authentic information, " that the Spanish flag flying at Nootka was never struck, and that the territory has been virtually relinquished by Great Britain." The agents of the North West Company, penetrating the continent from Canada, in 1806, established their first trading post west of the Rocky Mountains, at Fraser's Lake, in the 54th degree of latitude ; and this, with the trading posts established by Thompson —to which the undersigned has just adverted --and possibly some others afterwards previous to October, 1818, con stitutes the claim of Great Britain by actual settlement. Upon the whole, from the most careful and ample ex amination which the undersigned has been able to be stow upon the subject, he is satisfied that the Spanish American title, now held by the United States, embrac ing the whole territory between the parallels of 42 deg. and 54 deg. 40 min., is the best title in existence to this entire region ; and that the claim of Great Britain to any portion of it has no sufficient foundation. Even British geographers have not doubted our title to the territory in dispute. There is a large and splendid globe now in the department of State, recently recei ve d from London, and p u bli s h e d by Maltby and Company, " manufacturers and publishers to the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge," which assigns this ter ritory to the United States. Notwithstanding such was and still is the opinion of the President, yet, in the spirit of compromise and con cession, and in deference. to the action of his predeces sors, the undersigned, in obedience to his instructions, proposed to the British Plenipotentiary to settle the controversy by dividing the territory in dispute by the 49th parallel of latitude, offering, at the same time, to make free to Great Britain any port or ports on Van couver's island south of this latitude, which the British Government might desire. The British Plenipotentiary has correctly suggested that the free navigatioa of the Columbia river was not embraced in this proposal to Great Britain ; but, on the other hand, the use of free ports on the southern extremity of this island had not been included in former offers. Such a proposition as that which has been made, never would have been authorized by the President, had this been a new question, JAMES BUCHANAN. The Right Hon. R. Pakenhara, &c. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, MONDAY.—The Queen and Prince Albert walked out early, previous to his Royal Highness leav ing the Castle on a shoo=ing excursion this morning. Mr. Anson, Sir Edward Bowater, and Mr. IL Ormsby Gore attended the Prince out to shoot. The Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred, the Princess Royal, and the Princess Alice were taken their usual sides and walks in the pleasure -grounds adjacent to the Castle. Her Majesty, Prince Albert, and the Court honoured her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent with their com pany to dinner this evening at Frogmore house. The Countess of Desert took leave of hPr Majesty, previous to her Ladyship's departure for Bristol, en route to Lord D.'s seat in the county of Kilkenny. Her Majesty and her Royald Consort promenaded in the afternoon. The Chancellor of the Exchequer arrived in town yesterday afternoon, from Cambridge. Dispatches from the Governor of the North American provinces were received yesterday at the Colonial Office, Dispatches were also received yesterday at the Colonial Office from the Governors of Ceylon, the Cape of Goo Hope, and Malta ; and also from the Lord High Corn missioner of the lonian Islands. SUICIDE of COLONEL GURWOOD. An inquest was held before F. H. Gell, Esq., Coroner for East Sussex, yesterday morning, at 120, King's-road, Brighton, to inquire into the circumstances attending the death of Colonel John GurwooJ, who had termi nated his existence on the previous Saturday, by cutting his throat with a razor. The following witnesses were examined at the inquest : Sarah, the wife of George Collins, of 120, King's-road, lodging-house keeper, deposed that last Tuesday morn ing Colonel and Mrs. Gurwood and their three daughters came there to reside, They brought no servants, and witness waited upon them. On Saturday she waited on them at lunch at one o'clock ; soon after this she went up to bring down the luncheon, when she saw Mrs. Gurwood dressed, as if she were going out fur a walk. At a quarter past two o'clock a boy brought the news paper, 'which witness took into the drawing-room. She stirred , the fire. and was going down stairs, when she glanced into the dressing-room, where the Colonel and Mrs. Gurwood had slept the night before, in consequ ence o f the v i olence of the wind, and thought sho saw the Colonel's legs lying on the floor. She did not take much notice, however, as she understood the Colonel to be ill. She then resumed her work down stairs, and afterwards mentioned what she had seen to her husband. It then occurred to her that she might have been mistaken, as on second thoughts she considered it very strange that a gentleman should be stretched along the floor. She accordingly went up and coughed at the drawing-rooni door. No notice being taken, she went in and stirred the fire. She then coughed again, and finding that the Colonel did not speak, she pulled the door of the dressing-room open, and then saw him on the floor in a pool of blood, arising, as she supposed, from his having broken a blood -vessel. She had previously arranged with her husband that if everything was not right she would ring, and she now rang the bell accordingly, and her husband came up. They deliberated a few seconds as to what was best to be done, the result of which was that her husband ran out for Mr. E. J. Furner, a. surgeon, residing in the King's-road, who came in about five minutes afterwards. Mr. E. J. Furner, surgeon, deposed that he was called on about three o'clock on Saturday afternoon by the husband of the last witness, who said that a gentleman was at his house very ill, he believed dying. Witness went immediately to the house, and was shown into the bedroom of a gentleman, who he was informed was Colonel Gurwood. The Colonel was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. On lifting him up witness found a razor grasped in his right hand, and a wound on the left side of the throat, four inches long, and from an inch to an inch and a half deep. In his opinion, this wound caused death, and he had no doubt that the death was instantaneous. Sir Henry Webster, a lieutenant -colon e l in the army, residing at 44, Brunswick-sq uare, Brighton, deposed that he had known Colonel Garwood for thirty years. About a month since the witness heard that he was un well. He accordingly visited him and found him out of sorts, and recommended him to come to Brighton for a change. Witness heard from Colonel Gurwood's medi cal attendant that he was in a weak, low way; and, with the sanction of that gentleman, suggested that the Colonel s h ou ld come d own to Brighton, and stay w ith him as long as he pleased. He came down accordingly, and remained with witness a few days. Witness and his family endeavoured to divert the Colonel's mind as much as possible by lively conversation, and getting him to walk as much as they could. After a few days Mrs. Gurwood and his three daughters came down, and they took a lodging in the King's-road. CORONER_ Did you form an opinion as to the state of his mind? Witness—From his conversation upon poli tics, as well as on general subjects, I found that he was in a very wea k and desponding way. Can you assign any cause for it ?—I have no doubt that it was all caused by the relaxation of the nerves, in consequence of his great work, " The Dispatches of the Duke of Wellington," having been concluded. As long ago as a month I had seen a change in him, Dr. George Hall, of the Old Steyne, Brighton, said he was called in some time since to attend Colonel Gur wood, and prescribed for him, after which he rallied and got a little better. But lately he had fallen into a very desponding mood indeed, and witness treated him ac cordingly, and had great hopes that he would get better. His despondency, however, returned, and he believed that such despondency was sufficient to cause tempo rary insanity in any one. This being all the evidence, the CORONER summed up, and the jury returned a verdict, " That the deceased destroyed himself while in a state of temporary insanity." Colonel Gurwood was an old Peninsular and Waterloo veteran. At Waterloo, he was upon the staff of the Duke of Wellington, and filled the important post. of private secretary to his Grace, a position which gave him pe culiar facilities for editing the celebrated " Wellington Dispatches," with which his name will be handed down to posterity. The Duke of Wellington rewarded the Gallant Officer's fidelity by appointing him Deputy- Lieutenant of the Tower, an office which he has held, with much credit to himself, for some years past, and which becomes vacant by his death. He entered the army as ensign on the 30th of March, 1808 ; became Lieutenant in August,lBo9 ; Captain in February, 1812; Major in March, 1817 ; Lieut.-Colonel in March, 1827 ; attaining his rank as full Colonel in November, 1841. In July, 1830, he was placed on the Unattached List. Host's Army List thus describes the military services of the unfortunate deceased :—" Colonel Gurwood served in the Peninsula with the 52d Foot from August, 1808, to January, 1812 ; and subsequently, to the end of that war, in 1814. as Major of Brigade to the House hold Cavalry, and to Major-General Lambert's Brigade in the 6th division of Infantry : be was present at the siege and storm of' CiucLd Rodrigo, where he led the forlorn hope of the light division ; he was also at the storming of Fort Renaud ; and at the battles of Vittoria, Salamanca, Nivclle, Nive, Orthes, and Toulouse. The gallant officer also served through the campaign of 1815, and was severely wounded at the battle of Waterloo; severely wounded also at Sabugal, and slightly at Ciudad Rodrigo." [sters LETTERS OF ROYAL AND ILLUSTRIOUS LADIES OF GREAT BRITAIN, edited from the originals, with introductory notices, by Mary Anne Everett Wood, 3 vols. small Bvo. with fac simile autographs, price 31s. Gd. The above work is pub fished this day, by Mr. Co lburn, of Great Marlborough -street, and may now be had of all booksellers. Mr. Co!burn has also just published, 2. The New Timon, a Romance of London, part 1.-3. Two Romances by B. Disraeli, Esq., MY-, 1. Contari n i Fl em i ng. 2. Alroy, comprised in 3 vole. with portrait of the author. -4. vol. 5 of. The Nelson Letters and Dispatches.-5. The Comic Annual for 1846, a re-publication of Mr. Hood's " Whimsicalities," in 1 vol., with 45 illustra tions by Leech, &c., 12s. bound.-6. A second edition of Lady Hester Stanhope's Memoirs, 8 vols.-7. Evenings at 'Haddon Hall, 1 vol., with 24 en grav i ngs by the first artists, from designs by George Cattermole, 318. 6d. bound, and 8. A third edition of "The Crescent and the Cross," by Eliot Warburton, Esq., 2 vols. Thd good service pension of 300/ per annum, which reverted to the Admiralty on the death of Admiral Sir Charles Rowley, Bait, is conferred on Sir William Hothatn, G.C.8., Admiral of the White.—Hampshire Tele graph. FASTERN COVNTIES RAILWAY The Public are informed that the following ALTERATIONS' in the arrangement of the PASSENGER TRAINS will conic into operation on the Ist January, 1846, viz. : CAMBRIDGE LINE.—DOWN TRAINS. Two additional TraiNS, consisting of First, Second, and Third Class Carriages, will leave London for Hertford and Intermediate Stations, at 10.30 A.M., and 1 30 r.m. respectively, every day except Sundays. The Trains leaving London for Hertford at Twelve o'clock Noon, and 4.30, and Seven o'Clock Evening, will consist of First, Second, and Third Class Carriages, and not First and Second Class only as heretofore, and will stop, if required, to take up or set down paasen gers at any of the intermediate Stations. The 2.30. P.M. Train from London to Ely and intermediate Stations will have First and Second Class Carriages attached, in addition to Third Class, as at present. UP TRAINS. Two additional Trains of First, Second, and Third Class car stages will leave Hertford for London at 10.45 A.M., and 2.30 P.M. respectively, stopping, if required, at any of the Interme diate stations. The 8.15 and 9.15 (not 9.30, as heretofore) A.m., and 12.30 P.M. trains will take First, Second, and Third Class Passengers, and not First and Second Class only, as at present, and the 9.15 train will, if required, stop at any of the intermediate stations between Hertford and London. The 9.30 A. 31. train from Ely to London, and intermediate sta tions, will hereafter consist of First, Second, and Third Class carriages. The Mail train, heretofore arriving in London at 5.22 A.M., will be due at five o'clock. COLCHESTER LINE.—DOWN TRAINS. The 7.30 A.m. Train from London will be discontinued, Third Class Carria4es being attached to the 8.30 A.m. Train. The One o'Clock P.M. Train from London will consist of First, Second, and Third Class Carriages, and goods will be discontinued to be sent by this Train. ILLUSTRATED BY LEECH, AND WITH A PORTRAITI OF ALFRED CROWQUILL, FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTNG BY M. BAUGNIET. The January Number, price Half-a-crown, of B ENTb E Y'S MISCELLANY, contain BRIAN O'L/ific ; OR, Will LUCK IS EVERYTHING. By W. H. MAXWELL, Esq., Author of "Stories of Waterloo," " Wild Sports of the West," &c. With an Illustration by Leech. Chapter 3—lnidsturk—Boyhood of Brian O'Lynn—Misther Toole changes his Profession. Chapter 4—More Passazes in a young Life—Love will be the Lord of all—Loss of a Protector. - Early Years of a Veteran of the Army of Westphalia, between 1805-14. An Anecdotical Account of Play, Houses of Play, and Play-men— Gaming, Gaming-houses, and Gamesters. The Jolly Miller, and Jack and Gill—Monkish Ballads. Loiterings along Love Passages. By Everard Clive. There was a Time In Infancy. The Retreat to Corunna—.Anecdotes of the Peninsular War, from the Recollections of Rifleman Harris, edited by H. Curling. A REAL COUNTRY GHOST STORY. BY ALBERT SMITH. Memoirs of Alfred Crowquill, with a Portrait, from the Original Painting. By M. Baugniet. The Avenger's Witness against Murder—Sleeplesss because Criminal Retirement—The Gaol-Chaplain. The Picture, a Slight Sketch. By Alfred Crowquil The Duke and his Portraits—Return from Hawking—A Baronial Hall in the Olden Time—The School—New Engravings. The Death of i'-appho. Quacks and Quackery. By a Physician. OUTPOURINGS. /3.37 D. CANTER. (LIBATION IX.) The Histrionic Art—Cooke—Knight —The Unpopular Tragedian— Amateur Actors—Earl Fltzhardinge—Major Dawkins—Lord Fre derick Lennox, &c.—Amateur Theatricals—The Unwashed Othello —Kean at the Louvre—Stage Fright—The Performances, &c. Richard Bentley, New Burlington-street. The ISO P.M. lrain from London will be discontinued, and a Train at 2.13 substituted. The Train leaving London at Three o'clock will be EXPRESS, stopping at Romford, Brentwood, and Chchnsford, and arriving at Colchester at about 4.30 o'clock. Tho 6.30 P.M. Train from London to Brentwood, and intermediate stations, will have Third Class Carriages attached, in addition to First and Second as at present. PRAINS. The Six o'clock P.M. Train, from Colchester, will consist of First, Second, and Third Class Carriages. The Seven o'clock r..m. Train from Colchester will be discon tinued. The Six o'clock P.M. Train from Colchester on Sundays will be dis continued, and a Train substituted to leave Colchester at 5.30 P.M. A considerable Reduction will take place, on the Ist of January in some of the Short Fares on both lines. For particulars, see Time Bills, which may be had on application, at any of the Company's Stations or Coach-offices in connexion with the Company, on and after the 29th instant. BL ACK W 0 OD'S MAGAZINE, No.CCCLXIII. for JANUARY, 1846. By order, C. P. Offices, Shoreditch St a ti on, L ondon, Dec ROEY, . 23, 184N5. Secretary. CpNTENII:-- I. Sir Trillium Follett. —ll. Let never Cruelty dishcnour Beauty. —III. The Last Hours of a Reign. Conclusion.—lV. A Campaign in Texas.—y. The Mother and her Dead Child.—Vl. The Greek and Romantic Drama.—Vll. My College Friends. No. 3.—V111. The Student of Salamanca. Part 3.—IX. Sicilian SketchesSyracu3iana. —X. /Esthetics of Dress—Military Costume.—Xl. From GoUthe.— XII : Christmas Carol, 1845.—X111. The Crisis. William Blackwood and Sons, 45, George-street, Edinburgh; and 37, Paternoster-row, London. 1119EOPLE'S JOURNAL. O n S ATURDAY , .1. the 3d ofJanuary, 1846, will be Issued, No 1., Price THREE HALFPENCE, of the PEOPLE'S JOURNAL, an Illustrated Weekly Periodical, combining Amusement, General Literature and Instzuc- THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY-LANE. THIi EVENING Will be performed th e First Act of THE DAUGHTER OF ST. MARK. Andrea Cor naro, Mr. Borrani ; Moneenigo, Mr. Weiss ; A ( A l o t ip t t d e e n e d o o u f r e t h yr e , M O p r e . r l a V . I. l r l o ar r as e o r n R ; I C s a L t Catarina y i n a a e n d o ar s o, lONS AI i through a Series of Classical E xerc i ses. Alter which, will be re p eated a New Grand Ballet, called THE DEVIL TO PAY, in whi c h M ons. Bretin, Mdlle. Flora Fabbri, Mdile. s Dabas (of the Academi e R oya l e, Paris), Mille. Louise, Mr. W. 11. s will Poo g l Q o . Payne, Mons. Delferier, Mr. Howell, and Mr. IVieland will appear. To conclude with a new grand Christmas comic Fantomine, called HARLEQUIN GULLIVER ; or, Giants and Dwarfs. The New and extensive Scenery under the direction of Mr. Grieve ; the Overture and Music by Mr. It Hughes; the Tricks, Transformations, and Decorations by Mr. Blamire ; the Machinery by Mr. B. Sloman ; the Dresses by Mr. Bovey, Mrs. Balls, and numerous assistants. The whole produced under the superintendence of Mr. W. West. Scene I. INTERIOR OF GUILDHALL. Epoch—Lord Mayor's Day, 1845—between the Dinner and the Ball. Magog and Gog (the City Giants —once at a premium, now at a discount), Mr. S. Jones and Mr. 11. Horncastle ; Ge eral Tom Thumb (a Dwarf, but causing a great panic in the Giant market), Miss Dale. " Who'll kill the Giants? I, says Tom Thumb, As soon as I come, I'll kill the Giants."—Yankee Nursery Tale. The Genius of Pantomimic (Chairwoman of the " Christmas Funny Club"), Miss A. Pay ne.—How Tom Thumb takes the Giants (town a peeor two—" From words they'd almost come to blows "—Umpire and Referee, the Genius of Pantomime, who gives her decision in a manner (it is hoped) satisfactory to her numerous patrons in boxes, pit, and gallery. ion, with an earnest and business-like inquiry into the best means of satisfying the Claims of Industry. Amon the more important arrangements already made, the Proprietors take the earliest op portunity of announcing, I.—Lectures to the Working Classes, by W. J. Fox, revised by the author for regular weekly publication in the " People's Journal," immediately after their delivery. 2.—Tales for the People, by Mary Howitt. 3.—Eminent Living Persons:—What have they done for the People? The Literature by William Howitt and others; the Por traits by Miss M. Gillies ; the Engravings by Linton.—No. I, Charles Dickens. Scene 2. COAST OF TILE ISLAND OF LlLLlPUT.—Discovered A.D. 1699. " Aficr a storm comes a calm." Gulliver (having a passion for travelling, high and dry on a rock), Mr. W. H. Payne ; Mrs. Gul liver (having a passion for her husband, in the same predicament), Mr. Hance. Extraordinary high tide, and great rush for places. Timely arrival of the Flying Island. Mrs. Gulliver leaves the rock to the tune of " Here we go up, up, up"—Gulliver leaves the rock to • the tune of " Here s e go down, down, down." The tide having ceased to flow, naturally begins to ebb, and leaves Gulliver to asto nish the Lilliputians! Peasants (the real "small natives"), Messrs. and Mesdames Tiny, Dumpy, Dot, Weebody, Speck, Short, Small, Trot, Littlejohn, &c. &c. ; Inspector of the A division of Lilliputian Police, Mr. Stumpy ; Policemen, Messrs. Move-a-way, Clear-the way, Push-a-long, Walk-on, &c.; Engineer, Mr. Easer ; Stoker, Mr. Hot-birth. How Gulliver, alias the man-mountain, is BOUND over to keep the peace ; and how, " by a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether," he is carried away to the court of the Emperor Lil liput. 4.—Scenes from Society ; the Literature by Angus B. Reach, and others ; the Designs by Kenny Meadows ; the engravings by Linton. s.—Poetry for the People ; by Mary Howitt, Ebenezer Elliott, and others. S.—Homes for the People ; with Designs and Estimates. Published at the " Artisan " Office, Wellington-street North, Strand ; where all Communications, Advertisements, Books, Prints, and Music, &c., for Review, may be addressed ; and where Prospec tuses may be obtained. • " And wasn't he a dainty dish To set before the King ?" - Old in meram. Scene 3. HALL OF SCIEN CE IN TIIE MSS. the PALACE OF British THE KING OF LA ! PUTA.—HiS Majesty the King of Laputa (very deep in Ceome ry—vide, Flappers at his elbows), Mr. T. Matthews ; Lord High Chancellor Parallelogram and Lord High Chamberlain Aquilateral (fond of " Figures," especially aumber " One"), Mr. Howell and Mr. Johnson. Lords in Waiting, with their attendant flappers, pages, &c. Mrs. Gulliver makes her " first and only appearance at Court ;" and how, having lost her G--, the Flying Island Is placed at her disposal to recover the same. Scene 4. MARINE RESIDENCE or THE EMPEROR OF LILLIPUT.—MS " High" Mightiness Golbas to Momaren Mully Ully Gue, Emperor of Lilliput, Miss Turtle ; her " equally" High Mightiness the Em press of Lilliput, Miss Midgley. The Lilliputian Court (the " high est" families In the land), and Lilliputian Imperial Guard (at least 2 ft. 6 in. in their stockings), servants, policemen, cooks, scullions, Re. Re.—How Gulliver, having been let out of " durance vile," not only pockets the.affront, but two policemen in the bargain. How he kisses the Emperor's hand, and the Empress's lips. Inspection of the Lilliputiam Imperial Guard. How Gulliver swallows his dinner, and is only, prevented from swallowing a Lilliputian, by way of dessert, by the news of the arrival of the Blefascadian fleet. Gulliver re gains his freedom, by towing in the enemy's fleet. The Palace on fire. Arrival of the Lilliputian Fire Brigade. How Gulliver saves the Empress, and is then obliged to save himself, which he does by taking a hop, step, and a jump into Scene 5. CORN -FIELD IN BROBDIGNAG.—LOIIgOStreIehO (a sub stantial Brobdignag fanner, and member of the Brobdignag Agri cultural Society), Mr. Monster ; Long-in-the-stride (his wife), Mrs. Strapper; Brobdignag Baby (In and out of a g.-cart), Miss 11. Payne ; A very Priedroun Robin (the mother of a very tine family)' Mrs. Redbreast ; Pig (with silver medal from the Brobdignag Cattle Show), Mr. Snout. How Gulliver goes a bird's nesting, and gets the worst of-it, and how, after paying all proper deference to the "great-uns," he pitches into the " little-un" in the go-cart. Scene 6. BROBDIGNAG BED-ROOM AND NURSERY.—BrOtHlignag " Gemini" (Anglice twins), Masters James and Elliott; Brobdignag Kitten, Mr. Pussey. For further particulars of this scene apply personally to the principal performers, who can be seen in it every evening till further notice. This day is published, price 2s. 6d., the First Number of OWE'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE, CONTENTS: 1. Liverpool Conference on Christian Union. 2. Puseyism as an Interpreter of Nature. 3. The Moral Relations of Literature and Art. 4. The Scottish Hero—Wallace. 5. Church Clavering. 6. Life and Works of Jean Paul Richter. 7. A Glance at the Religious Aspects of the World. 8. The Friends of Light in Germany. 9. Gustavus Adolphus Society. 10. Canton de Vaud. 11. Germany —Italy—France. • 12. Notices of Books, &c. Edinburgh :J. D. Lowe. London : R. Groombrldge and Sons. F IF'T Y GUINEAS PREMIUM. TO ENGINEERS AND OTHERS. Fifty Guineas premium is offered for the best plan or model not patented, for making " Corke's Economic Firing," in various sized blocks; to be awarded by the majority of three scientific engineers on the 17th January next. That plan or model will be considered the best that shall combine the most economic and rapid mode of manu facturing the blocks, in connexion with the smallest cost of the ma chinery itself, when considered with the cost of working by the most economic and efficacious steam power. Twenty guineas will be given for the second best plan. As machinery will be required for England and foreign countries, each plan or model must be accompanied by a specification stating the cost of erecting and completing the ma chinery at each factory, so as to make 50 tons of "maintaining " firing and 50,000 igniting blocks per day. The size of the blocks, with models of the present system of form ing them, may be seen, and all particulars obtained, at 3, Trafalgar square, where each plan or model, with the specification, must be left before twelve o'clock on the above day. Half of the premiums will be paid on the day of the award, the other half on the completion of the first set of machinery, so soon as it is found to work well. N ATIONAL LOAN FUND LIFE ASSU RANCE SOCIETY. 26, Cornhill, London, December 29, 1845. Notice is hereby given that the half-yearly interest, at the rate of five per cent per annum on the capital stock of this Society, due on the 31st instant, will become' payable on the 10th day of January next, and Proprietors may receive the same at this office on that or any subsequent day between the hours of eleven and three o'clock. By order of the Co , irt of Directors, F. FERGUSON CAMROUX, Secretary. THE WEATHER.—Sox OFFICE, DEC. 30. THERDIu3IETER, Lowest, 37 ;1 Highest, 48 ; Noon, 50. BettomETEtt,29'.B:- , --Wixto S.W.; hazy. NIGB WATER AT LONDON-BRIDGE THIS DAY. M3rning .. 28 minutes after 2 j Evening .. 55 minutes after 2 ~ `\''',,l , •• , 'l,,.eri,..'W!-„t) '!' ,! . < I 1144 \, • ' ~ , • • ' ‘' • - '''''' ' 1t &.. - " •- •... ' 1; _ - Scene 7. COAST OF THE ISLAND OF LILLIPUT OS SUCH* 2), and re-appearance of the Flying Island ; from which Mrs. Gulliver takes a flying leap Into Gulliver's t.rms —" We may be happy yet." Our old acquaintance, the hock, introduces another old acquaintance, the Genius of Pantomime, Transformation of the Characters. I Harlequin .• •• • • Mr. Wi e l an d . Clown .... • • Mr. T. Matth ews. Pantaloon .. Mr. Howell. Columbines • •Miss Hicks and iss Scene 8. END OF COVENTRY -STREET, PlCCADl M LLY. Lonsdale. —Writing In Eight Lessons. The Experimental Squadron, with Hornpipe accom paniment. A Sudden Peep into Leicester-square. Wenham Lake Ice. Sliding made easy. A great Fall in Provisions—viz. fish, fruit and vegetables. Scene 9. CLOWN'S LonolNos.—Bed and Window change sides, and Clown " goes down the middle and up again ;" great virtue in a blan ket. "To be well shaken before taken." The principle of elongation "Carried out." Clown is tossed up, and Harlequin comes down 1 " heads." Scene 10. EXTERIOR OF GROCERS, FISHMONGERS, AND WINE MER CHANTS' SHOPS.—Two active lads, versus active clothes-horse. Cask of West India Produce and barrelled natives. Ladders ad Infinitum, Putting up the shutters—the wrong shop. Try again. Ditto re peated. Great change on the premises, and " business removing." Scene 11. HIGHGATE -HILL, with extensive view of the neighbour hood of London. Railways remember the 30th November. Grand Railway Steeple-chase to the Board of Trade. Arrival of engines from all the country round. " A clear course and no favour." Off they go. Clown and Pantaloon in difficulties, and ending in a "dis solution of partnership." Scene 12. FLEET-STREET PORING THE REPAIRS, with Glass Shop, Tinman's, and Railway Printing-office. Railway Prospectus and Provisional Committee; publishing made easy. Orders to any mount punctually attended to. The Great Guy for 1845. Great battue of stags ; " they come—they come." No thoroughfare. The shortest cut to the Board of Trade, producing a great smash among the crockery. Scene 13. EXTERIOR OF THE BOARD OF TRADE, and Probable Ge neral Railway Terminus. Scene 14. WATCHMAKERS' AND BOOKSELLERS' SHOFS.—Teaching the young idea how to shoot. Illustrated London Noose. A " pinch of curry powder." Watch on a new movement. Queen's Visit to Germany, and all eyes directed to Scene 15. THE CITY OF COLOGNE, as It appeared on her Majesty's arrival. Owing to this great attraction, immediate application should be made to JOHN PARSONS, Box Book-keeper. . - THEATRES ROYAL, HAYMARKET . THIS EVENING Will be performed the Comedy of A CURE FOR THE HEART ACHE. Old Rapid, Mr. W. Farren ; Young Rapid, Mr. Hudson ; Frank Oatland, Mr. Buckstone ; Jessy Oatland, Miss Julia Bennett. To be followed by the admired Drama of GRANDFATHER WHITEHEAD. Grandfather Whitehead, Mr. W. Farren ; Dray ton, Mr. Tilbury; Langley, Mr. Stuart; Louisa Drayton, Mrs. E. Yarnold ; Susan, Mrs. Stanley. To conclude with a Grand New Extravaganza, entitled THE BEE AND THE ORANGE TREE ; or, The Four Wishes. Principal Characters by Mr. Hudson, Mr. James Bland, M r . Caulfield, Mr. Clark, Miss P. Hort on , Miss Julia Bennett, Mrs. Caulfield, and Mrs. Stanley. THEAT.hE ROYAL, ADELPHI. THIS EVENING Will be repeated an entirely New Drama, called TIIE LIONESS 3F THE NORTH, or, The Prisoner of Shlusselboarg. Alexis Eomanouski, Mr. Webster; Triptelemus Kront, Mr. Wright; Eliza beth, Madame Celeste. After which, MOTHER AND CHILD ARE DOING WELL. To conclude with an entirely New and Original Christmas Pan tamime, called HARLEQUIN AND POONOOWINGKEEWANG FLIBEEDEEFLOBEEDEEBUSKEEBANG; or, The King of the Itnnibal Islands. Harlequin, Mr. T. Ireland ; Columbine, Miss Fleming ; Clown, Mr. C. J. Smith; Pantaloon, Mr. Mitchenson. THEATRE ROYAL, LYCEUM. Immense Success of " The Cricket on the Hearne —Tremendous Hil of " The Enchanted Horse." THIS EVENING WILL BE PERFORMED THE CRICKET ON T O II F E I I I I O E 3 A fE ri . TH: A FAIRY TALE The Principal Characters by Mr. Keeley, Mr. Emery, Mr. Meadows, Mr. F, Vining, Mrs. Keeley, Miss M. Keeley, Mrs. Woollidge, Miss Dawson, Miss Howard, Miss Forster, and Miss• Turner. After which will be produced a New Grand Romantic extravaganza, Wined THE ENCHANTED HORSE; or, Prince Fireuz Schah of Persia and the Princess of Bengal. Principal Characters by Messrs. Keeley, Wigan, F. Matthews, Collier, Turner, Kinloch, &c.; Mes dames Keeley, Villars, Hodson, Dawson, Howard, Ardor, &c. PRINCESS'S TIiEATRE, OXFORD-STAEET. EVENING Will be repeated a NewTHIS Extravaganza, entitled JEAMES, THE RAILROAD FOOTMAN OF BERKELEY -*QUAKE. Jeames Plush, Mr. Compton. To which will be added THE BRIGAND. To conclude with a New Christmas Pantomime, entitled THE KEY OF THE KINGDOM; or, HAR • EQUIN AND THE FAIRY BLUE BELL. Harlequin, Mr. W. H Harvey; Columbine, ➢Liss Bullen ; Clown, Mr. Flexmore ; Pantaloon, Mr. T. Hill. SOLE LESSEE AND MANAGERESS, ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. THIS MISS KATE HOWARD. Will be pre sen t ed a Domestic Drama EVENING of powerful interest, entitled THE LADY OF ST. TROPEZ. George Maurice, Mr. J. Browne; Count D'Aubrieve, Mr. Brookes ; Hortense (the Lady of St. Tropez), Miss L. Melville. To be followed by THE DAY AFTER THE WEDDING. Col. Freelovo, Mr. Walter Lacy ; Lady Freelove, Miss L. Melville. And concluding with the now Pantomime, unapproachable for glee and grandeur, called FORTUNATUS ; or, THE MAGIC CAP. Fortunatus, Miss Hamilton ; Prince Megrim, Mr. Cockrill ; Fairy Queen, Miss Bromley ; Harlequin, Mr. Smythers ; Pantaloon, Mr Charles; Clown, Mr. Jefferini ; Columbine, Miss Laidlaw. AsTLEY'S ROYAL A MPIIITI2EATIZE OF ARTS. PROPRIETOR AND MANAGER, MR. W. BATTT. Eztraordinary Treat to the Holiday Visitors. HIS EVENG Will be performed thennovel Drama lN of TIIE PYRENEES. In which M. %Yellen's celebrated Dog Emile will appear, whose per formances at the Cirque Olympique, Paris, has drawn crowded houses for the l ast nine months. New Scenes of th e C i rcle, combining the talent of the French and English Artistes. Auer which will b e repeated a New Grand Comic Equestrian Pan tomime, called HARLEQUIN DON QUIXOTTE DE LA :MANCHA ; or, Sa nc h o I ' anza, and Dulcinea of Toboso, with new Scenery, Dresses, Mechanical Changes, &c. z~~w` ROYAL VICTOR IA THEATRE . Another Triumph for the Victoria in the immensely successful Pan emimef " Tlppity w it c h et "— With the Extraordinary Feats of rofessor Hemmings and his Two Surprising Infant Sons. THIS EVENING. RIeIIARD PLANTAGENET, in Three Acts, supported by Messrs. Osbaldiston, E. F. Saville, T. Fredericks, niggle, Dale, Herbert, Searle, and Aliases Vincent, Richardson, Eliza Terrey, Mrs. G. Lee. After which, Professor HEMMINGS and his SONS will give more unparalleled feats of Classical Gymnasia than ever yet has been ex hibited, and surpassing even the celebrated Risley himself. To conclud e with a new gop,Noui, Pantomime, called TIPPITY WITCHET; or, HARLEQUIN TIM BOBBIN and the COMICAL WITCHES of LANCASHIRE. Harlequin. Mr. Chapino ; Colum bine, Miss Le Vite ; the Two Clowns, Messrs. E. Blanchard and k`Donald ; th e Two Pantaloons , Mr. Franklin and the veteran Toni lanelui rd, the very Xing of Pantomime and Prince•of Pantaloons. SECOND EDITION 1t11i11.1,1 'lotlt LONDON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1845 Mr. MACAULAY'S letter authenticates the explana ion which we gave, immediately after the event, of the failure of Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S attempt to form a Government. " All our plans were ft ustrated by Lord GREY," says Mr. MACAULAY. After this there is no doubt on the matter. We have thought, from the first, that the interests of the Liberal party re quired that there should be no delicacy about Lord GREY, if, as is now indisputable, Lord GREY did it all ; and that to publish the truth was the only way to prevent erroneous and exaggerated account s from getting into circulation, which might seriously injure the Liberal party and the great cause identified with it. Already has Lord GREY'S objection to Lord PALMERSTON, as Foreign Secretary, been magnified and distorted into an objection to sit sith him at all in the same Cabinet, and into a gene ral reluctance on the part of his political friends to place him in the Foreign -office. If either of these things had been true, we might despair of a Liberal Government ever being formed. The knowledge of the exact truth only causes us to regret that Lord GREY should have been so far humoured as to be per mitted to break up an Administration, while it assures us that, when next Lord J. RUSSELL is sent for, he will not consult Lord GREY till after Lord PALMER STON is appointed. "All our plans were frustrated by Lord GREY." Mr. MACAULAY may be allowed, in writing to a constituent, to indulge in some self-gra tulation at,the course which he himself had pursued, and to contrast it with Lord GREY'S. " From the first I told Lord JoHN that I stipulated for one thing only—total and immediate repeal of the corn-laws ; that my objections to gradual abolition were insur mountable ; but that, if he declared fur total and im mediate repeal, I would be, as to all other matters, ab solutely in his hands ; that I would take any office or no office, just as suited him best; and that he should never be disturbed by any personal pretensions or jealousies on my part. If every body else had acted thus, there would now have been a Liberal Ministry." We may safely conclude from another docu ment proceeding from another of Lord Joßra RUSSELL'S advisers—Lord MORPETH'S address to the electors of the West Riding—that he, too, stipulated for immediate and entire repeal. "If I am sent to the House of Commons at the present juncture," says Lord MORPETH, " I should deem it the main object of my mission to insist upon an immediate and final repeal of the corn-laws." But to return to Lord GREY. A weekly Contem porary has attempted his defence, and it is a defence which Mr. MACAULAY'S remarkable letter will not affect. We are told by Lord GREY'S apologist that he had travelled to town with another of Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S confidential advisers, to whom he had communicated his objection to Lord PALMERSTON as Foreign Secretary, and he was to take it for granted that this objection had been communicated by his travelling companion to Lord JOHN. We are not told that Lord GREY had commissioned Mr. ELLICE (for he, we understand, is the party alluded to by the Spectator) to state his objection to Lord JOHN. But even if he had so commissioned Mr. ELLICE, it would surely have been no justification of Lord GREY. It was surely his duty to state his views on such a mat ter himself to Lord JOHN, and to take the first oppor tunity of stating them. But this is not all the defence. We are told that on the evening of the clay on which it was determined to undertake the formation of a Ministry, Lord GARY went home and wrote a letter to Lord JOHN, recom mending great caution and disregard of all private feelings in the arrangements of the various offices at his disposal, and making satisfaction with all Lord JOHN'S arrangements a condition of his own accept ance of office. Strong hints these, says the apologist. The idea of hints at all, we reply, in acase c,f this kind! " However," Mr. MACAULAY adds, " perhaps it is best as it is." And so say we. It is gratifying to us to find the views which we have all along expressed of income of more than three per cent. on his capital—that is to say, he would have his three per cent. on his capital invested, plus the profit of his labour. The following question, although evidently put with an ill intention, for the purpose of endeavouring to excite dissensions between employer and employed, is so self-evidently fallacious, and contains such an important admission on the subject of the rate of agricultural wages, that we really feel obliged to Sir CHARLES WOLESLEY for putting it. "If Lord TALBOT gives his labourers 12s. per week out of his three per cent., how much ought Mr. COBDEN to give his mill workmen out of his 1,6001. per cent. ?" If Lord TALBOT gives his labourers 12s. per week out of his three per cent., he is indeed a rara avis among landlords, inasmuch as he must himself pay, out of the rent he rt-eeivs, the wages of all the labotrers employed by his tenants in tne cultivation or the farms they hold under him. In no other way can he pay his labourers 12i. a week out of his three per cent., because, if the labourers are employed by him in the cultivation of reigu, that he has ever cultivated, as far as in his power, the friendship of England, not by conces• sions derogatory to the honour or injurious to the in terests of his people, but by prudent, firm, a n d, at the same time, amicable negotiations. His great object was to convince both nations that peace was their best policy, and thanks to his own, firmness and perseverance, aided, no doubt, by Ministers , entertaining the same dispositionte he has been eminently successful, and every wel" disposed citizen and true patriot of both countries say, " Long may he reign." We have tried war with France for fifty times, and when peace came, and the reckoning was cast up, both nations ever found themselves equally losers. For the results of a different policy Louis PHILIPPE deserves the highest praise, and future generations will do him ample justice. The ex-Radical, ex-Protestant, and very eccentric Sir CHARLES WOLESLEY, ci-devant " Legislative Attorney " for the town of Birmingham, has ad' dressed a letter to the working classes in the manu• facturing districts, in which, amidst much vitupera' tion of the Anti-Corn-law League, he, unlike most of his brother protectionists, does descend to state.. ments on which he founds arguments. The statement on which all his arguments are based is as follows :--- " You all know there is what is termed capital. We landlords have capital. An estate which belonged to my nephew, called Tixall, which joins mine (rental about 6,0001. pe7 annum), has lately been sold to Earl Talbot for, I think, 240,0001.; and the steward of the estate told me, if his Lordship got 3 per cent. for his capital,' he would be very well off. Well, then, here was 240,0001. capital, and 3 per cent. interest. " Well, now we will go on a little further ; I will take a tip-top man from among the master manufacturers, even Mr. Cobden himself. We have been informed he comes from among the yeomen of Kent ; and who so respectable as a yeoman of that county ? For, as the old song says, And a man of Kent was he.' Well, we will suppose this man of Kent had some capital also. Come, as hat shall we say, by way of a guess, it amounted to ? Why, 5,000/. Well, here then was Mr. Cobden's capital. Now it is very generally understood that he makes a large income, say as much as Earl Talbot gets for his capital, 6,0001. per annum. If so, the one gets three per cent., the other the deuce knows what per cent., for I will not stay to calculate it." Nov this " three per cent" fallacy is a very favourite one with the protectionists. The late Sir FRANCIS BURDETT, on more than one occasion, broached it in the House of Commons, and at pro tection meetings it is generally put forward as the cheval de bataille. Sir CHARLES WOLSELET puts the case in a nutshell, and, as example is of more force than precept, we are glad that the Right Hon. Baronet, instead of confining himself, as is too often the case with the protectionists, to generals, has condescended to particulars, and has chosen Earl TALBOT and Mr. COBDEN as the respec tive representatives of the landed and trading interests, for the purpose of instituting a comparison between them. Earl TALBOT gets three per cent. for his capital invested in land, and seeing that Earl TALBOT " toils not, neither does he spin," and that his capital is invested in the very safest man ner possible, we do not think that he has any great reason to complain. Sir CHARLES WommEr then assumes Mr. COBDEN'S capital to be 5,0004 and proceeds, "Now, it is very generally understood he makes a large income, say as much as Earl TALBOT gets for his capital, 6,000 L per annum. If so, the one gets three per cent., and the other the deuce knows what per cent." We give Sir C. WOLRSLEY great credit for the studiedly obscure way in which he has put this. "He makes a large income, say as much as Earl TALBOT gets for his capital." True, he may make a large income, but not upon capital alone, as Earl TALBOT does. Mr. COBDEN makes his income by his personal exertions, He deducts the interest upon his capital before he calculates his profits, and those profits are not the interest of his capital, but the wages which he has, earned as a skilled labourer. Now if Earl TALBOT were to employ himself in productive labour, as Mr. COBDEN does (if be were to cultivate his estate himself instead of letting it), he too would have an the greater probability of Sir R. PEEL'S being able , to settle the question confirmed by so distinguished an opinion as Mr. MACAULAY'S. " Sir It. PEEL must now undertake the settlement of the question. It is certain that he can settle it. It is by no means cer tain that we could have done so; for we shall to fi man support him ; and a large proportion of those who are now in office would have refused to support us." Let us hope that Mr. MACAULAY is not quite correct in his last surmise—that none of the present holders of office will support Sir R. PEEL in doing what they would have opposed from Lord JOSS RUSSELL. The maintenance of a high standard of public character must never be lost sight of in the agitation even of the most important public question; and, while it may be conceded to Sir R. PEEL'S un. official followers to change their votes from confidence in the Minister, changes of this sort require at least freedom from the temptations of place to guarantee their sincerity to the public. The annual speech of Louts PRILIPPE, delivered on Saturday, gives dissatisfaction, as usual, to the Paris Opposition journals ; but, Considering the political tenets and the Republican views of some, and the hostile feeling of others to the reigning dynasty, the KING and his Ministry will probably regard these symptoms of discontent as the surest proofs of national prosperity, and an admission of that wise policy which has consolidated the strength of the kingdom, and secured the Constitution of 1836 against the attempts of Republicans and Legiti• matists. It• is only fair to state—and indeed it can not be denied—that France for many years has not enjoyed such tranquillity and prosperity as she enjoys at the present moment. It would be difficult, indeed, to find a period in her history when such encourage ment was given to national industry, and the dispo sitions of the people so completely turned away from the wild schemes of conquest and glory to the more substantial blessings of peace, and the development of the numerous sources of wealth and power possessed by that great nation. His MAJESTY, therefore, with out vanity might boast that the policy which he had maintained would one day cause the memory of his reign to be held in honour. When was France so prosperous ? During the reign of Louis XIV. she gained great conquests for a time, but they cost her great sacrifices; alley were all, except a very few, snatched rudely from her, and towards the close of his reign France perhaps never was in so low and miserable a condition. The enemy was at the gates of Paris-- the youth and the financial resources of the country were exhausted, and a peace of any kind was considered better than war. During the reign which followed affairs, were not in a • better state. France lost all her possessions in Ca nada and India, and, in fact, was stripped of every colony that could contribute to her trade or strengthen her navy. The disasters and the victories which took place under Louts XVL and the Republic are too well known to require re cital, and during the whole reign: of NAPOLEON the policy of the Government was of the most ruinous character. France never had such an enemy as NA' POLEON. lie annihilated her commerce and national in dustry, ,wasted her strength in foreign wars, andfinalli brought her to the brink of utter ruin. The Restoration was productive of only one good—it produced $ revolution, established a new dynasty and a new Con stitution, which have for the last fifteen years been effecting a complete change, strengthening the hands of the peaceable, encouraging the industrious, and assuaging the hostility of neighbouring States. It is the peculiar glory of the present KING'S Attit i dri, t ti on. tr ails Phra, 04 op IVl l i el 04 1 , ksjti Ivo r i ( elect, Urs E p , - „, of vvrh Pr t he r 4,