The Sun. — London, England, 1817-12-27 00:00:00

~''. SPAIN AND HER CQLONI'ES. (Concluded from The Quarterly R e view.) We cannot conclude this masterly Statement of the Causes and Progress of the Revolted Colonies, excellent Observations which the subject si ! ggested to the Writer of the admirable Article, for which we are indebted to The Quarterly Re view, without a - sincere acknowledgment of our thanks for being permitted to take so long au Extract from that truly valuable Work:- 7 As this Review, if we are rightly informed, has now arril.ed at a regular sale of twelve thou sand, we may confidently hope, that the article on SPAIN and her COLoNIES, will not only attract the notice of the Parent- State, but of •tbe REvot.TED COLONIES It will afford abundant matter for reflectimi to both parties, and perhaps render as much set-= vice to that cause in particula'r as the-work does in general to whatever , may diffuse right principles, inculCate_ truth in all its operations, and place BloaAts and ,LITEBATURE upon the most sure and solid bases. , The Government of Buenos Ayres refused to stirre9der Monte Video to General Attigas,- who chimed it as chief of the provinces' on the east 'ern hank of the Plata, and who, - having, possess-. ed4eff of part of Paraguay, had assumed in dependent power : he gained possession of the town, continued to make war upon Buenos Ayres, and defeated the army that was sent to dispossess • }rim. After frequent changes of government, and many popular commotions, anew congress was elected, which named 'Don M. Pnyrredon sole and supreme director, and which published a formal declaration of the independence of the provinces in July, 1816. The Pottugnese go- Ibent, constantly tormented by the ambition of extending their enormous dominions to the river La Plata, broke the articles of the treaty', and advancing under_ General [Arent-. to Maldon ado,' entered Monte Video without resistance in 1817. The POrtuguese force is still there.; but all is independent of Spain. The proVinces of Chili having assembled a con, ' gress; and the country being disturbed by the altibition of three brothers, named Carrera, who • Ladtisurped.the chief authority, the'viceroy of Lima sent an army there in 1813, which gaiued partial success, hut made no considerable progress. 4 1' e colonists. had deposed Carrera, and given the command to O'Higgins, a brave and skilful offi 7 'cer.. The Independent troops were on the point of \ fighting in this civil-contest, when it was an nounced to them ihat'the viceroy of Lima refused • to ratify an armistice, by which Chili was to have sent a certain number of deputies, to •the Cortes in'z)pain, while its new government was to be ac -linoWledged The Spanish -General; atter several actions with O'Higgins, took all, the principal tnwns.of Chili, in the autnunt of 1814, and sent the chiefs of the Independents to the deseit, island .0f Juan Fernandez. But the government of Buenos Avres foreseeing, in the success of the Spaniards, the danger to their own 'canse, dis plebe& an army under General San Mart n, wliich crossing'the great chain of the Andes,' and hav ing dtteated the royalists in a general action near Santiago, succeeded in restoring the former con- gress in February,- 1817. .Their . success has; in every instance, been materially assisted by the c,ppressive and,impolitic measures of the Spanish generals and governors. - - From this brief outline it will appear that Lower Peril is in fact the only colony of Spain in America, •in which no independent government has been formed, and in which the authority .of S l :ain has ht-en maintained without interruption. 'There have' been many conspiracies at Lima, but they have• hitherto failed in - their objects. The , principal reason of this exception seems to be, that there is in that pioVince a greater number of large capitalists and opulent slave-holders than in the other American provinceS, who are naturally iuteeest, d iu preventing the success of any com motne which In:Ay - alter the slate of property and of po\yer, and may deprive them of their exclu sve privileges. Perhaps the most important changes in there lative condition of th s e belligerents in America, will'result from the erptipment of naval forces 6ythe,Caraccas, under the command of Brion, and by Buenos Ayres, under Admiral Brown.— . Their vessels have been the mea44s of cominuaiea timi between the colonies, too distant to have act ed with concert .; and they have already assailed the trade of Spain in the South Seas, and even - in, sight oh The appearance on the high seas • of independent flags, not acknowledged by the European lowers, must raise questions of public lacy, of which the decision, involving considera tions of the greatest political importance, will he difficult and embarrassing. But all nations know what is doe to pirates ; and the tribunals of ma.; riliute law %%ill not be embarrassed in disposing of t hose whose object has been general and. -lawless piwider. this rapid sketch of affairs so rations and complicated, the. fear of being prolix Must be our ap , )10;-zy for many omissions. 13tit we cannot dis miss the suhjcct of South America withont some rcu►arks on tite iderease of trade which`Engl.►nd may -derive from an intercourse with that country. tVhh an extensive line of. coast, with numerous navigable rivers, which, like great arteries, in tersect the Continent, . and form abundant cban- nets for internal traffic, with a population of 17 n►i:lions, which was increasing befo're the present war, and must rapidly increase under an improved system of government, without any manufactures ut c•vuseTience, and possessing abundance the prtciptis" tinetals-South America presents a mar ket tte Skill and enterprize of our merchants, hope..and believe will not. long be with frotsy,.olem. • Whwevet rtteiy-•.,be the issue of the contest in South America, whether tl►e Colonies become in , !epetideut I,ations, or m!lether they continue to be governed by Spain, advantages must accrue to IMtish commerce. On this point we cannot bet ter express our opinion than in the words of Lord Glenville, who in his celebrated speech on the renewal of the Charter of the East India Compa ny, rejoiced in the hope of our acquiring a tree trade with the rich kingdoms of South America, a country hitherto barred against us as much by the monopolies of its own . Government as by our Own ; hut now at 14st, by the course of events no longer within the controul of man, opened, in every c!.'ase I trust, infallibly opened to the com merce a the world.' The exports of the Colonies, which-, we be lieve, have not hitherto exceeded 18 millions Ster liog in value, are ,peculiarly adapted to the 'taste and to the necessities of the European nations. Humboldt states their total of imports from Eu rope at 13,320,0001. A rapid increase in quan •tity and value Of both most follow-the abandon , - mew of the restrictive policy, which has not been more pernicious to their welfare than to the real interests of Spain. 'There is 'a cutions. proof of the rapid increase in the prosperity of - one of. the most important of those COloniei, which we shall adduce on the authority of Mr. ThOtupson. While the provinces of La Plata were not admit ted to the advantage, of a separate vice-royalty, and of a fair competition with the other American provinces, we find the annual average of exports ; from La Plata, from the . years 1748 to '1753, amounted to 1,677,250 of dollars; 'but from the years 1793 to 1796, after the introduction of a better system of trade_ and of government, the same average was 4,744,173. .It m . ay be fairly interred tram this fact , as well as from the rapid advance of"their trade after the .partial opening of 1778, that no calculation can be drawn from the pastor present produce of the . Spank!) Colonies, a's to the.futtue results•of their free intercourse with Europe—these must be in fluenced by another cause, of which the effects are also inctdculable. It had been a favourite part of the penerse policy of Spain, to exclude all her colonies (Com any sha're in the getieral advance ment of knowledge. But this exclusion can in no case be continued. It Ivorild be as easy to turn the current of the Orenoko. . It was indeed idle to suppose that the system had been pertectlY successfhl before the Revolu tion. In defiance of the "IngnisitiOn, which has become in America as in Spain, an inst rument of police, rather than of religion, the inhabitants of South-America had long been sufficiently enlight ened to reflect and reason on their own condition; and as linnian nature turns most eagerly to what is most severely interdicted, they had also lo»g been in the habit of procuring and s7udying the works of the French p .ifosophersand This state of partial and imperfectknowledgelias been injurious to their interests, by misleading them to an imitation Of the revolutionary forms and doctrines of France in the reign of jacobinical plarenly.- But their present intercourse with Atte United Skates atilt with Europe will Lapidly .aug ment their means of information, and will en lighten them on every noint•ofiniblic- welfare and Of private happiness. With the increaseof know •ledge will arise the wants, the refinements, and the. varied pursuits of civilization. The des - ire of possessing the productions 'of. foreign Conn trios will become more active, and Pro duce reciprocal advantage,—to the colonists, iu the improveMent of their industry, and conse quently of their happiness ;-- , -to the foreign trailer, in the abundance of the means add resources of a valuable enamel ce. _ _ We look forward with ardent and sincere hope, not only as friends to the commercal and political interests of England, hut as men interested in.the welfare and improvement of our feliow-creatures, to such auspicious changes in the condition of the 'American people. We trust the time will come, when, released from the state cif exile to which they have been too long condemned, they. will at length be admitted into the pale of European in tercourse—when they will enjoy the arts and the knowledge of this quarter of the globe, of which they have -extended and preserve.: the language and the religion. But, impressed with these feelings, we confess that we should prefer export ing to them our commodities rather titan our Out cast patriots. We cannot be of opinion that the part which France chose to •play in the distutb iances- of North Amet ica, should be repeated by England in the South. We cannot, in eompli- Anent to the freedom of any country, abjure all regard for the honour and interests of our own: Even if we were professed advocates of the Colo nists, we should have enforced the desirableness of an absolute neutrality on tkepart of all the ilk dons of Europe. No one of them could interfere in the quarrel, but least of all England, without exciting rival nations to take a part, in the war ; and infecting America with the intrigues and per pleXitiesof European policy. As Englishmen we have expressed our opinions and hopes, that no hostile interferehce - in the contest between Spain and 'her COlonies, that no equivocal , system of partiality to either side, will hazard the loss of those.advantages which Must ultimately result, in the natural course of events, from our persever ance in the policy adopted at the beginning of the war: That policy consists in the observance of a fair, declared, unambiguous neutrality, so long as our national honour is respected by both parties, and our good offices are not Called tbr by either to heal those dissensions u . -Mich we are determined not to aggravate and inflame : . .and it would lead (in the event of such a call being made upon us) to an active and impartial exercise of those good offices, for the purpose of effecting, on equitable arid reasonable terms, a reconciliation, by which the respective claims and interests of the mother country and the South American prOvinces might be acknowledged and adjusted, and the peace of the new world consolidated with that of the old." SUDDEN DEATH.--A more extraordinary in stance of sudden death than the following has not rccently.occurred. 'Mr. CLARK J (OH-keeper of the Greenwich Trust, who is also a hair-dresser,: wars shaviui a Gentleman a "few days ago, and was suddenly taken ill ; he said, " Oh ! my head,". fell on . the ground, and instantly expired. 11. GUNNING, jun. Esq. on Saturday . brst, 7 shot in ickleton fields, in Cambridgeshire, a sky lam k of a most beautiful pale huff colour ; its singular plumage renders it a rara axis. KOSCIUSCO. WARSAW, Dsc. B.—The following is the excel lent Funeral Oration on Koscluico, delivered by his companion in arms, the celebrated Polish Au thor, M. VON NIEMKRWIKZ, on the occasion oh his funeral solemnity, Nov. 14. : `‘ This mournful solemnity—this homage to the dead--these flaming torches—this multhmk of assembled nobles and people—these mournful ac cents of the revered priest—all, all anounce to us a bitter, an irreparable loss. But what can I add to the suggestions of your own feelings — what to the, words of, the revered servant of re ligion ? Ah ! it does not befit these grey hairs, bending forward into -the grave—it does not become my broken voice—it does not become my mind, enfeebled by years and fatigues, to speak of the .man of peace and war. But it is your pleasure that •should address you ; and, disregarding my oWn unfitness for the task, I wilt obey you ; and, following the dictates of my own grief, will become the interpreter of the general sort ow. Our country has suffered many and great losses within the course of these few years ; but no loss fills tis with greater sorrow titan that which we bewail in the death of one Thaddeus Kosciusco. To pronounce the name of Kosciusco awakens in the heart of every Pole a thousand grateful, but at the same time a thousand motnnful recollections; it recalls , a pattern of civic virtue ; that patriotism which , flamed in his breast with the purest fire till his last sigh, his intrepid courage in battle, his manly perseverance in misfortune, his Roman shn plicity of manners, and his modesty, which is al ways the inseparable companion of true merit. " Before history describes our misfortunes, and pourtrays the transcendent merits of the man, it . maybe allowed his cotemporaries to take a brief view of his life and deeds. Thaddeni Kosciusco sprung from an ancient family in Ole \ Iltaywodship of Lithuanian Bresk ; received his first education in the military school, founded at. that time by Stanislans Augustus. The cOnamontant or this school, Prince Adam'Czartoryski, observed in this youth ,an uncommon valeut:and love for the mili tary art, and sent him, at his own expence, to France,there to be ethicated.Tohis last momentKos ciusco remembered - with gratitude his benefactor. The state of Weakness and subjection under which Poland then laboured excited in the heart of the youth deeps'orrow and despair. He proceeded therefore to a foreign land to fight for independ ence,as no opportunity offered of struggling for it on his native - soil. A-companion of .the. im- Mortal Washington, he' boldly shared his dangers and his battles, from Hudson's river to the Po tomack, and 'from the A*lantic Ocean to the takes• of 'Canada ; he endured incredible hard ships, he - gained . a flattering renown ; and what Was more than all this, he obtained the .gratitude of a free people. '`f . Already did the flag of the United States float over the AnteriCan torts ; already was the 'great uvork of libewion completed, before Kos ciusk'o returned to his native laud. "Just then the Polish Nation,•aronsed from its fatal lethargy—alas !'too late—had obtained the reinarliable constitutiOn proclaimed on the 3d of May, and declared its determination to•submit to nn la ws hut its own. Thence hostile 'attackS; thence the war that ensued. Say, ye imperish able witnesses ; say, ye plains of Zielenice and' Dubinki ; say, it KOaciuso - and his Polish handi did not fight as became the • Polish name ? It was not the overpowering of our feeble means, but the crafty 'plots of isitvr enemies, which wrested the weapons from our bands and quench ed - our burning ardour for the contest. But solt . happenedwe were paralysed ; We felt so, - -when itt a short tinie the insulted dignity of our nation, and the perfidious dismemberment of onr provinces, again stirred up . oor bitterest indignaticht. The excess of out misfmtuties roused the cation t(4 a noble despair; our, agonized country again seized the sword and put it into the handsof Kosciusko. " The ties which unite us with a fraternized nation, the possession of a common Sovereign, - and our gratitude to the EMperor Alexander, for bid me to enlarge on the events of this celebrated war. Kosciuscit led against disciplined nations, not bodies of troops distinguished for.their regu lar array and militßry. splendour, • but bands of peasants, armed with the implements of hus bandry: Yet, in how many battles, how many sieges, how many frightful nightly attacks, how• many skirmishes, did benot_lead.fliem on to glory ! our soil was reddened with the blood of our champions before it became our tomb. The results of so many sacrifices.;were cruel fet ters. We wore them for two years ; they would even have continued longer ; and thou Kosci use°, tvouldst not have ended thy lamented days in thy free residence of Soleure, nor would thy thousand companions in arms have ended their wretched existence on their own soil, but would have died in foreign chains, bad it not been for the magnanimous Emperor Paul 1. The first act of his sovereignty was the breaking of the chains of 20,000 Poles. Thanks to thy revered shade Poland will alwayS pronounce. the name of Paul with patitude. - '' When Kosciusco was liberated, he never more •returned to his mourning country, to the land which had now become a .foreign land to" him. He .directed his view to a - distant region, where, When a youth, he bad fought for freedom, and which, • as it, was. free, he adopted as his steond country. Although-lame and covered miith wounds, he did not permit himself, to be deterred from his purpose by the hardships or the dangers of a sea voyage. Oil -this passage, the depths of the ocean had nearly become the grave of our cham pion. In the darkness of night, ,a ship belong ing to a fleet of merchantmen returning from Ja maica, having parted from the rest, andlailing with incredible speed, ran foul of the American vessel inAvhich . we were. ; Masts, rigging, and sails be,. came entangled, and these two .heavy vessels dashed against each other with violence. The, terrors and. confusion of. the passengers,on deck were general ; death appeared before the eyes of all., • In this frightful moment Kosciusko alone maintained his usual-composure. His last hour was not yet come. Providence decreed that he should live to see the day when the magnanimous Alexander would proclaim the re-erection of the kingdom of Poland. With the loss of the maiu4 mast and sails, our vessel escaped this imminent , danger : our melancholy voyage lasted 70 days., At last we espied the shores of the happy Americai. Pennsylvania, the land of Wm. Penn and Frank lin, received Kosciusko into its bosom. After. so mariv' disasters this was our first joyful blessed Indolent. The,. Members of the assembled Con gress, his 'old companions in arms, his acquaint-. ance, and all the people, came to welcome his ara rival,. surrounded the carriage of the hero, stilt suffering from his wonodS, and accompanied hint to his place of residence. It was not only in America, but in all places through which he passed after his liberation, in Stockholm, London, and Bristol, that all those wbo cherished the•love oIF freedom in their breasts pressed to see him, and t 4 offer him proofs of their esteem. It is gratifying to the heart of every Pole to behold, in the boa news paid to the heroic defender of their index pendence, respect and \ regret for an unjustly ex tinguished Nation. • " Whather it was from the impulse of deceitful hope, or fiotn the wish of consulting able physi cians for the restoration of his'health, Kosciusco once more was induced to set his foot on the shores of Europe. Already bad, he reamed the 'nothingness of promises, and the fruitless nature of all human exertions, and therefore removed to a distance from the din of the great world, and even from its praises. He enveloped 'himself iti his own virtues, if I may use the phrase, anti re tired into rural seclusion. Here agriculture was his employment, friendship his consolation, and the . oy of his life. He only once let this tran quil retreat, and that was to see the . august Alexander, to thank him for restoring the Polish name. His aversion 'to all public employment increasing with his years, and his love of re ' tiretnent anti tranquillity, carried him to Swit zerland. There, in the 'state of Soleure, on the 25th ;of October, God . took . away this .virtuous spirit, after so many severe sorrows and hard . trials, to the abodes- 'of the ,blessed. Koseius.co died, as it' becomes every Christian to • die, with pious trust in God, with: calm and manly com posure. Poor as Phocion and CincinnatuS his prototypes, he fobad all splendid ceremony to be used at his funeral. The body of this man, who commanded thousands of armed followers in the field of honour, was carried to the•abode of ever.; lasting 'repose to us all, by six 'grey-haired pau pers. " Peace to thy shade, thou virtuous man I Re ceive the last adieu of thy lamenting countrymen; receive the last farewell of him on ‘vliose arms thy agonizinc, head has often reposed. If the mould of our soil does not cover thy mortal remains—if thy spirit hovers there,- where the last Ilontati lives, may thy remembrance 'always remain in a lict4 manner among us ; may thy picture, which shall be placed in the satctoary of the Lord, as it recalls thy features, likewise present to 'us the goodness.of.thy heart, and the purity of thy s pi t it. Let it be simple as thy life—lerit be without any inscription—thy name is enough. When, in after times, a countryman or , a stranger, with tears iu his eyc..s, slt ril :ook upon the stone erected to thy hteti)orv, 1;f! will say to himself, This was the man who cici not allow his. country, though it fell,' to fall ingloriously, and who, by his virtues, honoured the Polish name.' " PLEDGRS AT PAW . NEnoKEjts.—The shop belong ing 'to Mr. Goodbourn, pawnbroker, of Pater nosterrow, near Spitalfields, was lately robbed of various pledged articles to a great amount, and of property of the owner's .to. the value of Amongst - the thirigi stoleiCtrom the shop was s watch pledged by a sailor, named John Connor, on .the 23d of November last, and the valne of which he sought yesterday to recover at Worship.. street; but Dlr. Dickenson, the Sitting Magis trate,thought,titat the question was too import ant to be az hazard, Mt. Williams, who attended for Mr. Goodbourn, cited some law cases for the recovery of , stolen properly, wherein it was held, that if an individual .was robbed of another man's property, in trust, lie was not liable to Make the deficiency. good. .Consider able property is now depending 'on tyre decision, as it affects pawnbrokers. The question is, whe ther,. untfer all casualties, they are not compelled to indemnify the pledgers for the loss or destruc tion of articles so entrusted to them. COURSE OF EXCHANGE, FRI DAY, Dcc: 26. Amsterdam Ditto, at Sight .. Amster data Ditto, at Sight ll 7 Rotterdam ll 11 2 Us. Antwerp .ll 11Ex.aloney Hamburgh • 34 6 24 Altona Paris, 3 Day's date Ditto ' 24 60 2 Us, 13ourdeaux, ditto Frankfort on the Main Madrid Cadiz Seville Bilboa Gibraltar Leghorn Genoa... 47 -Venice Malta... ~49 -Naples 4‘24 Palermo Lisbon Oporto s9i Rio Janeiro Cork...„ 81 per Cent. Agio of the Bank on Holland.... 2 per Cent. Portugal Gold, in Coin 1 .4 0 C per Os. New Dollars 0 5 4 COAL MARKET, DEC. 26. Ships at. Market. Ships sold. Price. 4! Ncw•c4stlu ....15¢... 4ls. 6d. to 495. 6d, 9 Sutiderla.nd ... 2..... ..... 425. Gd. to 465. OA. BIRTH On Christmas-day, the Lady of John William Dorville, of a son. DIED. Suddenly, at his seat, Arm House, in the County Roscom mun, on the 30th of November list, Thomas O'Connor, Esq. brother of Hie late Dominick O'Connor Don', of .Cloonalis, -.......... , and of the present Alexander O'Connor Don, now the only lineal male descendant of Roderick O'Connor Don,- Kiug of Connaught, and. Monarch of Ireland. On the 19th inst. at the house of Mr. Crutchley, Totten- ham, John Trelawny, Esq. late of Russell-square, a'geict 59. - On Tuesday, the 19th inst. at his sister's house, liandswortb t aged 35, Mr. %Vilday, of the Royal Betel, tuinghani., LONDON: Printed Fir J. B. CABSTAIRS, of'No. 29,2 Great Ornnol-street, Queen-sipare; and publishell 1)V W. A; SCRIPPS, of No. 7; SQuth Molton-street, at THE SuN Oltiee, No. 112, 'Strand where Acivqtiemellts;TOrdersy • Letters, &c, (post-paid) - must be addrusied. tle~ 1 " ! 4 i I