The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1843-08-18
VOL. w.
FROM EUROPE.
Correspondence Of the Free Trader.

ferring with Messrs. Hope & Co. upon the sub
ject Of the canal loan. You will recollect that
Baron Hope, the senior partner of the house, was
assaulted on former occasion, by parties who
had been Induced to purchase American stocks by
his recommendation. 1t was not therefore, to be
expected that this house would be very ready to
make new loan to any of our states. 1t would
he Difficult, Tor you to imagine the numerous Oh
iections and difficulties that were started by the
parties They urged the payment of the present
debt before another was contracted. When told
that the completion of the canal would facilitate
the payment of the present debt they said they
could not Judge Of its importance, living where
they did, and that it was great hazard to risk
money on an improvement in new country.
They also expressed their distrust in American
faith, and want of confidence in the security and
protection Of our laws; and they fortified all their
positions by referring to the difficulties they have
had with Mississippi In answer to all these OBJ
jcc,ions they were asked to lay aside their preju-
dces, give the subject careful investigation and
to consider this plain business matter, not to bc
governed by any Of the considerations in ciiectng
an ordinary loan, but as question OF policy
The importance of the canal, the inherent wealth
Of the state, and the great results that would fol-
low the success of this negotiation were fully eI-
planned, and, after several interviews they consen-
ted TO second any mcasur, that the bondholders
in London should adopt, which is all that could
be desired. The result of this important neeotia-
ton now depends upon few wealthy houses in
London. / hope to let you know their decision
before long.
OF all the countries was ever in, Holland is
the queerest. I, is low marsh, reclaimed from
the sea and KEEP, from inundation by dykes--ren-
dered habitable only by bitches, which are drain
ed by windmils, that pump the water over the
dykcs-traversed by canals which emit about as
pleasant an odor as slaughter house-and inha-
bted by an amphibious bipcd who, if he had a
scaly appendage in the rear, might be csssed with
the beaver species Of the human race. The gene
raj appearance of Holland is much the same.
piece Of low land, ditch, road, canal, wind.
mill, and house comprises all the variety that Is
to he secn. The peasanry of Holland are short,
thick, fat, clumsy, lazy, stupid, and filthy. The
first class of inhabitants are intelligent, well edu-
Gated, formal, reserved and cold in their manners.
The men are fond Of reading, o! good dinners, and
Oh ice wines; the women are pretty, vain, and
laxative. How the natural disadvantages have
been overcome, how the losses from the frequent
inunda,ons have been born, how the frequent and
pro,rac,ed wars have been carried on, and how,
from such resources, Holland has become So veal
thy, is certainly a wonder, The only rational
answer is, that il is inhabited hy people as won
derfu and peculiar as the country itself The
Duchman is a nondescript: he lives in hl1 own
CAV. works with his own awkward tools, manages
his affairs differently from any body else, goes the
longest way around, prefers to inhae the stencil
of quagmse to the upland breeze, wears five pair
OF breeehes instead Of one, has a brain as muddy
as his native bays, an intellect as couded as the
atmosphere Of his country. soul as dull tho OK
he drives, mind Us inactive as the sluggish pools
that surround him; and yet lie has borne more
misfor,unes, overcome more difficulties, and ac-
CURED more wealth than any body else.
Amsterdam contains 200,O0J inhabaants, and
is place of considerable business, though the
business has been decreasing and is now diverted
more to Rotterdam. The buildings in Amster-
dam generally good, they arc built of brick,
and their foundations rest upon piles driven to
great depth. The streets have a canal running
through the centre Of them and each canal is ill
ed with boats and crafts Of all sizes snd shapes,
which are inhabited by men and horses, women
and pigs, babies and chickens; and, through the
whole town. there is an odd mixture Of mass and
ehimneys, mud boats and drays, land lubbers and
Jack tars, water crafts and wheel carriages, draw.
bridges and toll gates. The laboring class wear
wooden shoes, which gives them a very clumsy
appearance. They keep all about the house very
neat-every thing has to undergo thorough
scrubbing once week, except their own persons,
which arc carefully KEEP: from the contact of soap
and water.
The palace is the best building in Amsterdam.
1t contains some very good paintings, and is fit.
ted up and furnished in a costly manner. The
saloon is 100 feet high, and beautifully ornament
cd The throne room is very richly furnished
The audience chamber contains fnc painting Of
Van Spcyk in the act of blowing up his vessel ra.
ther than fall into the hands Of the enemy. The
museum contains many good paintingsby Rubens
Van Dyke, and Rembrandt. There are % charita.
bic institutions in this place. Begging is seldom
seen here. About one-fourth Of the population
are Jews.
came here by the way Of Rotterdam, which
place contains rocco inhabitants, and is rapidly
increasing. One hundred ships are now building
here. The timber is brought down the Rhine
from Germany. About eighty merchant ships
are engaged in the trade between this place and
Batavia. This is their best trade. Rotterdam re-
sembles Amsterdam in its general appearanco--it