The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-01 00:00:00

INTERESTING FROM SOUTH AMERICA.

Yesterday we received plenty of intelligence from
South America— from Buenos Ayres, the British
Packet, to the 10th of October, from Monte Video the
El Constitutionel, to the 16th of the same month, and
from Pernambuco, the Diario de Pernambuco to the Bth
ultimo,

No intelligence respecting the operations of the hostile
naval forces of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video. A re-
port was current that Admiral Brown had landed at
Buenos Ayres and retired to his country seat.
Official notice is given to the residents of Monte Video
that the two ports of Soriano and Paysandu, further in
the interior, had been opened to foreign vessels, and
every facility promised at the custom houses.
A large quantity of counterfeit coin, of the smaller
denominations, had lately been put in circulation.
The Argentine squadron returned to their anchorage
in the Pozos on the 9th of October.

Buenos Ayres was open to foreign commerce, but not
yet for the import of flour.

The United States corvette Decator, Capt. Ogden, was
at Buenos Ayres.
According to the last accounts from the interior,
General Oribe was within twelves leagues of the capital
of Tucuman, a squadron of his, under the command of
Colonel Lagos, having completely routed a division of
400 men of the revolutionary troops.
Lavalte, it is said, had abandoned the territory of the
Republic
General Pacheco, in conjunction with the division of
Cuyo, was in pursuit of La Madrid, whose march was
in the direction of Mendoza. The vanguard under Ge-
neral Benavides and Colonel Flores was already harras-
sing, his rear.

Everything was quiet in the province of Para on the
22d of October. There had been slight disturbances
at Maranham during the elections which took place on
the 7th.

News from Bahia to the 28th of October, state that
there had been a revolt in the town of d'Aqua-Pria, and
the authorities were compelled to remove the archives.
Robberies and murders were the order of the day.
According to the Diario do Pernambuco there appears
to be a feeling in Brazil to divide that empire into three
States. It is now composed of nineteen provinces. In
a long editorial article it is argued that such a division
would not be beneficial to the people.
The only news from Rio Grande is that the Imperial
Army had gone into winter quarters at Cochocina.—
New York Herald.

MORE ENGLISH AGGRESSION.—A letter from Ila-
vannah says:—" A serious affair has just commenced
in the neighbourhood of 3fatanzas. It appears that
the English Consul went a few days since tO
plantation situated near that town, and attempted
to obtain the emancipation of all the slaves belong-
ing to a planter who had arrived from Jamaica
His seditious counsels might have occasioned a general
revolt among the coloured population of that place. As
soon as the commander of Matanzas obtained informa-
tion of this occurrence, he arrested the Consul and sent
him back here, escorted by soldiers under the order of
the Government. We do not know what will be the
result of this affair."

PIRATES IN NEW ORLEANS.—A New Orleans paper
says—On the 19th of Alay, 1841, Mr. Desache, while
a passenger on board the schooner Caledonia, Cap-
tain J. W. Potter, bound from Maryas to St.
Thomas, was seized, together with three other
passengers, and, put into a small boat, at sea,
by the Captain, mate and crew, armed with pistols and
knives, in order to rob them of what property they had
on board. Desache had 470 doubloons, besides valuable
merchandise, &c. The wind blowing fresh towards the
land at the time, they were blown into Porto 'Rico in
twenty-four hours.

Deiache who is now in this city, learned that
Captain Potter, was at this port, sailing as mate of the
ship Tirien. Yesterday morning Desache made an
affidavit of the above facts, before Recorder Bertus,
who issued a warrant for his arrest. Police officer
Hoey, with two others, succeeded in arresting
Potter. While searching for him on board the Tirien,
Desache recognised one of the sailors, Frank Garnet, as
having been the mate of the Caledonia at the time, whom
they also arrested. They will be examined before Re-
corder Bertus this morning. One of the other passengers,
now in Havannah, will be sent for to appear on the trial.
MORE DEATHS BY SEA.—The facts so feelingly
narrated by the following extract from Captain W. -
lard's log-book, induce the belief that some vessel
must have been capsized or swamped in the gale,
and that the sturdy voyagers of the deep who were
seen in the boat, had escaped the fate of their com-
rades, to meet an equally gloomy one at the moment of
hoped-for succour :—Extract from the log of the Ocean,
J. Willard, from New York, bound to New Orleans.—
Sat. Nov, 13, lat., 38, 15 N., lon. 73 25 W.—At 8 A. 51.,
strong gales, high sea, and clear weather. At ten,
discovered a boat about three quarters of a mile to
then windward, with men in her rowing to the leeward
after us ; brought the ship by the wind immediately,
with the maintopsail aback ; the boat continued

' COTTON TRADE.
The' accounts, of the crops continue to be contra-
dictory. Many statements from the Mississippi repre-
sent a great tailing off in the production of those sec-
tipm ectima re _the yield. of the year,,at.otot. -0113-11
than 1,300,000 bales. Others place it at 2,000,000 bales.
This great discrepancy arises from the state of finan-
cial affairs ; and it is not improbable that a very
great reduction in the production of cotton will take
place during the present year, through the operation
of the general bankrupt law, which may lead to suspen-
sion of business on all those plantations which were sti-
mulated into activity by the paper expansions a few
years since, and which have thus been struggling for life
by the extensive bank favours that must now be brought
to a close. It is scarcely possible to estimate the extent
to which the cotton production may be reduced by the
change. The result will" be an immense gain to those
planters that are on a substantial basis.

CORN TRADE.
This Market is now rather inactive. Sales are made
at 6 dols. 25c., which is about the average price in all the
markets in the country. One year ago the average price
was about 5 dols. a barrel.

Comparative Statements of the Exports of Flour and
Wheat from the Port of Cleveland, for the month of
November, 1840 and 1841, show the annexed result
1840. 1841.
Flour. Wheat. Flour. Wheat.
U. S. Ports 51,152 86,145 24,677 88,403
Canada 2,856 28,444 403 none

45,008 114,589 25,085 88,403

This exhibits a large aggregate decrease in the ship-
ments in November. And a statement we publisfied a
day or two since, of the shipments on our canals, showed
the same for the same month.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY

OF WAR.

War Department, Dec. 1, 1841.
Sir,—The reports of the Major-General commanding
the Army, and of the Heads of the different Bureaus, at-
tached to this Department, upon the several subjects com-
mitted to its charge, are herewith submitted.
The accuracy of the information, and the fullness of
the views thus exhibited, will render superfluous any ex-
tended observations from one but recently called to the
consideration of the various matters so well presented
by officers of great experience and acknowledged ability.
Such remarks, however, as seem required, will be made
in the course of the following statement of the general
results derived from these reports.
From the general return of the Army, contained in the
report of the Major-General Commanding-in-Chief, it
appears that the %%hole number of troops now in service,
is 10,694; consisting of 728 commissioned officers, and
9,966 non-commissioned officers, musicians, and pri-
vates. The aggregate exceeds the number specified in
the report of 1840 by 124. Of the whole number 9,882
are reported as present, and the residue, 812, are absent
or sick ; of whom 447 are absent on detached service.
To complete the organisation of the army, 1,838 recruits
are required.
During the past year the whole number recruited was
4,922.
It is gratifying to find that the number of deserters
within the year, as compared with the number enlisted,
has largely, diminished.—[Zs this ironically intended :
ED. Sun.]
Within the year anew aspect has been given to the mi-
litary operations in Florida. The minuteness and 'ac-
curacy with which they are detailed in the report of the
Commanding General, render any other account of them
unnecessary. It would be unjust, however, to withhold
the expression of that cordial approbation, which is
felt by this department, and, it is believed, by the
whole country, of the gallant enterprise and patient en-
durance of the troops and their able Commander,
Colonel Worth. Overcoming the feelings which a con-
test with such enemies must produce in the soldiers of a
civilized country, and consulting only the highest dic-
tates of duty, they have persevered in a contest which,
in the only means of conducting it, more resembles
the pursuit of animals than a warfare with human beings,
and in which the triumphs of success are mingled with
pity, not far removed from contempt, for an inglorioue foe.
The very moderate increase of two regiments to our
army, recommended in the same report, will unquestion-
ably be received with all the confidence due to any sug-
gestions from such a source. The necessity for such an
increase, to man the forts, posts, and fortifications, on
oar inland and maritime frontiers, will be apparent on a
consideration of the plans for the national defence which
has been proposed, and wholly or partially adopted.
The defences of the northern frontier must be de-
signed for a protection against a powerful enemy, pos-
sessing all the means of warfare along a distance of more
than two thousand miles. Naval forces on the lakes un-
doubtedly afford our chief reliance for defence and
offence. To furnish them shelter from tempests, the har-
bours must be enlarged and rendered accessible ; and to
protect them and their supplies, as well as the property
and lives of our citizens from an enemy, those harbours,
and most important of the straits and rivers connecting
the lakes, should be fortified.

The omission to make the necessary appropriations
has prevented anything more than a partial execution of
the defence of the nortern frontier. Fort Niagara has
been reported ready for armament, and a company has
been ordered to garrison it. So much has already been
done at Fort Oswego as to justify the belief that at the
end of the season it will be in a condition for effective
service. Under the appropriations made in September
last for the defensive works at Detroit, Buffalo, and the
outlet of Lake Champlain, raeans have been taken to
select sites for their construction, which will be commenced
as soon as the titles to those sites shall be secured.

The division of our national defences relating to our
maritime frontier, presents a subject of the deepest in-
terest.

s Alk and or Engineers was organized in 1816, and has
continued in existence ever since, to which WitV specially
assigne4 the duty of preparing a general system of de-
' fence for the seaboard. It made personal examinations
of every harbour on the whole coast (excepting only a
few in East Florida) accessible to seagoing vessels. Re-
porte of the progress were made in 1817. 1819, 1820,
1421, 1822, 1823, 1824, and 1825 ; and at two different
times, namely, in 1826 and )836, a summary Report was
presented-to the Executive, and sent to Congress, de-
' scribing the system briefly in its application to the seve-
ral parts of the coast.
In pursuance of a resolution of the House of Repro.
sentatives, of April 9, 1840, a Report from this Depart-
ment was made on the 12th day of May, in the same
year, transmitting one from a board of officers assembled
for the purpose of considering the subject, which con-
' tains a very full view of the system, in a brief compass
and geographically arranged. It exhibits the various
• works deemed ll:Tess:try along the Atlantis: coast, and
along that. 01 the I; ulf of Mexico, and the order of their
relative import:l,ms, in reference to the time of their con-
struction, with estimates of the expense of each, and of
the aggregate cost.
The elements of that system are, first, naval forces ;
second, fortifications; and third, interior communications.
As to the first, independent of all other considera-
tions, it is supposed that floating-batteries of any
description that are to remain stationary at the
exposed points, cannot be expected, because the
aggregate expense of providing and maintaining the
large force that would be required for the numerous
points on our coast, would be beyond our means.
A navy which would carry the war into every sea where
the enemy's commerce was to be found, would effectually
keep him from our coast, by rendering his presence ne-
cessary elsewhere. For the defence of inlets and har-
boars, whose entrances are shallow, a class of steam ves-
sels, of light. draught, Would doubtless form a necessary
part of our defence, and. where the inlets are numerous,
such vessels ivould be indispensable.
The second element of defence consists, therefore.
in permanent fortifications. While they are more effec-
tual for defence, in certain positions, than floating forces,
they are less expensive in construction, more -durable,
and requiring an outlay in repairs utterly insignificant,
when compared with the expense of maintaining ships,
and renewing them.
.They are deemed indispensable for the purposes of
covering the military and, naval depots, and all other
public or private establishments which would invite the
enterprise or the cupidity of a foe, and of excluding him
from strong rsitions, where his naval superiority might
enable )l himself, mei from which he might
make incursions into the interior, of assail an extensive •
line of coast.
The positions deemed necessary to be occupied by
fortifications " along the whole Atlantic coast, from
Passamaquoddy Bay to Cape Florida, and along
the Gulf; from that Cape to the mouth of the Sa-
bine, were indicated in the report before men-
tioned, with the reasons for their selection, the
extent and nature of the required works, and their,.
expense. As the execution of all these works
could not be simultaneous, the order of succession
was regulated by reference to the value of the object to
be covered, to the nation, or to an enemy: its exposure
by isolation ; its accessibility, depending on distance,
time, or climate ; the means, source, and time of obtain-
ing succour, and, finally, the condition of existing de-
fences. The order thus established has been adhered
to with a few exceptions, occasioned by different
views on the part, of Congress. Great progress in
the-execution of !he system has already been made, of
which the details are given in the reports of the Ord-
nance and Engineer Bureaus. Most of the works or
primary importance, including the largest and most ex-
pensive, are heady.. completed. About $14,000,000
have been expended, and $9,000,00 more will finish all
but those deemed of minor importance, and which may
be postponed without risking serious consequences.
A thirdelement of great importance in the considera-
tion of the defences of the sea-coast, and of the northern
and north-western frontiers, consists in the facility and
rapidity of interior communications. They are strictly
means of defence, and incapable of being perverted to any
purpose of conquest ; a feature which commends them
to every friend of our institutions. The facility afforded
by the needn to movements for the purposes of attack,
is met by a facility of movement on land, fitrnished by
the triumphs of genius and art in the application of steam
power to land carriage, and in the construction of length-
ened lines of canals. The speed with which troops can be '
moved, obviates the necessity of embodying large mas'its
of them at any point ; and the amount of force required
for the defence of any given post would consequently be
diminished in proportion to the reduction in the time nes. '
cessary to concentrate it. The whole force along the
whole line may be rendered available for the defence of
any point in that line; while, without such means of com-
munication, a separate army would be required at each
city, harbour, or military post that was to be defended.
This may be illustrated by facts within the knowledge of
all. Troops may now be brought from New York to the
City of Washington in 18 hours, in a condition requiring:
little cr no repose to fit theM for immediate action. And
the whole physical force of the populous country be-
tween these two points may be concentrated at any inter-
mediate place in a few hours. Were Philadelpfsla as-
sailed or threatened, a movement of military fos.ce from
Pittsburgh, which but a short time since is ould have
occupied from twenty to twenty-
five clays will now
be accomplished in five. Situilar illustrations are
furnished by various railroads awl canals in different.
parts .of the country. And as 'the great secret of sues
,4e9 in slyaris s.UppettleiAstts be the ability to oppose
the many to tie few, it is evident that, in any defensive
operations, we shal► be able to compete with and to
conquer any probable force that an invading enemy
could bring against that portion of our territory
which is intersected by these interior communica-
tions. Another consequence of no little moment flows
from the same cause ; the poe er to defend ourselves with
armies of very diminished numerical force, compared
with those which have heretofore been necessary in our
national conflicts, or those which are usually employed
on the European continent.
The facilities afforded by canals and railroads to col-
lect, with any desirable expedition, the supplies of an
army from a country abounding with them, and to trans-
port them to the proper points, will render large depots
unnecessary. An object of attack to an enemy is thus
removed, and the consequences of the capture of large
collections of munitions of war, or of subsistence, by _a
hostile force, thus enabled to maintain itself,:arc obviated.
The expense of military operations will be reduced be-
yond any present means of exact calculations, by the
same facilities. During the last war with Great Britain,
the cost of transportation from New York to Plattsburg,
Sackett's Harbour, and Buffalo, was from five to twelve
dollars per hundred. The present cost to Plattsburg -is
30 cents., and to the other points named, GO cents per
hundred. A twelve-pounder, which, at the cheapest rate,
could not have been curried to Buffalo for less than
two hundred dollars, may now be transported to the
same point, in one-fifth or one-eighth of the time, for
twenty-four dollars. In every point of view in which
these works can be considered, their cost is so much
actually added to the defensive means of the nation,
without any expense to the General Government
other than the subscriptions it has authorized
to a few of them ; and it may be affirmed,
without exaggeration, that the aggregate of saving,
in any future war in which we may be engaged.
in the comparative small amount of military force
that will be necessary for defence, and in the cheap-
ness of transportation afforded by railroads - and
canals now in existence, will be equal to the cost
of their construction. It' then, the making of
these works has been premature or improvident,
in reference to the means of the States that undertook
them, and has involved -them in pecuniary embarrass-
ments, the National Government should not complain
of an enterprise that has placed these incalculable ad-
vantages in its hands ; and, if it cannot relieve, will
at least sympathise in the misfortunes which have re-
sulted from such efforts.

The Report from the Ordnance Office exhibits the
measures which have been taken for the armament
of fortifications, and the forts which have been
wholly or partially armed. This object will be
steadily and vigorously pursued, to the extent of
the means provided by Congress. The estimate
fur that purpose is the amount originally contemplated
as being necessary to the completion of the armaments as
rapidly as the nature of the service would permit. It
is to behoped that, in view of the great importance' of
the object, no reduction of the estimate will b.) made.
The attention of Congress has, for the last ten years,
been repeatedly invoked to the necessity of a foundry for
cannon, belonging to, and under the charge of the Govern-
ment; but., from an apprehension of the great expense
which it was supposed would be incurred by such an
an establishment, or from a doubt of its necessity, nothing
has yet been done towards its accomplishment. I cannot
hesitate earnestly to recommend its execution. It is known
that there arc some hundreds of different kinds of iron pro-
duced from our mines, of various qualities, and adapted
to different uses. The fotindry may be connected with
one of our arsenals, so as to be under the charge of
officers already in the public service, by which the cost
of its construction and supervision may be essentially
diminished. Admonished, as we are, by the efforts
of other nations to improve the weapons of destruc-
tion, it would seem that no time should be lost in the
necessary incipient measures to select and purchase a site
for a foundry, on the limited scale suggested, but capable
of expansion according to future exigencies ; and it is
therefore hoped that the sum estimated for that purpose
will be appropriated at the coming session of Congress.
The Quartermaster-General's Report exhibits the very
extensive operations of that department during the past
year, and the efficiency and energy with which they
have been prosecuted. The various recommendations
which are made by the distinguished officer at the head
of that department, will doubtless receive all the consi-
deration which is due to the suggestions of great ex-
perience and high military talent. Among those which
appear to the undersigned as most deserving immediate
attention are the following:—
The recommendations of a military road within our
acknowledged limits, to supply subsistence and other
stores at Forts Kent and Fairfield, in the State of Maine.
Circumstances of a peculiar character seem to demand
that no time should be lost in the commencement of
this work.

The establishment of a strong fort at Fort Brady, with
commodious barracks, commanding the communication
with Lake Superior, seems also indispensable.
And a post on ie Missouri frontier, south of Fort
Leavenworth, is necessary, in connection with the plan
of defence for that portion of our territory.
The propriety of commencing the erection of perma-
nent works in the keys or on the peninsula of Florida, is
strongly represented.
The condition of the Military Academy at West Point
is exhibited in the Report of the Chief Engineer, and
in that of the Board of Visiters, selected from the dif-
ferent portions of the United States, to scrutinize all its
affairs. There is great reason to congratulate the coun-
try upon the success which has, attended the persever-
ing efforts of
.congres9 ' „vans of

~.


military instruction to our youth, and of preserving
and improving that science upon which our safety in war
must at all times depend. In an age remarkable f.r the
extent to which human inventions, in all departments,
have been carried, and in which the art of war has under-
gone essential modifications, from the introduction of
new agents and the improvement of those pre-
viously existing, it would indeed be a reproach to
the intelligence of our country, and a reflec-
tion upon the tendencies of our free institutions,
if we refused or neglected to avail ourselves of the
only means by which we can give to the bravery of our
citizens the aid of that science which is alone necessary
.to render them equal to the skill of the cohorts that may
be sent to our shores by a European nation. The time has
.long since passed, if it ever existed, when mere valour
could compete with discipline and science. If education
be necessary to prepare for any profession, surely that
of arms cannot be an exception. As it is, in its nature,
one that cannot derive any support from private interests
or individual employment, but is wholly public in its
uses, the provision for acquiring it must be made by the
GoVernment, or it will not be made at all, or not in a
manner, and to an extent adequate to the exigency.
It will be perceived that the works for the improve-
ment of harbours already authorized have been arranged
into two classes—first, those of great importance and im-
mediate necessity ; and, second, those of perhaps equal
importance, but in respect' to which there are no pecu-
liar circumstances so urgent fur speedy action as in the
first class. The plan of proceeding gradually, with a
due regard to economy and the condition of the Trea-
sury, and with reference to the just and equal claims of
the different portions of the country, will, it is believed,
he more likely to accomplish a greater amount of the
desired improvement than any other mode.

The total estimates fur the works of the first class arc
$375,000, while the very moderate sum of 11:30,000 is
asked to preserve those of the second class from decay.
It should not be inferred that any intention exists of
abandoning many most valuable and important works fur
which no specific estimates are submitted. On the con-
trare, the very recommendation to preserve them, pro-
ceeds from a desire for their completion at the proper
time, and in due course, in reference to the principles be-
fore stated.

I cannot refrain from calling attention to the case of
the wounded Cherokee Indians, to whom the faith of
the nation was pledged by the 14th article of 'the treaty
wi,2l the Cherokees, of the 29th of December, 1835, to
nrovicL, pensions to such as were engaged on the side of
the United States, in the late war with Great Britain
and the sonibern tribes of Indians, and who were
wounded in such service. The few who remain have ap-
plied in vai❑ to the Pension Officer for the promised re-
muneration; but it is to be hoped that justice, although
tardy, will now be rendered to them.

Since the adjournment of Congress a Treaty has been
'concluded With some of the bands of the Sioux for lands
not included in any previous negotiation, and another
has been made with the half breeds of the Sioux, for a
cession of the lands set apart to them by the 9th article
of the Treaty held at Prairie du Chien on the 15th of
July, 1830.
A treaty is now negotiating with the \Vyandots for
their lands in the State of Ohio, which, it is believed,
will soon be brought to a conclusion. The attempts to
negotiate with the Sacs and Foxes have utterly failed.
As the causes of this failure are believed to be tempo-
rary, or such as may be removed by arrangements with
other tribes, renewed efforts will be mado when a pro-
pitious occasion will offer.
Measures have been taken to execute the Act of 1834,
in relation to intrusions on Indian lands, for the purpose
of preventing the sale of liquor and unlicensed trading,
which it is hoped may prove successful.
Respectfully submitted, JOHN C. SPENCER.
To the President.