The Sun.
London, England, 1824-02-19 00:00:00

at all periods of their existence, were even
more violently attached to the notion of
their sovereignty over the Colonies than the
King and his Ministers ; and they attempted to
exercise that sovereignty in a more despotic
manner. The triumph gained by the legalizing
of a free trade is a triumph quite as much over
the doctrines of the Liberales, as over that of
the party called Servile, ; in fact, it indicates
the ascendancy of a party hitherto almost un-
known in Spain—that of the Moderates.

[MORNING HERALD.]
On offering to present a Petition to the House
of Commons, on Monday evening, Mr. Hume ad-
verted to a subject which, trifling, as it may ap-
pear ara first view, is of great importance to the
interests of the country. It is the rapid state of
decay in which some of our largest and newest
ships of war are said to be at this time, in conse-
quence of a disease in the timber called the dry
rot. From inquiries which we have made in va-
rious quarters, we believe this statement to be
correct ; and therefore the evil is one of so se-
rious a nature as to call for the immediate atten-
tion of Government. The first question to be
ascertained is, what is the cause of this disease?
Various causes have been assigned by persons
pretending to a knowledge of chemical science,
and some of those have projected, and actually
put in practice various remedies, which even-
tually turned out to be nothing better than mere
quackeries. Mr. Hume stated, and the fact is
now well known, that the dry rot is occasioned
by the felling of trees in summer. At that time of
the year they are full of sap, which all the season-
ing or doctoring in the world will never afterwards
remove, and which at last works its way through
the timber- in those fungous excrescences that
are followed by the total destruction of the
wood. The practice, for many years past, has
been to cut down the trees in summer, because
the bark, which can only then be taken off, and
which may be said to be in its perfection, is more
valuable to the owners than the trunks—that is,
the bark will fetch more money in the market.—
During the late wnr, when it became necessary
to build great numbers of ships, the Royal fo-
rests were not sufficient to furnish one quarter of
the timber that was wanted, therefore it became
necessary to purchase timber from private indi-
viduals in the state we have just described; and of
this diseased material most of our new ships have
been built, particularly such as have been built
by contract in private dock-yards. The cure of
the evil is thus clearly explained ; whoever in-
quires into the subject, and examines the quality
of summer-felled timber, will find what we have
stated to be the fact, and it only remains for the
Government to take care that in future no ships
shall be Wit except of trees cut down in winter,
whatever the increased expence may be in the
purchase. The expence of the material is trill-
ing compared to that of the building, and surely
it must be a matter of the first importance to have
ships that will last thirty or forty years, as some
of our men of war formerly did, instead of those
crazy machines that are now likely, to become
useless in the course of ten years after being
built.

[BRITISH PRESS.

It appears ele;tr, from a prepared and laboured
article in the Journal des &bats of Tuesday, that
lelopen
the
the
trade'r ofa n
Southds Decree,
America, affecting
took
suggestions of the French Cabinet, and is a last
effort to conciliate support from a party in the
colonies, before the slow act of their indepen-
dence is extorted by necessity. ' This impotent
decree, the French Ministerial Paper affects to
say, " Detaches. the question of commercial in-
" terests from that of the independence of the
cin'
riseow f
from I
44 colonies; it places on a distinct basis the in-
" terest of commercial nations, at the same
66 time that it creates or re-unites in the
46 colonies a numerous party to the Parent
" State." This is all mere froth—words without
any truth or meaning whatever. The commercial
interests of the Colonies have sprung solely from
their independence ; before that period they
were fettered by a tyrannic monopoly : both,
therefore, are united, and cannot, be, severed by
any sophistry of the French writer ; nor will this
ridiculous Decree create or re-unite, in the Co-
lonies, a numerous, or any party, to the Parent
State. The separation is now absolute and irre-
vocable: Spain never can, by any concession or ef-
fort she may now make, recall her parted authority
over her once vast possessions in the New World.
Therefore, though the Journal des Mbats states
that every thing may now be hoped for, we are
persuaded this annunciation will have no effect
whatever : the Colonies will make ne " arrange-
ments," the basis of which is not an acknowledg-
ment of their independence ; they will treat on
no other terms : their trade is at this moment ab-
solutely free, with tariffs and duties established
by themselves. Any calculation of additional
good will to follow from this Decree is therefore
a most mistaken and hopeless one. In fact, even
those Colonies which still continue nominally de-1
pendent on Spain, the Philippines and Cuba,-1
have, as the Journal du Commerce remarks,
long thrown -off all commercial shackles.-1
In every point of view, therefore, both as regards
her emancipated, and yet dependent Colonies, this
Decree is equally weak and unavailing.—The
Etoils has a letter from Corfu, dated the 6th of
last month, stating that the descent of the Greeks
on the Island of Mitylene had been completely
successful ; the Christians, to the number of seven
to eight thousand, had everywhere hoisted the
Cross, and on their approach the infidels were
obliged to take refuge in some forts. The evacua-
tion of Mitylene by its oppressors was looked to
as probable. Other letters (the same paper adds)
state; that the Turkish garrison of Patras, being
informed ef the preparations making to invest
that fortress and take it by assault, had deserted it,
and retired to Lepanto. The Journal des Mbats,
remarking on these important statements, says
that the evacuation of Patras is doubtless. pro-
bable ; that of the descent on the Isle of May-
lone it thinks'much less so, and at least prema-
ture. The possession of Patras by the Greeks
would be of great importance : the place is ex-
tremely strong, and a seaport of consequence ; it
lies'in the Morea on the skirt of a montain near,