The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-30 00:00:00

We have received the following account of Sir John Col-
borne from an esteemed correspondent
Sir John Colborne, the present Commander-in-Chief in
Canada, was born at Lymington, in Hampshire, in the year
1777. His father had embarked a considerable fortune in
the salt manufactories at that 'place, then in a flourishing
state, but which in a few years were all destroyed by
excessive taxation, and Mr. Colborne involved in their
ruin. In the year 1786 Sir John was placed in the
Blue-coat School at London, where he remained about
three years, during which time his father died, and his
mother became the wife of the Rev. T. Bargus, a prebend
of Winchester, to which school he was removed, and
there finished his education. In the year 1794 he was ap-
pointed an ensign in the 20th regiment, and in the following
year promoted to a lieutenancy in the same. On the expedi-
tion to Holland under the buke of York he was severely
wounded in the head, and was one of the very few
officers who, after being wounded, rejoined their regi-
ments on that service. From that period to the end of
the war his life was a continued scene of active service.
He was in most of the battles in the Peninsula, was re-
peatedly wounded, by which he has nearly lost the use of
one arm, and every commander under whom he has served
has borne ample testimony both to his abilitirs and con-
duct. He married a lady of the name of Young (whose
two brothers are married to Sir John's two sisters), and has a
large family. Ile was created a Knight Companion of the
Bath in 1814,,and is now Colonel of the 94th Regiment. He
commanded in Canada ten years, where the kindness of
heart and urbanity of manners both of Lady Colborne and
himself have endeared them to all ranks and parties, as the
writer of this can testify. He is most eminently calculated for
the circumstances under which he is now placed, for although
most vigorous, prompt, and decisive in his military duties,
humanity will never want an advocate where Sir John Col-
borne is present."—Morning Paper.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

In the House of Lords lasi night, Lord Brougham made
a statement with regard to the slave trade calculated to give
inexpressible pain to every person possessed of human feel-
ings—that the efforts of this country to put down the slave
trade, however well meant, had added greatly to the amount
of suffering occasioned by that nefarious traffic. His
Lordship referred to the very convincing details on that
subject afforded in the very interesting account by Mr.
Laird of the voyage up the Niger. It appears that the
risk in this abominable trade is so trifling, that an insurance
can be effected for 11 or 12 per cent., that from the mode
of rewarding the officers by head money, the slavers are al-
lowed to take their cargoes on board, and to run out to sea,
and that to avoid evidence of guilt, it is customary to throw
the slaves overboard with weights appended to them that
they might sink to the . bottom. When the slave
trade was lawful it was carried on under regulations
framed with a view to the prevention of unneces-
sary cruelty ; but now every thing was sacrificed to the sole
object of outsailing the cruisers and escaping detection.
" If," said his Lordship, " the master of the slave vessel
found that there was not time to throw the human cargo over-
t oard, he has been known to pack them in water casks, to lead
those water casks, and to fling them overboard ; and one ves-
sel, in trying to escape, had sent twelve of those casks over-
board. There' were two of these vessels chased, overtaken,
and captured by the cruisers ; and out of these two vessels
there had been thrown overboard, as proved by incontestible
evidence, 500 human beings, every one of whom had met with
a watery grave. He could state a dreadful fact, and one which
depended on no fanciful authority, for it was on the authority
of the Commodore on the station, that the sharks were quite
aware of the proceedings that were going on, and that they
followed those vessels when they left the port, and that the
track of the slaver might be traced through the ocean by the
blood of its murdered victims."

The trade, too, is stated to be greater than it ever was,
and on the increase. His Lordship seemed to think that
the evil might be greatly diminished by discontinuing
head-money, and adopting another mode of remunerating
the captors. Lord Ellenborough, too, thought that the
head-money had had the worst affects ; and Lord Ashbur-
ton thought that it might be desirable to grant a reward
upon the tannage. Lord Minto and Lord Glenelg both
admitted that' the description given, by Lord Brougham,
however appalling., was not exaggerated. Indeed, Lord
Ashburton observed, that. " it was notorious that for years
pest the trade was carried on to as great an extent end
with a degree of cruelty which was tenfold what it had
been formerly." Every Noble Lord declared that the
country was greatly indebted to the Noble and Learned
Lore for =the manner in which Ye had exposed the hor-
rors of. the glare trade as it was now carried on. It is griev-
ous to think that our exertions to put down this accursed
troffie have been attended with so unfortunate a result.—
Alorning Chronicle.