The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-08-13 00:00:00

STATIWSMA ?'4l

ITEA TRADE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STATESMAN.
Sin,—ln consequence of what appeared In your
Patriotic Journal, ender the signature of 66 YgA
VSRUA'," I have, along with several other Gentle-
men, taken considerable trouble to ascertain the truth
of the facts brought forward, and have discovered, to
my astonishment, that the 'Women., is not:only cer-
iect as far as it goes, bet that the worst part of the
business has not been disclosed; for there exists at
this momenta Special Agreement, regularly signed
and executed, between the Tea Broker* and certain
Members of the Tea Trade, to exclude from the
benefit of the ludia-house Sales the generality of
country.dealers.
This igreement,l have no hesitation to declare,is,in
the eye of the law, a downright conspiracy, actionable
as such, end liable to heavy damages; and I recom-
mend it as an eacellent job to any of those Gentle-
men who, in support of the Statutes, wake a com-
fortable living by qui tam actions. Here is some ea-

Noble baseness to be got with lb* approbation of the
Public, and I hope the hint will itiat be thrown away,

•
as the proof is ea,
But lam astonished that the India Direction do
not take op this subject ; for, if a set of men can
once anew the power to determine who shall and
who shall not porchase goods at their sales, the next
step, which naturally follows, will be to determine
alsai prices they shall sell their goods, and this
progress is so certain, plain, and simple. that I
marvel It has escaped the sagacity of the sapient
Directors.

But what shall we say of the mean jesuitical trick,
of suppressing the characters indicating the different
qualities in the sale books ?
I dare say, that the suggeators of this honest and
candid proceeding, would start with indignation, if it
were only hinted that any of them frequented gam-
bling-houses ; but if any person was so bold as to as-
sert positively that they not only frequented gam.
bling-heuses, but went there to gamble with loaded
dice and markrd cards, how would their pious souls
revolt at the idea, and reject the imputation with hor-
ror! And yet observe, mark the silly cobweb so-
phistry that satisfies their consciences, and reconciles a
far worse conduct to their minds ; for what is it but

playiug with marked cards. if they go to the sale-

room with an accurate knowlerlge of the quality of
every lot, while, by the suppression of the charac-
ters in the sale books, three-fourths of the buyers
are left in the dark.

This I maintain is more wicked than sporting load.
ed dice at a gambling-house, because at the one place
you only meet with desperate characters, who are
reedy to take every advantage themselves; while at
the other you meet with simple honest men, who sus-
pect no fraud, and who industriously seek an honest
living for their families. I know it will besaid,in the
same spirit of jesuitical finesse, that every one may
go and view the Teas while on shore as well as them.
selves ; bet this they know, for many reasons which
I could advance, is impracticabk; and l will put the
question again to their consciences, by asking ,if that
really were the case, if every dealer knew the

qualities as well as they themselves, would they in
that case object to the characters appearing in the
sale boosts? Assuredly not! Alas, what a flimsy

argument satisfies the consciences of some people
when self interest is in the way!

But I would main seriously ark those venal Brokers
who are milling to accede to these sinister measures,
if, when their part is made so extremely insignificant,
. here is not some room to suspect that their services
may come to be dispensed with altogether. It seems
to me a very natural consequence; for if their duty
should be dwindled to the station of mere Dryers in
the sale-room, In order to reverberate the voice of
their principals, It will soon be discovered that this
petty office may be abolished altogether.
In fact, I am equally surprised at the selfish impu.
dent rapacity of the one party; the abject meanness
of the other, and the folly of both.

Tlis VASE OF Ma. ARBUTHNOT,

The following further particelars of this interesting
case appear in a cotemporery Journal. We gents
them without being able to giwe any opinion as to
their accuracy :
Mr. Arbuthnot is acceserl by .the Americans of
having incited the Indians to acts of usage warfare
against them.

1t is stated on the other bend, that the utmost that
• cootd be proved against 144.,Artilti,filot was, that he
concurred with his Indian neighbours in the pro.
priety of protecting their property, by forCo of arms,
when lawlessly invaded. The safety of his owls
commercial store was involved in the issue. If one
or more American marauders have been shot and
scalped in their attempts to carry off the cattle of
their Indian neighbours, *hat pretest can the coon.
trymen of the cattle-stealers have fer complaining
of the style in which an act of robbery has been
very properly punished ? No rational motive can be
assigned why Mr. Arbuthnot should here incised the
Indians to wanton hostilities against the Americans.
As a private trader, his interest was to cultivate peace
with all around him—as a British subject he could
have no object in provoking hostilities which he most
have been certain the British Government would
never sanction or abet.

Mr. Arbuthnot is further accuard of hating for.
nished the Indians with "munitions of war."

The 66 munitions of war" with which Mr. At.,
butlittot furnished the Indians, a►e stated to here been
no other than the ordinary articles of traffic between
Europeans and Indians. The Indians gain their prin-
cipal means of subsistence from hunting; it Is an oc-
cupation which they cannot carry on with adequate
success without an ample supply of powder and shot.
And Mr. Arbuthnot did no more than aid them with
part of thcf supply, in return for the skins and furs
which they brought to him. It was a mere trans.
action of trade, of which the Americans themsel►es,
in all their intercourse with the Indians, are setting a
a constant example, and without which no trade with
the Indians can possibly be carried on.
Mr. Arbuthnot was accused of being a spy op-
en the Americans—or rather, according to a qualified
version of the offence, which has been recently pro.
maigated, with having given intelligence to the In.
dial), of the movements of the American forces.
Tim intelligence which Mr. Arbuthnot gave
the Indians is said to have been simply this : he told
them of the official communication he had re.
ceived from the renegade agent, nimbly, that
the Americans hid resolved upon their otter extermi-
nation, and were upon the way to put this barbarous
edict into execution. What was there in this which
is ageing any one of the laws of nations ? If it was
indeed an act of espionage deserving of death,
Hatubly, •ho seat the tidings from the American
camp, was the guilty man, and not Mr. Arbuthnot,
who only told *hat was officiallycommunicated to him
without moving a step from his own established sea Ile •
meat. But who can for a moment maintain that it is
a crime to warn an innocent people of a design to
massacre and cut them from of the face of the earth ?