The Sun.
London, England, 1824-03-01 00:00:00

OR THE SUN.

WEST INDIA QUESTION. . .
MR. EDITOR—I see by the Debates in Perlin.:
meat, as reported in your Paper of the 24th inst.
that the West India Colonists are to receive no
alleviation from those impositions,whichialthcingh
denominated War 'faxes, have still been levied
upon them for ten years after that war has been
concluded. The situation of the West India
planter is one of peculiar hardship.. the tires
these .Wax taxes were inwosed, a hogshead of sugar
returned him not so little as XV. It now gives
him not so much as 151., while the charges upon
that hogshead, supposing it to weigh• 13 cwt.
(and which include even a convoy duty) amount
to no less than 2.21. ss. ; neither can any article
be exported without the payment of t per cent.,
expressly demanded as convoy duty, although no
convoy has been appointed or required for the
last ten years. At the period above mentioned,
the Americans, supplying all our wants, took our
rum in payment at 151. per puncheon ; but the
sagacity of his Majesty'S Ministers devised the
plan of 'restricting us from further intercourse
with them, and our rum sank in value below
the original cost of the casks that con..
tained it. It is true the mistaken policy
of that restriction has been admitted, and
the prohibidon removed, but not until, having
thus taught them to make a spirit of their own,
the Americans will no longer take our rum,
which is become almost unsaleable. Thus, with
our sugars depreciated one half, and our rum
without a market, we are called upon to con-
tinue the payment of the same War Taxes, even
including a convoy duty, ten years after that
war has ceased, and amounting, in many in,-
stances, to more than the actual produce of our
estates. If, superadded to all this, we look at
the application of the noted 41 per cent, duty
levied on some (only) of the Islands, and see
that property, which now brings its owner in
debt, parcelled out in pensions for the support
of other families, while it leaves no provision for
the family of the proprietor, is it too much to
say, that the colonists are selected as the only
class of his Majesty's subjects doomed to reap no
benefit from 10 years of peace, or that they are
debarred by the very acts of Government from
carrying into execution those measures for ame-
liorating the condition of their Negroes, which
are so vociferously and unceasingly pressed upon
them. The deplorable state of the West Indian
Colonies is the natural result of the measures of
Government, and we may expect to see other Co-
lonies following the example of Demerara, in pe-
titioning to be allowed to seek, from other Powers
that prOtection which seems to he withdrawn
from them by Great Britain. I am, sir,
Your obedient servant,
C. BETHELL CODRINGTON.
Dodington, Feb. 27, 1824.

FOR TILE SUN.

WEST INDIA INTERESTS.

MR. Enrron—Notwithstanding the discus-
sions which the perilous and much depreciated
state of the West India Colonies has neces-
sarily called forth, it cannot but prove a matter
of real regret to every one therein interested, to
read how little, if any, improvement, these dis-
cussions have led to, which, I am sure, will apo-
logize to you, Mr. Editor, for now addressing
you, and which, although a last, is a most vitally
interesting question to that Interest. lam sur-
prized that it has not been more strenuously
advocated, particularly by that deputation who
waited upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer—.l
mean the state of the British Sugar Refiner,
which, in another year, will, I think, be extinct
in this country, and which, most certainly, calls
for a vigilant inquiry ; every year has closed
houses in that branch of business, and therefore
the poor West Indian has suffered an annual de-
terioration, and must do so, if a liberal bounty is
not given to him, so as to enable him to compete
with others, and to find a market for his manu-
facture, whirl), in a year or two, would do more
for the West India interest, as well as Of this
country, than a remission of duty would do. It
is a demand that is wanted, and nothing else,—
our exclusion from Foreign Markets is the real
cause ; only restore to us a trade, and our Colo-
nies will again flourish, in spite of the Emperor
AtexANDen's recent Decree, which is certainly
a barrier to us in his dominions. But it would
also have a further good effect, and be a protec-
tion to the old Colonies, in case of an equaliza-
tion of Duties ; nay, it would be a national
good, in which light I am sure the capitalists of
this country must see it. I shall not say more
but leave the subject with those to whom it is
more immediately interesting, and remain, Mr.
Editor, Your obedient humble servant,

A FRIEND TO THE OLD COLONIES.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

SINGULAR DISCOVERY.—We received the fol-
lowing extraordinary piece of information on
Tuesday night last.—(Chestcr Chronicle) :
" Our boat last Friday, when fishing in the Clyde, caught a
very large cod fish, weighing 171 b. 40z., and we found in the
gut a gold watch, bearing the inscription on a paper in the case
of it, 4 Hugh Davies, qf Wrexhanz."fhere is another mark
on the watch which must be identified by the owner before we
will give it up ; there is a seal and chain attached to it. If
you will have the goodness to insert this in your paper, it may
lead to the discovery of the owner of the watch, and by paying
the expences, it will be restored.
" Your obedimt Servant,
" JAMES MURRAY, Clyde Fishery.
" Glasgow, February 22,1824."

A Letter, dated Newcastlo-upon-Tyne, Feb.
26, (Thursday last) says, " It has been very stormy all
this morning. There have been several heavy showers of snow
from the east, and the weather looks more wintry than at any
former period this season,"

[From the Et:Jilt natrd ,Yaturday.]
FRANKEORT, FEB.-'2`2.-----We have just receiv-
ed the Ociental ?Spectator' of the 15th January.—
It contradicts the tee.-VS of the landing of the
Greeks at Scio, as sell as that of a landing at
Alitylene ; and lastly, that of the taking of
Caristo, which Odysseus 'was stated to have
taken by storm -on. the 12th December.
Trso, Dec. 12`?..—Odysseus is becore. Caristo
with 2,500 soldiers. Orner Bey, who commanded
at Caristo, has quitted it, leaving a sofilrient num-
ber of men for its defence. Itaving been made
Pacha of Negropont, he is marching against De-
lyanopulo in Attica. As the plague rages iu the
foriress of Caristo,'pdysseus has caused a trench
to be dug round Sit, to endeavour to blow it up.
Eight 1 psariot vessels blockade Negropont.
S-yrt A, DEC. 23.—The Greeks.hope to reduce
F'atrns by famine; but we know that it has a
good stock of provisions. Unless it be taken by
stirrm, it will long remain in the hands of the
Turks, as well as Coron and Motion.
ODESSA, J. letters from Constan-
tinople of the 26th January, M. ?ilinziacky ar-
rived there on the 17th, and was immediately
complimented by an Officer of the Foreign De-
partment. The compliment was accompanied
with flowers and preserved fruits. The Reis
Effendi is dangerously ill. The Sultan has or.
dereA his chief physician, on pain of his displea-
sure (that is to say; on pain of death) to cure the
Minister without delay. The physician is in con-
kerne tion.
SEMLIN, JAN: IT—Letters from Stlonichi, of
the 31st of January, say, that Captain Diamanti
has landed, for the third time at Cassandra, with
3,000 men. He has cut to pieces SOD Turks,
and returned to Volo with immense booty.
SwrizinicANn, Pte. 17.—The King of Spain,
has ordered the remains of the Swiss Regiments.
to be re-organised, and •placed again on the same
footing as they were on the 7th of March, 1820.
ft is also desired to raise a Regiment of Swiss
G earns:."