The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-11-06 00:00:00

DIPLOMACY EXTRAORDINARY.

You will probably recollect that about the beginning
of last August his Majesty's ships Stag, Clio, Tweed,
and Pike sailed from hence with sealed orders. At first
it. was generally taken for granted that their destination
could be no other than the north coast of Spain; but
when it was found that on going out of the bar of Lisbon
they steered southward, and particularly when it was
known that they had been seen to the south of the Straits
of Gibraltar,..the object of their rei.esion became a theme
of endless speculatien. I have now to inform yOu that
the mystery is at an end, as the whole of them, except the
Pike, artived'here between yesterday and to-day. It ap
pears. our government had gained intelligence that the
French, for the sake of monopolising the trade in gum, at
Portendie, the seat of a black Moorish tribe a little to the
north of Senegal, had picked a quarrel with the natives,
and:made a sham declaration of war on the part of France,
in order to have aplea for establishing a vigorous block-
ade, the object of which was to exclude all English. and
foreign vessels from the trade, and leave the coast clear
for those of their own nation. Of course, provided they
could accomplish this purpose, the absurdity of continuing
to traffic with the very place they were blockading, was
with them a consideration of trifling weight. In the.
meanwhile the Commander of the French force, consist-
ing of a sloop of war and three gun brigs, went on nego-
tiating with the black Chief for a treaty of peace, the
principal condition for which was to be, that all other
foreigners, and especially the English,: should for ever
after be shut out from the trade of the place; and, in
order to quiet some vague apprehensions which the
princely nigger seemed to be labouring under, he assured
him that he had nothing, to fear from England, as King
William had no navy, or, in the black's. own words to
Captain Lockyer, "no big ships." The alternative, in
case this proposal was, not acceded to, was, that he would
blow the town about' his ears. With respect to big skips,
however, the French Captain soon discovered that he.had
been out a point or two in his reckoning, for while this
parleying was, going, on, the officer on the look-out an-
nounced that some three or four very suspicious looking
craft had just hove in sight. One of the French brigs
was immediately despatched to reconnoitre the strangers,
and soon returned with the unwelcome intelligence that
it was one of King William's big ships.and three smaller
ones. Captain Lockyer, of the Stag (the Commodore,)
having previously learned all that bad been going on
from one of the three English merchant schooners which
had been turned out of the port, was not at a loss hoW, to
act. On arriving he at once proceeded to anchor his
squadron between the French and the town, so as to,
make it.impossible for them to fire at it but through him,
a step whieh4hey-evidently deemed it most prudent not
LO venture ttropl:.: suni.. up all, the. fa co -of. a n accom—
modation between the belligerents having been gone
through, and matters restored io, every respect to their
ancient footing, a good deal of visiting and dining ensued
between the French and English officers till the latter
came away, having before they returned here touched at
the Gambia and at Senegal, at the latter of which places
they were treated with the politest attention, by the
French Governor,—Lisbon Letter of a Contemporary.

JOHN BULL FROM HOME AND AT HOME.

John is a curious fellow, and we do not well know
what to make of him. Just now, although so tristful and
down hearted in towns and cities, he is all alive and ap-
parently well furnished with cash in other parts of the
empire. One-half of the world. is mad for watering
places. Every thing is forgotten in a sea-side mania;
whether the dog-days influence us, we cannot tell; but
certain it is, that our wise citizens are now all agog,
steaming away in every direction—north, south, east,
and west, as if running from the plague, the plague of
bad times we must suppose. Croak, croak, croak has
been the " tuneful song" for the last two or three
months—not a sovereign to pay the butcher or baker,
and rent and seryants' wages in arrear—when lo hoards
of money are turned QUt, and " hey, cap and away" is
the cry, and hundreds and, thousands of our ruined citi-
zens have a regular saturnalia of enjoyment. Now, in-
deed,

" -Every city-wife and daughter
Feels that the dipping rage bat caught her,
Scarce can they rest upon their pillows,
For musing on machines and billows;
Or, should they slumber, 'tis to dream
All night of Margate and of steam."
It is amusing to tneet with John Bull at these haunts,
so determined does he appear to be to make himself com-
fortable " a fico for the world" becomes his motto, and
he calls into their fullest activity his eating, drinking,
and idling propensities. We part with our acquaintan-
ces in town, all having faces of marvellous longitude,
with a most woe-begone espect, and groaning out "bank-
ruptcy, bankruptcy," at every turn. We find them in.
their marine and rural abodes, absolutely metamorphosed.
N:-,tliing to be heard or seen but hilarity and light-lx-art-

edness. "We came here," they exel dm, "to enjoy.our-
selves;" and truly they strive most gallantly so to do.
But how's it that *John Bull is so jovial from borne, and
so stupid and desponding when at, home ? Why should
he caper and curvet in all the wantonness of glee in a
country retreat—arid why, when. in his stall in London
and elsewhere, should he roar and bellow in disquietude,
From the apprehension of starvation and ill-treatment ?
This is one of the mysteries of John's character, and it
would lead us to hope that his estate is not so desperate
as lie would fain have us think. Let.us cheer up and be
of good courage ; for, notwithstanding John Bull's la-
mentations, we believe him to .be sound at heart, and
that ere long he will shine out in his native beauty and
strength—toss off his vexations like
"Dew from a lion's mane,"
.and. stand forth the pride and- protector of his kind.—
Constitutional Magazine.