The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1829-07-01
From the Boston Daily advertiser.
FROM GREECE.

EGINA, Jan. Is, 1929.
commenced tour Of observation, IN
order to find where assistance was most
wanted. The result lis a conviction, that,
for the moment, none are suffering so much
as the inhabitants of Athens and Attica, the
principal pant of whom are living on this
island 1t is now nearly three years, SINCE
these poor creatures were driven from their
homes bv an invasion of the Turks and
have been .eking out scanty subsistence
by selling one after another whatever trim
ke:s or valuabes they saved from the COM
mon ruin; till at last more than a thousand
of them are reduced to state bordering on
starvation,
Having resolved to find them some en-
ployment, by which they might gain their
daily bread, and be useful to the country,
my object was to fix upon some enteeprize
in the fulflment of which the common peo
pie might be employed and 1t struck me
that the repair of the once splendid artificial
harbor of this island would unite all the de-
sired objects. On the land side, by the
continual washing down of earth from the
town, the port was becoming choked up,
the shore was gradually extending itself
into the harbor, which became every year
narrower and shallower. Many attempts
had been made by the local government to
remedy these evils, but they had failed. I
conceived that by employing few hundred
poor people for some months, | could effect
the desired object by running heavy wall
around the inner edge of the port, drawing
the mud from the water, and throwing it
behind this wall.
Within quarter of mile from the port
is the site of once magnificent temple of
Venus, of which one column only is now
left standing but knew that the tounda-
lions of it, which were then covered up with
dirt and rubbish would afford On immense
quantity of large hewn blocks Of stone just
adapted to the purpose of heavy wall.
Here then | determined to commence. l
was soon surrounded by more than thou
sand men and women, Of the peasantry OF
Attica, each eager to be employed they
crowded and struggled for the precedence
in getting their names enrolled among the
laborers, though no bargain had been made,
no price stipulated, they knew only that
they were to get their bread. From the
crowd | selected 400 women and $50 men,
apparently those most in want; l divided
them into companies of 25, over each COM
pany appointing one as captaln-and over
every four companies ore as centurion or
overseer, and took charge myself of the
whole. All then fell to work, the men dig
ging with their pickaXes and shovels, and
throwing up the loose earth, which the NO.
men carried off in their baskets. Other
men were employed in dragging the large
square blocks of hewn stone which were
found, on carts to the port; for there are
no wheel carriages in Greece drawn by
horses. These carts are rude machines
mounted On rudder wheels, and drawn by
twenty men. All went on cheerfully and
orderly; and at night each captain or over
seer came to the store and received the pay
for his company, viz, % lbs. OF meal tor
every woman and 81 for every man. With
this they were not only satisfied, but ex-
ceedingly pleased, for it was one third
more than had been allowed them by Capo
d'Istrias, who had humanely employed them
during the summer to keep them from starv-
ing. I may safely say never saw more
satisfaction expressed at distribution with
It may seem to you, gentlemen, and still
more to my fair country women, that 1t was
unbecoming in me to employ Greclan te-
males 20 carry earth in baskets for the scan
ty pttance of q lbs. of meal per day; and
so it would have seemed TO me once; but
then these women are of the peasantry OF
Attica, strong, robust, and accustomed TO
labor in the fields and the objections which
/ made to the principal men OF Athens
against employing them, were rIdlculed as
fastidious and unfounded, and saw at once
from the way in which they commenced
work, that they were as much accustomed
to it as their husbands. They have been al
work one month, and already a vast i'm
provement is seen in the beauty and con-
venience of the harbor.
RaSi1oc time riv on1nlOvnpnt and SIM
port to the A:henian refugees here, have
turned my attention to other parts Of
Greece. The village of Megara has beer
plundered and burned, rebuilt again, des
troyed again, inhabited, and a third time
devastated by the Turks. The inhabitant:
had returned to their homes, but were ut
terly destitute of money, or food except
wild vegetables; they were re-erectlng
their huts, and living upon the roots, succu-
lent plants, &c. with which the country
abounds.
They were utterly devoid of seed to sow
/ thought that with the -four government
was sending them, and with roots, they
might possibly pass the summer | there
fore asked their old men if they preferred
that should send to their village quanti-
ty Of -four, or some seed to sow. They
instantly cried out, seed-seed by all
means-we can live upon roots and vegeta-
bles through the summer, provided there is
any prospect of a crop in the autumn; we
do not pretend to be utterly poor, we have
land and hands, and with seed hope again
to prosper" then bought them 1000 lbs
of Egyptian beans, the article which bears
the heaviest crop at Megara, and sent them
to their village by faithful agent, with a
quantity of clothing to be distributed to the
poor the clothing was given away to those
who seemed most in need; but in order to
promote future good, every man who re-
ceived quantity of seed, signed paper by
which ha hound hin, Golf RI nav ouar Of m a