The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-31 00:00:00

LIT AT BE.

Narrattive of Nereices in the Liberation of Chili,
Peru, and Brazil,froni )Ipernish and Portuguese
Domination. By Thomas, Earl of Dundonald,
G.C.B„, Admiral of the Red, Rear-Admiral of
the Fleet. 2 ols. Ridgway.
The illustrious Earl of Dundonald, who has but
very recently entered upon the eighty-fourth, year
of his age, having been born as far back as the 14th
of December, 1775, here, in these two remarkable
volumes, offers to the world a fragment of a great
historic vindication. Forty years ago this heroic
sea captain—one of the most dauntless commanders
that ever trod the deck of a line-of-battle-ship, one
whose personal daring has certainly never es-cn in
the annals of the Royal Navy of England been
surpassed—accepted the command of the maritime
forces first upon the west and afterwards upon the
east coast of the South American Continent; and
there by a series of the most brilliant exploits sue
ceeded in effecting the liberation of Chili, Peru, and
Brazil from the domination of the Spanish and
Portuguese Governments. During an interval of
fully two years and a half, Lord Dundonald, then
known to fame by his courtesy title as Lord
Cochrane—as symbolic of the truest heroism, a
name second only to that of Lord Nelson—conducted
a war of independence, now in the waters of the
Pacific for the establishment of two republics,
now in the waters of the Atlantic for the consoli-
dation of the authority of a new constitutional
Sovereign. To the unhesitating valour, to
the indomitable perseverance, to the saga-
city and determination of this true learted
Sailor—Chili—Peru—Brazil—each in turn owed,
under God, the boon of its political
liberation. The Chilians and Peruvians were alike
in succession wrested from the Spanish Monarchy,
by the genius, the skill, and the matchless bravery
of this great maritime commander-in-chief. It was
to the protecting and sustaining influence of his
strong arm that his Imperial Majesty Don Pedro I.
owed his elevation to a throne no longer the
appanage o Portugal, by the name, style, and
title of the constitutional Emperor of Brazils.
For these resplendent services Lord Dundonald
received a recompense in every respect worthy of
the despicable repute ever since then appertaining
to those three liberated, but utterly contemptible
and degraded governments. The gratitude of
Chili, of Peru, of Brazil to their sailor-liberator,
might be expressed by what would equally
well express the influence, since their liberation,
exercised by them for good or for evil on the rest
of the world—a nought ! Nay, the flagrant and
monstrous ingratitude displayed by the three
peoples to whom Lord Dundonald had been princi-
pally instrumental in giving freedom and indepen-
dence was, in reality as it happened, far worse than
nothing. The commander-in-chief of the Chilian,
Peruvian, and Brazilian navies, remained actually
for years and years not simply unpaid but literally
out of pocket, through his heroic services. to the_
three governMents. Repudiating his claims- -
claims emblazoned in characters of blood and flame
upon the first pages of their history—the Ministers
of the " Constitutional Emperor," the provisional
rulers of the twin Republics, had the mean-
ness to deny to Lord Cochrane and the
gallant crews manning his little squadron
even the very prize-money won by their life-blood !
The tricky evasions, the petty shifts, the miserable
quibbles, the systematic swindling and chicanery
by which justice was thus denied to the heroic
band of sailors to whom the Chilians, Peruvians,
and. Brazilians were indebted for their independ-
ence—will be found by those who care to read the
melancholy record, related in these two volumes,
beyond the possibility of any future misapprehen-
sion. So old a story and yet so new a story as this,
a narrative so old in the events to which it has
reference, and yet so entirely new in the vast
majority of its revelations, demands at the outset
obviously a word or two explanatory of its tardy
publication. The venerable hero who has penned
it was the first to recognise this necessity for an-
nouncing to his readers the reason, first of all of the
protracted reticence, and secondly of this eventual
announcement of his wrongs and record of his
achievements. Prudence dictated the delay. Hon-
our prompted the ultimate publication. Subjoined,
however, are the very words of the narrator :

"It may be asked, why—with the clear documentary
evidence in my possession—and now adduced—l have for
so many years endured an amount of obloquy and in-
justice, which might at any time have been set aside by
its publication ? The reply is obvious. The withholding
of my claims by the Governments of both sides the South
American Continent, and the ruinous expense to which I
was put on account of Chili, entailed upon me many years
of pecuniary difficulty. To have told even the truth—un-
hacked as I then was by the. British Government—would
have been to have all my claims set at defiance, so that
compulsory discretion was a sufficient reason for my silence.
It was long before I could induce a British Minister to
satisfy himself of the rectitude of my conduct—the sound-
ness of my claims--or the dishonesty of those who, be-
lieving me to be powerless, laughed at reiterated demands
for my stipulated rights. Yet more, I have never sought
from those to whom I gave liberty and dominion.
" There is, however, a reason for the present publication,
,a which I have never lost sight. Amidst all the injustice
which it has been my lot to sustain; t have ever deter-
mined—for the sake of my family—to whom my character
is an heir-loom—that no obloquy shall follow me to the
grave, for none have I merited. On the day these volumes
see the light, this resolution will be partially fulfilled."
That noble intention is here, in truth, completely
and signally realised. But how realized ? By the
production in these two mournful volumes of a
series of the most lamentable details of the most
despicable turpitude on the part of the chiefs of the
three liberated. Governments. We know scarcely
any more melancholy' annals of blended valour and
baseness—valour the most heroic, repaid by base-
ness the most paltry well imaginable. Gladly do
we turn from the darker portions of the picture to
those radiant with the glory won in the South
American waters by the daring of the iron-hearted
Earl of Dundonald. No one can surely ever read
without emotion of achievements like those with
which Lord Cochrane and his sailors captured the
forts of Valdivia, and cut out the Spanish frigate
the " Esmeralda." The former conquest was pro-
nounced immediately after, by Zenteno (in de-
fiance of whose orders the deed had been done), to
be " the act of a madman :" Zenteno adding
that the victor " deserved to have lost his life in
the attempt," and that even afterwards he ought to
lose his head " for daring to attack such a place
without instructions, and for exposing the patriot
troops to such hazard.' Yet this (so-called) madcap
feat, was, notwithstanding, triumphantly accom-
plished. And as to the cutting out of the Esmeralda
—that, surely will, henceforth live in the naval
annals of the world as an act of heroism that sets
.at defiance the possibility of its being ever sun
passed ! A less dauntless heart than that of CocH-
RANE might have hesitated before the enterprise.
"This design," he writes himself, for we shall give
his own modest narrative of the achievement—
" This design was to cut out the Esmeralda frigate from
under the fortifications and also to get possession of another
ship, on board of which we had learned that a million of
dollars was embarked for flight, if it became necessary ; my
opinion being that if such display of power were mani-
fested, the Spaniards would either surrender the capital or
abandon it.
"The enterprise was hazardous, for since my former visit the
enemy's position had been much strengthened, no less than
300 pieces of artillery being mounted on shore, whilst the
Esmeralda was crowded with the best sailors and marines
that could be procured, these sleeping every night at quar—
ters. She was, moreover, defended by a strong boom with
chain moorings, and by armed blockships ; the whole being
surrounded by twenty-seven gun-boats; so that no ship
could possibly get at her.
" For three days we occupied ourselves in preparations,
still keeping secret the purpose for which they were in-
tended. On the evening of sth of November, this was
communicated to the ships by the following proclamation :
" Marines and Seamen,—This night we are going to
give the enemy a mortal blow. To-morrow you will pre-
sent yourselves proudly before Callaorand all your com-
rades will envy bur good fortune. One hour of courage
and resolution is all that is required of you to triumph.
Remember, that you have conquered in Valdivia, and be
not afraid of those who have hitherto fled from you.
" The value of all the vessels captured in Callao will be
yours, and the same reward in money will bo distributed
'amongst you as has been offered by the Spaniards in Lima
to those who should capture any of the Chili= squadron.
The moment of glory is approaching-, and I hope that the
Chilenos will fight as they have been accustomed to do,
and, that the English will act as they have ever done at
home and abroad.

" COCHRANE.'
" On issuing this proclamation, it was stated that I
should lead the attack in person, volunteers being requested
to come forward, on which the whole of the marines and
seamen on board the three ships offered to accompany me.
As this could not be permitted, a hundred and sixty sea-
men and eighty marines were selected, and after dark were
placed in fourteen boats alongside the flagship, each armed
with cutlass and pistol, being, for distinction's sake, dressed
in white, with a blue band on the left arm. The Spaniards
I expected, would be off their guard, as, by way of ruse,
the other ships had been sent out of the bay under the
charge of Captain Foster, as though in pursuit of some
vessels in the offing--.-so that the Spaniards would consider
themselvei safe from attack for that night.

" At :ten o'clock all was in readiness, the boats being
formed in two divisions, the first commanded by my flag-.
captain Crosbie, and the second by Captain Guise _my
boat leading. The strictest silence, and the exclusive use of
cutlasses were enjoined; so that, as the oars were muffled,
and the night dark, the enemy had not the least suspicion
of the impending attack.
" It was just upon midnight when we neared the small
opening left in the boom, our plan being well-nigh frus-
trated by the vigilance of a guard-boat, upon which my
launch had luckily stumbled. The challenge was given,
upon which, in an under-tone, I threatened the occupants
of the boat with instant death if they made the least alarm.
No reply was made to the threat, and in a few minutes our
gallant fellows were alongside the frigite in line, boarding
at several points simultaneously.
cc The Spaniards were completely taken by surprise—the
whole, with the exception of the sentries, being asleep at
their quarters—and great was the havoc made. amongst
them by the Chileno cutlasses whilst they were recovering
themselves: Retreating to the forecastle, they there made
a gallant stand, and it-was not until the thirdtcliate tliat
the position was carried. The tight was for a short time
renewed on the quarter-deck, where the Spanish marbles

fell to a man, the rest of the enemy leaping overboard and
into the hold to escape slaughter.
"On boarding the ship by the main chains, I was
knocked back by the butt end of the sentry's musket, and
failing on a thole pin of the boat, it entered my back near
the spine, inflicting a severe injury, which caused me many
years of subsequent suffering. Immediately regaining my
footing, I reascended the side, and when on deck, was shot
,'through the thigh, but binding a handkerchief tightly
round the wound, managed, though with great difficulty,
to direct the contest to its close.
" The whole affair, from beginning to end, occupied only
a quarter of an hour,:ourtjossbeinel I killed and 30 wounded,
whilst that of the Spaniards was a hundred and sixty,
many of whom fell under the cutlasses of the Chilemsr
before they could stand to their arms. Greater bravery lE
never saw displayed than that of our gallant fellows. Be-
fore boarding, the duties of all had been appointed, and a
party was told off to take possession of the tops. We had.
not been on deck a minut 3, when I hailed the foretop, and
was instantly answered by our own men, an equally prompt
answer being returned from the frigate's maintop. No
British man-of-war's crew could have excelled this minute
attention to orders."

It is amusing, certainly, to find it related of the
consummate hero who led that boarding party on
to the deck of the Esmeralda, under the shadow of
the 300 guns of the Callao fortifications—it is
amusing, we say, to find it recorded of such a man
that, upon his return to England, some time after-
wards, "Having," says he himself naively, in re-
lating the circumstance—
" Having occasion to wait upon the then Attorney-Gt ne-
ral relative to a patent which I had in hand, he brusquely
inquired ' whether I was not afraid to appear befo7e him ?'
On my replying that I was not aware of having reason to
fear appearing in the yresence of any man, he told me the
question had been officially put to him, whether I could L e
punished under the Foreign Enlistment Act, for the part I
had taken in the liberation of Chili, Peru, and Brazil ? To

this I replied, that 'if Government was indiscreet enough
further to persecute me for having thrown open to British
commerce the largest field for enterprise of modern times,
they could take what steps they chose, for that I, having
accepted service in South America before the passing of the
act, was not afraid of the consequences of having infringed
its provisions.' It is almost needless to say that no such
prosecution was instituted, though the will was good, de-
spite the national benefits conferred."
Almost everything in the history of this remarkable
man, by the way, is pretty well of a piece in regard
to his treatment. Again and again has he been the
victim of calumny and injustice, the most cruei and
the most flagrant. And in every single instance
his character hasbeen completely and resplendently
vindicated. During several years his name—the
name of this Sea Bayard— was struck off the
navy list of England. So wrongfully, that many
years. have now happily gone by since he
was reinstated in all his professional
honoUrs, honours won, as the world knows, with
a sword of terror in the grasp of a hand without a
stain ! Thomas Earl of Dundonald, Admiral of the
Red, Rear-Admiral of the Fleet, Grand Cross of
the Bath, and wearing the symbols of divers other
orders of knighthood, now in his eighty-fourth
year, is regarded by every one familiar with the
history of the last half century not simply with
respect due to a great man but with the sympathy
and admiration due to a great man contending
heroically during a long life against a world of un-
deserved misfortunes. _

Before closing his prefatory remarks to the work
here under consideration, Lord Dundonald says,
with a touching earnestness :
"My reputation as a British seaman is to me of the
highest moment, and it shall not be sullied after my death
by the aspersions of those who wilfully revenged the
thwarting of their anti-Imperial designs, by imputations
which can alone enter • into the minds of men devoid of
generous impulses, and therefore incapable of appreciating
higher motives."
Yet later, he adds the following important announce-
ment :
" It is my intention, if God spare my life, to add to these
memoirs a narrative of my former experience in the British
navy, and, what may be of greater utility, an exposition of
that which, from jealousy and other causes no less un-
worthy, I was not permitted to effect. To these I shall
add a few remarks upon my connexion with the liberation
of Greece, developing some remarkable facts, which have
as yet escaped the notice of historians. These reminiscences
of the past will, at least, be instructive to future genera-
tions, and if any remarks of mine will conduce to the per-
manent greatness and security of my country, I shall deem
the residue of my life well spent in recording them."

Fervently do we pray that the life of Lord Dun-
donald may yet a while be spared to the country he
has served so often and so gloriously—that the
truthful pen may rceord the heroic deeds the
unsullied sword has accomplished.

The Two Mottoes. By the author of "Summerleigh
Manor." ' Parker.

This is another of those instructive and interest-
ing works for young people which have lately bcome
so numerous. The story is rendered very attrac-
tive by the discrimination manifested in the descrip-
tions of the several characters. That of Emmeline
is perhaps the most successful. There is something
very engaging in her gentle nature, which shines
conspicuous by the side of the meretricious brilliancy
of Cecil, whose fascinations of manner are soon lost
sight of in her vanity and selfishness. A great
deal of skill -is displayed in the account of Dr.
Aytoun. The miseries that result from the indul-
gence of a hasty temper are here strikingly exem-
plified, and the details arc given in a manner that
forcibly impresses the mind of the reader. No
mere statement of facts-ever-brings Lome the sub-
ject to the thoughts compared to a practical illus-
tration. The scenes that took place at the depar-
ture of Hector, and those that immediately followed
them, are true in the depths of their suffering and
intensity of their endurance. A niore painful
ordeal cannot well be imagined for a young girl of
Emmeline's temperament than that which she had
to undergo on this melancholy occasion. Faulty
as Hector was, it is evident that his father was the
most to blame, since he set no example of self-
restraint hiyaself in the control of his passions.
Few trials more deeply affect, or painfully agitate,
a feeling disposition, or a sensitive nature, than
domestic discord and family quarrels ; and this is
powerfully represented in the story before us.
Cecil Egerton is of a very different class to her
cousin. She was enthusiastic, and determined to
achieve something grand, but all her plans and
projects at last centred in the indulgence of some
selfish wish, or personal gratification. There could
be no peace in such a life, no rest for such a mind.
Very different was her defiant nature to the calm
spirit of endurance with which Emmeline bore her
weary lot, so much more painful than the portion
allotted to Cecil, who yet never ceased repining at
every trouble with a vehemence that perplexed and
dismayed all who belonged to her. Once, in a
dreamy mood, they were choosing mottoes, and
Cecil decided on " Excelsior," while Emmeline
selected " She path done what she could." They
could not have chosen more consistently with their
characters. The fitful fever of Cecil's course, which
promised soiSuch, performed worse than nothing.
Ever seeking to be higher than she really was, she
deteriorateerapidly, because she sought to riso for
the sake of being conspicuous, not to become better
in any way, to complete any undertaking noble or
useful. Emmeline, on the contrary, faithfully
fulfilled whatever duty lay nearest to her. She
strove with all the force of her weak nature to do
what good she could, and her efforts were signally
blessed. Many a wayward temper, and an impa-
tient spirit, may take a lesson to heart from the
perusal of this excellent story, and derive pleasure
and profit from the study of its characters.

Law. By Arthur Moore.
A llaiatolb
nooekvoofi.
RaPipla.wloo. W. H. Smith.
The Secretary of the Dublin and Wicklow and
Kingston Railways has here in this goodly volume
compacted together the whole of the Railway Law
of the United Kingdom. His ability as a compiler
in this way he huS already evidenced beyond
dispute by his able " Compendium of Irish *Poor
Law," and his valuable " Statistics of Union and
County Divisions." His experience beyond this
in regard to railway management has eminently
qualified him for the yet more important work he has
here brought to a f atisfactory completion. It
contains the whole of the Public Railway
Acts from 1838 to 1838 inclusive—the fruits of
more than twenty years of railway legislation. It
accompanies these acts with other subsidiary
statistics connected in one way or another with
them. The whole is preceded by an introduction
'comprising within it a large store of statistical and
financial information. Everything, moreover, is so
arranged in the volume that the varied contents
may be consulted with the greatest facility.
Otherwise, to express it in the simple announce-
ment upon the title-page--there are " notes, forms,
and a copious analytical index ;" so that there is
not the smallest difficulty in the way of reference.
Altogether the work is precisely what was wanted
in the railway world, and in many hundred direc-
tions, we doubt not, will in that world prove
eminently acceptable.

The great chess match at Paris between Mr.
Morphy and M. Anderason has been brought to a close by
the American winning the two remaining games. At the
termination, the score ran thus :—Mr. Morphy had won
seven games , M. Andersen one ; and two were draws.
It may be remembered that the winner of seVEn games was
to be the victor.
SrANzerr AMERICAN BONDROLDERS.—The Com-
mittee of Spanish American bondholders have received the
fonowing letter :—" Committee of Spanish American Bond-
holders, 11, Austinfriars, London, Dec. 30, 1858.—Sir, in
the City article of your journal of the 29th inst. on extract
is given from a message from Gemini Castro, Provisional
Chief of Venezuela, to the National Convention, in which
is stated The committee of Spanish American Bondholders
have not considered theniselves called upon to publi di.' I
beg to statelo you, on behalf of the committee, that the
reason why they have not published this document is that
it hr s never reached them. All the information affecting
the foreign debt contained in the said extract, together with
additional matter, is however comprised in the communica-
tion made brthe committee to 'the newspapers on the 16th
inst., of the contents of Mr. Mocatta's letter of the 19th of
November,—l am, &c., ALFRED GODFREY) Sec.

.---,..---_

Flag-ship Roanoke, Aspinwall, Dec. 3.
Sir,—l had the honour, on the 26th ult., in. my
No. 52, to inform you of my arrival at San Juan
del Norte on the evening of the 25th, and also that
the 'Washington had arrived, her passengers still
on board, without the prospect of crossing the
country by that route. She left on the 26th for
Aspinwall, and has again returned to the United
States with a large portion of her deceived pas-
sengers ; verifying, I regret it on many accounts,
precisely what I reported to you might be expected
in my letter No. 48, under date of 16th October
last. That route may, therefore, for the present,
be considered as closed.
The Valorous, Capt. W. C. Aldham, was the only
British vessel of war in port when I left. Sir Wm.
Gore Ouseley and family were still on board.
I reported to you that I had verbally learned
that the Washington had been examined by boats
from the Valorous, subsequently to her being
boarded and passed by Capt. Jarvis, of the Savan-
nah; that Capt. Wainwright, in the Leopard, had
been despatehed in great haste to the Colorado
River in search of filli busters ; that she had boarded
the American steamer Catherine Maria, then at
anchor in that river, with armed bolts, in search of
them ; that I was taking immediate measures to get
the full particulars from Capt. Jarvis, and that. I
would report to you in full by the next opportunity.
Before I proceed further, however, I will here
state that the reports in relation to the Catherine
Maria were greatly exaggerated, and have been
most satisfactorily explained to me by Capt. Ald-
ham, and that I have not the slightes reason to
believe that another case, such as occurred on board
the Washington, will be repeated. I am, however,
constrained to say that I believe, had Capt. Ald-
ham been left entirely to his own judgment, such
a proceeding would not have occurred at all.
I herewith enclose to you copies of the corres-
pondence with Capt. Aidham on the subject, by
which you will perceive that he claims a protecto-
rate over the harbour of " Greytown " (Nos. 1,2,
and 3). I trust that my letters will meet your ,
approval.
I should here state that my first letter to Capt.
Aldham reached him on Saturday, the 27th ultimo,
and that his answer was not received until Monday
morning ; but at the same time I received a private
note of a most friendly character from Sir W. G.
Ouseley, in which he stated that he had had inter-
views with the President and yourself just previ-
ously to his leaving the United States. I had sent
my card to him by my flag-lieutenant in the first
boat that left my ship after my arrival, and desired
him to express my regret to Sir 'William that the
exceedingly bad weather and heavy sea prevented
me from personally. paying my respects.
You will perceive that my second letter to
Captain W. C Aldham is dated on 'the day
his answer to my first was received. It
was with a private note to Sir Wm. Gore Ouseley,
sent in on that afternoon by my secretary, Mr.
Zantzinger, in which I stated to Sir William that
he might be confided in, as he had stated in his
note, "he would have been glad we should have
raet, as he would have been plea,ed to have had a
little chat on subjects of mutual interest to both
of us "

' I would here inform you that, from the moment
of my anchoring up to the time I left San Juan del
Norte, it was blowing a norther, with a heavy sea
heaving in, the ship rolling the muzzles of her gun
deck guns deeply in the water, requiring the offi-
cers and men to get into and out of the boats by
ropes arid ladders, and the selection of the most
active to do it even in that way. It was attended
with great danger, and, in my weak state, precluded
the possibility of doing it, which was my only rea-
son I did not wait on Sir William.
Mr. Zantzinger returned to the ship about 6 p.m.,
bringing with him Capt. Aldham, of the Valorous,
and who, upon my invitation, at once consented, in
consequence of the roughness of the 'weather, to re-
main with me for the night. A short period after
his arrival, Mr. Synge, Sir William's Secretary of
Legation, came on board, intending also to spend
the night. I had determined, when I sent Mr.
Zantzinger in with my second letter to Capt. Ald-
ham, to leave the anchorage as soon as he returned,
for I could not remain longer there with the ship
straining• in every direction, the oakum starting
from her seams,-and the danger of injuring some
portion of her engines. I therefore concluded, as I
was obliged to leave, and as I thought it necessary
you should receive the very earliest information as
to all the facts, to return to Aspinwall, so as to.
meet the steamer of to-morrow. I requested Mr.
Zantzinger to inform Sir William and Capt. Aid-
ham that I should proceed to Aspinwall when 1
left, and would be pleased to take any communica-
tions they might desire to send.
To this, most probably, and to a great desire, as
Captain Aldham declared, to have an interview
with me, I was indebted for the unceremonious
visit of both him and the Secretary of. Legation ;
the latter, no doubt, being sent by Sir William
purposely to remove all unfavourable impressions
and talk over, rather than write further upon the
subjects at issue; which in truth I did not regret,
for I was not insensible of the fact that, in such a
correspondence,- Captain Aldham would have the
benefit of the advice and experience of Sir William. •
Captain Aldham and myselfconversed most frankly
upon the subject of the Washington. He declared
his having no intention of an interference with
American vessels ; his great desire to act in con•
cert with me in endeavouring to prevent the land-
ing of " filibusters ;" that he could not possibly
see the slightest cause for the apprehension of any
difficulty ; and that so far as he was concerned,
there should be none.

With Mr. Synge the conversation was equally
frank. He, however, distinctly declared that Eng-
land had neverabandoned the protectorate, but that
he believed before the Ist of Jan. next the whole
matter would be finally settled; that as to boari,
ing and searching American vessels, they had al-
ready abandoned it, not from fear or pusillanimity,
but because England felt she could do so honour-
ably, and ought to do it ; and it was not probable
that it was now to be revived ; that there was cer-
tainly nothing secret or mysterious in Sir William's
mission, as it was well understood in 'Washington,
and that no officer in her Britannic Majesty's ser-
vice would be less likely to do any act which could
be construed as offensive, or as an interference with
us, than Captain Aldham. In the conversation I
had little to sap, for my positien had been taken in
my correspondence, and I desired there to leave it.
I do not pretend to give you the precise words of
these free and frank conversations, but I have endea-
voured, so. far as my memory serves lie, to give you

'HE BRITISII VISIT TO TIIE AME.RICAN
SHIP WASITINGTON.

OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
The following highly interesting correspondence
has been laid before the Congress of the United
States by the Secretary of the Navy :
Flag-ship Roanoke, off San Juan
del Norte, Nov. 26.
Sir,—l have the honour to inform you that I
arrived off this place at six o'clock last evening.
The Savannah is in the river, and the officers and
men are in good health, having but eleven on her
sick report. The Jamestown left a few days since
for fresh sea air, and would touch at Aspinwall and
return here immediately. I regret to learn she has
some thirty cases of, the fever. Should they not
have lessened I will send her on her arrival imme-
diately back to Aspinwall, as perhaps the most
healthy of the two places.
The Washington, mail steamer, arrived here on
the 18th inst., and is now firing up for Aspinwall.
Her passengers are still on board, there being no
means to take them either across the country or to
San Francisco, had they reached San Juan del Sur.
The Hermann left Panama direct to San Francisco.
I anticipated precisely what has occurred, as I
informed you in a previous letter.
The Valorous, Sir W. C. Aldham, with Sir Wm.
Gore Ouseley on board, is now the only English
vessel-of-war in the river. I have heard a report
that an officer was sent from her to board the
Washington after she had been inspected and
passed by.the Savannah, and who put some very
improper interrogatories to her captain, and that
Capt. Wainwright, in the Leopard, was despatched
in great haste to, the Colorado River, in search of
200 filibusters, which rumour stated had been
landed from the Washington at that point, and
that he sent a boat on board the American steamer
Catherine Maria, then lying in that river, to ascer-
tain the correctness of the report. lam taking im-
mediate measures to get full particulars from Capt.
Jarvis, and will report them in full by the next
opportunity • but, according to my present under-
standing of the matter, it looks like a renewal of
the scenes which lately occurred around the island
of Cuba, charged only to fillibusters for Africans.
You may rely on my taking prompt and efficient
measures to protect the honour of our flag should
it become necessary ; and if really her Britannic
Majesty's officers have instructions to board and
examine American ships for fillibusters, under the
very guns of the ships of my squadron, the time
must be very short before the most serious conse-
quences may be anticipated. But I hope some
explanation may be made, so soon as I can inves-
tigate the matter, which may give a more favourable
aspect to the course said to have been pursued.
The Valorous saluted my flag this morning,
which was promptly returned. I write in haste,
to get my letters off by the Washington.
I have the honour to be sir, very respectfully,
your obedient servant,
JAMES M'INTOSII,
Flag Officer, Commander-in-Chief, Home Squadron.
The Hon. Isaac Toucey, Secretary of the Navy.