The Sun.
London, England, 1823-09-12 00:00:00

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There appears in another part of our paper a
correspondence between a number of British
merchants trading to the new states of South
America and the Foreign Secretary here.—
(See another column of the Sux.)—The mer-
chants demand the appointment of commercial
agetits for Great. Britain, in the ports of the new
Republics. Mr. Planta, by order of Mr. Can
rang, replies, that the establishment of " COUSUI•
" Ships is under consideration." So at present
rests the case. When the enfranchised colonies
first held forth a priority of commercial advan-
tages to foreign states corresponding with the or-
der in which such states should recognize the in-

fent governments, we were not slow to warn the
British Ministry of the readiness with which the
North American Republic would be likely to
catch at the promised good, by hastening her
formal act of recognition, and thus forestal-
ling the merchants of Great Britain in the
trade with South America. The thing accordingly
came to pass : Mr. Monroe had begun by send-
ing out his feelers, and finished by appointing re-
gular official functionaries. The Portuguese and
Swedish Governments have acted with the same
prudence ; and the consequence is, that the mer-
chants of these three nations are all on a better
footing than those of England, in the ports of the
new Republics. The address to Mr. Cunning re-
cites the hardships of British commercial houses,
which consist, Ist, in the " difficulty and dis-
couragement" under which they labour, for want
of official accredited agents to whom " the mer-
" chants and masters might apply for assist-
ance in the various cases of local grievance
" or necessity which are constantly occurring."
2d. In the immense and increasing magnitude
of the interests thus exposed to needless vex-
ation, the mercantile establishments in the seve-
ral ports connected with the country having mul-
tiplied to more than 80, and the British capital
distributed amongst them amounting to several
millions sterling. We trust, therefore, that
the Independence of the States will be recog-
nised by his Majesty's Government ; and hope,
at all events, that the auxiliary measure of
nominating official agents, commercial and po-
litical, may be resorted to without delay.—
But another view of this subject presses at
this time upon our consideration. While the
British Government is on the eve of doing
what ought to been done a year or two
since—that is, recognizing the free colonies, and
profiting by that recognition—a neighbouring
Government, that of France, has recently, as it
is understood, come forward with a pledge to
reduce the infant states again to bondage, and
to rob the subjects of Great Britain of that ne w
commercial intercourse which they are just be-
ginning to enjoy. It is well known to have
formed from the outset of the present war a
prominent article among the temptations by
which France recommended her tyrannical po-
licy to the Spaniards, that she should aid
them with her fleets and armies in con-
quering the colonies, and re-establishing over
them the Bourbon yoke. What the con-
dition of such an arduous as well as iniquitous
undertaking would be, is self-evidence--a formal
and solemn compact that France should be the
favoured nation in her trade with the Spanish co-
lonies, to the exclusion of all other States ;
out of which, too, would grow the establish-
ment of the French Bourbons in complete
supremacy over Spain both transmarine and
European. Are the English Ministers, we
ask,
prepared for this state of things ? Will they
endure--(that we need riot usk, but)--will they
venture to entail upon the people of England the
mortifications which must necessarily follow ?
The climax certainly of English injury and dis-
honour will be the unresisted application by the
House of Bourbon, of the resources and ascend-
ancy achieved through its violence in Spain, to
the re-conquest of the Spanish colonies, and to
the renewed monopoly of their commerce.