The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-29 00:00:00

U.S. Feeling and •' Quasi-Envoys,"

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
New York, Oct. 17, 1863.
SIR,—In consequence of the persistent declara-
tions made by certain persons in England—for in-
stance, Mr. Forster, M.P., and gentlemen who go
over from this country in the capacity of, what
are called here, " quasi-envoys" of the Washington
Government, at anti-slavery meetings, and so forth
—upon, as they allege, the general good feeling
towards our nation and people which exists in the
Northern States of America, I desire, with you:
leave, to offer some remarks to your readers.
In ordinary times nothing could be further from
my wishes than to intrude any abstract opinions of
mine upon "national feeling," believing that that
shows itself more clearly in the long run by acts and
deeds than by descriptions. However, when certain
parties and cliques in England—whether through
ignorance or prejudice, or from political motives, or
for considerations—give dogmatic opinions to my
countrymen, which I know, from practical observa-
tion and experience, to be false, it appears to me,
under the circumstances, that, if I were to withhold
my humble but now very experienced opinion on
the state of feeling' referred to, the reticence
would be a shirking of tae duty or moral responsi-
bility which belongs to every British man—viz.,
to do whatever within him rests, that his nation
shall not be injured through his countrymen being
deceived, or allowing themselves to be deceived,
upon subjects of national or, perhaps more strictly,
it should be said, international importance.
Without its being necessary to enter into theo-
retical disquisitions, for which I have no apti-
tude, and probably your readers no special wish—
it will be admitted that now-a-days the general
sentiments or "feeling" of the ruling portion of any
great commercial nation, be it a republic or an
empire, are of considerable practical importance to
us. &Therefore it is important for us to know—as
correctly as such things can be known—how the
ruling or (as they are called and call themselves is
the United States) the "prominent politicians," of
she Northern States feel towards Great Britain and
the British.

My opinions on this subject inter alga were ex
pressed—no doubt insufficiently, but earnestly and
plainly—in Me Sun of 2d April, 1862, that is, now
nearly eighteen munths since, thus:—
"No doubt we wish—as the British generally
wish—well to Americans generally, and we know
for the material interests of both countries, especi-
ally for those of the United States, that peace and
amity is the best policy. We all, therefore, would
wish that amongst every class, at least amongst
those who are known as the 'prominent,' of all
classes in the Northern States, a malignant, perse-
vering, unexplained antipathy did not exist, but all
our wishes, so far as I am aware, do not alter the
fact that so it is."

The additional experience of nearly a year and a
half's travelling, &c., enables me to assert that not
only, in substance, the above is a correct view of an
unpleasing subject, but that any rational man, who
has had reasonable opportunities to see, hear, and
read realities during the last three years, in the
Northern section of the States, and would arrive at
a different conclusion, must found it on wishes or
prejudicial imaginations, and net on palpable, de-
monstrable facts.

It would not be in any way difficult to
show how certain persons, described as " quasi-
envoys"—ex. gr., Mr. Thurlow Weed, Rev. Mr.
Cheevers, Rev. H. W. Beecher, and certain of
the hierarchy of " different denomiaationsi have
spoken of " Great Britain and the British" to their
congregation and "people" here before they went
to speak of "peace and unity" in the old country—
and how they, on their return, try every means that
"political sermons," " orations," and pamphlets can
effect, to stir up additional and bitterness
against that " old country." I wish my country-
men to know realities, and not to be misled by an
organised system of deception here, and in Eng-
land.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,

A BRITISH TRAVELLER.

THE SOURCES OF THE NILE,

(From the Athenceum.)
D Urban, Port Natal, South-East Coast
of Africa, Aug. 25, 1863.

Having taken a greet interest in the travels of 1
Captains Burton and Speke to the Victoria Nyanza
Lake, and Captains Speke and Grant's late journey
through Central Africa to discover the sources of the
Nile, I send you a few extracts from Purchas's
"Relations of the World," published in 1617. Page
839," In the kingdome of Goyame the river Nilus
springeth ; it is there called Gion and comes from
two Lakes which for their greatness may seeme to
bee Seas, in which report goeth that Mermaydes,
Tritons or Menf shes are Beene, and some have told
me (saith Aluarez) that they have seen it. Peter
Conillian, a Portagall, which had lived a great part
of hie life in those partes, told me that hee had been
in that kingdom by order from Queen Helena," &c.
Pages 878 and 879, " There is, indeed, another
Lake, which Nilus maketh in his course, but
standeth Northward from the first Lake Zernbae,
and not in East or West parallell. Neyther does
Nilus (as some affirme) hide it self under the ground,
and after ryse againe, but runneth through mon-
strous and desert valleyes, without any settled
channell, and where no people inhabited, from
whence that fabulous opinion did grow. This Lake
is situate in 12 degrees of Southerly Latitude, and
is compassed about like a vault with exceeding high
mountaines, the greatest whereof are called Casates,
upon the East, and the Hils of Sal-Nitrnm and the
Hils of Selver, on another side, and on the other
side with divers other manntains. The River Nilus
runneth northwards many hundred uiyles and then
entreth into another great Lake, which the inhabi-
tants doe call a Sea; it is much bigger than the
first and contayneth in breadth two hundred and
twentie myles, right under the Equiuoctiall Lyne.
Of this second Lake, theAnzichi give certain and
perfect intelligence, for they traffique into those
parts. And they report that in this second
Lake there is a people that sayleth in great
shipper, and can write, and useth number,
weight and measure, which they have not
in the parts of Congo; that they build their
houses with Lyme and Stone, and for, their fashions
and qualities may be compared with the Portugalls.
This seemeth to be in Goyame, where the Abassine
entitled himselfe King, and in his title (as before
you have read) cals it the Fountain of Nilus, which
Aluarez also mentioneth that Peter Conillian saw,"
The first lake referred to must be the Lake
about which Dr. Livingstone has written so much ;
the lake under the Equinoctial Line is the Victoria
Nyanza Lake. If you could obtain admission to the
archives of the Portuguese Government you would
find that the Victoria Nyanza Lake was well known
to the Poituguese ; but they keep all their disco-
veries in the dark, to suit their own ends, on account
of their jealousy towards other nations, to prevent
trading in or near their possessions on this coast;
to wit, a cutter I sent last year into one of the rivers
northward was seized by them, and all on board
were bound, whilst suffering from fever, and were
thrown into an open boat for days, one of whom
died whilst thus exposed to rain and weather (this
was in an endeavour to open up the ivory trade on
the coast), and they would not have been released
then if a British man-of- war had not been near the
spot—the particulars of which affair are now in the
hands of the British Government.
W. R. DictiemoN•

Tin AFRICA STEAMSHIP.—St. .T 01311% N.E.,
Oct. 14.—The Africa still remains opposite the
entrance of the harbour, but will shortly move up to a more
sheltered position. Her mails go to Halifax
mself 15 miles
ay
by the Vesuvius. Capt. Stone consideres making water so
d hi
further south when she struck. She was
fast that when the engines slowed to take on the pilot the
passengers had to assist the crew at the pumps to keep her
afloat. Her injuries willbe difficult to repair here, as there
is no dockyard large enough to receive her. Oct. i.;._,
' the
Africa has been beached in a sheltered place at the head
the harbour. It is impossible to ascertain the
A portion of
damage till divers arrive.from. Halifax.
extent of the
have been
stern and keel forward is entirely gone, and a •
of the
provided
the keel from the sternpost is also gene.
The passengers There Paorret io a of
damages araidshiPs. other
for on shore.
‘' L'IWCILAIS TIMIDE. RI
--.r
Robert Peel:'
•—.