The Sun.
London, England, 1827-05-17 00:00:00

"To the Committee of the National Assembly

at Egina.
" PERA, FEB. 8, 1827.—Gentlemen,—In the
month of May, last year, you transmitted to me a
dispatch, signed by the President, and one hundred
and ten Members, of the Assembly, at Epidaurus,
who called themselves the legitimate depositories of
the powers of the-Greek nation, united with the
Military Chiefs and the Clergy, in which the medi-
ation of my Government was asked, to put 'an end
to the present war; and I was authorised in it, to ne-
gociate and treat, to obtain the peace that was-desired.
" I was informed, at the same 'tittle, .that your
Committee was ordered to correspond with me, in
order to deliberate on the means of obtiining this
pacification, and to draw up (taking your resolutions
as the basis) the treaty which my efforts tend to
conclude.

" I have since bad the pleasure to inform you,
that my Government has acceded to your proposal,
and has desired me to present to the Divan, the
fundamental points of agreement which you have
communicated to me. I, at the same time, let you

know the reason which obliged rue for the moment
to defer the execution of these orders. I am, now
able to announce to you, that the difficulties which
previously existed, being reMoved, the offer of the
,nediation of my Government, founded on your de-
mands, and supported by other Powers in alliance
with my Sovereign, will be immediately commu-
nicated to the Divan.
" You will not expect me to guarantee the effect
of this step, nor will you forget the amicable con-
duct which my character and the relations existing
by treaty,, between my Government and the Porte,
make it my duty to observe, till I am able, Gentle-
men, to let you know the result of my overtures.
I depend on your noble sentiments, and on the
fidelity with which you will fulfil your promise, and
which is an essential condition of the mediation
which you have desired.
" I have the honour to renew the assurance of my
personal esteem,

" STRATFORD CANNING."

The communication of this letter, the genuineness
of which is not doubted, has excited here, and, as
we are informed, in Greece, where it has been made
known, singular sensations; and, on the whole, has
!lot contributed to animate the courage of the
Greeks, and their hopes of the diplomatic assistance
of England.

(From the Quotidienne.)
[PRIVATE CORREsPoNDENcF..I

MADRID, MAY 3.—Our Government has received
lispatches from the Captain-General of Estrema-
lura, dated from Badajos. Very important events
tre on the eve, says he, of occurring on the theatre
of Portugal, There is talk of an insurrection which
has broke out in the province of Alentejo, on the
frontiers. The details which are circulated on the
subject, leave no doubt on our minds of the spirit
that, actuates the Portuguese. It is added that San
Juan, the Captain-General of Estremadura, has re-
ceived a deputation, consisting of the principal inha-
bitants of the Province, calling on him to appear on
the Portuguese territory, where the Spanish soldiers
will be welcomed as deliverers • these reports have
produced a lively sensation in Madrid.

(From the Constitutionnel.)
(EXTRACT FROM A PRIVATE LETTER.)

LISBON' MAY 2.—lt is stated that a few hours
after the landing of the Councillor Abrantes, the
Deputy Mousinho da Silveira went to visit Sir
Wil-
ham A'Court, in order to inform him of an arrival,
of which he was then ignorant, and to give him
some information touching the despatches of which
Abrantes was the bearer. The British Diplomatist,
forgetting his habitual diplomatic reserve, in the first
moment of surprise, had not presence of mind suffi-
cient to master his feelings of uneasiness, and cried
out, " Don Pedro does not rule here." It is said
he afterwards attempted. to explain away the ex-
pression by-his discourse;. but the words were gone
forth, and -served to recall an analagous accident
which, in the month of January, 1825, happened to
Prince_Metternich at Venice, when he received un-
expectedly the first intelligence of the recognition
of South American independence, by Great Britain.
Et is, at least, certain that the Ambassador, after the
conversation, went directly to the Princess Regent,
at the Palace of Ajuda, where, however, he had
been anticipated by M. d'Almeida.
(EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER.)
MADRID, MAY 3.—Some important diplomatic
notes arrived on the 30th of April, to the Ministers
of France and England. They were brought by two
couriers, who arrived within four hours of each
other. These notes have been communicated by
M. Beaurepaire, and by Mr. Lamb, separately, to
M. Salmond, who went immediately to communi-
cate them to the King at an early hour on the morn-
ing of the Ist. On the 2d a Council of Ministers
took place, at which his Majesty presided. The
result of these notes is, that, by virtue of a treaty
concluded between Russia, Prussia, Austria, France,
and England, the two latter powers are left arbiters
of the Peninsula, and even should differences of
opinion arise between France sad' England, the
three first powers would leave them to settle them
Alone, and they have also engaged to give support
neither to Spain nor to Portugal, and to fortify, by
their appioliation and recognition, whatever France
and England may determine respecting them....
General ,Monet, whe ernnmands• the advance
feunirt dat°fA.
of last month with General Sir W. Lamb, teanairzminy
Eofstrobezrarivautcai7,-fearinWhnon itshaet
ip,rteh-
com-
mander of the advance guard of the English troops,
who, in marching along the frontier, had penetrated
into the Spanish territory.
The Spanish General approached Sir William,
and politely requested him not to pass the"frontier.
Sir William, with equal courtesy, answered, that he
did not know that he was on the Spanish territory,
and that he would draw back, which he immediately
did. General Monet, meanwhile, informed General
Sarsfield, the Commander-in-Chief, of what had
happened. The latter thought- that he ought not
to be satisfied with the answer Of. 'Sir William, and
sent a flag of truce tor_deraind. 'further satisfac-
tion. That General ;itriswered, that he !-?,ti
none to offer, but ,what lie had stated to General
Monet. Gen. Sarsfield immediately ordered Gen,
Monet to push forward into the Portuguese terri-
tory, with from 1,500 to 1,800 troops, and swift,
pieces of cannon. General Monet obeyed, although
reluctantly ; he was met by General Lamb, who
charged him with two regiments of cavalry, killed
17 of his men, wounded 44, and made 50 prisoners,
and forced the rest to retreat into Spain. The next
day, after this ptty encounter, another, somewhat
similar, took place in Gallicia, between Ttiy and Sal-
vatierra. A mass of
some
troops entered Gal-
licia, and levied some contributions, and then re-
treated. The inhabitants and volunteer Royalists,
joined together, pursued the Portuguese, surrounded
them, and took from them their plunder. Not con-
tent with that, they then entered Portugal, and
committed as many excesses as had been committed
against them, but the Portuguese having procured
reinforcements, fell *on the Spaniards, beat them
back; and took twenty-seven prisoners, whom they
, carried off into'Portugal, and which have not yet re..
appeared.

COLOMBIA.

(From the Gazette of Colombia, March 11.)
DECREE OF THE EXECUTIVE.
FRANCISCO P. SANTANDER, &c. &c.

Having taken into consideration the present state
of the Treasury of the Department, and seeing the
inability of the Government to meet the expenditure,
not only of this department, and of its capital, which,
being at the same time the capital of the Republic,
has, necessarily, greater disbursements; but also that
of other departments, which likewise fall, in a great
measure, upon this Treasury ; and having also,
taken into consideration the communications of the
Secretary of the President Liberator, in which he re-
quests the pecuniary assistance of the National Go-
vernment, for objects of the highest importance;
and, further, the condition to which the officers of
the Administration have been reduced by the altera-
tions that have taken place in the financial system
within the last few months; and, finally, that under
these circumstances, and while the new financial
regulations produce no more than the present re-
venue, it becomes impossible to conduct the admi-
nistration of the Republic, and at the same time
continue to pay the floating unconsolidated debt, has
decreed and decrees as follows :

Art. 1. All payments of the floating debt shall be
suspended at this Treasury, whatever may be the
receipts collected, until the Congress shall appoint
particular rents for this purpose, or until the re-
ceipts shall be sufficiently large to meet both the
expences of the Administration, and the interest of
the foreign national debt.
Art. 2. Accordingly, from this time, no Secre-
tary of the Treasury shall admit any claim against
the Republic for payments of the said floating debt,
except for salaries in arrear, conformably with the
law of last year, or for salaries due in the present
year. But all officers, and others, in the employ..
ment of the Government, whose salaries are in ar-
rear, or shall become due, shall receive orders for
payment of the same, in the Province or Department
where their services are performed.
Art. 3. All debts connected with the fonr Depart-
ments of the North, under the immediate orders of
the President Liberator, shall be claimed before him,
according to the laws, unless they form part of the
debt recognised by the Commission of Public Credit.
Art. 4. The orders drawn up to this time, or
which the Government may hereafter order to be
drawn, upon Custom Houses, Debtors to the Loan,
Administrators of the Revenue, or Treasuries of the
Republic, shall be paid at the time they become due ;
and, in order that the eighth part of the Custom
House receipts may continue to be drawn for, the
Secretary shall take an exact note of the balances due.
Art. 5. No petition shall be admitted from any
functionary entrusted with the collection of tithes,
having for its object the delivery of vales or bonds
of the floating debt, in payment of sums due to the
Treasury.
Art. 6. Fresh orders shall be issued for the im-
mediate payment of all sums due to the National
Treasury, and for carrying into the fullest effect
the Decree of the President Liberator of the 23d
November last.

(Signed)
Bogota, March 5, 1827.

F. P. DE SANTANDER.
JOSE M. CASTILLO.

VANITY OF AUTHORS.

In each of the little excursions we made into the
West of England to visit Mrs. Dibdin's relatives,
we always passed a portion of our holiday at Stour-
head, in Wiltshire, close to the celebrated seat of Sir
Richard Colt Hoare. As all strangers are allowed
free access to the beautiful and classic gardens and
grounds, I liberally availed myself of the permission ;
and, on my first visit, struck as I was with so splen-
did an assemblage of the loveliest treasures of
nature and art, I coxcombically thought I could not
do less, in gratitude to the lord of the domain,
than write something about Virgil, and Mantuan
elegance, and classic lore, to help to perpetuate the
charms of Stourhead; (remember this was twenty-
one years back;) and I accordingly pencilled these
verses on a conspicuous tablet in front of the
Temple of Flora :
For many a calm reflective hour
Enjoy'd around thy lovely banks,
Reject not, silver-headed Stour !
A wandering minstrel's humble thanks.
Ye too, of Nymph and Dryad train,
Who, unbeheld, around me play,
To you I dediaate the strain,—
The grateful, though unpolished lay.
And thou, the master of this scene!
Where Attic and Lavinian taste
Adorn alike the alley green,
The grot retired, or mimic waste,—
Could but my glowing thoughts appear
With wish'd-for force in every line,
A second Mary thou shouldst hear,
And more than Mantuan praise be thine.

As Sir Richard was then at Stourton, I had not
a doubt in my own mind but that, flattered by this
elegant tribute to his taste from an unknown bard,
he would, as art acknowledged Mecaenas, be anxious
to discover from N7hence the morceau came; hut
hearing of no inquiries, took an opportunity of en-
tering into conversation with one of the gardeners—
a plain sample of Zomerzet and Wiltshire blended;
and, nearly as I can recollect, this was our dialogue.
Poet. Beautiful spot this, gardener !

Gard. Which, Ziff ? -
Poet. Which ? Why this, Sir ! The whole of
it—the gardens, the grounds, the grottoes, the walks,
trout-streams, bridges, and temples.
Gard. Why, yeet,Zur? I've heard a many zay
zo, besides you.
Poet. Heard many say so ! don't you believe
them then ?
Gard. Yes, Zur ! I believe what all the gentry
do say : they zee all these beauties the minut they
zet voot in the place; but I ha been here zo many
years, that I—that is—l ha gott'n a bit used to em,
Zur !

Poet. That's very natural ; we are never sensible
of the blessings that surround us.—(With theatrical
emphasis.)
Gard. Zvi-
Poet. I mean—but surely you must always find,
something new to admire.
Gard. 0 yes, Zur 1 there be often zummat new :
Sir Richard be every now and then bringing down
new old statutes and gods, and euras tombs and
things from London, and Bristol, and Bath, and
very partikkler he be about them.—Why now, you
see that, Zur ? that be the Temple of Vlora.
Poet. 0 yes, I admired it much two days ago,
and I
Gard. (Interrupting)—Why then, Zur, I never
did see Zur Richard zo angry as he were yesterday :
he ha just had that 'ere temple new done up, and
smart it do look too; and one of the cockney cus-
tomers at Missus Hilliar's inn ha been and scratched
a parcel of nonsense on it, and spoiled the clean
stone-work wi' all manner of balderdash ; and Zur
Richard ha told his gentleman to tell Mr. Davis, the
house-steward, to tell Mr. Hillier, that if that ere
chap do scrawl any more o' his Lunnun stuff on our
perry stiles and vesty boots, that the gardens shall be
shut up to all as comes to Stourhead inn again.
Reader! I entered the gardens with a sneaking sort
of hose that I might meet the Baronet, and receive
his " TriLute to the Muse ;" and now, a sneaking
sort of fear I:as.t. I should meet- him, carried me to-
wards my inn litif a -, hut I was in no humour
for similes. I set Sir Richard down for a barbarian
devoid of taste, whose ancestors alone were entitled
to the immortality my verse 111eant to confer on
him; and remained very little altered in my
opinion till I had the pleasure of meting him
at a large dinner party, some years afterwards,
in the hospitable mansion of Mr. Symmons, of
Pa,ldington-house. Sir Richard paid me the great
attention ; and his carriage either not being in
town, or his servants mistaking the hour, I had the
honour of accompanying him home in Mr. Sym-
moils's landau. When I confessed my violation of
the Temple of Flora, Sir Richard politely pretended
to apologize for his gardener's sincerity ; and we
both laughed heartily over my Stourhead inspire-
tions.—.Dibdin's Reminiscences.